engine swap
Thread Starter
2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
engine swap
Hi all,
I have a 69 coupe that I tore down to nothing a few years back. I am now getting ready to put it back together. I want a daily driver that my wife will drive as well but I don't want to go back stock. I want PS,PB,Air,Cruise,tilt,Auto etc.
First question of alot to come... should I go LS or LT out of a donor car or should I buy a turn key crate engine. If I buy a crate, should I go FI or one with a carb. I don't mind spending $5000 or $8000 on a motor.
Thanks for your advise...
I have a 69 coupe that I tore down to nothing a few years back. I am now getting ready to put it back together. I want a daily driver that my wife will drive as well but I don't want to go back stock. I want PS,PB,Air,Cruise,tilt,Auto etc.
First question of alot to come... should I go LS or LT out of a donor car or should I buy a turn key crate engine. If I buy a crate, should I go FI or one with a carb. I don't mind spending $5000 or $8000 on a motor.
Thanks for your advise...
Pro
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 634
Likes: 0
From: Hastings MN
5-8k on just the engine? Man, you can put in anything you want, within reason. Do you want a BB or SB? If you just look at GM crate engines you can get a heck of an engine for that much cash, just drop it in.
Pro
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 634
Likes: 0
From: Hastings MN
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,117
Likes: 0
From: San Jose CA
That's what I want in the future.How does ground clearance go ZZ502 ? I heard stock oil pan won't clear the ground and you need moroso or milodon. If you use third party oil pan, what could be ground clearance (say, roughly how many inches ) ?
Last edited by GroundPounder; Aug 31, 2007 at 12:56 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 7,720
Likes: 12
From: Chattanooga TN
If you want a nice driver the TPI engines from the 86-91 C4s are very nice. You can retain your stock accessories and it is virtually a bolt-in swap. If you go LT1, it still bolts in, but you have to go with LT1 accessories. Then the latest LS series engines have their own accessories and do not just drop in on the same mounts. That being said, if I was doing a car like your today an LS is the direction I would go.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 2,783
Likes: 2
From: Engineers do it better.
I would recommend a small block LSx. No questions in my mind. A bit of work, but a few guys have done it here. There's a sticky at the top of this page. $5,000-8,000 is plenty of money for this kind of swap. Good luck.
Abby Normal
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 53,444
Likes: 92
From: Press "2" for English
i vote for the LT1 or L98 over the LSx engine for simplicity sake. sure, the LSx is commonly accepted as a much better architecture but i just think there is too much re-engineering involved to get it in the framerails, much less working. either LT1or L98 will pretty much just drop in and should have plenty of power and reasonable economy for what the OP is asking for. not to mention, a stand alone computer control will be easier with either SBC1 or SBC2 than SBC3.
