Congrats! Motor looks great!

 

thanks Dave! Next up is actually dremeling the bosses on intake ports 2, 8. Hi ram isn’t sitting flush. Once that’s squared away the Hi Ram and front drive is getting powered in wrinkle black!

 

Well guys.. ended up selling longblock. Going back to a factory 5.7


SIKE! Progress is still rolling along. I will say it is harder to work on it lately as we have our second daughter in the world with us. Nonetheless, here’s the progress!

Full PTFE fuel system is done. This was a super drawn out process. Too many fittings ordered, too many headaches, too many reroutes. The biggest issue I ran into was I originally planned to feed -8 to back of Holley, into a Y, and feed to both rails and small line into each fuel rail. Well, the problem quickly arose when I made the lines. The issue is the motor has to be slid all the way back on slider mounts for longtube headers to fit. Which left ~3-4 inches between hi ram and firewall. Impossible!

We decided to run 8 feed to driver side fuel rail, crossover behind hi ram from driver to passenger side, passenger fuel rail feeding directly into FPR, then -6 return from FPR to tank. Not exactly how I wanted to route fuel system, but impossible to stick to original plan.

I am also really glad I went this route with fuel system because by the time the body and LS harness are noth installed behind motor, that room was quickly taken up. With that said, all wiring is laid out and connectors are where they need to be. I need to tidy up wiring but everything is as close to be tucked as the final product will be.

I am also looking at selling my Ridler wheels and building a 9” from Speedway Motors for my truck. They offer a bundle already cut and ready for install in a 88-98 C1500 truck. Once wheels are sold, I will get that ordered up along with their premium 3rd member housing.

We are starting to see daylight in the tunnel. I need to order a few more sensors, starter, injectors. Currently trimming the driver side ear on 6L90e transmission to clear the longtubes. Here are some pictures!




New radiator

Tank installed and planning fuel system routing

Test fit on headers

Test fit on headers

Alternator powder coated and rebuilt to 220 amp

 

Yeah that looks good, progress is progress, i ran -8 line to feed my LSA on my 11.15:1 compression 370”lq9, and the return line is -6 , when i put in the 408 im building ill re-run them for e-85……i feel stupid for not doin first time round’…..oh well…..

 

What type of fuel line? -8 feed and -6 return will be plenty and can support good amount of power.

 

I ended up just using rubber push lock hose/fittings, its held up fine for the past 7 yrs but when i swap out the 370 for a 408 i really wanna have it set up for E-85 seeing as how gas is an arm and a leg here in commifornia!!! But yea -8 feed and -6 return with my 850cc fic injectors work great on my LSA….ill have to get 1050cc injectors and maybe a 535lph pump to replace the current 450lph one im running now…..do you think a boost a pump on the 450lph will cut the mustard, and be sufficient for e-85

 

How much power you trying to to make? Truthfully, I have never been interested in hitting the fuel pumps with ton of voltage to put out more than advertised. I can’t remember, but are these pumps rated at 15/16V?

If it were mine, I’d do a hobbs switch on 4psi worth of boost. Dual 450’s or dual 525’s. Plenty of fuel on tap and no need to upgrade again later

 

No more than 750hp……so hobs switch at 4lbs with a second 450lph pump should be fine??

 

Absolutely. Go ahead ans do a hot wire kit also while you’re there. And honestly, 525 aren’t too pricey as is from Walbro so could just upgrade to those 2 pumps to be completely rock solid. But dual 450’s will do it also. I prefer having plentiful on tap. Nitrous, turbo, etc in future and don’t even have to mess with the pumps later

 

Can anybody with Holley Hi Ram verify plug and vacuum port size? Instructions show 1/4” and 3/8” NPT and I picked up both sizes and of course, both are too big.

 

To circle back on my Hi Ram, the smaller ports ended up being 1/8” instead of 1/4”. And the vacuum port was still 3/8”. Not sure what happened but definitely undersized on the ports. Not a big deal because I plugged them anyways and my LS3 MAP fit perfectly on one of the holes.

