All the Crate motors now come with the Camaro Lid on them............

Ken

Pure engine porn.....gotta love it....


T,

Don't throw that transmission case away! I'll take it off your hands.

Looking good Ken! You've been turning out some nice transformations!!

I finally got the engine home (Thanks Gary !!).........So, the first thing I did was to swap out the stock oil pan for the Holley 302-1 pan.........Gotta love the new gasketing systems........a heck of a lot better than the old cork and rubber leakers......LOL...While changing the Pan I noticed that GM left out a plug in the block that was meant for the Integral Oil pan Oil Cooler .......The engine didn't come with that cooler so I don't understand why they didn't put it in.....not a big deal, but I had to order one and it mounts behind the motor mount adaptor plate and the motor mounts....so...If I install the engine and it just happens to work out that everything fits......I would have to take back out again to put that stupid plug in.......So....I started getting the new A/C system ready for install....then in looking at the original wiring and fuse panel under the dash, I decided to basically rewire the car and get away from the Glass Fuse system.........I was amazed at how simple the original fuse panel is with limited fusing and circuits.........I will leave the rear body harness alone and rewire the rest using an American Autowire Classic update system.........Oh Well........I have to do it correctly......with the dual fan set-up for cooling and the Intercooler pump,Fuel Pump and everything else that go's with the new drivetrain.......it just makes sense.......Also....I sent the dash cluster out for stripping of the Chrome.....It's stripped, now I need to get it painted for the Dakota Digital Gauge install.......


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thats going to be another great project,nomads are great:trophy-1302:

Great project! Thanks for sharing the step by step! And showing that it doesn't just fall together in a weekend. And that we all have to wait on parts from time to time....it's reality.

Some times I get comments about "Whining" too much..........But......I'm just documenting the reality of what happens during the build process......I'm just a "Garage" builder guy.........Just think of the Professionals that are building multiple cars at a time and think of the problems they have to deal with on a daily basis with purchased parts.....It really disrupts the "Flow" of the project.......

Ken

I have to second what Ken says. I've built a ton of cars at home using my own tools and hands in my cramped garage / shop, stuff rarely fits. The problem is magnified when you are trying to do things few people, if anyone has done before. I honestly don't understand how someone without decent fabrication skills can build a car without farming it out.

While waiting for the new wiring kit to arrive I converted the stock heater controls over to the Vintage Air electronic set-up......I could have installed the A/C unit but I figured it would have gotten in the way while rewiring....also while the engine was out.....I noticed that the frame mounts that were welded in by the original builder were not parallel to each other......and I noticed that the rubber engine mounts had taken a set to the angle being out of position........I figured that since it worked before...........LOL.......As you can see in the pictures the engine fits in the 57 perfectly with the stock Camaro exhaust manifolds .........got Lucky.....Till I went to put the motor mount bolts in...........Close but no cigar.........Gonna pull the engine back out and cut the mounts out and do it correctly..........Just can't put it together in that "Bind" condition.........


Stock Heater controller


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...44F81AA4CF.jpg


with the Electronic conversion


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The motor looks nice in there. Plenty of room.

Things are moving from the waiting for "Stuff" mode to the Get'r Done mode.......... Thanks to Donny Bock at American Autowire I now have the right stuff to upgrade the Nomad......


We are going to replace the "Old" with the "New"


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Then........It's kind of hard to see how far out the frame mounts are......I made the Aluminum Jig to the 16.5" centerline as required and the mounts are way out.......I cut them out and will modify them correctly......


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Also.....after test fitting the engine in the car.......It became apparent that my plan to mount the A/C compressor down low like I did in the Chevelle just wasn't going to work.......Darn......Mounting the compressor up high on a LSA engine is not that simple.........so.........I decided to bite the Bullet and buy a Concept 1 front drive system.........and with this system I had to remove the front snout assy from the engine so I can send it to Lingenfelter to get a new Hub installed on the Supercharger shaft for the Concept 1 Pulley......


