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I've been working on a LT1 (Gen II) swap into a Jaguar for a long time, but have always read this site and thought about an LS swap. Last month I sold my giant 1998 Suburban and got a 1995 Jeep Cherokee so I could still carry people and stuff. I started reading about how to swap an LS into a Cherokee and got the fever. I bought an engine, harness and PCM from a 2000 Corvette with 111K miles off craiglist.
But I just couldn't get excited about putting an LS in an old 2WD Cherokee, and I knew that if I wasn't excited I would never work on it. Then I remembered an El Camino someone had told me about a few months earlier. I had tried to meet with the owner, but we could never get together. So I texted him, and he still had it and was ready to sell. I drove up to look at it. The interior was interesting... but the body was straight and rust-free. I didn't get a picture of the rebel flag headliner.
We made the deal and he delivered it to my garage a couple days later. It has a smallblock 350 and a TH350. The transmission is stuck in high, but it runs and drives. I thought about swapping in a used TH350 for now so I can drive it, but I don't want to get derailed.
I started cleaning the engine and replacing gaskets. Looks pretty clean under the valve covers.
I've been doing lots of internet research. I want to use the Holley G body system. The motor mounts should work if I put on a smaller PS pulley to clear the steering box, and use their AC relocate bracket. The Holley transmission crossmember won't fit the El Camino, but I can cut and weld the stock one. The Holley oil pan should work, and I think that fourth gen F body LS1 manifolds will fit. Anybody have any better suggestions?
Also I'm going to need a transmission. I'm looking for a 4L60E. I finally figured out that this splined fitting on the flexplate must be for the Corvette driveshaft. Can I just remove that piece and use the flexplate?
My goal is to drive it to LS Fest in Bowling Green in September. I think that's reasonable. I'll be happy if I get the engine/trans in and wired and plumbed and running, but I would also like to put in some kind of AC, since someone removed every trace of AC from the El Camino, if it ever had any. Maybe Vintage Air?
Not sure when I'll post updates, since I have the Jaguar on the road and am trying to make it reliable. I'm just happy I have a thread on here!
You don't like diamond plate and blue camo? If you look real close you can see where he hand-painted the kick panels to match the fabric. That's attention to detail.
I am going to have a giant tach with shift light for sale soon.
But the interior stays until I get this running and driving and air conditioned. Then maybe I can change it up with crushed velvet, and LEDs all over the interior, and a flocked dashboard.
So I have been plugging away at this. Mostly gathering parts, as I want to have the car down for as short a time as possible. I know that if I blow it all apart and then start looking for parts that it will become a forever project. Ask me how I know.
Also I am trying really hard to just do the swap. But I keep getting distracted by shiny things like suspension, interior, body mounts, steering. I think the best thing to do is get it running and driving and then see what else it needs.
I've been cleaning the engine and replacing gaskets. Citrus cleaner and soda blasting working pretty well. It's almost back together, with a GMPP oil pan on it.
I found a 4L60E with torque converter from a 1998 Camaro with 30K miles for $650. I thought I could reuse the flex plate from the Corvette motor once I unbolted the driveshaft adapter, but I found there were also three rivets holding the adapter on. So I bought a used flex plate off eBay. I should come out ahead, since I can sell the Corvette piece for more.
The Corvette engine didn't come with pedal or TAC, so I am converting to drive by cable. I bought a Camaro throttle body, which was filthy but it cleaned up nice.
After a lot lot of internet research I bought a Spectre 22 gallon tank for a 1987 El Camino with an EFI V6, and the matching sender. I think I can just put a Walbro pump on the sender and be done. Then pair that with the Corvette fuel pressure regulator.
Also ordered a Summit crossmember for G body 700R4. I expect to have to cut and weld either it or the frame rails or both. I'm still trying to decide on motor mounts, but I think Dirty Dingo.
So mostly I've been buying parts, and trying to find time to work on this. I've replaced most of the engine gaskets and am putting the engine back together. It's a 100K mile LS1, so I'm not doing more than gaskets on it.
It seems obvious now, but it took a long time to figure out that the Corvette flex plate wasn't going to work. I bought a take-off on eBay.
Found a 35K mile 4L60E from a Camaro locally on craigslist, and hacked up an engine stand from a furniture dolly so I could mate up the transmission.
Engine is dressed. Except for the compressor. The internet says I'm going to need the high mount Holley bracket if I don't want to notch the frame rail (and I don't). But I'm waiting to confirm that when I stick the engine in, before I buy the bracket. Also I'd rather have the compressor down low.
Been going back and forth on whether to do the harness myself. I think I can, it will just take some time.
There are lots of threads here on making it work, the Holley parts have really simplified things. I highly recommend you get their swap headers - they slide right in and out, and make everything very accessible (starter, oil filter, suspension pick-up points, plugs, etc).
So mostly I've been buying parts, and trying to find time to work on this. I've replaced most of the engine gaskets and am putting the engine back together. It's a 100K mile LS1, so I'm not doing more than gaskets on it.
