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So the project begins. I traded my way into this engine, but I've had commitment issues with it for a couple of years. I'm basically a knuckle-dragging, cubic inches more is better muscle car guy. I work on modern foreign cars all day doing diagnostics, so I'm plenty familiar with technology, but I still like big blocks and carbs.
A little bit of backstory, I've had this car for 26 years now. i bought it when I was 16 in 1990, I'm 42 now. I'm primarily a drag racer, and I ran a 427 in it for 20 of those years, up to 650hp on the dyno. Now I'm tired of beating on it (as much) and I miss putting miles on it regularly, which I can't do at 8mpg. I dropped a 283 in it a while back and that gets me mid teens mileage wise, but it only runs 14.9 on a good day.
I finally came to realize I have the engine I need to make this thing work, the LS1. It's newer technology is more efficient than anything else I own. That means for the same amount of fuel I can get greater distance and more power.
With that in mind, I'd like as few changes to the car as possible. I already have a TKO600 and a 12 bolt, so the driveline is plenty strong. I've seen a lot of guys shove them back, but I have no desire to move my bellhousing. Everything behind the motor is already set. Hopefully I can pull this off without changing the driveline angle too much.
I'm not starting with a complete engine, but I'll get to that in a minute. My goals are to get 20+ mpg in my daily commute, 17 miles each way highway and about 8 miles city. It would also be nice to be able to run 11.5-12.0 et's at the track. My car is well sorted, and about 3600 lbs, but more important is the daily drive.
The engine I'm starting with belonged to a friend originally in a 2000 or so Camaro. He ran it a little lean with some giggle gas, so it needs a piston, but is otherwise undamaged. I have the stock 241 heads and 965 cam. I don't plan to do any work or changes to the heads other than valve springs to match whatever cam I choose. I'm also missing the timing chain, front cover, rear block plate, knock sensors, and an intake. the hard parts I figure can't be too hard to come up with but I think I may be better off buying a complete takeout for all the small stuff? Input would be appreciated.
Then there's the whole issue of fuel supply. It would be really nice to go in-tank. Every setup I have seen is terribly expensive by my standards. (did I mention I'm cheap?)I can run lines easily enough, but the pumps seem to be stupid expensive. i prefer not to go inline simply due to the fact that GM thought it was a better idea to cool the pump with fuel in tank. I intend to drive this thing a lot and don't want to set myself up for failure, even if it is easier to install.
I'll have more questions too I'm sure, but this is a start for now.
I also seem to be lacking a wiring harness and ecm.
The wiring harness I'm capable of building, but probably less expensive to buy and cut down? Connectors and such add up in a hurry and good wire is hard to find.
As for ecm, since I'm not worried about emissions, I was considering starting with aftermarket. I've been looking at both Megasquirt and Holley. I intend to keep this naturally aspirated, so all the stuff for forced induction or nitrous is useless to me. I expect the Holley will be a good product, Megasquirt kinda has a black market feeling to me although it may work just fine. What are your experiences? Is there something else I should consider?
Welcome to the forum. Our car stories are very similar. I've had my 64 SS since high school in 1988 and then raced it in super gas for many years and finally got tired of that and decided to starting enjoying it with the family so I have converted it back into a street car again.
I'm running a 2002 LS1 with a T56 now and I absolutely love the setup.
If you want the tune-ability it is probably cheaper to go with the aftermarket harness and ecu. I've heard great things about the Holley kits. If price is the deciding factor and you plan on building it and getting a single tune and being done then an oem pullout harness and ecu will be the cheapest route. I know where you can get an uncut 2002 camaro harness and they are very easy to modify. Later down the road you could always purchase HP tuners to do your own tuning.
You will need to buy another oil pan unless you plan on notching your front crossmember for fitment. My car had already been back-halfed so I had no problem cutting on mine some more. You can check my build thread for any more questions you might have.
Starting with nothing and non elctronic trans, id go microsquirt. I believe you can get them from efisource with somewhat of a harness. You must source the required connectors either new or junkyard.
They are cheap at pullapart places and alot of gm cars have the same connectors, as does some fords. I also think they may have a lsx plug and play?
