Replace of rebuild engine
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 19
Likes: 3
Replace of rebuild engine So I’m a the the point where I’m ready to start looking at h/c setups. I have a 01 Camaro bone stock LS1 besides long tubes with tru duals. My question is I have 140k miles on the engine. Will it be more worth my while to have the engine rebuilt by a reputable shop while upgrading heads and cam or swap it for a 5.3l or an ls2. My goal is to be in the area of 500-550 hp. By the time comes I’ll have anywhere from 6-8k to spend on the engine itself but want to know the smartest route to go. This will be a N/A build.
Last edited by Becks77; Jun 9, 2018 at 08:03 PM. Reason: Added more
TECH Resident
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 828
Likes: 11
From: 4o5
Go FI and be done with it 
For real though, since the relatively short time I've been on this site I've seen quite a few people "outgrow" their head/cam swap and want more power eventually leading to a forced induction setup.
For real though, since the relatively short time I've been on this site I've seen quite a few people "outgrow" their head/cam swap and want more power eventually leading to a forced induction setup.
I think you could do your LS1 with heads/cam in your price range,140K miles isn't **** for these LS motors I don't think you'll hit your horsepower number tho. if you go LS2 = 6.0L add heads/cam to that and you could be very close to your number. I'm sure you'll have more in the motor then 6-8K
Hopefully Darth will see you'd thread and reply. He did a heads & cam combo that made ~520 wheel horse power within his original ~170,000 mile LS1 in his TA. It wasn't a very involved and demanding task from what I've read on the forum.
To make 500whp to 550whp with the LS1 supercharger, turbo or NOS is the easier way to go.
For an LS1 that's been well maintained and is in good condition a 140,000 miles is pretty mild. One shop recent did a trio of heads & cam installs on 200,000 + mile LS1 fbody's. All three are up and running. Stuff like lifters, lifter trays, timing set, oil pump, stock rockers, intake manifold gaskets were all replaced along the the H&C installation. The power goals were more in the 400 whp to 450 whp range.
If you do mod a high mile car or really any car for that matter be sure to have a cash reserve in case something goes wrong and needs fixing during the install or just after. Example tired high mile 4L60e transmission can't take the new power level for very long and soon needs a rebuild or the old stock clutch starts to slip.
To make 500whp to 550whp with the LS1 supercharger, turbo or NOS is the easier way to go.
For an LS1 that's been well maintained and is in good condition a 140,000 miles is pretty mild. One shop recent did a trio of heads & cam installs on 200,000 + mile LS1 fbody's. All three are up and running. Stuff like lifters, lifter trays, timing set, oil pump, stock rockers, intake manifold gaskets were all replaced along the the H&C installation. The power goals were more in the 400 whp to 450 whp range.
If you do mod a high mile car or really any car for that matter be sure to have a cash reserve in case something goes wrong and needs fixing during the install or just after. Example tired high mile 4L60e transmission can't take the new power level for very long and soon needs a rebuild or the old stock clutch starts to slip.
