Spdrcr Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 (edited) ***NOTE: I will update my parts list as I go along. Hopefully, this will help plan and see how much the total cost is.*** Hello everyone. Figure it’s about time to start a build thread for my ls1/4l60e swap. I haven’t really posted much on here yet. Mostly been creeping around looking at the good info here. I’ve been through a bunch of cars over the years including C3 corvettes, supercharged civic, supercharged C5 corvette, GTI, 3rd gen camaros, and a classic Mini Cooper. My next car after those was a hard choice and it took a while to settle on the 280z. During my search, I did learn I DO NOT fit in a Lotus Elise. Nope not one bit. A C7 Z06 was also high on my list but dang $$$. Anyway, I bought the 280 earlier this year with the intention of doing the swap. Could’ve bought one already done but I’ve always wanted to do an engine swap. Found a 78 down in FL with a new cheap paint job, fairly rust free, and running OK. Drove it around all summer and decided I don’t like manual cars anymore. Ten years ago I would never dream of owning a fast car automatic, but it ain’t ten years ago. I wanted a sunroof and mine has duals, yea! Also had a very huge muffler with a 4” tip that was booger welded (no judgment, I can’t weld) onto the stock exhaust piping. Goal for the car is to be multipurpose for cruising around town, going to meets and shows, maybe the track, and look good while doing it all. I want to pull the old engine and drop in the “new” as quick as reasonable possible. I do not want a long term project sitting in the garage. Want to drive it! I also plan to do wide flares, wheels, spoiler, air dam, etc. I went through a long process of deciding which engine to buy. I wanted aluminum block to save weight. Looked at truck engines but the aluminum ones aren’t all that cheap. Then I started making up random HP numbers that sounded good on paper. 500rwhp, that’s my need! Or is it? Eventually, I came back to earth did a bunch of spreadsheets, of course, and settled on the old 350hp LS1 with the 4l60e. I would’ve liked a ls3 crate motor but then there’s a lot of things in life I would like to have. Everything I need can come from one car without having to piece together car intakes, oil pans, pcm, throttle bodies, etc. Bought a drop unit off eBay from a yard across town and they delivered it to my garage the next day. Game on! first look in person. I’m not mad at it. gotta look back every stop Car 1978 280z $11,500 Shipping $600 DMV $645 Engine engine ls1/4l60e $3,150.00 ebay engine taxes ls1/4l60e $189.00 ebay engine delivery+tip ls1/4l60e $120.00 ebay JCI swap kit LS1 $1,150.00 JCI JCI fluids vital $105.00 JCI serpentine belt Bando 6PK1395 $12.00 amazon belt tensioner 38195 $37.00 amazon idler pulley dayco 89015 $16.00 amazon **washer needed** egr plate xussbop13 $5.00 ebay oil pan gasket GSFX-0381868021 $23.00 Amazon rear main seal 40640 $20.00 Amazon oil pan 12628771 264-331 $101.00 Amazon oil galley seal 12573460 $9.00 amazon throttle cable jgn8564365 $22.00 ebay pcv valve fv391 $5.00 amazon oil pressure 800-048 $30.00 zcardepot motor mount Anchor 3064 $41.00 advance synthetic 5w-30 super tech $15.00 walmart oil filter fram extra guard $5.00 walmart tach and speedo gauges $420.00 speedhut Intake air inlet temp delphi ts10072 $14.00 Amazon 3.5-4" 90 elbow SH-90D-R-3.5-4-BK $21.00 Amazon K&N air filter rg-1001rd $29.00 Amazon Transmission torque conv bolts 14099 $6.00 advance cooler 90 6an-3/8 2az111an6d90 $17.00 amazon trans 1/4npsm-6an 551114 $12.00 amazon fittings on rad derale13004 $20.00 amazon trans rubber hose 8' trans line $16.00 advance drifeshaft shipping usps $30.00 usps Cooling radiator sdd-ra280z753 $129.00 ebay 16" cooling fan er9805 $32.00 amazon temp sensor 800-693 $22.00 zcardepot water pump aw5081 $89.00 amazon lower rad hose 22478 $14.00 amazon upper rad hose gates 21588 $20.00 Amazon bypass hose 87629 $7.00 Amazon rad overflow tank FS00483BK-1 $27.00 Amazon steam vent coupler AN627-20X125 $15.00 Amazon prestone dex-cool af888 $32.00 advance Fuel speedway pump/reg 91012810 $196.00 amazon fuel level sender 800-974X $80.00 zcardepot 30 fuel clamps $9.00 ebay 5' 3/8 fuel line hbd 24088 $11.00 ebay 5' 5/16 fuel line hbd 24078-5 $10.00 ebay fuel prefilter K&N 81-0300 $7.00 amazon 10' braided line GCR424 $23.00 amazon 3/8 6an to barb 98200 $8.00 Amazon 3/8 line to 6an x 2 CS00017D0 $16.00 Amazon line clamps R038CLS $10.00 Amazon fuel line tool $7.00 Amazon fuel tank vent Attwood 1607-3 $9.00 Amazon fuel rail oring set es 70599 $12.00 Amazon 36" throttle cable jgn8564365 $22.00 ebay Wiring/PCM 6 