Goattman

I've got a 1992 Camaro that had a 3.1L V6 and I'm tossing in a 350. I'm gonna be running the 350 with a carb. What would I need to do to be able to completely remove my ECM, whilst still keeping all the dials on my gauge cluster working (tach, speedo)?

DonutGuard

Likely, they won't work unless there's a way to feed them with direct information via electronic sending units. An ECM takes information sent to it and digitizes it before sending it back out to the gauges. You may be able to however, keep the ECM for the sole purpose of the gauges, and simply feed it information from electric sending units.

DonutGuard

There may also be some gauges that don't get their information from the ECM. Those you can probably get direct feeds from electric or mechanical sending units depending on what they take. It all depends on how it's set up.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Have you read the 6-cyl -> V8 sticky at the top of this forum? Pretty sure that kind of stuff is in there.

Goattman

I haven't yet, but I'll be sure to check that out. thanks for pointing that out.

fasteddi

iTrader: (2)

I've kept my 7730 ecm in the car, with a bbc carbed set up.

I use to have a v6 and alot of turbo v6 in this same car.

If you want the original guages, key on, fuel pump etc. All you do is make sure all the sensors are still wired up. The only thing is you are not using the fuel injectors anymore. And for me I have a pertronix box so my ignition is separate as well. But I can still datalog mph, rpm, everything basically except fuel use and timing control.

Just cut and cap off all the injector wiring. Leave it in case u ever go back to efi. Same goes with ignition wiring if going with a box and coil set up. Just have to wire the rpm output to your ecm input and or aftermarket tach. Much easier to control timing off a dizzy set up with springs or vac advance when having a carb set up.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Yes, the sticky is a good place to start.

One of the things you'll learn is the V6 transmission won't bolt up to the V8 engine. Did you have a V8 transmission lined up as well?

The good news is none of the gauges go through the ECM. So there really isn't anything to do in that regard. Except the tach - the calibration is different between the V6 and V8, so you'll have to do something about the tach in your gauge cluster. And some of the V6 sensors are in different locations than where they need to be on a V8, so you may need to change out some wiring.

What did you have planned for the fuel delivery? The '92 V6 uses an in-tank electric pump, which will put out too much pressure for the carb (assuming you are going to be running a carb on the 350). A return-style regulator will drop the fuel pressure down to carb-friendly levels (but the in-tank electric pump really needs to have flow through it, so don't use a dead-head style fuel pressure regulator).

This is far from a "bolt-in" swap, but there are plenty who have gone before you. Let us know what questions may come up as you get into the process.

Goattman

I have the t5 trans that was on the v6, I just need to get a bellhousing.
The engine that I'm putting in the car has a mechanical fuel pump, so I will be removing the in-tank fuel pump.

Since you say none of the gauges go through the ECM, what are some of the things that I will need from the ECM?

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

The 3rd gen V8 clutch and 3rd gen V6 T5 don't play well together. It can be done, but you'll need a different clutch disk because the V6 T5 input shaft is smaller than the V8 T5. Also means the V6 T5 is pretty weak, so plan on babying it after the swap.

I'm admittedly a little fuzzy on what the ECM does after swapping to a carb. I know the electric fuel pump is powered by a timed relay at start, but I'm not clear on whether the ECM plays a part in that. I seem to recall that most swappers just keep the ECM in place. The part of the harness from the ECM to the engine can all be removed without cutting anything, though. Regardless, I'll take an in-tank electric pump to an engine-mounted mechanical any day.