OK. So let's allow a little bit of scope creep. Which header did you use? I've been considering a header change. The stock thing is a pretty impressive looking casting but I guess it's fairly restrictive.

H

I used a set from JBA Performance Exhaust, part # 1850S-3

If I had the budget, I would love to get a set made like Larry's

here is a link to the post with pics

They are like stainless steel art

Here is a link with photos of my lowly 'off the shelf' headers installed, in the 2nd photo you can see the caddy alternator solution.

Photo of JBA Headers installed

Don't think of it as scope creep ... we are here to support one another ... and sometimes that means more $$ and more HP :)

Mike

not-
You may want to look into your front & rear suspension a little more while the driveline is out! specifically the rear control arm bushings. Take a look up front too. They all might be fine, just wanted to kick in the thought.

With my 77 Targa LS1 915 while it was a steal, it needed alot of additional help. Its all good though, now much new, just slows you down a bit. SmileWavy

Oh, I painted the engine compartment white to see the beast a bit better. :cool:

Good Luck with the project.

Perfect. I also really like Larrys. But i think your JBAs will be sufficient. Thanks for the PNs.

H

Thanks Jeff. The whole suspension needs a refresh. I'll be addressing it as i get there. I'm still moving slowly for now while waiting on parts. Also, I will be moving it over to a buddy's shop for completion. The problem is, his shop is pristine, it's more of a private museum than shop so I need to do all my cutting and grinding before taking it over there. I don't want to get steel dust on his hotrod collection. That would be very bad.

H

Wow. The stock fuel lines are plastic. Who knew?

At least, thats what they are going through the tunnel. It has these nice aluminum fuel lines that go from the motor down to the tunnel, but what goes through the tunnel appears to be plastic. Il post pics later.

Im now certain that i'm going to replace them with custom aluminum lines and Russell fittings and hoses at the terminus of both ends.

More crap to buy.

not-
That's what I was finding, a lot of while your in there,, I better do it now stuff ! I always think "geez I'm not 17, and my wife & kids will be riding in this car" I did the same working on now a third boat.

Make it new, make it safe, so I can be stress/worry free. You are doing it right, moving forward is great! I wanted to throw it out there. I don't like going back. Or at least, I try not too.

I bought some summit aluminum lines & bent my own lines and fed them through the tunnel. It was a little aggravating but it worked out very well. I did have a flaring tool kit and used it . You might be able to pull the fuel lines through intact, out the rear then just use them as a template.(I cut the ends, easy way) It works well.

I also rebuilt the pedal cluster, all shift bushings, short shift kit, Seine systems 1&2 gate shift (tbd) cleaned up a bunch of wiring. A refresh on the interior, etc.. etc... I wish I were done, but sooner or later I will get there. I said in another post " I'm having just as much fun working on the beast, as dreaming about it"

Driving it will be the ultimate satisfaction knowing I built it, and its done right!SmileWavy
As you know excellent resources at RH and of course right here on PP Thank you all !!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1330889284.jpg

Spoke to Scott the other day on the phone very nice and knowledgable, hoping to pull the plug and do the ls1 swap sometime in the summer

You know, I only ever spoke to Scott once. I've been dealing with Steve. And Melba, of course. It's a first class operation that for sure. Their lead times are a little long but I think that's just good business on his part. This is a custom business so there's no point carrying inventory.

Now, I will tell you this. So far, I'm very impressed with everything I've received with one exception. The fuel parts are waaaay overpriced. The fuel pressure regulator is a $25 eBay part. Oh well. They probably have a legitimate need to pad their margin. Some of their stuff is probably underpriced for what your getting.

H


Agreed. Although I always intended to go through the whole car.

H

Started cutting.

As you can see and as I had shown previously, I had originally installed a TRE oil cooler panel to give additional clearance to a front mounted oil cooler. The first step is to undo this earlier modification. In the pictures that follow are this short project.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331510572.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331510605.jpg


I also finished cleaning up the motor. Time to start putting it back together.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331510653.jpg

Note that this isn't the final cut for the installation. This is just removing the panel. I still have to expand the hole laterally to install the v-panel and vertically up the front to let more air in.

I also purchased - see above - a new nose pan and will use that to fill in the parts that were missing from the previous modification.

Of course, that panel needed to be modified. It came with the early style tow hook and that had to be removed. I'm not sure what parts I'll be cutting out of this - in fact, after I removed the tow hook, I did some measuring and I'm pretty sure that I didn't need to do that. Oh well, it let me practice my spot weld drilling out technique. ;)

Here's the photos.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331511014.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331511043.jpg


That's it for this weekend. I need pictures of the hole for the v pan. It appears that I need to cut into stuff I don't want to cut. I also need to make up a cardboard mockup of the radiator.

