LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Seized LT5!!!!

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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 03:13 PM
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Default Seized LT5!!!!

I am looking into buying a 1991 ZR1 with a seized motor. I am so excited i cant hardly contain myself! Its a great deal! Anyway, about the engine. Where should i have it done? I googles california corvette specialties and there are dozens!

What should i expect to spend? Im in Northern california but i dont mind a drive in any direction 10 or 12 hours, anything for my ZR1 I would prefer to trailer the car rather than ship the engine, that way i can have the shop pull it rebuild it and drop it back in.

I'm mulling over my options, forged internals and custom pistons etc etc but i dont want to go crazy with the checkbook here.

SOOOO...thoughts? recommendations? Concerns?

What would YOU do if you had the chance for a freshly built LT5? I dont want anything else, to me thats what makes this car and im not going to change it! I may bore it out or stroke it or supercharge it, but it will stay an LT5. And on top of all that, this car is black with red leather, my favorite ever and i have never seen one in that combo before!
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 03:20 PM
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Is there room for turbos? if not I'd high compression it
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 03:20 PM
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Good luck, it's very hard to find parts for that engine.
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 03:22 PM
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SGC cam it!!!
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 03:30 PM
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Originally Posted by diablizzard
Is there room for turbos? if not I'd high compression it
Believe me Turbo is my middle name i LOVE Turbo charging cars HOWEVER, i live in Cali, this isnt just some toy i have mediocre interest in. I dont want to take the risk of not being able to smog and register it later, as you know, almost any turbo is illegal in California unless it came from the factory. if i am to boost it, it has to be a Supercharger that is CARB approved or has an E0#

Originally Posted by whytryz28
SGC cam it!!!
Ill look into this!! Although with 4 cams it'll probably cost more than the rebuild!!! I also have a 1995 Dinan 540i 6 speed with the M60 engine, its a 4.0 liter quad came v8 and a cam kit is $2450 because there are four cams! Im sure it wouldnt be much different for the LT5! That little 4 liter makes 315 horsepower though!

Originally Posted by SSweet97
Good luck, it's very hard to find parts for that engine.
Hard but not impossible, with all the resources of the internet it shouldn't be that bad plus this is a project, i can afford to wait.
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 03:34 PM
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402 with a procharger, cams and port job. bam 600 to the tire on low low boost
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 03:44 PM
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If you can't afford cams you can't afford to build an LT5.

Last edited by speed_demon24; Jun 19, 2011 at 03:52 PM.
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 03:51 PM
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black with red interior? If so I was also looking at the same vette.
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 04:45 PM
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There was a guy selling an LT5 in here not to long ago. It is very hard to find part for them and can get very expensive.
Found it!!
heer ya go https://ls1tech.com/forums/corvette-...rness-ecm.html
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 06:31 PM
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Best looking engine ever in a GM vehicle imo, they look like a work of art. I have always heard they were incredibly expensive to replace or rebuild, and this is going back 10 years ago...I recall like $15k for a complete replacement?? I dont even know if you can still buy a complete replacement engine for them these days. Anyway, if you plan to stick with the LT5 I would do a lot of research into the cost of rebuilding one. Im guessing you could buy a crate LS7 for the same price, which would blow the LT5 out of the water. Hell you could probably pick up a nice C5 ZO6 for what you might spend on rebuilding an LT5. If you arent going to stick with the LT5, I dont really see the point in getting a LT5 C4 car. It would be really dissapointing to most people when you pop the hood and see an LSX in there. Not that an LSX is going to dissapoint people, just in that car they are going to expect to see the rare LT5...just my opinion.
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 06:58 PM
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Do you know what is seized in the engine?
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 07:00 PM
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Not sure what your budget, but budget and building up a LT5/ZR1 should never be in the same sentence.
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 07:14 PM
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Seized? Any more information? It's not like the entire motor is scrap. If it spun a bearing there is a chance that a lot of the internals are fine and that the cranks needs to be turned and new bearings throughout. So long as metal didn't go everywhere. Any competent machine shop should be able to tackle the machining. As far as what shops are fluent in working on one, good luck with that. Thse motors were few and far between and the owners didn't exactly go ripping into them searching for more power, so shops that have rebuilt them are scarce, I know that Lingenfelter has build up a few and offered several performance packages for them.
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 09:32 PM
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Grats, I would love to build an LT5.

They aren't cheap, and they are surely not the best price:performance engines...but then again neither are LT1s, and we still dump thousands of dollars into them .

From what I hear, LT5's LOVE boost...so I would do a supercharged street car build. Something that makes ~550hp and gobs of tq but is totally reliable and can easily be driven on the street.
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 10:14 PM
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shawn at virigina speed could probably do it, or kris nelson,nelson compatition...kris does a lot of pro mod motors and even lambo motors.
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 10:24 PM
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See if Lingenfelter can do it for you
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Old Jun 19, 2011 | 11:35 PM
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It's an overhead cam v8, its not made of solid titanium. You don't need some "famous" engine builder or machinist to rebuild it or modify it for performance.
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Old Jun 20, 2011 | 12:07 AM
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From a quickie internet search:

http://jerrysgaskets.com/store2/root/

http://www.whiteracingproducts.com/

This might interest you:

http://www.zr1netregistry.com/index.htm

This is cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kapk5p7HEo
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Old Jun 20, 2011 | 07:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Wicked94Z
It's an overhead cam v8, its not made of solid titanium. You don't need some "famous" engine builder or machinist to rebuild it or modify it for performance.
If you are referring to LPE as being the "famous" engine builder, I am wondering if there are any other engine builders that would offer a warranty with their build?
Regardless, there are many other ways to get the same output with another engine that doesn't quite cost as much as running the space shuttle for a few seconds...
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Old Jun 20, 2011 | 09:41 AM
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i'd rebuild it as close to stock as possible and simply drive it...all the time.

beautiful, unique car. everyone is different, but i don't ever see that car being "fast" so i'd leave it stock and enjoy it.
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