[1blue74]

I know I might be criticized for wanting to put a TPI engine in my Corvette, but I like those engines and have come across a decent deal for which I'm considering. So now to my question, how much modification will I have to do to my original harness without "rednecking" it up? I know with any fuel injection install modifications are necessary to wiring,fuel,ect... I've seen products from Painless Wiring but $900 dollars for a fuel management harness seems high considering that a replacement harness from them for the same engine cost half of that. The engine is out of an 87 model Corvette. Comments welcome. Thanks:thumbsup:

 

[D_B]

I remember looking into both TPI and LT1 and ran into a lot of little issues that added up to a lot of money and headache.

A couple issues to consider if you haven't already:

In tank fuel pump.
O2 sensors.
Transmission control.
Gauges (Tach.)
Air intake system.
Accessory interference.
Harness integration.
Computer programing.

Also, people tended to abuse those Corvettes above and beyond what those engines were able to handle. I would check it very carefully...or even rebuild it, if you were planning to just drop it in and go.

I do love the way those TPI intakes look. Just not sure they're worth the hassle when it's so much easier and cheaper to buy after market kits that bolt right on and tune themselves.

 

[72SBVet]

Thanks for the info Matt:thumbsup: I was hanging out with my neighbor down the road today and his neighbor wrecked an 07 Chevy 2wd truck this past Halloween and is wanting $800 dollars for the whole truck which has only 60,000 miles on it . Our plan is to get it and salvage/scrap what we don't need to recollect our coin spent on it. Hopefully soon we'll be doing an LS swap.

 

[D_B]

Thanks for the info Matt:thumbsup: I was hanging out with my neighbor down the road today and his neighbor wrecked an 07 Chevy 2wd truck this past Halloween and is wanting $800 dollars for the whole truck which has only 60,000 miles on it . Our plan is to get it and salvage/scrap what we don't need to recollect our coin spent on it. Hopefully soon we'll be doing an LS swap.

What engine does the truck have? The 5.3L?

 

[72SBVet]

It's a 5.3. Drew's main goal with his Corvette is to cruise so high RPM won't serve any purpose. He's going to leave it stock and the only modification to the engine is going to be swapping the truck intake and injectors for a 1997 to 2000 model Corvette intake and injectors.

 

[TimAT]

If it was me, I'd use that truck as a donor- carefully pull the engine, trans, all the wiring, (mark where the wires go as you take it apart), the dash and gauges, door locks, power window motors, you name it- if it's electric, grab it. Set the engine and trans in place and lay the harnesses out and start working on how to route everything and mounting of the ECM/PCM and BCM. Get the wiring diagrams for both the car and the truck and figure out how to mate them up. It won't be a weekend deal, but I'll bet the 2 systems are close enough to get it to all work. :cheers:

 

[72SBVet]

That's what I'll do considering that a Painless Harness runs over a $1000. It definitely won't be a weekend project as I'll have mod the fuel system as well. This is going to be fun and and it'll give a challenge to test my skills on. Stay tuned for more:thumbsup:

 

[TimAT]

I spent some time thinking about how to do this- I've had it under consideration for the 77. I think you could even disassemble the dash gauges and adapt to new guts to the old Vette faces. Speedo, Tach, Fuel, Temp, Oil.
Done right, when you plug in the OBD-II diagnostics, it'd still think it's a xx truck and all the BCM codes would show as well.

Be the first one on your block to have an OBD-II compatible C-3

 

[D_B]

I spent some time thinking about how to do this- I've had it under consideration for the 77. I think you could even disassemble the dash gauges and adapt to new guts to the old Vette faces. Speedo, Tach, Fuel, Temp, Oil.
Done right, when you plug in the OBD-II diagnostics, it'd still think it's a xx truck and all the BCM codes would show as well.

Be the first one on your block to have an OBD-II compatible C-3

:agree: I can't wait to do an LS project. I want to do exactly what Tim outlined, but use either my next C3 or an old Nova...both on my list as my next project car.

I think an OBD-II C3 or Nova with a 6.0L or 6.2L LS drive train would be amazingly fun.

 

[Marks76ray]

:agree: I can't wait to do an LS project. I want to do exactly what Tim outlined, but use either my next C3 or an old Nova...both on my list as my next project car.

I think an OBD-II C3 or Nova with a 6.0L or 6.2L LS drive train would be amazingly fun.

