LS1/T56 into a 68 Camaro
09-18-2013, 04:50 PM
#22
I have ceramic coated headers and they have held up quite well over the past two years. The only issue with the coating is it's a little faded but that is from the initial fire up and my cylinder temps were all over the place. Had my engine fired up correctly for the first 15 minutes I think the ceramic coating would still look new. From what I have been told you have to season the headers somewhat. My Dynatechs didn't mention anything about heat cycling the headers though. If I were to spend a grand on headers it would be on a set of Kook's!!!
09-19-2013, 07:26 AM
#23
Thanks for the info Tony. I would love to go Kooks, but I don't know if it will fit the AME sub. I called AME and they siad there headers are coated inside and out, so I made a very large purchase yesterday. New AME subframe and headers coming my way in 6-8 weeks. In the meantime, I will sort out the Vintage Air and the hydraulic clutch set up. Tony I know the E-bay bracket was no good as delivered, so I am looking for off the shelf brackets that work. I think Detroit Speed makes one and the LS swap thread on this forum lists one or two.
Gagliano, The Tremec TKO600 was a sweet trans, but it didn't like to shift into 2nd above 6000 RPM's. I have heard later models have fixed that. The GTO trans was very good, but again it didn't seem to like shifting into 2nd at high RPM's. Who knows though, maybe it is driver error.
Gagliano, The Tremec TKO600 was a sweet trans, but it didn't like to shift into 2nd above 6000 RPM's. I have heard later models have fixed that. The GTO trans was very good, but again it didn't seem to like shifting into 2nd at high RPM's. Who knows though, maybe it is driver error.
09-19-2013, 08:26 AM
#24
The Detroit bracket, from what I have been told, is a good purchase. Proper alignment etc. I would however bite the bullet and either buy a Tick Performance master or maybe even make a bracket of your own and use a 7/8" bore compact master from either Wilwood or Tilton. I had an issue with the stock F-body master preventing a hard shift to third as the clutch pedal would stick to the floor under high rpms. Not sure to this day as to what caused it but I know what fixed it. I used the Wilwood and made a bracket. I have had no issues since, even when I accidently hit the rev limiter between gears. Guess I need to back down my shift light or at least pay attention!
09-30-2013, 11:56 AM
#26
Over the weekend I ripped out all the original heating and cooling components since they will be replaced with the vintage air system. The vintage air system comes with block off plates for the original holes in the firewall, so I think I will weld them to the firewall when I am welding the clutch bracket for extra strength and a cleaner install. Now that I have all that ripped out, I am getting a case of the "While I'm There, I Might As Well", and I am thinking about buying a new fuse panel and harness to get rid of the glass fuses and the 40 year plus old wiring. I recently replaced the rear harness, but the front harness is kind of a mess and I have an Add-on fuse block for my electric fans and line lock. I figure with the vintage air wiring and the new engine harness I will need with the LS-1, I might as well make everything new. What do you guys think?
09-30-2013, 10:40 PM
#27
FormerVendor
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for wiring.. i would for sure go new.. I did on our 68 camaro build this year that was featured in may camaro performers, and am happy about it.. And like you say, while your in there its easier and your better off doing it..
I will shamelessly plug our serpentine drive system, keep us in mind when you get there.. ours puts the AC on the bottom and it will fit a standard camaro frame or the aftermarket..
anyway.. good luck on the build.. !.. Zach www.drivejunky.com
I will shamelessly plug our serpentine drive system, keep us in mind when you get there.. ours puts the AC on the bottom and it will fit a standard camaro frame or the aftermarket..
anyway.. good luck on the build.. !.. Zach www.drivejunky.com
10-01-2013, 07:58 AM
#28
Thanks Zach, the one thing I am not sure about is the integration between the fues panel and harness and the LS-1 harness. I am not sure if I am going to retrofit my stock LS-1 harness or buy aftermarket. I don't want to buy both adn then find out I have a ton of redundancy.
10-16-2013, 12:05 PM
#29
Slow but steady progress. I started mocking up the clutch bracket to the firewall. I tapped the holes in the DSE bracket for 5/16-18 thread and I opened up the existing clutch rod hole to fit the 4th gen master. Then I got an idea that may be useful for others who need to weld the new bracket on the clutch pedal. I decided to pull the whole pedal assembly out of the car in order to modify it. That way I can do it on the comfort of my work bench rather than upside down on my back under the dash. Here is the assembly ready for cutting and welding.
10-17-2013, 08:27 AM
#33
Staging Lane
Also, on the fuel tank. It's wise to put in an access panel in the trunk so that you don't have to drop the tank in case you need to replace the fuel pump. It's saved me a bunch of times on a few occasions already.
I replaced the wiring on my 67 Firebird with wiring kit from American Autowire, and PSI LS harness. The LS1 harness requires a constant 12v, and a ignition on/start 12V. I used the coil lead from the AAW kit for ignition feed, and starter for constant 12V for the PSI harness.
