im considering a lt1 swap into my 91 camaro which is my daily driver. i was wondering on a scale from 1-10 how hard it is to do the swap, and how much time is involved in this swap because this is my only car.
thanks

 

first off... On a scale from 1-10 how well do you know your thirdgen camaro? and then how familiar are you with the LT-1? This swap could be easy and done in a day or two if you have good help and your smart... if you have no help and no knowledge of camaro's.... Grab a chair and start reading.. you'll be here a while.

 

i know my thirdgen pretty good, not to familiar with the lt1 though
----------
one of my good friends has a lt1 camaro and will be helping me with the swap as soon as my funds support it.

 

well... I'd say snag an LT-1/t-56 or 4l60E and jump aboard... but seriously you might want to pick up a small s-10 as a daily driver cause the swap takes time..

 

First off I would like to know why an LT-1, I'm not going to diss on it but the LT-1 isn't exactly the easiest engine to work with, let alone swap into a non LT-1 car, second you'll have lots to learn about and change ei learn about Opti Spark, and the fact that an LT-1's coolant system flows opposite everything else on the planet, it can be done but not overnite. If your still going forward with it good luck and god speed.

 

The LT1 is a very easy engine to work with, and swapping it into a 3rd gen is about as easy as putting a normal 350 SBC into one. What's to learn about the Opti? And the fact that it is reverse cooling makes no difference either. Between the LSx and LTx based swaps, this one is a cakewalk and way cheaper than the LSx based swap.

And, not to be picky but it's an LT1, not an LT-1 which is the '70 designation of one version of the SBC.

 

I say it's a 5.
If you have all the parts and a custom harness already made/purchased, you should be able to do the entire swap in a weekend.

 

A 5?? That sucker bolts right in. As long as you go with the ac/delete pulley, there is no frame troubles at all. If you have all the parts and tools to do the job, I'd say some of the odds and ends things are what take the longest.. Wiring, power steering, getting the gauges to work, and the clean up. I stand corrected (klortho) the LT1 in my book is a 7 1/2. If your really serious about the swap and want to get your bang for your buck AND you like to go fast.. Just go with the ls1. Start learning all you can about them, because prices are going down for the ls1 and those things just make crazy horse power.

 

Best bang for your buck is the LT1, the LS1 swaps can get expensive and you are gaining roughly 50hp for almost twice the price since the LS1's were rated at 325 and the LT1 at 275.

 

I agree with the ease ofthe swap, I have done two and the first one was a LEARNING experience! The second one took roughly 2 weeks and that was working on it 2-3 hours about 4 nights a week.

 

I decided to do the LT1 when I found this 95 motor from a buddy for $600.00 but I was originally going to do a LS6 Kenne bell swap and I still plan too but for now, just to enjoy the car, I'm running the Lt1. Hell, It'll be faster than my 4th gen LS1 car anyway so it'll cost alot less and still be a blast to drive. Either way you can't lose!

 

Don't get me wrong.. I love my LT1. but the most power she's gonna make without nitrous or forced induction might be 400hp... You might make that kind of horse power after you've spent $3000 on the motor.... Or you could wait for a good deal and find a 6.0 out of a full size truck on ebay from some salvage yard who doesn't know what they have.. Put a good set of ls1 heads on it and swap the intake.. Throw a good came in there and push past 500hp on n/a. At least that is my plan now.. And I wish i would have just bought the ls1 in the first place and i could have saved thousands.. Until that happens, I'm going to keep lovin my lt1.

 

As long as you spend some time researching on thirdgen.org about LT1 swaps, it shouldn't be too hard. Figuring out what exactly to do takes the most time.

Then if you get into basic programming or scanning the LT1 and have a laptop then its pretty simple, if you have an OBDI(94-95) LT1.

 

the lt1 swap itself was easy, the wiring was the hardest part for me. i am no electrican, but there are alot of info on this site to help you through it, i have a harness that was done already come with the engine so that expense wasnt out of my pocket. if i have it to do again i would have done the t56 swap at the same time. i tried to use the 700 but just wasnt worth the time. but like others have said get a combo engine and tranny. makes it that much easier and less expensive.