1969 Firebird LS1 swap build thread.

[Goose919]

So now that I'm up and running I'll put a few photos out there for all to see.



The car started as a 1969 Firebird 400 non-ram air with a TH400 trans. I purchased the car from a family friend who had not touched it in 12 years. The car was fairly well hacked up through the 70's-80's. The previous owner did do a lot of work but the car still sat between OEM and pep-boys warrior project.

[ryeguy2006a]

Looks like a pretty solid car to start with. Nice project

[Goose919]

First thing that i needed to address was the old and worn suspension. I used hotchkis 2" drop in the front and 1.5" in the rear. When replacing bushings I used Del-A-Lum bushings on the upper and lower control arms. I also added a global west offset cross-shafts. For shocks I did KYB's. After driving on them realized that they were NOT for me. I'm into any shock suggestions from members as I am going to order a new set soon. Thinking hotchkis? Once I got the car off the lift it was evident that I needed tires as my stock 15X7's had limited tire options so I went with 17X8 Rally 2's.

[Goose919]

While I was working on suspension I had to pull the 400 as she had leaks all over mainly the rear main. The car never really ran strong, what I had diagnosed as a faulty ignition system ended up being much more. Long story short 100 miles after the engine went back in she started knocking, broke and frustrated I put it away for the winter. I decided that to fix the 400 was going to end up as a waste of money so I decided to go LS. After only a few hours of searching I was able to source a used 2002 LS1 & 4L60E from a TA WS6. The original car was totaled (rear end) no evidence of any mods to engine and the odometer showed 60K. This being my first swap I took the next few months searching the web for tips and tricks to completing swap.





When installing the engine I wanted to see where the alternator would end up so I dropped her in and was able to mark where I needed to notch the subframe.






I do wish that I paid more attention to some of the products I used. I purchased the Holley LS swap kit (Hooker headers, engine mounts and LS swap pan). I was displeased with large portions of this kit after install I mentioned some of them below.


The mounts put the engine in a decent location but was a bit annoyed that it did not come with the through bolts





the Headers were not manufactured correctly. The O2 sensor bungs are both facing inboard and make it impossible to install the sensor! makes contact with the trans. I ended up modifying my "H" pipe by welding in an additional section of pipe. I called Holley to report the issue and the guy on the phone acted as though he could care less. Funny they were attentive when I was ordering?





Finally the last part of my purchase was the oil pan. It is great quality and tucks up under subframe perfect, my only complaint is that didn't know I needed to buy the LS6 oil dip stick.

[Goose919]

More progress...

[Later-A-body]

Nice Firebird. Great find with the LS1. You'll love the difference in power and driveability.