Something of interest for you LT1 guys. Take a look.

[DRIVEN]

I'm a mechanic by trade and do the occasional side job for the extra cash. This particular one is a 1995 Mastercraft with an LT1. The engine was "manufactured" by Indmar Marine. It appears to have many Corvette spec parts. Everything is painted black including the aluminum heads. I just have it for a water pump replacement, tune-up, oil change and winterization. Here's the stuff I thought you guys might want to see...
Speed density conversion

No Optispark! There is a reluctor wheel on the front and a crank sensor on the timing cover.

The ignition system appears to be all GM. Northstar or Aurora maybe?

The ECM is mounted to the back of the engine and is about the size of my hand. Can't see any part numbers or manufacturer markings. I assume they're on the back.

For you guys looking to do swaps this may be another source for parts or ideas. It's also an interesting way to delete the Optispark. Feel free to chime in if you have any more info on this or similar setups.

 

[dogsht]

Very cool thanks for the pics & info.

 

[Blake442]

Car Craft or HotRod ran an article a couple months ago about swapping LS1 coil-packs onto a LT1 and going opti-less.

My buddy had to replace the Opti-spark on his old '96 SS, but I've never had any problems with my '96 Caprice...

 

[Bonnewagon]

IF the Delphi unit I used craps out, and IF my dimwit daughter doesn't sell it, and IF it lands in my lap again, then I would consider it. I read up on it and the Northstar seems to be the one everyone uses. I even saw a kit for sale on one of the LS/LT sites. I can't remember where the reluctor was sourced though, Caddy? Damn good motor except for the Opticrap.

 

[DRIVEN]

I've heard a lot of guys have problems with it but I've never had any issues with mine. On other people's cars it's usually a matter of water pump leaking for a long time or really high mileage...200K plus. In my experience they seem to hold up pretty well as long as you replace the cap and rotor when you replace water pumps. I can understand why people like the coil pack upgrade though.

 

[dogsht]

Coil packs make more efficiency and power over 5,000 rpms. There was a dyno article recently proving this. It makes a difference on my turbo motor also due to load instead of rpm. On my 509 that never needed more than 5,200 rpms to get past peak HP it wouldn't mean much. I guess it would clean up the idle a bit on a well cammed motor.

 

[Dave V]

never seen an lt1 in a boat that is very cool....

 

[thedoctorisin]

this is the first time Ive seen an LT1 intake in a boat. im going to research the material tho. i like that this is a 100% opti delete. i want to check out that crank position sensor. cuz the LT1 cars use a little disk with 360 little notches out it but this one seems to be a little more basic so you might not get the throttle response you would get but also keep in mind that boats operate in a different power band than cars... but with the right tuning you might be in good shape.

sick post tho! anyone with a LT1 is always looking for a good opti delete ( like me) . but ive never seen one that 100% deletes the actual optical sensor. thumbs up!

 

[marko1968]

I'm a mechanic by trade and do the occasional side job for the extra cash. This particular one is a 1995 Mastercraft with an LT1. The engine was "manufactured" by Indmar Marine. It appears to have many Corvette spec parts. Everything is painted black including the aluminum heads. I just have it for a water pump replacement, tune-up, oil change and winterization. Here's the stuff I thought you guys might want to see...
Speed density conversion

No Optispark! There is a reluctor wheel on the front and a crank sensor on the timing cover.

The ignition system appears to be all GM. Northstar or Aurora maybe?

The ECM is mounted to the back of the engine and is about the size of my hand. Can't see any part numbers or manufacturer markings. I assume they're on the back.

For you guys looking to do swaps this may be another source for parts or ideas. It's also an interesting way to delete the Optispark. Feel free to chime in if you have any more info on this or similar setups.

I was interested in your finding did you have any other info, regarding this post anything would be greatly appreciated.Thanks

 

[DRIVEN]

I don't have any real info on the system in the boat. You might try to contact Indmar Marine to see if they developed it or just bought it from a 3rd party. A quick search found similar systems:
http://www.delteq.com/
http://www.holley.com/types/DIS%20Ignit ... ystems.asp
http://www.eficonnection.com/eficonnection/default.aspx
I really just posted it because it was something I hadn't seen in person before. I've read about it and seen some vague pics but hadn't actually been hands-on. I know that the Optispark gets a bad rep but I, personally, have had very good luck with them. Like most things, they're pretty reliable when properly maintained and not drowned in coolant from leaking water pumps. I do feel that the LS1/Northstar type retrofits are superior in theory because they have NO moving parts to wear out and coil-per-cylinder to allow higher voltage and linger dwell time. Typically if there is a failure in that type of system you may experience a miss but not a total shut-down like the Optispark might have. I look at the Optispark as 1 system whereas the other style can be considered 8 separate systems with a common trigger. Make sense?