What cam did you end up going with?? Or did you do any internal work before the engine was put in??

 

I have the TR224 cam right now, but not installed yet. I want to make sure everything is good before the cam goes in. I'm debating about installing it myself, but that goes a little deeper than my knowledge so... I know everyone says its cake to put in, but I'd rather just watch someone and learn how to do it the right way first, before I go screwing something up.

BTW, did you get my E-Mail?

 

Well guys after further review, it seems that the F-Body oil pan was somehow swapped to a vette pan before I took ownership of the motor. It didnt really notice how low it was really hanging till I installed the starter. It never really enters your mind while its up on jackstands, but its pretty low to ground. Its not really a big deal, just more of a "why the hell didnt I notice that before" kinda thing. Flyinlow has confirmed that the pan dosent look like his so...

Oh well, just take out the motor mount bolts and raise the motor up, take off pan, put other one back on. Yeah right.

Well despite all that, the fuel tank is back in. This is probably the most difficult part of the swap thus far. It just didnt want to cooperate. Plus I put it in by myself, so grab a friend if you ever have to do this, trust me.

I bought the rad. hoses. Upper one is a 98 V6 Camaro, Lower is a 92 5.7L Z28 one. Wired the Vats bypass box. And also wired up the brake switch.

I guess I need to get a Cat Back on order soon. Borla I'm thinking. Then get to a muffler shop and have a Y fabbed up.

The interior will just have the bare minimum for a while, Front seats, carpet, center console and dash. Door panels and all the other plastics are being a PITA to find or win on EBAY. I keep losing right at the last few hours. Just my luck.

Getting real close, so stay tuned...

Heres the pan.

 

Heres a sight for sore eyes.

 

I do not know where that pan is from. Vette pans have wings on the side. I wonder if it is a truck pan.

 

Hmmm.... I could have sworn that he mentioned something about a vette pan, but I'm probably wrong. I really wasnt paying that much attention to it at the time, I was just too excited and already visioning the swap in my head, therefore tuning just about everything out.

Good thing is, the next swap will go alot smoother. (the 88 to get a LS1 T56 combo maybe) Shhh.

 

I think worg is right, if I remember correctly, the vette pan doesn't fit at all.

 

Ls1 may be different...but as far as an Lt1 is concerned, they are very similar.

 

Umm trams am, he is talking about the vette LS1 oil pan, you have a Vette LT1.

 

Thanks....just caught that.

 

You are really making the LS1 swap look easy. Physical connections are looking to be pretty easy. I'm just wondering if you can give us a breakdown of your wiring process... What you used, how long it took, etc.

 

That is definitely NOT a vette pan. They have baffles that look like wings coming off the side since they are so low. That looks like a stock LS1 pan, but I can't confirm that cuz I have never seen one in person. Seriously though, you make that swap look way too easy. Give me your number cuz I am calling you when I do mine!


Awesome looking car by the way....love the gloss black engine bay

 

For your fuel line try it the way I did it. Get a LS1 fuel line and cut the end off about an inch back. Then cut the rubber TPI fuel line back so you just have the nut part, then weld them together so you can use the stock LS1 line Here's some pics on how I did it.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

Well, the swap is not really that hard to do, I'd say 75 percent of it is nuts and bolts, the rest is tracing, splicing, soldering a few wires together. I'll give a good run down on the wiring when I know that I did it right. I think I have it all done, but there is one or two wires that I've probably missed, more on that in a bit.

CobraKilla92Z : I will probably do something like that in the near future, but I have no access to a welder at the moment, nor do I know how to weld.

OK, tried to fire it up today, just for a few seconds, just to plain see if she would. No dice. Can anyone answer a few Q's for me?

Does the PCM supply voltage for the brake switch? Its the C105 connector, pin B, pink/black wire. I thought I read somewhere that the car would not start without it having ign. power. So that leads me to believe that I need to wire it in to have ign. power, but I'm not for certain. I thought I'd ask before I took the risk of frying something.

