Don't have a lot of pics this update but I did get some stuff done on my two days off. Basically I started with the intake, I scrapped my L shaped throttle cable bracket and made a new one that utilized the front two intake bolts instead of the previous one. It is also as far over as it can be to help keep the cable better lined up with the throttle body. After that I did the final bolt down of the intake, I added about 12 inches (solder and heatshrink) to the MAP sensor wires since it is now on the front of the intake, can see it right under the throttle cable. Ran the main vacuum line to the vacuum block that's where the wiper motor used to sit. I did have to grind the water pump, which i previously did not have to do for my fast 92 or 102 setup. The entire harness is basically hooked up, trans stuff from Nelson performance worked great and fit perfect. I had to lower the rear of the trans to get the back cooler line on but that was no big deal. Other then a dipstick (cover that soon) it is ready for trans fluid, which i purchased monday. Installed the Kent Moore flywheel tool and tightened the ARP crank bolt until the 24" breaker bar was making a smiley face. Then installed the block ground on the starter side and installed the starter. I have been trimming the harness like crazy, cutting off everything thats not present anymore (like rear 02s, wiper motor, ac stuff, abs plug etc). I ran feed and return fuel lines under the hood and also the hot wires for the pumps. Mounted them on the driver inner fender and they will power off that 12+ stud that's by the fuse block. I got the feed line ran to the rails, which you can see in the pic, there is a y split by the brake booster, and i will dual feel the lines then return them to the FPR. These feed lines will be hidden by the cowl once its re-installed. This weekends goal is to fill with fluids (solve the dipstick issue), test fit the radiator with fans on the front, flip the pins in the connectors so they push instead of pull, finish the fuel lines, and probably run vacuum lines to the wastegate location and in cab for boost control and boost gauge. I'm also a couple fuel fittings short so i ordered those plus an IAC valve which i dont have. I'm one vacuum port plug short for the intake neck so I ordered that also. I may fire on motor this weekend if all this gets done....Turbo kit is one week out.

#ad

 

Quick pic of the fuel pump wiring. All the way to the left is a fuse and relay for the trans cooler fan, that's been there. I add the two fuse holders to the right. I also mounted the fuel pressure regulator and am currently waiting on a couple more fittings and that will be 100% complete.

#ad


I went and purchased 16.5 gallons on e85 an put some in the tank so I could flush the lines before i do the final hook up to the rail. I didnt get a chance to test the E content but will. Random pic of trans fluid.

#ad


I initially started working on the fan wiring. While reversing polarity on the wires I thought, if the fans are on the front, will this wiring even fit? So I decided to stop, and test fit the radiator, fans, and wiring. Huron speed confirmed this kit will work with the radiator in the stock position, and mid last week i ordered an LT1 radiator cover. On initial fit I could tell clearance to the turbo was gonna be shit, and the stock fans flipped to the front weren't even gonna be close to working, the fan motors were pointed right at the upper radiator support. So i thought im either going to order slimline fans and fab a shroud, or cut the upper support. So I got out the cut off wheels. This is a pic of a previously cut lower support. I cut the entire center section out a year or two ago for weight savings.

#ad


Here's a close up of the lower radiator support. You can see its three full sheets of metal in a triangle. The original piece I cut out of the car was like 6 pounds.

#ad


So just cut those babies off, or the whole thing if you still have it.

#ad


Throw these in the bushes.

#ad


Couple pieces of flat bar, 2 90 degree bends later we have brackets. The drivers side has a flat square rubber bushing and the passenger side has a thick round bushing. They are different thicknesses which is why you can see the height difference in the mounts. Also, this mounts the radiator completely straight up and down with no slant, and approx 2 inches lower then stock. The upper support has to be trimmed in from the rear a full 2 inches. Im not sure if Im going to run the factory plastic air dam anymore, have to see once its all together.


#ad


There she is in place. After I figure our what Im going to do with the top and I get the radiator exactly where i want it, I believe Im going to go back and add some triangle gussets to the brackets.

#ad


Had to tape it because Im not sure what I'm going to do to the top......and I ran out of daylight. As a sidenote there is tons of room for a turbo now......and even, maybe a bigger turbo down the road (insert evil grin). Quickly fit the fans, wow they almost bolt up with no modification.....and the wiring is going to reach.

