turbotuner20v

I've been using this site quite a bit lately to search for info to help with my build, so I figured I may as well start a thread about the build.

The basics are:

Gen IV 6.0L iron block
Stock crank
Eagle H-beam rods with ARP 2000 bolts
Wiseco pistons (4.005 bore, -3.2cc, ~10:1)
ARP main studs
ARP head studs
LS9 head gaskets
Lightly ported LSA heads
226/238 115+3 cam
Custom E85 fuel system
ProCharger F-1A w/ 4.0 pulley, 8-rib direct drive w/ IW 8" crank pulley
McLeod RXT clutch

Time to get started:


Removed the exhaust and trans tunnel brace to get the trans and torque tube ready to drop, plus pulled some misc. blower parts:




Pulled the D1SC blower:



Upgrading to the F-1A


Intake manifold, fuel rail, wiring loom, ect. removed:


Shifter removed, shocks/control arms/e-brake/misc. disconnected.. pretty much ready to drop:


Disconnected the brake line that ran through the cradle and capped it:


Removed the rear cradle with diff/trans and torque tube:





Split the tranny from the rear cradle to replace the tail shaft housing seal that was leaking and install the ECS diff brace:







Engine out:


Dropped the fuel tanks to begin building the fuel system:


Pulled the fuel level sender off my original pump assembly to reuse on the new Z06 one... kind of a pain to split it out of the harness, but I guess that's how GM does it since they don't come as a package (driver side pump on the left, passenger on the right):





Replaced the pressure regulator in the passenger side fuel pump with a bypass to send fuel back to the driver side tank at all times no matter what the base fuel pressure is set at:



Replaced the pressure regulator in the driver side fuel pump with a cap to regulate at the rail:




Installed the bulkhead fittings in the driver tank:


Installing the driver side fuel pump was kind of a bitch… the string trick worked pretty well though:



Reinstalled the fuel tanks:

turbotuner20v

Built the fuel system for the rear section. Stock pump feeds the ‘Y’ below 3psi, then above 3psi, both pumps are running. The fuel return uses the stock feed line:






Found some copper pipe foam insulation for the fuel line so it won’t rattle in the rocker:


Modified the accessory bracket for the Dallas Performance direct drive system:


New parts…

Picked up a set of Bosch 127lb/hr injectors:


McLeod RXT clutch w/ aluminum flywheel and arp hardware:


Innovators West 8” 8-rib balancer:


Tial 50mm bov with 11psi spring. The plan is to keep my original proflo bypass valve pre-intercooler to vent at part throttle, then the Tial will release the large build up of pressure on shifts:


Welded a flange to my end tank for the Tial 50mm:



Upgrading from a Z51 oil cooler to Z06 oil cooler:


Both installed:



New motor unwrapped and mounted on the engine stand:


Installed and degreed the cam and installed the rear cover:



3-bolt LS9 specs


3-bolt LS7 specs


I just went with the LS9 specs

Comp Cams 4796 degree kit:

Gauge zeroed off the lobe:

Indicator at max lift:

Indicator zeroed at max lift:

.050" on the opening side:

Degree wheel reading .050" on the opening side:

.050" on the closing side:

Degree wheel reading .050" on the closing side:

My measurements indicate the cam is retarded 1*, which should be fine


Even though I'm keeping a 3.622" stroke, the aftermarket rods and ARP bolts need extra clearance from the windage tray, so my motor was built w/ an LS7 tray. This doesn't work out of the box with the LS3 oil pick up though, so I had to cut out a window in the windage tray for the pick up bracket to fit, then modify the bracket base to fit in the pocket.


Shortblock finshed and ready for the heads:


Ported LSA heads:

Intake before/after:

Exhaust after:


LS9 gaskets on:

turbotuner20v

Had to grind this small bump on each side of the LS3 manifold to fit the LSA heads:


Installed the front steam vent from a truck on the back of my heads to vent all 4 corners:


Heads installed, intake manifold fitment tested… and blower on just because it looks cool : )


Ready to drop the motor in next. After realizing that there are a few differences on mounting points on the gen 4 iron block, I installed everything as it will be in the car to make sure it went together ok and there weren't any surprises.

First problem, the iron block doesn't have a hole that must exist on whatever car Dallas Performance used create their direct drive system.



I guess I'll just skip it... I actually needed that hole to zip tie my cam position sensor wire anyways since the metal mounting bracket/shield won't work w/ the larger balancer.