Heres what I know.

I have fuel @ 58 PSI. I have Oil pressure (the stock gauge does work, amazing). I have spark. Injector wires have power. PCM has B+ power and Ign. power. Vats box has power. I'm still waiting on the air box to get here, but the MAF is hooked up and just sitting in front of the TB for now. Also, will the car even start w/no coolant, with all of the sensors, who knows.

I'll try a few more things tomorrow and post over at LS1tech.com.

Hopefully this thread will help some people out with their swap, and I'll also help out as much as I can. Thanks alot guys.

 

Whoo Hooo. I've been waiting 2 months to hear what I heard yesterday... The LS1 running! Albeit still not done yet, but its running now so.

Turns out all 8 of the injectors were clogged up. It had me wondering about my wiring, but like I said before, the wiring is really not that hard, just takes a little patience and time. You know all of the info is out there, you just have to find it, which is what I did. But, dont worry, I'll try to back track all of the wiring and get a good write up started for you guys, if you want.

Well, after having a good day hearing it fire up for the first time, I later found out that the torque arm mount I got is still not right. Time to order some more parts. This damn mount is what will be keeping me from getting a test drive any time soon. I'll get a pic. of it and post here as well as LS1Tech.com, we'll see.

Also, the power steering resevoir has a tiny crack in the bottom of it, so its leaking some fluid. I think a little epoxy will fix that.

And last, I changed up my radiator hoses because I didnt like the way they were fitting, kinked and bent. So, I just went to the back of the parts store and looked through all of the hoses till I found what I liked. Top hose ended up being for a 83-90 dodge or chrysler and the botom was for a 88-92 Fard V8. Not much of a description for them on their computer, but they both work out alot better. I'll get a pic. tomorrow, along with the O'Reilly PN#'s.

Now its time to work on the inside of the car, I want to drive it really bad now, hopefully it wont be that long.

 

Get your oil pan problem worked out?

Also what exhaust are you running from the manifolds back?

 

That is great news! Nothing like hearing an engine fire up for the first time after all that work.

"I later found out that the torque arm mount I got is still not right." That is a kick in the nutts. I hate when one part holds things up after months of work and it seems to happen alot with my projects.

Any idea how the injectors got f'ed up?

 

I'm searching for a F-Body pan at the moment, but the other pan will have to work for now. The car will be sitting in the shop for a while longer, so the pan is not a huge issue right now. Thanks for the help BTW.

I think I'll bite the bullet and just order a new Borla cat back, then have a custom Y fabbed up at a local exhaust shop. The guy who did the custom Y for the 86 (Hedman LT.'s) did a great job on it, so I will be giving him some more business for the 89.

Yeah, I think I'll make a template for the Torque Arm mount and just have something fabbed up for that also. That way it will be done and out of the way. I cant tell you how frustrating this is, but it goes with the territory so.

The injectors got clogged up from just sitting so long. Old fuel + Air = Varnish. You could smell it when they finally started pulsing.

Well, let me get some sound clips, and start ordering some interior parts.

 

Keep us updated...

 

Great info. I'm building a H/C LS1 on the stand right now and its going in my GTA with a T56 behind it. Should be pretty healthy. I'm trying to get ALL my parts together so I can swap it all at once and have pretty much everything done. My main concern is the wiring and I'm not sure I want to pay $750 for a harness I still have to do some splicing on. PLEASE post detailed info on your wiring!!! I can't wait to get mine done. I'll post pics of it all along the way and when its done! I'm shooting for 425RWHP naturally aspirated!

 

Alright, I know its been awhile since I've posted, but I've recently moved, and I have no working computer so... I can only get online when I visit my mother.

There hasnt been that much work done to the car, just a little cleaning and tidying up of some wires. I've decided to abandon the Ebay thing and just buy brand new interior parts from Hawks. Carpet, door panels, upper door plastics w/felt should be here soon. After that, I'll need to do something about the headliner and the rear plastics, I might just leave all that stuff out for a while, we'll see.

