durability of lt-1 engine ?
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TECH Apprentice
Joined: May 2003
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durability of lt-1 engine ? hey guys ...i own a stang right now ..but im going to be building engines and such for school and i think the lt1 would be a simpler project ....just want to know how durable the lt1 is ? say if i found one with 60+ thousand miles ? what are the best years ? for tranny types etc? and is it pretty straight forward to convert it into an lt4 ?
TECH Resident
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 943
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From: Houston
easily converted into an LT4 but not cheap. for starters you need the intake, timing chain, heads, cam and 1.6 rockers to get as close to the real LT4 as possible. The motors are very durable and straight forward to say the least.
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 277
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Yes theyre pretty durable. Mine has 140k miles on it and runs great, Ive seen some with over 200k. They have a couple issues. The opti distributor is known to die for no reason and was placed underneath the waterpump Im guessing to shorten its life further. The gasket on the back of the intake manifolds dry up and leak oil. The power windows dont last but are $40 at O'reillys with a lifetime warranty. The 7.5 rearend doesnt hold up to much power, but is fine for a stock car. Occasionally when an aftermarket cam is installed on a high mileage engine it will spin a cam bearing or main bearing. I hear this is due to nicking the cam bearings during the install and the higher revs usually needed by the new cam. Thats pretty much it aside from small random things on these cars.
If your worried about transmission longevity then definitely go with the t-56, they hold up to alot of power and last a longtime. An abused 4L60E automatic will usually only last 100k miles, maybe more if its not thrashed.
If you want to learn more about the LT1, go to the www.camaroz28.com forums. They have the best LT1 tech info of any website by far.
If your worried about transmission longevity then definitely go with the t-56, they hold up to alot of power and last a longtime. An abused 4L60E automatic will usually only last 100k miles, maybe more if its not thrashed.
If you want to learn more about the LT1, go to the www.camaroz28.com forums. They have the best LT1 tech info of any website by far.
On The Tree
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 195
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From: Upstate NY
If your looking for a durrable lt1 check out the ones they put in the caprice classics (94-96), they used em for the old cop cars. They put out slightly less power (260 bhp, vs. 275-285 in the camaro's and firebirds) due to the cast iron heads, but can take one hell of a beating, slightly more also due to the cast iron heads. A buddy of mine has a 95 caprice classic he bought from a police auction, has 246,000 miles on it, original motor no re-build (new tranny), for being over 4000lbs the damn thing flies. He drives it back and fouth to college (about an 8 hour drive) several times and year (has put over 100k miles on it in 5 years) and never has a problem with it. But look for the old cop cars, thier made to take a real beating w/ coolers for every liquid in the car (except beer 
) , and silicone hoses good for a million miles. Thier pretty easy and cheap to get, he just bought another caprice from auction for 650$ 180k on motor, just a bad tranny. Ive been told that lt1's will also take a 150+ shot of nitrious without any mods at all, ive only been told that though, so dont quote me on it haha.
) , and silicone hoses good for a million miles. Thier pretty easy and cheap to get, he just bought another caprice from auction for 650$ 180k on motor, just a bad tranny. Ive been told that lt1's will also take a 150+ shot of nitrious without any mods at all, ive only been told that though, so dont quote me on it haha. 
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 373
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From: Des Plaines IL
I have seen a 94 LT1 take a 150shot 8 times at the track stock.......With slicks it was my friends car his best time was a 12.5....stock lt1 with 150 shot and slicks oh yea it was a auto too.....He was getting close to no wheel spin on the line. His third pass it was boging and misfiring ON JUICE...we found out it was his coil wire it was shot fixed it and it was fine
my car has over 140000mi on it and i cant tell you how many times it has seen the high side of 6000rpm and to this day, knock on wood, runs like a top, doesnt use oil except for the damn intake leak, and still pulls down over 25mpg with the 4.10's on the highway
My car only has 90k on it but I know it had a rough life in the 3 months before I bought it. Somehow it went from having 73k to 80k miles in under 3 months. I still get 18/28 mpg city/hwy with my mods. I've heard guys doing heads/cam at 150k+ and still putting down nearly 400rwhp. Theres people running 150-175 shots on near 200k mile stock blocks. Although the factory LT1 block has seen in the neighborhood of 1200 fwhp, we still dont know its true limit. Add that to the fact some people safely spin the stock bottom end damn near 7000 rpm relatively safely (or as safe as it gets I guess). IMO theres not too much more durable than the LT1 engine-wise. Not everyone is as lucky but in general these are tough motors.
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TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 675
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From: Longview, TX
Got my car with 96,000 when i was 16, I am now 18, the car has 140,000 miles and I have drivin the **** out of that car, the only problems i have had was the heater core goin out, and changing the plugs and wires was a bitch.
Launching!
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 235
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From: White Salmon, WA.
Strong motors I bought mine with about 85K miles on it. I did a heads and cam build on it and have about 103K on the stock bottomend. Many passes at the track and am planning on squeezin a 150 shot on it this year!
No problems yet, besides the stock 4L60E! I now have a built tranny from Chuck at SLP.
Ken
No problems yet, besides the stock 4L60E! I now have a built tranny from Chuck at SLP.
Ken
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 313
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From: TEXAS
A buddy of mine has a '94 with 160,xxx miles on it, the last 6x,xxx of which were with the heads/cam setup on it and its still running really strong.
Mine broke 3 rings with just a cam in it at 9x,xxx miles. Go figure
Mine broke 3 rings with just a cam in it at 9x,xxx miles. Go figure
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 49
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From: Hayward CA
I have a 94 LT1 out of an ex cop car, and you know how cops drive, that I transplanted into a 3rd gen Camaro. It is a completely stock motor with some bolt on's, the engine currently has 160,000 plus miles on it and I autocross the **** out of the car. I took second place in C-prepared class in my SCCA region last season with the car. I have the rev limiter set to 6k and I run it at the rev limiter all the time, sometimes holding it on the rev limiter for 5 plus seconds. It will run 13.8 to 13.6's all day long(depending on traction) and only burns a little bit of oil. I can honestly say that the LT1 is as close to bullet proof as you can get with a stock prouction motor. Just my experience, some people don't make it to 100k with out blowing something, but I think those are the motors that were built on a friday afternoon 
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2004
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Originally Posted by 281cipwr
hey guys ...i own a stang right now ..but im going to be building engines and such for school and i think the lt1 would be a simpler project ....just want to know how durable the lt1 is ? say if i found one with 60+ thousand miles ? what are the best years ? for tranny types etc? and is it pretty straight forward to convert it into an lt4 ?
My slowmaro has 200k on the stock enigne. Same opti,fuel pump,mass air.
Only thing I've had to replace has a blown tranny and a started. Car still runs 13.8 @103
