6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *Test Fire 11/21*
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Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
Nick, saw your post on LS1tech. Im gonna do a little paint drawing for you.
Unfortunately, teh finish on the crossmember is going to get damaged either way.
Im thinking its in your best interested to cut out the offending peice of the crossmember, and shift it downward till it clears,and box it back in so to speak. Hopefully my drawing will make sense
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 (YES!) swap in 1991 Z28 convertible
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueZee28
Ok here's the negative. Am I the first person to try using the Alston Racing sfc's and the Spohn T56 crossmember? The reason I ask, is because I haven't come across anyone else with this problem before. I'm thinking I will need to notch out a chunk of the mounting face of the cross member to clear the front of the sfc. You can see how bad it really is, there is like a 1/2" gap between the frame rail and the cross member, creating horrible ground clearance, as well as me not being able to bolt down the cross member all the way without breaking it. I'll wait to get some input from you guys before I start hacking away on it.
This should be sitting flush with the frame rail:
I have the same setup, only my SFC's arent on yet. Now i know I'm going to have a problem.... That's what I need is more problems... I have a set of UMI perimeter and a set of the alston sfc's to go in the car. I'll do a mock up tomorrow and see if mine does the same thing...
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
Cool, let me know. The Alstons should only go on one way, they're made to fit the curve of the frame rail perfectly, so they shouldn't be able to move forward or back during mock-up.
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
I haven't had a chance to get back to the garage since Saturday. I'm hoping to be able to put the headers on tomorrow after work though, and I will be sure to take pictures when I get them on. I've just got a few small things to purchase before I can start her up. I also have to get a few things figured out with the wiring too, which I've been talking to Pocket about that so I should have it buttoned up real soon.
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueZee28
Cool, let me know. The Alstons should only go on one way, they're made to fit the curve of the frame rail perfectly, so they shouldn't be able to move forward or back during mock-up.
well i only got a couple pictures of the one side it was disappointing enough
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
im not sure if i'm going to cut mine yet. i think i'll be getting a crossmember mounted torque arm so im not ready to cut mine yet. anyone need a t-56 crossmember? it hasnt even had a tranny mount yet! lol (blocks of wood)
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
Oh yours doesn't have the bushing for mounting the torque arm? I was thinking all of the Spohn ones were like mine
As for the starter question that you PM'd me about, I'm not sure if there is a difference between a truck starter and an fbody starter. It may be something that another member here could answer for you. I was under the impression that either one would work?
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
I got some pictures for you, Melvin. I only got the driver side done today because I'm still working on the wiring, and haven't wired up the starter yet, and having the header there would make it really difficult to work in that area.
From my initial impression, it looks like the only things that are close to the header that could potentially be a problem are the brake lines. They get within an inch or so of the primaries. Other than that, the master cyl. line that goes to the transmission is somewhat close to it, but I think I can zip-tie it to the driver side o2 sensor to keep it farther away. Regarding this master cyl. line, does anyone know if it is just supposed to snap into place on the trans? I was going to put it in there tonight and it seemed to just snap into place, almost like it was magnetic? I couldn't pull it back out, so I think it's on there good, but at the same time, visually it looks like there hardly any of the line that went into the hole on the trans.
Pay no attention to all the random wires all over the place. They each have a home, I'm working on finding those right now haha
I also got the radiator put back in tonight, and then I went to try and put the LS1 dual fans in and noticed that it's a really bad fit. What does everyone to to make these fans fit nicely behind the radiator? I'm thinking that the little "cup" on the driver side of the radiator shroud, where it holds the stock coolant hose, can be cut off to make a little more room, is that correct? You don't run any coolant lines over to that side of the block anyways, if I remember correctly, because all the outlets on the water pump are on the passenger side?
And I think I'm going to make another thread just for this topic, the Spohn cross member. It doesn't seem to fit AT ALL! I had it on upside down previously, so tonight I got under the car to flip it around, and it doesn't want to sit flush with the frame rails at all. In fact, I had to remove the poly transmission mount just to get it even a little close, and it's still nowhere near where it needs to be. Any suggestions?
