machineica

Hello Everyone,

(Short intro) My name is Michael Rock, I currently reside in Morgan City, La and i am in the process of my first LS build and swap into my 69 camaro. I am no stranger to engine swaps, have done quite a bit in the past on many different makes and models.
So no stranger to mechanical issues, wiring harness blues and the ever so present, oh i didnt think about that. I am a lover of all that squish bang suck blow. If it runs or wont cost too much to make run. Im in it.

Anyway to the nitty gritty and oily bits, And BTW i take awful pictures cause i cant keep still.

Here she is a nice specimen, 1969 in black and painted on white stripes, Original V8 car wearing poser ss emblems, Might change them to BS.... Anyway let the pictures commence.







So here she is the last day she is old school SBC powered.

machineica

So... whats wrong with the engine? OR hey! What did it have before?

Heres the Rundown.

Engine: 1986 4 bolt main truck block, bored and stroked to 383ci featuring SCAT rotating assembly, Edelbrock stroker top end with E-tec heads, flat tappet cam and a 750cfm carb. 1.5:1 roller rockers.Flowmaster Ceramic headers! WhOOO





Engine was.... not correctly assembled, Anyway it tapped like crazy and had a mean lope, was told it was the flat tappet cam... and didnt really make any power... well thats what my butt dyno told me. I decided to tear it down anyway and found improperly installed roller rockers, half of the bolts on the engine loose, or non torqued, Cam lobes wiped out on cyl 7 and 3. Valves definately too tight.... Heads turned out ok but by the time i made it that far i was already enamored with the idea for the LS swap.

Trans: Tremec TKO600 with the horrible im not going into 2nd or third unless you drop revs or stop. and a nice aluminum mount setup from x.... something. i forgot.

machineica

So heres the contender, A 1999 LQ4 from a Chevy 2500. I made a deal for $500 and had to finish pulling it myself. Was halfway pulled when i got there. Trans was already gone and wiring was kinda hacked up.

Behold! a prime 255,000 mile example!





Then i hit up a few craigslist ads for some random parts, I went a little overboard.





Ended up with alot of extras. including an Ls1 block that is needing a sleeve or a trash can, stupid .006 bore tolerance barely has a scratch in the bore.... anyway im going iron block nomatter what.

machineica

So, lets go over the build plans, details and goals... what i need. Budget 3k. Plans to buy used as much a possible. not above Ebay, Craigslist, Letgo, Junkyards, bartering , Swap meets!

Engine Block Goal:

• Lq4 or Lq9 Purchased! 1999 LQ4. 500$

Compression ratio ​​​:

• 10.5:1 to 11.5:1 Depending on the final parts i decide to go with i will try to build to suit my taste at the time.

Bore :

• Bore over to freshen up if needed. machine shop said bores were clean but slightly out of round. Makes sense 255k+ miles. So when pistons were ordered went 4.033 or so. whatever the recommended piston callout was.

Bearings: King XP, ACL, Clevite?

• Not Purchased yet. Leaning towards King XP tri metal tho....

Mounting:

• Purchased! Ebay LS swap mounts for 3 bolt chevy pads.

Top End Goals:

Heads 317 aluminum? CNC Ported?

• Purchased 2 sets of 317 heads for 200$.
• Will send to texas speed soon! Need to decide if i need PRC stage 1 or PRC stage 2.5 for $200 extra for 5-7hp......

Decent Pushrods

• Not Yet Purchased.

Intake Manifold, TBSS, LSX fast 102?

• Purchased! Used Atomic airforce 2702 with a few miles on it for 670$ shipped.

Throttle Body, Fast 102mm

• Purchased! Fast 102mm for 50$ from a friend! booyah

Head Gaskets

• Not yet Purchased, MLS probably. 4.030+ sized.

Camshaft Goal: 54-454-11 Comp Cams LSR

• Not yet purchased. Still stressing over details and other cams.

Bottom End Goals:

Crankshaft

• Already have decent crank. Will use factory crank Crank mic'd right on the money. Has extended crank hub tho....

Rods Factory pressed rods or Gen IV Rods?

• Purchased! Craigslisted gen IV rods... in fact i have 4+ sets i picked up for 100$

Pistons LQ9 factory flat tops? Budget Forged?

• Purchased! Wiseco PTS523A3 4.030 +4cc domed. payed 400$ (Gotta do something about those 72cc heads lol. yes... i know they can be shaved.)

Transmission:

• Tremec TKO600

Clutch: Reuse already owned ACT 11"?

• Will need to receive McLeod 460537 flywheel clutch and check bolt patterns.

Syncos: THE ISSUE OF THE PAST FEW YEARS!

• Purchased Liberty Gears TKO positive shift kit! 350$ includes carbon fiber lined syncros, Brass shift pads for the forks, hardened shift rod and extended shift selector plus other stuff. Will enable shifts up to 8500 rpm and allows gearset to slow down faster so the syncros will allow you to actually shift under power! amazing!

Flywheel

• Not yet purched, soon tho. McLeod 460537 due to my extended truck crank.

