who has converted their front end from LT1 to LS1? help me please

I know there are a few people that have sucessfully done this... Ive seen the before and after shots but its been a while.
Ive decided that this is something I want to do but I need to know exactly what I need and where the best place to get it would be... and if anyone had a tutorial that would be great!
I know I need these:
98-02 left and right fenders
98-02 front nose
98-02 head light assembly***I really need help finding these at an affordable price**
98-02 hood

but what else do I need? And does anyone have the part numbers to these products? Or know where to get them at a good price?

Well, Im overwelmed by the replies that Ive gotten so far :p ...
but seriously. Does anyone know anything about this? I need to know if it is just a straight bolt on or if there is any modding involved. Please, someone give me a reply. The sooner the better.

I can't say for sure, but a guy that has a local salvage yard for 4th gens told me it was a direct bolt-on.

Originally posted by ReznorZ28
Well, Im overwelmed by the replies that Ive gotten so far :p ...
.

Because if you did a search , it would answer every question you had . There have been alot of threads on this with lots of VERY useful info . Not trying to be a **** here man , but people don't wanna answer these same questions over and over and over again . Good luck with your conversion :)

Originally posted by 90 Z28SS
Because if you did a search , it would answer every question you had . There have been alot of threads on this with lots of VERY useful info . Not trying to be a **** here man , but people don't wanna answer these same questions over and over and over again . Good luck with your conversion :)

I took that into consideration and did multiple searches on "front end conversion," "LS1 front end" and other topics but really found nothing useful... Just other topics like mine that got nothing answered and died off.... the only person that replied with any useful info that I found on the other topics was MadKilla(I think) but he doesnt have an email address listed... but thanks to those that have replied so far

Other then you have to add a few holes for screws and the wiring harnesses arent quite the same for the headlights (but no big deal at all) it's a bolt on.

The big thing was, doing this swap, then having it painted, may run $1500 to have it done WELL. And at that point, it's really almost worthwhile to spend another $500 and buy a used Ls1 vs the Lt1... but if you prefer the Lt1, then sure. But it really is take one part off put one part on.

Originally posted by Geoff Chadwick
Other then you have to add a few holes for screws and the wiring harnesses arent quite the same for the headlights (but no big deal at all) it's a bolt on.

The big thing was, doing this swap, then having it painted, may run $1500 to have it done WELL. And at that point, it's really almost worthwhile to spend another $500 and buy a used Ls1 vs the Lt1... but if you prefer the Lt1, then sure. But it really is take one part off put one part on.

Thanks for the info... I checked out a couple junk yards today and found a 2001 V6 camaro that had been flipped. But amazingly the front end was in one piece... the hood was damaged and so was the drivers side fender.. but the rest of the front clip was in great shape... still had the headlights, foglights, grill and all... they said they would sell it to me for $1400 with a new hood and aftermarket fender for the driverside... or $1200 w/o the hood(because I wanna buy an SS hood for it)... if I get them down to $1000 w/o the hood, do you think it would be a good buy?

and has anyone done this before that could walk me through some of it? because Im going to do pretty much everything myself, except for painting it. Thanks again for your help

I've actually seen a front clip conversion kit from some Japanese company. Looks pretty good, too. The same company that makes the GFX kit everyone raves over makes an LS1 conversion front end clip for LT1 cars, so all you need to do is swap front ends, rather than front end, fenders, hood, etc.

Originally posted by sahlomonic
I've actually seen a front clip conversion kit from some Japanese company. Looks pretty good, too. The same company that makes the GFX kit everyone raves over makes an LS1 conversion front end clip for LT1 cars, so all you need to do is swap front ends, rather than front end, fenders, hood, etc.

that would be cool, but the reason Im doing this is because someone decided to steal my car and wreck it... the front nose is no good, niether is the passenger side fender... the driver side fender is cracked though... amazingly enough, my maaco paintjob isnt cracked or peeled at all on the damaged parts!! :D

the point being I need to change it all out. I think all the damage is external, as the onlything that appears to be damaged is the radiator and the bar that goes accross it... And Im not entirely sure what Im doing... so if anyone has done anything like this before. Please let me know :bow: thanks

1,000 even for all the parts sound really fair...i have thought of this conversion too..basically you just need the external parts, and you will need to trim your plastic impact part of the front bumper shorter for the new plastic covering on it...everything else just bolts right up, then paint it all up...and you should be ready to go :)

by the way, the headlights from what i understand are the hardest to find...so everything for a grand plus 500 or so for a SS hood seems like a really good deal.

go for it :)

steve

I've done it on an lt1 trans am. Very easy just time consuming.

-Corey

Like everyone said said this is almost a direct bolt in . Couple of helpful things that people assume are the same parts but arent . From the car you get your parts from , make sure they give you the front inner mounting brackets for the fenders . It would also be nice if you had the impact bar and foam . I dunno about the camaros , but on my TA the impact bar from the newer style was slightly different . I'm pretty sure your all set to go on the lights , as far as connectors go . Im assuming here , that the LT1 headlight connectors will plug right into 9005/9006 bulbs .....looks like anyways . Only thing you may have to do is extend the fog light wires , but I dont think you will . Parking light harness will be the same as what u have now . All plastic splash guards under the car and the air dam are the exact same between the 2 styles . Once you start doing this youll breeze thru it . Just keep all your bolts in order when your removing the old LT1 parts , hehe . The hardest part is aiming the headlights right . Per headlight , 1 existing bolt hole in the core support works , you have to drill the other hole.

