-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Do I understand correctly that the issue you're trying to fix is that you have a small clearance above the tail of the transmission, photo here? There isn't interference right? If it were mine, I would just go ahead and run it.

Sebtarta

iTrader: (1)

Correct. There is no space at all, 1/8" if that.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

In that case I would leave it alone and bolt down the transmission. The possible results from least to most impact are (1) you never have an issue anyway (2) it bumps into the tunnel once or twice and creates its own clearance (3) it bumps into the tunnel and you periodically get a knocking or vibration sound. If you end up with the last result, you can put a small prybar between the transmission and tunnel and bend/dent the tunnel slightly to add clearance. Alternatively you could jack up the transmission against the tunnel to make a dent in the tunnel. Or if you are worried about the transmission, you could remove it and use a hammer to add clearance. In any case I really don't see this being an issue. If it were mine, I would just run it as is.

Harris1

iTrader: (4)

Awesome build very informative. I hope you get the trans issue fixed. I don't think that it'll be a problem though.

Sebtarta

iTrader: (1)

Clint, I agree with what you said. I already jacked it up pretty much to create the indentation in the tunnel for those two ears. But as I have to take the engine out to fix the scratches that i did on the firewall at the same time i might add a slightly bigger indentation on that section.

Harris thank you for the comment, I hope to have it fixed as well.


Some 1" heat shrink tubing was ordered from amazon, , and I used this for the gas tank straps.



I used a heat gun to make sure it was done evenly. Yet there are slight imperfections, but it does not bother as much as the transmission does. lol


As I mentioned before I ordered the Global West Suspension Interloc Body Mount Bushings 818. They are really nice, and in the picture you can see that 2 of the frame mounts are longer than the other ones. This is to give the extra length needed when using a SFC which slides INSIDE the frame and not over, such as the GW SFC do.



These were not fun to install, specially after having the SFC welded in the back and squared in the front. Some muscles had to be used with a pry bar, and some pushing and shoving in order to get the frame squared again. Normally it should not happen if you take one bushing at a time, but the SFC was not allowing me to lift the body enough to slide the old bushing out and the new ones in.

At the same time GW gives you 2 bolts for the body bushings. They suggest using the 4" bolt in the back bushing and the 3.5" under the firewall bushing. The 3.5" was to short for the front bushing specially using the half inch spacer that is required with the Novas. I decided to swap the bolts, use the 4" in the front under the firewall and the 3.5" in the back of the frame. Everything fit fine after that. I guess my theory thinking from post #103 got voided as it really did not change the height of the frame vs body to create the clearance needed between the trans and the tunnel. Oh well,

I need to measure the driveline angle, specially that I got my digital angle finder. I bought a compass one from Home Depot, but it is a POS and its accuracy is +/- 2°, while the digital one is 0.5° +/-. The digital angle finder I bought is the iGaging AngleCube Digital Level which I bought on Amazon. You can also find it here which they seem to be a vendor in Amazon, so being a prime member they matched the price and did not have to pay shipping either.

Before I forget, I test fitted the transmission with the Prothane 7-1604 and I have the same issue at the tunnel. There is no varation what so ever between the Energy Suspension and the Prothane one. Also both measured the same height, the only difference I found is that when you are lowering the transmission back to the crossmember the Prothane had some issues aligning the bolt holes from underneath while the Energy Suspension one I did not have a problem. No idea why, when both bushings are supposed to be the same in dimensions and such. But at this point in the game I just want to get this car running or I will light a match to it if I keep myself going back and forth with things like these.

As usual I start with something then get side tracked with other things. I wanted to see how the Dakota Digital VHX fit on the bezel. Unfortunately it is not a 100% fit, oh well, nothing that a few washers cannot fix.

This is the space you get on the top side, the long tabs that the VHX has



Here is the bottom, almost same gap.



Once I get this fixed I will take pictures of the bezel and the gauges all together. All I can say it looks great!

LS1 pwrd NOVA

iTrader: (2)

So did you buy the hooker swap kit complete wich is the frame & engine mounts?
Then buy clam shells? You using the stock rubber in the clam shell or poly?
I see you had tranny & tunnel clearance issues. I wonder why?
I'm debating buying this kit if there are tranny issues. I know every car is diff but....
I tried an Fbody pan setup and it worked but the tranny hits the tunnel also.

