C4 LSX Swap

[AlbertaZ06]

All new front wheel bearings and brakes for the C4.
Loaded up for Miles of Mayhem 1/8 mile racing . Should be a fun event!! Starting Monday at Rimbey then off to Medicine Hat, Saskatoon, Forsberg, and back to Rimbey. Hope it holds together

 

[OL Yeller]

Good luck with it...have fun.

 

[Rruuff Day]

Looking forward to seeing some printouts Dalen.

 

[AlbertaZ06]

Miles of Mayhem!!!!!

So I haven’t posted in a while.
Been really busy on holidays, renos, camping, etc.

Day 1
Forsberg
2 passes in, first out and on the road to Medicine Hat. Had to do check points in Sylvan Lake, then Drumheller. My car burnt up a 02 sensor, causing misfire around Three Hills. Swapped out and ran better, then failed another one again…. . Lost a headlight cover on the highway. Passed guys on the highway, doing transmission swaps, welding oil pans, replacing clutches, and other repairs. Got to the hotel around 11:00pm

Day 2
Got to Medicine Hat raceway.
set the car up for race, and tech. Got 1 pass in 7.6x @ 98mph. Misfire got worse . Met a guy there, who is a tuner and he helped troubleshoot and looked at the tune, confirming that I was down a cylinder, and my tune is out to lunch under boost causing my engine problems.
Decided to call the drag week short! Drove home, over 400km with a hole in the piston, shutting down the one cylinder with HpTuners, lost the fuel pump pickup on Hwy 1, repaired it. Engine had so much blow by, it was leaking oil out everywhere, loosing 3L along the way. Drove home at 130kmph and parked in the garage.

Day 3
Pulled the engine, tore down and confirmed another melted piston. I was proud of this 5.3L!!!! I built it out of 2 blown engines myself, and when I parked it, still had oil pressure .

Day 4 & 5
Went to Forestburg & back to Rimbey to watch the races. Lots of cool cars and great people. My buddy that traveled with me was able to run his Ls swapped Mustang in my spot, having some fun.

Summary
The struggle is real . I would do it all over again, knowing how it played out. Met so many people and had a blast. The engine is getting rebuilt out of 3-5.3L’s now … . and heading south to Lethbridge for a tune once it’s together again. I was always chasing the problem as injector issues, fuel pump, etc, never went down the road of “blame the tuner” like so many people do. I still don’t, because, I have messed with the tune a bit as well. In the long run, I have learned so much building these Ls engines, and playing with turbos. People ask why the 5.3L not LS1, Ls3, 6.0L’s, etc. Because there cheap when you blow them up .
Can’t wait until next year!!

 

[CableGuy]

I admire your ambition! Lots of guys would have thrown in the towel. Looking forward to seeing C4 turbo v3!

 

[AlbertaZ06]

Just another rebuilt 5.3L!! No big deal, I seem to do this yearly . LM7 stuff in a aluminum L33 block. I’m going to need a good Priest to do some blessings on this one . Waiting on the new TKX transmission still, then back in the C4, and off for a good tune

 

[Rruuff Day]

Love the dedication Dalen. Good on ya. Keep us in the build loop.

 

[AlbertaZ06]

New clutch for the C4!! I have some comparisons pictures from the new CenterForce Solid Street Twin Clutch (SST) and the old Atomic Twin. The old Atomic Twin was working good, but I noticed I had 3 stress cracks on the floater plate ready to fly apart . If you ever seen a picture when clutches fly apart, this is scary stuff !!

 

[AlbertaZ06]

The brand new long awaited Tremec TKX arrived!
I ordered this back in August. Similar transmission as my TKO 600, but it can handle more power and higher rpm shifts! The old TKO did not like to shift above 5900 rpm, the TKX should be good up to 7500rpm. This come as a kit from Silver Sport Transmission, with a shifter relocate, and C-beam adapter, along with a warning label on the box…lol.
Im excited to get this hot rod back on the road next year

 

[OL Yeller]

View attachment 89279View attachment 89280View attachment 89281
The brand new long awaited Tremec TKX arrived!
I ordered this back in August. Similar transmission as my TKO 600, but it can handle more power and higher rpm shifts! The old TKO did not like to shift above 5900 rpm, the TKX should be good up to 7500rpm. This come as a kit from Silver Sport Transmission, with a shifter relocate, and C-beam adapter, along with a warning label on the box…lol.
Im excited to get this hot rod back on the road next year

I like the warning label. Good of them to include that. GM should have put that same warning on the very first Corvette back in 53 and every one that rolled off the assembly line since. Good luck with your project.

 

[AlbertaZ06]

With the old headlight cover missing, from when it blew off on the highway, I decided to change the look a bit . Not 100% sure on this.
Going to add another post in on the C4 section on GT style non flips

 

[OL Yeller]

Looks very different without the lids.

 

[Matt_Orleans]

F40 look

 

[AlbertaZ06]

Haven’t posted in awhile! Nothing exciting here! Just the same old “oh he blew up another engine and then installed another one” .
Ended finding a bent exhaust valve and had to order another (back ordered), because I bent one when the piston was melting down and sending parts everywhere (I’m not sure how much more this head can take) . When I fired it up, I had NO oil pressure . Ended up being a bad oil pressure sensor, but gave me a good scare .
Really excited for the new TKX Tremec!! Another fresh 5.3L rebuilt seems good. A good start to 2022! Hopefully my bad luck is done on this hot rod , off for a new tune, and a little less boost . The car sits a little higher on the front with about 120lbs less on the front with the aluminum block, going to have to adjust spring tension.
Have to give my very patient and understanding Wife a shoutout for helping me on this one!! She helped rebuild the engine, install the engine, install the transmission, and all the other little stuff, after all the kids are sleeping on late nights in our crazy busy house.

 

[Rruuff Day]

Wow. Dalen. Your wife deserves more than a shout-out.... Great catch.

 

[turbozig]

Congratulations on having such a helpful, talented and understanding wife @AlbertaZ06. Great family picture in the back of the old pickup also, priceless!

 

[AlbertaZ06]

Cleaned up a few things on the C4! Relocated the coils, thinking there seeing to much heat off the turbo, shaved down the factory valve covers, had a friend weld and relocated the oil cap to drivers side, and installed-10AN for a new catch can. Then I painted them and installed some decals, thinking they look great!

 

[AlbertaZ06]

What a great winter February day with + degree temperatures! Was able to get out in the C4 and wash off the oil film, from when it blew up! Really liking the new Tremec TKX, the car runs and drives great . Putting some km’s on this hot rod break-in the new engine, transmission, and clutch, then off to the Dyno for some tuning. Also I got registered for 2022 Miles of Mayhem!

 

[Darrellg1]

Very nice Dalen!

 

[rvguy79]

Incredible work! Tks for sharing