Lt1 350

[capricesleeper]

my 96 9c1 caprice has a 5.7 liter LT1 350 and i wanted to get an idea of what i should do to it to make about 400 horsepower to the ground. what should i do to the trans it has posi trac. i'd like it to be reliable should i supercharge or build the engine?

THANKS

[ford_racer]

well, i dont know a lot about LT-1s or LS-1s or any of that nonsense. But Id say (money allowing), build the motor with forged internals and all that good stuff, with a nice set of vortec heads, and a supercharger. run about 8:1 compression with 10 psi

but dont listen to me, i like fords

[Frogy Mike]

Originally Posted by capricesleeper

my 96 9c1 caprice has a 5.7 liter LT1 350 and i wanted to get an idea of what i should do to it to make about 400 horsepower to the ground. what should i do to the trans it has posi trac. i'd like it to be reliable should i supercharge or build the engine?

THANKS

400 is easily attained NA... you have to get a new rear with a better posi, and tougher gears. The tranny will need a new torque convertor, and it wouldnt be a bad idea to switch the clutch packs, and put in high pact packs. Put on some 227cc LT4 Air Flow Research heads, followed with an agressive came (between 224-230 duration) then from there a better flowing manifold obviously and if you want to strip down the engine go with eagle H-Beam forged rods, and a forged crank and forged pistons as well (Eagle has a whole rotating assembly with forged componentas for about 2 grand) The block would esily hold a charger then as well as much as a 300 shot (but not all the time, get a good window switch and be as conservative with it as possible) A vortech 10 PSI blower would also be very good addition to that engine, you would have to spend about 10k, but you would have around a 700hp beast

[nx468]

Jegs sells the LT4 conversion kit for a stock bottom end , but Frogy Mike is steering you into the build it yourself, save a lil money and make a lil more power minus the bottom end pieces but never a bad idea building a well built LT1 either you can thrash on them alot harder and youll make even more power with what he suggested. :thumpup: Good Luck , you might also want to talk to the guys over here www.ls1tech.com

[doubledeuce]

swap the 3.08 ring and pinion for a set of 3.73. it will feel like an extra 100 horses. also, THIS PLACE is the board of boards for B-body owners.

[bryan]

Man, you dont need all of that forged **** and whatever, sure, its nice if you want to drop 6k on an engine, but its not needed. Listen, get some decent heads first. It will be a large investment but will be the basis of your buildup...If your engine cant breath you wont make any power. The only problem with the lt1 is that it ran 10.5:1 compression, you cant really run any decent amount of boost without fragging something . So with the heads and maby a 50 shot of spray you will be around the 375 mark....beyond that you are going to have to lower the compression to run boost, or build up the internals to accomodate the high compression.

[nx468]

Originally Posted by bryan

Man, you dont need all of that forged **** and whatever, sure, its nice if you want to drop 6k on an engine, but its not needed. Listen, get some decent heads first. It will be a large investment but will be the basis of your buildup...If your engine cant breath you wont make any power. The only problem with the lt1 is that it ran 10.5:1 compression, you cant really run any decent amount of boost without fragging something . So with the heads and maby a 50 shot of spray you will be around the 375 mark....beyond that you are going to have to lower the compression to run boost, or build up the internals to accomodate the high compression.

6K for a forged bottom end for a LT1 ? Where do you get that figure from Gold Finger ? They have some really nice Rotating Kits for under 2K and well worth it , you get to pick from flat tops or domes. Especially if he is going to blow it(flat) or spray it(domes). Yes the LT1 has a low grade stock forged pistons and a decent crank and rods. But mileage on the stock motor and general thrashing on it (high rpm)generally higher lift cams, will not hold up like a built rotating assembly. A 50 shot on a stock LT1 ? thats a tease. A 150 shot will run on a stock LT1 allday and never miss a beat with proper fuel pressure. Bryan is right heads, cam,and intake is where you want to start first , everything else from there if it lets go. You can look forward into the rotating kits then.

[bryan]

I was talking about building up a lt1 proper. Forged crank, rods, pistons, decent set of heads....roller valvetrain. Balanced, blueprinted, magnafluxed. Just built right. A ground up build up would cost you at least 6k if you payed for the parts/ machine work and for someone to put it together. Obviously it would cost a lot less if you did the assembly your self.

[DoWnAqT]

you guys are all insane! way to much money, put a lumpy cam, nice set of heads like ones listed above (AFR), and a intake manifold with proper intake ducting and throttle body. then get a turbo 400 or turbo 350, 350 will require less power to use therefore more power to the rear wheels. but if you gonna beat the snot out of it a turbo 400 would be just as nice just more power loss. then get moser axles with 4.11's in the rear. that thing will haul plenty of ass without hurting your pocket and could be done pretty quick. This could all be done in your garage if you have basic skill or good at reading instructions.

[nx468]

^ naw we are all on pretty much on the same page. :thumb:

[Frogy Mike]

lol, the way i look at the block building is...IF your going to drop 3k on just bolt ons why not another 2k-3k and build it right, If you do it right, youll only have to do it once. Not building the bottom end on a high mileage, well beat, and spraying it could blow the dome on a piston, and the parts may get lodged into the valve, and destroy your 2k dollar head... So now think to your self, is a forged bottom end worth it? (remember "Do it once, Do it right.")

[nx468]

Originally Posted by Frogy Mike

So now think to your self, is a forged bottom end worth it? (remember "Do it once, Do it right.")

A lesson everyone needs to go through ! :thumb: