cyrus Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 I am installing a 2001 ss camaro motor and t56 in my 240z. I need to know: 1 how to mount it in there 2 how to still retain ac and alternator 3 trans mount 4 cooling, which outlet go where, camaro raditor seems like outlets are in wrong place for LS1 thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 First, I am jealous because you have the engine/trans combo I want. Second, you have your work cut out for you. The LS1 swap is more difficult and not as well documented as the older SBC motors. First I would look at this excellent web site: http://240z.jeromio.com/ Then do a search on LS1 in the chevy forum. This should yield plenty of additional reading material. Have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 It's not an easy swap. It has all the accessory mounting problems of the LT1 plus a completely different mount position than the 350. AC and Alt: Specialty brackets can be fabbed or purchased (for about $600). Or, do like I did (lots of work) and remove the Datsun mount towers and make your own. Of course you have to make a place to mount those: http://240z.jeromio.com/motorswap/crossmember.html Coolant hoses are pretty much the least of my concerns. Here's what Gary did: The radiator I have comes out of and older Nova I think. It has brass side tanks but other than that should be the same. It also has a tans cooler built in. I used the stock 98 F-body bottom hose and cut the ends off a Gates 22358 to make the top hose. Transmount: The JTR transmount can be used. I fabbed completely different one more along the lines of Tim's mount: Some things you forgot to ask : Fuel. you can do as Gary did and follow the directions in the JTR TPI book (sump tank and second pump). I am installing the FBody fuel tank and all of its innards. If I had the bucks, I'd put in a fuel cell, Corvette rail, aftermarket FPR, FPS and pump. That's about $1K worth of stuff though. You don't have to, but you should run new fuel lines. There's also VATS, Rear O2s, etc. You can just mail your PCM to Speartech or any number of other shops to have it reprogrammed though. The Speartech guy frequents the swappers board at ls1tech.com - he's very helpful. Guages are another expensive item. It'll be nice when I'm done, but I really should've just gone with a plain 350 with aftermarket EFI..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boobala Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 I under stand that the JTR Engine mounts will not work, but can you not modify the setback plates to work with the LS1? By "modify" I mean use the drawings to fabricate plates that match up with the LS1 and Datsun cross member mounts using the JTR or similar spacers. P.S. I bet the folks at www.hotrodlane.cc can solve all your accessory mounting problems, but probably not cheaply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted July 9, 2002 Share Posted July 9, 2002 Cyrus, Do a search using LS1, LS-1, T56 & T-56 under this board and the other related boards. (see "search" in upper right quadrant of this page) You should find a significant amount of information plus several people who have done at least part, if not all, of this swap. I'm just starting the same swap myself so have a lot of questions and no real answers at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maichor Posted July 11, 2002 Share Posted July 11, 2002 At this point, the swap is a do it yourself job. Gary (Lonestar1), Jeromio, Phantom and I are all working on this project. Gary is done. He gave me a ride. That car is killer. I have the motor in the car and I am working on the fuel system. Everyone is doing this differently. I am converting to power steering and keeping all the accessories. I am also doing custom headers. Someone mentioned www.hotrodlane.cc. That site is for Street and Performance (S&P)in Mena, Arkansas. They have been awesome to deal with. They maintain another site www.tunedport.com. They have a mount to convert LS1 to older 350 mounts. You could then use the setback plates per JTR. However, not a good idea. If you have all the pieces, you will see that the plates are ~4" long and the conversion pieces are a few more inches long. That is a lot of leverage on the aluminum block. I used the S&P biscuit mount kit with corvette towers. I then built a cross member directly under the motor. No pics yet, but it is very simple. You can then chop off the Datsun towers and all accessories fit except the alternator which needs to be moved high to the passenger's side. S&P has the mounts for that conversion. Dig in! Solving all the problems is the fun part for me. I am currently putting the fuel system together with a camaro tank like Jeromio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 11, 2002 Share Posted July 11, 2002 OKay, well this is good timing then. Whatsyer plan for going from the plastic Camaro fuel pump pickup to the hardlines? I'm planning on getting some fittings brazed onto my fuel rail, so that end's not a problem. But the plastic is obviously not brazable. I know there's gotta be some kind of ferrule type fitting that can link plastic to metal lines. It's just a matter of finding it. My experience thus far with catalogs and websites for fittings is that they assume you know what all the codes and jargon mean - no pics and no detailed descriptions or specific use cases. I have added some more pics and info on the tank install at http://240z.jeromio.com/motorswap/camarotank.