First Time Swapper

[wesmigletz]

Originally Posted by Robznob11

I have less than 3g's in my 6.0 80e swap
Motor tranny harness and puter 48000 mi pull out 1900$ delivered from aaa recycle dallas tx
Rewired harness my self 50$ lt1 swap directions
Puter tune 75$ wait for me performance
Camaro tank with truck pump local salvage 100$
Used hose ends from stock trucks in local salvage,borrowed double flare tool from auto zone to adapt to stock lines ends 5$ each and about 10$ brass fittings
Homade mounts with 1/4 plate and clam shells ,welder free used scrap metal
Drive shaft made 150$
Tranny mount made from scrap metal as well
Headders 4th gen camaro 200$
3 in exhaust kit and mufflers about 150$
Ofchorse i have some other goodies but that just the stuff you have to have!
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Are the 4th Gen Camaro headers a direct swap or do they need modified? What brand and p/n are you running?

Wes

[Robznob11]

That mostly depends on where you set the motor with your mounts. Because of my body drop i set mine low and the ds primary was just touching the lower control arm rather than dent it . I scotted the engine back some . I had to trim my frame alittle. But if installed right they work great and fall right between the frame rails. If you search project bruiser on this sight there is a good right up with pics on these hedders and camaro tank. Mine were from xscream performance off ebay.
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[wesmigletz]

Thanks Rob, I'll check them out.

[thotfulspot]

Are firewall mods needed for the 6.0?
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[Billett]

you mean as far as engine placement? no

[Wasted Income]

4.8, 5.3, 5.7, 6.0, 6.2 and 7.0 all have the same form factor.

[Billett]

Good to know about the camaro tank but I'll probably just use the stock behind the seat one.
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[Billett]

What do you guys think? How hard to convert one to an ls from a SBC

http://delaware.craigslist.org/pts/3644491203.html

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/pts/3583323884.html
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[thotfulspot]

The 4L80 bolts up to a LS. You might find a better deal for a motor and trans pull. You'd have the wiring that way.
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[Billett]

There are several different variations though. Technically speaking the 4l80 is a completely different trans than a 4l80e but I know what you mean. What I was referring to was the difference in bell housing bolts after 99 but I just found a site saying that they put early models on ls engines all the time and just don't use that extra top bolt.

As for buying a pair together... I doubt I'll find a better deal even if these are separate. Most 5.3s around here go for more that $750 so a 6.0 is a bargain.
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[Wasted Income]

I think you're confused, Billett. There is no such thing as a 4L80. Only a 4L80E.

I think you are thinking of how the 700R4 turned into the 4L60, and then with electronic control the 4L60E.

[Billett]

Yes I was. I knew about the 4l60 but I thought there was a plain 4l80 also. Thank you for setting me straight.
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[Billett]

There are four different versions of the 80 though. Differences are listed here

http://jakesperformance.com/site/mob..._FAQ.html#2997
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[Robznob11]

One thing to note if you run a 80e with the 4th gen hedders you will have to cut an ear off the bell housing on the pass side. Its just a hunk of unused aluminum and a chop saw will make short work of it. One other thing to note if you modd the fire wall and set the enginee back with the length of the 80e your front u joint is about 4 inches away from your x member loop. And on a dropped truck even with the Aftermarket x member its tight and leaves little room when setting up pinion angles and tranny members
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[Robznob11]

Sorry i ment saws all! Not chop saw
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[Wasted Income]

LOL, i was gonna say you are more talented than me if you can get that in a chop saw.

FWIW, I've cut that ear off of every 80 I've owned. PITA that gets in the way.

[BR3W CITY]

Originally Posted by Wasted Income

LOL, i was gonna say you are more talented than me if you can get that in a chop saw.

FWIW, I've cut that ear off of every 80 I've owned. PITA that gets in the way.

Same here. Made a good piece of cast AL scrap, but thats about it.

[Billett]

Bought the engine, but I won't be able to do much with it for a little while. Finals this week, and next week I'm going with the Mrs. to visit her grandparents in Florida. Once I get back it's on! Pics tomorrow

[Wasted Income]

Good deal. Congrats.

[Billett]

Looks like a big mess right now, but I can't wait to tear into it and start really cleaning it up.







Also, my brother snagged this set of fans from work. Not sure 100% what year truck they are from, but I'm hoping I can get them to work without too much trouble.

[Billett]

First of all, no idea why that last pic wasn't the right one. Here are the fans.


Secondly, couple questions while I'm waiting to get to work. I apologize as these may seem very basic, but I really appreciate the help.

1) To connect the 4L80E I won't need a spacer because I have the 01+ Lq4 correct?

