OK, I'VE GOT MY ENGINE AND TRANNY FROM A 94 FIREBIRD

i'm making a list in hopes i get everything i need to make this a smooth transition....also, if you have any of this stuff or know of a great place to buy it plz speak up. money is tight right now, so the cheaper the better....



NEEDS

gas tank with baffles
fuel pump (electric)
fuel lines
drive shaft
wiring harness (painless)
trans cross member from iceman
Cable-X box for mechanical spedo
electric radiator fan
electronic gauges (spedo) (anyone know the easiest one to fit that works with the lt1?)

WANTS

cowl hood
bucket seats
console
posi rear end
dash cap

come on all, i know there is some input...

I was going to tell you about my Monte Carlo rear on ebay, but I think you already emailed me about it. :lol: Sorry I couldn't do better on the price for you.

come on all, i know there is some input...

Sorry been busy. I'll try and put where I got my stuff from in the next couple of days.

I just completed an 88 IROC tpi into my 1982 and can help with a few items you may want to try. I had the benefit of a wrecked Camaro to pull parts from, so I used the electric fans from the Camaro with a few mods.
I also used the radiator from the Camaro......didnt think the old one would handle the tpi.

Fuel lines: Used the old vent line as a return line and installed a new vent line (hose) to the cannister.

I finally decided to bite the bullet and bought a Dakota Digital dash after considerable thrashing trying to get the correct components to convert from warning lights to gauges. The Dakota system is beautiful and has a lot of bells and whistles, like 60ft. times, 1/4 mile, max speed, max rpm, etc. etc. in addition to the normal speedo, tach, etc.

I would like to find someone or something to connect my cowl hood to the intake of my tpi...........any suggestions?

jehoney
This is a pretty good setup: http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/pmullaly/TPIENGFWD.JPG The air cleaner & its frame are from some year vette, the rest is home made (not mine).

Rick
Thanks for the info on the tpi to cowl hood source, its a nice setup. I think I will try to build my own, and I am thinking about keeping the air cleaner in the hood with only a connector on the front of the tpi that turns up towards the hood. My hood has an opening directly above the tpi intake which seems like a natural place to put the soft connection between the two. I guess I will have to fabricate a transition piece from the tpi to the hood.

Any other thoughts? Anyone?

NEEDS

gas tank with baffles
I bought from I believe The El Camino Store. Seems like the price was around $250.

fuel pump (electric)
Aftermarket Walboro 255. Price is about $95 from most places that carry them.

fuel lines
Bought Russel hard and stainless steel lines from summitracing.com With connectors and hose I think it was about $600. Can be done cheaper but I wanted the stainless steel lines in the engine bay.

drive shaft
Inland Empire Driveline http://www.iedls.com I upgraded to 1350 joints. DS was $375 and new tranny yoke (I didn't have one) was $75. This is a 3.5" aluminum setup.

electric radiator fan
I used 98 Camaro fans. That with a Buick Regal radiator shroud and it looks stock. The fans I got from a friend that wrecked his car but they can be picked up on ebay for 50~100. The shroud I got from a salvage yard but I've seen them on ebay for about 20, and once I saw a chrome one for $75.

electronic gauges (spedo) (anyone know the easiest one to fit that works with the lt1?)
If you're going to be using the cable-X box why do you want to switch speedometer? If you use electronic you don't need the cable-X.

the cable x and the electronic are diff options, kinda looking for input as i have not delt with spedo's before...

Unless you get something like a Dakota gauge setup aftermarket gauges are not easy to fit in the dash. I have Autometer gauges but the fit is tight and I have to have an A-pillar pod for the rest.

My speedo is the Autometer electronic and I had to tap into the wire from the tranny going to the ECM. There is a calibration that you have to go through but that is easy to do.

I would just like to know how much does it come down to all together to drop a tpi or ls1 in your elko? i mean the total cost of everything!? seem like a lot of money to me.

I would just like to know how much does it come down to all together to drop a tpi or ls1 in your elko? i mean the total cost of everything!? seem like a lot of money to me.

Full cost? Depends on if you want to use the correct parts or take short cuts. To give you an idea.

Full system $600 (what it cost me)
tranny Xmember $200
LS1 with tranny $3000~4500
motor mounts $50~100 (these adapt the LS1 to the stock mounts)
ECM programming usually about $500 for an LS1
Custom wiring harness or have your's rewired $250~350 or you could it yourself if you feel comfortable with it.

That's off the top of my head. Doing a motor change like an LS1 or LT1 is not cheap or something that can be done fast.