Sonomajoe

Ok I know this has been beaten to death but I'm looking for an honest list of parts to do a swap right, NOT COUNTING PERFORMANCE PARTS OR LABOR

I know I need engine mounts, Fuel pump and lines. Will a second painless harness be necessary? (Doing a painless rewire and I see they have a fuel injection one)

If I buy a motor from a wrecking yard that comes with ECU, stock Harness and Pedal Assembly, What else will I need to do it right? I just want to do Headers, Cam and mill the heads...

I am in the process of rewiring my 72 El Camino and installing Dakota Digital Gauges so should I be good there for Speedo?

Will I need a Painless or Aftermarket harness? What other parts are necessary?

Sorry to beat a dead horse but this topic always gets so many different answers.

Sometimes it seems according to answers on forums it's cost prohibitive other Times it seems realistic. I'm in the middle of interior restoration and a Re-Wire and while I was going to wait, if I can get this done for not to expensive I'd like to do it now as I'm already doing a rewire and installing gauges...

Thanks, I know I can do a google search I've done it 100+ Times and all the answers are different... Looking for a specific answer to my needs...

I'm going back and forth between dropping in a 383 as it's Plug and Play, but if I can swap a LQ9 or LS1 in for less than 5K including Headers and Cam I'd rather go that route (Please don't quote labor costs)

Thanks again, sorry for the Noob questions... And please don't send me a google link, I've been researching this for 2 months and still can't figure it all out.

Sonomajoe

Oh I will be keeping my TH400 for now maybe later upgrading to a 4L80E but that knocks off Crossmember. Will I need a different Bellhousing? Sorry but everyone's list is different and seems to want to include parts that aren't part of the swap like Transmission and Rear Axle...

Thanks Again Y'all!!!!

garys 68

iTrader: (1)

Should give you a few pages to look through:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...2-gm-body.html

sowbelle

You have found different answers because there is different swaps.
Meaning: what radiator will you be using? What brand headers? On my 71 Chevelle, I used hookers and had to fabricate a crossmember. What body did the engine come from? IE: truck GTO f-body, etc. That means a lot when it comes to accessories and brackets.
If you read through the A-body stickies referenced above, they will help you.
But there is not a catchall list that fits every swap.

lizeec

iTrader: (57)

As said above there is not a one size fits all, just too many variables. Skill level, budget, end goals, fabrication skills, tools and the list can fill this whole page, as said above read through everybody's successes and failures and decide what route you want to try, even then you will find you need to make changes to your best laid out plans.

oldgoat69

Like everyone else says, there is more than one way to skin this cat. Search the site and look for proven combinations. Many have made the mistake of looking at the cheapest element of each combination and trying to blend them together with less than positive result.
An easy proven combination is a truck motor with the PCM and all of the accessory drive. It will fit underhood and the wiring modification is really pretty easy but time consuming.
This is the time to really evaluate the transmission choice. I can't stress how much happier you will be with the result if you go to the 4L60E or 4L80E right now. The value of the TH400 will get you pretty close to the cost of the upgrade since the wiring and PCM will already be compatible.
In any event the crossmember mods are no big deal in the grand scheme of this swap.
A 94-96 B-body fuel tank is an inexpensive and easy swap into the 68-72. Lots of us have done it with great success. The bonus is the 20 gal capacity.

Sonomajoe

I truly appreciate the advice. It's true everything's different...

I just bit the bullet and picked up a freshly rebuilt LQ9 with carb intake, LS6 cam, and milled 243 Heads today so have my work cut out for me. I'm in the middle of a rewire and redoing the interior so I just decided to let her sit for about 2-3 months and slowly but surely get her done as I can afford as I'm now 18k into the build counting buying the engine...

I figure I'll go with either a 4L80E and have set it up for manual shift? or do a built 700R4 (rather go manual but I want my friends to be able to drive it and with a manual I'd be hating watching them burn out)

So from here my necessities would be a
MSD controller
Radiator, can I wait till May to do fans?
Oil catch can
Fuel system
Mounts
Power steering pump
Bellhousing or flex plate adapter? (If I run the th400 with stock stall for a while, figure I'd get an idea of what stall I'd need on a dyno and get a few more miles out of it)
And shorty headers, any advice on what works good in a 72 el camino

Anything else I'm missing?

Really appreciate the help, can't wait to get her sideways.

Also any idea of what kind of power I'll be making with a 750 Demon carb, LS6 cam, Milled 243 Heads and Shorty headers with no cat?

Thanks y'all really appreciate the help

krwyellowZ28

iTrader: (10)

I was in a similar situation when mapping the build for my '70 GTO... there were so many options and so many combinations that I felt like I was reading in circles. I finally made forward progress when I started nailing down the big variables... i.e. bought a donor 1999 Z28 and was locked in (sorta) to the f-body pan and accessories with 4L60e trans. Planning gets a lot easier when you get more specific than "put an LS in an A-body.

Check out my build thread in my sig. Its a few years old, but some info is still applicable.

deuce4935

iTrader: (2)

Good thing you have one of the more common vehicles which the aftermarket has tons of parts available for the conversion.