I'm 41 and never thought I would call myself a newbie but I am. I have never had a true muscle car. Now I want to work up an LT1. I have a 94 Z28 I got recently. I want to get as close to 400hp as I can afford. Could someone throw together a list of things I should do. Cam, crank, stroke, supercharger ect. I only want to pull this engine one time so I want to get all needed parts in advance. It has 120K miles so I assume I need to take it all the way down and rebuild. Should I just go with a short /long block? Should I convert to LT4?

Thanks
Dave

 

How well does the engine run as is? i would go to ARP or look up a good head/cam package in a directory online get something custom made for what you want, stock LT4's were rated around 330 rwhp,365-400 rwtq you could get more for your money with a custom package. Either that or dart 190 heads/custom cam and stroke that Bizntch. either way try to get good rods,crank,ect to beef up the lower motor.

 

Look in the General Tech section at "What it takes to get 500 HP" which I posted on 11/28 last year. That talks specifically about LS1s, but itgives you a pretty good idea. throughout that section and this one, there are old posts that discuss details and order of additions.

But breifly:
1) decide what you want: a little extra power, a lot. A street car or a strip car. A pain in the butt but exilerating to drive, or something you can live with every day.
2) Be realistic about you budget. Not ever one has an unlimited budget for mods (Essentially, I did with my vette, but that's another story). The worst thing you can do is head down a path and run out of money, then you often have nothing.
3) Fix everything broken or even suspect that you won't replace soon. Put the stock car is prime shape. You won't regret this later.
4) Make the big decision about what of the engine you replace: going to add mods but keep the current short block? fine, then you start buying mods. Is the short block old/worn/worrisome and you want to replace it? Then look at either an aftermarket stroker short block (nothing works like additiona cubes), or long block (might as well get upgraded heads with it), or a crate engine (in a hurry? then buy the whole encilada). Note that a a ZZ383 crate engine from GM rated at 425 HP (about 405 flywheel when its in the car) costs about $5K.

As to light mods, here is the order most people go to:
Cold air induction - cheap, makes a difference (sometimes).
Headers - makes a big difference, get long tubes, good quality - all long tubes work about as well, you pay for the fit and durability
Exhaust - sometimes helps and sounds so much better
Better intake manifold - sometimes helps
Cam (and the springs and everything else that go with it well)
Ported heads - best to coordinate with the cam -- I'd do them together
Stroker block - nothing makes an engine sweet like low end torque and cubes give it to you.
SC - want more, add a supercharger

And along they way, better wheels and tires (they look good too). And a new axle (weak point in Camaros).

 

I too agree with alot of the things he said. If you start looking at the cost of most of the items and if you are on a budget like most people then I would go with the 383 stroker kit. I am in the process of doing mine right now. The machine shop is building me a complete moter 383 stroker so I will have mine for sale within the next week. I will have roughly 520hp with about 545lbs of torque. I am so looking forward to it. I am replacing everything within the motor and everything on the outside as well. Good luck with what ever you decide and let us know what you did.