1st and goal

iTrader: (6)

This is about the same speech I give to people who tell me I'm going to "ruin" my car but doing an LSX swap...."Oh, the value will drop" reply: didn't know I was looking to sell it

Marc

NX74LS6

OSF, The LS6 stock dyno's in the 350-355 RWHP range . Improved head flow and valve train and more aggressive cam allow 500 rpm usable over the LS1 . My 01 SS dyno'd 308 RWHP stock, with air intake lid and exhaust 327 RWHP, LT headers and ASP pulley 355 RWHP. All that and getting 19 mpg city/ 28.8 (highest) highway mpg. A friend offered me $20,000 for my car (74 CAMARO) !!!! Now granted he's crazy ( he's had a '69 " been there done that" he says, he's seen my bodywork on my '79 but when I showed him the engine he flipped out- that's what hooked him. Ofcourse this car will have baer 4 wheel disc brakes( 14" front 13" rear) and has the giant 295/35/18's rear, 265/40/17's front C5 Z06 tires and wheels. I did sell my SS even though it was the fastest , most dependable, least tampered car I ever had. To me the car I missed most was my '79 T/A. I felt like Dr. Frankenstein - I created that car - I spent 8 months on the body- it was a work of art. My 01 SS was a dime a dozen-with its wavy factory crap paint- I saw them Everywhere- but my T/A was rare in the fact that it didn't have bondo all over it , or rusting out, or falling apart. So what I decided was to take what 's great about the old and combine it with the new. This car will cosmetically match my '79 but will run atleast as fast as 01 SS. Or a full second faster than my '79 in the 1/4 and get 5-6 mpg better mileage. I've got a lot of friends in the collector/ muscle car market and they all say the same thing- I love these new cars the way they drive but I just can't stand all the plastic and the jellybean styling. For this reason you're seeing guys like Chip Foose and Unique bringing back classic cars with modern drivetrains to get the best of both worlds. If you do the transplant extremely well I guarantee your car will be worth more than it would with a run of the mill poncho - or speaking broadly any GM small block . The cars on Barrett-Jackson that pull in the most money are the # matching super rare (under 2000 units)and/or big blocks . Next are the modified or custom. I've seen several cars on ebay 350 '69 camaro's not low production # go for $25 - $35 k but I've also seen '69 Camaros with LS1/6 with 4 whl disc and totally updated suspensions going for $65k- $70 k. My point is this- there will be purists that only want an original unmolested car no matter if it's a strait 6 or a low po 301 ( Pontiac's last engine '81) for those people performance takes a back seat to originality. The majority of the rest of us I think would love a great nostalgic car with all the comforts of the new cars. Isn't that why Ford 's making such a killing on the Mustang. And the Challenger if that comes out I've got 3 guys telling me " If they make that I'm buying it!!"
As far as your present car- keep the 200R4( if it's built strong - like the 700R4 they're weak stock) change the gears to atleast 3.55 or 3.73. Case in point: When I put the 700 in my T/A I kept the 2.41 rear gears for a week. My mileage was terrible my vacuum gauge was reading below 5" on the slightest hill . Ya it was taching 1300 rpm at 70 mph but the cam was starting to make power at 1800 (mild 204-211) so hence the bad mileage. When I changed to 3.73 my mileage jumped to almost 8 mpg. I was taching 2100 at 70 mph and the car was happy. The car will be quicker at the track as well. As far as your motors output what kind of car do you have. My T/A was around 320 hp not RWHP ( about 280 RWHP ) IN A 3790 lb car( w dr) trapping 103.9 mph. I'm guessing you're talking 380 hp at the flywheel. How heavy's the car? Must be real heavy cause you're making over 60 hp more than my T/A but my car trapped a little faster. True with better gear you'll trap around 105 but still should be higher with 380 flywheel ( about 320 RWHP) . MY BUDDY'S GOT A 70 RA III T/A 4 spd mild built w 3.73 - he trapped 102.5 . Another with a sbc 355 '80 T/A dyno'd 325 RWHP WITH A 700R4 AND 3.73 , he traps 107 . Although he bought the Edelbrock 420 HP kit. Great #'s but in the real world they don't always meet up . Dyno your motor at a chassis dyno then you'll know true HP #'s. Just be prepared to be disappointed. Remember that Ford mag. article when they dyno'd a bunch of big block Mustangs from the late 60's only 1 hit 277 RWHP the rest I don't think hit 250 !! I'll have to look for that mag it was shocking !! The old hp #'s were great and fun but now everone goes by RWHP . But I would love to tell people my '74 LS6 is about 435 hp !! I like the sound of that. Good luck and just put that LS1 in there - you'll never tire of thanking us you did.

OldSchoolFormula

Actually my car is fairly heavy, and the aerodyanmics of a 73 compared to a 78 are quite a bit different. I also still run 3.08's, and the only time at the track it was 105*. Not exactly the most desirable conditions. I also think I have a slight fuel problem up top with the mechanical pump.

Anyway, I'm just going to go for it. Theres not a single real drawback that I'm concerned about. I just have to get *everything* planned out to make this swap as fast, and as smooth, as possible.

You guys have been a ton of help overall. Thanks.




Oh, and I haven't dyno'd this motor and its only been top the track once. But my old 8:1 400 with a small 214/224 summit cam and headers through turbo mufflers made 272RWHP. Trapped 101.

