This would appear to be an obviously desirable swap candidate for this car at first glance, particulaly in California where one of the few smog exemptions on swaps to cars like this is for later Camaro engines. Yet I'm seeing little information out there touching on this -- mostly swaps to hgher value older cars than this '88, but the smog laws seem to push me heavily in this direction.

I tried searching on this board and more generally but found nothing, really, on LT4-to-thirdgen swaps. Hope you all might fill me in. You'd think Hawks might have a swap kit but they seems fully focussed on LS engines.

So please tell me what you can.

 

Which LT4? Gen II or Gen IV?

 

GenIV

 

Gen V.

 

OK, yes, I don't know the gens off the top of my head. I'm thinking current spec blown which I think is rated at 650bhp --not sure exaclly when they got to this rating but it seems like 2-3 model years and long enough to see a fair number of used ones available, hopefully increasing to when I may actually buy one.

 

Is the LT4 a kit from GM thats smog legal for a swap here in Cali like the Erod?

 

Not that I know of, but the -E-rod engines have seemed overpriced to me and I've hoped for more performance

My understanding of the law is that one can swap a later engine from the same model car (of any later year) such that, e.g., the 650bhp blown Camaro LT4 engine makes a legal swap if essentially all its accoutrements are installed after the factory manner and the engine is kept otherwise stock.

 

Law is a later engine but it must retain all smog parts from the newer engines car so fuel system and all computer monitoring system,evap gauge cluster, and all BCM's Only way to swap an LT4 is to swap everything from the corvette/camaro into your Thirdgen. So the Erod kit is actually cheaper to do as it comes with everything needed for smog. Its not just the engine. If it was then a whole lot of people would have done it. LS3 is the easiest and cheapest way to smog legal swap in California and to be referee and CARB compliant.