I replaced the wiring on my 67 Firebird with wiring kit from American Autowire, and PSI LS harness. The LS1 harness requires a constant 12v, and a ignition on/start 12V. I used the coil lead from the AAW kit for ignition feed, and starter for constant 12V for the PSI harness.
10-17-2013, 11:53 AM
#34
Rickpaw, I really want to avoid cutting into the trunk since I recently replaced the trunk pan. To try to avoid troubles, I have already verified that the float reads correctly. where are you controlling your fans and fuel pump, the car harness or LS-1 harness? One of the features of the new harnesses that I like are the fan and fuel pump circuit that are added.
10-23-2013, 07:36 AM
#35
I took Monday off to work on the car. I finished the clutch pedal mod and welded the DSE bracket to the firewall. I made and welded some filler plates along the bottom of the bracket to keep the integrity of the firewall. The only problem with the filler plates was keeping the speedometer cable hole functional. I ended up extending the filler panel below the DSE bracket and using a 1" holesaw using the existing speedometer hole as a template. This part of the job was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
I know I could have avoided the speedometer problem if I went with digital gauges, but I am committed to using the original speedometer and a tailshaft conversion.
Finally, I decided to fix some old damage on the driver's side toe panel. I think the car went through a clutch explosion in its' earlier life.
I know I could have avoided the speedometer problem if I went with digital gauges, but I am committed to using the original speedometer and a tailshaft conversion.
Finally, I decided to fix some old damage on the driver's side toe panel. I think the car went through a clutch explosion in its' earlier life.
10-23-2013, 08:39 AM
#36
Staging Lane
Rickpaw, I really want to avoid cutting into the trunk since I recently replaced the trunk pan. To try to avoid troubles, I have already verified that the float reads correctly. where are you controlling your fans and fuel pump, the car harness or LS-1 harness? One of the features of the new harnesses that I like are the fan and fuel pump circuit that are added.
The access panel mainly is for remove/replace the in tank fuel pump without dropping the tank. I have had to remove the pump on the side of the road with a tank full of gas. I hate to think about dropping a tank full of gas on the side of the road to replace the fuel pump. But, do what you think it's best.
I used the ECU/LS1 harness to activate the fans and fuel pump. The ECU only runs the pump for 5 seconds, then shuts it off if the engine is not running.
10-23-2013, 12:41 PM
#37
Good point on the fuel pump replacement. I'll have to think about that one. Thanks for the info on the fans and pump. I am pretty sure I am going to buy the American Autowire Classic Update Series kit. It has dedicated wires for ECU hot and ignition. It also has a fan and fuel pump circuit, but if the LS1 harness already has that, that's even better.
10-24-2013, 08:26 AM
#38
Staging Lane
The harness I got from PSI Conversion has fuel pump/fan circuit added, not sure about other kits. I have the AAW classic update wiring kit. Really happy with it. Of course I removed almost all of the engine wiring from the bulkhead connector since the LS harness takes care of that.
11-07-2013, 07:07 AM
#39
Well I took last Friday and this past Wednesday off to work on the car. I have the firewall weld repairs all done and seam sealer applied. I found some stuff I didn't like in the driver's floor area from where I was working underneath and took care of that also. I just need to apply final paint to those two areas now. Now the fun part, I uncrated the sub and set it in front of the car ready for test installation. I will do a trial installation with the sub, engine and trans and figure out things like fuel routing, driveshaft length, steering coupler, shifter location, brake lines, AC compressor fitment, gas pedal and throttle cable, oil pan fitment and subframe connector mods. Then I will take it all back apart, send the sub and connectors for powder coating and start tearing into the engine. I see a very faint light at the end of the tunnel.
Last edited by Aston Tibs; 11-07-2013 at 07:23 AM.
11-13-2013, 11:26 AM
#40
More progress this weekend. Long story short, the subframe, engine, trans and body are all mated together and the car sits on all four wheels, for now. Everything is fitting togther very nicely with only minor mods required. I had to grind some material off the small block engine mounts to clear the frame. The LS adapters I recieved from Art Morrison are very ncie and I had no problems with them. I will have to grind some material off the frame in order to install the sway bar clamps that Art morrison provided. They said I was the first person to mention it even though one of the employees there had the same issue. I will have to grind a very small amount off the driver side lower control arm bracket to clear the header. It fits now without contact, but you couldn't slip a piece of paper through there. The F-body pan clears beautifully as well as the stock AC compressor. I will have to remove some of the plastic cover on the alternator where it just contacts the power steering lines. The placement of the engine is perfect with about 1 inch of clearance between the firewall and the back of the engine. The headers are tucked up very nicely and do not hang below the sub anywhere. My existing subframe connectors fit perfectly and will be welded to the sub at final installation. Now I have a lot of mock up details to take care of before I disassemble everything again for paint, powdercoating and engine/trans mods