Advice on possible LS1 purchase please !!

I have a guy here locally that is selling a complete LS1 longblock out of a 98 Z28 that was rearended. Comes with ECU, wiring harness (red and blue) and all accesories other than exhaust manifolds and O2 censors.
"98 Ls1 from a z28 camaro
65k on enine when pulled ran fantastic 40psi oil @idle
stock wiring harness,
comes with the following:
complete engine,starter, water pump, alternator, pulleys, coil packs, plug wires, diagnostic port plug
ecm (will need to be flashed)
have your choice of either 05 GTO oil pan or 03 truck pan
no O2 sensors
He stated:
"Motor ran fantastic. Oil pressure was 40psi @ idle 60@ 2 grand no problems at all car was wrecked in the rear."
Also advised:
"I have the complete original harness down to the battery cables and internal tranny plugs"
Sounds like a legit guy, and he is asking $1,400.00 for the whole bit.
What do I need to be looking for and is this a good buy?

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he started off at $2,000 but I got him to $1,400.

The problem with motor is the heads, early (97,98) F Body LS1s had 806 perimeter bolt heads, these head are supposed to flow the least out of all LS1 heads and are not very desirable.

Another issue with these heads is that the can't use MLS (Cometic) head gaskets, the heads have a notch that is only compatible with graphite head gaskets.

You will also find the left valve cover will have clearance issues, LH perimeter bolt valve covers have a rear plastic breather, the aluminum snout for this breather will interfere with the brake master cylinder and has to be machined off then capped.

If you purchase this motor you may also want to have it freshened up while its out, many LS1s have been killed by oil pump failure, it pays to do some research on these motors if buying a used unit.

I currently have these heads on my LS6 block, ill be replacing them in the spring with 243 heads (center bolt), this will to allow me to have more clearance for a Hydroboost master cylinder and much better performance.

Do some research on early LS1s (97,98) and perimeter bolt 806 heads, this will help you chose the best year if purchasinga used motor, what may appear to be cheap could be expensive in the long run. If you want to see some pictures of these heads in a 944, take a look at my gallery (pormgb).

thanks for the reply!
My goal is to blow the motor apart and bore it out (may even stroke it--prob not but thought about it).

If there is an issue with the heads, I could always sell these off this motor and purchase some LS6 heads, no? I was thinking of even having some head work done anyway to allow whichever heads I get to breath better.
In terms of the oil pump, do they go bad in generl on this motor or just this specific year?

jayman1869 wrote:thanks for the reply!
My goal is to blow the motor apart and bore it out (may even stroke it--prob not but thought about it).

If there is an issue with the heads, I could always sell these off this motor and purchase some LS6 heads, no? I was thinking of even having some head work done anyway to allow whichever heads I get to breath better.
In terms of the oil pump, do they go bad in generl on this motor or just this specific year?

Ok, refresh would be a good idea!! I purchased an LS6 long block with 806 heads and had the rotating assembly refreshed, I should have switched the 806 heads before installing the motor but 243s heads are hard to find in my area, I recently found a rebuilt set of 243s.

By the way you can't even give away 806 heads, don't even think about porting them it really not worth it. If you don't want to spend the money on aftermarket heads, hold out for a set of 243s, 243s with LS6 intake and LS6 cam (pretty mild) is worth 405hp.

From what I have read there was an oil pump problem on 1999 blocks, I went with a Melling high pressure pump, SLP also have a ported high performance oil pump.

so am I better off buying a short block and have that worked on first. Then find a set of 243 heads and LS6 intake manifold to complete the build.
My thinking behind this particular motor was that it was complete! Harness, ECU and all. Plus all the pulleys and brackets.
I just want to do it right the first time and not have to go in and redo stuff. I planned on freshing up the motor no matter what.

the ecu/harness out of the 98 was somewhat of a bitch from what I remember as well. You're much better off with a 99+ ecu/harness

I just figured it would be cheaper having all the necessary accessories instead of having to purchase seperately

it usually is, however I would look for a 99+ pullout as opposed to a 98 if you plan on going that route.

I pieced mine together and sometimes curse the fact that I didnt just buy a pullout. I spent hours on ls1tech getting random parts.

jayman1869 wrote:so am I better off buying a short block and have that worked on first. Then find a set of 243 heads and LS6 intake manifold to complete the build.
My thinking behind this particular motor was that it was complete! Harness, ECU and all. Plus all the pulleys and brackets.
I just want to do it right the first time and not have to go in and redo stuff. I planned on freshing up the motor no matter what.

I'm in Canada and we pay more for everything!! By Canadian standards, I would say $1400 is not bad for a complete motor (core), at least you have all the accessories!!

Your choice really depends on your budget, I would say get the motor for the least possible, get a set of 243 heads + intake, also get a better cam and you'll end up with a killer motor.

