Oh, and one more thing, i used the standard F body oil pan and it works fine. I experienced no drop in oil pressure during turn 2 (long left turn) at t-hill, thats where i thought i'd have an issue. I just gave her a 1/2 quart more of love....

Since I'm spending your money, Ricks + Vaporworx! :) I also added the fuel pump controller since I was losing pressure at higher RPM. Very happy with the setup now!

I'll check out the differences in the Kooks vs the Stainless works. I spoke with the guys at Kooks and they said they have ~1/2-3/4" clearance to the floor pans which makes me think they should work well with my 1/2 height body mounts.


I was thinking the mast pan since it also makes adding the oil cooler easy. I already have the cooler there and certainly want to run it with my plans for the track

Sounds like I'm going to once again completely blow my budget by getting the vaporworx tank. At least I think so, I still need to crunch a few more numbers....



I've got a junkyard LS with a Night Fury cam already installed. the engine should only have ~28k mile but I still need to tear it down and check it out. Based on dyno data I see on the web it should make ~480hp and 450lbs/ft at the wheels which sounds perfect to me.

Wait, were those numbers with 1/2 height bushings or with full height bushings? If they were with full height, and you cut that in half, wouldn't they hit the floor pan? :headscratch:

They were with full height. It will be close but I think they just might fit with 1/2 height. I need to measure more.... Worse case I'm willing to build a little floor pan hump for the sake of clearance

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I'm thinking of getting another 5.3 take out and beef it up. I've ran across several on craigslist for cheap.

There should be plenty of junk yards in Houston to grab a good 5.3 You should just negotiate a good price on this one...

http://houston.craigslist.org/pts/4537593468.html

Haha. I'd like to stay married. :)

I'm looking at a 6.0 take out on CL with 157k miles right now with all accessories. The guy is asking $600 for it. Wondering if I should jump on it.

That sounds like a pretty good deal. The question I see from most everyone when it come to 6.0 is if it the early or late one. I think there are differences in the cranks that can cause issues. You should be able to google it since i an far from any expert.

It's an early one (2002) and thus may have piston slap. My 5.3 is a 2002 and the pistons slap quite a bit until oil pressure builds up (after 40s or so).

Think I'm going to pass on it.

Next steps on the project have begun. The SBC has been pulled and will be picked up today. I need to decide how much firewall cleanup I may do and possible wiring rerouting. I may also pull the entire subframe and swap it out due to the issue with the alignment and the fact that I need to set the panel gaps anyways. Still trying to figure that issue out. In the meantime I'm going to get the LS3 opened up a little to make sure everything is still in good shape there.

So far I've ordered up an oil pan from Pacific Fabrication and am placing an order for a hydraulic clutch kit from Vince. More parts are also going to be ordered up today.

Attachment 48932

Attachment 48933

What are you thinking with the subframe?

When Keith did my suspension and front end work, i dunno if you saw the pics or not, but he swapped out the sub, stitched welded it, built the triangular "housings" for the coil-overs, then powder. IMO, it handles pretty close to a c-5 less the wide tires, which are next.

Is this what "they" call scope creep?

You goin A/C?

I already installed the Speedtech coil over mounts but from talking with Blake and a few other people the factory perch seemed to be in the wrong place so it won't align to Speedtech specs. My thought for the replacement frame is to install another mount (Blake offered a replacement) and also go ahead and stich weld and reinforce it more than what I've already done. Mine handles nice but I need to pull another 1 degree out of the base alignment

Just left you a vm regarding the t-56 issues you may have....

The old engine is officially gone and the cash is in hand. Today I decided to tear into the LS3 to check it out. First inspection everything was looking very clean. I the noticed a bit a wear on all the exhaust valve stems. Not something I like but not a show stopper. Next I checked out the intake and there is a decent amount of oil in the intake ports. I assume due to crank vent. The last thing I did was check the main bearings. Here I found a show stopper. Bearings have clear signs of debre passing through and the crank is rough.

