81 Trans Am LSx Swap?

[TreySmith]

Is there any detailed info on this? Or what I would need besides the engine, transmission, and harness? Would I need basically the same stuff as say.. A 69 Camaro?

I have seen a few people try but aren't anywhere near being finished. So the only finished LSx car I can think of would be YearOne.



Also I think a 70-81 Camaro is all the same, so if someone has done a swap on those cars, it should all work on an 81 trans am.

[BanditDave]

Hey Trey,

I am almost to the driving stages of my LSX swap in my '78 TA...pretty much identical to what you are doing. I can give you advice with regards to the approach I took. I stick mainly to what I did with the engine set-up since I did a lot fo fun stuff with the suspension and will hopefully do a build thread on here in the near future.

Anyways, for the engine and trans situation I picked up an LS1/4L60E drop out from a '99 Trans Am. Got the full wiring harness and computer with it. To mount the engine I went with a BRP HotRods kit. Talk to Shawn over there and he will get you set-up. It basically mounts the engine back 1.5" or so from its current location...if you have a Poncho motor currently in there. The trans moves back about the same. The kit has engine mounts, templates and a tranny mount. As far as headers I also went with BRP and their 1.75" stepped to 1.875" to 3" ceramic coated headers. Beautiful pieces with minor mods to make them fit. I rewired the computer myself...daunting at first but ridiculously simple once you realize what you are doing. I can point you int he right direction over on LS1tech for the right info. Used an aluminum rad with electric fans...wired into the computer to run them. Used a DSE PS conversion to a 600 quick ratio box. Sumped my stock tank for now with an external pump = cheap and effective for the first summer at least. I baffled the tank however to limit starvation. 10 bolt rear rebuilt with 3.73s and the bugger was my driveshaft needed to be shorted an 1":rolleyes: I am installing the shifter conversion today - sold by shiftworks among other places. Went with S&P accelerator cable conversion stuff...um...that's about the jist of it.

I am working with a local company to produce shaker bases for these types of swaps...trying to make them affordable for people like ourselves. I will look similar to the Year One BRE TA base...for obvious reasons.


Let me know if you have any other questions and I will be happy to help!:thumbsup:

Bandit Dave

[TreySmith]

If you could post up your build soon it would be great, or atleast some pictures for now. I still have yet to pick up the car but I am already excited to start.

The car has a 301 turbo right now which is junk in terms of performance. I figure swapping in a LS1 would be cooler than building up a 455, but I might not have enough money to do it this round..

Plans are to restore the car and enjoy it over summer, then hopefully make enough profit to do another.


I am also curious to see what these cars would look like with aftermarket rims. All I see are snow flakes or TT2's, nothing crazy.

[Danny Thomas]

From what I can find, it appears that this conversion is very expensive. I have the engine and trans and computer but everything i have read says that it is a very intense conversion. A complete thread would be awesome. I love the conversion in my 67 camaro and one in a TA would also be awesome.

[T_Raven]

From what I can find, it appears that this conversion is very expensive. I have the engine and trans and computer but everything i have read says that it is a very intense conversion. A complete thread would be awesome. I love the conversion in my 67 camaro and one in a TA would also be awesome.

I personally don't think it's all that expensive of a swap. If you consider the cost of a regular engine build with transmission, fuel system, headers, accessories etc. Then compare that to a complete LS1 with trans. They are cheaper with autos, but not too expensive with t56s. You get all your accessories there too. So you need mount adapters, swap headers but you would buy headers anyway. The fuel system will cost a little more but then you get fuel injection though tuning can cost a bit if you don't want to learn to do it yourself. Then all you really have left is the wiring.

Say you wanted a T56 anyway. It would cost you at least $2k to put one behind a Pontiac or even a SBC for that matter. So if you get an entire LS1/t56 for $5k. My '00 LS1/t56 cost me about $3800 shipped from FL to Id and has 90k miles. That's not super low miles but it's not much to an LS engine. Then subtract that $2k that you woulda paid for a tranny swap. That's only $3k ($1800 in my case) for an all aluminum engine with fuel injection and accessories. Swap the cam for $500 and make 400hp.

Do some searching on here and pro-touring. There are also some really good threads in the swap forum of ls1-tech.com.

[TreySmith]

Are you sure? I remember seeing entire salvage SS cars a while back for like $6k, so $5k for an engine and trans seems kinda steep.

Also I would probably go with auto even though I am sure it would hurt resale, but I guess it would just depend on what I could find. Would cost a little less as I could keep the stock pedals and stock console as it is in good shape.

[BanditDave]

Remember also you don't have to get the LS1, 2 or 3 motors...the truck 4.8, 5.4 and 6.0L are bitchn' motors and cost roughly a 1/3rd their more "glorious" counterparts.

I would say that all in all it was a very easy swap...wiring was the most annoying. I took some more pics today and will hopefully start a build thread soon. Had I not forgotten to get banjo bolts for the front brakes I might have been able to move her on her own power! :goofy: :faint: :goofy:

Oh well, hopefully by the end of this week I can back here out of the garage, run her up and down the driveway and rinse her off a bit.

SHE NEEDS A PAINT JOB!!!

