N/A'ing my Turbo; LS1 conversion project
 

Some people have asked me what i was doing to my car and why, so i figure i just start a build thread about it. Updates and progress will be slow due to my work schedule, but i will hopefully have the car running under push-rod V8 power by the end of summer.

A few people seemed to think i was a purist and were surprised i made the decision to swap engines. While i do love these cars and did enjoy the 951 engine it was basically a losing battle keeping it running to my standards. To me as a car guy, not just a Porsche fanatic i saw the merit in going with an LS1. I figured it would be a cool project and make for an even more unique car.

So to answer some questions, what made me want to put in the LS1? Well i spent alot of time / money on keeping my 951 running in top shape. I daily drove the car for a long time (including having snow tires on it) and started tracking the car more and more a few years ago. As usual, the more track time the car saw, the more minor faults appeared, in particular on the engine side of things. I am a major perfectionist when it comes to things, so while many people would probably ignore or not even notice an issue; to me all issues must be dealt with. Despite the rebuild i did over the winter my confidence in the engine was still pretty low, after spending much of the year trying to figure out other running issues i could only think 'what will be a problem next?'.

Dont take this as me bad mouthing the turbo engine, while it does have its weak points (rod bearings, headgaskets, aging wiring / electronics) i really enjoyed my time working on it and will miss the power surge from a well tuned modded turbo car. But ive gotten to the point where i would much rather be driving my car than constantly fixing something. This kind of thing was okay when i was in college and home on the weekends, but my work schedule the past 4 years almost has me away for 3-4 weeks at a time and the last thing i want to do with my time off is spend it trying to track down a problem and fixing it. I want to get in and drive, rather than get in, drive, then fix something. Now a stock or mostly stock turbo engine is a different story.. for example my local friend bought the long block out of my car to put into his fathers 951 track car which had well over 180k very hard miles on it. But when you bastardize a car like i did.. well you are inviting trouble ;). I mostly blame myself for the problems i had due to the extent in which i modified the car. I bought the car basically bone stock from a friend a few years ago. The extent of the mods were basically APE stage 2 chips and a LR boost enhancer. The car now was basically unrecognizable from when i purchased it.

This is how things looked many moons ago..

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And how it looked a week or two before i pulled the engine..

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You may ask, why not just buy something else? Well i really enjoy the 944 platform and have been driving a 944 series car for about 10 years now. My 951 was pretty well equipped for the track, its just the engine that wasn't up to the task. I considered other cars but nothing really within a reasonable price range peaked my interest. Like they say, dont bring anything to the track you cant afford to put into the wall... and a 993 or 996 GT3 are not cars i could afford to put into a tire wall!

So with that, before i parked the car last November i decided to go ahead with the LS1 swap. I spent the winter reading all i could about the LSx swaps aswell as learning about the LSx motors. For me to even consider an engine swap, it basically has to look / work as if it were a factory install. And over the last couple of years there has been alot of progress in LSx powered 944's. I decided to go with an LS1, in particular a GTO LS1 as it was the 'youngest' of the factory LS1 motors available and it also had some improvements like using the LS6 intake, LS6 block..etc. I spent a month or two browsing Car-Part, LS1Tech, eBay..etc looking for a good donor engine until i found one that fit, it was an LS1 with 58k miles taken out of a rear ended '04 GTO and had the complete dropout engine shipped to me on a pallet in February.. this included basically the entire engine, still dripping coolant out of the waterpump. I borrowed my friends pickup and brought the engine home from a local freight depot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_0291.jpg

I cleaned the engine up and from there left it alone up until a few weeks ago when i got back home..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...IMG_0307-1.jpg

More details to come later :).

ah, finally the official thread. looking forward to following this along, good work Jon.
I love the wheels on your car now. that shot of the new motor with the car under cover looming in the background is great.

Good luck to you Jon.

I'd like to do a V8 swap for my S2 car one day. For the amount of power and reliability you get, the investment makes total sense when you compare what it would cost to squeeze that sort of power from a 8V or 16V turbo 4 cylinder.

