Cadillac Escalade Engine/Trans Swap?

[Chickenbone]

As the title says......but into a 1978 Chevy Malibu. I was referred here by two other forums that didn't have many answers to this question. My first question is; what engine class does the Escalade engine fall into (LS1, LS2)? I am bringing this up because I might be working on the car that I sold a year ago. So I would like to work on some options other than a 1st gen SBC build.

I began pricing 6.0L engines out of the Silverados and what I think are the LS2s out of the Cadillac Escalades. They seem to be more prevalent in the junkyards around here. I figured that I would get the truck ECU and wiring from one of those vehicles, the transmission, and whatever other computer related things I needed for the Malibu. My Malibu had a toasted wiring system (I was told that the curcuit for the dash was a flimsy ribbon that would break after X amount of years), so I would have no inhibtions to ripping the dash apart for the truck wiring or whatever aftermarket wiring harness that I need to make this work. I saw that they had motor mounts for LS1/LS2 engines in Summit Racing for G-Body Monte Carlos. My father is a sheetmetal fabricator, so he said he could make a trans mount if he had to. The driveshaft will have to be modded or custom made for the engine/trans combo. I think I will have to get a GN rear out of Speedway; I forgot which rears were compatible for these cars (3rd gen Camaros or '84-'92 S-10s). I used to cut the tech articles out of Chevy High Performance magazine about G-Body mods, but I lost them sometime between moves. I will have to get a new gas tank and plumb in larger lines and fittings, possibly an in-tank electric fuel pump for the fuel system. Headers, I could go with block huggers until I can figure out which LTs to install. I think I might have oil pan issues as well. Other than that, this is all new to me and I don't know what I will be getting into. If there is anything missing, the plan is totally wrong, or somebody here has done this, please let me know.


Chickenbone

[gearheads78]

It will be a LQ9 6.0 if its out of the last body style Esclade. External parts will be the same as LS1,LS2. All are gen III motors and most parts will all interchange.

[BRPMuscleRods]

http://www.montecarloss.com/communit...161#Post576161

This might help, we have a lot of products to make the LS swap a easier on these G-Bodys. Here is a link to a thread about some basic info for the G-Body swap

Thanks Phil

[Shawn MacAnanny]

http://ls1tech.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=28

Best Forum for LSx swaps IMO.

[Chickenbone]

Thanks for the info guys !!!!! It makes sense to swap one of these engines into the Malibu because they are plentiful now, there is a large aftermarket for them, and they're fuel efficient. I almost wish I still had the car. Though I got other projects that need my attention; perhaps next lifetime. At least now I'll have some options for the girl when she calls next time. I am going to do some more research and get as much info as possible so that when the time does come, I'll be ready. Though nowadays, I am really liking the idea of swapping one of these engines into a late 2nd gen Camaro and heavily mod'ing the suspension for open road racing; kinda like the old Trans-Am series race cars.


Chickenbone