[andrewmp6]

Yeah you can use the truck engines and you can swap to the car intake easy.Only thing i can think of is do you want drive by wire or not?

[T_Raven]

When I said $5k I was talking about the higher end of prices. Plus you have to figure shipping. And they are cheaper with autos. You can probably find one pretty easily for $3k with an auto, plus shipping of course.

The truck engines can be had pretty cheap just remember that if you are going to use a car intake you can't use the truck accessories. So once you add in the cost of an intake and say F body accessories then the truck engine might not be so cheap after all. Just depends on the price you find.

[BanditDave]

One of the things I have noticed lately in my searches is that my LS engine source, which is right over the Delaware River from me, is that his prices on LS1s are steadily decreasing as the newer stuff (LS2s and LS3s) are becoming more available in wrecks. He even has some LS7 stuff. This makes sense so you can still find what you are looking for as long as you're patient.

Is there anything in particular you wanted to know with regards to the swap?

Thanks,
Dave

[TreySmith]

Mainly time related. How long did it take you? It would be summer before I did this so it wouldn't really matter anyways.

Also, did you run into any problems on the install? Like what would I need to look out for.

[BanditDave]

Hey Trey,

You bet...I'll clue you in to all the little weird stuff that went on with the build...what to look out for, etc...

If I had to really had to put a time down for it, if you could work on it at least one day solid out of the weekend and pick at it at night when you got home, less than a month to get everything done and sorted. It is WAY easier than it looks now that I know what I am doing. I'll list a lot of the "oh ****'s" I ran into while doing this.

Thanks,
Dave

[BonzoHansen]

One of the things I have noticed lately in my searches is that my LS engine source, which is right over the Delaware River from me, is that his prices on LS1s are steadily decreasing as the newer stuff (LS2s and LS3s) are becoming more available in wrecks. He even has some LS7 stuff. This makes sense so you can still find what you are looking for as long as you're patient.

Thanks,
Dave

Dave, you in Jersey? You talking about contemporary corvette in Bristol?

From what I can find, it appears that this conversion is very expensive. I have the engine and trans and computer but everything i have read says that it is a very intense conversion. A complete thread would be awesome. I love the conversion in my 67 Camaro and one in a TA would also be awesome.

I think cost is related to two things – what you have now and how fast you want to go (and maybe add how pretty you want it). My 67 has no drivetrain, I literally have nothing (ok, I have SBC parts lying around, but that’s core value at best). I need an entire exhaust, an entire fuel system, etc., anyway. So the incremental costs to me are not much higher than if I went SBC.

Shop carefully, 4th gen process are dropping like rocks to the point you can buy a nice running LS1/T56 car for $7k or less. Take what you want, part the rest.

Also, there are a lot of threads on this topic. Search here, ls1tech, Camaros.net, pro-touring, etc., and you will start to get a clear picture of what is needed.

[BanditDave]

Hansen,

Yes I am good sir! I am in Palmyra, very close to the Tacony Palmyra Bridge and you are also correct that Contemporary is my source. Some people think they are dycks over there, but I personally have had nothing but good experiences with them. I believe the GTO/Firebird guy over there is named Guy and he's been a pretty straight shooter with me from square one. You won't get anything free from them but what I have gotten from them has been in great shape!

Dave

[BonzoHansen]

Hansen,

Yes I am good sir! I am in Palmyra, very close to the Tacony Palmyra Bridge and you are also correct that Contemporary is my source. Some people think they are dycks over there, but I personally have had nothing but good experiences with them. I believe the GTO/Firebird guy over there is named Guy and he's been a pretty straight shooter with me from square one. You won't get anything free from them but what I have gotten from them has been in great shape!

Dave
All I hear about them is they are pricey, but they are good dismantlers and square to deal with.

[TreySmith]

What do you guys think about a supercharged or twin turbo 455 instead?

It would seem kind of stupid to drop $4000+ into an engine swap just to end up with a near stock engine.

[BanditDave]

Hey Trey,

I thought the same thing at first but I was looking for something a little different, and trust me, to do a twin turboed Poncho motor correctly will cost you more than that. Remember the rest of the drivetrain will need help with that much power. An injection system will cost you nearly $2000 to $3000 to get it sorted out. Basically my take on it was that I wanted to try something different that will get killer mileage and there is a huge aftermarket for blowers etc...

I dunno, just wanted to try something different for a change. If you wanna go Poncho, go nuts my friend! It will be fantastic no matter what it is and to top it all off, its yours!!! Who cares what we think? :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Dave

[Danny Thomas]

I guess cost is only relevent to the person spending it... With the engine swap, you need a new fuel tank, wiring harness, conversion kit , drive shaft and on and on. How much excluding engine and trans do you figure in cost for all the other items needed. Also how much modifications to front end are needed. A thread would be awesome. The reason I spoke of cost earlier was that a thread I read on another forum spoke of the cost to do this based on a basic Pontiac motor install such as a 400 was so much more. The LS would by far be the best setup. There were pictures of a TA with the setup and it was awesome.

[TreySmith]

I sold my 70 Lemans today and should be picking up the car soon.

But I am still not sure if I can get insurance on a V8 car. I would hate to go through all the trouble of an LS1 swap and never be able to drive it. But I love pissing my parents off.