I've been reading through some of the builds online and looking at a few classified ads, and fantasizing in my head what I would want to wind up with in terms of a first generation Camaro. I would want to build something that I wouldn't call a daily driver, but would err on the side of reliability and trade power and comfort for originality. I have no interest in "real" models or matching numbers, I just want something I can tinker with that looks cool with bad paint and runs like a champ on steroids.

To that end, I've been keeping my eye out for 67-68 models that are Nothing Special (accept, perhaps, free of rust). Perhaps a project that someone got tired of, or a daily driver with a tired motor. Ideally, I would get that car for a song, swap in a modern LSx motor with a standard transmission, and drive it, fixing anything that bothered me along the way. If the car starts in the dead of Winter, keeps water out, and pumps out AC in traffic in the Summer, I don't think there'd be a great deal that'd bother me with a monstrous, reliable a Corvette motor under the hood. Then again, this would be my first swap and I might be a crazy person.

As I entertain this fantasy, I guess my question is, if that's my goal (LSx swap with manual transmission), is there a better place to start in terms of the model lineup? Like, if I buy something that already has a Muncie 4spd in it, will that save me from messing with the transmission in the future, or is it not much more difficult to swap a tranny in with a motor? Do the 6-cyl models have motor mounts that would make a modern V8 swap trickier, etc?

I wouldn't mind buying someone else's well-done swap, but they always paint them shiny and charge $10k more when they're done...

 

Not going to matter much whether you start with a manual or automatic trans car. For you to go from automatic to manual, you need to swap out pedal assemblies, and cut a hole in the tunnel for the shifter. I've done a vintage conversion on a previous 69, no big deal. Since you're going with an LSx engine and mating trans setup, you're going to have a hydraulic clutch instead of mechanical that would be in the car, so that's going to be a conversion whichever style trans you start out with. For an engine conversion, you'll be changing the engine frame brackets (bolts to the subframe). Again, doesn't matter what engine the car comes with. Find a decent solid car, regardless of the drive train it has, the rest of what you want to do can be dealt with.

 

I would definitely get the donor motor with the transmission and all the pedals and linkages. IMO if I was doing this swap.