My LS1 Conversion 911

[sirhiss]

Hello Tood
I can see your exhaust looks very proff. but you have a lot of weight out the back? i have made this for my 911 ls1. it just makes the "right" kind of noise, it is not critic just another way to make it

I dont know if you use a thermostat in your cooling system but i have ysed one from an old BMW 2002 because it is a loose unit u can mount in the hose so you can control the flow better. Have a nice day

[lin7310948]

thought that i would also add some info regarding gauges. i am in the process of converting my 78 930 to a LS7 engine. i decided to use gauges that are fed info from the ecu. the gauge package will include a 4/1 gauge mounted centrally with the GPS speedometer and tachometer mounted on either side. an oil temp gauge and a fuel pressure gauge on the ends. the 4/1 gauge includes the oil pressure, water temp, amperes, and the fuel level. the fuel level sender is self calibrating for the individual tank used. lots of gauge faces, led lighting, sizes, colors, and bezel, etc. main thing that i was interested in was not to have to deal with sender units for the porsche gauges. also the gauges come with plug in harness, etc. the gauges are by Livorsi...no affiliation...just for info for you non purists! no intent to cripple the thread..

[vwbobd]

Originally Posted by JackMan

Sweet. This build makes me wanna move forward with my plans to slip an LS1 into my VW Rabbit.

wj

[shanghai_todd]

GPS spedo sounds cool, any pics if the guage cluster?

Originally Posted by lin7310948

thought that i would also add some info regarding gauges. i am in the process of converting my 78 930 to a LS7 engine. i decided to use gauges that are fed info from the ecu. the gauge package will include a 4/1 gauge mounted centrally with the GPS speedometer and tachometer mounted on either side. an oil temp gauge and a fuel pressure gauge on the ends. the 4/1 gauge includes the oil pressure, water temp, amperes, and the fuel level. the fuel level sender is self calibrating for the individual tank used. lots of gauge faces, led lighting, sizes, colors, and bezel, etc. main thing that i was interested in was not to have to deal with sender units for the porsche gauges. also the gauges come with plug in harness, etc. the gauges are by Livorsi...no affiliation...just for info for you non purists! no intent to cripple the thread..

[lin7310948]

todd, i have not received the gauges as of yet. but, you can go to their website and review all their stuff. just google livorsi gauges. they do mostly marine gauges but also have an automotive section. their gps speedometer also has an odometer which was not available previously and the antenna mounts beneath the dash and does not require line of sight to the satellite. and it only goes to 160 mph....go figure?

[lin7310948]

these are the first two gauges that i received...not exactly what i wanted...do not like the white interior ring so i returned them..want all black with white numerals and red pointer. also asked them for a smaller bezel..

[ej911]

WOW! I think your project is totally awesome! I know you went through a ton of trouble with the radiator in the rear, but I think you will have more luck with the radiator in the front and reduce the weight from the back of the car.

[ej911]

Let me be more specific in order to NOT offend anyone. To take a 911 and remove the engine for another brand of engine and go at great lengths to engineer it to fit, the new engine or solution would need to have many benefits over the original motor. The LS1 makes perfect sense because of many factors: more power, reliability, efficiency and in this case, less weight. To remove 50 pounds or even 100+ would be a huge benefit. To me, you have removed a lot of weight and now are putting it back by installing a radiator in place that does not improve weight distribution, only makes it worse. I am sorry, it makes more sense to place in the radiator in front of the car, also receiving direct air-flow.
I am, however, interested in seeing if your solution works well.

[Yan2947]

ej911, just curious, if the original 911 engine was well balanced weight-distribution wise and putting the radiator in the rear with the lsx results in a car 50 lbs lighter overal or perhaps the same weight and the radiator sits just on top of the engine , do you thing this car is going to fishtail or something as a result of just the radiator? I keep hearing all about the weight distribution but the weight is the same? Am I missing something or are you "just saying". If I have a cup holder in the car will that throw off the whole balance or only if its holding a cup of light and sweet with half and half?

[ej911]

All I am saying is that a benefit to the LS1 is the lighter weight, the loss of 50+ pounds in the rear. It is an improvement, I like improvements.

