Lt1 into 79 impala

[Dento77]

here are a few wiring links i used when doing my lt1 swap.
http://www.lt1swap.com/lt1_pcm_pinout.htm
http://www.lt1swap.com/95impalalt1.htm
its pretty easy to turn the factory harness into something like the painless one in just a few hours. i'd save the $700 for something else. and like muddyjimmy said above, research,research and more research and if you don't have a donor car, find one! be on the lookout for a ex-cop car, they have the biggest/best cooling system, quick ratio steering pump, gas tank/fuel pump and the lifetime silicon "garden" hoses.

[79LT1Monte]

x2 on the ex cop car. I pulled all of my stuff from a 9C1 Caprice that was a cop car then a cab. There are a ton of then out there and most have a billion miles on them so they are pretty much worthless as far as resale goes. A word of caution double check the vin number you want to make sure the eighth digit is a "P" otherwise you may end up with a 4.3 instead of the 5.7 the vin is a lot easier to get to than the stamping on the back of the block.

[impala101]

Thanks guys. I just have one question that I think will sum up my confusion with the wiring. If I used the lt1 fuse box and plugged in my stock accessories ( turn signals, head lights, horn, ect.) into where the lt1's accessories for the same ones go, would they still work the same? That's my main concern. Thanks again for the support!

[DMBlack]

You have to start thinking in the terms that your car has two harness (for simplicity sake). The engine harness and the vehicle harness. Your lighting, horn, wipers, radio, hvac and such will all work just them same as they do now because you will not have to touch any of these circuits. They will continue to be wired to the current fuse box that they are now. The engine harness will consist of the pcm circuits that will be sensor/computer powers and grounds. The power will come from the under hood fuse box that you will wire in to the Impala's current engine harness. The fuse box will need a couple different types of battery power. Some will be "hot" all the time and others will only have power when the ignition is in the start and run positions. This is where you will have to study the wiring diagrams and research as much as you can. I know that you will not be working on a third-gen Camaro but there is alot of LTX swap info over on www.thirdgen.org in the ltx/ls1 engine swap section. Read as much as you can and take your time.

[impala101]

Alright I'm pretty sure I know how it all works now. Thanks again. Another question though, for the 4l60e trans, will I have a floor shifter or could I still have column shift? I'm pretty sure that it would be floor.

[DMBlack]

You could still run the column shifter if you want. 79LT1Monte is using his factory column shift with a little modification.

[popo8]

Speaking of retired cop car.... a friend of mine has one... I bet you can get the entire thing for 500 bucks with the car....

[impala101]

You could still run the column shifter if you want. 79LT1Monte is using his factory column shift with a little modification.

Actually I found that Lokar.com makes a column shift kit to mount the 4l60e trans to column shift.

[impala101]

Speaking of retired cop car.... a friend of mine has one... I bet you can get the entire thing for 500 bucks with the car....

I wish I could but I don't have the money, nor would my dad let me get another car. Thanks for letting me know though. I might be in touch with you later down the road though about one.

[popo8]

I wish I could but I don't have the money, nor would my dad let me get another car. Thanks for letting me know though. I might be in touch with you later down the road though about one.

You got it, I dont think its going anywhere.... most of the floor is rotted out....

If your interested, call TONY (owner) of BERKS-MONT TOWING in berks county..... tell him Larry Hanna told you to call.