So hello everyone first off! Finally got the car I have wanted since I saw it back in the 90's! The small story starts here, I just traded my $1500 crotch rocket for a 95 T/A with an LT1 that needed a new water pump and opti. It also had a tick/knock that the guy said was the water pump and it sounded like it was coming from there so I didn't think twice. Well I replaced the water pump and the opti (with the ac delco replacement not a cheap one) and got all excited to start it up, ran to the local shop and got some antifreeze and started it up, bled the system and then I noticed white smoke poaring out of the tail pipes, and the tick was still there. My stomach dropped. So now that I need to replace the head gaskets and I have a lifter tick so I have decided to rebuild the WHOLE motor.
SO, my question to you all is what can I do to get some extra HP with not a lot of $$$. I am not looking for 500+ HP (right now ), just a little more than stock. I have already read about the lt4 head/intake swap. But i don't have the money for the heads (from what I have found they are about $1500+). It will cost $1999 to have a stock rebuild with head/block resurfacing, boar, balance and more and about $450 for a mild cam kit. I do not want to spend more than $3000 - $3500. So what else can I do to try and get some more power? What do I have to do to the heads and intake to put bigger injectors in? 58mm TB? Or can I do both of those a little later with what I am already doing. What about True dual exhaust W/ headers or will that only benefit me if I am pushing more HP??? Also will I have to get a computer tune and have it programed after this stuff or will it be fine stock?? Sorry for all the ?'s I know my way around a motor but not much about tuning and this stuff.
I should add this will be my daily summer driver.

 

Just get a used engine.

IMO the tick is unlikely to be a lifter I would sooner suspect piston/bearing damage from the blown head gasket causing the noise.

Your thoughts about LT4 heads and intake proves you haven't done enough research to understand LT1 performance yet so like I said used engine and some boltons for now. The n you can take your time and fix the broken engine and warm it up a little bit for later after you get a better grasp on what is and is not worthwhile.

If you lived over by Appleton I could help, but Eau Claire is a long ways off.

 

Shout out too Wisconsin how's about them Packer's LOL. My parents still live in Stevenspoint and I grew up there, heard it's already getting cold.

Scrap the old bullet, find a used one with no noise and run it.

 

The motor has 133,000 so I figured a rebuild would be better than getting a used motor, not as cost efficient but better in the long run. I don't want to get a used one and have something with that go wrong a little bit after because of how the PO drove it and me not knowing how it was drove. Call me paranoid but I have bought some cars/trucks where something went wrong within 1000 miles of me having it (just bad luck mabey). So my thought behind it is that I know how the engine is treated if I get it rebuilt.

Ya that is a bit of a drive

I am a Vikings fan, Wife is a Packer fan. Its getting down in the 30's in the morning but beautiful 70's in the afternoon!!

 

It is not cheap to build an LT1 to stock quality. You could rebuild one cheap but inexpensive cranks and pistons are a step backwards as is most average machineshop work.

 

Welcome to the forum John!