Today i started the oh so wonderful 95 3.4 to 93 lt1 swap
Little bit of background. The 95 3.4 a4 car was given to me by my aunt when i was 12 with some torque thrusts and family love i have always want to do this swap. im 17 now and went out and bought a 93 z28 for 500$
was a 6 speed but no tranny ran good before pulled, 171 on the clock. i know pretty high but how wrong could i go at 500 bucks?
Car looked good. So i plan to swap drivetrains sell the other car for some cash to put back into my own. Today we pulled the motor out of the top. only have one picture but more to come! It actually didnt look to bad witht the intake off but theres more to see soon. i plan to rebuild the bottom end with a summit forged kit and then cam cc503 with supporting mods and possibly port the heads depending on cost. i have no clue as to what that is. and spice up the car firebird dash with autometer setup 17" torq thrust with 315 outback get a t56. Ls1 brake swap all that fANCY STUFF
so my question is. Would i get more money out of
A: Parting out the Z keeping my original motor and all that. Im also taking the possi rear obviously so theres really nothing worth it right?

B: put my v6 drivetrain in the 93 with only hopefully a little re pinning on the three connectos that goto kick panel put my 16" torq thrust on it do a little bodywork and sell it.. i think this is a much better option. but how easy would it be to get the running v6 in the car. it only has 108 on the clock always full synthetic oil and always just plain taken care of. runs great. i think id get better money out of it this way. But what does everyone else think? PS swap tips kindly appreciated

 

BTW if this is the wrong thread please direct me elsewhere. somone told me the other day to post this here. I have been on the site for years but not a member till recently. so i am not as much as a FNG as it would appear..

 

As some one who has done a 3.4 to lt1 swap It is best to try and use the same year engine and harness. the problem is each year is different in subtle ways.

here is some pics of my build. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/229749...-4#22974984036

you need to do a lot of work it just isnt a drop in job. you will need the kmember, rear axle, tranny ,engine complete, exhaust, springs, engine and engine bay wiring harnesses, radiator, fans, drive shaft, computer, fuel pump ect.

I would part the z28 out and wait till you come across a wrecked 95 and buy that to use as a downer car. just my opinion. I did mine by collecting parts.

 

It's a big project. I'm getting close to finishing my 3.8 to Lt1 swap. I would suggest not doing it til you can do everything right. 170k I would rebuild the engine forsure with new everything. Then replace pretty much everything that's a pia to replace with the engine in. For decent forged rods and pistons your looking at an easy 1200. Which unless you looking to go crazy in the future is not needed. When I started mine I thought it wouldnt be near as much as it has been. I have over 5k into mine with rebuilt engine, le2 setup, and replacing a bunch of misc parts. Take everything you'll need to swap and part the rest. Slowly get it all ready over time and keep the 3.4 so you can still drive it. When its all ready then you can sell the boat anchor and swap the Lt1 in.

 

I know it is best to try to use the same year car it's hat after such a long wait I finally jumped the gun on a 93. From what I have read i may just have to do some re pinning on the connectors that run to te kick panel. But hopefully that all plus all the little miscellaneous stuff. And I am aware that I need the k member rear end etc etc I have literally been doing research for years. But I got excited and decided to rip the lt1 out of the top so I can get it torn down and know what I'm dealing with. It's just is it really that difficult to put te 3.4 into the 93 re pin a few wires and get it running? Fuel pump and all that other stuff of course but then the car looks good enough around here in wa they are going for close to 3k with 150k on them. That's a v6. I really feel I can get more money that way. All responses appreciated.

 

And as far as the forged bottom end I don't think I am going to go to huge anytime soon. Just the cam with full bolt ons possibly port te heads. Again a price idea at all would be amazing on that!

 

Why forge the bottom unless you plan on juice or boost. If you want a n/a lt1 just pull the motor down, check size on crank, if it needs turned -.10 under have a shop do it and save yourself some $$$. I'd get it mocked in your car first, then rebuild it and slap it in. If you got new rings, rod cap bearings, connecting rod bearings I'd say that alone would be $400-600 depending on the Hp rating you get. At 170k you will definatly need at least that. I'd save another 1k on top of that for bolt ons and machine work.