#ad

 

So we left off with the radiator mounted but taped to hold up top. I originally ordered an LT1 top cover because my plan was to keep the radiator in the stock position, and this was the cheapest route to do that. Now that I moved the radiator I had no game plan. The radiator has moved down almost a full 2 inches so there is no bolt on solution here. I started with trying to fit the fans. The shroud above the drivers side fan must be trimmed some. You also must take off about 1.5 inches across the entire top.

#ad


I had to notch and bend just a tad of the upper support for the fans to slide all the way up in position.

#ad


Passenger side tab lines up with the condenser mount, driver side i looked for a simple solution since they didn't line up. I folded the condenser bracket down, then just hold the fan in position, drill a hole through the plastic and aluminum, and put a bolt there. You can see it here folded over.

#ad


That was pretty easy. I decided to trim down the LT1 top cover and make two short aluminum straps to hold it. Turned out pretty good considering.....The brackets are offset because there were holes already in the plastic so i used them instead of drill more.

#ad


Wiring done. It will need to be extended.

#ad


E85=E70

#ad


Holy mother these pumps move some fuel!!! Went ahead and mocked this up to do a line flush. Good thing i did cause there was crap down in the cups, dont want that getting into my injectors. Quick math fun, stock pump 190 gph, typical Walbro upgrade 255 gph, these are dual 450s, so at 900 gallons per hour its capable of moving 1 gallon every 4 seconds, wowzers! You dont need the key or PCM installed to prime the pumps, pull the fuel pump relay and jump the corner terminals, #30 and #87.

#ad


Dialed in pressure to 60psi, and no leaks. I went ahead and hooked up the boost reference line.

#ad


So basically everyone bitches about the Lokar flexible dipstick. My buddy offered a solution (cause there was no way in hell the dipstick and tube was fitting this car), measure stickout, cut the tube, replace with 3/4 hose. So thats what i did. I was able to slide this in and the stick will be hidden under the cowl. I probably wont even make a mount for it.

#ad


I also got some of the wiring cleaned up under the hood, hooked up the trans cooler fan, and decided to redo the coolant crossover line. Turbo kit "should" ship monday, I still need a belt and to add the boost gauge inside the cab. We are getting dang close!

 

Photos are down.

 

Probably a glitch with photobucket.

 

Working on the other forums

 

Let me make a couple points quickly. First I am a paying photobucket customer, second I cleared my cache before posting that it's working on other forums, third I used the same links here and about 6 other forums. There is no reason for them to not be working here other then there is an issue with this forum.

 

Had to tie up some loose ends, needed some coolant line for the radiator connections but got all that handled so I figured I would go ahead and fill up the fluids since it will be starting up soon enough. I plan to run Rotella oil but went ahead and used some pennzoil this time and i plan on doing the first change pretty quick. Grabbed the Rotella when i saw it at the store yesterday, the rest of the bottles are empty.

#ad


Removed my trans temp gauge from the middle and replaced it with the boost gauge. I hate two are digital and one is analog but i liked the 65 dollar price tag of this analog gauge. Bottom one is engine temp.

#ad


Needed a spot for the trans temp gauge, I had the nitrous panel left over from before so i went ahead and installed it. Its obviously custom made for me, but I may contact the guy and get him to make me a new one with turbo stuff on it, or blank under the switches? Also I got the boost controller mounted where i can reach it.

#ad


Jack: 1, oil filter: 0. Whoops, minor miscalculation.....I'm building a turbo car I never said I was any good at it!

#ad


Still waiting on this raggedy ass turbo kit. Starting to get a little irritated. The original estimate was 6-8 weeks and we are now at TWELVE weeks. He says he has the kit in hand but is waiting on a turbo filter and oil lines. I say ship what you got so i can get things fit up and the exhaust made am i right?

 

Thats not how photobucket and hotlinking works. My albums have always been private. I currently have over 1200 pics on photobucket. This exact same info, copy and pasted, is on about 8 different forums. This is the ONLY one the pics went down in. I do not have the option to edit, or view the PB links in the above posts so what can i do about it except start over from scratch!

 

Last edited by a moderator: Saturday at 6:08 PM

That would explain why the pics are jacked. Thanks whoever did that.

 

We are working to get this resolved......

 

Didn't get a ton done this weekend. Had a buddy who needed his 10 bolt rebuilt so I did that for him as a favor. I did get to do a few things, the kit came in late Saturday evening minus intercooler. Randy wrapped the hot-side with fiberglass wrap. I threw some high heat paint on it. Whether it will bake into it, or turn into a smoky mess when it heats up I couldn't tell you. Guess we will find out. I also clocked the turbo where the output faces correctly (forward and down) and drilled and tapped the outlet for the wastegate feed. Huron Speed said just pull the signal from the manifold but that doesn't seem to be recommended so I added one on the turbo outlet. I did a quick mock up, slightly bent the PS lines, and the hotside pipe fit fantastic. Love the extra room standing the radiator up gave me.

