Mustang Hat'r 2

iTrader: (24)

I'm really thinking about doing this. The cops are just dying to get me in my TA and think I could avoid alot of trouble building an old chevelle.

What are the negatives putting my LS into the chevelle? I've never even riden in a chevelle. I love the look etc. How is the feel of the car in general? I'm not a twity kind of person, straight and fast.

What do I need to do this. I wont run AC. I have the LS1/T56 and ecu.
Motor mounts
Trans mount
T56, Cut the floor up? Will the shifter sit right?
DS
Exhaust
Can i get gauges that will read off the ECU for the Speed, tach, water temp, oil pressure? Would like just metal type dash rather than stock.
Modify fuel lines or go carb
How heavy are these cars? I've heard 3500 to 4200. It would be stock steal except a glass hood.

Will the T56 blow the rear in chevelle like in my TA? I hate my spool and want just a 12 with a posi.

I know this is a lot thanks for any and all info
Jay

Fahrenschnell

iTrader: (1)

I am getting ready to do this.....So I can't help you with the all the details....I have a 12-bolt and have beat the hell out of it with my BBC and had no problems.

If you want a lighter car, go for the 64-65 chevelle....Mine was 3100 with a sbc and all steel.

I would stick with EFI, it just makes the car more easy and fun to get in an drive anytime.

Best of Luck......BTW....I love my chevelle.....definitely not a corner carver......but man does it like to hike the front end up.

Seth

buddyholly

Hmm, where to start...Well, first thing...cops love Chevelles. Want annonamous? Try a "G" body wagon or something.
You need to ride in one before you go any further. Depends on the year, but you are looking at at least 500lbs more than your TA. And a stock Chevelle handles like a boat and has questionable brakes.
Having said that, there is nothing like owning a classic. Done right it has unbeatable cool built in. I love my LS swap, wouldn't trade anything for it. Oh, and no, the Chevelle 12 bolt is plenty strong, not like the humpty dumpty 10 bolt in the F bodys.
More folks will chime in so you should get plenty of input...

Mustang Hat'r 2

iTrader: (24)

I'm biased with the 70-72's. My TA is only about 3100 so its really light. What would it take to get one down to 3500 range?

I have zero emissions stuff on the car, the inspection is basicly fake. I've gotten tickets for the exhaust being to load. Only a matter of time before they start scanning the inspection stickers and asking why it's not a caravan. Chevelle is grand fathered, no emission and exhaust headers and duals are stock style so they can't say ****. The speeding etc I dont care about.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

I have been very pleased with my Swap.. the car weights in at about 3600 with full Interior (two box of Dynamat).

For Straight line, the Chevelle is a good platform. Going on a Diet would help some. But it really is not that much heavier that a fully loaded 4th Gen...! It is a bit more top heavier that your 4th Gen TA... but good suspension will take care of most of it.

With a T56.. you will have mod the Trans Tunnel. Being a T56 has nothing to do with blowing the rear.. torque from then engine will, the T56 is just able to take more power.

You can set up a 12 bolt with some HD axles and have your choice of a normal type of Posi-traction, Tru-trak, locker, etc.. My 12 Bolt with a posi 4.11 have been holding up great for the past 5+ years on long cruises, short driving, drags and autocrossing! I am doing about 1650 at 65mph with my Viper T56 and 4.11 grears.

Gauges.. the only real output that the PCM that you will be useing is the Tach. Everything else can be standalone (oil pressure, water temp, voltage). To get the 4th Gen type of guages to work, you would have to wire up the BCM

Exhaust, F-body Manifold are a great fit.. so much that 4th gen F-Body headers are almost a drop in fit (or minor mod to it).

good luck..

BC

Mustang Hat'r 2

iTrader: (24)

How would you get the speedo to work? There cable driven and the t-56 has a sensor?

As for the floor I dont mind cutting etc. The Viper T56 shorter? Thinking the shifter might sit to far back with a F body T56? Also wondering about the clutch, could the tick master be used?

bozzhawg

I love my swap, I wish i would have done it at first....

69 Chevelle

-LS2/L92 head(about to swap to LS3's with lighter valves)
-4L65E
-12 Bolt
-Eaton Posi
-3.73 Gear
-Yukon Alloy Axles
-Bilstein Heavy Duty Shocks
-Tru Coil Racing Springs 575LB front
-Tru Coil Racing Springs 250LB rear
-3" front drop
-Front Disc Brakes
-Drilled and Slotted Rotors
-Front end all Moog Steering Components
-Polygraphite Bushings
-Edelbrock Stepped headers 1 3/4- 1 7/8
-3" Exhaust pipe
-3"Flo-Pro MAX mufflers
-95 SS Impala tank w/walbro 255 pump kit
-99 S10 gearbox

ECM
Dakota Digital Dash no issues with tach,speed,etc... unless you want the stock look or mechanical gauges, I would say use the dakota because, buy the time you pay for autometer or such, you could have had digital.... but its up to you....Eveybodu that sees the digital thinks it cool and I like it....