I also just went ahead and ordered a 3in. Flowmaster set-up from Hawks. Single drivers side outlet, there will be no hint of this car being fast from the outside, which is exactly what I want.

I'm also still searching for a rear end and a damn torque arm mount. Anyone?

I need to get the wiring tables that I used scanned for you guys. I promised it, so I have to do it, It might be a few days though. Hang in there.

I'll get more pics. when the interior is up to par.

 

Why did you decide to go with a borla? I heard those things have a terrible sound to them. $600+ for a catback is ridiculous. Just fab up your own and buy a muffler.

EDIT: Just read your last post. The flow master will give the car away, very loud past 1800 rpm. Still good none the less .

 

But sitting at a stop light idling, it will be hard to tell. The headmans and flow on the 86 is pretty quiet, no cat either. We'll see.

But yeah, I really dont need stainless pipes and muffler from a Borla system, but I've heard LS1's with the Borla and it sounded pretty good to me. But oh well.

 

Glad to see some progress, I lost hope there for while....

Although i can't argree with your exhaust choice, mainly because i'm about going fast and making sure those around me know it....

As far as rear end suggestions, I would just suggest a nice 4th Gen rear, but then again...it hinders on your wheel choice

For a rear using 3rd Gen wheels, I would get one with 3.73's or 3.42's(I went with this) and definitly posi-trac and a nice stall converter.....

 

Lost Hope? C'mon man.

Keep in mind, this car was totally gutted before I purchased it, but the interior was red, so it would have gotten ripped out anyways. The LS1 install has been done for awhile, (anyone listen to it in the sig.?) its just all of the other crap thats holding me up.

The guy I bought the LS1 from has a 4th gen rear with some T/A wheels for $850, but I kinda wanted to keep the IROC wheels on there, with that rear I wont be able to keep them. I'll probably end up putting a locker in the stock rearend, and doing a LS1 brake swap. That sounds good.

 

Glad to hear some progress....

Some LS1 brakes are a nice upgrade, well worth it IMO, the stock drums are terrible.....

 

very very good thread to read. thoroughly enjoyed reading it. wish i had the time/money/skill to do something like that.

btw flynlow - i've never seen a reply from u that contains less than 10 periods in it

 

Yesterday I got an early birthday present, the brand new carpet from Hawks arrived. My 15 year old car will have a "New car smell". But today is my B-day so its going to sit there till Monday. It was kinda wierd, I called Hawks thursday to check on the status of the order and the guy told me that the carpet wouldnt get to me for another 3-4 weeks. I was like WTF, but the next day it shows up. Hmmmm. Oh well, I'm glad I dont have to wait that long for it. Maybe the door panels will get here Monday, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Another thing, I ordered the upper door plastics with the felt, but thursday when I called, the guy said they were discontinued. Still on the website, but discontinued. Looks like the 88 will be giving up parts to the 89.

I'll get pics of the new carpet, when its in.

 

this thread rings very close to home. i've got an 89 RS convertible that is currently in the body shop getting repainted .about the time i finally gave up on finding the LS1/T56 combo , i sent it off to get it painted and of course , Murphy"s law kicked in and i found two different wrecked cars . i went with a very low mileage 99 T/A,and at the end of this month , the convertible should be done and ready for the swap. this thread will be a great reference point for me and i was lucky enough to pretty much get everything off the donor car , right down to the fuel lines, front to rear. about the only things that wasn't salvagable was the radiator and the a/c condensor.i'm going to do a few mods to the eng, (LS6 intake , cam, stouter clutch,etc.). i also have an aluminum driveshaft lined up and an IROC rear disc posi with 3:73 gears to put in .some mac subframes are gonna be used to minimize body flex . i'll keep ya guys posted and i'll have lots of pics , too. i've got a buddy with a 92 RS that has already done the swap successfully so everything should go fairly smoothly.