Hal

Hello again

I have just had my car on a roling road and my power was good but because of the big torgue my 915 tranny has now developed strange noises maybe from a stressed bearing and i only have 360 hp if you wanna have 400+ then you need the turbo tranny i think.

What year is your tranny? The '86's have a thicker intermediate plate and much more substantial side plate. I have a friend that's been drag racing his 630 hp 915 car with no issues.

Hal

Hello again

I think my tranny is from 82-83. I have found a guy that i willing to exchange my old 915 to a 930 4 spd. because he only has a 3,0 engine and would like the 5 spd. i have. So it is a win-win situation:) The only truble is now the shifter flywheel etc.....

Hello again. When i removed my transmission i also removed the clutch and even though i have bought a KEP stage 1 complete clutch it has slipped so mutch that my flywheel is all blue and the pressure plate is cracked so just remember to buy a STRONG clutch. I am now upgrading to the 240mm turbo clutch and now i am trying a 4puck it should withstand the power (i hope) Have a nice day

sirhiss, seems as if something is amiss. i would think that a stage one clutch and pressure plate would more than hold the power of a ls1 unless lots of modifications. also a four puck is going to be like on and off. i have 700 chp and over 600 ft/ibs torque with my conversion and i have a stage 2 pressure plate with the organic clutch facing and it is holding up very well.

Great build and brings back memories, been awhile since I visited the site and longer since I completed my LS2 swap. Regarding the 915 mine has put up with the 400+ HP for over a year and I am sure my torque is well over 350. I don't slam gears and avoid 1st gear drag racing and its all good. 2nd gear roll-on's and ripping the tires loose at 40mph is as much fun and I have 12' in the back with a 315.. My only regret is not changing 5th gear. Hopefully you did the 1pcs retainer during your rebuild.

Hello again. Now i had my 915 tranny fixed and it is because it has been driven on the roling road in 5 gear so all the teeth is gone on the small 5 gear wheel. So i think a 915 can take a lot of beating but this was too much torture. The problem on the roling road was that i dident have any tow eye on the rear of the car so he couldent strap it down and then he decided to drive it in 5. This was a expensive mistake:mad: now i also have my 930 tranny to the gearbox doctor because the diff was all broken and it was very worn out, this is what happends when you think you can get a cheap short bellhousing 930 tranny, now it is not so cheap anymore.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat5.gif Have a nice weekend

Sorry for the long hiatus. I blew out my belly button. Technically, it's called an umbilical hernia. But, what happened was, I helped a buddy swap out his RX8 motor and I blew out my belly button. Sheesh. Age sux. At least the surgery was painless and I was back on my feet 48 hours after. I just couldn't do anything strenuous for awhile.


Now, where was I. Oh yeah. I pulled out the front suspension. It's old and nasty and it must be made new and pretty. Gonna do coilovers all around. I want to do the kit from Rebel Racing but I can't get Clint to call me back so I'm looking for other options. I don't want to do pure racing stuff with rod ends. This will still be primarily a street car. Dunno.

Also, does anyone have experience with VPI Racing's big brake kit? It's pretty pricey but looks complete. I like Wayne's Boxster brake conversion but I think the Boxster brakes will look puny under my wheels.

Here's the photo of the day.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1339987898.jpg

Next week we'll tackle the rear suspension.

H

This conversion is starting to make more and more sense. I read the turbo section of the forum and everyone seems to be struggling with the best modifications for horse power. I have read that some of these guys have rebuilt the engine three times to get it right. The costs involved are astronomical. You can buy a 930 sell the engine for $10 to $12k and buy a ls7 for about same price. Yes the conversion with cost some money. But, for a total outlay of under $10k after selling off the stock engine, you have a 500hp car that is reliable and cheap to fix, heck you even have an A/C that blows cold. Then to save 100lbs off of the back of the car, that is awesome. I think that these guys are spending over $10k just to convert to EFI. WOW. But, nobody needs 700hp:p

That's exactly right. And the quality of the power is totally different. A 500HP Turbo motor is barely tractable while a 500Hp LS is barely warmed over.

H

Finally got the suspension off. It is now totally off the car and at the shop getting blasted and powder-coated or cleared or whatever the individual component is supposed to get. I'll post pics when I get those back.

I also made my first critical new purchase in a while. I have a lot more to go, but at least I started. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

H

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1343178414.jpg

993 S4 brakes.