I recently bought a 96 Z28 with a LT1, the guy I bought it from said he "blew" the engine last winter. I have no real way of knowing exactly what is wrong with the motor. I do however have a perfectly good LT1 in another 94 Z28 that is wrecked. My plan is to attempt and install the engine from the 94 into the 96.
Where my question comes in at is that I beleive they changed the cooling system on these cars in 95. So will everything(hoses etc.) hook back up to the good motor if I attempt a swap?

 

I think that you will be alright doing the '94 to '96 swap. You may have to install the '96 sensors on the '94 and make sure that everything is hooked up right. Also, the opti-spark changed some between '94 and '96 with the '96 being a better ignition from a reliability standpoint. I would make sure to use the '96 ignition. But if you have both cars handy, all of the bits and pieces will be there to make that swap happen.

 

Just like grandpa said, just swap the short blocks.

 

they are the same motor. heads and intake are the same. sensors are for the most part the same. cooling system is the same. if there is any question use the 96 sensor or part.

 

96 was the first year the LT1 had an additional crank sensor, and it's mounted in the timing cover. You're gonna need to swap the cover from the 96 engine onto the 94. Your computer in the 96 is going to be looking for that signal, and without it it's gonna be cornfused. Ehhhhh, is that gonna create an opti mounting compatibility problem now? 94 is the old style opti.

 

96 was transition so could be either way and i think that was a last of the yr thing. i dont know if the wiring is the same, i think the opti produces a crank pulse to doesnt it?

 

96 wasn't a transition year. 1992-94, old style opti. 1995, new style opti. 1996, exact same new opti as 95, with an additional crank sensor in the cover for diagnosing misfires. The crank sensor is an OBDII (1996-up) deal. Now if some late 95's were already equipped that way, they would be the transitions. But that doesn't help here.

 

ok thanks, so changing the front cover is in order then might as well throw new gears and chain on it and oil pan gasket. they get hard over the years and will weep oil. should also use the 96 intake, its a little better intake and a new gasket and seal for it is a good idea. specially if the motors out already.

 

There's a reason why I brought up the opti question in the first place. He would want to change the front cover in order to keep the 96 crank sensor operational. But the 94 and 96 opti's attach to the cam differently. I seem to remember someone here doing that changeover. But I don't recall if it was old opti to new cam, or new opti to old cam.

 

yah that was me. lol. switched from 93 to 95 front cover and opti. wish i woulda went with the 96 front cover now. that crank sensor would come in handy if i can do what i want. anyways yes there is a problem there as well. the cams are different. the hole in the front of your cam in the 94 will need to be drilled out to allow for the 95-96 opti to work. ah so now a little bigger cam for the 94 motor is in order or if on a budget switch cams.