This is an uncharacteristically quick update, considering my last one. May be awhile until until the next one.

The engine is pretty much put together and the initial "prime" went well. Oil sprouted from the rockers eventually and my home made "closet rod" guide for the oil pump drive even managed to hold back 30psi of oil pressure. There was probably another 30psi leaking out around it though.

The various pieces of tubing and hose on the engine were, of course, useless and needing replaced. I wasn't able to find all the preformed rubber/nylon tubing, but the "HELP" displays at the local parts stores had a few pieces I could use. Not quite done there.

The rams horn exhaust collectors create a pinch-point with the block. I am still studying the best way to route the spark plug wires. Looks like the motor mounts will be a player in this issue also. Nothing that can't be overcome.

That's about it for now. As usual, a few pictures to prove the project has moved in the right direction, if only slightly.

Dave

 

I got the set of head pipes from Sun Coast Conversions, very well made. However, the stock oil filter can't be used any more, so I've been "researching" for one with the right dimensions. I finally got a hold of Darrenmb and he gave me the number of the filter he was using, very big help! After that, I stumbled on a website that gave dimensions of all brands of oil and air (maybe more) filters and found one more.

Here's a couple of pics to show before and after between stock and the "conversion" filters.

Dave

Stock Caprice filter with oil cooler adapter.


I'm going with the Wix because it's 3/16" longer and easier to get around here.

 

Very nice !!!!!

1. You have an electric water pump as well/ Mine does just fine.


2/ My plug wires hang down a bit and go between the mounts and block to get to the Optiite. it was fun installing them in situ. I used some zip tes to assure they were not in contact with a hot exhaust pipe.

3. My ram horns do not have the dip? Origin unknown New and came with the power pack from the recycle place.

4. The Sun Ccoast down pipes clear the stock oil filter just fine in my car. No need for a "shorty".

5. The SBC's are low OP high flow. 40 pounds at most. Mine is at about 20 at idle and 40 at speed.

 

Thanks for weighing in Carl, I always like to hear about other peoples conversions.

1. After researching the issues that might come up with the stock water pump drive, I decided to go electric and do away with the leaking seal and grooved drive shaft. Mine was grooved slightly and new ones seemed pretty hard to find. Pump leaking down on the Optispark and the head ache of fixing any of these ills made the electric route a no-brainer for me.

2. I am disappointed in these plug wires, I ordered them "custom fit" and assumed they would be the proper length. Mostly so! The #7 wire is easily 6" too long for any position on the block. Because the wires are made-up so nicely, I don't feel like trying to find all the tools and pieces I might need to cut that one wire. Back in the old days, it was the practice to keep the #5 and #7 wires apart to help prevent cross-fire due to the firing order. I never had that problem, but I always tried to separate them. I think I will re-visit the routing of these two wires before the engine goes in the car.

3. I was very lucky to find a set of OE factory manifolds for the '61 to '63 Corvette Fuely with 2.5" dumps. Excellent condition and a good price. Some of the aftermarket manifolds looked like the exhaust port was "pinched" too much by the way they cast the bolt holes.

4. I went to Sun Coast based on word-of-mouth and reputation, I don't regret my choice. I called Jim when I discovered the oil filter interference and after a few minutes of talk, it seems my issue is possibly due to my genuine GM 2.5" rams horns. He commented that his head pipes are built for the more common 2.25" performance manifolds. I also had to lengthen the slots in the pipe flanges a little because my spacing's were wider, no big deal there. My engine came with the oil cooler adapter, which I didn't want to use, but the stock Caprice filter still collided with the pipe. I tried an "old school" big filter from the '70's (removed the cooler adapter) and that was worse. I was about resigned to using a remote filter arrangement when I decided to text Darren. He was gracious enough to give his filter number and with that, I found one more brand that works. My issue is now solved, I hope.

5. I agree with you on the oil system in these engines. 20/40psi is all they need if you are not thrashing them on a regular basis. An old mechanic once told me "the bearings don't need pressure, they just need oil". I bought the first 1992 suburban (new body style) in our area and was always a little upset that it carried 24-25psi at highway speed and idled at about 10psi. The valve covers never came off that engine and it was as quiet the day I bought it as when I sold it with 172,000mi on it.

Dave

 

For those of you who are wondering why I bothered to put "soon to have an LT1" in my sign-off when clearly that was a lie, hang in there. Almost certainly before Christmas.

The guy rebuilding my trans let me use an empty case he had so that I could put the engine/trans in the frame. Motor mounts were spot-on. So I blithely thought, why don't I just fit 'n finish the couple of things that are needed before I can drive down the road. So I began, and a month later, there are still many things I need to do.

Hopefully, the pics will tell most of the story including the final, final details that are needed once the engine is in place for good. Wire harnesses, some wire routing, heater hoses, get custom A/C hoses made, find a coupler to go between air cleaner and MAF and throttle body. The business I thought would have the hoses might not, will have to revisit this issue. I was cautioned by Darren about this air cleaner hitting the bonnet, so I took the most accurate measurements I could with the bonnet in the car port. Didn't appear to be a big interference (I'll eat those words), but I wanted some free-air around the filter for better breathing, so I cannibalized the top radiator support which lowered the front of the filter 3/4" to 1" and gave full flow air to the bottom of the filter.

The two biggest parts yet to be done are the exhaust system and the driveshaft. They both will be very simple for me.......I'm having someone else do the work. I made the biggest score with the exhaust. After I found that no one the the State could "mandrel bend" an exhaust system, I asked if they would cut/fit/weld a universal kit if I brought it to them...no, not interested.
So I'm resigned to having the exhaust built by one of the local shops. Visited a shop that I had missed before and we talked about details. Just before I leave, he says "you know, if you want to buy a universal kit, mufflers, and everything else, I'll build it for about $300". I did some quick mental math and decided I would buy the exhaust kit, mufflers, flanges, V-band clamps and have him build it. I would have the exhaust I wanted for about $250 more than the shop-built system.

