I plan on doing a 98 Ls1 swap into a third gen when the weather gets warmer out. I just have a few questions that hopefully you guys have the answer for.

Mounting:

I am going to be using the 82-92 Camaro/Firebird LS1 Conversion Motor Mounts with Transmission Crossmember from Hawks Third Gen
http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/in...OD&ProdID=1344

I have not decided if I am going to run AC or not. I have never had AC in a car before, so I am used to it. That will help with the K member clearance issues hopefully.

I am undecided if I am going to get Truck coils for the passenger side. Opinions? Suggestions?

Will my Aluminum drive shaft from a 98z be reusable?

What are my options are far as a Torque arm? Will a stock 3rd or 4th gen work with a 4L60e?

Engine:

I know wiring is going to be a PITA, but I have a lot of info and will be doing the majority of the wiring myself.

OR

I could skip out on a lot of that and Carb the LS1. Opinions? Suggestions?

If I do stay FI, I will need to work out the fuel delivery issues. As far as fuel lines, I understand that I will need a regulator and various other misc parts, so I was think of swapping in my 4th gen tank into the third gen, which would only require me to replace the hard lines. Options? Suggestions?

I will be using the stock manifolds for the motor and I have not quite decided on the Y-Pipe clearance problem yet.

I think these are the basics. Feel free to chime in. I am young and need to learn from others before I make my own mistakes.

 

this needs to be moved to the lt/ls swap section


Well it sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you want to do, it's up to you to just decide and start it all. Well for my 2 cents i would stay fi but what year is the car anyways do you have to deal w emissions where your at. If yes even a better reason to go fi. I think the stock touqe arm shoud work with the stock mount on the 4l60e if its mounted in the same location, but there are differancs in the way the lip on the arm faces for differant years in 3rd gens so just use the ls arm if you have it. The same goes for the ls driveshaft it should fit if the trans is in the same place, If its a a4 car the factory shifter should bolt right on like in the ls car, and as for the wiring we had speartech do it for us and it saved alot of time we had to use a 98 coolent temp sender to work w the factory guages. Follow the link to see our swap Good luck

 

I have a fully functional/drivable car. Its a 98 z28. I am having difficulties with obtaining the title, thats why I want to do the swap. It has always been a dream of mine to own an LSx powered third Gen. So basically, I will have every part needed off of a 4th gen, its just a matter of what parts do I need? I have read probably 50 plus pages opn this site relating to this swap, and I have heard nothing but good about speartech. Its just a matter of money

 

You also have a PM

 

if you can get the stuff you need from a donor car...you would have to figure out the emissoin system if you want a title...

 

huh? I'm lost as to why he needs that for a thirdgen title.


anyway the harness is not hard at all. really! but if you feel better with having the harness labled and or stripped by him then I guess go for it.

 

OK... Why? You can order part # TRD-4572 from Summit - and they'll cost you about half the price of those... (Now I just wish someone would make LSx headers for our cars...)

I'll freely admit that I'm not an expert, but it strikes me as REALLY dumb to use different coils from one side of the engine to the other. Whichever you decide to use, be consistent on both sides (unless you want to be one of those guys who posts questions on bulletin boards that no-one can solve, because nobody thinks to ask if you're using different coils on each side of the engine...)

IIRC, yes, should drop right in.

I believe that they're interchangeable, but not 100% sure - I'll be using a BMR Trak-Pak, so I never had to care...



That's probably your best option, although IIRC, you'll still need to deal w/ making the fuel level sender work with stock gauges...

I'll be using the stock exh. manifolds as well (at least for the short term), & figured I'd have the exhaust shop down the road fab up the Y-pipe, etc...

HTH. Good luck with your project!

 

my bet, I meant label..hard day...

 

v8rumble... If every answer was going to be I dont know or I think or just saying "thats dumb"...why even answer? haha... Just messin man...

What07: ready? My respones usually turn into a book....

Mounts. You can get the summit ones I guess. However I know nothing about them. I would place an order with Spohn for those. They are alittle pricey, but they are known to work and will let you bolt it right up.

