So me and a buddy are redoing a 87 monte carlo ss that was my grandmothers. She passed away a few years ago and the car is in need of some tlc. Im thinking of putting in a lq4 or lq9. i want to make this thing run low 11s- to high 10's. We want to put boost on it either in the form of a turbo or a roots style sc or in it. Ive been doing alot of searching up on this swap and have found lots of usefull info, Just wondering for who has done it what type of problems did you run into. I.e fitting issues/mounting issues. I found a conversion kit from brp that is $480 and allows you to bolt the lsx based engine into a gbody. When we start the build i will put pics up to cover the entire process as we go through the build.

 

im doing the same setup in my 84 ss mc.

 

Here..

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

 

Don't get the BRP kit. The headers from them are great if you are going to go with a SC/NA setup. I've had so many fitment issues because of the BRP kit though it was rediculous.

Get the clamshell adapter plates off of eBay, and whatever trans crossmember you'll need from Iceman or G-force if you don't like the Iceman design (kind of weak compared to boxed crossmember)

And if you plan on keeping your AC box (if it has it), don't be afraid to notch it. I tried fiberglassing my box after I punched a hole into it for my first time, and it turned out better than I could have imagined.

 

Speaking from experience, kinda weak is an understatement.. I got ripped off by this jagoff because he fails to tell prospective buyers that his "Iceman" x-member flexes like a bow-flex.

Get the G-force as I did if you want a rigid piece

 

I'm using the Jegs one without issue..

 

Agreed as thats another boxed heavy gauged steel xmember similar, as I recall, to the G-force dual exhaust xmember..

Honestly I dont remember exactly why I didnt use the Jegs model but I have heard of similar satisfied results as yours..

I do know that the G-force was more expensive but dont remember if there was any added benefit to the added cost.

 

I got the 700R4 one..

http://www.jegs.com/i/Jegster/550/41051/10002/-1

And adapted it to mount the T56.

 

Huge relief that I'm not the only one who thinks this. I wasn't happy with the way the car handled after all the bracing I did up front. Needless to say I have the Iceman crossmember and no driveshaft loop. I'll have to get the G-Force ASAP.

 

Now that I look at it I know why I went with the G-force.. More exhaust clearance. From yours I see it wasnt an issue though.

Yeah, to anyone that thinks that piece of crap "Iceman crossmember" is stronger, go under your car and push up on it and pull down on it.. You will see what Im talking about.. You wouldnt notice it unless you tried this or had tighter clearances as I did with the swap. If I kept that piece of garbage in there I would have my trans slamming on the tunnel.



To the op, sorry for the

It really boils down to what you have in the way of an 87 SS ( I explain down a bit regarding my column shift ) and what tools, time and fabrication skills you have or dont have at your disposal.

For me I didnt have a lot of the above so I stood on the shoulders of others (John B) to get it done with minimal fabrication. This meant getting a set of motor mounts in a position that placed the motor as close to the stock location as possible.

This allowed me to retain in essence, the stock location of the crossmember.

There are other options available to place the motor in the same relative position but I just didnt want to dink around with it since John B had already taken the time to do so.

The biggest headache was the headers as I have the column shift for which even BRP does not have a solution so I had to have custom headers made by custom stainless headers.com

The other issue for my motor choice was the GTO alternator that has the long snout which I had to ditch the alternator all together and get a truck alternator to fit.

All the rest in the way of fuel delivery, power steering, transmission lines and cooling were mapped out by others on this site but I did take a slightly different spin on the fans for a stock style aluminum ebay radiator and a little different take on the intake duct for cold air but similiar to Rickbat.

Good luck on your swap.. Cheers

 

I used the jegs 700r4 crossmember but had to modify the ends, cut them off and rewelded them to fit my car, maybe because it was a elcamino. You guys are getting me motivated to take mine back to the track. Drove it only once this year, busy with another project