so there are several ways to swap a v6 to v8. One is to sell your car and buy a v8, Another is to buy a totaled out v8 car and sometimes they can be had for cheap at auctions or people desperate to sell them, and the third way is to piece to gather. Each way has there pros and cons. I personally pieced mine together and my total cost came to around 4000 dollars. Z28s in my area go for around 4000-5000 thousand dollars so yes i am upside down on my car in a way. But i did buy a lot of brand new parts for my car so like struts and shocks, fuel pump, ect. so they are things i don't have to replace later if i bought a used car. But this is not a cheap prospect and can become very expensive and time consuming. I like it because its a good learning lesson about cars. I did it for a fun project.
You will need a bunch of parts for your conversion. Every year camaro is a little different so there might be some minor differences in parts needed. And remember to keep your conversion simple use the same year part for your conversion. I did a 95 3.4 to a 95 lt1 so again you may need more parts and you may not need some parts.
Parts list- K-member, you will need a complete engine with accessories and transmission and wiring, you will need springs all the way around, throttle cable, pcm, cruise control cable, rear axle with disk brakes, fuel pump, engine bay wiring harness, radiator, fans, hoses, forward fuel lines, transmission cross member, cai intake or stock air cleaner gauge cluster, exhaust system, parking brake cable, drive shaft, hoses summit sells a new kit. I replaced my trq arm but i will bet if you can reuse yours if you have to.
Tool list-full socket and wrench set, engine crane, jack stands, furniture dollies, custom made jack stand lifters, ramps. additional tools maybe needed.
Please read this in full before you make a decision on what your are going to do. Remember this can be a long and time consuming as well as addition unforeseen costs.
I recommended starting your conversion by changing the rear axle and changing the fuel pump first. You are going to want to start by putting the car on jack stands. Next you will need to pull the exhaust system and then you will be able to start removing the rear axle. you will want to start by disconnecting your rear brake line going from the body to the axle. next you will want to disconnect the sensor for the abs on top of the pumpkin as well. then unbolt and pull your drive shaft. Next remove your sway bar . followed by unbolting the shock and panhar bar. next unbolt your trq arm and remove it and last but not least you will want to unbolt your control arms and pull the axle. i put a jack under the axle to help assist me in pulling the the axle out from under the car.
You will next need to remove the fuel tank to put your fuel pump in. start by going to where you fill the tank and remove the parts that hold that to the body.then remove a bunch of heat shields. then removing a cross member. after that you will want to start loosening the straps that hold the tank in after that is removed there are three rubber hoses and a wiring harness that need to be unplugged. then finish disconnecting the straps and lower the tanks. It has to come out at a weird angle because of the filler neck. pull your fuel pump and then reverse the steps to reinstall the tank and then reinstall the new axle.
NOTE These steps are not required but i suggest them. This is a good time to replace your fuel filter and to replace seals in your axle. You can also look for rust on the under body and paint over it and repair and repaint the axle. i also recommend changing the rear rotors and pads before as well as any brake lines that look iffy while you are there. Also once the car is back to gather the v6 engine will start and run on the v8 fuel pump. so if you need to move the car till you can move on step two you can remember though that unless you bleed your brake system you will have no brakes.
this is what it looks like with the axle out.
pull the 4 bolt and remove the fuel pump the pump is a little tricky to get out just dont force it.
so this is what the old axle looks like
the new axle being cleaned up
after paint.
Back in the car.
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