Alright, well as far as progress on my car, I haven't made much in terms of some of the things wrong with it, like my heater controls are stuck on defrost, and i broke the rear view mirror mount off the windshield, but I've managed the ambition to do an engine swap this winter instead of waiting for next winter. Backwards I know. Here is some of the history of the car, as I saved the car from being crushed, and a lot of people were on the side of it being crushed, but there was a lot of support for saving it, and I appreciate it now more than ever. Here is where it started:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...junkyards.html

I planned on going LB9 in place of the LO3, but after buying the donor engine (of course), it clicked in my head that bigger was better, and so the quest for an LT1 and 6 speed began. Yes i could have done regular small block 350, but an Fbody LT1 pushed a 45 hp boost from a L98, plus readily available aluminum heads, reverse cooling, simple harness with easily/cheaply programed PCM, plus the dreaded opti.

This is where i'm at now:



Good bye LO3! I'll be stripping the engine pay for paint, installing 4th gen washer fluid and coolant bottles, along with 4th gen radiator with dual fans. Already have the 6 speed 4th gen center console, and intend to create a little "message center" if you will for a "low coolant" light, a "low oil" light, a "service (get oil change)" light, and a "Check Gages" to cure the issue with the alternator fused line in the absolutely useless and unusable "pocket" beside the cigarette lighter.

Any insight and input welcome, hopefully i'll be able to get more update pics, but with my certification exam for insurance sales coming up, time is limited. Working on getting the harness plug and play for ease and getting all new brake lights and motor mounts down with the paint to have the engine bay all new and not have to be taken apart again for another 20 years (i hope).

 

good luck, its been an interesting swap for me so far

 

Haha, i've actually been following yours and thats what gave me the incentive to get mine started instead of waiting. That and i was hoping that the 6 speed might help slighting in battling MPGs. Looks like we're doing the same thing, only difference is i'm going to try and get 3.42's put in relatively soon too to get rid of the 3.08s, even though they did nicely behind the 5 speed. Good luck with yours, i'm sure we'll be watching eachother until the summer comes.

 

Well I haven't had much of an update due to my camera not working because i couldn't find the charger and an all around general lack of time, but come tomorrow i will be updating this with pictures.

For now, the engine bay is completely empty, in the process of sanding everything to paint the engine bay flat black because I want the ease to fix the paint if I scratch it while working on the engine, plus patchwork will all match with flat black. Anyways, I ordered red polyurethane motor mounts, and already have the red poly tranny mount in, so I'll be doing the task of seperating the clam shells to insert the new motor mounts on Tuesday when I can get back to work on it. I'm still in the process of studying the cooling lines to make as simple and clean hosing as possible, but here is the dilemma i'm coming to...exhaust.

I plan on doing front to back in one shot so i don't need to cob-job things together or half *** it. Anyways, looking at the following:

Manifolds/Y-Pipe :

http://www.jegs.com/i/Hooker+Headers/520/2055/10002/-1

I've read a few people having to fill in the manifolds to cover the heads, is this true? Want minimal work here, and thought about more expensive sets, but i still have to grind down and install a second O2 bung so expensive coatings are going to be worthless after i do that, so why spend the extra $$. Not to mention the 2055's come with gaskets and bolts that i would probably have to purchase seperately otherwise. Will these Gen 1 gaskets work or do i need LT1 gaskets for the manifolds??

Looking into Magnaflow Cat's, but unsure which one to get:
http://www.jegs.com/i/Magnaflow/642/94109/10002/-1
http://www.jegs.com/i/Magnaflow/642/...oductId=880686

Difference is 13" overall to 16" overall on the second one. Which one will i need?? Want to order all at once so i'm not waiting. Would it be safer getting the 16" and trim the cat-back if necessary?

Cat-Back:
http://www.jegs.com/i/Hooker-Headers/520/16823/10002/-1

I like the way it looks, won't mind the chrome tips, and thought it was reasonably priced. Anyone know of any other better ones, i'm open to suggestions. Figured i'd get a pipe expander and open it up to be able to slip onto the cat.

Any and all suggestions or help is greatly appreciated. Also, what exactly needs to be done to retain A/C on this LT1 swap? All the stuff i've been reading, I come to find out was for LS1 swaps. I'll keep looking, but if anyone has a link i can read, that would be great. Thanks!

Jon

 

Nobody has insight on this? Would like to get things together as smoothly as possible. Also with the a/c, do i need to notch the k-member like the ls1 swaps or what? being the motor mount is so far foward, all i could see is possibly the left most corner to hammer in. Every swap thread i read, noone uses a/c. Just need to know now before everything is painted and prepped to go back together. Thanks.

