Have a few questions.
1 A/C If I run a tubular engine cradel will I still have to move the motor mounts or could I use the lt1 motor mounts?
2 should I buy a wireing harness from painless or other company.
3 would I be better off putting a OBD1 computer in it my buddy already has lt1 edit , and could reprogram my computer for me if I went with obd1. They wireing is the main concern. I have seen a few sites but nothing helpful .
4 Is the A/C worth it. I have It now and would like to keep it makes long trip very nice.
5 getting fans and radiator all accy. form a 96 formula. with computer and factory harness. think the guy cut some of the wires . It is obd2 .
6 what did you spicificly have to do for fuel lines I am getting the pump out of the car too.
7 the car is already a 6 speed with 12 bolt 4.10s well when the rearend gets here it will be. have to wait 4 weeks for shiping. (moser)
8 Thanks for all of the help in advance I hope

the mods I am doing before installing the motor are
1 full head work ,Comp Cams Summit Part # CCA-07-503-8

Advertised Duration Duration @ .050 Lift Lobe Center

Int 276/ Ext 281 Int 224/ Ext 230 Int .503/ Ext .510 112
should make about 418 flywheel hp

 

You dont have to relocate the mounts either way, if using a/c beat up the K member, if you got a tubular im pretty sure it would clear, i'd get the painless wiring extra length harness, and their fan kit, put it on the primary fan and a switch on the 2nd, fuel lines, just have local shop make appropriate lines, and you'd probably be best just buying a 255 lph tpi pump and installing it, definetly go 94-95 pcm, mainly cause thats what the harness is designed to work with.

 

? on the harness do they just plug into everything or do I have to hack up a bunch of wires . that is what I am trying to aviod. Do you have A/C on yours?If so how hard was it to get lines made?like I need it now

 

you'll defenitly to have to replug at least 20 wires or, I did my own wiring because I figured out that Painless was just selling an ordinary harness that you need to plug everything , the big thing about painless is that they tell you where to plug what ... but then if you're bright !!!, you can figure it out by yourself ! or maybe ask me !

 

or me. sorry matt, couldnt let you take all the credit If you get the painless harness, from what I can recall there would only be about 5 wires your would need to use from the old harness, the rest gets cut out.


oh yeah and matt, I think my VATS has gone down the tubes for some reason, we had to bypass the fuel pump relay becuase the signal wasnt there. still starts and runs great so not real sure whats going on. any luck with your supercharger plans? I finally got some stuff for mine, check the sig. hoping to get the 1.6 rockers and springs and a computer reprogram in about a month, think that could push me to about 400 hp at the fly, could just be wishful thinking, but cant wait to find out. SOTP is awesome now, already feels like 400, I think Im running about 13.2's now, never have timed it and I need a new clutch. its great though, for some reason once it warms up, it idles pretty high, like about 800, but its great because with it idling that high, you cant even hear the cam lope, mustangs have no clue now whats under the hood I love it though.

 

did you guys do the swap together? what harness did you use? what were some of the hardest things of the swap? Thanks for the replys

 

Hey texas-
Doesn't the hot cam sound good? I haven't been able to drive my car yet because of snow, but I start it in the garage just about every day just to heart it lope.
I would guess that with some traction you should get into the 12s with the hot cam kit. I'm hopping for mid to low 12s with traction.
I havent even driven this thing yet and I can already tell you that its the best thing that I ever did to my car.

About fuel lines. I used an-6 but the most cost effective thing that I have seen was done by John Millican . He had a real nice set of rubber lines made up with some snap fit ends (stock type) that he got at an autoparts store. He was able to use those on the rail side and reuse the stock hard line connectors from his old tpi hoses. Thats the route I would go if I had it to do over again. The an-6 looks cool but cost me more that 400 dollars when it was done.
Hope this helps.
Kory

 

400 for fuel lines dont want to spend that much . think I can get a local hose shop to make them plus a/c lines if I go with it. if you run a/c let me know whant more info on it . I think after I get the motor in my car should run low 12s with 4.10s et streets 4 grand lauches or more. thanks for the replys My main ? is about wireing help me understand it all I know about all the plugs as far as what goes where just what about my gauges and stuff like that.

 

From my extensive research. You can use the accessories and mounts from an LT1 Corvette and it will bolt in your stock crossmember. OR, you can use the PA Racing Crossmember (The road racing version) and use F body or Vette accessory drives. I've heard that the accessory system from LT1 B-bodies (Impala, Roadmaster, Caprice) worked with the stock crossmember, but I never confirmed this. Also, You can get an 87-92 5.7 TPI Radiator and dual cooling fan assembly and use the coolant hoses from an LT1 vette and it will work fine. If you use the 4th gen radiator it will look botched unless you fabricate an upper fan mount panel. All you'll need to do (aside from wiring) is have Huntington Hose & Hydraulincs make up the power steering pressure line, fuel, and AC lines that will take care of your accessories. As I mentioned to you before when I was BS'n with you at your shop, I came very close to doing this with my 89. I planned on using the LT1 DFI to contol it and sending the OEM harness and DFI harness to have them married. Hope this helps.
Dwain

 

$400 for your lines ? ouch sounds like you got ripped, mine were $215 feed and return with fittings crimped on etc, i love my painless harness, just wish the extra length one had been out when i bought it, and no i dont have a/c i've got the non a/c heater box and 1LE idler, wonderful setup any more questions just ask

 

My fuel line costed about 6$ ! I had the tool to do it ! it's a very cheap swap...for me at least

 