3600LB

and it flat out flies........ I dropped 350lbs off the car from the BBC

Bozz

1975delta88

I don't have a Chevelle, but a 70 Monte Carlo. Same platform, but it has added length in the front. I put a Hotchkiss TVS on mine and changed the steering box. I also changed stock A-Arms to Hotchkiss tubular ones. I drove it for 2 weeks before I pulled the SBC 350 and it handles like a modern car. It came with a stock 12 bolt rear end, but I am swapping it for a currie rear end, tru-trac differential, 31 spline axles and wilwood brakes. The project isn't complete yet, but I do have most the parts. I hope to have it done by the end of the year. If you have a limited budget, doing a Chevelle with an LS can get quite pricey. Finding a Chevelle with good body work can get expensive. A chevelle that is kinda beat up will cost you less initially, but in the long run it'll cost more to refurbish the body. That's why I went with the MC. I found a great low mile example for $6k. The only thing it needs is the interior redone.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

A Viper T56 is the same lenght.. but the shifter is about 4-5" forward of the F-Body location.

If you want to get your original dash Speedo .. you can use a Cable-X box..

Bullitt4110

iTrader: (31)

I'd be happier with it I'd I had more money to finish it. Lol. But really I don't see a disadvantage to the LSx powerplant compared to the older stuff in terms of reliability, ease of working on, etc.

ZTwentyAteU

iTrader: (12)

I'm sure you will be happy. I'm a big f body guy, but old cars are where the real fun is. Cops aren't going to hound you as much. They give me a thumbs up or pull me over to look at the car. Last one I built was a 66 impala 5.3, it was a damn blast, took it on the power tour this year, and got more looks than any ls1 f body i've had. Plus the old guys like it too, and you can hit up the old car shows, just more fun

bozzhawg

Alot of guys fear the new technology or electronic aspect but the thing about it it not that hard and I love it too becuase of less gaskets that are prone to leak like gen I,II etc...... So as you noticed, alot of guys that convert intially start off talking about a carb set up LSX vs a efi.... But if you can wire up and entire car, then you should be able to wire the basic components of the efi system.... It was not that bad...The most time consuming part was figuring out what I did not need......

I go outside turn and go, no pumping the gas pedal, no carb adjustments, if I have a problem, plug in the obII and bam.... I put the DL write under the dash panel, it freaks the guys out when they see it and they don't now whats under the hood... no badges.... sleeper type...

I stopped at a autozone one day to run a OBII because I had a P174 code pop up and the MIL check engine code came across my dash.... They argued me down that he could not do it on my car and when he finally came outside, ran the test, then I popped the hood, he almost shitted in his drawers... I spent 45mins with a crowd around my ride.... They could not believe what was under the hood.... Priceless

Bozz

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

I wouldn't go back.

EFI...efi is the #1 reason to go lsx, if you're going to go carb you could do a sbc cheaper and it would look/sound better. It is cake. Stock harness and pcm work with little modification. Starts every time, runs right in all weather...carbs are for race cars and even then I'd just as soon have fuel injection.

Mine weighs 3800# with me and a mostly full tank, tools, 12" sub box, amp, etc in it.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

+1 as Thunderstruck507.. also.. the Gas Mileage, reliablity and and easy of driving one.

I got a mail order tune to just flash out any code as needed. Been drving it with only one problem, that being a bad O2 sendor after 2year.. replaced it and have had no problems since.
One of these days, I will get a tune.. but for a daily driver, it gets 23+ wtih 4.11's on the highway @ 70mph and it turns high 13's with street tires with just driving there, running it and then back home without touching anything (yeah it could be better).

Bullitt4110

iTrader: (31)

Being a younger guy I havent dealt to much with carbs on cars, a good amount on dirtbikes but not a whole lot on cars and Ive done a lot of work with EFI stuff and find the wiring rather simiple on a LS1 set-up. I am doing the carb set-up at first as more of a challenge for my self to learn more about tuning, with have to make manual adjustments and jetting changes, etc. But I agree EFI once completed is super simiple and worry free for the most part.

bozzhawg

Cool, I guess its reversed....lol

Bullitt4110

iTrader: (31)

lol pretty much.

JAY ROD

iTrader: (1)

I am having the same dilemma with my chevelle.It is an all original 32000 mile mint car.I love the fact it has the original 327 in it and has a very unique vintage feel.
I put a 5.3 in my 69 camaro and liked it way more than the 454 for the mileage and it felt stronger down low.(the 454 had a monster cam).

So now I have a 6.0 and a t56 in my garage and I am trying figure it all out.
I guess it comes down to what you want.These old musclecars are full of character but handle like the titanic.When you install newer technolgy under the hood the car will still drive like an old car but run better and give better mileage.
If you decide to do a chevelle, budget yourself for better brakes,a quick ratio steering box,and some good springs and sway bars,And maybe some front seats that offer some better support(f-body etc).
I think you would enjoy the car more and feel more confident with those upgrades.
J

Mustang Hat'r 2

iTrader: (24)

Planned on using some nice TA seats or some nice racing seats and stock bench in the back.

Will the LS1 drop right in with the right motor mounts? Also what are people doing for a master cylinder? I love the tick, its might be the best mod I have ever done. Getting a lot of good ideas and feed back.
Thanks

bczee

iTrader: (12)

Yes... but as you say.. with the correct and complete compones of Plates, Mounts and Motor mounts.

For the T56 Hyd Clutch Master. Many are using the OEM master from a 4th Gen F-Body. They the the ATS designed adapter plate. Which fits in between the Firewall and the Brake Booster. The template and instructions can be found in the Sticky or on many other sites (S&P's).

Keep asking the question and share your ideas..

BC