2) I know you mentioned cutting off that ear depending on the headers I use, but what headers work well with these trucks for a budget price? I'd prefer a set of headers as opposed to manifolds, but would I be better off sticking with manifolds? I've look at the Doug Thorleys ones, but I'm not sure it's in the budget at the moment... Any of the F-body headers fit? I'm assuming it depends on what kind of engine mounts I use which leads me to number 3...

3) cheapest engine mounts. I've got the 350 in there now and I've seen the templates in the lsx faq thread. Is it really as simple as making a pair of these plates?


I'd rather not spend $220 on the ECE ones. I'm sure the quality is fine, but these plates are well within my abilities to make.

4) When I picked up the engine he forgot the PCM at his house so I'll be getting that in the mail this week. However, he cut the harness as seen in pic 3 in the last post. I've heard that I can get the harness ends off of a 2nd gen s10. Anyone know if there's any truth to that? Would I be ok soldering some extra length to those cut ends when I go over the harness or would I be better off finding an uncut stock one and routing it where I need to?

5) How about a tune? I know speartech and blackbear do tunes, and I could go for the more expensive EFI live or HPT direction. I know it would be cheaper short run to get a tune from a shop, but when I'm spending $200 every time I need a re-tune it just seems like buying HPT would be much cheaper in the long run. Since the engine was from a van I'm assuming it already had a 4l80e behind it, but if not my brother works at a GM dealership so I think he can reflash it for me if I get in a jam. Biggest thing is, I'd like to learn to tune, but for the initial "get it up and running" all I really need to do is remove the VATS right?

[ls1nova71]

So many questions......
But here's a start. Since this is your first swap, I would suggest keeping it fairly simple, this way you are less likely to burn out and leave it unfinished and/or sell it at a loss.
That said, 1 yes, a 4l80e will bolt up to it since that's what it originally had. It would probably be best to find one that was originally bolted to an LS engine since there has been changes made in the wiring over the years.
2 Keep in mind that headers will probably interfere with your stock shift linkage. TBSS manifolds fit real well and on a stock engine flow good enough.
3 You can splice the PCM ends back on the harness, but it will be alot of work and leaves alot of places for simple mistakes to happen that can leave you pulling your hair out trying to track them down. For the cost of a truck harness, I would find a complete one and mod from there.
4 you can make your own adapter plates, all you are doing is making a way to bolt the original mounts to the engine. The original stands can be a problem with manifolds, so I would get a set of stands off of a 73-87 and use them with their matching mounts and clamshells.
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[Robznob11]

The plates are easy to make,note you can also move the stand on the frame easy if you need more clearance, that ear is super easy to cut off and to me headders are worth it. Gen 4 hedders are by far the cheapest to find but take some massaging. They will work. Wait4meperformance will do a full tune for 75 bucks + 12$ shipping and its free reflash for life google them. I had no linkage issues with my gen 4 hedders. Also im running a 04 vette radiator off ebay for 100$ it has the tranny cooler and oil cooler built in. Just make brackets and mount it and camaro fans fit it with very little masaging
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[BR3W CITY]

Originally Posted by billett

2) i know you mentioned cutting off that ear depending on the headers i use, but what headers work well with these trucks for a budget price?


5) how about a tune? I know speartech and blackbear do tunes, and i could go for the more expensive efi live or hpt direction. I know it would be cheaper short run to get a tune from a shop, but when i'm spending $200 every time i need a re-tune it just seems like buying hpt would be much cheaper in the long run. Since the engine was from a van i'm assuming it already had a 4l80e behind it, but if not my brother works at a gm dealership so i think he can reflash it for me if i get in a jam. Biggest thing is, i'd like to learn to tune, but for the initial "get it up and running" all i really need to do is remove the vats right?

Almost any of the headers will hit the ear on the 4l80e, it only gets in the way, and probably 85% or more with the 4l80e will have it trimmed.

Not every van had a 4l80e, just so you know. The truly best option for a tune would be having a local tuner do it on a dyno with HPT or EFI. The email tunes are best-guess tunes based on what they are told your are running for equipment. They cannot take into account any x-factors, and the tune is somewhat "Canned". A tuner will unlock your PCM with the tuning program (once your pcm is "licensed" on hpt you don't need to pay to do that again). Then he can tune it on the dyno with a full tune, which will make more power and be far more dialed in than a mail order tune can. Plus, a good tuner will be glad to help with re-tune issues.

Buying HPT and learning to tune is cool, as you can start with a base tune from the support forums they have. I will say that its added pressure having to learn to tune the truck, as you do the swap etc at the same time. Seems like it could be frustrating if you got hung up on that part.

[Robznob11]

I agree local dyno tune is better! I live 30 min from tsp and when i do cam swap ill have a dyno tune! Mail in will get you on the road tho
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