Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

I've been gathering parts for quite a while now, and finally got another car so the camaro can go back under the knife.
Anyways the plan at the beginning was,
-great drivability
-awesome power without too much lag
-close to stock appearance
-as always, a semi-budget build (at least it started that way)

A couple months ago I knew I wanted more power but wasn't sure on the route to take. I knew after cam and heads I'd end up wanting more so I figured boost would be the best route. Did some research for a while and ended up with
-ls1 with forged pistons and rods w/317s and ls6 intake
-t56 and 9in
-tc7875
-4th gen truck manifold kit

Parts so far:
Attachment 349922

That's going to be the basic idea. At the time I wasn't sure how well the truck manifolds would fit, but of course I had already put my deposit down since it was a GP. I did end up getting a GREAT deal on it regardless.
I know I'll end up redoing the hot side as the driver side manifold will go right through the steering box and the passenger side will need to be v banded. I researched a bit and read that the fbody manifold will work in place of the truck on the driver side.
Anyways... Enough talking. I just started this weekend and will try to take as many pics as I can
Attachment 349923
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Attachment 349925
Attachment 349926
Attachment 349927
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Attachment 349929

Re: 305>350>ls1>front mount build
 

that tc78 is very pleasant to drive with, dam near instant boost. if all ur stuff is set up correct. i dont know of any other quality turbo for the money.
:)

Lsx front mount w/ truck manifold kit
 

Awesome! I'm really excited and can't wait to get the hot side started. Soon enough!
Do you speak from experience? I imagine spool shouldn't suffer to much since I have their new 75mm turbine wheel. I hope to see 9s in the 140s. That's my real goal. I imagine that's about 750whp~

Re: 305>350>ls1>front mount build
 

Saving for a turbo build aswell, cant wait to see more progress pics. What brand kmember is that? Looks pretty bare.

Re: 305>350>ls1>front mount build
 

Pa racing. It probably looks so bare since I'm going with coilovers, so it doesn't have the top mount for those.

Re: 305>350>ls1>front mount build
 

Been a little bit. Found time to remove the a/c, egr and the alternator. What a difference with all the open space. Took some time today since the a/c is gone to take the manifold off and try on the truck mani. What a pita to remove the dipstick, you can see I banged up the paint pretty good in some areas trying to wiggle it in. Finally got the dipstick out and noticed that its not the frame the flange hits, it's the kmember.

Attachment 349682
Attachment 349683
Luckily I already have my pa racing kmember and hope to put it in this weekend to see where the engine sits.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Got what I wanted accomplished tonight! Kmember is bolted in.. By one bolt for now
What a difference though, MUCH more room was left than I thought.
I am having trouble with one motor mount bolt, but I imagine it just needs to be aligned a little.
Attachment 349595
Attachment 349596
Attachment 349597

Also got my fuel pressure gauge and shaved down one hole to fit the eboost
Kinda hard to see but oh well.
Attachment 349598
Attachment 349599

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Sweet!

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Little update...
Fans are mounted on the radiator. I test fitted it and the top fan will need to move down one or two rows, however I could squeeze it in and it fit perfect. Ill get pics soon.
Attachment 349432

Also realized BOTH manifolds will need to be cut. The passenger side I actually got bolted on but I had to take a stud out to get it on. I figure ill be able to cut a triangle out if that makes any sense and use a hammer to bang it into place. I imagine it should fit fine but then ill have redo the crossover.
Attachment 349433
Attachment 349434

Driver side wouldnt even bolt up. It hits the steering link plastic cover.
Attachment 349435
Attachment 349436

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Update:
I took out the steering linkage, and gear box. The manifold then fit very well.
Attachment 349241

Attachment 349242

Attachment 349243

Hopefully getting them in was the hard part, next will be v banding them.
The pass. side is the real problem. It's extremely close to the kmember and I had to take a stud out so it would even fit.