Engine is dressed. Except for the compressor. The internet says I'm going to need the high mount Holley bracket if I don't want to notch the frame rail (and I don't). But I'm waiting to confirm that when I stick the engine in, before I buy the bracket. Also I'd rather have the compressor down low.
Holley has recently released a 4th-gen F-body style accessory drive kit that will allow you to run a low-mount A/C compressor in your car when using the Hooker A/G body engine mounting brackets. It is a requirement that your car also is equipped with a Saginaw 700 series steering box like is found on the Monte Carlo SS and Buick Grand National, so if your car is equipped with the common 605 box, you'd have to swap it out...here's a photo for you.
I would love to buy the whole Hooker swap system and just bolt everything in. But the above post says that I would need to swap the PS box. And Toddoky replied to me in PM a few months ago saying that I might also/or need to swap the PS pump pulley to clear the PS box with the Corvette accessories. And one of the Holley tech guys from their website told me that their G-body crossmember wouldn't work with the El Camino because of the frame configuration on the driver's side.
So after a lot of internet research I opted to go for the Metaltek Manufacturing 14075A mounts, because they have the most front/rear adjustment. I'm hoping that if I move the engine to the rear, the PS pulley will clear the steering box. And because someone removed all the AC, I won't have the issues other people do with the engine hitting the heater box, so I may be able to slide it further to the rear than usual if necessary. Also the car has a 2" cowl hood, so in case the engine sits higher than the Holley mounts the hood will still clear.
I did go with the Jegs crossmember to put a 700R4 in a G body. I'm pretty sure I can cut and weld it, and weld in some additional frame rail into the El Camino to make it all fit.
Using those mounts, I would recommend you do a drivetrain mock-up and check your U-joint operating angles as your first order of business to be sure you're going to be able to achieve a functionally optimized set-up with that combination of parts. G-bodies are tough to get everything under the floor and acheive optimized U-joint angles; the height of the Hooker engine brackets was specifically designed to overcome that issue. If you are into the overall driveability of your car, you will discover that the steering box retrofit mentioned is one of the most gratifying upgrades you can make to your car and can be executed in a junkyard fashion. Lots of guys here have done G-body swaps , so you should get a fair amount of guidance from those that have already done what you're about to embark upon.
Using those mounts, I would recommend you do a drivetrain mock-up and check your U-joint operating angles as your first order of business to be sure you're going to be able to achieve a functionally optimized set-up with that combination of parts. G-bodies are tough to get everything under the floor and acheive optimized U-joint angles; the height of the Hooker engine brackets was specifically designed to overcome that issue. If you are into the overall driveability of your car, you will discover that the steering box retrofit mentioned is one of the most gratifying upgrades you can make to your car and can be executed in a junkyard fashion. Lots of guys here have done G-body swaps , so you should get a fair amount of guidance from those that have already done what you're about to embark upon.
He is right. I was fortunate to get decent driveline angles out of my swap using what was available at the time, and a lot of modifications along the way. The tailshaft of the 4L60E in our wagon is very tight to the floorboard. That being said you can overcome at lot of the classic u-joint operating angle issues by using a CV joint instead.
Personally I would just get the steering box from Rockauto and the engine mounts from Holley.
I like things easy. I did a lot of internet searching and couldn't find a 700 box that I was really sure would work with a 1979 El Camino. Can anybody confirm that the below box will be a bolt-in? Or what is the part number for the Rock Auto box?
I've been working on this project as I get time, mostly on the harness. But yesterday I got the old engine and transmission sold on craigslist. So out they came. Now it's time to clean up the engine bay (and the shop floor) and put the LS1 in.
Still grinding away on this. Engine bay is cleaned. Am debating painting it all pretty, or just moving ahead to get the car running and driving. I do want to put on a cowl tray on the passenger side because it looks silly without one.
Making progress on the wiring harness. Most of the extra connectors are out, now it's time to wire in the 4L60E connectors and throttle body connectors.
I went to put in the steering box today, and the new one is identical to the old. Apparently somebody put in a 700 series box at some point. I put the new box in anyway, since I don't know anything about the old box. I also put in the Jeep Cherokee steering shaft to get rid of the floppy rag joint. Now back to the engine wiring harness.
I did most of the fuel tank last night. The old tank is out, and all the parts for the pump, sock, sender, etc are assembled and in the tank. I used a tank from an EFI El Camino. Anybody know what I'm supposed to do with the vent line off the tank? The old tank didn't have anything on the vent tube. Do I have to run it through some kind of check valve so my garage isn't full of fumes?
Instead of braided lines and AN fittings I use my local hose shop. These guys crimped lines onto my fittings for $21 while I waited. I will use these hoses along with a C5 Corvette filter when I put the new tank in. I also got some new rubber insulators for the tank straps.
01-16-2017, 03:33 PM
Corvette LS1 into 1979 El Camino 
