How to make your LT1 the best Small Block Chevy ever made!

[@nikothevirgo]

411 Swap group facebook.com/groups/2523889017839077/?ref=share Better way to wire the positive: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKWQfnujhtF8r5Y

[@nikothevirgo]

www.summitracing.com/parts/mez-wp118hd

[@nikothevirgo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/robRn36YobqdaLM

[@nikothevirgo]

The kit will come with an oring and everything you'll need with instructions. Also you don't need a drill press just a solid clean surface and a punch tool

[@JohnnyButtons]

The LT1 is one of my favorite engines ever produced. Love em!

[@DocZoidberg549]

Just got a 94 z28 t-top with 87k. I love it.

[@JohnnyButtons]

@@DocZoidberg549 I owned two ‘94 LT1 models. There’s a few LT1s on my other #MuscleCarTimeMachine channel.

[@ztwntyn8]

Yeah and LT1 pump is cam driven I think that’s part of why they fail often. I’ve had and worked on several. Electric street water pump is a good idea.

[@Tonyjoanow]

My lt1 c4 runs hot, supposedly they all do. I reckon one of these and a bigger radiator will make her last a long time. The opti-spark provides a much more accurate signal to the computer for spark. That’s why you’ll notice a healthy lt1 starts with the first twitch of the key every time. It’s limited heavily by the software of the time.

[@C4VETTELT1]

Yes they all run hot!! I have a 160 degree thermostat with manual fan switch and it runs hot no more!!! When cruising with fresh air my LT1 runs at 163 degrees!! In heavy traffic on a hot day it runs about 190 degrees.

[@coreysharp9794]

How hot? My 93 z28 lt1 has tried to run hot on me 2x. 1st fix was the primary coolant fan was out. Second time my k&n had been neglected. I live down a dirt road so it was pretty bad. I replaced the filter and it ran cool again. I run a 160 thermostat and on the hottest west texas days she only got up to 200.

[@C4VETTELT1]

@coreysharp9794 they all run hot with the factory thermostat and factory fan settings. 190 thermostats and fans don't kick in until 228 degrees. So they get pretty damn hot. In the vette you have a digital gage and know exactly how hot but I have a 160 thermostat with manual fan switch mine runs at 163 degrees in open air and about 190 in traffic on a hot day but without the switch and thermostat between 210-235ish+.

[@Tonyjoanow]

@@coreysharp9794 230s regularly in traffic until I installed a hypertech thermomaster chip to kick the fans on earlier. Now it runs hotter with the A/C on than off.

[@tabryis]

Mine is like a freaking heat reactor

[@demetriusedwards6458]

Thank you brother for the information you really took the time to help those who still are rocking with the Lt1 I have a 1994 impala ss and she don't play got much power but i will be changing to electric water pump also. I Love my Lt1

[@solodolonomad]

Thank you bro!! It's hard to find people to work on LT1s tho

[@nikothevirgo]

It's just a gen 1 small block with a different top end (reverse flow cooling) and front accessories. Anyone who can't work on an LT1 can't work on a SBC period. Uses the same rotating assembly as the 1 piece seal gen 1s (you can convert to 2 piece too) same head bolts oil pump timing chain etc etc. Even uses some of the same valvetrain components as the gen 1 and LS engines including the lifters. The original part number for the LT lifter literally takes you to the LS. Hell even the throttle body is from the TPI 350s & 502 big blocks 🤣. Once you go 411 & electric water pump it's literally no different than what you'd expect out of a modernized gen 1. Has the OG firing order too which gives it that old school sound that's different from the LS. LS engines don't have the same firing order as gen 1 & "2", they changed it to sound more "modern" which I'm not a fan of because why build an engine to sound like your competitor brands? Once you learn more about this engine you'll realize how simple it is. I'll link a book for you to read too

[@solodolonomad]

@@nikothevirgo yessir you can do that bro I'm used to big blocks so I'm fairly new to the LT1s it's pretty fast stock

[@nikothevirgo]

@@solodolonomad www.summitracing.com/parts/hpb-hp1393

[@solodolonomad]

@@nikothevirgo you have fb ?? I wanna show you my LT1 swap build

[@nikothevirgo]

@@solodolonomad Niko Laflare

[@DavidRose-c7v]

Highly underrated engine a lot of power just in a retune

[@DavidRose-c7v]

I coated the top of my 93 with silicone when I REO water pump I never had any issues I had a 93,95,96 all 6spd cars

[@alirezashirazifard8990]

Thank you for great advice

[@ztwntyn8]

I was chasing a misfire once in my 94 Z28 and pulled one of the plug wires out of the opti and antifreeze came out!! It was missing bad half way home from work. Also the bearings of the distributor can fail and the heat will melt the rotor button where it’s held by the screws and it will change timing and if it runs it won’t run well also you check file psi and it’s all good. Keep that in mind ✌🏼

[@alonzahanks1182]

You overheated car Burnt headgasket cause you kept driving hoses get soft buy new ones check radiator

[@Brianz1981]

Good tips! I'm doing all the same stuff myself, but with a 385 stroker.

