1970 GTO Version 2.0
 

As many of you know and many don't, my 1970 GTO was done in October of 2002.

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/fea...gto/index.html

Since then it has lived a rather quiet life. Mostly in storage. Due to some issues in my personal life and a lack of interest, the GTO was a bit neglected over the last 4-5 years. Well that changed this past weekend. I finally sold my fuel injected 502 big block. The engine will have a happy home in a Chevelle.

Stay tuned for more details and future upgrades.

Andrew

I bet this will be good :)

Wow, Andrew it took that long to sell, you and I have gone back and forth on the specifics of you car, this means you'll get another one done before me, damn,

What's the hold up? I built a couple of LS1 RX7s in the last few years as well...LOL

I am excited about this project!

Andrew

Andrew, I didn't put it together that, that was your car. I remeber reading about it back then! It was pretty much what I wanted to build out of my Buick. Looking forward to meeting you even more now!

No Monies, or time, too much other stuff going on, but I do stuff on it little by litttle,

Thank you Shaun for the L92!!! Anyone that needs an engine, contact Shaun regarding some great deals on an L92:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...82#post8880682

The big ugly truck intake will need to go, as will the water pump and balancer. I also picked up a take out LS7 cam, LS7 valve springs with retainers from Jeff Schwartz. I will post pictures of the new engine tomorrow.

Andrew

Haha, Andrew small world. Shaun is a friend I meet while racing at Blackhawk farms with the midwest council clubs.

I spoke with him a few days ago about the engines. I wish I had more available room and cash for the one.

Matt

Small world indeed! I have to pick up a bunch of other little parts now.

Andrew

Well holy mackerel - I remember reading that article too! (Probably still have it around here somewhere...)

Definitely looking forward to "the rein-CAR-nation" now!! :D :rotflmao:

The other small world detail is that he sold the big-block to a guy in Janesville, WI of all places...were there happened to be a guy selling new L92s cheap.

Thanks for the kind words Andrew. Hopefully I will see you and Matt both at Blackhawk Farms or Autobahn CC in the near future. I'm excited to see both your projects in motion!

Looking forward to reading more about this project. The '70 GTO is one of my favorites.

Here is the engine that I got from Shaun. Stock L92.

Andrew

When I got home this afternoon I found some Edelbrock goodies waiting for me. Here are the engine mount plates:

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo08.jpg

Judging by the engine cradle these mounting plates will put the bellhousing in very close proximity to where it was before. This is critical for me since I am not changing anything rear of the engine.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo07.jpg

The Edelbrock headers came with a complete gasket and bolt kit, but I am going to use the stock MLS exhaust gaskets and bolts. The stock gasket matches the headers well.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo06.jpg

The headers are gorgeous!!!

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo05.jpg

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo04.jpg

The L92s feature variable valve timing. Since I am going to swap cams I will need a non VVT front cover. The balancer will also be swapped over to a C6 Corvette unit.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo01.jpg

Shot down the intake port:

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo02.jpg

Andrew

Wow, glad to see progress so soon!

I wonder if those headers will fit the 73...

Any decision on a pan?

Keep us posted!

I am still undecided about the pan. I really want to use an OEM style pan. Tomorrow I am going to order a bunch of things to get the engine ready to drop in.

Andrew

Enlighten us on the headers, very nice!

The headers are just amazing. Here are some more details:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-swaps/812584-new-edelbrock-body-ls-conversion-package-coming-out-08-a.html

Stainless and coated!

Andrew

Do you know if they have released the ones for the 1st gen F body, I'll search Edel's site too,

I don't believe so. If Edelbrock is going to come out with some headers for 1st gen F-bodies, it will be worth the wait.

Andrew

We are just about to start on the 1st gen F-body in the next week if all goes well. I did the crate engine headers first and then the headerback. Expect to see LSx pieces on the shelf sometime in the summer. The engine adapter plates will be the sameones as the A-body.

