wallyman

6th February 2011 14:41
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I think Silver intake...

best engine bay pics *DON'T QUOTE PICS!!! - Page 14 - LS1TECH

I like the look, with red coils and black mountings. Think that is the look I am going for.

wallyman

6th February 2011 20:26
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Build Update:

Engine - Installed the oil pickup and pan.. somehow I lost one pan bolt (grrr) but the GTO pan has two long bolts at the rear which need to be swapped out for something shorter also. On the list for tomorrow.

Front Hubs - Unwrapped them, they came out quite lovely I think. The clear ran the aluminum paint a little, but considering the goal was "not dingy ugly gray/black" I'm happy. It's going to be hidden behind rotors and wheels soooooo.. good 'nuff!



Front Suspension - Instead of ticking a bunch of little things off the list, I somehow ended up building the entire front cradle.



Upper and lower control arms, front hubs, steering rack, front shocks, motor mounts and motor mount heat shields all connected. Haven't torqued anything, will do that once it is installed.

One thing I found very odd, I didn't change the outer tie rods on the steering rack, but now I have a slew of toe out. See here, first one is the passenger side approximately pointed straight:



And here is the driver's side that is waaaaay toe out:



No clue why this is, but first thought is that the cradle is narrower but that makes no sense. Soooo... dunno. Will test fit the cradle and see if things are square or amuck.

Heater Core in/out relocation - Fiddled with this a little, should be fairly straightforward and simple. Thanks to a bathroom remodel, I just happen to have all kinds of 1/2" copper pipe laying around, and I slapped a couple pieces together to see how it would fit.





The pipes route nicely up and over the heater box. I'm going to stack the pipes to give more clearance at the firewall, and hopefully allow for the PCM mounting like FM does. Still unsure of the point at which I'll penetrate the firewall, going to wait until the engine is in the bay to be sure of possible obstructions. Thinking just inboard of the AC fittings, near to the heads. We shall see.

wallyman

7th February 2011 17:34
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I don't know why people don't either.. total no brainer, and it's simple. There is plenty of room to do it, and 1/2" copper pipe is dirt cheap really. Hardest part is taking a hole-saw to your firewall! I'll document it up how I manage to do it once the motor is in place with measurements and whatnot.

Oh, heck yes! I LOVE wiring (seriously!) so it will be well documented.

You bet, glad some people are getting enjoyment and/or use out of it!

wallyman

7th February 2011 20:48
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Build Update:

Parts Returned - Sent back the fuel rail.

Parts Bought - Bought a few items:

White LED strips for various places in the car (footwell and trunk, taking a slow boat from Hong Kong)
Rocker Arm Trunion Upgrade (Comp 13702 - Vengeance)
Replacement Fuel Rail (Professional Products 10613 - bare LS2 rail)
Full compliment of VDO Gauges and senders:
-160 speedo
-8k tach
-250* water temp
-300* oil temp
-100 psi oil temp
-volts
-fuel level

Parts Sold - Stock GTO shifter and related nuts-n-bolts sold to Tony LaBoy - thanks Tony!

Parts Received - The super-doooooper secret mod!

BLING!



Custom emblem from Emblem Pros. Thoughts, everyone?? Very VERY pleased with the end product.

wallyman

8th February 2011 11:35
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I only bought one of the emblems, going to go on the rear of the car in a location TBD. I didn't like how fender badges would look, and since the car has been de-badged there is plenty of room on the rear to put it.

Besides I wanted it somehwere where everyone would see it longest. :

Oh, and I bought new plates for the car, too. In keeping with the FC vert ("355 RX7") I tried "364 MX5" but didn't like that, so I went with this:

wallyman

8th February 2011 16:43
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Research Update:

Gauge Sender Locations - I think I may have found my temp/oil sending unit location(s).

Coolant - above starter, M16x1.5




Coolant and Oil - Towards front of block






Found them thanks to these threads: LS1GTO.com Forums - View Single Post - LS2 engine block coolant drain plugs. and Where to put water temp gauge sender? - LS1TECH

[I gotta tell ya, taking a billion pictures sure comes in handy when you aren't in the garage to check stuff!!]

