Infamous

I’ve been a member here for a little over 3 years but have always been a spectator. Well…today that changed. I am happy to announce that I finally bit the bullet and joined the LS1 family. Just a few hours ago I took delivery of a ’99 LS1/4L60E combo that I got from a reputable seller on eBay (pick-a-part); very nice people and very helpful, excellent feedback too. Let me tell you a little bit about what I got. It came out of a ’99 SS Camaro and has 55K on the motor. I paid $3250. The motor came with everything. I opted for an automatic transmission because I just felt a 6-speed would be too much on my plate with already having to learn how to modify the LS1 and getting it running in my car (’68 Camaro). That’s going to be an adventure all unto itself. I have zero experience with manual transmissions so I think this was the best course of action.

Of course, I do have some questions if you’ll allow me. And yes, I did do a search on these but wasn’t satisfied with what I found. So forgive me for posting yet another "I bought an LS1, what do I do?" question. LOL!!!

1.) With 55K on the motor…would you go through the bottom end and refreshen it or just do an inspection (journals, cylinders walls, etc.)? I know these motors are pretty bullet-proof to begin with.

2.) Can you tell me what limitations or quirks the ’99 LS1 engine had that I might want to rectify before installing it in my car? My initial plans for the motor are to swap out the heads, cam, and intake and delete the EGR. I’m looking for around 450 hp/435 ft-lbs at the crank (roughly). What heads, cam, and intake can you recommend to get out there? So far I’m thinking; LS6 or LS2 Intake, 228/232 .588/.592 110LSA (+1) camshaft, and ported Stage II heads. Or maybe I should just call one of the vendors here (Like Texas Speed) and buy everything from them just to eliminate the confusion. They seem to be pretty reputable.

3.)And lastly….what parts will I be able to reuse when getting it into my car? Can I reuse the power steering pump? Is it compatible with my Saginaw steering box? What about the starter? Alternator? I heard it’s a good idea to change pushrods when swapping cams, is this true? I’m looking for information like that.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Tony Rapin

logsws6

couldn't answer ur ???? ...but can't wait to see it in the car...post some pics asap!!!

Infamous

Wow....................complete silence. 'cept for one guy.

Very interesting.

pugads650

iTrader: (1)

a motor is no good with out a car 55k miles the motor is just breakin in these motors last 200k if they are taken care of just go ahead and put it in a car.

1998z28ss

Yeah what kinda car are ya slappin that in?

staringback05

iTrader: (8)

nice...

landstuhltaylor

iTrader: (6)

there ya go

Infamous

Yep...it's a '68 Camaro. Any advice you can offer on the above questions would be greatly appreciated. pugads650...you're the 3rd person that has told me not to bother with the bottom end. So I guess I will just inspect it and concentrate my efforts on the top end. Makes my job easier anyway.

ICRAZY6

iTrader: (68)

55k on these motors is nothing. As far as your build are you planning on staying on a strict budget or $ is not a problem? When you do a head swap you should change out the pushrods if you have the money. Aftermarket is stronger and you have peace of mind by doing so. Thats a good size cam for that car will just need a good tune. Heads is where your going to get into some money. Thats were the budget it the main decider. What are your plans for the car? Show or Go?

98Z28MASS

iTrader: (6)

Nice and congrats on the ls1. So you basically looking for 450 hp/ 435 trq at the flywheel? Thats about 400 or so rwhp and could be done cam only if you want to go radical enough, however if your looking for a mild streetable combo I think that the cam you have listed above with some 5.3L heads would make the power your looking for. Also, I say LS6 intake as I have heard its very hard and you need to make a bunch of modifications to make the LS2 work. As everyone else has said 55K isnt a whole lot on these engines if they were properly taken care of so I say if you want check it out but it shouldnt need to be freshened up unless you want to run forged internals. The only thing I would change out are the rod bolts as they are probably the weakest link in the engine. Other than that, you will need new valve springs (comp 918's or dual valve springs such as the patriot dual golds), hardened pushrods, and the heads should come with titanium retainers. After that I say get a ported ls6 oil pump, port your stock TB, get an ls2 timing chain and that should do it. You can probably get everything at texas-speed or another one of the sponsors on the board and can probably get a good discount if bought all at the same time. You will def need a good tune though after all the engine parts are installed. Good luck though with the build!

adillhoff

The bottom end is going to be fine for a very, very long time if you are sticking around your goal of 450 hp. As long as you don't boost or flycut your stock pistons you should be good. The 4L60E is alright, but you might find yourself wanting something like a TH300. Usually you can order a cam kit that comes with pushrods and springs.

Post some pics of this bad boy as you put it in. I always think it is cool to see newer school motors in old school cars.

8tsixt

iTrader: (7)

when will the car be done?

BLKWS.6

If you only want 450whp at the crank and heads/cam are your planned mods, you picked a shitty motor for it. How do you plan on de-tuning it to make it THAT weak?! lmao

coolformula

iTrader: (21)

1. No
2. Cam/heads like that is going to get you closer to 450 at the wheels. You can get 400 on a cam and bolt ons and the wheels.
3. No idea on most of this...but I WOULD change the pushrods!!!

Infamous

Well then.....that's good news. I'll take more power.

98Z28MASS

iTrader: (6)

Yea 450 rwhp with bolt-ons and Heads/Cam package is def possible, but how radical a cam are you looking for? Also, if you go decent sized cam your going ot have to get a stall to match. Do you care about driveability or having the cam lope hard? Here is a clip of how my camaro sounded with a 232/238 cam, mac headers, catless y-pipe and magnaflow catback:



My car made 370 rwhp with shitty stock 98 heads and on a very conservative dyno, however the same cam in a 99 trans am made 385 rwhp on the same dyno, and with ported ls6 heads made a tad over 420 rwhp.

Infamous

98Z28....your car sounds mean at idle. When you revved it though, it didn't seem to be as loud. Would that be due to the 4th gen Camaro's exhaust configuration? When I run my exhaust it will be a true dual, X pipe, with about the loudest mufflers I can get away with. I like to make noise. What is the lift on the camshaft that you have? I want a nice lopey camshaft like that one that you have?

98Z28MASS

iTrader: (6)

my cam is a custom grind but its a 232/238 .640/.610 lift on a 112 lsa...as for the exhaust if you want loud def go with longtubes, x-pipe, and dynomax bullets as thats probably the loudest exhaust out there, especially if you have it dumped at the rear. Plus the x-pipe setup will scavange better and provide more hp than the y-pipe route. I wish I had a driveby clip but I didnt get one before I sold the car, however it is still pretty damn loud, just my digital camera could pick up all of the sound as it started to get distorted, thats why it didnt sound as loud as it should. I like my camshaft but if you want to go with one of the sponsors cams the g5x3 by lg motorsports as the cam sounds mean at idle and makes tons of power.