Very true Vic. The ultimate goal for my car used to be building a nice 3.0L turbo for it. I had all of the basic parts, 3.0L block, crank, 2.7L head, the Mahle 'slipper skirt' pistons..etc. But the cost to build it the way i wanted exceeded $10k almost. For me, putting an engine worth that much money and running it on the track would never sit well with me. I mean if my 2.5L turbo blew up, i would be pissed but that is about it. If a 3.0L turbo blew up on me i would probably be in tears trailering the car home! For well under $3k, you can find drop out LS1's in good condition, add another $1k or so and you can find an LS6 (C5 Z06 powerplant) and get 400bhp stock, add about $2-3k ontop of an LS1 and you can find a new 6.2L LS3 with 420+bhp stock! Blow an engine up, buy another and throw it in over the weekend. They are all over the place really.. just really depends how picky you want to be on mileage. Blow up even a 2.5L and you will spend a few days, possibly weeks trying to find one that needs to be sent halfway across the country usually. Then you need to wonder about the belts...etc.

Just the way i look at it, at even 300whp on a 951 you are sorta at that limit of reliability. On a LS1 you basically get 300whp on a stock engine! Throw on a cam and a decent set of headers and you net yourself +50whp. Throw on a set of heads from an LS6 or good CNC ported heads and you can tack on another 25+whp! All of this is basically just with bolt ons. Hard to even compare that to the factory 944 engine options.

For someone with a stock 951, who just daily drives or just as a weekend car this doesnt really apply. But for me i want something that is going to survive on the track without the amount of care a modded turbo engine needed.

Jon, I follow your posts and I'm surprised you are going this route. But, this is exactly what I will do when I come to that crossroad. I think the engine out of the GTO is a very good find. Adding the LS6 upgrades is an added plue.

I look forward to your updates - cause it will be done right.

Good luck with the project. I can understand the desire to swap for an LS1. Driving my V8 M3....I enjoy how easy it is to be pushed back in the seat.

In for updates!

Like the old saying goes,"It's cheaper just to buy a NA, instead of - er, how did that go?

I'm in for the up-dates

Have pfun...

Great thread John. Im at the same point with my car. Over 300,000 the motor is tired and due for an overhaul. But for the cost of a set of rod bearings, I can pick up a well running LS motor. My biggest complain with my car has always been that its hugely under-powered. So ive been seriously considering the swap.

i have done 8 of the V8 swaps to date and i'm on my 3rd one now for my self .
they are so ez and cheap to do . i'm in the middle of a motor build for my 944 cup car and have 7500 into that motor with another 2k left to spend on it before it's back in the car .
were on my ls1 build i only have a little over 6k into that one and i'm only looking at another 1500 or so before it's finished .
i don't buy the kits to do them i like to fab 99% of the things my self . the only things i do buy are the motors and adapter plates for the 260 dollar cost of the adapter plates it's not worth the time to mill them my self .
the 1st one i did a swap to i did how ever buy a kit . the motor mounts do not hold up for track only use . they started to get little cracks in them . so i designed my own that are far better than the kit style ones . the biggest wrong with them is they do not support the motors as they should be in the 944 chassis .

Anyway to catch up to where i am at now, here is some more back story.

After nearly 6 weeks of being in the Gulf of Mex. i got back about two weeks ago ready to dive in. During my time away, i had compiled a list of everything on the car i wouldn't need anymore and could sell to help fund the LS swap. I was lucky when a local track buddy of mine had committed to buying the engine out of my car after he learned of what i was doing through the local PCA. His fathers 951 track car engine had finally given up last season after nearly 180k+ miles of hard use. This car was basically bone stock, so like i said.. stock vs modified is no comparison in terms of reliability! I took off all the aftermarket parts and under all that, was basically a fully rebuilt long block with brand new everything on it. So things worked out well.

This was perfect for me though as delivery of the engine would be easy considering he lives only about 15 minutes away. With the long block sold, it would just be all the bolt on parts that needed to be sold.

I pulled the car out of storage the week i got back and put around 150 miles on it. It was nice to get back behind the wheel after nearly 6 months in storage and also a good motivator to get the car finished quickly. On April 17th, 2012 the car moved under the 2.5L turbo for the last time with approximately 128,585 miles.

I started working on removing the engine last week. I went sort of the roundabout way on things and had removed the intake manifold so i could disconnect the engine harness off the long block.

Here is how things progressed working on it about 2hrs a day.

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And finally on saturday morning the engine was basically ready to go come out. It was like an omen with the sun shining into the engine bay!

