plaf713

iTrader: (8)

I have been trying to sell my camaro for a while now and hasnt worked out. I was looking to sell it to get into a foxbody, love the cars. A fwe weeks back my friend suggested that i buy a foxbody and just use my camaro as a donor car for parts. After doing research, i feel as if it would be a lot of fun to do and somewhat unique but i dont want to get into anything that i cant finish.

Main concerns:
-I know nothing about wiring, i see most of you wire yourself. I dont think there is any way I can do that
-Money. I feel like im saving because i already have the car, but i also dont want to dump a ton of money at it, does anyone have a realistic number of what it would cost. I know this is hard to do and pretty general but if people have numbers just throw them out there.
-fabricating. I dont have tools to really fabricate, for example welders, pipe benders, etc. How much fabrication is usually involved.
-Lastly, if i were to swap an ls1 in a foxbody, how would the gauge cluster still work?


Any help is much appreciated, i know i need to do more research but i feel if i get some solid information then it would steer me in the right directions

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

whats wrong with the camaro??

plaf713

iTrader: (8)

bored with it really, just looking to do something different. Theres nothing wrong with the camaro though, if i feel like i cant do the swap and the car doesnt sell then i guess im just going to keep the camaro

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

keep it,
the swap is labor intensive, not just bolt in deal, will take skill of all of the above, wiring, fabricating, etc. esp.if doing on budget.

plaf713

iTrader: (8)

thats what i was afraid of, maybe some day i guess

kosmo38

iTrader: (2)

do it! its not hard @all.

aje makes a bolt in swap subframe.
youll need to wire up 6 wires for the engine to run.
you can buy swap headers.
you can use fuel press reg from camaro for fuel system.
you can sell your roller camaro for anywhere from $800-$2000. DO IT.

plaf713

iTrader: (8)

i dunno, if it was straightforward i would do it, im afraid that i will run into a problem without being able to have a solution and having to bring it somewhere or pay to much money. Theres just certain aspects of the build that i dont understand, would i use my wiring harness? If so does that get tied into the speedo and things like that or do i get an aftermarket dash and have aftermarket gauges? I absolutely would love to but im just afraid of not being able to finish it. Ive done things like heads and cams swaps, replaced transmission so i am somewhat good with cars, but fabricating and wirirng are things that im afraid of

rao

iTrader: (18)

The fox body swap is very well documented, so you can research every step and decide if you can handle it.

plaf713

iTrader: (8)

the problem is i have found a lot of swap threads but people are posting towards the end or in the middle of there build, i have yet to find a well detailed swap, i cant find them in the stickys either

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Well, a good, honest self-assessment will help a lot with that (although not completely, since there are always things that you can't foresee).

You can do it either way - what I'm doing is tying the stock L92 truck harness into the bulkhead connector of my car. In other words, I'm tying the new engine harness in with the existing wiring in the car. Others have just gotten rid of the existing stuff & used aftermarket gauges, etc. (Actually, I'm kind of "mixing & matching" as I'm using some aftermarket gauges in addition to the stock dash...) It kind of depends on your plans for the car, & how you want to do it...

Well, you're kind of in the same spot I was when I started this - in fact, you might be a bit more "advanced" than I was... All I can say is that it's one hell of a learning experience, & now that I'm getting relatively close to the end, I'm really getting pretty stoked about driving it. (After what, a good two years now?? ) And when something does go wrong, I'll be a lot better equipped to track it down & resolve the issue, since I'm familiar with nearly every freakin' bolt on the car... (My project has become a bit more than just an engine/trans swap though.) As long as it's not your daily driver, I'd say "If it's something that you really want to do, GO FOR IT!"

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Well, PM some of the people who've done the swap, & ask them what were the most challenging aspects. That should give you a really good idea if it's something that you think you can handle. (In my case, I didn't originally plan on notching the K-frame & then welding/boxing it back together, but it seems to have worked out OK.)

Good luck.

plaf713

iTrader: (8)

hey thanks for the great information. I think im going to take the winter to decide and if im still into then, then i'll start picking up parts. I also dont want to start it and not have motivation to finish haha, I want to make sure im in it 100 percent. I guess ill have to just study up as much as possible. thanks again for the helpful information