Sebtarta

iTrader: (1)

I bought the full kit. I swapped the rubber mounts to poly inside the clam shells. Everything fits fine really, just a minor clearance on the tunnel, which could be my car as I had to fix the tunnel prior to all of this due to some bondo ghetto BS that the previous owner did.

All in all it is a good set, specially with the oil pan 302-2, clearance is good all over in the front of the engine. There are other people here that have used the same kit with the T56 cross member and had no issues.

Todd has worked hard in getting this out and fixing the little details that we have found along the line between me and other users as well.

LS1 pwrd NOVA

iTrader: (2)

Well that's good to know. Then I'm going to go this route.
I'm tired of messing with this n that to see what may or may not work.
I've wasted too much time & effort to be at a stand still again.
Ill buy the plates, poly mounts & oil pan first & swap the engine in & try stock manis.
If no manis fit then headers ill buy.
then decide wich tranny x member to buy as I wanna go t56 as I have one.

LS1 pwrd NOVA

iTrader: (2)

So is the energy suspension poly setup you have listed in your swap the same as the pro thane they recommend?
It saves about $60 going energy suspension.
Or can you use the stock rubber clam shell ones for now with a completely stock engine & swap the energy later if needed or wanted.

user 4737373

Hey LS1 pwrd NOVA, two things for you to keep in mind that may help you are the fact that although the 1st-gen F-body and 3rd-gen X-body cars share the same subframe, their floor and trans tunnel geometries are immensely differenent. The floor plane of the Nova is higher off of the subframe than on the F-body but the height of the roof of the tunnel is lower. This disparity helps to explain why there are different reported tunnel clearances from various users (the fact that the build tolerances on these cars and the floor sag that takes place over 35-40 years of use doesn't help.
The Hooker engine mounts were developed off of the stock rubber 2292 clamshells, which are less than 10 bucks from a supply house.

LS1 pwrd NOVA

iTrader: (2)

Toddoky, thanks that's what I need to know. It'll save a little bit but not a lot.
I don't mind using stock clam shells for the stock engine until I build a stronger engine.
What about the tranny mount, what was used on the mock up so I can get it also?

Sebtarta

iTrader: (1)

I have both trans mounts. The Prothane 7-1604 and the Energy Suspension 3-1108G I have to say the Prothane looks better. You do not have that extra plate that the ES has and it also has that clamp at the top fop the mount holding it in place. According to Hookers instructions they suggest the Prothane mount.

Sebtarta

iTrader: (1)

So after getting some time back from some personal life issues, I managed to get the exhaust up and bolted on. In all the exhaust system went in pretty straight forward. The only issue I found was that when you have to mount the rear bracket you need to remove the wheels in order to have space to do all the drilling and such. I think this was a bit overkill and once I find the pictures I will update the post.

The full system was installed with exhaust clamps free. Reason as to why both mufflers are not parallel to the ground yet.







I also used the Flowmaster 3"-2.5" R3025 reducer with two Summit Racing lap joint clamps SUM-692300. I had to cut the leading pipes to length using a chop saw with a metal disc in it. Once the pipe was cut I cleaned it all up and cleaned the metal shaving inside as well.



Below we can see how the full system sits under the car. Eventually I will take a picture showing the ground clearance once I roll the car out.




Time came to put the accessory brackets on the engine plus the new Sanden SD7 I got from Vintage Air for the AC.



I did find out that the aluminum used on these brackets is not the best in the planet, the top bolt that holds the power steering pump will not tighten. I always put all bolts in by hand till flush. Then use the torque wrench and tighten with half the required torque specs first then apply the correct torque as a second pass. The M8 bolts require 18ft/lbs which is nothing yet for some reason i managed to strip the thread in the bracket. So now i need to find a longer M8 bolt and place a nut behind the bracket or see if I can put a helicoil as a fix.

The other thing that has me worried is the power steering pump pulley. I have a feeling I might need to swap for a smaller pulley as it is too close to the UCA. Once the alignment shims are added, not sure how much is needed, there will be no room at all.



