Newbie gonna need lots of help!
06-19-2018, 10:49 AM
#1
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Newbie gonna need lots of help! Hey everybody, so like the title says, I might be kind of annoying. Im not sure if I'm posting this in the right category but here it goes. Quick backstory; I have a 1994 camaro sitting in my driveway. It was my son's car and he recently bought another vehicle. This camaro is a 3.4 and needs some work! My idea, because it is no longer a daily driver why not take my time and swap a v8 into it? An ls1 would be my first choice. I'm somewhat mechanically inclined. But does anyone know of links with step by step for unmaking a project such as this? Thank you
06-20-2018, 04:50 PM
#2
TECH Fanatic
Hate to say it. But it's easier and probably cheaper to buy a v8.
06-22-2018, 08:25 AM
#3
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I know its been done quite a few times, I did it on my 01. Im not sure of the differences the electronics on the 93-97's though and thats the biggest challenge.
Now if you do a stand alone harness and your own gauges that skips a lot of it. not sure on the fuel system differences either. so that would require some searching. If you are doing the work yourself? likely not that challenging ive seen it done with a cherry picker lifting the car off the engine cradle in a driveway. If you are gonna pay a shop to do it........sell and buy what you want its not worth the cost, but if you have the time and drive you can totally do it, biggest cost would be your engine tranny combo. If you want an idea of that hope on ebay and search ls1 engine.
Now if you do a stand alone harness and your own gauges that skips a lot of it. not sure on the fuel system differences either. so that would require some searching. If you are doing the work yourself? likely not that challenging ive seen it done with a cherry picker lifting the car off the engine cradle in a driveway. If you are gonna pay a shop to do it........sell and buy what you want its not worth the cost, but if you have the time and drive you can totally do it, biggest cost would be your engine tranny combo. If you want an idea of that hope on ebay and search ls1 engine.
06-22-2018, 12:03 PM
#4
Like the others stated, either sell it and start with a V8 car or do a stand alone set up. An LT1 harness can be reworked to run a LS and you can get adapter mounts, or an LS1 k member. Keeping your sons car, get either a stock, or aftermarket LS k member to start with, then an engine trans combo of your choosing, 5.3's and 4.8's are plentiful from trucks and suvs. A ECM and harness can be built to run it with just a few wires needing to be interfaced into car, then you'll need your own gauges or a way to monitor all the engine vitals through the ECM. on these cars the body harness and engine harness are not integrated so even removing the engine and harness, all your lights, blinkers, radio etc all work as they did. I took the LT1 out of my car and went to carbed small block and my own analog gauge set up.
07-01-2018, 02:29 PM
#6
Considering the cost of medium to high mileage Z28's and SS's, it is most definitely cheaper and a helluva lot easier to just purchase a car that already has a v8.
You are going to need:
New crossmember
new computer
harness
new trans
new driveshaft
new exhaust
i would upgrade the rear to one with a torsen or auburn diff at a minimum
Not sure on the electronics for the LT generation of fbodies, but you might need a new BCM or to do some tweaking to the computer to bypass vats. (which is another 500 or so for hptuners)
honestly from what I'm seeing on ebay, a complete motor and trans (A4, can only imagine T56 is a grand more or so) is running 3-4k. That's about 2/3rds the cost of a 98-02 fbody in 7/10 condition with high-ish miles.
If you want to do it, by all means, do it. I love swap stories and I love long, detailed projects. But just be prepared money wise and time wise it's going to cost a lot more. (Which is money that can be spent on mods!
)
You are going to need:
New crossmember
new computer
harness
new trans
new driveshaft
new exhaust
i would upgrade the rear to one with a torsen or auburn diff at a minimum
Not sure on the electronics for the LT generation of fbodies, but you might need a new BCM or to do some tweaking to the computer to bypass vats. (which is another 500 or so for hptuners)
honestly from what I'm seeing on ebay, a complete motor and trans (A4, can only imagine T56 is a grand more or so) is running 3-4k. That's about 2/3rds the cost of a 98-02 fbody in 7/10 condition with high-ish miles.
If you want to do it, by all means, do it. I love swap stories and I love long, detailed projects. But just be prepared money wise and time wise it's going to cost a lot more. (Which is money that can be spent on mods!
)
07-04-2018, 10:37 AM
#7
Why is the first thing out of everyone’s mouth “sell it and buy a V8 car”? Isn’t half the fun, taking a car from nothing and making it something? He didn’t ask which would be easier and cheaper. He asked for links and advice, taking on this project. Plus, there’s long term benefits and that’s paying v6 insurance premiums and having fun with a V8. Haha
As to OP’s original question, it’s not an easy road. I’m in the middle of my own V6 to V8 swap. Mines is geared more towards mainly strip with little street driving. To keep cost low and fun high, don’t waste your money on an LS1 (unless you can find a wrecked doner car for cheap), I would look into a 5.3 and do a 4l60 if you’re keeping things mild (less than 400hp) or 4L80e if you plan on making more. The 5.3 is a great power plant with a lot of potential. Scout out CL and if you have Facebook the market place. I’ve found a ton of deals there. Id stay away from a junkyards unless it’s for small odds and ends,. As in my area, they are way over priced for the LS based engines and transmissions. And do a lot of searching. This site has a ton of great info and a ton of people who have done or are in the middle of what you’re about to do.
