1975 Camaro Bumblebee LT4 Gen V swap | The Car Community | Page 1

fringe summit Aug 23, 2024, 4:22 AM

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I was never into cars growing up, and I would argue I am still not. But I really like building stuff, and I really like transformers.

I am currently in the process of building a 1975 camaro to look like bumblebee from the 2007 transfomers movie, and the end of the 2018 bumblebee movie.

Very uninspired I know.

But my car is a lot more special than that. Though the outside and the interior will look exactly like the movie car, the underside and the engine bay will not.

I am putting a 2019 Corvette Z06 LT4 dry sump in my car, with a dodge challenger 8hp70 transmission.

The front suspension is heavily modified to allow for longer shocks and coil overs. The rear suspension is 100% custom, I no longer have leaf springs and it's replaced with a torque arm suspension from chassisworks with a ford 9" 3.70 gears.

I am also using a bosch ibooster from a honda accord.....all I'm missing now is something from Toyota.

As of this post, I am working on converting the engine wiring harness to be 100% stand alone

Here is my google sheet to view all of my parts
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-ZVvGOIjiaLC4Hnp-e_CUJMm2iMxyWlIut79SGjdK44/edit?gid=0#gid=0

I am not here to advertise, but I also have a youtube channel if you want to follow along with my progress, I do this for me, and documentation purposes, I am not trying to make this a career

https://i.gyazo.com/fe44a44391de3c7035783138388c3279.png
https://www.youtube.com/@SuperPerformanceGarage

YouTube

SPG

This channel is dedicated to building up my 1975 Camaro to look like Bumblebee in the 2007 Transformers movie, and the 2018 Bumblebee movie. This cars exterior and interior will be movie accurate. When you pop the hood, you'll be surprised to see a Gen V LT4 from a 2019 Corvette Z06 with custom coil over suspension in the front, and torque arm i...

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I'd post a picture, but I assume I can't until I am verified
I have an entire build thread on nastyz28 in the meantime
https://nastyz28.com/threads/75-bumblebee-lt4-gen-v-swap.321528/page-55

simple trail Aug 23, 2024, 9:52 PM

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fringe summit I'd post a picture, but I assume I can't until I am verified I have an entire bu...

I recently changed it so within this thread you'll be able to post images until you're level 10 and after that you can post everywhere.
there's also #media that works for images if you're just in more general conversation elsewhere

fringe summit Aug 23, 2024, 9:56 PM

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simple trail I recently changed it so within this thread you'll be able to post images until ...

Thank you, I appreciate it

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Currently working on modifying the engine harness to be standalone

simple trail Aug 23, 2024, 9:59 PM

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sounds... time consuming

fringe summit Aug 23, 2024, 10:00 PM

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it is
but I'm close to being done, I just have to do the fuse block

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@noble pollen messaged me and gave me the missing connector pinnouts I needed so I can probably finish this weekend

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This car originally had leaf springs
but I wanted coil overs to adjust ride height more easily. So we installed shock brackets for a custom torque arm suspension

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after that, painted the bottom in white epoxy and upol bedliner

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one of the bars came poweder coated, and you have to bolt it in...while also welding a tube to it
I have no idea why it's not given to you bare but whatever
These are the worst welds we made

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Car originally had fat springs, chopped off the shock tower for extended travel coil overs

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eventually got my 3.70 rear gears so I could finish installing my torque arm

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all of this custom suspension was so my specific rim and tire could fit in the car
I spent about 10k, just to get a $300 rim to fit
no, thats not a joke

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My reason was, the rim stuck out of the car
so the axle needed to be shortened
but if I was shortening the axle I might as well get a ford 9"
if I am getting a ford 9" why stay with leaf springs
now I have coil overs

median sundialBOT Aug 23, 2024, 10:14 PM

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GG @fringe summit, you just advanced to level 4! Chat more to level up and earn top roles!

fringe summit Aug 23, 2024, 10:14 PM

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I had a fun problem with the suspension company, they gave me the wrong subframe connectors, so it shoved my wheel back... a lot
I won't go into specifics, I have an entire video on it. I can link it if asked.

tl;dr they gave me the wrong part, they said they didn't, fought me every step of the way, the eventually sort of fixed it by shortening the wrong part, but it works, and I didn't want to deal with it anymore

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the arm sticks out too far from the mount above it, the mount sat too far back fro where it was meant to be

This issue is because 70-73 and 74-81 cars are slightly different, but not different enough to cause this problem

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The eventually fixed it by chopping the torque arm by 3 inches
it works, but the right solution was giving me 74-81 subframe connectors. They gave me 70-73 connectors

