ls1 in a malibu

80bu

Dragway Regular
Aug 19, 2004
1,044
0
0
Oak grove,mo
What does it take to put a ls1 a malibu as what motor mounts.Do i have to do anything to the crossmember?What trans do i have to use? i will be using one with a carb from GMPP.Do they make headers the will fit?Any other info would be great.Thanks.
 

STROKER

Frequent Racer
Aug 17, 2004
398
0
0
SOUTH FLORIDA
i'm doing the same swap. from what i gathered you need special motor mounts adapter plates which i found on ebay. you can use a conventional transmission like a t400 which i'm using but you need a special flywheel ,tci and gmpp have the flywheel. headers you can get from hooker or i did hear of someone using camaro ls1 shortys..if you're going carb. edelbrock make the ls1 intake either a victor or performer. also for ignition msd makes the spark control box. you can use the stock coils. if using the ls1 intake a throttle body. you need to salvage the computer and wire harness or you can find a custom harness from painless. for more interesting reading go to ls1tec.com or ls1.com everything you need to know you will fine on those sites. good luck...
 

455_82malibu

Pro Stocker
May 19, 2006
1,400
0
36
WISCONSIN
stock flywheel works if you have the HD type. I used Edelbrock shorty headers from a new f body, fit perfect.
 

Stangboy

Dragway Regular
Jan 27, 2004
833
0
16
Ky
Which hookers and with which mount?
 

Stangboy

Dragway Regular
Jan 27, 2004
833
0
16
Ky
Wouldnt clear with the Transdapt mounts.. we tried it.
 

malibuplotter

Dragway Regular
Apr 11, 2005
1,251
1
0
layton utah
i think we need to take all our ls1 tech articals and make a sticky, the ls1 questions are showing up a couple time a week.
what do you think?.... moderaters?
 

MalibuRacing

Top Fueler
May 5, 2003
3,465
0
36
www.maliburacing.com
Yes, I would also love for someone to document their LS1 swap (with pictures) so I can post it on here in the Tech or FAQ section.

I'm about to start on my son's Malibu. Got it pulled in the shop now. I'm thinking I'm going to do a 5.3 truck motor/4L40E swap for him though. It will have more than enough "get-up-and-go" for a 16 year old (he'll be 15 in October). Heck, the 5.3 truck motors are rated at 295 HP. That aint' too shabby.

Can anyone tell me with certainty if the truck oil pan will clear the stock g-body crossmember? That's my first concern. Also, wonder if the truck manifolds will fit the g-body without modifications?

I may have to create a LSx tech forum that focuses on G-bodies. :-k
 

stroker81

Dragway Regular
Dec 16, 2004
1,028
0
0
SW Missouri
Maybe even make another board category? This topic will only get bigger. I talked with "savo" about his swap. He is local to me. I was hoping he would talk about the motor mount deal with his car. IIRC I understood his car used conventional Moroso old-school small block solid motor mounts (both halves). Bolted a plate (maybe 1/4"steel) to the side of the block. Set the motor down in position on the complete motor mount assembly that was already bolted to the frame and welded the plate on the block to the top half of the Moroso solid mount. I think his car has f-body headers on it. Again, IIRC before he welded the mount to the plate on the block he mocked up the header to the motor and then was able to position the motor fore/aft as needed to maximize header clearance.

It all sounded pretty simple to me.
 

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