Badass build and nice vids too !!

 

Thank you

 

The build compressed into a few minutes.

 

I did mine over 6 yrs ago!
Check my garage!

 

Cool.
Yes, I have been on this forum for about six years looking at guys like you, and trying to understand what I needed to do. This site is one of the greatest resource on the internet.

 

Pretty impressive swap ! Way more than I could ever see myself ever willing to tackle. I love BMW wagons. Very rare to see them where I live/work. Yours' looks badass IMO.

If you ever tackle another swap, it might be wise to either invest in a better welder and practice more. Sorry. LOL.

Any videos from outside the car showing acceleration runs?

thanks,
Jim

 

Seems like not many people on the the internet can give a compliment without some sideways insult. As you said you couldn't do it, but you continue critique. You need to consider how many welds were out of position, how many welds I did and the process that was used.

Jimbo1367, you can't let this welding thing go, can you? That's seems to be your only consistent feedback. Dude, give it a rest. LOL. It's ok. The welding is good...trust me.

The project was done by me, for me and I am happy with it. I am not trying to sell it to you, so I am ok with that. Be happy with me...let's hold hands and skip through the mot%^&*0ing tulips.

Be cool and appreciate the whole. Don't tunnel down into one tiny little thing. It is unfortunate that you can't enjoy the artistry of a project like this, without trying to knock it down a notch or two.
It is a truly wonderful world that we are living in today, where we can type a question into a box and receive an answer from people from around the world.

Do you know how many engineering and electrical problems I had to solve (and with the help of this board)?

Skills exhibited in the build:
1. Metal fab
2. Welding'
3. Electrical
4. Electronics
5. Mechanical
6. Problem solving
7. Improvisation
8. Fiberglass fab
9. Working in a tight garage
10. Money and budgeting
11. Ubiquitous buttscratch'n
12. Design

and you are hung up on which weld? LOL

LOL Functionally good welding (good penetration and no porosity)? (head shake, walking in circles now LOL) No it is not pretty like TIG, but...I guarantee my welds are better than 90% of the your car's factory welds.

Please share your upside down MIG welding with the group so that you can show us how it is done.

You say I need a better welder. Which one am I running? What process was I using? What size wire?

What criteria are you using to judge all the welds on the project? Just so that I can understand the standard that you are trying to impose -- with your great welding superiority.

I have never had a inspector or instructor look at a weld and say oh that is good. They would xray or cut it open, but you are able to judge via the internet? WOW! That is impressive. You need to take that show on the road. It could save lots of money for companies who are trying to get welds certified.


PM me and include the url of the welds you don't like and let's talk through them. I told you this the first time you shared your uniformed opinion, so I figured you were just being a troll. Maybe you have some real actionable feedback that could help me, but you have not provided any yet...so I must continue to think that you are just an internet know-it-all. Which, I expect 7/10 times. Let's make this a positive learning experience, rather than you taking potshots.

A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault. ~John Henry Newman


Thanks anyway


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No. I don't have a video of acceleration outside the car for you. Sorry. LOL.


Thanks again for subscribing and following the build. (drops the mic and exits stage right)

-Vazfx

 

 

 

I registered to the forum a few minutes ago just so I could get to tell you how cool I think this swap is. As a former e34 owner I think the swap is very well executed, very clean, and would fool an otherwise unaware bmw owner into thinking it was a stock conversion. It doesn't look like a conversion... it looks like BMW put it there from the factory.

I especially enjoyed reading about your header fab as I was going through the same thing making headers for an lt1 swap into an older volvo. Nice to see how other people solved the same problems and to get new ideas. Many would wag their heads at my welding as well.

best of luck.

Mike

 

Mike lt242,
Thank you very much.

I agree on the sleeperness of the project. I do like the fact that things fit in so well.
When I showed the car at the car show, many people didn't realize it was not a stock engine. The LS1 doesn't look much different than the BMW M60 V6

 

I downloaded a performance app, so I did a 0 - 60 mph run. The car did it in 4.5 seconds with quite a bit of wheel spin. I am guessing I can get it down to 3.9 - 4.2 seconds

 

Spray it....

 

Of course you would want spray LOL.

 

I'm just saying,lol

 

I will be doing FI at some point though

 

I hooked up my Ultra Gauge – I am sure there are lots of others brands out there that do a similar job. As some of you suggested it is a great tool to work through issues. Here are the things that I need to address based on the data from the device:

1. I was not getting full throttle. I need to remove the BMW kickdown switch…it’s in the way of full throttle. I can get to 100% it I press really hard, but I had not been doing that. I had been just pressing the throttle to the bottle, but I need to press until I depress the kickdown switch, so I will remove the kick down switch.
2. Intake temps get high when idling. I will make a shroud to box off the air filter. When driving the intake temps are as low as ambient.
3. I have confirmed that my temp gauge is reading too high. I am running around 195 degrees will doing about 45mph and 203 when doing 70 mph. Idling in traffic I am between 195 – 205 degrees

Thank you to those who suggested I get a device to check these things.

 

Your temps are fine,the GTO operates at 205-210 if I remember correctly. So I would not be "too" worried about them. However,if you have the ability I would either design or equip the car with a vented hood if you're REALLY concerned about it. The BMW has a very tight engine bay so you're going to have some sort of cooling issues.

 

Does that model come with the plastic guards in the front end to direct air flow directly into the radiator?If not,that will help and also making sure the fan shroud is sealed to the radiator.I was surprised how much that helped on a few of my vehicles.It also helps keep down temp fluctuations.

 

Yes. it comes with those plastic guards the directs air to the radiator. I have a custom shroud that seals up against the radiator really well. Heat under the hood was a problem with the stock V8…so a vented hood would let a lot of heat escape, but not really the look I want right now. I will see what happens during the Summer since I have moved South. It's about 70 degrees right now.

What I have been reading is that fluctuations (within a certain range) are normal. The reason that most folks don't see fluctuations is because temp gauges are buffer to stop them from happening. The Ultra Gauge is reading exactly what the engine is seeing.

Thanks you guys!