[@konbromotors1006]

I just put 1 in my 94 caprice from a 96. I’m also new 2 it so I’m looking 4ways 2 peak performance. Right now she running sluggish but she still will burn a tire

[@theduke672]

I was getting thur about 2 opti sparks a year because of oil and water leaks. Put the electric water pump on and haven’t had a problem in over 8 years!

[@Someguy6571]

I have a 97 T/A WS6 with 85k on the clock and still original waterpump and optispark. The waterpump does not leak and the optispark is still running good. My only real issue is now is I believe a failing fuel pump as I have somewhat hard starts when the car sits for awhile. Seems like its not holding pressure. Otherwise the car runs great.

[@alonzahanks1182]

97 owner If that were the case 1st rainy day new opti lol Vented opti the vac is dead headed and flexes cap till it loosens up. Then vac starts working youl see rotor marks on cap. They Didnt up grade cap . i took wire cutters and cut 2 notches on bottom of facing seal rings so vac has metered vac pulling through Dist and other feeding fresh air from cold air intake hook up a hose 2 vac lines and blow both are dead headed. mine works great as upgrade was intended it was easier than drilling holes to match up right at 6 oclock bad gas or any water sucks right into intake goes right out exaust even in flood . Your Welcome

[@benjaminargueta3777]

One argument was, "next day shipping" LMAO!!!!

[@nikothevirgo]

It's not an argument. I guess you're tone deaf, but it was a silly adlib I made that I elaborated on seconds later. 1 is none, nothing is wrong with a spare of anything. A spare part in the trunk is faster than any delivery truck.....

[@SamReynolds-pe9ww]

Great info thank you 💪

[@koraykumru1295]

I think relocating the ignition coil helped me quite a bit!

[@pizzandoughnutspage7817]

People forget there’s no magic bullet, if it’s mechanical or electrical the little guy inside will eventually die. I personally like the idea of electrical water pump, changes some critical issues on an LT1.

[@mubashircheentavida]

Ooh didn't know much about the 411 swap but that looks real interesting. So the whole argument of these things can't be tuned could just be resolved by going down that route...

[@dresanti5274]

Great video, I’m about to 4x swap my pcm real soon

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

I have a 96 Buick Roadmaster sedan with over 170k miles on the original Optispark. I know it needs rebuilt. I'm just trying to get everything I need to do the timing and seals at the same time.

[@danielr.johnson7966]

Thank you Sir!🎊

[@shineward]

Ok am going too try that bro

[@ronaldbrown7824]

Great video dude

[@alirezashirazifard8990]

Thank you for everything. You said “Shut off Switch “ Is this for water pump ? Where do u install it ? Thank

[@nikothevirgo]

I think I was referring to the dumb way I wired the water pump.

[@track4smiley]

How do you like having the air filter coming right off the throttle rather than the air box ?

[@nikothevirgo]

Its kinda meh the modified stock intake is way better IMO

[@RlwTc]

🔥🔥👌🏾

[@ToQuestionIsToLearn]

Tom knows his shit for sure! If he says it, it's basically from the mouths of the GM engineers themselves as far as I'm concerned.

[@tranquility7692]

Anyone know why my 96 Trans Am tops out at 98mph? 5th to 6th shift just bogs. Full bolt on LT1 with Lt4 heads, hot cam, ported intake, bbk throttle body and headers, MSD ignition with NGK plugs, and SLP Loudmouth exhaust. It has an off the shelf OBD 2 port tuner.

[@nikothevirgo]

Did you recall removing the speed Governor?

[@tranquility7692]

@@nikothevirgo no. I don't have any tuning equipment aside for a scan tool. Would the 159mph limiter affect it at 100?

[@PetenarYT]

Any information on that intake mod? I was looking at CAI kits for my 95 LT1 in my firebird and I cant find anything similar to what you've got going on, just intakes that go down to the stock position

[@nikothevirgo]

It's some Chinese intake I found on eBay I just never got around to making a shroud for it. Not the best but I couldn't wrap my head around paying 400 for a similar set up.