Last but not least, I put the crossover on.
Attachment 349244

You can tell from the picture that its too close to the rad., so I'm going to see if I can cut some of the tube off the crossover to make it sit back and higher to accommodate the sway bar as well. I figure ill need spacers anyways though. That's about where I'm at now. I'm going to be buying some vbands soon and will get pictures up soon.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Update:
Got the vbands and also tacked, fitted, and grinded/cut the hot side to face up and backwards a bit to accommodate the turbo.
Everything seemed to fit fine so it'll go out for welding Tuesday!
Attachment 348721
Attachment 348722
Attachment 348723
Attachment 348724
The little bit of clearance to the radiator. It i see any problems, ill stand the radiator up but I think it'll be okay.
Attachment 348725
Attachment 348726
Attachment 348727

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Wow good job getting that kit to fit you have a lot of patience, I would have that thing mangled up by now ha ha. I like that turbo too! I planned on doing something very similar as well with modifying the truck manifolds then I decided to flip them and move turbo to driver side. Glad you got it to work out! One reason I love these diy builds is seein how everyone else goes about making their stuff work. More than one way to skin a cat haha. Anyways looking forward to seeing the rest of the build thanks for sharing pics I know you will hit the 9s dude! I got a turbo lsx build thread goin too with 10s on my mind check it out sometime. Good luck looking forward to seeing the rest.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Thanks man! And I owe my patience to my dad. He's the one that keeps me level headed through most of this. Kinda my knowledge and his know how. I really can't wait to see it welded up, then it'll be the piping from the intercooler to the turbo. I have a idea but I'm not sure if it'll be problematic or not.
I want to do a quick "U" right off the intercooler which will wrap around right behind it and run between the rear of the intercooler and a plastic shroud. Then have a 90 degree welded on and cut a section of the shroud out to accommodate the pipe which will then have a short 45 degree welded to that which will then have a straight coupler to the compressor outlet.
I'm not sure if the sudden 180 degree turn though will cause a restriction or not for the air to flow smooth/properly. You can see in the pic below
Attachment 348659
If I can get it done how I want, it'll be perfect IMO as ill have no worries for ground clearance with any of the piping.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Little update guys.
Kinda been farting around waiting from some money to drop into the fuel system. itlll give me a reason to drop the rear so i can install some goodies i got for a great deal at work.... FREE. lol : )

Attachment 347853

Whats been done since the last update.

Messed with the new fan relays and mounted them. Currently working on wiring them
Attachment 347854

Started wiring my gauges up

Attachment 347855

Attachment 347856

And almost finished. Still need to run a couple more.

Attachment 347857.

Also I decided to venture away from coilovers. Itll be cheaper and i think a better choice to go with the free package of eibach springs and tokico shocks/struts I got. So which mean im going to need to send my kmember back and also my aarms to be modified for spring perches. The k-member will also have tabs welded on for a custom power rack and pinion from unisteer. No idea on any of those specs yet. Ill have to give them a call soon and talk to them a bit.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Can't argue with free.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

You can convert a coil over to coil spring K-member pretty easily

For my spohn unit, I welded a half circle plate on the plate in the area pointing to the engine then welded a short length of 4" exhaust tubing in the center to locate the spring

If you PA unit's connecting plate doesnt ride along the frame rail then cut it out and weld in a new one with a circle plate and a center locator

Also, the main hoop isnt notched and looks strikingly similar to the Spohn design. How is your tie rod clearance throughout the susps travel?

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

I'd love to see a picture of how you did it if you don't mind. And unfortuantly, I don't have a welder on hand. The one used to tack the pipes was on loan. I'm going to see if I can try to get it again, but if not I don't mind sending it back. Unless the price is stupid expensive of course. And I haven't had the steering back on yet, so I can't give you a answer on the tie rod clearance yet.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

I dont have any pics of the mod because it was a last minute mod

If you dont have a welder handy, then dont worry about it. Cut off the bar and order a set of K-member coil spring adapters from UMI ($100ish)

http://umiperformance.com/catalog/in...roducts_id=690

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

great work so far I have a ky turbo kit that I got really cheap and will be doing the same thing soon just have to finish some other projects first ill be going all holley (intake ecu harness injectors pump ect)

the dominator pump is great too its quiet and you can run one or both pumps

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Subscribing!!! I was close to getting in on the group buy but thought I would wait to see if there were any major clearance issues.

