LS1 powered S14 with motorplates and modded GTO pan

[SicBastard]

Jordan thanx for the input. Fire and hammers fixes everything! I see what you're saying about being safe with a harness. A million race cars can't be wrong.

Walperstyle it feels slow but consistent. If not for limited funds I feel like I'd be a lot further along, but at least I still have the car! I see so many projects that I really dig end up for sale, it always bums me out. I love the sound of a turbo, but I just don't want to live without the throttle response and instant torque anymore. If the KA-T isn't what you really are in love with ebay is great for un-pot-commiting yourself (I had to look that up in the urban dictionary).

I have put absolute cubic-hours into the rear subframe. I'm stoked on the roll correction, but I have no idea if the rest of the reinforcements were really necessary. Either way, after all the removing of extraneous brackets and grinding, I think that the gussets ended up weight neutral. I had to wrap it up fast though so that I could put the rear wheels back on the car so I can get it on the trailer for the move coming up this month.



If anybody else is considering making the same modifications to the front subframe mounts, I think it's really important to lay a bead along the top of the cup. All the grinding completely removes the weld holding the top of the cup to the subframe.

[SicBastard]

Talk about an easy way to loose 16 lbs!

Not to mention the steering wheel itself. My Airbag S14 steering wheel feels like it weighs 5 times more than my Sparco.

[SicBastard]

Dudes it was not a great day in hot rod land.

So todays goals were:
1. fix the rot on the trailer
2. install the rear subframe
3. un-collapse the steering column

Everything started off well enough while I was repairing the rotten wood in my trailer. Then I got tired of being in the sun and thought, "lets slam that rear subframe up in'der."

My arm just came out of a cast so my Bro Steven gets on the crawler. The back subframe bushings are going on easy enough, but the fronts are really fighting us. He was holding the subframe in, but I couldn't find the bolts right then. And we figured it was such a tight fit, it would stay up there (anyone see where this is going?). Of course while wailing on the front bushings with the BFH, the rear dropped off and the whole subframe came falling down on Steven. It happened so fast, and from where I was (in the wheel well) it looked like the whole damn thing came down on his face! Turns out the clearance hump for the front of the differential provided just the lucky clearance his face needed, and his left arm actually got the most of it. Just a small scrape and bruise. But it didn't get any better from there. We F'd with the rear subframe for another 40 minutes and just couldn't get those front bushings on. I even heated the aluminum bushings with the torch... no dice (but that rustoleum didn't even flinch! I'm impressed). Gave up with a few threads on the nuts on the rear bushings and the front still hopeless even after all the persuasion my BFH had. I don't get it? I've had the subframe on before without all the bushings other than the top front ones. Maybe they are a bit smaller??? I'll put the calliper to 'em next trip.

Then after I had given up on the rear subframe I thought I'd address the steering shaft that seems to be a bit short. I put penetrating oil on it the second I got to the garage. I clamped a vice-grip on it and brought out the BFH again... No dice. Popped on the torch again... still no dice! WTF?! Usually if a hammer won't fix it, fire does. Right?

So in summation:
1. progress
2. bloody fail
3. fail

I think I'm going to move to Australia.

[SicBastard]

Frustration...

So after the hammer, the heat, and the lube failed to get the rear subframe on, I actually used my brain, and measured all of my ebay solid aluminum subframe bushings. Of course 2 of the 8 had bores that were smaller than the others... I bought some ebay crap and it didn't fit!?! How original. A little time reaming the bushings out, and the subframe went on like it should. Good thing I didn't get out the BIGGER Hammer.

Liberation...

I finally finished patching up the trailer and since I sold my truck when I moved to Manhattan last summer my buddy came over with his truck to help with towing duties. To make a VERY long story short... Two days later I come to understand that ALL rental trucks, and most trucks on the planet have 2" balls, while decent car trailers have 2 5/8" balls. I got everything sorted out, but not until my baby sat on the streets of Elmont (just East of Queens) un-attended for two nights, like a big pile of reprobate thief bait. My karma must be improving, because when I finally got back from a 6 hour drive to borrow my fiancé's aunt's truck, the 240 was still there. And I even made it to my new house in Long Island without getting pulled over for my jankey magnetic tow lights that only worked half the time.

Continuation...

All nestled on her new little home Silvia relaxed for a month or two while I unpacked and got married. Had to sell the trailer to pay the photographer... Hope we don't have move for a while. I've been on a mission to get the fuel and cooling plumbing done for a long time now, so I'm starting with the fuel cell. I'm making a perimeter frame out of 1" square steel. The frame has 2" base plates where it attaches to the rear frame rail, mini versions of the base of a rollcage.

