new to the site wuts up every1. got a lt-1/97fbody swap going on.

HERE IS THE BACKSTORY: about 5 years ago i got my 1st taste of an fbody in a 305 t/a gta and have been hooked ever since. car handled great but the engine was lacking IMO and it had this funky 9 bolt disc rear in it that no1 made parts for.

i told myself if the motor ever died id do it a little justice. about 1 year later it pooped on me. 1st thing was that rear that the clutch packs had worn out on. ended up going to a 7.5 disc rear out of another fbody. next was the rear suspension it got koni adjustable shocks, a new panhard bar, which is by far the best 100 bux i ever spent and IMO the best suspension mod one can do to their fbody, new poly bushings, new poly endlinks, kept the stock sway bar in b/c all the aftermarket ones were the same diameter as the stocker, and subframe connectors. also when i swapped in the new motor i also used ploy engine and tranny mount.

i decided to go with a lt-1 swap after it was all said and done.

had a good job going at the time and started the swap, motor is in, exhaust is done, fuel lines are done, powersteering lines, computer flashed, harness done, oil cooler was setup and mounted. all was going good until i got laid off and after a string of crappy jobs, fast foward 4 years and i have a decent job and like to pick up where i left off.

END BACKSTORY


unlike be4 when i was paying some1 to do the labor and research i have to do it all myself now. i am not mechanically inept so don't take it that way, i just didn't have the time but the cash be4? now that i have substantially less cash, i suppose i will have to make time



1st thing is the radiator: is the stock rad adequate to cool the lt-1? next, is there any special way to hook up the hoses b/c of the reverse flow heads on the lt-1? also a little FYI the tranny cooler in the rad is getting plugged and i am going with an external cooler.

next is the oil pressure sending unit: to hook up the stock guage in my bird, can i just splice into the lt1 sending unit and the guage will work or do i have to remove the lt-1 unit and use the original sender? FYI the fuel cutoff has been bypassed

next is the coolant temp guage sending unit: i am assuming it is the sending unit screwed into the passenger side head. can i splice into that or rig up something to make the firebird unit screw in?

next is the throttle linkage: any tips on that?

next is the tranny: for cash constraints(i know it will bite me in the *** later) but i went with the 700r4. i hear summit sells a little lockup kit for these so is that sufficient then?
also as above on the linkage any tips for the tv cable?

the egr bypass: from a little reading i hear there is blockoff kits for sale on ebay. i removed the metalhose from the back of the intake and from around the motor and that air pump.

ok on the back of the intake next to the metal hose there is a large round object next to it with vacuum hoses on it as well as a 2 wire connector, is this also part of the egr and hence removed and blocked off?

last is the tb coolant bypass i notice 1 end plugs into the intake and the line runs into the tb and another kinda goes around and such. is this as simple as unscrewing the 2 nipples and putting plugs in? als which side is the feed and which the return?


sorry about the lengthy post i will keep them shorter in the future. thanx for reading.


Last edited by mrfbody on 08-13-2005 at 08:29 PM

 

1st thing is the radiator: is the stock rad adequate to cool the lt-1? next, is there any special way to hook up the hoses b/c of the reverse flow heads on the lt-1? also a little FYI the tranny cooler in the rad is getting plugged and i am going with an external cooler.

Some say it will, I went on the safe side and used the radiator/fan setup from an LT1, car runs 180* driving down the road no problems, fans come on when the PCM tells them to.


next is the oil pressure sending unit: to hook up the stock guage in my bird, can i just splice into the lt1 sending unit and the guage will work or do i have to remove the lt-1 unit and use the original sender? FYI the fuel cutoff has been bypassed

You will end up splicing the gauge wiring from the C100 bulkhead connector on the original harness to the LT1 harness


next is the coolant temp guage sending unit: i am assuming it is the sending unit screwed into the passenger side head. can i splice into that or rig up something to make the firebird unit screw in?

See above about the oil pressure gauge

next is the throttle linkage: any tips on that?

You will have to use the LT1 bracket and depending on the year of TPI motor, may have to use the LT1 throttle cable as the ends on the 87-89 or 88 are different than what is used on the LT1

next is the tranny: for cash constraints(i know it will bite me in the *** later) but i went with the 700r4. i hear summit sells a little lockup kit for these so is that sufficient then?
also as above on the linkage any tips for the tv cable?

If you can, get rid of the 700R4 and get a 4L60E, you should be able to pick them up all day for a couple hundred bucks. This will save you a headache as you will not have a speedo, the PCM takes alot of info from the VSS on the tranny and can cause it not to run right without spending another 300-400 bucks to get the speedo working right. But if you are determined to use the 700R4, you will have to run a throttle bracket from a '93 model car.

the egr bypass: from a little reading i hear there is blockoff kits for sale on ebay. i removed the metalhose from the back of the intake and from around the motor and that air pump.

ok on the back of the intake next to the metal hose there is a large round object next to it with vacuum hoses on it as well as a 2 wire connector, is this also part of the egr and hence removed and blocked off?

Both are part of the EGR, pull both and use the blockoff plates

last is the tb coolant bypass i notice 1 end plugs into the intake and the line runs into the tb and another kinda goes around and such. is this as simple as unscrewing the 2 nipples and putting plugs in? als which side is the feed and which the return?

one reason to run the LT1 radiator. unhook the hose coming from the back of the heads and run it to a fitting on a return line that is on the radiator for this.

 

Double post, sorry

 

fans are not a problem for now. i just spliced into the hot activation wire from the fan relay on the lt-1 harness and it seems to cut it on ok.

i found a very interesting thread that hadd all the rad adapting stuff in it.

i am contemplating connecting both fans to the same relay but i am concerned the extra load may burn it up. thoughts?

so the stock guages will work with the lt-1 sending units then?

the year of the car is an 87 gta. it has been so long since the tpi motor was in there but looking at the linkage it seems to work backwards of the lt1. like the tb seems to rotate the opposite direction of the way the linkage was made or something. or maybe the tpi linkage hookede up behind the tb and the lt-1 hooks up in front?


DAMN, that sux.(the lack of vss sensor). unfortunately, for now i am stuck with the 700r4 though.


last thing, does this site or any1 here have pinouts for wiring? i have like the hayes manuals but no pinouts in them.