MY Planned LS swap, existing LSer's please read and advise

[whytry]

After a ton of searching, reading on other swaps, known combos(which is great BTW) and much now what feels like mush in my brain, I decided I'm going to try to put all my thoughts into this thread and build off it.

What I am intending to do - LS into my 68 Camaro with a TKO-600 (already own but was attached to a BBC) and a F1R Procharger (also was attached to BBC). Everthing else is up for discussion, as my sig states, I'm recently divorced and have 2 boys I am providing for, so budget it tight, but I think I can pull it off... So brand new LS7, etc is outta the question, hahaha...

I'm being told that a friend of mine has a wrecked 2003 GMC Denali that was rearended and totaled, the owner of the body shop the Denali is at bought the truck for parts. Now I am told I can get the motor, accessories, ECU and wiring harness for $1000, I am not sure if that's with tranny or not, but since its an AWD tranny I think I would be able to use it anyways... and I'd like to use my TKO-600 if at all possible. That sounds like a pretty good price to me, for it complete and possibly delivered to my house.... Please step in if I'm wrong but I've been looking for awhile and haven't found anything else close. I don't know miles on it yet, will Tues night when my buddy can see the vehicle, etc... It still runs, but frame was twisted as it was rearended so the INS totalted the Denali.

I am thinking its a LQ4 and therefor i will be needing to get some accessiores to make it work in my Camaro, I will be running only the A/C and alt for accessories too, I will need a new intake, prob the LS3 and the L92 heads, like I said so much research my brain turned into mush a little...

It's safe to say leaning towards a hydraullic clutch setup as well, I know the Keisler setup is really nice but expensive, so open to options there...

to use my TKO, will I need to change bellhousings?

I've been a fan of Dynatech, and would like to use their headers but have read mixed reviews on how to get them to be a "direct bolt on" for this conversion. I can't make my own parts (wish I could) so it has to be something I can buy. I read alot on the conversions and known swaps that its best to get the headers and motor mount plates at the same place as its a proven fit, would like to use some type of stock oil pan,(again cost concise)

Like I said my brain is mush, in need of some, ok, major hand holding, :D... And top it off gonna try to do this in my garage at the house, so as the time get closer and closer anybody in the area willing to lend a hand I'm open to it... cough, cough...

Thanks everybody for their input!!

B-

[kainedogg]

Not sure if the divorce was a good thing or not, but congrats on having your boys. Are you a member of LS1tech? You will find way more useful information and guidance there, especially since your build is neither unique or new...just really cool. You indeed have an LQ4 and it got a 5hp bump to 325 in '03. If you did choose to use the awd trans, a reputable trans shop could switch out the output shaft...

[jlcustomz]

So much is possible with the new ls engines, But not so easy on a small budget.Some things you can build your way out of spending money, such as following an ecm pin out chart & modifying your own harness instead of spending $500 plus to have one modified or a new one. With something like a procharger, you need bigger injectors & more costly computer tuning & buy mounting brackets<etc if you can't make.Using the tko wouldn,t be a problem with correctparts, Manual linkage could save you $ if you have . A clutch such as a Monster stage 3 alone will set you back a few$.
All the info you need is out there, as someone has done most everything, Just don't expect it to be a small budget if you can't fabricate. Could consider doing it in stages, get it swapped in & driveable, then go for the more expensive stuff.

[t72ss402]

X2 on looking over at LS1Tech. Tons of info over there. With it being a 2003 look at the throttle body to see if it is a DBC or DBW. If it is a DBW then you need get the gas peddle from the Denali aswell. Unless you are set on a look just stay with all the factory intake and acc. as it would amaze you the mount power these motors make with just a cam and good tune. And also as said before save some money and do your harness yourself, here is a video of how to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tITS_uOXZrU. Also another great web site for harness info is http://www.lt1swap.com/ it has great info on how to setup your relays and all the pinouts for for ecu/harness.

And alsways ask questions someone here or on LS1TECH will know the answer.

Tim.