ok si i don't know what to do. should i rebuild my ls1 and turbo or supercharge it. or just buy a whole new engine and do something to it. any ideas would be great. the cheapest most reliable is what i'm looking for. thanks you guys.

 

I got nothing to say.

 

yeah "do something to it" thats definatly the best one

 

What is your budget? Goals for the car? Daily driver? Etc, etc.


Cheapest, most reliable would be to rebuild the stock LS1 or buy a low mile LS1 engine.

Building a turbo motor is going to cost a LOT. The motor and turbo will easily hit 10-15k if done right, I imagine. Then, you'll need a new rearend and a transmission-getting close to another 5k. After that, you'll have the headaches of chasing down every little problem along the way. However, once done. You'll be a bad mother focker.

Another option could be building a budget 408, 402 or a 383 but you will be raped with gas in Cali.

 

Yeah seriously, tell us your power goals. And your budget.

 

i want to have 400 to 450hp. budget is 5k maybe. i was thinking of taking out a loan. it would be a daily driver. smog not a big problem. i'm kind of leaning toward supercharger. i have a detroit locker in right now. i thought that would hold up. i won't be putting slicks on at any time.

 

5k could do the motor-maybe. Expect another 5k for the supercharger setup.

You can get 450hp no problem with an NA 346. Do all the bolt ons (1k if bought used). I would just get a set of small bore AFR 225s (2k), a Patrick G torque cam (<$400), 90/90 intake (1k) and then the basic rebuild parts (??).

You could also rebuild it with all forged internals and an N20 cam and spray a 300 shot. That'd put you in the 600hp range when you need it and probably be a cheaper route than the above. You also would have almost stock driveability till you hit the switch

 

For a 5k budget your looking at a 346-370 cu in SB. Are you going to swap the motor yourself? IF your swapping it yourself then you have a few bucks for heads. If not then your cutting it close on money. For about $2800 you can get a decent iron 370 sb. $5000-$2800= $2200 for either labor and a tune or heads and a cam. Your still going to need a tune unless your doing it yourself. 5k isnt enough to build an engine and FI at the same time.

 

i might be able to do 8k.

 

how much to rebuild the ls1?

 

8k I would say you'd still pushing it. What kind of build are you trying to do, what would need to be included in the build. Just for an example. Heres how much i spent. For just a performance upgrade.
QTP headers, 724.99
QTP y-pipe, 525.00
LS6 intake manifold, 399.99
PRC LS6 CNC Ported Heads, 999.99
TSP Camshaft, PRC Spring Kit & Pushrod Package, 699.99
Comp Cams "Comp R" Hydraulic Roller Lifters, 214.99
TSP Ported LS6 Oil Pump, 129.99
Rollmaster Double-Roller Adjustable Timing Set, 114.99 "it was actually more when i bought it".
Plus another $300 give or take for all the bolts and gaskets, then $900 for installation that was with my mech giving me a break, still hasnt been installed yet though well see how much after its all done.
I know theres some more money im forgetting too, hope it helps to see what you should be expecting. And i didnt even begin to get into the bottom of the engine. A complete engine overhaul would be close to 10k or more.

 

i was thinking of building back to stock and then a supercharger.

 

well a complete stage 2 intercooled supercharger system is close to 6k alone. Like previously said your looking at around a 10-13k job here. Done right with all the proper parts possibly more. You cant really expect a stock engine to run for long and reliably with a supercharger running from 7-12psi for long, if you build it back to stock. Plus a rear end and tranny. those 3 things together are 12k atleast. Im not trying to discourage you to do this just dont be expecting it to be cheap.

 

thanks for the feed back guys.

 

with 8k you could do a nasty h/c set up headers full exh, nice 90/90 set-up like previously stated with spray and your car would be sick. But again the rear end wont last too much longer, however some people have been lucky.