Glad to see you're back on the forum Pocket
This is some badass sheit!!

 

Ive never seen that intake before, glad to see someone changing it up alittle bit. Looks sweet!

 

pocket, try regaping your rings to ~.025 or so. itll give you room with your setup.

 

Sorry to hear about the old setup. That was truly impressive and it was a great thread t follow.

This new intake is mind blowing. I am forced induction freak and I Have never seen this company? Nice find. Looks like it should be a trip. We're you dig this thing up at are there any others for a good deal :-)

 

What sickness do I have that I can visualize a turbo on the pass-side feeding into a FMIC that exits out and feeds into the driver-side turned throttle-body?

 

That supercharger is wild looking! It looks very similar to an LSA engine setup. And BTW, didn't you have a 6.0 in your car?? I noticed the piston was dished, and I believe that dished pistons came in only 5.3's while 4.8's and 6.0's had flat tops. Anyways, looking forward to seeing this thing complete. Going to be one of a kind in a 3rd gen.

 

lq4 had dished pistons, the lq9 had flat tops.

 

Wouldnt be a true hotrod if it never broke. Wasnt a hard fix in the end. Found the Techco on ebay. Had never heard of them before I stumbled across it. Was too cool to pass up

I have a LQ4 in the car. LQ4's are dished, LQ9's flat tops. The LS3 heads require a 4" bore minimum to clear the huge intake valves. Had to run LS3 heads because the blower has rectangle ports. Snowball effect...

LSA/LS9's and that oddball SC Northstar all use the inverted blower with the intercooler on top. Pretty sweet setup on each. IIRC Saleen did the first heavily marketed setup like that for Fords, but there may be an earlier version

 

I think the heat is going to be turned up a bit for you pocket.

 

Keep the updates coming. Where are you going to put the alternator?

 

alternator is going to go in the stock fbody location it appears.

 

Alt is approx in the Fbody LS1 location

 

what power steering pump pulley is that?

 

I think it's custom, I've never seen a GM PS pulley like that.

 

it looks like a larger rib count. but from what i've gathered, a lot pumps share the same shank size. i'm just trying to find one that's open so i can easily get to the mounting bolts without having to take the pulley off. just need to figure out belt depth, etc.

 

8 rib system

PS pulley, Alt pulley, tensioner pulley, and two idlers on the pass side are from the Techco kit. Powerbond makes 8 rib stock replacement balancers, so I got one of those for a corvette spacing. Large idler on the drivers side is a LS9 part I got off ebay

Accessory bracket is custom too, made my own to reduce costs using junkyard parts. PS pump is from a early 2000's Northstar, alt is off a S10

Waterpump is a LSA crate take-off from ebay. Wanted the drivers side water outlet to avoid the belt

Bits and pieces of everything for sure

 

My hotrod fried two pistons too lol. Boost and stock shortblocks are finicky. If the tune isn't spot on, your breaking something. But I threw two pistons in and was good to go, since my block was ok as well.

As far as the LS3 heads, you won't mind the cost of them as soon as you see the HP you put down haha. Gonna be a monster.

 

Wowwwwww... I've gotta say Pocket, you are definitely kind of - but in the most awesome way!! This thread (by itself) was totally worth getting back onto TGO for!! Definitely going to have to keep up on what you're doing...

 

Didnt make a whole lot of progress tonite and had a decent setback

Pulled the HVAC box from a parts car and threw in there. Fits just fine, still have room for the coils and wires


Spohn K-member strikes again. No way the AC compressor will fit. Cant even get the bracket in there


Most of the interference is the K-member "brace" (use that term loosely). Rest is from the excessively huge A-arm box


That was a pretty big downer since I have the harness wired for AC and had planned for a more refined cruiser on this build. I guess T-top AC will have to do. I started rolling ideas around to get a compressor mounted some way either by crank hub mounted mandrel drive up front or a top mounted compressor on a custom bracket. Since Ive had to reinvent the wheel every step of the way for the last several engines, Id said screw it and threw the old AC delete box back on


Since the condenser isnt going up front I decided to throw the heat exchanger in to see how well it fits. Fills up the space nicely


Lastly, I started to plan out my fuel system and intake box. Since the drivers fuel rail hits the wiper motor already, Ill have to get creative. Anyone know of a low profile wiper that can fit with a mod or two? I also started planning the intake box over the drivers valve cover to utilize the stock power bulge. With the battery on one side of the engine bay and the intercooler tank on the other, where to run the intake is getting tricky


Just another day

 

Dang that blows :/
Would a stock wiper motor work just clocked in a different position and making some new holes to bolt it down?

 

Can't wait to see it running Pocket. GJ

 

Probably more than a mod or two, but a 4th gen wiper motor is a lot lower profile. I am currently adapting one to my 73 Camaro firewall and will run a 4th gen steering column to make it work

 

Pocket if its any help one of the guys on the CF used a S10 wiper motor and reclocked it.

