1962 Impala LQ4/700r4: EDIT now going LS2/4L60e
05-21-2012, 02:42 PM
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1962 Impala LQ4/700r4: EDIT now going LS2/4L60e Well, I wasn't going to make a thread for this until I got the car moved, but I have been doing lots of research and figured I could use this thread to get a bunch of questions answered. This build is going to take a while because we are still in the process of collecting all of the parts, and have not really set any kind of deadline. This is just a project for me and the wife to work on when we have the time.
A little background. I am an Engine/Trans tech for a Cadillac dealer in Nashville, so I am not an amateur. I have been in this business for almost 8 years. I work on mostly GM stuff, but don't have a ton of experience in the LS1 department since I have worked for Saturn, Cadillac and GMC dealers most of my career.
Now on to the good stuff. Rachael and I are going to be swapping out her factory 283/ 2 speed powerglide combo in favor of an LQ4 setup that I recently aquired as payment for a job I am working on. The motor has been disassembled as you can see in the pictures.
A lot of the parts that we are going to be using again have already been cleaned. We are going to try to use all the truck accessories, including the water pump, but we are undecided as to what kind of intake/fuel rail/injector combo we should go with. This car is going to be setup as a cruiser, nothing real powerful. If there are a few parts that could be had for cheap enough that we are going to have to buy anyways, like the intake manifold, then we may upgrade those.
First question, is there a big enough difference between the LS2 intake vs. LS1 intake to justify upgrading this? Or will the LS1 intake be plenty for this motor. I know the LS1/6 intake was used on a 5.7L and the LS2 was used on a 6.0L, but do we have to use the LS2 intake since this motor is also a 6.0?
Second question, Fuel Rail/Injectors. I know that the part numbers are different, but does it matter what injectors we go with?
I am sure there are going to be more questions, but I am just going to post those up as we go. I already have a large parts list of stuff to purchase for this rebuild. Just trying to make sure we are getting the correct stuff to make this all work.
James
A little background. I am an Engine/Trans tech for a Cadillac dealer in Nashville, so I am not an amateur. I have been in this business for almost 8 years. I work on mostly GM stuff, but don't have a ton of experience in the LS1 department since I have worked for Saturn, Cadillac and GMC dealers most of my career.
Now on to the good stuff. Rachael and I are going to be swapping out her factory 283/ 2 speed powerglide combo in favor of an LQ4 setup that I recently aquired as payment for a job I am working on. The motor has been disassembled as you can see in the pictures.
A lot of the parts that we are going to be using again have already been cleaned. We are going to try to use all the truck accessories, including the water pump, but we are undecided as to what kind of intake/fuel rail/injector combo we should go with. This car is going to be setup as a cruiser, nothing real powerful. If there are a few parts that could be had for cheap enough that we are going to have to buy anyways, like the intake manifold, then we may upgrade those.
First question, is there a big enough difference between the LS2 intake vs. LS1 intake to justify upgrading this? Or will the LS1 intake be plenty for this motor. I know the LS1/6 intake was used on a 5.7L and the LS2 was used on a 6.0L, but do we have to use the LS2 intake since this motor is also a 6.0?
Second question, Fuel Rail/Injectors. I know that the part numbers are different, but does it matter what injectors we go with?
I am sure there are going to be more questions, but I am just going to post those up as we go. I already have a large parts list of stuff to purchase for this rebuild. Just trying to make sure we are getting the correct stuff to make this all work.
James
Last edited by TypeSL2; 10-27-2012 at 10:46 AM.
06-03-2012, 12:35 PM
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Well, we now have or have on the way, LS1 DBC TB, LS1 MAF sensor, starter, LS1 fuel rail and injectors, LS1 intake, 98 pcm and harness and some flanges for the exhaust cut from truck catalytic converters. Still have a long list of stuff to get, but we are gathering up stuff rather quickly. We should be getting the gasket set soon so we can get the motor put back together and all in one place in the garage. It is currently scattered all over the floor of the garage.
