Pontiac Firebird 1967-2002 - ls1 swap or sell and buy Trans am

I have a 1998 v6 firebird, I want a ls1. I picked the car up for 1500 which I think its a good deal. So I'm wondering which route you guys would take? The easy quick way or the more personal way? I feel like I could learn a lot but also could be getting myself into more then I'm projecting... Any and all feedback is welcome

No feedback?

Unless you are really attached to that particular car, sell it and buy the v8.

Unless you are really attached to that particular car, sell it and buy the v8.

^^what he said

I've actually started to look into swapping a lower mileage lq series motor into my car at the end of this summer, there are more options out there than just an ls1.

There's a lot involved with doing a V6 to V8 swap in the fourth-gen 'birds. K-member, wiring, fuel system, drivetrain, etc., has to be addressed when doing it.

I am in the middle of doing one if you'd care to read about it:
http://ls1tech.com/forums/drag-racing-tech/1362889-1995-firebird-4-8l-street-strip-project.html

I would say it depends on how much you can do yourself. If you have the space, time, tools, something else to drive while doing the swap, etc. As mentioned already, you'll need a lot of parts beyond the engine to do this correctly. (I would think you'd want the suspension, driveline and brakes, too) IMO, the best way would be to buy a wrecked LS powered car so you can 1- have all the parts needed, and 2- see where they went/ go. It'll go a long way for teaching you as you mentioned you could learn a lot.

It's also worth taking the time to see what what it would cost for either a wrecked/ parts car, or the parts you would need to do the swap (plus any costs of tools, equipment, space, etc) versus the value of your current car towards the cost of an LS equipped car.

Financially speaking- you'll most likely find you'll be $$ and time ahead selling your car and buying the LS car as mentioned above. However, that's the easy way out. what fun is that? :)

IMO its more work than its worth.

I would sell the v6 and buy a v8, I think it'd be hard to get all the bugs out after the swap...

Starting the hunt for parts for the swap tomorrow :)

bro im in the same boat lol. i happen to REALLY like my camaro.. its a red convertible with the rs body kit on it. but its a v6. time and time again everyone says "so not worth it buy a v8" but i kinda have this attachment to my car, and wont easily sell it. if you plan on going through with it i highly recommend finding a wrecked z28/ss/ws6 etc.. you can get the entire car at cost and have all the parts you need. unless of course they got broken in the accident the car was in. but at the same time its all about your level of knowledge and how much you wanna put into it. its a tooon of work. but im gonna do it to. hope to see some progress soon!

I wish you luck. I don't have an attachment, but I'll feel more accomplished if I do the swap. Plus I knowenough people to help with the build when I run into problems. But for the most part, I'm gonna try to do it alone

Good luck with the swap, like some other people have said, finding a wrecked parts car will be the easiest way to go.

The search for a donor is in full effect ad of today

The search for a donor is in full effect ad of today

Good luck with the search. Hope it goes well. It is alot of work so if your mechanically savvy it will definitely help.

I know enough people so if I encounter any problems I have support, plus that's what you guys are here for :) lol

If you have the time and skills , and want a nice project , just pick up a donor car and start working . you`ll find lots of useful information searching ..
ZexGX had a very detailed swap thread I believe , and you`ll find many more ..

I wanted to go with a ls swap since I lived outside the states , selling my car and buying a V8 was out of the question .. I started with suspension and drivetrain mods to build a good platform , but decided I want to make my V6 fast instead . when the time comes , I`ll swap out a beast of a V8 in there , Im just not done with the V6 .
But since you have the sources , a V8 swap is more than possible ..

goodluck !

im all for telling someone to do a project and learn a thing or 2, but in this case sell your v6 and buy a v8, f bodys are really cheap these days and can find something with everything you want for less than the swap would cost

I agree with the fun factor. I've been tinkering with mine for almost five years now. It helps that I have a driver to play with still. If I didn't, I'd probably had this car done a couple years ago :)

Best of luck.

However...

I'd just sell the V6, probably make some money off of it, and buy a V8 car. There will be plenty to learn even if one isn't doing a 6-to-8 swap.