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Old 09-18-2013, 05:32 PM   #1
MyblackS13
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LS S13 Coupe Build - Lots of Custom Parts

I'm about 2 years in this little engine swap project of mine that has turned into way more and I decided I would share here on Zilvia. This car has been an 11 year project in the running. I've had it "finished" atleast 3 times now. It started in 02' and was a basic SR swap. I drove that for a while, built the SR, installed a body kit and painted the car. Long story short, the built up SR didn't hold together, and I wasn't having much luck finding what I was looking for in a new block so I decided on going with a LS1.

Here's where the car started in 2002



And here's what I did to it first.





The SR was smoking, came out for a little freshen up and things were a lot worse than I thought. If you look closely at the bottom of the cylinder there is a chunk out of the liner and some of the casting around it blew out. It could still work, but not exactly ideal.



After tearing it down and parting as much as I could from the SR parts, I picked up a LS1 from a 2002 Trans-Am with a T56 from Craigslist. It came complete with the LS6 intake manifold so that was a bonus. A few weeks after I got the engine I started work on the motor mounts.



It went in pretty easily, but the tunnel took a lot of pounding to get the engine in the right spot. That's a friend of mine in the tunnel, we were taking turns with the hammer.



I made the motor mounts with some 1/4" thick laser cut plates and short sections of 2"x2"x1/4" wall tube

Passenger Side


Drivers Side


The tranny mount was made from some 1-1/8"OD .120 wall tube and angle iron for the mount plates.


The shifter is just about dead center in the hole
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Old 03-03-2014, 08:45 PM   #2
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Equal Length Long Tube Headers

So, building motor mounts to stuff a ls1 into a 240sx seemed like a challenge, but it was actually a breeze compared to building headers and attempting to make the tubes equal length. I started with a 1-3/4" OD long tube header kit from Summit Racing, a set of 3/8" LS1 flanges and two 180 degree J-bends from Jegs. The long tube header kit has tubes that are bent for a small block, probably to go in something pretty large, like a monster truck, because when I placed one of the pipes in the 240 it hung under the car about 2". For this project I'm not sure if the kit was the way to go, but for about $100, after cutting the tubes up, I had a lot of bends to work with. Also I was unimpressed by the fit of the collectors so I purchased a set of Megs formed merge collectors and merge bullets, these are nice pieces.



Megs Merge Bullets after welding.


I was happy that I had called them they pointed me in the right direction for my power goals and my usage of the car. As a result I am using smaller than typical collectors and going with a 2-1/2", the same size as my Y-pipe. But with the tighter collectors I am going to have to make sure to have a good equal length design for my header tubes.

I made and adjustable collector holder to hold the header collector in position.










My first length attempt was 32" with the collector just behind the firewall, to maximize ground clearance, it worked great for the two cylinders to the front of the engine, but not so well when it came to the back two, I had to pick one or the other to make the 32" length, then the one that didn't get the length was going to be 4-5 inches shorter which just wasn't going to work. So I went back to the drawing board and came up with some creative tube arrangement to shorten all of the tubes to 28" the shorter end of the recommended length from cone engineering.



Notice the front most tube, its tucked as tight to the block as I could get it and actually enters the collector above the next tube behind it to make it possible to make these headers equal length.

I decided to tuck the front most tube in very close to the block and take the straightest path possible towards the collector, inserting it into the upper opening (rather than the lower opening where it would typically go), tucking the second tube from the front underneath it. With this tangled tube arrangement, I was able to get the first three cylinders within 1/2" of length of each other and the last one within 2", this is not perfect equal length, but I think it will do. I could have squeezed a little more length to get it closer to the 28" goal, but I would have had to have much more aggressive angles, which didn't seem worth it in terms of loss of flow.




Front View




Here's the underside view, there's another new tool under there, an adjustable V-channeled (angle iron) tube tube stand. Between this and the collector holder these are some massively helpful tools.

I wanted to run all the tubes to one side or the other of the steering shaft, but the collectors wouldn't fit through and it wasn't working for the equal length thing either. I ended up running the front two cylinders inboard, and the rear two outboard kind of like the passenger side.



Both sides outside of the car.






See the steering gap, I'm hoping its enough, but if I have any problems I'm just going to stiffer motor mounts.

