ok, first i have searched the threads....just a simple question. a COMPLETE list of things needed for an LT1 swap. i know you need the following:

-complete LT1, intake to oil pan (obviously)
- ecu, and any sensors
-"painless wiring" wire harness ( is this a must have or convenience?)
- you have to fabricate new a/c lines i hear
-and i have tpi, so i think i heard you need the fuel pump from that or something???

as far as headers and such, i am not worried about that...i just need to know what parts i need to make this work.

can someone just throw me a list of what i need to do the swap?

I'll try to make a nice recipe


1. LT1 engine with Tranny
2. Radiator, hoses, new waterpump if needed
3.Fuel Pump (If your car isn't a TPI), Fuel fitting,Fuel Line
4. Headers, you don't want to use original manifolds because of the D-shape exaust port.
5. Intake of some sort, clips, hoses, (I got mine of my old V6 camaro)
6. Wiring Harness,VATS, ECM, spare wiring of any kind could be usefull, butt connectors.
7. Oils and Fluids, think about maybe 100$ in total
8. Power steering reservoir, hoses, power steering lines.
9. Dual radiator fan setup if you can, if you can't , keep the one you have.
10. I recommend new drive shaft u-joint.
11. New speedo gear for tranny tail.(lt1 are electronic speedo driven)


Now as per Wiring Harness from Painless well I didn't go that way cause the original car harness is about the same except nothing tells you witch wire is witch, you got to figure it out by yourself. altough, I can help with that.

For the Fuel Pump since you have a TPI you can keep what you have it's already ok for an LT1 engine.Altough you might want to consider a Fuel pressure regulator so you can tweak your car afterward.

Now for exaust system I truly believe only in headers, fabricating a nice setup with stock manifolds isn't doable on a nice budget .
altough if you need headers, you'll need a Y-pipe.

For Power sterring I did my own with 3/8 steel tubing , worked out great, altough you might want to find a Hydrolic shop that can make a nice crimped line for your setup since you probably don't have the tools at home to do so. The fluid reservoir should be mouted on the the passenger strut tower.

For the tranny you'll have to remove the speedo sensor and remove the tranny tail, you'll have to swtich the gear from your old tranny onto the new one since the gear ratio of your rear-end isn't the same as what the LT1 had. Also changing U-joint will help removing existing vibration and it will make your drive shaft stronger, it is always good to have it changed cause your backing your car with 300hp.

For the radiator, I recommend getting the right one, reason being is that a LT1 is reverse cooled, there's alot of hoses ! and there's also a steam vent that goes from the back your the heads up to the radiator. While doing my swap I blown 2 brand new rad so I figured that I need the right one ! (altough my problem was blown head gaskets).

Now mix that together, get 1 week vacation to do so, had 5 hours of tool trowing, 2 scoops of blood and sweat, lots and lots of hands degreaser.

2-3 Budweisers daily can help getting started. Altough you may want to use the chain block before the budweisers.

Now get into the car , close the door and wake-up that little monster.

John Milican sells the fuel lines pre-fabbed already for LT1's in thirdgens so that will make your swap a bit easier. I reused the LT1 power steering hoses so I didn't have to fab my own. The way I routed the PS hoses was instead of going under the block (the way it's supposed to) I carefully rebent the lines so they ran in front of the motor. I also made custom mounts for the PS reservoir tank (pics can be seen on my website). You'll also have to custome fab your own little things along the way (no LT1 swap is done 100% identical to someone elses). Like, a Painless wiring harness for a '94-'97 PCM costs $600! You know, for a couple hundred bucks more you can buy DFI, and then you don't have to touch your tranny. The reason you have to change the speedo gear in your tranny is the LT1 PCM needs the VSS sensor to run correctly, while DFI needs no such thing. Also DFI doesn't use the MAF sensor, so you don't need to kill yourself making air tight air intakes. Also with the DFI, the wiring harness is simple as hell! I mean it took me 20 minutes to hook the damn thing up it was so straight-forward. Plus the DFI re-uses a LOT of the old sensors off your current motor's block. Like it reuses the IAT sensor, CTS, MAP sensors so you don't need LT1 specific ones (but you can use LT1 ones, the DFI recognizes the difference automatically). The DFI can also control your engine fans, and torque convertor lockup if you have a 700-r4. It's really just a great engine management system, and it's 100% tuneable with a laptop...unlike the '93 LT1 ECM where you have to do the chip method still.
If you have any specific questions, just give me a shout, I can try and help you out with anything I can.

BTW, what car/year do you have (It makes it easier for us to give you detailed help!)

i am looking to do this swap into my 87 trans am GTA. also is it needed to get a 4th gen tranny , my 700r4 only has 50k miles on it, and it doesnt have much of a resale value, so i was hoping to be able to re-use it.

