So my friend approached me about guiding/ helping him put a more modern power train in his chop top 67 C10. The big block in it had wiped out several cam lobes and he was done with it. The search started out looking for an LS3 or truck gen4 6.2 in relatively low mileage condition: not much luck. Then went looking for a crate motor: long wait times. That led to the genV used takeout search. That netted a decent looking LT1/ 8L90 combo out of a rear crash damaged 2016 Camaro SS. Motor was purchased with a partial engine harness and ECM.
NOHOME
MegaDork
11/27/23 6:26 p.m.
Holley does have you covered with the engine control. So I guess it is possible. Let us follow along.
Holley just finally released and raised prices for their gen V Terminator X ecu with trans and e throttle control....$3000
bit of a budget buster
Project is mostly done. Currently in the process of exhaust system installation. I started on the 2nd week of August this year. I just decided to document and post the build with the path we choose. The first pictures are of the recipient vehicle and the engine trans combo.
The first thing that the owner wanted to do was paint the engine/ transmission black. Then we wanted to do a cam swap and DOD deleted. We selected a BTR stage 1 as it would play well with the stock converter. This also required the installation of a 4 degree cam advance limiter. Like the LS this motor must have the heads removed to replace the lifters. The motor fit in the frame with the coils as close to the firewall as we were comfortable with after we notched and reinforced the back edge or the cross member. This was with the stock Camaro oil pan. This pan has a liquid to liquid oil cooler mounted on the left side of the pan. This cooler was damaged in removal or shipping. It was bypassed by using a hawks bypass plate. The cooler would have not cleared the headers anyway.
The cam installation also included valve spring and pushrod upgrades, new stem seals, and rocker arm trunion bearing replacement. And of course new lifters with trays and plugging the oil towers in the valley. All very much like the gen4 LS.
Somewhere in the middle of the camshaft upgrade.
Oil pan clearance at cross member before notching.
How much was the takeout LT1? Are you using the stock ECM?
In reply to Kendall Frederick :
Purchased the engine with transmission ECM and harness shipped 9k. Car had 32 k miles. Things to keep in mind: If getting the trans ask for the TCM too. Also ask for the MAF and O2 sensors. We missed that and had to purchase them separately. Yes we are using the stock ECM. We sourced our harness from Speartech. They are pricey however the quality and customer support are excellent. We wanted cruise control and tap shift, which they supplied. They delivered the product before the projected date.
The motor mount system we used was the ITC billet adapter plates and the mounts that were on the big block. We moved the frame side mounts to the rearward set of bolt holes in the cross member. As previously mentioned I notched the rear side of the cross member by cutting out the pinch weld area, welding the edge shut and welding in triangle shape gussets to reinforce the area.
We used Speed Engineering LT swap long tube stainless steel headers. The fit was good and the price was reasonable at under $350. The accessory drive system was the Holly high mount system. This setup required a set of additional brackets that bolt to both heads. This permits the other brackets (originally designed for the LS motors) to be bolted on. We bought both bracket kits then purchased the actual accessories from other suppliers. The brackets also included a set of spacer/ adapters that allowed the use of a C5 style water pump. Also in order to use this system you must swap out the harmonic balancer/ pulley for a truck unit.
There are several reasons to consider starting with a truck 6.2 if you are doing a swap. Depending on what accessories you are running you may need the truck balancer. The long blocks are the same except oil pan, intake and possibly valve covers. Yes same crank, cam, pistons, heads. The truck intake clears some accessory drives better ( the Holly high mount we used required a wedge shaped spacer to get the throttle body up enough to clear things). Transmission output can also be an issue. The truck transmissions use a conventional slip yoke output. The Camaro transmissions have the three pointed output flange designed to connect to the giubo joint. This increases drive shaft costs. Not only must the shaft connect to the three pointed flange it must also have a slip joint in it. See picture.
Fuel system: there are several options here. Some people are using the stock setup which has a fuel pump control module and pressure sensor for the low pressure side of the system. The module regulates power to the pump by pulse width modulation. This requires the module, pressure sensor and stock or other pump capable of PWM operation. We went with an in tank Aeromotive pump rated at 340lph. The tank is mounted on the rear between the frame rails. It appears to be originally out of a 1st gen S-Blazer. The pump output line runs to an Aeromotive pressure regulator mounted on the firewall. The regulator is set at 72 psi. This setup was recommended by the harness manufacturer and other knowledgeable people. The return line from the regulator runs back to the tank. This seems to be the best option if you wish to retain direct injection.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks! I had a lot of fun doing this swap. And being the first genV I have been involved with l learned a bunch!
A few pictures of the cross member notch with the motor in its proper location.
The 8L90 transmission has some surprisingly large cooler lines.