85 trans am swap help
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Registered User
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1
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85 trans am swap help Hello everybody,
I have a friend who wants to do an engine swap on it 1985 trans am with a carbureted 302 and 5 speed trans. He is looking to put a fuel injected engine and new trans in the car. Im his mechanically incline friend and told him I would help him with it. I have done engine swaps before but never on an american car let alone a carbureted one. My questions are,
I know the LS1 bolts in but I can't seem to find one that comes fuel injected or like a full swap on a website so does anyone know of one?
What engine and transmission combo match up the best?
How would I get the stock gauges to work with the swap?
Where can I find the computer for the fuel injected engine?
Is there just any website that sells complete swaps?
Thank you guys very much the help will be much appreciated
I have a friend who wants to do an engine swap on it 1985 trans am with a carbureted 302 and 5 speed trans. He is looking to put a fuel injected engine and new trans in the car. Im his mechanically incline friend and told him I would help him with it. I have done engine swaps before but never on an american car let alone a carbureted one. My questions are,
I know the LS1 bolts in but I can't seem to find one that comes fuel injected or like a full swap on a website so does anyone know of one?
What engine and transmission combo match up the best?
How would I get the stock gauges to work with the swap?
Where can I find the computer for the fuel injected engine?
Is there just any website that sells complete swaps?
Thank you guys very much the help will be much appreciated
TECH Resident
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 821
Likes: 4
From: Elkridge MD
It won't bolt right in, there are a few setbacks you are going to encounter.
First, you need to get mounting plates to reposition the engine in the proper place in the engine compartment. It will not just bolt into the stock location. These can be found on ebay for about $30
An '85 Trans Am has almost no room for headers, and be prepared to cut and weld just to make exhaust manifolds fit. I had an '84 TA I made into a street/strip car and believe me, even shorty headers were a nightmare (underneath the car the frame is in the way)
If the car is an automatic, it should have come with a 700R4, which should be the same length as a 4L60e, meaning you might not need to shorten the driveshaft.
You can run a truck motor, but you MUST run a car intake on it because there is no way the truck intake will fit under the hood. If you get an engine from a car, fine, but if you opt to buy a truck motor, you need to change out the intake, rails, and accessories to get it all to work. There is a way to keep a lot of the truck accessories, but I am unfamiliar with the process.
For your engine combo, it all comes down to your price range. You can get 4.8s and 5.3s fairly cheap (used). Under $1000, with transmission prices all over the map. You can get lucky on Craigslist and get a 4L60e anywhere from $250-$900 or so. 6.0s are almost always more than $1000, closer to $1500-$2000, although you can get lucky here and there. 6.2s were way outside of my price range, so I can't even quote you prices there.
All of these engines are computer controlled, unless someone converted it to carb. You should look for complete engines withe harness, computer etc for the easiest swap possible. A lot of times you can get the trans along with it.
You will also need to reprogram the computer, as many of them will have VATS (vehicle anti-theft system) and you will not be able to start the car. You can also remove emissions and have all kinds of other options programmed in for you.
I got my motor from Bow Auto in NH. Very helpful people and I paid $750 for a complete motor. I also got it delivered literally 26 hours after I paid for it, and I am way down here in MD. There are other places too. You can check junk yards or ebay or craigslist, but just be careful about what you are buying.
First, you need to get mounting plates to reposition the engine in the proper place in the engine compartment. It will not just bolt into the stock location. These can be found on ebay for about $30
An '85 Trans Am has almost no room for headers, and be prepared to cut and weld just to make exhaust manifolds fit. I had an '84 TA I made into a street/strip car and believe me, even shorty headers were a nightmare (underneath the car the frame is in the way)
If the car is an automatic, it should have come with a 700R4, which should be the same length as a 4L60e, meaning you might not need to shorten the driveshaft.
You can run a truck motor, but you MUST run a car intake on it because there is no way the truck intake will fit under the hood. If you get an engine from a car, fine, but if you opt to buy a truck motor, you need to change out the intake, rails, and accessories to get it all to work. There is a way to keep a lot of the truck accessories, but I am unfamiliar with the process.
For your engine combo, it all comes down to your price range. You can get 4.8s and 5.3s fairly cheap (used). Under $1000, with transmission prices all over the map. You can get lucky on Craigslist and get a 4L60e anywhere from $250-$900 or so. 6.0s are almost always more than $1000, closer to $1500-$2000, although you can get lucky here and there. 6.2s were way outside of my price range, so I can't even quote you prices there.
All of these engines are computer controlled, unless someone converted it to carb. You should look for complete engines withe harness, computer etc for the easiest swap possible. A lot of times you can get the trans along with it.
You will also need to reprogram the computer, as many of them will have VATS (vehicle anti-theft system) and you will not be able to start the car. You can also remove emissions and have all kinds of other options programmed in for you.
I got my motor from Bow Auto in NH. Very helpful people and I paid $750 for a complete motor. I also got it delivered literally 26 hours after I paid for it, and I am way down here in MD. There are other places too. You can check junk yards or ebay or craigslist, but just be careful about what you are buying.
