jeffs55chevy

My engine bay full of emptiness
Test fitting

This is my chevelle. I But the car when I was 13. My brother and I did a frame off restoration new quarters fenders door etc. it was a 350 with a Th350 when I got it. I swapped it over to four speed Muncie and put in a different 350. I was driving it like that for a few years. Beginning of this Spring I took the motor out to start prepping for my swap. The motor is from a 2002 GMC sierra. It's a 5.3 lm7. I reworked the harness using the info on lt1swap.I already had a 621 bellhousing I was using on the 350 that I had in the car. I got the Sachs nfw1050 flywheel and drilled my stock pressure plate to fit. I think it was three holes that had to be enlarged. I used a lot of info from this site specifically garys68 write up. I used LSX innovations motor mount plates in the stock small block location. I bought the Holley 302–2 oil pan, along with speed engineering Chevelle LS swap headers 1 3/4 primaries that fit great. I wanted to keep the Z-bar set up I was using to help keep costs down. I needed the pivot stud relocation plate but I didn't want to spend the $60 so I made one that works fine. I sent the computer to Brendan from lt1swap to remove vats, emissions, etc. and he sent it back to me and it works great. I'm using the throttle cable from the gmc , I just had to drill the hole in the firewall a little and bend my pedal to get wot. For now I'm using the truck radiator and an inline radiator filler neck, with a combo of truck hoses and one that matched what I needed from napa. I'm using the windstar dual fan setup. For fuel I'm using a universal inline pump from napa and I ran 3/8 plastic feed line and the 3/8 aluminum line that i used for the original 350, is now my return line. I bought a stock chevelle sending unit with a return in it, and flared both lines with threaded nuts and adapted them for the push connect lines.

jeffs55chevy

The smaller metal p/s pulley. the napa # is 7-1230
My modified sending unit
Fuel pump

jeffs55chevy

Some pictures of my homemade z bar bracket

tmcmillan5

iTrader: (1)

Here is my 68. 11 year frame off and still not quite ready to start the engine, getting closer though.

I have that same Fan set up can you give me any pointers on how you wired it and witch wire colors are what
?


Thanks, Tony

Jimbo1367

OP,
Make sure the fuel pump is as close to the fuel tank as possible AND lower than the lowest point of the tank. FWIW Failure to do this, will shorten the life of the pump.

jeffs55chevy

its running already. i just dont post things quickly. i have more pictures of it ill try to load later. thanks for the tip on the pump, it is mounted lower than the tank. its probably 2 1/2 feet ish away from the tank.

tmcmillan: very nice car. the way i wired up my fans is through 2 relays. i wired it the same as what is pictured on lt1swap.com. i might change to a 3 relay setup. the way its wired now, both fans dont come on until about 195 degrees, at low speed, then at a higher temp(which it has not happened yet) its supposed to kick on the high speed.

garys 68

iTrader: (1)

I love driving my 72 olds, 5.3, 4 speed as a daily driver.
You may want to consider the 96 Impala tank. The flat, wide A body tank may be prone to fuel starvation with the stock pickup and external pump. I've run the sumped impala tank almost dry without issues.

jeffs55chevy

next year i plan on doing a single turbo on the car, so im gonna have to change my fuel system around anyway.
i was thinking of sumping the stock tank and using a bigger pump. but ive been debating the impala tank.
ive only driven it one time since i got it running. i was so happy to get it going. no holley stumble to deal with(and i like my holley carbs too.) the weathers been a little crappy, but its supposed to be nice next week so im hoping to drive it a bunch before winter kicks in.

thanks a lot garys68 , ive used a lot of the info u had for your swap to a 4 speed. great write up.
i used the pilot bearing from napa part # 6302vsp43 in case anyone was wondering.

jeffs55chevy

Just some more pics . I have to change my overflow bottle because it has a hole in it.

DailyGTO

looking good, and thanks again for the info/pics you sent through PM about keeping the Z bar with speed engineering headers. This gives me more inspiration for my Chevelle swap. I just pulled my LM7 out of my other car, so I am not too far off.

So you used the LM7 power steering pump, just got a smaller pulley?

jeffs55chevy

thanks. no problem anytime. i used the lm7 power steering pump. ive read people use a smaller pulley but its plastic, and i guess theres issues with them shearing. so i used a metal smaller pulley from a late 90s early 00s gm 3.1 3.4 v6. the napa part # is 7-1230.

jeffs55chevy

i just found some more pics of amy car before the lm7 and paint.

my 350 i first put in. but i put a 3310 holley on after a while. a cant remember if i wired the car with a speedway motors 22 circuit harness or an american autowire. ive used them both a few times great harnesses for the money.






stock 8.2 rear end housinghad 2.56 gears. i took them out and repalced with an auburn gear posi unit and a set of 3.73 gears. edelbrock upper and lower rear control arms, eibach lowering springs and kyb shocks.





my brother did the body work and the paint.

jeffs55chevy

jeffs55chevy

jeffs55chevy

one of my winter projects this year is to add some single turbo action. i got my ebay gt45. im ditching the speed engineering universal turbo headers, as they wont fit with truck accessories. your not able to remove the power steering cap with the header in place. so im going with the tried and true flipped truck manifolds. im still not 100% sure if im gonna use 2 driver side manifolds or 1 driver side and 1 passenger side, they fits good either way. im still compiling parts, but as soon as my speedway motors exhaust pipe kit comes in i can start building the hot side.

Rick Dorion

iTrader: (1)

Great job, Jeff. Did you use 1/8" plate for the zbar bracket. I'm at that stage now myself. Only difference is I have to come back about 1" for the Bel Air.

jeffs55chevy

thanks rick. if i remember right it was 3/16 c-channel that i cut up. are you using the quick time bellhousing? i only ask because some bellhousings have a hole tapped already for the zbar ball stud. im not sure if it is the inch back that you need.

Rick Dorion

iTrader: (1)

Yes, the QT. On the fullsize chevy's, the zbar bracket is welded to the frame right in front of the body mount at the base of the firewall. The stud is in the bell housing hole so I need to fab a bracket that extends rearward unlike camaros and chevelles.

Now to scrounge up some c-channel!

jeffs55chevy

my brother was able to tig up some 2.25'' vband flanges to my manifolds. im building the hot side with a speedway motors 2.25'' exhaust kit. im getting to the t4 merge, but i think i might straighten the turbo flange out a little, to make the bend not as tight for the passenger side. i also plan on gusseting the brace a bit.

jeffs55chevy

well i bought a harbor freight band saw so i decided to redo the hotside since i can make nicer cuts.

beginning of the merge


all tacked together but i am going to add another vband flange in the passenger side pipe


a shot of my merrells that took me to the bottom of the grand canyon last november.

all welded together with the wastegate flange.

new turbo placement i think i can tuck a big air filter in the corner near the marker light.


ebay emusa intercooler i think the size was 31x12x3

just kinda sitting in place