Hello everyone.

I have a friend who is taking an LT-1 out of his '93 Camaro and he asked me if I'd be interested in taking it off his hands for a couple hundred bucks. Now my question is this: is a swap from a 305 TPI in an '88 Bird to a '93 LT-1 worth it? What is required to do it properly? Can I use my existing TPI setup on top of this motor (I believe it has been converted to carb)?

I have been hunting for information, but most of the threads on swaps don't seem to answer the questions very well, or are hijacked by LSX vs LT-1 battles that really don't help at all.

Yes I know an LSX swap would be "better", yes I know any swap is a pain and can potentially become very expensive, I've done a Poncho 400 into a '75 Buick Apollo from scratch, I've been on that end already.

I'm just looking for good, solid and relevant information to help me decide if I should refresh my ailing 305 (smoke, idle issues, etc) or should I tackle an LT-1 swap over my holidays.

Thanks in advance for everyone's input.

 

1st up you are talking a LT1 swap so should be in the LT1 Dept
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-lsx/

Did you read?
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...questions.html

You could but you wouldn't , would kill the power of the LT1

 

Thank you, I of course stumbled upon some answers I was looking for after I posted this mostly in regards to the TPI, so I feel silly for asking some of these questions.

But would the 7.5" diff in the third gens be too weak for the LT1? I have seen some break even behind a stock 350, so that is my reason for concern. I suppose condition of the differential and how well it was kept before I procured the car would be a factor but is it worth worrying about?
And the lt1intake.com site referenced in a lot of these stickies and older threads doesn't seem to exist anymore.

I have lots of time to research at least, not in a rush to do another swap until I have the Apollo back on the road, and I may just say screw it and do a top end rebuild on the 305.

Decisions decisions.

 

Depends upon what you do with the car. Daily driver, no problem. Beat on it a bit, then you'd better go through this: https://www.thirdgen.org/beefinguprear

There could be an Option 2a there - Strange S60. Not sure how you would break that thing without trying really, really hard.

I believe '88 would still have 26-spline axles, but it may have been the first year for 28.

I basically went through these steps for my LS1/4L60E car. I welded my own axle tubes. Forget off the top of my head what brand the axles are, but the shop got them when they were setting up the rear (most factory axles need to be replaced because the bearing races have spalled). The axle bearings and seals were also replaced.

A new Eaton posi carrier was installed (SLP ran out of Zexel units quite a while ago) along with factory 3.73 gears (I picked them up used - no problems so far). The solid pinion bearing spacer doesn't really contribute to strength (unless you do reverse burnouts - not recommended for the sake of the gears, anyway). I also used the Summit aluminum support cover.

For some reason, the clutch-type posi units available don't play well with synthetic gear lube (Eaton, Auburn, Currie all say no synthetic). I had a factory posi, supposedly made by Auburn, also die with synthetic gear lube. If you want to use synthetic lube, you'll have to use a locker type like Detroit True-Trac or convert your open carrier with a Powertrax Lock-Right (had one in my '57 with 8.2" 10-bolt - loved it, but the 8.2" carrier was too weak to take it long term).

Okay, back to the original question: Is it strong enough? In my case, '82 rear end housing, welded axle tubes, 28-spline aftermarket axles, Eaton posi unit, Summit aluminum support cover, conventional gear lube changed before each season - put it together in August '10, have beat it on the track mercilessly ever since, daily driver, runs 12.9's at our altitude (where it gets the majority of its passes), 11.9's to 12.0's at sea level, and it hasn't complained a bit.

 

Correct that 88 will have 26 spline axles, unless previously upgraded. 89 was the change-over year.

88-back =26 spline
89- could be either
90-up- =28 spline.

 

That's some awesome information, thank you very much. My 'Bird is a daily driver, and when I got the car it was growling away until I figured out the auto shop that owned the car didn't put any limited slip additive in. As soon as I added in a good dose it hasn't made so much as a squeak in months.
I'll definitely dig into it this summer and see how it looks. I think I'm going to pass on the LT1 setup; I'll patch up the 305 for now, and save up for a 350 bottom end with good heads. Build something lean and mean that I can drop in with minimum fuss.

I have an Eaton Locker 8.5" to install into my Apollo with some 3.73 gears this summer, that should wake it up compared to it's wimpy little 2.73 open diff I think.

 

The additive only comes into play around corners. If it quieted down the rear in straight line driving, you probably just needed a gear lube change.

Okay, make up my mind so I know which forum to put this in...

 

Heh! Well I'll sum up what changed my mind about the LT1:

-The mess. Getting the LT1 put in would require a ton of hack and/or slash work in a really clean car, and would probably end up costing me more than I'd like to spend.
-A regular good ol' Gen 1 350 setup would have as much or more potential than the Gen 2 LT1 with far less effort and cash, especially considering what I use the car for primarily.
-I kind of like my car relatively stock-looking and the TPI setup is a genuine brain tickler for me (which is a good thing) and it can be reused on top of a nice solid 350 with some tweaking.

Lastly I'd rather not hack things apart and cobble stuff together in my (usually)reliable daily driver. That's what the Buick is for.

You can probably chuck it under the LT1 swap section so other people can bask in my foolishness, I didn't realize I wasn't posting in that section when I made it, so I apologize and I'll be more careful next time. :P