#ad


I ordered some filters and plan on swapping to the rotella oil after a few heat cycles and before any heavy boost. Also have to replace the coolant tank due to the extra thick hose putting pressure on it and cracking the bottom. I am also going to a lighter duty hose to prevent this error in the future.

#ad


Found this guy wandering around. No clue how his wings got so messed up.

#ad


Intercooler "should" be here any day and i still need to build the exhaust (likely wrap it as well) and buy a belt. It will be running and driving very soon!

 

There we go!

 

Intercooler showed up and I had to do a quick mockup just for fun. Brackets fit nice.

#ad


The pic above with the turbo mounted.....it was just barely bolted on. Here's why. Not thrilled I had to pull it back off.

#ad


Here is my solution. I red locktited them into the flange, time will tell if it holds or not.

#ad


Mocked it up on the table to save me some work laying under the car.

#ad


Final mount-up, got the alternator mounted up top also.

#ad


All the coldside done, it lacks a belt at this point to be running.

#ad


Got the tubular bumper support to work with the intercooler....it required some minor trimming.

#ad


They said 73 inch belt, that turned out to be too long. Ive got a 71 on there now but its a smidge too tight but will work for the moment. The stock tensioner gets relocated to where the alternator used to be, and the iron blocks dont have one of the holes for the mount. I ended up grabbing the side bolt hole and making a bracket from scratch, and so far its holding good.

#ad


You can see the bumper was already cut for airflow to the trans cooler, but i wanted to trim it more. This is what I started with.

#ad


This is how it ended up.

#ad


What do you do when you want your exhaust tip centered but dont have anyone to help you?? Well you electrical tape bolts to the dang thing. Made great spacers.

#ad


Turned out nice I think. I did go back and paint the hanger/frame red.

#ad


#ad


Piece to the front brake line. I found it crushed and replaced it. No clue how that happened but glad i saw it.

#ad


Ive got the segment swap done, and the 3bar VE with real time tuning, which Ive been playing with and its cool as shit. It was fighting me all day but i believe I had incorrectly input some of the injector data. I was starting to make some progress but ran out of daylight. It also added some fuel to the oil (running pig rich) so I got that crap out of there and put the Rotella in. Motor purrs and is very smooth but now Im showing no oil PSI, Im thinking my chinese sending unit didnt like the e85 oil. But, no leaks, and Ive heat cycled it about 5 times. Fuel psi crept down to 50 psi? So i dialed it back up to 60. Little crap now at this point.

#ad

 

Well I figured I was tuning this week but it just didnt work out that way. While working on the idle tuning i noticed the oil psi showed zero. I honestly didnt think much of it because the motor was very quiet and I knew i used a chinese sending unit. When the turbo started blipping oil out of the exhaust i figured i better investigate. Yep, mechanical gauge showed 5 psi. Hoping for a pinched pickup o ring i drained the oil and filter. When pouring the filter out I noticed specs of trash coming out of it. So I cut it open to investigate further. Whoops.

#ad


New oil, new filter and Ive got 70 psi again. I decided to check reverse and see if she could back into the yard and sunbathe for the day.

#ad


I need to put the hood back on but it bothers me my stickers are now inaccurate. So I decided to go ahead and clean the underside of the hood and dig in my sticker stash to keep things updated. Also, the black above the Cam Motion sticker was where i had some foam tape to keep the clear lid from rubbing the hood. Glad that can finally go away.

#ad


Here's the new sticker arrangement. Pic is a little washed out but you can see Aeromotive, circle D, autometer, transgo, turbosmart, msd, hptunders, and sje were all added.

#ad


Hood and headlights are back on, and i also glued the tab for the rearview mirror to the lexan front windshield. We will see if it holds, and I hope it does because you cant see shit out of the tiny side mirrors. The brake pedal is ROCK hard. I'm going to give it a fair chance however if it proves to be miserable stopping the car I will admit defeat and go back to the booster. And we do know at minimum reverse and first work in the trans because it pulled itself back in no problem. You can also see the shock tower bar I added, not for looks but because the front lexan is lifting slightly and I believe its from cowl twist. This should help, I also added more screws to the lower edge. Next, we terrorize the neighborhood.

