cardude01 wrote:
Thanks for the info. After thinking more objectively, I have decided this swap is beyond my abilities unfortunately at this time. Or maybe I'm just lazy.
No, it's the smart move.
Grab the engine, trans and drive shaft from the Camaro. And the ECU. And all of the dash, headlight, and engine wiring (you need it all to start the car with the OEM wiring) and switches and gauges. Grab the fuel pump too -- if you don't use it on your build, you can always sell it for good money. Grab the calipers, rotors, and if you're lucky, the rear disk brake stuff (that alone is worth $400). The steering column is very usable, you'll just want to swap out steering wheels if you don't want a "Camaro" air bag looking at you.
The rear seats are really good prospects if you don't want "racing" seats, or seats that are adjustable. The front seats are huge, but if you want to do surgery on the foam, might be usable.
The steering rack on that car is VERY wide, and they all use power steering -- but if you want one, I've got one (the Chevette p/s might be the much cheaper, better option). The pedals are huge by Locost standards (I've got those too). The rear axle is very wide too -- would recommend one of the Ford IRS setups, ie, Bronco, TBrird, LS, etc. The wheels/tires are very wide, with a ton of offset, so you'd need a very wide rear axle as well as loooong A-arms to clear a +2 ("Haynes") chassis (ask me how I know). The steering arms... you'd have to modify the top part, where it heads to the top A-arm, but I'm thinking that the rest of it approaches "ideal".
The T5 is the preferable trans for our use. The T56 is twice the size, twice the weight, and 3x the price. Our cars are light, don't have killer HP, and the tires break loose before the trans breaks.
The Camaro guys go for the 4:10 rear ends, if not higher. Well, with our cars, anything much higher than 3:42 will result in 3rd gear starts and 2 useless gears. With a Jack McCornack "Lola" style body, you'll have a top end that will scare the hell outta you unless you're a professional race car driver.