LY6 and 6L90e swap for my Cutlass. Any and All information is appreciated.

[Calvin Babineau-Crane]

I plan on making my own engine mounts and probably modify the truck oil pan so that I can sit the engine lower along with raising the bottom of the pan so it doesn't hang so low. I thought about buying a new pan but it seems like Holley's would be the only one worth spending money on and it is just a tad over budget. Along with that I also want to keep the VVT and from what i've rear there's a fitting or something in the LY6 pan that is needed to keep that so from what I know there aren't to many option unless I want to delete the VVT.

Seems for headers or manifolds there aren't a whole lot of options that don't require modifying. With that said I THINK I'll be spending a good chunk of money on are the Hooker G body swap headers. Seems like that is the best option but I still have time to think and figure out if I will be able to spend that much on them so we will see.

As for wiring there is a local guy who modifies harnesses so will probably get him to do that along with tuning.

For the transmission. I plan on keeping the 3.73s in the rear end so hopefully it works well with the transmissions gearing. The person I bought the car from had just had the rear end rebuilt with 3.73 gears and posi diff so I don't plan on changing that at all. We will see how things go once I get everything in.

 

[Dinosport]

Well Calvin I'm in the middle of putting everything together for an ly6 into a Gbody. (Malibu). If there's 2 things I've learned over the years and the amount of cars I've been around and that is whenever someone is trying to hard to save money they actually end up spending more than if they did it right the first time. 2) is that if enough guys say something isn't going to work then chances are it won't. That's where the loss of money comes because if it drives like crap you'll have to do it over again.
Unless your a skilled aluminum welder and have the time to put the engine in and take it out multiple times for figment and measure purposes then leave that to the guys that have done it already. I plan on using The muscle car pan kit, its only 200 bucks. And we'll worth it since the pick up and everything will be right and I won't have to blow the engine to realize I screwed up the pick up. Not to mention again the skill at aluminum welding.
On the trans, I don't know anything about that trans but you could probably sell it for more or less what a 4l60 will cost. I have 700r4 for mine. If enough guys are saying it won't work do you really want to get that in there and then have to take it back out? That's up to you if you have the time and resources for that.
Headers, so far the cheapest and easiest option are the S10 shorty headers. Not the best all out performance option but better than manifolds and fit a lot easier. If the motor is going to stay fairly stock that should suffice.
Motor mounts. Again why waste so much time putting the in and out multiple times for something you can get for as cheap as 50 to 150 bucks. I'm not sure which ones I'm going with yet because I want to keep the heater box, even the AC so on my to do list is to figure which are the best priced ones that will achieve that for me.
Accessories, from what I hear the truck ones fit but Sometimes there is an issue with the power steering pulley being to close to the gear box. That might depend on the mounts you use too. Not sure. They sell a pulley that's smaller or they also sell a bracket set up for the truck accessories that move the alternator down and the power steering pump up and it only like 130 on eBay. I was going to get that but I found a deal on LS3 corvette complete set up.
Well that's all I could think of for now, if I can help in any way feel free to pm. Best of luck

 

[motorheadmike]

Be really careful with your driveline angles, you may want to look into a 6L80E trans pan from a car (ZL1 or CTS-V).

Nice to see another Ottawa guy on the forum.

 

[Calvin Babineau-Crane]

Be really careful with your driveline angles, you may want to look into a 6L80E trans pan from a car (ZL1 or CTS-V).

Nice to see another Ottawa guy on the forum.

Thanks motor head Mike. I did see a forum where someone used a 6l80 pan and just had to extend it a bit to fit on the 6l90 case so might try that but I believe he only gained 3/4" of clearance so we will see how it sits when I get it in.

