V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Just a real quick update, here is one picture of each of the stages that it went through... (Dig the 'cutting-edge high-tech spray booth environment'!)

Have it all covered & ready to be sprayed:


GTA engine bay - with a good coat of sealer applied:


GTA engine bay - I sure like it when the color is applied...


GTA engine bay in it's final form with the clear coat - oooohh, it's all shiny!!


It actually does have me concerned, that the engine bay is going to "show up" the rest of the car, but I guess I should have thought of that before it was done. (Guess I figured that it could be matched a bit more closely...)

I'll get the masking off in the next few days & (hopefully pretty soon now! ) start putting it all back together!

It really does look like you could stick your hand into it, about wrist-deep...

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Finally had a little bit of time to do that... Hope that this one looks OK.

(Haven't had a lot of time to work on the car this week, but hopefully soon - I only have 67 days to my deadline...)

onefastrx7turbo

iTrader: (5)

Nice. Im having Patrick G spec me out a cam. He's a really nice, really knowledgeable guy. Anyhow, Cmp cams is messing with some VVT stuff right now. They have a cam which will reach you into the 500hp range, and keeping the VVT.....

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Yeah, this whole project is built around keeping the VVT- which looks like it might present a couple of challenges regarding fitment in the car...

And I've already been in touch with Comp about their VVT cams, & gotten a recommendation - just don't have any extra coin to throw at the car right now...

van454

iTrader: (1)

Lookin great. Good to see some more progress. I am fitting C5 brakes to mine atm, but it's too damn hot here for me to do any more (47 degrees C).

subtlez28

iTrader: (15)

Right, they made 499 hp in this months GM High Tech w a comp cam and headers. The L92 is otherwise stock, down to the truck intake!!

nycblazer

can i ask you how are you gonna run this engine, with a stock engine harness for the l92 and factory e38 2 plug ecm?
or did you get someone to make your engine harness to connect to your factory guages?

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

YOWWW... That's just a bit less than 117* F... I just can't imagine why you're not out there finishing it up...

Sure! I've already bought both the stock L92 engine harness for the l92 and factory E38 2 plug ecm. I'm planning on modifying the harness to work with the GTA's wiring, & John at Speartech will be programming the ECM. (If it wasn't a VVT engine, I'd most-likely just buy HPTuners & learn to do it myself, but the VVT adds another whole layer of "fun" to the equation, so I think I'll wait until there's a bit more knowledge out there about it...)

As an update, I've gotten a couple of little things put back onto the car that were removed for paint, & gotten the clutch master cylinder mostly mounted as well. I'll probably end up doing "the Justin mod" & routing the braided line through the passenger compartment - between exhaust, fuel & that clutch master cyl. line, it looks like it would be pretty crowded right there.

Also, I have another package from Summit that should be arriving tomorrow - nothing too exciting, just some sound-deadener material & the last fittings that I need to finish the fuel system up. It'll be nice to have at least *one* sub-system completed, I'm looking forward to that...

Finally, I had one of my F-buds take a couple of my extra parts to a swap meet this last weekend. Everything sold (except for one little speaker box that I can't seem to get rid of) & he sold enough of his stuff so that he could buy the complete StealthRam intake setup that I had, which means that I can finally get some of the other stuff that's been holding me back! (Things like the flanges for the headers, the MAF & O2 sensors, ball joints for the brake swap, etc.)

Just need to sit back & make a list of the last bit of stuff that I still need...

EDIT: 65 days to my self-imposed deadline...

van454

iTrader: (1)

Good stuff, and yeah it was very hot, we had MASSIVE bushfires about 20kms from here, 170 odd people killed. On a lighter note, I got my car back together and the C5 brakes are great

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

That's NUTS man, I'd imagine that 20kms was just a bit close for your liking...

A few years ago I was on a biz trip to Albuquerque when they had a series of fires in a park/ravine right near the center of town. Spent a good part of one night at a co-worker's house just in case it was necessary to throw his most important stuff into the back of a truck & get the heck out of there...

EDIT: Found something kinda cool related to those bushfires...

Too cool. I'm going to go out tonight in just a little bit & buy new ball joints so that I can install the Baer brake setup that I've gotten...

But first, it's time for my latest dumb question - I'm getting ready to tap for the mechanical oil pressure gauge that I just bought, but before I do, I want to make sure that I'm using the correct tap.

