Adam24v

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum. This is my first go around with a car, light duty and some heavy duty diesels are my go to and what I spend all my time playing with but I think it’s time to mix it up. Everyone on here has been a huge help with their various threads which has in turn, given me the confidence to begin my own build thread. I acquired a 1985 Camaro Z/28 IROC roughly a year ago for a killer deal that I couldn’t pass up running and driving. It’s not the prettiest but it will be peppy when it’s done. I have a 2005 Gen 3 5.3 that will be going into it along with the factory harness and ECM. This thread will consist of an immense amount of pictures and very basic tuning. It will also be fairly fast paced as I’m trying to time myself for this swap. This is my first one so we will see how it goes .

Finkledbody

I try to read all the build threads on this forum so I’ll be sure to check back in on yours! I enjoy seeing what people come up with. Gives us plebs something to look forward too.

Adam24v

Alrighty, I’ve acquired a few pics so y’all can see what I’m working with. This car has seen some abuse and questionable work. The paint is a different shade on every panel and there’s overspray everywhere but it was $400 and I couldn’t pass it up!




I will be undoing and removing most if not all wiring unrelated or unused for this swap since looking at it stresses me out. This is also a tight budget build just because I want to see how cheap I can do it while still using decent quality parts. I will include a fair amount of stuff I used in a list for what I have spent. Huge thanks to my buddy in tech school for all the random odd end stuff I needed like a new valve cover since one was cracked, converter that was new since he blew his th350 and went to a 4l60, and other stuff. When I get further into the swap I will provide exact parts needed to swap into a 3rd gen.

Parts list:
$250 05 LM7 with harness, accessories, ecm, pedal
$650 BTR stage 4 LS NA cam 233/248 .630” .618” 111.5*+2.5* along with springs, pushrods, etc
$205 Summit LS7 lifters+trays
$405 Speed engineering 3rd gen long tube headers
$311 Full engine gasket set and head bolts
$250 Swap goodies ie mounts, dip stick, oil pan, etc
$250 3400 stall converter, replacement valve cover, other goodies
$55 Die grinder bits and replacement connectors

Total cost so far: $2,060

Adam24v

Well i felt a little froggy and decided to dive into the harness. This is a job I recommend everyone to do extensive research on if it’s their first time. In my case the harness was fairly damaged. There were multiple connectors that were hacked off HOWEVER most were trans related and since I’m going with the th350 in the car it works out great for me. Sadly the crankshaft position connecter was cut so that will be replaced soon and I’m switching to EV6 connectors for flex fuel injectors from a l59 to better support the fueling side of this build. Here it is in all its glory, there’s still a few things that need to be taped and wrapped like the grounds but all is well.


Please keep in mind that this is my first time doing an entire wiring harness and so some things aren’t the prettiest but if it functions properly I will be happy. All of this was done in my tiny studio apartment with wires extending in every direction. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it and have the drive to get it done. Took me and a buddy a total of 3 hours to get it this far.

Adam24v

Alrighty, it’s been a few long days filled with work and school. I’ve organized the harness some more and finally got it to a somewhat good point for now. I will need to go back and do wiring for the tach and a few other things but for the most part it’s done. New connectors will be arriving this week and will be installed later on. This week will consist of top end stuff, I plan to do a full top end refresh and check the bores. From reading a few threads I’ve come to understand not to look at the cam bearings to make myself feel better. I do plan to port and polish the heads to a fair amount. They’re 706’s so a smaller intake valve should accompany the larger cam fairly well with PTV clearance. A little extra flow or atleast smoothing the flow is just a bonus and gives me something to do while I wait on other parts. I also need to get the car running this weekend and bring it to the garage I will be doing the swap at. Last I remember it was low on trans fluid or the trans was hurt. Either or doesn’t really bother me as it’ll either get more trans fluid and work or I’ll rebuild it and do some upgrades while I’m in there. I’m going to include some pictures when doing the top end, if anyone catches anything that looks worrisome please don’t hesitate to say something.

Adam24v

Sorry to those who have read this thread, I’ve been extremely busy with work and college and haven’t had a chance to dive into the engine yet. The blue car is being sold since I have picked up a roller with a lot of work done to it for a great price.


