BBC with 0411 Conversion 72 Chevelle
Ill have more pictures next week but I was able to build a throttle cable, the bleed the brakes, but the A/C system is turning out to be a hell of a job. I totally underestimated how complicated it could have become. After Installing an R4 compressor with custom mounts I made, I had to build the barrier hoses. Just when I thought I was done I realized that there was no inlet on the R4 for a superheat switch, so without it the A/C system has no protection. So I ordered a Vintage Air Trinary Drier. When it arrived I ran into issues with how it ties into the lines. The main issue here is that nobody is producing vintage a/c parts. Everything has been converted to 134a. In hind sight, it would have cost less and been much less work to go with a vintage air system. But in the future if I went in the "original" A/C direction I would convert it to 134a. So the Drier had to be retuned because it did not fit. I was able to secure an OE drier, and ordered an inline trinary switch which I now have to add to the liquid line. Just when I thought I was done I found out my POA valve is frozen. They are impossible to find so I will likely have to have mine rebuilt. Today I turned on the blower motor for the first time... only to realize the evaporator is all blocked up LOL! It doesn't end.
I am shooting for the first week of may to have the car on the road and begin street tuning.
I am shooting for the first week of may to have the car on the road and begin street tuning.
Let me get it pulled off the car and send it to you. Not sure how to test one and if it is bad I wouldn't expect you to pay anything. PM your address and I'll get it sent out right away.
The R4 compressor should have a port on the back to add in a high pressure safety switch. Mine had a plug in it, see a lot of them in the pull a part yards with the switch. Easy to swap the plug for a switch.
The R4 compressor should have a port on the back to add in a high pressure safety switch. Mine had a plug in it, see a lot of them in the pull a part yards with the switch. Easy to swap the plug for a switch.
Let me get it pulled off the car and send it to you. Not sure how to test one and if it is bad I wouldn't expect you to pay anything. PM your address and I'll get it sent out right away.
The R4 compressor should have a port on the back to add in a high pressure safety switch. Mine had a plug in it, see a lot of them in the pull a part yards with the switch. Easy to swap the plug for a switch.
The R4 compressor should have a port on the back to add in a high pressure safety switch. Mine had a plug in it, see a lot of them in the pull a part yards with the switch. Easy to swap the plug for a switch.
Dan
One last thing I forgot to mention... The knock sensors are working beautifully. In the beginning I had a bit of backfiring because of the timing tables and the knock sensors were picking it up. That has since been resolved but it is good to know the knock sensors are functioning as they should.
Our summer is just about over here in the North so I figured I would update my slowly progressing project. I was hoping to have this car fully built and completed by now; I have a list of excuses as to why its not done, but I am sure nobody cares about my excuses and only wants to hear about the car.
So here is a quick update: The car is on the road, but still incomplete. I have put about 100 miles on it at this point. The car itself drives great. Just about ever car we buy we update the engine on and the trans but its very rare I spend any times or $$ on brakes or suspension. This Chevelle has a completely built stock suspension with a few upgrades. As mentioned previously, it has a 12bolt rear with 3.55 gears and adjustable rear control arms; new shocks, new springs, all new bushings, new wildwood brakes & rack and pinion steering. It drives like a modern day car. So much so, it feels very similar to my 2016 Dodge Challenger. 80mph on the highway is like 30 around town, its honestly amazing and surprising. Its lost all of its boatyness, it actually handles. I'm very impressed.
Just about the whole summer was spent tuning it, and its still not perfect, but it is very close! I ran into a few issues, and in fact still dealing with one in particular which isn't effecting drivability but is throwing a check engine light. That would be a code for (P0342 if I remember correctly), Cam Position Sensor Voltage high. I'm almost thinking of disabling it because it doesn't effect drivability or startup oddly. Car starts up with one click of the key. But before I do that I want to see if I can get some more information on it first.
Onto the tuning: I have a few tuning classes under my belt and have tuned about 10 cars to date so I am novice but I do have the basics. All of my other cars have came out great. This one is just about there but there were moments during the process I really questioned if I had made a mistake. First off the cam is way too big for a stock setup. If I were installing a very mild BBC again I would totally use the stock GM stuff but a setup like this would be best as a Holley EFI setup. Part of the reason I was having the trouble I was, was because I am attempting to get "stock" (whatever that means) drivability out of a car that has an engine from 72 and a cam that is too big IMO. What makes it tough to tune is the LSA which is a 110. Now maybe on an LS1 or LS2 starting with an LS1 tune file a 110 LSA is no big issue but keep in mind I am running a Vortec 5.3 tune file so I can take advantage of E85 Flex Fuel on a older engine that is 454ci. There was a bit of scaling involved here and that has made the whole process pretty interesting. My timing tables are custom. What I mean by this is that I had to continually add and removing timing from ALL areas of the map in order to get this thing to even run. It took quite a bit of time to rethink working out just the fuel trims and moving to the timing tables to find the issues I was having. Second Issue I ran into was bad parts! I got my VE table perfect at one point. I am intent on also running a VE MAF blend. In all reality, moving to a boosted combination in the future (very distant future now) I should stop at the VE tuning and just enjoy a perfectly running car. However I did not do this... Instead I insisted on building a MAF curve only to have the MAF sensor fail half way through the process! Not realizing this I made major adjustments to the tune file only to have a car that was running great... barely run. That has since been sorted out. As I mentioned above I am still getting a code for cam position sensor fault.. that's something that needs to be worked out. Since those issues appeared I got a couple of really good rides in and some great data. And then the fuel pump failed.
