I spun a bearing on my 94 fleetwood last night. 503 cam, 2800 stall, 4.10 rear, and headers. I wasn't planning on putting more money into this car, but here we are.

I figure now is the time to do a stroker, but when I search there are just countless threads of people arguing and saying the op doesn't have enough money etc haha.

Are there any proven recipes for an lt1? My goals are just to have a really fun street car, and the 4.10 should make that kind of easy, but like anyone else I want more power without breaking the bank. Assuming my block and heads can be salvaged, I would like to keep the budget under 4k. Any suggestions?

 

The whole "fast/cheap/reliable- pick two" scenario comes to mind. Going by Golen prices your budget will allow for a stroker shortblock. After that you'd have to use all the rest of what you own and you wouldn't be very much faster. Cost would not justify the means. You would then have to start getting into drivetrain parts like rebuilding the trans and replacing the 10-bolt after they break. New stall, too. Better cam to accommodate the CID, valvetrain and tune.... The list goes on and on.
You are better suited for that budget to have the block honed, ringed and new bearings given your rotating assembly is in good shape and get it back on the road. I'd also get rid of those 4.10's for an auto and do a maximum of 3.73's. Unless your jaunts are really short, light-to-light from a stop they are hurting you more than helping.

 

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll tear into the motor tonight and see what kind of condition everything is in. Are there any other mods I could do that would get me some more power without breaking the bank? They closed our 1/4 mile down so all I do with the car is light to light and some donuts when I'm bored.

 

The Fleetwoods came tow-ready with a tight converter and 4:10s. Now that the stock converter is gone, I'd have to agree.

100 shot of NOS...

 

What kind of exhaust are you running past the headers? Long tubes or shorties? Can you get away with deleting the catalytic converter or is emissions a concern? A popular move was to do LT headers into an off-road y-pipe, or cut out the cat and weld/flange in a straight pipe. Yuuuuuuuuge gain can be made just by removing the cat.

 

I have CIA tri-y headers, hi flow cats, and some cheap jegs turbo mufflers. Finally got the engine torn apart tonight, wasn't all that bad, just a bad connecting rod bearing. I can just put it back together stock, or I can build it up. The forum is full of all sorts of crazy threads, so I am still struggling to see if there is anything worth doing, or if the power is basically the the same because the electronics on the LT1 are limiting.