MichiganLarry

Hello all. New member here but long time car and motorcycle builder restorer. I've been lurking here for a few weeks now. I am starting an ls1/4l60e swap into my son's, who is currently serving in the US Navy, 1975 Chevelle. Picked up the ls and trans plus lots of extras this weekend and will be starting the tear down on the car shortly. I am sure that I will have tons of questions as this project continues but right now I am looking for advice on motor mount swap plates,wiring harness, adapting the power steering and speedometer adaptors.

Thanks

Houston_t

iTrader: (2)

i used a set of ebay swap plates on mines, they are a 1'' setback that seems to be the norm for most a,f,and g bodies. i have had my same sutup in all three of those body styles with those plates and a fbody oil pan with no real clearance issues other than maybe the heater box on the firewall. what part of michigan are you in ?

MichiganLarry

Thanks for the reply. I am in the thumb.

What did you do for the fuel system.

Houston_t

iTrader: (2)

im running a carb setup on mines.

psiconversion

iTrader: (5)

We mfg the wiring harness for your application, prices start at $499,

http://secure.ultracart.com/catalog/PSI/HAR-1012.html

We also have motor mounts, prices start at $129.99

http://secure.ultracart.com/catalog/PSI/MOTOR-MOUNTS/

To adapt to the mechanical speedometer you can either use a cable x box or a dual purpose tailshaft housing which will allow use of the 4L60E reluctor wheel (so the transmission will shift) and a mechanical gear to drive your speedometer. Hope that helps.

Jon
PSI

bigpat1802

I put a 5.3LS in my 77 El Camino, which should be the same body style as yours.

I used some cheap motor mount conversion plates from Speedway Motors, which were under $100.00. They moved the motor forward about an 1 1/2".

I pieced together a fuel system from them as well with their MSD fuel pump kit. I used the stock Elk tank and drilled out the return line and put a bung in there instead.

I even used the stock truck pan that came with the motor.

This is honestly one of the easiest LS swaps. The trans mount is a bolt on so you can just unbolt it and slide it to where you need it.

If you have any other questions, or need pics just let me know.

Pat O

MichiganLarry

Pat I appreciate the information. The motor mount thing is kind of puzzling as I have heard from 1.5" forward like yours to 1" back. I am kind of concerned with the low mount ac compressor and alternator clearing the steering box up front. What did you do to connect your ps pump to the gearbox?

MichiganLarry

Got a little good news last night. I was out in the barn checking the engine for block, head and pcm numbers and found that it has ls6 heads!

bigpat1802

I wouldn't be so concerned with the motor offset as long as you stay in the 1" to 1 1.75" ball park. Of course you will have to lengthen your driveshaft and move your mount up, but that's the hardest part of this conversion. You could use a "stock" location bracket from Holley that supposedly puts it in the old SBC location, but I'm not so sure about that. I tried these "stock location" ones on my 64 Impala and it put the motor damn near in the firewall, so I skipped them.

You won't be able to mount the A/C compressor down low in the factory location due to the motor mount conversion plates being in the way. You will have to order an aftermarket A/C bracket from Holley or other another manufacturer.
This bracket will move it up and mount it to the pass. side head.

As for the power steering..the pump is close to the box, but everything fits perfectly. Even the old pressure side line will screw directly into the LS power steering pump.

I'm sure you will probably go with headers, but I kept my motor fairly stock and ended up putting some stock F body manifolds on there and they fit perfect.

MichiganLarry

I'm actually planning on using the factory manifolds. Not going for out and out power on this car. It will be my son's daily driver. I really appreciate the information.

bigpat1802

Factory truck manifolds won't fit and will hit the frame rails.

You will need to find some stock Fbody manifolds which you could probably find locally on craigslist or some street racing forum. I think I paid $50.00

classiccaprice

iTrader: (2)

Looking forward to seeing some pics of this beast... Ive been thinking about grabbing a 75 malibu and doing almost the same swap

MichiganLarry

Update: Started on the teardown last weekend. Here are some pics:
Here is the car along with some of our other toys.

The ls1 and 4l60e
ls6 heads?

Bumper is off and ready to pull front clip

Lets lift it off

On the floor

Time for the old sbc to come out. This engine and trans are for sale btw.

Up and out

Ready for modern power

classiccaprice

iTrader: (2)

Subscribed!

MichiganLarry

My Dirty Dingo slider swap engine mount plates arrived today. Nice pieces. Hopefully the transmission mechanical speedo extension shows up tomorrow so I can attemp to set the engine and trans in the car this weekend.
Still need to sort out the fuel system, wiring harness and pcm flash/tune. Thinking of purchasing tuning software and doing it myself but unsure which is the best for a beginner. I am an IT person so pretty sure I can learn it. Any input?

psiconversion

iTrader: (5)

HP Tuners has a really nice GUI and is very easy to use.

Jon
PSI

MichiganLarry

Here is last nights work. I installed the dirty dingo sliders on the ls1 and the mechanical speedo conversion tail shaft on the 4l60e.
Dirty Dingo sliders

old tail piece

Old shaft removed you have to get the old reluctor off the shaft. I did not have a puller long enough so I cut almost through with a die grinder and put a chisel in the slot and gave it a smack. It cracked and slid right off.

next step was to install an adaptor plate.

Then slide the new reluctor/drive gear piece on the shaft.

Next you line up the drive gear in the mechanical speedo hole in the tail shaft.
Then carefully remove the tail shaft and tighten 3 allen set screws to hold it in place. Next you reinstall the new tail shaft. Thighten the bolts and your done.

psiconversion

iTrader: (5)

Larry, where did you end up getting the tailshaft housing adapter from?

Jon
PSI

MichiganLarry

Jon - I ended up buying it from shiftworks.com. Prices seem to be the same anywhere. I like dealing with small businesses. Have you programmed my pcm yet? If not can you firm up the shift points in the trans while your in there?

MichiganLarry

Nevermind. LOL

It arrived 15 minutes after I posted that last post. Very nice looking piece. Thanks.