Sbc to Ls1 84 Elco SS help.
01-25-2016, 12:18 AM
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Sbc to Ls1 84 Elco SS help. Im planning on pulling the original 305 out of my 84 El Camino SS and going the EFI route but I dont know all that much about it. I heard the LS series is the way to go. I was hoping on keeping my 350 turbo tranny considering I just had it beefed up. But Im more concerned of what I should be looking for. Like what car or truck should i find to pull the motor out of. What kind of extra stuff do i need ignition and computer wise. I basically need the run down because everywhere I look i cant find much of anything. Thanks in advance.
01-25-2016, 08:54 AM
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84 SS Elky swap Brandon,
Congrats on a beautiful car. I love those myself. I had an 81 Elky that I swapped an LT1 / T56 into and it ran great. LT1 and LS1 are two different things but the same ideas will work.
Engine and transmission mounts, use the Holley G Body system, can't get any easier since they bolt the engine in right on your stock clamshells. The Holley accessory drive will allow you to run AC if you want with a Buick or Olds evaporator for the AC which switches the lines to the passenger side. You will need custom lines made but that can come later. There are a lot of ideas on here, some guys used stock Cutlass lines and they bolted right in.
Wiring and computer, pretty much any reputable company can handle that, PSI, Painless, Speartech, etc.
Electric fans, I used an LT1 / LS1 Fbody setup mounted in the stock position. PCM of NC offers a nice kit to wire the fans and plug in to a GMPP harness fuse box.
Fuel system is pretty easy as well. These cars came in 4.3 TBI EFI setups. Use a stock replacement tank and fuel sender with a good pump. For lines you can use stock Monte Carlo / El Camino 4.3 EFI lines with a filter inline in the stock position. This is a feed and return style. Worked fine for the LT1.
But even simpler, run a C5 Corvette filter/regulator mounted in front of the tank and run a feed line up to the engine. If you turn the fuel rails around on the engine the feed will be on the passenger side where the G Body cars run their fuel lines. Another option is to come up the drivers side like the Buicks did. I'm running a 4.3 EFI tank with a Racetronix pump/harness with the C5 filter/regulator in my 86 Monte Carlo SS swap.
The one biggest piece of advice to offer is to replace the rear end as soon as you possibly can. The 7.5 may live OK behind an automatic but with a stick you will destroy it. I went through 3 in my Elky and have rebuilt and since replaced the 7.5 in my 2000 Z28.
All of this is in the do-able category. Best of luck to you.
Tom
Congrats on a beautiful car. I love those myself. I had an 81 Elky that I swapped an LT1 / T56 into and it ran great. LT1 and LS1 are two different things but the same ideas will work.
Engine and transmission mounts, use the Holley G Body system, can't get any easier since they bolt the engine in right on your stock clamshells. The Holley accessory drive will allow you to run AC if you want with a Buick or Olds evaporator for the AC which switches the lines to the passenger side. You will need custom lines made but that can come later. There are a lot of ideas on here, some guys used stock Cutlass lines and they bolted right in.
Wiring and computer, pretty much any reputable company can handle that, PSI, Painless, Speartech, etc.
Electric fans, I used an LT1 / LS1 Fbody setup mounted in the stock position. PCM of NC offers a nice kit to wire the fans and plug in to a GMPP harness fuse box.
Fuel system is pretty easy as well. These cars came in 4.3 TBI EFI setups. Use a stock replacement tank and fuel sender with a good pump. For lines you can use stock Monte Carlo / El Camino 4.3 EFI lines with a filter inline in the stock position. This is a feed and return style. Worked fine for the LT1.
But even simpler, run a C5 Corvette filter/regulator mounted in front of the tank and run a feed line up to the engine. If you turn the fuel rails around on the engine the feed will be on the passenger side where the G Body cars run their fuel lines. Another option is to come up the drivers side like the Buicks did. I'm running a 4.3 EFI tank with a Racetronix pump/harness with the C5 filter/regulator in my 86 Monte Carlo SS swap.
The one biggest piece of advice to offer is to replace the rear end as soon as you possibly can. The 7.5 may live OK behind an automatic but with a stick you will destroy it. I went through 3 in my Elky and have rebuilt and since replaced the 7.5 in my 2000 Z28.
All of this is in the do-able category. Best of luck to you.
Tom
01-25-2016, 11:45 AM
#6
There are many G-body build threads that provide a lot of answers to your questions.
This is a great example of one of them..
https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...m-preview.html
This is a great example of one of them..
https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...m-preview.html