And what are some of the more technical task that need to be done?

I have done all the removal of both engines and now they are sitting here because I don’t know if it’s as easy as plug and play.

This is the 350 as most you already knew.

And here is my brother in laws pride and joy.

 

I don't think it's that simple,hopefully Gorn or Everett will chime in soon.

 

Do you have the computer out of the 94? What years is the RS? I don't know the truck PCMs but there will be a lot of systems that will need programed out of the PCM. Or you can go the whole old school route and convert to no computer. None if it will be plug and play, As a general rule Computer component are not backward compatible. So the 94 systems with a PCM cannot use the camaro original ECM.

What is the easiest way to do this depends on you and what resources you have access to. As for being simple, You would just get a standalone trans controller a distributor and a carb, Regulate the fuel pressure so it will work with the carb, now depending on the year of the RS the Dash is going to light up with lots of error since the computer is not really connected to anything.

The cheapest way would take a little more know how as you would need to run the stock PCM as your standalone engine and trans controller. The harness is going to have a ton of wires you don't need and you will need to verify fuel pressure and volume will work with the 94 350.

This is going to be a lot of work are you sure its worth it for that truck engine? For what you could sell the engine and trans you could add a few hundred to that and find a Cast iron 5.3 LS motor. The LS motor you have a lot more options in the after market for swaps. Also the 99 up computers are a lot easier to work on. Anyone with a copy of HP tunes can unlock everything that is not needed for a swap, You can even send in you PCM and just tell a programmer what you want and a week later its done. The 5.3 LS based design are way stronger and are easily 250,000 mile engines. An LS swapped 3rd gen is worth way more than one that came with a truck 350 swapped into it.

 

Could I just swap the harness from the 94 suburban into 92 RS ?

 

Yes you can

 

Harness with the PCM, As long as it is a 350, I am not sure of the effect of the 4wd harness. It may be something that can be programmed out. It will be a lot easier for you if you get the right harness. You will need to be sure you have the right amount of O2 sensor also. There are going to be a lot of issues that pop up during this swap. How will you get the check engine light to work with the new harness? The chances of doing this swap and not making a mistake or missing a step is very slim. Will you be good enough to track down those issue? You will also need to figure out a speedometer and tach.

One of your obstacles is the fact the computer systems went through a major change in 1993. That is when GM switched its trucks from an ECM (Engine Control Management) to a PCM (Power Control Management) The main external difference is the fact the PCM control how and when the transmission shifts while the ECM is only used to tell the lock up converter when to lock up. The other downside to this to this PCM is the fact you cannot just hook a laptop to it a change what whatever you want. The program is stored on a chip the has to be sent out a burned with new information. You would think it would be a good idea to switch to a 1996 PCM since it is the OBD2 standard but by then GM changed the fuel injection system.

For someone that does not have an electronic background I would not suggest this route especially on someone else's car. There is a very good chance you will brick the car. Unless you have a local guy that really knows what he is doing. As a general rule trying to diagnose an electronics issue in a thread almost never works. I have tried many times. I am speaking from expearance when I say fixing a computer system that has just failed on its own is way easier the fixing one that is not wired right to start with. but if I were to do a swap like this I would assume I would miss a few things that would end up with some re-dos. There is several books that can walk through a swap. I remember one that told you how to install a TPI system in an older car. These books are hundreds of pages and still will not be able to tell everything you need to know about your swap.

After saying all that could you do it? Yes, I have seen guys teach themselves how to do this. I have seen guys do project like this and just miss one thing I was able to sort out of them. But in many more cased I see a project car sold off as parts. One thing I would recommend if you are going to try it you should build or buy an engine test stand and get it sorted out on the stand. It will be a lot easier to run tests and verify everything is working. You will also learn everything that the engine needs to run. Once tis running just transfer everything to the car. If you buy a used one there is no reason you could not sell it for the same price once you are done.

 

The suburban was 2WD so I don’t know if it would have 4WD wiring at all ,as for the speedometer and tach , those would have their own harness coming from the driver side cluster (not too sure if that’s the correct name)am I correct? Because I know the PCM and ECM pins look different on each car. So I’d have to do some digging and removing behind the dash it looks like.

 

Again I am not a truck expert but most PCMs are wired to the speed sensor then PCM outputs a signal to the Speedo. The 92 and 94 computer have almost nothing in common the 92 programming is written By GM for GM the 94 computer is made to a general standard OBD Since its a signal from the PCM it works more like a voltmeter. An ECM speedo is looking for a pulse signal from the speed sensor. The speedometer will decode that signal. PCM needs that signal to know where to shift.

This is why I suggested you get the motor running first then address all the other things on at a time. The PCM will have a security system that will need by passed.

Its going to be a lot of work and in the end it will hurt the value of the car. An LS swap would increase the value. I would bet if you took the time to sell your 94 350 to someone that needed a 94 350 and bought a 2000 5.3/4l60e driveline It would be a few hundred more and there is a huge amount to data and aftermarket support and unless you live in the middle of no where I would be surprised if you did not have a local guy that could tune your laptop.


Sorry to bug about this its just you would have a car that worth twice as much and would have huge room to grow up to 500 HP with heads, cam and some bolt on. or just leave it stock at 300 HP. With headers and free flowing CAI maybe 325 HP. The 5.3 is basically a 6 bolt main 327. There are people who have built 1000 HP engines on stock bottom ends. Its risky but it has been done.

I do wish you good luck. .

 

Not bugging at all, I got what I was looking and expected for. Once again Your knowledge and advice was well appreciated and noted. Have a great drive guys and I'll look forward to my next post.

 

It would be nice if you did a thread showing the progress and status updates. There are a lot more people that read posts here then make posts. There is a project folder sub folder that is just for that purpose. You should check out the 84 Z28 / 92 Corvette project in there. I always watch for updates on that one myself.