Frenchi934 Posted April 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 im moving the engine rearward for better weight distribution. Also, the tunnel will almost definitely need to be cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy Posted April 30, 2012 Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 How much further back will it sit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted April 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 well thats not really a question i can answer considering it was never mounted before.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmyers151 Posted April 30, 2012 Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 Depending on how far back you're looking to mount the thing, you might consider framing it out with square tube and building a doghouse. This way you gain access to the back half of the motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted April 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 looking to go about as far back as john did with his car, no more than an inch farther back then he did because of shifter location Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmyers151 Posted April 30, 2012 Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 Ahh, very true. I forgot about the shifter... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted April 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 it is possible to move the shifter to the inspection port, but i think that will move the engine too far back. (moving the shifter more than 6 inches forward) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmyers151 Posted April 30, 2012 Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 It may be worth investigating. I mean, in theory, the closer the engine is to the center of the car, the better off you'll be, no? At a certain point though, pedal & seat position will become an issue. I'm sure these are all things you've likely considered, I'm just sorta wrapping my mind around the concept. Kinda mentally building the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convette Posted April 30, 2012 Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 (edited) Looking good man. Its going to be tough going much more rearward, things get really tight..plus since I found out what my weight distribution is, I wouldnt go much more if you want to keep it around 51% front. The tunnel cut out looks good, you might need to cut a little bit more on the passenger side to fit your exhaust up tight, but you'll see when you get there. Edited April 30, 2012 by Convette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted April 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 Thats why I havent put much more thought into moving the motor further back, I'm going to have marginally more weight on the front of my car with the factory headlights and perhaps a oil / power steering cooler,but not enough to throw it way off. The only real reason i'd have for doing it is to clear the fbody pan, but i may just throw that on ebay and pay the difference toward a rear pan that will fit (there are hundreds on the market, preferably one with flapper doors to help hold the oil in the center galley) I figured on the exhaust needing more space under there, but i plan on crossing that bridge when i get there. Im going to use some things i learned from your build by not putting too much work into the floorboard until the exhaust is done (lol). The plan for that at this point is two custom headers down and a 3" or better from about halfway out (from about halfway back it'll be just like my 3" system on the blue car). mounting the motor is pretty much ready to go except the pan at this point. Waiting on a piece or two to finish the steering. then the fun begins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convette Posted April 30, 2012 Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 (edited) i plan on crossing that bridge when i get there. . Thats how my whole car was/is built..lol What ever pan you end up going with, see if Improved Racing makes a baffle for it. I have one in my car and am crazy about watching the oil pressure while on the track.. I have never seen it drop due to sideways action. Great product. (so far) Edited April 30, 2012 by Convette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted April 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 I saw their baffle for the fbody pan. impressive stuff. I may end up having to fabricate my own pan band ill definatly use their baffle or just buy some of their trap doors and sort of copy their design ideas a little. you can get a set of for for 12 each http://www.improvedracing.com/engine-oiling/oil-pan-baffles-c-3_11.html And i started trying to do the whole car in my head all at once and it quickly got overwhelming, doing it one step at a time (or maybe a couple steps ahead of where im at) is proving much more managable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted April 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 (edited) went to the junkyard this morning. checked out an old raider. pretty cool. Then found the missing piece i need for the steering system (column to rack). Donor car was a 98 isuzu trooper. 10 bucks. http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/3238/sdc12061m.jpg Here's the fbody pan. You can see from this picture why i cant get away with just modifying it, because the pickup is right against the leading edge of the sump, and thats where i need to shave some off. Investigating solutions tonight. Luckily theres a TON of factory and aftermarket pans available for this motor. http://ls1tech.com/f...x-oil-pans.html http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8195/sdc12060d.jpg Edited April 30, 2012 by Frenchi934 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmyers151 Posted April 30, 2012 Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 That trap door looks like a cabinet door hinge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convette Posted April 30, 2012 Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 You might have to go gto (front sump) pan... I know you don't want to, but fitment is gonna be a hustle with a rear sump. Very interested in your outcome... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted April 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 The measurements on the gto pan dicatate that i move the motor at least 3 inches forward of where i want it. the fbody pan requires me to move it 3 inches rearward.. There are some pans specifically for ls-motors in older cars (57chevys etc) which pans are much much closer to what i need. Im confident there is a way to retain the rear sump. Anyway i make it work ill make sure its not hacked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted May 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2012 Steering linkage is pretty much set, but im not going to finalize it until the motor is in and i can make sure headers are still doable. http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/6396/sdc12069.jpg Also I've figured out an oil pan solution (2 actually) that will work for me. One is bolt on but considerably more expensive (400 dollars for the pan) and the other is about 150 (which is less than i should get out of my camaro pan) and will require modification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pc85 Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 This is going to be sick, can't wait to see it all back together. Looking forward to the progress frenchi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted May 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 New tie rods and ball joints today. Tie rod ends, steering rack bellows coming soon. Going to try to finish up this steering system while i wait on the new baffled holley oil pan to come out. http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/75/sdc12167g.jpg http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/680/sdc12168p.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted May 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 This hole was just a tad small for the tie rod end, so i enlarged it. http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/1144/sdc12169.jpg http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/8673/sdc12175y.jpg Then ran a quick side to side test and found the limiting factor of the steering angle (for now, I might modify it later depending on needs and tire clearance) http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/8032/sdc12176j.jpg http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/3527/sdc12177.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-R-Quest Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 How did you 'enlarge' the hole in the spindle for the tie-rod? Dremel? Tapered wire brush? Sandpaper on a dowel? Need to do the same to mine, just not sure how to go about it without damaging it. Would hate to have to find another one if i screw it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convette Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 Cut that limiter off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 Couple of questions on your rack conversion: It looks like you've removed the stock rubber coupler from the end of the factory column. Is this hard to get off? Is it splined on?Does the factory column feel like it needs supporting on the firewall, now it's no longer supported at the end by the factory steering box? I'll be doing a very similar swap soon, so any info you can offer would be super appreciated, chur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted June 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 the factory column is already supported on the firewall with a rubber bushing. The rubber coupler is hard to get off but not impossible it just takes patience. Holes were enlarged with a tapered drill bit. John, the limiters dont look like they'll be much of an issue once the car is sat back down on its own weight (they don't even come into play on my blue car at its height) but i do plan to cut them off if it looks like they'll interfere. This thing is sort of just sitting right now. Im waiting on holly to release their baffled oil pan. (i hear from a good source that improved racing designed and built a prototype baffle for the holley pan and Holley is considering selling it as an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuGG Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 (edited) http://www.holley.com/data/products/pictures/largeOilPanComparison.jpgDoes this not fit? This is the gm muscle car pan isnt it?http://paceperforman...o-nova-etc.html Edited June 27, 2012 by BuGG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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