Thinking about picking up an LS1

[Screemin3o2]

Thinking about picking up a few different cars sometime in the near future for when I drop a 347 in the stang next summer. Either an LS1, old fox, or put a downpayment on an 03 cobra. I just want a lightly modded car that I can use as a daily driver, much like I have right now, but I really don't want another 5.0 (just considering another one because they are cheap).

I've noticed how cheap you can get a bone-stock LS1 for and I know what their capabilities are stock, but I've never worked on one or really looked at aftermarket parts for one. Just curious to how cheap light mods are for ls1's, how easy they are to work on, and what numbers I can expect to be putting down without doing anything major like h/c installs.

I'm not a GM vs. Mustang person or anything like that. I think both make nice drag and street cars. Any help is appreciated. Thx

[Camaroblood]

I just picked up my 2nd bone stock LS1, I love it, I love the way it looks, everything. I also just ordered an SLP Loudmouth exhaust which claims up to 25 HP gain (not to the wheels) for $333 shipped, you can also do a CAI for like $125 but those are just air induction and what not mods, what were you looking for more? like headers? cams? I don't know what those will run you but prolly the same for others like mustangs and what not. I would really recomend an LS1 over a 5.0 or even a Cobra. First off it will be cheaper than the cobra, and at least in my area, F-bods are a lot less common than Mustangs, I was driving yesterday and saw 3 GT's, 2 V6's and a Saleen in like 5 minutes. I say get a Z28 or SS. I picked up my 00 Z28 for $11,100 out the door, and stock, they are pretty powerful. But about the aftermarket parts... there are a ton. www.rksport.com www.slponline.com www.afterthoughtsauto.com and those are just naming a few in my bookmark bar. Hope some of this helps and if you have any questions, feel free to PM or hit me up on AIM or post more. Also check out the 'Show and shine' section and the 'Chop Shop' to get some ideas for appearance other ideas. Also you can look around in the engine tech, induction, those areas for more performance ideas as well.

Oh and welcome to the site!

*EDIT* oh! and places like http://www.thunderracing.com/ and http://www.summitracing.com/ and http://www.vfnfiberglass.com/site.htm and http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/vinyl/vinyl.htm

[joelx21]

You'll love the LS1, I've had mine since last March and I absolutely love it!! It's amazing how well the LS1 responds to mods. There a guy in this Forum Patrick(phantompooper) He's making well over 400hp with his LS1. I'm sure he'll respond to this post soon, he's on all the time lol.

Oh yeah, Welcome to the site.

[Camaroblood]

Yeah, Patrick would be a good one to talk to, he has an SS, but still, you could easly get a lot of HP with a Z28. I would recomend a Z28 or SS over an RS(V6) because you are used to a V8 with your GT, but keep in mind the LS1 is a 5.7 liter 350 V8 versus the Ford, what 4.6? So theres that difference to.

[Screemin3o2]

my engine is a 5.0. 4.6 was 96+. Yeah, i'll pass on the v6. Those aren't for me. As for the 5.7 liter being different, yeah it will be different because its a GM motor and not a Ford, but I'm no stranger to 300+ hp. I drove around a friends 390hp 331 fox for about a week and my brothers procharged 4v 01 cobra a few times and the only reason my car doesn't make over 300 now is just because I've had bad money luck. The only reason I would get another 5.0 though is because it would be cheap. Sure there is a lot of very cheap stuff out there but they just don't make the bolt on power im looking for as a daily driveable street car.

I would like to have a 4.6 mod motor cobra, but if I had one it would be an 03 because the blocks are machined to be stronger and you can put em in the low 11's-high 10's for not too much money and they still run like a champ. Then again that would cost more money than a z28 or an SS.

The mods I would be getting would be mostly bolt ons and very little engine work (i.e. headers, cat back, ls6 intake, mild cam) but nothing more than that. I want a pretty powerful car that can still be reliable. Instead of boring and stroking and 5 liter with a lot of engine work and be putting out about the same amount of power a ls1 with bolt ons will, I would rather just get the better running ls1. Plus, I can do all the engine work myself. That's just my opinion from what I've seen, but then again that's why im asking questions incase im wrong.

