Thread: modern engine into hotrod- questions

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Hello,
I am the proud owner of a 51 Ford 2-dr sedan that I just bought earlier this fall. The car has a Mustang II crossmember with chevy mounts and a 60's Ford Maverick rear end. I am planning on eventually building up a 302 and dropping it in, but in the meantine I want to get the car running and driving reliably while I take my time to save and plan for the Ford motor that will be permanent (in the future). I have the opportunity to buy a rolled low-miles 1997 Camaro Z28 complete (auto trans) for an next to nothing. My automotive experience thus far has mainly been with muscle cars with carburated motors.

My questions are:

1) Has anyone done this swap, how difficult is it? I know the wiring will be a pain, but since I can have the entire car and wiring harness, how bad will it be? Is the wiring the most difficult part?

2) What are some of the most overlooked things when swapping in a late-model fuel-injected engine into an older hotrod? fuel delivery? cooling? transmission?

Any comments and/or advice are greatly appreciated.

If the car is already set up with Chevy mounts, the LT1 will bolt right in. The '98 LS1 uses a different mount position. The trans mount may need to be changed depending on what was in there before, but that shouldn't be too hard.

The computer in the Camaro also operates the electronics for the automatic trans. You can you use the OEM harness, or a place like Painless or Ron Francis have stand-alone harnesses.

Items I would watch for is a compatible fuel system with a high volumn electric pump, and I believe you'll need a seperate return line back to the tank.

The electronics also use a Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) instead to a gear in the transmission to operate the speedometer. You can have the speedometer changed to an electronic unit, or you can get a converter. Also, has you won't need converters, you won't need all four O2 sensors. You'll need two to allow the system to compensate, but you can get two O2 simulators two trick the computer. After the installation, you can have the computer tuned to compensate for any changes.

that would be a nice set up, but i wouldn't go to all that trouble and then put a ford motor in it. do what ever you gonna do now. you put that 302 behind that ls1 you're think you're putting on the brakes.