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82 CORVETTE CUSTOM MODIFICATIONS!!!! with LS1/T56

67K views 226 replies 30 participants last post by  mjollnir 
#1 · (Edited)
I purchased a 82 Corvette Collectors Edition that was bone stock when I purchased it with 90k original miles. As soon as I purchased the car I knew that I wanted to change things on it even though they were good from the factory it was a 30 year old car and showed its age.

I would like to thank the following companies below for their contribution to my project.

CUSTOM IMAGE CORVETTES'S for my Ls1 swap parts and the amazing job he did on building the ls1-t56 drivetrain.

RevXtreme for providing me with a rear end and their great customer service!!!

This thead will show in detail all changes, upgrades, modifications made to my car from the engine all the way to the body and finish when I start it. I will start things off with the Drivetrain!!!

Well after months and months of planning speculating and decisions It has started. This idea started when I started talking to Josh (SUPERPOWERS) at CUSTOM IMAGE CORVETTE'S about options for a LS1 engine. I had planned for it mid year but then changed my mind after finding out I had a baby girl OTW. I did not think I would have the money. However looking over finances and talking with josh still we had a PLAN. The original plan was to take a LQ9 truck engine that I could get for dirt cheep and change out the intake and pulley setup, find a T-56 and swap it in on the cheep. However for some reason a LQ9 even though a great engine and with more HP just did not fit the lightweight LS1 I was looking for.

I then did some searching and found a GREAT DEAL on e-bay for a full pullout kit for a LS1, I made a offer and from then on the journey began. CLICK ON THE PICS TO SEE THEM LARGER!!!


From there the car went on its Journey to CUSTOM IMAGE CORVETTES. Almost every day he took the time to answer my questions, let me know what parts I needed to order, what parts he could order and get cheaper. The money started to get spent, and parts started to roll in. I will not go into detail to much on that.

After the car arrived Josh took it for a drive and told me it ran great, but after all it was still practically in its stock form;)

Well after josh got his hands on it this happened!!!





AND NOW FOR THE SNEAK PEAK OF THE VIDIO

Now you may be wondering, what is going to go in place of the Tired old 350? Here is the answer.




Now after finding my Engine and T-56(That's right converting from auto to manual) I figured I would stop right there but nope.

The great guys over at REVXTREME contacted me after I had asked them about building a beefy rear end later on down the road and said they might have exactly what I was looking for.
They had a IRON 79 RACE BUILD rear end with 4.11 gears and BIG BLOCK Yokes and were willing to let me have it at a STEAL of a deal. Sorry no pics of it I accidentally deleted them, I will get pics of that later.

Thanks again RevXtreme.

So now I have my 79 IRON rear to with 4.11s to hold up my new found HP in my ls1, so out with the weak stock 2.87 aluminum one. However now that I am changing the rear end to IRON I need some new half shafts. Well there are great finds on e-bay and I found these!!!!!.



These would be 3 INCH Heavy Duty Half-shafts with SOLID Spicer U-Joints. I got these at a great price, they are not painted but will find themselves with a nice powder coating;) the color is still a secret;)

So now I have my drive train completely sorted out. More will come on this later.

Now for some sneak peaks and other items I have purchased for the project.

NOW THIS I ALREADY HAVE INSTALLED



FULL VB&P Performance Plus Suspension, she drives in rails now!!!

The Interior will be getting updated with these!!



and just to threw in a few more items if interest;)



I have purchased everything in these pictures and this is by no means anywhere near what I have so accumulated so far.

Josh is a very busy man and has devoted a lot of time to answering my questions and did a lot of the shopping for parts for me and then just sent me the link so I could snag them up. I can tell you know there is no better person that I could have selected to do this swap for me.

The LS1 swap was The biggest step of my resto/mod, but I did undestand that with the added HP I wanted that the suspension was the first thing that needed tackling and that is why I had the VBP Performance plus package installed first.
 
