LT1 swap
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LT1 swap Ok guys, new to the site here, have a question. I have a 87 Trans Am that I have put a LT1 out of a 94 Vette in. It is not running at this time. I have been thinking about going with a carb set up on this car as the car had a carb 305 before. Not looking to drop the rear end and switch the fuel tank and such. This engine also came with the 4L60E transmission from the Vette. What do i need to do to get this to work? Is it just a matter of getting the intake, carb, dist. and pulling the wiring harness from the motor? What about the tranny? Will it work without the computer hook up? Thanks in advance for the answers.
do it right, stick with fuel injection 
. seriously, by the time you convert it to carbureted, you will have more money than putting a fuel pump in it. the hardest part is the wiring, and if you are not good at it, then i would suggest a carb, but by that point you should have gotten a Gen 1 SB. i know that they make seperate computers to make the 4l60e work with a non computer motor, so you could still do that. there is really no point in ruining an LT1 motor when you could sell it and get a Gen 1 with money left over. if you can make the FI work, i would highly recomend it. its well worth it when you can run 13's, get 21 mpg, and start up after 3 turns after sitting for a few months. not to mention the cool factor.
. seriously, by the time you convert it to carbureted, you will have more money than putting a fuel pump in it. the hardest part is the wiring, and if you are not good at it, then i would suggest a carb, but by that point you should have gotten a Gen 1 SB. i know that they make seperate computers to make the 4l60e work with a non computer motor, so you could still do that. there is really no point in ruining an LT1 motor when you could sell it and get a Gen 1 with money left over. if you can make the FI work, i would highly recomend it. its well worth it when you can run 13's, get 21 mpg, and start up after 3 turns after sitting for a few months. not to mention the cool factor. Well, i say go ahead and do the carb if you have all the neccysary parts right now on hand if that is what you want, but if you have to buy anything to make it work(which you need the LT1 carb intake from GM) the money as said above can be used to get the injection going, if you go carbed then trade the 4L60 for a 700R4.
I just did that swap and I used the fuel injection. I ran into a few problems. mainly it was the reverse cooling and the wiring that gave me the biggest problems. There is a guy named Dana @ LT1wiring.com who you can send your wire harness to and he will make it a stand alone harness so that is is mainly plug and play. He also tunes the computer and deletes any parts that you do not want off of the wire harness. He did mine for like $350. So if you do decide to use fuel injection Dana is the man. He also offers help for life for free.
If dead set on a carb then just use a gen 1 motor, otherwise all you are accomplishing is limiting your head and intake choices SEVERELY.
Without the injection and LT1 is just a regular old smallblock with decent heads, as such you would be further ahead to buy like an early 90s TBI motor which is roller cam and then buy aftermarket heads and intake for it, have a HUGE selection and would run a standard waterpump.
If we can talk you into using the injection then the LT1 is a good choice because the LT1 injedction is so cheap and flexible too work with.
Without the injection and LT1 is just a regular old smallblock with decent heads, as such you would be further ahead to buy like an early 90s TBI motor which is roller cam and then buy aftermarket heads and intake for it, have a HUGE selection and would run a standard waterpump.
If we can talk you into using the injection then the LT1 is a good choice because the LT1 injedction is so cheap and flexible too work with.
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Ok guys, you talked me into it. I'll just stick with the fuel injection. I will look up lt1wiring.com and give them a call(thanks for the tip)! On the fuel pump question, would an external pump work? I do have a high pressure external fuel pump that says will work for fuel injected applications.
By the way, this project has been going on for over a year now and I'm just starting to get back to it to try to get this thing to run. The LT1 is out of a 94 Vette.
By the way, this project has been going on for over a year now and I'm just starting to get back to it to try to get this thing to run. The LT1 is out of a 94 Vette.
As long as the externally mounted fuel pump puts out the same amount of pressure or if it puts out to much just use an adjustable Fuel press. regulator. Also make sure you wir it to the computer and don't hack it up to a switch or the fuse box like most people do when they want to cut corners. If you ever wreck, the pump will continue to pump out fuel...thus if your injured who's gonna shut off the car??? Also if you decide to put a pump in the tank I'd get a Walbro 255lph Fuel Pump and then cut a hole in the rear hatch area and pull out the Sending Unit and install the fuel pump in the tank. You can always cover the hole up with sheet metal and use an epoxy or something to seal it up so fumes stay out of the car. Good Luck Man....Keep us posted!
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It will work but if you use it your pump and line from the tank to the pump will need to be below the bottom of the tank. It wasnt that bad doing my in tank pump. I put a 255LPH pump in my 91RS.
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