 

[Calvin Babineau-Crane]

Well Calvin I'm in the middle of putting everything together for an ly6 into a Gbody. (Malibu). If there's 2 things I've learned over the years and the amount of cars I've been around and that is whenever someone is trying to hard to save money they actually end up spending more than if they did it right the first time. 2) is that if enough guys say something isn't going to work then chances are it won't. That's where the loss of money comes because if it drives like crap you'll have to do it over again.
Unless your a skilled aluminum welder and have the time to put the engine in and take it out multiple times for figment and measure purposes then leave that to the guys that have done it already. I plan on using The muscle car pan kit, its only 200 bucks. And we'll worth it since the pick up and everything will be right and I won't have to blow the engine to realize I screwed up the pick up. Not to mention again the skill at aluminum welding.
On the trans, I don't know anything about that trans but you could probably sell it for more or less what a 4l60 will cost. I have 700r4 for mine. If enough guys are saying it won't work do you really want to get that in there and then have to take it back out? That's up to you if you have the time and resources for that.
Headers, so far the cheapest and easiest option are the S10 shorty headers. Not the best all out performance option but better than manifolds and fit a lot easier. If the motor is going to stay fairly stock that should suffice.
Motor mounts. Again why waste so much time putting the in and out multiple times for something you can get for as cheap as 50 to 150 bucks. I'm not sure which ones I'm going with yet because I want to keep the heater box, even the AC so on my to do list is to figure which are the best priced ones that will achieve that for me.
Accessories, from what I hear the truck ones fit but Sometimes there is an issue with the power steering pulley being to close to the gear box. That might depend on the mounts you use too. Not sure. They sell a pulley that's smaller or they also sell a bracket set up for the truck accessories that move the alternator down and the power steering pump up and it only like 130 on eBay. I was going to get that but I found a deal on LS3 corvette complete set up.
Well that's all I could think of for now, if I can help in any way feel free to pm. Best of luck

Thanks for the reply dinosport. As for the pan, will the muscle car pan work if I plan on keeping the VVT? I've heard that once you change the pan you need to delete that system. Now since this will be my daily driver I would like to keep the vvt to help with mileage on long trips, which is why I'm planning on modifying the stock pan.

As for the truck Accesories I will most likely have to do something the allow the power steering and AC Compressor to fit,still not sure which route to take with that.

For engine mounts, after shipping and conversion they all come up to around $200 for good ones, about $80 for adjustable setback plates which I may try Frist. Just seems like a bit of a waste considering I could make my own for about $10 worth of steel. Let me know which ones you end up going with, I've heard good things about dirty dingo mounts.

I plan to keep the 6l90e since it's something that is not often done and the extra 2 gears would be nice. I like a challenge and I'm stubborn. The fact I already have a low mileage 6l90e is nice too. I know it's possible with some fab work to the tunnel which I'm comfortable with doing since I had to do the same thing in my C10.

As for the headers I'm leaning towards modifying fbody longtube headers since there's not much to it. And by modifying I don't mean just hitting them with a hammer.

Are you running the truck Accesories ? Also which intake will you be going with. I would like to know how that works out for you. I also plan on keeping my Ac as well

 

[Dinosport]

Thanks for the reply dinosport. As for the pan, will the muscle car pan work if I plan on keeping the VVT? I've heard that once you change the pan you need to delete that system. Now since this will be my daily driver I would like to keep the vvt to help with mileage on long trips, which is why I'm planning on modifying the stock pan.

As for the truck Accesories I will most likely have to do something the allow the power steering and AC Compressor to fit,still not sure which route to take with that.

For engine mounts, after shipping and conversion they all come up to around $200 for good ones, about $80 for adjustable setback plates which I may try Frist. Just seems like a bit of a waste considering I could make my own for about $10 worth of steel. Let me know which ones you end up going with, I've heard good things about dirty dingo mounts.

I plan to keep the 6l90e since it's something that is not often done and the extra 2 gears would be nice. I like a challenge and I'm stubborn. The fact I already have a low mileage 6l90e is nice too. I know it's possible with some fab work to the tunnel which I'm comfortable with doing since I had to do the same thing in my C10.

As for the headers I'm leaning towards modifying fbody longtube headers since there's not much to it. And by modifying I don't mean just hitting them with a hammer.

