66 Chevelle LSA/4L90E Conversion

[kwhizz]

So.....Now I'm getting excited.......All the issues are close to being exposed......I go to move the engine into the car and one of my Chinese casters on my Chinese made Engine Lift decide break off at the swivel plate.......I hope the Company that made that extra money by selling me that piece of Chinese "Crap" is happy.......as I am stupid for buying it.......Damm......I'm this close and dead in the water.......LOL..........I end up welding everything back together and continued back on..........My biggest concern was if the Supercharger would fit under the stock hood.......I didn't bolt the trans on at this time as I know I will have to do some hammer clearance and just wanted to deal with the engine issues first.........Since the stock Camaro exhaust manifolds worked out perfectly in the Impala.....I thought I would give them a try here also, But......it seems the mounting flanges are about a 1/4" per side too wide to fit in the frame as installed on the engine.....so I removed them for a future modification.........I dropped the engine right in at this point.....plenty of pan clearance and it appears there is plenty of clearance on top so the hood should clear also.............Feeling pretty good right about now.....The stock Chevelle frame engine mounts extent forward of the crossmember and everything fits.......But.....they get in the way of the oil cooler fitting and take up space needed for my A/C compressor .....(Can't mount the Compressor high because of the Supercharger Belt system).....so......after getting the trans in.....I'll make a new engine mounting system so the mounts are centered on the crossmember ...........Feeling Pretty good right about now!!.....

[GregWeld]

Don't ya love Chinese crap!?!?! But seriously -- I was looking to buy an AIR over hydraulic engine lift... they seem to be made in the USA -- and a cheap one is like 5 grand!! So repairing the chinko version for the couple times a year we use this stuff is what I'd have done too.


A guy that knows a guy - you know how that goes - stops by the "shed" to ask me who I'd have drop an LS motor in his lead sled '51 Merc... So I open the hood to check out the space etc -- and as usual - Sleds are not mechanical guys - they're all about chop - flame - upholstery - so the engine is a dirty pig and the wiring is worse (so typical) and I'm SHOCKED at the tiny amount of space in this great big fat fendered rolling pile of bondo.... NOW -- the owner is no hot rodder -- and he's talking 502 or LS 480hp... and I start to try to explain to him that "it just isn't that simple" -- that it's a game of 1/4" here and having to move this which means something else needs to be modified and..... well you get the discussion. I don't think he understood. Unless you've done it - you just can't understand why taking one motor out and putting another one in is anything but just that. In and out - easy.


Why doesn't the factory get the use of thread protectant on these aluminum parts.... I just don't get that.