nebulous

Assuming my current 305 is going to die, how tough is it to swap in a LT1? Does it just bolt up to the current mount-points and transmission, or are major mods needed?

fredo92

Well man, I'm in the middle of it right now....I'll tell you all about it when i'm done. For now I can tell you it's a bitch, but well worth it when it's done. If you want to see a few pictures of it so far, go to www.angelfire.com/tx/brune and then click on the link to the LT1 swap.

Cntrvrsy

I'm interested in knowing the same thing. I have a good chance at getting my hands on a LT1 from a Impala SS. Of course I'm gonna mod it up a bit, but I don't want 2 miss/4get anything on the install. Isn't there a guide 2 this swap somewhere online?

Brett

I suppose I should write a tech article on this. I've been asked so often lately that writing it all gets tedious - but here are the basics. It fits fine, will bolt up to your tranny, can work with your stock radiator, needs 4th gen stock manifolds or large enough headers to clear 4th gen D port heads, Can use 4th gen air filter or customize one, can use 4th gen F-bod accessory bracket but not with AC, power steering and fuel lines will have to be fabbed, if you didn't have TPI you need a higher-flowing fuel pump.

The one thing that is tough to do you have to send out anyway - send out the LT1 harness and your existing harness to get spliced together. I'm not home yet this week so e-mail me at bnsrslt1@aol.com and I will get you the number of the guy that did mine this weekend.

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1991 RS LT1
every imaginable bolt-on, ungodly LT1 355, and 12 pounds of intercooled boost on it's way in '01

2000 C5 Coupe
black/black 6-spd, optional polished rims, first run 13.056 @ 109.52 stock

"So what DOES the back of a Mustang look like?"

Get Blown ?

My sites got an LT1 swap guide. Note it's only a guide. If you check page 3 of it it tells you some basic wiring.

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1989 Camaro RS LO3 WCT5 "The Hose Queen" 0-60' 2.34 1/4 15.8@87mph
http://350.StreetRacing.org
ICQ: 61342629 AOL IM: BlackSunshineZ28

TexasLT1

Ok, I just completed an LT1 swap into a '92 RS and it was well worth the blood, sweat, and tears. Here is a complete list of everything we had to change:

-motor mounts; both parts
If you want to keep AC, do the following
-use your original engine mounted parts, but modify the pass. side; grind off the bump on the top/front side until the mount bolts into the correct holes without contacting the compressor. it works
-you will have to modify your frame(more in a minute)
-make a new mount for the computer, I mounted mine on a bracket made from 1/4" steel and welded it to the frame directly beside the coolant resevoir. use low temp though because you can melt a whole in the frame. Trust me. Also, you can make a bracket onto this to mount the power steering resevoir, and you'll have to make or get made a new pressure line for the power steering
-you don't need to send the wiring harnesses out to get spliced, you can do it yourself. There are seriously about six wires that you need to splice: coolant temp, oil pressure, a couple of power feeds for the computer, and a few other ones I can't remember right now
-security system (VATS if equipped)
for this you have two choices:
1. buy a new $275 non-VATS chip from Painless Wiring for your new computer
2. buy the new $100 VATS module from GM, change the pins on the connector, and plug into original connector, just splice the BLUE wire into the same on the computer


I told you about modifying the frame, heres what you have to do to keep AC:

-above the pass. side motor mount, mark a line straight to the frame on the top flat part of the crossmember. line it up with the front of the mount. notch this out about 1 inch away from the frame and all the way to the bend down, and down to the small reinforcement piece on the front edge of the crossmember. weld 1/4" steel plate into this hole and paint it and your done. If it sounds confusing e-mail me and I'll try to send you a drawing of it
-get EVERY manual you can get your hands on, specifically the ones with electrical diagrams for both years

everything else is fairly straightforward

if you run into trouble with the electrical, for a small price I can probably supply you with the information you need to get around the VATS and the slicings needed to hook eveything up correctly. Oh yeah, I'm 16, so if I can do it, you definately can

Good luck and let me know if you have any problems

TexasLT1

forgot to add that I added Hedman headers and y-pipe to it so I didn't have any problems with the manifolds or anything, everything else is stock 3rd gen

fredo92

Hey TexasLT1, what part of Texas are you from? I'm from Plano, and was just curious to see if you were anywhere near where I am because I'd like to see some more about what you were talking about with modifying the frame for the A/C.

TexasLT1

sorry, I live south of Houston, but I can probably send you a drawing of the mod I made if you want it, or I can actually think about it this time and try and make the description clearer!

LT1Powered85Z

Ahhh yes...I've got a few things to comment on in this thread. I knew you didn't do it on your own, eventhough you talk as if you did. Thanks for clearing that up for me...

Texas: Finally...someone that did it like I did. I guess it can be done like I did it. I also like how you did other things as well. Like the wiring for example...there's no need to splice the whole harness together...only a few need to be done. I personally got a new harness from TPIS...so I didn't have anything extra that I didn't need...to get in my way. It looks stock. You're also the first person that I've seen publicly display the whole A/C problem/dilema. Everyone says toying around with the frame doesn't need to be done...but it's because they don't have a damn clue what they're talking about. Same thing applies to the passenger side motor mounts. Sounds very much like how I did it. I knew I wasn't the only one.

That's all for now...

Eric

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Red '85 Z-28 w/'94 Vette LT1 w/'93 Z ECM
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Red '85 Z-28 w/LB9
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