Ls swap on a 93 camaro

[red4thgen]

Im doing a carbed 5.3 ls swap on my 93 z28 was wondering if anyone here has done one. I Need some info on removing the stock wiring and if I can still keep the factory fule pump and just add a inline pump.

[pajeff02]

Welcome to the site!

Your best bet is to also obtain the stock PCM and engine harness from where the donor engine was sourced and integrating that into your car. Any reason in particular you are forsaking the fuel injection setup? If you go with a carb, you only need around 6 psi of fuel pressure, so an inline pump will work just fine. You will need to pull the stock pump and rig the pickup to work, or replace it with a drop in unit made for such a conversion. You will definitely need wiring schematics for both your '93 and the 5.3 engine. I have schematics for a 2007 truck based 5.3 engine. I will say that the 5.3 is a strong runner and responds well to upgrades like exhaust and a cam. Is your 5.3 a DOD (Displacement on Demand) engine by chance?

[red4thgen]

Im going with the carb just because it will be easier for me to tune and a lot cheaper. Could I run the stock fuel pump to a regulator? No its not DOD its out of a 2000 gmc

[pajeff02]

Not 100% on this , but it is likely that your stock fuel system was running at least 42 psi. Choking it down to 6 psi with an in-line regulator will probably fry the pump in a hurry.

[red4thgen]

Ya I think your right. Im learning all this carb stuff all new to me

[BostonLS1TA]

Any updates?

[red4thgen]

Yes been pulling wire. Got the line lock pretty much done got the motor plate in I dropped the motor in yesterday but the pan hits the k member. It's still got the truck pan ill swap it out for an ls1 pan

[Firebirdjones]

If I'm not mistaken you'll need to swap the K-member for an LS K-member even if you remove the truck pan for an LS pan. Either that or some modifications are in order.

There have been a ton of LS swaps in the older LT1 cars done over the years. Easiest way is to find a donor car for all the LS specific parts.

Not real sure your 5.3 truck accessories are going to work either, might give you some fitment problems, or maybe not. Some things to be concerned about might be the high mount alternator clearing the low hood on a 4th gen, etc....Thankfully you are switching the FI truck intake because that wouldn't fit under the hood either, but even a high rise carb intake with an aircleaner could be a tight fit as well, so that might take some measuring, not only the hood, but fitting under the cowl as well since these cars have the engine set back quite a bit.

You can run the stock in tank pump on the carb, but you'll need a return style regulator like this one A1000 Carbureted Bypass Regulator - Aeromotive so the pump isn't dead headed. So a revamp of the fuel lines will be needed. I prefer to run braided nylon 1/2" to and from the tank to make things easier. Making sure the return line is the proper size to regulate the high pressures from the fuel injection pump, which depends on the length of the line. Aeromotive has a link to determine how big your return line needs to be to properly regulate the pressure down below 15 psi, then adjusted at the regulator from there. Nice thing about these regulators is that they come with either a fuel injection spring or a carb spring, so if you decide to go fuel injection later, the same regulator can be used.

An inline pump as a crutch is a bad idea in my opinion, not only would it be dead headed, but they tend to run hotter and their service life is pretty short. They'll leave you stranded within a few thousand miles, usually in a not so convenient place.

[red4thgen]

Im running a motor plate so no need for the mounts. I got 2" gap from the k member with out the pan in so the ls1 pan will be fine. I will definitely look in to that regulator when im ready for fuel. Thanks for the info. I think im going to have a problem with headers hitting the steering nuckle

[Firebirdjones]

A motor plate? That throws the stock accessories out the window. Is this some sort of race car build?

[red4thgen]

Street strip I can still run the alt and power steering

[red4thgen]

Ill put up some pics tonight

[BostonLS1TA]

Can't wait to see pictures of the work,Cause my friend is looking to do the same with his Iroc,

[Firebirdjones]

What Red4thgen is doing is a piece of cake because the 93 chassis was mostly unchanged throughout 4th gen production with minor details, which already had LS engines factory installed by 1998, so it's just a matter of finding a donor car and switching parts around. (that is unless you want to complicate things with motor plates )

The 3rd gens are a bit different. Your buddy with the Iroc will likely want to take a look at Hawks 3rd gens for swap parts, they make everything to do the swap, including swap headers, mounts, wiper motor relocation etc....Makes that swap pretty straight forward.

[red4thgen]

[red4thgen]

Getting some work done

[red4thgen]

[red4thgen]

Cut and notched wiper cowl fot some room for the carb

[JustinEntropyRad]

Motor plate looks cool, but a carb on an LS makes me sad every time

[red4thgen]

Maybe someday I'll go EFI but for now the carb is in the budget