Starting the LS1 Swap

[eric1h]

From what I have planned out so far the swap should be pretty simple...

The new motor is on the way!
It's a 2004 corvette LS1

Transmission: existing TR3550 with bellhousing adapter from Quick Time($500)
Motormounts: simple modified stock 4.6L mounts
the Ls1 is about 4" smaller all the way around and should fit easily in the same location as the 4.6L or 5.0
exhaust: 5.0 shorty headers with an LS1 flange, from the measurements I've taken it should fit around the steering arm.


Stand alone ECU and Harness($900)

A nice side by side comparison

[eric1h]

The hardest part of the swap is fitting the oil pan over the swat mount and front subframe!

There is less than 1/4" of clearance so you'll need to use a low profile oil pan like the Moroso 20140 Steel LS1 Camaro


SNUG fit

[Blue Streak 21]

Way cool! I'm very interested in the swap. In my book this is the best bang for the buck when you go away from the 5.0 or 4.6 motor. I heard that the guys at Penske who are running the GT's for promotion lapping events have also done the swap to the LS motor. I tried to get contact info and such, but no luck.

What other "goodies" are you installing on the motor? What's your desired torque/hp numbers? I gather that since you're using a stand alone ECU and harness, you are you staying EFI. Are you going with a FAST intake system?

I came across a set of shorty LSX headers at Jegs or Summit. They looked to be similar to the 5.0 shorty hearders. I think they were Headman units.

Please continue to post lessons learned and specical parts used in the conversion. I'm all ears to learn as much as possible from your experience. Hope the conversion is straight forward.

[eric1h]

Will do.

I am shooting for 400-450rwhp a mild setup for that motor

Looking at Comp cams XER cam, 918 springs with CC roller lifters, Ls6 243 heads and a custom tune, accusump setup...

Thats just y initial thoughts

I'll keep everyone posted.

[Blue Streak 21]

Very nice. With the LS6 heads and Comp cam you'll make those power numbers easy.

[eric1h]

Originally Posted by Blue Streak 21

Very nice. With the LS6 heads and Comp cam you'll make those power numbers easy.

Exactly! for probably less that what some have spent getting up to that HP range I can get the same HP, PLUS sell the current 4.6L in the car now and probably come close to breaking even.

[Cobra4B]

It'll take a big cam to make 450 rwhp on stock 243s... ported ones... no problem.

Don't waste your money on a FAST manifold... if your LS1 is truly a 2000, then get an LS6 manifold for it and do the LS6 PCV conversion and coolant pipe swap. If you have a 2001+ LS1 it allready has a LS6 block and manifold.

Pre 2001 motors have weaker rod bolts and are setup for 6500 rpm max sustained. In 2001 they upgraded the rod bolts w/ sleeves and rated the motors at 6900 rpms sustained.

The shorty headers will hurt you a bit.... these motors... esp. w/ H/C work like longtubes.

If you want a good budget build get some ported 243 heads and a 230/240ish cam. My G5-X2 is 232/240 .595/.608 on a 114 LSA.

Go with GM LS7 lifters, comp hardened pushrods, LS2 or LS3 timing chain, LS6 ported oil pump, etc. As for rockers... either send your stockers to harland sharp and have the needle bearings replaced w/ trunions or spend the money for something like a yella terra ultralight full roller rocker (that's what I have). The stockers are great pieces, but they're known to puke needle bearings. The early harland sharp roller rockers and early yella terra were heavier than oem over the valve tip and caused high RPM losses. A couple of years ago YT revised their design so you get a fully rollerized rocker w/o the weight penalty.

PM me if you ahve any questions etc.

Most good vendors will sell you a full cam kit w/ the cam, springs, seats, retainers, valve seals, pushrods, etc. Scoggins-Dickey sells a cam install kit w/ all the gaskets you need and a new crank bolt.

www.ls1howto.com is your best friend!

[eric1h]

so a bit of an update.the LS1 motor I originally purchased apparently had some sort of issue and the guy was making all sorts of excuses, so I got a refund on it.

the good news, I found and bought a 2004 Corvette motor with 22k(previous motor had 86k) miles for just a few hundred dollars more!!! and I am working o getting it delivered up from Daytona, FL(see other post if you live in FL)

The 2004 LS1 should be a better overall platform form what I have read.

Thanks for the info Brian, sounds along the lines with what I was thinking.

You didn't have to fly cut your pistons or anything when you did the cam/springs, etc I assume?

[Gatorac]

Thanks for posting the details on your swap. An LS motor was the way I was thinking about going when I first decided to buy a tube frame GT car.

[Cobra4B]

Good call on the '04 motor. You have an LS6 block now (cylinder breathing passages), better rod bolts, LS6 intake manifold, and 241 heads (the best LS1 head, just under LS6 heads which are 243s.

With that motor left alone w/ a moderate cam and headers you can make 400-410 rwhp w/o touching anything.

No need to flycut unless you go huge on the cam. The LGM G5-X3 is a 234/242 .600/.610 on a 114 or a 112 LSA. That's about as big as you can go w/o flycuttting. You can fit their G5-X4 in there, but the PV clearance is so close that one missed shift will have things touching. I've helped a buddy put one in and it's possible w/o flycutting, but he ended up pulling his heads and flycutting.

