How hard and what exactly needs to be changed to take my junk v6 out of my firebird and swap in a ls motor?
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Hey!! I'm not trying to start anything I just want legit knowledge and advice and if there's none to be given don't post.
It can be done, but it is usually easier and cheaper to sell it and get a V8 shell.
As far as the swap I'm not too familiar with what's needed. But my neighbor just picked up a high mileage (190k) LS1 Z28 for $2k plus a nice set of rims. They are out there for cheap. His isn't a total shit box either.
well the k member is fine, remember gm beancounters try to keep the number of parts down between models. if you dropping in an alum block lsx i doubt springs need to be screwed with...iron block and heads v6 vs alloy v8 should be pretty close. trans placments fore/aft is the same iirc so the driveshaft would be fine...iirc the 4l60e has a removable bell on the one's ive seen in the v6 cars but the v8 tranny's are integral.
most of the harness differences should be predominatly in the engine compartment harness
i swear v6 cars got a 3.23 rear gear?
its still a helluva undertaking
^+10000 there are cheap fbodys out there just have to wait for the right buy. Was his name John who picked up the 190k ls1?
Yes, I think so. I can tell you more about the car than the owner It was a burgundy 2000 Z28, auto with 3.73 and possibly a stall. He used to have an LT1 trans am, and before that a V6 Camaro with SS appearance add-ons. He's come up to me a few times after seeing my TA sitting outside. Don't really know the guy too well but have shot the shit about F-Bodies.
v6 fbodies came with every gear possible. 2.73, 3.08, 3.23, 3.42. there is no rhyme nor reason behind it. my 01 came with 3.42 and an open diff.
i'm going to stand in line with everyone saying its cheaper to buy an ls1 powered fbody to begin with...unless you have an insane amount of work/money put into your six (interior modification, caging, suspension that cannot be parted out to recoup losses etc)
everything has to be redone.
kmember has to be modifed to fit the 5.7...
motor mounts are diff
wiring is diff
the only time these swaps are not expensive is if you managed to snag a wrecked donor car for a couple grand. you'd have to literally swap everything over. Disconnect driveshaft, trans connections, fuel lines, brake lines, coolant lines, pull ls1 kmember out from donor car, drop body of v6 fbody on top, swap over driveshaft, cooling system, hook up brake lines. remove v6 cluster, replace with ls1 cluster. replace all engine/pcm/cluster harness pieces.
swap over fueling system or create a new one utilizing a z06 regufilter
its time consuming...and 150% not worth it if you don't have a 100% complete running donor ls1 car in front of you... and even then, if you don't do the swap the way i listed (not trying to be cocky) and try to piece things together 1x1...its going to be a bitch.
Cliffs notes: you need an entire ls1 car to do a swap unless you want to spend 4 months fabbing shit up. not fiscally the smartest thing you could do. don't do it unless you have an emotional attachment to your car or unless the v6 chassi is built
Thank you for reaffirming most of this info lol. I was pretty sure I wasn't crazy saying the K member, driveshaft, etc!
teamwork. you know your shit, its always nice to have backup though.
there are a ridiculous amount of v6 owners who think that swapping in an ls1 is cake. it can be, if every single circumstance is in your favor. there is one guy (zex) over on ftv6 who did the swap in 1 week for roughly 2k. he bought a wrecked bird for 4k, took everything he need, sold the rest for 2k.
thats the only way about it.
thought his name was tim?
drives a NBM bird?