 

M90 will support a 5.7l No friggin way!!!!! supercharged LT1 is within reach!

 

BlueZee28, If I know the look of my steel, which I normally do! I believe that the flanges are chrome plated mild steel, the dead give away "aside from the rust" is the "shinny" torch or punch ribs. the pictures are giving me conflicting information, as to whether it was cut or punched. if it was punched, It is likely not S/S. S/S is crazzy hard to punch. just my observation fron the "chair" LOL however the tubes do look S/S.

 

It must be a conspiracy, pushes up reading glasses.

 

Next time I hit the yard I may check that out. Considering a plan B and using the stock wiper

Yes and no. It will give you a nice boost in the low end, but will drop off quite a bit up top. On my 5.3L is was about maxed out. If you're building it yourself and dont really care about crazy high numbers, go for it. If you plan to break 400hp, Id pick a different blower

Those were the Chinese 1 5/8" headers that hawks switched out for the 1 3/4"s in the GP a few years back stepping on quite a few toes, including mine. I compared them to the ebay $200 5th gen camaro headers I was attempting to run and they're identical in manufacture. Does it make any difference at all if the flange is mild vs the SS tubes? Not at all. Small tubes and restrictive collector will make the difference. Would I run them on a mild 5.3/5.7? Sure, blown 6.0? No

 

Spent a little time in the garage again

Finished up the fill bottle (pass rail) and added the fittings. Since it was 1/8" wall tubing, tapping would be problematic at best, so i planned to use aircraft adhesive from work. Who would have guessed, but the particular type of PVC used on the fittings was resistant to the glue. I had to substitute JB weld and it didnt cure fully in time to sand and paint at work before christmas break. Oh well. I did however continue to fit the hoses, have to keep them tidy



Fabbed an aluminum bracket for the intercooler pump at work. Mounted it to the front impact bar directly in front of the heat exchanger


Since the drivers battery tray is occupied by the IC tank, I plan to build a box using a rectangular filter to draw air from the powerbulge opening. Although I would REALLY love to keep the MAF, space is extremely limited, so this might be SD strictly for packaging purposes


Heres a good pic of the 2 gal IC tank and custom alum throttle cable bracket


I installed the trans for a mock-up and jacked it up as high as it would go. Wiper motor still doesnt clear. Started rolling ideas around and noticed the engine was sitting crooked. Seems approx 1/2" lower on the pass side. Minor issue at this point, but I started considering changing the engine location since Ill be rebuilding one mount already. Currently its 1" setback using the hawks (crooked) mounts, if I built new ones at 0" setback, the wiper will definitely clear and the AC compressor has a good chance of clearing the K-member once the chassis "brace" is lopped off. Win-win at a slight loss of weight distribution

On the other hand, shifter location will be moved, cutting a new hole either way. Driveshaft length will also change, but a custom DS is required with the 8.8 anyways

Think moving the engine will be the easiest solution to several major problems

 

changing to a card maf may give you some flexibility of placement..

 

Flange is not a factor as long as the S/S tube goes all the way to the head inside of the flange

 

True, assuming the formed shape is a certain diameter tube. Mental projections look much less uniform. Too early to pass judgement though, have to see what i can fit

They do not. Slip-fit is approx 1/2 the flange depth, then (MIG) welded internally and finished by grinding the flange flat

 

Got a bit more done tonite before the cold got the better of me

Finished the offset motor mounts and put them in. I tweaked the through hole on the pass side a bit so the engine sits level now

Three bits of good news: wiper motor clear now, will still have to take it off to put a clutch in
Alt output stud has ample clearance, dont have to notch the K-member anymore
Truck AC compressor clears, so having AC is back on the table

One downer, the truck AC compressor doesnt look like a possible candidate for the system. I can build the bracket and mount it fine, just no one that Ive found offers a fitting to attach to custom lines. Maybe Ill find a corvette bracket/compressor cheap and simplify the make-everything approach Ive had so far. Going to draw one up and see if I can pull a favor to have one made

 

Pocket - I know you probably have your reasons for the Spohn crossmember, but if you had your heart set on AC, how about going back to a stock crossmember and notching it for the compressor?
Can you make your oil pan work with a stock crossmember?

 

The issues this time are from Spohn's "brace" mounts

These in particular


For a vanilla LSx swap on a stock K-member not using AC, both clear. Using Spohn's K-member, the drivers side has to be lopped off to clear the alt output stud due to his jig being about 2" off. I wasnt happy taking a cutoff wheel to a brand new K-member the day i installed it but such is life. With my new accessory layout, the alt was moved rearward slightly with the corvette spacing so again the alt output stud contacted the stump of a trimmed brace leg. This has nothing to do with Spohn as theres no way he could have foreseen my accessory setup, it was merely me lamenting about having to chop on it further. For the AC on the pass side, that mount is directly in the way, so it too has to get lopped off as well

Next my issue with calling them braces at all are the fact that he uses a pair of 3/16 x 1.5" straps to secure them to the K-member and bolts the stock stamped braces directly to it. These flimsy straps arent bracing anything, you can bow them with your bare hands

Now with the braces out of the way and the engine moved up, clearances are looking good. Just wondering why Spohn even offers the braces at all since they dont fit much of anything or function at all like they should

You can see the two brace mounts here and where they mount to the stock K-member in the rear


Eventually I will get around to building my own K-member. I cant see going back to stock helping anything

 

I had issues with the braces too, with fbody accessories. I had to make a small notch on one of the braces for the alternator. Maybe sphons jig is off.