James
James
Last edited by TypeSL2; 06-03-2012 at 01:02 PM.
06-03-2012, 02:01 PM
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We haven't quite decided yet, but I have been given a fuel pump from an '07 Trailblazer SS. I am going to see what it will take to modify our tank to fit that pump and then make our own lines from the tank to the fuel rail. All gonna depend on the size of our tank though. I haven't had a chance to get the car to our house yet. Tank removal is on top of the list though. Gotta get rid of that 10 year old gas.
James
James
06-06-2012, 04:11 PM
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Still haven't moved the car, but the parts list keeps stacking up. I bought all the gaskets, bolts, seals, oil pump, lifters, and F-Body Oil pan yesterday. Should be shipping in soon. Then it's time to build the motor and get the garage cleaned up and ready for the Impala to come home. Pics to come when everything gets in.
James
James
06-17-2012, 11:25 AM
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Here's the only new pic I have at the moment. We got the block completely cleaned up and painted. I think it turned out great. We used the Engine Enamel Primer, Paint and Clear. Hoping that this holds up better than the other paint jobs I have done. I took my time on this one and cleaned everything up very well before it got paint.
We have started the reassembly, but it is a slow moving process. Been kinda busy this weekend. Hoping to have the motor assembled this week. I have some more stuff to clean up though because I didn't realize how good the block and valve covers look. It is going to make everything else look terrible. More pics to come.
James
We have started the reassembly, but it is a slow moving process. Been kinda busy this weekend. Hoping to have the motor assembled this week. I have some more stuff to clean up though because I didn't realize how good the block and valve covers look. It is going to make everything else look terrible. More pics to come.
James
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06-29-2012, 08:18 PM
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As promised, more recent pics.
This isn't a pic of our exact starter, but just a before pic of one that looked pretty close to what I started with. Ours had a little bit more rust on it though.
This is what I ended up with after a little time with a wire wheel and some spray paint. Used engine enamel paint and clearcoat to keep it from rusting up again.
Crappy pic of how the engine currently sits. Hopefully Sunday we will get the rest of the pistons installed and install our new oil pan. Then we can flip the motor and work on the top end of things.
Another crappy pic, but here you can see the LS1 intake and the harness as well as most of the boxes that have the parts for this motor. As you can kinda see, there is literally no room in our 2 car garage to put her car in there. That is the only thing holding us up from getting the car here.
I have started on stripping the harness of the non-essentials, like the rear O2 sensors, EGR, and Purge Solenoid. I will get some more pics of that when I get it cleaned up a bit more. It looks pretty bad right now.
James
This isn't a pic of our exact starter, but just a before pic of one that looked pretty close to what I started with. Ours had a little bit more rust on it though.
This is what I ended up with after a little time with a wire wheel and some spray paint. Used engine enamel paint and clearcoat to keep it from rusting up again.
Crappy pic of how the engine currently sits. Hopefully Sunday we will get the rest of the pistons installed and install our new oil pan. Then we can flip the motor and work on the top end of things.
Another crappy pic, but here you can see the LS1 intake and the harness as well as most of the boxes that have the parts for this motor. As you can kinda see, there is literally no room in our 2 car garage to put her car in there. That is the only thing holding us up from getting the car here.
I have started on stripping the harness of the non-essentials, like the rear O2 sensors, EGR, and Purge Solenoid. I will get some more pics of that when I get it cleaned up a bit more. It looks pretty bad right now.
James
06-30-2012, 08:28 AM
#9
Well, we now have or have on the way, LS1 DBC TB, LS1 MAF sensor, starter, LS1 fuel rail and injectors, LS1 intake, 98 pcm and harness and some flanges for the exhaust cut from truck catalytic converters. Still have a long list of stuff to get, but we are gathering up stuff rather quickly. We should be getting the gasket set soon so we can get the motor put back together and all in one place in the garage. It is currently scattered all over the floor of the garage.