Lou Gilotti Motorsports has been road racing for years and is now campaigning a new GT2 corvette. I'd get a G5-X3 on a 112 LSA for your application and some good headers and call it a day. You really don't need to replace the lifters so no need to pull the heads.

If you want to really go through it you can pull the heads and clean it all up and put in fresh lifters. OEM LS7 lifters are the basic lifters of choice for most now... the oem stuff from GM is very good. The parts off the top of my head...

*G5-X3 112 cam kit (cam, double springs, seats, retainers, valve seals, comp hardened pushrods)
*Ported LS6 oil pump, or GM LS4 high volume pump, or Melling high volum pump
*GM LS3 or LS2 timing chain (much beefier than the LS1/LS6 chain.... I have pics if you want) only $35... no real need for a high dollar cloyes or a double roller etc.
*Harland Sharp modified stock rokers or Yella Terra ultralights.
*LPE (lingenfelter) oil cooler adapter block to tie in your oil cooler

That'd get you 410ish rwhp in a C5 Corvette... I have pics of most all of this if you want any. Again www.ls1howto.com has a fantastic how-to.

Read up closely on crank bolt installation. I went with an ATI superdamper for my cam swap.... it's not cheap, but it's one of the best dampers on the market which is important for a road race motor.

[eric1h]

So for the timing gear its not worth it to go with something like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COMP-...Q5fAccessories

only a little more, but is it worth it?

[Cobra4B]

Originally Posted by eric1h

So for the timing gear its not worth it to go with something like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COMP-...Q5fAccessories

only a little more, but is it worth it?

Depends... do you plan on pulling the heads so you can degree the cam? The stock timing set isn't adjustable so you just isntall the cam "dot to dot" meaning you line up the dot's on the cam gear w/ the dots on the crank gear and go from there. The cam gear only installs on the cam one way. Your basically trusting that the cam was ground correctly and 99.99% of the time they are... at least from a reputable vendor.

Plus... the lower timing gear is pressed on and I'm not quite sure how you get it off... I believe it requires a special GM tool.

All I did was upgrade to a new LS2 chain to replace my LS6 chain, upgraded to an ATI 10% underdrive superdamper, and went to town. LG told me they degreed the first few cams they got from comp years ago, found them to be perfect, and have been installing them dot to dot ever since.

LS2 Chain has noticably beefier links than the LS6 chain I removed


See "dot to dot"


ATI vs. stock shitty damper



LS4 high volume oil pump


The cheapest way for you to achieve your power goals would be to leave the heads on the motor alone... install a ported LS6 oil pump (or a melling or LS4), LS2 (LS3 now) timing chain, and a G5-X3 cam on a 112 lsa from LGm w/ their cam kit, and the Scoggins Dickey cam install kit (gaskets etc.) from SDPC (scoggins dickey performance center).... then follow LS1howto.com and have fun! Oh... get a new balanceer... many go with 25% underdrive pulleys, but ATI says they cannot achieve their strict dampening requirements so they limit theirs to 10%. I'd rather have my crank damper working than more underdrive. The cam kit comes w/ the valvetrain upgrades etc.

Oh... pay very close attention to the part about the oil pickup o-ring and how to install it. You do it wrong and you'll have no oil pressure and have to do it all over again.

[eric1h]

some good very detailed dimensions. I am also currently looking for a crap ls1 block to use to mock up custom headers and motor mounts.




QuickTime Bellhousing Spec's


RM-6037 - LS-1 Bellhousing to Ford TKO 500-600/TR3550/T5 Mustang Transmission - NEW!

* Height = 6.925
* Trans. Bore Ø = Universal 4.850/4.910
* Engine = Chevy LS-1, LS-2, LS-3, LS-6, LS-7, LS-9
* Trans. = Ford TKO 500-600, TR3550, T5 Mustang
* Clutch Ø = 11"
* Flywheel = 168 tooth or 153 tooth
* Weight = 22#
* Full engine plate, trani ball and grade 8 bolts included

[DrBro]

I would agree with Brian's recommendations with one change. Get the C5R timing chain from Katec. You can keep the stock gears and definitely go with the ATI superdamper. I had a whole series of engines in my vette and ended up with a C5R 427 fully blueprinted (530 RWHP). My double roller timing chain started coming apart (pieces on the magnetic plug) and my shop recommeded the LS2 chain because it was stronger. Long story but three rebuilds later I figured out that the LS2 chains were the weak link - literally. Several other vette guys in Texas also had a rash of broken/streched timng gear. Jayson at Katech told me what they use and I decided to simply copy that. Many of the local guys did the same and not another failure. The chain and the damper seem to be the right combination for road race engines. The drag race guys don't seem to have the same problems. My .

[Cobra4B]

^ Ahhh yes.... you had a heck of a time w/ the chains... no pun intended YMMV, but I've had no issues w/ my stock LS6 chain for 70,000 miles and lots of HPDE use, then the LS2 chain and 4 hpdes w/ 430+ horse.