DonutGuard

Okay, so this is a quick question... I've got a 1987 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 that I'm taking the LM1 350 SBC and 700R4 out of and swapping it directly into a 1984 Trans AM.

The previous owner absolutely destroyed the engine wiring harness on the Trans AM, but the engine wiring harness is nearly perfect on the Caprice. I've already got everything disconnected on both sides of the firewall, I just need to get the heckin' thing free.

Am I going through a lot of wasted effort, or is there enough similar between the two despite the model year and body style difference to use the wiring harness off the Caprice in the Trans AM?

8t2 z-chev

I'd say repair the damaged TA harness using sections/parts off the Caprice harness

3rdJenny

.....You should be able to use the Caprice harness just need to be trim out what is not needed......Howell makes a stand alone TBI harness, H242.worth a look to see what is needed.

DonutGuard

I mean, I'm all for Frankensteining one car and another car together, but doing that to wiring harnesses is where I draw the line unless I absolutely have to. The only things I can think of that I'll need to do that for is the headlamps, and electric fans.

BobWolf

If you have a set of factory wiring diagrams you could make it work. You definitely want factory diagrams in case an engineer decided to switch things up between the different years and models. Last time I did a swap like that I gutted the entire car; I scavenged the engine and chassis / body wiring harness. If its injected Scavenge the ignition lock if chipped, the ECM and the body control module. GM started requiring the ECM and BCM to communicate otherwise you will have to pony up for a standalone ECM flash if you want it to run. I would also scavenge the rear axle as well because the rear axles on the B bodies were pretty beefy.

DonutGuard

I've got the ECM out of the Caprice, but it's Carbureted (for now) so no need for any computers. Mostly I think that computer was for adjusting the Carburetor, but the one that's on there now was "dumbed down" when we rebuilt the carburetor by Frankensteining a few Q-Jets together to eliminate all of the electronic parts.

I'm not sure if I'm gonna do anything on the engine at all, other than de-smog it and get it down to the bare bone essentials to get it running smoothly. I had been playing with the idea building it. up using the stock crank. New flat top pistons, Comp Cams roller hydraulic cam, Edelbrock heads and intake, with the same carburetor, but I just need to get things cleared up in the garage so getting the engine and transmission in there as quickly as possible is preferable at the moment.

I do have a Pontiac 400 that I pulled out of an old '73 Catalina that I wanted to put in there originally, but those things are so damned expensive to build that it never made much sense with the money I make.

DonutGuard

Like, the things I wanted to do to this thing are incomprehensible... the money needed is so far beyond my budget it's insane. I suppose it's like that for everyone though.

400 Pontiac V8 with hydraulic roller cam, aluminum heads, port fuel injection in front of a computer controlled 6 speed automatic by TCI with the Independent Rear Suspension set up, sub-frame connectors, strut tower brace, and 17" snowflake rims. Jet black, delete the ground effects stuff and install the headlights from the Catalina where the bumper inserts go as fog lamps and low mounted "high beams" just because I think it'd look good.

The engine alone would probably cost almost 10,000 to build though even if I went mild because of how stupid expensive Poncho parts are... but then again, even a mild Pontiac build can get you 500hp at the crank.

BobWolf

Anytime I have someone ask me "How much much power can I get out of my engine?" My answer is "How deep are your pockets?"If you want to upgrade an older small block to a roller cam a 96 or newer 350/5.7 van truck Vortec. The cast iron heads are pretty much bulletproof and flow decent and pair up nicely with a Qjet.

DonutGuard

Agreed. As it stands right now, I've got the LM1 on hand, and it's close enough to those Vortec engines. Sure, it's not exactly the same, but it'll do the job. Without all the smog crap I'm sure it'll get at least 190hp, which isn't great, but it's not bad either. As long as it runs, I can always upgrade it later.

DonutGuard

You know... I had a thought. A dangerous thing in the wrong hands, especially mine.

But... if I wanted to, I could very easily get a TPI manifold and wiring harness off ebay for a reasonable price. Get a few other things to make it work and just... throw it together the way it is.

Cam is geared toward low end grunt, the TPI is the same... whatever, no big deal low compression heads... or if I can find a TPI that works on the old style perimeter bolt heads I can just use the 305 heads and up the compression a little bit.

Long story short, I can make a little torque monster out of that 350 that'll roast the tires and have a fairly decent 0-60 time. It'll suck after 3,500 rpm but... I don't care. I almost never go past that anyway in daily driving scenarios. But tire roasting? That's ALWAYS fun!