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Post Info TOPIC: 96 lt-1 into a gbody


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Date: Mar 14, 2011
96 lt-1 into a gbody
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First off, hey everyone! i hope everyones doing well, i havent been posting much but ive been reading the forum on and off.

I have a case of spring fever as im sure many of you guys do too so i cant wait to get out to some shows soon

long story short unfortunately my grandmother is sick and will never drive again, which leaves a 96 roadmaster quite possibly at my disposalbiggrin. now obviously im not happy that shes sick id rather have her healthy then the car. but the facts are the facts i hate to say.

Now i have done some research on the lt1 swaps and am not completely going into this blind, i just remember some guys on here having done it and thought it would be good to pick some brains now and down the road when the car is in my hands i will be ready to take what i need.

I would really like to build this engine right the first time and not get everything into the car and realize i want more power or that i shouldve done it differently. i like the idea of the  4L60E  trans and fuel injection. im thinking an upgraded valvetrain, maybe heads and upgraded air intake? and i know this motor is a 2 bolt main. i believe if im not mistaken i was told aftermarket 4 bolt mains are stronger?
so please chime in with opinions and advice and anything else helpful you guys have to offer

thanks in advance!


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1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Brougham
1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe
2010 Chevrolet Silverado Ext. Cab Long bed LT


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contact spudmanmike. hands down the cleanest LT1 or any efi swap in to a gbody i've ever seen.

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87 GN :D 04 SCMCSS- sold :( 03 GTI... eh it gets from point a to b


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firebird_1252 wrote:

contact spudmanmike. hands down the cleanest LT1 or any efi swap in to a gbody i've ever seen.

ls1 is alot faster. but i love driving lt1's more i think. love the torque. i think with the mods mike did he is putting down 299whp and close to 400ftlbs 


 



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87 GN :D 04 SCMCSS- sold :( 03 GTI... eh it gets from point a to b


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Date: Mar 14, 2011
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thanks! i have a dream of building up an ls motor, i would love to build a Cadillac LQ4 or LQ9 but the reality is i dont want to spend the money for one of them and i have an lt1 available with the entire car i can take anything i need and i feel like its a better start...maybe not. i have read a lot of peoples posts saying ls over lt but i was hoping to plan this build out and price it out at least within a ballpark and see if the bang for the buck is worth it...im not looking to build a 10 second car im not nuts just looking for something more fun then my current setup
-Alec

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1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Brougham
1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe
2010 Chevrolet Silverado Ext. Cab Long bed LT


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if you found a pic of mikes car (spudmanmike) you'll know why i say talk to him. hands down the cleanest swap ever.


ls1 swap is also easy. just very time consuming.

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87 GN :D 04 SCMCSS- sold :( 03 GTI... eh it gets from point a to b


Moderator - Monte Hunter Lead Investigator

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Date: Mar 15, 2011
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Remember the LT1 out of a Roadmaster isn't the same as the Vette, F-body or the Impala SS LT1s. The Buick motor would need a different cam, heads, intake and Computer tuning. It would fit in there really easily, common swap lately. And Look at Summit or Jegs and see if someone makes a set of splayed main caps. if your having the block machined, have the machine shop drill and tap for the new caps and then line bore it.

Sounds like a good project. Good luck and have fun.

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also steal heads.

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87 GN :D 04 SCMCSS- sold :( 03 GTI... eh it gets from point a to b


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Date: Mar 16, 2011
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^^ ya i know all these things. ive been swayed more towards an lsx motor with all the reading ive been doing recently. but im not decided yet. id really like to price both builds and see overall what makes the most sense for me.
another part of it is i dont want the "oh another chevy in an olds" everywhere i go...but fuel injected ls or lt motor would be different then the gen 1 swap that i did already.

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1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Brougham
1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe
2010 Chevrolet Silverado Ext. Cab Long bed LT


Senior Member

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Date: Mar 16, 2011
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first off lots of luck with ur grandma.  i wish u my best.  it is a hard process to go thru as well as watch.

i have this almost exact hybrid in my 85. its not as clean as mike's not even 1/2 way as clean but its all done. mikes looks BETTER than stock would have been. his is meticulously clean!!

it is almost a bolt in for the engine, u dont need to notch the frame as some people do. being that u have the b-body serpentine system it makes it easier. ive been told that the system is a little further from the block giving u the room u need. also the fuel line goes from the back of the drivers side which gives it a cleaner look.

if u r using the 4l60e u need a rear tranny mount from JTR. there is an alternative tho. but i forgot it.

too bad u cant use the 8.5" rear from the roadmaster, it is too wide.

of course measure from mid yoke of the tranny to the mid yoke of the rear. then u need to cut the driveshaft. i have heard tho that people have used a camaros driveshaft, it is a little short but it works.

u can but u r best of not using the stock harness get the Howell. itll make the install much easier. try to get the computer from a 94 and do not connect the cam sensor on the 96 enigine. the obd 1 system is easier to do mods to. only 2 o2 sensors. the 96 has 4, 1 in front of each cat and one in back for each cat. get the 96 corvette GS knock sensors. they are MUCH easier to swap without the engine in.

but the roadmasters all had the 5.7 and the caprices had the 5.7 and also came with the 4.3 and they look identical, they were v8's as well, but to confirm what u have, since u already know about the car u can look at the vin the 8th digit is a P or a W think P=POWER W=WEAK . also on the drivers side of the block it has a 588 or 327 embossed by the motor mount. u want the 350 so it reads 588.

oh and u need a gas tank and sending unit from a 4.3 v6 monte or a GN. the tank is baffled right in order for u to obtain gas at less than 1/4 tank.

if u are really looking for gobs of power do the upgrade to a 383 and change the injectors to ford i want to say 24 lbers, again they are a tad shorter than GM but they are much cheaper.  also get an adjustable fuel regulator.  these engines LOVE gas.  the LT1 has great low end power, loads of torque.  if u keep out of the TB u can be getting mi 20 mpg.  u can take it all the way up to a 427.  the internals are the same as a gen 1 block.

