82IMSA

My LS7 out of a 2007 Corvette Z06 with 7K miles arrived today kicking off this little adventure. I'll document it all step by step to help others who want to do the same.

I bought the engine with all the accessories (alternator, power steering pump, dry sump system, etc.). Unfortunately, it had already been disassembled and they didn't keep all the bolts, so now I have a pile of parts that can't be reassembled. Step 1 just became finding a parts list and torque specs for this engine so I can buy all the missing fasteners and properly reassemble it. Anybody know where I can find that info online or is there a manual I can buy?

In the meantime, I'm pulling the heads and sending them to WCCH to address the valve wear issue these are notorious for, and to check the rockers to see if they are from the defective batch that loses needle bearings. Let the fun begin.

gsmarcano

way cool, gotta follow to see the end result.

82IMSA

I found an LS7 manual online for a 2006 LS7.

www.bakesonline.com/images/MediaLibrary/Indmar_LS7CorvetteRepairSpecs.pdf

Dreamcamaro91rs

Subscribed. Looking forward to seeing this one. Good luck!

82IMSA

Turned out to be a lot more difficult to get the car shipped than I anticipated, but it should be here tomorrow. Then I can get things rolling. I have parts piling up with nothing to put them in.

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

Nearly every external bolt is M8x1.25mm or M10x1.5mm

Most internal fasteners are the same as any LSx. Headbolts cant be reused, the rest can. If you're missing everything Id find a core 4.8/5.3 and scavenge all the little stuff

Who took it apart and why didnt they keep anything for it? If a shop did it, Id be on the horn to make them track all that stuff down

82IMSA

A salvage yard did it and tossed all that stuff. Luckily I found a parts diagram and was able to get my local dealer to look up all the part #'s.

PAFORM350

This will be interesting

yaj15

iTrader: (3)

I'm going to follow this thread. The LS7 is my favorite stock LS motor. It just has a bad *** factor to it. Will be great to see what an LS7 can do in a thirdgen.

82IMSA

105F for a high today, the guy helping me with the barn got a piece of tile in his eye yesterday and had to go to the ER so can't work today, and this looks like it's going to be a lot of work!




The heads are back from the machine shop. Polished the titanium intake valves, replaced all the valve guides with bronze guides, replaced the out of spec springs, and cleaned them up.




This is what a partially disassembled LS7 looks like.




Those are some massive valves.




Step 1, install the heads and torque to spec.




Step 2, install the push rods and rocker arms. Replaced the rocker arms too because this motor came from the window when GM got some defective ones. I suspect 2 had already been replaced because the bolts holding them were rounded off by some jackass who apparently doesn't know what a torque wrench is.




The other side reassembled.




Step 3, install valve covers.




Step 4, install ignition coils and spark plugs.




Step 6, install intake manifold, fuel rails, and accessories.




Other side of the reassembled engine.




Front view showing the relocated a/c compressor. Also, converted to a Sanden SD7 instead of using the R4 that comes stock on the car. I've had horrible luck using them with R134a.

82IMSA

Finally the back of the engine.




The finishing touch, the engine covers.




Yeah, that's right 7.0L (427 cu in).




Not in a Corvette anymore. I suppose I could have bought some covers for a 5th gen Camaro, but I like these fine.

Jmlcolorado

Subbed........so I can dream.

midias

Can't wait to see this done

SbFormula

Amazing!

yaj15

iTrader: (3)

Cool. What kind of transmission are you going to match it with?

punkmaster98

iTrader: (5)

Wow

82IMSA

I'm having Extreme Automatics build me a 4L80e with the optional 2.98/1.57 gears and a Gear Vendors overdrive with a PCS TCM 2000 to operate it as a 6-speed using 1st, 1st over, 2nd, 2nd over, 3rd over, and 4th over as the gears. Will come very close to duplicating the ratios of the 6-speed manual in the Vette. My 5th gear will actually be better matched to the power curve of the motor, so I'm calculating 235 as a possible top end speed for it.

alex722607

iTrader: (3)

I've never heard of anything like that. Could you go into a little more detail about the trans please,

I gotta say that this build is very exciting and you've definitely given me some ideas. Definitely subscribed!!! Excited for this build.

82IMSA

What kind of detail do you want?

alex722607

iTrader: (3)

Sorry - should have specified - about the trans and the 1st and 1st over stuff

MoJoe

iTrader: (5)

The Gear Vendors unit doubles the gear ratios available. Every gear in the transmission can be used with 1:1 straight through GV unit, or in with the 0.80:1 (or whatever the actual GV ratio is) gear.