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
the pivot for the torque arm goes in the tunnel it's upside down in those pictures. only reason i know is we did the torque arm mount because my buddy put a 350 turbo behind his LS1 in my old 87 Iroc. so flip it over and spin it around. mine doesnt sit perfectly flush at the back but i'll be changing that soon hopefully. look at my picture how its bolted in. only difference is that mine doesnt have the torque arm mount
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
You're kidding right? I had it on right the first time? Well that does make trimming it a bit easier, but even still, why would they design it that way? The "fins" coming off the mounting tabs shoot straight downwards to the ground and make ground clearance an issue. Here is a picture I took from how it was originally mounted on the car:
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
Ok so hopefully the cross member will still have enough integrity that it won't break. I trimmed off a good portion of the mounting tab. You can see I had to make one side of it shorter than the other due to the way the Alstons mount on the frame. Input?
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
I'm pretty sure that if I hooked up the 12v wire to the alternator, and installed the pushrods and rocker arms (and other misc things like radiator hoses, PCV system, etc) I could fire this baby up! I'm working on figuring out what a few wires go to in the swap harness right now, there's about 3 or 4 of them that I haven't finished up yet. It's getting very close, and with Vet's Day on Wednesday, and my work being closed (bank), I think I'm going to get very close to test-start this week. Cross your fingers for me.
Here's a tease at what I got done tonight. I mounted a power distribution block by the battery so I can run the positive battery cable to it, and then feed all the wires in the harness that need 12v from there. I will be putting loom on all the wires that go to this, so it will clean up nicely. I am running all the wires under a fender brace on the passenger side and then behind the block.
Here you can see that I ran the battery terminal cable behind the battery and the length fits perfectly where I have the power dist. block mounted. It wraps behind the battery by the headlights and comes back by the filler neck for the coolant overflow tank. This terminal went to the alternator on the stock setup, but since it would be hard to get it to stretch to the LS1 alternator, I'm going to run a wire from the back of the alternator, behind the block around the passenger fender like the rest of those wires and to the dist. block. I think it will look nice when done.
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
looks great nick! might want to think of some kind of plastic cover that can go over the distribution block so you don't accidently short one of those terminals out with a screwdriver or wrench if you were ever working on that side of the car...a cover would look very clean and professional in my opinion.
man i gotta get mine cleaned up again...pulling spare 5.3 BACK out of the car probably next week...and i'm going to redo all my wiring in the engine bay
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
Got a lot done tonight. The passenger side header is on, I put my Stage 8 locking bolts on with the locker plates on both sides, re-installed the fans after I did some more trimming on the shroud and zip-tied the fans to the radiator. I also wired up the fans and put loom up the wiring all the way to the relays, so that looks nice now. Also, ran all the 12v wires over to the power distribution block and got some loom on them, still have more cleaning up to do on that area. I'm going to order some parts for a CAI this week, and install the pushrods and rockers, and finish the fuel line and then it should be ready to fire up.
Just some pictures of the passenger side collector clearance with the transmission and the o2 sensor, and some other various shots of my progress tonight.
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
Ok, now the only things left to do are install the torque arm, re-do the wiring that went to the auto shifter for the p/n switch, starter switch, and reverse lights, disable VATS, and install radiator/heater hoses, a CAI, and the PCV system and it is ready to rock.
I got the Scorpion 1.7 rockers installed last night with the help of a friend, and my dad and I finished up the fuel line. I did it a little differently than most of you, I am going to change out the fitting on the fuel rail to a 90* angle and run it straight back to the firewall and down the trans tunnel away from the header. It comes out right by the cross member and I ran it down the frame rail like stock with the brake line, using the factory mounting tabs.
I should have undercoated the driveshaft before I put it on....oh well. I think I can manage doing it by spinning it.
Crappy pictures sorry. I'm going to get the car on a lift at my friend's work after it's running and take lots of pictures with my GOOD camera.