James
James
T,
10-03-2012, 06:39 PM
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Just a little update. The car will finally find her way into our garage this weekend. Hopefully on Saturday. I am going to get some pics obviously. Also, motor is back together. The wife really busted butt on it and got it knocked out pretty quickly. She is really loving getting her motor together.
James
James
10-17-2012, 02:24 PM
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So far so good, James. I wish I could my wife to get her hands dirty. I cant even get her to get the rat **** out of my '64. I need a mask, I cant wear latex gloves because I'm allergic, blah, blah ,blah. I cant seem to motivate her. Any advice??? She does bring me beers though
10-27-2012, 10:35 AM
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Yea, I am a pretty lucky guy. I haven't had a chance to get the LS2 home yet, but we are hoping to get it to the house sometime next week. Then we will start the teardown of the 2 motors and swap all the parts over. Progress is a bit slow because I am also working on my own car. Not an exciting car like the Impala, but still a big project of mine that I am taking a lot of pride in.
edit: I just noticed I never posted about the LS2 in here. Well, shortly after the wife finished building the LQ4, I acquired a very low mileage LS2 as payment for some side work. She wasn't too happy about it at first because she already built the LQ4, but after a few days of discussion, we realized that the LS2 was too good a deal to pass up. So we are going to be swapping the new parts from the LQ4 to the LS2 and using that in the swap. I have also acquired a low mileage 4L60e transmission through my work. It is going to be a much easier swap with the LS2/4L60e than the LQ4/700r4. Of course, there will be updates soon.
James
edit: I just noticed I never posted about the LS2 in here. Well, shortly after the wife finished building the LQ4, I acquired a very low mileage LS2 as payment for some side work. She wasn't too happy about it at first because she already built the LQ4, but after a few days of discussion, we realized that the LS2 was too good a deal to pass up. So we are going to be swapping the new parts from the LQ4 to the LS2 and using that in the swap. I have also acquired a low mileage 4L60e transmission through my work. It is going to be a much easier swap with the LS2/4L60e than the LQ4/700r4. Of course, there will be updates soon.
James
Last edited by TypeSL2; 10-27-2012 at 10:41 AM.
10-29-2012, 01:11 AM
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I just saw that you received an LQ4 for some random job you were working on....is this true? Lets see this car! I'm gonna subscribe to this awesomeness goin on in here I like your style sir.
10-29-2012, 10:43 AM
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Actually, yes. I did acquire an LQ4 and an LS2 for side work. We are gonna use the LS2 now. I will update soon. Should he getting the engine to the house this week.
James
James
03-02-2013, 09:58 AM
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Time for the 4 month update. The car made it to the house in Oct.
This is where she is currently sitting. It is a very tight fit. We now have an 8' work bench in the back of the garage that makes getting this car in there quite a chore. No worries though. Totally worth keeping her out of the weather. We haven't done much to her. Parts still need to be swapped from the LQ to the LS.
She started tearing stuff out of the engine bay though. Getting prepped for engine removal. When I get the other car I am working on out of the way, she will be pulling the motor and trans out of her car. I love my wife.
How the car currently sits.
I wish I had more pictures of my baby in action, but I was busy working on my side job. She took off the alternator, power steering pump, distributor, water pump pulley with cooling fan, radiator shroud and radiator. There may be some things I am forgetting, but I will get a picture of the pile of parts later. I will update this when she gets the motor pulled.
James
This is where she is currently sitting. It is a very tight fit. We now have an 8' work bench in the back of the garage that makes getting this car in there quite a chore. No worries though. Totally worth keeping her out of the weather. We haven't done much to her. Parts still need to be swapped from the LQ to the LS.
She started tearing stuff out of the engine bay though. Getting prepped for engine removal. When I get the other car I am working on out of the way, she will be pulling the motor and trans out of her car. I love my wife.
How the car currently sits.
I wish I had more pictures of my baby in action, but I was busy working on my side job. She took off the alternator, power steering pump, distributor, water pump pulley with cooling fan, radiator shroud and radiator. There may be some things I am forgetting, but I will get a picture of the pile of parts later. I will update this when she gets the motor pulled.
James