I did the final test fit on the headers after the guys at Advanced Chassis welded the tubes to the flanges, I couldn't be too careful before ceramic coating. As always they did a great job and everything came out perfect. They even modified a tube slightly for increased steering clearance. For the ceramic coating I chose a color called blue titanium. Pictures are hard to do the color justice, its a matte charcoal grey color with a little blue metallic, I really like its clean, not too flashy look.



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Old 03-03-2014, 09:34 PM   #3
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After the headers came out for ceramic coating, the engine went on the stand where I promptly tore it down.



The engine had carbon headgaskets, which are nasty. I bought a plastic scraper and some Permatex gasket remover and went to town on all the crap they left behind. To get all the left over residue off, I went over the surface with a nylon Scotchbrite pad (no aluminum oxide) until all the remaining gasket was removed. After that I used some 2500 grit sandpaper to get the final finish, to give the Cometic headgaskets a good sealing surface. Then I cleaned everything over and over again and checked all the surfaces for dirt with my fingertips and then cleaned some more. You can never be too clean when you open an engine. All and all the cleaning took about 3 hours per side.



Goodies from the FedEx and UPS guys.





Here's the grocery list from above:

- Cometic .040 MLS Headgaskets
- LS6 Valley cover, for its improved PCV system
- LS2 Lifter Guides
- LS7 Lifters
- GMPP Heavy Duty Timing Chain
- Melling High Volume Oil Pump
- GM camshaft install gasket kit
- ARP Headbolts
- ARP Camshaft Bolts
- ARP Cam Retainer Bolts
- Lingenfelter GT2-3 Cam
- Lingenfelter LS9 Blue Springs (hand checked for lift to work with the cam)

Check out the difference between the original chain and the heavy duty one, can you tell which one is which? I consider it cheap insurance when getting heavier valve springs, the HD chain has some serious beef to the side plates compared to the original part.



Also the melling high volume oil pump is more of a preventative maintenance item as well. Its the part number 10296. It comes with the red high pressure spring installed, which I switched out for the blue standard pressure spring. I suspect that the increased volume alone will try to drain the pan, so I'm at least going to start with a little less pressure.



The cam install was pretty uneventful. I discovered that cams are very sharp while I was cleaning it with a bunch of little paper cut like cuts on my hands that I discovered when hosing it down with brake cleaner. I then used some assembly lube and slid the cam into place. Overhead cams (like the SR20DET) are way easier to install, but all and all it wasn't bad. You just have to be patient and careful so that you don't damage the bearings or get it stuck.



On to the valve springs. I considered getting a loaner tool, but ended up just buying one specifically made for the job instead. I love new tools anyways. I got the Trick Flow valve spring tool, this tool made the valve spring change simple and quick, its definitely a quality tool.





While I was in there I found something interesting, my 799 heads have what looks like hollow exhaust valves and the intake valve is black oxided, I'm not quite sure what to make of it.



Super easy, just turn the nut down and pull the locks, there was enough room that I could remove and install them with my fingertips fairly easily.



For the valve covers I got the holley ones that eliminate the coil pack brackets in natural cast. I sent those out along with the timing cover for powder and had them coated with a hammertone bronze.



While installing the timing cover I installed the ATI Super Damper. I chose ATI p/n 917277, It's a 10% under drive without an air conditioning pulley and SFI approval. No need for A/C since I removed the evaporator from under the dash along with the rest of the system. I wanted an under drive and the ATI seemed to be the best insurance for my engine while providing under drive.



I've also added -8 AN heater fittings to the water pump. The original stainless steel fittings were pretty difficult to remove. I tried twisting them with a pipe wrench, wishful thinking that they might just forcefully twist out, but no luck there. I ended up up supporting them with a board to protect the waterpump, smashing in one side with a chisel to collapse it, taking pressure off the sides then they popped right out. After they came out it was just a matter of tapping the holes they're already the correct size, the small side with a 3/8 npt and the larger with a 1/2 npt.

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Old 03-04-2014, 10:18 AM   #4
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Nice build so far, I cant imagine how much of a PITA the headers must have been..
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Old 03-04-2014, 10:22 PM   #5
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Thanks man, the headers were a nightmare, I considered modifying a set of shorties several times while I was building them. I even lined up a professional to help, but that fell though because he had too many to do at the time, so I ground through it on my own. I'm decently far a long on the project right now, just slowly catching up on the posting.
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Old 03-04-2014, 10:34 PM   #6
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Wow amazing work. Def subd for more.

