OBD1 Conversion
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,119
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From: somewhere in TX
OBD1 Conversion I have a 97 z with an a-4. I searched this topic but did not quite find what I was looking for. I found a pcm out of a 95 police caprice with an lt1 and auto. It was a vin p not a vin W 4.3 car. I heard it run so I know the pcm is ok. Now where do I go and what do i do to make this ho sing. Is the obd 1 conversion still worth it like it was five and six years ago. My car has full exhaust mods and 4:11's and a CAI.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,119
Likes: 73
From: somewhere in TX
It did not have aftercat monitors or evap functions in the caprice. According to the service number which I crossed with our gm catalog at work it only fits 94-95 caprice vin p,w and f-body 94-mid 95. So according to what I dug up I believe it is obd1.
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: LT1 land...the "409" of the 90s!
Actually NO LT1s were OBD-II unless they had a 96 production date. This rumor comes from the fact that late (%s had Duel cats and 96 production actually starts in 95 
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,119
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From: somewhere in TX
So from your personal experiences would I be better off with my obd2 or 1 pcm for tuning capabilities. Any ideas would be great along with some recommended tuners or diy programs.
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From what I've seen... It would be better to convert to OBD I if there is no smog laws to look out for, especially if you're going to go big on the cam side.. Depending on the tuners ability, the OBD I PCM is easier to tune.
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The 4.3L pcm is the same exact part number so you could use one of those too, M6 or A4 does not matter either(in the recieving car, the no T56 in the Caprice from GM anyway) the V8 f-body and the b,d-bodies all used the same pcm for the given years. The biggest advantage to the OBD1 swap is tuning and logging will cost a lot less, plus you can get email updates on your programming even if you do not buy tuning software. Do you have the info on soldering in the resistors too make the OBD1 work with your knock sensor?
I believe you will need to get an Fbody tune put on it as we have diff cams, compression ratio, probably injector size. I know 93's had 22's but i don't know if they would leave the smaller injectors on the Caprices or not. I think OBD1 is still a better setup. Its much cheaper to buy the stuff you need to tune your car and flash it.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,119
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From: somewhere in TX
I do not have the information on resistoring the ks sensor. But now I am all ears for the obd1 conversion. I already have the correct pcm. I would like the information for the knock sensors. A cc306 and edelbrock heads and tb are in the very near future. Could somebody impart names of diy programs. I trust myself more than someone else. Or if you think mailorder is the only way to go I am also up for that option.
http://hometown.aol.com/protools4/odb2.htm here is the info on the resistors, in the Impalas they need too do a tach correction too but you do not have to worry about that.
On the DIY tunercat.com is what I recommend for tuning less than half the cost of LT1 Edit with better support just as capable, and not VIN locked like LT1 Edit is. There are some utilities you should be able too find floating around too one called "tunconv" converts from .lt1 files to .bin (or the other way).bin is what tunercat uses this helps if sharing tunes or the like and the other guy has LT1 Edit. On the datalogging TTS Datamaster free for the first 20 uses after that you will be hooked it is great, AKMcables.com can sell you a cable and a license for Datamaster. there is also Freescan which as the name implies is free it is not as user friendly or reliable as Datamaster but is a functional scanner/logger, then again for the price it is a great program. That should get you started.
On the DIY tunercat.com is what I recommend for tuning less than half the cost of LT1 Edit with better support just as capable, and not VIN locked like LT1 Edit is. There are some utilities you should be able too find floating around too one called "tunconv" converts from .lt1 files to .bin (or the other way).bin is what tunercat uses this helps if sharing tunes or the like and the other guy has LT1 Edit. On the datalogging TTS Datamaster free for the first 20 uses after that you will be hooked it is great, AKMcables.com can sell you a cable and a license for Datamaster. there is also Freescan which as the name implies is free it is not as user friendly or reliable as Datamaster but is a functional scanner/logger, then again for the price it is a great program. That should get you started.
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Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Clarksville,Tn
No need for the "tunconv" program, tunercat reads both lt1 and bin files. As far as the knock sensor, just turn off code 43 with tunercat, if you do that you wont need to put any resistors on the ecm, and you will still have normal knock retard. This is according to Ed Wright and from what I hear I think he would know. Sounds like the easiest way to me.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,119
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From: somewhere in TX
I can look up the pinouts at work but does doing the conversion require re-pinning any of the pcm connectors. Thanks for all of the help it has been awesome and I now know which direction to head in now. Obd2 is gone. There are no emissions bs where I am from anyways. We also do stickers if it was an issue. 
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,119
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From: somewhere in TX
Dumb question. I have not looked it up on alldata at the shop. But with the obd1 conversion does it still run b1s1 and b2s1 heated ho2s or will it run a single non-heated 02. Thanks for humoring me I'm just trying to get all of the semi-loose ends tied up. I am going to start on it tomorrow all of the extra parts came in today. thanks for all of your help. 96capricemgr the knock resistors went in smoothly the pictures are awesome.
Originally Posted by 01WS6/tamu
Dumb question. I have not looked it up on alldata at the shop. But with the obd1 conversion does it still run b1s1 and b2s1 heated ho2s or will it run a single non-heated 02. Thanks for humoring me I'm just trying to get all of the semi-loose ends tied up. I am going to start on it tomorrow all of the extra parts came in today. thanks for all of your help. 96capricemgr the knock resistors went in smoothly the pictures are awesome.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,119
Likes: 73
From: somewhere in TX
Thanks For all who volunteered their time and .02 I got it going again with the obd1 and a stock tune for now. Heads and cam are planned for the very near future. It seems to run a little better but it could also be a case of new parts always seem to make more power than the old ones.