I'm going to just tear the whole thing down. My buddy is a crank grinder in Houston so I'll have him check it out. At a min I'll do all new bearings and rings plus full arp hardware to hold it together. If the crank is too far gone or stroked kit is a decent price I may up the cubes too. Before this I do need to pull the heads and check the bore measurements. They look good underneath but hard to say for sure

I probably should have done this long ago but oh we'll, I know now....

You get that motor for FREE? Steve.


Probably cheaper to just buy a GM crate motor and get a warranty with it... I think I'm in the LS3 480hp motor built by Don Hardy Jr. for the '33 about $10,400
and I think that included the controller and harness...

He's not far from you.... might be worth a call to see if he has something lying around and maybe he'd take yours in on some kind of deal.

I'm going to go through this one and get it back to right. I'm not too concerned. I haven't played with an LS before but have played with lots of others. I also have access to a full machine shop so overall cost to rebuil it stock shouldn't be too much assume nothing's way out of spec. $10k is way out of my budget.

But you do make a good point. If I'm thinking to stroke it it would probably be cheaper to buy the crate motor than to buy an expensive core, all the stroker parts and to pay for machine work. My only benefit is parts at shop cost and free machining... I'll most likely not stroke it and use the money elsewhere

Steve,

If you need a cheap LS motor, several JY in Houston have 5.3 truck long blocks for cheap, even with 3 mo warranty. I got my 5.3 from one of those JY, and it's been running good so far.

I'll let you know if things turn really bad but for now I'm not worried. The fix for this engine shouldn't be too bad. Thinking a pushrod length check and the crank assessment. I've run worse engines in the past but figured I should go ahead and make this one right while it's out.

I'm starting to feel a little better about the engine. After I pull the heads tomorrow I'll post up some pics. I don't think it's really that bad. I should be able to get it better than new for well under $1K including part upgrades. I pulled the rod caps today and the bearing look almost new. I also found it has a melling high volume pump inside. I'm pretty sure this is one of the reasons the mains are a mess. I bet it sucked the pan dry....

It does have other nice parts like the Lethal Performance Night Fury cam, hardened pushrods and upgrade timing chain and LS2 timing dampener. Too bad they did the oil pump too...

I still need to pull the heads but I'm pretty confident it will look nice inside

Plan for it is to pull the heads since I need to to get the crank out. I'll go ahead and get a competition valve job done. I'll add ARP head bolts, and have the mains on the crank cut .010. I've been debating ARP main studs. I'll most likely not swap them out because I don't think the benefit is there and I don't really want to go through the line honing. Free free to tell me if I'm wrong.... I'll put an underdrive SFI balancer on the nose, Billet flywheel on the back, ARP dampener bolt and flywheel bolts, trunion upgrade for the rockers and see what I can do for oil drain passage cleanup. I'll also swap out the high volume pump for a high pressure pump.

Steve you went to the dark side. :getout:

I sure have, it was too hard to resist with all the benefits.. Now I'm just trying to stay away from your general build path where everything must be biggest and most powerful I can find while I freshen the engine up.

It's all those bad influences around here.... :)

Some folks just aren't hide bound and want to move forward with cutting edge technology and weird science kinda stuff like fuel injection....



LOL

Ya know I would have just sold you my camaro it would have saved you a whole lot of time.

im leaning towards it wasn't installed correctly. Unless its got an L99 replacment it should be good. Whats the tag number on it?

But then what would I do in my spare time.....


Are you talking about the tag number for the pump or one on the engine? The Pump PN is 10296

Love to hear your opinion of the Speedtech TA rear suspension. We I am a Speedtech dealer, and was under the impression that the set up was a bit more "tested" and developed. Aparently there are only about a dozen units sold over the last 7 years. We (Custom Works Performance) installed one in my 71, and are overall happy with the installation, but the performance gain hasn't been fully achieved yet. We are making some alterations to the set up to try and improve a few things. I did a floated 9", and the noise tranmitted up the torque arm is a bit excessive. If you get a chance shoot me a message or email, I would like to hear your feedback

Keith
CustomWorksPerfomance.net

I'd like to hear feedback on the torque arm as well.