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got an LT4 out of a corvette z06
right now it has a 4l60e
I changed my plans a week ago, I am getting an 8hp70 now, thats something I'll talk about when I get the transmission, but more than willing to talk about it if someone asks

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my engine won't make enough vacuum, so I'm not doing vacuum boosted brakes
I don't want to do hydro boos brakes
so I got a Bosch iBooster from an accord

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custome fuel tank with a camaro zl1 pump
I basically want my car to look like and old car, but it's going to have all the brains of a corvette, so if I ever have any problems I can just go to the parts store and say I have a corvette and they'll give me what I need to fix the car

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made a patch panel for the heater core as I am eventually putting in vintage air, and made a "shock" to figure out ride height as I don't want to buy shocks yet

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Sorry for the spam, but caught up with my project now, if anyone has any questions let me know. I am more than happy to talk about it. I am mainly here looking for people interested as I don't have people in my life to share this stuff with, friends aren't car people

noble pollen Aug 23, 2024, 10:59 PM

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This is really fucking cool

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I am genuinely excited for this to get done

fringe summit Aug 23, 2024, 11:08 PM

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Thank you!
I hope to have it running by the end of next year (not driving)
I need to figure out what I'm going to do for a dry sump tank. Stock z06 tank can not work

fringe summit Aug 24, 2024, 7:18 AM

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1975 Camaro Bumblebee LT4 Gen V swap

quasi fern Aug 24, 2024, 11:34 AM

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yo

fringe summit Aug 24, 2024, 2:22 PM

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Hi

quasi fern Aug 24, 2024, 2:54 PM

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nice camaro

fringe summit Aug 24, 2024, 2:56 PM

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Thanks

quasi fern Aug 24, 2024, 3:01 PM

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how long have you had it

fringe summit Aug 24, 2024, 3:10 PM

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I've had it since October 2018, so almost 6 years now
tore it apart about a year and a half later in Febuary 2020

quasi fern Aug 24, 2024, 3:20 PM

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that camaro is beautiful was the guy that sold it to you and older guy or a young guy

fringe summit Aug 24, 2024, 3:29 PM

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He was pretty young, as far as I can tell, I am at least the 4th owner
I have no info about who owned it first, the guy after him caught the carb on fire somehow.
The guy before me tried fixing it, but he lived in an apartment and traveling to his buddy's barn was getting annoying, so he sold it to me

There is probably a person or two between the original owner and fire guy, but I have no way of knowing

fringe summit Aug 27, 2024, 2:50 AM

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Go forward wires have been found

noble pollen Aug 28, 2024, 4:12 PM

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How long until you expect to get it started?

fringe summit Aug 28, 2024, 7:36 PM

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it will be awhile, I don't have an accessory drive for the engine

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I also need a dry sump tank, so starting it will kill it right now lol

noble pollen Aug 28, 2024, 8:41 PM

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Oh boy, yeah that’s an obstacle 😆

fringe summit Aug 28, 2024, 8:51 PM

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The dry sump tank may come by the end of the year, not sure yet
There is a guy on my camaro form that is putting a dry sump lt1 into his car and he's making a custom tank that might bolt in. He suggested he could make me one too
I don't really know the progress of that, he said maybe november. I am not in a rush. As I'm sure everyone can relate to, don't have car money right now, so just doing the projects I can with what I already have.

Like my wiring harness will be tapped together for a bit, I won't actually terminate anything forawhile, I don't know where I want to place the fuseblock and stuff yet so it's all just going to be bare on the bench for a bit

fringe summit Aug 29, 2024, 9:27 PM

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two bulkheads have been chopped off, labeled, and removed

I was going to depin them proper, but I have no use for these connectors or the pins associated.....and for some reaosn these are a pain in the ass to depin proper so I gave up

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I only have one more to do, and it looks pretty easy
it's all to do with exhaust flappers and stuff
which I don't need

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I also think I've figured out all the wires I need for the fuseblock so I don't have any questions on that anymore, it's more of figuring out placement, which won't happen for a bit
so for now they'll just be tapped together and I'll have to circle back to them when I'm further along in my project

fringe summit Aug 29, 2024, 10:20 PM

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Saw this when I was at lowes for unrelated things, had to pick it up
just wish it didn't have the off road stuff on it
This is basically what my car should look like when it's done lol

fringe summit Sep 1, 2024, 11:35 PM

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Looks like the pinout I have for this connector doesn't match any of the wires in mine
If someone has access to wiring diagrams I would appreciate it
the only important ones are the cooling fan, and gmlan, but I'd like to know what other wires go to before I just cut them off and cause myself problems later

fringe summit Sep 5, 2024, 5:29 PM

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once again, airz23scoffee comes in clutch and finds the right connector I'm looking for
pin out was actually for the brakes.

