Warren,

I am sorry to say that I am postponing my plans to send the trans off to Liberty. I have some events that I want to attend in May and June and I don't want to have the car down for 3-4 weeks. Might have to wait another year and do it over the winter. Had I known sooner that Liberty can do this, I would have pulled the trans months ago.

Andrew

 

Hi Andrew:

I have also been closely following your build and have started my own LS1/4l60e install into a '72 Chevelle convertible. I am using the Edelbrock system and the Autokraft pan and when I tried a test fit everything there were a couple of issues which I hope you could opine on.

First, while the motor mounts and engine plates aligned correctly and the engine went in ok, on the drivers side the #1 header pipe hits the x-member and will not bolt in as the engine currently sits. It seems that I need to shim the drivers side up a little, say 3/16" to 1/2" to clear.

Second, the header comes in contact with the remote filter adapter, specifically the small plate that covers the access holes for the pressure sending unit, etc. I removed the cover plate from the pan I removed and bolted in on the new pan.

And lastly, since the f body acc. don't work too well in this application (alt. issues) I was wondering if you had any opinion on the corvette setup you have and whether you ever explored the low pass side location for the alt. which would be a cost effective solution as opposed to the big spendy corvette stuff.

Since you have the same setup, any info would be helpful. Much thanks.
Chris

 

Chris, I cannot speak for Andrew, but I have the same setup. I have similar issues but to a less degree. One driver side header tube is about a 1/2 a mm away from the x-member. I feel that sometimes it does hid. I attributed this to frame sag in a 37 year old vehicle. I also have a hair of clearance to the steering shaft. It seems more people are having these issues and I now think the design should be changed.

I also had the oil block off plate hit the tubes. I tried to grind it down but there just isnt room. I solved it by changing to a block off plate with no sender provision. Works great.

I might start a thread about this.

 

Chris,

I too had a similar problem with the #1 header tube. Ultimately the problem was solved because I had to raise the rear of the transmission in order to correct my driveline angles. I would double check those if I was you. A-bodies tend to have driveline problems when they are lowered, and most are. Once the trans is raised, the #1 header clearance is no longer an issue.

I solved the block off plate issue by using a cover without a sender.

As for accessories, I always liked the Corvette setup. It's really not that expensive to piece together. GM Performance parts has a kit that includes everything. I pieced mine together with part numbers that I found in the sticky of this forum. The alternator is the most expensive part. I got mine from Advanced Auto, online. I am not familiar with the mounting solution to put the alternator low on the passenger side. I tend to stay away from non OEM accessory drive solutions.

Hope all that helped.

Andrew

 

Thanks Andrew for the info. I haven't checked the driveline angles and I will but I am not sure how much more I can raise it. I think the trans is hitting the tunnel or is very close at this point. I know with some of the other mounts e.g. BRP, the trans tunnel needs to be massaged but I haven't heard of this with the Edelbrock kit.
Could I be suffering from frame sag? Also, where did you get your block you mentioned for the Autodraft pan? Thanks.

Chris

 

The tunnel does not need to be massaged with the Edelbrock mounts, since the position the engine in exactly the same location as a traditional SBC or BBC. This issue is common with all engine and transmission combination in the a-bodies. It's sort of a dirty little secret that no one wants to talk about. People just live with the high speed vibration that results from incorrect driveline angles when the cars are lowered.

The block off plate came off the L92 pan that was originally on my engine. I actually had to grind on it a bit, but not much. The clearance is tight, but there is an air gap. I also used stock MLS exhaust gaskets. Using the thicker Edelbrock gaskets will give you more clearance between the block and the headers.


Andrew

 

Awsome build!!! I was wondering if you can help me with a little thing here:

About this Montecarlo gas pedal you are using, do you know if any DBW LS gas pedal will work with any DBW LS engine? I am looking for a gas pedal for my 6.0L truck engine, and I was wondering if I can use one of this gas pedals with that engine. FYI: I am using stock truck computer and throtle body. Thanks.

