And it begins....Body off

[Riley P]

Very interesting to see the engine placement. I need some header "tweaking" on the Chevelle so maybe we can find someone to do a two for one deal?

Keena looks very comfortable in her seat!

 

[taylorsk8]

Well after much interneting I seem to have narrowed in on some correct information. The following are not my diagrams but are what I am following since the information matches what I measured and verified on my blocks.




Like I said earlier I am leaning towards 1/2" forward from stock location. This is for Firewall clearance. The LS heads sit right against the bellhousing mount where as the SBC heads are about 1" Forward. By mounting the block 1/2" forward I will end up with the heads being about 1/2" Back from stock. This should leave enough room at the firewall for working on the engine. I will post pics of my adapter plates when completed and re mount the engine for measuring.

Just more pieces to the puzzle.

T

P.S. Anyone else here have an LS in there C2 or C3? Where is your block placed?

 

[Riley P]

You should talk to Mike (Fender) or his Dad (silvervette) as they put an LQ4 in their 77 a couple years ago.

 

[taylorsk8]

Well a very uneventful Christmas season for the car. Only spent a few hours working on it. But hey family is first every time. Started to build my T56 crossmember. Here are some pics. Just tacked together and no trans mount yet. Haven't decided which rubber mount to use.



That's all for now.

T

 

[Riley P]

Looks great! Now I just need to see it in person! So I am assuming you settled on the location for your engine?

 

[buckhorn76]

very slick, nice work taylor. as riley said which engine mount spot are you going with ? also, is the shifter location the big determining factor for engine placement ? very attention getting build.

 

[taylorsk8]

1/2" Forward and Sits slightly higher. The 1/2" Forward is measured from the machined face for the bell housing. The shifter was not much consideration due to the custom interior plans, however it is consistent placement with other LS T56 swaps I researched. Ends up being slightly back and about 2" to the right from a stock 4 speed shifter location.

Just need more time and money! two easy things to get right?

T

 

[taylorsk8]

Guess I should pay attention to my thread more closely. I though I had already posted these up. Engine mount plates.

Before Drilling:


After Drill and Countersink:



Ass you can see my SBC mount pattern is shifted down about 1/4" which is the reason for the slightly higher final engine placement.

T

 

[taylorsk8]

Will try to remember to take pics when the engine comes off the chassis of how the mounts install.

T

 

[Riley P]

Looks really good. I bet the shifter location will fit you perfectly as you're taller than the average person!

 

[taylorsk8]

Well finished up the cross member. Gave it a slot so I can still adjust engine placement if I want or need. Copied the e brake bracket location off a borrowed stock auto trans crossmember.







Also gonna need another engine stand so decided to wip one up. Had the main plate cut at work last week. Fab'd up the rest yesterday and welded it all up.



Ready to pull the engine back off for inspection/rebuild. Things are still creeping along nicely.

T

 

[CaledoniaBrian]

I really envy you. I wish I could do half the stuff you are doing here. I think I could really enjoy this type of thing.
Keep em' coming....... starting to look like a car now.

 

[buckhorn76]

great fab work taylor !!! ain't it fun makin' stuff ? by the way...nice boots

 

[taylorsk8]

Managed to get some more done. Pulled engine off and removed wheels. I know going the wrong way but it will all be done right in the end. Got rotors back for being machined so used them for alignment.







First leveled the halfshafts to mimic ride height. Then adjusted the bottom cam bolts to get zero camber using a 2ft level vertically on the rotor. Then using the string line I shimmed the trailing arm for 0 toe. The shimming was based off of 3 points on the frame and referenced the front rotors. Turns out the rear is pretty easy to do. Here is what the final shimming looked like. Very close to what I took out of the car.

Drivers Side:


Passenger Side:


I was starting to get worried on the passenger side but it worked out perfect with no shims on the inside. I would say something is tweaked either in the trailing arm or frame.

Started doing the front as well. Threaded rods hold the suspension at ride height. Adjust the tie rods for 1/8" Total Toe in. Next measure the camber. I had put the shims in as they were taken out before so I had a reasonable starting point. The camber on the Passenger side was about 1 deg so I left it for now. The driver side was closer to 2 deg so I added shims equally to get it to about the same 1 Deg. Roughly measuring the caster ( based on the ball joints showed 0 Deg on the passenger side. This concerned me due to the fact that the shims are already staggered to the rear quite a bit. I will look at the mounts closer to see if anything is bent before I proceed. I would like to be able to get the suggested Max 2-3/4 Deg out of the stock components. So front alignment is on hold. I think this is why the car took so much jockying of the steering wheel on the highway. Newer cars (w/ pwr steering) have up to 7 deg caster to help with straight line driving.

Also pulled the tranny off the engine and got the engine on the stand.





Clutch is in very good shape (like new) just like the guy I bought the car from said. Hey what do you know he didn't lie. So I will likely be reusing it.




That's all for now. Hope do get the front end figured out next weekend so I can move on to brakes and fuel tank.

Still waiting for my park brake kit from CC though so hopefully it can ship soon.

T

 

[CCO]

Great to follow along Taylor -- Thanks for posting the pics and keeping us in the loop.
C.

 

[Riley P]

Nice to know you can trust the previous seller. Looking forward to the tear down of the motor!

 

[rocky yo]

Simply amazing. You are a genius sir.

 

[taylorsk8]

Did some measuring last night. Definitely have a bent or incorrect part. The passenger side lower A arm mount on the rear side is about 3/8" closer to the center line than the driver side. Most certainly causing me grief. I guess I am going to be cutting and welding on my freshly painted frame. Oh well I have to paint more parts later anyway I can touch up then.

Here is the real question though. Do I modify so I can get more than stock caster while I am cutting. If I move the mount more than 3/8", say 5/8" and move the good side 1/4" I should be able to get about 4.5 deg Caster.

Is it worth it? or just fix the error and stay with 2 - 2.5 Deg caster?

T

 

[buckhorn76]

taylor, will you be able to swap over the cooling fan system from the camaro ?

 

[taylorsk8]

That is my plan. Use the Rad and fans from the Camaro. I haven't found many people who have done it but there have been a few. I will modify the rad support to fit the Camaro one.

I have decide to do some mods since I am wrecking paint anyway. Going to add a cam adjustment to the rear side on the lower a-arm. Should be able to get up to 5 Deg caster with minimal top shimming. Also will be easier to do adjustments without changing the wheel base like the stock system only does. I am hoping to get time this weekend to work on this.

T