Hi all, Some time ago, I wrecked my 1993 suburban. The kids were devastated that their favorite car was wrecked. So...since my oldest turns 16 this month I decided to fix it. What better vehicle to put a kid into than a 'Burban? Big, safe, etc. I bought a parts truck with a blown ****** and a good nose for sheet metal transplant. A 1996 Suburban with a 350 Vortec in it. After some work (previous owner's son began parting it out and messed with fuel pump wiring), we got the engine running and, oh my, does it run incredibly well. I plan on pulling it and using it in a resto-mod project down the road, hopefully an early '50's station wagon to make a surf mobile. What do I need to pull out of the donor vehicle to make sure the computer controlled vortec will run as it should in the new project? I would prefer to use the existing harness from the donor vehicle since I priced a Painless Wiring harness for this engine and it goes for over $1000.00. Any help from resto-mod guys on this forum would be greatly appreciated. Andy
The '96 and up are OBDII, requiring EVERYTHING to be transplanted. The computer has a hand in watching the engine, trans, vapor recovery, gauges, etc. There are people out there and on here who know a lot more than I do about this, but nobody's weighed in yet. I own a carburetor intake for Vortec engines (waiting to use it on a '99 I have), and they can be made to run with that and an aftermarket distributor, plus Painless and others make a standalone harness for the 4L80E that would probably make this an easier swap.
Be careful with the terminology. The "Vortec" motor didn't actually arrive until '96. The vortec EFI was in use from about '91 or so. Being a '93 model, it should use a 2bbl throttlebody, correct? If so, retro it back to the 88-92 computer and get a harness for a couple of hundred bucks from EFI Specialties or Howell Engine Developments. The ECU is maybe $40 in the junkyard. A '91 0r '92 1/2 ton truck ecu is pretty much ready to use. Your computer controlled distributor should be fine. With one of those harnesses, you can run with as few as 4 wires to hook up. If you use your existing 4L60E, you will be really expensive, but an earlier 700r4 is not computer controlled. It is possible to convert the 4L60E to run without a computer, but you'll need a knowledgible trans builder. I would contact TCI and ask what they suggest. Of course, a manual trans is a no-brainer.
READ^^^^^^ I would take as much as you can, depending on what it goes in. I`d rather have to much, than not enough.
Scotty, I think you got mixed up. The truck that the new project motor is coming out of is a '96 with the Vortec. I am also using the sheet metal off that truck to fix my '93. So...I need information about running a '96 Vortec in a project car. Anybody else have ideas about aftermarket harnesses, transmission choices, or have personal experience doing this? thanks, Andy
I think Scotty just miss read your first post or wasn't sure which rig was the parts supplier an which one was the receiver. As for what to save. Save the whole engine harness and the harness that goes from the firewall to the Computer. Save all of the sensors that may not be on the engine proper and the wiring that goes to them. When you get to the point in the build where you need to hook up the computer you can decide if you want to use the original harness (or part of it) or spring for an aftermarket harness. Plenty of these engines with the fi have been swapped in to other rigs using the oem harness. The biggest rub is that there are a lot of wires and it's just a bit more than ugly in an otherwise clean engine compartment. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
They might know more over to www.Chevytalk.org. But I think the low-buck way to go is to use the factory harness, the engine and computer don't care what body they're in as long as all the sensors are there. 1996 has the computer controlled transmission so you're going to have problems running the stock computer control, unless you get the computer for a manual trans truck, or round up another of the same transmission as the blown one. Even then it may rely on the correct 1996-type manual trans for a vehicle speed sensor (1991 and up are electronic speedometer) so it may not run correct. There are alternate ways to run stuff like that, but it's not really traditional so kind of off topic for this board.
A Howell harness and you should let them rework your ECM to delete any securities and emissions.ECM is about $200 exchange and a stand alone harness is about $600.everything is plug and play[labeled]. Can't say I've ever heard of a4l60e without electronics, sound indepth and expensive. Compushift makes a fully adjustable stand alone computer that will most likely be far more afordable that going in that direction. You've got a lot of ways to do this conversion, a lot more than we had even 15 years ago.
Hey Rusty, I thought this was a hot rodding board? My mistake, but if I want to put a stock 250-300 hp Vortec into an early '50s wagon and make a surf mobile then I AM hotrodding, just not in the traditional sense as you inferred. There's all kind of hot rods and no doubt I am a HUGE fan of traditional stuff (let's call it old skool as I am kind of old skool myself), but doing something a little different is fun also. Andy
The 96-up Vortec motors have a pretty nasty efi setup on them. The central sequential multi port units are prone to problems and the plastic intake looks nasty. They are easy to swap though. If you do decide to run the efi it will run with the transmission unplugged without a problem. I have done it many times using 700r4's and manuals both.
Hi Andy, this is a traditional hot rodding board, as it says in the "read this before you post" thread. So don't be surprised if people give you **** for talking about efi here. If you don't complain about people giving you ****, but instead just try to keep a low profile, you'll probably get your questions answered...
Just my opinion, but I've got a '98 4X4 Burb, and it's a great truck, and I got it for a song in the recent fuel crisis. THAT SAID, I just did the intake manifold gasket on it this Spring - a typical Vortec issue - and I'll tell you, that motor is an unbelievable PITA to work on. There are more wires, sensors, plugs, and just general electrical **** on that motor... 2-piece intake manifold, 65 psi fuel pressure requirement.... blah. Yeah, I'm sure it's great for some reasons, but If I were building a project car, and wanted a V8 chevy, a Vortec injected motor is surely not what I'd pick. Go older throttle body EFI, or a nice simple carb. Pete
Andy.....please get with the program here......you are talking about totally off topic stuff here......this is not about '93 Suburbans or computer controlled Vortec motors...... go to a more appropriate board to discuss this stuff.....it's supposed to be about *traditional rods and kustoms*... Thanks CB
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