Had to remove this tow strap to weld in the rear cross member. 3.10 Pounds!!! Is this thing made out of Lead?!?

In all honesty I loved that tow strap. It always looked like it was going to scrape on hard launches, and it was the only thing I used to tie the rear of the car down on the trailer. I know I can throw some nylon strap around my rear subframe for the next trailer, but after all this subframe modification/work I really don't want to use the subframe as an anchor point. I was talking about this with my cousin who once upon a time frequented hondatech.com. He asked me about a "Benen", to which I replied, "A what?".

It must be time for sequel to the Fast and the Furious or sumpthin, because my Ricer IQ was FAILIN! If you don't know what a Benen is you gotta do a search! The threads are hilarious (in a "I'm not laughing with you" sorta way). Now in the Benen's defense, it is 0.4in thickness and only 0.8lbs. That's the only nice thing I have to say about Benen. For just a taste:

Help me decide on Tow Hook color. (Pictures Inside) - Club RSX Message Board



Back to seriousness.

You'd think for something as serious as mounting the fuel cell that the rule books we be specific and overbearing... but they are not. There's almost no rules. That probably won't stop a tech inspector from giving you sh*t if you do a lousy job mounting a fuel cell. But feel free to get creative. Just remember: a 22 gallon fuel cell weighs close to 200 pounds full. They say an occupant of a car can survive a crash if the deceleration during the crash is less than 30g. Well at 30g that same fuel cell now weighs 3 tons! So think about that next time you mount a fuel cell by a sorry a$s strap or flange. If you crash harder than 30gs, you probably won't survive, so that big fire ball shouldn't bother you anyway.

I've decided to build a perimeter frame of 1" square tubing to locate the fuel cell laterally and longitudinally. And then to use some sort of strap to locate the cell vertically in both directions. There is one good online article by a circle track magazine that talks about using strap on the bottom of the cell instead of more tube because it flexes more. I don't know if that logic plays out, but strap is lighter, and will allow me to mount the cell lower before something hits. I also referenced a few reputable race shops and most straps seem to be made of 0.050" steel, or 0.063" Aluminum, though I have heard of guys getting crap from tech inspectors (sighting nothing) for using aluminum straps.

I really like this method of attaching the straps, just because it lets you tighten down the straps with a lot of precision.
But these straps probably weigh about the same, yet would distribute the load of an impact over a greater area.
Here's a cool little number from a company that makes mounts for the off-road guys

You guys might be getting sick of hearing from me how innovative the off-road guys are, but check this out! Epic, never-starve, fuel pick-ups originally designed by Walbro for snow mobiles!

these guys say it better than I could:
Auto Performance Engineering - Walbro fuel pick-ups
And there's also a great thread on pirate4x4 about them.

Here's where I'm at now. I'm having a little bit of trouble deciding how low to mount it though. Most exhausts hang at least an inch below the rear sub frame so that's my reference point (one inch below the rear sub frame). The bottom of the OEM tow hook is about 3 inches higher than that. Because that thing never touched the ground even with NO anti-squat and soft springs, I feel safe going 0.5 to 1.0" below that. Originally I was going to mount the fuel cell higher so that I could have a more effective diffuser, but lately have decided that if I need more rear down force a bigger rear wing is easier to get than the lower CG a lower fuel cell helps achieve.

More coming soon. It's good to be out of Manhattan.

[GSXRJJordan]

Good to see updates, lol it's been a while.

[jr_ss]

Sic, if you wanted to be able to adjust your fuel cell height you could build an adjustable lower support? Possibly a bracket that has either adjustable holes or notches in it for the support to bolt/tie down to? Something that would allow you to lower the fuel cell down without having to re-engineer the lower cell mount/support? Or does it have to be a rigid mount? Just thinking out loud...

[blueshark123]

Damn i wish i knew you needed a wedding photographer i have been doing weddings for 8 yrs i would have gave you a great deal.

[SicBastard]

Originally Posted by GSXRJJordan

Good to see updates, lol it's been a while.

To think I first pulled the engine in 2007... ugh. Yeah NYC is where hot rod dreams go to die. My new next door neighbor is horse, and it's WAY nice to have a garage attached to my house for the first time in 4 years!

"Sic, if you wanted to be able to adjust your fuel cell height you could build an adjustable lower support? Possibly a bracket that has either adjustable holes or notches in it for the support to bolt/tie down to? Something that would allow you to lower the fuel cell down without having to re-engineer the lower cell mount/support? Or does it have to be a rigid mount? Just thinking out loud... "

That's a great idea! I could easily add a few inches of threaded rod to the strap ends so that the cell could be dropped an inch or so for road course work, where I don't have to worry about hard solo launches or street debris.

