Ok i am brand new to this forum and i have a couple questions on my mind that i wanna ask because i have been dying to know, ok my thought is that in july i wanted to buy a camaro z28 prob a 95-99 and i am hoping to find one with high miles and do a complete engine swap either to a ls2 or ls6 straight from gm performance dealer, first is it possible, second is it crazy to spend like 4000 on a car and then an extra 5000 on an engine, third is labor for that long and expensive, and last what else would you recomend doin firstif i did the swap such as new struts new mounts.....ect? to ready a 100k plus car for a brand new 400 hp engine? any help on any question would help o and lastly would i ahve to get a new tranny?

 

If you get a 95-97 (not exactly sure why you're ruling out a 93 or 94 if you're doing an engine swap, but to each his own...) you're going to have to get a new hood to accomodate for the physically taller motor. You're also going to need an LS1 donor car to get most of the parts from to mount the new engine, as well as electrical components etc. There's a lot of work cut out in that because it's not a direct swap, you would also have to change some transmission components to get it to bolt up. If you get a 98 or 99 it's going to be less of a hassle, but the 98+ are all LS1 cars to begin with, so they have a little higher price tag, and in my opinion they don't look quite as good. If you did end up getting a 98+ I would suggest trying to find one with lower miles and just doing some bolt-ons such as a new intake and full exhaust, that should take up a good chunk of cash as it is. If you have some money left over after that you can always consider putting on new heads and a new cam. The major difference between the LS1 and the LS6 is the intake, heads, cam and valve train. Labor on an engine swap is going to be a load of cash.

 

^what he said

 

Now pardon me for not knowing much about engines, but if i were to buy maybe a higher milage camaro such as a 95 or so what could i do bolt on wise to the lt1 to add some hp, and also say i did get one with a ls1 engine putting in the new heads valve train and cams would up my hp to the performance of a ls2 or ls6?

 

I highlighted your two big flaws in your plan. #1 Buying stock a stock LS6 or LS2 is a waist of money when you can buy a LS1, add a cam and heads and have more power for less or equal money. #2 a GM dealer is the last place I would buy a motor from, talk about over priced, there are many other places to look. I would look for a low milage stock LS1 (I have seen them go for $1500-2500) and do the mods myself. I did a cam swap and most bolt on's and the engine put down 393 rwhp on a Mustang Dyno.

 

Now what would you do if i went with an lt1?

 

same thing. bolt ons, cam and heads

 

damn 1500-2500 for an LS1, wheres that at? I need an LT1 and im guessing it would be cheaper than those since its older.

 

The only problem with finding an LT1 is they're no longer manufactured. Instead of purchasing a new engine, why don't you just consider rebuilding yours, it's not like you're block is bad. You can build it from the ground up.

 

well i need to be able to drive the car while i work on the engine since its my only form of transporation and i dont just plan on rebuilding it i plan on buying all new performance parts and just using the block. so really all i need is an LT1 block.