Thread: Might be a LS1 in sight

I went to the stealership today and they had a 98 Trans Am there. Its red with t-tops, full leather, auto,pretty much every option avaliable at the time.
Its got the 5.7 LS1 in her with damn near 99,000 on it with still plenty of power left in it. They wanted 7,000 for it I got them talked down to 5 grand as of now with tax, title and lic included. If I get them talked down to 4500 Im takin it.

I took it for a test drive and it drove pretty good, its needs a new driver side wheel bearing, new front rotors pretty much just wear and tear stuff, and the paint on the front is has a few rock chips in it but nothin serious.

I dont know if anyone on here knows anything about LS1 engines and what to look for as far as what i should be lookin for. Just kinda curious. I have heard they are pretty reliable the only issues I have heard with the 98 is the rod bolts arent as strong as the LT1 and tend to snap fairly easy. Anyone in here that own a LS1 and would be willing to give up some info it will be appreciated

sub'd because soon i will too be looking into an LS1.

I have an 02 automatic SS. You can't go wrong with an auto. I recommend you go to ls1tech and research some more. The 98-00's have the common oil consumption issue. If you do the occasional spirited driving, gas mileage is not that bad.

I would never buy an automatic f-body but that's me.

I would love to have a 6 speed too but the auto I think would be better because its going to be a half ass daily driver next to the gp. It might see the track a few times but not every weekend

I'd say go for it for 4500...but we'd all also like pictures...

The LS1's are fun, and make plenty of power...though gas does get guzzled if you play around any.

Good luck with getting it

Originally Posted by matt5112

the auto's like to die.

I was reading that. The LS1 had a different disigner for the trans and rear end which was a poor disign and with the extra 60ish plus horses it cant handle it as well.

Kinda like with the gp's

where did you say this lot was???

Originally Posted by bigmeadersGTP

where did you say this lot was???

yeah, for real. i got a subaru i want to trade in.

Thanks.. I will go and check It out. I think 4500 for it is a steal. I just dont think they want it on there lot anymore. They have all these brand new cars sitting there and then the lonely LS1 TA sitting back in the corner all by itself.

And yea the gas milage wasnt to shabby with it. It got about 23 on the hw and 14 in twn.

I will go back up there tom and snap some pics of it. I think she is beautiful

Its in Illinois

Hey Guz... did you have any probs with yours heating up to operating temp? I drove that TA around for almost 3 hrs and it barely got above 160 on the guage. It was also really cold outside about 20 deg today but the heater didnt really want to work.
It just blew out luke warm air

Originally Posted by bstuby

Hey Guz... did you have any probs with yours heating up to operating temp? I drove that TA around for almost 3 hrs and it barely got above 160 on the guage. It was also really cold outside about 20 deg today but the heater didnt really want to work.
It just blew out luke warm air

I don't drive mine too much but when I do it warms up just fine. But I live in southern california so I don't have to worry about the weather being to cold.

LOTS of friends with LS1s... if your getting it for a DD you will love it... if you plan to mod you need to upgrade the whole pcm not just retune it... the 98s and most 99s were bad about taking tunes and performing well. Slower processors or something, didn't work as well as the 00-02s with reprogramming.

Other than that if its got the 2.73 gears like some did for "fuel efficiency", you need to upgrade to 3.42s... will still get 28mpg highway but carries power better for in town... and makes launches better, 2.73s bog down the engine when taking off

I have an 01 WS6 auto and live in cleveland. It only comes out during the spring/summer but the early spring days when it is still cold out the temp will still get up there. The auto isn't the best built but it will last longer than what is being said. If you want really good info, I agree with others that you should go to ls1tech.com or ls1.com. There are people there with a lot of mods on an stock auto and no problems.

Originally Posted by DARK PHX

I have an 01 WS6 auto and live in cleveland. It only comes out during the spring/summer but the early spring days when it is still cold out the temp will still get up there. The auto isn't the best built but it will last longer than what is being said. If you want really good info, I agree with others that you should go to ls1tech.com or ls1.com. There are people there with a lot of mods on an stock auto and no problems.

Buddy is still running the original auto with a 3800 stall and built the motor to 583rwhp/553tq... 2 yrs of summer driving and several 11sec track times, still holding strong

And YES there is a hole cut into the supports for the hood to fit that tiny intake, hood is still solid 2 yrs later