I'm looking for some direction in an LT1 Build before I start laying out any money. The car is a 97 Z28 with 102k miles and an M6. The car is all stock at the moment and the motor seems healthy and doesn't use any oil. But like any good gear head I need some more power. I was thinking of starting with a custom dual exhaust with some Texas Speed stainless long tubes. The car is a daily driver and I like a well mannered set up with a strong broad torque curve. I have about $3k with some wiggle room. What do you guys reccomend?

 

With the budget your working with and your car being a daily driver. I would start off with the basics such as cai, exhaust, and a LE2 package. I would ditch the true duals in favor of a nice catback instead. Others will chime in but I think that will get you started.

 

With a stock car and $3000, heads and cam is off the table absurd to bring it up. Exhaust, CAI, suspension and chassis work, gears, tune-up will easily consume that budget and should all be done first.

 

I've already done a tune up and the car has bilstir

 

I've already done a tune up and the car has bilstein shocks. I'm not worried about suspension. The car came with an SLP CAI I forgot to mention. I don't know if it's any good. It has two tubes and two come filters. I have seen the porting work from lloyd elliot suggested quite often. Should I have the intake ported to? Is there any benefit to a larger throttle body?

 

Your budget is borderline for heads/cam IF the car was ready for such which it isn't.
Valvetrain, fuel system, gaskets, fluids adds up to more than you think, and heads and cam with T56 should have 3.90-4.10 gears if you want to use 6th.

 

If the car already has CAI and new shocks you're off to a good start.

I'll second the suggestion to go with long tubes and full exhaust. What you put behind the headers is up to you, but a conventional catback and Y-pipe setup is likely cheaper, quieter and easier to install than a true dual system. You can probably find a good deal on a used catback in the classifieds on here if you look for a while. A set of coated longtubes with hardware (like the TSPs) will typically run around $400. The Y-pipe and catback will be another $600 or so, maybe more if you want a high-end catback, maybe less if you score a used one.

Assuming you do all the install work yourself, that leaves you with 2 grand to spend. At this point, it's decision time. You can save up another thousand or so and do a ported heads/cam setup or you can skip the heads and just put in a cam and valvetrain.
A complete cam and valvetrain swap including gaskets, shop supplies and incidentals will run about $800-$1000, plus the cost of a dyno tune.
Add a set of good ported heads to this and you're looking at $2500-$2800 or so total for parts, and that includes the injectors and fuel pump you'll likely need if you go for the heads. And then of course you'll need a dyno tune on top of that.

A cam and valvetrain swap properly set up and tuned, can typically produce approximately 330-360rwhp, depending on cam selection and a few other factors.

A complete ported heads, cam and valvetrain swap can typically produce somewhere between 395-435rwhp, depending upon exactly which heads, cam and valvetrain you choose.

You said you wanted the car to have good manners, different people have different definitions of that. Some folks don't mind daily driving one of these cars with a 230+ duration cam, others would hate every minute of it.

 

What is your goal? (HP and or ET) The answer to that question is going to determine where you need to invest your first 3k.
A savvy/patient shopper can do quite well on a 3k budget provided you don't mind lightly used parts.
Where are you located?

 

I wouldn't touch the engine until you know what's up. Haste makes waste, ruins marriages, leads to uncontrollable binge drinking etc.

I would start with the exhaust (headers etc.), which can be utilized regardless of what you may end up doing to the engine.

 

With the M6 I'd get a good shifter like the Ripper or some other.
Look for used parts here, on FB and cz28.com. Lots to be had. Buy things, as mentioned above, in logical steps. Exhaust, good RR, TTS data master....things you won't have to do twice and will be included in your car's future.

 

Where are you like located?? I have an LT1 that has 383 at the wheels sitting in my garage. Very low miles and It has a lot of new parts.

 

OP

$3k is not enough for a H/C swap. On a stock motor I would:
CAI
new valve springs
1:6 RR with 7/16" ARP studs
PCM tune
160 stat
headers
gears...3:73 or 4:10

the car will feel much lighter with the lower gears and the new valve springs will let the motor rev higher and the RR will add more lift to your stock cam. Long tube headers along with a CIA will really help it breath.

 

I'm located in Bellingham WA. Thanks for the info guys. I'm installing a new Valeo Clutch this weekend and after that I'll be ready for some go fast parts. I'll prolly start with exhaust. Any good words for the Texas Speed 1 3/4 Stainless long tubes?

 

I'm pretty sure the TSP headers are Pacesetter clones and Pacesetter headers seem pretty popular. If you intend to keep the car, I would get stainless headers and those are one of few stainless options that most would consider reasonably affordable. I don't believe they offer a stainless y-pipe, but I could be wrong.

 

3k is enough if you are patient and look for deals.
Here is a list of what I have compiled over the last few month. (0 miles means new but bought second hand)

$1000 - Lloyd Elliot ported heads 200cc flow 273/190 with LT4 valves and Comp 26918 beehive springs 0 miles
$100 - Comp Hi-Tech pushrods about 60 passes
$200 - Comp XFI280 230°/236° .570/576 about 60 passes
$200 - Comp Pro Magum 1.6 RR 0 miles
$95 - GM LS7 Roller lifter new
$225 - Holley 52mm TB 0 miles
$200 - Coated Pacesetter 1.75 long tubes 0 miles
$130 - Fel-Pro Head Gasket Set new
$50 - Fel-Pro Conversion Gasket Set new
$225 - FIC Flow Matched Siemens 60lb injectors 0 miles (big cause running e85)
$75 - FIC 340lph pump 0 miles
$2500 - total (not complete but close and you may not need some of the items)

 

I would go with a set of LPP header and Y combo they are a really nice pieces for the money ($450). They are polished 321 stainless 1 3/4-1 7/8 stepped long tubes and the Y is also polished 321.
http://lpparts.com/store/page6.html
Here is an install of LPPs with some nice pics. You may notice the tag on the headers says XS Power they make them for LPP.

 

If the price difference isn't an issue, I would also consider LPP.

 

Keep in mind the TSP headers with a pacesetter y (not stainless) are $420.