Originally posted by 90 Z28SS
Like everyone said said this is almost a direct bolt in . Couple of helpful things that people assume are the same parts but arent . From the car you get your parts from , make sure they give you the front inner mounting brackets for the fenders . It would also be nice if you had the impact bar and foam . I dunno about the camaros , but on my TA the impact bar from the newer style was slightly different . I'm pretty sure your all set to go on the lights , as far as connectors go . Im assuming here , that the LT1 headlight connectors will plug right into 9005/9006 bulbs .....looks like anyways . Only thing you may have to do is extend the fog light wires , but I dont think you will . Parking light harness will be the same as what u have now . All plastic splash guards under the car and the air dam are the exact same between the 2 styles . Once you start doing this youll breeze thru it . Just keep all your bolts in order when your removing the old LT1 parts , hehe . The hardest part is aiming the headlights right . Per headlight , 1 existing bolt hole in the core support works , you have to drill the other hole.

As far as I know, all that is included in the package... they said they would remove everything for me... but is it the same coming off a 2001 V6 camaro as it would coming from a Z28? Im planning on buying the parts some time this week(if I can get the price down to $1000) and starting on it by the weekend.... I dont know if Im being too nieve about the ease of this project, but Im hoping to have everything together by mid or the end of next week... Thanks again for all the great responces you guys are giving me, :bow: they are most helpful and putting my mind at ease at me taking on this project myself(because I dont want to pay a rediculous amount of money for a bodyshop to do if I can easily do it myself).. anything else you can tell me would be great too....
does anyone have any kind of parts layout they can send me via email(like the ones they bring up on the computer at the chevy parts counter,the ones that show a breakdown of how everything is put together?)

if I can get my brothers digital cam, maybe Ill make a tutorial on how to do it.... thats if I can pull it off myself :p

This swap is a walk in the park. The 93-97 headlight harness can be retained; the only plug different is the driving light plug. You can just convert over to the other bulb and plug it in or you can just plug the plug in but the catch will not engage.

The only stuff you will have to do is shim the front bumper support about 1/4". The radiator support on an LS1 car is about 1/4" forward of the LT1 support which is why the shims are required. I removed my clip and installed a 98-up in about 5 hours; I have nearly no body experience, it's that easy.

Go look at the pics on my site. http://www.aldersgarage.20m.com then click on project budget Z. Any questions, feel free to e mail me.

Ryan

Reznor, add me to your contact list cuz we're on the same boat. Maybe we can help each other out. Ryan, did you have to buy the LS1 impact absorber, or did you shave your exsisting one?

Originally posted by ZPaul2Fresh8
Reznor, add me to your contact list cuz we're on the same boat. Maybe we can help each other out. Ryan, did you have to buy the LS1 impact absorber, or did you shave your exsisting one?

You can retain the LT1 impact bar on both the camaro and the trans am , but they will need to be slightly modded in both cases . It would be easier to just use the 98-up impact bar . That is what I did .

Originally posted by sahlomonic
I've actually seen a front clip conversion kit from some Japanese company. Looks pretty good, too. The same company that makes the GFX kit everyone raves over makes an LS1 conversion front end clip for LT1 cars, so all you need to do is swap front ends, rather than front end, fenders, hood, etc.

Of those of you in the know or have already done this swap...if you already have good fenders, do they need replacing to do this swap? On a parts order page, they appear to look identical to the 98+ fenders. I just want to be absolutely sure before I start ordering parts. I want to order everything all at once to alleviate shipping costs and hassles. ;)

Thanks,
Mike

Originally posted by iamsparc
Of those of you in the know or have already done this swap...if you already have good fenders, do they need replacing to do this swap? On a parts order page, they appear to look identical to the 98+ fenders. I just want to be absolutely sure before I start ordering parts. I want to order everything all at once to alleviate shipping costs and hassles. ;)

Thanks,
Mike

I just finished my LS1 front end conversion last week and YES you do need to get new fenders for it. The old ones dont have the contour needed for the LS1 headlight/foglight setup. So dont let the pictures fool you. They are different.

Reznor, I'm having a problem with lining up the front bumper to the headlights, I have a 1" gap between the headlights and the bumper cover.... any ideas? I would take pics, but I don't have a digital camera, sorry :(

Originally posted by ZPaul2Fresh8
Reznor, I'm having a problem with lining up the front bumper to the headlights, I have a 1" gap between the headlights and the bumper cover.... any ideas? I would take pics, but I don't have a digital camera, sorry :(

No... I didnt have that problem... what I can do is take some pics of the way I have it setup under the hood so you might be able to see a solution...:confused:

That would be great Reznor. At first I thought maybe the larger plastic bracket might have to be BEHIND the hedalight brackets, but then it's impossible that way, plus I saw a picture of the setup and I knew it wasn't correct. Any pictures you can snap would be great. Maybe some of the headlight weather stripping, because I don't really know how it's suppose to look. Also what did you do about the last two fender holes??? Mine are about an inch above the frame and don't line up, it is impossible to line them up, they look like they need soem L-Brackets, so if you could snap some pics of the front of the fenders where they bolt up under the hood, that would be great. Thanks Alot ALOT!

Originally posted by ZPaul2Fresh8
That would be great Reznor. At first I thought maybe the larger plastic bracket might have to be BEHIND the hedalight brackets, but then it's impossible that way, plus I saw a picture of the setup and I knew it wasn't correct. Any pictures you can snap would be great. Maybe some of the headlight weather stripping, because I don't really know how it's suppose to look. Also what did you do about the last two fender holes??? Mine are about an inch above the frame and don't line up, it is impossible to line them up, they look like they need soem L-Brackets, so if you could snap some pics of the front of the fenders where they bolt up under the hood, that would be great. Thanks Alot ALOT!

no problem... I'll try to take some pics tonight and I'll put them up on my webshots photo album or something. I'll post back when I do it.

Excellent....