#ad

 

So the LAST non-running update.....as I've indicated, I've been having some tuning issues with the car. Quite frankly, it wont hardly run, wont hardly idle, barely starts sometimes, and wont rev clean in park. I have been trying everything I can to figure it out, and nothing I change makes a difference. Saturday I finally decided to swap the MAP sensor out with a stock truck unit. My reasoning was, even though I was seeing 105kpa with the engine off, I was only getting 65-80kpa during revs which didnt seem right (remember I dont tune for a living). Well the truck MAP spanned almost the entire 0-105kpa scale and allowed me to make corrections that it actually responded to. With a single VE correction i had it revving to redline smoothly, SUCCESS!! My buddy Randy who gave me the intake had another 3bar MAP for me to try, and guess what, it worked. So I got a janky sensor out of the box. I'm going to use his sensor in the meantime to get the tuning done this week. Since the old lady is off, i plan on letting her be the passenger seat laptop holder <<<<--insert evil grin.


Wanting to put a master list together for anyone duplicating any part of this.

Turbo kit: Huron Speed

http://shop.huronspeedproducts.com/Huron-Speed-V1-Truck-Manifold-Single-T4-Turbo-Kit-v1TMkit.htm

Wastegate: TurboSmart 45mm TS-0506-1002

http://www.turbosmartdirect.com/Product-Categories/45mm-HyperGate/WG45-Hypergate-45-7psi-Black.html

Boost Controller: TurboSmart TS-0106-1002

http://www.turbosmartdirect.com/Pro...trollers/In-Cabin-Boost-Controller-Black.html

Fuel Pumps: Chrs1313 dual 450s

http://www.speedinc.com/chrs1313-dual-450-fuel-pump-setup-fbody-99-02-drop-in-tank.html

Belt: 71.5" 6 rib off ebay (715k6)

Oil Pressure Sending unit: PS303

Oil Filter: Wix 51042

Coolant Overflow: Dorman 603-001

Vacuum lines: Sickspeed brand, 10m of 6mm, 5 foot of 10mm from ebay

Fuel Pressure Gauge: Marshall MNB00100 from ebay

Fuel Lines and fittings: All from ttfitting on ebay

Vacuum caps: Dorman 41050

IAC Valve: AC234

Throttle Body: WARR W92LS-VP

e85 tester: Fuel-It

Exhaust tip: 3 to 3.5", seller xtips4u on ebay

PCV: 8ft of -10 AN from ttfitting

12 bolt cover gasket: 5104R

Wideband extension Harness: Autometer 5252

Collector Copper Gasket: ACE Gasket 4210

Hose clamps: Russell 650990

Exhaust wrap: 2" wide from seller wzho3115 on ebay

Exhaust Flange stud Kit: Dorman 03133

Heater hose bypass: from seller mtmills on ebay

4l80e tailshaft seal: Feiock Performance FP 400RS2700

Fuel Filter: From seller le_ji84 on ebay (China delivery)

Fuel Y Split: Z122N from seller fassterllc

Boost Gauge: Autometer 2614

Pushrods: Summit/Jegs brand 7.400

Vacuum Block: SickSpeed 2016

Fuel Pressure Regulator: Aeromotive 13303

Low Oil Sensor blockoff: ICT Billet

Flexplate: ATP z-270

4l80e AN Fittings: from sweet_performance on ebay

1/8 NPT Weldable Steel Bung: ATM 2260

4l80e Service Kit: Oregon Performance Transmission

4l80e Forged Yoke: PST brand bought from Midwest Chassis

-10 AN Fitting for valvecover: WARR brand

Pinion Seal: Ratech 6109

Turbo Oil feed fitting: PRE-60416BLK

Plug Wires: MSD 32829

Plugs: NGK 3346 gapped at 22

Knock Sensor: AC Delco 213-3521

Coolant Sensor: AC Delco 213-4514

CatchCan: from seller ael-supply on ebay

Fuel Rails: Z967 from seller fassterllc on ebay

Lifters and trays: from seller panthersales on ebay

Oil Pump: Melling 10295

Head Gasket: GM 12622033

Head Studs: Speedmaster

Valve Springs: Alper-Motorsports PEP PSK658-8-7

Injectors: Bosch 127

https://www.texas-speed.com/p-3976-fic-127lb-bosch-high-impedance-injectors.aspx

Exhaust bumper Trim: MotionRaceWorksLLC

Converter: Circle D Triple disc

http://www.circledspecialties.com/4l80e-pro-series-258mm

4l80e conversion harness: Nelson Performance

http://www.nelsonperformance.com/80e-conversion-harness

Map Sensor: EFI Source

http://www.efisource.com/shop/ls1-style-3-bar-map-sensor/

See anything I missed let me know.