Can't wait to see it done!!!

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Figure its time for a little update:

Got the alt. relocated
Attachment 344519

Also got my BOV pipe back. The flange as you can see in my earlier post pointed straight up at the bumper support, now fixed.

Attachment 344520

Attachment 344521

Without turbo

Attachment 344522

with it

Attachment 344523

You cant really tell, but the rad. support got notched so i had a little more wiggle room.

Starting to get buttoned up a little

Attachment 344524

Underside with the swap bar back on. (had to make some 2 inch spacers)

Attachment 344525

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Oil lines drilled, tapped and installed

Attachment 344515

No more ugly cruise control unit which didnt work reguardless

Attachment 344516

The only piping which needs to be finished. I figure ill extend the 180 a couple inch and get a 90 degree welded to the end of the the pipe which will meet the turbo instead of 90's.

Attachment 344517

And last but not least, more stuff!

Attachment 344518

Thats basically where im at now. I did get to start it just to satisfy myself, which i did :) lol, and couldnt be happier!
But theres still alot of work that needs to be finished.
Still need to order the fuel system, install the clutch, finish the piping obvisouly, figure out what im going to do about steering (pondering a thunderbird rack&pinion) and throw in the injectors and map sensor i have laying around. Thats all the big stuff imo.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Well update! Made a last minute decision and picked this up over the weekend

Attachment 344220

Attachment 344221

Huge thanks to forum member Grifter757 (mr. Iroc boost)

Specs:
6.0 truck motor
Stock crank, eagle h-beam rods and je -22 pistons
Comp cams .598 .598 236/232 115 lsa cam
Arp mains, ported ls6 oil pump, ctsvr lifters and a few other goodies

I have some 317s at my house I need to have resurfaced to throw on.
I plan on some nice BT springs, stock rockers with trunion upgrade and some arp head studs. Should be a real nice combo when it comes together :)

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Little update:
Been slowly gathering some parts and putting the short block together
But first off some cleaning
Before:
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After:
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And I picked up some ls9 head gaskets and arp head studs

Attachment 343052

Installed:

Attachment 343053

Attachment 343054

To finish the motor I still need to
-swap the pan, windage tray, pick up tube and swap the oil pan
-order some valve springs and valve seals and put the heads on
-grab a ls6 intake and windage tray
and pretty much swap over all of the acc.'s. im trying to keep it as complete as possible to sell... or maybe use it for future project ;)

Also ordered a 97' thunderbird rack. Sending that and the k member back tomorrow to get modified for the rack and have it changed to accept springs.

Still a long way from being finished unfortunately.
I need to put the clutch in, finally get the front end buttoned up, fuel system, and get some suspension pieces to handle it all.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Time for another minor update!
Got the rack and pinion mounted and the k-member mounts welded on!
Now I just need to finish the steering linkage.
Attachment 341745
Attachment 341746

Heads bolted down

Attachment 341747
Still need to finish the valvetrain. I only put the v/c's on because I brought them earlier that day and wanted to see what they looked like :)

Attachment 341748

Also picked up a engine lift so I'll be able to swap out the motors soon

Attachment 341749

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

coming along good, takes time ..I have been building a harness for the last 2 weekends lol

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

agreed, but luckily..


PROGRESS!
...finally!

Motors out

Attachment 341553

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Old centerforce dual friction clutch.. which lasted about a year before slipping.

Attachment 341556

Material left

Attachment 341557

New Mcleod dual disk :)

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And i saw these on the classified section for a pretty darn good deal

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Fifth gen brembos! Most important step in going fast... is stopping fast :nod:
Ill get some more pictures up later, but these things are massive.

Thats about it for today, im gonna start transferring over the oil pan, windage tray, etc. tomorrow

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Cool build. Subscribed!

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

u posted about using a thunderbird rack and pinion ,just curious with one u ended up using and how did u do it.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates

Car is coming along pretty quick ATM, so I'll go ahead and post a nice update hopefully followed by another in a week or so!

Ran into a few small problems while swapping everything over to the lq4.