I just began mocking mine up (I must have bought lucky 13. Lol)

So far I'm concerned with the fit of the rear x member, I will add plates to the frame to correct. Also it doesn't look like the trans can be dropped without un bolting the subframe.

The noise is something I hadn't considered. Keith, I'd be interested in hearing about any mods and results.

The rear X member is about 3/4" or so too wide. I welded 1/4" strips in, then welded x member to it. Trans should be able to be removed without issues. I would like to see the front x member made in two pieces, it was a PITA to install, and if you have sf connectors, good luck!

I think you mean too short, I know what you mean though. I also cut 1/4" thick strips.

I'm using a T56 magnum, maybe a bit bigger than the five speed. I definitely agree with the idea of a two or even three piece design for the x member.

I watched the Fontana video and can't really tell what noise is coming thru the torque arm, how bad is it?

yes too short. 3 piece x member would be better. The noise is too much for a street car. Image your rear gear whine, but sitting next to you! The TA just transmits the noise into the floor right where you sit. In the next few months we are going to make a new front x member, and fix the panhard bar and maybe make a watts link. The trailing arms are too long as well. i have them set as short as they will go, and the tire is still back from stock.

Not what I wanted to hear:confused18:

I hate throwing money away......

Do you have much or any sound deadening?

What is the panhard issue?

And

Is there a solution for the trailing arms?

I have a whole roll of sound deadener, and full interior. Panhard bar is at a slight angle, and i don't know why. You can lengthen trailing arms to line it up, but the frame end is about 1.5" too far back in relation to the mount on the rear end. No way to fix the trailing arms, unless they can be taken apart and shortened. Don't get me wrong, this set up is as good as most set ups on the market, which also need some work or have draw backs in function or design. I'm not unhappy with the set up, but it is my nature to improve it. The noise is a big issue though

Well, all for the love of the hobby!

The explanation for the rear x member width is to accommodate the variances in the cars. Hopefully some variances fall in my favor.

I'll clamp everything together during mock-up and see what happens, it looks like the spring pockets can be moved forward a little which may help.

The noise.....I guess when you think about it it's basically a huge tuning fork from the car rearend straight to the driver rearend. lol

I was talked out of using a 3.70 rear gear because of the noise, I ended up with a 3.89.

Steve, what is your noise like? Btw, sorry if I'm jacking your thread:hello:

No issues jacking the thread. You guy pretty much nailed all the issues I ran across.

1. Trailing arms too long, actually having 325/19's rub on the rear inner wheel well I think. I'm a bit nervous I may cut the tire...
2. Panhard/coil over x-member too short - I added 1/8" plate on both sides but could have gone bigger
3. Not enough adjustment in the pan hard. I have the bar at full adjust and it isn't level. Need to raise the axle mount or lower the frame mount.
4. To Kieth's point Panhard does not look straight but I have not measured to confirm
5. Front ATS spindles - no steering stops - caused me a grind both front wheel lips on the inside when they hit the sway bar. I'm also running 10.5" wheels which are larger than recommended but a stop needs to be added.
6. Front coil over. It would have been nice to have the spring adjuster at the bottom instead of the top for ride height changes. The hole for the dampener adj could also be larger on the LCA.
7. Instructions and pics given are very bad. There are some critical measurements where a good pic is needed. Jay and Roger are very helpful on the phone but still it sucks to have to call.

As far as noise, it's hard to say in my car. I have a full float with a locker and not much sound control. My car is much less noisy than with my leafs but sometimes I do hear some small clunks. To me it's really a non issue.

Biggest issue to me was getting the front crossmemeber in place. I blamed it on the 1/2 height body mounts but an interested to know if Keith is running standard or 1/2 height. I also still haven't figured out the front UCA mount causing an alignment issue. I pulled the engine so will be measuring and calling Blake to get some more advice.

All this being said, I still love the way the drives and the overall fitment is very clean compared to other TA's I have seen. I would certainly do it again.