way fuse box PSZACCEPS051H $10.00 Amazon Relays AE-001-1 $12.00 Amazon fuse box 6+6 $14.00 ebay 12ga wire 100' $15.00 ebay 18ga wire 100' $8.00 ebay loom tape 4 rolls $8.00 ebay wire loom alex tech $12.00 Amazon ECM program brandon $75.00 LT1 Swap ecm shipping usps $13.00 usps OBD 2 harness 13500 $10.00 Amazon Exhaust manifold bolts rogue $10.00 ebay manifold gasket ms92467 $13.00 amazon heat barrier 13575 $23.00 Amazon exhaust wrap HMHRT25017 $16.00 amazonMisc engine hoist 61858 $90.00 craiglsist engine stand jegs 80040 $70.00 ebay load leveler 63098 $40.00 harborfeight dollies x 4 60659 $32.00 harborfeight Eng stand bolts 4inch $12.00 lowes bushing kit 14-2002 $158.00 amazon paper and paint $20.00 advance Edited January 4, 2021 by Spdrcr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 First order of business is to get the poor old L28 out of the car. Not much really to say on this. Just disconnect and unplug anything and everything. Then pop it out. all hooked up time to dangle Definitely take the time to seal up the end of the transmission. I taped a plastic bag over the end but didn’t do a great job. I paid for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 It’s out. empty bay not bad shape! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 engine bay is a mess! Someone spray painted the radiator and fan shroud. I think a lot of the black is overspray. Very rough to the touch and will not clean. I tried every cleaning method I could think of. You can see the clean squares. I had use sandpaper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 Here’s the old junker. LS1 and 4l60e out of a 99 firebird. 150k on it... allegedly. This is another slippery slope. I decided to not mod it and get it running first. If I actually want more power down the road, that is for future spdrcr to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 (edited) got the wiring harness off. the oil pan was moist (what a gross word) so I decided to change the gasket. Figured I’d do the rear main seal too oh snap! Seriously though. I broke the pan. I was even very careful and went round 3 times. Just touching, snug, and then tight. turns out I left a piece of the old gasket on there on accident. I thought it was part of the pan. Edited December 14, 2020 by Spdrcr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) Wanted to flip the fuel rail so the inlet was on the passenger side where the fuel line will be. Threw on some new o-rings. That stupid quick connector! I bought the special tool. Too cheap! Had to buy a metal one cuz the plastic one was too flimsy. Popped right off after that. Threw a new fuel level sensor in the tank. Now I can see how dumb I was to have a full tank when I need to drain it to pull the old pump. got a new fuel pump and corvette filter. Pretty usual stuff I think. fuel pump mounted up. Don’t laugh at my bracket. Fabrication is not my thing. Still have to mount the filter regulator somewhere. Ordered some fittings and fuel line too. Edited December 15, 2020 by Spdrcr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) Hey where did that old engine go? Oh it turned into money? What to do now? Order more parts! got a set of bushings mostly so I can do the steering bushings while the engine is out. I will deal with the rest later. and here is the JCI kit. also ordered up some 280z speedhut gauges. Went with the non gps speedo with turn signals and high beam and a tach. I am using the vital fluids from JCI to retain my factory small gauges. Some dummy let the oil and temp sensors leave with the old engine. Edited December 15, 2020 by Spdrcr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) WIRES EVERYWHERE! started to root around in the wires leftover. I plan on replacing the old fusable links with blade fuses. I read a bunch of threads of the pros and cons and decided to ditch them. I may need to upgrade to blade type fusables in the future. We’ll see. I also cut a ton of wiring out that I won’t be using again. Identified key hot and start, temp, oil, etc. I stared at this so much I was dreaming about it. To be honest I got a bit frustrated and just cut a bunch. got those funky frame rails painted up. Nothing fancy here. Just sanded them clean. Etching primer and chassis paint. I want to save as much orange (persimmon red) as I can. I also hit the crank balancer while I had the paint out. Poor thing look like came from the swamp or something. Edited December 15, 2020 by Spdrcr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 I said I wasn’t gonna do much to the engine. but figured a new water pump would be a good idea. And of course needed a new oil