curtis73

I have an LQ9 going in an 86 El Camino. Only accessories that came with it were water pump and alternator, but no brackets. The rest was damaged in a collision.

The way I see my options:

1- source an F-body accessory drive and notch the frame for the A/C compressor.

2- source an [insert application here] drive that will fit

3- keep the truck water pump and crank pulley and fab up my own brackets. I have a ton of scrap steel and a plasma cutter and MIG and TIG capability. Its also a recirc ball steering box so I likely would need an old-style PS pump anyway instead of one for an R&P that would fit an LS accessory drive anyway.

I do like junkyard searches and the mix and match game, but with LS accessories it seems to get expensive.

Thoughts?

Fry_

This is the wrong forum and belongs in the conversions and hybrids section but I'll help anyway.
A lot of this can't be answered without knowing what motor mounts your planning to use. F-body accessories fit with pretty much all mounts but with any of them you can use a Holley high mount kit for the AC. If you use the Holley kit for the R4 compressor you can then use stock Oldsmobile AC parts to hook everything up and wont need any custom lines made. You may want to look into the Holley/Hooker g body swap parts, not the cheapest but probably the easiest and best engineered parts.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...m-preview.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/attachmen...-tech-data.pdf

curtis73

Much appreciated. The El Camino accessories are not really worth keeping. The compressor is locked up, the alternator puts out about 13v, and the power steering pump whines like my ex wife. For that reason, most of it will be new or gently used stuff.

I haven't decided on motor mounts, but likely I will use templates to cut plates so I can use SBC mounts unless that puts things too high. I assume the motor mount variable with the F-body drive is the compressor hitting the crossmember?

So basically your suggestion is F-body stuff. I'm fine with that if I can find it for less than psycho money. Any suggestions on which PS pump? Can I change pressures in an F-body pump with the regulator spring to better suit my old-school steering box?

Re: wrong forum... maybe a mod can switch me over to Hybrids? Sorry for the newbie mistake.

Fry_

I don't think any of the low mount compressor will clear the k member, you either have to notch it or use a high mount ac kit. Buying everything new/remanufactured to piece together a f body accessory drive with a high mount ac kit can be done for under $900.
Using adapter plates for motor mounts is the cheapest way but also throws off your driveline angles. There is a ton of info on doing this swap on this site in the conversions and hybrids section and if you look for it you'll probably be able to find the answer to every question you have.

curtis73

Yeah... that's what I don't like about it. I didn't pay that much for the entire engine. I'm thinking free scrap steel and $3.48 worth of 240v electricity to make brackets.

Not a large concern in this case. The entire driveline is being replaced; motor, transmission, tranny crossmember, different axle... setting angles will be a necessity anyway. My concerns are lower C/G, header collector ground clearance, and finding a happy balance of the two.

I did post over there first with this thread but so far no one has replied so I thought I would post over here as well. I have sifted through a ton of stuff over there but like you pointed out, most of it costs more than the engine.

Thanks for the help.

jlcustomz

I did an f-body ls swap back in 02' before all the swap parts were out. There are a few pics in my photobucket link.
Cut & reboxed my crossmember for f-body pan, which is not how many people do it today.
Notched & reboxed the frame behind the idler arm for extra ac compressor clearance with factory ac compressor. Later swapped to sanden compressor (smaller)& adapter mounts which didn't need the extra room. I did notch & rebox the crossmember for rear of ac compressor. I preferred to go with factory's method of low mounting compressor on separate belt for a few reasons..
I did remake my mounts swapping alternator up & ps pump down before even attempting install, but I see from other's installs that low mount alternator would have cleared .

There are so many different variations on how to do each aspect of ls install, may as well pick out your own. Have welder, will cut sounds like your kind of method. Front of ls engines are almost flat, so making your own accessory drive brackets is nowhere as difficult as many older engines I've dealt with.

Street & performance sells all different variations of mounting choices for more money than your engine costs, but pics are good for ideas.

Fry_

True but only about $300-350 of that is for brackets, the rest of it is new or rebuilt driven accessories that your going to have to buy anyway. For about $700-1200 more than piecing everything with the usual adapter plates, homemade trans crossmember, homemade accessory drive brackets, and modified f body headers you could just buy everything from Holley/Hooker and have a bolt in fully engineered kit with proper driveline angels and better trans tunnel clearance if you ever want to run a 4L80E or T56 transmission. I know thats not exactly pocket change but it seems like a reasonable price to have everything fit the first time but thats just me.

curtis73

I hate it when you make logical arguments

Fry_

So does my wife. If only I had been able to convince her that a engine swap for my Monte Carlo was a better idea than a expensive wedding.

jlcustomz

I was just throwing in a few options for someone with more time & skill than money to consider.

Here's a couple of links to a recent swap into an el camino.
http://www.elcaminocentral.com/showthread.php?t=122242
http://www.elcaminocentral.com/showthread.php?t=125753