Mounting:

• Already owned X-Factor Tremec mount Kit.

machineica

Random Pics depository

SNOWPOCALYPSE!




Stable Mates! One is faster than the other! need to fix this!!!




Ebay Steal!




Considering for the Camaro..... ZO6 Wheels, Craigslist 300$

machineica

So as far as transmission is concerned a plan is in the works for a hydraulic conversion on the cheap.

So far parts list is as follows.

Clutch master Cylinder mounting:

• Speedtech Performance USA Clutch Master Cylinder Brackets ATS80002 (79.00 on summit racing with heim joint)

OR

• Detroit Speed Clutch Master Cylinder Mounting Brackets 070424 (30.00 on summit racing)

Clutch Master Cylinder:

• Dorman Clutch Master Cylinders CM39838 (42.97 on Summit)

OR

• Dorman Clutch Master Cylinders CM350014 (51.97 on Summit)

Clutch hose adaptor:

• Russell Clutch Adapter Fittings 641001 (21.97 on Summit)

Clutch Hose:

• -4an hose from work probably....

Slave Cylinder:

• Howe Slave Cylinders 829 (55.97 on Summit)

Bracket:

• Fabricate!

machineica

Thanks to all the guys help on the mating old school trans to ls motor thread. If it wasent for this thread i'd be stuck as hell.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...-ls-motor.html

cula8r

iTrader: (2)

Hey Michael, great candidate to start with although I'm a little bias to your choice of vehicles.
Heck even the engine selection!www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=382526


The resemblance is uncanny.

These are merely my considerations that I went with, though everyone has their preferences.
I decided to add LS3 heads right out of the box that flow 316cfm and enable me to grow with should I decide to alter things down the road, plus I can recoup some funds selling the 317 heads.

Here's a link that helped me pick out the cam with this head combo but I believe your intake is cathedral port where as I invested in the LS3 combo that can be had for a decent buck in the classifieds here on LS1tech.
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-...gine-cam-test/

Anyway the train has left the station.....so keepa train a rollin.

Simon

machineica

Thanks Simon, yeah i looked into the ls3 but everyone around me treats them like gold and by the time i consider machine work it only adds up.

What cam you thinking about? I was recently looking at the cam motion titan series cam.

Will be starting on my block assembly when i get home!

Michael Rock

Doug G

Some of those 1st Gen diehards gasp at an LS swap....lol....carry on sir

cula8r

iTrader: (2)

I will be using Comp's 54-426-11 cam. It show adequete numbers from the dyno chart for what I'm looking for. Mike, keep in mind that I'm still in the exploratory/ accumilating stage since I already have a potent SBC and Muncie in my car running perfectly fine. Oh the relentless pursuit of perfection & speed.
Some things to consider when choosing your cam is the intake you're using, I believe it requires a larger throttle body than the standard 90mm, keep that in mind when selecting the cam for optimum results. All these variables come into play.

machineica

Updated parts list reflecting the recent purchase of the 102mm throttle body.

SO what i really need to focus on is bearings, gasket set, oil pump and get the bottom end buttoned up.

cula8r

iTrader: (2)

I haven't gotten that far to make recommendations but I would check out these guys, they're a sponsor on here and seem very helpful with stuff.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...-rpmspeed.html

Some of my considerations:
For pistons I'm on the fence whether to use forged or hypereutectic myself.......for forged try these guys. Each have their pros & cons for NA, are you using any power adders then forged?
http://racetecpistons.com/pages/autotec.php

For bearings, they make some.002 undersize if you plan on re-sizing the rods, new bolts, then I think you're good for 5- 600HP with the stockers.

Oil pump, melling is the standard, like SBC's I don't think the LS platform have problems but at higher rpms maybe a 10% increase in pressure or more?
Some of the others on here might wanna chime in who are more experienced.

Head gaskets.....I was told to use the GM LS9 ones.

PS- decide what you're doing with the heads before you pick the cam.

machineica

Heads will be sent to texas speed. I just need to decide to spend the extra or not for the bigger valves which will definitely effect my piston to valve clearance.

When i get home imma assemble the bottom end and put another set of stock 317s on with a high lift cam i already have to get some measurements to start with.
​​​​​​
Already baught manley forged pistons. I dont really spray but if i decided to ill be ready. Especially since the intake i baught has the bungs in it for nos.

machineica

if anyone that dosent already know. Just posting my source for the TKO dosent like to shift fix. Major thanks to Liberty Gears.

Michael Rock

douglee25

In for the build!

machineica

"Ok! Stop spending money on the top end when you have a block to build!" - my wife

Michael Rock

machineica

Coming very soon. Tremec TKO Carbon blocker install!



Keep posted!

cula8r

iTrader: (2)

Michael, when you get to the point of the clutch, can you take a few photo's of the flywheel, I'm just curious to see what make's the .400 crank protrusion different on it. I'm guessing it has a deeper recess for the crank flange. Thanks Simon.

machineica

Roger that, im curious myself. will order it soon, had to let funds catch back up.