67 Nova LS1 conversion. Ed Curtis SSHT, FLT IV, Retrofuel tank
09-02-2012, 07:01 AM
#1
67 Nova LS1 conversion. Ed Curtis SSHT, FLT IV, Retrofuel tank Hey guys,
Figured I'd put up some pics and videos of my LS1 conversion I did in my 67 Nova. Well, actually its a 66 that I put a 67 front end on. I thought it would just skip a lot of confusion from people looking at, so I just call it a 67.
Anyways, here's where I started......like over 5 years ago:
Along the way, I changed directions a ton of times. The one thing that pretty much stayed the same was my desire for an LS1. Got one from an eBay seller, and after tearing it apart, I figured it was best to just get it rebuilt. Took it to Billy Briggs of Motor City Speed in Commerce Twp, MI for the bottom end rebuild.
Here's the car's specs:
2001 Camaro LS1, bottom end rebuilt by Billy Briggs
Scat Forged Rods
Diamond Flat Top pistons with valve reliefs
Ed Curtis (FlowTech Induction) Streetsweeper HT cam
799 Heads with Ed Curtis valve job and Lunati Springs
Retrofuel tank with 2010 Camaro pump and corner pickups
Church Boys Racing headers
Summit 3" x pipe
Spintech Sportsmans
2.5" tail pipes over the axle
LS6 intake
P/P TB
Speed Inc rails
Injectors converted to 42lbs by FIC
Wiring harness re-worked by yours truly
PCM bench tuned (for now) by Rich at Motor City Speed (Billy Briggs)
2004 PCV setup
Finish Line Transmissions Level IV
FTI 3600 Stall
DTS 8.5" 10 bolt rear, 3.73 gear
Centerline Retro, 17x7 front, 17x9.5 rear
Nitto Neo Gen 215/45/17 fronts
Nitto 555 275/40/17 rear
Baer Track Plus 13" fronts, 12" rears
Manual steering and brakes
Chris Alston Chassisworks G-Machine front clip
Total Cost Involved 4-link rear suspension
So here's where she sits now. Well, sort of now. This video is a few weeks old though. I've changed out the intake tube for a full 4" tube, all the seats are in, front windshield is in, hood is on, etc. I'm contemplating swapping out the Spintechs for a set of Dynatech Splitflow or Borla Xr-1s. Just not sure yet:
PWM system interface that runs my Retrofuel tank:
Couple more recent pics...
New intake tube:
Down at Eddie's Drive In Diner:
And a few shots of the build along the way....
Custom frame support work:
Retrofuel tank with 2010 Camaro Pump and corner pickups. Pump is driven by a PWM:
DTS 10 bolt with Moser axles, True Trac posi, 3.73 gears, and Baer brakes.:
Garage mayhem:
I cut out the entire 67 dash and welded in a 63 dash. I think its a lot nicer looking setup. I designed my own gauge cluster plate and had a friend laser cut it for me. Then I grafted a gauge into each side of the steering column. I think it flows pretty well. There are some trim pieces that will be going on the gauge cluster plate, but that won't happen until she's painted:
Here's the trim pieces:
I have a lot more pics here: http://community.webshots.com/user/66BADBOY
All in all, I'm glad I did it exactly the way I did. Going back down to Motor City Speed in a few weeks to get it on the dyno for a full tune. Can't wait to see what kind of numbers it lays down.
I've learned a lot along the way, so if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
THANKS!!
Figured I'd put up some pics and videos of my LS1 conversion I did in my 67 Nova. Well, actually its a 66 that I put a 67 front end on. I thought it would just skip a lot of confusion from people looking at, so I just call it a 67.
Anyways, here's where I started......like over 5 years ago:
Along the way, I changed directions a ton of times. The one thing that pretty much stayed the same was my desire for an LS1. Got one from an eBay seller, and after tearing it apart, I figured it was best to just get it rebuilt. Took it to Billy Briggs of Motor City Speed in Commerce Twp, MI for the bottom end rebuild.
Here's the car's specs:
2001 Camaro LS1, bottom end rebuilt by Billy Briggs
Scat Forged Rods
Diamond Flat Top pistons with valve reliefs
Ed Curtis (FlowTech Induction) Streetsweeper HT cam
799 Heads with Ed Curtis valve job and Lunati Springs
Retrofuel tank with 2010 Camaro pump and corner pickups
Church Boys Racing headers
Summit 3" x pipe
Spintech Sportsmans
2.5" tail pipes over the axle
LS6 intake
P/P TB
Speed Inc rails
Injectors converted to 42lbs by FIC
Wiring harness re-worked by yours truly
PCM bench tuned (for now) by Rich at Motor City Speed (Billy Briggs)
2004 PCV setup
Finish Line Transmissions Level IV
FTI 3600 Stall
DTS 8.5" 10 bolt rear, 3.73 gear
Centerline Retro, 17x7 front, 17x9.5 rear
Nitto Neo Gen 215/45/17 fronts
Nitto 555 275/40/17 rear
Baer Track Plus 13" fronts, 12" rears
Manual steering and brakes
Chris Alston Chassisworks G-Machine front clip
Total Cost Involved 4-link rear suspension
So here's where she sits now. Well, sort of now. This video is a few weeks old though. I've changed out the intake tube for a full 4" tube, all the seats are in, front windshield is in, hood is on, etc. I'm contemplating swapping out the Spintechs for a set of Dynatech Splitflow or Borla Xr-1s. Just not sure yet:
PWM system interface that runs my Retrofuel tank:
Couple more recent pics...
