80/TA/LT1

iTrader: (2)

Hey guys, i'm new to turbos and on a budget anyways, been reading alot and searching tryng too see if this will work. A buddy has a gn turbo and i was gonna use ls truck manifolds and fab my own hotside without an intercooler for now just something simple to get my feet wet. From what i understand the only other things needed are a bigger or booster fuel pump ( can get a t-rex cheap) bigger injectors (unsure what size?) and a good tune. Im trying to utilize deals and junkyard parts to keep costs down. I aso thought about a chinese ebay turbo like a gt45 but i figured the stock gn turbo woud be better.

The car is a 93 z28 lt1 a4, roller rockers, small cam (supposedly), pacesetter long tubes, ory, !cats, single glasspack dumped, msd coil/wires,cai, sfc, 10 bolt 4:11, coming next week- edge 3600 stall

any ideas would be appreciated, im not lookin to do wheelies or anything, just tinker with turbos a bit. I know alot will probably suggest heads/cam, but i really want a turbo. Thx guys

1bdbrd

iTrader: (12)

You won't be able to use ls based truck manifolds on any non-ls based engine. Your exhaust still has the standard small block spacing instead of the even spacing of the newer ls engines.

As far as a GN turbo, one by itself will be too small but I know back in the day lt1 guys used them in a twin setup for a budget minded build. Never really made huge numbers but it doesn't sound like you are going for that anyway. You will also need to figure out tuning. I know back when I was planning to turbo my old lt1 car, no one had figured out a way for the stock ecu to read positive manifold pressure (ie boost). I am not sure if that has changed or not though.

80/TA/LT1

iTrader: (2)

Ok, glad I asked, almost bought truck manifolds! So can I use stock lt1 manifolds flipped? Any suggestion on a turbo, junkyard or ebay variety? I have a tuner referred by a friend, ive got to contact him soon. Thanks in advance for the help, I've been searching for weeks; not a lot of info on turbo lt1s, seems it really got popular with ls motors...

1bdbrd

iTrader: (12)

I would assume if the stock manifold flipped would fit the car you could. I know my two kits were tubular headers though I think I remember someone on here running stock manifolds with their home built turbo setup.

A good place to search would be www.camaroz28.com as there was a lot of turbo info on that site back when I was putting my stuff together. I know skinnies on here did a lot with turbo lt1s as well. He was the one that really helped me a lot during that time.

As far as a turbo, I would go with an on3 7665. Its basically a copy of the tc76 from turbonetics and makes real good power. Skinnies ran well into the 10s with his 355 lt1 formula with the tc76 but will still make for a great driver while you are learning the ins and outs. I would also go ahead and do an intercooler as well. Marginal cost increase and you won't have to redo the coldside (possibly the entire kit) once the power bug hits (it always does).

RatCityRex

iTrader: (3)

That turbo is way to small for a lt1

Cajun ELESS-ONE

better watch your boost. keep it under 6psi or your pistons will hate you and fail

Shownomercy

iTrader: (1)

Click link below
http://www.lt1boost.net/cast_manifold_kit

Start reading, and then read more. Sounds like you are looking for the cheap route, so better stock up on shortblocks. LT1s are not like the alphabet soup motors.

80/TA/LT1

iTrader: (2)

I hear ya, from what I understood, 5 or 6 lbs was max which would be fine, just lookin to do a turbo project, something different to tinker with. thx

80/TA/LT1

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the link. I've read that one before, I know cheap is not good, when I say im on a budget I just mean I was thinking I could put something together with used parts and fab some stuff in the garage as time and money allow. The more I read about boosting an lt1 though, it looks like they need a lot of work to be reliable under boost. I have a 100 shot (wet) nitrous kit on my shelf, but honestly nitrous scares the crap otta me, too many horror stories and burnt pistons. I guess I'm leaning towards a h/c combo now like everybody's doing- guess there's good reason for it. once the lt1 blows up i'l probably do a 5.3 swap and boost the hell otta that, seems to be the way to go. Thanks for the help.... keep the opinions coming though, I want to learn and your opinions are appreciated.

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

sell the lt1 now that its still in running and valuable condition. and get the 5.3 swap with whatever u make off the lt1.
wonder why u didnt do it sooner.

80/TA/LT1

iTrader: (2)

Only had the car a month! Hahaha