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Lt1 swap or not


Guest Anonymous

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Guest Anonymous

Got an 1994 lt1 and t56 with clutch assembly, now besides the car adn the kit, what do I need, Im looking for just upgrading the drivetrain and Im on a small budget, but since I have the engine and trans I figure teh largest cost is the car, where can I fond one for cheap? I dont want to spend 50 bucks on books I wont ever use, so maybe someone with an lt1 swap could help me out. Thanks guys cool site too :-D

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Guest Anonymous

Spend the 50 bucks, buy the JTR books. They will save you a ton of cash and time. The other great source of info is the search function on this site. Mark

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Upgrading the drive train, meaning what exactly? If you mean upgrading the engine I could help you out, you'd be wise though to upgrade to the 95 Optispark setup. If you are not going to swap the cam though I'd worry about getting the engine in first, and dealing with upgrades when the car is running well and such, unless you have money to burn right now. It would be easier to work on it out of the car of course, but without the moola I would just throw it in the car and enjoy it, with 275-300HP or so its going to be freaking fun anyway!

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Guest Anonymous

Hey mudge your on camaroz28 too. I mean rearend, if it needs it and getting a custom driveshaft etc, and a stock lt1 would be enough for now. Im not out to have this thing be a nice car but certainly no pos just something that runs well and is pretty damn fast. If I bought the books and had no use for them if I decide not to do it you think anyone woudl buy them off the board?

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Yep, apperantly I am #7 poster there, not sure if thats good or not :D

 

I would go with an R200 myself, if you do the whole R200 upgrade almost everything is beefier versus an R180. If you are going to put slicks on it this is more critical than if you were running street tires (and what size). Otherwise the R180 would probably hold its own without problems.

 

Then if you feel like going for a limited slip option down the road, save up for it in the meanwhile, most ways of getting a limited slip are anywhere from maybe $300-$1600 or thereabouts, there is viscous, clutch pack (like a stock Camaro), or automatic torque bias (like a good Torsen) LSDs (worm gears not clutch packs).

 

The viscous stuff is relatively "cheap", you could even consider a viscous R230 from I believe an Infinity Q45 (and others). These use CV joints though, so they are not a straight plug in operation. Anything with an R200 however wether CV joints or not, can accept R200 splined shafts and half shalfts from a non CV jointed R200.

 

So your R180 that is probably in your car now should be fine with street use IMO, once you want to put the power down with big wheels and/or slicks, I would look at an upgrade.

 

Keep a cage upgrade firmly in mind too, old cars even first gen Camaros dont take well to alot of power, twists the body. I would believe most of the books you would find on Z cars would talk about suspension tech a bit, but mostly you'd find engine stuff, so I would bet you wouldn't find much other than on the net, about rear ends for these cars.

 

If you want a long term, neat idea, you can run a shortened C4 rear! I thought about it myself, but it would require fabrication, and for my power levels I wont really need it. The weak point of the R200 etc is going to be halfshafts, not really the rear itself. FYI the C4 automatic has a smaller rear.

 

http://home.cfl.rr.com/scottiegnz/gnz.html C4 rear and GN drivetrain

http://www.fastassdatsun.com custom boxed frame, C4 front/rear

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Guest Anonymous

ok so besides what the books say and the engine and driveshaft get the r200 if I wanna stick the power to the ground, and a cage of some sort to keep the body from flexing. Also is there anything special I have to do to use a t56, I would do an auto but I already have the t56, I also paid way too much for it and the lt1 since I paid for the labor of pulling the engine too, 2500 for both :shock: , and dont want to let it go for too cheap. BTW I still need a z to put this in so Im open for suggestions there as well, they seem to be pricey in good condition but all I care about is a good frame with no rust. LOL JTR sells an astro van conversion?!?! Arent those heavy? Wouldnt think its the best performance platform, but it seems to be the easiest.

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I am aware of a 4.3L Astro Van suggested aluminum radiator, if thats what you mean(?)

 

I row the boat, I would keep the 6 speed, automatics are not my flavor. With that in mind you will need the JTR setup, as the shifter will be too far forward with the Scarab/Hooker etc setups, which work fine for automatics but are not going to work with T5/T56 cars.

 

I have read about people having to figure out the clutch issue, but I am not up to snuff on how people are getting these in the cars 100%

 

If you payed $2500 for the whole setup that is not all that bad, I have seen cheaper but honestly if your stuff is in good shape people have also spent more. $1500-$2000 for a T56 and clutch setup by itself would make me wet the bed, but brand new they are over $3000! If you got an LS1/T56 the programming is more expensive, and to boot they run $3500 fairly often for engine/trans, way out of my range.

 

Astro Van was a 6, not sure there was an 8. There is a 12 second turbo Chrysler mini van, so while heavy a mini van could still bennefit from power, especially if they tow stuff. You wont see me dumping money in a mini van, but some people either want more towing power, need to replace the engine anyway maybe, or even like the 12 second van he wanted a sleeper with wife and kids in tow to shock people with. It worked ;)

 

Oh, for the Z, try to get mostly rust free and straight body/doors. Other than that, I can't say a whole lot. I like the 72-73 cars myself, but some prefer the later 280 cars which are heavier and have a stronger body. As a rule for me (in CA especially, smog laws etc) I want 70-73, but 72-73 more up my alley, with 73 being preferable of them all.

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Guest Anonymous

Wow this isnt sounding as expensive as I thought originaly. And damn your up late too. Ill get ahold of jtr and see whats to see. Thanks for the help. Oh I got my formula weighed tonight and it was about 3650 :shock: 2500 or so from a datsun sounds a little better, hehe. Oh and anywhere besides ebay to shop for them?

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For the clutch set-up, get an aftermarket master cylinder (wilwood or some such), and then have a line made from that to the oem slave. You'll need to tap new threads in the slave and put a fitting in it to mate up your new line.

The mount for the T56; Can use the JTR one. I made up my own because I didn't agree with the JTR design (bolting to the flimsy floorboards), but I have never heard of anyone having issues with that. With mine, I have more space for the exhaust routing.

BTW, I picked up my '94 LT1/T-56 (Z28) for $1400 :D:D Smiling all the way. I was going to go GN-Turbo, but couldn't pass this deal up!! I'm still not sure if I regret not going GN :cry:

For roll cage, I got mine from S&W for under $200 delivered:

http://www.swracecars.com/rolbarlist.html#anchor1158811

 

Tim

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Guest Anonymous

1400... :cry: how many miles on that thing and how complete was it. Oh and what did your own t56 mount consist of? Thanks for all the help

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1400... :cry: how many miles on that thing and how complete was it. Oh and what did your own t56 mount consist of? Thanks for all the help

I pulled it myself, so got much more stuff than I actually needed (wiring etc)

The engine had 97k on it, but i started it (in the Z28) and it ran smoothly and didn't smoke at all!!

 

Check the link in my signature for pics.

Tim

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Maybe I am confused. As for the OEM T56 trans mount, its pretty much the same as the one offered by JTR, other than being 'ribbed' stamped steel instead of flat stock, although of course the floor boards wont be as durable in the 240 car.

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