HI, I have searched and searched for any cars in here that have gone from a 305 carbed car to an LS1, but have found none. I do not like wasting your valuable time. Has anyone in here done this type of conversion? I am a little lost since this will be my first engine swap. I took the 305 and tranny out this last saturday, first time as well.Most of the material I read are for cars that already had tbi or tanks with fuel pumps on them. Will it be easier if I just swap the whole 4th gen tank with the 4th gen fuel pump? Or any ideas or suggestions. Now, I am not an expert on the wiring. I am a litle lost on connecting the LS1 into the third gen. How can I go about this? Do I buy a special harness that connects from the LS1 Ecm to the cars wires? I am extremely lost on this. Now before I go on, I will list all the parts I have finally acquired (took Two Years):

2001 LS1 Engine w/ 4l60E
LS1 Ecm and Engine Harnesses
( I also have the Whole Interior Harnesses and wiring)
LS1 Rear Differential w/ Traction Control & Driveshaft
LS1 Fuel Tank and Lines (all the way to the engine)
4th Gen Seats and Center Console (for a 6-speed)
Both already Installed
Entire Dash including 4th Gen Gauges
4th Gen Door Panels

I am not sure if I am going to do the 4th gen dash since I am not good with the wiring. My car is an 1985 Trans Am, it has the 85 mph mechanical speedo, but I have bought the 140 electrical speedo and the yellow box and the dakota box to convert the signal. Any suggestions, thoughts or anything will be of great help!!
You can pm me or email me at speedsaber@yahoo.com.

Thanks for any help you can provide!!!

 

I am also documenting and taking pictures (sometimes video) of everything I
am doing thus far. So if anyone needs a picture of anything please dont hesitate to ask. I will keep you guys posted on
my progress. Thanks, Will

 

this whole section is littered with cars like this.. i have done what ur tryin to do.. if u search through ive detailed alot of the conversion in previous posts..

i dont wanna type it all out again

i wouldnt mess with the door panels.. the 3rd gen ones match the dash not too bad.. the dash fits pretty good.. not 100% like a 4th gen but good enough for my tastes..

biggest thing was I didnt set a really clear path of what i wanted.. i went from stock ls1 to heads and cam from tubular to switchin to the stock k-member.. i really hope i get a chance to do another ls1 swap in my life, it would go alot smoother

i said i was gonna take pictures of everything along the way but u loose track when ur stuck wrenchin on the car for straight 10 hour days and the finished **** looks way better

 

How about a picture of you using the SEARCH button...

 

Cool!!!

 

Also, a picture of you typing that would have been fun.

You must have gotten pretty worked up to send this...it's clear writing doesn't come easily to you.

 

Kevinc my bad, I apologize. Just had a rough night . Sorry.

 

its easy if you take it one step at a time.

for example, right now you're worried about your fuel system.

obviously you'll want a in-tank pump, and your car doesnt have one right now.

the easiest solution that i KNOW will work, is to take any EFI thirdgen tank (and get the lines too) and put that in there with a new walbro 255 pump.


some of the conversion guys use the 4thgen tank. i dont know how well it fits or the mods envolved, but im sure you can find it with a search.

the last and least fav option is to run a external pump..



then work on your regulator, filter, ect... until you have a fuel system that connects to teh fuel rails.

once that part is done, move on to the next system/thing... and so on until its swapped.

 

also, to follow the KISS rule.... id make it work with the stock gauges and such before moving on to the dash swap.

 

Mr Dude_1 thanks, for your input. I will go to a local junkyard today and get the fuel lines and other fuel related accessories I may need out of an EFI car. I will remember the KISS rule. Once again thank you. I will keep searching . Thanks, Will

 

Gentlemen, I am happy to report that my LS1 conversion is almost done. I have rewired the whole car with a 4th gen harness (a couple of splices here and there; ex. headlights etc.) . I just got the motor & tranny mounts, so hopefully I will have the engine in soon. Also waiting for the welder to notch my frame (a/c compressor). Working and going to school full-time doesnt help me finish this project as fast as I would like. The only thing that is beating me is the A/C system. I am wondering if the 4th Gen HVAC system will fit in the 3rd Gen body (cutting the firewall to the 4th Gen size)? Anyone done this? It has taken me a long time to do this, this board is awesome, great help. I'll keep you posted. I will upload some pics I have taken in the process soon.

 

I have 4th gen LS1,4l60e tranny, rear,torque arm, driveshaft, fuel tank,coolant recovery tank, wiper washer tank modified to fit by the intake box,ECM. I just need to install the 4th gen steering wheel with airbag, dash and the seats.I used a camaro intake box and cut underneath it and made the hood vents functional to make it work as a heat extarctor.I will have the engine in by this weekend, hopefully. All the wiring except the a/c has been done. I am in the process of installing the dash. I'll take pics later on when its done. But basically as soon as I plug all the plugs in the engine it should start working. I left the engine installation toward th end. I want to thank shroom,ace,jay311md and everyone who has helped directly or indirectly. Thanks, guys.

 

Finally it works. Sounds mean.

 

A huge amount of thanks go out to Shroom Kevin D. Thanks man, I couldnt have done it without you.

 

Looks sweet! So what was blowing the fuse?

Kevin D.

 

The little cover that sits on top of the starter. I put it on backwards.

 

does that intake set up pose a possible restriction?

 

I had to cut the area where the hood latches to in order to make spcae for the intake where the filters are located, it resembles the way the camaros are. As far as the hood itself all I did was cut on the front vents. I am hoping those will serve as either heat extractors or as an opening where i can get air inside the engine compartment to cool things down. I didnt see any restrictions on the intake because I cut the bottom of where the filters sat. So now I have some sort of free ram air mod. I expect the car to breath real good.

 

could you post some pictures of the intake, in more detail?

 

Here they are, if u need any other pics let me know. Sorry about the quality I am using my cell phone.

 

thats cool, but i just see how thin that plastic intake peice is.. the one with the filters in it, that just seems like a huge restriction. dunno.