"Damn i wish i knew you needed a wedding photographer i have been doing weddings for 8 yrs i would have gave you a great deal."

Doh! That woulda been nice. I was freaked out by how much photographers cost! Luckily we got a great one though. Some of his pics are definite keepers.

[blueshark123]

Yea, I know how expensive it can be, our normal prices start around 5k, Obviously thats with 3 albums,2 photographers 10hr coverage extra engagement shoot, save the dates,etc.

If you ever know anyone who needs a photographer for events like these let me know.

http://johnagnellophoto.com heres the company i work for but contact me directly if you want a good deal

[Johny5]

Not only do I always enjoy these updates, but I love learning stuff from this build. That pickup tree is awesome as hell, may have to replicate that!

[SicBastard]

Originally Posted by Johny5

Not only do I always enjoy these updates, but I love learning stuff from this build. That pickup tree is awesome as hell, may have to replicate that!

Means a lot coming from you Stew! Wish I was out there laying waste to as many tires as you are. Someday soon...

[SicBastard]

From Stew's website,

"A good friend of mine George Marstanovic has been working on a cup that houses a 3/4″ high misalignment spherical and slips right into an s14 FLCA balljoint opening."

Are these available to the public?

[gsracer]

yea... id be interested in those as well.

As always GREAT work.

[Beejis60]

Originally Posted by SicBastard

From Stew's website,

"A good friend of mine George Marstanovic has been working on a cup that houses a 3/4″ high misalignment spherical and slips right into an s14 FLCA balljoint opening."

Are these available to the public?

ohhh lawd, sign me up

[SicBastard]

Good 'ol George makes some nice videos!

http://vimeo.com/48410837#at=0

Deal with it...

[Beejis60]

nvm msglength

[SicBastard]

Got inspired by a DIY FLCA and tension rod thread on NRR. So I ordered some 5/8 heims and 14mm high misalignment spacers from the UK.

When the spacers showed up they were upto 0.010" undersized. The summit 5/8 id, 3/4 -16 thread SUM-XMAXL10T Rod ends were dead on at 0.624-0.625" bore. I tried to find some 3/4" to 14mm spacers but couldn't find any.

Should I be concerned about this? The whole point of adding the heims is to get rid of deflection...

Here's a 20 second video of the play.
IMG 1458 - YouTube

the goal





I still need to buy an SAE tap and die set that goes upto 5/8"

I boutgh a cheap metric set at harbor freight and it's horrible. The threads are always loose. I want to pony up for a quality SAE tap and die set. Any reccomendations?

[SicBastard]

Searched around for some tap and die sets but most of them stop at 1/2". I just ordered the single 5/8"-18 die I needed singlely from amazon for $7.

What do you guys think of that play in the youtube link last post? I'm I just being anal or is that too much play>

[Broadfield]

I've been extremely happy with the Matco tap and die sets.

I own these three kits and I'm unstoppable with them

676TDP 117 PIECE TAP DIE & DRILL SET | Matco Tools

6095TD 25 PIECE METRIC LARGE TAP & DIE | Matco Tools

6094TD 25 PIECE SAE LARGE TAP & DIE SET | Matco Tools

[gsracer]

this thread never fails to add more ideas to my project plate.

As for the play. Almost every heim joint i have ever installed save for the front spacers i milled my self for my tension rods has that play. Once tightened I've never noticed any more play even on arms that have been on cars for more than 5 years.

Im anal like that too, but i don't think it will be a problem.

[SicBastard]

Broadfield, everything you do is no joke! I'd have to sell half my tools to cover those! But I've heard from more than one source now that matco or snap on are definitely worth the money when it comes to tap and die sets. Thanks for the links!

GSracer, One more reason I need a lathe! I guess it's good news that I got the best quality I can expect .

[SicBastard]

I ordered 5 of the walbro fuel pick-ups: 4x MP-12, and 1x MP-16. None of these have bleed holes, so if the tank ever truely runs dry I might have to take off a fuel line to relieve the vacuum, but APE assured me this was a better idea than providing a bleed hole that might allow air to get sucked into the fuel lines. Originally I intended to put the MP-16 (right angle pass through pick up) in the ATL sump, and send all four of the other pick ups to pass through the last MP-16. But when the pick-ups got here, those 5/16 barb inlet/outlets looked really small. I re-read APEs website,

"A single pickup can flow 40 gal per hour, so they work well with high-performance applications, too."
Auto Performance Engineering - Walbro fuel pick-ups

To put that into perspective a single Bosch 044 flows 53 gal per hour. So is 40 GPH of flow enough?