Denmah has a thread basically showing step by step how to wire 1 up
Regarding an an oil pan, I don't currently have one. I was planning on using the Holley 302-2, but I have seen also that GM offers a pan that hangs about an inch too low. If that GM pan is a production piece that I can easily and inexpensively find I may look into shortening the sump. I can't weld aluminum but I know people who can.
Front drive stuff: more I don't have. It came with a Camaro balancer and that's it. As I understand it the Camaro and Corvette use a different length setup than trucks. Does one fit better than another? Also, I only need to turn the water pump and alternator. No power steering or a/c. I can't seem to find a simple bracket that will allow me that. Am I making my own?
You'll find a lot of useful parts/info on the Holley website that will help you accomplish your goals. The Hooker rear-bias engine brackets for the 64-67 A-bodies position the eng/trans mating plane in the stock location. The 302-2 Holley oil pan will work flawlessly with the engine brackets and keep the sump above the bottom of the engine crossmember while providing 5.5 quarts of oil capacity...you will end up with less capacity buy using a OE truck pan that's modified to tuck-up above the engine crossmember. Finally, you can use the Holley alternator/PS bracket with the F-body spacer to mount a truck or F-body alternator. If you ever decide in the future that you wanted PS, the provision to mount the pump would already be there on the Holley bracket.
Thanks for the info on the rear bias mounts. I've read through your thread on designing the A-body package, and it looks very thorough and complete. Will the headers fit with the rear bias mounts? How much do they change the crank centerline from a traditional small or big block?
i looked at the alternator bracket you suggested, and I think in most instances it would be good, but since that will be my only accessory I'd like to tuck it down on the side of the engine, just above the steering box.
Thanks for the info on the rear bias mounts. I've read through your thread on designing the A-body package, and it looks very thorough and complete. Will the headers fit with the rear bias mounts? How much do they change the crank centerline from a traditional small or big block?
i looked at the alternator bracket you suggested, and I think in most instances it would be good, but since that will be my only accessory I'd like to tuck it down on the side of the engine, just above the steering box.
Thanks,
Devin
Yes, the Hooker mid-length and long-tube headers for the 64-67 A-bodies are both fully compatible with either the forward-bias or rear-bias Hooker engine brackets.
The Holley 302-2 oil pan is widely known amongst A-body users to provide the best inner tie-rod clearance while allowing the engine to be mounted in the chassis low enough to be able to achieve optimized U-joint operating angles.
You will need an engine mount set-up that will allow you mount the engine low enough to take advantage of that geometry however and that's what the Hooker engine brackets do; they mount the engine lower in the chassis than any swap plate/frame stand combination can.
With that combination of parts, I was able to achieve 2 degree U-joint operating angles on our development vehicle that was equipped with a 12-bolt rearend and 1" drop springs.
Thanks for the info on the rear bias mounts. I've read through your thread on designing the A-body package, and it looks very thorough and complete. Will the headers fit with the rear bias mounts? How much do they change the crank centerline from a traditional small or big block?
i looked at the alternator bracket you suggested, and I think in most instances it would be good, but since that will be my only accessory I'd like to tuck it down on the side of the engine, just above the steering box.
Thanks,
Devin
Are you running the factory manual box now? I swapped out my manual box for the jeep grand cherokee power box. It's one of the best mods I've done. Amazing difference in the car. 12.1 steering over the 16.1 is incredible.
64SS- Yes, I'm running a factory manual box. I took the factory power stuff off a long time ago, probably 1991 or 1992. I much prefer the feel of it this way.
LSXFord- thanks for the vendor info. This generation of engine has a whole different set of suppliers than I'm accustomed to.
I realize these were designed for the full complement of accessories, so the water pump has to run off the back of the belt by design. Is there a reverse rotation pump available? That belt is about a mile and a half long.
Somewhere I saw adapters to put a standard big block pump on. I may consider that if I can find pulleys to make it work.
The old factory power steering was horrible. I know exactly what you are talking about. If you haven't done any research on the jeep box swap I would recommend reading up on it. Your car will feel like a gocart with these jeep boxes.
I see you are wanting to place your alternator down low. I tried this with the factory camaro alternator and bracket and I could not get it to fit with my motor sitting in the factory bell location. The steering box is in the way. If the motor was pushed back a bit further it may clear.
11-30-2016, 10:24 PM
LS1 into 64 Camino 
