The fittings on the stock carb'd system are worm style hose clamps and the car has a 5/16 fuel line, that is why you need to change it!It may suffice as a return line, but you still need a feed line. If there is a factory return line, it will be VERY small, 1/4 in or less. (It was part of an odd emissions control scheme and was common to many 70's and 80's carb'd cars) The pump is an in tank unit, IIRC from GM as are most all factory electric pumps. They run quieter that way. As I said in my previous post, the Vette LT1 acccessories will not hit the frame and are the ones to use. They are just a little difficult to find and not usually cheap when you do. With an LT1 you can also use the stock G body motor mounts and they will bolt in place so long as you do not use F car A/C parts. The reason is, the LT1 has an extra bolt hole further rearward than all previous small blocks for the F car mount, and the one that is not used for the mount, is now used as a mount for the low mount A/C compressor. You will also need a translator box to allow you to run the LT1 VSS (which is on the tailshaft, in the speedo gear hole) and the mechanical speedometer that all analog cluster G bodies had (some Regals were digital). Here's another option you may not have considered: skip the EFI and run a carb. GM Performance parts offers a carrb intake that allows a standard Holley to be run. An HEI distributor slides right in place as the block kept the accomodation for a rear distributor. That way, you can avoid the Opti Spark, most of the wiring and some of the plumbing.

One more thing: there is one thing you need to weld to use the 4L60E. The frame on G bodies built before 1985 cannot accomodate the proper crossmember for an overdrive trans without adding a little steel in the right place for a TH200 4R trans crossmember. This is done to an area like 4 inches rearward of the driver's side mounting point (IIRC) , but you should look at a 1985 or newer G body to be sure. You will need to find one anyways as you need this crossmember, unless you go with the MTS (Maximum Torque Specialties, they specilaize in Cadillac 472-500 V8 conversions in older GM cars) dual hump crossmember to accomodate a true dual exhaust.

Lastly, is the rearend. The stock 7.5 10 bolt is worthless if you ever plan to run sticky tires. The 7.625 10 bolt used in later models is a little better, but let's face it, a rear end designed for a Chevy Monza with a 2.5 liter Iron Puke is not a good choice for a V8! It will last for a while, but when it breaks, there is a stronger (if not rare ) choice. the 8.5 10 bolt. It came factory in the turbo Regals form the mid to late 80's and the Cutlass 442 and Hurst/Olds from the same time. Gearing was either 3.73 or 3.42, depending on model, and both were posi. If you get a 7.625 10 bolt from a Monte SS, you will get the crappiest Posi known to man: the Eaton Gov Lok. It is to be avoided at all costs unless free, because a free Gov Lok is better than an open diff.

 

holy shit with some nice info. so on the fuel line since the oem is too small or at least borders on too small what is the proper size, an this just means I get a bunch of a/n fittings. The lt1 accesories are what we'll use since this is my dads car (we are building it together) and he's not one to like cutting out factory metal. heck when I had to cut away part of my bumper to make way for an intercooler he almost freaked. so we (or he) would rather spend a little extra for the accesory that doesn't cause vehicle amputation. ok for the motor mounts the G body ( elcamino right?) and the fbody being the camaro/vette? just gotta make sure I'm on track. what kind of translator for the vss?? lost on this one never had to worry with the hondas ( so far).

I did consider carb since the crate engines are cheaper but this is a daily driver and makes trips out of state ( different altitude) and the efi is just easier. I'm not familiar with optispark but gather its the ignition coil system? I am not worried about wiring, as long as I have both wiring schematics I can make it work( for the money I paid for my electronics degree I'd better be able to).

the welding shouldn't be a problem, I am going to look at the cross member for the dual exhaust, but I have a mig if needed. I kinda had a feeling the oem built for 108hp would not like the 300hp that'll be thrown at it, I don't plan on stickies but I would like to get a rear end that'll hold up with room to turbo later. again thanks for the info, and patience as I feel around for the domestic stuff.

keep the good info coming.

 

Here's the definition of a G body: 1982-1988 rear wheel drive full frame car, 1978- 1981 A bodies are essentially the same but the designation A body was used for the Celeberty/ Cutlass Ciera, etc models starting in 1982 so GM changed the name. Models of A/G bodies include: Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass Cruiser, Cutlass Salon, Hurst/Olds, 442, El Camino, GMC Sprint (GMC's El Camino), GMC Caballero, Malibu, Monte Carlo, Malibu Classic, Grand Prix, Regal, Grand National, Century and Bonneville ( 2 yrs only). I am sure I missed some, but you get the picture. Honda has NOTHING on GM for interchangeability!

F body is Camaro/Firebird. A Corvette would be a Y body.

Opti Spark is a distributor mounted on the crank snout and not an individual coil pack system like the LS1 uses.

I drive a 1985 Cutlass Supreme Brougham with a 1977 Chevy 350 bored .030 over and a TH200 4R overdrive trans. My rear is a Monte Carlo SS unit with the 3.73, gov lok setup, but hey, it was cheap ($150) and I am on a limited budget. My car came with a 231 Buick V6/ TH200C combo with a 2.41 axle stock, so I have done a complete swap on mine. I also run Eibach Pro Kit springs, and have removed the body partially from the frame and rebushed it with an Energy Suspension Polyurethane kit. I swapped a set of the factory FE-3 suspension sway bars in 1 1/4 front and .75 rear along with the IROC Steering box that gives me 2.25 turns lock to lock. The front end has also been completely gone through with ES bushings , and I will have the popular negative roll conversion by Global West done soon, which revises the camber curve and gives you 12 in brakes to replace the 10'5 in stockers. Another thing I have is the power steering cooler form a Z-28 and a special factory aluminum hood which pulls about 30-40 lbs off the nose. A 9C1 Caprice supplied the oil cooler kit ( the car was a taxi that started life as a cop car, Copher's Tampa had about 30 of em a few years ago and I pieced mine together from those). My car runs a carburetor and was formerly a pizza delivery car, so carbs are plenty reliable. I just started mine after 5 years of sitting and waiting for me to complete the restoration and it started on the first try (but I did do the proper pre start prep).

Before yo do this, take a trip to Copher's and familiarize yourself with the different variations of 80's RWD GM cars. Most have parts that will interchange, especially between the early A, G , F, and B body cars.