I do have an extra smaller pulley, but not sure it will fit with the DSE Power Steering Pump Outlet Fitting and a 90° AN fitting as well. Does anyone have by any chance the GW UCA and how many shims they used? I can use this as a ball park and see what needs to be done to fix or remedy this issue.

Sebtarta

iTrader: (1)

So called Holley Tech Support on the 20-135 accessory bracket for the alternator and power steering regarding the stripped bolt. Sending me a new bracket! Thank you Holley!

Sebtarta

iTrader: (1)

Got the new bracket from Holley and swapped them. All I need is the belt and the accessory side of the engine is all done.

At the same time, I got the new gas cap for the Tanks Inc efi tank. Well it did not work. They suggested a shallow cam cap, problem is, the filler neck lock mechanisms is deeper thus suggesting for a deep cam cap.



Here you can see the difference between a deep cam cap (left) and a shallow cam cap (right)



When testing the gas cap I could see the filler neck moving all over the place. It was not sturdy at all using that rubber coupling at the bottom. So when it is time to unlock the gas cap you will have to hold the filler neck. At the same time it took no effort at all to make the filler neck bump against the top part of the rear bumper-frame-thingy. So cue in A-Team theme song and I fabbed up a little tab to hold it in place at the top of the filler neck. I added a small piece of shrink tube to save it from scratching the neck as well.



It works. You can take the cap off now without having to hold the filler neck at all. The only thing that is making my eye twitch a bit being the label on the cap is up side down. Will have to try and have it facing the correct way, OCD kicking in.

kirk69nova

iTrader: (9)

I wonder Tanks doesn't make the cap/filler neck a newer style click type?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using IB AutoGroup

Sebtarta

iTrader: (1)

I took the measurement for the fuel hoses going from the tank to the LS1 fuel/regulator and from engine to fuel line. I then placed the order of the Fragola lines through Matt Lyons at http://www.lyonsperformance.com/ Once I got the fuel lines, I realized that I measured the engine to fuel line completely wrong. No idea what I did, but I was WAY off. I needed a 17" line and when I placed the order I asked for a 22" line. I called Fragola they told me to send the line back, they fixed it and sent it back AT NO CHARGE! That is just plain awesome. Matt was great regarding this mistake as well.

At the same time I placed the order for a fuel pressure gauge Russell Analog Fuel Pressure Gauges 650340 and the Russell ProClassic Fuel Pressure Take Off Fittings 670343




It was time to start working on the interior, and under the dash it had a lot of surface rust. I used the Klean-Strip Phosphoric Prep & Etch some and went to it. Be advise you need to cover yourself 100% because this stuff has no mercy. If you are working over concrete etc. make sure to put some plastic sheet under it as it will eat the concrete.

I sprayed some of the Prep & Etch acid and let it sit for a minute or two using a rag to keep it wet. I then started using the 3M pad and lot of elbow grease.






I then used SEM rustshield to paint the floor and firewall. At the same time the roof was painted as well, and in the hard to reach areas with a paint brush I had to use some Eastwood Rust Encapsulator. The dash was sprayed with Eastwood Satin Black.

Sebtarta

iTrader: (1)

I have a LS1 ECM with a LS3 intake and it was time to install the MAP sensor. There are many options to do this. Some say to use a regular LS3 MAP sensor other say you cannot because it reads in different BAR levels. So before I try and reinvent the wheel I decided to buy a LS1 MAP extension and mount the LS1 MAP sensor in the location of the LS3 MAP sensor.

I used 07CTS-V prcedure here and worked like a charm. Only draw back is I had to buy 10FT of 3/8" clear tube so if anyone need any to do this mod send me a PM I'll ship some for free Just need to make a bracket and should be all set.





Going to try and make it sit better that what you see on the picture. But it is tight when you push the MAP sensor in, so pretty sure it sealed. I might use some Permatex RTV to be safe.

C. Smith

Any updates by chance? read the entire thread and was disappointed at the abrupt stop. Was interested on how a few things turned out for future reference on my project. Good progress so far though, hope it's progressed well.

rennat_2006

iTrader: (10)

Whats your plans for fuel lines?
I have that tanks inc setup a a vette filter/regulator heading my way right now but cant decide how i want to do the plumbing.