 

Poly trans mounts are generally thrown in the trash after a week. Most people, even really big power guys use stock rubber for the trans mount

Non AC swaps have nothing to worry about. Use stock V8 mounts on the K-member and 3rd gen V8 clamshells on the engine. You shouldnt have to worry about moving it forward/back, the stock V8 location is ideal

Those headers will cover the ports fine. LTx engines use D-port cyl heads. If you can find D-port header for a 3rd gen, great. If not, find a standard set with a minimum of 1 5/8" primaries. This shouldnt be a problem because 1 1/2" headers are few and far between. I would advise against getting headers with the A.I.R. tubes attached because you cannot mount the SBC pump anywhere in the front accessories and its unlikely you are swapping the stock electric pump in. You will also have to delete the EGR unless you are willing to cut a hole in a rear primary and run a tube to the back of the intake

SBC gaskets and bolts work fine with LT1's. I would suggest tossing the gasket and bolts that come with the headers, as they are generally just cheap cardboard and the bolts rarely over grade 5 (Ive sheared more than a few). Cough up the $20 for a decent set of gasket and bolt from a local parts store and put some red RTV on both sides for a good seal

O2 bungs can be welded into any part of the exhaust before the cat. You dont have to mess up the pretty coating on the headers, move them downstream some into the Y. They are heated, so distance from the port is irrelevant

Get whatever cat you want. 3" trim or extend is a 5 min job at an exhaust shop

Cat back is your baby. Anything 3rd gen will fit, so snoop the exhaust forum for something you like

AC requires clearance at the K-member. Ive seen notches and heating the K-member with a torch then beating it with a hammer. The lines must be custom, do a search on ls1tech for AC lines. I recall a company that specializes in swap AC/PS components. Your HVAC box will need to be a 3rd/4th gen hybrid like the LS1 swap cars use. Ghettocruiser has an excellent thread on how he made AC work and the necessary HVAC box mods. Wiring is pretty simple. Its basically LS1 Fbody style with the high pressure sensor, a compressor clutch relay and a main call wire from the headunit. PCM pins will move, but the diagram is the same

 

I can't find any other header/y-pipe combos to go together for cheap, and i don't plan on running air or egr, although having those ports there will make it simple if i move and do have to install air and EGR to conform to another state. I have all the air and EGR equipment from the engine so it wouldn't be hard to put back together and custom into the pipes. It will be a pain if i have to rewire them all in, but I like the option if i was to move i could feasibly do it with some wiring and a few fuses/relays.

And as far as A/C, i would like to keep the A/C system. Figured keep the LT1 A/C pump and create custom lines, just need to know what needs to be done to fit it at the frame, because all the threads i've read keep saying how they are going non-A/C, or they are switching over to the corvette bracket or custom brackets. Wish i could find an image of what exactly needs to be trimmed or hammered out of the way for the LT1 A/C pump.

I've already figured out and in the process of wiring in the A/C request, clutch relay, and the high pressure switch, just figured a few custom lines coming from the pump to the other two things would have everything hooked up and working.

Thanks for all the help pocket!

 

Same thing as needed for the LS1 swap. There are pictures available of that.

 

But what i don't understand is that the motor mounts are all the way towards the front on a v8 setup, almost hanging off the front of the crossmember, all i can see is a little bit that comes further out to the left of the passenger side motor mount that could possibly hit. Is that what needs to be taken down?

Man i wish i could get my kmember dropped to test fit and stop the guess work on my part. Tried taking the bolts out with an impact gun and they didn't budge, can't afford to break things at this point.

 

You're right. Forgot about that.

 

Anyone that has taken the time to include A/C in their LT1 swap please chime in, would like to get moving on the cross member fix so i can get this motor in with no problems. At this rate i'm really thinking about the $90 fix of an a/c delete pulley

 

Delete pulley is 30 on eBay.

 

I specifically remember seeing a LT1 swap guy that heated up the K-member and banged out a section to clear the LT1 AC compressor. I cannot find the thread at all. He used an AC box that looked like ghettocruiser's design and had custom lines made to make up the legwork. Looked like it was always there

This is the only AC swap I found after a few searches. Badass car BTW
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...t1-c-pics.html

 

Very nice car, very expensive corvette bracketry to acheive those results. I believe if i was to use the corvette accesory setup i would be able to get the 91/92 3.1L v6 a/c lines to work somehow, but i have yet to see someone with f-body accesorys keep a/c with any pictures or documentation to back it up. I really don't understand exactly where it hits because like i said how far the motor mounts are compared to where the a/c pulley is, unless it's the one corner that sticks farther foward right at the top of the passenger motor mount. Can't believe how well documented LSx swaps are for a/c's and it's this difficult to find LT1 information.

A/C delete pulley for $30?! I ebay searched LT1 A/C delete and came up with only two results, cheapest being 80 plus 10 in shipping. Is this $30 one going to last?? Or is it crap. Last thing i want to be doing is changing this a month down the road. Thanks for the insight so far!! Been very helpful.

 

There we go, typed in LT1 delete pulley and came up with the $40 pulleys, thanks kthxbai. Wonder how the quality of the unit is? Kept reading the more expensive ones claim how they are real GM pulleys and good quality ect. Idk. All i know is i got stuck on the GW bridge in NYC in rush hour and wished to god i had A/C, I really would like to make this work.

