Hello everyone!
I'm not sure why I didn't think about joining a forum earlier, but I'm hoping somebody can help me out with my LS1 swap and of course, I'd be more than glad to share what I've learned along the way.

A bit about myself. I'm from Michigan and I've owned my 1968 Camaro for almost 20 years now and she's still a work in progress. Honestly, I'm a bit tired of not driving it as this is my third engine build. My last build was a sbc in the 500 club with a 3400 stall. It was fun, but not very practical, especially at 4 mpg. So, here I am on year two of my LS1 swap and I want it done.

The LS1 came out of a 2004 GTO and came with the 4L65e, wire harness and pcm. Oil Pan, Headers, fuel tank, transmission mount and motor mounts came from Holley and I have to say, they have nice parts. Everything fits like a glove.

I had a new custom harness made from the guys over at BP Automotive and so far, I am very pleased with their work. I had them give me a little extra length and I brought it into the cab via the old clutch pedal. I plan on mounting the PCM in the glove box.

While I was there... a new universal wire harness was my best bet to tie the BP harness with the Dakotah guages into the system., I'm about halfway done with the new harness and I'm pleased. I have the interior mostly finished as well as the fuel tank.

Where I'm stuck and have wasted a few hundred dollars, not to mention time is the radiator. I went cheap and purchased a used radiator from a third gen Camaro, came up with a design and had parts custom fabricated at a neighborhood shop to mount it. It's just not working and I'm tired of putzing. So, I'm going to bite the bullet and purchase a new radiator.

I found an LS Radiator specifically for a first gen FBody on Ebay and it has both inlet and outlets on the passenger sides. Both are 1.5 in diameter. This radiator is very similar to the Frostbite Radiator Holley wants to sell me for $500, and I can get this on on EBay for $230. Here is the link.

https://www.autocityclassic.com/cama...ap-sl-283a-at/

I like the idea of having both hoses on the passenger side which will leave the drivers side wide open to run my cold air intake.

So, here is my question. Is this a good idea? Or, should I go with a radiator that has the inlets / outlets on the left and right side? And, what hoses fit these configurations?

Really, where I'm at is I just want to bolt this thing in and stop twiddling with it. I've thrown enough money down the drain and as anyone knows when doing an LS swap, it's a kind of learn as you go type deal.

Thanks!

 

Welcome to LS1Tech! We’ve all been there my friend. I personally like both hoses on same side of radiator. As you mentioned it leaves room for a CAI. Lots of guys run both on pass side. Sounds like your close to startup.

 

Ha, I've been close to start up for way too long and have thrown away good money trying to get there. That's why I'm hesitant to go throwing money at another unknown.

As spring starts feeling more like Spring in Michigan, my honey do list keeps growing and I'm itching to drive my car this year. It's been a long, painful journey. I was able spend some time this Sunday and only got one item checked off my list and created two new items. The one item I was able to check off my list only took about 2 hours. The other four hours were wasted time.

1. Purchase new brass oil pressure sending unit adapter. Original one fell on top of the transmission, spent 45 minutes trying to recover it... It's just going to have to stay there and bounce out along the road somewhere cause I'm not removing my transmission cross member one more time to lower the tranny.
2. Purchase new Radiator....

Uggg. I'm hoping somebody has been down this path before and can bless my next radiator purchase and provide me with the proper radiator hoses.

I really like the idea of having both hoses on the same side! I can't think of any negatives. But like I said, I'm in uncharted territory.

 

Fwiw I'm using a rad out of a 99z bought it new 11 years ago and no issues. The hoses run on both sides and my cai is located on the drivers side. This would be an inexpensive and quick fix till you get it on the road.

 

Thanks Indyjc, but I only want to do this once, because once always turns out to be about a half dozen times anyway lol!
I'm looking for something that will bolt right in and I don't have to do any custom fabrication and I don't want to spend two hours in the parts store looking for that "perfect" hose that I can make work.

 

I used a LS1 radiator in my 94 pickup swap because with it you can get the LS1 clip on fans and AC condenser, works well and I still have room for MY CAI on the driver side..