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The only hangup on engine removal was the steering input shaft on the steering rack. I lost the small chisel i use to spread the pinch open. I was hoping by lowering the engine it would slide out but even after lowering the engine it was stuck on. Some light pressure with a pry bar freed it up and the engine basically came out without much fuss.

The plan was to lower the engine onto a dolly, then pickup the front end of the car with the engine hoist and roll the engine right out the front. I had removed the radiator and lower radiator support frame (really easy, 4 allen head bolts) which allows the engine to literally fit right through the radiator frame. This allows you to slide the engine out without having to pick the front end up another 5" about. Had some friends help support the engine on the dolly while i pulled it out from the front.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...p/IMG_8038.jpg

I lost track of time, but it only took about 10hrs to take out doing it the long way. I think realistically it can be done in 4-5hrs if you know what your doing.

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The engine was on the dolly all of two hours or so before my friend came and picked it up. Was happy to get it out of the way quickly as i am running out of space quickly from taking apart two different engines.

And the car is now engineless..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...p/IMG_8043.jpg

I spent the last week or so basically shipping parts out. The parts from my turbo setup now reside in a few different states as far as Hawaii. I still have a few things to sell off but for the most part about i would say 3/4 of the stuff is gone already.

That about completes the backstory, more details to come about the actual LS1 build up next.

Looking good.

i like it :) still a dream to put a v8 in mine lol

all be following looks great :) if u could put some prices on the parts and where u get them maybe ull convert me also lol

subscribed.

thanks, TD.

Great pics....great thread John! I agree the GM engine transplant is the only answer for the 944. Whenever & IF mine takes a dump thats the route I'm takin'. I love the 944 and GM V8 power. Thanks for sharing with us.

Started cleaning the engine bay a few days ago, only made one pass so far but will probably do atleast one more before i consider it checked off the list. This is where my OCD really kicks in, i like a spotless engine bay.

Put the front suspension back on yesterday and after about a week on jackstands it was nice to get it back on the wheels again.

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Been saying it for days now but today i will finally put the DME/KLR and rest of the engine harness out of the car.

Also will make a post with some more details about the actual LS1 build and my plans for the conversion, just havent had the time this weekend.

Did u use lots of Purple and a power washer? That came out fantastic!!

Kevin, just some dish detergent, an old brillo sponge and for the real bad spots, Simple Green. I was lucky this engine was relatively leak free, so not much serious grease / grime buildup.

Finally pulled out the engine harness today which was strangely theraputic. It was always a major PITA trying to get all the wiring coiled nicely with the DME/KLR brackets. But between the aged wiring with unraveling friction tape leaving a gooey mess, addition of the LR crank / fuel injector replacement harnesses, misc vacuum lines for the boost controller and gauge, extra wire harness for the SMT8 piggyback and a few other things it was a complete mess. No amount of wireloom and zip ties could keep it organized. I swear i could never get the DME / KLR bracket to fit the same way twice.

So starting out with a clean slate in the passenger foot well for the new engine harness is going to be really nice. All that needs to get put in are the PCM and just figuring out where to mount an auxiliary fuse block and OBD port.

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Here are some details about what i plan to do with the LS1 and the conversion parts.

Even though the LS1 i bought was relatively low mileage, i decided to reseal the entire engine and naturally do a few upgrades while it was apart. The LS1 is far less intimidating when looking at it with only two rotating seals.. the front crank seal and RMS. One thing i sorta dread is the learning curve on new engines, but this engine is really very simple in terms of its construction and parts. Here is my rough parts list..

Engine
EPS camshaft; going with a 226/230 with a 113LSA.. nothing too extreme
Patriot dual valve springs
CompCams chromoly push rods
CompCams rocker arm trunion retrofit
ARP head studs (and alot of other ARP hardware)
ATI super damper
PotzSpeed ported throttle body
Fast 36# injectors
Aeromotive billet rails
LS2 timing chain
LS6 chain damper
Katech blueprinted LS6 oil pump

I think 350-360whp is a pretty realistic HP number also.. and more than enough (atleast for now). The clutch package will be a Spec stage 2 with an aluminum Spec flywheel.

All the conversion parts will be coming from Texas Performance Concepts. This includes the engine uprights, bell housing adapter, oil pan, headers..etc.