Based on the searching that I did just a bit ago, it looks like most people are tapping the oil pan cover/bypass cover piece (the one over the oil filter) using a 1/8" NPT tap. The tap that I have is labeled '1/8 - 27' & seems to have a fairly fine thread pitch. Is this the same thing, or do I need to go out & get another tap?

Thanks all.

iansane

Easiest way to check that is to place the threads of the OP sensor against the threads of the tap and see if they fit together. If they're tight, it's probably the same threads.

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Yeah, I've done that (& it looked really close), but I'm not thrilled about placing a bet on a "best guess" - especially with a Harbor Freight tap & die set!!

I rather imagine that there's someone on here who would know for sure (I'm hoping so, anyway).

nycblazer

just letting you know that EFILIVE is a programmer something like HPTUNERS but EFILIVE has been talking about VVT stuff for programming even AFM/DOD

sinisterC4

what did comp cams say. I have been trying to contact them for a couple days and cant get an answer. did they give you prices.

Any way ...subscribed.. I am doing a swap in a c4 using a ly6. So all this will be helpful to me.

camaroIroc

iTrader: (1)

I got one thing to say, "Wheres mine"? lol

Great job bro.

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Hey, thanks for the interest guys. Let me catch up again here...

Yeah, that's definitely good to know about, but I don't think that I'll be getting it any time soon - Even while I'm looking for work I have too many things to keep me busy. I'm simply not able right now to devote the time that's necessary to learn how to tune an engine - especially one that's equipped with a feature (VVT) that very few people have good, empirical knowledge of.

And I can't afford to buy this engine a second time!

Well, I submitted the cam request form with all of the data filled out, & a couple of days later received a response via email with a suggested cam - interestingly enough, it was the same one that I'd picked out for myself.

THAT part wasn't bad - but in my request form I specifically asked for tuning information, so that John at Speartech could incorporate that into the ECM tune that he'll be doing for me. The drooling imbecile that wrote the email just responded with "I would suggest any reputable performance shops that are familiar with LS motors".

Ummm, NO Einstein, you just destroyed any credibility that you might've had... At this point in time, lot of good, knowledgeable LS shops are still going to be at the steep part of the learning curve when it comes to tuning VVT-equipped engines! (THIS is why I always suggest that people already have some good knowledge regarding cam specs & profiles before calling their help line - it just seems like they're not able to keep knowledgeable people around, & so you wind up getting info from someone who was hired three weeks ago, & is "throwing a dart" in order to pick a cam for ya... If you have that knowledge, then you can likely avoid getting a cam that's "70% right for you" & instead get one that's closer to "95% right"...)

Sorry to go off on that tangent there, but I had to vent a little bit... Regarding prices, I think that I figured that it would cost me about $1k for the parts to swap the new cam in... That's the cam (about $500 by itself IIRC), the cam phaser limiter kit, & the new springs.

Well, if you ever have any specific questions, fire away & I'll try to give ya the best info I can...

Hey, all it takes is money, tools, time, information & determination!! (NOT necessarily in that order - except for that first item...)

Awesome, thanks man. A couple of weeks ago I was out in the garage, trying to make progress on it - it's a little tougher to maintain motivation when you can see your breath... Feedback like that helps a bit.

Anyway, I'll include some updated info in my next post, should be up just a little bit later tonight...

sinisterC4

I have spent about a 2 hours on hold waiting during the last week to talk to some one there. I am undecided on keeping the vvt. I did contact mast motorsports and they just wanted to sell me a complete package with items i would not need...wasnt interested in that.sounds like at a 1k price it would be cheaper to do away with the vvt and have a better cam to boot. it will cost a lil less than 1k to convert to a ls3 type cam and have more cam choices.

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Well, it all depends on what you're wanting I guess. I REALLY like the ECM's ability to "auto-magically" advance or retard the camshaft's position in relation to the crank for better torque or HP at a certain RPM, depending on what's desired, OR as an additional tuning tool for better fuel economy, so it's worth it to me. Odds are that I won't be able to swap the cam out this year because of the cost, but I can live with that- I'm still going to have a better/more-efficient setup than I've ever had with this car... Besides, when I decided I wanted AFR heads for the original engine, I saved up for THREE years for them! This'll be nothin'!! (Also - a "better" cam? check out this link)

Anyway, on to the update I was planning before...

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

I have a bit of catching up to do, so I apologize if this gets long...

I decided to see if I could find a piece of metal thick enough that it would be worthwhile to drill & tap it with the '1/8 - 27' tap that I mentioned above. Bottom line is that while it looked really close, the oil pressure fitting did NOT want to thread into it. And unfortunately, the steel that I tapped into was harder than the fitting, & it looks like I might've pooched the threads on the fitting a little bit...

