progress...the stock replacement motor mounts kicked my butt but we got it in the car. the headers even slid in from the top (without the coils mounted)

Droool.

Looks clean!

two quick questions.. did you use the spohn conversion motor mounts? and did you put the engine and tranny in together or the engine by itself? Looks FUN!

i put the engine and tranny in together. the crossmember pads are the Spohn conversion pads.

so i have a small list of things left to get if anyone knows of some of this stuff layin' around somewhere:
-throttle cable for non traction control car
-throttle cable bracket
-auto shifter cable, i think i need a 4th gen one
-metric bolts...lol...

looks good, i'll make a post with my own thread shortly. Those headers sure look nicer than mine but I can't beat my cost to make my own.

what bolts do you need ? i got a ton of leftovers from my swap if i have extra let me know. I just bought my 2nd ls based engine for the following season. I'll be knocking everyone's doors off with the next combo no problem.

i need the bolts that hold the accessory brackets on...most placed don't carry stuff long enough.

I got mine from the Lowe's (a home improvement store) that's fairly close to my house. If you have one near you, it might be worth a shot...

i have been to lowe's, home depot, fastenal, RNS, Industrial Fasteners, and Ga Tool...most don't have anything longer than 100mm on the shelf, it's gotta be ordered in, and it's expensive for what it is...i'm just not really willing to shell out a ton of money for this little nit-picky stuff after spending so much money already. this stuff SHOULD'T cost that much money in my head. why on earth should the grade 8 equivalent metric bolt be twice that of a standard thread pitch? worried that the guy changing the tap/die is gonna strain a muscle? give me a break...

...end rant

fastenal

google them and if you can find them local great, if not I believe they do online ordering as well.

The dealer should have the cables. Not sure about the bracket, but shouldn't be too hard to find.

Ive got the throttle bracket, and i should have an extra set of accessory bolts at the end of the day. Will post up and let you know, as i know ive got a full set of hardware for my F-body accessories which pretty much matches the truck acc, that ill be pulling off my 6.0

I used my thirdgen automatic shifter cable with my 4L65e

Looking good Matt, and I feel ya on the nickle and diming you. CONGRATS BRO

alright, got the 4l60e crossmember all fabbed up using a stock thirdgen one to build off of (thanks sean!) i also built my y-pipe and will build the rest of the system at some point next week i hope. (maybe tuesday)

it'll take a couple of tweeks, but the pipes coming off the collectors are on exactly the same plane as the collectors, and the y is slightly above the plain, the pictures through it off by the angle i had to be at in order to take the pics:

exhaust work is looking good matt.

Wow Matt looking really good. I get more ad more impressed with your work. And I am glad I could help out bro.

Hey Matt, this is looking good! I have a few questions for you.


You didn't have to move or remove the steering mechanisms did you? It looks like you left the brake cylinder and steering in the car when you put the new motor in...

Did you take out the K-member when you notched it out? Or did you even notch it (tubular maybe)?

How hard was it to get the motor in from the top with the k-member on the car, especially with having the headers already on the block?


Maybe you already said, but did you put an LS1 or LS6 intake on that?

I'm kind of trying to gauge which way will be best to do my swap, as I'm putting a 6.0 LQ4 in mine.

i put the engine and trans in through the top. i grinded the weld smooth on the back of the k-member but no notching. the headers were not on the engine when it went in the car. the k-member stayed in the car. i didn't touch the steering of the brakes

it's got an ls6 intake manifold.

So it is my understanding that you don't have to notch the k-member or even remove it if you don't plan on running a/c? The only reason to notch it is if you want to use an a/c compressor correct?

Correct I never took my K out, or touched it other then welding my mounts to it. Never ran a/c

exactly. this car will not have AC...it's a full blown street/strip car that will weigh in the 28xx-29xxlbs range

That makes me wonder if I really need the a/c or not. I mean, it is a convertible, and it's not like it's a daily driver. That's what I have my truck for...the swap would be soooo much easier if I didn't run a/c.

Anytime i get warm, i just throw the tops out.

Ill admit one day i was pretty warm driving down the 410 last summer, was cruisin down the highway in my boxers cause i was dieing

But a/c would have cost me more to install, so its a small price to pay, plus, engine bay looks nicer w/o

TMI man... That's just TMI...

You guys are going to make me sell my lt1383 and get a lsx darn it

It is futile to resist... Come over to the dark side... (We have cookies!)

Hey that's what I do, and I live in middle Tennessee and it gets pretty d*** hot here, that's why I'm tossing the rest of my AC parts this summer when I yank that POS 305 outa there.

I've done this lol.... leather seats damn near ruined my day

alrighty, the rest of the exhaust is done, all i gotta do now is put some hangers in and call it good. lots of clearance too from what i can tell so far (car has not been back on the ground yet)

looking good matt, post up the rest of it

Is that a bullet style muffler? I think that thing is going to sound crazy...in a good way.

Thats pretty much exactly how I ran my exhaust. I left just a weeee bit of tip poking down to show off though. Aerochamber muffler too but otherwise the same. So without patting myself too much on the back by saying this that looks great man

it is actually a Magnaflow. I got him hooked on them

Ohh that's one of my fav's. That along with the Hooker aerochamber, two of the best sounding exhaust systems. If I had the money I'd pick up a GMMG though.

For sounds oddly enough I at first had a 3 chamber single in/out Flowmaster on there and it literally sounded 5 times more powerful. It was the baddest sounding exhaust I have EVER heard but man was it LOUUUUUD so I ditched int for the Aerochamber. Still sounds pretty good but its quieter now and a more mellow tone.

Hey Matt, where did you end up getting all the accesory bracket bolts from? I just picked up a complete set of brackets last night for a good price but they don't come with bolts. So I guess I'm in the same situation you were in.

i'm still lacking a bunch of bolts....starter bolts included...ugh...

i attempted to look at the wiring tonight...it's gonna take some more reading.

Starter bolts and similar I'd just buy off the ls1tech sticky of all the bolt sizes or parts numbers and hit up GM parts direct or a local bolt company distributor.

Starter bolts are knurled.

Im sure someone asked and i missed it, but why did you put your fuel lines to the passenger side?

Sheldon

it was just easier that way with the way the fittings are in my tank for the -8 feed...they've been that way since i built the car and the carbed sbc had a mechanical pump on the passenger's side of the motor.

What I understood about the truck coils is they help clearance to the AC housing. Hadn't heard they spark better.

Want to trade for an LS1 set with someone who needs the clearance???

I have a set of the truck coils with brackets IIRC. One of the coils has the plastic clip broken off of it due to a shipping company knocking the engine crate over, but if you needed them I'd be willing to trade. I think the coil brackets are dependant on which style coils you're running as well. I'm pretty sure the clip would stay in place by itself, or it could be zip tied or the one coil replaced.

Ive got a set of truck coils ill trade.

You need longer spark plug wires as well to use truck coils.

Let me know, guys. I just need to be sure they'll clear the AC housing (don't think I can drop the tranny mount enough for the stock LS1 coils to clear).

nice work. the more i look at this thread the more i want to ditch my custom headers for hawks. but im broke! i just wish someone would make them cheaper.... are yours ceramic or just stainless?

mine are just stainless, not ceramic coated...

here's some pictures of it back on the ground, and some ground clearance shots:

pm returned

Damn that is amazing how much clearance you came up with