The stock 4L80e ratios are: 2.48, 1:48, 1, 0:75.
When the GV unit is switched into its overdrive ratio, 0.80:1 in this example, you ALSO have:
1.98, 1.18, 0.8, 0.6

So "first" is 2.48, followed by "first over" of 1.98, then "second" 2.48, then "second over" 1.18.

Read Gear Vendor's page...

yaj15

iTrader: (3)

That's cool. That should keep that LS7 in the 5,000rpm-7,000rpm range while you are accelerating.

alex722607

iTrader: (3)

That is really cool.... And pricey too lol

82IMSA

The 4L80e is a 4 speed transmission. Stock ratios are what MoJoe said, but they also make 2.97/1.58 1st and 2nd gears. I'm getting those.

You can make the 4L80e a 6-speed by adding the optional valve body and a TCU to operate it, but then you wind up with a bunch of really close ratios that are not terribly useful. For instance a stock 4L80e converted to 6-speed has the ratios: 2.48, 1.934, 1.48, 1.154, 1.0, 0.75. That step from 4th to 5th is pointless.

With the Gear Vendors unit my ratios will be 2.97, 2.317, 1.57, 1.225, .78, .585. The TCU is just treating the external O/D as another gear and activating them in combo to get the correct ratios. When it wants 1st, it activates the solenoids to kick the 4L80e into 1st. For 2nd it activates the external O/D. Third gets trickier. It has to disengage the external O/D while simultaneously shifting the 4L80e into 2nd gear. Get the timing wrong and you just put the car into first at 88 mph which is way past the redline. Fourth just reactivates the external O/D. Fifth deactivates the external O/D shifts the car into 3rd and activates the internal O/D. Finally you get sixth by applying the external O/D again.

With 335/25ZR20 tires and a 2.73 final gear ratio my shift points @7,000 rpm are 68 mph, 88 mph, 129 mph, 166 mph, 260 mph, and 347 mph. The car doesn't have enough HP to hit those last 2 obviously, but it's peak 505 HP is at 6300 rpm which coincides perfectly with the speed it would be going in 5th gear at 235 mph at which point it should require 505 HP to overcome air and rolling resistance.

I should be able to zip through the 1/4 mile with only 2 shifts keeping the engine in the 4,700 - 7,000 rpm range once it gets going. I sent the dyno charts to my transmission builder, so the shift points may be at a lower rpm range since the HP/torque really start tailing off above 6,500 rpm. You use torque to accelerate, not HP, so it's possible the car may be faster off the line operating between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm which it can do very nicely with this gear combo. It would still get to 60 mph in 1st gear and the 1/4 mile with only 2 shifts.

The other advantage to what I'm doing is at the fuel pump. The Z06 Vettes with this engine got excellent fuel economy (I've heard 28 mpg at 70 mph on the highway). I live in west TX where speed limits are 75 to 80 mph on the highways and even rural roads.

At 80 mph the 2007 Z06 this engine came out of was running 2,308 rpm. My car will be running at 1,614 rpm at the same speed. That is comparable to the 2006 Vette which idled along on the highway at 1,719 rpm.

The car only needs 28 HP to maintain speed at 80 mph on a flat and 68 HP on a 6% grade, at 1,614 rpm it makes about 100 HP, so running higher rpm's is just a waste.

Those 2 lane roads I drive at 80 mph to my kid's sporting events have a lot of slow truck traffic and they are not flat, so visibility of oncoming traffic to pass is dicey at best. Put your foot on the floor and kick this baby down to 2nd or 3rd and you just unleashed 380 HP and 450 lb-ft of torque to launch yourself around 2 semis in a convoy going 55 mph. I'm guessing that will make passing a little less drama filled than doing it with my wife's Cruze like I had to last season.

82IMSA

$9,970.00 so a little pricey, but I console myself with the fact that even with the $60K+ I will spend on this project it is still a lot less expensive than a new Vette or even Camaro that won't match it's performance.

406TPI

iTrader: (1)

What A/C relocation kit is that?

82IMSA

Holley 20-142 with a 21-1 installation kit (make sure you order the correct installation kit for your application). Comes with the compressor and everything. Super easy as long as you use the socket cap head bolt they supply with the 21-1 on the bottom right spacer hole. No way you will get a socket or any other kind of wrench on the regular M10 bolts they also send if you try to use them in that spot unless you also remove the water pump. Ask me how I know this. LOL!

If you already have the SD-7 compressor they also have a kit with just the brackets. It is 20-134. https://www.holley.com/products/acce...rive_brackets/ I bought mine from Hawks Third Generation

You will have to trim the engine cover to clear the compressor and bracket, but it's just plastic that can easily be trimmed with a grinder took me about 30 seconds, and relocate the EVAP solenoid if yours is mounted on the passenger side head. Haven't figured out what to do with that yet. It's under the engine cover and the lines going to/from it are very stiff, so I may just zip tie it to something else over there to keep it from flopping somewhere it shouldn't.

