Thread: 94 firebird conversion to carb and motor swap ???

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Hey All New To The Block
I Would Like Any Input You All Could Give On Putting A Carb Motor And Non Computerized 400 Trans Into A 94 Firebird, How Easy And How Much Wiring Will I Need To Mess With, Im Good With The Wrenching Part But Not So Good At The Teck Stuff Any Help Would Be Great
Thanks Don

What engine and tranny combo do you have in there now?

the car currently has a lti and a 700r4 i think, this combo is coming out its busted, i want to take the motor out of my 72 swb and put in bird.
dnk5chevy

What's carb and distributor setup? Computerized? This is actually quite an easy swap. Standard HEI distributor should go in with firewall clearance. Carb of your choice. And use existing manifolds for exhaust. A lot of choices for headers and such. Compartment temps get high in these things so if you run headers, Wrap them with a quality header wrap. Get back here with any questions upon mods for the setup.

thanks nitro
what im putting in has 4 barrel alum intake hei dist. am i going to have to change the fule pump or get a regulator to run carb it's a qjet. any idea what rearends where used in the formula firebirds.

You're on the right track. My mind is not with me today, so I'm guessing it's a 7.5 or 7.625 ring gear size on this and most commomly a 3.42 ratio. If your motor is not too hot and you drive conservetively, It'll hold up to most driving applications. I do have a concern about the torque arm mounting for the 400thm and driveshaft length. I'm foggy on the shaft lengths right now. 400's have a bolted yoke on the tail shaft where the 700R4 has a slip yoke. Gonna have to do some work there. Speedo gears are easily changed for correct speedometer function. All in all, I'ts not a bad swap to do. Just some elbow grease and patience.

ok nitro you lost me on torque arm ive never been under a firebird of any year. as far as driving i do have a heavy foot at times, my 400 trans has b&m shift kit and 2000 stall converter and i have slung out my carrier bearing and u joints on mt truck twice. ive owned this motor for 5 yrs and done nothing but put on a starter and alt, all i know about the motor is it has edlebrock intake,041 heads,qjet carb,roller tip rockers. the guy i got it from didnt know if it had been board or not. seems to have lots of low end torque. rolling at 15 or 20mph i can break the tire loose.

Your rearend won't like too many of those break loose stomps. If you keep this engine combo in it, be prepared to go with a beefier rearend.

so you think a differant rear altogether or beef up the one thats in it. hope im not keeping you from somthing important i like to learn as much as i can.

Different rear altogether. A few manufacturers can supply a custom built one if you're not into the fab part of it. 9 inch fords are being custom built for this app.

moser axles and a slp diff is what you will need, there are people in 3rd gens running 10's on just that, and 4th gen rears are stronger from what i know

thanks guys when i get the car here at the house ill be back for more info i guess i'll have to stay out of the gas untill i can afford to get a better rear.

hey guys
i just read that the motor mounts on the lt1 are off set is this true? how is it going to affect putting in an older motor. will i need to fab up a cross member to fit the 400 trans in?

If you want to install a 9" Ford, both Moser and Currie make a bolt in rear end with a mount for the torque arm.... I thought maybe by '94 chebbie had gotten rid of that ridiculous set up. My '82 HAD the same thing, one of the first things I hit the "Delete" button on. Has a 9" with a triangulated 4 bar going in it now....

Just a side note. We were stuck running one of the metric rear ends in a circle burner because of class rules. We put in a mini-spool with 4.56 gears and it ran two seasons...... My friend Joe has the stock rear in his '86 with a 430 horse LS going in it, we have a pool started on how long it lasts......