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#2 ·
Yeah first to answer, keep us posted of the accomplishments

Your project is pretty similar to mine (80-82+LSx) :cheers:
 
#3 · (Edited)
I have been working on the LSx swap in my C3 vette for about 3 years now. My car is now in the last stages of a full body off resto mod/Pro touring build. I have since updated that car to an LS3 that has been bored, stroked, and forged and topped with the best components on the market today.

James and I are teaming up and during this build we will be posting lots of pics and videos and I will also be doing some tech write ups on the various processes that will be involved.

I will have a bunch more pics this weekend for James to add to the thread. His car is FULL of parts.

keep checking back for progress. My car is going to get painted next week and then I will get back to this build.
 
#4 ·
Very Cool. I'll be watching this build. Love this shinola.

I may or may not be holding onto my C3, but if I do, this is the same direction Im taking.

I also agree with you on getting the lighter weight aluminum block. Just seems a better fit with the Corvette. :cheers:
 
#5 ·
Jamessssssss Honey Pie puddin Darling, Oh wait I'm not begging the Wife. Sorry bout that when I start begging it is usually my wife I'm talking to. That being said Jamessssss can I have the valve covers and exhaust manifolds from the crossfire?Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee I'll be good from now on , I promise Pleaseeeeee!!!.......Later Jon:D
 
#7 ·
hmm funny....I was just logging in to make a thread on T56 swaps. I wanted to find out how hard it was...how much modification/fabrication was needed to make the swap. When I logged in first thing I saw was this thread. It should be very helpful. Good luck and keep us updated. :partyon:

I still make my thread...I dont want to be hijacking yours :thumbsup:
 
#8 · (Edited)
That's what we are here for 80vette.

If the guy that buys the engine does not want the exhaust manifolds then I am sure we can work it out I will let them go for like maybe shipping plus 5 bucks for josh making the trip to ship them. The valve covers will more than likely go with the engine. but we will see if the engine buyer does not come through the entire engine may get parted out. It has a lot of new stuff on it like brand new alternator, distributor cap, K and N air filters new plugs and brand new plug wires.

I will talk to josh on it and will contact you if things change.
 
#9 ·
congrats on finally starting it :) my crossmember and transmission mount came in today and im still waiting (patiently) for the engine mounts, might drive down to my friens hhouse tomorrow to grab his cherry picker and engine stand (2hour drive each way) that way i can start with my swap as well :)


but as for now, i just got 2 bottom wisdom teeth pulled so im not doing any serious work while on this pain killer medication :laughing:
 
#10 ·
Awsome, I wish I was where you are on the body work though, my body and interior needs alot of work. but one thing at a time.

congrants on your swap I know at one time you were going to get rid of the whole car and the donor car, glad you changed your mind.
 
#11 · (Edited)
they both seem like quality work :) i guess i should start with the engine removals asap to make room. i WAS going to keep both cars in the garage for the swap but i dont really have room so im going to have to move the corvette back into the rain while i pull the ls1 and then move the camaro (which has no wheels) back outside and tarp it up for the winter. OR i could just cut the camaro in half and leave the front end in the garage ;) then my garage will definitely lookl ike a chop shop lol:huh:

full garage:
 
#13 ·
thats what i'll end up doing but i want to keep it until im done with the conversion that way i have plenty of time to pull whatever else i might need off of it (the ls1 front brakes etc) :)
man its a beautiful saturday but i cant be working ont he car today (doc said no strenuous activity for 36-48 hours ) :huh:
 
#15 ·
so my friend dropped off the cherry picker and a spare stand today, on the agreement that i hold onto his engine for a while since i live in a house and he has an apartment so he doesnt have room for it. Anyways, hopefully i'll start dismantling the camaro soon (we're tackling his engine this weekend, he's building up a boost engine for his 2009 civic, crazy kid wants 600hp) and i'll make sure i post plenty of pictures :thumbsup:
 
#18 · (Edited)
interior

Well figure its time to update this with a little bit more stuff. Gut the entire inside to prepare for installing the new harness and pedal assembly.






Luckally for me he already has a harness pre-made for a 82 with a LS1 and autometer gauges;) I figured there were going to be some wiring issues.

