LE1 Heads/Cam, LPP Headers install thread. Pictures!!

Decided the car needed an upgrade. It currently has had the LT4 Hotcam kit and pacesetter LT Headers for over 40,000 miles and about 8 years. It served me well and still runs good but I just wanted some more power. I started doing the swap today since Im still waiting for my front wheels to get back from my suspension over haul.

Mod list to go in the car:
-LE1 Heads
-LE Cam: Similar to the cc503 but with more lift
-LPP Longtube SS headers with y-pipe
-Bosch Type 3 30# Injectors
-Isky Guidplates
-7/16 ARP rocker studs
-ARP Head bolts
-Comp Ultra Pro Mags rockers
-Victor Reinz 5898 Gaskets. .026 thick
-Autolite 104 plugs gapped at .040
-New GM motor mounts
-Solomon Tune
-3.90 motive Gears
-much more supporting stuff etc.....
Some of the new stuff
http://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....eb5b3dba91.jpg
http://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....1b2f461e74.jpg
http://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....ca8f12a296.jpg
http://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....8096ceb0bd.jpg

http://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....d26e767539.jpg

http://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....32f8be3b49.jpg
http://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....9cc8bd4067.jpg
http://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....5c04821a34.jpg

http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....3e63fd9834.jpg
http://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....663c0b6018.jpg
http://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....3227d10337.jpg
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DAY 1:
I removed the Intake, alternator, valve covers, waterump, Opti, Rockers, lifters, Hub, driver side spark plugs and driver side header bolts. Only put about 5 hours of work into it as of now.

http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....4378dedf81.jpg
http://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....514ce2a480.jpg
http://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....44c4decc18.jpg
http://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....e03ceebcc3.jpg
http://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....dbb245f92a.jpg
http://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....6c0592e283.jpg

DAY 2

Made some progress today. Only worked about 3 hours today. I removed the timing chain cover, timing chain, got the hotcam out and the new LE1 cam in. Installed the timing chain and got the cover back on. Pretty good day. The cam has 44,000 miles on it and literally no sign of wear or anything. I was really happy to see that my engine is still running clean and smooth.

http://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....7b5c098db1.jpg

http://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....108348d669.jpg

http://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....deb30cd2a0.jpg

http://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....f0d540eb63.jpg

http://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....94c1148cc2.jpg

http://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....63f3509bb3.jpg

I guess ill keep this thread going even though its not too popular on here. Anyways.....


Day 3 and 4
Its been a slow two days with work taking up my time. I was able to get the driver side motor mount replaced, I got the old header and head off and the new LE1 head on. I also got the LPP driver side header to fit. I had to grind a little section of the k member. Nothing major. Just a little dremel action got it done. Otherwise it dropped in from the top pretty easy. The steering shaft clears no problem. I have the LS1 steering rack and shaft so im sure that helps. There is plenty of room.

http://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....239e4722cd.jpg

http://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....d5e0d3f3c5.jpg
http://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....d3058f19db.jpg
http://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....1e4c2ca16d.jpg
http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....0395aa7c8d.jpg

http://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....9dfe66edbe.jpg

I'm watching this man! This is eventually what I want to do when I get money.
Looks like you are doing this with the engine still in the car.
Do you still have the stock K member?
And did you do motor mounts?

Yeah, still stock k-member. I also bought new GM motor mounts. The header still was way to close. It would have hit no matter what. Its not too bad with the engine in the car. Its a little more difficult but with the radiator out of the way I can stand inside the engine bay which makes it real easy to get to things without having to awkwardly lean over the front fenders.

Well keep us updated. You'll end up with a fun car again.

Day 5
Progress is still slow and steady. Got the passengers header and head off. It was a long day. I got the threads chased and the block cleaned. Should be on the car tomorrow.

http://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....6d2239d135.jpg
http://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....2d9a9b5bb9.jpg

these headers have seen better days
http://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....1c285346ca.jpg
http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech....8e2370f9a4.jpg

Day 6 & 7

Just a little update. I did make some small progress Monday and today. I was able to get the passenger head on and torqued down, passenger motor mount installed. The steam pipe which took forever and fought me to line up got bolted on, the Opti and water pump seal and front hub were installed. I also got my driver side plug wires routed. Lifters, oil pump drive and the spider tray were put on today. Its slowly starting to look like an engine again.
I ordered my pushrods today. It seemed like 7.200 gave me the best results. I was expecting to have to go shorter but 7.150 looked closer to the intake side which I didn't like too much.