A/C. Honestly, if you have been happy all this time without A/C...Ide skip it. Its up to you. A/C is nice, but if you dont think you'll really use it, you are WAY better off ditching all your A/C equipment. You wont need to modify the k-member then, or make lines, or do any charging etc.

Truck coils. Im assuming that you are asking about those because of the clearance with the HVAC box on the pass side? One, you should be ok. You will probably have to modify that last coil mounting point, but its easy enough to not justify buying all new coils. Now... if you arent going to use A/C, there is no reason to keep that box. Look around for the A/C delete box. You will save yourself room, clean up your engine bay, and you wont need to modify the coils then. You'll also be able to easily remove/install that side header in the future.

Driveshaft will work, torque are will work I believe... But it wouldnt be a terrible idea to upgrade. An adjustable torque arm, with the crossmember mount would be my choice. Lets you play with pinion angle and its stronger. But...its not 100% needed.

Wiring. Not the hardest part of the swap. Exhaust is in my opinion... If you are at all familiar with wiring diagrams, you can figure out the wiring. Ill tell you what I tell everyone else. I think you are better off using the fuse boxes and all from the 4th gen. You literally just have to give it power and ground, and fuel... It already has the circuits relays and fused. And gives you extra circuits for adding things later if you want. If you dont feel like you can do it...its not THAT bad to get one from speartech. Its money well spent if you arent comfortable with wiring. You get it, plug it in, hook up a few wires, and your set.

Stay with the FI unless you like carbs. Dont go carb just because you dont want to mess with wires.

Fuel. You are on the right track. My opinion on that is use the 4th gen tank.. I used the tank, the bulkhead connector behind the seats, and the 4th gen fuel lines (hard lines). You have to modify the hard lines to work, but they fit until you get near the front. You have to cut a section of the lines out, and then re-join them. You can go with completely custom lines too if you wish, and I might actually do that for my second time around this spring.

Exhaust. IF you are using the stock mainfolds, then you wont have many issues. You can make a y-pippe or have a muffler shop do that fairly easy. Getting around the trans crossmember is a bit of a challenge, but do some looking around on here and you'll see several solutions including dual hump crossmember, or routing of the pipes...etc.

Ok...that said. You said you have a fully functional driveable 4th gen? Just having title issues? If thats the case, and its not like wrecked, I think Ide be tempted to try to sell that car whole. Someone with a worn out 4th gen might be able to use most if not all of it. Or someone might be able to obtain the title differently. Or someone might want it for a track only car... You'd be able to make enough money to but another LS1 set up with all the stuff you need. Or...you can sell off whats left of the car. Just tossing that out there.

Ok hope that helps. If you have any more questions...post em up! Or PM me or any of the other guys that have done the swap. Whatever you run into one of us will have "been there done that" info Im sure.

J.

 

Only thing about the coils, the '98 coils mount directly to the valve cover instead of a coil bracket, that could actually make enough room for the f-body coil to work as iirc (it's been a while since I've looked at my '98) they sit a little closer to the cover than the 99+ do.

 

The 98 coils work perfect. No modifcation required and a good fit. My engine and coils are from a 98and the engine is mounted using the spohn motor mounts.

 

Good call on the 98 coil packs... Forgot they didnt have the brackets.

I still think its a good idea to do the a/c delete if he isnt going to use the a/c. The best time to do it is with the motor out. Lots of room to work in that area then.

Good catch on the coils though!!!

J.

 

Hey! My first 2 or 3, & last two replies weren't "I don't know"!
(Besides, I wanna catch up w/ your post count...)


Dingle - those are great pics, & are worthy of being in a FAQ.

 

FAQ:

Can I use 98 coil packs without any mods (with or without the stock A/C)?

Yes


end of FAQ.

 

This was and always will be my favorite forum! haha. So much info and tons of fun!

J.

 

Now knowing you have a complet doner car all you will need is the lsx crossmember, if that, and some custom exaust work and just swap eveything over to the third gen, dash and all. A guy i know did it and it looks great check out this months GM hightech, Hart attack no wiring had to be converted and he had the new dash.