[Roc Doc]

Originally Posted by ej911

WOW! I think your project is totally awesome! I know you went through a ton of trouble with the radiator in the rear, but I think you will have more luck with the radiator in the front and reduce the weight from the back of the car.

This has been discussed several times in this thread. Todd has already stated that he may place it up front if it doesn't cool properly, or if he feels the weight distribution is not right.

[shanghai_todd]

Update:
Swapped out the smaller Oil Cooler and upgraded to a 25 row high efficiency Oil Cooler. While installing I decided to raise the location into the fender and away from the muffler.

Results so far have been good and the water temp has not exceeded 205F and averages around 195~200. I am however questioning the oil temp and suspect I have the wrong sending unit. Oil temp gauge states that it is reaching over 300F within 20~30min, no signs of overheating or bubbles in the oil so I have convinced myself it is the sender. New sending unit arrived today and will get put on in a couple of weeks.

I also have done some intake modifications which I will upload the pictures latter today. Here is a teaser "Duals"

[Yan2947]

Todd,

looking great. Can't wait to see the other photos today! I started the wiring today on my 89. Sleeved everything to the engine compartment. The mufflers are installed. Eventually I will do a crossover but will wait until everything else is running. Radiator is coming...

[shanghai_todd]

2nd time around with the dual air filters was successful. I had to modify the pipe and weld directly to the MAF plate to give clearance of the radiator. After a month or test drives and taking the car around the block a couple of times the fender mounted air filter was caked in dirt and rocks, seemed like a good idea at the time

[shanghai_todd]

BTW
Attached are some pictures from my oil temperature sending unit. I suspect that the VDO unit and aftermarket 4-in-1 Gauge are not playing well together and giving a false temp. I ordered a standard Sunpro unit similar to what am using for water temp. Will keep you posted..

[shanghai_todd]

In China now so no update, I return next week and should be able to swap the Oil sender. Also noticed before I left that my alternator bearing was squealing so not to happy about that considering it has less than 20 miles of test driving It was a cheap refurb model from Fleabay so guess you get what you pay for..

[shanghai_todd]

Update:
Finally got around to changing out the oil sending unit and experimenting with my coolant system. As suspected I was using the wrong oil temp sending unit and once changed oil temp is staying steady @ 194F

In regards to the radiator and trying different combination's of anti freeze Vs distilled water here are the results:

50/50 Tap Water + Dexcool (GM Recommended Antifreeze)
First test: 30min idle time while sitting in the garage with no incoming air (Outside Temp 60F). Fan's pulling in air and pushing over the intake and engine. Temp range after heated up was 198~205F. Average coolant temp @ 200F.

Distilled Water
First test: 30min idle time while sitting in the garage with no incoming air (Outside temp 60F). Fan's pulling in air and pushing over the intake and engine. Temp range after heated up was 194~198F. Average coolant temp @ 194F.

Distilled Water + DEI Radiator Relief
First test: 30min idle time while sitting in the garage with no incoming air (Outside temp 60F). Fan's pulling in air and pushing over the intake and engine. Temp range after heated up was 192~194F. Average coolant temp @ 192~194F.

Conclusion:
Distilled water significantly reduces max operating temp by 7 degrees while DEI Radiator relief provides an additional 4 degree and safety for lubricating the system. Since I live in Florida and do not need to worry about snow, ice or freezing I see no benefits for using Dexcool.

Plan to do some driving tomorrow and will monitor the performance.

[shanghai_todd]

For those curious on how I have been filling my system and burping out the air check out the pic below. I have the cross over vent tube from the heads fitted with a tube and valve that I feed back into the top of the radiator.

Prior to my experiments I drained the system and measured around 1.6~1.7 gallon capacity.

[Yan2947]

Looking awesome! My radiator will be mounted officially tomorrow on the plain old turbo lid. I hope I reach your results soon!

[shanghai_todd]

Outside temp a little higher today and decided to put some load on the engine with a couple of high RPM passes. Here are the results


Distilled Water + DEI Radiator Relief
First test: Temp range after heated up was 194~198F. 3 passes under acceleration and the temp raises to 205~210 then settles back down to 198F while in idle.

I am a bit concerned that in 98F degree Florida weather these numbers will raise 5~10F which is on the high side of my goal.

What do you guys think about a 160F thermostat?

I believe I have a 180F which I will need to confirm with RH