DAY 8

Made some progress today. I got the intake painted and mounted on. New FIC injectors installed and adjusted all my guidplates along with adjusting the valves. The engine might be able to start late tomorrow.

http://ltxtech.com/forums/attachment...4&d=1435892810
http://ltxtech.com/forums/attachment...8&d=1435892810
http://ltxtech.com/forums/attachment...7&d=1435892810
http://ltxtech.com/forums/attachment...4&d=1435892810
http://ltxtech.com/forums/attachment...0&d=1435892810

Got my wheels back on Monday. They turned out good. Mickey Thompson UHP Street comp tires.
http://ltxtech.com/forums/attachment...9&d=1435892810
http://ltxtech.com/forums/attachment...8&d=1435892810

Good news.
Those wheels are SICK!

very detailed post.

Great job.

I am sure that alot of first timers doing (or considerinbg) a head/cam swap would love all of the details and pics.

Looks like you are getting close to firing this thing up.

Hopefully it gets finished up this weekend so you can go for a terst drive.

Lloyd

Nice job so far. Looks like it's all being done the right way with a good attention to detail. Good luck on the first start.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NightTrain66

very detailed post.

Great job.

I am sure that alot of first timers doing (or considerinbg) a head/cam swap would love all of the details and pics.

Looks like you are getting close to firing this thing up.

Hopefully it gets finished up this weekend so you can go for a terst drive.

Lloyd

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Thanks Lloyd. Im glad you were able to see this thread and see your product put to use.

I was able to start it up briefly last night. I only ran it for a minute since i didnt have coolant in the engine. i just wanted to make sure it started. Fired right up without hesitation. It sounded good too. Idled and revved up healthy. I will have a video posted tomorrow once I get home. All i have to do is add some coolant and modify the stock valve covers and the car will be on the road.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blackbirdws6

Nice job so far. Looks like it's all being done the right way with a good attention to detail. Good luck on the first start.

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thankyou. I tried to do everything correct so i didnt have issues later on. It was defintialy a lot more work than i expected.

Great thread,the pics help a lot.Were did you get the Victor Reinz 5898 gaskets??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by beaver50

Great thread,the pics help a lot.Were did you get the Victor Reinz 5898 gaskets??

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I ordered them from Rock Auto. I think they were only like $40.00 total for both. I wanted to go with the impala ones but those are discontinued. Plus these are slightly thinner.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Badazz 97 TA

I ordered them from Rock Auto. I think they were only like $40.00 total for both. I wanted to go with the impala ones but those are discontinued. Plus these are slightly thinner.

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Thanks for the info!!

The car is running and back on the road! Here are some last minute pictures and two videos. To clearance the valve covers all I had to do was make two slits on the side of the drip rails with some tin snips and straighten out the oil drip rail thing. You don't have to chop away at the valve cover like other people have done. Took literally 5 minutes to do both sides and they fit fine with no noise or clearance issues with the ultra pro mags.


The new suspension is awesome as well. The car drives super nice.


http://ltxtech.com/forums/attachment...9&d=1436128713

http://ltxtech.com/forums/attachment...0&d=1436128713

http://ltxtech.com/forums/attachment...4&d=1436128713



Two Walk around videos. The cam is a lot smoother than the LT4 hotcam at idle. It stinks less and doesn't burn the eyes like it used to do. You honestly cant even tell it has a cam for having some decent duration and lift. It drove nice and smooth. power is good, better than before. Its super drivable. I just have to mess with the TPS sensor and get that dialed in some more. Hopefully the videos work. If they don't, search Joe97TA and then click on my channel. Look for the LE1 #1 and #2 videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oYzPhlsjdA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ_dy0ljvIA

The 223/231 .557/.571 112 LSA cam should idle about like a Hot Cam or maybe a hair more aggressive.

DEFINITELY not less aggressive.

I would make sure rockers are not too tight and dial in the tune a lil.

Lloyd

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NightTrain66

The 223/231 .557/.571 112 LSA cam should idle about like a Hot Cam or maybe a hair more aggressive.

DEFINITELY not less aggressive.

I would make sure rockers are not too tight and dial in the tune a lil.

Lloyd

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Alright, I will adjust the rockers one more time and see if getting the tune dialed in a little more will help. I should be able to datalog next week. I only went 1/2 turn of preload with 7/16 studs and stock lifters. I figured it would be slightly more choppy but it isn't. You can barely tell it has a cam at idle to be honest. The hotcam sounded more aggressive. It pulls super strong and runs great though. I like it a lot.