Looks like these may work for the temp gauge and high temp warning light sending units.. Need to pull them out to see if all 3 are M16x1.5 thread, which can be adapted with the Equus 9848 kit, Autometer 2268 or eGauges R7964 (all M16x1.5 to 1/8" NPT female).

For the oil temp, I think I am going to put it in my remote filter block which has 1/2" NPT fittings ont eh in/out sides that are plugged. based on this:



I would be measuring the hottest oil right after the oil pump before it goes through the engine, seems like that would be a good thing.

Will be super nice to have solved this little issue.

wallyman

10th February 2011 11:18
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There may be a little progress tonight, but then it's a short break for Valentines Weekend. The next big push is to get the engine assembled (intake, accessories, gauge sending units) and then test fit. I may work on the assembly tonight, but gauge stuff won't be here till next Wed/Thursday. If things work out well, I may have the test fit next weekend (just before the birthday, which would be a nice present!) then out of state for a few days. We'll see how it goes.]Build Update:
[/B]
Distraction - Bathroom remodel is DONE. What a giant PITA. Put it all back together Tuesday night, just waiting for the *&&!@#$^ tub reglazing to cure (24 hour cure, we are at 4 days and counting).. don't ask >. Bottom line, the King of the Castle got a new throne room!

Parts Arrival - ATE Super Blue showed up. Bought the last 2 quarts of Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF also. Still waiting on a bunch of stuff:

GM LS Getrag Fluid (Today)
Viper 5701 (Today)
Rocker Trunion Upgrade (2/14 or 2/15)
Professional Products Fuel rail (2/15+)
VDO Gauges and sending units (2/16 or 2/17)
eBay LED strips (2/25+)
Stainless coil covers (someday soon, I hope!)

I hate to say it, but the running total surpased $20k last week.. my perception of the breakdown:

$14,744.20 Total Essential Mods
$980.05 Total Maintenance Mods
$4,504.69 Total Improvement Mods
$971.10 Total "$50 to Death" Items

$20,912.66 Total spent to date (probably +/- 1% or so)

That's just... silly. But **** it, the car is gonna rock!

wallyman

10th February 2011 19:36
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Build Update:

Parts Arrival - Couple things showed up...

GM LS Getrag Fluid
Viper 5701
Rocker Trunion Upgrade

wallyman

12th February 2011 12:40
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Because I can't.

VDO gauges don't come in a M12 sending unit, so they won't fit the head and adapters don't work since M12 is very close to 1/8"NPT.

V8R oilpan doesn't have fittings above the non-existant screw on filter.

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You guys kill me.. I've been blathering about this for weeks, and AFTER I order everything you guys come out of the woodwork! BAH!

Once all my crap gets here, I'll figure it out for sure. I'll have the motor assembled hopefully tonight/tomorrow so I will know clearances with accessories and headers, etc. Honestly I don't care where they go as long as I get good readings and they don't look like I have a octo-senso-pus on the side of my block.

wallyman

14th February 2011 22:15
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I hate cars some days...

So, did the trunion upgrade to my stock rockers, everything went smoothly. You know, so smooth that you think "huh, that was almost too easy"...

Reinstalling the rockers, and now it appears some of the pushrods are too long?! With the one valve fully open, I compress the other valve as I tighen the screw down, almost a full turn in some cases.

WTF.

Not every single valve does it, but many do. Here is how many turns past snug I turn the screw before it's tight (and the valve is opening this distance - all #/8 to make it easier to compare)

Cylinders 1/3/5/7 (front to back)

0/0 - 5/8 - 0/0 - 4/8 - 5/8 - 7/8 - 0/0 - 0/0

Cylinders 2/4/6/8 (front to back)

4/8 - 0/0 - 6/8 - 0/0 - 0/0 - 5/8 - 7/8 - 0/0

And that is with some lifters maybe already leaked down, so this would be best case scenario.

Do I need to go to a shorter (7.350) pushrod with stock LS2 rockers, stock lifters and no machining done to the head other than a cleanup cut of 0.002"?? Ron @ Vengeance said the 7.400" would be fine for my application... apparently not?

wallyman

14th February 2011 23:27
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Buld Update:

Parts - Tranny fluid, diffy fluid, brake fluid, Viper alarm, and trunion upgrade:



Trunion Replacement - So, swapped them out. Everything went smooth on the actual swap, a step by step:



Stock trunion pounded out. Used a deep well socket and punched them out with the hammer. Took very little effort, all things considered. Straddled the two red bars you see in the photo so the trunion drops out the bottom.



