For those of you who have done the swap...
08-28-2011, 08:18 AM
#1
For those of you who have done the swap... I am ALMOST there with my LQ4 swap into my 1968 camaro. But please help me with some motivation. For those of you who have done the swap, tell me... was it worth it? How amazing is your car now? How reliable is it? What are some of the great things you have noticed? Thanks guys!
08-28-2011, 09:39 AM
#2
motivation motivation shouldn't be needed for a true hot rodder. u asked if the swap is worth it? i dont know what engine/tranny combo you are running in ur '68, but it was worth it for me. good, clean horsepower and durability cant be matched. i swapped a 5.3/4l60E in '87 c10 for a 383/400th turbo. the past combo was powerful, but it was thirtsty, loud, and not fun to drive on long commutes. also driving in miami, florida traffic jams was worse. but i evaluated what i was gaining, with the thought of the lsx, c10 cool factor, and the conversion done. with this swap, comes alterations, tinkering, troubleshooting, posting question on the forums, waiting for answers, and retrofitting things that werent made to go together, but it is priceless once its complete. u jsut dont see lsx engines combos in every muscle. car so get up, put on ur overalls, & get wrenchin'. good luck.
08-28-2011, 11:18 AM
#5
Staging Lane
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Definitely worth it! I love that I can get in it and drive down the interstate at 75 with the cruise and ac on! The power is awesome too! And the cool factor isnt so bad either! 
Dont give up...just dooo it!
Dooo it!
Doooo it.
OK...I'll stop now.
Dont give up...just dooo it! Dooo it!
Doooo it.
OK...I'll stop now.
08-28-2011, 02:21 PM
#6
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The looks you get at a cruise night are worth the trouble. Take your time and make it look good. I still have some work to do to get it right but I've already got more compliments than I could of imagined. Throttle response is unreal.
I did notice I can beat the **** out of the poor car at the dragstrip and drive it home and still have plenty of gas to go wherever I want.
There's a clean chevette here for sale and if I didn't have a full garage it'd be getting some heavy mods to get an LSx to fit.
I did notice I can beat the **** out of the poor car at the dragstrip and drive it home and still have plenty of gas to go wherever I want.
There's a clean chevette here for sale and if I didn't have a full garage it'd be getting some heavy mods to get an LSx to fit.
08-28-2011, 03:18 PM
#7
I'm pretty close to 100% agreement on that statement. I do know I'll never do another non-EFI swap for a personal car of mine unless it isn't permitted by class rules.
Definitely the best thing I ever did to my daily (the Thunderbird) which still makes me chuckle every time I drive it.
Definitely the best thing I ever did to my daily (the Thunderbird) which still makes me chuckle every time I drive it.
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08-28-2011, 08:57 PM
#10
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Couldn't agree more with this! I love seeing the double takes at cruise nights when the older guys walk past the car. They stop and just scratch their heads some think it's s disgrace and others think it's the coolest thing they've ever seen.
08-28-2011, 09:24 PM
#11
Some of the most fun ive had was today driving my LQ9 swap around town for the first time. The power and TQ is hard to get use to, the way it comes to life is different than the old carb setup. Anything over half pedal under 40 ends up with the tires in smoke. Big tires.
Even though my TB broke on me today and left me stranded, worth every minute of Blood, sweat, tears, LS1tech forum time and money.
Even though my TB broke on me today and left me stranded, worth every minute of Blood, sweat, tears, LS1tech forum time and money.
08-28-2011, 10:56 PM
#13
It was Worth all the work and i had to sale my Bass Boat to do the swap and this is coming from a guy that lives 1/2 mile from a Great fishing lake and has spent most of my life fishing.
You will get your payback from guys telling you how cool it looks and all so how much money you will save in gas it will all so make the car more drive able. My car had a 355 making 420hp and it had a 3500 stall with a 350 trans the car was no fun to drive on long trips.
But after the swap just last night me and a friend drove my nova with my LS1 and 4L60E tran on a 130 mile round trip and it was so much fun we could talk and joke all the way with out the pipes drowning out are talking and it only cost me like $30 bucks in gas.
And when we got to the cruise night last night lots of guys looked at my car and told me how cool it was with the LS1 in it and it has all the power i needed to make some Smoke at the stop lights to show off its power for the people watching.
If i build any more cars i will spend the money and take the time and do another LS swap its the only way to go.
You will get your payback from guys telling you how cool it looks and all so how much money you will save in gas it will all so make the car more drive able. My car had a 355 making 420hp and it had a 3500 stall with a 350 trans the car was no fun to drive on long trips.
But after the swap just last night me and a friend drove my nova with my LS1 and 4L60E tran on a 130 mile round trip and it was so much fun we could talk and joke all the way with out the pipes drowning out are talking and it only cost me like $30 bucks in gas.
And when we got to the cruise night last night lots of guys looked at my car and told me how cool it was with the LS1 in it and it has all the power i needed to make some Smoke at the stop lights to show off its power for the people watching.
If i build any more cars i will spend the money and take the time and do another LS swap its the only way to go.
08-28-2011, 10:57 PM
#14
Love it, 16k Miles, 5 years, A common comment when people look under the hood is "Holy ****!". Starts instantly, drive anywhere, 27 mpg on the highway, took it on a 2000 mile trip, planning a 5000 miler for next year. Read my sig line for performance,
Pat
Pat
08-29-2011, 12:18 AM
#15
Staging Lane
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It is most defiantly worth the work. I did a 4.8/4l60e swap on my s10 and I love everything about it. It took me around a month, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Its not the most ideal engine, but it runs damn good. Has enough power to burn the tires through first gear and chirp the hell out of second with a bone stock trans. It is so much smoother than the old 4.3, and has twice the power. Not to mention the fuel economy is now somewhere around 24mpg. The sound of it has to be my favorite part though, nothing sounds as good as a healthy LSX motor.
Keep your head up man! You won't be disappointed.
Keep your head up man! You won't be disappointed.
08-29-2011, 06:12 PM
#17
You guys are great. I've got the motor all installed, it runs in the car, but there are just sooo many odds and ends. The little things kill me and it is taking so much longer than I had hoped. I can't WAIT until I'm driving it down to be tuned. September is the month! Thanks everyone!
08-29-2011, 06:17 PM
#18
You guys are great. I've got the motor all installed, it runs in the car, but there are just sooo many odds and ends. The little things kill me and it is taking so much longer than I had hoped. I can't WAIT until I'm driving it down to be tuned. September is the month! Thanks everyone!
