84 Monte 5.3 Build
 

Hi all,

Long-time lurker, just getting around to my LS swap now, so figured I should start a thread to cover my conversion.

For starters, here's the patient, a 1984 Chevy Monte Carlo non-SS. Originally a pale brown 305 auto car with 2.29 gears, a vinyl top, and a brown bucket/console interior, I've done a fair amount of work to it already.

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Here are a few shots of it in the garage, losing its old power(less)plant.
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Vortec 350, all stock internals from a 98 Yukon
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Ready to lift out!
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Much better
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I'll add pictures of my 5.3 a little later, I've got most of the parts in my garage, just a few things left to source.

-matt

I'll be taking notes. My 84 Monte has a 229 that needs to go away.

Always loved those cars.....a comfortable cruiser that can handle quite nicely. That 5.3 ought to liven things up a bit...are you doing any engine mods while you're at it?

Nice ride. :drive:

I had a 86 SS, Loved the ride and plush interior. I miss it. It woulda been sweet with a 6.0/t56

Nice car!

Thanks guys! I've been looking forward to this for a long time, glad I finally have the resources to get the job done.


Definitely, with Savitske's Stage II Plus in there it drives like a new car, and handles on rails. It's also got C5 brakes so it stops good too.

As for engine mods, none right now, just getting the swap done to have it back on the road without missing any summer weather. The 5.3 I scooped up was $225, so I figure it's a good place-holder and back-up to have the car on the road while I build something more potent. Within a year or two I'll probably do an aluminum block 5.7 or 6.0, depending on what funds allow and how long my 700R4 lasts :drive:

More pictures inbound tonight, I got most of my harness thinning done last night so I'm going to try mocking it onto the motor this evening before I wrap it up.

-matt

I also have a full account of everything I've spent so far on an Excel spreadsheet. Once I've updated that to reflect recent purchases I'll edit it into the first post and update it as the project goes. As it stands right now, I'll be coming in between $1100 and $1200 for the total swap. I sold my old motor as a drop-in kit for $800, so my out-of-pocket should still only be about $500 even if I go over budget.

-matt

Nice. Really like those rims.

Jon
PSI

It's got potential..:)

Here is what I did..alot of good info here..

https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...-carlo-ss.html

have been following your build thread on protouring.com and must say if i had you ambition then my GP would have been done ALLOOOONG time ago....lol! Looking forward to the build thread!

Thanks guys! I've looked over both your builds several times, good stuff. My ambition isn't always there as much as it should be, but getting it done in time for summer is a good motivator.

Anyway, more progress!!

Here's the 5.3 when I first got it, with the harness draped on to label all the plugs.
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3 Broken exhaust bolts to fight with, this one will be the worst :bang:
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More messy stock harness routing. Not exactly where it's all supposed to go, but you get the idea
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Getting closer! I used the info on lt1swap.com to a great extent, and used Google to figure out some little bits I couldn't figure out there. Here's the harness with all the unnecessary wires removed. I got rid of the 4l60e wiring except for VSS, since I'll be running my 700R4 for now, and hopefully a T56 in a year or two.
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Jenny Craig would be proud, I lost 5 pounds in two nights!
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Waiting for a harness mock-up:
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Here's my harness mocked onto the motor and rearranged, rebundled. I turned all the fuel injectors in toward the intake and ran the harness along the intake and around the back. More than clean looks, I went this way for serviceability and ease of install. I still have a run off each side of the motor to the rear for the O2's and VSS, and a run under the motor for the starter and crank sensor, but otherwise everything is in this main intake run.
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I'm going to use the C100 connector to tap into the car, this will make it a simple process to remove the harness from the car without cutting any wires, and should make for a clean install.
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C2 connector, for hooking the engine harness to the stock truck fuse block
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Some don't like the truck fuse block, but I'm a fan of it. The more OEM wiring components I use, the better I'll feel about reliability when I'm far from home.
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Anywho, that's where I'm at with it. I need to figure out if these senders (oil press, water temp) will power my stock gauges. If they will, I'll simply wire my gauges to those wires, but if they don't, I need to add senders to the motor and wires to the harness.

For anyone who's scared of doing their own harness, I've never done anything like this before, and I'm only 2 nights into it at this point, so it's really not as time-consuming as you'd think. I imagine that guys who have done a couple are far faster than this even, but I've been taking my time to keep from screwing it up.

Thanks for looking.

-matt

i bought the book off ebay called
Custom Stand alone wiring harness guide for the GM Gen III

might help you ...

i have the book(pamphlet) and still scared:eek::eek:

The 84 Temp will work, not the Oil.

R U sure about the car having 2.29/1 differential gears ,,,,,,,,,,,,the tallest gears I've ever heard of in a GM car is 2.56/1 ?

The 2.29 was actually a very common gear in the V8 G-bodies. I've got two G-bodies in the shop that have a 2.41 rear. It was very common for the NA V6 G-bodies. That's one of GM's secrets to the awe-inspiring performance that these cars had. :huh:
I ran my 85 Cutlass through the quarter once with the 110 hp 3.8 V6/200C trans/2.41 rear gear. It took a little over 21 seconds. lol :drive:

Back on topic...I like the Monte Carlo! That's going to be a fun car with the 5.3. You got a great deal on the engine!
Good Luck.

My 79 GP was PAINFULLY SLOW as well.... it had 2.41's! Monteboy84 your motivation is the same as mine!! I am on a mission to get the GP running under it's own power by March.The wiring is definetley #1 on the list.

Cool, thanks for the heads-up! I'll just tap a sender into the cooler block-off, should be a pretty easy fix.

-matt

Yup, 100% sure, I was in shock as well. The pinion gear was huuuuge, lots of teeth :gay:

As for updates, my Blazer fuel pump module showed up last night. I had to shorten it a bit to get the height I wanted, but it looks like it will work pretty nice once I've modified the tank.

-matt

ETA: Forgot to add, with the stock 305 and 2.29's this thing was so poochy that the motor would fall on its face and kill if you tried to spin the tires . . . even on gravel.

just subscribed

i am really thinking about getting another g body

looked at one tonight and the price is right

been 15 years since i had a g body..........brings back memories

lol

Subscribed!!! Looking good!!!