DuckDude

I am finally getting back into the Camaro thing. I had my '01 SS on jacks for nearly 2 years doing motor mounts, trans mount, LT headers, 3" exhaust, etc... Yeah I know, 2 years is ridiculous. But full time job, married life, a 3 year old, now an 11 month old, moving, blah blah took up some time. Anywho..... I have the headers in, but since I bought an ORY and now live in emissions required county, I had to get cats. Now I'm dealing with cutting the ORY pipes, fitting in the cats, trying to get them welded, etc... then emissions tested and registered to drive after that. I'm hoping I'll be cruisin' in about 2-3 weeks.
So I feel like I wanna put a crap ton of questions in here this thread, but I suppose I get on the search function and then create separate threads if needed.
I'll start with this.......
I searched for parts interchangeability on here, but everything that comes up is all about parts between GM vehicles. G8 to camaro, LQ9 to LS1, LT1 to LS1, corvette to camaro, etc...
I own a '96 Cherokee and there are parts that can be used for different things from Broncos, S-10's, Camaros, Blazers, Thunderbirds, other body style jeeps, etc....
So what I'm getting at is, are there parts from other makes and models that can fit on 4th gen camaros? Or even taking from other GM vehicles? I.E. can I take a rear sway bar from a GM truck that may be beefier and put it in my car? Or springs out of an impala to get my car back to factory height? if Impalas even have springs, I have no clue, just an example.... ( I currently have the Eibach lowering kit and i'm not sure if my exhaust will be too close to the ground.)
There is a really handy sticky on the cherokee forum I use about parts interchangeability. It has the suspension parts, driveline parts, engine parts, interior parts etc...
Example, springs from a late 70s Bronco will give a front lift of about 4" on my XJ, or I can use the long leaf spring out of the S-10 to put in my cherokee to add about 3-4" of rear lift, or I can use camaro front springs and the shock tower spacer to add about 1-2" of lift. These are just suspension examples, but you get the point.

Thanks!!!

DuckDude

Sorry, I just realized that first post is kind of wordy and contains blabbering. Shoulda' kept it simpler. K.I.S.S.

And feel free to bust my ballz if this is already a huge discussion somewhere I didnt find.....

DuckDude

I'll take that as a no

Spamfritter

iTrader: (1)

Parts compatibility is kind of a mess. GM uses the same parts for a lot of things. Specifically, anything in the Gen III engine family is a direct replacement for an F-body LS1. Individual parts compatibility would be a nightmare to try and list out. The good news is that most F-body parts are cheap enough and abundant enough that this isn't necessary. You see many of us swapping in 4.8L, 5.3L, 6.0L engines because they are for the most part direct swaps and cheaper than LS1 or LS6 engines are. The iron blocks are also very good for boosted applications and many people opt for turbo's for making power because its cheap.

For suspension components you'll generally find everything is F-body specific. It's really just engines, switches, wiring, relays, interior odds and ends (such as the radio and rear view mirrors) and the motor / trans themselves that are shared among other GM vehicles. The only other vehicle that really has a great deal of compatibility with a fourth generation F-body is the third generation. However, you don't generally want thirdgen parts on a fourth gen. The other way around is typically how that goes. You can (sometimes with spacers) use Corvette wheels on F-bodies. It's not always a direct swap. There are kits for adapting CTS-V and C5/C6 brakes to F-bodies as well.

But if you want a sway bar, or some springs you pretty much have to get something specific to a fourth generation F-body. Their suspension is an evolution of the F-body specifically and the only real carry over is from 1982-1992 cars to 1993-2002 cars. Even that is selective. The steering rack isn't compatible for example. Injectors are one thing that aren't F-body specific. F-bodies can use a variety of intakes, but only if they clear the cowl. Many options don't unless they were designed for the F-body. Interestingly enough, many swaps use F-body oil pans and intakes for other applications rather than the other way around.

If you want more than that you'll likely have to get specific. But, as I said F-body parts are plentiful and cheap enough that this isn't generally too much of a concern. It's still a popular platform. These cars were made in large numbers for a long period of time. The platform didn't change that much either and in enthusiast circles they are quite common.

DuckDude

Perfectly good enough explanation for me!!!