99 Camaro V6 To 01 Camaro V8 Conversion

[fbodyNATION]

I know a lot of guys that do a lot of great things with fbodys,this guy i know has a 99 Camaro Originally came from the factory as a V6/A4,he has recently converted the drivetrain from a 2001 SS to the V6 car,he changed everything like the
LS1 engine
Automatic Transmission
Fuel Pump Assembly
Rear End
Dash,Gauges,Instrument Cluster,Wires etc
BCM,Computer
And Probably a lot more other stuff i cant think of or forgot to mention
Im thinking about buying the car,he wants like $5000 for it im going to look at it like saturday my questions are what should i look for in terms of making sure the swap/conversion went smooth? My younger brother got a 95 Z28 a while back car was originally a 93 V6 car,he had no issues with the car,but im just curious & quite skepitikal i know the only negative issue would be insurance by it registering as a V6 by the VIN, & if something was to happen to it i would recieve the value of a V6 instead of a V8

[transamtom]

Drive it,thats the easiest way to tell if something is wrong.

Look at the cluster for the warning lights,if they don't light up when the key is on you may want to steer clear unless you like to trace gremlins.

If the cluster works properly everything should be hooked up properly,then its just driveability which you get from the test drive.

[konigandy6]

I'd be carefull when looking at conversion cars... For the price of buying a factory ls1 vehicle, it makes the cost of converting almost pointless. So I guess ask the question why he did it. The drivetrain from the doner vehicle may be in question if he got it for dirt cheap. Test drive it, and like Tom said, make sure the gauge lights and warning lights are operational when you flick the key on... as in, he didn't disable the lights by pulling bulbs.

[Smittro]

Well as others have stated, drive it and see.

They did go a little far on the swap though they may have had reasons..

Such as the 3800 has the same drive line from the 4l60e back as the LS1 cars, with the exception that the bell housing is different for the v6 cars..

As the others have stated I'd be concerned with the electronics of the swap..

As far as insurrance goes, most things should be the same monitarily to replace if wrecked aside from the obvious like engine, and transmission because of the bell..

[bouigha123]

The conversons are worth far less than a normal v8 car. It will be hard to sell it if you ever decide that you want to get rid of it. From what I have seen, converson cars tend to go for 3 to 5 grand. I would shoot for the low side of that if you try to buy.

[fbodyNATION]

he got the v6 car from the auction with a blown head gasket,the donor car was a friend's that was wrecked all electronics,engine,trans etc came from the wrecked car,i might just continue on looking for a 01-02 SS or Z28,since you guys dont sound too sure about it i appreciate your opinions though

[konigandy6]

he got the v6 car from the auction with a blown head gasket,the donor car was a friend's that was wrecked all electronics,engine,trans etc came from the wrecked car,i might just continue on looking for a 01-02 SS or Z28,since you guys dont sound too sure about it i appreciate your opinions though

None of us are saying it's bad at all... it could be done very well. But we've all been around here long enough to know that swaps are not too cost effective and there are tons of horror stories out there. Don't let us deter you from something you want to do, if the deal is good enough, jump on it.

[Smittro]

None of us are saying it's bad at all... it could be done very well. But we've all been around here long enough to know that swaps are not too cost effective and there are tons of horror stories out there. Don't let us deter you from something you want to do, if the deal is good enough, jump on it.

This..

It's important to remember as well that there is nothing different about the v6 cars and v8 cars from a unibody construction stand point..

They were ALL roboticly welded in the exact same spots, using the exact same guage stamped steel componets..

K-member mounting points, front and rear suspension (except springs), brakes, lug pattern, exhaust routing, torque arm, and mounts, 10-bolt rear (except for gearing unless the v6 was y87), etc etc.. Same..

Again the differences are in the engines, electronics, and minor transmission (bell housing)..

Bottom line here is if the swap was done correctly (hard to mess up) you will not notice that it was once a v6 car...