Area I had my tensioner mounted on the ls1

Attachment 340790

And on the 6.0

Attachment 340791

So I went ahead and made a bracket that reached over to where that boss would/should be in the block

Attachment 340792

Clutch, timing cover and knock sensors on!

Attachment 340793

Steering = done! (For now)

Attachment 340794

Accessories done!

Attachment 340795

Ye ol ls1.... Waiting for it's next unknown home

Attachment 340796

I already went ahead and took off the valve covers and for over 200k miles, it's incredibly clean. I'll try to grab some pictures later.

And of course a few teasers! Enjoy!

Attachment 340797

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Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

By the next update, the motor should be installed and computer should have a base tune (hopefully, my tuner and I aren't seeing eye to eye) and I already sent out for my fuel system so that should be back in 3 or so weeks. In the meantime, I'll finish the motor which only needs pushrods, put the front suspension back together, and at least get the gauges hooked up along with all of the vacuum lines.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Looks good man, I'm pretty much doing the same thing. Need to get motivation to finish the car! What are you doing for the down pipe?

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Probably will entertain the idea of what I can do the down pipe that came.
I'll probably end up using as much as I before it hits and v band it and go custom from there.

Also...

Motors in!

Attachment 340391

Harness is already hooked up, trans, front suspension, and the motor is almost finished.
Got the valvetrain finished, valve covers and coils all hooked up.

Attachment 340392

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As for the steering...

Attachment 340394

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Close, but it's still a fingers width away all the way around.
And as for the turning radius..

Attachment 340396

That is until the steering wheel hits it's stop. I obviously haven't gotten to driving around with it yet but hopefully soon.


All that should be left is the fuel system which I'm still waiting for, the computer to be based tuned, and all a little bit of the piping which I've already ordered the parts for.
Shouldn't be much longer boys!

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Subscribed!

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Nice! Makes me want to hurry up and get the turbo on mine soon.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Dum dum dum update!

Gettin buttoned up!

Attachment 339664

And valve covers, coils all back on!

Attachment 339665

Piping also done

Attachment 339666

Front bumper mockup

Attachment 339667

And then had to take it off as this came in

Attachment 339668

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Pump mounted

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That's about where I'm at right now. Hopefully by the end of the day I'll have the meth kit finished besides wiring. All that is left after that is to mount and run a vaccum block and the fuel system.... Still. Just waiting for it to come in which should be any day now

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

You work looks great! I run his alky kit on my grand national works great

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Nice!!! Any pictures of clearance with the steering components?

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

I'll snap some tmr. Clearance I'd say is about a two finger widths from the manifold at worst.
Little update:

Fuel system finally came. Took about 2 or so months but the quality is awesome and it's really going to be a straight forward install. Besides that, I have some more wiring to run for the meth kit and also finish hooking up the vaccum block and I see no reason it can't be started and taken around for a quick spin! Expect a lot a big update and a lot of pictures today and Sunday!

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Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Really nice work so far. Would you mind posting some details about your fuel setup? Trying to figure out what I want to do with mine right now. Looks like you got all new lines which is something I want to look into. Any details you could provide would be much appreciated.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

It is Lonnie's performance double pumper kit. Came with everything and it's a plug and play wiring harness which is awesome. It works for me since I have the whole fourth gen wiring for the gas tank along with a fourth gen tank.
I don't want to go too much into detail as he's not a sponsor iirc, but if you have any other questions pm me

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Well good news and bad! It runs and drives which is great, did run into a couple problems though.
First was the thermostat didn't want to open at all to let any antifreeze in, after that was figured out I found a bad oil leak coming from the valve cover. Fixed that.
Then I went out for a little drive and the car still was over heating when cruising at low speeds or sitting still. Fans weren't coming on.
Troubled shot that a little tonight and figured out the trigger wire was wrong or something.

I took out a test light and even when temps were 220+ the power terminal which I believed was suppose to switch the fans on did nothing. Here is exactly how I was told to run the wires, the only difference is that I did the yellow trigger wire and left the green wires (optional a/c) alone.
Attachment 338390

Do I need to put the original relays back in ontop of the existing trigger wires to complete a circuit?
Any ideas or advice would be great as it would give me some direction to go in.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Cant wait to see some videos of it. How is the steering with the rack? Something I always wanted to do just never looked into on my old iroc.

