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Thanks for all the replies on my prior post about the dolphin engine swap. I finally reached the mechanic who did the work on the vehicle, and he made some corrections on the info given me by the seller.

He says the engine is actually 1995 LT1 from a super sport impala. The tranny is a 400 turbo,,brand new. he said he "geared up" the engine with 307 gears ..whatever that means... and something about a Mercedes radiator . The MPG he was figuring about 17 mpg..the lower end of my figure.

Anyway..i dont know about this engine but it seems to be in great shape and according to the mechanic..who is going to be giving me the receipts...the guy put all together close to 10,000 dollars into it. Seems not bad for 2, 400 dollars I paid...

Thoughts on this engine ? Crap, ok, good, ???

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The LT1 is a good engine EFI and all the goodies.
But it is a bit unique as it has reverse coolant flow, so there some parts that are only for LT1s, if you need something for it make sure the parts person knows that its for a LT1 and not a normal SBC.

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Thanks for all the replies on my prior post about the dolphin engine swap. I finally reached the mechanic who did the work on the vehicle, and he made some corrections on the info given me by the seller.

He says the engine is actually 1995 LT1 from a super sport impala. The tranny is a 400 turbo,,brand new. he said he "geared up" the engine with 307 gears ..whatever that means... and something about a Mercedes radiator . The MPG he was figuring about 17 mpg..the lower end of my figure.

Anyway..i dont know about this engine but it seems to be in great shape and according to the mechanic..who is going to be giving me the receipts...the guy put all together close to 10,000 dollars into it. Seems not bad for 2, 400 dollars I paid...

Thoughts on this engine ? Crap, ok, good, ???

If the RV itself is in good shape seems you can't go wrong for $2400. The TH400 trans is one of the strongest auto transmissions GM ever made. It was originally created to use in the early 60s Buick Rivera. Years later -it became a truck-only trans. When overdrive and lock-up converter was added - it became the 4L80E. No lockup converter though, and no overdrive either in what you have. I have no idea what "gearing up the engine with 307 gears" means. "307" is a Chevy V8. "3.08" is a common rear-axle ratio used in Chevy 1/2 ton trucks for light-duty use. Maybe the guy means there's a 3.08 rear axle in the Toyota RV? Does it have Toyota rear axle or does it look like something else has been swapped in? LT1 engines when used in Impalas have cast-iron heads instead of aluminum (which is a good thing). If you like it and it runs OK, seems you cannot go wrong for the price. I do not believe the 17 MPG claim. If it was a manual trans with overdrive - maybe 14-15 MPG. 17 MPG with a 5.7 liter V8 and no OD or lock-up trans sounds like fantasy to me. Some of the highest MPG mini-RVs in the world similar in size to your's can average 18-20 MPG and that is with a small turbo-diesel engine, less wind resistance, and a lockup trans with OD. If an old tech V8 was capable of such fuel mileage - using much more costly turbo-diesels and German drive-trains would not make any sense. I have a 1995 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup with the 5.7 liter V8 and the 4L80E trans with lockup and OD. If I drive an even 55 MPH on a flat highway I can get 15 MPG when empty. My truck weighs less then your RV, has better gearing with less loss, and much less wind-resistance. How can it be possible that when the 350 is put in a boxy RV with a energy-losing torque-converter - the MPGs goe up?

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I had to plow snow today for the first time this year. Started up my 1995 Chevy plow truck for the first time since last fall. It blew a spark plug out of the engine. I never had that happen before. It has the original 350 V8. Just the porcelain core of the plug shot out. The threaded OD steel part that once had a hex on it is still in the engine. It may be the original from when new. I worked a few hours on it and gave up for today. Still trying to figure out how to get it out. But this got me thinking about this Toyota with the Chevy V8 shoe-horned in. How hard is it to work on? Can a routine spark plug change be done with tearing half the truck apart? I have no idea. When I was a lot younger - I had a few odd-ball rigs. A Triumph GT6 with a Chevy V8. A 1965 Sunbeam Tiger with a Ford 260 V8. Also a 1963 Falcon with a 427. They were fun to show off with but absolutely miserable to work on. I wonder how access is the V8 in the Toyota? I've gotten to an age or point-in-life I really like having stuff OEM that is fairly easy to work on and replacement parts are standard and easy to get. I've got to say my 1978 Toyota Chinook - although a little crude is well engineered and a dream to work on - as compared to a lot of newer stuff

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One PITA with the "P motor" (VIN code) is the "opti-spark" distributor is mounted behind the water pump where it is driven directly off of the cam. It is dependable, but is just something else to think about.

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  • 1 year later...

Anyone hear any more about this?  I was looking at an LT1 6 speed equipped Z28 on CL and thought, damn, that would be a nice drivetrain in a shorty sunrader. I would even guess that driven slowly enough, it might get pretty reasonable mpg.

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