New Hooker 1968-72 A-Body LS Swap System Preview
01-11-2019, 12:35 PM
#941
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I will give it a try and post the results here in a couple weeks. Thanks for the response!
01-19-2019, 10:47 AM
#942
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Well we slipped the motor and trans in Thursday night. The transmission to trans tunnel clearance is tight without the spacers under the crossmember. I will be changing the body mounts this week which should give me a little more clearance but I would need an additional 5/8 inch of clearance in order to use the spacers. I'm not sure if the chevelle and El camino crossmembers are identical and it just so happens that the crossmember sits higher to begin with due to the boxed frame vs. C channel frame.
01-19-2019, 12:03 PM
#943
TECH Junkie
Thread Starter
The crossmember for the boxed frame cars is quite a bit shorter than the crossmember for the open frame cars, which sit on the lower flange of the open frame as opposed to the raised step that yours sits on. Yes, let us know how the new body bushings affect your clearances.
01-19-2019, 12:13 PM
#944
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The crossmember for the boxed frame cars is quite a bit shorter than the crossmember for the open frame cars, which sit on the lower flange of the open frame as opposed to the raised step that yours sits on. Yes, let us know how the new body bushings affect your clearances.
01-19-2019, 12:52 PM
#945
TECH Junkie
Thread Starter
I will definitely post results. After putting the motor and trans in, I was thankul I went with the Holley ls swap components. I can't imagine the fabrication involved in this swap prior to these parts existence. Oil pan clears the k member, tie rod ends clear the oil pan, plenty of room for the firewall. This is the only clearance issue im having so I'm a happy customer.
01-22-2019, 12:23 PM
#947
TECH Junkie
Thread Starter
Hello jarheadl34. The Monte Carlo is an A-body "special" chassis and features a stretched wheelbase, which is all pushed out forward of the firewall. No attempt was made to validate the Hooker Blackheart A-body swap system parts on those cars during development, so I can't say how well, or poorly, the parts will work out in that application.
01-22-2019, 01:03 PM
#948
TECH Senior Member
I remember waaay back when they were still considered "late model", looking under the hood, and what was note-worthy was the LOOONG fan shroud! That tells me the engine is in the A-body position, and the front support was just pushed forward a bunch. Not sure the front axle centerline was moved at all as there seemed to be a lot more overhang in front of the wheels. My GUESS would be an A-body mount kit would work, but that is just a guess.
01-22-2019, 02:05 PM
#950
TECH Junkie
Thread Starter
I've never seen one in detail to be able to say one way or the other. The Monte Carlo/Grand Prix cars had a wheelbase of 116" whereas the 2-door A-bodies had a 112" wheelbase. The A-body wagon chassis is also 116", but the geometry of the frame in front of the firewall is identical to the 2-door cars, so that extra 4" in the MC wheelbase is indeed in front of the firewall and not behind it. Roll the dice as see what happens.
01-23-2019, 05:21 PM
#951
You are correct Todd, all of that extra 4 inches in length is all in front of the firewall. Check out pictures of a Monte Carlo engine bay and the same year Chevelle. The motor in the MC is 4 inches farther back from the front crossmember. My buddy at the shop kidded me about how long a 70 Monte Carlo is. It is 206 inches the same length as a Chevelle station wagon and 9 inches longer than a two door Chevelle (197). My 65 Cutlass is within 2 inches of a Monte Carlo. I am looking at one tomorrow minus motor to possibly buy. I will take some pictures and post them here. If I buy it I might put my LS3 in it or a small block that have just to get it going this year. If I do put the LS in all of my suspension stuff and 9 inch rear will bolt right in.
Jarhead
Jarhead
01-23-2019, 05:28 PM
#952
TECH Senior Member
iTrader: (7)
The Grand Prix (118" WB) was actually 6" longer than a GTO/Chevelle, with all the length in front of the firewall. If I was doing one of those, I wouldn't hesitate using the Holley mounts. Even if they don't fit exactly, they can be made to work pretty easily. Figment may actually be better, because the steering box is no longer under the PS pulley. Headers should have even more clearance, because all of the control arm pickup points are pushed forward, leaving a lot of space on the side of the engine. I'd totally roll the dice.
