Lt1_regal

Hi everyone. I have a 1985 Buick Regal I bought and it has an lt1 swap. Its unknown what car the lt1 came out of. Originally the guy said it’s from a 95 corvette, but that myth was busted when I realized corvette has the alternator on the driver side and this has it on the passenger side. He then said it might be from a 95 camaro z28 he thought. His info was very unreliable. How can I figure out what car this engine came from ? I got under the car and tried to get the 9 digit numbers on the block by the oil filter and it’s very hard to see clearly because there is a lot of things in the way but I was able to make out 1s2162032. The third to last number is either a 0 or an 8, I couldn’t see that one clearly but the rest of the numbers should be correct. If anyone knows how to figure it out please let me know.

Lt1_regal

I also want to add that I just had some mechanical work done, new timing chain cover and seals, new water pump, new oil pan and seals. The mechanic ordered all the parts for a 95 camaro z28 and put everything together. Everything for perfect and worked great until He then realized the crank pulley was a little back towards the engine, so the serpentine belt wasn’t sitting right on the tensioner pulley. After some research he found out that the impalas also came with these lt1 motors but their crank hub is a little longer than the camaro ones so he ordered a crank hub and pulley for an impala and it worked perfect. I now realized that the water pump is different for a camaro and impala. If my engine is from an impala, how is a camaro water pump working on it ? I’m so confused

Injuneer

Same question I asked in response to your PM - are the heads cast iron (Impala or other B-Body), or aluminum (Camaro, Firebird, Corvette)?

While the water pumps are piped differently, they still bolt up to either engine. The B-Body pump lacks the oil cooler pipe connection, but not all Camaro engines have an oil cooler. Even if the engine has an oil cooler, it doesn’t need to be connected.

The crank hub could also be simply ordering the “short” hub used on the 96/97 Camaro LT1 (to allow space for the crank position sensor reluctor added in 1996, when the engine required the “long” hub used on the 93-95 Camaro LT1.

Lt1_regal

i also responded back via pm before seeing your reply on here. As far as the heads go I think they are cast but I could be wrong. How can I make sure ?
I see what you mean about the water pump because I was just looking at it and two of the ports are basically connected to each other like it’s recirculating. I’m guessing the mechanic realized it’s the wrong pump and did that. So I’m thinking it really is from an impala. It’s just frustrating to not know what I’m working with. The issue now is that I need to buy a new starter and the part # for the camaro is different from the impala so I need to make sure which it is.

Injuneer

Cast iron heads will be dark iron, aluminum heads are bright silver. Iron is magnetic, aluminum is not.

Look through the photos on Shoebox’s site. He had a 1995 Camaro.

4th Gen LT1 F-Body Tech-Component Location Views

Look at the aluminum heads:

http://shbox.com/1/oil_pressure_sensor.jpg

Lt1_regal

Thank you very much for your help with the info. I will have to run a magnet over it tomorrow and figure it out.

Robb676

Put a magnet on the heads, Aluminum wont stick.

Lt1_regal

Hey everyone. I did figure out the engine came out of a 95 impala ss. Now I have a new issue I’m dealing with. The motor keeps cranking but doesn’t start, takes about a minute of cranking and then it starts. Prior to last time driving, I kept cranking the motor and boom it shot out black smoke from under the hood. I stopped cranking and waited a few mins then cranked again and it started. This last time no smoke but again about a minute of cranking. I turn the key and check the fpr and it shows 40 psi. I crank the motor but doesn’t fire up, i check again and it’s down to 20 psi and stays there. But if I turn key off and back on, the pump primes and psi goes back up to 40 but will drop again if I crank the motor. Anyone got any pointers or ideas on where to start to figure this out ?