Nice, then get to work on a BMW e36 set :jest:

The headers look great :)

Andrew , I used to post on the rx7 boards alot and we talked a bit about the turbo 5.3 in my mustang , not sure if you remember or not? ANYWAY .... I remember reading about the car long ago in the real street eliminator and always wondered if you still had it .

Great to see it coming back to life and better then ever !!!!!!! I cant wait to see it all back together . My only question is now whats gonna happen to the shaker?

Karl, thanks for the reply, define summer, June/July, interested, nice looking product!!!

I would like to give you a locked down date, but like in all things it can get away from us. I would think July/August is a better guess.......and I do mean guess. Sorry I can't be more specfic.

Parts are slowly starting to trickle in. I got the proper cam gear to use with the LS7 cam. I also got a take off C6 water pump.

For the sake of my sanity, I removed the lifter valley cover just to double check that this engine does not have Displacement on Demand. It does not.

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo09.jpg

Andrew

I was under the impression it did not have DOD. But, I'm glad you confirmed it.

Man that engine looks nice, new, and clean inside. I think the guy should have charged you more for it!:engarde:

Just funnin. Keep the pics coming Andrew. This is exciting!

One of the coils was broken. It all evens out in the end...LOL

Andrew

Way to take a bullet for me man! That was the one I was going to keep.
I hope a replacement wasn't too out of line, $ wise.

I was kind of hoping it had the Dod. I wonder why it was not installed?

From what I can gather, the DoD is only on the trucks, not on the SUVs.

Andrew

Received the Keisler aluminum bellhousing today. Nice piece.

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo10.jpg

Andrew

Lots of goodies showed up today including the L76 intake manifold kit:

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo11.jpg

Andrew

Thanks Andrew.....

Now I really realize how ugly my truck manfold is...

Does it clear the truck water pump (do you still have it laying around)?

Today I took off the truck balancer and the front cover. This is what the VVT system looks like:

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo12.jpg

The VVT cam use a single bolt to attach the cam gear and VVT mechanism:

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo13.jpg

The LS7 cam uses the typical 3 bolt style cam gear. You just have to make sure to get the correct gear with the right pattern of bumps for the cam sensor. I got mine as a handy little kit from Lingenfelter.

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo14.jpg

Once the cam was installed I bolted on an LS2 from cover along with a C6 water pump and balancer. With the exception of the hollow stem valves, and of course the LS7 cam, this is pretty much an LS3 now.

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo15.jpg

I also installed the AutoKraft oilpan. I really wanted to use an OEM style cast pan, but no one seems to agree what pan will work best. So I went with something that is proven to fit and retains the oil filter in the stock location.

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo16.jpg

Tomorrow I will be installing some Patriot Gold dual springs and doing some minor detailing.

Andrew

More progress over the weekend. I finished installing the Patriot Gold dual springs and hardened pushrods. I am pretty sure I went overkill on the springs, but I figure if I don't like this LS7 cam, I can just stab another one in it without having to worry about the springs.

Next I wanted to check the alignment of the Keisler bellhousing. I took the engine off the stand and placed the bellhousing against the block. Tick, tick, tick, tick...it was rocking back and forth. No good. I inspected it and it looks like someone dropped the bellhousing after it was machined. It put a slight dent on the corner and didn't allow the bellhousing to sit flat against the block. Little work with the file and it was good to go. This is a perfect example of why parts should be mocked up before installing them in the car. I may not have noticed this if I was on my back, under the car, trying to install it.

Next I wanted to check the alignment. I first measured the flatness. Very impressive, at .001".

Next I wanted to check the runout. I installed the dial indicator so it would ride on the inside of the bearing retainer register. This is what centers the transmission in the bellhousing. I set the indicator to zero.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo17.jpg

Rotated the engine 90 degrees. Still zero. Good.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo18.jpg

Rotated another 90 degrees. .005". Not bad.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo19.jpg

Rotated another 90 degrees. .004". Great.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo20.jpg

So the most the needle moved was .005". Divide that by 2 and you get total runout of .0025". Well under the recommended .005". Other than the minor issue with the bellhousing, I am pretty impressed.

