Hi all,

I have been looking for an LS motor to swap into my 1972 Camaro for months and haven’t been having much luck. I continue to see used LS1/ LS6 motors for $4k and T56s for $2500 with over 100k miles on them. Even 5.3 LM4 and L33s are getting pricey in my area. A few weeks ago I came across a local craigslist ad for a LS1/ T56 combo at a very good price. The photos looked washed out and the description was worded weird so I assumed the ad was a scam.

Over the next week or so, I searched for LS motors as I had for the past few months and I continued to come across the ad I thought was a scam. The price for the combo became more and more attractive to me so I decided to give the guy a call.

I called him and got the whole story. Apparently the motor was a “new car takedown” by a performance shop in Mesa, AZ in the year 2000. The performance shop supposedly bought a brand new 1999 Z28 from Courtesy Chevrolet in Phoenix and immediately took it back to the shop to rip out its guts and put in a stroker motor/ TH400 set up for ¼ mile racing. The LS1/ T56 apparently had less than 100 miles on them before they were taken out of the new ¼ mile built shop car.

The guy said his colleague at the time was good friends with the owner of the shop. When he got word from his colleague that there was going to be a nearly new LS1/ T56 for sale, he immediately scooped it up for his mid-life crisis project at the time. He was building a 55 Bel Air and was going to put the LS1/ T56 in it. As he came closer to finishing his build, he decided to keep the car more of a purist theme and install an SBC rather than the LS. He still held on to the LS for his 66 Suburban but he never got to the point of installing it into that truck either.

Now at the age of 65, the owner was nearing retirement and cleaning out his house to sell and fund two smaller vacation homes. It was time to put the time capsule LS1/ T56 he had been holding on for almost 20 years for sale. This is the first time I had purchased a motor which was out of a car and the last thing I wanted was to be burned out of thousands of dollars and delay progress on my Camaro. After talking to the guy on the phone and justifying any outcome because of his asking price, I decided to go look at it.

The motor and trans were extremely clean cosmetically and matched the description I was told on the phone. The water pump had very little coolant crust in the outlet, there was barely any black carbon build up in the manifolds, and it had the factory AC Delco plugs and oil filter. The guy claimed he had never changed the oil and it still had the break in oil inside. I turned the crank pulley and the motor turned smoothly. Apparently the owner had periodically done the same over the past 20 years to keep the internals moving and ensure the motor wasn’t sitting on any one valve for too long at a time. The motor and trans even came with mint F-body cross members and motor mounts. Everything checked out so I pulled the trigger.

My plan from the start was to add bolt-ons and a cam to the LS motor I ended up buying for my Camaro. While the motor is out of the car, I feel it is a good time to also replace some parts as preventative maintenance. I have done a lot of research on LS1Tech about motors that have been sitting for a while but it is to no surprise I have not come across anyone who has a motor which has sat for 20 years. This is my plan for the LS1 before I install it into my Camaro…

Cam, hardened push rods, valve springs, and valve seals. LS6 Intake and new larger injectors as I am sure the factory ones could be clogged after 20 years of sitting. New plugs, and oil pump. Long tube headers and a plug and play PSI Wiring Harness to hook up the motor to my car.



Would you guys recommend doing any other preventive maintenance on the motor before I put it into the car and fire it up? I have thought of also replacing the head gaskets but I am not sure the MLS gaskets would wear out from just sitting? I would rather not screw with removing the heads if I don’t have to. I am replacing injectors but should I replace or clean out the fuel rail too? Can fuel rails get clogged from sitting?

I know this is a long winded post but I thought everyone might enjoy the post. I may have gotten scammed by an old man with a good story but I am confident I might have just scored a nice motor/ trans here for my car. I guess time will tell!

-Jim

Thanks for the replies! I was pretty damn skeptical when I first heard the guy’s story but after seeing the condition one the motor, I think it’s going to be a good one. I appreciate the advise.

Good to know about the potential for graphite head gaskets. I need to just bite the bullet and replace them as a precaution. No point in going to all this work and then half assing something relatively simple while the motor is out of the car.

I hear you. I’m always tempted to buy vehicles out of state sight unseen but there is just too much room to be taken advantage of. Unfortuently you have to be skeptical of strangers until they prove they’re legit