Hello all! I am new to this forum, I have joined because camaros kick ***! My girlfriend had given me a camaro as a gift for my 30th birthday. It's a 1997 base model with the 3.8 v6 and auto tranny. Now I know some people will jump down throats with this next statement but I want to and will do a motor and tranny swap. I won't sell this to get a z28 or ss. I understand there will be much work to do and I'm prepared. I previously owned a 1999 z28 with the ls1 and t56 tranny. My concerns thus far, will a k-member from a 97 z28 bolt in place of the v6 once removed? And as for the transmission will the t56 tranny mounts be somewhat compatible. And hold need to be drilled?

 

the best swap with alot of knowledge ,would be the lsx engine ,but still alot of work ,you will need to make alot of your own hoses i would look into some of the other camaro forums youtube on 3.8l to 5.3L LSXfrom a truck ,one guy did one hear without haveing to tear the whole car apart ,but anything else like a 350 engine your starting with a shell.these swaps can be so much to them ,.you could make a sleeper ,keeping the single exhaust ,i did a z28 car engine swap to. carbed 406 ,an got it runing in 40 hours ,but then 3 years working mods suspension an last exhaust ,you could be months or years without good help an knowledge, thats the biggest question we get wich k member ,with my z the stock one was used an a 6 inch exstention was put on my turbo 350 ,an i did not have to start with a shell,most guys would say put another 3800 back in it,the quirks can take forever if its not a shop the does moded cars everyday ,then 9 out 10 of the swaps dont get finished couses people relize they got. in over there head to the tune of .alot of money ,i did not use any used parts on my build ,but like said replaceing 20 year old parts to handle the power ,there are better ways to go ,becouse someone gave us a car ,when you tell people the cost time so on most understand you got to do what you got to do ,if your going with a 350 find a zs8 car ,i have a 3800 ,but not worth doing a swap ,looking back i should an could have done rebuilt ls2 in mine at my cost ,i could have bought a nice ls1 car too with low miles then added some goodies,now ? is wich engine did you want to do

 

V8 parts will bolt to the V6 chassie.

What are you planning on swapping in? We need to know that before we can give you any tips.

The easiest thing is to buy wrecked donor 1997 Z28. There are so many parts you need it will be a ton cheaper but then the project is basically bolt on with no fab work.

If you start with a 98 LS donor the conversion process is pretty easy to an LS motor is pretty easy. You could buy a donor 98 with a blown motor and get a 6.0 out of a truck and end up with a nice car.

If you are trying to install an old school carbs V8 make sure you got a large budget. You could buy a low miles SS for what its going to cost you. Drilling holes for the trans mount will be one of the easiest parts of the build. I have yet to see one done for under 4k plus the engine/trans.

Information on LT1 Swap
http://www.tacreationsusa.com/3_4_3_8_v6_to_lt1.htm

I believe this is the thread 95 Camaro 406 was talking about but do not know what he meant by "didn't tear the whole car a part". Of course he did he was able to save some of the electronics buy having custom harnesses made but Engine, trans, dash and rear all came out he was just able to replace cables instead of everything. I think if you read through the thread you will see he is not our typical member.

https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...v8-swap-78734/

 

Thank you for the great advice. I want to do the ls1 swap and marry it to a t56 6 speed tranny. Possibly a ford 9inch rear not sure in that yet. If I understood correct the ls k-member will still fit on the 97 chassis? If so that sound be great. I'm weighing out options to either get a tubular k member or just get a doner car. I want to build the car correct and never let it go so and time and money I put will not be a waste. I just wanna do it 100%

 

ooh that will cost you without a z28 car better off to get an ls1 car ,only nice thing with my build at the cost is i got an engine that is much easyer to work on then the new engines an i got 100hp over the stock ls1 an 150 TLBS ,an all forged parts an ready with nitrous,but i wont use it as i toasted enough engines,its for kick an giggles but could be hooked up any time ,its right below you thread hear,an my cost was like. 8k .yours would be way over that with less hp mine includes all upgraded suspension too an headers engine so on transmision all new nothing used starter new power steering, puleys alone can cost 2k ,2 more years its paid for at $200.00 .per month cant own a street rod for that ,its paid for but thats how i figure my swap at 3 years now,when i think about guys spending 60k for a 700hp car i dont feel so bad about my 450hp an more torq car at 8k,plus it was paid for with the lt1 has lasted 6 years ,also think about shocks all the way around pan hard bar trailing arms ,you will be able to by 2 ls1 cars for your cost,.,i shopped hard keep my build cost down ,but was 3k over my budget at the time ,your cost could go over 20 k with new parts pics of mine the engine looks like it belongs there, an its got the 98-02 look now ss hood. .used is a risk

 

like said anyones .ideas is theres i think you can do the lsx swap for like the cost of an ls1 engine an transmission 6k alone used ,an lsx engine could be had for like $500.00 at the right junk yard an they are stronger then the ls1 too,but i would just get an ls1 car shop there out there ,if i had to do over i would probley have done it ,cant have regrets though ,we get this swap all the time without much to show later on,i missed 2002 35th ss car this winter 65k sold for $5500.00 one owner ,still on my bucket list is a stock ls1 then some goodies,i would talk with guys who have done the 3800 to ls1 swap ,at the same time remember most of these swaps 9 of 10 never get done ,alot of them turn into 40k race cars for those that have unlimited funds,an help from a shop that does modded cars

 

Look up the member Socom, He started with a 3.4 then converted it to a LT1 then later did the LS1 swap.

The 97 LT1 is a simple swap to a LSX, You pull the whole front end and trans bolt it in and change a couple of wires or spend $50 for one adapter. The V6 will be more work because all the V6 stuff that needs upgraded.

The body is the cheapest part of this swap. You can find V6 bodies all day long for $600-$700 and LS1/6 speed is very valuable part. You should really think twice if you have a running car because a good running car is worth soo much more then a shell.

There are people buying low miles running driving SS Camaros because that is the cheapest way to get a LS1/6 speed. Its kind of the point when I say the swap is not really worth it. If the cheapest way to get a Ls1/6 speed is to buy a running driving car then why on earth would you do a swap. Unless you have a IN somewhere or already have the wrecked LS car, finding the parts needed to build this will cost you more then you could buy the finished car for. The problem is you are competing with everyone with and project to built and just about every car builder would like to have a spare Ls1/6 speed on their shelf just in case. They are putting LS motors in everything, and the all aluminum Ls1 with the light weight T56 is perfect for small car swaps, I have a friend who has been looking for one with low miles for the last 6 months for his MG.

Just go to google and search, ls1 porsche or LS1 BMW. You can see what/who you are going to be bidding against. Funny how 20 year GM tech is worth so much these days.

 

hummm????