Everything put together on the stand to check for any other discrepancies


Pretty handy tool on a blower car, Gates laser alignment tool


Calibration was a little off out of the box, so I had to dial it in


Example of a 'good' pulley w/ the light hitting the 2nd ridge from the front


Example of a 'bad' pulley with the light falling in the groove before the 2nd ridge from the front


I'll need to shim the blower pulley closer to the motor to get it lined up just right

I got a larger tensioner idler as part of my f1a upgrade, but it seems to be out of wack too... probably need to call procharger and see if that's even their part and see what I should be running on the 8 rib.


Guy on LS1tech makes these little flywheel lock tools... very cheap and gets the job done


Torqued the balancer to final specs w/ some red thread lock and now it's ready to go in (hopefully I can wiggle it in w/ everything installed as is, otherwise I'll have to remove some accessories)


Engine is in and all accessories are connected:


Clutch and bellhousing installed, wiring harness installed (few differences in mounting locations LS3 vs. gen IV iron block)


Trans/diff/rear cradle installed:



Rear suspension installed:


Installed the axle loops:



Installed the rear steam vent and lines, intake manifold, fuel rail, throttle body, valve covers, coils, relocated the EVAP lines and ran the lines for the crank case vent, plus cleaned up the wires as best I could:




Ran the wires for the fuel pump too and installed the hobbs switch in the vacuum manifold.

Drove over to ProCharger and picked up some blower pulley spacers. One of these should line me up with the crank pulley and then I can get the blower and belts installed:


Built the return section of the fuel system and mounted the regulator w/ boost reference and the katech remote bleeder.


Modified my catch can to avoid running a line to the filter for clean air. Valley plate routes to tank 1 (left), then from tank 1 to the intake manifold nipple (with check valve). Valve covers 'T' and route to tank 2 (right, with filter). I'm moving the battery to the rear, so the catch can will sit where the battery was.


Mounted the stock battery in the right rear cubby. The stock battery is definitely a snug fit when factoring in adding something to hold it down:



Installed the catch can where the battery used to be located:

Detoxx03

iTrader: (14)

Looking forward to seeing it next month in Houston. It's crazy how close our cam specs are.

turbotuner20v

Nice, I like how your car sounded in that vid you posted, so I'm looking forward to both the sound and power now.

Detoxx03

iTrader: (14)

Thanks man. Keep up the great work.

V-seriesTech

iTrader: (5)

Badass build man....in your garage too. Awesome.

Blown06

iTrader: (32)

Awesome write up.

Just a tip on the gates laser alignment tool...

I though the "paper alignment tool" provided was garbage, so I bought two identical alternator pulley's (cheap) and calibrate the laser off that on a flat surface.

turbotuner20v

Yea, it took some flattening and bending to get it setup just right. It says that my existing oe pulleys (alternator and power steering) are still in alignment though, so I think that's good verification of the calibration.

Bob@BruteSpeed

iTrader: (16)

Awesome documentation on the build! Bob

turbotuner20v

Thanks, I'm hoping to have it running on the 2nd.

I8UR4RD

iTrader: (16)

going to run like a raped ape! not sure if i missed it, but what size pulley are you running?

turbotuner20v

4" blower and 8" balancer, maxed out at 74k

TheLS1Lover

I agree with Bob, amazing documentation! Love build threads like this. Plus JSB is the best C6 color! (Sorry Detoxx03)

turbotuner20v

Thanks! I agree, but I'm probably biased

V-seriesTech

iTrader: (5)

^ badass...

Detoxx03

iTrader: (14)

None taken its my second favorite color

b16gsr

iTrader: (5)

i was happy to be a little part of the build. looks killer and can't wait to see it put a number down.

turbotuner20v

Having an extra set of hands to get that tranny in was a big help, that would have been a pain to do solo

turbotuner20v

I can see why some people talk about 4-rib belt slip on the direct drive without the manual a/c tensioner, this belt definitely didn't seem very tight, and really felt like it was missing the idler the C5 used to have on the top to keep things wrapped:


Installed the .070 shim on the impeller behind the pulley and it did the trick. Perfectly aligned with the crank pulley now:


I also shimmed the tensioner pulley. It is perfectly centered now with the belt having about 1 rib of space on either side before it could touch the shoulder.


Blower installed. Just a few little things to button up and the top side is done.