the how to 3.4 to Lt1 conversion thread.

[AdamG]

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.

[AdamG]

Part 2

Now its time to move on to the motor and transmission. You will want to start by first draining all fluids such as coolant and oil. I recommend replacing the coolant at this time to. Next disconnected the battery and remove it from the car. You will need to pull the radiator and air cleaner. Disconnect all wires from the engine you will have a few wires that run from the body but most will be at a man junction by the pcm you will need to disconnect a few wires on the passenger side of the car that run into the interior just remove the kick panel to do so. and all hoses. You will now need to remove the shifter cable from the transmission (you will need to remove the drive shaft and trq arm if you reinstalled it after you put the rear in). Remove the remainder of the exhaust system if you haven't all ready. Unbolt the steering shaft. if you have a 3.4 you do not need to remove your A/C pump you can reuse this so just unbolt it and move it off to the side.

now you will need an engine crane to remove the engine. you will use it to lift the body off the car. You will need to furniture dollies which you can buy from harbor freight and custom made stands to make your jack stands higher. You will start by putting the back end up on ramps. unbolt the transmission cross member. remove your front tires and lower the car onto the furniture dollies. You will now disconnect the brake lines and unbolt the kmember there are 6 bolts 3 on each side. you will need to unbolt your struts from the car 4 bolts on each side of the car. now slowly lift the body off the kmember and remember to watch to make sure you have disconnected ever thing and that nothing is getting hung up.

after you have removed the motor you will need to start to prep the car for the v8 engine. You will need to change the hoses for the heater core it is a good idea to flush your heater core at this point to. Install your v8 forward fuel lines at this time as well. You will aslo need to install your v8 throttle cable.You will now need to change the engine body wiring harness. this harness raps around the passenger side of the car and all the way around the nose and back into the driver side. you will need to remove the interior of the car to unhook the old harness and to hook the new one up. this is a good time to install your gauge cluster as well. You will start buy removing you a pillar plastics. then remove the dash pad and then you can remove the plastic bezel around the gauge cluster and you can remove the v6 cluster and install your new v8 cluster. you will need to remove the plastic piece under you steering column and disconnected all the plugs to the old engine bay wiring harness and hook up the new harness. the remembered your dash. one plug will aslo run under the windshield wiper plastics so you will need to remove them to get to that as well. you will also need to change the v6 springs out for the v8 springs.
now that you have changes out every thing and your v8 is mated to its kemember its time to bolt it back in. Reverse the steps you took to remove it. remember to install your v8 tranny cross member and as well as the the v8 radiator and fans. after the car is all back together bleed the brakes. then fill all your fluids and reinstall the your battery and fire her up. for the first few days keep a close eye on all your guages to make sure your car is operating properly.

NOTE: You will need to get a wheel alignment and you may also need to recharge your A/C system this will cost you about and additional 200-300 dollars. I also recommend changing your shock and struts during the project. also changing your front pads and rotors is a good idea. i also replaced my sway bar links at this point. I recommend replacing all your fluids with new ones. I also recommend changing all your plugs, wires, opti, water pump and any other things that may need servicing before you install the motor.

3.4 motor in the car



engine out




engine going back in.




and its back in



This is not complete and i will stop back from time to time to revise edit and add to this. Feel free to contact me if you have any input on what needs to be added or grammatical errors you would like to see corrected.
This is my guide to a v8 conversion please feel free to use and to pass on to others. However please do not copy this and post it to any other forums or websites with out my permission. Also please do not use my photos with out contacting me and asking me first.