general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

Welcome me to the forum…I know I should do a search, but I’m at work and don’t have the time to dig some stuff up. Anyways I’m going to look at a 92 camaro after work today. I had a few questions about LS swaps to these cars and mostly just general questions about the cars themselves. Ill try and keep the questions as organized as I canJ

I want to make this a street/strip car mainly for the strip. I heard that they weigh in around 3,300 lbs which is a huge drop in weight from my current platform. How good do these cars hook and what methods would be necessary for the suspension to cut me some solid mid 1.3 low 1.4 60’ times? the transmission will be a built 4l60e and a circle d tripple disk converter. i wiould most likely go with a 29" tire with 4.10 gears (if the car will fit it)


<FONT face=Arial>Roughly how much money am I looking at for the LS1 swap componets? I already have a motor, accessorie

Welcome aboard thirdgen.org.

The engine swap questions are detailed in the Engine Swap LTX and LSX subforum sticky. Costs are dependent upon what you end up doing, how good of a shopper you are, etc. If all you have is engine and accessories (does that mean harness and PCM, or not?), you're probably looking at around $4000 by the time you get the swap mount parts, transmission, exhaust (headers are very expensive, even more so if you do the right thing and have them ceramic coated), and the little things like throttle cable, radiator hoses, etc.

If the engine didn't come out of an f-body, you're also looking at oil pan & pump pick-up, accessories, and a different intake manifold.

These cars are fairly easy to get to hook. If you're thinking of a strip-only car, seriously consider converting to a 12-bolt or 9-inch rear end (another $2500 there). Full aftermarket torque arm, lower control arms, tranny cross member(to hook the torque arm to), and subframe connectors will run you ~$1000-1500. Check TGO sponsor Spohn.

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

thanks. i already have a complete engine and built transmission with converter ready to swap over. i also have a wiring harness, pcm and all sensors. no need to swap intakes since i am already running a fast 90mm setup.

all i really need is the motor mounts, tranny mounts and some longtubes assuming my current longtubes will not fit.

thanks for the heads up though. so im looking at about 3500 to 4k to build up the driveline/suspension behind the transmission. and roughly 2000 for the actual engine swap since i already have 95% of the things needed.

well hell, while im introducing myself, ill introduce my truck and its powerplant while im at it. not camaro, but just about everything under the hood came out of one:)

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Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

The factory 10 bolt won't survive for very long if you're after 1.3 or low 1.4 60' times. A complete 9", 12 bolt or Dana 60 direct bolt in diff is going to set you back at least $2000.

Your $4000 budget is going to be eaten up well before you hit your goals. $10,000 may be closer to what you're going to need to spend to make it strong and reliable.

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

I dissagree on the 10 bolt. The later 8.5 10 bolts are very strong, provided they are set up correctly. The later ones even have 30 spline axles from the factory. The factory gov-lock how ever is a piece of crap. Get rid of it before you hit with much or you will be replacing everything else. The snout area on the 10 bolt is as stong or stronger than most older 12 bolt rears. They have more cast material in that area, and the pinions are the same size, bearing wise. It is best to use a solid bearing spacer instead of the crush collar if you are going to be running slicks.

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

Since the 8.5" GM 10 bolt was never available in a third gen and the only bolt in 10 bolt is the 7.5"/7.625" from a third or fourth gen, why did you even bring that up? I said the factory 10 bolt which in a third gen means the tiny 7.5" diff and maybe a 7.625 which isn't much stronger.

You can quote off the strength of any differential but for the average person, if it's not a bolt in, it's not an option.

3rd gen 10-bolts weren't 8.5". They were 7.5"/7.625". When anyone on TGO says "10-bolt", it is quite safe to assume they're talking about 3rd gen 7.5"/7.625" 10-bolts.

By the time you modified an 8.5" 10-bolt to fit in a 3rd gen, you might as well have gone with a 12-bolt/9-inch/Dana 60.

Tex, your current 3rd gen headers won't fit. The only outfit currently offering LSx 3rd gen headers is Hawks (made by Stainless Steel Works), $800 uncoated http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/ha...beheaders.aspx . BRP ( http://www.brphotrods.com/ ) has been saying most of the year that they've got headers "in development", but not sure if they're ever going to deliver.

Swap engine mounts for a non-AC car is pretty simple, $45 plates that mount the factory SBC mounts to the engine. For the tranny, if you get everything at one time - 12-bolt or 9-inch, torque arm, tranny crossmember - Spohn makes some nice stuff, ~$600 http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/sp...1-1-1-1-1.aspx . Biggest benefit is the torque arm will mount to the crossmember instead of the tranny output housing, which is what the factory should have done.

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

Because it is an option, and can be installed in a 3rd gen.

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

not super easily...you'll either have to be a master-fabricator to put it in with a torque arm, or be lazy and put in a back-half...or rich to get either set up.

9" FTW!

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

you are going to need some serious h/p and suspension to run 1.3-1.4 60', in that weight 1000 ought to do it....

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

you don't need 1000hp to go 1.3x 60's. plenty of solid low 10/high 9 second cars doing that...at sea level, you can do that with about 700hp...which is not too unobtainable

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

Welcome to TGO Stewie!

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

@ 3300lbs ???

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

look at IHI's fat pig and what he does with around 650 horses and a cheapy jegs TA
1.41 na and 1.33 on a 150 shot at almost 3800 lbs on a 9 inch slick....

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

My fat GTA(3610lbs with me in it), did a best of 1.52 on the stock 10bolt(once anyway).
And I only had about 650hp to the crank.

With aftermarket suspension and another 100hp shot of juice I should get it in the 1.4** 60ft.

But seriously about the diff, get a 9", cheaper and stronger in the long run than a 12 bolt.
And you'll need alot more than $4000 to get there

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

whuddup zane.

well i ended up not getting the car. it looked much better in the pictures than it was up close. the price was still good, but not the condition im looking for. it sounds like i just need to search around for a nice roller that someone already spent the big money on and just toss in my motor and go.

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

As long as you keep looking, you will find one that is nice.



Why? They both break, 9 inch rears are just better at home to me in a pure race environment, the 12s last a long time, have seen them go 7s all day as long as they werent a GM unit.

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

I am talking about an aftermarket 9", not the stock version.

$ to $, the 9" is cheaper
Check out quickperformance.com

Re: general drag questions and lsx swap ??'s
 

I understand what you are talking about. Stock for stock, the 9 inch has the 12 blt hands down, but aftermarket is where the 12 bolt shines.


And as a moderator on a couple LSX sites, i see the 12 bolt go for 1500$ or so, the 9 inch goes for 2000$ or so, so no, they are not cheaper, not even new.