JetMech442

iTrader: (1)

Thats a serious looking ride-I love the stance it has. and I have huge respect(jealousy) for guys that actually race their rides. I'll get there soon enough.

If I may make a suggestion-don't cut the whole trans tunnel out when you put the T56 in, If I could do it again, I would just splay it open and bend it back. Just my .02.

good luck.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

I order to keep from cutting the Trans Tunnel for a T56. You would have to drop the engine Trans very low in the chassic/engine bay and/or Move the Engine and Trans very far Forward. Other opion is to do the Tee cut (as JetMec suggests).. But Firewall/tunnel location might still be a problem. This is the method that BRP used in there early conversions.

Dropping it lower can be somewhat hard to do due to the combination of the Front Crossmember, power steering box and Front Accessories coming into play.

Not impossible to do. But might be more trouble that it is worth it. If you drop it enough so that you don't have to cut the Tunnel. You wil then create more ground clearance issues.

My 2 cents, BC

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the info. I plan to really give it a lot of thought when the time comes.

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

Well, the T56 has been fully disassembled. Pretty fun, as I have never done that before. The rebuild manual available online is great. Really walks you through step-by-step, only getting a little fuzzy near the end.

Attached are pictures of the disassembled trans (+ my helper).

All-in-all, the trans looked to be in pretty good shape. Almost all of the tapered bearings had excessive play, so those are all getting replaced. Also, it appears this is not the first time someone has been inside of this trans, as the skip-shift lever was missing...

I ordered the parts from thegearbox.com. I got the full, premium rebuild kit with the Timken bearings, then added the bronze shifter bushing and steel shift forks. In the end, I spent more than I had originally planned, but almost all of the internals will be new now. Pic attached of the new parts also...

Hopefully next week I get some time to start the re-assembly process!

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

Last night was one of those times where you work for 3+ hrs and seem to get nothing done. Literally, I only got the tapered bearing replaced on the input shaft. I thought I had all the tools I needed, but not quite. A trip to the store really eats up the time.

I did notice the tip of the input shaft. It looks like it was only riding on a part of the pilot bearing. See pic. Looking at some threads in the manual trans section, it appears this is common and people sometimes do not press the new pilot bearing all the way in to compensate for this.

Tonight, the goal is to start on the main shaft. Press everything off, then start the reassembly.

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

I have been making some good progress on the trans rebuild. Going together smoothly, but taking my time trying to make sure I get everything right. I really don't want to have to do this again.

Last night I noticed the slider/hub assembly seems to be worn pretty well. The tips don't even look like tips. I didn't think it was that bad until I compared it to the 5-6 slider/hub.

Attached is a picture of what they look like. Are they as bad as I think they are? Anyone with experience?

chuckd71

iTrader: (23)

Any progress lately?

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for checking!
I have been out of town for 3 weeks, so not so much. Finally got the T56 assembled, and when I went to test it on the bench I couldn't get it into 5th or 6th. Very frustrating!

I tore it back apart last night. I think the 5th/6th shift rail slipped out during assembly. Hopefully I will get it all back together this week.

Then, next step is to rebuild the motor.

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

Update: Finally got the transmission assembled correctly!!! I had to do it a number of times to get it right, but it is done and I am happy to have said I did it myself.

Next: tear down the motor and give it a freshening up.

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

Update!

My parent's came into town over the Thanksgiving holiday, and my Dad and I had some time to work out in the garage.

The engine is officially torn all down. Since I didn't know the history on this motor, but it had approximately 100K on it, I figured it was a good idea to put all new gaskets and check everything out while it was sitting on the engine stand.

Fortunately, it is all good news. All of the journals and bores check out on-spec. There was no abnormal wear on the cylinder wall, pistons, bearings, or anything else. I have already ordered and received the basic rebuild kit from Summit Racing ($420).

I must say, compared to the SBC (Gen 1) that I have built in the past, the LS series of motors is certainly in a different league. I was very impressed.

Attached are a couple tear-down pictures (including my helper!)

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

I do have a couple questions for those of you who have done this before.

1st question:
I believe this is the PCV hoses (in the pictures). These hoses are all cracked and torn up. Also, the whole factory setup for these hoses does not look that appealing to me.