New intake tube:
Down at Eddie's Drive In Diner:
And a few shots of the build along the way....
Custom frame support work:
Retrofuel tank with 2010 Camaro Pump and corner pickups. Pump is driven by a PWM:
DTS 10 bolt with Moser axles, True Trac posi, 3.73 gears, and Baer brakes.:
Garage mayhem:
I cut out the entire 67 dash and welded in a 63 dash. I think its a lot nicer looking setup. I designed my own gauge cluster plate and had a friend laser cut it for me. Then I grafted a gauge into each side of the steering column. I think it flows pretty well. There are some trim pieces that will be going on the gauge cluster plate, but that won't happen until she's painted:
Here's the trim pieces:
I have a lot more pics here: http://community.webshots.com/user/66BADBOY
All in all, I'm glad I did it exactly the way I did. Going back down to Motor City Speed in a few weeks to get it on the dyno for a full tune. Can't wait to see what kind of numbers it lays down.
I've learned a lot along the way, so if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
THANKS!!
Last edited by 66 BADBOY; 10-01-2012 at 01:58 PM.
09-02-2012, 09:31 AM
#5
Yep, Ed is THE MAN!! Great guy to work with. Kept me updated and communicated extremely well through the job. The DTS wasn't cheap. I supplied the housing, they did everything else.....powder coating, welding my 4 link brackets on, big bearings, support cover, shortening housing, new pinion, seals, axles, etc. I'd have to look to see exactly what it was, but it was over 2k.
09-06-2012, 12:01 PM
#6
Looking to possibly swap out the Spintech Sportsmans. I'm not sure how restrictive these things are. I talked to them before I bought them, and obviously they say they flow really well even compared to an open type muffler.
But I have a hard time understanding why I have an exhaust leak right in front of the muffler like I do. I have true duals. On each side, a 3" pipe is coming from the x-pipe and it slides into the expanded 3" pipe that welded to the muffler (x pipe discharge is acting as the male pipe, muffler pipe is acting as the female) and I sealed the joint with RTV silicone and used a lap band. And it still leaks. I should mention that the pipes coming out of the muffler are 2.5" and go over the axle, but the 2.5" should be plenty large enough. All bends are mandrel bent.
It just seems that these mufflers create a lot of backpressure to allow a leak right there. It mainly happens while I'm accelerating kinda slowly or starting the incline of a steep hill. Get on it full throttle, and I can't tell if the leak noise is prominent or not, I just know it sounds good and loud (almost sounds like the leak goes away during full throttle) I know when you look at their design, it looks obvious, but their people say they do not restrict.
So, might be going with Dynatech Splitflows instead.
But I have a hard time understanding why I have an exhaust leak right in front of the muffler like I do. I have true duals. On each side, a 3" pipe is coming from the x-pipe and it slides into the expanded 3" pipe that welded to the muffler (x pipe discharge is acting as the male pipe, muffler pipe is acting as the female) and I sealed the joint with RTV silicone and used a lap band. And it still leaks. I should mention that the pipes coming out of the muffler are 2.5" and go over the axle, but the 2.5" should be plenty large enough. All bends are mandrel bent.
It just seems that these mufflers create a lot of backpressure to allow a leak right there. It mainly happens while I'm accelerating kinda slowly or starting the incline of a steep hill. Get on it full throttle, and I can't tell if the leak noise is prominent or not, I just know it sounds good and loud (almost sounds like the leak goes away during full throttle) I know when you look at their design, it looks obvious, but their people say they do not restrict.
So, might be going with Dynatech Splitflows instead.
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10-01-2012, 01:59 PM
#16
Thanks guys. Going to be a while before it goes to paint. Running low on the expendable funds right now.
Had it tuned last week. Pulled 380/359 on a Mustang dyno, which made up my mind that I will be swapping out the Spintechs for some Borla XR-1s as soon as money allows me to.
Had it tuned last week. Pulled 380/359 on a Mustang dyno, which made up my mind that I will be swapping out the Spintechs for some Borla XR-1s as soon as money allows me to.