 

It's a big project. You're car is setup for that 3.4L so there's gonna be a few little things but you should be good. The LT1's can be a PITA at times but they are overall a good engine. If you wanna save some $$$ towards things like exhaust and other bolt-ons, get a hotcam kit. You'll have a lot of fun with it and it won't be as much as a cc503 due to coming with rocker arms, etc etc.

Either way, good luck with it! Keep us updated

 

Yea I just know its do able and that's enough for me.
I've gone back and forth between the lt4 hotcam kit and cc503. Like you said I just like the fact it's a kit. But the cc503 is tempting. Thank you for the support I will for sure keep update with pics. All advice is priceless. Knowing there's others on this sight who have done the swap makes me feel better. I've been looking forward to this swap for such a long time. Thanks for all the support. Will the 3.4 exhaust manifolds bolt up to the v-8 y pipe? That could be an absolutely idiotic quation but I am curious. Learn a little more everyday. Look forward to more advice and opinions

 

I'm confused by that question, you want to use 3.4 manifolds on the LT1? In which case no, that will not work. I would just get a set of painted pacesetters, 3" ORY, and a hooker catback for exhaust. That setup should run you about 6-700.

Also for the record, I never did a V-6 to LT1 swap. I had a 95' Trans am, I just know a good bit about the LT1's

 

oh god no. im not that unknowledgable. i meant if i decided to put the v6 into the 93 donor car and sell it could the exhaust manifolds just bolt up to the y pipe of the z28 exhast thats in the car. cause im not gonna use it anyways.

Ive actually thought about that setup!
But i eventually wanna save up for the GMMG Exhaust. im kind of thinking running a flowmaster with cut outs so i can just have it sounds louder than Shhh whenever i want.

Quick question. Long Tube and shortie headers, pros/cons?

 

I don't think those manifolds would work with that y pipe.

Longtubes are the way to go, they provide better breathing then shorties...also, shorty headers leave you with a slim range of exhaust options. With longtubes you can do a nice true dual or ORY setup.

 

X 2 for the long tubes... They can be found used pretty cheap and decent if your on a budget..

 

Long tubes it is then. and i am somewhat on a budget. but if it comes down to getting something that will either
A-keep me from pulling the motor apart again
B- I rreally want and its a mod ill do down the road anyways id rather just save up and do it now. but if i could find a nice set of used ones thatd be great.
I hear Kooks thrown around quite often, i know its oppinion but it seems those are pretty much unanimously loved. Also looking to delete cats. im going to be getting a tune anyways with new cam and all so with that can they just tune out the 02 sensors and what not?

 

I would use the 93 much less hassle......

 

Thats what i am thinking also 96lt1m6.

Also. Fuel pumps need to be swapped for sure But do fuel lines run the same?

 

Also would it just be easier to swap dash harnesses as opposed to re pinning the three connectors that run to the kick pane?

 

Its not that hard to pull the complete body harness out of one car and swap it to the other if you wanted to.. I did this with my current car due to it being hacked up when I got it.. If not for being sentimental value I would not have done this.

Basically you can pull the entire harness from tail light to head light along with the dash if you want to go to that extreme. It took me about two days to complete mine by pulling the harness out of two cars and installing the good harness into my car.. Everything is pretty much plug an play and pretty simple.

Good luck on what you decide and the guys here can help out with about anything you need with a F-body..

 

Re-pinning the harness is the easiest way to go, I just chose not to due to stripped wires and such under my carpet and engine bay..

 

Sorry guys I've been pretty busy! So I got the motor out and pulled completely apart (pics tonight or morning) and there weren't any bad surprises thank god. Everything looks pretty good So I'm pretty happy about that. As far as the lt1 goes I'm still going with full bolt ons and cam either hot cam or cc503. Leaning towards 503. But that's down the road, what I'm about to face is swapping the drive trains from the motor to the manual to auto pedals to the rear end. Does any one have any tips before I get started on this? All info is appreciated. Swap the k member obviously but I should be ok leaving springs and shocks cause I'm gettin ag aftermarket setup anyways so I should be ok right? Gonna swap the rear end etc etc. is there anything anyone encountered that they would like to let me in on before diving in?
Thanks, Blake.