For Return-Style regulators:
Multiply maximum horsepower by .17 to calculate minimum pump size in "free flow" GPH.
Example: 400 HP x .17 = 68 GPH "free flow"

A single walbro pick-up shouldn't be a restriction until 235 hp (40 GPM/0.17)...

Maybe that's "high-performance" for a snowmobile...

So I'm probably going to need to use some sort of fuel block to run 2 or 3 lines from the pick ups to before the -8 AN OUT on the fuel cell. You really have to be careful with restrictions between fuel pick ups and fuel pump. Both restrictions and high fuel pump mounting placement lead to vapor lock fast.

[SicBastard]

-12 AN is the standard line used with dry sump set ups. It's damn big and hard to work with. But I read that some Nascar teams run -16 AN to pick up a small amount of horsepower. It makes sense. All automotive oil pumps are crank driven, and pushing oil around under pressure aint easy. For the straigh section of piping under the car (close to 12 feet) I'm planning on using -16 solid stainless line, and then stepping down to -12 for the flexible line.

But if stepping from huge -12 line to even more rediculous -16 is worth some horsepower (and probably better oil pressure) imagine what removing some very sharp 90 degree bends would do. I have to get the oil out of the block and back for both the oil cooler and filter.

Count the number of 90 degree bends the oil has to take inside the block and stock fuel filter to get from the output of the LS1 oil pump to the back main galley...

I count 10!


The internal oil galleys of the LS1 are created by drilling out the block. Most of the bores go all the way through the block, and then the access sites are blocked with screw in plugs. Here's a pic of the two bore sites for the main galleys (at the corner of the block). The front bore gets blocked by the timing chain cover, but the threaded galley port (on the driver side of the block) gets a 16mmx1.5 plug that should probaby have a crush washer under it.



Kurt Urban makes an adapter to tap into the block, here's a pick of it in place of the semi-verticle galley plug at the driver side rear of the block. It has the weird 16mmx1.5mm thread on one end and a -10 AN on the other, custom machined from stainless (but it's $100)



There's also this
Summit Racing Part Number:FRA-460616
Fitting Size 1:-6 AN
Fitting Size 2:16mm x 1.5
(only $3.95)


But here's my problem with both of them.

Internal Oil galley ID: 0.571"mm
Fragola -6 ID: 0.375"
16mmx1.5mm thread minor diameter: 0.577"

EDIT:
I got an email from Todd Brandon (Manager at Kurt Urban) and the bore for their -10 AN adapter is 0.450" all the way through. So that's a minimum wall thickness of (0.577-0.450)/2 = 0.0635" where the threads are.

I really don't want to add another restriction. I consider the internal oil galley diameter to be a minimum.

It's a little scary, but right now I'm planning on drilling the two plug ports in the block for a 1/2" NPT fitting. 1/2" NPT female threads first require drilling a 23/32 bore (0.71875"), and then tapping 0.5337" deep for thread engagement.

In Hot Rod's September 2012 issue they did a comparison of -6 AN fittings(0.375 OD), and the inner bores varied from 0.220" to 0.270". Hopefully this means a -12 AN to 1/2" NPT fitting will have an ID somewhere around 0.595" (finally bigger than the stock oil galley dimensions. Here's such a part from Earls



I've looked the block over pretty carefully and I think there is plenty of meat for the boring and tapping of the 1/2" NPT. Maybe it would be easier to weld a fitting onto the block, but I worry about messing up any heat treating that was done.

With this external oil routing, I count 10x 90 degree turns that I get to eliminate between the stock LS1 oil pump and the main verticle oil galley at the back of the block! I'll probably introduce 3 or 4 of my own (externally), but all of mine will be WAY more gentle, and that's still a hell of an improvement. Less pressure loss should mean that I can run thinner oil. 0w-20 here I come.

[SicBastard]

What do you guys think? Am I being too anal and should just use the -6 fitting for the oil supply and feed, Or is drilling out the plug and tapping it wth a 1/2" NPT fitting the wiser way?

[Johny5]

I would avoid welding if for nothing more than the simple reason of, what you weld on is permanent. If you knick the flare or damage the threads you get to redo it. The ID variance of the stepdown fitting is concerning imo, i have seen a LOT of varying IDs in a lot of the AN fittings I use. My guess is the Kurt Urban piece is your one sure shot bet at this, is replaceable and will give you the flow you need. Also it saves you time, time better spent troubleshooting other unmarked territories in the car. Just my .02! ...does suck that its $100 though haha.