 

Two things which you don't need anyway, so your set...

 

so i can use my stock condenser and my stock radiator? this car is a 305 tbi car

 

Hey man. Nice swap. I'm about to attempt the same thing for my 84 camaro. I got a 99 z28 totaled in my driveway and i'm gonna use the ls1 and the t56 out of it. I've been looking for something that has it step by step to put it in. That way i don't pass something up and then figure it out when i'm ready to start the motor. What can i do about the dash gauges and stuff. How can i hook those up with the ls1 harness? I would like to put the ls1 dash in my 84 but don't really know how it would fit. Any suggestions or help will be apprecaited. Thanks

Corey

 

I did, However i used an aluminum raditator, but it was stock thirdgen replacement...

corey84ls1
There is alot of information, search around and ask any specific questions if you need help

 

Getting real close now, for a test drive anyways.

I finally tracked down the right torque arm mount and it is in and working like a charm. But as soon as I fix one thing... something else pops up. The driveshaft that came with the car is in poor shape. I went to put it in and one of the endcaps fell off and the little pegs inside rolled everywhere on the floor. Its hard to explain, but for assurance and piece of mind I think I'll just get an aluminum unit. Plus I need to save for a rearend also, and the interior is coming along sssslowly.

Damn, I really want to get some video of this thing doing some for you guys, but just bare with me, the time will come.

 

Glad to hear your are still plug'n along at it. I guess the drive shaft problem is a pain but look at it this way. Better to break like that then when going down the road at 80+mph. Good luck!

 

the u joint just came apart, buy a new ujoint

 

I'm still working on my LS1 on the engine stand. I just need to order a ported LS6 oil pump, comp 918 springs, some pushrods, a SPEC Stg. 3 clutch, a new Hurst, and motor mounts and I'm ready to go. There is some other small stuff yet but not much else. I still can't decide on wiring. I've seen the custom harness for $650 now at Hawk's but I'm not sure. I'd like to wire it myself if possible. You guys that are doing your own wiring.... where are you putting the LS1 PCM? Under the hood or under the dash. Anyone have specifics on all the wiring yet? It would be a GREAT help to some of us trying to complete our swaps.

Thanks!!

-Jeremy

 

I could have done that, but the aluminum piece is on the way.

GTA91: Keep us posted on the swap, sounds like its coming along good.

I was originally going to put the PCM under the dash, but after the thought of all of the splicing and soldering I decided to leave it under the hood. Maybe in the future, but not now. Of course I will have a little bit more room to play with, AC delete, just a heater. As of now I can offer answers to specific questions... ie. what PCM Pin # to what Plug Pin # and so on.

Good luck on the swap.

Here are some links on wiring. http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/search...earchid=472674

Also here is something I copied and pasted from a guy named Magnus's site. A link to it: http://www.dxsoftware.com/magnus/
Theres some good info there. On second thought that was too confusing, just go to his site and go down to V8 swap, then scroll down to the wiring table link.

 

good info on Magnus's site
ya know he is the creator of HPTuners

btw, did ya ever get rid of the truck oil pan?

 

Yeah I went with the doing the wiring myself route. Just a warning and I dont want to scare you away because its not that bad in all honesty, but if you are not ready for it it will overwhelm you and you will get confused and frustrated. It happend to me. But with some help of some others I am getting it straight. I have an AC Delete Heater box for under the hood and I am going to mount the PCM to that. I will get some pics when I can.

 

Nice lookin' swap!!

I begin the first of two, next week...............

First, the 89 Firebird Formula.
Then, the 91 Camaro RS.

 

Hey Knyghtmare, wanna send that A/C Delete box this way? Ha, J/K. I'm still looking for a good one to buy, but thats on the back burner for now.

