Available from TCI as a complete kit, the transmission arrived with a 3200-rpm stall lock-up torque converter, transmission control unit, TCU wiring harness, 12-quarts of fluid, dipstick, polyurethane transmission mount, and performance trans cooler.
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 BRP also hooked us up with...  BRP also hooked us up with its oil pan conversion kit, which includes the pan, oil pick-up tube, deflector plate, and mounting bolts. This pan supplied the needed clearance between the engine and crossmember, and also has the oil-filter built in. |  Check out the finished product...  Check out the finished product ready for installation. We ripped the nose off the Malibu, making installation 10 times quicker than it would have been with it on. We will be bolting up the transmission and then installing the unit as a whole. |  The BRP motor mounts come...  The BRP motor mounts come ready to install with Energy Suspension bushings and bolt to the factory locations on the engine block. |
 On the crossmember, two mounting...  On the crossmember, two mounting points line up, enough to hold the engine and transmission assembly while the others are drilled. |  For the other half of the...  For the other half of the installation, TCI Performance Transmissions came through in a big way. First and foremost is their Street Fighter 4L60E transmission specifically designed to back the LS engine. The 4L60E comes triple tested and certified from TCI with a Trans-Scat shift kit, high performance bands and clutches, and a laundry list of OEM parts. |  Next, we filled the torque...  Next, we filled the torque converter with the supplied fluid and set it in place in the transmission. |
 The key here is to make sure...  The key here is to make sure the converter is seated properly on the input shaft. Gently pressing and spinning the converter at the same time can accomplish this.Do this until three distinct clicks are heard. |  We then placed the motor on...  We then placed the motor on a cherry picker and worked out the best way to mate the engine and transmission. This wasn't too difficult once we realized the stool we were using all day long was the perfect height to rest the transmission on during the process. |  The transmission sits on two...  The transmission sits on two dowels on either side of the engine block and gets installed using six bolts. Take extra care here as it is essential that the engine and transmission sit flush and it's very easy to rush and lose track of what you are doing. |
We then installed the supplied polyurethane transmission mount using the supplied bolts. We faced some issues while mocking up the transmission crossmember and are in the process of getting the correct one.
 We were able to get the top...  We were able to get the top two bolts in place and tightened to keep the motor in place. We are going to have to come back and mark the two bottom hole locations, drill, and set a nut and bolt in place. |  At this point, we were ready...  At this point, we were ready to install the engine and transmission. I can't stress how important it was to have the fenders and nose off the car. There is no way we would have been able to get everything mocked up and ready for final assembly in the time that we performed this install. From the time we bolted the engine to the transmission, to the time we had both laid in, was all of about a half hour. Try doing that squeezing under a roof and over a front fender. |  The headers cleared the framerails,...  The headers cleared the framerails, steering shaft, and firewall, but not by much. When performing a swap like this, make sure you have a set of headers that are specifically made for your vehicle. |
Installation of the engine and transmission was the first step in getting this hot rod back on all fours and ready for the street and drag strip. To button everything up, we obviously have to slap the nose and fenders back on the car and then get the wiring harness all figured out. One way to go here is to use TCI's stand-alone harness for the 4L60E and do away with the wiring from the stock harness for the trans. We will be posting updates on www.superchevy.com with our progress and some video at the drag strip. Stay tuned as this is sure to be one bad Malibu.