I also apologize, I never saw the George post. He never went big with the release due to up and coming (at the time) FD work and prep requirements. If you're interested in a pair I can see what I can do? The pieces are absolutely amazing and I have literally jumped my front end multiple feet while the high-mis Aurora bearings are still nice and solid!

[SicBastard]

Originally Posted by Johny5

I would avoid welding if for nothing more than the simple reason of, what you weld on is permanent. If you knick the flare or damage the threads you get to redo it. The ID variance of the stepdown fitting is concerning imo, i have seen a LOT of varying IDs in a lot of the AN fittings I use. My guess is the Kurt Urban piece is your one sure shot bet at this, is replaceable and will give you the flow you need. Also it saves you time, time better spent troubleshooting other unmarked territories in the car. Just my .02! ...does suck that its $100 though haha.

I also apologize, I never saw the George post. He never went big with the release due to up and coming (at the time) FD work and prep requirements. If you're interested in a pair I can see what I can do? The pieces are absolutely amazing and I have literally jumped my front end multiple feet while the high-mis Aurora bearings are still nice and solid!

Yeah I was thinking I could just drill out the $4 -6 adapter, but I have a funny feeling that the Kurt Urban part is made from stainless so that the material has some extra strength for a bigger bore. Maybe I'll shoot him an e-mail and ask what the bore is.

I am 100% interested in a pair of George's cups. If you know how I can contact him please pm me or post it up.

[SicBastard]

I've been trying to find a source other than Accel for aluminum wiring. Most modern airliners use it at least on their larger generator wires. But the new Airbus uses it all the way down to 22 gauge. Its only 67% as conductive as copper, but since it weighs 1/3 as much it ends up requiring a gauge size two larger for the same resistance compared to copper and still weighs half as much!

"Sigh. It appears that some posting on here never read the old threads on the Airbus "aluminium" wiring, or did not understand what was written.

A380 Not State Of The Art-Due 2 Aluminum Wiring? (by Coelacanth Oct 22 2006 in Civil Aviation)?threadid=3056107&searchid=3062099&s=ElGr eco#ID3062099
This is not the post I was looking for, but it will suffice I think.

ElGreco From France, joined exactly 6 years ago today! , 164 posts, RR: 1
Reply 7, posted Mon Oct 23 2006 12:11:22 your local time (5 years 2 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 10683 times:

Good afternoon everybody,

I had already answer few times about these questions on aluminium cable technology on A380, but I will do it again with pleasure.

1) few pure aluminium cables are used by Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier,... for years on feeders for power cables to save weight (from A320 for Airbus).

2) A380 is the first plane in the world to use that technology for smaller cables (e.i.: up to #22 contact with #24 cables) but we used aluminium/cooper cable with nickel plated, and not pure aluminium cable (e.i.: each wire is aluminium with 10µ of cooper around and 2µ of nickel deposit).

3) contacts are in copper with nickel and gold plating (as for copper technology) but with longer design to be crimped on the cable and on the insulation cable as well. Furthermore, a ferule is installed in the contact as interface between cable and contact.

4) this technology is based on patent made in 1965, and we are working on that technology from 1967, as many others companies).

5) This technology have been choose in 2002 by Airbus and qualify in 2003. Weight saving is closed from 500kg per A380, it's used on A400M and it will be use as well on A350XWB.

In conclusion don't worry be happy.

El Greco

IIRC El Greco had something to do with making/designing the wiring. Somewhere I think you will find he told us that the Al and Cu are co-extruded and then Ni Plated.

If you want to think that Al with copper, nickel and gold plating is vanilla style Aluminium, well that is fine, but it aint."

Jordan?

[GSXRJJordan]

A couple German OEMs use aluminum cable for battery stuff, it's nice, but not commonly available and needs to be HUGE to get the same voltage ~ and it work hardens, so if it's flexed over and over you'll see higher and higher resistance. Additionally, it needs to be coated for temp resistance.

Nickel-coated Al/Cu is exactly what large power wires are in aircraft, but I haven't found it available commercially in small lengths (<1000ft), and even then it's SUPER pricey ($12+/ft). If I could get my hands on some I'd love to use it, until then I'm fine with my 2ga and 4ga M22759/3 250*C nickel-coated copper power wires.

[Beejis60]

You have an LS that makes way more horse than an SR and a KA. Who gives a shit about wire weight?

That's all I'll contribute for now

[SicBastard]

Dear Baller Bolts,

I haven made several attempts to contact you regarding your shipping the wrong bolts to me in January. You refuse to answer emails, and your voice mail box is perpetually full. I am escalating this problem to my credit card company, and I will join scores of others in spreading the word of your shady practices on my website, build threads, and facebook.

Disgruntled,

-Dru Nichols, M.D.