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Star 1 Posted July 12, 2002 Share Posted July 12, 2002 Fuel pressure for the LS1 is 59 PSI. You'll need high pressure fuel lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyrus Posted July 13, 2002 Author Share Posted July 13, 2002 I plan on using the factory fuel lines, But i have not figured if rubber connectors will hold 40 psi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 15, 2002 Share Posted July 15, 2002 Just went to Autozone and they have a selection of "repair parts" for late model GM fuel lines. Expensive, but I think it'll do the trick. Also, the Camaro fuel filter has one male, freaky-styley end and one normal end female treaded. So, that can be used as another adapter too. I got all the nylon lines with my tank (although one of em has a cut off end). They're all around 12 inches long with female freaky ends on each side. So, I bought up all the freaky 3/8" male ended stuff they had (which wasn't much). One piece is a 12 inch steel section with male ends, so, I figure I can cut that and put flared fittings on the cut ends. They also had the plastic clips for the male ends. I have the stock nylon line that goes to the fuel rail, so I may use that rather than messing with brazing on new fittings. The pressure line has metal (rather than plastic) female fittings and both lines are sheathed in rubber and also have aluminum heat tape around them. It's also all prebent to match up and it just so happens to line up with where my hard lines are. This is looking like it will work out. Oh BTW, the parts counter people insisted they had no such fittings. I talked them into letting me go back and look and I found them. So, don't be dissuaded... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted July 15, 2002 Share Posted July 15, 2002 Jeronimo, I was looking at your engine mount system. Where does the exhaust route? Is it inside the bracing or between the brace and the fender well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 15, 2002 Share Posted July 15, 2002 Phantazimo - Inside the brace: The exhaust is pretty close to the firewall. The O2 sensor bung (bottom of the stock manifold) would actually hit the steering shaft (innerside), but, following Lonestar1's advice, I ovaled the holes on the the steering column mount (inside the car) and moved it over about 3/8 of an inch. It's actually still pretty close since I ended up moving the motor forward about 1/2 inch, so, I'll have to do some further massaging here and there. Passenger side is also pretty tight. I've welded 2 1/2 inch dia. extensions onto each manifold (after cutting off their flanges) and had planned to flange them way down low, just at the point when the tubes curve back. But that passenger manifold is really, really hard to wrestle in and out of that space now. I don't think it would be removable with a flange on the end. Much more headscratching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted July 15, 2002 Share Posted July 15, 2002 Thanks Jeronimo. I'll keep those points in mind when mounting the motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maichor Posted July 16, 2002 Share Posted July 16, 2002 Thanks for the photos. I have welded a 1" tubing frame for the fuel tank. I used the stock tank straps from my donor car. I have not decided which way to put the tank. Right now I can bolt it up either way. Obviously, it fits best the way you have it. However, is the sump made to work best in the stock position? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 Well, I guess if you want to be extreme, if you are rocketing off the line with 1/8 tank of gas, there may be a better chance of sucking fuel with the tank flipped. It's really not practical though, since the filler is on the the other side, plus with the fat part aft, it'll be visible below the valence. With the tank flipped backwards relative to Camaro OEM (ie, with the sump forward), it almost looks like a factory piece. I went to the local P&P yesterday and combed thru the varius wrecks looking for a filler. Didn't find anything simple. I ended up getting a filler from a 87 Maxima. The filler looked to be at a good angle - it actually fits in perfectly. The angle is such that the tube points straight down and the filler "funnel" is flush with the stock metal. Obviously the hole had to be cut out bigger. It also had a nice short piece of (apparently rubber) 90 degree tubing which turned out to be cut . I'm just gonna use some radiator hose. I had to cut the filler off the extremely long neck. I had thought I could make up the S from the rest, but the curves are not tight enough. I'll just by some bends. I connected the feed from the pump sender to the filter and then to a piece of special (expensive) steel tubing with the correct crimp and threaded fitting (from Autozone). It came with a union - I'm planning on using that to connect the steel to the aluminum. Good thing I bought those expensive Aeroquip fittings that I won't be using - anyone wanna buy em? I didn't get the opposite connectors for the wiring for my tank, so, I guess I gotta cut off those nice water tight connectors and use some crappy blade style which is a shame. My list is slowly getting shorter though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helldrives Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 How will not forcing the exaughst through a kitty effect the ecu? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helldrives Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 By the way, I'm also putting an LS1 into a 71 240Z My 72 240 is trashed, extreme floor pan Damage. So I picked up this 71 a couple of weeks ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helldrives Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 Hi all I'm new to the forum. I was just wondering, are all of you using the cats for your conversions? Or are they a nessesary evil for the engine to perform properly on the steet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 No cats. Dogs neither (I'm so funny). I don't even think there's any room in there for cats anyway - especially with an auto. My car is 71 - smog exempt in NC. But really, when I'm finished I'm sure it'll produce less HC, CO and NOx than any stock pre-1980 car anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 Catalytic converter is there to perform a chemical conversion on your exhaust stream - clean up the bad stuff that burning unleaded gas makes. It actually acts as a resonator as far as back pressure and exhaust note is concerned. Remove the cat and you get lower back pressure and a tad bit more high end HP (1). A properly done exhaust won't even notice its absence. As long as your V-8 is of pre-smog vintage the CA emissions inspectors won't even look twice. If you go with a newer, fuel injected version, they'll be looking for all the stuff that's supposed to go with it. Thats the nice thing about Texas. We just go by the car's age. By the way - sweet looking ride. Like the color. Are those 17" wheels and tires? They look bigger than the 16's I have on mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.