Well guys, I'm finally doing my 305/700r4 to LS1/T56 swap next week. I have all my parts together, and a week off.

Its my first motor/trans swap, so I'm curious, anyone have any tips or advice? What not to do? What to do to save a few headaches?

 

It will probably take you more than a week. Getting the engine/trans in the car is the easy part. Getting all the bits connected is what eats up all the time.

 

Buggy if you dont mind, could you list the parts you collected to get you ready for the swap. I'm thinking of doing an LS1 swap and was just curious where to start. Should I get the motor/trans first? Or start with the k-member and supporting mods to drop the motor in.

 

I don't have any tips, but I'll be watching for yours lol. Good luck and hope it all goes smooth man.

 

my project took about 6 months. I took my time. Also, i didn't have a lump sum of money to work with. gbeaird is right, getting the big parts in is easy. Wiring and all the odds and ends is what takes the most time.

 

Do lots of research and bookmark the pages with relevant information so you can find it easily when you need it later.

Take pictures of everything that you take apart that might be difficult to figure out how to put back or could go multiple ways. (I've referenced my pictures many times, sometimes for stuff that I thought I would never need a picture of...lol)

I use zip lock bags to store nuts/bolts/fasteners/brackets and label each bag so I know exactly what it is. Makes putting it back together much faster when you aren't trying to figure out which bolts go where.

Take your time and try to do everything right, even if that means leaving the car down longer. Organize the wiring, cover wires/hoses that could rub against something, route wiring/hoses away from the exhaust..etc Saves a lot of headaches down the road and makes your swap much more reliable.

Carefully inspect everything from the LS engine, now is the time to replace anything that is suspect.

You may want to buy a LS engine building book, its nice to have one place to look for all the torque values and assembly instructions.

 

Have everything ahead of time! Paying special attention to your wiring harness and tuning.

You really don't want to kill 3 days waiting for something you forgot and had to buy online.

 

Doing everything from below saves time

Drop the old engine/trans/harness complete
Set the new drivetrain complete with harness, exhaust manifolds/headers and accessories on the k-member and install as a unit

Have all the belts/hoses/fluids ready

My very first swap took 5 very long days, but I did it by myself

 

If they sold patience in a bottle I would suggest a six-pack.

 

It is time consuming my build is taking forever lol only reason is time I usually work on it all day Saturdays only if the Wife has no plans and haven't had time lately

I only have starter and alternator and plug up harness and exhaust left but that's easy ,been lazy and had no time lately , going to work on it this weekend tho

But if I was to add the time all together I would say about 2 weeks
From putting together engine and trans, torque everything down and then sliding everything in

All the small details will add to the time

I would say get a LS engine building Buick it was very helpful
Organize everything
Having a checklist helped me so I wouldn't miss anything
Replace needed parts since it will be the prime opportunity to do so
Ensure you have the tools to avoid the back and forth trips to auto store
And just take your time and look over everything and then double check

It's pretty straight forward besides the wiring

 

My first ls1 swap took a week.I spent 2 days chasing a very very simple issue of why it wouldnt start because i hooked up the wrong ignition wire lol. As everyone said above..the big bolt in stuff is easy. Wiring can be easy depending how you tackle it. I had an fbody engine harness and ecm...motor was on a stand and I simply plugged in all the sensors I needed for motor/trans..anything left over for emissions etc I just depinned it out.The wires I needed for the interior were speedo,tach, a/c or cruise(optional), fan 1 and fan 2 trigger, and fuel pump trigger.Then your 12v battery,igniton in run!, and ground.

Then off to exhaust for a y pipe to be made.Just have to tell yourself its just like any other engine swap...they all need to same basics to run.Cover those basics and the rest are easy to make work.Once you finish doing it and the car drives..you will see it can be done fairly quickly if everything piece you needed was right infront of you. I watch those holley ls fest engine swap challenges and think wow those guys are nuts..my shortest time to do a complete swap was 3 days..they bang them out in mere minutes! :P

 

- Weather you're installing the engine from the top or bottom, remove the coils from the passenger side. The extra clearance between the valve cover & a/c box (if you have a/c) will ease getting the engine in.

- Decide how you want to configure your heater hoses & if you want a diverter valve for a/c before installing the engine. The area the heater core is located is very tight after the engine is installed.

- If using long tube headers & the factory TPI front to rear fuel lines, consider installing heat wrap to the fuel/brake line bundle before installing the engine/trans. Clearance is tight in this area after the engine is in.

 

Take lots of pics!
My header install required taking out the starter. I had to stop briefly and unbolt the triangle brace (DS) because of my alternator position. I wired what I could and wrapped in a bag on top.