Hello again. Not new but I last posted on here in April 2020. I was on the verge of installing the engine into the car and ran headfirst into several brick walls which derailed my project for a few years. Life has a way of rearranging priorities for you. I have had to get a local shop to help with my build and it is progressing quite well I think. My car is an 83 MCSS with 45ish K on it. It had a 383/TH350 with a 373 gear. The 383 blew a piston and I just happened to have an LY6 laying around and decided to do the LS swap. I picked up a rebuilt 4l80 out of a 3500 Savanna van and got an FTI 9 1/2 inch 3000 converter . I had the block & heads checked & surfaces trued. I had a Summit low lift truck cam & springs installed with a trunnion upgrade. Everything else is stock. It has an LS3 intake, 90lb injectors & 92mm TB.
I went with the Holley LS swap kit. Motor mounts, headers, exhaust, 4l80 trans X member & oil pan. The oil pan, headers & exhaust fit perfectly. No hammering, dinging or bending required. There was 1 exhaust hanger that wouldn't work. We found that today so will have to figure it out. Getting the trans x member in was a challenge It just wouldn't fit. I sat in a chair under the car (it was on a lift) looking at it and it hit me. The frame was bent. We massaged the frame a bit and the x member slid in place and bolted right up. I got a CVF accessory drive with AC. It looks great and has plenty of clearance everywhere. The only issue we have come across so far that doesn't have a clear solution is the rear coil is too close to the heater box. The coil wire will be hitting the box. I have simply turned the coil at an angle to compensate for now. The wiring harness I had made hooked up with no issues.
Whats left to do? Coolant lines & radiator, trans lines/fan & radiator, shifter cable to column shifter, fuel system with external fuel pump, placement (hiding) the ECM.
I went with the Holley LS swap kit. Motor mounts, headers, exhaust, 4l80 trans X member & oil pan. The oil pan, headers & exhaust fit perfectly. No hammering, dinging or bending required. There was 1 exhaust hanger that wouldn't work. We found that today so will have to figure it out. Getting the trans x member in was a challenge It just wouldn't fit. I sat in a chair under the car (it was on a lift) looking at it and it hit me. The frame was bent. We massaged the frame a bit and the x member slid in place and bolted right up. I got a CVF accessory drive with AC. It looks great and has plenty of clearance everywhere. The only issue we have come across so far that doesn't have a clear solution is the rear coil is too close to the heater box. The coil wire will be hitting the box. I have simply turned the coil at an angle to compensate for now. The wiring harness I had made hooked up with no issues.
Whats left to do? Coolant lines & radiator, trans lines/fan & radiator, shifter cable to column shifter, fuel system with external fuel pump, placement (hiding) the ECM.
Last edited:
