My LS1 Conversion 911

[Rebel911]

double post

[shanghai_todd]

My only major regret is not painting the engine compartment when I had the chance. I wish I would have sprayed some black under body paint before putting in the motor.

Originally Posted by Rebel911

looks great. Your car is so clean, you've motivated me to wash everything underneath once i pull the tranny and engine again this weekend.

and thanks for the exhaust pictures I was just starting to think about that.

[Rebel911]

for your harness and ECU are you using a VSS sensor to send speed info to the ECU?

[shanghai_todd]

Nope this was bypassed in the programming.Or at least I was told

Originally Posted by Rebel911

for your harness and ECU are you using a VSS sensor to send speed info to the ECU?

[tobluforu]

It's kind of strange looking at that motor stuffed in there and seeing the shock and the ground and no engine tin. Can't wait till it's done and how much whp that thing developes.

[Roc Doc]

Originally Posted by shanghai_todd

My only major regret is not painting the engine compartment when I had the chance. I wish I would have sprayed some black under body paint before putting in the motor.

My car was originally a light metallic green, and when I did the color change to Minerva Blue, I had my painter do everything except the engine compartment, because I knew I would be putting in a 3.2 and I could paint it then.

When I did the engine swap, I washed it real good, scuffed it with some scotchbrite pads, and TSP, and then sprayed it semi-flat black from a rattle can. It was easy, and looked good, but it makes it a PITA to work in there unless I stick a worklight directly over the area I'm working. Food for thought.

Glad to see it's coming together.

Got your RH radiator on standby yet?

[shanghai_todd]

Funny you ask, I am not doubting my engineering skills but have been think how to counter the cooling issue if my radiator fails.Been looking at gas tank options, battery relocation and radiators

Also been hoping to see some progress from the other LS1 Pelican builds on their radiator setups.

Did pickup a 993 front fender A/C condenser to help with A/C. This project will come to life in about 6 months

Originally Posted by Roc Doc

My car was originally a light metallic green, and when I did the color change to Minerva Blue, I had my painter do everything except the engine compartment, because I knew I would be putting in a 3.2 and I could paint it then.

When I did the engine swap, I washed it real good, scuffed it with some scotchbrite pads, and TSP, and then sprayed it semi-flat black from a rattle can. It was easy, and looked good, but it makes it a PITA to work in there unless I stick a worklight directly over the area I'm working. Food for thought.

Glad to see it's coming together.

Got your RH radiator on standby yet?

[Roc Doc]

Originally Posted by shanghai_todd

Funny you ask, I am not doubting my engineering skills but have been think how to counter the cooling issue if my radiator fails.Been looking at gas tank options, battery relocation and radiators

Also been hoping to see some progress from the other LS1 Pelican builds on their radiator setups.

Did pickup a 993 front fender A/C condenser to help with A/C. This project will come to life in about 6 months

One of the major advantages of running a front radiator is weight distribution. I'm battling getting weight out of the rear end of my car, and I would think that the extra weight in the back vs. the front is a double whammy. I have a bike rack that rests on the top of the rear bumper and the rear window, (with straps to the engine lid for longitudal location), and I've only used it a few times and let me tell you, with two guys and two 25lb MTB's on the rack, the handling was substantially different from what I'm used to on a daily basis. More food for thought.

You've got great parts with that radiator and fan setup, so you should be able to adapt it to the front if you end up going that way.

[Rebel911]

I was just talking to the guy who fixed my harness and programmed my computer. something he said reminded me of your engine troubles.

Make sure the harness and engine are excessively grounded. The computer is very sensitive to that.

[shanghai_todd]

Update:
With the help of Mike King (a fellow Pelican also doing a 911 LS1) we have had a great day of trouble shooting and have ruled out the wire harness, PCM and coils. We Ohm'd out all wires in the harness which checked out and also were able to swap out my Harness and PCM with his setup which has already been proven to work in his setup. After all this the problem remains with cylinder #2 and #8 missing

After making some calls we were pointed towards the reluctor wheel which I had originally suspected but was wishfully hoping this would not be the problem. Sure enough after removing the oil pan and inspecting the wheel it was obvious. Bent and chew'd teeth

Just my luck that I purchased a "So Called" rebuilt long block at the beginning of the build and to find out 1 year later that the internal reluctor wheel is fubar'd. Now I have to second guess the rebuild in terms of the rings, bearings, crank and cylinder walls .

Next move is either to rebuild or look for another block. Still undecided..

[Tim K]

Forgive my ignorace, but what's involved in changing out the reluctor wheel? Can you replace it and do a leak down and compression test to help determine the general health of the engine? At this point, why not? Sorry about the bad news. Keep the updates coming.

Tim K

[DW SD]

Sorry to hear of the bad news with the recent diagnosis.

Is that toothed wheel part of the crank positioning system? Odd that it would be inside the case and not easily replaceable?

Doug

[shanghai_todd]

It is pressed to the crank and requires a special tool for alignment so the crank has to be removed, hence the engine has to be pulled. The tolerance has to be within .020" for the crank position sensor to pick the magnet breaks to send proper signals to the coils. This explains my missing spark at 2 cylinders and erratic spark at others.

Originally Posted by Tim K

Forgive my ignorace, but what's involved in changing out the reluctor wheel? Can you replace it and do a leak down and compression test to help determine the general health of the engine? At this point, why not? Sorry about the bad news. Keep the updates coming.

Tim K

[shanghai_todd]

Day#1 of the tear down. Removed the intake, air filter assembly, rear bumper, catch can.

Nice shot of the rear muffler that is tucked under the bumper.

[lindy 911]

Nice thing about that V-8 is pulling the pan lets you see everything that matters. Pull a rod and main cap and take a peak at the bearings; that will tell most of the story. You can also see the cylinder walls and cross-hatch. If these look good roll with it; it's going to make too much power anyway! Very cool project.

Lindy

[lin7310948]

never too much power! my sbc conversion makes almost 585 chp and i am shopping around for almost 700 chp... all aluminum and rear mounted makes a very nice combo!

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by lindy 911

Nice thing about that V-8 is pulling the pan lets you see everything that matters. Pull a rod and main cap and take a peak at the bearings; that will tell most of the story. You can also see the cylinder walls and cross-hatch. If these look good roll with it; it's going to make too much power anyway! Very cool project.

Lindy

I agree. The V8 is a classic design that has rarely been beaten.

I wonder were RUF got the inspiration for their V8 911 based car?

[techman1]

If the pickup is the only thing wrong, can't you fab up an externat pickup and integrate it someway into the engine management?

[930chef]

sorry to hear about your engine misfortune. i bought a car from a felleow pelican guy, who hasnt posted in quite some time. he assured me the car was primo. pretty outside. i changed the throttle body inj to a carb, and had to change a thrashed clutch disc beacause of slipping. i the pulled the rear main cap,and it looked like someone took a scribe to it. motor was junk except block,crank(turned 10/10) and rods. i was devastated. p/o used locktite on rod bolts and the hardened loktite flaked off the threads and circulated thru oil system. $8,500 later i have a primo engine, but not what i had planned. i look everyday to see how you are doing. i love your exhaust system and plan on installing the same. by the way, what did you wrap around your X muffler? hang in there todd, i love your project and because of your sanitary job, i think you have broken many barriers connected to v8 conversions, along with larry's 71 gulf blue monster. i will be unveiling my conv in a few days. thanks for inspiration...........kevin

[David Borden]

Originally Posted by lindy 911

Nice thing about that V-8 is pulling the pan lets you see everything that matters. Pull a rod and main cap and take a peak at the bearings; that will tell most of the story. You can also see the cylinder walls and cross-hatch. If these look good roll with it;...
Lindy

Agreed... pretty easy to pull the crank and just have the reluctor wheel replaced.

David