Andrew
Andrew
01-24-2019, 12:42 PM
#953
The motor mounts are backwards compared to the Chevelle mounting system. You would most likely need to get the engine in position and drill the majority of the mounting holes. Because of how the engine sits, oil pans and headers aren't an issue, but low-mounted front end accessories are.
01-24-2019, 04:15 PM
#954
TECH Senior Member
iTrader: (7)
Monte Carlo photos and measurements can be found here: https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...nte-carlo.html
The motor mounts are backwards compared to the Chevelle mounting system. You would most likely need to get the engine in position and drill the majority of the mounting holes. Because of how the engine sits, oil pans and headers aren't an issue, but low-mounted front end accessories are.
The motor mounts are backwards compared to the Chevelle mounting system. You would most likely need to get the engine in position and drill the majority of the mounting holes. Because of how the engine sits, oil pans and headers aren't an issue, but low-mounted front end accessories are.
Also, if you wanted to get creative, you can move the engine forward another inch compared to the 1" forward mounts, and probably get even more transmission clearance and still have good weight distribution and plenty of room of front. The extra room in the tunnel would simply T56 or 4L80e transmissions. This of course would require getting a little creative with the Hooker transmission crossmember, but that is straightforward as well. Moving the engine fore and aft has little if any effect on driveline angles. More room in the tunnel would allow the back of any transmission to be pushed up higher, which improves drive-in angles, especially in lowered cars.
Andrew
01-25-2019, 08:25 AM
#956
I bought that Monte Carlo, it was too good of a deal to pass up. Plus it is all ready except for a motor. It was a 400 small block car with bucket seats, factory console and floor shift and only 80k miles and same owner for 11 years. It has a 12 bolt rear end and a slightly built turbo 350 with a couple of different converters. I will post some pictures this evening of the car and engine bay. The motor is out and I will close up the motor stands on the crossmember.
Jarhead
Jarhead
01-25-2019, 09:34 PM
#957
Pictures taken today of my new 1970 Monte Carlo. Note the engine compartment and how far back the motor stands are mounted on the crossmember. This car was owned by the same person for the last 11 years, his first car at age 15. Loaded with suspension upgrades, a fast ratio steering box and a ton more! original 400 small block car with vinyl top, bucket seats and factory console shift. Anyway his newly built aluminum head 406 broke a roller lifter tie bar and ruined the motor. So I bought everything he had collected for the car in 11 years and some of his brothers Pontiac stuff. Putting in a 350SBC and hopefully driving next week. Next fall we will start on putting my carbed LS3 and t400 in to make this elegant car perform like it should.
Jarhead
01-30-2019, 06:12 AM
#958
Two pictures of the Monte Carlo. I put a set of Torque Thrust wheels on the car. Other picture is of Sky hooking the exhaust back up. The pipes were welded to the headers. The owner sawed the pipes in two to remove the headers. I used 3 inch band clamps from NAPA ($12) and presto the pipes are back together and you can see a SBC is now in place to get it running. Next fall my carbed LS3 and T400 are going to replace this mild 350. Also my 9 inch 3.89 gear rear end will replace the factory non posi 12 bolt. Should be driving it today.
Last edited by jarheadl34; 02-10-2019 at 06:17 PM.
02-03-2019, 08:43 PM
#959
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I got the new body bushings in this weekend. I only gained about 1/4 inch. I could squeeze the crossmember spacers in but the top of the trans was still hitting the tunnel without the trans mount spacer. Ultimately I cut the tunnel to get clearance. Not sure what is different about my El Camino vs. everyone else but it definitely wasn't going to fit. So after cutting I was able to put all the spacers in and my angle is sitting at 2.8. All my body mount bolts came out no problem so I guess I had to pay for it somehow
02-07-2019, 11:08 AM
#960
Nice Monte. So don't find those anymore.