Some other issues that arose while the interior came out.
1. The dash was so brittle that it broke in half.
2. The car has actually gotten so hot that the sound deadning material is practically melted to the floor.

I do not plan to replace the interior at this moment and time due to my budget, but it will definitely be in the works for next year along with body and paint.

Here is a shot of my decrepit carpet, it has definitely seen better days but it will stick around for about another year. The best thing was knowing that I do not have any birdcage or floor pan rot. You can also see part of my VBP duel spring taken out.
 
#19 · (Edited)
The Engine Bay

After he removed my tired old 350 this is what was left with in the old 30 year old engine bay. Note all the nastiness, Grease and other gunk. Also the brake booster and MC are standing out in all their rusted glory.



got to work and gutted the ENTIRE engine bay, if it was not needed it was removed permanently, which for the most part was everything anyways LOL. then took on the painstaking and backbreaking work of de-greasing and pressure washing the engine bay.



Things are looking pretty good here, not much surface rust, and things cleaned up nicely.

First things First started taping off the engine bay.


Also here you notice that the stock radiator housing is not even in bad shape which is unusual for these cars, eventually it will get replaced when I get a aluminum dewittes radiator but for now a stock f-body one will take its place.

Now for the finishing touches. First a shot of PRIMER.



and now the finally, a nice coat of gloss black to make sure that LS1 and all the shinny new stuff looks real good under the hood.




Now whats under the hood is ganna look better than whats on the outside LOL but after all that,s ok to us car guys anyways;)
 
#20 ·
Wow! Looking great man. I know you are excited!! I thought I was ahead of Josh a little bit, but man he moves fast. That's good though because it is keeping me motivated. Your engine bay looks so much better. I'm planning to brush mine with POR15, hopefully this weekend.

How hard was the VB&P front suspension install? I still have to do that to mine and I'm kind of dreading it for some reason. The rear wasn't too bad.

One day we will all have to meet up at a show or something for a C3 LSX convention...:partyon:
 
#21 · (Edited)
yeah sure thing I may actually be driving threw AL sometime in february.

the VBP suspension is actaully very easy to install especially on the front. taking out the older suspension is harder because of the spring compression, but the new transverse spring is not under pressure when the wheels are off the ground.

3 Hours for the front is all you should need. but with the engine out you may be able to speed that up.

the entire job should take 6-12 hours front and back depending on the problems you may run into

The biggest problem with the whole kit is the Trailing arm bolts. but you wont have that issue on the front things should unbolt easy.



I myself got screwed on my install because I wanted it done before I got home on leave so I could play around with my car. The shop came back with a HUGE bill and did not even install the trailing arm bolts. I really wish I had done it myself or if not I could have had josh do it for way cheeper. The shop I took it to charged me 39 hours for labor so they claimed it was a hard job for them. but its not like your installing custom pieces. I learned my lesson on not getting told a time bofor a job, they claimed they could not give me a quote because they had never done it befor.

Long story short I could of purchased TWO VBP performance plus kits for what mine ended up costing me to not do it myself.

They should have included a DVD showing the install as well.
 
#206 ·
Long story short I could of purchased TWO VBP performance plus kits for what mine ended up costing me to not do it myself.

They should have included a DVD showing the install as well.
Don't they? The guy at VBANDP told me there's a DVD in my boxes about installation. I didn't watch it yet tough
 
#22 ·
nice! lookin good!

I just got some good/bad news; we're going to be swamped with work for the next few weeks for sure :smack means i cant get to the vette until i have a few days off so :huh: i guess i'll take a bolt off here and there each time i walk in and out of the garage (on my way to and from work) and maybe get it done that way for now :rolling:
 
#23 ·
It's looking great! Josh does do good work (attention to detail) and has lots of experience.

Great seeing all the pictures :thumbsup: , brings back fond memories of when I did mine. Wish I would have taken a lot more pictures myself.

Just keep thinking of how awesome it will be driving it around for motivation. I used to have dreams of driving when I was doing mine....
 
#24 ·
Lookin' good.

