hey ever bein on a forum so im not sure how this works but i just bought a 71 monte that has been in my family sence october of 90 and she is very rough i am thinking very hard about doin a lt1 swap and was wanting to know the easiest way to do so i know i want to run the 350 turbo thats in it but thats all i know i just want to keep it as simple as i can thank you for your help

 

simple and lt1 is not a good combo and the opti spark will give you troubles


now if you put a lt intake on a non opti block get the stuff to run the injectors and all that fun stuff then you will have an seaier time

 

what would you sugest

 

well first off we need some backround on you and the car

experiance with cars? what does the car have in it currantly?

 

right now it has a 87 roler moter in it and a 350 turbo trans and i have a little wrench time nothin crazy but im pretty sure i can do this with some help

 

you dont have to run the optispark on the lt1. ive seen people run an lt1 with a conventional distributor, but it was on the front of the intake manifold like a ford motor. that is if you are speaking of the gen 2 lt1. the gen1 lt1 from the 70s was a conventional small block with a high lift solid lifter cam. personally i would ditch the lt1 idea all together and stick with the motor you have. its all ready a roller cam motor so you wont have to get the retro fit kit thats expensive, and it should have the better one piece rear main seal, or go with the ls1 which is a better platform in almost all regards. bottom ends are tougher, factory heads flow well, and pricing isnt too crazy.

 

i guess i could keep the same motor and get a new top end

 

realistically what are your goals for this thing?

 

good choice. get a decent set of heads, intake, carb, and get a mild roller cam. it should be super streetable and make a ton of power. roller cams are where its it.

 

i would relly like to get at least 400 to the wheels without goin broke but the thing im not to sure about is that the car has center bolt heads on it now so do i have to put center bolts back on it