74 chevelle/malibu all aluminum 5.3 swap
07-13-2012, 09:25 PM
#61
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sorry for the wait but i finally have an update. i have finished fabricating the exhaust for the swap, i will have pix tomorrow. not proud of it but its going to work for the swap till i have more time, work has been an absolute zoo.
07-27-2012, 10:58 PM
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i got everything i need in except i have intake gasket questions, maybe i had it set on the top of the motor wrong in mock up but when i had the edelbrock intake on the top of the motor it seemed like i needed a thick intake gasket. maybe im delustional.
ive looked online and all i can find is that i use stock LS1 intake gaskets, but im confused about the truck gaskets i got. clearly i cant use them. but they are thick, versus the LS1 style that dont seem as they are very thick at all. am i over thinking this all?
ive looked online and all i can find is that i use stock LS1 intake gaskets, but im confused about the truck gaskets i got. clearly i cant use them. but they are thick, versus the LS1 style that dont seem as they are very thick at all. am i over thinking this all?
10-02-2013, 07:47 PM
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rebirth after a very long break i will be reviving this thread.
im gathering all my pix and will be updating as i go..........as the project has become a full resto-mod.......
im gathering all my pix and will be updating as i go..........as the project has become a full resto-mod.......
02-12-2014, 08:23 PM
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Ball is rolling again After far, far, far to long i will be continuing this thread of my build. Life has gotten in the way since my last update. its been a very busy year and a half, in which i have:
-Bought new car, 2005 Dodge Magnum R/T AWD
-Got a raise and promotion at work
-and signed my life away on a mortgage lol....seriously there was at least 100 signature lines
But with the house came a sweet barn/garage to continue the build in.
Pictures are worth 1000 words as they say, so im going to let the pix do the work
First, the pix of the mock up from 2 summers ago
-Bought new car, 2005 Dodge Magnum R/T AWD
-Got a raise and promotion at work
-and signed my life away on a mortgage lol....seriously there was at least 100 signature lines
But with the house came a sweet barn/garage to continue the build in.
Pictures are worth 1000 words as they say, so im going to let the pix do the work
First, the pix of the mock up from 2 summers ago
02-12-2014, 08:47 PM
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had to cut one of the casting bungs off to clear the frame, 2010 camaro manifolds. had to clearace the passenger side manifold about an 1/8th inch.
i have a feeling i will be putting this all together for a second mock up. im going to pull the body off the frame and strip the frame to bare metal....and maybe do some chassis reinforcement......B-)
i have a feeling i will be putting this all together for a second mock up. im going to pull the body off the frame and strip the frame to bare metal....and maybe do some chassis reinforcement......B-)
02-13-2014, 08:43 AM
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now they say you spend your time or your money. well i have no money because the transmission in the Magnum went bad (valve body started it) full rebuild with some performance upgrades cost $4500.
But i have plenty of time now if Im not buried at work. Garage just needs a woodstove and ill be out there on my free weekends.
Does anyone have thougts about coil overs for this car? QA1 sells a kit for the front but i cant find anything for the rear....anyone know if something for a 68-72 chevelle will work? i know the supspensions are slightly different
and for the life of me i cant find a kit for body mounts for my generation chevelle. starting to think about going solid mount if i cant find anything but i do still want to be able to drive to work on fridays with it....
But i have plenty of time now if Im not buried at work. Garage just needs a woodstove and ill be out there on my free weekends.
Does anyone have thougts about coil overs for this car? QA1 sells a kit for the front but i cant find anything for the rear....anyone know if something for a 68-72 chevelle will work? i know the supspensions are slightly different
and for the life of me i cant find a kit for body mounts for my generation chevelle. starting to think about going solid mount if i cant find anything but i do still want to be able to drive to work on fridays with it....
02-13-2014, 10:59 AM
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Glad I found this thread as I too am gonna be transplanting into a 77 Malibu.
So for my reference, a CTS-V oil pan fits fine? Or is that the one where you had to put spacers between the swap plates and the mounts? How much space if so?
You used 2010 camaro manifolds? I've heard 98-02 manifolds fit nicely with no modding. Yeah, I feel your pain on dropping big $$ on full length headers. I come from the school of gen1 where you can get headers for under $200. $700 is a bit crazy IMO for swapping a chevy into a Chevy. I could understand it for swapping into a fox body or an import but not Chevy to Chevy ( just a personal thing. I can't believe they can't be cheaper.)
Man, I'm super psyched to keep following your thread and I'm sure I will have many questions. Any help is much appreciated!
GOOD LUCK! I'm watching
So for my reference, a CTS-V oil pan fits fine? Or is that the one where you had to put spacers between the swap plates and the mounts? How much space if so?
You used 2010 camaro manifolds? I've heard 98-02 manifolds fit nicely with no modding. Yeah, I feel your pain on dropping big $$ on full length headers. I come from the school of gen1 where you can get headers for under $200. $700 is a bit crazy IMO for swapping a chevy into a Chevy. I could understand it for swapping into a fox body or an import but not Chevy to Chevy ( just a personal thing. I can't believe they can't be cheaper.)