Sadly, had no wire for the cooling fans, I think I know what wire that is off the x1, but I'll have to double check.

The only useful wires on this are the can wires, which is fine, they'll probably end up getting used for the transmission and the obdII port in the car

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In other news, I should have "everything" I need to do my fuel lines
I might work on that this weekend, or I'm making wheels stands, not sure yet
one nice thing about a returnless (pwm) fuel system, it has less an fittings than a return system.

fringe summit Oct 11, 2024, 9:49 PM

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Progress has been slow, and by that, non existent since last update
but I have someone making my a custom dry sump tank for my car.

They just got the 3rd scan of their camaro and will start making something up in cad. Not sure when I'll get this, but it will help a lot

wheat jacinth Oct 11, 2024, 9:50 PM

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Nice

noble pollen Oct 12, 2024, 2:13 AM

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Custom parts FTW

fringe summit Nov 23, 2024, 2:48 AM

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I was going to put a 4l60e in this car, but someone on the nastyz28 forums suggested an 8hp70 out of a dodge after they put it in their 2nd gen. It's able the same size and has 4 more gears. It would also be about 2k cheaper as weird as that would be

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I got this for free from a wrecking yard. was in a chase with CHP

noble pollen Nov 23, 2024, 12:01 PM

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8hp70 is a great trans - definitely better than 4l60. Good call. That said, can your trans programmer tune it with the donor TCU or are you going to have to use a standalone of some kind?

fringe summit Nov 23, 2024, 4:31 PM

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Going to have a standalone turbo lamik
https://www.turbolamik.us/tcu-accessories/tcu-turbolamik-full-kit/

TurboLamik

TCU TurboLamik FULL KIT

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It's expensive, but it's still about 2k cheaper than building a 4l60 so it won't blow up
Which is strange, but I'm not going to complain

noble pollen Nov 23, 2024, 4:44 PM

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Yep, that’s awesome. You’ll get loads better performance out of the 8 speed

fringe summit Nov 23, 2024, 4:46 PM

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Some people told me to just use a GM 8 speed, but they're significantly larger and would require surgery on my tunnel. This should drop it without much of a fight

noble pollen Nov 23, 2024, 9:19 PM

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And credit to the GM 8 speed as a fine transmission, but yours is a clone of a ZF design, so I’d bet it’s better in the long run.

fringe summit Jul 14, 2025, 3:24 AM

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It's been awhile since I posted
I got the last set of gauges I need for the car, I also got the transmission cross member adapter!
I need to crack open the transmission and solder in a PCB for the turbo lamik

I also got the engine accessory drive and will get the seats sometime next week

I plan on buying the engine adapter plate next week

fringe summit Jul 14, 2025, 6:33 PM

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transmission adapter plate has been bought, I should see it in a few weeks, they're making a v2 of it right now so it's on sale
https://www.guruautowerks.com/product-page/ls-lt-sb-bb-8hp-dodge-adapter-universal

Guru Autowerks

LS LT SB BB to 8HP70 75 90 95 Dodge Transmission Adapter Swap Kit

GM LS Engine to Dodge 8HP70 8HP75 Transmission Adapter Build-A-Kit using our available components.

fringe summit Sep 19, 2025, 8:59 AM

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fringe summit Sep 21, 2025, 3:52 AM

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cracked open the trnas and got the computer out, now I just got to cut it open and solder in the pcb

fringe summit Sep 28, 2025, 6:54 AM

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I'm thinking I'm going to 3d print some headers and get a z pipe made
I crawled under the car to look at some stuff and I honestly don't know how I'm going to snake exhaust through this thing

noble pollen Sep 28, 2025, 10:39 AM

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Two big pieces here! What are you soldering? And I’m excited to see some 3d printed headers, this gonna be wild.

fringe summit Sep 28, 2025, 2:36 PM

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noble pollen Two big pieces here! What are you soldering? And I’m excited to see some 3d pr...

