Hi, I am new to this forum and this is my first post. I just bouht an Ls1 off ebay for my 81 vette. It has 91000 miles on it, very clean on the outside (from the pics I've seen). I should have it in about 10 days.
I thought I'd go ahead and break it open and freshen it up. what mods do you guy's suggest while I'm in it? Heads are not in the budget right now but I was thinking cam and maybe some bolt on's. What cam do you suggest? What is the best programer. Is there laptop software for it? I'm sure there are threads to answer these questions already bit I'm new here and really need to be pointed in the right direction.
I was actually going to do a Lt1 swap and then changed to LS1 after talking to a guy on another forum who refered me to this one. So I have a lot to learn in order to do this swap. Any suggestions on books, what to watch out for, or just plain advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Dean

 

Hey Dean,im here also,do a cam swap while your there,i regret not going bigger while i had mine apart,ill be doing it this winter.Pat

 

Hey Pat,
What cam do you recomend?

 

Honestly i havent decided yet either,my brother just got a cam from texas speed that looks pretty good,hes putting that in his 02 ss camaro so i want to see how it runs first before i buy it.

 

My car isnt on the road yet, but I'm liking my TRS 224/224/114LSA cam I got off them, sounds badass 8)

 

You can't go wrong with any 224/224 cam. It's the cam that everybody starts with. It's a good middle-of-the-road cam with gains in torque as well as hp. If you go much bigger, you start to sacrafice torque in favor of high rpm hp. On the street, torque is what gets you moving. I like my Thunder Racing 224/224 on a 112 LCA. They offer it in a 112 and a 114. The 112 has a little more lope and sounds like a musclecar should.

Heads are easy to swap once you have the car on the road for a while. Plus, you'll get used to the power being cam-only eventually so then you can upgrade heads and get a little extra boost to satisfy the horsepower appetite for little while longer.

 

Hey Matt, you got a sound clip of that cam in your car?

 

Nevermind, just found them on your website. I assume the video with the smoke is pre-tune?

 

Do you need to put new lifters in when you replace the cam? Rollers are a lot more $ than standard hydraulic. Also, Any one have any experiance with the Fast LSX intake?

 

That was the initial startup. Pre-tune... and open headers. Somewhere I have video from the drag strip with and without open exhaust cutouts. The car sounds MEAN with the cutouts open!


Crazy81-
No, you can reuse the stock roller lifters. You really should replace the pushrods and valve springs though. If you buy a "cam kit" it will include the ones that you need. Check out Thunder Racing. --------->
There's lots of talk about the FAST intake in the External Engine section.



-Matt

 

Thanks for the info Matt,
Another question for you C3 guys. Where are you mounting the PCM? Also, are ya'll using the cruise control? Like I said, I have a lot to learn to pull this off, so I really appreciate everyones input and guidance here.

 

PCM is mounted on the back of the passengers fender down low near the frame. If you use the Corvette PCM, throttle body and pedal, then cruise control would be a snap. If you use an F-body PCM then you have to have the cruise control module which would make it a little more difficult, but still relatively easy.

 

Since mine is a 73 my firewall is alittle different then your 81,so i mounted my pcm inside behind map pocket on passenger side,i brought the wries threw firewall made a 90 degree turn and right threw the wiper cowl area and resealed it.Im just finsihing up a 80 vette swap with my old tpi motor and i put the ecm where jeff put his fit great.

 

Computer mounting is something that we all did differently. On my '70, I removed the heater box and replaced it with an aluminum sheet. On the engine side I mounted the PCM and fuel pump relay. On the cabin side I mounted the secondary fuse panel and ALDL port.

 

I'm getting a corvette complete ls1. So do I need the throttle pedal out of a C5 for cruise? Also, did you have any fit problems putting the six speed in your car?
Thanks again for all the help.

 

Not only do you need it for cruise, but you need it to operate the throttle body. The C5's are fly by wire meaning they use an electronic throttle body. There are four parts to the system. The throttle body, the pedal, the TAC module and the PCM. All of which are Corvette specific.

The six speed is fairly straightforward. You have to fabricate a mount, shorten the driveshaft and fab up some sort of shifter. The tricky part is mounting the clutch master cylinder solidly. I recommend an aftermarket master such as Tilton, Willood, CNC, etc. Are you going to do a six speed as well? You will need an LS1 specific six speed from an F-body, GTO, CTS-V, but not a Corvette.

 

I was looking at the kiesler, but if I can use a F-body unit without cutting the tunnel, I will go that route. Will the c3 clutch/brake pedal assy work with that transmission? I'm trying to build the most up to date drive train I can put in a C3 (within a reasonable budget). I'm going frame up on this project and have to rebuild every assy on the car to get it like I want. So it's a juggling act as to where to spend the money up front to get it on the road and what to wait on for down the road. Right now I need a transmission and I also have to decide on the supension. Here is where I'm at:

 

You don't need a Corvette specific PCM, others can be programmed to use the ETC. I am running an F-Body PCM and it works great. You will also need the TAC pigtail wired into your harnes and the harness piece that runs from the pedal to the TAC. It's well worth doing in my opinion. Works great and cruise control only needs a the switch to work.

Pat

 

The F-body trans will work fine and save you a bundle over the Keisler unit. Make sure you get a 98-02 trans. You can use the stock clutch pedal, but like I said above you have to make a mount for the clutch master cylinder.

 

Thats good news, Do you have any pics of how you mounted your master cylinder and shifter? Fabrication is not a problem, I'd just like Ideas on what direction to head in.
Thanks again for ya'lls help, I would never have attempted a conversion like this without the guidance.