Though admittedly the sick House of Kolor paintjob makes me less inclined to daily drive our long-running LT1 Formula project, the mission was a simple and reliable 11-second daily driver on a moderate budget. Some may say that this was not the most ambitious of goals. However, those experienced in the ways of the Gen II SBC will know this was a harder task than it seems. And besides, you have to crawl before you can walk. Nevertheless, I am pleased to say that the day is near at hand thanks to the Nitrous Outlet and Tune Time Performance in Toms River, New Jersey. Thankfully we had already rebuilt our bottom-end, a necessary evil whenever swapping heads and/or a cam into an LT1, so we felt confident spraying the aging beast without spinning a bearing. And having known Nitro Dave for quite a while, we were also confident in his product-especially given the long list of fast LT1s currently running this system.
The new Nitrous Outlet 93-97 LT1 Specific System is one of the first and only kits literally designed specifically for an application, instead of simply adapting a universal kit. This means every little detail down to the mounting hardware is specific, so you don't have some sloppy solenoid bracket hanging off the intake manifold. No sir, this wet-plate system has a single (and stylish I might add) mounting bracket for the solenoids with pre-bent stainless steel hard lines that connect to the plate, which easily and neatly bolts to the top of the intake manifold. The plate is designed to be the best fitting, best atomizing, and highest flowing unit on the market. The same care was taken in selecting high-flowing, bottom exit solenoids designed to work with current fuel cocktails (including E85). The kit we chose (PN 00-10117-58-10) accommodated our dual-blade 58mm Edelbrock throttle body, and came with a 10-pound bottle. There are other variations of this kit for a 52mm or monoblade, 15-pound bottle, or a bottle delete. All kits come with jetting to support a 50 to 200-horsepower shot, however the components will support up to 400 hp-all of which are made in the USA, by the way. Texans don't mess around!
Behold the Nitrous Outlet...
Behold the Nitrous Outlet 93-97 LT1 Specific System with 10-pound bottle, for 58mm throttle bodies (PN 00-10117- 58-10). Nitro Dave has quickly become known as the nitrous guru among the late-model GM crowd, and for good reason. This kit literally comes with everything you need, and is as simple and clean as you can make a nitrous installation. This system retails for $749.99 on NO's site.
Shown here is the NO wet-style...
Shown here is the NO wet-style plate used to atomize and distribute the nitrous and fuel. Normally this is anodized black (as in the previous picture), but this part was backordered and to meet our tight deadline Nitro Dave sent us the "unfinished" version, which is polished and in my opinion looks pretty darn good. It comes in a 52mm, 58mm (shown), and monoblade version for various throttle bodies.
Tune Time's George "Huzzy"...
Tune Time's George "Huzzy" Hatizinikitas began by installing all of the fittings, filter, and liquid-filled pressure gauge onto the bottle. There are fittings for the blow-down tube (important for staying NHRA legal), which relieves excess pressure from the bottle to prevent an explosion, as well as for the nitrous discharge (of course). The bottle placement must be mocked up first, so George knows where to drill the necessary holes.
Instead of using the supplied...
Instead of using the supplied bracket, we opted for Nitrous Outlet's -4 Bottle Heater (PN 00-64001-4) to make sure our bottle would be up to optimum temperature. It adds another $209.99 to the overall cost, but is well worth it. After mocking up the location, George drilled a couple holes in the floor and used the bolts to mount it. A hole was also drilled for the blow-down tube.
Though the spare tire well...
Though the spare tire well in fourth-gens makes an excellent location to conceal a bottle, we opted to just drop it right in the main hatch area. This keeps it easily accessible and removable. Nitrous laws vary by state, but most often driving with a hooked-up bottle is a no-no anyways. Unless I was on the way to the track, I had no intention of leaving the bottle in the car as it was. Temptation can be overwhelming.
Though the spare tire well...
Though the spare tire well in fourth-gens makes an excellent location to conceal a bottle, we opted to just drop it right in the main hatch area. This keeps it easily accessible and removable. Nitrous laws vary by state, but most often driving with a hooked-up bottle is a no-no anyways. Unless I was on the way to the track, I had no intention of leaving the bottle in the car as it was. Temptation can be overwhelming.
The plate simply slipped in...
The plate simply slipped in between the throttle body and the intake manifold, using the supplied high-quality gaskets.
The solenoids come installed...
The solenoids come installed on the bracket, so all you have to do is bolt them up to the intake via a longer set of bolts (and spacers) that go through the fuel rails.