Man, I'm super psyched to keep following your thread and I'm sure I will have many questions. Any help is much appreciated!
GOOD LUCK! I'm watching
02-13-2014, 11:32 AM
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for the CTS-V pan i put some washers between the adaptor plate and the stock clam shell mount. 1/8 inch picked it up perfect. about a quarter inch of space all the way around the crossmember. ive picked up a shim kit since then and will be using that instead of the washers.
Like i said theres a very good chance i mock this all up again because it was a year and a half ago i did this lol
im just using mounts to put the back of the LS motor in the same position as a SBC originally would have been.
This car has been with me for 5 years and im going have it on the road this summer come hell or high water (being in maine its probably going to be 2 feet of snow instead of water but you know what i mean)
Like i said theres a very good chance i mock this all up again because it was a year and a half ago i did this lol
im just using mounts to put the back of the LS motor in the same position as a SBC originally would have been.
This car has been with me for 5 years and im going have it on the road this summer come hell or high water (being in maine its probably going to be 2 feet of snow instead of water but you know what i mean)
03-17-2014, 11:09 AM
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hey guys time for an update: sadly not much progress.
my garage has an inch of ice on the floor from all the weird weather we got resently. so im on hold for a little bit.
i am keeping busy rebuilding the valve body for the transmission and looking for the right parts for the suspension.
Im looking around for coil-overs and found QA1 for the front but i cant find much for the rear. anyone know of any kits or set ups that would work for my rear suspension?
my garage has an inch of ice on the floor from all the weird weather we got resently. so im on hold for a little bit.
i am keeping busy rebuilding the valve body for the transmission and looking for the right parts for the suspension.
Im looking around for coil-overs and found QA1 for the front but i cant find much for the rear. anyone know of any kits or set ups that would work for my rear suspension?
04-01-2014, 06:43 PM
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Finally some progress! Got some of my co-workers together after work to help me get the body off the rolling chassis.
Ill let the pix do the talking.
As a follow up to my body mount question i did some digging and have found multiple forums with guys that have used one of 2 things.
- kits 68-72 chevelles but it has to be for the convertible model so that it includes the radiator support bushings.
- 94-96 caprice/impala body mounts because the frames are very similar.
anyone have any more ideas and/info?
i threw the motor and transmission into place to tease myself a little lol
i have also decided that the pictured wheel is what ill be getting for the car.
Niche Verona, haven't decided color, leaning towards black and cant choose between 8" or 9.5" wide.......thoughts???
Ill let the pix do the talking.
As a follow up to my body mount question i did some digging and have found multiple forums with guys that have used one of 2 things.
- kits 68-72 chevelles but it has to be for the convertible model so that it includes the radiator support bushings.
- 94-96 caprice/impala body mounts because the frames are very similar.
anyone have any more ideas and/info?
i threw the motor and transmission into place to tease myself a little lol
i have also decided that the pictured wheel is what ill be getting for the car.
Niche Verona, haven't decided color, leaning towards black and cant choose between 8" or 9.5" wide.......thoughts???
04-12-2014, 01:40 PM
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im also digging around for a brake upgrade kit for the swap but i havent found much. i hear that 94-96 impala spindles are a bolt in swap, so theoretically i could get a C5 upgrade for that and it would work?....
04-21-2014, 08:27 AM
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havent made a ton of progress. waiting on funds and an opening with the local sandblaster. looking at the frame i think im just going to make a beefer crossmember and then reuse as many parts as i can
12-18-2014, 11:38 AM
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long awaited progress!!! some long over due progress has been made.
i have upgraded myself to a t-56, found a deal on craigslist for a 94 firebird model and bought the LT1/LS1 swap kit from Thegearbox.com . very knowledgeable guys and fast shipping.
good news is that the 700r4 i was going to use before is the same length as the new t-56 so i can use my stock crossmember but i will be upgrading to a beefier aftermarket one, mostly so i have more room for new/bigger exhaust B-)
i will post some pictures in the next few days, sadly waiting on finances to get the frame blasted fixed and painted.
i will also be putting up a full build sheet with all the parts im planning and what i currently have. i have a bet with some friends that i'd have it road worthy by April so now im under the gun
anyone have suggestions on what i could use for a pedal set up for the manual swap? i have no shame in using junkyard parts
i have upgraded myself to a t-56, found a deal on craigslist for a 94 firebird model and bought the LT1/LS1 swap kit from Thegearbox.com . very knowledgeable guys and fast shipping.
good news is that the 700r4 i was going to use before is the same length as the new t-56 so i can use my stock crossmember but i will be upgrading to a beefier aftermarket one, mostly so i have more room for new/bigger exhaust B-)
i will post some pictures in the next few days, sadly waiting on finances to get the frame blasted fixed and painted.
i will also be putting up a full build sheet with all the parts im planning and what i currently have. i have a bet with some friends that i'd have it road worthy by April so now im under the gun
anyone have suggestions on what i could use for a pedal set up for the manual swap? i have no shame in using junkyard parts