A few of you are probably wondering why I don't just get an ls1 and make that my street car and keep mine the way it is. Answer to that is this has been my first car and it's kind of like a dream of mine to complete it with an all forged 347 and run nitrous for a little while until I get the money for maybe a turbocharger. Still not sure.

Another reason I'm leaning towards an ls1 is because Camaros and Mustangs are my two favorite cars and I've never driven in a Camaro, only ridden in one. So I might as well have both. Thx again

[Camaroblood]

post up an area code, price range, mileage limit, color preference, tranny preference, and I will see what I can do for you by means of locating one.

[Screemin3o2]

well, I'm not in too extreme of a rush. It will have to be after winter. There's no point to driving around two slightly powerful RWD cars in the snow, especially since I've never seen snow before. I just moved up to PA from TX to go to WyoTech up here. But I am curious actually so if you are bored area code is 724, price range less than 11K, mileage less than 90k, no color preference, tranny 6 speed. Thx

[hot_wheels21]

I picked up my 98 Z28 for $7,400 in march it was booking at $10k at the time with 95k on the clock the car runs awesome and there was a noticeable seat in the pants feeling after throwing on the exhaust system and doing some free mods the wheels were just for looks pluse I needed tires The LS1 motor is a awesome motor it's a 346 btw camaroblood not a 350 alot of people don't know that. a stock car will dyno around 305rwhp with exhaust,cai intake i've seen 330rwhp do some free mods and probably pick up another 10rwhp. With a cam and full bolt ons you can have around 400hp easily for $3k at the most. headers/ory or catted y-pipe ($700+ depending on what you get) catback (a decent one for around $400) you could probably do a cam for under $1000 if you do it yourself. so thats like $2,100. I'm not sure how you do boreing or that on these cars because I'm pretty sure they are sleeved. They aren't the easiest to work on due to the motor being half way underneath the cowl (dash) but it's not impossible. It's a really good car to get and does respond awesome to mods.good luck on what you decide.

[squirrelishere]

Driving in snow isn't too bad in Camaros. As long as you can get a good Tap-N-Go(as we call it) rhythm while driving, you're good. My brother has driven his girlfriend's 01 Mustang GT and then drove my Z28. There is a different feel to it. My car has been dependable. Only things I had to fix or rather do, was an oil change in the last year that I've had it. Car is about to hit 80k miles and it runs perfectly fine.

[hot_wheels21]

Originally Posted by squirrelishere

Driving in snow isn't too bad in Camaros. As long as you can get a good Tap-N-Go(as we call it) rhythm while driving, you're good. My brother has driven his girlfriend's 01 Mustang GT and then drove my Z28. There is a different feel to it. My car has been dependable. Only things I had to fix or rather do, was an oil change in the last year that I've had it. Car is about to hit 80k miles and it runs perfectly fine.

I'm not afraid of the snow just the salt... :-/

[Phantompooper]

Hey 302, welcome to The Family! These guys won't steer you wrong. With basic bolt-ons you will be in the 300-400rwhp range. I have a mild cam and these guys are right, I'm pushing 396 to the wheels. No head or real engine work done at all, and this car is my daily driver. I'm starting to lean towards making this car my weekend-only driver after the rear gear swap. With what you'd spend on an 03-04 Cobra, you could ruin just about anything else on the street. Feel free to ask anything you need to know, I also recommend checking out the LS1 section on this Site.

[Ryatt-Motion]

Welcome to the site!! Believe me, you are going to love the LS-1 Camaro or Trans-Am, ver nice rock solid engines!!

[HMFDZ28]

Welcome to the boards, Deff lookin to gettin an LS1. The aftermarket is awsome, and it doesnt take much to have a reliable 11 sec DD out of them. But deff go with what you feel comfortable driving, that is key.

[freeday]

you mentioned easy to work on. that is the only down fall to the ls1 vs mustang, i could fit in the engine bay of a mustang, not so with the ls1, it is a pain to work on. other than that i have driven both (a 93 5.o and 2001 bullit) and would take the ls1 any day of the weak. good luck in whatever you get. just try to get an 01 or better so you don't have to replace the intake manifold. the 01's came with the ls6 manifold which adds about 15 hp but changed the cam so you don't notice the difference in years so much. there is also a couple of things you can do for free to gain a couple of ponys. nothing more fun than hacking off parts of your car.