Camaroz18

iTrader: (1)

I'm doing this for my nephew because he wants this for his birthday. He's willing to spend 6 grand on the 5-speed V6 1998-02 Camaro and wants to swap out the motor and tranny for an LS-6 and 6-speed. What all do I need? Do I need to weld in other motor mounts? different clutch? Give me info and Ideas. He's willing to spend 3 grand on the motor and tranny.

teke184

iTrader: (5)

why not take $9000 on a v8 car??

i mean...there is ALOT more than just swapping the block


the rear will need to be upgraded to ditch the open diff.
the wiring will need to be upgraded.
not to mention all the other little things.

besides, the suspension on the v8 will be far superior to the v6.


search the for sale forum...there are plenty of cars for sale...some modded..for his budget

horsepower_junkie

iTrader: (4)

If you were to do a full v6 to v8 conversion the cheapest way to do it would be to buy a full wrecked v8 car and pretty much gut it to put in yours. You will need to have the whole engine harness, cluster, full suspension, rear end, radiator and whole front suspension cradle for everything to work right. Just drop it out on the front cradle trans and all and roll it under your car. Easiest way to do it in my books.

teke184

iTrader: (5)

agreed.

but by the time you do all that, and pay for all the small misc parts...you're gonna have another $1000 in it.

and even then you aren't guaranteed to be gremlin free.

this isn't like swapping a carbed sbc.

only reason i can ever see doing this swap would be if you already have a donor car and the swap-in car.
while going by the VIN your insurance should be less...is it REALLY worth that much to ya?

LS1_Sean

iTrader: (1)

I thought about doin a v6 to lsx swap. But decided to sell the v6 and buy a nice ls1 car.

blk96406

iTrader: (18)

Couple things about the swap-

I hate to admit it, but unless your doing it as a project together or using it as a learning tool, its probably easier/quicker for you just to buy a V8 car. Im about 90% done with mine, its taken me a lot longer than I had hoped, Im creeping up really quick on the $9,000 mark, and I dont have the motor/trans back from the builders yet and dont have a rearend yet (including purchase price of the car, and I got a smoking deal on the car, sold motor/trans,etc out of it) but its gonna be strictly a weekend/strip car. I did it for the learning experience and had the mentality "that it cant be that much work, and wanted to prove everyone wrong........" If your nephew wants to make it a driver, he's better off just buying a V8 car for the time/cost of things.

Suspension wise, Im pretty sure the cars are the same, other than spring rates and rear brakes. You wont have to switch out rearends, but the V6 cars do have an open carrier. Wiring wise, well thats where Im at now........

teke184

iTrader: (5)

springs and sway bars are what i was refering to....they swap back and forth...but the v6 setup is not performance oreiented as the v8 version.

Camaroz18

iTrader: (1)

ok. So If I were to find a car that already had the V8 suspension, then would I be set? what would be the hardest thing to do? and I'm just worried about buying a car on here. I don't know how reliable it is. I'd much rather do it in person. What about the wiring? Is it really that much of a nightmare?

CayenneRedV6

iTrader: (8)

I bought my Trans Am a year ago with 60,000 miles on it. Unmolested, driven by a middle aged woman, about 2 hours away from where I live for $8500. Like every one has already said your better off buying a car that's already got a V8. There are nice ones in his price range out there. Especially with the way the economy is right now. It's going to be cheaper and less of a hassle in the long run. Also, no ones saying buy a car you've never even seen off the internet. Search for ones in your area. But, if your determined to do it anyway do a search and check out the conversion forum.

MonmouthCtyLS7

iTrader: (6)

Definately alot of $ and work involved in this...Have him look for an LS1 car...few good mods and hell be putting out LS6 power.

whitesmokels1

iTrader: (4)

What they said. ^^^ and you should be able to pick up a ls1 car cheaper than 9k. as for the ls6... slap a set of 243's (seen them as cheap as $300) ls6 cam (around $150) intake ($250 if you shop around) and ls6 oil pump in it and i beleive thats the only difference. and still be under budget and save a lot of head aches and busted knuckles. lol.

st-customs

what intake is that and where did you see it?

1LOMARO

IF your smart and want to do the swap... look on the 6ers RPO codes.... look for Y87... these were the cars that came with dual exhaust, LSD, and V8 steering rack straight from the factory.....

JPCrazyLegs

iTrader: (1)

If you sell the v6 and buy an LS1 you will spend way less and have a car with a much better resell value then an ls1 swapped 6.

Camaroz18

iTrader: (1)

Unfortunately, The block is different as well so If I upgraded everything like you said, I'd still have less displacement but I'd be making nearly the same amount of power. A few more upgrades and I'd surpass it. What about getting an LS-1 and putting an LS-6 motor in it? same wiring nightmare?

MonmouthCtyLS7

iTrader: (6)

What do you mean less displacement...the LS6 is the same as the LS1...Honestly it would be kinda dumb to buy an LS1 and drop a LS6 in it(unless it was a shot motor)....There's heads/cams and intakes out there that out perform the LS6 setup...and it'll probably be cheaper in the long run.

Hemi2Slo

Agreed. The LS1 and the LS6 are both 346ci. I picked up an LS1 TA with lots of bolt ons for $8000. That's the best way to go.

Wesmanw02

iTrader: (4)

LS6 is a direct swap from an LS1. No wiring or other changes required, it just installs directly in place of the LS1.

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

Actually some cars even came with an ls6 block in 01-02 years due to a shortage of ls1 blocks the only difference between the 2 is heads and cam

surferz18

Yeah. Very few lucky T/As and Camaros. and the oil pump played a big role too. Especially the Batwing Vette pan