double post

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.

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

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

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.

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? :D

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.

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.

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 :confused::confused:

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 :mad:

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..

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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

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

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.

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.

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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

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!

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? ;)

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

todd, i feel your pain
 

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

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

David

Now you can paint the engine bay.

That sux's. I just pulled my engine to put on the harness; now I am going to have to put the engine on my stand and check mine out just to be sure. thanks for making me get all twitchy

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Muffler
 

That is a great looking muffler setup you have there, inspiration for my setup. Might as well check my reluctor wheel while I have motor out. What a PITA for you

I have been watching this project since the start [why ,I even made a suggestion or two a while back!]---My '76 has the 'Leprosy' engine ,[and I suspect,a pulled cyl.stud or two.]
The Chev engine is just far too expensive to consider in this country--BUT
There is an importer bringing used engines from Japan for about the price of a Porsche camchain tensioner Kit!!! well under USD$1000 as shown.
They are Lexus/Toyota 4 litre all alloy,I am still researching dimensions and weight.
I think one might be in my future--we'll see.

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Dont you have Holdens there? If not Austrailia is pretty close and they do. Holden and Chevy LS1s are the same thing......

Twin Turbo H4's I tell ya... <$1500 :)

Day#2 of the tear down. Removed the starter, disconnected the clutch and removed the bolts to the CV joints.

Decided to drop the engine this time without the oil pan so I would not have to raise the car higher. Nice thing about the cradle it offers a perfectly flat surface and I was able to place 2 boards accross the left and right side. Worked Awesome..

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Now about the motor: I was able to breakdown the motor this morning an low and behold as suspected it was not rebuilt as the seller stated. It was a cheap attempt by the seller who appears to have replaced the head gaskets and some other easy access engine parts and claim a rebuild :mad::mad:

The Goods:
- Head Gaskets New
- Front and rear main seals New
- Upgraded LS2 Oil pump
- LS2 valve springs
- New CAM (unknown manufacture but no markings, aftermarket regrind??)

The Bad:
- Bent and Chew'd reluctor wheel
- blemish markings on the cylinder walls (#2, #5 and #7) :mad:
- Scared and worn lifters (probably original +100K miles)

I would find the guy who sold you the engine and kick his ass!:mad:

So what are you going to do now?

Rebuild this one or buy a new engine?

Looking for a crate motor or rebuilt short block on LS1 Tech and local shops. Once I get a new bottom end I am going to sell the old short block or keep it for a stroker rebuld to handle boost :D

In China now so not much to update on except for I have decided to go with an LS2 engine :D Yep, 400hp out of the box.. I found a 2007 C6 LS2 engine with less than 50 miles that was pulled out for a LS7 Swap and the owner has decided to depart with it.

There will be a little more work on my behalf to switch from the LS1 as the new motor has a 58 tooth reluctor wheel and different injectors. There is also some small relocating of sensors that will need to be done but nothing to difficult.

I have another 2 weeks in China while the engine gets packaged up and shipped to Tampa but when I return it is time to dress up the engine compartment with some fresh paint and new motor :)

I will also be Craigslisting the old engine, intake, throttle body, ect.. if anyone needs parts or is considering a swap

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Cool motor! Wish I had the coin for the old one-I have a 5.3 in storage that has all the parts I would need to fix it...........

I can't wait until you have everything up and running. I'm especially curious to know how your wing-mounted radiator works out. If it works as planned, that's the route I'm gonna take because I don't really want to go to the trouble of cutting, mounting, and routing a radiator in the front.

heat?
 

I may have missed this but do any of you with v8s have heat? If so how are you doing it? Thanks in advance!

edit: I see that renegade has an aftermarket under dash unit. Anybody have pictures of that? Anybody doing something different? Cheers.

Well along with the new engine I am also going to try out a new air filter setup. My plan is to test both setup's and measure the incoming air. Will be intresting to see the difference between my fender mounted filter and the dual splits

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Just arrived back from China with tons of Jet lag but could not wait to get started on my 2nd engine install. Awaiting at the door was a huge wooden box with my my beautiful LS2 inside along with a bunch of other goodies. Looks like I will be having a fun weekend :)

But with a new motor comes new surprises.

Surprise Number #1
The oil pressure tube on the LS2 intake is raised higher and hits the intake manifold. I knew that the knock sensors were relocated but figured the oil pressure tube would be the same :confused: I will need to call around as many parts are swapable and I am sure there is a fix.

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Talked with Steve at RH and the oil pressure tube can be modified. Just need to cut off and have welded at an angle to clear the intake manifold. I will check with my local welder after the holiday for this small job. Good news is it will not be a show stopper.

Unlike the other motor I decided to crack open the LS2 to see what what was lerking inside and to inspect the reluctor wheel. Good news everything is nice and tight with smooth walls and cross hatching, even the GM assembly markings are still on the rods and rotating parts as it should be for a motor less than 50 miles :)

This new motor is a beauty..

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Update:
Great start for the Memorial day weekend. I was able to get the engine compartment prep'd and painted. The Wurth underbody paint is a great product and formed a factory like finish. Now I just need to remove the masking tape from the connectors, harness, and screw locations.

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This stuff here is the S&*%...

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Glad you're back from the East and making progress again. The engine compartment came out real nice. Mine looked like that too...at first!

Back to oil control issues with these engines, I had earlier suggested an oil accumulator, which is still an option, but there are also some cool oil pans with trap doors (gates) that keep all the oil from "pooling" in an area away from the pump pickup during high g-loads. Kevco is the one all the off-road guys are using. These engines are VERY sensitive to low oil pressure, they can't stand even a little abuse in that area.

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