It's got about an 1/8th inch clearance! Haha!!! I have a Holley ultra low ram intake for it that's been sitting for almost a year. Got a bunch of projects! Would like to get to it and the cam and the turbo soon though!
You give me hope ... I am in Australia and I have a 1984 Trans-Am I want to put an LSx into (maybe see if I can shoe-horn an auto box in there too) and finding people to do it is difficult out in the Country so I may have to do it myself.
Sounds like a fun project! You can definitely do it yourself! Make a little list and do little things one weekend at a time! You can do it! Don't get intimidated by it! You got it!
I like ya! Nice job on that swap! And nice job conveying the info to us. GOOD VIDEO! I don’t like bein around pretentious folks. And I don’t like all the “look what I did” (with big $$$ sponsorships)… Your overview was: Practical. Straightforward. Helpful. Down to earth. Real. Thanks bro!
Great video. I did my conversion to a 5.7l ls1 with a 4l60e a few years back and have never looked back on my T/A. You got me wondering about that wire to the brake switch for the torque converter now. Can’t remember if I did that or not. What are the symptoms if you haven’t?
www.ebay.com/itm/174586691363 The link above is the harness I used. It may not work with your 6.0 and 4L80e depending on the year. The link below might work for your application. Double check the year of your engine and make sure it's for the 4L80e. Hope this helps! www.ebay.com/itm/305005332166?hash=item4703bc06c6:g:mjEAAOSwgatkn42G&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0CBPdCcnJS2XyBqUKryEqsAJ91glnDp15Ym%2BTCsFAAup68AldYtrW%2FcKb38VNEGBAeM7weYpGqH6iNNfL8F4vUTvpo%2FlLqAWXZ8qwnbFGIxvd4OJ1sv3XuiB%2BUFxx1oPeVQLq7vH4EX7TNG4lImKbMqSjMgr1%2BFZ%2FuVRX6vh%2B10atXO0rCy1YBk3ftB2g4WuiNYsZD2O6%2BFwbh8rjUEv3SpD2uz6fXzDOE5iW6SDuGWhnFKe%2F7i3ITXPCRBReXBnKT0lYAP9SNIFizeXOe3U1JA%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8qbhrypYg
I recently (2 years ago lol) bought a ‘77 TA that doesn’t have, well, anything basically the shell. I have an ‘04 Cadillac Escalade that’s engine is just perfect but the rest of the truck is crap so I’m planning on swapping the engine. Gives me some hope to do this.
You can do it my friend! If it helps I'm doing another LS swap on a 1986 C10 on this channel that's going step by step. You can do it, just gotta get out there and do it! One hour a day of working on it is better than no hours a day! You got it! Ask any questions, I started this channel to help with things like this!
Motor mounts: stock clamshell/bushing with hooker LS swap motor mounts for the Fbody. There are a few different holes to mount into on the frame, I believe I did move them from the pontiac location to the sbc hole location. Some cases you may have to drill new holes. This firebird, I did not, but the LS swap I'm doing in a C10 I had to drill new holes. Transmission mount: is the stock transmission crossmember with a 1" bushing. I did have to drill 2 new holes out of 4 required in the frame for it. Like the motor mounts, Hooker does make a transmission mount as well, but in this case, I didn't feel it was necessary. That would be your call. This car originally had a TH350, so i can't speak on if a car originally equipt with a TH400 crossmember will work or not. Might be the same, not sure. The most important part is that if you get one brand of motor mounts, get the same brand of transmission crossmember. They're designed to work together, and mismatch brands may not work together. I do know some brands of motor mounts are designed to move the engine back an inch or 2 inches or stock location. Depending on what you want or need. Keep that in mind. The only stock gauges at the moment that work is the fuel gauge and volts gauge. Speedometer, RPM, oil pressure, and temp do not work. I do have an aftermarket temp gauge (old school style) that goes into the passenger side of the block with the hemp of an adapter from ICT billet. Stock Speedometer, oil pressure and rpm gauges cannot be use with LS ecu's. Aftermarket like Dakota Digital gauges will be the way to go eventually. If you want to be cheap and a temporary setup for monitoring this you can plug in an OBD2 scanner full time. Gets in the way though. Hopefully this helps and good luck!!
@@runsgoodbutsmokes super helpful and appreciate the prompt response! On my 80 firebird, it already has a sbc 350 swap with TH350. Would the mounts for that swap work? Or would I still need to get mounts specifically for LS?
@adamgoldstein3792 Glad to help! If it were me, I'd get new clamshells(mounted to the body) only because if it's original, those bushings are probably worn out. But if you want to use them, it'll still work. That's your call. You will need to get LS swap motor mounts (mounted on motor and connects to clamshell). Transmission mount, stock one will work with a 4L60e like I used. Can't confirm, but I'd imagine it'd work with a 4L80e and possibly a 6L80e as well if you are going the electronic trans route. Also, make sure you get a 1" bushing to go with it as well as be prepared to drill at least two new holes.
