LS1 swap in 94 z28
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Teching In
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: San Antonio,TX
LS1 swap in 94 z28 Me and a friend both have z28's. His is a 96 and mine is a 94. Both of our cars have alot of miles on them. We have been thinking about putting an LS1 in our cars instead of buy newer camaros and having to pay higher insurance payments. My question is, would it be worth spending the money to get this done? Also what else would i need to change out for the ls1 to fit in the cars?
It depends on how good of a job you want. A lot of people will try and talk you out of it. If you are looking for a dailey driver, and keeping the motor stock, then it might not be worth it. If, on the other hand, you will be building it up and need to replace/upgrade everything anyway, then go for it.
Its has been stated before that its not necessary to replace everything, but having a donor / LS1 car will be cheaper in the long run.
I've replaced my:
K member,
Gas Tank,
Gauges
dash & Center console,
rear end (12 bolt)
Engine Assy
Transmission
Drive Shaft (I had a 2 piece)
Engine Accessories
Radiator
Mods to interior wiring harness
OH, and I've been busy, so it has taken me about 2 years to do this
Its has been stated before that its not necessary to replace everything, but having a donor / LS1 car will be cheaper in the long run.
I've replaced my:
K member,
Gas Tank,
Gauges
dash & Center console,
rear end (12 bolt)
Engine Assy
Transmission
Drive Shaft (I had a 2 piece)
Engine Accessories
Radiator
Mods to interior wiring harness
OH, and I've been busy, so it has taken me about 2 years to do this
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: San Antonio,TX
It's going to be more of a street/strip car. It won't be driven much on the street. Before I even put the motor in, I'm going to put in forged internals, cam, and ls6 intake. I have no plans to keep it stock. I'm just hoping that it won't be too much a pain in the a$$.
Thread Starter
Teching In
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From: San Antonio,TX
I'm trying to find a donor car but haven't found one yet. I planning to replace the rearend also. My 6- speed should be find. It only has 18,000 miles on the rebuild. I heard that I'm going to have to replace my k-member, wiring harness, and do some stuff to my fuel system. Is there anything else that I'm going have to do?
If the 6 speed you are talking about is mated to your LT1, you also need a new bellhousing, front plate and input shaft.
If you don't think you'll be changing the gauges (I wanted the updated interior) then you might look for a 98 LS1 as it is the only year LS1 that had a metal tank (LT1 style) and gauges were still analog.
I went new A/C core and plubing, but others on here have only swapped compressors and used existing LT1 stuff.
Will you be swapping hood & fender? I wasn't planning on it, but someone mentioned that the LS1 lid didn't fit under the LT1 hood (unless its a fiberglass hood that can be modified).
If you don't think you'll be changing the gauges (I wanted the updated interior) then you might look for a 98 LS1 as it is the only year LS1 that had a metal tank (LT1 style) and gauges were still analog.
I went new A/C core and plubing, but others on here have only swapped compressors and used existing LT1 stuff.
Will you be swapping hood & fender? I wasn't planning on it, but someone mentioned that the LS1 lid didn't fit under the LT1 hood (unless its a fiberglass hood that can be modified).
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From: San Antonio,TX
That's right! I forgot about the bellhousing issue. 
Someone had told me that before but I just forgot about it.
I wasn't planning on changing the front end. I have the ultra z hood and the intake for the hood is pretty much the same size as the ls1 lid. It sits pretty much where the ls1 lid sits. I was going to try to rig up my intake to fit the ls1 throttle body. If that doesn't work, then I might buy a ls1 lid instead or buy the ls1 K&N FIPK ( I think thats the one that replaces the lid with the oval shaped filter).
Someone had told me that before but I just forgot about it.I wasn't planning on changing the front end. I have the ultra z hood and the intake for the hood is pretty much the same size as the ls1 lid. It sits pretty much where the ls1 lid sits. I was going to try to rig up my intake to fit the ls1 throttle body. If that doesn't work, then I might buy a ls1 lid instead or buy the ls1 K&N FIPK ( I think thats the one that replaces the lid with the oval shaped filter).
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My friend did it in his 1994 3.4 V6. He ended up spending a lot more money than expected, plus the shop he took it to took 6 months to finish.
It does fit under the stock hood, he also uses the stock radiator and it works fine. I would reccomend just selling your car for what it's worth and buying an LS1 camaro or trans am.
It does fit under the stock hood, he also uses the stock radiator and it works fine. I would reccomend just selling your car for what it's worth and buying an LS1 camaro or trans am.
Thread Starter
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From: San Antonio,TX
Originally Posted by kyle91z28
My friend did it in his 1994 3.4 V6. He ended up spending a lot more money than expected, plus the shop he took it to took 6 months to finish.
It does fit under the stock hood, he also uses the stock radiator and it works fine. I would reccomend just selling your car for what it's worth and buying an LS1 camaro or trans am.
It does fit under the stock hood, he also uses the stock radiator and it works fine. I would reccomend just selling your car for what it's worth and buying an LS1 camaro or trans am.
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From: champaign, illinois
Once i got the motor running right , the tranny that i had the shop get for me was apparently junk. So its in the shop getting rebuilt, but when i get it back it should be pretty sweet. I spent about 11 k on the swap though. If your in the champaign/urbana area ...i dont recommend taking your car to Hansons garage to get any work done. It took them 6 months to "get it done" and I had to do all the research and get ahold of speartech so that they could get the wiring done. They didnt even hide the wires or have the engine running right when i got it back 
, but it should be all set now once the tranny is rebuilt 
Another thing that will make it cheaper though would be getting an ls1 out of a camaro and not a corvette ...i had to buy a lot of brackets and relocate stuff...also i cant have air-conditioning because there is no room, though i really dont need it, and i had to get a new harmonic balancer because the belts wouldnt line up once everything was moved...but overall...getting an ls1 transam or camaro would probably be cheaper...depending on wether or not you did the swap yourself or had someone do it for you.
, but it should be all set now once the tranny is rebuilt Another thing that will make it cheaper though would be getting an ls1 out of a camaro and not a corvette ...i had to buy a lot of brackets and relocate stuff...also i cant have air-conditioning because there is no room, though i really dont need it, and i had to get a new harmonic balancer because the belts wouldnt line up once everything was moved...but overall...getting an ls1 transam or camaro would probably be cheaper...depending on wether or not you did the swap yourself or had someone do it for you. Thread Starter
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From: San Antonio,TX
Originally Posted by ROCNDAV
WOw, I wouldn't think of paying someone else to do this swap. It would be so expensive.
Originally Posted by jay_blkz28
I wish I could do the swap myself. I just dont have enough tools, equipment, space, knowledge, or time. I'll have enough money.... eventually..... to pay someone to do the job. I'll leave it to the experts. I'll just have to spend the extra cash to get it done. If I would attempt to try to do it, it will NEVER get finished.