You basically cut out the computer and put in a PCB to bypass the controls of the transmission

noble pollen Sep 28, 2025, 3:12 PM

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Oh that’s cool. Clever workaround for the manual swap!

fringe summit Sep 29, 2025, 6:18 AM

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made some wheel c ribs (ran out of time to make the 4th) this will help me get under for running fuel lines and brake lines

fringe summit Oct 1, 2025, 4:13 AM

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got the bikes out of the way and the doors/fenders on their own dedicated shelf so I have more room on the usable area of the garage
I'll organize the shelves better of course, thats just all the junk left over from what was on top of the camaro

fringe summit Oct 24, 2025, 10:16 PM

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worst news I have gotten all day

noble pollen Oct 24, 2025, 10:38 PM

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Ouch. My heart sinks every time I see a shipping estimate like that

fringe summit Oct 25, 2025, 1:27 AM

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almost there

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I'd buy the dry sump tank right now, but I don't know where I am putting it yet, I need to install a few things, I have too many question marks

annoys the hell out of me because I just want to buy it right now

fringe summit Oct 25, 2025, 3:15 AM

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current state of the car

simple trail Oct 25, 2025, 11:48 PM

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fringe summit current state of the car

that's clearly a storage shelf

fringe summit Oct 25, 2025, 11:51 PM

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simple trail that's clearly a storage shelf

all work right now is happening in the engine bay, so the other parts of the car can be used for stoarge lol

the boxes on top are empty, the giant box inside is the accessory drive

noble pollen Oct 26, 2025, 1:22 AM

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Now that’s efficient use of space 👍

fringe summit Nov 9, 2025, 7:23 AM

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New zf transmission is mated up with the engine and worked out great....that's where the good news for today ends

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The alternator rubs the frame, easy fix just push the engine slightly forward if needed or bang the frame
But the bigger problem is the ac compressor, it hits the control arm
I thought I took good measurements but I guess not
I don't know how I'm going to solve this

simple trail Nov 13, 2025, 8:23 PM

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fringe summit The alternator rubs the frame, easy fix just push the engine slightly forward if...

windows down and pray there isn't a heatwave XD
if anyone asks say it's for weight reduction and a cleaner engine bay

fringe summit Nov 13, 2025, 8:31 PM

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simple trail windows down and pray there isn't a heatwave XD if anyone asks say it's for weig...

right now looking at the wegner system
https://wegnerautomotive.com/drive-kits/ltx-drive-kits/supercharged/wak060/

simple trail Nov 13, 2025, 8:34 PM

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a wet dry sump... I did not know that was a thing

fringe summit Nov 13, 2025, 8:34 PM

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it's not, the dry sump requires you to change the pulley

simple trail Nov 13, 2025, 8:34 PM

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ahh

fringe summit Nov 19, 2025, 4:48 AM

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I bought the wegner system, it cost $1200 more than the holley
not happy about that, but I had no choice without doing something totally custom

in other news, summit gave mea full refund for the accessory drive even though it was open, partially installed, and 2 month soutside the return window

noble pollen Nov 19, 2025, 12:24 PM

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Critical support to summit. That’s awesome

fringe summit Dec 14, 2025, 5:42 AM

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got the new accessory drive in the mail, laid it all out to take inventory

AP1GczMJGRCMoADDHNz0bWQQO-dYyGZw8P4vYEVLRalaW6JrBV6CjqB-6xaGYww1697-h1278-s-no.png

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and the STOCK water pump housing heater hose hit my suspension, I can't get a win

I will have to chop thme off and thread in 90 degree swivles

AP1GczM87egEAQBBxg1Pn6GIP28dLRoeCLDUyED6wqrNge7MEOw5dxGcytK5Jgw1697-h1278-s-no.png

frank osprey Dec 14, 2025, 10:41 AM

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Wow, this project is nuts. I love it. Will you put in a disco ball on the interior, once you're done?

fringe summit Dec 14, 2025, 12:49 PM

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frank osprey Wow, this project is nuts. I love it. Will you put in a disco ball on the interi...

Yes

frank osprey Dec 14, 2025, 12:54 PM

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🪩 👈 💪

solar notch Jan 29, 2026, 7:44 AM

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fringe summit Currently working on modifying the engine harness to be standalone

Obviously very late to the party - how did making the wireharness a stand alone end up going? I ask because I have a super hacked harness running my LS3 with no clear direction on how to trim it down other than good judgement & trial and error...

fringe summit Jan 29, 2026, 4:08 PM

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solar notch Obviously very late to the party - how did making the wireharness a stand alone ...