The car will also retain power steering and i will be reinstalling a/c into the car. I previously deleted the a/c as i hardly ever used it. I always felt like it was putting way to much strain on the engine and it really killed the low end power, even on the turbo's. With the LS1.. well i hardly think i will notice the a/c on :). I will say deleting a working a/c system is probably one of the worse ideas i ever had with the car. I can remember vividly a few occasions coming home from the track, sitting in Manhattan traffic in the dead of summer.

Boosted brakes will also be handled using a hydroboost setup.

I started disassembling the LS1 a few weeks ago and was happy to see the bores are all perfect which was sort of a sigh of relief when buying a used engine. Overall, all of the internals were really clean.. no sludge buildup or heavy varnish starting so i was pretty satisfied with the engine.

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Here are some pictures of the rocker arm trunion retrofit. The stock rockers use a cageless needle bearing. Its possible for the bearings to fail, sending about 30 something needles floating into the oil system. So the retrofit kit uses a caged needle bearing and hardened trunion which are held in place using a snap ring. Really easy to replace also, the only special tool basically being a vice.

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Completed one side of the engine in about an hour and a half..

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Since you are doing such a good write up on the conversion, can I ask that you go into a bit of detail about things like what clutch setup you needed to get with what bellhousing to fit the torque tube? Then things like:
-Will the oem 944 fuel pump still work?
-Wiring issues getting the LS1 ECM to work with the 944 chassis and gauges?

I am doing my research now because I have a very nice and highly modded 87 944na that I plan on doing this to in the next couple of years. Thanks

Go Duck!

I am definetley not the 'goto' source for this type of info as i can only tell you what i have learned from reading past threads. I highly recommend checking out this forum.. http://944hybrids.forumotion.com/ . Everything i could think to ask was basically answered already and all it took was looking through old posts. I recommend searching the forum using Google however as the boards search function is not too great.

But i will try my best to answer your questions,

The clutch setup consists of using a C5 two piece bell housing and a billet adapter plate to mate the bell housing with the torque tube flange. For the actual clutch setup, basically a C5 Corvette flywheel and pressure plate are used with a clutch disc that has a custom hub to fit the 944's torque tube splines. This is not as difficult as the word 'custom' usually entails.. Spec clutches make a clutch disc package (clutch disc and pressure plate) that is meant specifically for LS converted 944's.

The OEM fuel pump setup will work fine, i dont know the exact HP number (i would guess somewhere around 400bhp) you would probably need to upgrade to a larger fuel pump like the Bosch HV (basically an '80s Mercedes 500E pump) or the larger (and very popular) Bosch 044 pump. Both are the normal choices used for high HP 951's and fit the same as with an LS.

You have a few options for the wiring.. The engine harness for the most part out of whatever donor car is standalone, meaning it can only needs a few wires hooked up to work. The work however lies in removing wiring that is not applicable to the 944...etc. Something else to take into consideration is the routing of the harness. For example, the f-body (Camaro, Firebird..etc) engine harness routes to the passenger side of the engine bay. The GTO harness i got routed to the drivers side. I wanted to route the LS engine harness the same as the original harness and mount the PCM into the passenger footwell just like it was originally with the DME. The GTO harness also has wiring for the body control module as part of the engine harness (F-body does not have this).. so rather than spend hours reading the wiring diagram and cutting out wiring..and still having to deal with harness routing, i decided to buy a new, standalone engine harness specifically meant for conversion cars. This harness is really nice in that it has an auxiliary fuse block already wired in, so it saves you the trouble of doing it yourself. I ended up selling the GTO harness for half the cost of the standalone harness.. so for me i thought it was a no brainer almost.

All gauges will work as they did before. The tach literally needs one wire connected to the engine harness. The oil pressure gauge will need new wires routed, aswell as the water temp gauge. All pretty simple to do.

Brand spanking new engine harness.. no more 25 year old wiring!

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I am still debating a few things, but was hoping to have the engine installed before i left again next week. Unfortunately it took longer than i had anticipated to get some parts and i am still missing a few odds and ends to even finish assembly on the motor (my fault for waiting until the last minute to order!).

