after posting here a few times, i am still undecided about whether to buy a lt1 car or an ls1 car.
not trying to get into an lt1vs ls1 debate, BUT...
i eventually want a car with 500-600 rwhp.
so my options are:
1) buy an lt1 car, and build a new motor from the ground up. but can i make those hp numbers on a built lt1 motor? what would be needed to make that much power from an lt1 motor only.
2) buy an ls1 car, do an lt1 front end conversation, and then build the motor up.

i am thinking that buying the ls1 car and doing the lt1 front end conversation would be more expensive than buying the lt1 car and building a new motor, am i right about this??

can either motor only put out that much power and last?? i want a car that is still streetable.

and obviously either car would need a new rearend and all the suspension mods to hook up with that much power.

can a stock M6 tanny hold that much power? if not, what are the other options for a 6-speed tranny?

any other opinions??

thanks
tony

 

To get 500+ RWHP and be streetable, you're going to need a power adder. You cannot reach your goal of a streetable 500-600RWHP on motor alone. A low compression engine with forged internals and a supercharger or turbo would be the way to go, and either family of engines could easily make that goal that way.

The stock 6-spd can handle a lot of power. Once the clutch is upgraded (I'd recommend a McLeod Street Twin), you're good to go. Guys have run 9's with stock (or relatively stock) T-56's.

 

a h/c ls1 with 150 shot of n20 will get you over 500 rwhp too

 

Ya I'm planning on hitting ~430 on the motor at the wheels then If i desire more a 100 shot and forged internals.

 

depends on how much money you want to spend. if you have a limited budget an early lt1 will be a good $6-10k cheaper than a LS1 if you strictly just want a 500-600 hp car.

 

what does doing a front end conversion have to do with horsepower goals? hp costs money and that would be wasted money. imho

 

because i prefer the look of the 93-97 front end over the 98+.

my question was more about what parts are needed to build an lt1 motor to 500-600hp? and how much would that build cost?

also, what parts would be needed to build an ls1 motor to 500-600hp?? and how much would those parts cost?

i already know about how much price difference there is in buying the cars. and i can estimate how much a front end conversion would cost(if i went with an ls1).

and really, i'm not sure if you can build an lt1 and get that much power, so i was hoping to get some people who have tried to would respond and tell me how much they got from their motors.

thanks
tony

 

Whatever way you go, LT1 or LS1, in order to achieve your power goals, you are going to need to do a hefty rebuild with all the goodies. You will probably be better off going with the LT1 for two reasons, 1) the intial cost will be cheaper then an LS1 2)Since you want the LT1 frontend anyways, consider that money saved if you were to buy an LS1 and have to do the frontend swap.

 

buy a cheap LT1 era car....then save up for an lsx crate motor. i mean the engine bay is the same. then just do a swap.

a 500rwhp LSx engine is probably gonna take a stroker and a big cam...something like a 382ci would probably do it. since alot of guys have run 450-475rwhp with stock cubes.

not to get closer to the 600rwhp mark...you'll need a BIG stroker...like something in the lines of the 427ci....so make sure you ahve about $20K saved up.

forced induction would get you there much easier

 

The engine bay is not the same. He would have to also swap transmissions, k-member, engine harness, engine mounts, PCM, the fuel system and a ton of other expensive odds-n-ends parts to put a LS1 into a LT1 car. He'd be better off buying a wrecked LS1 car to transfer the parts from. I'm not sure if the two cars even use the same radiator/fan assembly. I've also heard that a stock LT1 hood will not clear because the throttle body on the LS1 sits higher.

A LT1 stroked to 383ci with a LE or AI heads/cam and all the other supporting goodies can make 500 flywheel horsepower. Give that a squirt of nitrous and you are into the 500-600 RWHP range. Figure you spend $3000 on the forged short block and another $3000 on heads/cam and valvetrain. another $1000 on exhaust, fuel pump and cold air intake. $7000 gets you pretty close. You'll spend more than that though, because you'll need a 58mm throttle body, 42lb injectors, a PCM tune and some suspension mods to get the power to the pavement. I'd figure on having at least $8000 in mods before you are done. Start out with a $5,000 car and your total cost is somewhere around $13,000.

Or, you could buy an $8000 LS1 car and spend at least $2000 converting the front end and getting it painted. Now you have $3000 left to make it go fast. With that you could do heads/cam and exhaust. I'm not sure what H/C LS1 cars do for flywheel HP, but I'd guess it would have to be close to 500?

It seems like it would be a good call either way. You'd possibly be better off with the LS1 car because it is newer, the engine is aluminum and has 6 bolt mains. Also, the LS1 car will retain more value for longer. If I was you, this is what I'd do. When I bought my car 3 years ago LS1 6-speed convertibles were way outside my price range. If I had to do it again today, I'd do the LT1 front end conversion on a LS1 car. They have come way down in price. It's too bad I think the LS1 nose is so ugly. I wish it would grow on me, but it hasn't.