Did you hack it yourself or did you inherit something

solar notch Jan 29, 2026, 4:41 PM

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fringe summit Did you hack it yourself or did you inherit something

I hacked it myself - I got a 5th Gen Camaro and took the whole harness and have slowly been trimming stuff off. The low hanging fruit was easy (speakers, air bags, collision sensors), but now I am getting into the nitty gritty of sensors or plugs I don't understand and each one requires some digging (and even when I realize I don't need it - I am not entirely sure if the computer still wants it). The final conundrum - lets say I remove it - I am not convinced HP tuners will be able to tell the computer to ignore that I removed it. Thus I am keenly interested in how you went about trimming the fat off your harness

fringe summit Jan 29, 2026, 4:47 PM

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solar notch I hacked it myself - I got a 5th Gen Camaro and took the whole harness and have ...

https://www.lt1swap.com/wiringharness.htm
I got all my information here, it told me exactly what was and wans't needed, what needed power and what fuses it needed to go to, what sensors were worthless, etc
the computer I had to send off to someoen to get that programmed.

I got a fuseblock here https://bp-automotive.com/product/bare-essentials-lt-gen-v-swap-diy-stand-alone-factory-harness-mod-kit/ which also came with (somewhat bad) instructions on what wires are for what things to power the entire harness

BP Automotive

Bill

Bare Essentials LT (Gen V) Swap DIY Stand Alone Factory Harness Mod...

Bare Essentials LS Swap DIY Stand Alone Factory Harness Mod Kit from BP Automotive Performance Parts. Works with all GM Harnesses from TPI to LS9! Shop now!

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right now my car is at the shop getting a dry sump tank made and chopping off the heater hose bungs on the accessory drive, so I don't have pictures

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when I get it back, the car will be yellow

solar notch Jan 29, 2026, 5:04 PM

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I appreciate the links! You also have a fabulous build and I joined the discord because of it! Are you using the body harness from the 2019 Corvette?

fringe summit Jan 29, 2026, 5:05 PM

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solar notch I appreciate the links! You also have a fabulous build and I joined the discord ...

no, I only have the engine harness, I was not given the body harness at all
also, thank you

solar notch Jan 29, 2026, 5:12 PM

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Well best of luck and looking forward to more progress updates. Have you started the motor yet or is the dry sump the last thing keeping you from trying?

fringe summit Jan 29, 2026, 5:13 PM

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I need the dry sump tank, if I start the motor without it I grenade it

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I own every single part to make the motor turn over though, just a matter of putting it together

vestal compass Jan 29, 2026, 10:47 PM

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The car looks awesome

solar notch Feb 2, 2026, 3:33 PM

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@fringe summit okay, here is a follow up question - how do you have your ignition setup on the wiring harness? In other words, do you have the ignition cylinder from the donor car hooked up?

fringe summit Feb 2, 2026, 4:00 PM

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solar notch <@141835427752443904> okay, here is a follow up question - how do you have your ...

I use the original car wiring harness (well, it's from painless but still), I just have to tell the ecu to have key on power, the wires neded are all on that website I linked earlier

solar notch Feb 2, 2026, 4:12 PM

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fringe summit I use the original car wiring harness (well, it's from painless but still), I ju...

Mine did not let me eliminate the key fob transmitter signal from the ecu start sequence which is why I am hitting you up again - I will review that website more thoroughly and see if it offers some info

fringe summit Feb 2, 2026, 4:17 PM

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you need to make sure your ecu is flashed to be stand alone, from the soudns of it you're doing it yourself with hp tuners, I sent my ecu off to someoen else, I don't know what they did to it to make it work

solar notch Feb 2, 2026, 4:20 PM

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fringe summit you need to make sure your ecu is flashed to be stand alone, from the soudns of ...

Ooooohhhhh!!!! No - my ecu is not flashed to a stand alone. The donor was dyno'd - low octane & med octane tables eliminated - and then the timing advanced aggressively to make the cam idle & perform. Thus I was motivated to preserve my ecu. This explains a freakin ton of my issues that are not shared by anyone else. Thank you for revealing that!!

fringe summit Feb 2, 2026, 4:21 PM

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you can keep your tune, but a bunch of things need to be disabled on the ecu to work

solar notch Feb 2, 2026, 4:27 PM

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Yeah, eliminating things off the ECU is a joke. HP tuners is more limited at modifying the ecu programming than I was expecting 🙁 on the flip side the car is running & driving, I just want to eliminate a bunch of wiring and have a cleaner build like what you are doing

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Thank you for the input and can't wait for you to fire up your Camaro. What are the expected hp numbers on your LT motor?

fringe summit Feb 2, 2026, 5:54 PM

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my motor is stock and I don't plan on adding anything extra aside from a slighlty smaller pully due to the accessory drive that I had to buy, I expect maybe 650 to the wheels with a flex fuel blend (not straight e85, that requires a cam swamp with a more agress fuel lobe)

marble frost Feb 5, 2026, 1:16 PM

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@fringe summit can i have the engine and the transmission TCC_LennyThink

#1975 Camaro Bumblebee LT4 Gen V swap