LS into my 1973 Oldsmobile Omega X body car
#1
LS into my 1973 Oldsmobile Omega X body car
Whats up everyone thought i would introduce myself. My name is Brian and i am in the USAF as a helicopter crew chief. I have a 1973 olds omega with a pretty stout 350 olds engine in it right now but i will be swapping that out as soon as i can for an LS setup. I was thinking about going with an LQ4/LQ9 motor that i can find in a wrecking yard near me here in Vegas. I think i will be going the carb route on this build because i do not know much about injection engines and i think it will be a cheaper way to go since i dont have to deal with upgrading my fuel tank. But i do like the idea of having awesome gas mileage with a FI setup. Thoughts? If there are any die hard olds guys here (i doubt it) im sorry but these LS engines are where its at so im doing the swap lol.
#2
If you wanted to keep the fuel injection, you can get a stand-alone engine harness. I believe PSI Conversions is a sponsor on this board. You could discuss the matter, from an electrical standpoint, with them further.
Either way, you are going to be doing a ton (literally) of lifting things in and out, in and out, the gas tank would be rather small, in comparison.
Either way, you are going to be doing a ton (literally) of lifting things in and out, in and out, the gas tank would be rather small, in comparison.
#4
Welcome and thanks... Where are you stationed (if ok to ask), maybe local car guys can help you out if your short on time..
+1 on the EFI.. its not going to cost that much more if you pick up a complete LQ4/9 (or anything else) with all of the wiring harness, pcm and front accessoires..
If you go carb.. you will have to buy a Intake manifold and Carb ECM/Wiring harness, fuel pump, filters, etc anyway.
If you do a DIY job, you can save the money and spend it on buy the required EFI parts as needed. Maybe you can get the Maintenace and electrical crews to help out with the wiring, fab up your adapters in the shop, etc..(my tax dollars at work, keeping america going faster !)..
BC
+1 on the EFI.. its not going to cost that much more if you pick up a complete LQ4/9 (or anything else) with all of the wiring harness, pcm and front accessoires..
If you go carb.. you will have to buy a Intake manifold and Carb ECM/Wiring harness, fuel pump, filters, etc anyway.
If you do a DIY job, you can save the money and spend it on buy the required EFI parts as needed. Maybe you can get the Maintenace and electrical crews to help out with the wiring, fab up your adapters in the shop, etc..(my tax dollars at work, keeping america going faster !)..
BC
#5
Welcome aboard, I take it you're stationed at Nellis if you live here in Vegas? I say FI as well, either way will nickel and dime the hell out of you so might as well go for the gusto. If you have any questions checkout http://vegaslsx.com, lots of knowledgeable local folks there.
#6
What are your goals for the project?
Here are the goals I set out with for my project to give you some ideas along with examples of decisions I've made based on these goals:
- Be at least as powerful as my old 350 before it gave up the ghost. (6.0 liter with a cam should do the trick)
- Start and run predictably strong (EFI!)
- Have crisp throttle response. (EFI! not too radical of a cam)
- Not leak. (Bought all new seals)
- Sound just a little choppy. (cam)
- Low 12s in the quarter. (cam, headers)
- Drive to cruise nights and be proud to open the hood. (LS3 instead of truck intake, extra work to get low mount accessories and make my frame pretty)
- Tear up an autocross course and perform admirably on track day. (Autokraft baffled/trap door pan, suspension modifications & parts)
- Have fun building & learning (spent 2 years in a swap some have done in a month and I do still enjoy it!)
You can see a number of those goals are addressed by fuel injection, but you may have a different set of goals. Think also about:
- Budget (how much do you want to spend?)
- Timing (when do you need it done?)
- Risk/anxiety (how much are you willing to learn or do-over)?
- Capabilities (what knowledge and tools do you have and how much are you willing to acquire?)
Getting this criteria down on paper up front will help you make decisions later on like when you start thinking about splurging on some new cool expensive thing; if it doesn't help you meet your goals, reconsider.
Here are the goals I set out with for my project to give you some ideas along with examples of decisions I've made based on these goals:
- Be at least as powerful as my old 350 before it gave up the ghost. (6.0 liter with a cam should do the trick)
- Start and run predictably strong (EFI!)
- Have crisp throttle response. (EFI! not too radical of a cam)
- Not leak. (Bought all new seals)
- Sound just a little choppy. (cam)
- Low 12s in the quarter. (cam, headers)
- Drive to cruise nights and be proud to open the hood. (LS3 instead of truck intake, extra work to get low mount accessories and make my frame pretty)
- Tear up an autocross course and perform admirably on track day. (Autokraft baffled/trap door pan, suspension modifications & parts)
- Have fun building & learning (spent 2 years in a swap some have done in a month and I do still enjoy it!)
