So I've inherited this project 89' Iroc from a family member. I want to put in a Connect & Cruise LT1 kit but I don't know where to start as far as gutting out everything I don't need. I don't need any A/C or smog stuff, just the bare minimum. I feel a little overwhelmed as far as what I can remove and what needs to stay, especially all these wires. I know I need to remove the rest of the motor and drop the tranny. Any other advice?

 

This is going to be a very involved project. You are missing many things under the hood. When I started my swap, I started out with what I knew, and labeled it accordingly. There are several sites including this one with plentiful wiring diagrams for your specific year and engine model. I am sure there are even LT1 swap threads outlining every detail. Wiring is always the biggest item to tackle for any swap.

 

You could donate it to my favorite charity, "Cars for Pauly". Just putting it out there as an option.

 

Before you spend any money figure out what you want out of the car. If you have missing wiring and such now, adding a complex aftermarket mill won't make things easier. Figure out if you want power, a cruiser, etc etc. That will help formulate a path.

 

Power for sure, I don't need all the bells and whistles. This is the connect & cruise kit I mentioned which comes with all the electrical. Could I gut most of this wiring out?
https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/p...1WET4LT56.html

 

That is a lot to spend and I would veer away from the Gen 5 motors with direct injection. Nothing wrong with them per se but it is overly complicated for what you get. Meaning, a gen 3 or 4 6.0/6.2 would be thousands less, cheaper to upgrade (especially if you go non AFM and DOD) and will yield the same power. Also, I am sure GM is up charging that Magnum. I think at this point you should start reading the LSX swap forum and take a look at others builds. The devil is in the details but everything is here for you to gage what you are getting into. Read and read and then read some more.

 

Do you have all the wires from the bulkhead connector next to the master cylinder? Those are the most important wires as long as you're not going to use the ECM...

 

Just obtain a suitable 350 or 383 and install-very easy.From the pics,looks like a nice,decently clean project start

 

Nothing wrong with maybe simplifying and going Gen 1 SBC. Lot easier, cheaper, and been making plenty enough power for decades

 

@T.L. All the wires seem to be there. The kit I was planning on getting had an ECM. Not sure what you mean if I'm not using an ECM?
https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/p...1WET4LT56.html

 

All the factory original ECM wiring comes through the passenger-side kick panel and up through the fender apron. All of that can be unplugged and removed. You need the lights & engine wiring harness on the driver-side. I assume you can install your new. ECM wiring kit where the old ECM harness was...

 

@T.L. So I see the ECM in the passenger footwell. But there is another bunch of wires that don't go to the ECM but up and over towards the driver side it seems. Any idea where this goes to and if it's needed? If the connect and cruise kit comes with an engine wiring harness, you're saying that would go through the driver side? So I could remove everything on that side except the lights and master cylinder wiring?

 

If you're located near Peoria, IL then I'd be willing to drop by and give you some guidance.

 

I wish, I'm from AZ. That's what I really should do. Pay someone to come by my garage and give me some guidance.

 

I would seriously consider going with the GM/ Chevy Performance Parts Connect and Cruise Gen-4 LS3 SBC...
Instead of the Gen-5 LT1 SBC.

The Gen-5 LT1 High-Pressure Direct Fuel-Injection System is a very high maintenance Fuel-Injection System.
The Intake Manifold, Cylinder Hear Intake-Runners and Valves become filthy and clogged up with Oil and Carbon deposits.

Below is an Image of the GM Corporate 3.6L V6...
But the same issue also occurs in the Gen-5 LT1 SBC:




For the Image below...
The Left-Side is with Direct-Injection...
The Right-Side is with Port-Injection:

 

That borders on design negligence!

 

@vorteciroc Seeing as you are incredibly knowledgeable on the subject and you make a really good point. What is your opinion on the GM 572/620 crate motor? I know it would require a lot more work than an LS3 swap.

 

Well, when our government tells car manufacturers what they can do/ have to do...
The results are usually not so good.

This is not an isolated GM problem...
It is a problem with all Cars that use Direct Injection.

Volkswagen were one of the first manufacturers to implement Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI).
They had such horrible carbon build-up... and horrible emissions as a result of GDI...
That they programmed the PCM to provide false data, making the Engine appear as if it was actually meeting the required Government specifications.

VW got caught doing this back in 2014 - 2016.
It was all over the news at the time...
VW had to recall all those Cars to reprogram the PCMs to report the actual data.

In regard to what GM is doing with GDI for the future... its going to be something similar to what the Newest Corvette uses on the Gen-5 LT2 SBC Engine.
It is a GDI Fuel System that also uses Port Injectors to "wash" most of that Build-up away/ prevent it from accumulating.

 

It is not a bad BBC Engine.
However, it is very large and heavy compared to an LS3.

Also it is not built to make much power relative to the displacement...
The 572 could easily be making 800+ HP.

Also the Tall-Deck BBC Engines fit in the Third-Gen engine bay poorly.
Headers fit even worse.

 

I wouldn't pay for advice because there's no form of accountability for being right or wrong. Only pay for results.

There are basically 4 wire groups in your engine bay:

1. One group goes through the firewall by the brake booster (called the c100 connector). It's the heartbeat of the car. That's where the power goes in for pretty much the whole chassis. And wires come back out for lights and wipers and all that stuff. This is also where wires pass through for gauges in the dash.

2. Another group goes to the passenger side fender. This is pretty much everything that connected from ECM to engine. It's all going to get pulled out except for one or two ground wires.

3. A third group goes through the firewall right behind the engine. All those wires are HVAC and you keep it. There is also two plastic vacuum tubes and you keep those too.

4. The fourth group are the large cables for starter and alternator from battery. You also need to tie in a couple red wires from c100 to feed the whole stock fuse panel.

What you want to do is spend your time understanding all the wires that go through c100 because that's where most your connections are going to be made.

 

There is an index with links in the first post of my build thread where you can see how I used c100 in my 89 Firebird. Other people have had different ideas, it's all worth listening to so you can make the best decision for yourself.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...-qwktrips.html

 

IMO...Best thing you can do if you want to proceed with this project is to invest in a proper GM Service and Parts manual for your model year.
The wiring diagrams alone will be well worth the money.