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Here we go............

Did I give you back that roll of black you bought somewhere in Texas or Oklahoma??? LOL


You are the man Ken!! So fun watching this..... "Hey! You know what you need.....?"

love seeing posts like these!

Killer Nomad!

I finally got the motor mount situation corrected.......Lets just say the old engine fit.......but it wasn't correct....I cut out the mounts and basically raised the mount position 1/4" to give me a little more pan clearance and made the mounts the same height relative to the frame (there was 3/16 difference)........I welded the spacer plate to the cut off mount......used my Jig and bolted the mounts in ......after everything checked out I welded them in......Side story........I have a good 110 volt Miller wire welder and got an education about extension cords......LOL.......I now have a new 12 Gauge wire one in the garage.........."I are Smart" now.........


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Cleaned and painted the mounts and put the engine back in.......Fits "Perfect".......Still waiting for the Supercharger "snout" to come back from Lingenfelter with the pulley mod for the Concept 1 Front Drive set-up......So...I started the wiring process with American Autowire Classic update kit ....Here are some pic's


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In my heavily modified car I have basically zero room for an Hvac unit although i fit a small hot rod heater in there. Sometimes I take out the tape measurer and sigh while I try to determine if some tiny inefficient ac unit could possibly fit.

which is all a long winded way of saying I envy your giant A/C unit !

Sometimes taking a car like this and rebuilding it "the right way" is almost more fun than building from scratch.

In retrospect..........I can't even imagine trying to get all the electrical power required for this conversion thru the stock fuse panel.....Thanks to Donny Bock at AAW for pushing me into the rewire....In the mean time I have a good portion of all the wires run ......the mass of wires in earlier pictures are now in place and just need to be zip tied in place after getting the Dakota Digital modules wired and in place........I also have the new A/C unit installed under the dash and everything wired......the Supercharger snout should be coming back from Lingenfelter next week and the new front drive should be showing up also.....I also did some checking on Transmission dimensions and it looks like I have to move the trans mount back 3 1/2" on the frame from where the 700R4 was........Time to move the car's around and get the 57 up on the lift ........

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A little update......Still waiting for the new Front Drive to show up,...The Supercharger snout is still at Lingenfelter Performance for mod's....and the stock dash gauge housing was sent out for stripping to get the chrome off and ready for paint.....that will be painted and ready for final assy in the Dash next week ....so.....After finishing up the basic wiring under the dash.......the next big wiring issue is getting the Dakota Digital modules in and wired........there are three modules....the main VHX module......the Fan Control module.........and the GPS Speedometer module........Got everything hooked up and decided to take the Speedometer module out of the box and plug it in........ The Voltmeter guy does it again....Got Lucky (so Far) as the basic functions even work........LOL


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Got a few things buttoned up today.........Got the modern Wonder Bar radio installed.....am/fm stereo, Sirius, Bluetooth........Neet !!!.....Also got some neat Speakers and Tweeters that are matched to the system.....I also got all the OEM converted Heat/ AC controls in and finished all the internal wiring....dash lights are all hooked up also......Time for a Nap!!!

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Just to get everything up to date...........I ordered a Concept 1 Front Drive set-up, and with this set-up........I had to take the snout off the supercharger and send it off to Lingenfelter Performance for modifications that are required for the new Pulley set-up.........So......I have been waiting for these items to arrive.........the Snout arrived today so I put the unit back together.....Hopefully the front drive itself will show up later this week..........


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Here's a picture trail on the progress on the dash cluster.........When I got the car is had faded chrome on the cluster and the lower column cover......I sent them out and had the chrome stripped, then along with the cluster and cover I also sent the ash tray and glove box door to Puleras for painting...........the guy's at Puleras hit a home run again as far as matching the paint and the quality of the work done.........picked up the parts yesterday and installed the Dakota Digital VHX Gauges.....


