Rep Power: 662

Ok, so my auto teacher is trying to convince me that building up my 350 tpi would be more expensive and produce less performance than just throwing in a stock LS1. I was hopping to get your guys opinions, especially from the guys that have done an LS1 in a 3rd gen. thanx!

 
Rep Power: 759

never done an ls1 in a 3rd gen, but the ls1 is a kick a$$ motor and will produce tremendous power for a small amount of money, but the swap itself will cost 2 much money compared to building up your 350, do a good set of heads,cam and intake and youll be running right there with the ls1s...

 
Rep Power: 866

no no no no no. dont build your L98 for nothing, it aint worth **** IMO. a stock LS1 will walk a well modded L98. however like said, the LS1 is a bit of work and part are kinda expensive for them still. IMO, get a used LT1 with less than 70k or so if you can fine one, prolly spend around 2,000, it will fit right in, wire it up with the computer and everything is pretty much cake. what kinda trans you gonna use? stock 700R4 or you got a different one? you can prolly get an LT1 and T56 combo for less than 3k and as everyone knows, a third gen fbody with a stock LT1 and t56 is good for low 13s. plus parts for LT1s are becoming really cheap nowadays.

 
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LT1

 
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Lt1 is a good motor but the major performance difference between an lt1 and an l98 is the restrictive tpi intake.. change that to a mini ram or prefereably a holley stealth ram and it is right on the level with the lt1, put heads and cam on it, and its right there with a heads and cam lt1...with a correct heads and cam package he will be able to run mid 11's to high 12's at 113-116 mph.i dont know of many stock ls1s that make that kind of power...jus bcuz alot of people that build l98s dont go with a matched combination, most of them dont perform the way they should.

 
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but the heads on the lt1's are also pretty good, there imilar to the vortec that you would put on a reg. SBC. i think you should get a lt1 t-56 combo, that can be found for like 2500 bucks, that isnt bad at all, the lt1 will bolt right in like the 350, if you throw a cam like the cc306 in it you can trap some where like 112-115, that will walk most ls1's and you have spend less, and you will still get some decent fuel milage with the sequancial port injection.

 
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awesome reply's guys. lol, but im still not sure yet. if i did build up the l98 the holly stealth ram was gonna be the first thing i put on it. I found an lt1 at the pick and pull in wadsworth today, but the block was cracked. maybe take the heads and cam out of that and put it on my block with the holly stealth ram? technically wouldnt tht make my engine an lt1? kinda?? i dono, there are SOOO many options and i just wanna make sure i dont spend $3000 on somthing just to find out i could have gotten somthing better with only spending $1500, ya know? i just wanna fast car!lol. and yea, 69z-28, i wanted to swap my 700r4 for a t56. and with how expensive those are it might just be cheaper in the end to get the lt1 that alreader has the t56 on it. oie vey. decisions decisions

 
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You could probably bolt the lt1 heads to your block.........But it would overheat like a SOB! The lt1 has a reverse flow cooling system, the gen 1 engines and lt1 heads, and intake are not interchangeable. Like Steph said in an earlier post, the main reason that the lt1 makes better power is due to the intake (short runner vs. the tpi long runner). Yes the lt1 heads flow a little better and are aluminum, but if you planned on doing heads, cam, and intake, that point does not matter. If you can find a complete running lt1, harness, radiator (not too sure if the 4th gen fits a third), and ecm for a steal, do it. otherwise just keep what you have and build it. Just like the ls1 guys talking down on the lt1s, everybody talks down on the l98s because there lack of power stock. Get rid of the restriction and you have a damn good runner. One more thing, by keeping the l98 you dont have to deal with the P.O.S opti!

 
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haha, good point. i did a little more research and decided that the holly stealth ram would be affordable and awesome. and then later on ill get a new cam and some vortec heads. thanx for the info guys.

 
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I don't think you would be all that far ahead by doing an LS1 head swap. In order to get all the nec parts you would spend probably close to 5K. If you put that same 5K into your TPI you could have one kick *** motor. Figure about 2K for a nice forged 383 assembly- another $1500 for decent heads, intake, cam combo and you could have a motor that makes an easy 450hp without trying too hard. Build the motor for boost, save up another couple grand and you could have a 600hp motor with no problem at all.

Of course that doesn't include all the chassis mods needed to get that power to the ground, but you get the idea. I think the only positive to getting an LS1 would be that you can say that you have one. There might be a little bit of fab work getting LS1 some stuff thats built for a 4th gen to fit in a 3rd, not too mention the headache of figuring out what has to go TPI-wise and putting in the appropriate LS1 stuff.

Honestly- people talk down the TPI, but it has been proven to make power. The LS1's just make more power to begin with and respond well to bolt-ons. But for all the headache and cost in swapping in just a stock LS1, I think you would be happier with building your TPI.

The other added bonus I just thought of- some bolt-on LS1 guy steps up to your car thinking "just another 3rd gen, no prob." and you take him for a walk would be worth it all in the end, just to see his face at the next red light.

 
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if you wanna get deep into the motor, at least further than the others, do TPI. like stated tho, stock TPI intake sucks *****. better off throwing a carb and nice dual plane on there.

if you want a cool factor and a bit of a headache and prolly more cost, do LS1.

if you want middle of the line, fairly easy to swap, way moddable and many options plus not too expensive go LT1.

any of them can make power, just depends how much you want and how much you got...$$$

 
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I voted for LS1 that is the way I would go if I had the money. If you dont got the money for a swap like that I would still say go with that stealth ram.

 
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hey ICE, what did u ever decide to do about ur car situation?

 
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Still lookin for another thirdgen! as for as a daily driver im not sure yet someone told me I can have thier old doge caravan but Im still waitin on that.

 
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one of the kids i go to school with is thinking of selling his white, 1992 z28. 350 tpi. its pretty clean.