Aside from that, I was able to get a bit of time to work on the project in the last several days. One little "diversion" I made was to buy & install some sound-deadener material in the interior. One of the primary ways that I enjoy the car is to go out with my wife & a bunch of local F-body guys on cruises through the mountains. The last time I drove the car my wife asked me about some of the noise she heard. The majority of it was due to the new front springs I'd installed (which ALSO made the car ride like a lumber truck ), but some of it was exhaust, tire noise, etc. And since I enjoy it when my wife takes part in my car stuff, & I try to encourage her doing that, I decided that anything that made it more enjoyable for her was probably a worthwhile expenditure.

On the one hand, it kind of kills me to add any weight to the car (if there's any way to avoid it), but on the other hand, it's already made a noticeable difference with the interior acoustics. Before when you'd smack a panel, it would just echo, making the car sound like the inside of a 55-gallon barrel - now the sound just kind of dies away almost instantly. It's actually kinda cool for me too. (Best I can figure it, it only added about 9 lbs, which I can live with.) Here are a couple of "before" pictures:


After discussing it with the Summit sales guy, I decided that I'd buy the Summit-brand sound-deadener material rather than the Dynamat. I really haven't found that I've needed anything to keep the heat down, so a basic sound suppression mat would be fine - & if I can save a couple bucks when getting it, so much the better. Once I was able to get it unrolled (the weather was kind of cool that day, so it was kind of stiff until it sat in the sun for a bit), then it was pretty easy to cut it to fit with a razor, peel the backing & stick it to the panel. Here are the corresponding "after" pics:


As I said above, it's already made a noticeable difference in interior sound quality, & I expect that it'll only get better once I put the seats & carpet back in. It'll be interesting to see if the sound quality from the stereo shows significant improvement as well...

One other thing that quite a number of people have mentioned with third-gen F-body swaps is the clearance between the K-member & the LS-style oil pans. Or more accurately, the nearly-complete lack of it - some have stated that they're not even able to fit a piece of cardboard between the two! Because of this, some have started to notch the K-member, as shown in this thread. After giving it some thought, I decided to do it as well. (It's yet another unplanned step, taking yet more time, but I decided that it would probably increase the likelihood of a successful result, so...)

Considering the fact that people have done this swap without notching, I decided to keep my notch pretty modest - that would also leave a good bit of steel present, which should retain the majority of the K-member's original strength. A little bit of time slapping a cutting disc into my grinder, & a few minutes of flying sparks produced this:


Not a thing of great beauty, but it should be functional. To give a better sense of scale, here's the piece that was cut out (I included the mechanical pencil to provide a sense of scale):


Time will tell as to whether or not this is enough, but it should be a good start.

Finally, one last, "miscellaneous" note. I did decide to do the "Justin mod" & route the line for the clutch master cylinder inside the car. After seeing pictures of other cars like mine, & realizing how cramped that little area is going to be (with the driver's side header, fuel & brake lines, & that clutch line all trying to share the same space), I figured that there was just NO WAY that the clutch master cylinder line wasn't going to get "cooked" if I kept it outside of the passenger compartment. Routing it inside should help to extend the usable fluid "lifespan" as well. Here's the pic showing the clutch master cylinder inside the passenger compartment.


Once I have the bellhousing mocked up, I'll be able to precisely locate where I need to create the second pass-thru hole - which I'll create with this little sucker:


It's pretty neat, as it makes a really clean hole - more so than the 'drill with a hole saw bit' that I used to use... It's basically a three-piece setup - a threaded rod with a backing plate, a "cup" that fits over the threaded rod & sits against the backing plate, & the punch itself, which you see in the picture above. The way it works is that you slide the cup onto the rod (with the open portion of the cup facing away from the backing plate on the rod), & then put the remainder of the rod through a small hole in the sheetmetal that you're wanting to create the hole in. The punch then threads onto the rod with the sharp points facing toward the sheetmetal. The rod has a 1" nut on the end, & when you rotate that nut clockwise, it serves to pull the punch closer in to the cup & the backing plate. Once it's done, the punch fits neatly inside the cup, & you have the cleanly-cut hole you wanted with no distortion around it.

I actually have a little bit more that I wanted to include, but this has gotten plenty long enough as it is. As always, if anyone has any questions about this project, I'll do my best to answer them...

five7kid

The resulting clearance, in case anyone is interested.