girl likes the look of the third gen.

i told her its a POS

any of you guys selling one w/ ls1?

 

Saw a 90ish T/A sell a while back for around $6-7k with an LS1. BTW, there is nothing wrong with a tuned port 350 f-body. They are some cool rides! Of course they are just THAT much cooler when they got a LS1 under the hood




O yeah and something else I have noticed lately. The price of CLEAN 3rd gens is really starting to go up these days. A few years ago $3k for a clean 3rd gen was not out of the ordianry, now a days its a freaking steal.

 

I bought this car for $1500 about 5 years ago.



Ive always loved the look of thirdgens. I think the thirdgen gen trans ams have some of the nicest lines. Sexy. My girl loves that car. In fact...she talked me into buying it! Ive always wanted one...and it was right there...so she said do it.

That being said...Ive grown to hate the TPI motor. Its got so many little sensors and they are strewn out all over the block. If you have one little problem, the whole system likes to go to crap. The intake, while awsome looking, is a pain to work on. Since I started getting the LS1 ready to swap in, Ive learned to appreciate it simplicity. Its way more organized. The wiring is less of a nightmare, and if you need to replace a sender or sensor, you dont have to tear half the motor apart to get to it. Not to mention Im way more than doubling my horsepower. AND you can toy with the OBDII computer where as the OBDI stuff you need to burn chips for.

I say grab a nice donar car, do the quick and dirty LS1 swap and

Justin

 

no one on here selling one?

if she wants to DIY.. im going to have some new things to learn!!


and some knuckles to bust..

 

Easy swap! Well easier than what a lot of us are doing anyway.

 

I have an 87 red firebird that has been in storage for the past 13 years it is in very good shape has a tp 350 L98 ( seized ), I will sell it with an ls1 installed and tuned for 10 k .

 

$10k?!

i bought my 98 TA for $11k

 

but its not a 3rd gen with an ls1, i think youd spend close ot 5-6k in parts in cluding motor/tranny and all the misc. stuff, good luck on your seach bro, im still debating if i should swap one in my car, im thinkning of a GN motor in it instead of an ls1

 

10K isnt that unreasonable. Especially if the body and interior is in good shape. Im close to 10K on my swap...although I bought an entire donor car, and am making alittle money on parting it out...as slow as that might be... Given that someone had a car that looked like mine, with good paint, and a nice complete interior, and they were willing to install, tune, and troubleshoot all the LS1 stuff, I might be inclined to buy it.

 

my two cents... I'm just finishing an 87ss Monte swap. There wasn't anything easy about the swap. The LS motors are that different. Oil Pan, accessory locations, motor mounts.. I didn't even tackle the fuel injection issue as I went with a carb..
I'm not disappointed. But, if I had to do it again.. the Complete GM 385 fastburn package looks pretty attractive at 5 grand.


yes I changed the canister vacuum line, with a new longer piece after I saw this pic..

 

87ssmonte... The LS engines arent that hard to deal with... Im not that familiar with your platform, but there are enough of those swaps around that it should be getting to be routine. For the original poster...if he gets an LS pull out from an F-body, all he has to do to get it in the car is buy mounts and a cross member. To use A/C all he needs is a notch. As for the fuel injection....thats cake. If you make your own harness, it will run with a handful of wires hooked up.

I still say that an LS1 T56/4L60E swap is one of the easiest, cleanest looking, and best performing swaps you can do to an early f-body. The simplicity over the older motors particularily the TPI motor is awsome. Everything that Ive done with my 87 TA swap so far as pretty much fallen into place.

But...as with everything...to each his own. It all comes down to what you want out of your car. If you want a turn key solution...10k doesnt sound toobad for a complete car. If you want to do the work yourself...and by work I mean minimal to get the swap done...set aside a good $6000 or so on top of the car cost. Just my 2 pennies.

Justin

 

ls67.. sorry.. i didnt mean..
i mean.. thanks for the offer,
but both her and i together dont have $10k

i guess shes going to buy a third gen
and if shes lucky a used ls1

mounts and crossmember? THATS IT?
no problem!

custom harness?
i know how to wire/solder stuff..
but i dont know WHAT to wire/solder up


i have a feeling im going to be back here in a few months..

 

Haha...start her off with the 3rd gen. Get something with a V8. It will be fun for her for awhile. Then maybe you can start looking for an LS1.

Dont get me wrong...there are other little things to get the motor to work. But in order to drop it in..it is as simple as new mounts and a crossmember. The harness is intimidating at first...but if you are patient, and can stumble through a wiring diagram, you can figure it out. There is PLENTY of info on this site about wiring diagrams. Just read the stickies at the top of this forum.

I know what you mean about not having the cash. I didnt either. I bought things slowly. And probably used my credit card more than I should. If you wait alittle while, an LS1/T56 package will be even cheaper than it is now.

If you need some specific info, feel free to PM me or shoot me an email. Ill try to help you out best I can. Good luck!

Justin

 

Just FYI for you guys talking about the Monte SS swap, there is a Mod here on the board who had a bad-A$$ LS6/T-56 combo in his SS and then swapped it out for an even badder LS7!!!!!!! IIRC his name is John B on the boards and he is a frequent contributor in this section........he would be THE guy I talked to about doing a swap into a Monte.

 

Yes, Johns Monte is.. incredible.. The effort that went into the original swap to keep everything factory is impressive.

 

If you need help let me know. I live in Los Angeles/ Van Nuys specifically. I've completed my LS1swap into my 1984 Trans am and it's running great. Now I just need to complete the Air Conditioning and get it certified to be legit.

You'll need some custom exhaust work in addition tothe mounts nad wiring. and, if you use a carburated car to convert it over to the electric pump/ fuel injection and lines.

-BV

 

it can be legal?!

i had no idea.

a couple friends of mine (and i) want to check out your car

?

 

Hell 10k is a bargain, I'd ask a hell of alot more than that.

 

hmm I'd love to have a 92 with an ls1

 

I have an 88 formula with a LS1/T56 combo. The car also has a 6 pt cage, full suspension and chassis mods, and I would ask about 7-8K$ for mine. You can view pics at the link in my sig. hope that helps.