I RECENTLY BOUGHT A 2000 TRANS AM RAM AIR WS6 ENGINE, THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH IT IS THAT THE BLOCK IS CRACKED, SO I'M LOOKING FOR A BLOCK WITH RODS, PISTONS, CAM, CRANK, ETC. ALSO, I HAVE BEEN READING IN EARLIER POSTS THAT IT IS A PAIN IN THE *** TO DO THE SWAP, AND I HAD SOMEWHAT OF AN IDEA ALREADY AS OF TO HOW BAD IT WOULD BE, BUT DESPITE THAT, I STILL WANT TO SWAP THE ENGINES, AND I WANTED TO ASK ANY OF YOU OUT THERE IF YOU COULD HELP ME OUT. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED FROM REAR TO FRONT IN MY CAR IN ORDER TO GET IT RUNNING AS AN LS1, AND ALSO I NEED TO KNOW IF IT'S WORTH IT! I MEAN, I AM ALREADY IN IT, SO I MIGHT AS WELL JUST DO IT, OF COURSE ONLY IF IT DOES WORK (IF THE SWAP REALLY DOES GIVE YOU THE SAME POWER). I BOUGHT THE COMPUTER ALREADY, BUT I NEED TO KNOW OF ALL THE OTHER MODIFICATIONS SO I CAN SEARCH WISELY, OR MAYBE SOME OF YOU WILL REPLY WITH PLACES WHERE TO GO TO FIND SOME OF THE STUFF AT A REASONABLE PRICE. THANKS FOR READING, PLEASE HELP ME OUT, SEND ANY THOUGHTS YOU HAVE.

THANKS

 

OKay, I'm not trying to be a jerk, but this conversions board is getting full of people asking about swapping an LS1 into 97 and older FBodies. Inevitably people start piling on the "Dont Do it!" responses. There's a very good reason for this.

Here's the thing. If you have Car X, and you're into doing an engine swap, the LS1 is a good choice. It's light, makes good power, is available for reasonable cost and has great support thru vendors and boards like this one.

BUT, swapping in motors is a pain. It really is. It's alot of work and there are a great many hidden costs in addition to the obvious items (engine, trans, exhaust, etc.) SO, if your Car X happens to be a late model FBody, then you are in luck. Because GM produced many thousands of LS1 equipped Camaros and Firebirds with LS1 engines pre-installed. The absolutely easiest, most direct, cost effective way to put an LS1 into a Camaro/Firebird is to swap cars. Trade your non LS1 car in on a used (98 and up) LS1 vehicle.

You will save yourself piles of money and many months worth of headaches.

 

HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK I'LL GET FOR IT? THE CAR'S BLACK, IT'S GOT 52000 MILES, AND THE ONLY MODIFICATIONS ARE, OBX RACING AIR INTAKE, AND DUAL DUAL BORLA EXHAUST(WHICH I JUST BOUGHT TO USE WITH THE LS1 ENGINE!) NOT TO MENTION, I AM STILL PAYING FOR THE CAR. I WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO SUPERCHARGE IT, BUT SOME FRIENDS TOLD ME IT WAS GOING TO BE A PAIN IN THE ***, AND I WASN'T GOING TO GET THE SAME GAIN AS THE ENGINE, SO I BOUGHT THE ENGINE FOR $500 BUCKS AND SOLD THE SUPERCHARGER. NOW, I RECENTLY BOUGHT THE COMPUTER AND THE CAR LIKE I SAID, ALREADY HAS THE EXHAUST FOR IT. THE ONLY THING I WANT TO KNOW, WHETHER IT'S RIDICULOUS OR NOT, IS, WHAT ELSE DOES IT NEED TO BE CHANGED? I KNOW I NEED A COMPUTER (GOT THAT), EXHAUST(GOT THAT), WIRE HARNESS (KNOW WHERE TO GET MINE REWIRED CHEAP), TRANSMISSION (DON'T HAVE THAT, BUT CAN PROBABLY FIND CHEAP). NOW, ALTOGETHER, I'VE SPENT $1100, FOR THE LS1 ENGINE, BORLA EXHAUST, LS1 INTAKE, FUEL PUMP, AND COMPUTER (I DON'T THINK IT'S BAD AT ALL, BESIDES I LIKE MY CAR, IT'S BRANDED WITH CUSTOM INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR DESIGNS OF MY FAVORITE BAND (PANTERA) SO I WANT TO KEEP IT). AND THE FACT OF PULLING UP TO A COBRA OR A Z28 AND RACE THEM (THINKING IT'S A 6 CYLINDER) AND BEATING THEM, I BELIEVE WOULD BE SOMETHING I WOULD ENJOY. LIKE I SAID, ALL I WANT TO KNOW, WHETHER IT'S RIDICULOUS OR NOT, IS WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO CHANGE, IN ORDER TO TRANSFORM MY CURRENT CAR INTO AN LS1? THAT'S ALL I WANT TO KNOW, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO BE CHANGED. I ASK SOME OF MY FRIENDS IF I NEED ANOTHER DIFFERENTIAL AND THEY SAY THEY DON'T KNOW, SAME THING WITH A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF I ASK THEM. THAT'S WHY I AM TURNING TO YOU GUYS, YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW MORE. PLEASE LET ME KNOW

THANKS

 

rearend, suspension (to handle the extra hp) what tranny?!?! A4 or M6. either one is not cheap. Don't forget the new block and ll labor associated with changing stuff over. What about accessories?!? Gauges (at least the tach) and tons of sundries. pm one of the several guys here who went thru this ordeal.
Rolling next to them thinking it's a V6, they already have those cars, they're called Formulas <img border="0" alt="[jester]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_jest.gif" />
Again, I have seeen numerous LS1 Formula cars for $10G or less, and they have better brakes, and the Torsen Rear-end, not to mention everything is already installed <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" />

 

Seriously, not a flame, but why would you want to get a bad motor to begin with!??!
I agree this swap is ridiculous. Yours ia a 97, so you should still be able to get some decent$$ out if it. I have seen LS! F-bods going for under $10k now, so just sell yours, get the real thing, and elmininate ALL the headaches!

 

just curious, what do you have that will work for the swap. the shortblock sounds bad. The LT1 harness is not simply "rewired" to be a ls1 harness... you need individuial coil pack harnesses, ect.

The motor you have sounds like i would part it out, sell the heads, and maybe crank. break even.

If you are serious about doing the swap, find a wrecked LS1 car, and buy the WHOLE thing. you need so many little parts, piecing it together, wiht just a message board to help.. will take forever.

Ryan.

 

please, no caps, thank you.

J.

 

ive done the swap...it sucked...head to tail u need the whole parts car.i did my car worked out perfect otherwise youll end up with a nitemare....im in the salvage biz so it worked for me dont try it dude just buy a LS1 car.....

Jeremy

 

Seriously, I would scratch the whole idea of putting a V8 into your V6. SERIOUSLY!
It is not worth it at all. First off it is ALOT easier to put a new LT1/LT4 based 350 or 383 in your current car then it would be to put a LS1 in a 93-97 F-body.

However, I feel the best course of action is to trade in your 97 and hope they atleast can pay it off for you. Then buy a newer 98-99 LS1 F-Body.

I have been in that situation before, and I dont regret it. You can expect to take a loss on switching cars. But I imagine that you will come out a head more and for less money than your LS1 in a V-6 idea. Actually I'll bet that it is ALOT cheaper to get you a newer Z28 or TransAm than it is to convert your current car to a LS1.

Hope this helps. As the other Gentlemen said before. There is ALOT of unforseen cost in your V6 to V8 conversion idea.