BTW would you happen to have any more pix of the motor mounts that you made?
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Old 03-04-2014, 11:08 PM   #7
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Clutch

The clutch decision was a big one for me and one that I didn't take lightly. The clutch can have a huge effect on how the car drives. My final decision was to go light to lessen the hit on the tires and let the engine rev faster for the approximately 2600lb car. First I bought a 7.25" racing clutch.



The plan was to use this with a button flywheel on an automatic flexplate for an extremely light set-up, but after seeing a lot of you tube videos with extremely jumpy, light switch like clutches and reading manufacturers recommendations to not even drive cars onto the trailer with them I got the idea that it was a little more aggressive than I want to deal with. Dru Nichols (SicBastard) compiled some great information on moment of inertia of clutch assemblies. For those of you not familiar with the term or the concept, moment of inertia in context of a clutch is the idea that the same weight at the same rpm has more energy the further it is placed from its axis of rotation. A good example is a baseball on a string, a baseball on a 2 foot string rotating at 100rpm is only going about 7mph, but the same baseball on a 17 foot string at the same 100rpm is going about 60mph. Enough about the physics and back to the clutches.

Tilton Clutch Assemblies MOI (lb-in^2)
Includes: Clutch cover with diaphragm spring, pressure plates and floater plate(s)
(add 66 MOI and 2.5# to include the button
(add 87 MOI and 3.4# to include a Sonic ultra-lightweight flexplate)

13 4.4” Tilton carbon carbon 4 disc
21.4 5.5” Tilton 1 disc cerametallic
29.4 5.5” Tilton 2 disc sintered metallic (6#)
32.2 5.5” Tilton 2 disc cerametallic
52.4 7.25” Tilton 1 disc cerametallic
76.3 7.25” Tilton 2 disc cerametallic
89.6 7.25” Tilton 3 disc sintered metallic (10.2#)
99 8.5” Tilton 1 disc cerametallic
100.2 7.25” Tilton 3 disc cerametallic
158 8.5” Tilton 2 disc cerametallic
337 9.0” Mantic street dual sprung clutch (33.8#) cool set up!
>3200 11.5"? Stock LS2 flywheel and clutch (52#)

(MOI list thanks to Dru Nichols - SicBastard)

I also put together the following list of weights without MOI with a lot of google searches for light weight clutch assemblies for the LS series engines.

McLeod RST 9-11/16 dia. w/Aluminum Flywheel 560530 (36#)-w/13.5# flywheel
McLeod Mag Force 8" dia twin Assembly (25#)
Spec Lightweight flywheel w/Al PP Option 11-1/2 dia. (33.4#) (McLeod also offers a similar set-up if you call them)
RPS Street Twin 1/2 Carbon (40#)
RPS Street Twin Full Carbon (36#)
RPS Billet Carbon Street Twin w/Steel Flywheel (32#)
RPS Billet Carbon Street Twin w/Al Flywheel (25#)

After talking with Lee at McLeod clutch and Scott at SPD Metalworks I went with the Mag Force twin. They put together a custom assembly based on the pin drive Mag Force, with a strap drive pressure plate, and ceramic discs.








The McLeod Mag Force Twin is a seriously beautiful piece, its really sad that it has to be buried behind a bellhousing. I bought it to run it though so it has to go in. This being a twin its a little different from other clutch installations I have experienced.




First you pop off the pressure plate to see the ceramic pucked solid hub disc that's backed up by a floating pin drive center disc. I chose the floating center disc based on recommendations that it would drag less as the clutch begins to wear, allowing me a slightly longer interval for re-shimming the clutch.



On top of the drive pins there are shim stacks calibrated from the factory for proper finger height on the clutch diaphragm. As the clutch wears, shims will be removed until either one of the plates are out of spec or the clutch is worn or damaged to the point where it needs to go back to McLeod for a full rebuild.





I have the strapped pressure plate to keep some of the noise down.



I'm using ARP pro series 12pt flywheel bolts to protect the investment p/n 330-2802



Using the standard clutch alignment tool this is all the further the transmission would engage, I thought I could get away with it, but I no matter what I tried I couldn't get it any closer than the last inch. Finally I broke down and bought the Quarter Master 1-5/32" x 26 spline alignment tool. Its under $50 and well worth it to just go ahead and get it if you're going to install a multi-plate clutch.





