I am thinking alot on what I want to do with my car. I could do intake/exhuast/headers and whatnot.

Or I could go buy a an older LT1, fix it over the next 6 months and drop it in during the summer and fix the bugs. My buddy says that the LT1 will fit perfectly in my Iroc but that I would have major electrical problems. ANyone ever drop an LT1 in my type of car? Im deciding what I want to do....I don't want to screw my car up if I can't get the LT1 to work....but then again the 305 maxes out real early...rather then invest money into exhuast etc on an engine that tops out early...I could just drop an LT1 in.

thnx

 

Yes.

Check out my site.

Good luck.

Eric

 

I second the yes.
It was well worth the work.

 

I'm still debating. I don't know alot right now....my dad knows a good bit, he used to work on cars when he was younger (no time now tho) but he would still know what to do.

I have alot of friends who rebuild cars...so I have enough outside help to troubleshoot. I could pick up an LT1, learn more about it, fix it, buy all the parts I'd need. And in the summer I would drop it in. Would I be able to complete the installation in a reasonable amount of time if I work on it like 20 hours a week? This would put the car our of commision (Duh) for a chunk of my summer. How hard would it be to get everything going? I am good with my hands and intelligent....will I be scratching my head with a car with no engine or should I be fine? I have been told once you mess with a car it will constantly give you trouble. Am I gonna regret messing with the car or should it be pretty straightforward....thx for the info so far

 

There are enough of us around to help you, you shouldn't have too many problems. Read as much as you can and make a notebook of all of the info. Get the helms manuals for your car and the car you get the lt1 from. Budget 1.5 times what you figure it will cost. It always costs alot more than you think. Take your time and do everything right the first time,don't be in a hurry.The few reliability issues I've had with mine were of my own making and not inherent to the drivetrain swap.
Learn how to read and troubleshoot electrical diagrams, even if you have your harness custom made. If you cannot understand electrical troubleshooting you are going to pay through the nose to a shop to fix any little problems that go wrong in the future. Most shops get paid by the hour for electrical work.(there is no preset timetable for electrical troubleshooting) its usually 50-60 dollars/hr straight time fixing problems. There are no professional schmatics for motor swap cars. this means that they will hose you.
I don't want to scare you . Just warn you that you have to know your wiring backwards and forewards so you can fix it yourself, should problems arise.
Hope this doesn't discourage you.
Even with all the work it is well worth it.
My biggest problem with my car is traction. I can break the tires loose at a 40 mph roll
I'd highly reccomend the swap.
Kory

 

I work at an engineering firm, got a resident electrical engineer...he's the one that told me that I'd run into electrical problems if I swapped my 305 for an LT1 (he works on cars, has a 69 fury 440 big block, not an f-body but still nice ) he also offered to help me out and use his equipment if I needed to set things straight...it doesn't sound that bad....I won't be in any rush....as long as she'll run fine after.....

it just sounds that ill have to do alot of "custom" work on it....i just don't want to be waiting 3 weeks every step because i have problems with something fitting or i need to get a different part for the car because i ran into an unforseen problem.....installation isn't what worries me, cause we all know that no matter HOW much you research and prepare, at some point during the work your gonna go to install something and be like "$hit!" because for some reason it doesn't fit in the allotted space and you need to get a different part to fit....something along that line....can't spend 1/3 of the summer waiting for a part....