 

Andrew:

I finally got the header and oil filter adapter conflict resolved by shimming the drivers side of the motor about 3/16" of an inch and now the adapter just barely touches the header so a small relief in the pipe or something will be easy to do.

I then installed the x-member and the original tranny mount from the TH350 and it seemed to go in ok and the bracket seemed to bolt right in, although the frame bolt holes were off. I then tried to install the driveshaft and it is at least 1" or more long, depending on how much you engage the yoke.

I thought the whole idea of the Edelbrock kit was to place the motor in essentially the same location as the original motor and things like the driveshaft and x-member, and the shift linkage which I haven't tried yet, were supposed to fit? It's making me start to wonder if the exhaust is going to fit also?

What was your expreience with these issues? Thanks.

Chris

 

The position of the engine was critical for me. I have a custom shifter "hump" and I wanted to make sure that the transmission would line up in exactly the right spot. I had no issues at all with the Edelbrock mounts in that respect. When I installed the engine for the first time, the shifter came up in exactly the same location as it did with my previous engine.

Drove to the track on Tuesday evening. Didn't make any adjustments to the car at the track. Ran a 12.57@112 and a 12.52@112, then drove home.

Andrew

 

I believe the earlier DBW engines used a different pedal than the newer engines like I am using. My ECU does not use a seperate pedal control module. The harness has a plug that goes directly to the pedal. I don't believe that was the case with earlier engines.

Andrew

 

I got this in the mail today

I couldn't figure out what the tube was from... i didnt remember buying anything online recently, i was surprized when i opened it. Thanks for the rendering Andrew it made my day

 

Enjoy. Glad you like it. I owed that to you for
something from way back!!! Better late than never :-)

Andrew

 

Andrew....
All I can say is...
WOW

 

Andrew

The car came out great...congrats.

 

Thanks Guys. I really appreciate the kind words. The car is currently in storage because I moved to Memphis 2 weeks ago. Its at my friend Brian's house. He is the guy that did the body work and the paint on the car. I am thinking about having him do a fresh pain job and maybe putting the car up for sale in the spring. Not sure yet.

Andrew

 

nice build

 

Hello everyone. I really don't have a whole lot to report with this build. For now it is done. I had some changes in my life recently. All for the better. I am no longer living in KY, but in Memphis. With my move, a lack of space, and money, I had to store the car. It's currently living a quiet life in Lincoln, NE, with my friend Brian, who painted the car. If things go according to plan I hope to be driving the car around Kentucky this summer, a lot!!! Stay tuned for any developments on that.

One thing I did want to mention about my engine combination. The valve train is a little bit noisy. I have done some research and it appears that the LS7 cam has a slightly smaller base circle than the L92 cam. In retrospect, I should have gotten push rods that are a hair longer. I know several people have been doing similar a combination of parts, so I wanted to pass along my thoughts. If anyone is in the process of installing an LS7 cam, double check all the measurements and see if I am correct. The fix is simple and I plan on doing it in the spring.

Andrew

 

Thanks Andrew for taking the time to document this swap.

Just curious...

I have a 69 Chevelle with a 509 (502 .030+) with AFR heads, solid roller, etc. etc, and a TKO600. I see that you also had a EFI'd 502. What's your thoughts on the new motor vs the 502 overall?

Thanks
Vince

 

Vince,

Overall I am very pleased with the swap. The swap completely changed the character of the car. It is much more like a modern car now. The drivability is amazing. Really amazing. I can creep in traffic at 5 mph without even touching the gas. The computer modulates the DBW throttle and keeps the engine from stalling. The power comes on instantly and I can break the tires loose from a 10mph roll, just like I used to with the big block. The power is down a little compared to my 502, but I do not miss it at all. With the 502 the car used to trap around 115-116, now it traps about 112-113. The handling is also much improved since I took about 300 pounds off the nose of the car. I am very, very pleased with the swap. No regrets whatsoever!

Andrew

 

Andrew, did your 502 have any work done to it? 115-116 is pretty good for a stock 502. I was actually thinking about putting that commander 950 on my 502, but thinking if I'm going to go through with that, maybe an LS-based swap may be more cost effective after considering the salvage value of my 502.