[GeeTwo]

So, im new here but not new to cars. I scored a great deal on a great car; 1995 caprice classic, originally a 4.3l v8, has been swapped for 5.7l lt1 (verified with stroke length). Car has 250k miles, unknown on motor or transmission. Motor and transmission works as it should. Rust free, bad paint (sat under pine tree for 5 years), rough interior. Impala clone/ custom is plan for the old girl. Show/street car so badging isn't a priority. Recently My rusty trusty suburban is no longer trusty, rear trailing arms broke free from rust and now she has no rear axel, (blue tooth connection failed). So, now I have a 2003 5.3l vortec v8 sitting in my driveway and a 95 caprice classic with no mechanical issues. I am a chevy guy with an obsession with small blocks. 2005 escalade esv, 99 chevy express w less than 100k, 2003 caddy csv, 2003 burb, 95 caprice. Plan, swap 5.3l from burb to caprice, swap caprice lt1 to maybe replace cts 3.2l v6 and 4x4 the van using burb parts. Thoughts on the craziness? Again lt1 is fine but I daily the lade and significant other rocks the cts, and the van is just begging to be more fun. What would you do?

 

[GeeTwo]

By the way the caprice great deal was $1300! Parts replaced were plugs, wires, cap and button with Mitsubishi sensor, iac, tps, shift solenoid a and b and shift pressure manifold, filter and gasket, shocks and stock tires. Still less than 2k in the caprice.

 

[buickman1]

Try a compression test on the engine, that will give you an idea of how worn the engine is.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Very strongly suggest you leave 'her' car alone, at least until something goes badly wrong with it.
Hopefully by then you'll have at least one project finished that she can daily while you Frankenstein another one.
Otherwise she might get on your nerves.
She may not appreciate daily driving a Caprice, nevermind anything bigger than that.

Transplanting the LT1 into the CTS does not seem wise.
If you can find the wiring harness from a CTS-V with a V8, that'll help with installing a younger 5.3L or 6.0L, those were designed to fit.

Get an oil sample analysis on the Caprice's engine oil.
When you replaced shift solenoids A & B, did you also change the ATF and filter?
If not, change the ATF & the filter, and send the old ATF to get analyzed too.
I'd want an idea how long they might last.
Or, just assume they've at least 250k miles on them both, and look for LT1 & 4L60E spares.
That's what I'd do.

By the way:
'05 escalade esv 6.0L?
'99 express What engine?
'03 suburban 5.3L or 6.0L?

 

[sherlock9c1]

Welcome! I would not recommend all the engine swaps unless you're a fab/plumbing/wiring/programming whiz.

On the transmission, did you swap that stuff because it needed it or just because? The failure rate on those transmission components is extraordinarily low, and frankly rebuilders only replace them because they're a dumb reason for a comeback, not because they fail. I'd highly recommend getting a line pressure gauge, that'll tell you how healthy the transmission is.

 

[GeeTwo]

Very strongly suggest you leave 'her' car alone, at least until something goes badly wrong with it.
Hopefully by then you'll have at least one project finished that she can daily while you Frankenstein another one.
Otherwise she might get on your nerves.
She may not appreciate daily driving a Caprice, nevermind anything bigger than that.

Transplanting the LT1 into the CTS does not seem wise.
If you can find the wiring harness from a CTS-V with a V8, that'll help with installing a younger 5.3L or 6.0L, those were designed to fit.

Get an oil sample analysis on the Caprice's engine oil.
When you replaced shift solenoids A & B, did you also change the ATF and filter?
If not, change the ATF & the filter, and send the old ATF to get analyzed too.
I'd want an idea how long they might last.
Or, just assume they've at least 250k miles on them both, and look for LT1 & 4L60E spares.
That's what I'd do.

By the way:
'05 escalade esv 6.0L?
'99 express What engine?
'03 suburban 5.3L or 6.0L?

Escalade is a 6.0l awd with iron block, 99 express is a 5.7l, burb is a 5.3l. ATF was was partially changed.

Welcome! I would not recommend all the engine swaps unless you're a fab/plumbing/wiring/programming whiz.

On the transmission, did you swap that stuff because it needed it or just because? The failure rate on those transmission components is extraordinarily low, and frankly rebuilders only replace them because they're a dumb reason for a comeback, not because they fail. I'd highly recommend getting a line pressure gauge, that'll tell you how healthy the transmission is.

The caprice sat near 6 years, it drove fine for about 3 days then went in limp mode, only taking off in 3rd and could shift manually. Even shifting manually it didn't have 1st gear. Changed 5 qts of atf and filter, did not solve issue. Took the pan back down, resistance test on solenoid "a" and it failed. So changed both a and b since it was apart, cleaned the others, put it back together and replaced another 5 qts. So two 5 qt ATF fluid replacement.

 

[GeeTwo]

Welcome! I would not recommend all the engine swaps unless you're a fab/plumbing/wiring/programming whiz.

On the transmission, did you swap that stuff because it needed it or just because? The failure rate on those transmission components is extraordinarily low, and frankly rebuilders only replace them because they're a dumb reason for a comeback, not because they fail. I'd highly recommend getting a line pressure gauge, that'll tell you how healthy the transmission is.

As for all the swap craziness, I am a mechanic of 20+ years, I started at 9 rebuilding cars, my best friend is a fabricator and body guy. He is retired military and I had to give up professional wrench turning due to injury. With that being said, breaking stuff and fixing it in the name of fun, art, or "why not" is not a big thing. The van becoming 4x4 is probably the winter project. Just seems fun. For now the Caprice is very clean oil, no mechanical issues, and is in need of paint, interior, and modernization. The caprice is going in the pole barn to be torn down and setup for that stuff, and the burb is getting prepped to be dismantled regardless of the the plans with the parts.

 

[sherlock9c1]

Sounds like you live in an area with corrosion. The factory rustrpoofing on these cars was terrible, so spray every seam and joint with CRC marine corrosion inhibitor. That stuff is awesome.

 

[GeeTwo]

Sounds like you live in an area with corrosion. The factory rustrpoofing on these cars was terrible, so spray every seam and joint with CRC marine corrosion inhibitor. That stuff is awesome.

Southern Ohio, good old rust belt!