OldSchoolFormula

Well, finally got back from a joyride in an '00 T/A A4. Thats the smowest car I've ever felt for a performance car. Keyword, "felt". My god, what a smooth running and absolutely quiet powerplant. All you hear is that LS1 ingesting mass amounts of air - and tarmac. It feels more like a high end luxury car than a musclecar. The only indication your accelerating, and rapidly at that, is the speedo. Kinda cool, but really pretty odd. That power band is everywhere, but strong nowhere. I don't know what the torque curve on a stock LS1 looks like, but it must be absolutely flat. I guess there won't be any more 30MPH rolling burnouts for me. Interesting. Just intersting. It will take some getting used to.

NX74LS6

When I 1st got my 01 SS It felt slower than my '97 T/A. I drove it to Morgan Motorsports and the head mech. said " let me guess , it feels slower than your LT1, right . Just put them together and watch it walk away from the LT1. It is seemless power delivery. After some miles I took it to the track at LACR (LA) and when I hit 3rd I was expecting it to lay dowm the way my '79 and '97 did - no way it just kept pulling. Your motor being a Poncho is very torquey as was my OLDS 403 not high rpm motors. They come out like the barn's on fire but tend to feel stronger at the bottom of the gear as opposed to the LS1.Now granted these car sound week(LS1) and with a bad driver and 2.73 gears I've seen these cars run high 13's at 104. My SS with just a lid , maf and a cutout ran 12.96 @ 108 on street tires . No headers , no converter. My buddy with an identicle 01SS (black) with headers and a converter and slicks 12.2 @ 110 not unusual. You have to put some growl into the LS1. Go with Hooker LT headers X pipe and true dual bullets race mufflers ( if you can handle the loudness or get the street legal bullets to quiet it down). My '74 is kinda like Clark Kent- Superman. Around town cruising at 1300 rpm 30 mph it's mellow but drop to 1st and roast the tires. You might enjoy those 3.08's more now that you'll have an engine that can cope very well on the highway at low rpms- you might exceed 25 mpg. I picked up 22 rwhp with LT headers and 2 mpg . That's a win-win. I wouldn't recommend shorty headers- most only see 7-9 rwhp. Your frames the same as mine. Use the S&P motor plates and and you're good to go. Good luck.

gnx7

iTrader: (28)

performance see my sig.

I run a '99 LS1 shortblock, katech rod bolts, a 7100rpm redline, AFR 205cc heads, TSP 233/239 cam .600/603" lift cam, LS6 intake, ported TB, 1 7/8" headers dual 3" exhaust. Daily driver, 20K miles+ on the combo without ever leaving me stranded, and fastest "streetable" car I've ever owned. It pulls like a **** and gets 20mpg+ on the highway driving aggressively. I'm running nearly 128mph all motor on 91 octane thru cats!!!! 2950lbs with driver may help .

LS1 is some of the best technology out there. Step into the next century and get rid of that carb setup. Take the plunge.

OldSchoolFormula

NX - What oil pan are you running? I've heard it both ways, some have had to modify the f-body pan, and other's haven't. Yea, it's definetly going to need some growl. I think I'm going to keep my Edelbrock SDT mufflers, the sound clip sounds pretty good on edelbrocks site. Your right though, it doesn't feel anything like an LT1 car. My girlfriend has a pretty strong running '94 T/A, and the '01 is a completely different animal. The '94 does feel stronger, and if I was to test drive both side by side on a dealers lot I would mistakenly choose the LT1. You can definetly hear the LT1 under normal driving and under WOT, unlike the LS1. It also starts to run out of breath a lot sooner. But besides that, the LT1 car seems to shift firmer, the steering feels completely different, and the brakes on the '01 are definetly better. I think I might end up swapping the '01 brakes onto her car. It's just unreal how smooth the LS1 pulls. It's almost like it's not an internal combustion engine anymore. The gas mileage is also a definate plus. Being able to afford to cruise my car again will be lovely. It'll be like gas is $1.40 again, LoL.

G-Body

iTrader: (4)

I don`t know, whenever I nail it at 30 I get a rolling burnout, unless of course its wet or I have the snow tires on then its like anywhere under 60.

NX74LS6

[QUOTE=OldSchoolFormula]NX - What oil pan are you running? I've heard it both ways, some have had to modify the f-body pan, and other's haven't. Yea, it's definetly going to need some growl.
Old school, I used the f-body oil pan - no mod to it at all. With the S&P style mounts you're good to go. I think the 1st Gen's have to cut their pan.

OldSchoolFormula

Thats good news!

OldSchoolFormula

Thats good news! How about your fuel system, did you just sump your stock tank and run an external pump?

PRO STREET 67PICKUP

How Much Are Ls1 's Going For?

Stu Cool

iTrader: (13)

Pro Street 67,

Welcome to the forum. A used LS1 and trans dropout with all belt driven accessories, ECU and harness goes for $3000-4800 depending on mileage. 6 speeds are generally a little higher than automatics. Crate motors are in the $6k range.

For future reference, you will get better replies to your questions if you ask them as an original post with your question as the subject line instead of on the end of a non-related post. Also read the FAQs and use the serch feature. There is a ton of information already here on the forum.

Pat