ronniejames84

Hi, like the usual im new to this, let me tell you my situation, im finishing up a project for my brother in iraq, and need help with this swap ive been doing hours and hours of research and cant get strait answers
heres the set up
68 firebird
modified the mounts already
engine is a 2001 5.3 with 4l60e
have the whole orginal harness with everything minus the diagnostic port/ somehow the guys who took the engine out just chopped strait from the fire wall back
my questions are can some one draw me up a map of how the fuel is -- supposed to be routed? its a rci fuel cell with two lower sump fittings i havnt figured out which inline fuel pump to use? or regulator? i hear two stories of how it needs a two line system one for feed and one for return. im just used to the regular hook up of a holley pump so efi fuel routing is new to me.

next is which accy brackets work the best? the corvette setup the fbody setup up or the truck? i plan on running a/c for the future for him but also dnt know how to rig it up? any after market companies out there that modify this? like i need everrrrrryything.. its been all gutted out prior so yeah no stock a/c ducts or nothing..

next was i wanted to put bigger tires for him cause yeah a firebird isnt a firebird unless it has those nice fatties.. i heard you can install an offset spring hanger which sets its in inward for an additional 2"

some one told me i can also just install a 4 link suspension?

any advice on the rear would be awesome

next the wiring harness.. are the ones on ebay pretty much safe? does anyone have a diagram of how to rig up my orginal harness? i bought a book from ebay not to informative..i really hate to spend 450 for a harness that i already have.

next is guages? someone told me i can run a temp sensor in the upper radiator hose with and adapter, some say the side of the block, what about oil pressure?

i have the new alum radiator already and that part is done,

i just about finish with the painless wire kit for the car half(lights etc. etc.)

next is brakes?

this bucket had all drums, i found a kit for the rear conversion for 200 bucks.
which is decent

i just dnt like the prices for the front conversion i think they are over priced
does any one know of any other vehicles equipped with disc brake setup that i can go to a local junk and scavenge? and will fit on the 68 firebirds?

i know this is long and i appreciate anybody who reads and answers this..
but these are real questions..

next was going to be upgrading the overall performance of that motor?
should i leave that truck intake on? or upgrade to an ls1 intake? what mods are required like new fuel injectors? new connections? is it going to work with the truck assy brackets? is it worth it?

the next question is WHAT THE HELL KINDA OF CAM is everyone installing ive been hearing some mean nasty lopey cams WHICH I LOVE!!!! AND IM SURE HELL FREAK OUT. any good cam grinds out there.

i do knwo i need the comp tune and take the vats off and that good stuff but any other advice in making this complete swap a lil less stress on me and having it complete for his arival...

again thank you and please helllllllllllllllllllllllppppppppp

ronniejames84

ANYBODY????? i see yall are viewing it.

LS1GMCTruck

iTrader: (2)

ronnie, first thing...start with only one or two questions at a time. Thats the one important thing I've learned about the internet, lol. I can't help you with the car items, as I know nothing about a '68 Firebird. But regarding your fuel delivery system, having two ports on a sumped fuel tank is in your favor. Go with a Walbro 255 in-line fuel pump. Buy the fuel pump fittings from Summit or Jeg's. Buy a Corvette fuel filter/regulator combination for a 1999 Vette at your favorite local auto parts store. You can also buy the fittings for this & your tank sump at Summit or Jeg's, etc., along with short lengths of the high-pressure fuel line that you will need. Run a feed line from the tank to the filter, and then a fuel return line from the filter back to the tank. And then, of course, the third fuel line from the filter forward to the engine. The 5.3 is a single line fuel feed engine, is'nt it? Hope this helps.

71 chevelle

iTrader: (13)

Brake down your questions. You have to many listed and are all over the place. Be more specific. Read the stickys

for the fuel sytem here you go

https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...onversion.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...ilter-fpr.html


Cam wise comp cams has a thmpr 54-600-11 or 64-601-11 cant go wrong.


refrence for a 5.3 build

http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56501

72chevelle6.0

iTrader: (22)

I Used this guys website to mod my factory harrness and it worked perfectly.. I even e-mailed him with questions and he was very helpful..he will even do the work for you for a fee of course.

http://www.lt1swap.com/2000harness.htm

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

yea hes cool,
he is also a member here

ronniejames84

hey guys thanks for the fast reply, yeah i apologize about the bazillion questions as i got carried away, im buying the fuel pump as i type, i think the 5.3 is a single line from what i can see, its this is just my typical project so i decidded to throw out all the question that i know when im at 2 am working on this car i would have something to come back and refrence to =)

ronniejames84

okay so how do i up load pics? i think my intake has 2 lines? how do i know which one is the feed and the return line? also do i need to run a pump to return the return fuel back?

so since i have everything apart.. is it better to up grade to a ls1 intake? or keep the 5.3 truck intake on

GA95DCMSS

iTrader: (13)

You have to have the pics hosted somewhere, or upload them as an attachment. If your fuel rail has 2 lines on it, the smaller one would be the return, and the larger would be the feed from the tank.