My fpr was wrecked so I had to have an aeromotive reg to replace it. I wish I had found a differant route at the time.
I used a 4th gen radiator and I think that it looks fine. I was able to reuse the stock hoses then.
The b car accessories are the same as the f-body ones.
You can use the corvette accessories if you want but THe f-body ones work with the ac and are much easier to get and cheaper. I have all the ac parts on my car. I just don't have the hoses made up yet.
Kory

 

-drain89 so the TPI radiator has the right hose positions for the LT1? I guess I just assumed that the radiators were all the same for the 3rd gens


-Kory oh man do I love the Hot Cam, I was the same way, when we first put it in, I would start it up just to hear it. now, after some ignition problems, my idle is kinda messed up after it warms up so you cant even hear the cam. but that could be a good thing, adds to the stealth factor yeah right now my biggest problem is traction, I spin literally all the way through first if I dont clutch it, and depending on how I shift it, I can spin about half of second. guess crapa$$ tires do that to ya. I finally found out what the idle problem was though the other day. the LT1 that we got was from an auto car, and they had a different idle than the manuals, 550 rpm to be exact. and low and behold, when I start it up, what does it idle at? exactly 550. for some reason though after its warmed up and been driven for a few minutes, it wont idle below about 800, still checking in to that. like I said though, you cant even hear the cam though with the idle that high so it makes for some great surprises. right now, even with my clutch messing up sometimes, I think Im running about 13.2's or .3's. after I get tires, 1.6 rockers, and the ECM tuned I will absolutely be in the mid to high 12's.


see, I like my car so much I have to repeat myself!

 

texas-
With the 1.6 rockers it will lope a little. I have pro magnums with 7/16 studs its a little noisy,But I love it.
I'm interested in the idle problem. I presently have an a4 but I will br switching to a t56 by mid summer.
Kory

 

yeah I know, thats what Im going for, any idea how much power you gainded from the rockers or did you install everything at the same time? well, the idle problem is still a mystery to us, dont really know what the deal is. I guess it started about 2 weeks ago when I had to pull the timing chain cover to replace the waterpump driveshaft seal. we put it back together, and we ended up putting the optispark on wrong, it was about 20 degrees off. apparently when we put the cam in, we pushed the dowel pin in too far, so it doesnt go into the optispark as far as it should. well, thats what happened here. I had to drive it for about a week before I had time to fix it, and now, when I go to start it, if I dont hold the throttle down even a little bit, it will just sit there and crank, firing a couple of times but not starting. if I push the thottle in even a 1/4 of the way, hold it there, then crank it, it fires right up. but in the mornings, if its cold, it usually wants to die again. if its not cold, like I said, it idles at 550. after about 5 minutes of driving it, if I let it drop to idle, it will go to about 950 for the rest of the time Im driving it. We reinstalled the MSD the other day and that helped the starting problem quite abit, but I still have to give it some gas. I think it is probably the TPS sensor, but I havent had a chance to check. any thoughts? sorry about it being so long

 

Most guys seem to see about 50 hp at the wheels from the whole kit. I don't know how muck just the rockers add. I will hopefully get my car on the dyno sometime before summer. I would guess that my crank hp would be somewhere between 430-450 hp.

 

If you guys have any questions...feel free to check out my website...there is a whole write up there, and if you have any questions after that, feel free to e-mail me.

Eric

 

I don't see any reason to go with Painless because you can use factory VATS with the stock PCM & wiring from a donor, and it'll actually run right; Painless harnesses are notorious for running things incorrectly w/ regards to park / neutral and VSS. Wanna run limp home? Run Painless. Wanna run hard and get mpg? Use GM.

The most economical way to do lines is to use EFI clamps and run high pressure hose from your stock DS fuel lines up to the clip-in connectors on the rails. (this is basically what I did on my TPI swap w/ Aeroquip hose) Use EFI clamps, not heater hose clamps, there is a difference!!! Also, hydraulics lines co's (Peco in Abq) can put whatever ends on whatever hose... I personally would consider using the black plastic stuff that stock LT1's use.

On radiators... The f-body LT1 H2O pump has an extra line going to the DS tank that the Vette pump doesn't have. Also, an outlet or two on the vette pump is oriented differently. Cap the outlet on the f-body pump, and I believe the outlet that goes from the f-body pump to the PS radiator tank can go to the old heater hose return... but I can't remember where the heater hoses go off the top of my head

My own personal opinion on the Vette accessories: One lousy AC / frame interference point, and the A/C hoses are tough to get to, and you wanna spend $ to get the vette accessories? Go for it. I am not going to. The f-body accessories work out perfectly in a g-body, the belt can be changed and everything.

kORy, you say the B-body accessories are the same, but the alternator bracket looks visibly different on my Dad's IMpala than on the 95 Z28/TA motors we've used. Did they change the appearance in '96, or is it just a visible thing? I assume the AC comp.location is identical, but what do you think?

On the M6 / A4 issue, just get the harness that you're going to use. Get an A4 donor if you're staying auto, and get an M6 donor if you're going stick. Enough differences in the harness to make it worth your time.

As far as the swaps that direct you towards the 92/93 ECM - why in the hell would you go to batch fire when TPI already has batch fire, and you can just build a mini-ram motor and have a more reliable, easier to get at distributor?

Let's just say that my Aerocoupe is going LT1 / A4, and hopefully we can get Chris an M6 donor setup for his Z and when done they will run RIGHT, and not the Painless way.

:rockon:

Matthew

 

funina91ss, just wanted to say that before I got my SS, I was going to do the same exact appearance mods on my '91 that you did. Awesome looking