V6 to V8 Swap?

Well I am kind of a newb when it comes to Camaro's of any kind. I have been looking for a Lt1 with low miles in great condition but they are always more than I want to spend or are no where around me!

I would like to know how hard it would be to swap an Lt1 V8 (93-97) into a 93-97 V6 Camaro? I mean I have found nice cars for arounf $4000 and then I could save up and buy a new(er) engine for it. Then I would have it payed off sooner than I would a Lt1 with low miles in great shape!

How hard is the swap going to be? I mean is there custom work involved or is it just drop in and hook up the new wiring and ECU along with 6spd transmisson?

Also where can you buy engines online? I mean are crate motors good? Or should I look for a slightly used Lt1?

I would really appreciate your help guys. Thanx in advance!

-Clint

depending on the year of your car and the donor car, you will ahve to change airbags, airbag sensors and computers, possibly abs units, and other small things ehre and there, once again depending on the year of the car and donor, i ahve a 94 v6 and am in the process of swapping everything form a 94z28 so none of that stuff needs to be changed.

also, fuel pump needs changed, front springs for the added weight need changed, you'll need a new radiator b/c the lt1 is reverse flowed, you'll need dual cooling fans, i'd recommend getting a new k-member with tubular design with motor mounts built in b/c you'll need new ones, all accesories for the engine will need to be bought b/c they wont work with the v6, or if they come with the engine, thats fine, the gauge cluster needds to be replaced b/c v8's use different gauges so the numberes wont be correct with the v6 cluster.

The transmission obviously needs to be replaced with a v8 tranny since the housing doesn't match up, the driveshaft needs to be replaced if its a 2 piece, i'd recommend getting an aluminum driveshaft.

as far as the wiring goes, it should be pretty easy to hook up, there may be a few instaces where you'll need to splice into the wiring, but once again, if its the same year cars, then you shouldn't have much of a problem.

your best bet woudl be to get a complete donor car of teh same year, maybe from a rear end collision that the insurance company deemed not worth to fix, you could prolly scrape one up for a decent amount still running

hope this helps

so you mean if I get the smae year engine as the v-6 body then everything will swap fine?

yes, for the msot part everything would match up, but also, while doing the swap i would swap the rear end from the v8 to the v6 body so as to keep the rear disc brakes and the gears that go along with the computer

Will I need new engine mounts? I mean I dunno where I can find a motor and trans and all the accessories so I would need a list of parts. I mean I am gonna save up and get it so it is paid for, so I will have time to research some more!

the k member is different for the v6 to the v8, a list of parts you would needs are

gauge cluster
fuel pump
k-member
radiator
all accessories
the engine
tranny
driveshaft
engine mounts
complete wiring harness
front and possibly rear springs
possibly other parts

so wouldn't it be ALOT easier to buy the same year in a z28 with just a lot of miles on it, then buy the same year engine and just drop the old one out, and the new one right in?

Originally posted by Clintw1211
so wouldn't it be ALOT easier to buy the same year in a z28 with just a lot of miles on it, then buy the same year engine and just drop the old one out, and the new one right in? Yes, even cheaper just to find one with (relatively) low miles.

link for info on parts

http://www.tacreationsusa.com/3_4_3_8_v6_to_lt1.htm

I was going to do a swap, but I've just decided Im holding onto my 3.8 for another year or two and then buy a higher milage LT1. drive that while I do a build-up on a fresh LT1 and swap that into the already v8 car.

A place that you may want to check out for what you need is High Performance Salvage. Their website is hpsalvage.com.
They have almost everything that you need for a swap.