1990 V6 to V8 swap quick question

[instantkevin]

i think I have overlooked one thing. I'm already midway thru the swap. I was looking on eBay and someone is selling their 91 camaro and he swapped to a carb setup also. He said that the gauges don't work on his car because they are ran off of the computer. Is this true? When I get my engine in there, the gauges aren't going to work. I thought they were mechanical?

If it is not going to work, how do I get around this?

I have a carbureted 350 and I'm puttin a 700r4 into it.

[FormulaLT1]

Yes some of the guages such as speedometer is run off a VSS and your Temp is run off a coolant temp sensor and your pressure is off a oil pressure sensor. But there are ways around it. Such as swaping the dash.

[instantkevin]

DAMMIT! I feared that answer. what year dash do I need and what is the process?

[FormulaLT1]

Anything pre-fuel injection or with gear driven Speedo.

[instantkevin]

ok... what equipment will i need to put a gear-driven speedo on my 700r4? do i need a new coolant temp/oil pressure sensor or can I use the old ones? will the speedo need any calibration? i'm hoping the answer to that question is 'no' (JUST MAKE THIS EASY ON ME!)

[Chevyracincamaro]

you could always just go out and get all new gauges and make yourself a custom dash with autolite guages or something.

[instantkevin]

yea... i was thinking about that... i probably would like that better. does anybody want to do this for me!?!? I'm tired of working.

[instantkevin]

another idea.... why can't I just leave the computer in there and continue to use all the old stuff (temp sensor/oil/VSS)? of course, given that many of the original F.I. sensors will be gone, the computer should still work. It's just that the check engine light will be on all the time, right? But I can just pull the bulb out on that thing. What's wrong with that???

[Genopsyde]

i think that would make the computer shut everything else down and make it more trouble than you need.

[instantkevin]

I think it would be fine... if you have a bad O2 sensor, MAF sensor, knock sensor, and everything else, you will still be able to get readings from the oil pressure, coolant temp, and speedo gauges. I can't think of a reason why it wouldn't work. Somebody, prove me wrong.

[Genopsyde]

i got a better idea, do it up and prove yourself right.

[instantkevin]

hmmm.... i guess i'll have to try. a custom aftermarket gauge cluster could look good though.

[CamarosRsweet94]

One reason why you can't just leave the old computer in there is because the sensors and the computer are setup to read from a V6, more than likely they're gonna freak out if hooked up to a different engine...

[instantkevin]

the injectors, maf sensor, knock sensors and o2 sensors are the only ones that determine how the engine works. I won't be using any of those. The speed (which comes from the tranny, not the engine), oil temp, and coolant temp sensors should work fine because temperature is the same regarless of what engine your reading it from. I'll try it and let yall know.

[instantkevin]

this post is severely old... but I wanted to post the answer for future reference for others.

all of the sensors do work when attached to the new engine. I did have to go to NAPA to get adapters/extensions to fit the oil sensor in the block. if you disconnect the A/C, the coolant temp sensor will not work, which will prevent the radiator fan from turning on automatically. if you don't connect the oil pressure sending unit to the computer, the fuel pump will not operate. When you first turn the car on, the rpm's will be way off.... it takes a while for the comp. to get used to it.

reusing this stuff saved me a lot of money. I just cut all the wires that went to the fuel injection equipment (vaccum canister, smog pump, injectors, map/maf sensor, tps, iac, oxygen sensor, etc). hope this helps somebody else.