 

I went BMR on the K member and had no issues with fitment whatsoever. Heard a lot of negative stuff on the spohn one so I stayed away from it. Looking good though pocket!

 

With a small notch to the A-arm pocket, the AC compressor slid right in. Now to order new parts and have a custom line made

Had a little time left and decided it would be a good idea to mod the spindle for the CTS-V brakes Ive had laying around for over a year

What an upgrade


Eventually Ill gather the courage to cut a hole in the firewall for the clutch master and chop the trans tunnel for the shifter

Got two 8.8's to modify in the near future

 

please please please detail this process because the world is watching

 

Did you have to modify the spring mount on the 8.8? If you dont mind me asking.

 

Thought I covered how its done on pg 10-11

Ranger/crown vic 28 spline axle, chop the tubes off a few inches from the diff
Chop tubes off 10 bolt, light grinding so they slide in
Weld tubes, install 10 bolt axle shafts
Build TA mount
Order custom DS
Done

Anyways, this time Im trying a different approach
Explorer 31 spline axles. Left side is the same as 3rd gen length while right side is too short. Grabbed an extra LH axle shaft and will lengthen the RH tube approx 3"
Fab and weld on mounts
Fab TA mount
Redrill axle shafts and brake disks from ford 4.5 to GM 4.75 pattern
Order spacers to use my corvette wheels or 3rd gen wheels
Order custom DS
Done

The latter was due to not being able to find 10 bolt axles to cut up cheap enough, LS1 disk brakes being expensive and not needing to buy custom axles

Most 8.8 builds end up around $1000 with all the extras people buy. Id like to begin with most of that stuff. This way I find a lower mileage diff with the gearing I want and decent disk brakes all in one shot. Using stock axles saves a bundle and being the correct 3rd gen width is a huge plus

Down side is I must fab my own mounts and lengthen a tube

 

Pontiac Montana 3.4 P/S pulley is a direct fit and has windows large enough to remove/install the bolts. Check Ls1 tech for the exact yr/yrs.

oh, and its only $17 from Autozone

 

I cant wait to see what this thing is gonna do!!

 

Cut the hole in the floor for the shifter and drilled the firewall for the master

Last job of the day was mounting the pedals, hardest part of the whole endeavor so far

 

Sorry Pocket, I went back to those pages and saw the rear and felt silly when I remembered it all.

 

thanks!

 

Alot of GM FWD engines use a similar pulley, also check out LT1 (90's) PS pumps, they also have the windows.

 

Figured I should update this thread as this setup is nearing completion. Dont mind the shaky hands

Engine bay is about done. Need to button up the fuel system and AC. Funny thing about AC, cost me $100 to get rid of it with the delete box and nearly $500 to put it back in



New 8.8 is installed. Explorer 31sp axle, extended 3" on pass side, Fbody brackets welded on, Ford brakes, ford to chevy adapters for the thin spoke wheels. TA mount is a bit different. I used a single piece of angle vs the twin tubes, same basic design though




Mounts and trans are hammered out. Redesigned my mounts from scratch similar to the spohn solids for LS1 4th gens after going through about 5 revisions. Only way to correct the spohn K-member tilt and move the engine forward 1" while retaining as much room as possible. Nailed it, as all 8 mount bolts can be hit with a swivel socket from below

Spohn's


Mine


1.5" x 1/4" crossmember


Stock vs my preferred mount. Lots more meat and my last monster with a 4L80E couldnt tear it up


Installed. Notice the pass header is MUCH better than the low point it was before


Drivers side has at least an inch in all directions

 

Pass side is about 1/4" from the frame, as close as I dare


I just like this pic


Nailed the shifter location


I still think the hardest part of this swap was the pedals. Column is still out waiting on a new IGN cyl. Bugs me to see an auto to manual swap without the key lock


Future projects waiting to go


To-do list is more of a punch list at this point

Finish up the fuel and AC system
Order a DS
Put the interior back together
Figure out e-brake cables/mounting
Build Y-pipe
etc

Missed my January completion date, but it wont be much longer. Hopefully work will let me be home long enough to have at least a little cruising this summer

 

looks good man, you're going to enjoy the six speed. your trans mount doesn't brake because of the solid motor mounts though i have a stock mount on mine and have no issues since i have solid motor mounts.

 

I like that blower on there....