Chris's 66 Chevelle upgrade

[kwhizz]

We are recycling the Chevelle drivetrain into Chris's 1970 C10.....

[kwhizz]

A little update....... I have the fuel lines fabricated and installed.....cross that off the list....Also got the wires installed from the fuel level sensor in the Rick's tank to the dash for the Dakota Digital gauges..... Got lucky with the driveshaft as I had one in the garage that was fabricated for the Blue Chevelle that I couldn't use back then and it fit perfectly....
So........... So before the headers get installed and I decided to get the Dakota Digital shift position indicator installed while I had the extra room along with the Lokar Cable shift assy that will be hooked up to the column shifter.....Neat assy and the neutral safety switch function is controlled thru the Dakota Digital indicator and a Relay........ Great set-up.......
Now..... The one issue that came up was with the Holley valve covers..... They are two piece construction with the upper half just being cosmetic coil covers to clean up the LS look...... They are designed to work with Gen1 and Gen5 coils so the coil portion that the spark plug wire goes on will pass thru the existing clearance hole in the covers....... the coils that come with the GM connect and cruise LS 3 engines are different.......So, I wasn't about to buy new coils so I had to modify the lid openings to clear......... Not a big deal as the look is worth the extra effort and the modifications can't be seen when the covers are installed......Just need more parts to show up now .......

[kwhizz]

Ordered the stainless full length headers and complete exhaust system from Holley/Hooker and everything arrived today........Read the instructions and it said the headers should be installed from the bottom....... Since I already had the car on jackstands ... Well you know the story......Since I am a graduate of the header installation school I really wasn't looking forward to this experience.....LOL.......Wow !!!!...... 5 minutes a side and everything was installed........Slipped right up and in position.......Crazy......Got the valve/coil covers installed along with the spark plug wires........ these headers are the ultimate design......Spark plugs .... No clearance issues at all......Amazing....... I can't say enough about the thoughtful design for this custom installation....

[syborg tt]

Looks awesome


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[waynieZ]

Covers look nice on there. Nice to hear the headers cooperated and went in without a fight.

[kwhizz]

Got the transmission cooling lines routed and installed, also the O2 sensors installed and wired.... and another improvement we wanted to do was install a cable shifter from the column to the trans..... when originally built I put a Lokar rod assy in..... but the problem there was that when accelerating sometimes with the engine movement it would downshift the trans..... I bought the Lokar cable column kit....... but it's needs modifications to actually work with the 4L70 trans..... the cable mount bracket on the trans hits the bump out on the trans pan but you just need to cut about 2" of the bracket away ..... no problem...... The column mount as designed just won't work.... so I fabricated a a little pivot mount bracket to suit and welded it in position on the frame.....Simple but a PIA to remove the inner fender panel to have access to get at it for welding...... All done now and it works perfectly.....

[sru1436]

I’m really digging the engine swap. I have a 66 Malibu myself and I’m leaning towards the LS3 swap also.

[Jimbo1367]

Ken,
Great progress. Do you foresee any problems with the trans shift linkage at the frame mount(where u welded the mount)? The angle looks like I might cause a problem after some prolonged use. That is assuming that it isn’t a illusion.

Thanks,
Jim

[kwhizz]

Originally Posted by Jimbo1367

Ken,
Great progress. Do you foresee any problems with the trans shift linkage at the frame mount(where u welded the mount)? The angle looks like I might cause a problem after some prolonged use. That is assuming that it isn’t a illusion.

Thanks,
Jim

I positioned the cable as it feeds into the bracket better after the picture was taken......... There is also a black wire loom for the Dakota Digital shift position indicator in the same pic that blends in with the shift cable and it can make it seem the cable is at an angle which it isn't....... Good eyes..... After looking at the top view picture again you can't see the shift cable..... Just the Black Dakota Digital wire....Here's a better pic

[jarhead]

Cool build Ken and Chris! Subscribed