In other news the parts are starting to arrive for the LS swap. Picked up a Pacific Fab oil pan, as well as a hydraulic clutch kit and some engine plates from Meanstreets (Vince) All look very nice...
Attachment 49117

Attachment 49118

Attachment 49119

I decided to pull all the front sheet metal for 2 reasons. First the door gaps were too tight and caused a big paint chip after I had to cut the frame for the Speedtech mount. Second, I assume I'll be test fitting a lot of stuff and need to rewire anyways so best to have everything cleared out...

Attachment 49120



Here is what I believe will be the engine combo.. The goal is an engine that is easy on valve train with ~500RWHP and a flat torque curve.

Block - Factory LS3 - .05 over to torque plate and hone for new pistons
Piston - Wiesco K398X7
Rod - Callies 6.125 H beam
Crank - Factory cut .010 rod and main and back to perfect
Balancer - Either ATI or power bond under drive.
Flywheel - SFI Billet - debating alum or steel
LS3 heads

TEA CNC ported and valves cut/blueprinted
Brian Tooley to blend ports and install springs
BTR 660 springs and titanium retainers

Factory rockers with upgraded trunions
Lifters - Discussing using the Johnston tie bar lifters
Custom Cam from BTR
Intake - Factory LS3 intake and TB for now.
Headers - - 1 7/8 Long tube - Kooks or Stainless Works. Checking to see if AR has a set too
Head gasket - factory LS3 MLS gasket
Head bolt - ARP bolts
Oil pan - Pacific Fabrication 6 qt with road race baffle and windage
External oil cooler
Oil pump - Melling 10296 HV - already have and been assured it should not be an issues. Smoothed the input port with a die grinder and planning to change to low pressure spring
Timing chain - GM 12586481 upper gear with LS2 tensioner
Air/oil separator for PCV - most likely Moroso piece, still debating

Man, i wish you would have got our coilover conversion for the front. It is really a great piece, and the shock and adjusters are in the perfect spot. I'm not impressed with the Speedtech coilover kit.

Thanks for the info Steve.

That's gonna be a nice motor, pretty much the same motor I stuck in my '69 and made it real close to 500 rwhp.

I've got my front shocks mounted with the spring adjuster at the bottom. I can't see any way to adjust ride height with them at the top.

I bought the Stainless Works headers, they are designed using 1" setback plates (which they come with) and the earlier stand type frame mounts. Your new plates look like stock position, which makes sense because of your existing setup. Having said that, the headers have a lot of clearance and probably would work fine. My concern would be ground clearance. It looks like the clamshells may put the motor lower than the stand style mounts. The headers are beautiful and were only 800.00 to my door.

I see an easy and potentially very clean way to mod my front x member and have it mount to the inside of the frame. I'm still on the drawing board, I'm waiting on Speedway for my rearend housing. I'll mock everything up as intended before cutting anything.

I think after we iron out all the little issues, the cars will be pretty badass! :welder:

Your kit looks very similar to Speedtech's just without as much material in the middle. I thought about cutting them open a bit but decided not to. I don't typically change the ride height so wasn't very concerned. What are the overall differences between yours and Speedtech's?

Good to know the engine combo sounds about right.

I could easily flip the shocks but don't want to worry about trying to get my hands in the mount to adjust them. While the hole at the bottom is tight, at least I can also reach over it.....

I'm not sure how the engine plates will work with the clamshells and headers. Vince said hen hadn't tried them either but was nice enough to send them out to test out. I'll find out soon enough. Vince has given me a lot of good advice so I have no issues testing out some parts. How much clearance to the floor the the SW headers have? I called them and they thought my 1/2 body mounts would be an issue... That's why I'm leaning to Kooks... Where did you get SW's for $800??

I also thought to change the front x-member. The only issue is with exhaust clearance really. I also like how the mount is directly against the floor support to take the upwards load on the TA. I'm no an engineer but at least makes me feel confident in it. I chose to cut and bolt the frame together like Stielow does instead. Looking back after all the cutting I did to every else maybe i should have simply clearances the floor or notched the frame a bit....

The first time you ride in the car after switching from leafs you will be happy...