New project taking shape in polar vortex land. I'm helping a friend build a planned LT1 / ZF6 swaped FC .. and helping seems to mean that I get to do most of the work & fab, lol. The drivers behind the LT1 choice were pretty straight forward, predominantly engine cost, followed by cost of aftermarket parts. While it does seem to me that the total investment tends to converge between an LS1 and an LT1 as power goes up, my friend prefers to spend in several smaller bites instead of a few larger ones.
The car we are starting with is a one owner base '86 base FC that has lived in a garage for pretty much all it's life, and doesn't look to have seen any winter use. Here in MN, finding a car that isn't already 1/2 rust can be a serious problem, so this very clean shell is more important than the 4 lug hubs and automatic transmission.
I have tried a few searches on the site, but haven't had any luck finding examples of swaps that use the original 6 speed ZF6 transmission from a C4 corvette. Both our LT1 and ZF6 are from the same low mileage '92 Corvette, which seems to have met with an untimely demise.
With the LT1/ZF6 combo, I am having a bit of trouble finding a good swap kit or swap information. I would prefer to purchase a cradle for the engine, even if I end up needing to fabricate the transmission crossmember from scratch. I have tried both of the phone numbers on the Granny's website & left a couple of messages, but have yet to get any kind of a response. I have also tried searching for other LT1 swap kits for the FC, but have come up empty handed. Any help here would be appreciated.
Long term plans include a 5 lug conversion & some suspension work, but my primary focus for now is to get the car swapped & running. Adding fun comes after the main goal has been accomplished.