I am having high idle issues randomly and it struggles to start. I really think it has something to do with the TPS voltage or something along those lines because it didn't do it before the swap. The only thing I did different was I isolated that idle air port to the intake manifold on my aftermarket throttle body and drilled a 1/8th hole in it that it didn't have before so that it was like the stock setup.

idling around 1000rpm (park/nuetral) and 950rpm in gear my 231/239 (the lower lift version) from lloyd doesn't lope all that much once its hot either. Its pretty choppy on startup though. I think when I finally get my aldl to cooperate with me again to get a datalog i'll get the idle lowered back down closer to stock. It think it'll be pretty choppy at a lower idle...

Well the little LT1 did me proud today. I was driving behind a '13 Camaro SS 1LE today. He went into the passing lane on a back road out here and gunned it, so I downshifted into 2nd at about 35mph and stayed right on his ass until the top of 4th gear where we slowed down. I'm very happy with the way the car ran. It gives me a good indication of what kind of power I'm making. This was with 3.23's as well.

Seems Lloyd gave me exactly what I asked for, if not a tad bit more with this LE1 package. I'm a happy camper right now.

The little LT1 that could!
Sounds like a great package. You need some 3.73 gears now!

The car will be getting 3.90's within the next week or so. I just have to call the gear shop and get it done. And then some data logging by Solomon should help even more

Great post OP. I love a good picture heavy walk thru video. Get some inside videos or her running.

I will try and get one soon of an in car acceleration video.

Little acceleration video. Bare with me, Its hard to drive, hold a camera and shift at the same time. I couldn't drive as hard as I wanted to. it still has 3.23 gears and needs to still be data logged.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcNWkjZ6RqA

looks good. congrats. Lloyd is great

Looks like the car runs,will. I we be giving Lloyd a call to do a some head intake and cam packag. I did the rear end gear change to 3.73 love them. If you could provide another video when you get the gear swap done.

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For sure, gears will be in a month or so. I Have a wedding coming up which took a lot of money away from the car for now. lol

Thanks for this thread and the great photos you uploaded. This is pretty similar to what I want to do to my car, have the LE1 heads and cam in my sights. Not having any engine building experience is what I'm afraid of. I'd like to get the engine rebuilt completely which of course means yanking it out. We'll see. Your suspension upgrades are also what I'd like to do. Wanna swap cars? LOL The LT1 Pontiacs look much better than the LS1's do, in my opinion.

When I had intermittent high idle I traced it back to a bad ground in the wiring loom. Having not pinpointed where the issue was I added a ground to the existing wire off the TPS and that fixed the problem.

I didn't see where you mentioned the stock engine mounts, were they worn out? Having the same year car I'm also thinking of replacing a lot of the old rubber parts.

Headers are where we differ. I need emissions versions and want to avoid ground clearance issues associated with LT's. I have a set of SLP shorties sitting in a box, know they aren't the best but maybe better than stock manifolds. Also considering either AS&M or MAC mid length with custom Y and cats.

Thanks again for the writeup and pics.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Not Dave

Thanks for this thread and the great photos you uploaded. This is pretty similar to what I want to do to my car, have the LE1 heads and cam in my sights. Not having any engine building experience is what I'm afraid of. I'd like to get the engine rebuilt completely which of course means yanking it out. We'll see. Your suspension upgrades are also what I'd like to do. Wanna swap cars? LOL The LT1 Pontiacs look much better than the LS1's do, in my opinion.

When I had intermittent high idle I traced it back to a bad ground in the wiring loom. Having not pinpointed where the issue was I added a ground to the existing wire off the TPS and that fixed the problem.

I didn't see where you mentioned the stock engine mounts, were they worn out? Having the same year car I'm also thinking of replacing a lot of the old rubber parts.

Headers are where we differ. I need emissions versions and want to avoid ground clearance issues associated with LT's. I have a set of SLP shorties sitting in a box, know they aren't the best but maybe better than stock manifolds. Also considering either AS&M or MAC mid length with custom Y and cats.

Thanks again for the writeup and pics.

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your welcome man. it was the first time going this in depth with my car. Ive done a cam swap before but not heads or any suspension work. The car is nearly 18 years old so it was time to replace all the rubber stuff. I figured since I was doing headers and would only have them off once that doing motor mounts would be the wise time to do it. The car has a 105,000 miles so im sure they were past due. it was a lot of money but worth the results. The car is enjoyable again. I still need to get some data logging done from Solomon, just waiting to do gears before I do that so that the car can be done mechanically. Just needs some new paint.

Great thread great detail hope you enjoy

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