surreybrad

I have a 1993 Z28 which requires a great deal of body work. Recently I found a 1999 Z28 in excellent condition minus the LS1 drive train (it's going in a 240Z) for a steal and wanted to know if this would be a possibility. I read just swapping engines isn't but what about taking the K member from my 93 and swaping it into the 99? Is there any way to do this without wanting to contemplate suicide halfway? Thanks in advance to any advise or feedback.

Injuneer

That would actually be the easiest way to do it.... drop the k-member, engine, trans, ECM and wiring harness out the bottom of the 93, swap the 99 steering knuckles and brakes to the 93 suspension, roll the assembly under the nose of the 99 and bolt it in. Your most difficult issue will be connecting the 93 engine harness to the 99 body connectors, and getting the 93 dash cluster to work in the 99.

"Drivetrain" forum description indicates it covers the clutch or torque converter on back. I'll move this thread to a forum where you might get more input.

surreybrad

I'm a little confused about the last part involving the 93 wire harness etc. Would my gauge cluster from the 93 fit the 99 dash or am I faced with having to somehow splice wires by connecting the 93 harness to the 99 dash connections? The fact that I couldn't find much about this swap on this site or the net makes me think it's because those who pioneer such things discovered it just wasn't worth it. Unfortunately up here we don't even have an auto wrecker anymore in spite of Metro Vancouver being the second largest city in Canada. We did but some American company who owned the big one that squeezed all the little guys out shut it down suddenly in April (we love to blame you guys for everything). Anything private sale is ridiculously over priced so it's this swap or I pass on a great deal for a 99. I don't mind a challenge but I've read enough of your posts to respect your advise so in your opinion, would I be better of just doing the body work on the 93?

Injuneer

What's damaged on the 93? You can do a 99 front end on the 93, doors are identical, hatch. Metal parts are the rockers and the rear quarters.

You could also do the 93 into 99 swap easier if you did the EFIConnection 24X conversion on the 93 engine. Then you use the 99 PCM, eliminates the body connector interface problem. Then you keep the 99 dash cluster, that runs off the 99 PCM/BCM.

surreybrad

Unfortunately the damage is on the rear quarters. The car used to belong to a young fellow who didn't have the skills to keep the back end from swinging around. The old body work is starting to come through so it would have to be down to the bare metal and either weld on new quarters or many hours of fixing the insurance job repairs.

Having read all you've posted I think I am going to forgo the swap and use the 99 front clip, knuckes and brakes, hatch as you suggested, and weld on new quarters. I picked the 93 up for a great price ($1,500) and to play with as I slip into my second childhood. I have a lifetime of old school experience building muscle cars but I'm in the twilight zone when it comes to all those 3 letter modules and things. Thanks for the feedback.