Here's a video for an example of about how I expect it to rev.

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VXcMR-ejxsU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Old 03-04-2014, 11:21 PM   #8
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2muchboost, thanks, here's my disclaimer before the pics. These were one of the first projects I tig welded, so I overheated them pretty bad when I was welding them. There they are after I finished welding them, before paint.



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Old 03-04-2014, 11:33 PM   #9
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Driveshaft

With my motor mounts I was able to reuse my aluminum driveshaft from my SR build. I had a new Spicer GM 27 spline slip yoke installed along with some new U-joints and its good to go.



Driveshaft length - center to center

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Old 03-05-2014, 01:26 AM   #10
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Nice work thinking about running a/n fitting out of my water pump
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Old 03-05-2014, 08:46 AM   #11
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No worries bud....thanks for the pix and seriously amazing work. I am currently working on my LM7-turbo-S14 but the progress is damn slow for me due to work and the weather. I have been tossing around the idea of making my own mounts or using OEM mounts and just modifying the crossmember.

Love the attention to detail btw. You can tell there has been a thought process to each purchase and part selection.
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Old 03-05-2014, 02:02 PM   #12
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Thanks, I have put a lot of time and thought into every step, I'm about 2-1/2 years in now. For the motor mounts, I like the looks and price of the holley mounts for something off the shelf, for mine I had a shop laser cut some plates and got most of the parts to make 3 sets for about $50. Something like these https://liquidironindustries.com/GM-...or-Mounts.html or the Car Shop ones http://carshop.carshopinc.com/produc..._id/86960/2350 that a lot of people use would be a pretty good option too. I have mine documented in autocad, but with the header set-up, I'm not sure if they would work with different manifolds or headers.
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Old 03-05-2014, 09:17 PM   #13
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Engine Bay Body Work

While the engine was back out after building the mounts and headers I decided that would be a good time to do some clean up work in the engine bay. First I made a little patch panel for the front core support. I had a little fun with a dimple die while I was at it. I made the panels out of 16ga steel so they would be strong since the front core ties the two frame/unibody rails together. When welding in the panel I decided to try a product I hadn't before. I got a weld through primer, I was a little reluctant to paint where I was about to weld, but that's how its advertised to work. I sprayed the back side of the panel and anywhere I thought I might have trouble spraying after it was welded together. My reluctance seemed to be correct, where ever the primer was my weld didn't want to penetrate until I had it all burnt away. It seems like the trick to get it to work is to paint the part with it, then wire brush it away right in the spot where you're going to weld.



Really happy with how the dimple die worked



I had to add a couple dimpled holes where they might be visible, when the car is together.



Patch in place, Next...this spot was looking pretty gross so my attention was turned to it.



Excuse the blurry picture, but you get the idea. There was rust in the former home of the battery tray, an intercooler pipe hole that's too small and in the wrong location for the intake, holes from drilled spot welds, and provisions for a washer fluid tank that's been out of the car for nearly 10 years now. My first problem was no press brake to bend the radius on the panel. So I made a quick and dirty rail for the hydraulic press at work.



I used this in conjunction with a piece of 1-1/4" round stock to make a nice radiused corner. Then used my handy dandy card board templates to make my patch panel out of 22ga sheet metal, about the same thickness as the original piece.





After making the panel I cleco pinned and butt weld clamped it in place for weld.



Also, I patched some strut tower rust that I had previously repaired with bondo and stitch welded the front of the car. I figured that with the extra torque the LS will provide the front of this car will need all the help it can get. The first steps to stitch welding are scraping out the seam sealer, then wire brush the remaining sealer out.











Stitch welding is a serious pain, no matter how much you think you've thoroughly cleaned all the bits of rust and seam sealer there will still be some in there. Every time you hit some seam sealer, dirt or rust and pull it into the puddle it burns and makes the puddle pop. You'll have a good run for a few stitches then a few that are terrible where you keep cleaning and trying to get a good weld.

A much easier part was making at attaching subframe rail caps. I plasma cut them then used the dimple die to make the holes look clean and tig welded them in place.





The next step will be to repair some rust holes I discovered in the frame rails (frail rails). Again sorry about the terrible cell phone picture.