 

Well this is a depressing update with a happy ending. Go back to the oil pressure issues. I figured out the black junk was from the rocker arms, it was flaking off, so that was accounted for being in the filter. The car was running good and AFR wasnt bad so we went on a drive, after a couple of quick reflashes she went into boost for the first time. Holy Muther of God. The pull at 7 psi on the wastegate spring is retarded. I am officially in love with boost. After experiencing this glory one friggen time, the oil pressure tanked again. Luckily we were close to home and I limped it there, and swapped filters again. All back to normal. So I go on about tuning some more and even gave a couple test rides to friends (no traction from a roll), and on my final drive of yesterday it happened.......we buzzed the neighbors standing outside with the turbo whirl and the BOV pop, made a pull and it was there.......a rod knock. After examining all top end components i crawled under and pulled the filter and it was clogged with metal debris. I believe the previous two had been also I just saw it to be dark and assumed it was sludge. So we are gonna make the best of it, and go back with an aluminum block this go round to shave some weight. I know this motor didnt run long but damn was it glorious when it did.

To note, the brakes are growing on me some, the converter from circle D feels perfect, I can build boost quickly, I was even able to footbrake to 3k on a dusty blacktop road so that has a lot of potential and my trans cooling is not adequate. Ive got a sister cooler and fan on the way and will be doubling cooling capacity while maintaining the rearmount cooler setup. Also, the BOV with the lightweight spring was staying open at idle, and with the heavy spring would not open at all. This is what i did to the heavy spring to make it work correctly.

#ad


Side info, I was pretty disgusted with the situation so I made the best of it and put some new cabinets and microwave in the Camaro's corner of the garage. I may run a dedicated outlet for the microwave but for now just ran a cord to it. This is a hangout spot for us LS guys to hatch our devious racecar plans where the womenfolk cant find about it! Pretty nice cabinets for being store bought home depot thingys.

#ad


New motor to come grrrrrrr.

 

Motor pullin party. Got damn it.

#ad


TDC for #3. For those who may not know, the piston is supposed to come above the deck. This is the highest I could get this one, followed by a clunk.

#ad


Just like I thought.....

#ad


And this is why you dont pull in engines in flip flops!! Not that this will stop me from doing it again.

#ad


Lots of new parts showing up daily, engine should be here tomorrow. Broken motor is completely torn down/stripped. All the other new parts in this engine looked great, nothing else seems damaged other then that bearing. So, on to reassembly and upgrades.

 

Did you find the cause? Oil pump, or pickup? What was the trash in the filter?

 

Not sure the root of the issue other then the bearing failed. It dropped some debris in the pan, the big chunks got caught in the pickup screen, the smaller trash went up and got caught in the filter. The cam, lifters, and everything else looks fine. I dont think this engine had an oiling issue, i think it had a bearing issue when i received it. I may pull another rod bearing or two and inspect just for curiosity, hell they all could be eating themselves who knows! Oil pump was making 65psi when i pulled it into the garage knocking. That to me rules out pump and pickup tube questions.

 

Went and picked the motor up from UPS freight and got right onto tearing it down. Overall its much cleaner inside then the previous engine.

#ad


A welder, a washer, and a nut come in handy for getting those broken exhaust bolts out.......and the vice grips for when you round the nut off! These are completely disassembled and going to the machine shop to be cleaned up.

#ad


Lube your stick before you put it in ok gentlemen.

#ad


Pretty clean specimen we got here.

#ad


But a little paint never hurt. Is it bad karma to paint it the same as the failed engine?

#ad


Short block is done, cleaned all the metal debris out of the oil pan and shot a fresh coat of black on the motor mounts.

#ad


I spent hours cleaning the pistons on the last engine. These got a quick rub down and Im calling it good.

#ad


And through the magic of the internet, the heads have arrived back home in about 30 seconds!!! They were cleaned and milled but no other work was performed.

#ad


Here's an intake valve. Notice the silver streak around the lower edge. That's where it seals to the valve seat in the head. We are gonna freshen that surface and hopefully widen it some for a better seal.

#ad


Take your compound, and spread it like so. Doesn't have to be perfect.

#ad