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1989IROC Camaro Convertible -6.2LT1 8Speed Engine, Transmission Swap. Help Needed.
LTX and LSXPutting LT1s, LS1s, and their variants into Third Gens is becoming more popular. This board is for those who are doing and have done the swaps so they can discuss all of their technical aspects including repairs, swap info, and performance upgrades.
I’m going to try to make this as blunt and straightforward as possible, I don’t know the first thing about motor swaps lol honestly I’ve never done anything remotely as complex. I recently bought a motor and transmission out of a 6gen for a swap on my third gen Camaro. It’s very complicated and there are apparently some things that can go wrong when doing this, who could of known 😂 but the thing is, my buddy had a basically brandnew CamaroSS and he totaled it but the motor trans was flawless with crazy low miles and he gave me a price I couldn’t refuse (under7k for both with the ECU) with low miles that’s almost unheard of, so I took on the project. Here’s the problem. After I bought them I started doing research on the swap and who could do it or help me I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty and learning new things. And I got some pretty high prices from legitimate sources. Some backyard mechanics in my city offered to take on the job for a few thousand less but, I don’t trust it. I want to make sure this job is done correctly by a skilled professional who has done this before and is highly qualified. Over qualified. Lol this is my dream car I finally have it. In the past weeks I’ve been talking to people about my project and I’m getting alot of different answers most contradicting eachother about the project..
I’m humbly asking for all skilled third gen educated and experienced LS/LT Swappers and any and all of the kind to help me make my dream a reality. I need advice. I don’t know where to even start. To paint you a picture, I have my Third Gen Camaro in the garage with basically a brandnew LT1 engine and 8speed transmission sitting next to it lol I have pretty much all accessories still on the motor and I have the computer I also bought the steering wheel column and the key fob ( I was hoping I could do a remote start keyless push to start situation aswell) but I’m mainly concerned on this swap. Any and all opinions and advice are welcome and appreciated but again I’m looking for experienced people and advice on this swap. For example to start it off, I was told that I need new injectors and a DOD delete because apparently when you do a swap on this motor it will destroy it within months or less. I have no idea if this is true or not. As I said I’m about as experienced as a toddler in this situation so I’m lost. I get the concept and I’m learning but I really want this swap done right and I have blood sweat and tears invested in the car already so I’m really hoping I can get some help.. Did I come to the right place?
Last edited by 89IROC/2A; Jan 29, 2025 at 03:47 AM.
Welcome to the forum - LOTS to unpack here, and I am by no means a swap expert, as I am currently doing my own first full swap (LS1 which is trivial compared to what you are attempting), but I do have some initial thoughts before the experts chime in.
Firstly, if you are 100% dead set on doing this, you have come to the right place, as anything is possible. CAN you do this is another question, the particular drive train you bought while it sounds like a good deal, will require LOTS of custom fabrication and very deep mechanical/electrical knowledge, and specialized tools.
some questions you need to ask yourself:
how good are your metal fab skills? can you weld? do you have access to a lift for long periods of work? whats your budget? aside from the drive train itself you will need lots of expensive accompanying parts to make it work in a third gen.
As far as I understand to fit the Hyrdamatic trans (I think in 2023 they are 10 speeds not 8), you have to cut and customize your transmission tunnel. If this concerns you, this might not be a job to tackle on your own. and that's just one aspect of it.
Other than that, if you still want to push forward, I would say start researching and reading every thread on here you can find where others have done similar things, and review the stickies in the Engine Swap forum.
not trying to push you away from it, just want to be real and say this is a massive/expensive project if you want to make it work.
The way I'd go at a project like this is I would pull everything out, motor, trans, radiator, AC and condenser, all hoses and lines, drop the k member and raise the front of the car up and move the new stuff in from the bottom and lower the front back down to get an idea of where things are gonna sit. Then start taking measurements.
Another thing I'd do is get rid of that GM 8L80/90 transmission because they're trash and find yourself an 8HP70 transmission for that sweet motor
The way I'd go at a project like this is I would pull everything out, motor, trans, radiator, AC and condenser, all hoses and lines, drop the k member and raise the front of the car up and move the new stuff in from the bottom and lower the front back down to get an idea of where things are gonna sit. Then start taking measurements.
Another thing I'd do is get rid of that GM 8L80/90 transmission because they're trash and find yourself an 8HP70 transmission for that sweet motor
thanks man I got someone that’s going to help me out.. I was going to try to do some of the work myself because I wanted to learn how to do it and at the same time save some money but I guess that’s not gonna be in the cards. I’m just trying to do something cool lol
thanks man I got someone that’s going to help me out.. I was going to try to do some of the work myself because I wanted to learn how to do it and at the same time save some money but I guess that’s not gonna be in the cards. I’m just trying to do something cool lol
Oh yea man is gonna be really cool once it's all said and done but it'll also be the furthest away from cheap. Once the motor and trans are in the car you'll get a bit clearer picture of what all needs to be done, what's gonna work or not work etc etc.
You'll probs go thru many stages of fun to downright frustration thru the build but once it fires up for the first time all of that instantly melts away and turns into 100% self satisfaction.
When I built mine I damn near tossed in the towel and parted it all out but once I got it it was awesome then it was on to figuring out the little gremlins that showed up after a little while on the road. Have fun with it!!
I have done this swap with a TR6060. I was able to use the Hawks swap shifter. Hardest thing I had to overcome is learning how to TIG weld on the exhaust. Yes, I did all work myself. If I had a shop do it, it would have cost a fortune.
If you're anything like me, videos do a better job describing the big picture than words ever could. Go check out LSXMatt on Youtube, he has been working on an LT (L83) swap into a firebird for years. He has a 6L80 instead of a 8L90/10L90, but I have some (totally unsubstantiated) theories about fitment. See thread below. Once you see some of the big picture, decide if this is actually something YOU want to do, then come back for details and help!
I'm not an expert but I have a lot of knowledge about this swap. As I said above, I did this swap with a 2017 LT1 with a TR6060 6 speed. I also have a 2016 Camaro 2SS with the same trans as yours. Also, a 2015 6.2 Silverado that I had to do the lifters and VLon. Since yours has low miles, you don't need the DOD delete unless you want it. Your swap computer can be flashed to turn it off. The components will be there and they still could fail but that usually happens after 50K miles. Just note that if you want to do a DOD delete, it is much easier with the engine out of the vehicle since the oil pan may need to be removed. There are videos showing people doing it without removing the pan. Having the 8 speed auto is easier since you avoid the shifter issues. Trans tunnel issues may come up.
I laughed when I saw what ughmas wrote about welding. I never TIG welded before and barely stick welded. And it shows!!!
If you have any questions, I may be able to answer. I solved just about every issue on my own since there still is not much info covering this swap.
