Bought a 69 Now Need Swap Advice

[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?

[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

[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]

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.