95Cam86Roc

iTrader: (2)

Are you going to run the stock hood?

Javier87z28

iTrader: (1)

Subscribed!

92BLKL98

Subscribed!

yaj15

iTrader: (3)

This video is a top speed run from 2006 Z06. It's a good representation of how potent the LS7 is and how the factory 6-speed keeps the engine in the 5,000rpm-7,000rpm range while it's accelerating.

82IMSA

Replacing the hood with the Daytona Turbo Hood, but before the groans start it will undergo the same mods as the Hawks' Stormtrooper hood (minus the window) http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...a/viewall.html so it looks like the hood that used to come with the Product Guild IMSA Kelly kit I had on my 1982 Firebird, then instead of the stock plastic louvers I'm installing the functional aluminum louvers from one of our members http://www.camarolouvers.com/

The rest of the car is getting fiberglass front/rear bumpers, Stinger fenders that will be modified so they have a convex profile like the old Product Guild kit instead of the concave profile they come with, Chastain Shadow Louvers painted the same as the car, and a Fierro GT wing on 5" raked wing stands.

I got the 20" Cray Hawk wheels today, and they are going to completely fill the 3" wider wheel wells front and back. The rears are 20" x 12.5", and the fronts are 20" x 10". I'm going to need 2" spacers on the front and 3" on the rear so they don't rub the struts, bump stops or lower control arms.

82IMSA

Nice! If I'm not mistaken though the LS7 was never available in the Z06 with a 6-speed auto, just a 6-speed manual. The stock GM 6-speed auto can't handle the LS7 torque.

Keep in mind after all the mods my Camaro should be several 100 lbs lighter than the Z06 this engine came out of. Mine is shedding the heavy metal body, the stock iron block, stock suspension parts, etc. This LS7 weighs nothing, I could probably pick it up without help.

yaj15

iTrader: (3)

That sounds great! Your car should be very fast and should really fly with the LS7.

Nope the LS7 hasn't been available with any automatic transmission from GM. I think the max torque capacity of the stock 6-speed autos is around 430 foot pounds which is about 40 fewer foot pounds than what the LS7 is rated at. The new 8-speed automatic would handle the LS7 with no problem though.

82IMSA

That was what I was thinking. When I first started this I was just going to get a 6L80e, but if I recall correctly it won't fit without a tunnel mod and the stock ones can't handle the torque so you would have to have a heavier duty one built. It was easier to just do what I'm doing with the 4L80e and Gear Vendors O/D.

yaj15

iTrader: (3)

Yeah I agree. When the 6-spee auto's came out I thought a lot of people would start swapping them place for 700r4's & 4l60e's. The electronics are complicated with those 6 & 8-speed automatics. They cost so much too.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

The LS7 Should be around ~450lbs with the air, so it will be only a few pounds lighter than the iron headed SBC that came in it. But you're adding weight back with the oil tank, extra oil capacity, lines, 4l80e AND the GV unit. I'd say the drivetrain weight will actually be slightly heavier than stock.

Since the LS engines have such a deep skirt and the caps are larger than an SBC, the cast pans weigh more than the stamped steel, you have 8 coils instead of one, the weight is actually close to the SBC. I was surprised too, and disappointed, lol. I have an LS6 block I use for mockup, I can pick it up (barely) and move it around, but it is heavier than the T56 which is about 125lbs. There is a thread on LS1tech about the weights of the various LS engines and the bare blocks

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

LSX Series Turn Key Weights
"We appreciate your e-mail regarding the weight of our engines. The
approximate weight of our L-series GM Performance Parts engines, as
ordered, you requested is as follows:

LS1 = 558 lbs. (part number 25534322 - discontinued)
LS2 = 550 lbs. (part number 19156261)
LS6 = 544 lbs. (part number 17801268)
LS7 = 528 lbs. (part number 19165058)"

http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/5029...ock-sbc/page-2

Still quite a bit lighter than an all iron SBC pullout. FWIW, my 92 TBI to 5.3 iron block conversion raised the front 2". Every LSx conversion Ive done iron or alum block all raised the front quite a bit in various vehicles. They're no featherweight, but they arent BBC heavy either

A bare alum LSx block is very light. Ive seen numbers 80-110lbs. Havent weighed my mock-up LS1 block, but its easy for me to toss it in an engine bay by hand (just me, no help)

82IMSA

The Bill of Lading for my engine, dry sump tank, wiring harness, etc. put the weight for all of it at 530 lbs and that included the pallet, so likely closer to 490 lbs. The only thing missing from that was the a/c compressor and some bolts.