Alright, tomorrow we pick up the 99 T/A rear end, has about 60K miles on it, and the dude is asking $350 for it so I just figured what the heck. The old peg legged drum brake rear was giving me some problems so it was time to do something. I know I said I wanted to keep the IROCs on there, but the more I see Camaros with draglites on them, the more that I want a set. It will totally kill the sleeper theme, but everyone in this small town already knows about this car and it hasnt even been out of the garage yet so...

The alumuinum driveshaft is here and fits well, not bad for $150 shipped I think. An Optima battery sits in the battery tray now also. Now its time to address the little bit of rust in the floor board, before the new carpet goes in. Door panels are here also, those things look really good. Everything is Gray BTW.

Onyx - I still need an F-Body pan for it, but I figure when the cam goes in, so will the pan. I'm gonna take it real easy around town till then, but not on the track.

Good luck you guys on your swaps.

I need more pics dont I.

 

great job!!! i myself is thinking about doing this ls1 swap.. its going to be hard for me tho.. i have to do a v6 to v8 swap and also an auto to manual swap..my parts list is going to be soo big.. hopefully the swap will go faster tho if i have all the parts i know i need to get it started.. i wish i was in your shoes when this LS1 turned over. it must have been great.. many congrats goes to you!!!!:hail: :hail: :hail:

sean

 

I used a set of JBA Shorty headers on my application. Also swapped in the 4th gen tank. Basically my only problem now is getting my autometer gas gauge to work. The 99 Camaro manual said that the sending unit was a 0-90 so i bought a 0-90 gauge, no dice. Measured the resistance like I should have and its like anywhere from 40-250 ohms. WTF!? How do I make this fugger work?

 

Damn its been a month since I posted last... Time is flying by so fast, but I cannot say that for the car.

The car has been in the exhaust shop for a week now with nothing done to it yet. The problem with living in a small town is there is no place at all that has parts that I need for this swap, so I either have to drive to Dallas or find the parts online, which leads to alot of down time. The part(s) I need at the moment are some Y-Pipe flanges that will bolt to the manifolds and of course I cannot find any around here. So I went to Dallas yesterday to a place that specializes in F-Bodys and Rustangs and guess what... they had none either. So I'm just going to order an offroad Y from somewhere and just hack it up.

The rear is in, but it only has 2.78 gears in it, so they will have to be swapped at some point in time, probably after the cam and converter swap.

I found some O2 sims on the LS1tech classifieds board, $50 for two, not bad I think. They will be up for sale after I get LS1edit.

Gauges are the next thing I need to address. Aftermarket tach for sure, and the speedo I'm undecided on. We'll see.

Crazy3rdgen: Hey thanks for the compliment man, and the swap is not that hard, its just rounding up all of the parts first, which I didnt do. Yeah hearing it run for the first time was sweet, but that was a long time ago, I just want to drive it on a longer than 200ft. cruise you know.

CtRw: I heard those headers would actually hurt more than they would do good so I just left the stockers on. As for the gas gauge... I dunno. I used the 89 tank and a stock gauge so... Wish I could help you out man.

I'll reply again after its out of the shop. Hopefully soon.

 

Call a junk yard and get the flanges from a wrecked car. You can cut them and weld the flanges on the new exhaust pipe. Good luck.

 

This is what I was planning on doing, but I have found zero around here, and Dallas is too far away to be going there every other day... so I'm just going to order the LS1 off-road Y-Pipe and be done with it. This way I will know for sure what I'll be getting, and not having to rely on someone to know what I am talking about over the phone, and then get the wrong thing in the mail. Oh well, I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

This is how my custom Y-pipe turned out. My and a friend were out fitting and welding this up in the dark.

 

Another...

 

Thanks for the pics Knyghtmare. Mine will be routed differently than yours, but I'm letting the exhaust shop handle that.

Well Bruce Hawkins came through again for me, I dont know where I would be if it werent for him.................. HAWKS RULES.

I got the flanges from him and hopefully the exhaust will be done by Monday.

I promise piles of Pics when the car is in my possession again.