RSR LS Conversion

[Don Nguyen]

Thanks for the info. I just realized that the adapter plate already came with the studs to bolt the engine block with the transmission.

[not_hans_stuck]

Originally Posted by Mitch Leland

Not_hans_stuck, AKA Hal...

Hal is dead right, plus there's a lot of other factors involved... Non use of the car, the conversion isn't a 90 day turn around deal. I bought a Max Jax lift, I wouldn't do the conversion without one, or at least for the 996 conversion. These projects always cost more than you plan

I could go on, but Hal nailed what your considerations should be based on. However the bottom line is the LS engine is a bullet proof engine that will give years of high performance fun.

I just completed a 4,000 mile trip in my 996/LS3, averaged 24.4 MPG, not too bad for a 480 HP engine...

Like Hal says, a complete blast to drive...

Dude, 480hp in a 996. Awesome.

You ever come to Houston?

Hal

[Mitch Leland]

Hal,

I go by Mitch... Ya, I do get to Houston on occasion. I have a Grand Daughter that lives in Richardson. PM me and I'll let you know the next time I head that way.

See ya,

[not_hans_stuck]

Originally Posted by ewave

Great pictures of lots of really cool looking hardware!

I do have an engineering question for you about your graph though....

That's the weirdest non linear scale I've ever seen for the X axis. Please in engineering terms explain it, also explain why you chose such an arbitrary non linear function. Why is there a speed increase from the shift point of 6000 RPM to the next point on the graph where the next gear is selected at a lower RPM? I always like to learn from an expert engineer why these strange things are done. ( I assume the units for "speed" is MPH?)

LoL. I completely forgot about this graph. I threw it together really fast. This isn't really an engineering drawing. It's simply the speed in gears. The scale is wonky because of the function I used to generate the speed in gears. There was some overlap and arbitrariness to it but it gave me an idea of the rev drops between gears.

It's mostly accurate though based on my gear sets. There's another version of this graph where all the speeds start from 0 revs. It looks like a fan and didn't really tell me what I wanted to know. I was more interested in what it looks like in real life. How many revs do I lose when I shift from one gear to the next and what part of the power band am I in. You can see that Porsche more or less kept the revs up. That's not really beneficial in my application given the wider torque band of the v8.

[ChrisP911]

any updates?

[Mitch Leland]

I just returned from a 5,000 mile trip in my 2003 996 C2S LS3-480 HP without any drama... Great road car.

[not_hans_stuck]

Ok. Back on it.

I moved it on 8-8-14 to a porsche shop that I knew could finish the car. They told me I was next in line on the project car queue.

Long story short, I moved it from there to another shop the first week of 2-15.

That guy was the last shop in town that new both LS engines and old 911's.

He charged $100/hr. I picked the car up from him Jun-19-15. My total bill there?

$100. Yup. He did 1 hour of work in 5 months.

So, it's back in the garage and I'm back in good shape so I'm going to finish it myself.

First step back in the garage was to assess the condition, inventory everything and make a punch list or at least sort of figure out what the next steps are.

It is my belief that all the "evil" that occured, happened at the first shop - the welder, we'll call him. The second shop was an actual Porsche shop and the car was stored properly. The third shop was close to the house and I visited every week. All three of these shops were dark with poor lighting.

So here goes over the next couple of posts.

H

[not_hans_stuck]

Flatbedded it back to the house yesterday. Spent most of the day cataloging and looking for stuff.



All that's missing is the drive-by-wire pedal harness and the Rennline kill switch, so far.

That's not too bad, I guess. Only about $100 or so. Still...


It had a squirrel take up residence under the seat. He left his shells there and under the carpet behind the opening in the hell hole.



It was a multi-level residence for him with an upstairs rest room.




There's some sort of solvent overspray on the paint. It looks like it's in the clear coat. Good thing we loaded up a ton of clear. I have pretty high hopes that it will buff out.



No pen handy? Not to worry, I'll just make my notes right here on the paint.

Seriously? It was sharpie and came off with wax and grease remover.



Got it back in the air so I can get the wheels off and back to the polisher. Again.



More tomorrow.

H

[not_hans_stuck]

Ok. Some progress. Sort of.



Looks better washed. There's some smudges on it but thats from someone actually sweating on the car because work is being done...



Front trunk opened up, electrical main rerouted into smugglers box, finally.

Also got it connected to the starter.



Squirrel nuts cleaned up. No residue!

Computer hooked up and lines organized for later connection.



Pulled the manifold. Installed the MAS and the folded manifold. It won't quite fit. There's interference with the parcel shelf. It's actually in contact with the shelf in this photo. Will be calling Renegade tomorrow. It might be the folded manifold - I bought the fiberglass one. Maybe the aluminum one fits better.

[sparrott]

All these manifold issues on LS conversions, I am still waiting on someone to try these:

Amazon.com: OBX ITB Individual Throttle Body Chevy Corvette Ls1 Ls2 Ls6 Sfd52 Itb Kit: Automotive




I know anything OBX can be scary, but it could be a good starting point over $4k jenveys.

[not_hans_stuck]

I love that manifold. I almost decided to use it. I didn't because I have an RSR wing and there's not much clearance at the back of the motor/back of the car. I also thought about using a carb manifold with a carb replacement throttle body fuel injection system but when I started this there were no good ones. Now there's that FAST one. It's pretty awesome.

