If you don’t know what an SBC is you have a rough road ahead of you and your LS swap will be a challenge. SBC means small block Chevy.
Hint...Before asking questions you can use Google
Just got my first G body
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If you don’t know what an SBC is you have a rough road ahead of you and your LS swap will be a challenge. SBC means small block Chevy.
Hint...Before asking questions you can use Google
Awesome car. I've never seen that roof before either. I think if you decode the RPO it would tell you if its from the factory or not. Paint and bodywork/rust repair is 100x the job that the mechanical side is. Atleast that's how I feel now.
As noted by others, safety first, go fast after everything's safe. Google the hell out of everything you might be interested in doing then check in with us to get some real world knowlege (and expected smart @$$ responses-bring the thick skin.) If you are totally new to the car hobby don't be afraid to be up front about it. As for that roof, not common but was an option in '78.
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Small Block Chevrolet. V8 family starting in 1955 with 265 ci, up to 400 ci. GM updated the engine in 1987 by adding a new, non-split rear main seal (around the crankshaft at the flywheel) and provisions for a roller-lifter cam that eliminated the need for high-zinc oil, since the cam lobes did not rub on the lifters, but rolled across them. The next major change was the 'vortec' style heads that had really good flow but changed the intake bolt pattern and seals. There was a 'Gen 2' SBC that significantly changed the ignition and induction systems, but those are not common in the yards anymore.
If you must go with an LS engine, there are a similar variety of displacements, and they can be iron (trucks, generally) blocks or aluminum (performance cars, generally). It's a much more involved swap.
Transmission is the next thing to go - at $4 a gallon in the People's Republic, when replacing your blown up 3-speed, go with an overdrive, 200-4R or 700-R4 are the easiest to swap, but mods are required to make them work. If you go LS, just use a later automatic, potentially from the same donor car. Computer already set up for it.
Here is the EROD solution: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-19370414/
You'll need pulleys, accessories, motor mount adapter plates, lots of stuff.
If you're on a budget, stick with what you have for now. Odds are, it's a 305 (5th digit on the VIN tag is U for 1978). If it's an L, oh crap, you've scored, it was built with a 350. Let us know what you find.
If you must go with an LS engine, there are a similar variety of displacements, and they can be iron (trucks, generally) blocks or aluminum (performance cars, generally). It's a much more involved swap.
Transmission is the next thing to go - at $4 a gallon in the People's Republic, when replacing your blown up 3-speed, go with an overdrive, 200-4R or 700-R4 are the easiest to swap, but mods are required to make them work. If you go LS, just use a later automatic, potentially from the same donor car. Computer already set up for it.
Here is the EROD solution: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-19370414/
You'll need pulleys, accessories, motor mount adapter plates, lots of stuff.
If you're on a budget, stick with what you have for now. Odds are, it's a 305 (5th digit on the VIN tag is U for 1978). If it's an L, oh crap, you've scored, it was built with a 350. Let us know what you find.
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Not in California you can't. Not legally, anyway. Totally lost generation. Maybe that's why he's never heard of it ....
Keep in mind, 1978 was one-only year for that A/G body. Steering column, front spindles and wheel bearings and a few other features that changed in 1979. The good news is that these parts can be swapped for later-year easier to find equivalents.
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I think there are actually a few CARB-approved heads for the SBC. The certification process costs about $250,000, so few companies bother with it.
I’m in the same boat living in the “People’s Republic.” There are some efforts to try to implement a rolling 35-year smog exemption again, which would cover most G-Bodies, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Any visual modifications will require either a visible CARB EO number or a trip to the referee station, or both. As others have said, money-no-object, your best bet is probably an E-Rod. It still requires a ref visit, but supposedly makes the overall process a lot easier (but not cheaper). Good luck.
I’m in the same boat living in the “People’s Republic.” There are some efforts to try to implement a rolling 35-year smog exemption again, which would cover most G-Bodies, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Any visual modifications will require either a visible CARB EO number or a trip to the referee station, or both. As others have said, money-no-object, your best bet is probably an E-Rod. It still requires a ref visit, but supposedly makes the overall process a lot easier (but not cheaper). Good luck.
Every once in a while some oddball bill comes up that does something for some cars before some model year, without actually restoring a rolling exemption. Last year AB210 would have exempted everything prior to 1983 (so naturally, CaliWagon83 and myself would still be stuck). That seems to have died, like all the others. There's a petition somewhere, don't know when it started. Fat chance. Originally there was a 30-year rolling exemption.
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