You can see a number of those goals are addressed by fuel injection, but you may have a different set of goals. Think also about:
- Budget (how much do you want to spend?)
- Timing (when do you need it done?)
- Risk/anxiety (how much are you willing to learn or do-over)?
- Capabilities (what knowledge and tools do you have and how much are you willing to acquire?)
Getting this criteria down on paper up front will help you make decisions later on like when you start thinking about splurging on some new cool expensive thing; if it doesn't help you meet your goals, reconsider.
Last edited by -TheBandit-; 09-06-2012 at 05:13 PM.
#7
Thanks for the reply's everyone. Ok so i think i will go EFI with it and im going with a LQ4/9 because of the price difference is much lower. I have the knowledge and know how as well as the tools to get the job done. I built the engine i have in the car now and its pretty stout. I am located here at Nellis AFB in Vegas. I am looking for that crisp throttle response and good gas mileage as well. Right now as my car sit i have 27 x 10.5 in tires with a powertrax posi that has 3.91 gears in the rear. I have a TCI street fighter trans with a 3500 stall. Its pretty much set up for the track although i have not ran it yet. Little things here and there and now this whole LS swap i wanna do is keeping me from getting there. But i do know that LS is the way i really want to go. As far as lifting in and out of the vehicle many times i dont mind but i was able to find a kit for my style vehicle that will make this a lot easier as far as fitment. listed here. http://www.brphotrods.com/mm5/mercha...ory_Code=CNV14 seems like a pretty straight forward and easy swap to me. I have already installed a rack and pinion and made plenty of room under the hood for something like this with my current build. I will post pics of how it sits now but im a little busy and will get to it shortly. Oh yeah one of my things id like to do is be running in the 11's i mean i want to be able to go to the track and them kick me off because i ran faster than the 11 something before you need a roll cage
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#9
Ok a few things. Dont mind the mess on the floor next to my car it has been cleaned up and the garage is organized now haha. And ignore the vacuum canister sitting on the top of the engine i was testing it to make sure i had a better brake pedal before mounting it anywhere.
#10
I have a some new questions. I have an LQ9 now and i have a edelbrock carb intake on it. I have the 6LS MSD box but i want to make it fuel injected and i like the idea of the self tuning FI on the market today. I was going to go with the new terminator efi and then i found EZ EFI 2.0 from fast and the capabilities of that system are great compared to the holley except i dont know how it will work with the MSD box because i can mess with timing and all that with the box and i just hope it will mesh together with box without issue. Or should i just get an LS6 intake and throttle body and a fuel set up and i dont have a computer for my engine anymore.
#11
Update on where i am at. So i had the engine in and when i went to add fluids i found my oil pan was cracked so i had to pull the engine back out and put a new one on. When i pulled the engine i wanted to fix the firewall and that turned into pulling the entire front end and getting the frame powder coated i got new ride tech coil over suspension for the front now. The frame is back under the car and the engine and trans are back in now and the fire wall is fixed correctly now with the sheetmetal welded instead of the riveted panel i did in 09 on it. More pics to come.
#13
Yeah i had over 5g into the olds motor. I just love these newer engines and the power potential with them, i like the idea of not messing with a carburetor anymore as well lol. Eventually i want to put a 6 speed under the car to really take advantage of the FI and better gas mileage. I called speartech to talk about a new harness and im looking for an LS6 intake that is complete right now. i will also have to rework my fuel system so i may go to the pick part here and see what i can come up with.
#14
I called up Ricks Tanks and i will be getting a gas tank made up for my car that will be good up to 600hp. I think going this route with the tank and new harness from speartech will be better than just putting a self tuning setup in the car. I cant wait to get this thing running again haha
#15
How did I miss this? It's being added to the X-body swap thread ASAP. And please fill out the following for me:
Trans
Mounts
Oil Pan
Headers
Accessories
(belated) Welcome to the family!
Trans
Mounts
Oil Pan
Headers
Accessories
(belated) Welcome to the family!
Last edited by hookemdevils22; 01-15-2014 at 03:56 PM.
#16
Mounts: Dirty dingo Sliders
Oil Pan: Truck pan for now (5in clearance) but that's without fenders and fluids
Headers: Hedman Hustler headers
Accessories: Stock LQ9 for now