DRIVEN

Another trick to verify secondary opening on a Holley is to put a paper clip on the diaphragm rod. Make sure it's pushed all the way up. Make a WOT run and check to see if it was forced lower on the rod as the diaphragm moved up. Make sense? One other thing. I've had really really good results using Quadrajets originally on Cadillac 425s and 500s. The advantages are mechanical secondaries and (on the 425's) an electric choke. The throttle response is superior to most Holleys. I run one on my 413 and it still even pulls down 20MPG. The U-Pull-It yards around here are full of them and since old people don't drive that much, they usually have pretty tight throttle shafts. I know, there isn't typically much love for the Qjet but I've always had pretty good experiences. Just throwing it out there.

I was armed with no more than a wiring diagram I lifted from Mitchell and soldering tools. The donor car was a '95 Caprice and I was able to utilize the harness, relays, and PDC. My uncle did the reflash. I prefer the OBDI for simplicity's sake. They don't require simulators for the downstream O2 sensors. You'll be able to delete the AIR and EVAP systems with no issues. I recommend retaining the EGR if you can. It's not too complicated -- just takes time. Here's a "budget install" I did on one of my dad's cars. This one was a little less "budget" I did on one of his others. The donor car was a '96 Fleetwood. It was actually the first one and used a Street and Performance harness and ECM but, as I mentioned earlier, there were issues with their programming. My uncle sorted it out and flashed another ECM for it. Once the bugs were worked out we added the Paxton and flashed a 3rd ECM. There have been no issues with the harness. The ECMs are all OBDI but the OE Fleetwood can be plugged in and runs fine, it just sets codes for the missing items. I can't seem to locate the other photos of a Chevelle with a '96 Trans Am engine using the Painless harness. Pretty similar to the S&P but I felt the quality and fit was slightly better.

^^I totally agree^^ I've done a few LT1 swaps in other cars. If you are on a budget it's not too tough to modify a factory harness. I've gone that route and also used Painless and S&P. The '94-'95 ECM is a bit "simpler" as it's OBDI and you'll find that many of the aftermarket harness manufactures actually use them in place of the newer ones. Be warned that some tuners simply "turn off" some of the sensors rather than actually do the tuning. I found that Street and Performance just added fuel and timing across the board and deleted the MAF. It really didn't run much better or faster than stock but resulted in a burned piston. Why are you so concerned with tuning? Do you have specific mods in mind? You might be surprised just how much the stock tuning can adapt to bolt-ons. If you just plan to tune all your power in, you may be disappointed when you can't get an additional 100hp with a few keystrokes.

I think you'll be just fine. Remember, we're only talking about around 1/1000th of an inch out-of-round on a component that is almost 3.4 inches. What's that, equivalent to about an inch on a 30 story skyscraper? Another thing to consider is that the bores and the deck surface will change shape slightly once the head is torqued down anyway anyway. The only way to get a truly accurate bore measurement is by using a torque plate. As for the oil consumption, as long as your valve guides/seals are dealt with and your piston's ring groves are clean and within spec you should okay. If money was no issue I would definitely say bore it and use new pistons. You said it's a budget build so obviously you have to make some compromises. Good luck.

If you've ever had the pleasure of working on one of these (or any Audi built in the last 10 years, really), or had to pay someone else to do it, I think you might want to rethink this choice. There are many, many other ways to get more power for less money. I love engine swaps as much as the next guy. In fact 5 of my 7 current cars are swapped. Just because it hasn't been done doesn't mean you should take on the challenge. Realistically, I could see this swap costing $20K to complete. Is it worth it to you?

I think you are correct. Definitely not a Buick. Definitely a Chevy. Did the OP ever do the swap? I searched and couldn't find anything.