92 Corvette LT1 and 6speed trans
- Thread starter RUDD62
- Start date
- Status
I thought it was interesting in light of some of the remarks made in this thread.
Granted, no real info on exact makeup of the mill, but found the twins and boost level to be more than I would have expected from reading some of the posts here
Granted, no real info on exact makeup of the mill, but found the twins and boost level to be more than I would have expected from reading some of the posts here
It's very impressive as GM did not make a Bowtie block with the LT1 casting provisions. Keep in mind guys were making crazy power with Gen 1 23 degree small blocks before LS engines.
LT1's are the best factory SBC but optispark isn't worth swapping to IMO. If you want an LT1 you are better off putting an LS coil on plug 24x ignition system or aftermarket like a megasquirt on unless you already have everything and it was cheap. The reason lt1's never took off like LS stuff did or traditional SBC's is they only came in lower production stuff like f bodies, vettes, and caprices, and regular opti failure scares the rest of the people away.
The LT1 itself is a solid platform but GM didnt really do the best with engine management or parts commonality.
The LT1 itself is a solid platform but GM didnt really do the best with engine management or parts commonality.
The earlier LT1's with the non vented Optispark system were the ones with issues. The later ones do not have the problems that the earlier ones had.
Also with the exception of the 92-93 electronics; all of the LT1's have a really great pcm that can be tuned via LT1 edit. Some guys prefer the 94-95 stuff and other guys prefer the OBD 2 96-97 stuff.
I am not sure where you are getting that they came in lower production stuff. Think about how many 94-96 B bodies they came in! They came with a lot of great stuff from the get go and they made a ton of them between 92 and 97.I was looking on Craigslist and Facebook market place over the last week and found over a dozen of them forsale within a 300 miles radius from me. One of the ones I might go look at is an entire 95 wagon running and driving for $500.
The Gen 2 camshafts and rotating assemblies interchange with the 86-02 Gen 1 engines. The heads and intakes were the only unique items and they were pretty bad *ss from the factory.
I was a tech for almost 25 years and started right about the time the LT1s came out. Optispark's reputation is undeserved, in my personal experience. I never saw a single failure that wasn't directly related to a failed water pump. And not a single one of those failures was from a recent water pump failure. Every single one was a customer who had been told to replace the leaking pump or they would have bigger problems later. They all came in on a hook when later came.
I will concede that Optispark was not conveniently located but it was very accurate and reliable as far as distributors go. LS style individual coils aren't likely to leave you stranded but I've replaced plenty of them too over the years.
I will concede that Optispark was not conveniently located but it was very accurate and reliable as far as distributors go. LS style individual coils aren't likely to leave you stranded but I've replaced plenty of them too over the years.
Pretty sure I've posted this before....my 92 vette had 128K on the original date coded Optispark when I sold it. I had it out at 118K and opened it up, clean inside...just loctited the rotor screws and sealed it back up. My current LT1 donor had 150K on it, and from the looks of the opti, I'd say it is the original as well.
As DRIVEN said, failure was more from neglect than actual design/production issues. Only guy I knew that had problems liked to power wash his engine bay every couple of weeks
As DRIVEN said, failure was more from neglect than actual design/production issues. Only guy I knew that had problems liked to power wash his engine bay every couple of weeks
I got it from Mallory Billet Aluminum back in 1998. Don't know if they exist anymore. Might be a challenge to find one now, I don't know.
- Status