Next it was time to see how the input shaft engages the pilot bearing. I am using a stock LS7 pilot bearing. I am happy with the engagement.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo21.jpg

Then I wanted to install the clutch so that I can take some measurements for getting the right hydraulic throw out bearing. Everyone should have a nice clutch alignment took. This one is from Quarter Master and is way better than a plastic one.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo22.jpg

There you have it, clutch and bellshousing installed. I am using a stock LS7 clutch on an LS2 flywheel. Heavy, but it will drive great. The distance from the clutch fingers to the outside of the bellhousing was 3.25". I will elaborate on why that's important later.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo23.jpg

I used some high temp "cast aluminum" paint to add a little detail to the valve covers.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo24.jpg

Time to start working on the car and get it ready for the engine. I want to redo some of the wiring as well as some of the fuel lines in the engine compartment.

Andrew

Sure, mock me for using a LS7 clutch and then go and use one yourself :D

That isn't a clutch alignment tool - it is an input shaft :hail:

Looks great and seems to be coming along nicely :)

I am mocking myself for using that damn thing. It's a fucking truck clutch. Then again my GTO is no lightweight. The heavy clutch, combined with a mild engine will make the car very easy to drive.

Anyone still using those plastic donkey dick alignment tools should really get one of these. It squares the disk perfectly and the transmission just slides in without hassles. Best 30 bucks you will ever spend.

Andrew

Looks nice. The Autokraft pan looks like a very quality piece.

Tom

Today I got a few more pieces of the puzzle. I was exploring the Keisler website and I looked in the "clutch actuation" section. Their hydraulic kit seemed like exactly what I was looking for. I only got the partial kit that does not include the hydraulic throwout bearing. Keisler is in the market of selling Tremec transmissions, so the TOB is designed to mount on a TKO. I have a Richmond, so I will connect the dots from the MC. Looks like a quality piece and exactly what I need. The MC has a 3/4" bore and a travel of 1.5". That should make just about any hydraulic bearing puke its guts, so I will have to mock everything up and make sure that the bearing is not being over extended.

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo25.jpg

I also ordered a Quarter Master street throw out bearing.

http://www.racingclutches.com/produc...=53&cat_key=89

Andrew

Andrew,

I have been thinking about that also. I saw another picture posted by them on Team Chevelle thread several months back. It looks like they changed the fabbed piece just slightly. The price seemed high for the complete TKO kit but after looking at the cost of the bearing it's not really that bad. Let us know how it works as I may order one also. Keep the pictures coming.

Tom

Tom,

I will keep you updated. The parts that I got today were under $300. It is a little on the pricey side, but everything looks to be well thought out and well made. The adapter is not billet, as the website says, but thats not an issue for me as long as it works as advertised. There are some lower cost hydraulic bearings that I found on eBay. My buddy John Parsons is using the Howe bearing with great success. I am hoping the Quarter Master bearing will work as well. The plan is to mock everything up and check bearing travel, before bolting it all together. I am pretty meticulous when it comes to certain driveline items. Most people underestimate their importance.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew,

I pretty sure I am going to use that also. I thought about going the Tilton pedal set up to take the factors of my limited knowledge out of the equation on the correct angle.
I think that is what II much is running on his or maybe Wilwood. I don't really want manual brakes though. In any case I am subscribed to your threads on this board and another and really look forward to your updates. Your details are very helpful and I suspect your future findings will help many of us before we cross these bridges.

Tom

Today I got some more parts for the swap. I got a starter, power steering pump, and a bunch of little parts to complete my accessory drive system. What I have here is basically the C5/C6 layout.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo26.jpg

I also received the GM Performance Parts harness and ECU package. Pretty good value when you consider that it is very complete. It comes with a big relay center and an auxiliary fuse panel that needs to be mounted somewhere. Its fairly ugly so I don't really know where I am going to put it yet.

