I am planning a build and swap from 350 TBI to LT1. The purpose of this post is to receive any advice or suggestions people may have. Im 20, this is my first rebuild AND swap so i just wana make sure im going in an "appropriate" direction. $200 bucks got me the complete motor no ecm nor harness.

Current Car:
1991 Pontiac Firebird
Engine: TBI 350 SBC
Trans: T5 Manual Transmission

Donar Car:
1994 Pontiac TransAm
Engine: 5.7 LT1
Trans:???....auto, so i wasnt interested
*engine was full of clean coolant, oil, it turned over, not locked or no blown head gasket or anything. Guy said had a slight knock....wen i pulled the valve cover there was hanging rocker arm completely off the push rod(may have something to do with knock lol)

List of "Planned" Modifications:
*Stock or slightly more aggressive lt4 cam
*Aftermarket lifters, pushrods, roller rockers, and valve springs
*Valve job(machine shop)
*3 mm headgasket
*Bigger Throttle Body and Fuel Injectors(not sure on size yet)
*Cold air intake system
*Subtracting A/C(one less pulley for a teeny bit of hp and the known fitment issues with LT1 A/C unit and thirdgen mounts.
*Subtracting emissions system(if possible, i live in missouri)
*.30 bore with .30 domed pistons with stroker arms
*Latest version of OptiSpark module with the moisture valve
*1-3/4" Dyno Don shorties, SLP cat, and SLP Loud-Mouth CatBack Exhaust
*94-95 ECM(for computer tuning)
*Lightened Flywheel
*Aftermarket hot rod harness painless harness(to eliminate pcm for auto tranny being i plan to use a T5 manual Tranny)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Again im lookin for constructive criticism, advice and suggestions to get the best possible everyday drive build i can. Thanks for all the advice.

 

Domed pistons are old skool way of raising compression on big chamber heads;
LT1 has small 54cc head chambers
You don't use " stroker arms" (rods ) You use a stroker crank

Most likely not needed unless you get some good head flow

Have you read?
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...questions.html

 

thanks for the link bro n yeah i figured. My dad told me bout it....he is very old school, it has the stock heads, theyre really clean so i figured why drop another grand for a set of aluminum lt1 heads

 

If the motor is out of a Trans Am, it will have aluminum heads on it.

 

Engine full of coolant, rod knock and loose rockers... sounds like a basket case to me. Remember to have the block fluxed when it's in the shop

Do some sort of aftermarket cam. LT4 cam is pretty good for a mild setup, the LT4 hot cam is junk

Dont bother with a bigger TB just yet. The stocker is good for alot of power

Dont bore the block unless it needs to be. If the machine shop can clean it up with just a fresh hone and rings, do so

Why the shorties if you're deleting emissions?

Build your own harness. Lots of info is posted up about it, and youll have something fitted to your car, not some generic hotrod

 

Perhaps I misread, but when I saw "engine full of clean coolant", I assumed that meant evidence of proper maintenance, not a hole in the block.

 

Nope, I misread it as engine crankcase full of coolant

 

no as in the cooling system was good and the heads and gasket were great. thanks for teh heads up with the throttle body, save a little money and i do plan to plug the emission tubes so no more shorties either saving wayy more money. as far as the cam goes i jus wnt a sorta rough idle and a nice power curve startin at like 2xxx rpm.



and how do i go about "makin" a harness?

 

read ALL of the FAQ threads regarding the swap, the harness, etc. The more you research and know,the less painful it will be. You really need to understand what your doing before bothering to figure out what your going to put into the engine itself. First worry about getting the engine in, hooked up, and ready to run, (theoretically) then build the engine once you have figured out the "rest" (the important stuff)

 

You know I like that approach. Any way you could post some links for me, keywords etc

 

In the top section of this forum is a group of threads called "stickies". Start there with the LT1/LTx topics.