I didnt catch this if you mentioned it, but are you going to do Rack and Pinion or Hydroboost brake upgrade while your at it? I do know they both made a big difference in my car with even the OEM systems operating up to par.

I've made the $$ decision $$ that Im going to do the LS1 swap as well $$$$. My CFI developed a rather loud tick in the passenger head on my last foray last weekend. I'll try to document what I can in a similar type thread.

Keep the pics coming. This a great stuff!!!
 
#25 ·
Yes I do plan a hydroboost setup, however at the moment I am not doing a rack and pinion. My budget really did not allow for it and I chose other upgrades instead like a new clutch, electric headlight setup, new HID lights, 79 built rear end with halfshafts.

I was more concerned with those aspects because I intend to drive the car 1000 miles when I go back to TX from leave.

Another reason I opted to wait, was after the VBP performance plus install alot of the problems with the old steering went away, bump steer is praticly gone and steering tightend up, of coarse I know it is not to par with a rack, but it handles exeptionally well for now.

I plan to do the rack and pinion when I finish up the suspension with new BUILT offset trailing arms, that is the last two things I am lacking there.

P.S. THERE ARE ALOT of different things that will be going on in this build. some not related to the LS1 swap, and some that are and are just some goodie upgrades and eye candy;)
 
#27 ·
Thanks hopefully there should be more updates after this weekend.

and again Thanks goes out again to you guys at RevXtreme for the Rear end.

To bad I cant talk you into donating a catch can LOL. That will come later though when I get some more money
 
#28 ·
Cleanin the Nastyness!!!

ok time for another little update. As I posted before I purchased my engine out of a junk yard and apparently this engine had been there for a while and definitely saw its better days. The engine was broken down to the bare long block and this is what it looked like.

As you can see its DIRTY, take note any of you who own a LS1 if you notice the INTAKE runners, THIS IS WHY YOU NEED A CATCH CAN!!! all kinds of oil residue in there. I am not taking my own advice though because I plan a whole new motor in a year or so anyways so i wont be putting a catch can on this one, just a nice clean up for now.

Also whoever changed the oil in the engine the last time did not know how to tighten a oil filter

looks pretty nasty but will get cleaned up. The alternator was horrible looking, if it don't clean up well it will get replaced, probably will get replaced in about a month anyways for peace of mind.


Now onto some other areas of interest. this is some random parts.

The transmission has been torn down, The clutch looked to be in good condition However because I was unsure I have already gotten something else;) more on that later, The slave is also getting replaced.

This T-56 came from the factory with a HURST SHIFTER.

You can tell the difference because the FLANGE is super thick on them the regular GM's are not as thick. I was going to go with a aftermarket one but since its a little better than factory already I will stay with this until I do a trans rebuild next year on it. It will be getting a aftermarket shifter ball and a shorter stick also.

So far in the tear down this is the only problem that was found.

Notice that one of the slave cyl bolts was broken off, meaning someone was in there befor. This will get drilled out and fixed like it should be.

That is pretty much it for now, there will be ALOT MORE comming. Things are moving fast and hopefully the engine will be in this weekend. This is how things look right now.

My car is not much to look at but after only having here a year and considering about EVERYTHING was wore out on her she has come a long way. Notice the camber in the rear;) its getting removed soon as well to put in the new IRON rear.
 
#29 ·
lookin good! i worked 10 hour days last week (and its been freezing here, got a cold front down from canada and its been 20-40degrees all week) so i havent even pulled the engine out of the camaro yet, but hey, i got Josh's package (engine mounts and shocks) and now that i've got pretty much everything i need, hopefully i'll start soon :cheers:
 
#30 ·
LOL I thought I had everything I needed on about six different occasions. as you get into it you will start relizing you either A need more stuff, or B since stuff is out its a good time to change or upgrade some stuff or C you just find more stuff you want to put in LOL. I thought I purchased everything I needed in October but I just purchased another item less than a week ago and now that I plan to drive it 1000 miles when I get back a new starter and alternator will probably be in order befor I make that trip.

all 3 of those bugs got me and If I had more in my budget the engine would of gotten heads, cam and a new interior.
 
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