Wasn't quite sure if I should post in this section or the "LSX Tech" section... My ?'s will be written in red. WARNING: This will be a bit of a read, but I prefer to ask all of my questions and answers in one place for simplicity and easy reference.
I've lurked on this page for quite a while now, but never posted due to not having one of these machines. Quite recently, that changed. Gpa bought this '87...
...to steal the motor and trans out of for his custom '33 Buick pickup. The car was involved in a front end collision that damaged the front passenger quarter panel, bumper, passenger headlight assembly, and bent the frame horn. Sadly, before we got it, the previous owner did sell a few other things off it. I just picked up a new (used) quarter panel, so I've still got to get the front and rear bumpers, tails and headlights, grill, rear end and suspension, and frame. Hopefully, some of you will be able to assist me in that. If I remember correctly, the car only has around 60k miles and no rust so this shouldn't be too difficult.
Gpa knew how much I loved these cars and gave me the body to do with what I chose. Well, since I had already started/acquired a number of parts to do an Ls swap into my '81 Camaro, I decided just to shift those plans to this car with a couple changes.
We've got a number of Ls motors lying around our shop or in other wrecks we've accumulated...'01 Ls1, '04 Ls1, '00 5.3, and two 6.0's. I think I've decided to use one of the iron 6.0's because I don't plan on touching the internals of the engine, other than a cam swap, and I know these iron blocks can take a beating. Also, the larger than 4.0" bore of the 6.0 will allow me to use L92/Ls3/LSA/Ls9 components which seem to be very well performing, budget friendly parts. I've read that the L92/Ls3 heads have a thin deck and are prone to warping in a boosted application, and that the LSA/Ls9 heads, which are almost as cheap, have a slightly thicker deck and a few other tricks that make them a much better head. If I run any of these heads, I intend to use the Ls3 or FAST intake manifold.
I had a t56 to put into my Camaro, so I had PSIConversion make me an engine harness for it. For this car, I plan on using a big stall (3600-4000) auto such as a 4l60. I'd like to save a few bucks and use it that harness in this build, but Will that work? Or will it need to be modified to work with an automatic such as the 4l60? What other auto tranny would work well for me and take a beating? If I remember correctly, the 4L60's have another computer to control them. I guess I'll just call up PSI and see what they can do or recommend. I don't necessarily have to use the 4L60, but they're really cheap and abundant around me and I have some connections with people locally that can build them to be very strong for an affordable price.
I'm looking for north of 600hp/tq at the tire. I plan on doing the JY budget turbo build with this. I've read that On3 Performance has some surprisingly good and reliable turbos that don't cost an arm and a leg. Has anybody on here had good luck with their products? I intend to run this car on e85 mixed with some meth injection. With a good turbo cam, the 6.0, most likely LSA/Ls9 heads, Ls3 or FAST intake, what size turbo would work well to get me over 600whp/wtq and get me into the 10's? It'll be a street car more than track car so I don't necessarily need a turbo that will spool up on me super quick. That would probably just get me into trouble on the street.
SWAP ?'s
A popular rear end swap for the 2nd gen. Camaro guys is to use the 8.8 rears out of Explorers. They've got discs, 31 spline, 3.73 gears, and are damn near bulletproof. I have an IRS rear from one for my Camaro and was thinking about picking up the solid axle version for this car because the junkyard by me sells them for $150. Have any of you guys done or heard of somebody doing this in one of these G-bodies? I've got access to some Ford 9" rears at our farm, too, but the Explorer would be ideal if it can be made to work with how strong it already is, and I wouldn't have to worry about a disc conversion with the 9".
As stated before, my frame is bent. I'm fairly confident the body shop guys at school would be able to pull it straight, but I'm not confident in taking that frame down the track in excess of 130mph. So...is a base Regal frame or any other G-body frame of the same generation able to be swapped underneath? Or is the frame exclusive to GN's?
I'm probably going to do some suspension upgrades as I mod this car. Where is a good place to find some affordable suspension upgrades for these cars? I realize I'll have to account for having a rear end besides the stock one.
Are there any complications with the swap that I should be aware of? I know with the 2nd gen. F-bodies that using the '98-'02 F-body oil pans were a must or you would run into clearance issues. Is this the same for these cars?
Well, that's pretty much all I have for now. I know I have to be forgetting some things so I'll update this and ask more questions as they come to me and as the build progresses.