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Old 03-05-2014, 09:36 PM   #14
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After finding the rust in the rails I took a long break from the project. Needed to decide if the project was still worth it and was contemplating a new shell. Long story short, I decided to stay the course. It was a lot of work.

First I dropped out the subframe and tension rod brackets.





I've been learning to TIG weld through this build so the welds are far from perfect aesthetically, but I expect them to hold well.



The passenger side was the worst by far, apparently rust stated underneath the undercoating on the firewall along with the frame rail and where moisture gets trapped at the brake line holder



I welded in spots to give the patch panel some extra bite along with welding around the perimeter







Passenger side after completion. I used silicon bronze rod on the firewall sections for more flexibility and to control heat input a little more to try to have fewer flare ups inside the car.



On the drivers side I tried to make the repair more flush with less overlap





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Old 03-05-2014, 09:49 PM   #15
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Subframe & Tension Rod Brackets

While I had the subframe and tension rod brackets out, I went to work on them. I made the tension rod brackets into my own DIY Nismo power brace.

I added a cross bar out of some 1-1/4 x .120wall DOM tubing



Some braces out of some 16ga, formed, with dimples for some rigidity.



I then used my angle iron rail and a bench vice to make some saddle gussets to spread the attachment area of the cross tube.





Then I sent both parts out for powder, JDM charcoal grey...I was thinking black, then I saw JDM on the card and couldn't help myself.

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Old 03-05-2014, 10:29 PM   #16
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Paint in the engine bay - Bedliner in the wheel wells

As I've been going through this project I've been getting more and more particular. I always like to do things right, but after a project takes as long as this one has, I want everything I've touched thus far to be as good as I can get it. I pulled the entire front end apart as far as it would go.



Cleaned up the wheel wells, I knocked loose a lot of the original undercoating, cleaned everything thoroughly and primed all the bare metal before hitting it with Monstaliner





I masked off the areas that I didn't want the build up of the bedliner, then painted them with the engine bay.



Wrapped it up in its own cocoon





I did two coats of a 2k high build primer, if I were to do it again, I would have done 3 or 4, I expected the paint to be thicker and hide better, but all and all it looks pretty decent for an engine bay.







I used a 2k semi gloss black urethane paint for my paint for good durability.
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Old 03-06-2014, 10:32 AM   #17
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I have access to a CNC machine if you wouldnt mind sharing the file...no pressure though if you want to keep them for yourself. I am planning to use the truck manifolds turned backwards since I am going turbo so clearance isnt as big of an issue for me due to this. Cant wait to get home to see the new update pix.
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Old 03-06-2014, 11:16 PM   #18
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My mounts are pretty far back, about as low as possible and ride on 240sx mounts, you have to notch the weld seam a little for the Fueled Moroso pan to fit. Send over a PM.
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Old 03-06-2014, 11:28 PM   #19
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Manual Brakes and NiCopp Lines

After seeing some of the brake booster delete kits I stated weighing the option. I was really interested in the Chase Bays kit, because its one of the more widely used kits in the 240sx world. However after some research I decided that running a single circuit master cylinder for brakes wasn't something that I would do. So I decided I would make my own, along with a pedal with an increased leverage ratio to hopefully make my manual brake conversion more liveable. The end goal is a firm pedal with good modulation, hopefully without having to go too aggressive on the brake pad compound.



Made two of the master cylinder adapter plates in the CNC with some assistance, it was pretty exciting to push that green button after the program was made.



Facing my new brake pedal pivot to length in the lathe.



Brake pedal with a new pivot added 1" below the factory pivot



We added another hole in the brake bracket as well to keep the same pedal height, keeping the brake push rod going out the same hole in the firewall.



Finished modified pedal on the bottom, the finished product should have about a 5.5:1 pedal ratio in place of the stock 4:1 for boosted brakes. That places my modified pedal right about in the middle of standard car manual brake pedals (5-6:1 ratio).



My super fancy brake push rod. I might make something a little prettier without the length adjustment after some testing.



