Whats a good set heads for lt1?
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Teching In
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Whats a good set heads for lt1? i want to rebuild my lt1. the car has a 3.73 rear in it, an when i when i nail it, i want the motor to hold up to 6000-6300 rpms....the way it is now...i let off around 5800rpms bc im just afriad im going to blow it up! i think the previous owner ran the **** out of it an maybe its due for some new rings...but i just wanna do all new bearings, new cam, new rings, have it bored out to a 355 (ideal) an either new heads or rebuild my stock alum. heads?! opinions on that please....... ive done a little googling, an ive heard Dart makes a pretty good head..along with AFR...but there soo many out there id rather ask some of you guys off here thats done this an see what yall think would work best for what im aiming for......im aiming for more of a street beast then the strip....now im not saying i wont run it a time or two but its just going to be my weekend worrier... ive got the out side looking good, now im wanting it to preform good an sound good! i love the loppy cams...so i was thinking maybe something a little bigger then the typical "lt4 hot cam" that every one an their brother seems to use.......but when it comes to heads...id like to hear yalls opinion on what rout i should take.....thank you for reading
Last edited by Lt1J07; May 4, 2016 at 06:44 PM.
Depends on the power goals and budget. The factory heads in the right hands are a good way to go and can make great power if the rest of the set up is there. Be plenty for a decent little 355.
Thread Starter
Teching In
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well i planned on just using the stock crank...an i stock rods an pistions...if i can? i wasnt sure if i can use the stock pistons with it being bored out to a 355...power goals is at LEAST 400rwhp an ill have around 5k after i sell my truck for my camaro....now if i can save some of that 5k for thinks like suspenion or maybe another tranny if a 6speed wont handle that....but .just making my shopping list right now an collecting as much info as i can along the way.....people is prolly tired of answering my qustions by now lol but when the time comes for me to do it, i want to go into it knowing what im getting my self into as this is my first motor rebuild on my own
TECH Addict
Joined: Dec 2010
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From: Maricopa, AZ
$5k for 400+rwhp can be done (I did it), but you'll have to be savvy in your shopping. Used parts will be your saving grace here. And that will be engine only stuff (exhaust included) and all the tuning done yourself. I'm $7k into my car (including $800 purchase) and still have to build up the rear axle. $4500 into the engine, $1400 into the trans, and the rest into suspension/brakes/body, etc.
If you bought all new stuff, expect $6-7k for the engine build.
No you can't use the stock pistons on a 355. You can use the rods, but forged rods would cost you around $60 more than reconditioning the old powdered metal rods.
Also, to hit 400+rwhp NA, you'll need more rpm than 6300. You'll peak hp at about 6100-6300, but you'll need to rev to 6800-7000 for optimal shift points.
If you bought all new stuff, expect $6-7k for the engine build.
No you can't use the stock pistons on a 355. You can use the rods, but forged rods would cost you around $60 more than reconditioning the old powdered metal rods.
Also, to hit 400+rwhp NA, you'll need more rpm than 6300. You'll peak hp at about 6100-6300, but you'll need to rev to 6800-7000 for optimal shift points.
Thread Starter
Teching In
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Shifting at 6800-7000rpms? On a stock crank? Even if it did have new bearings, would that even be safe?
Whats your guys thoughts on a "scat" 383 kit from summit racing? Around 800 bucks.....or the eagle kits?
TECH Regular
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: Tucker, GA
AI or Lloyd Elliot. Send them the stock cores and they work their porting magic. That being said, expect $2k-3k total - porting work and all associated valvetrain parts and things necessary to install them. Like head gaskets and whatnot.
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If it's not forged kit stay away from scat or eagle. There cast cranks are junk. Pick up set forged pistons and rods. Run stock crank and arp bolts. It will be good to 7k rpms l day. As long as the machine work is good.
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Launching!
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From: CenTex
LE or AI for heads, but as far as I'm concerned, LE is the best bang for your buck. A le2 setup will get you close to 400rwhp for $1600. Of course, you'll need the basic bolt ons, may want to beef up the 10 bolt with a truetrac and axles at least, you'll need a higher stalled converter and a trans cooler, and when all is said and done, a tune. Including the engine rebuild, and the extensiveness of the machine work, you should be able to do all of this for $5000. All this said, I think a better question is what kind of times you'd like to see out of it, even if you don't frequent the track, track times are the real deciding factor of how efficient your engine is. And remember, 400whp is of no use if you can't put the power to the ground. You'll need tires, and at least lower control arms, relocation brackets, panhard bar, and subframe connectors.
Teching In
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well i planned on just using the stock crank...an i stock rods an pistions...if i can? i wasnt sure if i can use the stock pistons with it being bored out to a 355...power goals is at LEAST 400rwhp an ill have around 5k after i sell my truck for my camaro....now if i can save some of that 5k for thinks like suspenion or maybe another tranny if a 6speed wont handle that....but .just making my shopping list right now an collecting as much info as i can along the way.....people is prolly tired of answering my qustions by now lol but when the time comes for me to do it, i want to go into it knowing what im getting my self into as this is my first motor rebuild on my own
With only $5k to spend, you'd be better served doing the bolt ons and a basic rebuild. That's the only combination that you can do on that budget correctly. Yeah, you can do a 400 hp motor for $5k all day long. But when that properly setup bolt on car with the stock motor blows your doors off, you'll wish you had built your car for that power 1st.
My advice would be to build your car from the back 1st. If you know anything about Gm vehicles, it's that they have crappy exhausts and crappy rear ends. The exhaust is the last thing to exit the car, so i would start there 1st. Then I would get that 7.625 rear end sorted out. Next would be Panhard bar and Control arms. Then I would do SFCs and Tq arm. Then clutch. By the time you make it to the engine, the rest of the car will be built to handle the "400 hp" you're shooting for.
Depends on your definition. Daily street driving there would be no issue. Going to the track the only things needed are a good diff and driveshaft. When people were still going to the track in these cars the suspension was rarely touched, throw on a sticky tire and cars were down in the 1.4 60ft. times as long as track conditions were good. If you are going to auto-x and road race then yes, I can see needing to redo the susp. I do agree stock exhaust should be changed out.
Teching In
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Depends on your definition. Daily street driving there would be no issue. Going to the track the only things needed are a good diff and driveshaft. When people were still going to the track in these cars the suspension was rarely touched, throw on a sticky tire and cars were down in the 1.4 60ft. times as long as track conditions were good. If you are going to auto-x and road race then yes, I can see needing to redo the susp. I do agree stock exhaust should be changed out.