 

Also, if anyone knows of a non-emmision decent set of headers and y-pipe setup with 3" y-pipe for 3" cat thats decently priced below a set of Hooker 2055's or Edelbrock 68723's, that would be great. Like to save a little money without sacrificing performance, and getting rid of all the extra emmisions stuff should save them money so there has to be a cheaper set out there. I can weld my own O2 bunges if that makes it cheaper. Also coating is not a concern of mine either. I'm getting too frustrated with these websites, already checked jegs, summit, edelbrock, heddman, and a few others directly. Shipping is going to kill me on this stuff so thats why i want to save some where i can. Thanks.

 

Dollar for dollar, LSx swaps are superior to SBC and LTx in nearly every way. Most people choose LTx from a cost perspective because they have either a set budget, or set power goal easily attained by the LT1. It makes more sense to go LSx from that point of view, so there are naturally more LSx swaps done

Dont get me wrong, theres nothing wrong with a LT1 swap, Ive seen quite a few and ridden in some VERY impressive cars

If you dont see where the possible contact is right now, then go ahead and put the engine in with the AC compressor. It should be blatantly obvious if there will be a clearance issue

Not sure where to point you for the exhaust. I swear by LTs and they never have a y-pipe worth buying. Run open headers to the shop to get a custom Y made. If cost is such a factor, find a set of shortys used or from a private seller. They pop up frequently on this board

 

That is the biggest issue with living in the north east, I rarely see deals up here. In california or farther down south, it's simple to get what you want, but up here, the cheapest LS1 i've seen after looking around was $2-3000 and then after briefly looking for mounts, i saw $1000 on a set and laughed and said no. Not to mention I hate automatics, so i knew i would need a T56, and those aren't cheap either.

Budget is a word i use only to limit myself. I'm not afraid to do things right, and don't want to half *** thing by saying "I only have $50 left in my budget and can't affor this..." When i budget for a project, it's somewhat loose. This way i can get the correct parts to do things right the first time. I'm at $2000 right now projected before exhuast, of which with shipping it'll probably be $3000, and thats with everything done right. This is also before selling anything off my car so it'll go down a bit, but thats pretty much what i planned on. I really wish i liked automatics...it's so rediculously cheaper. Plus getting a hold of an LT1 block to rebuild or aluminum heads is much easier and cheaper on the LT1, so I picked LT1s for the long run of ease and affordability.

Either way, anyone that has used Fbody accesories on their LT1 swap and used A/C, please chime in. I'll keep searching, cause right now i just got done repainting the engine bay flat black, and will be reassembling the engine bay. Got an idea for clean fuel lines, going to try it out if i can hit the junk yard soon.

 

for the record i have the 30 dollar delete pulley and it is well constructed. i thought i saw a web page with an AC lt1 swap... i guess we can all keep searching. ill let you know if i find it

~Steven

 

aha!
i knew i saw one somewhere...

there are limited details on his swap site: http://lt1powered85z.cz28.com/index.html

~Steven

 

wow, was not aware that a/c was that much of a nightmare on the LT1, i just thought that everyone swapped to the corvette or custom brackets for ease of running lines in such a compact space. Thanks for finding that for me.

Seems I may be going A/C delete pully for the time being until i feel the need to spend $300 on the relocation kit to temporarily avoid a nightmare. Thanks kthxbai! BTW, what exhaust are you running?

 

I also went with the $30 ac delete pulley I found on ebay... It has been working great for the past year the car has been running.

As for you exhaust, i would go custom with it. if you have someone near you that can tig stainless you can go a number of different ways with it. I have Hooker LTs and a true dual 3" stainless exhaust system. There is a clearance issue where it goes under my custom spohn crossmember but other than that (if you can deal with it being 3" from the ground) it sounds mean and looks awesome! I also had an xpipe welded into the exhaust and 2 slp resognators out the back. Like I said, going custom will give you much more freedome on how/where/material/size you want to run your exhaust.

Good luck on your swap, sounds like your going to be doing it the right way the first time around.

 

i have heddman longtubes part # 68469 on summit. they are 1 5/8" primaries to 3" collectors with d ports to match the lt1. uncoated i got them for 200 some dollars. they have reducers off the collectors to 2.5", and then i have a summit universal x pipe kit that i will be modifying to fit.

~Steven

 

Thanks 86LT1, i'm trying my best to do it right the first time to avoid any issues. Going so far as to locate the factory LT1 heater core lines that ran down the passenger frame rail similar to the 3rd gens so keep the heater core lines down and clean just like the 4th gen setup.

Thanks kthxbai, I've been thinking longtubes, mainly because i have a set of longtubes sitting in my garage brand new, and they probably would fit perfectly, just i like the stock positioning, i like ground clearance...not sure if anyone here has driven in NYC or upstate NY in general, but we have rediculously large pot holes. Can't speak for everywhere else, but I end up in them more times than i should, so ground clearance is a priority for me. Not to mention with long tubes i don't want to have any issues with the crossmember i'll be making soon. I really wish we had more room under our cars.