Be very careful with your plans to bore the cylinders, from what I have read 97-00 can be honed 0.0040, I think they have thinner cylinder walls. Two of my cylinders had scratches, when my motor was in the shop I prayed the machine shop could hone them out, if not I would have to find another block. It's really recommended to do a leakdown test to determine the condition of the cylinders, especially if you can't see and measure the bores. Just my opinion!!

Schuepbach wrote:the ecu/harness out of the 98 was somewhat of a bitch from what I remember as well. You're much better off with a 99+ ecu/harness

Good point!! I run EFILive software on my PCM and they recommend upgrading to 99+ PCMs, I believe the newer PCMs have more flash memory and provide more tuning options.

long story short........keep looking then. hahaha

where are you located? Theres an LS6 pullout here in houston for sale for 3500.

Home of record is Florida (car is there)
Work has me in California until June and then Texas from June through October.
I was looking around to try and grab someting for me to work on to pass time while I'm out on the job, so when I get home I can focus on looking around for driveline parts and such.

jayman1869 wrote:Home of record is Florida (car is there)
Work has me in California until June and then Texas from June through October.
I was looking around to try and grab someting for me to work on to pass time while I'm out on the job, so when I get home I can focus on looking around for driveline parts and such.

Where in California?

Jayman,

I'm no expert, there are others here that can help you more then me. I will chime in here since I just completed my search for an LS1. The best deal I could find in the midwest was a 2002 LS1 pull-out with 69k miles including harness, PCM, accessories etc. I found a bunch of 97-99 LS1s for about the same price you found. The early LS1s 97-99 are less desirable (less expensive) for the reasons mentioned above and two more: one the newer motors, the main journal webbing in the block have "windows" in them for better crank case breathing and less crankcase pressure. The rear oil passage behind the rear cover is much larger for improved oiling. And if you find a later LS1 from a Camaro or Firebird it should have the better LS6 style intake already (not sure what year this changed, maybe someone else can say).

If you are not opposed to sourcing the correct accessories, harness, PCM, intake, take a look at the aluminum block/head 5.3L motors - L33, LM4, etc. They can be a lot cheaper than a LS1. I almost went this route but decided to spend more $$ for a motor with the correct parts already on it.

Also I bought the Chris Werner books on rebuilding LSx motors and hi-po LSx rebuilds, there is a lot of info in these books and they can really help you in your search.
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Good luck.

Im in Monterey until June

Dawgz83948 wrote:

jayman1869 wrote:Home of record is Florida (car is there)
Work has me in California until June and then Texas from June through October.
I was looking around to try and grab someting for me to work on to pass time while I'm out on the job, so when I get home I can focus on looking around for driveline parts and such.

Where in California?

Where in Cali are you Dawgz?
Im willing to take a road trip to meet a few people from here who may have or are going to be doing the swap!

Well Im glad I jumped on here before I purchased the motor.
I just found a 2000 motor with same mileage, complete for $1250.

Any issues with this year now? haha

jayman1869 wrote:

Dawgz83948 wrote:

jayman1869 wrote:Home of record is Florida (car is there)
Work has me in California until June and then Texas from June through October.
I was looking around to try and grab someting for me to work on to pass time while I'm out on the job, so when I get home I can focus on looking around for driveline parts and such.

Where in California?

Where in Cali are you Dawgz?
Im willing to take a road trip to meet a few people from here who may have or are going to be doing the swap!

I work in Pleasanton live in Ceres. Monterey you say? About 3 hours away from home. Maybe when the weather is nice I may cruise to Monterey in the 44 with the wife....

Dawgz83948 wrote:

jayman1869 wrote:

Dawgz83948 wrote:

jayman1869 wrote:Home of record is Florida (car is there)
Work has me in California until June and then Texas from June through October.
I was looking around to try and grab someting for me to work on to pass time while I'm out on the job, so when I get home I can focus on looking around for driveline parts and such.

Where in California?

Where in Cali are you Dawgz?
Im willing to take a road trip to meet a few people from here who may have or are going to be doing the swap!

I work in Pleasanton live in Ceres. Monterey you say? About 3 hours away from home. Maybe when the weather is nice I may cruise to Monterey in the 44 with the wife....

get in touch if you do.

I picked up my motor the other day (2000 LS1 out of a Camaro). It looks sound, but I have not taken it apart to see how the bottom end looks.
My plan is to retain the stock crank because they are good for quite a bit of power (according to LS1tech.com), but replace the rods and pistons with Diamond pistons and Scat rods for now.
Future plans would be to add LS6 heads and intake as well as a cam.
Any advice on the build or different internals?

Thanks in advance guys!!

cast iron ls1 instead of alumi

why cast iron?
I thought the aluminum block was where it was at?
Isnt that the hype, that the aluminum is the lighter better preformer?

it lighter for sure, but talk bout a bill for a new block when it blows. why do you think many people get rid of the ls1 out of their for the cast iron ls1. it last longer. better to spend money on a block and mods, than tohave a blown and cracked and destroyed block with mods. yea ppl get rid of ls1 for like ls2 and ls6 but when you get the cast iron it shown to last longer