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78 Bertone LR4 swap (budget ls swap)

Rfoltz53

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2012
Location
Lancaster, PA
You guys might have saw i did already start a build thread for this car but it was before i really had a plan made up for the car so the info was all over the place. Since i have set a goal for the car now i thought it would just be easier to delete that thread and start a new one, so here we go.

The car
78 Bertone 262c originaly a v6 m46 car. The car has been sitting since 2001 and i bought it from the second owner. He said he could not even remember why he stopped driving it. Overall the body of the car is on good shape for its age. The floors are rock solid, the only real rust problems are under the windsheild on boths sides and a little on the back rockers. The interior is the over the top bertone stuff with black leather and all sorts of cool 70's stuff. It also has a sunroof!

The goal is to make the car a fun second car for my wife and another toy for me. Just like 5.0 swap this will be done on a tight budget. And i will post running totals as the build goes on.

Drivetrain
Engine 99 Chevy LR4 4.8L 80k miles
I would like to swing a cam and ls1 intake manifold into the budget atleast
Trans is still yet to be bought but im looking for a stock t56 or will may be build up a spare t5 i have.

Body
Fix the rust and that is it! The paint is actully not it bad shape.

Suspension
Coilovers all aroudn since the 1978 suspension is shot
New brakes all around also (it is my wifes car haha)

Now onto the pics
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Old v6 lump out
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Engine bay before i started to clean it up
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Engine bay ready for paint
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The engine bay is painted using a high heat industrial black rattle can and im pretty happy with how it turned out
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I had a spare subframe from a parts car i had so i gave the subframe notching a shot. It turned out ok for the most part. Im sure it is strong its just not perfrect. I will probably notch the subframe that is in the car still and hang onto this as a spare or for another project.
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And some engine pics, i just picked it up yesterday. Im thinking im going to give it a once over this weekend clean it up. Maybe set it on some blocks in the engine bay for motivation.
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The truck intake manifold is pretty tall so im not sure i could use that if i wanted to anyways. I will need to pick up a harness and computer since the engine did not come with one.
 
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I think truck manifolds have been fitted under 200 hoods before. Get on LS1tech.com, plenty of guys looking to dump their LS1 intakes. Can also get a computer and harness for pretty cheap. There is a difference between the T56 and 4L60 harnesses so heads up. They can all be made to be stand alone for a swap. Plenty of info at LT1swap.com. Have fun.
 
I think truck manifolds have been fitted under 200 hoods before. Get on LS1tech.com, plenty of guys looking to dump their LS1 intakes. Can also get a computer and harness for pretty cheap. There is a difference between the T56 and 4L60 harnesses so heads up. They can all be made to be stand alone for a swap. Plenty of info at LT1swap.com. Have fun.

Awsome info thanks!
 
damn...they are giving those motors away at that price!

Great score, looking forward to seeing this build.
 
Nice project,
sorry for asking here, but which lock do you have at the trunk?
Does it work with the central locking system?
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I got the engine home the other night and took it down to a long block so I could clean it up and paint. I just stuck the intake back on for s few pics.
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then I started to drill out the two broken exhaust studs.
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Im loving the simplicity of this engine!
Im trying to decide what route I want to go with mounts at this point. I like the bolt in way that rougestatus did his using bmw mounts with a certain set of pre fabbed mounts on the block. But it is cheaper to build them the more common way with dom tubing and a mount kit.
 
Looking good!

As for mounts, I am totally happy with the way mine are working on my 302 swap. I used a partial sbf mount I bought from Speedway motors, cut an old torque arm, made a bolt in base with plate and carriage bolts and used poly bushings. They are strong and totally reversable to stock with no mods to the crossmember or welding to the chassis. Maybe something to condsider??

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I like that setup for sure with the bolt in bottom plate i might give that a try. I used the big bolt in plates from the frame rails to the subframe on my other 240 that has a ford 5.0.
 
Subscribed, this is the exact swap I want to do, with the t5 too.

I like Rouge Status's too, seems cleaner.

Sticking with the stock oil pan too?
 
The CTS-V pans are about the same size as the f-body pans. At least it works in my buddies '68 Camaro. Might also be a little too beep. Worth a look though.
 
Its been awhile since this thing has got any attention with me spending most of my free time in the garage on my lemons car. We have a little bit of time until our next race of the year so we are going to try and get some work done on the bertone. We picked up a gm performance swap oil pan with pickup tube and got engine pedestals. Depending on how the weekend goes we are going to try and drop the engine in and at least measure for mounts.
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