Andrew

The benefits of being a bachelor and living alone include being able to have a bunch of car parts in the living room and not hearing "THE DISPOSAL IS CLOGGED!!!" LOL

Besides the engine swap I am doing some suspension mods. I already have some coilovers in the front. The springs in the front are 550 lb/inch. They were marginal with the big block. I think they will work very well with the L92, so for now I am not messing with them. In the rear I currently have some springs that I got way back in the day, from HO Racing.

Who remembers them? If you do, your old!!!

I wanted the ability to adjust the ride height in the rear and more importantly have the ability to properly set the corner weights once the car is done. There are all kinds of solutions to accomplish this, I chose a very nice product from Budzter:

https://www.budzter.com/index.html

Not cheap, but the quality is outstanding and it is a true bolt on. No hacking of the rear is required and its fully reversible. I like that. The spring is 9.5" tall, 175 lb/inch from the Coleman Racing catalog.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo27.jpg

Andrew

that is just freakin sexxy man good luck with her!!!

lol is that a dead squirel by the stereo??

It's a dog toy...LOL...next to a printer.

Andrew

I got my Vette regulator/filter combo the other day. There are many ways to make it work in custom applications. I chose to go to the local hydraulic supply store and get some fittings. The compression fittings were about $12 bucks for the pair. Steel, made by Eaton. Dorman and autoparts stores can officially kiss my ass. The little tube in the picture was 16 bucks. Grrr....

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo28.jpg

Andrew

It seems that just when you think something will only take a short time, the bottom falls out. I got the fittings this morning and got under the car. It's a good thing the rear end was out, because I am not sure if I could have done this with the rear end installed. That also makes me worried that it might be hard to get to the filter for maintenance, but I will cross that bridge when the time comes.

So here is the final installation. It was a little challenging because I didn't have quite enough room. There were some existing lines that I wanted to reuse and this is the best layout that I could come up with.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo29.jpg

Andrew

Looks great so far andrew!!!

-Matt

Thanks Matt!

I also got the got the Quarter Master "street" hydraulic bearing today. Remember how I said in a previous post that the clutch fingers are 3.25" away from the face of the bellhousing? Well this is where that dimension is critical. The bearing has to be shimmed so that it is .100"-.150" from the clutch fingers. The shims go between the bearing retainer and the bearing and move it closer to the clutch fingers. I have mine set with a .090" gap. Tighter than what is recommended, but I am comfortable with it. The gap is needed because as the clutch wears, the spring fingers will move back towards the bearing. If there is no gap, the spring fingers will start to press against the bearing and there is the potential for clutch slippage due to decreased spring pressure.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo30.jpg

Andrew

awsome project, and great documentation! keep it coming!

So tonight I tackled the installation of the Keisler clutch master kit. Overall I am pretty pleased with this setup. I had to clearance a small section of the mounting plate to clear the steering column, however that is no fault of the product. As I recall, my steering column is a hair over to the left. I did that so the steering shaft would clear the headers. The notch is minor as you can see in the picture:

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo31.jpg

The rod from the MC to the pedal makes a straight shot and fits well. I did have to remove the little bracket that held my backup light switch, so I will have to figure out something else for that.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo32.jpg

Once everything was installed I wanted to test how far my throw out bearing would move with the full travel of the clutch pedal. This is important because moving the bearing past a certain point will cause it to leak and possibly get damaged. So I connected a long hard line to the MC and ran it to the outside of the car. Connected my Quarter Master release bearing, and bled the system.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo33.jpg

It turned out that the bearing moved about .610" with the full stroke of the clutch pedal. This is perfect considering that the max travel on this bearing is about .650". The net step will be to see how well the bearing releases the clutch. Tomorrow I will bolt everything together and mock it up outside the car. This seems like a lot of work, but it sure beats taking everything apart after the fact.

