Are the LT1s worth keeping/modding?
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 206
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From: Bowling Green
Are the LT1s worth keeping/modding? I had planned on modding my LT1 (after I fix the random stalling issue) but I've heard there are quite a few issues with these, such as the opti, opti harness, ICM etc. I'd really like to know because I'm not sure I should keep this or swap the 5.3 I thought about buying and swapping it in.
The LT1 still has a whole lot to offer. Aside from the distributor issues they really are great engines with lots of potential, just like any other SBC. If you have the cash the distributor can be completely eliminated these days.
On The Tree
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 184
Likes: 0
From: Sewell, NJ
Lt1s are nice because they are dirt cheap, you can make anything as fast as you want, but dollar for dollar an LS will give you more. But swapping an LS into an LT is really a pain, all my import friends are just like "dude you should totally just drop an el es juan in there brah" and then I have to explain that even though the cars look similar LS and LT fbodies have alot of differences especially when swapping motors. Your better off finding a blown up LS car or perhaps a LS shell that still has the good bits left in it (wiring harness, k member and mounts, etc, etc. If your LT car is mint, if you like the bodystyle, want a sleeper look, and have the time for a bigger project, then ls swapping may be worth your while.
Oh and apart from lt1's being unreliable there are a huge number of high mile lt1s around me included, 165k and Im on my 4th opti, its a wear item and they usually last about 50k or so. But my last opti was replaced from misdiagnosing some bad plugs and wires.
Oh and apart from lt1's being unreliable there are a huge number of high mile lt1s around me included, 165k and Im on my 4th opti, its a wear item and they usually last about 50k or so. But my last opti was replaced from misdiagnosing some bad plugs and wires.
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 138
Likes: 0
From: Iowa
LT1's are fantastic motors, sadly they do live under the shadow of the LS1. As far as the opti goes, 95-97 got the vented opti so they were much less prone to failure. However like others said, the 93-94 opti can be replaced with a much more reliable opti.
Even though buck for buck the LS1 does outrank the LT1, by no means is the LT1 bad. Some serious power can come from the LT1. Bolts, H/C and a good tune can easily net 400+HP. Gearing, stall, etc. can all be applied to an F-body whether it's LT1 or LS1. Most of the time, an LT1 will satisfy someone's power needs. Unless you need serious power or just want to have an LS1 an LT1 is just fine. Plus they seem to just sound better than the LS1s
As far as reliability goes, it all comes down to the owner. I always say to treat your car the way you want to be treated. If you take care of her, she'll take care of you. I've seen mulitiple LT1s going strong past 200k so reliability isn't a huge issue with them. They are a 350 after all
Even though buck for buck the LS1 does outrank the LT1, by no means is the LT1 bad. Some serious power can come from the LT1. Bolts, H/C and a good tune can easily net 400+HP. Gearing, stall, etc. can all be applied to an F-body whether it's LT1 or LS1. Most of the time, an LT1 will satisfy someone's power needs. Unless you need serious power or just want to have an LS1 an LT1 is just fine. Plus they seem to just sound better than the LS1s
As far as reliability goes, it all comes down to the owner. I always say to treat your car the way you want to be treated. If you take care of her, she'll take care of you. I've seen mulitiple LT1s going strong past 200k so reliability isn't a huge issue with them. They are a 350 after all
Staging Lane
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 49
Likes: 0
LT1's are fantastic motors, sadly they do live under the shadow of the LS1. As far as the opti goes, 95-97 got the vented opti so they were much less prone to failure. However like others said, the 93-94 opti can be replaced with a much more reliable opti.
