hey i just bought a 97 camaro and i was wondering if you could put a ford 400 in there. i know it wont be fast more tourqe than anything. of course ide need an tranny that can bolt up to it and new drive shaft but what else would i need? or if anything would someone trade my ford 400 for a chevy 350 that would be better lol

 

LOL, This is a first, Just to swap in a motor that came in this car is a major project requiring a almost complete doner car. We have one member that swapped in a old school 350 into his 4th gen. You should check out the stick about v6-v8 convertion.

 

is it a z28 or a base model camaro? the costs involved with the switch would be more than to pick up a good used lt1.

 

Well I was thinking going from fuel injected and computer controlled to carb and mechnical control would make it easier and it a 97 camaro base model. And the only thing I can think of that would be the hardest amd most exspensive would be the suspension. The motor mounts and tranny mounts I can make and weild my self. I'm confused about what would be that exspensive on it? And I looked at the guys post and first off let me say he did a dawn good job. but I didn't see anything that would make the price tag go up to 5gs. Anyways all input will definetly be taken into consideration

 

First thing you should do is get a tape measure. The ford 400 is a big motor. Anyone that has a LT1 and has put plugs in will tell you there is NO extra room. You really should not cut into sides of the engine bay cause they support the weight of the car.
I do not think the cost is any one big thing its the constant $100 for this and $100 everyweeked. Nothing will be bolt on and go. You will have more problems then he did. Your not just installing a engine you are elimanating the computer system which. In the 97 the computer runs everything. Everything you want to work will need to be rewired. You basicly will need to strip the car to it bare shell and build a car the same way a race team does. 250-300 hours of work? For was reason? so you can save $1000.

If you really want to use that motor go find a Fox body. If you really want a v8 Camaro for cheap sell your base model for $600 find a Z28 with a blown head gaskets for $1200 and have a 300 HP car in two weekends. If your that good at fabing up with the welder you could make the $1200 in a few weekend just making a few custom headers. ( the custom header you would need for your project would cost near $1000 if you do not do it.)

 

Oh man...for your own safety, don't ever open the hood in public if you do put a Ferd engine in a Camaro.

 

lol yeah i measured it and it would fit but with not much room. and ive seen ford engines in chevys plenty of times. and its not really about saving money cuz i doubt i wil be, its more about just seeing if i can do it and how long it will take me, and how cheap lol. anyways. yeah im fairly good at electrical and my dads even better so yeah anyways i just want to see if i can.

 

2 thoughts.

1 It's your car. Do whatever you want.

2 It's a sin to put a ford motor in any Chevy much less a Camaro. lol

 

People do confuse "Chevys" with 4 gen camaros. Project that are a pc of cake with a 3rd gens are a nightmare in a 4th gen. There really not much room in there and because the back half the engine is cover by the windshield it make for a lot of limited options. At one point Camaro 69 had post a link to a website that put in a 454 in a 4th gen. I think they remade every part from the fire wall forward. They kept some machine shop humping for a good month.

Well if you do I would love to see a thread about it.

 

oh well i change my mind im just going to sell the 400 and rebuild the 6 thats in it like gorn did. its just a blown head gasket so it wont be to hard. and i hear you can get alot of horse power out them. my fiancee is breathing down my back about it so yeah sometimes its just best to give them what they want. lol. anyways if you guys want to throw some ideas on what i should do to it go ahead and shoot me a idea