Jimbo1367

LS rules. If the BBC is original, but it in safe keeping.

70_velle

thank you! My radiator and fan setup is something I pieced together myself, it’s an all star radiator with a flexalite dual fan setup. I used part number 71221006HKR but it will depend on what transmission you are using. The mounts I used set the engine forward enough to avoid cutting the tunnel for a 4l80e install

70_velle

I agree with jimbo, the LS is an amazing platform. Equal or better performance with better fuel economy and ease of use

fnbadaz06

Oh, no doubt...... I'm making over 800 flywheel horsepower N/A on the engine in my Z06.
But I cut my teeth on BBC so they always have a soft spot in my heart. BBC and 70 Chevelle go together like PBnJ

Jimbo1367

I hear ya on that. Nothing like the angry growl of a BBC

70_velle

Well it’s been a little while since I updated this, lots has changed. I did end up getting the car started around when I expected to. But unfortunately I ran into some problems. On the first startup the car was backfiring something awful, I went through all kinds of trial and error to finally find out the coil harness on the drivers side was flipped…. What a pain that was lol. With the harness the right direction the car started and idled enough to see there was oil pressure and no leaks in the cooling system. It also revealed a power steering leak. Turns out the power steering reservoir was seeping through the seam where it was bonded together, I pulled it off and ran a thin line of panel bond around the seam and that sealed it up. Now back to the main issue, there was a valve train noise in the engine. First thing I checked was the lifter preload, it was at .060” which is within the spec of 0.050-0.100. While I was checking that I noticed the rocker arms weren’t getting oil. After talking to some guys at the local machine shop I decided to try a longer set of pushrods in hopes of quoting down the noise and getting the rockers some oil. No dice. I finally bit the bullet and pulled the heads, the theory was that the lifters weren’t enough for the higher lift cam. I ended up putting in a set of Johnson 2110r lifters which are a short travel lifter. While I was upgrading the lifters I also put in a set of arp head bolts and another set of ls9 head gaskets. To get the correct preload for the Johnson lifters (0.035 +/- 0.010) I ended up using different length pushrods on the intake and exhaust.


When I got everything back together and was finally ready to start the car it was a nerve racking experience, with that amount of money invested to try and fix a problem that I wasn’t sure I could fix. On the first startup there was a little noise initially but after a few seconds of running the noise gradually disappeared!


With the valve train noise fixed I was back on track. I ended up ordering a set of torq thrusts for the summer, they’ll likely end up on my 56 bel air project down the road. The base tune was seeming close enough for an easy drive around the block. First drives are alway nerve racking but everything went fairly smooth, we made it around the block no problem.


After some tuning changes and some slight suspension changes we took the car back out around the block. Again we made it back with no problems but this time I noticed the tire was rubbing a bit on the inner fender…


This problem has since been my biggest holdup, after multiple coilover height adjustments, 3 sets of tire sizes test fit I finally clued in that the aftermarket drop spindle may be pushing the wheel out. That was in fact the case. Luckily I had a spare set of factory disc brake spindles so I swapped those over and were all good to go again!


I’ve been driving the car the odd time, mostly just short trips around the block and one longer trip to the gas station. Just cleaning up the tune and getting things set how I want them. The car works awesome! Lots of power and really good drivability. It’ll break the tires free no problem and it seems to be very quick. I’ll be taking it to the drag strip eventually to see what it runs but I also have a dragy to test with in the mean time

70_velle

I also upgraded my fuel regulator and filter from a corvette style regulator to an aeromotive unit with a Holley filter.

here’s some before and after of the wheel trim and minor stance changes



and a final engine bay picture, which also shows the final product of the rad cover

G Atsma

Love the Torq Thrusts! Such a classic look! The car is looking great too!

fnbadaz06

Looks great !!!!

Jimbo1367

I’m surprised how a quick glance it looks like a BBC with the wide VCs orange paint everywhere and Crome air cleaner

looks great

fnbadaz06

I would look into doing the same thing if I LS swapped. Those billet conversion kits can get quite pricey as well.

Jimbo1367

The billet VCers and FEAD are crazy expensive. Cheap FEAD like Kwik bracket look awful. I like the OEM look of GMPP and Holleys stuff.

Che70velle

iTrader: (6)

Very nicely done sir. One area to watch out for is rear crossmember above the rear end. When you go as low as you are with these cars, the u-joint will kiss the crossmember when hitting dips or bridges at speed. Mine is about where yours is height-wise and I’ve had this happen once with the wife and son in the car. I turned the compression up two notches on my rear adjustable shocks and never had it hit again, but it’s crazy close back there. Love the stance! Wheels are perfect also as G pointed out.

fastfrank88

Hi, did you purchase the ac compressor from vintage air or through holley with the mid mount kit? what cfm cooling fans are you using? Why the change from the corvette fuel regulator? With the drop spindle issue, would different back spacing on the rims have corrected the problem? I would like to install 2 inch drop spindles on my 70 Monte Carlo. Really nice job on the car.
thanks,
frank

John B

iTrader: (10)

Nicely done! Looks very cool with the BBC looking valve covers....you'd be surprised how many people will be looking twice, three times and even more trying to figure thiis one out!!!

rpturbo

iTrader: (47)

You surely have done a beautiful job on this car!

70_velle

Frank, the AC compressor came in the mid mount kit, I am using a flex a lite dual fan with shroud, I believe it flows something like 4000cfm. a different backspace would certainly have solved the issue, but in order to get the correct backspace I would need to get custom wheels and that just wasn't in the budget at the time.

It certainly is close, I also have the compression turned up about 3 notches in the rear and I haven't had a problem yet. Stance is key

Thanks guys!

well it has been a while since i've updated this thread, I had the car on the dyno and it picked up 40 wheel horsepower with some tuning changes! The current phase of this car is done for now, it'll eventually get some bigger brakes but that requires different wheels because of the current backspace.

70_velle

Jimbo1367

This whole car build is awesome. I think it turned out perfectly

78TranzAm

Thats an expensive "college budget" if i've ever seen one lol