I added some stainless steel M8 thread inserts into the master cylinder adapter to make it easier to remove the master cylinder so I can make brake rod adjustments without too much drama while setting things up.
For the brake lines I ran all new. I chose NiCopp for the corrosion resistance and formability. NiCopp lines are supposed to combine the corrosion resistance of stainless with easier forming than mild steel. Its a Nickel, Copper alloy, and somehow you gain resistance to fatigue and work hardening from the Nickel in the alloy over plain Copper (which is a no no in automotive braking systems). The lines in a 240 are 3/16" OD with M10 x 1.0 inverted flare fittings. The NiCopp bent surprisingly easy, I used a basic bend tool and some bend pliers for some of the tighter stuff and occasionally a 3/8 socket.



The factory master cylinder doesn't have a boot since it typically goes on the front of a brake booster. Since its going to be poking through the firewall right above my feet now it probably should have one.



To mount the brake lines to the firewall I'm using some Earl's aluminum line clamps. I drilled the threads out of a couple so that I could run the bolt through to some closed end rivnuts I installed into the firewall.



I equally spaced two #10-32 rivnuts into the firewall just below the pinch seam for a nice low profile clean place to run the brake lines.



Shiny, new NiCopp brake lines all bent up.
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Old 03-07-2014, 09:57 PM   #20
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Goodness, Its nice to see another DYI thread thats as in detail as this. Keep up the good work itll feel great once you get it running. In for more updates.
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Old 03-08-2014, 04:38 PM   #21
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Goodness, Its nice to see another DYI thread thats as in detail as this. Keep up the good work itll feel great once you get it running. In for more updates.
Thanks, I appreciate the positive feedback. Here's another update, I'm trying to do about one a day until I catch up to my blog, then I'm going to update them both at the same time as I get more done.

When I put the engine back in it was pretty drama free, a little nerve racking with the fresh powder on the cross member and fresh paint on the firewall but there really weren't too many problems, aside from needing to get a bigger hammer because the tunnel wasn't beaten in far enough. I ended up getting a 2lb Nupla Drilling Hammer, it was the perfect tool for the job, the big Harbor Freight compthane just wasn't getting it done. A reminder for others, make sure to smash that tunnel in really good in for clearance, if there is any questions, hit it again.







I even got my wife in on the action this time. She was such a good sport, she took the usual first timer spot under the car to guide the tranny into the tunnel.







If you want to run no accessories and a 10% under drive pulley like I did, these are the parts you need to do it. You have to swap the smooth idler pulley on the alternator for a ribbed idler (same one used on the tensioner) Dayco p/n 89015. The belt that fit the best was a Dayco p/n 5060540 54" - 6 rib. One thing with this belt routing I had to do a little work on the alternator bracket. I had to countersink for flathead bolts.



Make sure to only countersink the sleeve so that it will still somewhat do its job and slide to the alternator.



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Old 03-09-2014, 10:28 PM   #22
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While having everything out, I've cleaned up the suspension. The tie rod ends and ball joints were old and tired with torn boots and were develop some play and just looked like they were past their prime, those were removed in favor of Tein hard rods. I replaced the front lower control arms with stock replacements from MOOG. The arms feel thick and solid like the OEM originals and the grease zerk fittings are a nice plus for servicability. The OEM tension rods were so stuck that I had to cut them out, those were pitched for some nice adjustable SPL Parts Titanium Tension Arms. While I was at it, I also picked up some Rust Olem satin bronze metallic paint, sand blasted and repainted my front knuckles.



When sandblasting the knucles I made sure to duct tape the spindle surface and block off the tapered holes to protect the smooth machined surfaces of the knuckle. Then I finished cleaning them with a wire brush and laquer thinner to prep them for paint. I masked off the same surfaces again for paint along with the brake caliper mounting surfaces.





I picked up the SPL V3 tension rods,the new blue titanium hardware really sets them off.



There it is back together with my Cusco Zero2-R coils. I cleaned them up to look nice, but I'm not sure how much longer I will run them. I picked them up used from Ebay, they've handled really nice since I set them up but they are starting to leak a little. I don't think the previous owner's settings did them any favors, they came preloaded over an inch and the spring would bottom out on the smallest of bumps, I seriously thought my dash was going to pop out or my windshield was going to break, it was brutal. I'm guessing they didn't like the 5&7K spring rates. When these give up I'm probably going to be shopping for some new coils, I'm leaning towards Fortune Auto 500's at the moment.



New Tein hard tie rods and new boots to go with them.



I sub assembled and loosely set the lengths of the tie rods before installing them.