[@PetenarYT]

@@nikothevirgo ah okay gotcha. Im also not wanting to pay 400 for something like that haha

[@jetlife77]

Is there another wp wire harness options outside the smog pump since I'm still using it due to California smog registrations 😒

[@nikothevirgo]

www.amazon.com/Painless-Wiring-50106-Water-Relay/dp/B00063097U this should be good for you

[@nikothevirgo]

There's another harness too

[@jetlife77]

@@nikothevirgo I can't find any video instructions on this harness. Want to see how this one is hooked up to do more research and have notes

[@nikothevirgo]

@@jetlife77 check out Rubber City Motoring channel he has a video on it. If I remember right there's a playlist on there with all his Impala/Caprice how to videos

[@jetlife77]

@@nikothevirgo I'm just going to go with the painless performance wire kit. Gary from innovative wiring isn't making product anymore as of now

[@danteturner1090]

Can you put lt1 in old school malibu 79 and have it still fuel Injection

[@nikothevirgo]

Yes that's a common swap there's info lt1swap.com and there's an LT swap group on Facebook for the gen 2 with a lot of posts about that. You might be surprised what cars you see lol

[@dustylittle9584]

So with the PCM swap it would be possible to tune out the EGR and air pump on the 96 models?

[@nikothevirgo]

Yes

[@JacksoNR26]

I'd just remove the egr system and put headers on it

[@earlhorner1093]

Will it work with an LT4 with the alti spark

[@nikothevirgo]

Yes any gen 2 sbc

[@leroylewis5706]

what brand is the pump?

[@nikothevirgo]

Meizere HD

[@babychamp26]

So since mine is a 95 ss l, it says I will have to do a obd1 to ob2 swap. Have you heard of any one with a pre 96 lt1 do a obd2 swap?

[@nikothevirgo]

Only when it comes to an LS based PCM

[@babychamp26]

@@nikothevirgo is there a kit for it?

[@earlhorner1093]

Will it work with an LT4

[@nikothevirgo]

Yes

[@nikothevirgo]

Gen 2

[@mikes4596]

@nikothevirgo bro what’s the on and off switch referring to? Is it a switch for the pump itself ? Thanks in advance

[@mikes4596]

U were talking about it when u we’re going over the electric water pump

[@nikothevirgo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKWQfnujhtF8r5Ysi=FgpFle2QJ9DOVryg

[@nikothevirgo]

I'll have to watch the video again when I get home but here's a link to a better wiring vid

[@bigamp55]

Bro u got a part number for the water pump?

[@nikothevirgo]

W118HD I think

[@bigamp55]

@@nikothevirgo cool bro thanx

[@bigamp55]

WP118HD is it

[@sangamonriverrats6769]

electric water pumps are not as reliable as mechanical ones ... also my lt1 runs at 180 in 105deg heat in traffic!

[@nikothevirgo]

No complaints here with mine. I've had to replace two mechanical ones between this one and the one on my old Caprice. The electric ones don't poop the bed. You know what they say. "your miles may vary".

[@nikothevirgo]

And when I say poop the bed and I'm referring to how factory ones can fail and leak on the opti and kill them. Ask me how I know. There's physically no way an electric one could do the same. The mechanical is just cheaper, older, and simple. So I get where you're coming from. Don't fix what isn't broken. But from my own experience the electric ones are just as if not more reliable.

[@joshkrause2977]

Still get rid of the optispark.

[@nikothevirgo]

It's been on my car nearly 30 years. Not in any rush to ditch it... Especially since I have a tuner unlike majority of LT1/LT4 guys.

[@supergreedy287]

Whos your tuner ?

[@nikothevirgo]

@@supergreedy287 Jeff Creech (NC)

[@Marcos0ne]

Tom Bauman is an asshole, but a smart one lol

[@nikothevirgo]

Very much lol

[@joepalomaresatx1]

People forget about these lt1s..

[@TTGTO288]

The best way to make your LT1 better is to swap in an LS ...

[@nikothevirgo]

Lol

[@coreysharp9794]

LS economy motor, no thanks.

[@TTGTO288]

@@coreysharp9794 Who's talking about economy?

[@coreysharp9794]

@BadAss454LSX I'm kiddin buddy, no need to defend your bad ass 454 lsx

[@TTGTO288]

@@coreysharp9794 Not defending anything ... my tail lights will tell you the story ....