This saves me time from pulling an engine and trans, has a lot of upgraded stuff on it like suspension, rear end, fuel system, and electrical which will save me money in the long run AND It won’t cost me a dime when I sell the blue car. The engine will be torn down and gone through Friday and Saturday and if everything goes well it will be put in the car. After that it will be finding a th400 and having a driveshaft made.

Kjduvall

thatd look good in dodge f8 green my first thought anyway, looks like a fun project. i see the side of that van in back ground is missouri maybe ill see that car doing some street pulls some day....

Adam24v

I’ve thought about painting it green but I cannot stop thinking about the bronze that my old dodge was painted.



Maybe so, I’m located in the Franklin county area and plan on making it street legal this summer to take it to local car meets and have fun with it. Overall it’s a great start that will save me thousands later on and everything is plumbed and wired, just need to drop my engine and get a trans for it then it’ll be ready to roll.

Kjduvall

huh small world , ive seen that truck im just out side washington in villa ridge. hope to see that out and about. pacific car show maybe.....

Finkledbody

Green one looks to be a better starting vehicle for the project. Nice wheels, good looking stance.

Adam24v

Funny enough I’m located in Washington, hopefully there will be another meet near down town again this year. Last year was pretty fun with the mix of cars and trucks.

Yessir, I have been talking with my dad for a few weeks about the blue car and we both agreed that another car would be smarter for this build. Wheels and tires alone are over $1k and a built rear end is going to set me back over another $1k maybe 2, along with suspension which all adds up quick. This car cost less than a set of wheels but it requires me to buy another transmission, seat, shifter, etc. while the blue car has a seat and shifter I can just buy a used set of seats with mounts and a used shifter then either find a good deal on a transmission or build one.

Adam24v

Alrighty it’s been a little while since I last posted an update

Me and a buddy enjoyed some good food and drinks and decided to tear into the engine. Did a full top end on it with a light inspection on the bottom end. Everything looked good other than a tiny head gasket leak and a bad cam and lifters. Looked like an off brand cam and lifters in it and of course that didn’t end well. There was a ridiculous amount of scoring across each lifter and lobe. The new cam went in with a breeze and I avoided looking at the cam bearings, my buddy said they looked fine but we will find out. The new injectors are in as well, I will play around with fuel rail spacing to ensure they don’t leak. I put the engine in last evening, with the car being setup for an ls previously it was a breeze and went in first try. Headers fit exceptionally well too.

On another note, this past weekend I acquired an FTI th400 with a manual valvebody, a shifter, driveshaft, and 2 cross members for $1000 . Torque arm for the umi crossmember is on its way and I picked up a kirkey seat today. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for this little project.




I still need to finish routing the harness and figure out the mounting for the fuse box and ecm. Also ran into a little issue since it was a twin turbo car. The fuel lines, trans lines, and battery cable run against the passenger side header so I will have to re route the hoses somehow to make sure a fire won’t happen.

Kjduvall

saw this in lsx mag, made me think of your build.

Adam24v

I came across that car as well, it is stunning to say the least.

Also a little update, the engine finally runs and makes great oil pressure. I have been chasing issues left and right with wiring and fitment of everything but it is almost done. For the past two days i couldn’t get spark to any of my coils and kept going back and forth with my cam and crank sensor. Turns out there was a ground wire cut for the coil plugs. A little testing ground wire and it fired right up. I’m at the point now where I need to mount the radiator and wire the fans then begin more basic tuning to get it to idle. Trans will also need to go in soon.

Adam24v

Very sorry for not keeping this updated, I’ve been busy with my new job and haven’t been able to manage my time well enough to work on the car. I purchased a th400 for it along with a UMI crossmember, adjustable torque arm, aluminum driveshaft, driveshaft loops, etc. I also ended up tearing the car down and scrapped the NA idea. As of now it is set up for a turbo, I’ve done 95% of the hot side fab work within a few hours today. I acquired a set of 120 lb/hr FIC injectors to support e85 and boost as well. My goal for these next two weeks is to finish plumbing the trans lines and cooler along with mounting and doing the feed and drain for the turbo. Once that is completed it’s going to a friends shop where I can use his bandsaw and tig welder to cut and fab the remaining piping. Tuning has become a lot more understandable thanks to some efi live veterans I’ve talked to. It looks like it will be running and racing in the near future!