Andrew

Today I wanted to finalize the clutch hydraulics and confirm that everything will work. So I bled the clutch. I know that there are numerous methods out there, as well as all kinds of tools. My favorite solo bleeding method is still the "clear bottle with a tube" method.

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo34.jpg

Remember that bleeding hydraulics is not about pressure. There is no need to pump the pedal as hard and fast as you can. The goal is to displace air and replace it with fluid. Gently moving fluid through the system does just that, without aerating the fluid.

Once the hydraulics were free of air I was able to press on the clutch pedal to see what was happening at the bearing. The nice thing about doing this outside of the car is that I am able to look through the clutch fork hole and see exactly what is happening inside the bellhousing. I discovered that the fittings on the side of the throw out bearing were touching the clutch pressure plate. The LS7 clutch spring fingers sit a good ways down when the pressure place is bolted to the flywheel. So the solution was to press the bearing off the piston and put some shims behind it. This way there is more space between the body of the bearing and the face of the bearing. Hard to imagine what I am talking about.

Here is the bearing at rest, with the shims already installed.

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo35.jpg

Here is the bearing at full release.

http://www.pro-touring.com/%7Eandrewb/gtov2/photo36.jpg

The pedal is firmer than I expected, but the release is super smooth. So much better than the mechanical bearing with the z-bar. I would recommend this mod to anyone, regardless of engine choice.

Andrew

Andrew, Very good stuff. I don't mean to troll all your posts, rather just want you to know they are appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom

Tom,

I really appreciate your response. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is getting any benefit from my posts.

Andrew

:violin: We all care, really :lol:

I am jealous of your access to that throw out bearing; on my car that is several hour's work just to get to it :bang:

Keep up the pictures :)

Andrew
I know I'm benifitting!!
Cannot wait to see how the GM harness and LS7 cam work out 4 you!
Keep the pics and tech coming!!
-Shaun-

Andrew, is that a factory column in the car? If so, what steering u joint did you go with?

Rob,

C'mon now. I don't care if anyone cares. I just want to provide some tech that I rarely see on this site, or any other. I've had my 15 minutes...LOL

The access to the bearing is greatly enhanced due to the fact that the engine is sitting next to the car, not under it!!!

Matt,

The column is from Flaming River. The joints are from Burgeson or Flaming River. I don't remember at this point. Either company can set you up with joints for a stock column or one of their own.

Shaun,

I am a little curious how the LS7 harness will work. The harness will fit, I am not worried about that. I am more concerned about the tune. Word has it that these ECUs are not programmable. Still waiting for the final word on that though.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iv-external-engine/849964-gm-performance-ls-engine-control-harness-video.html

Andrew

I'm watching and paying attention, looks good Andrew,

and your luckey on the Batchelor part, right when I get both hand on something I get Can you come hear for a minute??

Today I worked on the rear end. I degreased it and gave it a rattle can make over. Along with the cosmetic touch up I installed new upper control arm bushings and finished up the installation of the weight jacks.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo37.jpg

If anyone else is using these weight jacks, I would highly recommend painting them. They are steel with a black oxide coating. I already saw signs of surface rust after sitting in the garage for only 2 weeks.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo38.jpg

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo39.jpg

Tomorrow the rear end will get plugged back in and I will start on the wiring. With any luck, the engine will be going in next weekend.

Andrew

Looks great,

Your making all this look way to easy and us married guy's look lazy.
Keep the post and pictures coming.

Thanks,
Tom

+1 on that!

My wifes change oil light was on for a week b4 I even had time in the garage to get to that! Needless to say not much movement on the Buick/L92 swap!


Though I did get the L92 on an engine stand. And I see a good use for the pallet in your last post.

Keep up the good work Andrew!

-Shaun-

wow! looks great andrew. Can't wait to see it on the road again.

What height of rear springs are you planning on running?

I got some 9.5" tall springs, 175lb/inch.