As to OP’s original question, it’s not an easy road. I’m in the middle of my own V6 to V8 swap. Mines is geared more towards mainly strip with little street driving. To keep cost low and fun high, don’t waste your money on an LS1 (unless you can find a wrecked doner car for cheap), I would look into a 5.3 and do a 4l60 if you’re keeping things mild (less than 400hp) or 4L80e if you plan on making more. The 5.3 is a great power plant with a lot of potential. Scout out CL and if you have Facebook the market place. I’ve found a ton of deals there. Id stay away from a junkyards unless it’s for small odds and ends,. As in my area, they are way over priced for the LS based engines and transmissions. And do a lot of searching. This site has a ton of great info and a ton of people who have done or are in the middle of what you’re about to do.
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07-06-2018, 11:06 AM
#8
Another option is to find a V8 donor car and swap everything from the donor to the V6 car. Finding V6 cars in good condition that haven't been ragged out isn't all that hard. There are a lot of V8 cars out there with trashed bodies that would make good donors. These cars can often be purchased for next to nothing. I picked up a donor car that's a rusted out **** box, but it had a good engine and transmission to go into my otherwise good condition V8 roller. Yeah, its easier to start with a V8 car but there is nothing wrong with taking a couple of cars and making one good one out of it.
07-10-2018, 10:03 PM
#9
Why is the first thing out of everyone’s mouth “sell it and buy a V8 car”? Isn’t half the fun, taking a car from nothing and making it something? He didn’t ask which would be easier and cheaper. He asked for links and advice, taking on this project. Plus, there’s long term benefits and that’s paying v6 insurance premiums and having fun with a V8. Haha
As for insurance... unless you're 18 years old, I have yet to see a significant difference between v6 and v8 insurance.
As I said in my first post... I'm all for swaps and projects and fun threads, but I would hate to see the OP do a swap like that and be un-happy or dissatisfied because there was a much easier, cheaper road.
07-11-2018, 11:18 AM
#10
Mostly cause A. we're trying to save the people asking these questions time and money. B. Due to the excess of time and money a job like this requires, it usually never gets finished.
As for insurance... unless you're 18 years old, I have yet to see a significant difference between v6 and v8 insurance.
As I said in my first post... I'm all for swaps and projects and fun threads, but I would hate to see the OP do a swap like that and be un-happy or dissatisfied because there was a much easier, cheaper road.
As for insurance... unless you're 18 years old, I have yet to see a significant difference between v6 and v8 insurance.
As I said in my first post... I'm all for swaps and projects and fun threads, but I would hate to see the OP do a swap like that and be un-happy or dissatisfied because there was a much easier, cheaper road.
Things he would need
k-member- 150-250 (stock V8 kmember) could be cheaper at pick and pull junkyards
engine/trans/harness- 1000-1800 (if the OP isn’t dead set on an LS1, if so add a 1,000 to both numbers)
fuel pump- 112.00 Walbro 255, (more than what is required and can be fitted into stock basket)
fbody oil pan if going 5.3 or 6.0- 250
Lets say an additional 500-1000 in incidentals and upgrades to the swapped engine that I may be forgetting
total 2000-3500 for a basic swap not including high performance parts, that you would most likely need if buying a stock LS1 anyway (IE cam, heads, headers, etc)
You can also make some money back selling your working engine and trans.
Again it’s not easier, but it can be cheaper if done correctly. Please feel free to add anything that I may be missing
If he starts out with a very nice V6 f-body he could be ahead of the game if done correctly. The problem with these swaps, is people go into them not knowing what they want. They start out one way and end up going down the rabbit whole buying top dollar parts and they go from building a fun weekend warrior to an all out race car. Come up with a plan, a budget (that’s realistic), and talk to people who have done it before.
07-11-2018, 11:39 AM
#11
I can wrap my head around it being “easier” to start with a V8, but cheaper I’m not sold on. He’s already got a car he owns and if it’s in good shape body and interior wise he’s a head of the game. Sure, he can sell his V6 F-body and spend 3-5K on a clapped out LS1 pushing 200k that needs a ton of body and mechanical work or he can spend 8-10k on a decent V-8 F-body. If he takes that additional 6-8k that he would have to spend on a good V8 car and fork put it into converting his V6 to a V8, I bet he could have a nice LS swap for half that.
Things he would need
k-member- 150-250 (stock V8 kmember) could be cheaper at pick and pull junkyards
engine/trans/harness- 1000-1800 (if the OP isn’t dead set on an LS1, if so add a 1,000 to both numbers)
fuel pump- 112.00 Walbro 255, (more than what is required and can be fitted into stock basket)
fbody oil pan if going 5.3 or 6.0- 250
Lets say an additional 500-1000 in incidentals and upgrades to the swapped engine that I may be forgetting
total 2000-3500 for a basic swap not including high performance parts, that you would most likely need if buying a stock LS1 anyway (IE cam, heads, headers, etc)
You can also make some money back selling your working engine and trans.
Again it’s not easier, but it can be cheaper if done correctly. Please feel free to add anything that I may be missing
If he starts out with a very nice V6 f-body he could be ahead of the game if done correctly. The problem with these swaps, is people go into them not knowing what they want. They start out one way and end up going down the rabbit whole buying top dollar parts and they go from building a fun weekend warrior to an all out race car. Come up with a plan, a budget (that’s realistic), and talk to people who have done it before.
Exactly this, there are full car part outs going on everyday on here, Craigslist, facebook etc where you can get the major pieces for a great deal. You can do this swap as economically or as extravagant as you let your self. Pick your power plant and trans, then start searching for what you need as far as an computer and wiring, then scour the classifieds and you'll have everything you need sitting in a corner before you know it.