Also got the trans fluid changed and the Hurst re-installed, although I found that one of the bolt holes is stripped out. I'm getting a hold of a thread chaser to fix this problem.
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
And have no fear, I'm not done undercoating the car yet. I just wanted to cover enough that wouldn't be in the way after the fuel line was ran lol
Let's see, another thing I got done was installing the LS1 ebrake conversion cables from Ed Miller. Man they are so awesome.
And last but not least, another question for those who have already done the swap. What do you do with these hoses that went to the heater core? I don't think they'll work because they are not angled to go to the water pump on an LS1. What hoses do you guys use for this, and which hose goes to the small nipple on the radiator?
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
nick, it's really lookin' good man. are those scorpion rockers non-adjustable like the factory ones? wonder what kind of gains you'll see with those over a stock set....how much were they? wonder if it'd be worth it to grab something like that instead of doing the trunion upgrade.
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
I wanted something brand new with better needle bearings and all that good stuff. They say that the only difference between these and Yella Terra's rockers are that these come with a lifetime warranty, and the Yella Terra's do not.
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
so good condition stockers with a comp cams trunion upgrade has poor needle bearings? i don't have quite the budget i'd like to have....
lifetime warranty? i wonder how they justify that on a high performance parts? how can they regulate that? so if a motor has an oiling problem, and then drops a driveshaft on a hard launch, goes to the limiter, and all the bearings come out of the rockers, they'll replace them for free? eh...i'd like to see that in writing.
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
The guy I get all my parts from said if a rocker arm goes bad you can ship it to them and they'll send you a brand new one, no questions asked.
I don't know everything about rocker arms, so I couldn't tell you how good (or bad) stock ones are. I just know that the shop urged me to upgrade with the cam that I chose (MS4).
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
Oh, I almost forgot to mention. I called my tuner today and he is coming over on Saturday to do a baseline tune (which means the first start-up is on Saturday)
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
first off let me say that u have a beautiful camaro!!! i have a 91 vert also.. and i recently found a 5.3L ls motor out of a 2000 silverado with harness and ecm that i want to swap in, i would rather have a 5.7 or 6.0 but for 1100$ i cant really beat it.. i had a question for u. my car is currently a automatic. how hard was it to switch it to a maunel trans. im looking to get a t56. and have never done a swap b4..
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1991 Camaro RS convertible.
*mods list*... 305 TBI with ported heads and intake, flowmaster exaust, underdrive pulley kit, B&M stage 2 shiftkit in 700R4, hypertech chip,fiberglass turbo hood, 3.73 rear gears still in box. www.cardomain.com/ride/3363875
Parts For sale
LT1 intake manifold brand new used for mock up
heat painted red and black tpi setup -wireing harness pm me if interested
Re: 6.0L LSX/T56 swap in 1991 Z28 convertible *drivetrain is in!*
Quote:
Originally Posted by quickkris2006
first off let me say that u have a beautiful camaro!!! i have a 91 vert also.. and i recently found a 5.3L ls motor out of a 2000 silverado with harness and ecm that i want to swap in, i would rather have a 5.7 or 6.0 but for 1100$ i cant really beat it.. i had a question for u. my car is currently a automatic. how hard was it to switch it to a maunel trans. im looking to get a t56. and have never done a swap b4..
It really wasn't hard at all. The only difficult part I thought was cutting the hole in the firewall for the master cylinder, but if you hang the pedals before you do it, you can kind of see where the hole needs to be and then just cut it. Cutting the hole for the shifter was easy, as well as removing the shift linkage and all the stuff that went with the automatic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shift06
Agreed Can't wait to hear that MS4.
Agreed +2! I have caught myself numerous times watching YouTube videos of MS4 equipped cars.
I realized that the cross member is upside down I'm pretty sure but it still appears I'll need to take off some of it to clear the sfc. 
Well that does make trimming it a bit easier, but even still, why would they design it that way? The "fins" coming off the mounting tabs shoot straight downwards to the ground and make ground clearance an issue. Here is a picture I took from how it was originally mounted on the car:
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