So - what did you do with yours? Remove/plug and go with a breather somewhere? Just replace back to factory? I am interested in what you did.

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

2nd question:

Perhaps I removed them wrong - but when I pulled on the rubber grommets that are above the knock sensors, it appears the wires broke / pulled out. See the attached pics.

Did this happen to anyone else? I am thinking I will try to go to the junkyard and see if I can get a whole new knock sensor harness. Any other suggestions?

chuckd71

iTrader: (23)

PCV is something I'm struggling with as well. There are plenty of diagrams on this site someone made in MS paint (or similar) that might be helpful for your setup.
About the knock sensors, looks like you busted them. If you put a few drops of oil on the wire it'll lube it up then you can slide the grommets up the wire. To get the sensors plugs themselves you use a long nose plier and squeeze the narrow sides of the base. Having learned the above the hard way I picked up a new wiring harness from the yard. I got my racetronix ls3 relocation harness in the mail so I don't think I'll be needing the wiring from my ls1. I think I paid $15 or so for it.

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

Good lookin build..glad the Trans parts helped out.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

I have converted mine to a LS6 valley cover PCV system. then you can do away with the old system. plug the back ports, you will only need the old fresh air tube from the TB.

If you want.. GM does sell a complete PCV tubing replacement.

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

chuckd71 - I will give you $15 for the harness if you don't need it anymore. Just let me know.

I'll search for the PCV routing diagram. Thanks.

Troy

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

I got a chance to play with the mount adaptors some today. I have never seen a head-to-head look at some different adaptors on this site, so thought I would post these up in case it helps anyone in the future.

I have 2 sets of mount adaptors. 1 set of standard location, and 1 set of 1" setback. I got both of these from Dan Nickelson (eBay).

1st picture is the passenger-side 1" setback adaptor bolted to the block.

2nd picture shows the adaptor + SBC mount + factory F-body AC bracket. There is a large amount of interference. Perhaps the adaptors + mounts could be switched side-to-side (moving the "point" of the mount relatively) and it would work.

3rd picture is the 1" setback mount on the driver's side. It just barely interferes with the locating boss on the block. A little work with a grinding stone and this was no longer a problem.

4th picture shows the driver's side fully assembled and the alternator + bracket installed. There is certainly no problems with fit here.

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

Next is the standard location mounts.

1st picture is the driver's side. Of course, there are no interference problems here.

2nd + 3rd pictures are back to the passenger's side. You can certainly see how much shorter the adaptor is compared to the 1" setback ones. The AC bracket still interferes, but such a small amount that it is easily worked around if need be.

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

Next, I wanted to get an idea of how the motor sits in the car with the transmission and these mounts.

I left the standard location adaptors bolted to the block, attached the transmission, and did a trial fit. First time for the LS into the Chevelle!!

With the standard location adaptors, here is the spacing I had around my engine (hopefully this is useful for someone!):

1st picture: motor sitting in the car - just dangling there.

2nd picture: alternator just clobbering the steering box - normal based on other people's builds. My understanding (and measuring) is that if I use the 1" setback adaptors that the pulley will still hit, forcing me to go with a smaller pulley.

3rd picture: over 3" of room between the back of the block (at the top) and the firewall. Seems like more than enough room. Perhaps the motor could go back a full 2".

4th picture: again, about 3" of room. This is from the passenger's side of the block to the firewall. Approximately anyway.

71Fakes

iTrader: (2)

Continuing with the measurements, but under the car now:

1st picture: DS of the block down towards the crossmember + steering linkage. Seems like just over 2" of room to the steering linkage and approx 3" of room to the crossmember.

2nd picture: Distance from the back of the block to the rear of the crossmember. This picture looks like 7-8", but my other photos show 9" on the dot.

3rd picture: about 3.5" of clearance from the bottom of the block to the rear of the crossmember.

4th picture: about 1.5" of clearance from the bottom of the block to the tie rod end at full lock. This was the same for both the driver's side and the passenger's side. Of course, most A-body swaps have this problem.

Based on all of this, I really don't think I want to try to make the F-body pan work (even though many have). I know there are many options out there, but I am thinking about going with the Champ Pans pan. It has a good cost, baffling, etc. I just need to do some double-checking on the exact dimensions at the front of the pan.