Are you running the truck Accesories ? Also which intake will you be going with. I would like to know how that works out for you. I also plan on keeping my Ac as well

You know I didn't realize the muscle car pan doesn't work with the vvt until I saw one just recently. I can't remember where I was it or how much it was. In that case you may not have much of choice. I'll keep my eyes peeled if I come across it again I'll post it.
As for the mounts. I'm not sure yet which one I have to do some more research. I have heard that with the truck accessories the Spohn mounts will allow the Ac compressor to fit with no mods. Again I've read it but I can't personally verify that. I know sometimes it's cheaper to make something but sometimes the cost just outway the labor. I don't have a lot of extra time so I have to make it count. I guess that's why I look at it that way. Good luck with all. Don't be afraid to ask questions. And let us know what works for you. I'll do the same as I learn I'll post my findings.

 

[Calvin Babineau-Crane]

You know I didn't realize the muscle car pan doesn't work with the vvt until I saw one just recently. I can't remember where I was it or how much it was. In that case you may not have much of choice. I'll keep my eyes peeled if I come across it again I'll post it.
As for the mounts. I'm not sure yet which one I have to do some more research. I have heard that with the truck accessories the Spohn mounts will allow the Ac compressor to fit with no mods. Again I've read it but I can't personally verify that. I know sometimes it's cheaper to make something but sometimes the cost just outway the labor. I don't have a lot of extra time so I have to make it count. I guess that's why I look at it that way. Good luck with all. Don't be afraid to ask questions. And let us know what works for you. I'll do the same as I learn I'll post my findings.

If you remember what pan that was please let me know. Part of me is hoping I can keep the truck pan as is. As for ground clearance I don't think it hangs much further than the trans pan is going to and a lot of people seem to run the truck pan with no issues. Worst case I get a friend of mine, who's a welder by trade, to cut and weld the pan to shorten it up a bit. I don't plan on dropping the car at all so hopefully that allows enough room but we will see when I get into things.

I will definitely look into those mounts. Not modifying anything and being able to run the ac Compressor would be nice but I would like to keep the truck intake as well. If shaving it is needed I would be ok with that though.

Which intake are you going to be using? And when do you plan on pulling the trigger for your swap?

I won't be able to start the actual swap for a couple months. More so just doing research at this point and getting everything together to have a go at it when the time comes. Once I get going I will definitely post my progress.

 

[Dinosport]

I've roamed around my usual site and can't seem to find that vvt oil pan again. I'll keep looking. What are you using for a trans. Something I just came across is that I'm running a 700r4 and can't keep the electronic throttle because I need to be able to hook the over drive cable to the throttle body.

 

[Calvin Babineau-Crane]

Dinosport, the truck I bought for the engine (2008 GMC Sierra 2500HD) has a 6L90e 2wd trans matted to the LY6 already, so I will be using that transmission as well. The best part is that I am almost breaking even after selling some parts off the truck, and still have a lot of parts left, including a rust free 8ft box and tail gate, so I will be making money off the buy and still end up with a low mile engine and trans.

As for running the 700R4 I've heard that, with the DBC throttle body, you can use the truck gas pedal cable (by truck I am assuming they are referring to the c/k pickup trucks, I can look into this for you if you aren't already aware) without any work and there are companies that sell brackets to hook up the TV cable, although it seems like a lot of people make their own.

 

[Dinosport]

Thanks. I havent gotten as far throttle cable and how to hook the trans cable. Ill come back to that later. As for your deal thats great. To get your money back and have everything is awsome. Mine came from a UPS truck so its a little odd ball in what pan it has, and I have no idea what the compression ratio is etc etc. I dont have something solid to reference to. I got mine really cheap. It has 21k on it but didnt come with any accessories, harness or computer. 700r4 was another deal I couldnt pass up so I hoped on it, Right now Im little by little just getting all the info I can and patiently waiting for deals on the parts I need. My Malibu has a tired old 350 in it, but it does run and I do drive it when I can so thats in my favor. I wont tear it apart until I have everything to make the transition as quick and painless *ss possible