Let me take a moment to bash AEM... who would not uphold their warranty, had me turn in my pump which failed in less than 200 miles, and then refused to even look at it before they charged me a $50 diagnostic fee on a $130 pump. I will never purchase anything from them again. As of today we are looking into switching to a Bosch 044. Their stuff is junk.
UPDATE TO THIS ABOVE: AEM HAS SINCE REPLACED THE PUMP UNDER WARRANTY
And a moment of praise for FLT transmissions who built a kick *** 4L60e that does EXACLTY what I wanted it to do. It feels great, shifts nice and firm and works as commanded. Also Edge Converters who I have been purchasing converters from for over a decade really hit the nail on the head with this one! The combo is amazing. The only mistake I honestly made was 3.55 gears instead of 3.73s... 3rd to 4th & Lockup are a bit aggravating with the 110lsa of the cam.. but again I am not a fan of this cam. This car would be perfect with a 112/114.
That's my quick update, hoping to have some more information and some videos before she is put away for summer. I will post them when I do!
So here is a quick update: The car is on the road, but still incomplete. I have put about 100 miles on it at this point. The car itself drives great. Just about ever car we buy we update the engine on and the trans but its very rare I spend any times or $$ on brakes or suspension. This Chevelle has a completely built stock suspension with a few upgrades. As mentioned previously, it has a 12bolt rear with 3.55 gears and adjustable rear control arms; new shocks, new springs, all new bushings, new wildwood brakes & rack and pinion steering. It drives like a modern day car. So much so, it feels very similar to my 2016 Dodge Challenger. 80mph on the highway is like 30 around town, its honestly amazing and surprising. Its lost all of its boatyness, it actually handles. I'm very impressed.
Just about the whole summer was spent tuning it, and its still not perfect, but it is very close! I ran into a few issues, and in fact still dealing with one in particular which isn't effecting drivability but is throwing a check engine light. That would be a code for (P0342 if I remember correctly), Cam Position Sensor Voltage high. I'm almost thinking of disabling it because it doesn't effect drivability or startup oddly. Car starts up with one click of the key. But before I do that I want to see if I can get some more information on it first.
Onto the tuning: I have a few tuning classes under my belt and have tuned about 10 cars to date so I am novice but I do have the basics. All of my other cars have came out great. This one is just about there but there were moments during the process I really questioned if I had made a mistake. First off the cam is way too big for a stock setup. If I were installing a very mild BBC again I would totally use the stock GM stuff but a setup like this would be best as a Holley EFI setup. Part of the reason I was having the trouble I was, was because I am attempting to get "stock" (whatever that means) drivability out of a car that has an engine from 72 and a cam that is too big IMO. What makes it tough to tune is the LSA which is a 110. Now maybe on an LS1 or LS2 starting with an LS1 tune file a 110 LSA is no big issue but keep in mind I am running a Vortec 5.3 tune file so I can take advantage of E85 Flex Fuel on a older engine that is 454ci. There was a bit of scaling involved here and that has made the whole process pretty interesting. My timing tables are custom. What I mean by this is that I had to continually add and removing timing from ALL areas of the map in order to get this thing to even run. It took quite a bit of time to rethink working out just the fuel trims and moving to the timing tables to find the issues I was having. Second Issue I ran into was bad parts! I got my VE table perfect at one point. I am intent on also running a VE MAF blend. In all reality, moving to a boosted combination in the future (very distant future now) I should stop at the VE tuning and just enjoy a perfectly running car. However I did not do this... Instead I insisted on building a MAF curve only to have the MAF sensor fail half way through the process! Not realizing this I made major adjustments to the tune file only to have a car that was running great... barely run. That has since been sorted out. As I mentioned above I am still getting a code for cam position sensor fault.. that's something that needs to be worked out. Since those issues appeared I got a couple of really good rides in and some great data. And then the fuel pump failed.
Let me take a moment to bash AEM... who would not uphold their warranty, had me turn in my pump which failed in less than 200 miles, and then refused to even look at it before they charged me a $50 diagnostic fee on a $130 pump. I will never purchase anything from them again. As of today we are looking into switching to a Bosch 044. Their stuff is junk.
UPDATE TO THIS ABOVE: AEM HAS SINCE REPLACED THE PUMP UNDER WARRANTY
And a moment of praise for FLT transmissions who built a kick *** 4L60e that does EXACLTY what I wanted it to do. It feels great, shifts nice and firm and works as commanded. Also Edge Converters who I have been purchasing converters from for over a decade really hit the nail on the head with this one! The combo is amazing. The only mistake I honestly made was 3.55 gears instead of 3.73s... 3rd to 4th & Lockup are a bit aggravating with the 110lsa of the cam.. but again I am not a fan of this cam. This car would be perfect with a 112/114.
That's my quick update, hoping to have some more information and some videos before she is put away for summer. I will post them when I do!
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I still have the car. It runs very well. I took a 500 mile trip in September. Other than a power steering pump that failed and an issue that developed with the brakes, the car has been running very well. I am making a lot of improvements this year. I have a few things I am unhappy with that I want to redo, but overall my first attempt was a very good one and the car is coming along nicely.