Even though buck for buck the LS1 does outrank the LT1, by no means is the LT1 bad. Some serious power can come from the LT1. Bolts, H/C and a good tune can easily net 400+HP. Gearing, stall, etc. can all be applied to an F-body whether it's LT1 or LS1. Most of the time, an LT1 will satisfy someone's power needs. Unless you need serious power or just want to have an LS1 an LT1 is just fine. Plus they seem to just sound better than the LS1s
As far as reliability goes, it all comes down to the owner. I always say to treat your car the way you want to be treated. If you take care of her, she'll take care of you. I've seen mulitiple LT1s going strong past 200k so reliability isn't a huge issue with them. They are a 350 after all
Even though buck for buck the LS1 does outrank the LT1, by no means is the LT1 bad. Some serious power can come from the LT1. Bolts, H/C and a good tune can easily net 400+HP. Gearing, stall, etc. can all be applied to an F-body whether it's LT1 or LS1. Most of the time, an LT1 will satisfy someone's power needs. Unless you need serious power or just want to have an LS1 an LT1 is just fine. Plus they seem to just sound better than the LS1s
As far as reliability goes, it all comes down to the owner. I always say to treat your car the way you want to be treated. If you take care of her, she'll take care of you. I've seen mulitiple LT1s going strong past 200k so reliability isn't a huge issue with them. They are a 350 after all
While the LS is a fantastic platform (I just did the swap from LT to LS, not too much of a hassle, took 24 hrs from running LT1 to running LS3 headed LQ9), the LTX platform still has plenty of bite (hell, one member on here is getting ready for some 7.5x passes on a production block). The LT1 that came out of my first 93 is now making 465 at the crank with nothing more than a 750 Holley, Accel HEI dizzy, and a VERY mild cam in a 72 Nova. I myself am considering buying another LT Fbody (I personally feel the LT1 has better low end grunt than an LS, and I also personally like the sound of an LT better). If your considering an LS swap you wont be disappointed. If you keep the LT you wont be disappointed (I do hate the opti though...lol). Check out some of the members' cars in the fastest list sticky, it'll make you think twice about how potent an LT can be. One off of the top of my head is RamAirTA, he's turning 10.8x's out of a full weight TA with a 383.
So, to answer your question - Yes, they are worth modding. It just depends on what exactly you want to do with the car.
). If your considering an LS swap you wont be disappointed. If you keep the LT you wont be disappointed (I do hate the opti though...lol). Check out some of the members' cars in the fastest list sticky, it'll make you think twice about how potent an LT can be. One off of the top of my head is RamAirTA, he's turning 10.8x's out of a full weight TA with a 383.So, to answer your question - Yes, they are worth modding. It just depends on what exactly you want to do with the car.
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TECH Regular
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 442
Likes: 3
From: Raleigh, NC
I for one think the opti problems are blown way out of proportion. Convert to a later-style vented unit and get a OEM GM part and you have little to worry about, particularly if the car is not a daily driver.
I bought an LT1 car way back when because I liked the body style, sound and character of the car better than the LS1 stuff. 13 years ago when I bought my car LSx tech and aftermarket was sort of still in it's infancy as well and the modest difference in performance between the two platforms just didn't matter much to me, and still doesn't.
It all comes down to personal preference. Most people these days don't give the LTx a second look and you'll find that most people who are still messing with them have been doing so for a number of years now. Not many newcomers to our little world over here in LTx land these days.
I bought an LT1 car way back when because I liked the body style, sound and character of the car better than the LS1 stuff. 13 years ago when I bought my car LSx tech and aftermarket was sort of still in it's infancy as well and the modest difference in performance between the two platforms just didn't matter much to me, and still doesn't.
It all comes down to personal preference. Most people these days don't give the LTx a second look and you'll find that most people who are still messing with them have been doing so for a number of years now. Not many newcomers to our little world over here in LTx land these days.
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TECH Fanatic
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,740
Likes: 2
From: Nebraska
I for one think the opti problems are blown way out of proportion. Convert to a later-style vented unit and get a OEM GM part and you have little to worry about, particularly if the car is not a daily driver.
I bought an LT1 car way back when because I liked the body style, sound and character of the car better than the LS1 stuff. 13 years ago when I bought my car LSx tech and aftermarket was sort of still in it's infancy as well and the modest difference in performance between the two platforms just didn't matter much to me, and still doesn't.
It all comes down to personal preference. Most people these days don't give the LTx a second look and you'll find that most people who are still messing with them have been doing so for a number of years now. Not many newcomers to our little world over here in LTx land these days.
I bought an LT1 car way back when because I liked the body style, sound and character of the car better than the LS1 stuff. 13 years ago when I bought my car LSx tech and aftermarket was sort of still in it's infancy as well and the modest difference in performance between the two platforms just didn't matter much to me, and still doesn't.
It all comes down to personal preference. Most people these days don't give the LTx a second look and you'll find that most people who are still messing with them have been doing so for a number of years now. Not many newcomers to our little world over here in LTx land these days.
In my opinion, half of the failures are because of negligence, stupidity, and people not knowing what they are doing. On top of that, you only hear of BAD opti stories because noone comes to a Forum to tell everyone about how good their opti is or anything else for that matter. You only hear of the problems and negatives and then the word spreads like wildfire and everyone thinks it's junk.
TECH Resident
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 900
Likes: 0
From: Valdosta Ga.
