70 Bug Mid Engine

It looks like I got a lot done but I really didn't. Pretty much everything I put together, is going to have to come back apart. More painting to do. My main goal was to get the rear firewall in. I had to trim it to fit around the cage. After that, I decided to throw the engine hatch on just to make sure everything still lines up.





Good view of the engine



I also cut the steering shaft and mounted the wheel. More test fitting.

70 Bug Mid Engine

Well I put the bug back on the ground today. Needed to roll it out to flip it around, blow it off and sweep the garage. I don't think the bug has moved in 4 months, so this is a good step forward.



On a side note in reference to the picture

I'm not sure about some of you east of here, but no snow on the mountains for us! It was somewhere around 60° today. I feel bad for the people getting 5ft+ snow drifts

californiadog

Man that thing looks and sounds so good. I'm a huge fan of this build and of ecotec motors. Been driving my turbo LNF for almost 2 years now and I still get a kick out of it every day. On a side note - I might be passing by East Pasadena next weekend - could I come by CBM Motorsports and check out the shop?

Tony

70 Bug Mid Engine

Tony - Thanks for the good words! Glad to see another Ecotec lover. I take it you have a Cobalt SS? Those LNFs are great engines. If I could have thrown a blower on one, that was the route I would have gone. Love the fact that they are direct injected. And ya feel free to stop by the shop for a tour. We are only here Monday to Friday though so the weekend wont work.

californiadog

Yes, Cobalt SS. Fantastic bang for buck ratio

Yeah direct injection is bitchen, but valve coking becomes an issue. I'm at about 67k, and probably in need of a cleaning. When I do, I'm going the ZZP ported, polished, cams upgrade route with a custom made PCV Anti-coking drain back system made by Powell Race Shop. That should help a ton.

Thanks for the heads up on the shop. I will schedule my trip on a weekday so I can pass by. Do you guys do a lot of ecotec conversions there?

jucnbst

Awesome build, I've always wanted to eco swap an old bug. What trans did you end up going with? I have an 04 cavalier that had an hpt tune and m62 setup. The blower whine never got old. Best recommendation I tell anyone running an m62 is to pick up the phenolic spacer for the blower to lower manifold ( alone netted a 10 degree drop in iat's when heat soaked ) I never got around to re testing after i also installed the lower manifold to head spacer from zzp.


The company that made the blower to mani spacer isn't around anymore but I dont think that would be a problem for you lol. Here is the review thread I did if your interested. http://http://www.j-body.org/forums/...72515&t=172515

70 Bug Mid Engine

That is a really good idea. Didn't even think of that. I will see what I can do to make one. I know the m62 are known to run on the hot side. Hopefully my v8 sized heat exchange and dual pass setup help out.

My trans is like yours if you have a manual. Mines just a few years newer with slight changes.

70 Bug Mid Engine

You know a lot of people talk about valve issues due to the DI but every lnf I have taken apart looks fine. Even at 100k miles. But ya do ported head and cams. Will make a huge difference. Then you will need a bigger turbo to keep up.

We don't do a whole lot of ecotec conversions. Mostly just build them for the off road guys who need to have a stock engine in order to pass tech. I have done some crazy builds in the past like a 2.4L turning 9000 rpms and making 325 hp na through 2 weber 44s. They are getting more popular though. Seeing more and more people put them in classic cars.

jucnbst

The blower spacer was 1/8th or 3/16ths iirc and the zzp head spacer was 1/2 inch. With a 3.0 pulley and stock tensioner pulley you can still use the stock length belt. It barely fits but had no belt slip issues.

What are your power goals with the lsj?

70 Bug Mid Engine

I will see what I can come up with. I like your idea. I will talk to Steve and see if he has any leftovers.

As for my engine, it is 0% LSJ. Started life as a 02 cavalier 2.2. Now it has eagle rods and je Pistons. Also did the ZZP neutral balance shafts. Put a 07 2.2 head on it and then CNC ported it. Stainless valves and double springs as well. To top it off, a good size set of cams from Comp. For the blower, I cut the snout off and shortened it. This was to get a true 78mm opening for my Ls1 throttle body. The intake was also port matched to the head. I currently have a 2.7" pulley on the blower.

jucnbst

Ah, love the details. I hope for the best with your setup. I didnt go as far as to do cams or head work. I just bolted on the blower made my own ls1 tb adaptor and focused on cooling mods and exhaust. Ended up at 249whp and 227wtq. I'd love to see if you can break 280whp. Way back a guy by the name aitronics on the jbody site made 29xwhp on a build but i dont remember all the details. Are you going to run a stand alone?

70 Bug Mid Engine

I am pretty sure I will cry if I don't hit 300hp at the wheels. The most I have heard off a M62 setup was 400whp but that was on race gas (I am doing 91 octane only with no meth). I have never seen another combo like mine so it is all guessing at this point. If I don't make the power I want, I will just have to put a bigger blower on it. Simple as that. And yes custom stand alone. I built the harness and will be doing the tuning as well. Its a Delphi MEFI 4 computer. Think of it like a Megasquirt but even more basic.

jucnbst

Found it. http://https://youtu.be/kOwBr2GyvcE

californiadog

That is good to hear - mine doesn't seem to be suffering any ill effects at all, thing runs like a top.


GM Tuner Bash 09 vid33

Fixed the link, there were one too many http or https' in there or something.

FrossB

iTrader: (1)

I used to personally own 2 LNF Cobalt SS. One was a standard bolt on 320hp and the other was a 57mm turbo swapped at about 500hp. If you have any questions about ecotec stuff, feel free to PM me and I will help with the knowledge I have. Love this build btw!

jucnbst

Thanks for the link fix. Any updates?

70 Bug Mid Engine

No updates lately. I have just been finish welding stuff so not much to show. My weekends have been filled with around the house stuff. Two weekends ago I had to put up 75ft of a wood fence cause it blew over for the third time. Last weekend I tore down the hanging ceiling in the garage and picked up all the shrapnel from the wind. So I am hoping this weekend nothing else happens and I can put my brakes on. Then I have to hope the wheels fit over them...

70 Bug Mid Engine

Finally an update! It has been a while. Long story short, the brakes are on.



We take this



Add these



Add this too



Ends up looking like this



Did the rear as well



Just a little bigger then stock...

3.8redbird

iTrader: (3)

Which calipers are those?
12.88 disk or 14?

70 Bug Mid Engine

Rears are 4 piston Powerlite. Fronts are 6 piston Dynapro. 11" rotors all the way around. 2 piece Wilwood rotors up front and a big version of a stock rotor in the rear. Can't fit anything bigger in my baby 15" wheels as seen below.