I sorted my problem out with the manifold. You have to take it apart and install it in different sections. I had the folded manifold, the MAS and the air cleaner assembled when I was trying to fit it. It wouldn't go. I then lowered the engine a little and it fit perfectly. Then I raised the engine back up and it still fit perfectly. There was a quarter inch of clearance. Then tried running the wiring harness. It was too short to go around back (back of the motor, front of the car, over the crossmember) so I had to run it "through". That means between the GM Manifold and the folded manifold. That required me to disassemble everything separately. And that's when I discovered it would fit in parts.

Now, the cable won't fit. So I need to make some adjustments. I'll post photos after the adjustments are made.

[not_hans_stuck]

OK. Couple of hours in the shop and we're good to go.

The harness now crosses between the upp and lower manifold perfectly.

Here's how.

This is the before picture.



This is the after picture.



I just cut it out with my airsaw. No problem.

Also, the last shop routed the harness behind the crossmember - that makes it too short to reach the crankshaft position sensor and the grounding lug.

Here's a picture. But it isn't worth much. I'm working on the ground these days.




Also brown santa showed up.




Brought me this little contraption.



If you review the other LS engine swap projects on the board you'll see that every one of them that started with a used motor spun a bearing.

This happens because you can't pre-oil the LS engine. With 350's you just spin the distributor with a drill and it primes up no problem. The gerotor pump in the LS is crank driven so you can't pre-lube the engine except by turning the crank which defeats the purpose - never mind the difficulty in actually accomplishing that.

This tank is a pre-oiler. It plumbs into the accessory oil pressure port. You charge it up with air and turn it on. Then it blows oil into the motor. If you tee in a manual oil pressure gauge it'll actually show oil pressure.

This engine only has 60k miles on it and it comes from a reputable source so I'm trying to take care of it. We'll see how that works out.

[not_hans_stuck]

Sorry. Didn't rotate images. Dangit.

[not_hans_stuck]

Lots of progress today. (Thanks Ryan)

The car doesn't really look any different today than it did yesterday, but now all the cables reach.

I had to extend the starter wires, the alternator main wire and alternator control plug. It was a trivial task but time consuming... Especially trying to remember where I put the butane refill for the soldering iron.

I also rerouted the water lines. I had a guy do it for me and his idea of "clean looking install" and mine differ quite a bit.

The F-manifold is now located in the drivers rear corner of the engine compartment, the hoses from the motor are now hidden under the crossmember mostly and the main line forward is pinned to the pinch weld. It's much cleaner.

I didn't take a poicture of it, I realize now. I'll get it tomorrow.

In order to install the f-manifold, I had to remove the exhaust system. It was then that I realized I needed to fab up some exhaust gaskets. And since I was in there, I decided to repaint the lower part of the engine mount where the fabricator installed the exhaust mount and left it unpainted. I had to clean up the rust, first.

By that time, the car looked like this.



It was hard to tell if I was getting closer or further away.

Eventually, everything is buttoned back up, the wires are routed properly and everything is plugged in.

Except the chassis harness. I forgot it. Now I have to remove the intake manifold again, scooch it up a bit and route the chassis harness behind it and around to the other side where it belongs.

That'll hopefully be tomorrow.

Solid progress.

Next projects:

Finish the water - I need to splice in the filler neck. It'll go into the passenger side return line right above the brake caliper. That line is routed along the pinch weld as well.

Battery compartment wiring - all of it - there's literally a single wire in the smugglers box where the battery will go. Nothing else.

Gas can.

Wiring: Fuel pump relay, fan relay, water pump relay, 'vette harness wires.

Locate the starter solenoid wire. I want the porsche one that's already tied to the key. I have a lead on it (pun intended). I found one that shows on the diagram as starter wire, but I haven't tried it.

That's it for now.

[not_hans_stuck]

You know, now that this thread is in it's own forum, nobody reads it anymore.

But, that's ok. It's really become more of a build diary.

Plugged in the brake vacuum line and the steam tube today.

I still need to do the fill line but I just wasn't feeling it today.

I also realized that I need another couple of parts.

List:
weatherpak connector for water pump.
relay for water pump - I think I'm going to buy another Aeromotive relay. Theirs is far superior to the one from Meziere and the Meziere relay doesn't even come with a connector for the pump.
air temp sensor - Can't find mine. Not sure I ever had it, can't remember what it looked like.

Here's a pic from today. I arted it up a little with the backlighting.

H

[HelmetHead]

Your making great progress now your in control of what's happening

[Tremelune]

I recently procured a Volvo 740 wagon with a Chevy V8. Now I want an LS in every car I own. I thought I could pick up an old 912 with a blown motor for cheap, but...those days are gone.

I wonder what the cost to rebuild a 3.6 will be when mine finally needs it compared to the cost of a Chevy crate engine...

[Mitch Leland]

Originally Posted by Tremelune

I recently procured a Volvo 740 wagon with a Chevy V8. Now I want an LS in every car I own. I thought I could pick up an old 912 with a blown motor for cheap, but...those days are gone.

I wonder what the cost to rebuild a 3.6 will be when mine finally needs it compared to the cost of a Chevy crate engine...

I have a LS3/480 HP in my 2003 996 C4S. I can tell you if you do the conversion with new parts it's a whole more than a engine rebuild. Now if you do it on the cheap and don't have to sub out any of the work then that might be a different story.

My big cost was sorting the electrical...

[Tremelune]

It's not a real Porsche unless it's waiting for IMS failure...

[not_hans_stuck]

Originally Posted by HelmetHead

Your making great progress now your in control of what's happening

Thanks Einar!

You're absolutely right. Should have brought it home a few months ago.

There'll be no progress for the two weekends. I'm otherwise occupied. Can't wait to get back to it.

H