I’m helping a buddy ls swap his 81 firebird, we are having an issue getting power inside the car to run the headlights. What wire or wires did you apply a constant 12volts to on the bulkhead?
The headlights, you might want to find a wiring diagram or trace the wires. You could a bad ground for the switch, seen that happen on cars that sit for a long time. I used the old distributor wire as my constant 12v for the key on and tcc switch. Other constant 12v's such as the alternator, went straight to the battery.
@@runsgoodbutsmokes there is a 10gauge wire coming off the bulk head we believe to be a main power wire for the fuse panel inside the car with everything off in the car when power is applied it blows a fuse. The labels have worn off so we really don’t know what the fuse is for. We have searched up and down online and can’t seem to find a diagram then fits his car. I don’t know a whole lot about the firebirds, I’m more into the squarebody chevys.
@@BigDawg0834 www.firebirdnation.com/threads/1970-81-engine-wiring-schematics.457993/#post-868913 Try this link. Scroll almost all the way down, there is a a wiring schematic for all of the 2nd gens including 2 pdf's of the 81 firebird. Hopefully this gives you guys direction!
@corsicalers2 I went through the passenger side. Drilled my own hole. If I were to do it again I wouldn't do that. I'd find a place to mount it to the firewall or inner fender well.
That is only for if you have an electronic trans such as the 4L60E. This does not apply for manual transmissions. I'll do my best to try and explain this as I don't have a great understanding of it, but I'll try and make sense of this for you. This is so that the lockup will engage and disengage.... the converter locks up typically between 35-45mph after the final gear and when you use the brakes it will disengage lockup and start the downshifting. Lockup is when your trans and the engine rotate at the same speed and lowers RPM because they are locked together.... Lockup.... It is basically like another gear, if you want to think of it that way. Without this hooked up to these 4LXXE's transmissions they can burn up. The lockup is wired to the brake switch. If the brake switch in the car you have is just a 2 prong and you swapped in an electronic trans that has a lockup converter, then you'll need the 4 prong brake switch for a constant 12v source that can be disengage and engaged. Have a wire run from the contestant 12v source prong from brake switch to the TCC control solenoid prong in the PCM, so it can work properly as mentioned in the first sentence above; " the converter locks up typically between 35-45mph after the final gear and when you use the brakes it will disengage lockup and start the downshifting." (on my car it looks like it's prong 2 on the red side of the PCM). Cars with cruise control will typically have a 4 prong brake switch and could splice into the constant 12v feed. As for my case, my 79 firebird did not have cruise control from the factory and it had just the simple two prong switch and the new harness I ordered had a wired already from the PCM with the other end open to be installed into the brake switch if needed. I did need it. I believe the brake switch I ordered was for like 2000ish Chevy S10. Similar to this: www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/masterpro-ignition/masterpro-ignition-4-terminal-brake-light-switch/mpi0/28675?q=4+prong+brake+switch&pos=3 Hope this helps!! Good luck!!
@Driveway Garage Mods I t0 have a 77 firebird I'm ls swapping but does this have to be done because other ls swapps in 2nd gens don't say anything about it so I was just asking if this had to be done
@@kcniggs07 this a commonly missed item in the LS swap forums. The paperwork I got with my harness luckily had something about it, if not I would have missed it and probably burned up the converter. If you have an electronic trans with a lockup converter such as the 4L60e this will have to be done. If you go manual like a T56 or even an older GM style auto such as a TH350 or TH400 you do not have to do this. Great question.
Just had main bearing spin in wifes 80z28 and looking at ls swap. Glad i came across this vid cuz i was looking at those stand alone harnesses. Is that inline walbro pretty quiet? I have a chioce between 5.3 4l60 or 6.0 4l80. Just trying to decide which one to go with
@oldschooltwist18 That's an unfortunate blessing.... Go for it! The Walbro inline pump is very quiet. My car isn't even that loud, makes a good little rumble, but not loud, and I can't hear the pump over it. It's not like an old Holley inline pump that sounds like a generator. Just the only advice with an inline, make sure you have a 100 micron filter BEFORE THE PUMP and a 10 micron filter AFTER THE PUMP. burned up a fuel pump by having a 10 micron before and after the pump. Took it about 6 months but burned it up. Been driving (semi-daily driving, 2-3 days a week) this way exactly how this video is now for 2 years now with about 12,000 miles on it and had zero issues other than the rear main seal was leaking and I got the transmission rebuilt (which needed rebuilt before I put it in). It's been over a year and about 8,000 miles since then. I hope this video helps! Dry material, but information is good, especially for a budget LS swap. There are a few other videos on LS swaps on my channel as well. Hope this helps!
@oldschooltwist18 speed engineering long tubes. Fits F body and G body. Cheap and fit perfectly with the rest of the exhaust which was just a cheap summit exhaust with borland mufflers.
What do you think of using 2002 Tahoe 5.3? Trying to piece this all together. Also which trans would you recommend. The original started slipping and wouldn’t go through all the gears
Nothing wrong with a 2002 5.3. It probably has a 4L60e attached to it. Nothing really wrong with those. Get it rebuilt and put a decent trans cooler on it and it should be fine.