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Now we get to the part I have been worried about..........Getting the 4L85E transmission into the car.....Get the car up on the lift and the moment of truth.......5 minutes later the trans is bolted in place with no issues at all.......plenty of clearance all around.......the 57 has an extremely large trans tunnel.........the Trans mount even bolted in place with two of the existing bolt holes.....But....After looking at the relation between the engine and the firewall, I may move the engine forward 1/2" to give the engine harness a little more room.........gonna check it out a little closer today...........

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Looking great Ken!!



Was chuckling to myself with the transmission lift.... you have no idea how much stuff I've hoisted on mine! I've built all kinds of jigs for it even - to hold various parts - sometimes having nothing to do with cars. LOL

I got another package today so I can move forward with getting the dash area finished up.........I just couldn't see putting the Vintage Air plastic swivel balls in the dash....... Found these ..........Gotta cut the openings and get the Duct work finished ......then I can get the gauge cluster back in.......Soon.......


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Nice looking parts.

Nothing worse than a nice car with those NASTY plastic A/C outlets!

When I was re-doing the '56 Nomad -- I found a pair of perfect OEM A/C outlets... IIRC I paid about $500 for the pair at a swap meet. Nobody made repops back then.

The problem was - the compound curves - and I wasn't exactly certain of their location. Since the car was painted - I wasn't about to just hack away and rework an area... So lucky for me - I found a dash from a '56 A/C, and get this, also factory PADDED!! I've never seen one (padded) in a car. I bought the whole dash - and then I could make a pattern from that and cut my dash, and they fit perfectly. I still have that dash... for no other reason than I've never seen one.


I'd also made a "console" out of wood and bondo and metal.... because I loved to drive that car and needed a cup holder!!! LOL




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it's a "pucker" moment when having to cut into a dash...:lostmarbles:

After installing the Transmission for the trial fit and seeing how much room there really was around the trans.....I decided to remove it and put in the Converter for the final install.....this is actually going too easy, the cross member bolted in with two of the existing holes (just have to drill 2 to suit )......and today I took the driveshaft to get a new transmission yoke put on match the 4L85E trans........and the driveshaft fit's as is........Here are some pic's.......I also received the Concept 1 Front Drive system.......I'll get that installed over the weekend.....Pic's to follow


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Man you move fast!

I started my fuel upgrade project about the same time you started this thread...

I just got my Corvette running again this week - but that fuel project snow balled into a clutch replacement, speed bleeder install, rear main cover and gaskets, and new input bearing!

Good work Ken!

Don't feel bad I think I started when he first started on the Impala ! OH BOY! :faint:
Nice Ken.

Took the time today to get the Concept 1 Front Drive on the car today.......During the install process, I was very "Impressed" with the quality and design features built into the unit.......Anyhow.....Here are the install pic's


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That is definitely a good looking kit. Are you getting close to start up Ken ?

Really looking forward to feedback on this stereo. The Auto Sound one in my 55 Chevy is a piece of crap.

Easy project for today........Get the new (OEM) A/C vents in the Dash....Hole Saw, Carbide Burr to elongate the hole to fit , add the screw mounting holes ..........and get the "Tweeters" installed in Kick Panels......Easy day.....Now....Time for a Nap and some Football..........


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Kick panels roughly stuck in place


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Haven't posted for a while.......Been very busy on the car but it's all wiring related....so....Not much to see.....We are gaining on it......LOL

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Looking good!!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

No.....Still need to get the fuel system completed

Ken

Christmas in January.......Came home to a bunch of boxes today.......

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The small white box has the Vaporworx Fuel pressure control system in it.........The other three boxes had the AutoRad aluminum Core Support, aluminum Radiator that is all set up for the LS configuration, A/C Condenser and they built in the mounting for the Intercooler also..........A work of Art........Nice to get something that is better than expected........doesn't happen too often anymore...........

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Some sweet part there. That Auto Rad is a beautiful set up. Ken did they make the heat exchanger too. It looks nice and thick compared to what we can fit on the Camaros.