ok well as the title says I'm new to the ls1 family. I really need help to accomplish what I want without waisting money and time most of all. My camaro right now is bone stock not even an intake it has 87,000 miles. I want to keep it in daily drivable state which in other word means im not looking to make the a wheelie machine. I want to know which route I should take as far as bolt on's, cam, tranny upgrades, and other supporting mods. All and any help will be appreciated, I know most of the answers that im looking for are already on the site but I just dont want to make any stupid mistakes. Thanks to everyone in advance.
here are some pics of izabella

 

what tranny is in it, auto or man?


bolt ons heads and cam route:

SSRA (super sucker ram air kit)
lid
blackwing filter
gm z06 maf or stock maf (descreened)
bigger throttlebody and port and polish
FAST intake manifold 92mm-102mm or bbk ssi intake or ls6 intake
set of heads, AFR 205's or 210's. PRC stage 2 5.3 or stage 2 ls6.
yella terra ultralight rockers 1.7 ratio or harland sharp, both 1.7 ratio
hardend pushrods, lifters, tit. retainers, valve seals, and dual valve springs
cam, for dd id say the streetsweeper for max, 228/232 cam, and lowest id go is a th224/224 cam. i prefer the texas speed 228/228 583" 583" 112lsa cam
ported ls6 oil pump
ls2 timing chain
160 thermo stat and slp manuel fan control switch
bigger injectors
new spark plugs. ngk all day. new wires to msd works fine
long tube headers, i prefer bbk they have the best fitment and clearance (better than stock clearance) but header choice is up to you. just stay away from slp headers horrible fitment.
ORY, or off road y pipe. or a texas speed true duals setup. just take out the cats whatever you do.
if you dont go true duals get a 3'' electric cutout in the mid pipe.
again if also not going true duals get a high flowing catback exhaust, i went with corsa.
aftermarket torque converter, 3200-3600 is the range to look at.
trans cooler for the torque converter.
lower control arms, subframe connectors, rear and front sway bars, panhard bar and torque arm. if going true duals you will need the overpriced relocation kit for a aftermarket torque arm.
tires. nitto 555r's on the rear or mickey thompson works for most of us.
gears, 3.73 is a popular choice but the daring go 4.10's.
a new rear end, as the most notorious thing an f body is known for ( besides being badass) is having the weakest rear end conceived. a moser 9'' for drag and strip application with a manuel trans, a moser 12'' for an auto.

so all of this will net you somewhere in the area of 420rwhp to 460rwhp depending on the cam and head choice. and you will have a strong running car with the ease that **** wont break. and if you get bored down the road, open up the block and forge the internals, uprgrade the fuel system and get a nitrous kit. direct port or go home.



or plan b------
a turbo or supercharger. spend less than above. get 550rwhp right away.
then break your car. i love the turbo/supercharger but throwing one on a stock car is not a good idea IMO. if thats your route then make the rear and trans and motor reliable then do it. either way you will spend about the same ammount, and both builds total to alot. the above head cam build has taken me a year or so to put all together.

good luck

 

Heres the order I would go in. Get something like a SLP Flowpac or similar (a lid, scoop that pulls air from underneath, and a bellow). Next would be exhaust, longtubes, ory, and a catback. With the headers your gonna get a CEL so you'll need to have a tuner tune them out or you could buy a diablosport programmer and do it. Next I would get a gear, if A4 373 if M6 410. This is gonna throw off your speedometer so again your gonna have to see a tuner or let the diablo do it if you buy one. If you got an auto a stall converter would be next, if a M6 a clutch and a tick master. In the midst of all that you could have your throttle body ported and pick up a LS6 intake. But more than likely a gear and a set of longtubes is gonna give you a very noticeable gain youll be happy with for a little while. When it comes cam time your gonna need to do a few maintenance things while your in there like the timing chain, oil pump but something like a 224 cam will keep you more than daily driver friendly. Congratulations on the best car you'll ever own.

 

i would go pro charger d1sc, if i could do it all over again i would have went with boost right from the start.

 

Lol take it a little slower..

Intake and exhaust to start.

Auto or manual?

I have an ls6 intake if you are interested in it.

How much you looking to spend?

 

and maybe throw in a ls6 cam on top of that with a decent exhaust ,ls6 intake, injectors,fuel pump etc. honest bud if you dd your ride a pro charger would be great for it,every procharger i have ever had i freaking loved, and it leaves you tons of room to grow for down the road when you really want to get into making the car fast

 

lol , im just saying i think i would have spent less over the years, just listen to lemons he has better advice than i will give lol

 

Everyone's opinion counts, keep on helping!

 

wow all that info was awesome im taking notes on everyones opinions, so like lemons says everyones opinion counts. yes unfortunately my ls1 is an auto. I want to make everything as strong as possible cause down the road she wont be a daily anymore and I dont want to make the same mistake I made with my cobalt ss that I Invested over 14k and at the end I ended up blowing the tranny the first time down the track, and all the money I spent on her was wasted, in other words I need to build her right and I know I have come to the right place for help. you guys are the einsteins of ls1's.

 

Nothing wrong with an A4 except it's not as fun at times lol. But a stall, gears, and traction would have been the first thing I spent my money on if I could go back and do it again.

 

I would put it fortunately I have an auto.
You need a converter, period. It Is not only the first mod you should get but it will give the most performance gains, even over heads cam exhaust intake etc.
I recommend PTC and something in the 3600-4000 range.
I would take a stalled auto over a manual any day.

 

Amen!

 

Consistency makes all the difference. I wish my two were autos.

 

1.4 short times helps as well! Lol

 

As lemons said, a 3400-3600 stall to begin with along with a tranny cooler to keep it from over heating. Are you doing the work yourself? If not, this will take a decent chunk from your budget, but is by far the smartest investment for an auto.

 

well I've never worked on an ls1 but me and my pops have had 6 different camaros all hands on projects and our 78 was a 10 seconds 350 small block. so I'm sure my dad can get it done.

 

one last question where can I buy the best stall??

 

OP you need to read all the stickies at the top of each section.

 

Depends on who you ask. My answer, ptc out of Alabama.

Other will say yank, fti, vigilante, circle d, etc.

Do not get some low quality converter... don't get quality and inexpensive mused up.

 

stall is definitly advised, and yes yank ptc and vigi are the ones ppl will tell you to go with, in the end you will have to pick one for yourself. get a trans cooler tho. my opinion tho is most importantly make sure whatever power your putting in can be handled and nothing has a high chance to break. most will say a procharger on stock bottem end and trans and rear will work but personally i think there all on borrowed time.