My original plan was to install the engine myself, then have the car shipped to Dallas where TPC (TexasPerformanceConcepts as mentioned above) would complete the conversion with all the little detailed things like the wiring, plumbing, exhaust, tuning...etc. I am thinking about doing this as the last thing i really want to do is spend hundreds of hours of my time off working on getting this car running. Also due to my work schedule its tough to find the time to work on the car sometimes..and i am usually pretty burnt out when i am on my off time from my time spent offshore. So in the interest of getting the car running in a reasonable time frame (and possibly making a few track days this year) i wanted to have it completed by a shop with experience doing these swaps.

As of now i am about a month behind where i wanted to be before i left again. I talked with the car carrier also who said it could be anywhere from 1-4 weeks before the car can be picked up, depending on location of the closest carrier, its route..etc. So it really puts a damper on that plan.

When i am back home again around June, i still plan to install the engine myself. But depending how i feel afterwards will be the deciding factor if i still send the car out or not.

In my opinion, what makes or breaks a swap like this is all the details. And its always the small details that suck up all the time. I can spend hours figuring the stuff out myself, or just bite the bullet and send it to someone who has done it before.

Still as many of you can tell by my posts i am a big "DIY'er" and enjoy the challenge. Also there is a certain pride when you can say you put the car together yourself :D.

Ill have a solid month to think about all of it while i am away!

im thinking of doing the same thing with a small block ford..(hate GM)..302 with carb's..have a nice one out of a ponny car (GT) but i dont see kit's for a ford..???..did u see any..???http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat6.gif

Usually when installing a Carbureted Motor the 924/944's require a raised hood style (Cowling Vent, etc.), and that's with ford or cheby, but it is doable.

This post was deleted do to a controversy...

I would strongly suggest that anyone who is considering a swap go to the 944hybrids website before they consider sending Sloan any money. The 944 hybrids website has all the info that's in the Sloan manual x 1000 and lots of information about him that can save you from getting "Sloaned."

I know, I know, Cckidd got his manual and didn't get scammed.

Regardless, you all have been warned.

Oops, I had no idea that Sloan was that way. For me it was a one time deal, and I received a good manual full of allot of information.

I guess buyer beware - I would have hated that my mentioning of the manual that others would have been ripped off

I would just edit your post and remove that information about contacting Sloan in the event someone is reading quickly and ends up ordering one. I have a copy of the V8 manual and like acorad said there is nothing in it that cant be found on the 944Hybrid forum. A friend of mine got "Sloan'ed" though luckily got most of the parts before he disappeared.

that wiring harness is a work of art

No worries CCkidd!

Happy i cleaned off my work bench the other day because i got a ton of stuff today. Here are some pics of the notable items..

Here is the bell housing adapter on the C5 bell housing..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...p/IMG_0068.jpg

Oil pan and pickup tube
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...p/IMG_0065.jpg

Not much else done today other than setting up the ported throttle body and fuel rails / injectors on the intake.

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Also working on a making a new battery mount for my Odyssey PC680. I had made a mount out of medium denisty fiberboard like 4+ years ago and after all the exposure to the rain and snow for the last few years it is pretty rotted. Decided to make 'Version 2.0' using a piece of aluminum. I was going to have my local machine shop do this but decided to just work on it myself. Just need to finish everything up tomorrow with my friends drill press. Here is why CNC machines were invented :).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...p/IMG_0075.jpg

I dont know what your time frame is but it looks like you are moving along very fast, a bunch of us NY guys are taking a run up to the Hawks Nest on the 19th would love to see the car if its done by then.

Regards
Dave

the motor swaps are so ez to do in these things so they go quight fast . my 1st one took about 4 weeks working nights after i got the kit . now that i have done so many of them they can be done i just 7 to 10 days with me fabing 99.% of what is needed to do the swaps .

Techno duck, are you pretty confident in the ability of the PC680 to crank your engine over? What part of the country are you located in? Warm climate? The CCA on that battery are only 220. I have been looking into lighter batteries for my car (I have a bored and stroked DOHC 4.6 liter ford engine in mine). I am stuck on what to get and I had found the PC680 but didn't think it would work. I was looking into lithiums but anything big enough is really expensive. Let me know your thoughts. I am looking to try to do something soon.

Matt

Dave, as of now i do not think it will be ready to go until atleast late July. I work in the Gulf of Mex. and will be leaving in a few days until probably early June.