Pressing in the first bearing. Note the red bars on the bottom, pressing against a flat surface. Using a socket on the top that fit around the new center bar and pressed against the rocker body.



First bearing pressed in.



Second bearing set into place. Note gap of the red bars, you have to allow the center bar to push down, a flat surface won't work. Straddle the red bars with the rocker body. Each rocker has one side that has flat 'tabs' on it so you can press against that side as shown.

wallyman

14th February 2011 23:29
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Pressing in the second bearing...



Pressed in.



Socket removed, just need to check the bearing for end-play and smooth rolling.



I found that most were bound up after the pressing in, a light tap on each side of the center bar (light enough that if you hit your thumb it wouldn't hurt very badly) was enough to shift the bearing outward to allow them to roll freely. I held each as shown and spund them 4-5 revolutions clockwise and counterclockwise.. If you find there is a 'rough' spot, lightly tap each end of the center bar once more and it should free it up nicely. They should spin smoothly with consistent resistance throughout.



All spun freely, with snap rings in place. Ready to install.

wallyman

14th February 2011 23:47
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That's good advice, and makes me feel less annoyed. I got sick again on Friday, another pisser of a chest-cold and I'm not feeling 100% right now so this wasn't helping my overall mental state.

My concern is that if I am tightening the rocker and I move the valve off the seat any amount, well, it's unseated. I need to break out the air comp. and test some stuff. That'll be tomorrow night, I guess. I just can't logically come up with any way that the valve moving results in anything but it being a problem. The only thing I can hope for is that the compression pressure will seal the valves. I'll be doing some reading tonight.

wallyman

15th February 2011 00:10
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Found some good info around LS1Tech.

The short version:

Pushrod length? - LS1TECH

The long version:

correct pushrod length - LS1TECH

So, I'll check some measurements tomorrow night.

wallyman

15th February 2011 23:18
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Build Update:

Parts Arrival - All the VDO gauges showed up, sweet!



Top down from upper left:
8-18 Volts / Fuel Level (adjustable tube type matches Miata sender 'close enough' to work E to F) / 8000rpm Tach
100psi Oil Pressure / 300F Oil Temp / 250F Water Temp / 160mph electronic Speedo / Adapater kit
Oil Pressure Sender / Oil Temp Sender / Water Temp Sender / 3 Metric to 1/8"npt adapters / 15psi Low Oil Pressure sending unit

Will work on layout in AutoCAD, and get it over to buddy Adam to CNC plasma out of sheet aluminum. Will also have him whip up a few engine hoist hooks, too. I need to replace the one on that back that twisted (and will change the design a touch for visual happiness) and replace the front one that will be lost when I sell the GTO power steering resevoir.

Rocker Arms - A wicked head cold results in poor judgement, it seems. After a good night of sleep, my brain is working again. Rocker arms have preload, which is ~0.080 or so. Basically, all is well. So, tightened everything to spec and slapped the valve covers on.

Engine - I photographed every casting and stamping marking on the engine and heads, "just in case".. you never know when you might need some of that and once it is painted, some may become hard (or impossible) to read.

Headers - Nothing sexier than 6.0 liters of V8 awesomeness with a pair of headers on an engine stand.. buuya!





Cleaned up some of the welds on the headers and pipes, going to send them out to Jett Hot to get coated with the Extreme coating. Will do that after the fitting of the engine and what not.

Oil Pan - Someone (I forget who) mentioned that the oil pan drain plug is going to hit the exhaust pipe... and yup.



The take-off exhuast is pre-dented for the drain plug but it is not enough. Drain plug has 12 threads, I can only get 8 out until I bind up. Considered having a new bung put in but don't see a good place for it, so going to buy a replacement bolt for it and call it a day. I hate the idea of oil spewing right out on the pipe, but with coated pipes, I don't think it will matter much.

wallyman

15th February 2011 23:19
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CTS-V Accessories - Dry fit the accessories, just to see how it all works. I am running the GMPP CTS-V kit, but leaving off the power steering which presents some belt routing issues.