This is what the spring looks like with the car on the ground at the new ride height:

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo40.jpg

Before, it was 28" from the top of the wheel well to the ground. Now it's at 26". Looks great.

I have to make some sort of rear axle retention strap. Since the car is lowered the shock is too long to keep tension on the spring when the suspension is extended.

Andrew

It is amazing what difference 2" in ride height makes. The rear seems to sit so much lower now. I am sure part of this is due to the fact that I have tall tires and now they looked tucked inside the wheel well.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo41.jpg

Andrew

Looks Good. I believe you have a 18/295/45? As I recall I ordered the tires I have currently based on findings from your build about 1-1/2 years ago. I liked the 18" wheel with a little bit of sidewall like you have there since the A body has such a big opening. I have been considering going to a 305/35 as I get use to the bigger wheel look, just don't want the rubber band look. Lets see some current full shots of that GTO. Also, you got a fireplace in your garage?

Tom

If anyone is interested, this is what DOD looks like from the outside looking at the valley cover...oil supply channels built in to the valley cover, control solenoids underneath it, and a plug at the back to connect into the harness. The LS2/L92/LS7 valley cover is simply flat with O Ring seals underneath to block off the DOD feed channels to the lifters, plus an oil seperator.

Attachment 127335

Click for full size....(photo credit to Swingtan on ls1.com.au. Could not find the photo I took of my plant)

The front and rear cylinders also have different lifters (on this bank - middle two on the other), which have springs on top and are hydraulically switched on and off via the solenoids through the channels shown in Andrew's other photo above.

Cheers.

I am very happy you are doing all of this to the GTO. It is truely an amazing car. Even sitting dusty under a carport in the middle of the night.:joecool:

I can't wait to see photos of the finished product.

Jesse

Tom,

I am indeed running 295/45-18s. It is a Nitto 555. The older cars definitely look better with some sidewall. I was thinking about changing over to a 295/35-18 or a 305/35-18, but I don't think I will like how a 26 inch tire will look.

I do indeed have a fireplace in my garage. It seems that the people that build the house back in the 50s, really liked their garage time. LOL

Andrew

Simple stupid question. What transmission and pilot bushing are you using?
Looks like a TKO, and I thought the TKO had the same input shaft length as a Muncie. The LS motors typically have the T56 bushing which wont fully engage the tremec input shaft.
GM offers an extended pilot bushing for mating a muncie to an LS motor. Which pilot bushing are you using? BTW, I'm planning on an LS/TKO combination myself.

I am using a Richmond 6 speed which has the same input shaft length as the TKO, Muncie, T10, etc. It is 6.66" from the face of the trans to the end of the input shaft. I am using an LS7 pilot bearing. If you look at the pictures, you will see that the LS7 bearing sits in the larger outer register in the crank. The standard bearing sit inside the smaller register that is deeper inside the crank. By using the LS7 bearing there is no need for an extended bushing.

Andrew

very nice i like you attention to detail

Oh, so that's wher GM got it's muncie conversion pilot bushing!

Post #36 of this thread has a picture of the pilot with the input shaft inside it.

Andrew

I have been working on getting the wiring sorted out. The GMPP harness has three huge connectors that go to the ECU. In order to fit them through the firewall I would need at least a 3" hole. There is already a 2" hole in the firewall so I wanted to see if I could somehow feed the harness through it. The only way to do that was to start feeding the harness from the inside. With some effort I was able to feed it through. However the huge relay center was not going to make it. So I cut the wires to the relay center. It's no big deal since I will most likely have to lengthen that harness anyway. I would like to mount the relay center on the radiator support so it will not be so visible.

I also fixed some wiring oddities that were done by a shop that did the wiring during the original build. Odd things, like having wires that went from the bulkhead connector fed through the firewall then back out through the firewall, and back to the backup switch. Who does that s**t?