Jay

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

The steering is actually pretty nice with my limited experience with the exception of the dump truck turning.
At the moment it's not really a big concern, but I plan on either getting a custom rack made with the same dimensions (or close to) however with X amount more throw to turn like stock.
Or I'm also talking to another member who may in the near feature gusset weld the aarm to shorten the steering brace to make up for some of the lost throw.

Right now the main concerns are:

1. Weld in the sub frame connectors
2. Finish wiring up the meth kit and finish install
3. Get the exhaust so it's at least coming from underneath the car. I really would like to get a full 4" all the way back to a cutout before the axel and then going with 3.5" over the axel.
4. Borrow or buy a set of drag radials
5. Alignment

That's all top priority so I'll be able to get the car tuned hopeful in the next couple weeks or so.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

It's going to be a beast!! What injectors are you running(might have missed it)?

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

I would be interested to see how a 4" system fits. I ended up building a 3.5" Stainless with a Dynomax Straight through muffler for my current car. I was gonna go full 4" and it woulda been cheaper/easier for me to get. Just figured it would be a pita. I think I bought (4) 90's and (3) 45's and 4 feet straight and I still have I think 1 of each left. That got me all the way to the trans with a 45* shooting out to the passenger side. I think total I have like $350 for it all in stainless with the muffler.

All the bends were from diamond eye performance on summit and the 4' straight was from Jegs since summit only had 10' lengths.

Just to give you an idea of how cheap it can be done.

Jay

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Siemens Deka 80's

Sounds good! I still havent decided if im going to do it myself yet or not. I got a quote to have the SFC installed for 100$, if I can get out of the shop for 350$ with the SFC and a downpipe so I can put the hood on then thats what im sure ill do.


Anyways
Well im lost,

Went to troubleshoot the wiring and couldnt get it. I went by this diagram

Attachment 338281

Also..

relay#1
86--power from ignition-shared
85--pcm signal--ground
30--battery +
87--+ to first fan

relay#2--farthest to the right
86--ignition power--shared
86--pcm ground--shared with relay#3
30--battery +
87--power to second fan--from 87a on 3rd relay( first fan ground wire)


relay#3
86--power from ignition( shared)
85--pcm signal for high speed
30--ground from first fan
87a--to 87 of second relay--series connection for low speed
87--frame ground or shared ground with second fan.


So I should be able to use each four pin relay using 87 to power the fans.. However I only got one fan running and also it wouldnt shut off with the key off.

C1 is 86 on the relay strangly which says its power from ignition? Shouldnt that be 87? The diagram shows that after its grounded, its fan power so it should be 87 I believe.

Also, B6 is looks the same as C1, but it IS 87 on the relay. The F*&^?

Also with all the relays in, I could not get the original fan wires to show up hot.

If anyone has any suggestions im more than open to hear them!

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Its been a while since my last LS swap but for fan wiring I have always ran the contant/ignition/ground and the PCM as the trigger wire. (could be ground I cant remember if the pcm puts out a ground or a voltage for this).

But also for the not shutting off part. You can program the PCM to keep the fans running for up to 60-90 seconds after the ignition is off IIRC. I programmed my old C5 that way. Take a look at your PCM Fan settings. I assume you changed the temp settings if you went to a 160* stat?

Jay

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

The fans won't turn off as in the wires are still hot 5 minutes after shutting the ignition off. I'll see about using the grounds when I get home.
Any reason for the original fan wiring not seeing power? All I need is a trigger wire, and nothing seems to want to work.

Re: Front Mount Ls1 w/ Truck Mani Kit
 

Well FML.

Driving to work yesterday and hit what looked like a concrete block on I395 around a bend.
Destroyed the rack and pinion, which broke the k-member and severely bent a a-arm, which cracked the oil pan. Of course it was the first day I would of driven it to work and afterwards I was having the exhaust done. I figure it'll be about 1000$ setback.

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