Bought a 69 Now Need Swap Advice

[OBeer-WAN-Kenobi]

I finally found a decent 69 RS Camaro and decided to pull the trigger. It could use some body work in the future but it looks to me like someone found a decent original car, bondo'd a few places and slathered black paint on it. The floors are nice and so are the frame rails so I've decided that a LS T56 swap is the first thing on my list. Future plans include a Ridetech suspension but the swap should maximize bang for the buck until I save enough for body work, suspension and forced induction. I want 500-650 RWHP when all is said and done.

Focusing on "bang for the buck" and seeing that black Friday/cyber Monday are upon us I'd love it if you could all give me some advice on which parts to buy and where to get them.

First thing I'm thinking about is the fuel system. I'd like to do flex fuel or at least be able to switch to an E85 tune in the future. I found this today from a post on this forum and with a 15% discount it seems pretty reasonable but I'm not sure if it will coincide with my goals

http://www.palmettoperformance.com/a...uel-tanks.html

Enough pump? E85 OK?

I'm also going to need a fuel pressure regulator and I've heard some Corvette model is the way to go?

Which engine mounts seem to be the way to go at the moment? There are so many options in that department. Is 1" back the way to go or not? I'm going to stick with the stock subframe even in the future and the car currently has power steering and a 350 engine.

I'll need to switch out my auto trans brake pedal for a manual pedal set and will need a hydraulic clutch master. I'm looking for the best value option for that as well.

A radiator and fans are the last major thing I can think think of at the moment. The radiator in my car is brand new but I don't suppose that will work. Is a 2000 or so F-body one the place to start?

I realize this has been done many times before and I've read threads all over the forums here and elsewhere but some are pretty old and new goodies and deals come along all the time. So basically I'm looking for some advice so I can start shopping today when some deals are ripe for the picking.

Thanks!

[Sieg]

Brakes?

[OBeer-WAN-Kenobi]

Originally Posted by Sieg

Brakes?

It already has disc fronts and everything is brand new. I just replaced the wheel bearings a couple of days ago. I know I'll need more brakes later but I think I'll do that with the suspension conversion or when I really start to add horsepower. Unless, there is a relatively inexpensive stockish option in discs for the rear that will work with the original front discs?

For now, I only have enough money to do a stock LSx swap so the engine will probably be less than 400 hp. The stock discs should be fine for next summer at least. When I do upgrade it will probably be with something from KORE3 so that I can still go to the autoparts store for parts.

I did think of something else though. Is there a particular swap harness that people like a lot lately?

[Bsinclair]

i feel the aeromotive pump won't have enough to make your hp goal on e-85. it would be fine on gasoline.

if i was going the e-85 route i would choose a ricks vaporworks tank with the cts-v pumps installed. most of the cts-v guys running e-85 change the injectors to id850's and use the stock pumps. by choosing this pump system you will not run out later when you decide to go to e-85.

on the engine mounts i like the dirty dingo sliders. you can put them anywhere you want..

your radiator will work but you will have to adapt to the different ls radiator hose sizes.

i used a modern vintage harness on mine... the psi harness is also used alot on here

[OBeer-WAN-Kenobi]

I know everyone likes pictures so here are some for all of your enjoyment to look at while you're helping me....lOL ;P

[OBeer-WAN-Kenobi]

Originally Posted by Bsinclair

i feel the aeromotive pump won't have enough to make your hp goal on e-85. it would be fine on gasoline.

if i was going the e-85 route i would choose a ricks vaporworks tank with the cts-v pumps installed. most of the cts-v guys running e-85 change the injectors to id850's and use the stock pumps. by choosing this pump system you will not run out later when you decide to go to e-85.

on the engine mounts i like the dirty dingo sliders. you can put them anywhere you want..

your radiator will work but you will have to adapt to the different ls radiator hose sizes.

i used a modern vintage harness on mine... the psi harness is also used alot on here

I hear Rick's tanks are great but that's WAY too expensive for my budget. If the pump in the tank I linked above could be easily upgraded later it's much more budget friendly. I'd make a tank from scratch before I'd pay $1500...now, for under 6 bills, with a pump, I wouldn't bother making one.

Those mounts look pretty good and I'll definitely check those harnesses. Thanks for your advice!