Matt, i thought about the PC680's ability to crank the car and figure i will give it a shot. I used to run that battery year round with the 2.5L and on a few occasions have started the car in the dead of winter (NYC area) with 15w50 oil after sitting 5-6 days. It cranked slow as hell, but always started. I only drive the car in the warmer months now so i think it should be ok. If it doesnt work, ill go larger with the 925 or 1200 if need be.

Mostly finished with my battery hold down bracket. It took about 3x longer and i was originally going to bring it to a machine shop to have done, but i figured it would be a fun project.

The dimensions do not really need to be exact, so i sort of eye balled everything and laid it all out with a tape measure. So not everything is exactly evenly spaced.. :). Anyhow using a 1.5" hole saw with my friends cheap Harbor Freight drill press to go through a 3/4" thick aluminum plate takes alot longer than you would think, then multiply that by 16 :D. If only Harbor Freight sold a cheap waterjet.. :D.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_0083.jpg

The material i used was a 3/4" thick, 8x11" plate of 6061 aluminum and a 5/16th -18 threaded rod. Total material cost was about $50. I cut the plate to approximately 9x7" and drilled the holes for the threaded rod centerline, about 8" apart. Tap the holes for the 5/16th rod and also cut the rod down to size. Then using red Loctite, i threaded the rods in so they stay put. I also used a 1.5" hole saw to 'swiss cheese' the bracket and lighten it up. The bracket is still a bit on the heavy side (i estimate about 2-3lbs). Will probably drop it off at the machine shop when i bring in my heads and have them mill down the center about .5". That will probably cut the weight another 30%.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_0086.jpg

Bracket roughly in place. I need to use a dremel to slot the plate slightly so it will slide under the battery hold down 'lip' on the left side of the picture. The plate fits under it fine, however the lip has a 'v' shape in it for strength which ends up lower than the plate. So notching the bracket where it would slide in maybe 1/8" should do the trick. With that done, the removable black tie down bracket on the right will fit squarely on the plate.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...IMG_0087-1.jpg

An how things look with the battery in place. The black tie down bar was from the older version of the bracket i had done. It is just a piece of cheap galvanized strap (i think 1/8" thick) with holes drilled to match the studs.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/IMG_0089.jpg

I did some reading and i believe the PC680 should be fine to crank over the LS1 as long as its above freezing out. The PC680 i have has been a great battery and is over 6 years old at this point, so i may eventually 'upgrade' to something like the PC925 which dimensionally is very close to the 680. with the 680 laid on its side, the 925 actually has a slightly smaller footprint, just it is 2" taller.

Anyways, this will probably be the last update until June or so when i get back home.

Jon, what's the status on this?

Inquiring minds want to know!!

Spent 129 days so far out of this year down in the gulf, so haven't had much time to get anything done. The motor is about 1/3 of the way assembled. Should be home next week through the end of September, the plan is to finish assembly of the motor and get it into the car before i leave again.

Photobucket is down right now for maintenance, will post some pictures when its back up.

Here are a few pictures from the motor build,

Front end stripped down..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...p/IMG_0121.jpg

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The only 'special' tool needed so far, a piece of threaded rod to press on the new cam sprocket, also needed to press on the crank damper.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingset-001.jpg

New timing set, EPS cam and LS2 chain damper installed

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...G_0895-001.jpg

and with the Katech blue printed oil pump.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...G_0896-001.jpg

4-bolt main

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...G_0133-001.jpg

I fitted the new pickup tube also before i left, required some very minor trimming of the windage tray, basically 30 seconds with a buzz saw.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...G_0134-001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...G_0135-001.jpg

Long tube headers coated by SwainTech

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...derscoated.jpg

Overall it was a welcome change how simple this engine is to work on. Timing set took only a few minutes to setup.. no crazy tools, anticipating the cam / crank rolling..etc.

For a time frame, i am hoping to have the motor fully assembled and installed by the end of the month. Hope to have it ready to go for shipment to Dallas to the builder by October - November. So that should leave me the winter to work out any minor kinks and get it ready for the 2013 track season.

BTW, i sold everything off the old turbo motor as of last week with the exception of a few small odds and ends. With all the rebuild and conversion parts, i am still only into this the cost of the motor.. and trust me i splurged quite a bit on parts for the LS1.

SIIIIIICK!!! good work!!