8.1 Chevy Vortec Swap....

[04Prox2]

I've been following this thread quite closely, my friend manages a junkyard and just got an avalanche in with an 8.1 and low miles, $1600 for the whole package, wonder how easily this would go into a camaro.

[69MyWay]

Here we are with the test fit going on for the front accessories.

I'm waiting to put the lower pulley back on after I pull the motor back out and install the modified pan.

I have two current issues.

1. Looking for the right adpater fitting to come out of the power steering pump and connect to a -8 female high pressure line. The stock pump has a cool Aeroquip factory quick disconnect, but it hits the frame. I pulled it and found it appears to be a metric - about 16mm wide male fitting needed that is not a taper fit - has an o-ring at the top. That needs to be mated to a -8AN male tip to do the trick. Have a plug from an LS engine and steel fitting that I might be able to weld together...

2. VSS from the Ricmond 6 (like an old Muncie). The stock LS has a 40 tooth reluctor wheel and generates about 128K pulse a mile. The highest aftermarket off the shelf sender I can find is 8K - so about 40K a mile. Checking with the programmer now to see if he can manipulate the tables, or if I have to find a way to put a new reluctor in the trans.

[spooled]

this unit should take care of your vss issues...

http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.c...rod/prd126.htm

[69MyWay]

Man...the VSS stuff has been a headache - that unit above wouldn't generate enough pulse to feed the ECM.

So...after much research and debate.....the VSS is in......

I found the 4L80E reluctor wheel was just a tad loose over the splines. I hand machined four tapered slots into the wheel, then using four pins and lock-tite, I slid the gear in place and pressed it onto the shaft. I then yanked the VSS out of my 07 silverado to get an idea of how much air gap to set. I then wrapped five runs of tape around the wheel and slid the tail housing back on after I machined out the original speed gear hole to allow a straight on approach with the VSS sensor. Once the housing was back on, I wrapped the VSS in reverse tape, slid it in against the wheel, and filled it with epoxy. After that set, I slid the VSS out, and trimmed it off. I modified the mounting bracket and drilled/threaded the housing to hold the bracket tight. Took it all apart, removed the tape from the wheel - then slid it all back together. With my voltmeter on A/C current - I can spin the tailshaft and get voltage readings to increase the faster I spin it. I think we are good!

[69MyWay]

Here is the other update - Oil pan modified - and on...and the trick new nylon fuel lines are made and ready to go.

[69MyWay]

Here is the good and bad.

Good - we were able to flogged out the electronics and the engine with dbw throttle is all good.

Good - the air intake is taking shape - and almost done

BAD - after hooking the radiator up and getting it running - it is blowing water through cylinder 1 and 4 (both sides of the engine) and filling up the crank case.

I drained it all out - am going to finish building the air intake, then yank the body back off the frame and pull the heads.

My pics are too big to upload - will get something on the web later to share the disaster.....

[70rs]

Sorry to hear about the water issue. I hope it is nothing that reqires a new motor. Good luck!

[69MyWay]

Here is the low down on the mow down.

The painless wiring is super high quality nice stuff and easy to work with.

got it all wired with the body off the frame so I had full access to do what I needed, then wrapped the harness purrrty.





Loaded up - radiator in place....and ready to test it all out - of course the engine failure was already present - I just didn't know it---yet.



Then I noticed pressure in the radiator - I never got the engine over 190 in the drive - and it spit water out of both exhaust manifolds.

So...we drained it out.....



cappuccino anybody????



Here is what I found - BOTH head gaskets blown - how weird is that? I'll get the heads to a machine shop this week.






I went ahead and started the cold air intake build - it is looking good - but going to be a super tight fit. The air intake goes over the radiator support down the front to a 10" Anderson Performance filter....

Waiting on headers now too - but will work on getting the engine healthy before they get there. I'm actually on a schedule...have to have this flogged out and functional before December. The final report will be in the March 2010 Corvette Enthusiast magazine with all the details of how this thing went down.

Now....I have an eye on a Comp cam xtreme energy cam...some roller tip rockers...and of course we could do a little head work while we are at it. However, I planned on running it stock first - spinning the dyno to figure out what we have as a base line - may be denied that opportunity now.

[69MyWay]

Progress...and goodies.



Putting the head on using the torque to yield bolts.



These are the adjustable push rods. You can't run the engine with these. They are only used to determine the measurement for the custom push rods. These are non-adjustable rockers - therefore I have to make up the adjustment in the push rod.



These are the magnum roller tips. They will give me a tad more lift, less friction...AND they will fit under the valve cover.



On the inside - I mounted the new Vintage Air Sure fit system, then sought the perfect spot to run the wire harness. This spot drops the harness right over the back of the engine, and clears the goods on the HVAC.



And...the electronics will all be safely tucked away (thanks to the 4' longer harness) in the rear storage compartment.




Spent the rest of the day running the now 2 gauge (big thick puppy) battery cables, grounds, and other time consuming stuff.

Will set the new Painless chassis wire harness in and connect it to the Watson Hot Dot - push button starter.

Waiting on -

Push rods
Headers.

[70rs]

It's looking like you're in the home stretch now. Nice work. That really sucks that the head gaskets were toast. But now you know the top end will be solid. Do you have any pics of the cold air intake yet? I'd love to see how that is going to work out.
Keep it up, almost there!

I am really looking forward to seeing it on the dyno! Any chance of getting it on video for us to see?