Meant to ask...what did you do for speedo adapter? I've seen setups for bout 350.00 . Seems like you could get the gears and mechanical cable drive and put in where sensor goes?
@@runsgoodbutsmokes lol...ok gotcha. Gotta go pick motor n trans up but 04 5.3. doing summit truck cam and a 92 mm throttle body, long tubes, summit exhaust and trailblazer ss intake. Bought one of those low rise deals but sacrifice low end w them so going ss intake way. I'll make a custom cover or smooth it. Not sure yet. I'm gonna do the tail shaft adapter
Cant you just rip a LS with the trans, harness and ecu out of the junkyard drop it in a firebird and get a driveshaft that works and call it a day? Asking cause I wanna 5.3 swap my firebird that’s currently a v6 I don’t know anything about the LS also
@oldschooltwist18 there might be, but it might be best to do some sort of relocation to where it is at the top passenger side. I am not sure what the best route to do that is though. Just going off of what I have seen others do.
@@runsgoodbutsmokes ya...I have the relocation kit. But all the pulleys are 6-8 ribs vs 5 ribs. So I'm waiting to hear from couple places if they will work w the five rib belt
I have the speed engineering long tubes. Haven't looked in a while, but their website used to say they're for the G-body and they work perfectly. So technically I bought headers for a G-body and not an F-body... framewise they're about the same. hope this makes sense and helps.
I was looking on their website and not seeing them, but I did find that Jegs makes LS swap headers for your car and theyre identical and the best part is, theyre about $35 cheaper than what I paid!! Part number is below for you to look on Jegs: Part Number: 555-300172
@@runsgoodbutsmokes with the stock crossmember, did you use different polyurethane bushings or stock bushings? Did you drill different holes? Any Driveshaft mods?
@@WouldYouLookAtThis the crossmemeber fit in the stock location except it had to be moved one hole location back and two new holes drilled. I originally used the stock 99-04 silverado trans mount, then recently I changed it to to a Poly mount. As long as it's about 1" to 1.5" tall with a center mounting location it should work.... it'll be a little tight, but it should work. At least it did on my car. About the driveshaft I used the stock driveshaft and had it cut down a few inches to fit. I did take it to a driveshaft shop. They needed the dimension from the trans seal to the face of U-joint. Believe it was only cut about 4" if I remember correctly. Thanks for the question!
Part # 12613HKR www.holley.com/products/engine_swap_parts/mounts_and_crossmembers/engine_mounts/parts/12613HKR?Google+Shopping+-+Hooker+Blackheart+Exhaust+Kits+-+Brand&hsa_acc=7848552874&hsa_cam=1331479365&hsa_grp=125242021386&hsa_ad=538285862283&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=pla-1395359895030&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsIejBhDOARIsANYqkD0tKTlBZdnY2XNiwdqhZ1t8tRXP4X1RII7O3ynKup5T46RtGLpSRlgaAg7zEALw_wcB
It should you just wouldn't plug in the auto trans part. The same ebay brand harness makes one specifically for a t56 if I remember right and it's basically the same just minus the plug for the 4l60e
I typically only worked on it over the weekends. Took my time and mostly by myself. Started end of January and was on the road the Saturday before Easter. 3-4 months. Still daily driving it and it's been almost 2 years. If I were to do it over again, now that I know exactly how to do it, and if I had had the parts, I could probably do it in a full weekend or two, but most of my weekends are filled up and usually only have a few hours to wrench. I'm actually doing an LS swap on an 86 C10 squarebody now and have 2 videos on it now. If you'd like to check it out.
The starter on the pontiac engines is on the driver side. The LS starter is on the passenger side. Just made sense to me to move the battery tray over instead of buying new battery cables. Plus the intake tube that I had is meant to be aimed to the driver side. The relocating of the battery was not completely necessary, but was the easiest and cheapest for me. Thank you for the question!
I did at first, but I don't exactly recommend it. It fits, but it's the lowest part of the car and will be the first thing to hit something in the road being that low. It now has a cheap ebay pan on it now and fits just above the k member.
@@GoldshackGarage you need to change the oil pickup tube as well, but most new oil pans come with that. Nothing hut 2 or 3 bolts/nuts and a rubber gasket at the pump.
@@GoldshackGarage www.ebay.com/itm/164983351967 Here is the link. Part number is 55-87 302-1 Just make sure you keep your stock oil pan laying around to swap the filter fitting in.
Originally the stock truck pan. It works, but its very low. I have since switched it to an ebay LS swap pan similar to the 4th gen Fbody pan. Rear sump
Any interest in selling this as is? I wouldn't low ball. You could take my money and do an even nicer build and I'd get my dream car. I'll drive from TN to SC, and I'm aware you want over 10k for it. I'd leave it as is except clean it up, get it painted , and add the emblems and crap to it. I'd drive it for the next 25 years. Think it's time for you to sell it and build another one with a 6.0 in it.