69 Camaro v2.0 - Project "Major Havoc"

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

When the words mechanical and 270 duration enter the conversation, the word mild shouldn't be used.

The man has a point.

Originally Posted by Vegas69

Hey, I'm simply saying that Chris won't need a full time mechanic riding shotgun, that's all.

Can't argue with that either.

But in my case that has more to do with ineptitude.

Originally Posted by chr2002ca

I look forward to when we can all get together again and lay down some rubber. That actually goes for quite a number of Cali folks here on the board. Doug, Matt, Chad, Ron, Stig, Dave, Curtis, Rob, we gotta get our friggin cars on the road and do some SoCal/NorCal/NV cruising and events together. Too many of us have been off the road for too long. Todd, it ain't the same without an active build thread from you here either. Hope you're recharging your batteries and gathering up a war plan over there in Vegas.

Absolutely!

[Vegas69]

Originally Posted by chr2002ca

I've been wearing those to work lately so I'll just keep them on when I hop online.

I'm bringing a street engine to a racing fight here, and I think DG's and Rob's engines are kickass for what they're intended for, so I think I'll just lay low on this one and try to dodge the crossfire.

I look forward to when we can all get together again and lay down some rubber. That actually goes for quite a number of Cali folks here on the board. Doug, Matt, Chad, Ron, Stig, Dave, Curtis, Rob, we gotta get our friggin cars on the road and do some SoCal/NorCal/NV cruising and events together. Too many of us have been off the road for too long. Todd, it ain't the same without an active build thread from you here either. Hope you're recharging your batteries and gathering up a war plan over there in Vegas.

I'm like a charcoal brick with this whole deal. I like to talk about it but the work... I'm sure my itch to throw my money down the drain and make a mess out of my shop will intrique me again, eventually.

Until then, I'll just be the cynical asshole I've always been giving you guys hell.

[chr2002ca]

Been doing a lot of research for my T-56 Magnum install. Seems like you don't really know what's going to work until you actually get the parts and try installing them. Dale from Texas on his build thread just ran into this. Another perfect and kinda funny example is here. Watch the time frame of 0:39 to 0:54 on the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quukwCTMGUI

Typical marketing stuff right? Now fast-forward in that video and watch the time frame of 2:44 to 3:45. And then later in the Part II video clip, they had to build a custom crossmember also.

That right there is a perfect example of our pro-touring build challenges. The marketing and claims don't always hold up in the garage.

For my build, I'm confident I have all the correct components with the exception of the hydraulic throwout bearing. I think I'll buy 3 different ones(GM LS, GM ZR-1, and RAM) and use the one that fits and return the other 2.

[Flash68]

Chris, will you take over the build on my car?

Buy 3 .. use the one that works... return the other 2. Brilliant.

[DaleTx]

Originally Posted by chr2002ca

Been doing a lot of research for my T-56 Magnum install. Seems like you don't really know what's going to work until you actually get the parts and try installing them. Dale from Texas on his build thread just ran into this. Another perfect and kinda funny example is here. Watch the time frame of 0:39 to 0:54 on the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quukwCTMGUI

Typical marketing stuff right? Now fast-forward in that video and watch the time frame of 2:44 to 3:45. And then later in the Part II video clip, they had to build a custom crossmember also.

That right there is a perfect example of our pro-touring build challenges. The marketing and claims don't always hold up in the garage.

For my build, I'm confident I have all the correct components with the exception of the hydraulic throwout bearing. I think I'll buy 3 different ones(GM LS, GM ZR-1, and RAM) and use the one that fits and return the other 2.

That video really hit home... Lol.

Even the experts have issues making things fit.

I finally did find the right combination of parts to mate up a T56 Magnum, ZR-1 Twin disc clutch, GM ZR-1 hydraulic throwout bearing, and Quicktime LS steel bell housing to fit my 69 Camaro with a Gen IV LS engine. D&D Performance makes a machined aluminum spacer 0.980" thick that goes between the T56 trans and the QT bell. With the spacer the ZR-1 throwout bearing fits, and the input shaft on the trans slips into the pilot bearing about 3/4". D&D had the part on the shelf so this must be a common issue.

I don't know if these numbers will help you to figure which throwout bearing to use for you set up... but here are the dimensions I ended up with. The total depth of the bell and spacer on my set up is now 6.53", the ZR-1 clutch is about 4.13" thick (from the back of engine to the fingers on the clutch). With these dimensions the ZR-1 hydraulic throwout bearing works. For the pilot bearing I used the stock LS pilot bearing that presses into the larger bore on the end of the crank.