pan since somebody broke my old one. got the mounts on and broke out the wire wheel to spruce up some things JCI oil and water adapters are in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 (edited) The engine came without a tensioner pulley so a new one of those. I also picked up a rIbbed idler pulley. The new belt route put the ribs on a flat pulley. I didn’t read up enough and forgot to get a washer to go behind the new pulley. It needs to be a specific size and I got tired of fiddling with it. I’m just gonna run the flat pulley for now. Maybe I will figure it out one day. forgot who made this original information. But here’s a shoutout. Edited December 16, 2020 by Spdrcr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 New steering coupler and rack bushings. the drivers side gave me some trouble. Seems like it’s a common people, followed some advice and boiled it for a bit. That helped a lot. don’t judge the crappy paint job. Still looks better than it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 Finished with cleaning the bay. At least for now. You can see I still need to wet sand some more. there’s no going back now! transmission ears are gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 Radiator time. I have a cheap eBay unit. The stock shroud holes don’t really line up. I drilled it a bit and added the fan. I ordered some hoses based on the search function. heater bypass hose New fittings for the trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 I thought there were a lot of wires before. It’s pretty scary cutting all the wires out. LT1 Swap is the place to go. I also sent my ECM to Brandon to tune out VATS, emissions, etc. Easy peasy to work with. I thought about just snipping the old stuff and not getting too deep in the harness. I’m glad I did. Was able to easily identify all the stand alone connections. here’s what I ended up with. Fingers are crossed. hope I don’t need any of this! Wish I could go on a diet that easy. I’m not going to wrap it until it’s in the car-ish. In case I need to reconfigure anything. computer is back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkerbk Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Having done this before... do your self a favor and put the harness on the engine and get the general layout for how it will fit in the engine bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 22 hours ago, walkerbk said: Having done this before... do your self a favor and put the harness on the engine and get the general layout for how it will fit in the engine bay. thanks for the heads up. I’m going to wait to get it on the engine before i wrap it up. I have some new loom too. I’m going to try and get the fuse box, relays, and ecm in the passenger side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 All right time to stop playing around. Bad boy is going in! it was a lot harder than I thought. Took me all day. I couldn’t get enough length on the boom. (Thats’s what she...you know what) I had to remove everything off the front including bumper, grill, and even the hood mechanism. That still wasn’t enough. Had to modify the lift by drilling an extra hole. Then I had a problem with the lift which was vapor locked. Had to take take it off mid install to cycle. Then the chains were hitting the firewall before I was even close to the mounts. Had to unhook everything and lengthen the chains so I could push it back. Very fiddly. I eventually had to undo the drivers side mount and bolt it back to the block after it was in. I had to shave the top off that mount too since it was hitting the header. A small corner of the JCI mount also needed trimmed. the passenger side coil is very close to the battery tray. I think it’s going to be an issue later. had to trim a bracket off the passenger side for the header to fit. No big deal there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitley_280z_2+2 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Nice! You’re making great progress. Bold move putting the engine in before wrapping the engine bay wiring ; ) what headers are those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spdrcr Posted January 11, 2021 Author Share Posted January 11, 2021 9 hours ago, Whitley_280z_2+2 said: Nice! You’re making great progress. Bold move putting the engine in before wrapping the engine bay wiring ; ) what headers are those? Yeah. I’ve never done a project like this so most of it I’m just doing whatever seems right. the headers are the JCI that come in the kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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