The LS6 Intake would be a better upgrade than both, but thats all money dependent, as is everything.

ronniejames84

what mods are required? do i need new fuel rails and injectors? thanks for you info..just a quick question do i need to have a pump in the return line to feed it back to the tank or does my fuel rails automatic return it like gravity feed thanks i really appreciate your responses

GA95DCMSS

iTrader: (13)

You would need F-Body rails or if you wanted to run the returnless rails (the return line plugs into the fuel filter instead or the rail) you would need a single feed corevette rail. Youd also have to adjust the accessory drive to accomodate for the lower intake manifold, either switching to the F-Body accessory drive, or using an idler pulley relocation bracket.

For the return line, no you don't need a pump. The excess fuel is returned to the tank by the pressure from the fuel pump itself.

ronniejames84

does any one know of any stickies that refer or how to modify the stock 5.3 truck intake? i hear thats a debatable argument some say the ls1 intake is better some say the truck? i have the truck.. so which should i use.. thanks for the advice for the ls6 intake but thats kinda out of my budget

ronniejames84

okay just took the motor out.. again, alot of people keep telling me to take the 5.3 pistons out and swap them with a 4.8 piston for better compression? is this true? and which years of engines with 4.8 pistons do i look for? do you think its going to increase horsepower? are the 5.3 and 4.8 bores the same?

GA95DCMSS

iTrader: (13)

You could swap the pistons, or you could get the heads milled and run a thinner gasket to get some compression back. Its all up to what the budget allows.

Stu Cool

iTrader: (13)

I think swapping the pistons is a lot of work for just a little gain. You can make plenty of power with that 5.3 without tearing into it. Here is a good article.

http://www.classictrucks.com/tech/09...tup/index.html

and another

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...ine/index.html
Pat

68 RS Convertible

iTrader: (1)

this bucket had all drums, i found a kit for the rear conversion for 200 bucks.
which is decent

i just dnt like the prices for the front conversion i think they are over priced
does any one know of any other vehicles equipped with disc brake setup that i can go to a local junk and scavenge? and will fit on the 68 firebirds?

70-72 monte carlo's
68-74 nova's
those are two that I know of that the front disk set up's will work on the first gen f-body's.
I have a set up from a 71 monty. The monty's are front steer cars, the camaro's and birds are rear steer. If you come across a monty disk set up you just have to remove the steering arms and switch them with the steering arms from your drums set up, or you can just swap the steering arms from one side to the other (left to right, right to left). The Nova's are the same as the camaro's and birds, rear steer.

ronniejames84

hey guys thanks for all of your advice.. man the more i look at this big ugly intake it makes me desperatly want to go buy a 50 dollar ls1 intake..what do yall think.. o yeah i think im just going to get the heads done as well as do a thumpr cam swap..

71 chevelle

iTrader: (13)

just remember when you go to a ls1 intake you need to make some mods the the acc drive to make it work.

if you are going to go with the thumper cam make sure you swap out

pushrods 7.4 comp cams 7955-16
valve springs kit 269121-kit


if you are not set on the ls1 check this out


check out my build and you can see what I am working on.

GA95DCMSS

iTrader: (13)

Yea, there are always different routes to go with as far as intakes go. Just remember if you decide to do the LS1/6 intake, you'd have to modify the truck accessory drive, or move completely to the F-Body or Vette drive. I see you mentioned it in your OP about accessory drives, which one have you decided on?

ronniejames84

hey thanks (GA95DCMSS ) and (71 chevelle),.. well as for the acc drive that im using is the truck yeah bummer.. its all i could afford right now.. i am hunting down the market and salvage yards for the fbody setup.. as for the thumper cam.. i did my home work im am getting the springs and push rods as required.. my question was what about the lifters? mine look pretty decent dnt have no wear marks or nothing? with that bigger cam should i get them? also i keep trying to find clips of a 5.3 with a thumper cam it seems to be that there are two types of thumper cams a ***** and a regular thumper? im looking for that krazy choppy idle ? any links of to any one who has my setup? is the thumper cam a good cam or is there other cams that i havnt found yet? thanks although i know these are a thousand questions