Hey D_B
What vehicle would make the best donor for the 6.0L or 6.3L for our C3's ? What would be the most economical route to do this conversion, Ebay, wrecked vehicle, wrecking yard Etc.
Thanks Mark:cheers:

 

[Slow & Leaky]

Plan on sending the computer out to be reprogrammed, as I see it you've got several modifications to the programming.

It needs to know the vette's gear and tire diameter so the speed sensor data coming off the transmission is correct.

It's sniffing a downstream O2 sensor trying to trigger the service engine soon light. So you'll need to program those out too.

The truck ought to have an electric AIR pump that needs programmed out. Simply disconnecting the wires triggers the SES light. Most late model pollution controls are that way, disconnecting triggers the engine light.

Plan to use the late model alternator, you'll have computer ghosts without the rock solid voltage it provides.

If the truck has traction control, there's another layer of complication.

If you've never swapped a FI engine and spent weeks doing research to figure out the gremlins, then those $1000 harnesses seem like a lot of money. Plus, that original harness you're swapping has a soy-based insulation that mice love to nibble on because it smells like food.

Good luck with the cool project :cheers:

 

[D_B]

Hey D_B
What vehicle would make the best donor for the 6.0L or 6.3L for our C3's ? What would be the most economical route to do this conversion, Ebay, wrecked vehicle, wrecking yard Etc.
Thanks Mark:cheers:

It's hard to do a direct fit swap with an LS. You need kits for engine mounts. Custom exhaust. Accessories typically interfere with cross member and suspension, and oil pans interfere with steering. Luckily there are a lot of interchange parts available from one LS to another to pick the parts best suited for your swap.

The 6.0L and 6.2L are best found out of salvaged GM trucks. Most salvage yards will pull complete engines, transmission, and harnesses for resale, and some price them very competitively in the several grand area.

You might get lucky and find a personal seller getting rid of a wrecked truck for cash to recoup losses. If you find a wrecked truck for a few thousand...buy it. You can sell what you can from the rest of the truck to get back some of your costs.

Using as much of the stock setup as you can will save you money though so as much as you can get from a donor truck the better. Engine, transmission, harnesses for the drive train, computer...ect ect.

The costs are lowering for LS swaps as people develop kits. I think the range is still between $5K and $10K from start to finish depending on your goals.

 

[72SBVet]

The costs are lowering for LS swaps as people develop kits. I think the range is still between $5K and $10K from start to finish depending on your goals.[/QUOTE]

When I told my brother that I swore I'd thought he **** a golden brick. He may wind up putting the 5.3 in his 64 Chevy C-10 truck, and put the C-10 engine in his Corvette. The truck engine makes around 500 Flexplate HP. That's even if we get the truck (the 07 Chevy) as several people are wanting it and it may have sold last night but we'll soon find out. I hope I do an LS swap even if it's a C-10 truck. I'll keep y'all posted.

 

[Slow & Leaky]

Same swap cost in either platform, truck or vette.

Ditch the FI, put a carbureted intake on it and bolt the LS to the vette's existing transmission. Swap cost is now $1000 for hedders, mounts, intake, ignition control.

 

[D_B]

The costs are lowering for LS swaps as people develop kits. I think the range is still between $5K and $10K from start to finish depending on your goals.

When I told my brother that I swore I'd thought he **** a golden brick. He may wind up putting the 5.3 in his 64 Chevy C-10 truck, and put the C-10 engine in his Corvette. The truck engine makes around 500 Flexplate HP. That's even if we get the truck (the 07 Chevy) as several people are wanting it and it may have sold last night but we'll soon find out. I hope I do an LS swap even if it's a C-10 truck. I'll keep y'all posted.[/QUOTE]


Kyle keep in mind that the total costs I talk about above do include what people typically pay for the engine and transmission to start from. It's good to sometimes do the transmission with the engine because you get overdrive and lockup and the truck transmission are built to handle power and abuse.

 

[72SBVet]

That's what I told him. By the way I got hold of the guy and he sold 3 days ago so we'll figure something out. Thanks for everyones input:thumbsup:

 

[ndrewoods]

That's what I'll do considering that a Painless Wiring Harness runs over a $1000. It definitely won't be a weekend project as I'll have mod the fuel system as well. This is going to be fun and and it'll give a challenge to test my skills on. Stay tuned for more:thumbsup:

Cool project. Can't wait to see the completed one. And like what Tim said, be the first one on your place to have an OBD-II compatible C-3.

 

[72SBVet]

Maybe one day I'll do an LS swap , but for now I'm sticking to the Small Block. The truck sold before we could get it.