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LS1 in a corvair?

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Old Sep 11, 2004 | 08:13 PM
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Default LS1 in a corvair?

Well, is it possible to shoehorn a LS1 in their? Well, I know it'll fit, well, it should... Back Story: I found a used corvair with a near perfect (well, by my standards) body for very cheap, mechanically it is not great, and it's just not got enough power for my lead-footted needs. I am comtemplaiting throwing something with 8 cylanders in their because of this. Anybody tried, with an LS1 or SBC? I've heard of front engine conversion kits, which, well, I'd probably want to avoid, which means mounting the engine in the rear in the 90 degree configuration or w/e that's called. Basically, to do this what transmission, transaxle etc should I use? I like cheap too, so if it's something I can find in the junkyard, that's what I perfer. Anybody, I appreciate any help!
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Old Sep 11, 2004 | 10:17 PM
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DOOOOOOOO IT!

There are a few v-8 swapped corvairs out there today. They put the motor in the rear seats and use a porsche tranaxle. Works like a champ and becomes an AMAZING car.

Hopefully someone can provide a link.

Would be a kickass car, even lighter than my RX7 :thumbs:
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Old Sep 11, 2004 | 10:45 PM
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Damn, no rear bench seat? That has a purpose you know I'm uncertain though, prosche parts, uh, I live in the boonies, even the thought of getting my hands on a LS1 is a little far fetched (other than as a crate motor...) Well, I guess I could go look in the junkyards around here, any other suggestions?


Edit, oooh, what also came up is that *somebody* makes a kit for putting the engine in the front of one of these buggers, hmmm, if only I could see pics of a car with it, or of the kit, to get an idea of it... or I guess I could always get the sawzall out, and just hope for the best?

Last edited by xStraight-EdgEx; Sep 11, 2004 at 10:56 PM.
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Old Sep 11, 2004 | 11:11 PM
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There's a guy that runs his Corvair in the ORR events that I run in and he runs a SBC 406 with a Porsche 930 transaxle. It's a very impressive car.
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Old Sep 12, 2004 | 01:01 AM
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Use ebay to get a ls1, not a new one.

I would bet the conversion would be 10-12k. If thats out of your budget, Id look for another project/money pit

-Jason
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Old Sep 12, 2004 | 04:43 PM
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the corvair conversion sounds pretty cool. it would be most definitely one-of-a-kind and just think of the bragging rights you'd have. personally , i always thought the later model corvairs were kinda neat looking. what year is it that you're thinking about building?
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Old Sep 12, 2004 | 08:13 PM
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I'm not totally sure on the year, I know little about these cars, but I do know it's one of the later ones. I also know little about this one, having trouble getting ahold of the owner again. (ahhh, I hate that) It sucks to live where I do, we have car shows at most once a year, and there's maybe 4 cars with LS1's in the entire area... Well, maybe a few more than that, but you could count them on two hands. Bragging rights, yeah, definatly, but nobody to brag to, at least nobody that I'd impress more than if I told them I had a Civic with vtec...

Ebay is a pain to buy engines off if you live in Canada, at least in my experence, sometimes you get lucky though, I'll look into it.

Ohwell, I think I'll buy the car and just hope for the best. Maybe not the best strategy, but I'm sure it will keep some resale value.
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Old Sep 12, 2004 | 09:46 PM
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I thought about this swap before also. I love the sound of a LS1, just don't think I would love the sound so much coming from the back seat. Would need a seriously insulated enclosure. Corvair V8 swaps were big in the 70's, you might even find one on ebay...
here are a couple of sites.
www.corvair.org/chapters/v8vairs
www.corvaircorsa.com/crown1.html
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Old Sep 13, 2004 | 01:39 PM
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http://www.pro-touring.com/featured_...west_corv8.htm might be interesting
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