I also sent Hi Ram to local shop I’ve used since moving here to Tulsa. Something definitely is wrong with the fuel rail bolt holes. Long story short, I finger tightened passenger side and when I went to remove them, they felt as if I cross threaded them. Ended up snapping 1 bolt. Sent hi ram to the shop to redrill and tap the threads and assembly injectors for me.

This is a dumb question, but before I install hi ram for the last time, can I get all fuel lines hooked up and use trigger fuel pump wire to test my fuel system for leaks? I have a fitting right under hi ram after making the change of plans on feed line. I want to make sure it isn’t leaking before I snug hi ram up.

As far as progress, I have a few things on the way. Driveshaft being built this week. I have Speed Engineering universal x pipe kit but the pipes slightly hit the transmission crossmember when it starts to come inwards for the x pipe. Easy fix is installing a flex pipe that is 6” long on each side to gain length and also reduce stress on exhaust. I ended up ordering 6” flex pipe and 12” resonators from Ace Performance. When those arrive I’ll drop off at exhaust shop to install and also add a o2 bung on driver side for wideband.

I wasn’t a fan of the stock plastic reservoir tank so I found a company that makes aftermarket tanks with catch can combo. I’ll come off each valve cover with -12an into catch can and vent to atmosphere. Also on the way from same company is a full AN/Trucool/hood latch bracket kit for transmission cooler. Pretty slick setup!

I will upload pictures when those arrive. Still on pace for potential start up in October. I pushed a few things into winter time upgrades including 9”, traction bars, TUTD shifter conversion. I want to drive to a few car shows this Fall just to put some miles on her. Fingers crossed but I think I can make it happen!

 

I’ve fallen behind on updating you guys. Progress has been moving quickly since my last post. Transcooler (Trucool 40K) is installed with 6AN lines. I bought a kit from a shop that specializes in a few custom pieces for 88-98 trucks. Custom hood latch bracket fits the Trucool perfectly without any modifications needed. He also sells an expansion/catch can cover combo that I had been eyeballing for awhile. I had a couple ideas I wanted him to incorporate which came out awesome. Sight tube and -12AN fittings for my valve covers.

I also picked up a distribution block from a 14-18 Silverado to make it a little easier to mega fuse the necessary power wires. Everything is tan now with 6 gauge OFC. Block is grounded twice to frame and battery (-) has a run to body, frame, and block to make sure everything is grounded properly. I also removed the factory ground straps and upgraded to 6 gauge OFC also from.

At this point I’m ready to test the fuel system for leaks. I will say I am probably the most nervous I have been for this entire build. PTFE was a learning curve and I’m hoping I don’t have 50 leaks to go back and fix. If fuel system passes the leak test, the only thing left is finish modifying the exhaust to get equal length under the truck and add a o2 bung for my wideband. Exhaust wise is the universal x pipe kit from SE, with Ace resonators and Summit Racing 304 SS mufflers. In a month or less, I’ll hear some thumpin. Fingers crossed that my next post will be a video clip of the first start up to capture this awesome moment! I’ll attach some pictures to show my engine bay progress.

 

 

When i started using PTFE years ago, i found the trick to no leaks is a straight cut and to make sure the PTFE sticks out past the ferrule about 1-2mm. it needs to crush/expand against the male fitting to properly seal. I have not had a single leak since following that rule, done a lot of lines over the years too!

 

I pressure tested the lines under water and on 1-2 lines I had a very, very small amount of air releasing from this port/hole. Have you experienced this before? It’s my only concern when I test fuel system

 

Dang! I rea through the whole thing expecting to hear it run at the end. Talk about blue *****.... lol

Cool looking build! Ill be following!

 

Almost go time

 

trust me man I’m blue ballin too 😂 everything with this “build” has been a first for me. On jackstands in the garage and a lot of learning as I went. But it’s paying off soon 😎

 

some of those Chinese eBay AN fittings leak, I’ve had the same issue with them on my A2W intercooler water tank. I replaced it with a Fragola fitting and it never leaked again. I’d probably change all the fittings on the fuel line if they are from the same manufacturer, they may not leak now but who knows if they will in the future and since it’s fuel you don’t want to take a chance.

 

all Racetronix fuel system. Racetronix says you can use Fragola line of fittings also so I’m sure they’re close to the same