I will tell you how good my optis are lol. Ive had 3 of these cars. Been driving an Lt1 or 2 for the past 12 or 13 years and Ive never had to replace an opti. Its blown way out of proportion. I find them to be pretty reliable engines. I do take good care of mine and I will always have atleast one. Bang for the buck you just cant beat em.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,740
Likes: 2
From: Nebraska
I had planned on modding my LT1 (after I fix the random stalling issue) but I've heard there are quite a few issues with these, such as the opti, opti harness, ICM etc. I'd really like to know because I'm not sure I should keep this or swap the 5.3 I thought about buying and swapping it in.
But I am glad you came to ask instead of just going off of what you saw.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,740
Likes: 2
From: Nebraska
I will tell you how good my optis are lol. Ive had 3 of these cars. Been driving an Lt1 or 2 for the past 12 or 13 years and Ive never had to replace an opti. Its blown way out of proportion. I find them to be pretty reliable engines. I do take good care of mine and I will always have atleast one. Bang for the buck you just cant beat em.
My fully built lt1 can barely keep up with cam only ls1's, nevermind heads cam setups. I'd go ls and have a very fast, very reliable platform that people will think you're cool for having when you pop your hood.
Fully built LT can barely keep up with a cam only LS? What do you mean by fully built, and if that is so then that is a poor example, Looking cool when you pop your hood? well paint your LT Purple and that will look cool (To some folks) My LT has stock heads, no aftermarket, stock intake, no sheet metal, opti and a turbo and as of now makes 703HP on low boost and conservative tune with room for more, I love my LT!
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 206
Likes: 1
From: Bowling Green
Stuff like this bothers me, you "heard", you "read" they had issues. FYI, every vehicle ever made has issues, you can't get away from it. The only thing you can do is hope yours won't have problems or don't worry about it, it's a man made product, nothing is perfect. LS1's have issues of their own too.
But I am glad you came to ask instead of just going off of what you saw.
But I am glad you came to ask instead of just going off of what you saw.
Fully built LT can barely keep up with a cam only LS? What do you mean by fully built, and if that is so then that is a poor example, Looking cool when you pop your hood? well paint your LT Purple and that will look cool (To some folks) My LT has stock heads, no aftermarket, stock intake, no sheet metal, opti and a turbo and as of now makes 703HP on low boost and conservative tune with room for more, I love my LT!
Even my turbo Lt1 gets beat up by cam only LS1 cars.
12 Second Club
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 876
Likes: 0
From: Catlettsburg, Ky
Starting off with a stock lt1 car today, I would sell of the motor and go but an ls motor of some sort. Best bet would be buying an Lq4, and a set of take-off 243/799 heads.
I bought a complete, ready to run lq4 for less than the cost of the efi connections 24x kit, including the cost of the PCM, coils, 96-97 front cover, and potentially someone else to convert the wiring harness.
A stock ls1 k member and rack can be had for around $100 if you search around.
Anyone can debate the price of an ls motor, they're anywhere from $150-3500, but the price of the 24x kit is set in stone. And to me it's just not worth pumping close to $700 in to a motor like that.
I bought a complete, ready to run lq4 for less than the cost of the efi connections 24x kit, including the cost of the PCM, coils, 96-97 front cover, and potentially someone else to convert the wiring harness.
A stock ls1 k member and rack can be had for around $100 if you search around.
Anyone can debate the price of an ls motor, they're anywhere from $150-3500, but the price of the 24x kit is set in stone. And to me it's just not worth pumping close to $700 in to a motor like that.
5.3's are cheap. A cheap Heads/cam and turbo system would be your best bet. That is of course if you have access to the wiring harness and computer, with a k-member and a transmission that will mate.
It won't be any easier to work on though, the cramped engine bay does not allow you much knuckle space. If I were to do it over again, I'd get a cheap 5.3 with a build 4l80e, then put heads/cam and turbo on it.
It won't be any easier to work on though, the cramped engine bay does not allow you much knuckle space. If I were to do it over again, I'd get a cheap 5.3 with a build 4l80e, then put heads/cam and turbo on it.
I am going by you saying "A Fully built motor" to me, thats after market heads, or at least ported stock ones, up graded pistons, cam, crank ect. A fully built LT are making 450- 500 + RWHP, a "cam only" LS isnt going to make that. I agree it is easier to make HP with an LS motor and yes you can get the 5.3, slap a turbo and make huge horsepower, but maybe you need to describe your Fully Built Motor..