You can reuse the 700-r4 if you use DFI or a '93 ECM.

ok lets say I have a wrecked LT1 caprice (police cruiser) and my 305TPI 88 camaro....both are automatic....would it be better to use the newer tran? Im interested in making this switch without switching a lot of sh)t but I dont think thats possible....Is there anything I dont have that I would need...and my I dont have I mean something thats not already on one of these two cars. is my TPI useless?


arg this is going to be a headache



chris

You can reuse the automatic from the caprice, especially if you're going to reuse the computer from the caprice. When you go over to the LT1 motor, you will not use the TPI wiring harness/computer/or hardware. However, you can sell it on ebay for a GOOD amount of money.

are you sure the computer needs the VSS signal? Ive got a T5 in mine and I never hooked it up, and I have had absolutely no problems at all with it. plus I get the added benifit of no speed governor. whats the reason for hooking it up?

Texas - If your PCM came out of a 6 speed car, the computer may not need the VSS signal. In fourth gens, the VSS signal was sent to the PCM, which in turn was sent to the speedo. An M6 PCM may not need the VSS signal, because A4 PCMs used MPH to jusdge shift points, and not RPM. Also another reason why it was especially important to program the computer when changing rear end gear ratios. This is what I've heard through the grapevine and from what 4th genners told me, so take it with a grain of salt. I never actually had to deal with an LT1 PCM so I'm just speaking out of what was presented to me as fact.

look here for swap tips.. http://www.hpsalvage.com/

well, the engine and ecm came from an A4 car, but Ive got a T5 behind it, so thats not really a concern I guess. but I do need to go ahead and get it programmed anyway.

Well since you have a '92, don't you have a VSS signal in your tranny to power your speedo? Did you hook it up to the PCM?

yes, have the VSS. nope, didnt hook it up, didnt really see a reason at the time, but now Im beginning to wonder if that is what is causing some of my problems.

What problems are you experiencing?

Well, when I start the car, it runs great, idles perfect, and drives good for a few minutes. about the time it goes closed loop it starts messing up, running rough, studdering, basically just running like complete crap. it will do this for a minute or two, but only below about 2500 rpm, any higher rpm and it seems to run fine. the wierd thing is that it usually only runs likes this for one period of time the entire time I drive the car. I mean, its like it does it for one cycle or something, and then runs great. I had to replace both O2 sensors about a month ago, and it helped alot, it ran worse before, but it didnt entirely solve the problem. Im beginning to wonder if its not a computer problem. I never did reprogram the computer after adding the LT4 hot cam. I might go ahead and do that anyway since I need to and see if that solves the problem. oh yeah, Im also getting a code for

Ignition Problem
4X Sensor signal

or something like that and I have no clue what it is. Ive looked for a while now and have never found mention of a 4X signal. any thoughts?

That sputter on occaision could mean your opti is going. Maybe it's the ignition module? Why not try to get a service manual for like a '95 Z28 and look up computer codes? Do you use LT1_Edit?

well thats the thing, if it is the opti going out thats a good thing becuase I swapped in a friends on night becuase I thought that might have been the problem. but that was when it was the O2 sensors that were bad. so it may just be the opti. atleast I still have mine so thats not a problem. I wonder if maybe its the ingition coil? Ive got the MSD coil and Ive heard some pretty bad things about it. I might swap my friends stock one on and see if that does anything. I dont use LT1_Edit but Ive been seriously considering it. I want the power to do basically whatever I want with my car, but right now its just a matter of money. there are too many other things I need to spend it on right now before I can even think about getting that. I'll try getting ahold of one of the service manuals but the last time I tried I wasnt very successful. I'll see what happens. thanks so far though

Tristan

will an LT1 hook up to a T-5?? id change to a T-56 of course later but for the time being can it work if i dont beat the hell out of it?

Yes, the T5 will bolt up....I'm not sure about the flywheel however. You're gonna have to ask someone who has a T5 and LT1, although I don't know of anybody.

TexasLT1, you need to hook up that VSS or it'll run like s**t. When I done my T56 Swap from a 700r4 on my 87 T/A the pulses per mile(ppm) were mismatched and the VSS was giving the wrong signal to the computer. I bought a VSS buffer($85) from Dakota Digital and the problem was solved.You'll probally need to get your pcm retuned also.........later

Say you're swapping a complete LT-1, T-56 into a 90 Camaro. Is the VSS Buffer still necessary if I use the LT-1 computer and wiring harness?

I currently have TBI and a 700R4.

Furthermore, if I change rear gears (say for example I got the computer out of a OBDII 4th Gen with 3.42 rear gears) to 3.73, can I just use a Hypertech Power Programmer to update the computer for this change?

Thanks

Since your doing a complete swap you wont need the VSS buffer.I'm still using my L98 and old computer with my T56 swap so I needed the VSS buffer.I've got an LT1 on a stand bolting on some goddies before I install it. Sorry I dont know anything about the Hypertech programer ....let me know how your swap goes.....later

ACtually, Ive got an LT1 and T5, and I just pulled the flywheel off the 305 and bolted it right onto the LT1, havent had any porblems. so...how do I hook up the vss? do I just splice into the wire coming off the trans and run a wire to the correct place on the ecm?