P.S. This is more of a "budget" build if there is such a thing. I don't have the kind of money that it requires to do many of the builds on here. Basically, I sold my daily driver and am using the money to buy and start building this car.

[glassman]

If your on a "budget" with an LS swap the best thing to do is draw it out on paper (all the parts you will need) and be patient. I did this and now its paying dividends, i'm really glad i did it. Despite all the information out there, when doing it on a budget, you will still run into problems, at least i did. My swap ran into the 11k range, but you can do it for closer to 5 or 6k if your good.
My tank i used, new, was sh$t, so i splurged on the Ricks, but there are plenty of mods you can do to your own tank for waaaaaay less $$.

Another suggestion is go with a truck block, there iron short blocks as opposed to aluminum and you save about 2500 in the grand scheme of things.
And there's plenty of GOOD info out there, oof course there's plenty of bad too but most of us here can read through the b.s.

Good luck and keep her slideways.....

[OBeer-WAN-Kenobi]

Originally Posted by glassman

If your on a "budget" with an LS swap the best thing to do is draw it out on paper (all the parts you will need) and be patient. I did this and now its paying dividends, i'm really glad i did it. Despite all the information out there, when doing it on a budget, you will still run into problems, at least i did. My swap ran into the 11k range, but you can do it for closer to 5 or 6k if your good.
My tank i used, new, was sh$t, so i splurged on the Ricks, but there are plenty of mods you can do to your own tank for waaaaaay less $$.

Another suggestion is go with a truck block, there iron short blocks as opposed to aluminum and you save about 2500 in the grand scheme of things.
And there's plenty of GOOD info out there, oof course there's plenty of bad too but most of us here can read through the b.s.

Good luck and keep her slideways.....

Yeah, I've done other swaps, though nothing fuel injected, and I've realized that whatever your first guess is at cost, you might as well double it as you'll run into all kinds of piddly stuff that costs money. I'm hoping for around the 5K-6K mark as you said. I think they key is to avoid any "splurges" that you don't need...haha. $10 here and $20 there add up.

I can afford to be a bit patient. I'd like to get the swap done this winter though if possible....I just figured there'd be deals around this weekend.

I'm fine with an iron block, especially for adding boost later; unfortunately, then you have to buy all of the F-body accessories, intake, oil pan and such which brings the prices pretty close right?

I can fabricate anything I'll need but sometimes it's not worth the time when someone else already figured out everything and you can just buy it and bolt it in.

[Rybar]

I would frequent the forums of LS1tech for a dropout motor and tranny combo. If your on the classifieds there daily you will find a good deal. Try to find a motor most suitable for you. Do you want an LS1, LS3 or LS3 or an iron block LQ4/9 or L92? Get the motor with all the accessories, wire harness and computer. Then start researching fuel tank, motor mounts, headers, radiator and oil pan. Theres other small supporting mods too like fittings, gas pedal, intake pipe etc. I found (with every aspect of my build) that every time you try to cheap out it ends up costing you in the end with crappy parts, workmanship or wanting to improve the area of the car you cheaped out on. So I would really focus on getting the right parts first time around.

Oh and congrats on the purchase.

[OBeer-WAN-Kenobi]

Originally Posted by Rybar

I would frequent the forums of LS1tech for a dropout motor and tranny combo. If your on the classifieds there daily you will find a good deal. Try to find a motor most suitable for you. Do you want an LS1, LS3 or LS3 or an iron block LQ4/9 or L92? Get the motor with all the accessories, wire harness and computer. Then start researching fuel tank, motor mounts, headers, radiator and oil pan. Theres other small supporting mods too like fittings, gas pedal, intake pipe etc. I found (with every aspect of my build) that every time you try to cheap out it ends up costing you in the end with crappy parts, workmanship or wanting to improve the area of the car you cheaped out on. So I would really focus on getting the right parts first time around.

Does $4850 (shipped to my door) for a complete swap/pullout LS1 and T56 plus all the accessories, harness and ECM sound like a decent deal? 61,000 miles.

I have been watching for parts cars for months, way before I found the '69 but haven't found anything under $6500.

Personally, I'm not too fussy on the motor itself as I can always work on it and upgrade it as I go. It's the accessories, intake and the pan and the peripherals that I'd rather get as a package deal as that stuff can get expensive fast. From what I understand, getting an LS1 is the best way to get the most stuff that actually fits.