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

No manifolds either. Fbody cast irons I shipped last month were 45lbs in a box. LS7 uses dual wall welded stainless, so its lighter, but not that much

With manifolds and AC comp, Id say the complete engine combo is right at 530lbs. Still substantially less than an all iron SBC

scooter

iTrader: (11)

ALL of the aluminum LSx blocks with the caps are over 100 lbs

scooter

iTrader: (11)

In this article Hot Rod swapped in crate engines into a Chevelle and they weighed them. http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/...-engine-tests/

It was the 4th/5th heaviest with the LS7 and was 100lbs heavier than the SBC's that they had in the car. Don't kid yourself, the LS engines are heavier than you think once you add everything up, as I said, I was surprised too. The car won't be losing any weight from the drivetrain, but all that other stuff will help.

ls3 3334
zz4 3360
zz383 3360
ls327 3386
ls7 3420
lsx454 3448
zz472 3520
zz572 3560

The 4L80 weighs about 178 lbs, coming from a transmission builder and the GV unit weighs 32-46 lbs depending on the application, i.e. the spacer

82IMSA

I just weighed the headers and they are only 12 lbs each.

I'm kind of skeptical this thing weighs anywhere near 500 lbs though. I had to have my son hold it still when I was rotating the crank with a wrench so I could tighten the rocker arm bolts or I would have flipped it right over, and it isn't that hard to turn the crank shaft even with 1/2 the rockers tightened down.

Now I'm seriously considering driving it over to the certified truck scales at the feed yard before I do anything to it for a before weight, then some interim weights as I swap out the drivetrain, suspension, body, etc.

skinny z

I'm curious to know how the gear vendors will fit along side the torque arm and the exhaust. Not a lot of room there.
When I first had a Gear Vendors (mated to a TH350), I was stuck waiting for a method to effectively split the shifts to make a 6 speed. That was over a decade ago and nothing ever came of it as GV hadn't worked out the technology at that time.
I'll be watching your build. Should be interesting.
Good luck.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

I'd be interested to see the results, but I've been told the truck scales aren't all that accurate at low weights? They are really only designed for tens of thousands of pounds, that was what I was told anyway

The thread I mentioned says that the LS3, as shipped, weighs ~430 lbs, without the crate etc, on the guys shipping scale. So intake to pan with water pump, and cast iron manifolds no accessories

82IMSA

That makes two of us. LOL! The GV unit replaces the tailshaft on the transmission, but I'm not sure if it is large enough to cause clearance problems or not. Hopefully not, but knowing my luck I'm going to have to get creative to get it to work.

82IMSA

The scales I would use are used to weigh pickups on their way in to the feed yard, then again on the way out to determine how many pounds of feed we bought. They weigh in 20 lb increments, and I've found them to be pretty consistent on my pickups, but about a 1,000 lbs high.

My S-15 should tip the scales around 3,200 lbs, but usually weighs 4,200 lbs empty on their scale. I wouldn't trust the total weight, but I believe you could trust the difference. In other words the stock Camaro might tip the scales over there at 4,200 lbs, which is way to high, but if the finished car tipped them at 3,800 lbs I think you could safely say it had lost 400 lbs.

skinny z

It also adds about a foot to the overall length plus several inches in girth (of which I'm sure you're aware...) Yes, creative is what you may have to be. Perhaps something along the lines of the Jegster short torque arm would solve some the space constraints.
I saw you commented on the need to open up the trans tunnel with the installation of the 6L80. You may looking at the same scenario with the GV. What I haven't been able to search are results from anyone that's actually done the 6L80 swap. Lots of talk but no proof.

When do anticipate having the whole thing together?

82IMSA

The extra length I was aware of, that's why the only part I have not ordered yet for the drivetrain is the drive shaft.

Doesn't the torque arm mount to the transmission forward of the tailshaft? It's been awhile since I've been under a third gen, but looking at the interior isn't the tunnel the same from the transmission all the way back to the differential, or are you saying a 4L80e won't fit?

I've heard of several people who have put 4L80e's in third gens and if you have a clearance problem at all it's a matter of making a dimple with a hammer to correct the problem. I am guessing I'm going to have to move the y-pipe on my new exhaust system further back though, but a tunnel mod isn't going to fix that problem.

My guess is you don't see any 6L80e's going in because of the tunnel mod, the expense of the transmission, and it won't handle the torque of the types of engines somebody going to that type of expense is installing.

Not sure when I will get this done. I am still working on the new workshop complete with 10,000 lb lift to do the work in. Spent yesterday in the 100 degree heat putting up steel panels on the walls. Fun, fun, fun! LOL!

82IMSA

This is from a couple of weeks ago, but you can see the lift. Now both long sides are done. Probably take about 6 hours to finish the ends and trim, then we can get going on the roof. After that some floor epoxy, and we're good to go.