Goodluck with your install

[6D9]

Killer motor and car Chris! Im another BBC(491 cubes) Camaro guy but on a much smaller budget! Motor is out right now and swapping from solid roller to hyd roller.

[chr2002ca]

Originally Posted by 6D9

Killer motor and car Chris! Im another BBC(491 cubes) Camaro guy but on a much smaller budget! Motor is out right now and swapping from solid roller to hyd roller.

Thanks! Yep, I hope all this stuff works when it goes in! It's a pile of friggin money.

[Matt@BOS]

Originally Posted by chr2002ca

Thanks! Yep, I hope all this stuff works when it goes in! It's a pile of friggin money.

It will work, at least 98 percent of it should, . It looks like you've got a good engine builder and some quality parts. Here's to hoping you don't have any major issues. Just my opinion, but if you have a choice, use one of the GM throwout bearings. They always seem to work better than the leaky aftermarket ones, well except the brand new one that didn't work for me and cost us a trip to SEMA.

[chr2002ca]

Well, was hoping to have the engine in and getting close to firing her up, but the shortblock is still at the engine builder. No issues, just some delays due to his cat having health issues a few weeks ago, then some higher priority tasks last week, and now a pulled muscle this week. He gave me an original completion date for this shortblock build of mid February, late February for sure. We're not behind schedule by too much, so not a big deal at this point. He said today it should be ready by Thursday morning, so we'll see. I sure hope so.

Got everything ready to plug that mutha in. Hooked up the fuel system and Holley HP ECU and harness to the completed manifold/throttle body setup(including injectors and all sensors) and everything checks out good now with no leaks and all sensors initialized and working. Customized the bulky harness a bit to remove some unnecessary hookups and get the various lengths just how I wanted them. I did have to fix an issue with the Edelbrock fuel rails not being tapped deep enough for the pipe fittings to make a good seal, and one of the 45 degree Aeroquip PTFE fitting just flat out leaked, but those are now solved. Fuel system now runs solid at 52PSI so I'm happy to clear that hurdle. I upgraded the Holley software and ECU firmware to v2.0 and loaded the initial configuration into the ECU from my laptop. That's all squared away now and ready to fire up and start 'learning'. The fuel system and wiring for an EFI system is actually quite a bit of work, especially if you're trying to hide sh_t and make it look as clean as possible. Tucked the coil up under the dash and have the ECU mounted just above the vent on the passenger's kick panel. Also filled some small holes on the firewall and re-sprayed a few areas to clean it up.

So the engine bay and parts on my workbench are hungry for a friggin' shortblock.

[chr2002ca]

Have some free time on my hands while I'm waiting so took a few pics of what I was describing in my previous post:

EFI Manifold setup and tested. Waiting to be installed:



Meziere water neck adapter made installing the extra fan and EFI coolant sensors a snap:



46lb Magneti Injectors are the short/pico style which helps lower the fuel rails and allow my drop-down air filter base to fit just like it did on my carb and permit a 14x3" filter under my cowl hood with a little room to spare. I went with the smaller injectors(50lb was calculated to be 'ideal' for my setup and the next step up for pico injectors is 60lb) and will just run a slightly higher fuel pressure(52lbs). The smaller injectors should make idle tuning a little easier, but they're still large enough that they won't be overworked.



ECU mounted here: Getting all the wiring coming out of that thing routed and hidden is a pain. I ran the USB cable into the glove box so it can be easily accessed anytime to hookup to the laptop:



Heard that the Speedtech T56 crossmember tends to flex across this center plate that has a lot of metal cut out of it to save weight. Just to be safe, I welded in a brace across that section to keep it from flexing there. This has been test fitted to the transmission and up on the frame mounts and it should plug right in when the time is right:



Installed a set of testing springs on the cylinder head so I can jump right into piston-to-valve clearance, push rod measurement, and valve train geometry checking as soon as the short block arrives:



Magnum setup is already on the jack and ready to plug in. Will measure run-out on the bellhousing first and get proper offset dowels if needed before installation into the car:



The badass Centerforce DYAD clutch waiting for its shot at delivering the torque from the new ZL:



Lots of pretty parts just waiting to get jiggy with it.