Dry run:


Routing with ribbed side running over power steering idler:


Routing with power steering idler removed. Potential conflict with alternator mount bolt (directly below unused idler in photo)


Honestly I hate how the routing looks with the tensioner up high (regardless of PS or not), but not much I can do about it that I am aware of. Might have to buy the power steering delete from V8R for the belt routing, too.. not sure. Open to suggestions to get rid of the high tensioner and figure out a good belt route.

I'd love to replace the PS idler with some sort of tensioner and go crank to alt, alt to tensioner, tensioner to water pump, then back to the crank pulley. That would put the rib side of the belt against the water pump, though. Going to pour over all the accessory belt photos I can find and see what options I have.

Fan Shroud - Started the clear coating of it.. looking good so far.

wallyman

16th February 2011 13:11
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Drain plug for the V8R pan is 1/2"x20 thread, 3/4" length (but I need 1/2"). Couldn't find that, so bought 1" and will cut it down. Problem solved.

wallyman

16th February 2011 17:30
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wallyman

19th February 2011 00:21
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Build Update:

How does it go? A picture is worth a thousand words:



But I'll add two more:

F-YEAH!

Motor is in the car, test fit is successful. But let's start at the beginning tonight...

Oil Drain Plug - Cut the 1" down, what a PITA to reinstall. I am going to hate every time I change the oil in this car.. not sure what to do other than maybe trim it a touch more.

Tunnel Mods - BFH, cutting torch and a complete disregard for engine bay paint results in some room for the vroom:

Driver's side:




Passenger's side:

wallyman

19th February 2011 00:22
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Center:




V8R calls for 18" wide at a point 5" below the tunnel lip. I went wider, about 19"+ (I'll get a real measurement once I pull the engine back out.) For the tunnel lip, made enough room and didn't need to trim the tranny at all.

Everything all clearanced (round one).

Engine & Tranny Test Fit - Went ahead and test fit the engine and tranny.

NOOB ADVICE: I struggled with the engine cradle, had to tear it back apart. I had all kinds of issues (LCA bolts in wrong, motor mount bolts wouldn't fit, etc etc etc.). I would suggest mount it dry, without suspension. Put the motor mount bolts (the big long ones) in from the front, nut facing the rear. Otherwise you have physical contact with the back of the AC compressor. I put the motor mounts on the cradle with the long bolts, then bolted the mounts (with bare cradle) to the engine.. My notes:
• Motor mount long bolts - nut to rear
• Install cradle dry - too heavy and clumsy to install assembled
• LCA alignment bolts, put both in from the middle (front bolt - nut forward, rear bolt - nut rearward). Do this otherwise you can't get the front LCA bolt in once the steering rack is installed.

So, mounted the cradle to the engine, then mounted tranny to engine (no clutch, engine is going back on the stand for paint anyhow). Rolled it under the car...

wallyman

19th February 2011 00:24
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Hoisted the engine into place, bolted the cradle in.

Driver's side clearance, low:

Driver's side clearance, high:

Passenger's side clearance, low:

Passenger's side clearance, at head:

Tunnel clearance, center:


Definitely going to have to work the firewall over behind the passenger head, the lift hook is mashed against it.

wallyman

19th February 2011 00:25
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But, it looks good sitting in there.

wallyman

19th February 2011 00:26
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Did some eyeballing of various angles and areas, for future swappers:

Heater core inlet/outlet relocation clearance (about 2" from head to frame rail):




Driver's side head (about 3" from head to frame rail):




Water pump and heater core fittings (about 1.5" from end of pipes to frame rail):


Water pump to radiator support (about 5.75" from end of pipes to rad support):

wallyman

19th February 2011 09:41
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Already on the list for this weekend, my man! Along with Frog Arms, frame rails, tranny cross member, heater core reloc.. etc. I haven't welded the tunnel so I can massage as needed. Planning to leave maybe 1" to the side for carpet and sound pad clearance.

Thanks for the heads up!

wallyman

19th February 2011 19:10
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Got any photos? I was doing removable anyhow, but could use ideas too.