Hello , I'm going to give some basic background knowledge of what I own. Whats done so far. As well as my main goals for the project over the next few years. And ask for help with parts I'll need to achieve my goals.

As it sits i own a tmk stock 95 corvette paird with a 5.7l and a 6spd manual. It performs about as I expect when compared to my peers cars , 02 Cobra, 03 350z , 06g35x. No major modifications at this time. Simple stuff has been done short throw shifter, hi flow performance cat back exhaust, shocks replaced, new pads, gaskets replaced on the valve covers, new weatherstrips, new visors, new roof, taken the cluster out for repairs, as well as other things like lights, and headlight motors. Not scared to take things apart, put in work , or spend money.

with that said I am mapping out my plans with the car, easy stuff is being done and will eventually be complete so id like to move onto mote complicated points. It's got good power I respect the car for it's age but ultimately I am looking at bumping up the stock 300/340 figures closer to the 400+ range at the wheel.

I am planing on doing American racing long tube headers with hi flow cats to match up with my hi flow cat back system. After that I would like to focus on the meat and potatoes. Heads , cam , rockers, push rods?( this is where you guys can help the uninformed) iv never dug this far onto a vehicle, I do have help with working on the car but even my dad can admit when it comes to cars with ecu's it is not the same as with carb cars.

I was looking at kits at first but that seems the wrong way to go. After reading around iv been lead to believe the - Afr comp eliminator ported 195 heads are a very good choice for my motor and my goals im not sure if i should go with the 65cc or 75cc versions though. I'm also reading that potentially the scorpion 1.6 rockers would match well with the heads. I'm looking for any other suggestions on parts that would be necessary to support this setup. I believe id need a cam? Hardened push rods of appropriate length ? Upgrade to full aluminum radiator + silicone hoses? New water pump? New timing chain ? Again looking for any suggestions or anything I'm missing. I want a solid car that makes around 400 at the wheels i could daily drive if I wanted. This is a second car to me and I am not depending on it to be running at all times but i definitely want it turn key ready. Oh I also know I will require a tune. I am looking around at local shops and/or tuners who can help make a safe and reliable tune for all these parts I plan to put on my car over time. I live around Portland, OR. Thank you for your time.

 

Those AFR heads with a stock bottom end will drop your compression and hurt power.
I would contact Lloyd Elliott out if Texas and have him port your heads and select a custom cam for your goals. I run his LE 2 heads and a cam designed by him and I am very happy. I also run scorpion road race non self aligning rockets and am pleased with them as well.

 

unfortunately the cost to get to 400 RWHP in your 1995 LT powered car will exceed the cost to get well over 600 by swapping to an LS platform. It can be done, however there are better motors out there to start with that require less work and money to make your goals.

a late model 6.0 or 6.2 LS motor with just a cam and tune will set you back about $2-3k and get you well past the 400 RWHP range.

for the LT1 motor, you are looking at heads, cam, valve train, injectors, ECM, a fair amount of machine work. so expect to be in the $5-6k range

however if you want to stay with your current LT1 block, you want 65cc heads,

 

Go give tick performance a call and get ahold of Loyd Elliot on the heads.

 

I appreciate the perspective but if I wanted a LS based motor I'd just sell my C4 and buy a C5 that's way easier then anything else. Not trying to be rude but that just seems like the easy way to go if that was what I wanted.

I'm not worried about the cost or the effort to get the job done. I just want to do things the right way with what I already have. The AFR heads can come in comp version at 2.08 vs 2.05 but thats around a extra 600-700 and if it's not that significant of a difference then I'm not worried about it. If that .03 more makes power easier great I'll spend the cash. I was looking at pairing it with something like a Comp cam at 210/220 ,220/230 or 242/248. What lb fule injectors would I need? 🤔 somebody said go with the le2 heads but the numbers with their custom cam is around what I'm already looking just a little cheaper and their dyno result's are closer to the 375/385 range vs something like even the trick flows or AFR heads with good cam easily show 400 at least. Not trying to be arrogant but I'm already getting mixed answers when I thought I was pretty clear what I'd like to do.

I need to know what pairs with what. If i take a 210/220 cam and pair it with 180 AFR and 1.6 scorpion rockers and 50lb fule injectors and a good tune with headers , high flow cats ill make around X power vs say if I go 220/230 and 195 AFR heads ect ect. I want to build the LT1 i have in the car now I just need advice on what parts to buy together to make a good combination. Because I do understand if I put heads that flow to much that's no good and if I put ones that flow to little why spend the money. But iv read enough to know people have taken these cars with this motor and made plenty of power for the cost. I put 7k just into various parts to make it look better. I don't mind 2/3k on heads anouther 1-1.5k on a good cam , that's nothing in the big picture. I have over 5k in tranmission work on just my Toyota celica lol 5k to make my lt1 have anything close to 400 hp is a steal.

 

Update i am learning or trying to 👀 iv been doing as much online research as I can witch of course just involves reading and reading and reading. I now better understand what was said to me about the compression ratio. Stock lt1 from 95 im learning has a stock ratio at about 10.5:1. Going with a higher flowing head and pairing it with a higher flowing cam will drop my over all air to fuel raito I'm getting numbers closer to 9.5:1. That would be great for a high reving turbo application but my 350 v8 is only going to see 6500-6800 and that's on a good day + it will be all motor.

So with this in mind I will continue to try to learn more and I do apologize to anybody if I am not seeming open to what you've said. I would like to say I'm reading that i could possibly raise the raito back up by having the head milled slightly? Or by even changing the head gasket thickness? Is there any truth to this ? I would like to say i also plan to talk to somebody that actually builds these heads/cams first before I do anything. I believe 2 users have mentioned the same person out of Texas i very well will probably call them when it comes time. This is definitely going to be a process I plan to go over and over before I take the first step but once I get going I know I'll end up where I'm supposed to with this car

 

You meant to say Dynamic Compression..

Small Chambers in the Heads are the key, yes they can be milled but then you might run into PTV (Piston to Valve) clearance issues.

End of the day it comes down to how much you want to spend.

 

to take an LT1 from 275hp to 450 wheel HP will take more than just a cam change and tune.

you need to address the weak ignition system, change intake, cam, heads, exhaust, and adding a stroker crank to the mix will keep you from having to add a 125 shot of giggle gas to get your goals

the 90's LT motors were short lived for a few reasons

for heads, your current motor has 55cc heads. so you need 55cc heads or even smaller chambers. remember, your LT1 motor has reverse cooling so you need heads specifically for the gen 2 LT1 and not a gen 1 SBC. LT1 heads come in 55, 59, and 62. the Gen 1 SBC heads come in 64cc and 76cc

your current motor has GM generic cast 4-valve relief pistons which will limit the power you can make before they fail. not to mention they do not promote good quench and are no where near balanced. they wont survive the 6500-6800 RPM you want to spin the motor to for vary long. so consider new pistons. while at it, a crank and rod change to a stroker to get you 377-383 cubes. and have the rotating assembly balanced.

there are a few cams you can go with, however none will support a motor only 450 wheel hp. talk to the performance guys that used to specialize in LT1's back in the 90s

the stock optispark dizzy doesnt like high RPMs so you need to address the ignition system if you want to turn 6500-6800 RPM.

stock throttle body will need to be swapped out at a minimum. suggest an aftermarket intake.

then you need to tune it

heads, cam, intake, ignition and you are already at $7k and only about 420hp. to get you over that hump to 450 wheel hp you need either more cubes (stroker) or a blower or giggle gas.