Will I have any problems with this swap, as far as compatability goes? I know the Impala LT1 has iron heads instead of aluminum heads like the F-body LT1, but that' s about the extent of my knowledge of the Impala LT1. Are the wiring harnesses the same? Will the Impala harness connect to the F-body PCM? Are all the sensors the same? If not, could I just re-use the stock T/A harness? Would the F-body PCM need to be reprogrammed in order to run the Impala LT1 correctly? I' m not sure what year the Impala LT1 is, so I don' t know if it' s from an OBD I or II car...would that make a difference? Any and all help will be appreciated!

 

Well since we know the camaro the motor is going in is a 96,What year is the Impala motor as this will make the difference if the motor will plug right in or not.

 

I will check into the year of the Impala motor ASAP, at this point I do not know the year of the car it came from.

 

I found out today that the Impala that the replacement LT1 came out of, was a 96...I hope this helps.

 

I would use the harness off of the Camaro motor but all the sensors will work. You will need to put the Camaro motor mounts on as well.

 

As a plus the iron head lt1 heads flow a little better than the lt1 aluminum, they were in development a little longer and the factory was able to squeeze a little more cfm out of them.You would have to change the impala cam to take advantage of this though.

 

while you have the thing out, I would do a PP on the heads and put in a bigger cam and get some tuning. If you can trade the Iron heads for the Aluminum heads that would be a plus because of the weight issue. Do what you can while the puppy is out. No sense in putting it all back in and then thinking about upgrades.

 

I will not be doing any modifications to this LT1, I' m doing the swap for a friend. The car belongs to his wife, and is her daily driver. She rarely does the speed limit, much less drive in a manner that would warrant high performance modifications.

Thanks EvilZ28 for the info, I really appreciate it!

 

Aren't the spark plugs at a different angle on the iron heads? I think I heard that can cause clearance problems with the headers (or manifolds). Maybe someone can verify this?

Dustin

 

That is correct! Aluminum, as well known, is angled, while the iron, although having more port development time in them, retained, er rather, regressed back to the straight plug. Don't understand why the move backwards, but will note that iron chamber is larger, and more open. Definitely not the same as the aluminum chamber.

One other point not brought up, up to this point, is the cam difference. For the heavier B and D body LT1 equipped vehicles, the cam had/has a full 10* less int/exh duration, and put on a 110* LSA. This will be a negative, if installed in the lighter F body.

 

It should drop right in... sensors and all provided that you are using the F-Body accessory brackets and motor mounts. If you are using the F-body MAF, you can use the existing PCM. Otherwise, you need a B-body program or at least change the MAF tables in the PCM.

FWIW, headers didnt make a difference for me as far as angle plugs vs. straight. I have AL heads and didnt see access problems. I know the F -body engine compartment is tighter so header clearance might be an issue.