Thanks for looking and any/all future help.
Brandyn
I've lurked on this page for quite a while now, but never posted due to not having one of these machines. Quite recently, that changed. Gpa bought this '87...
...to steal the motor and trans out of for his custom '33 Buick pickup. The car was involved in a front end collision that damaged the front passenger quarter panel, bumper, passenger headlight assembly, and bent the frame horn. Sadly, before we got it, the previous owner did sell a few other things off it. I just picked up a new (used) quarter panel, so I've still got to get the front and rear bumpers, tails and headlights, grill, rear end and suspension, and frame. Hopefully, some of you will be able to assist me in that. If I remember correctly, the car only has around 60k miles and no rust so this shouldn't be too difficult.
Gpa knew how much I loved these cars and gave me the body to do with what I chose. Well, since I had already started/acquired a number of parts to do an Ls swap into my '81 Camaro, I decided just to shift those plans to this car with a couple changes.
We've got a number of Ls motors lying around our shop or in other wrecks we've accumulated...'01 Ls1, '04 Ls1, '00 5.3, and two 6.0's. I think I've decided to use one of the iron 6.0's because I don't plan on touching the internals of the engine, other than a cam swap, and I know these iron blocks can take a beating. Also, the larger than 4.0" bore of the 6.0 will allow me to use L92/Ls3/LSA/Ls9 components which seem to be very well performing, budget friendly parts. I've read that the L92/Ls3 heads have a thin deck and are prone to warping in a boosted application, and that the LSA/Ls9 heads, which are almost as cheap, have a slightly thicker deck and a few other tricks that make them a much better head. If I run any of these heads, I intend to use the Ls3 or FAST intake manifold.
I had a t56 to put into my Camaro, so I had PSIConversion make me an engine harness for it. For this car, I plan on using a big stall (3600-4000) auto such as a 4l60. I'd like to save a few bucks and use it that harness in this build, but Will that work? Or will it need to be modified to work with an automatic such as the 4l60? What other auto tranny would work well for me and take a beating? If I remember correctly, the 4L60's have another computer to control them. I guess I'll just call up PSI and see what they can do or recommend. I don't necessarily have to use the 4L60, but they're really cheap and abundant around me and I have some connections with people locally that can build them to be very strong for an affordable price.
I'm looking for north of 600hp/tq at the tire. I plan on doing the JY budget turbo build with this. I've read that On3 Performance has some surprisingly good and reliable turbos that don't cost an arm and a leg. Has anybody on here had good luck with their products? I intend to run this car on e85 mixed with some meth injection. With a good turbo cam, the 6.0, most likely LSA/Ls9 heads, Ls3 or FAST intake, what size turbo would work well to get me over 600whp/wtq and get me into the 10's? It'll be a street car more than track car so I don't necessarily need a turbo that will spool up on me super quick. That would probably just get me into trouble on the street.
SWAP ?'s
A popular rear end swap for the 2nd gen. Camaro guys is to use the 8.8 rears out of Explorers. They've got discs, 31 spline, 3.73 gears, and are damn near bulletproof. I have an IRS rear from one for my Camaro and was thinking about picking up the solid axle version for this car because the junkyard by me sells them for $150. Have any of you guys done or heard of somebody doing this in one of these G-bodies? I've got access to some Ford 9" rears at our farm, too, but the Explorer would be ideal if it can be made to work with how strong it already is, and I wouldn't have to worry about a disc conversion with the 9".
As stated before, my frame is bent. I'm fairly confident the body shop guys at school would be able to pull it straight, but I'm not confident in taking that frame down the track in excess of 130mph. So...is a base Regal frame or any other G-body frame of the same generation able to be swapped underneath? Or is the frame exclusive to GN's?
I'm probably going to do some suspension upgrades as I mod this car. Where is a good place to find some affordable suspension upgrades for these cars? I realize I'll have to account for having a rear end besides the stock one.
Are there any complications with the swap that I should be aware of? I know with the 2nd gen. F-bodies that using the '98-'02 F-body oil pans were a must or you would run into clearance issues. Is this the same for these cars?
Well, that's pretty much all I have for now. I know I have to be forgetting some things so I'll update this and ask more questions as they come to me and as the build progresses.
Thanks for looking and any/all future help.
Brandyn