Two wrenches really helped the process of removing the old inner tie rods. I used a 1-1/4" on the tie rod, not quite the right size, but it worked (30mm probably is closer) and I think it was a 13/16 to help keep the rack from twisting in its mounts and just to support it a little more to avoid damage.



I went ahead and used the supplied spacers with the Teins, since the spacer eliminates the OEM lock plate I used Locktite Red high strength thread locker. Hopefully I never need to take them off, but it should keep them from removing themselves at an inopportune time, like when I'm driving the car on the highway.



If you look closely at the steering rack shaft you can see the small flats that you can use to help support it. The drivers side really needed it, it looked like there was already thread locker on that side and the wrench turned extremely hard all the way out, with no damaged threads (checked that first)



I had to take a picture of the underbody, who knows how long it will stay that clean.



Through this process I've replaced every rusty fastener that I've came across, these brake line securing tabs as well.

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Old 03-10-2014, 12:16 AM   #23
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Nice build, awesome to see some much progress!

Keep it going!!

-Kyle
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Old 03-11-2014, 10:08 PM   #24
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Plumbing up the fuel system was pretty uneventful. One of my first steps was to clean the dirty injectors that had been sitting for a couple years at this point. I built a small injector driver tool with a project box from Radio Shack, momentary swtich, led (indicator light), and an injector clip.



It was a good thing I did this, a couple injectors wouldn't open at all until soaked. I had them all consistently working by the end. I would connect a neoprene rubber vacuum plug with a small hole poked in it for the straw on some carb cleaner, pressurize with the cleaner, then click the button until I had good, clear flow and a decent spray pattern. Nothing scientific, just went until each one looked like the last.

The next step, I installed up the Holley Fuel rails PN # 534-210. They were one of the more economical, high quality options with o-ring fittings (vs pipe threads) and a complete set of fittings.



One of the tougher parts was deciding where to put the filter pressure regulator unit. I was considering placing it above the subframe like Pstl_Pete's LS3 hatch build, but I couldn't help but wonder what will happen if I get traction and break one of the still stock axles, I would rather just replace a hose than the whole unit, and the rear subframe and axles will be a later project.



I ran the line just beneath the brake line with some cushion clamps and covered the line in fire sleeve to try to protect the rail from the -6 stainless steel line.





I bought this Koul Tools -6 assembly tool towards the end of making the -6 lines after struggling to put a few fittings on, I always have struggled with the smaller sizes. I wish I would have bought it sooner, it made it so much easier. It's well worth the money if you put very many fittings together, stabbing your fingers with little stainless wires gets old after a while.



I used one of the Summit -6 to 1/8 fuel pressure gauge fittings with a little fuel pressure gauge I had sitting in my tool box so that I could keep an eye on fuel pressure.



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Old 03-12-2014, 11:00 AM   #25
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Subscribed!! Awesome build!
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Old 03-13-2014, 08:17 PM   #26
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First of all, I love your build.

Secondly, where did you get the brake line fittings? The m10x1 inverted flare ones. Do you have a link?

Thanks and keep up the great progress.
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Old 03-13-2014, 09:02 PM   #27
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First of all, I love your build.

Secondly, where did you get the brake line fittings? The m10x1 inverted flare ones. Do you have a link?

Thanks and keep up the great progress.
The m10x1.0 flare nuts on the brake lines came from Autozone. Most of the rest came from Summit.
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Old 03-14-2014, 07:37 AM   #28
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Subscribed! Great work you got going on here man! Looks like you have access to all the tools you need and the skill to get this project going. Any advice to the more novice builders out there (like myself) that want to tackle an LSx swap some day?
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Old 03-17-2014, 09:32 PM   #29
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Subscribed! Great work you got going on here man! Looks like you have access to all the tools you need and the skill to get this project going. Any advice to the more novice builders out there (like myself) that want to tackle an LSx swap some day?
Thanks for the compliment, I'm no expert, but here's what I can say. Good tools are a must, good friends are a big help when you're getting the ball rolling, changing big parts, when things get frustrating, ect. Whenever you take something apart, clean, or replace everything that is hard to get to. Take everything apart until you understand it inside and out. Take your time, do things right, and only use cash, you'll be much happier that way.
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Old 05-28-2014, 09:04 AM   #30
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Any updates?
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