4 bolts ONLY came on the vettes.  the splayed ones are much stronger.  but what it sounds like u r doing a street car, the 2 bolt is strong enuff. 

its weird when the engine starts winding up over 6000 rpm!!!  first time i saw that i got nervous.

there is a good stock rebuilder just north of u near the cadillac dealer on hempstead trnpke.  i have heard good things about them.  i think they are called the engine shop. 

i say keep it stock at first then if u get the urge u know u can and the hardwork has already been done.  after all u r going to get ar least 85 more hp.

oh and dont bother with the aluminum heads they were rushed into production and the steel heads flow just about as good.  u just basically save weight. 

-- Edited by 87z16 on Wednesday 16th of March 2011 03:05:14 PM

-- Edited by 87z16 on Wednesday 16th of March 2011 03:24:55 PM

-- Edited by 87z16 on Wednesday 16th of March 2011 03:27:50 PM

-- Edited by 87z16 on Wednesday 16th of March 2011 03:29:29 PM

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1987 Aerocoupe - stock
1985 SS rebuilt LT1 rebuilt 4L60e rebuilt 3.42 posi handling brake upgrades too much rebuilding not enuff mileage!


Veteran Member

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Date: Mar 18, 2011
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thanks for the good words Tom.

and thanks for the info.

I didnt give much info on the car btw.

Im looking at this swap for my 80 cutlass. not the monte...i just sold the monte as a matter of fact. so sorry if i was misleading

my cutlass currently has a gen 1 350 4bolt mains, bored .030 over and i have a holly 600 on it.
ive never dynoed it and ive never been to the track. i know its fast but not that fast. its got 305 heads so its running around 9.5:1 compression but the heads are definitely choking at high rpms.

i think building a motor with some time, patience and the right knowledge would be awesome... i didnt build the current motor so i dont know all the specs like what cam and so on, i also did the swap at the time in a rush and didnt take care of things the way i would have liked to. at the time the cutlass was my daily, now its not and i can do it right

after i finished that swap i realized now i want to build something myself.

regarding the rear end^, im thinking a ford 9" setup from quick performance would be perfect, they seam to be cheap "relatively" to the competition. right now i have a 7.5" posi rear from an 1988 cutlass with 3.08s, i got it with low milage but i still dont want to have to worry about blowing it up if i start making a ton of traction
i think with a lt1 swap and automatic with overdrive from the buick i can maybe get away with 3.73s or 4.10s

going back to a topic that came up before, the lt1 available to me seems to make more sense because i have it, and i dont need to spend a dime to go get an lsx and trans from someplace else.

thanks for the help, and i pmed spudmanmike but it looks like hes not very active on this forum




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1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Brougham
1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe
2010 Chevrolet Silverado Ext. Cab Long bed LT


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dont waste your money on a ford 9". do a 8.5 out of a GN, 442 or a h/o. the stock 8.5 you'll never break unless you go balls out with the motor. i know people doing 9's on the stock gn rear. mine is stock with 120k on it and the posi is now just acting up. and i've did some real hard 60' on my car. even with the rear "hurt" in my car i'll launch it hard and not worry at all about it. imo its the best choice. oh and my car is not stock now..

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87 GN :D 04 SCMCSS- sold :( 03 GTI... eh it gets from point a to b


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Date: Mar 19, 2011
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u r going to notice the difference right off between the gen I & gen II block. especially with the EFI. sounds as if ur current engine is a mild rebuild. for what it sounds like u r doing i to think an 9" ford is not worth the cost. stick with the 8.5" GM. i love the stock 3.42 if u ask me they are almost perfect for both cruising and abusing. if u go 3.73 i think this wll cause too much wheel spin due to the fact that the engine is torquey too start. mine can just sit and spin and i can get 24 mpg on the way home. if u will be abusing the car constantly or really going overboard with ur build up then get the 9". to my understanding the weak part of the 8.5 is the screw that holds the pin in snaps. happened to mine, thats why i freshened it up. also it can bind up in turns. meaning it can get almost locked into postion for a moment turning the car into/out of a turn. nothing mechanical but it happens at the mounting points.

well sometimes there is a weak point on the car and id prefer it to be an axle. most of the time its a cheaper fix, if it doesnt cause necessary bodywork. a driveshaft would be even cheaper but it can polevault u or pierce u in the wrong spot.

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1987 Aerocoupe - stock
1985 SS rebuilt LT1 rebuilt 4L60e rebuilt 3.42 posi handling brake upgrades too much rebuilding not enuff mileage!


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Date: Mar 19, 2011
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I realize the 9" was overkill and the 8.5s are great for what i need. my thinking was that all the prices i see for 8.5s are astronomical b/c everyone thinks theyre made with gold...so when i saw the price at quick performance for a full setup it seemed to make sense, maybe i can find an 8.5 reasonably priced with some scrounging

87z16 you just reminded me, i do want to get a driveshaft loop at some point also...it may not be necessary but it has to be worth it i think. where have/ do you guys usually get them from?

thanks again for all of the advice

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1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Brougham
1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe
2010 Chevrolet Silverado Ext. Cab Long bed LT


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Date: Mar 19, 2011
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you can get a 8.5 with a driveshaft for 1100.. and if you are not racing the car the 7.5 is fine.


www.gbodyparts.com for the loop

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87 GN :D 04 SCMCSS- sold :( 03 GTI... eh it gets from point a to b
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