the start of my LS1 conversion:

[Rebel911]

the engine is mated with the transmission. I am able to use the cage to help lift and place the engine with one person and very little effort.

i have a few ideas and I am going to take some measurements tonight. I was thinking about pushing the tranny forward and inch.

[mkingham]

Hi Rebel911, I know it just seems like more work to pull the tranny (disconnect the axels, throutle linkage, shift linkage, etc) but you will be glad you did after a few trial fits.

Once you can slide the whole package forward into the shift tunnel, you may be able to lift the engine up and pull it back. You may find that your water outlet will clear after the engine rises to the final position. I also agree with lin7310948, I took the intake and TB off before fitting the engine/tranny package. It gives you a lot more wiggle room.

For me, I didn't have to modify anything to make the package fit. There were two sets of mounting holes for the tranny cross member, I used the set closest to the front of the car and everything fit. Its tight between the water outlets and the rear cross member (1/2 inch), but it all fit with any metal cutting!

Good luck and keep the pictures coming. Mike

[Rebel911]

I took this coming Friday off to put a good 8 hours under the car. The intake is just sitting on the engine for clearance visuals I am looking for a new aftermarket intake to put on there when its time.

i will be pulling the tranny for sure. i don't like that it is so dirty compared to the engine. Further I can flush out the tranny oil completely.

thanks for the ideas, please don't hold back i can take constructive criticism.

[ccreddell]

Originally Posted by Rebel911

I was thinking about pushing the tranny forward an inch.

I read somewhere that the DP 935s had their trans moved forward at least 1 1/2" for better weight bias, so this isnt anything new-and any movement forward is gonna help...

[shanghai_todd]

Wise move, you will not regret it. Also looking at the pictures you should have some lateral movement in the brackets to push the engine and tranny foward. I jacked up the engine lightly and used a pry bar and pressure to "wiggle" the engine and tranny where I wanted it. After doing so I re-tightened the cradle bolts and drilled my holes in the cradle for the anchor bolts.

Originally Posted by Rebel911

I took this coming Friday off to put a good 8 hours under the car. The intake is just sitting on the engine for clearance visuals I am looking for a new aftermarket intake to put on there when its time.

i will be pulling the tranny for sure. i don't like that it is so dirty compared to the engine. Further I can flush out the tranny oil completely.

thanks for the ideas, please don't hold back i can take constructive criticism.

[shanghai_todd]

BTW, you may want to consider purchasing a motorcycle jack, I think I paid under $75 at Sears and it works great for pulling the engine and tranny together. Great thing about the design is it will go very low.

When working on the motor I placed my roller chair under the tranny to give it support and when putting into the car I removed it and secured the crank pully to the front of the jack to balance the weight.

She moved in and out with no problems, I did however have to use a small floor jack under the tranny to align with the shifting tunnel

[Rotornut1]

Hey Guys, I'm watching your conversions with great interest. I’ve got a 74 coupe in my garage with an LS2 waiting to go in it. Is also getting a 993 body that needs to be finished before I start engine work. Have nearly all body and RH parts in place, 930 long bell housing. I am going to cut the torsion tube and go with coilovers. Steve at RH tells me I might still have about a half inch clearance problem at the rear cross member, they suggest cutting out the front part of the tube, moving it back, and boxing it back in. I saw that on a couple of their cars at their shop in Vegas. I’m thinking another option; Meziere makes a -12AN block adapter that is 11/16” thick. There are a couple of options for -12AN low profile O-ring 90s. I plan on using braided hose in my engine compartment to dress it up a bit, I’m going to explore the meziere option. Haven’t test fit my engine yet. I’ll start my own thread soon, thanks for all your ideas, Ron

[Rotornut1]

[mkingham]

Hi Rotornut1,
I bought a set of those block adapters and an AN elbow to try the exact same thing. The problem I ran into was that by the time you put a AN12 elbow on them, you didn't gain any room over the RH solution. Plus, the inner diameter was much smaller than the RH elbows, so you would introduce a restriction in the water flow

If you could find a tight 90 pipe elbow (maybe 1 or 1.25 diameter) and weld it to the Meziere blocks, you may be able to buy some clearance and keep the flow. I never understood why the RH block exist out the side for one port and the back for the other. If they exited out the side for both ports, that would eliminate over 1 inch from the current setup.

Keep us posted with what you come up with and good luck.

Mike

[Rotornut1]

Thanks Mike, I appreciate the info you have provided here also, along with Shanghai Todd. Dang, I knew finding the right elbow would be an issue with flow and size to beat the RH blocks. It's going too be a couple of months before I start posting my build, but will document it here. Using a "Better Bodies" kit that I want to document also as I haven't found much on them here. Car has been dipped and stripped and is in primer now, so hopefully finally at the point where real progress will begin. Thanks, Ron

[Rebel911]

Finally got the engine fully in.
tomorrow is mocking up the radiator.











the back is sitting right, just have to get some weight up front and put on the lower skirts and bumper.









gonna take some getting use to getting in and out.



probably should look for a shallower oil pan.

[Rebel911]

have to clean the garage...

[dtakenname]

Hi,
You are doing great!
Just like to know if the oil pan is not too close to the ground?
If so, what could be done about it?
Amazing project!

[Rebel911]

I am researching a shallower pan. maybe from the Cadillac version of this engine.

[sc_rufctr]

I would definitely change that pan.
Surely someone has had the same issue. Isn't there a "standard" solution from Rebel?

[shanghai_todd]

What oil pan do you have mounted now? Take the measurments but it looks to be an escalade or truck pan. Good news is they are completly interchanagble and I purchased a brand new one from GM parts for $175, you will be surprised how much people ask for on fleabay

check out this link

LSX oil pans - LS1TECH

[shanghai_todd]

now after looking at my engine on the jack you can see why I was able to rest the motor flat, I would not have been able to balance it as easy if using the same pan you have as there is a big hump

[lin7310948]

while you have the windshield out, you should remove the dash cap and close all the holes on the dash as well as possible. lots of places for heat to enter the cockpit. i would seal the radiator enclosure as well as possible. you will be surprised at the heat that builds in the front compartment.

[Rebel911]

Stuff that needed doing:

[ericb]

I have a chevy V8 to 915 trans adaptor plate and flywheel, if interested.