Another thing that I will have to do is get a different pedal. The one that is included with the GMPP harness kit is just plain awful. It is big, and huge, and ugly, and pretty much looks like it's made for semi truck. I think a pedal from a Corvette or a Chevy Malibu might work much better. Maybe a quick trip to the dealership is in order. LOL

Andrew

Frickin hot car man! That is going to be one awesome Goat!

Sometimes one has to wonder, "WHAT THE F**K WERE THESE PEOPLE THINKING?" GMPP did a very nice job coming out with a harness and ECU combo that was priced right, fits well, and is easy to hook up. Then you realize that the engineer who speced the gas pedal has never turned a wrench in his (or her) life. The pedal that they send with the harness kit is on the right:

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo42.jpg

It is HUGE and looks like it belongs on a dump truck. I can't imagine that it would fit into any car or streetrod etc...

Thanks for Jeff Schwartz, I got an alternative. The pedal on the left is from a 2007 Monte Carlo SS.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo43.jpg

Nice and tidy, with an easy to mount flange. I was able to position it exactly where the old gas pedal was. I even used one of the original holes, drilled an extra hole, and was done.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo44.jpg

So with some luck, I hope to drop the engine in this weekend.

Andrew

Not much to say, as a picture is worth a thousand words:

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo45.jpg

Andrew

In a word... SWEET!

Cannot wait to see how it runs w the harness and new cam!!

-Shaun-

I am actually not that far from firing it up. Maybe even tomorrow. It is always a milestone to hear the engine come to life!

Speaking of harnesses. I really hate the convoluted split loom. I reloomed a section of the harness, that runs inside, with some expandable nylon loom. Wow is that nice. I may get some split nylon loom and redo the whole harness.

Andrew

Andrew

Did you get the Edelbrock Headers to fit w your big block's exhaust?

What do you plan to run for a radiator?

Hopefully you get some video of this bad-boy running!

-Shaun-

Don't know about Andrew but with my Chevelle LS2 conversion the edelbrock headers are not as long as the Dynomax headers I had before. To use the exhaust from my 454, I would have to extend the pipe about 2-3" on each side.

I am going from 3" exhaust down to 2 1/2 for the LS2 so I won't be using my exhaust anyway.

My exhaust will have to be changed slightly as well. The new Edelbrock headers are shorter than the Hooker Super Comps that I used to have. I also have a 3.5" X-pipe. I haven't decided what to do with all that yet.

Today I finally got done with modifying the GMPP engine harness. There were a few things that I did not like about it and I also wanted to give it some custom touches. The thought crossed my mind to completely reloom the harness, but I decided against it. Once I got the harness all hooked up and routed, it was pretty obvious that most of the harness is not really visible. It tucks very nicely behind the engine. The most visible parts are the extremities. The little branches that go to the various sensors, throttle body, and injectors. So I addressed just those areas. Here you can see how I kept the main branch of the portion of the harness that tuns along the fuel rail. What I did reloom were all the little fuel injector sections. You can also see the fuel line. It is a smooth bore Teflon braided stainless line that I covered with the nylon loom material.

http://pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo47.jpg

Here you can see a section of the harness that had several branches going to the coolant temp sensor, alternator, crank sensor and MAF. It looked like this:

http://pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo48.jpg

I changed it to this:

http://pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo49.jpg

Not a huge difference, but a small detail.

I also routed the line from the coolant crossover tube. This tube can be routed to several places. The most popular is to run it to the radiator by the upper radiator hose. Others run a T in the upper radiator hose and routed there. On 5.3L Trailblazers the line runs to the large heater hose. So I drilled and tapped the water pump and ran a stainless hardline from the crossover tube to the water pump.

http://pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo46.jpg

Getting really close to firing it up!

Andrew

Look at all that room even with the radiator installed. I love the Corvette accessories. Plenty of room on the passenger side for a GT42R. :secret2:

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo50.jpg

I would say 75% of the engine is behind the front axle centerline. With any luck this thing will have about a 50/50 weight distribution.

