demonspeed

Hey guys,

Long story short, I've had a couple L98's and LS1's, and I sold my '05 GTO this past spring as we were going to buy a house (planned on getting another LS1 or 5th gen). We still haven't purchased a house, but I am going nuts not having a car. I thought, "why not get a LT1?" They seem cheap enough to give me some thrills until we'd finally find a house and I can upgrade.

Of course, with no LT1 experience, I've got this opti-paranoia. I know it was upgraded in '95, but does it really matter? I've found a really clean '94 with 50k miles, but I'm just a bit intimidated.

I won't do much for mods (nothing more than bolt-ons, if that) as I just want something clean and reliable so that I can sell it in a year or so to move back to a LS1. I feel as though I should give the LT1 a try as it's the only Camaro I haven't yet (unless you want to count TBI and CFI cars).

So, is there really a better year to get? At first glance, one could say "stay away from '93" since it has the higher gearing and SD, but do I even really need to care? I don't care about 10hp from dual cats in '96, or upgraded dash in '97, but I don't want "the worst year" that I won't be able to resell. Is there anything 93-97 "specific" that I should look for that would be different from a 98-02?

Thanks!

charliediss

I have always done things the hard way, if not on purpose than because I did not learn the first time around. LT1s (and I own two) are a different kind of beast. They have a very even temperment, great driveability and for the most part are extremely easy to maintain. That said, there are a few minor things to look out for, some you already mentioned.

First off, my 94 almost has 200,000 miles on it (over half of which I put on) and it has only been through ONE opti. This is because I used good parts, and took my time.

93...do not even consider a 93, different fuel injection, trans sucks, Speed density, yellow lettering, PITA

94...rated at 285hp, not bad in stock trim but be careful, some of these cars (a good portion of them) had 2:73 cruisers in the back! OBDI, which is good for modding, and an unvented opti (really not a difference in failure rate compared to vented) Hinges break in the console, latch for glovebox, ofcourse the dash pad...this lasts until 96.

95...OBD1.5 (these cars have OBDI diagnostics, with an OBD2 port). This will make for some awkward moments, but nothing you cant work with.

96-97 OBD 2... not the easiest to mod, but not the toughest. Way better interior, less plastic attrition! I want to say that they did away with the black mirrors and sail pannel in 96, but I may be mistaking. Two cats, no biggie.

My reccomendation to you is to shop around. It is not tough to find a well cared for 94 and equally easy to find a 97 that has been punished by some pimple-faced teen. If I could do it all over again, I would consider a 94 or 97. There would be NO 93 or 95, I just cant justify the awkwardness of either of them.

Hope this helps!

Charlie

demonspeed

That is the kind of information I was looking for. I appreciate your post.

beeker82

too bad half of his info is wrong though. The 93s are not as bad as people say there so dont listen to him. My 93 with the mods in my sig ran just as good as 94-97 cars with the same type of mods. I had 135000 miles on my car when I sold it and it was still on the stock tranny,shifting as good as it was supposed to. Yes there are some differences here and there but its still a lt1.


and fyi the 94s werent rated at 285 hp.

DirtyDaveW

The '96 and '97 were rated at 285hp. Prior to that they were rated at 275hp. My own take on this...
The '93's came with great gear ratios' in their 6 speeds. "Plus"
They also have the type of PCM that needs a chip burner. "Minus"
They have the more expensive (of the two) Opti's. "Minus"

I *think* the '96, '97's were the first to come with 3.42 rear gears with the factory 6 speeds. Prior to that, I believe the factory 6 speeds came with 3.23's. The A4's for '96/97 came with 3.23s. Prior to that I believe they came with 2.73's. Not absolutely sure.

If you get the 96 or 97, you also get a crank sensor which can be converted to use as a reluctor to send signals to aftermarket ignitions and/or fuel systems(Megasquirt, etc).

The 94 and 95 year models come with OBDI which you can easily and inexpensively tune with LT1 Edit, Tunercat, etc (although it's just as easy to swap the OBDI PCM's to an OBDII 96/97 except at inspection time) .

In '95+, the A4's gained an additional solenoid. To what benefit, I forget.

demonspeed

Thanks.

I know the basics of differences, but I just wasn't sure if after all of these years, people had found a particular year to be the "best"

94 was the first year that 3.42's were standard with the 6 speed -- I do know this much.

I know that 93 was SD and had different REAR gearing (numerically lower).

I know that 96/97 were dual-cat, which resulted in that gain of 10hp to 285.

I know that some late 96's, and all 97's had the newer interior.

I know that 96 when to OBDII.

I had always thought that 96/97 were the two best years for the LT1, but '95 was best for those who planned on heavy mods.

I'm going to guess that for a nice driver with basic bolt-ons, I'd probably prefer a '96. I don't want a 97 since I will be purchasing another LS1 (prefer an '02 SS), so I want to actually "feel" as though I made an upgrade with the interior difference. I honestly don't plan on tearing into the engine for a cam upgrade or anything like that, so the whole tuning thing for a 95 doesn't matter to me. The upgraded opti in '95 also would make me think that I should pass on a 94. Since 93 seems to be the red-headed stepchild, that should get passed on, too.

Am I thinking correctly?

It just seems to be a great deal on this 94 I found (50k miles for $6k). I am really not sure if all that great stuff between the years will actually matter for the plans I have.

AlwaysCode390

I would jump on something soon. From my searches, the lt1's are pulling almost as much as the ls1's with the same mileage ---

DirtyDaveW

Dang.. Things have improved a bit since about 2 yrs ago on the price. Last time I looked, the 94 Z28's were going for $2,600 ish.

charliediss

Ok...what was it 275? OOPS! Anyways, I did some fact checking against myself and sure enough...I went all democrat on you (lies lies lies). Sorry, I did not mean to turn this thing political. Anyways, I maintain my position on 93s, specially since beeker feels so strongly about them.

Basic point I was trying to convey (and it looks like it made it through) was that there are good buys for early LT1s and bad buys for late LT1s. Sorry if that got lost in a sea of bad information!

I hope you find the car you are looking for!

Charlie

henryz28

I would go with a high mi LS1. As long as the body and interior is clean. You could drive around the stock ls1 until you get the cash to mod it. The ls1 is a lot better and stronger engine too mod. I say this because all I have had is problems with my lt1 eating opti's; rotors coming unscrewed, rotors blowing apart and optical sensors failing. On a stock lt1 the opti seems to hold up fine, when you start to spin it above 6200 rpms the reliability drops. A Ls1 will be fine spinning 7000 rpms. I am now in the process of purchasing a new opti; GM I think. If it continues to fall apart or run like crap I am going with a ls1.

demonspeed

Even the really clean, low mileage (relative to year) cars? I would assume anything under $3000 to be a POS.

demonspeed

I'm not going to bother unless I can get the exact car I want. At the time being, the exact car I want will set me back $12-15k. I can't have a car note like that with trying to get a mortgage.

charliediss

MOST anything under 5K is usually junk...or in need of serious TLC and from what I gather, you are looking for something that will not require much work. This is going to put you over 5K. 50 thousand miles @ $6,000 sounds very reasonable to me for a decent LT1 car.

2 more pennies.

charlie

beeker82

have you owned a 93? better yet have you driven a 93 lt1?

bkpliskin

No, later years did not "get" 3.23's. 2.73's were standard equipment for autos and could be upgraded to 3.23. This was true even for the 97's. (ask me how I know)