Starting a engine swap in my 84 Camaro. Pulling out the 65k mile 305 and swapping in a 4.8L/4l60e.

Unfortunately I dont get to help out with the swap because I'm currently in tech school at Sheppard AFB. But my father is keeping me updated with pics that I'm going to try and post as soon as i get them.

So far i have the engine, an '02 4.8L LR4 ($465)


and the LS engine swap motor mounts from Jegs ($70)




Question/comments/concerns please...I'm new to this.

 

I'm looking at many different sites for headers and other exhaust components for my camaro. So far these are the only good headers I've found because HawksThirdGen is WAY too expensive for me. does anyone know if a Y-pipe like this or this will work with ^those^ headers?

 

welcome to the boards and congrats on joining the lsx crowd!

unfortunately, there is no bolt in y-pipe option right now, its gotta be custom made (i'm in the same situation currently, so you're not alone)

lots of good people around here to bounce questions off, so don't be afraid to do some reading and keep the photos coming

 

Those headers require a custom Y-pipe. The only swap headers offering a Y-pipe are Hawks and their fitment leaves some to be desired

I hope these arent the mounts you got
http://www.jegs.com/i/Trans+Dapt/969/4592/10002/-1
3rd gens fit best with 1" setback mounts. With those you'll require a K-member notch. Header interference is possible. The Spohn mounts are popular

 

Get some 01+ f-body exhaust manifolds if your on a budget. Theres a pile of old threads over at LS1tech showing little to no gains with shorty headers over those manifolds. Mind you those heads kind of look a bit more mid length than shoties but still your more than halfway there for the Hawks LT's which are super sweet and leave you sitting pretty for any power or engine upgrades in the future

 

for the gains you'll see with those headers over a stock manifold, i'd just run a manifold. too costly for the gains in my opinion. go for the long tubes or the manifolds and i think you'll be happier.

i'd also run stock fbody engine mounts with a spohn k-member mount stand. they work really well with each other. i did no k-member notching as a result.

 

What if i just leave the stock manifolds on it? They look very similar to the LS1 manifolds and would have an exit location similar to stock.

 

they'll go into the firewall. fbody manifolds are easy to find and are usually pretty cheap.

 

I'm about ready to pull the trigger on a similar swap. I found a very low mileage 07 4.8L with a 4L80 tranny for $500. I'm gonna keep my eye on this thread.

 

you may have to do some massaging to the trans tunnel to get the 4l80e in place, but a 4l60e will fit no problem.

 

An 07 4L80E is worth about 2x what you pair for the pair! Nice score

 

Anyone got a pair of fbody manifolds? I get paid on Feb 1st if anyone wants to get rid of them

Also what is the best electrical-to-mechanical speedometer adapter and about how much should i be able to find it for?

 

hop on ls1tech.com and check out what is available in the classified section.

 

Cable-x is the mech speedo driver

Easy to wire up, add 12v ign, grd and the speedo output from the PCM

Ill have some manifolds FS in a month or two

 

ya know if you put an ls1 crank in there you'll have a 5.3L

 

^^need 5.3/5.7/6.0 rods too. 4.8 rods are longer to keep the piston wrist pin height the same and compensate for the shorter stroke. but it'd be a 10:1 5.3 if you did that i have mind to do a budget high compression 5.3 with a 4.8 shortblock i have here at the house.

 

i knew it was something else as well! i couldn't remember though

yes crank and rods.

 

Welcome aboard thirdgen.org, and to the LSx family.

I used the Spohn swap mounts in one swap, and plates similar to those in the other. I had to notch the K-member in both cases (in order to get any kind of clearance with the f-body oil pan). You didn't mention an oil pan swap, the truck pans stick down pretty low. The f-body pan doesn't stick down, but gets mighty close to the K-member, no matter what you do.

BTW, with those plates, you can't use the factory AC compressor position. Something about two objects not being able to occupy the same space at the same time.

@ b1lk1, I've never heard of 4L80E's being behind 4.8's, but I suppose it's possible I haven't heard everything.

@ Pocket - I still haven't gotten my Cable-X box to work, but I haven't worked at it very hard (tried once, probably didn't get proper power and ground wires, also wasn't satisfied with a good place to mount it - I'm just letting the Garmin be my speedo/odo for now).

 

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/conver...ease-tell.html

Give it another go. About the biggest gripe I see about them is they dont like bends in the cable

 

I'm not sure what to do about my oil pan situation at the moment. The car sits up pretty high for a thirdgen IMHO. If it is too close to the ground I know an amazing welder that would be able to modify it for me. If that doesnt work i'll try to get an LS1 oil pan through Advance Auto since my dad is the GM (of the year, no less) there.

But again I'm 2k miles away from the car with aboslutely no way to get to it until I finish Hot Training next month so I'm relying on my father to keep me posted.

I also don't plan on having AC since it wasnt originally equipped with it.

Another question about the exhaust manifolds. I read on another site that the '05 Trailblazer SS manifolds would fit. Does anyone have information on this?

 

holy crap it's been awhile since i was on my own thread. i've been moving around a lot the past couple months. i'm currently at my 3rd AFB since february and i havent made any progress on my camaro. i also bought an '06 elcipse gt so i havent really had money for the camaro.

anyway, i was in august 2011 chevy high performance magazine today and saw a new 6spd automatic from TCI Autmotive that comes with paddle shifters capable if handling 850HP.

Has anyone used this tranny on any car or know of any tests with it?

Thanks and its great to be back on the forums.

 

That TCI 6X is just a 4L80E, wioth a wide-ratio gear set swapped in, then programmed to shift 1 - 1 OD - 2 - 2 OD - 3 - OD
And for the cost, you could do a used T56. Or keep the 4L60E and get a better LSx engine.

 

could that paddle shifter setup be used with a 4l60e? if you can get just the paddle shifters

 

Any of the -E automatics can be paddle shifted. I know a guy with a paddle-shifted Grand Prix GTP, his car uses the 4T65E.