Andrew

Andrew,

Awesome progress! The wiring looks real clean. It looks like you will be driving soon. I will be curious on the cam swap you did. I really want to change mine but LG looks like the only after market company showing results which appear to be very good on the LS3. I called them but they advise to buy the $1500.00 cam kit which includes springs etc. I guess I must be stuck in a time warp SBC/BB era when that meant cam, alum heads and intake for that money. Is that a Katech tensioner or is OEM Y-Body?

Thanks,
Tom

Tom,

I am using a Katech tensioner. On my RX7 with the LS6 I had some issues with throwing the belt. Part of the problem might have been the fact that I was not running a power steering pump. Part of the problem might also been that I had a flywheel and clutch that was less than 20 pounds, total. So this time around I wanted something that would allow me to set the belt tension. It also adds a little bling.

PM me for my thoughts on cams.

Andrew

Andrew

Did the factory truck spark plug wires clear your Edelbrock headers?
I've been reading that the metal surrounds interfere w other brands.

Also, did the L92 dipstick clear?

Great progress by the way!

-Shaun-

The stock spark plug wires seem to fit fine. A couple of cylinders have the tubes very close to the top of the boots, but as long as they don't touch, I don't worry. The L92 dipstick clears, but I am not be able to close the hood...:eyes:Same story with the oil filler tube. I think a Corvette dipstick and filler tube are in my future.

Andrew

Thats bad news. I wouldn't think that my 73 has a ton more hood clearance. Maybe keeping the truck stuff isn't going to happen for me...

Is the y-body filler tube and dipstick much different from the f-body stuff?

I am joking about the hood not closing. It all fits, its just ugly. The F-body and the y-body should be very similar.

Andrew

Ok. Here I was devising a plan to keep the truck accessories, but custom mounting the alt low on the pass side.


...or didtching the VVT and copying you.

Here is a short video of the engine being fired up:

Video Link

Please do Right click and Save Link As.

Sorry about the quality. It was made with a cell phone. LOL

Andrew

:headbang:
Awesome!!
You know I'm living vicariously through you until I get mine going, right?
The next video I hope to see is laying some rubber down w/ the L92!

So I am down to all of the little details that can take a long time to get done. Basically I am down to "connecting the dots." I got a small tube that goes from the power steering reservoir to the power steering pump. That allowed me to install the power steering pulley and finalize the accessory drive with a belt. I really like the Katech belt tensioner. I had some belt throwing issues on the RX7 and I am sure that this will cure any potential issues.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo51.jpg

I also mounted the fuse and relay panel that came with the GMPP harness. Originally I thought I wanted to mount it on the radiator support. This would have made it less obvious. The downside to that is that all of the wires would need to be lengthened. I really didn't feel like doing that. Having it on the firewall gives me quick access to all of the fuses and the relays. There is also a "check engine" LED installed in the fuse panel. Having it on the firewall will allow me to quickly glance and see if there are any trouble codes. The number one reason for putting it on the firewall is that it allowed me to cover up some of the holes that were there from the coil and ignition box.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo52.jpg

I also installed and bled the new, .700" bore clutch MC. The Keisler kit came with a .750" bore but I wanted a softer pedal and less bearing travel. You can see the hardline going from the MC down along the frame rail. It then mates with the braided line coming off the throw out bearing.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo53.jpg

Speaking of MCs. I also changed the brake MC. This one is a 15/16" bore MC from a 1979 Malibu. While I had no issues with my S10 quick take up MC, I was a little concerned about the shallow pushrod dimple. This MC has a very deep pushrod hole as well as a little snap ring that keep the pushrod retained inside the MC.

http://www.pro-touring.com/~andrewb/gtov2/photo54.jpg

Tomorrow I need to order some radiator hose couplers from Jags That Run.

Andrew

i have a 03 5.3 with dbw. do most pedals interchange.my drop out didn't come with a pedal.

giggle giggle. :punch::D

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...i/000_0173.jpg

-matt