Test drive it then test drive an original production LS1 car..

I will go ahead and say had you not known about the v6 to v8 swap you would never be able to tell much difference in the two aside from wear and tear and rear-end gears..

[transamtom]

This..

It's important to remember as well that there is nothing different about the v6 cars and v8 cars from a unibody construction stand point..

They were ALL roboticly welded in the exact same spots, using the exact same guage stamped steel componets..

K-member mounting points, front and rear suspension (except springs), brakes, lug pattern, exhaust routing, torque arm, and mounts, 10-bolt rear (except for gearing unless the v6 was y87), etc etc.. Same..

Again the differences are in the engines, electronics, and minor transmission (bell housing)..

Bottom line here is if the swap was done correctly (hard to mess up) you will not notice that it was once a v6 car...

Test drive it then test drive an original production LS1 car..

I will go ahead and say had you not known about the v6 to v8 swap you would never be able to tell much difference in the two aside from wear and tear and rear-end gears..

Not quite true,same gauge metal yes...same amount of welds? No.

My friend Rob worked for GM Canada in St Catharines and transfered to St Therese to avoid layoff.

He told me the greatest amount of welds was the TA and Formula followed by the V8 Camaros with the second most welds or welded area.

The V6 Firebird and base Camaro got the least amount of welds/welded area.

This is right from a guy on the assembly line.

[transamtom]

One other thing is the base V6 cars got a slower ratio steering rack unless you got the Y87 option then you got the quicker V8 ratio.

[Smittro]

Not quite true,same gauge metal yes...same amount of welds? No.

My friend Rob worked for GM Canada in St Catharines and transfered to St Therese to avoid layoff.

He told me the greatest amount of welds was the TA and Formula followed by the V8 Camaros with the second most welds or welded area.

The V6 Firebird and base Camaro got the least amount of welds/welded area.

This is right from a guy on the assembly line.

Calling BS.. No difference..

The Birds got a few more due to the slight difference in the tail section than the Camaro platform..

The robotic spot weld programing was the same for all of them other than the differences stated..

Would'nt have been cost effective to write a separate welding program..

ALL VIN numbers are placed on a chassis after unibody assembly..

This means VIN numbers are package/options dependant not weld/structure dependant..

Common sense..

So unless he was standing there counting welds he likely has no clue what he's talking about..

One other thing is the base V6 cars got a slower ratio steering rack unless you got the Y87 option then you got the quicker V8 ratio.

Correct.

[transamtom]

Calling BS.. No difference..

The Birds got a few more due to the slight difference in the tail section than the Camaro platform..

The robotic spot weld programing was the same for all of them other than the differences stated..

Would'nt have been cost effective to write a separate welding program..

ALL VIN numbers are placed on a chassis after unibody assembly..

This means VIN numbers are package/options dependant not weld/structure dependant..

Common sense..

So unless he was standing there counting welds he likely has no clue what he's talking about..


Correct.

He could be just talking shit, but I have owned 5 of these things, all Birds and TA's and just crawling under the car to work on them,oil changes,fuel filters ect. the seams have longer welds on the V8's than the V6's.

I have sprayed them underneath to prevent corrosion and have noticed it myself as there are more cracks to spray into on the V6's.

[Smittro]

He could be just talking shit, but I have owned 5 of these things, all Birds and TA's and just crawling under the car to work on them,oil changes,fuel filters ect. the seams have longer welds on the V8's than the V6's.

I have sprayed them underneath to prevent corrosion and have noticed it myself as there are more cracks to spray into on the V6's.

Have had a couple 4th gens myself..

[BrownsMillsAntz]

For 5 k I would just shop for a LS car....

[TLS_Addict]

For about 7k I know a pretty decent and not a high mileage one for sale.

[fbodyNATION]

For about 7k I know a pretty decent and not a high mileage one for sale.

Pics? Location? Mileage?

[Knight]

Pics? Location? Mileage?

It's his.