Once I pull the engine to mount the rebuilt trans, I have some engine compartment work to do (minor). I also want to put a few gallons of gas in each tank to check for leaks, and pump some gas through the lines to flush out anything that I didn't get with compressed air. I will also pressurize the oil system one more time (3rd time) while it's out with the plan of starting it within a couple of days at most.

Side bar: With the engine in place now, the front springs are still at full extension, I have to clime on the sway bar and jump up and down just to get the suspension to come off the rebound bumper. I weigh 230lbs, and with the bonnet, radiator/condenser/fans, fluids, transmission (sharing weight to the rear), front bumper, I don't see much more being added. And that would still leave the bumpers in contact with the A-arms. I can't get the rear suspension to move at all. I haven't tightened any of the moving suspension points yet, except the rear and I made a tool to compress the suspension to ride height before I tightened the pivots. Front suspension is still loose. Any ideas?

Dave

 

Dave, I did much digging on trying to find way to connect the throttle body to maf, don’t know if you found anything yet, but I asked on the ltxtech forum and Fred ( Injuneer ) told me about the fernco 3x3 sewer pipe connector from Home Depot! 6 bucks!

 

^^^
Yup!
Parts are where you find them!
(';')

 

That's a great idea, didn't think along those lines. Looks like a perfect fit. I can see now how you moved the filter back into the engine compartment, is the front of the filter where you found interference, not in the height?

I know I'm not quite done yet, these little details can be the most time consuming. Thanks for the tip.

Dave

 

Great progress to what will be a fine unit.

My LT! had the oil cooler "adapter". Unused as the ports were plugged. I don't recall the filter number. I just use those spec'd for a 94 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. the last of the big Caddies. Not a shortie. It fits just right. Odd ??

I had to grind along the top edge of each of my ram horns top provide clearance. My Makita handled that with aplomb.

I did some grinding, drilling and taping for the EGR. emulated factory/ It looks like it.

Don't sweat the suspension. It as probably taken a set. A bit of bounce and jounce

on a less than smooth road and all will be fine..

It was super hot yesaterday around here., More today,. More hibernation !!!! /

And, up Elinor's way, even hotter!!!!!!

 

In Australia is a Spring company named King Spring. They have front springs calibrated for a 1987 Jaguar XJ6 with a small block Chevy motor if that interest's you?

For your review try E-bay item # 150718241873. JAGUAR XJ6 W/350 CHEV 1968-86 SEDAN FRONT "LOW" 30mm LOWERED COIL SPRINGS | eBay Last time I tried to order anything from this company,,, I could not complete the order because of Covid restrictions. You might want to contact the company direct to see if they are up and running yet.
Your spring rate changes with the weight change.

Thank you.

Larry Louton

 

Dave, I had height issues in at front of filter, by moving it back to where I have, it helped twofold, first by letting my close hood, and secondly I didn’t need the second piece of sewer pipe connector I had bought and the pvc pipe to go between the two to make up the length needed, I had a hell of a time getting a hose clamp around base of filter onto the the k&n hose, so I glued it on. Works well so far, I was told to keep eye on data logs and watch for surging at speed with this setup, but. So far it has been fantastic!!!

 

Darren, I'm going to wait until the engine and everything else in the engine compartment is working as normal before I put the bonnet back on. I'll see what I need to do then. I picked up one of those reducers at Lowe's this morning, fits perfect on TB and good enough on MAF, but as you say, there's a gap that needs to be filled somehow.

I didn't have any luck with putting a hose clamp around the end of the filter either. Gluing sounds reasonable, at $150 a pop I won't be buying one at every service. I'll let you know if I come up with anything different.

Dave

 

Thanks for the tip, Larry. I'm really surprised at this issue, every other engine R&R I've done had the vehicle sag appropriately when the engine was replaced. I'll just have to see what it's like when everything is in place.

I'd like this car to ride a littlelower than stock, but my experience with cutting off a coil has not been satisfactory. The dual rate springs in you link would be the cats meow. I've book marked it.

Dave

 

Thanks for the compliment Carl, but I'm not out of the woods yet.

Mine had the oil cooler adapter also, I chose not to use it because I didn't want additional oil pressure drop, even though it wouldn't be much.

I have heard several incidences of people "grinding on the exhaust headers", but I've never figured out why. Everything on mine fits well, what is the need for grinding?

I've been hearing about a record heat wave sitting over the West Coast this summer. I couldn't stand it, we had 70* here the other day and wished I had a swimming pool. I hate the heat!

Dave

 

This afternoon's high.

 

That's egg-on-the-sidewalk temperature Elinor, I'll not be coming down that way any time soon.

Dave

 

I see both LT1 and Darrenmb are running their engines with the MAP and MAF sensors. The PO of my engine/tranny had the PCM reprogrammed to run Speed Density (MAP) only.
I communicated with the guys form the LT1Tech forum and they have said that initially when the MAF sensor failed the OEM PCM would default to the Speed Density mode allowing the engine to run normally except at IDLE. By reprogramming the PCM to function via Speed Density (MAP) only, the idle issues are resolved and its one less sensor to worry about.
My engine harness has the connector for the MAF Sensor but if I am going to use it I will have to get the PCM reprogrammed to revert to the original specs.
Any ideas on this?

 

CORRECTION: The Tech Forum is LS1Tech.
The 1993 LT1 was a Speed Density System and the changeover to MAF/MAP was 1994.
The possibility that the PO was bulls....ing me is real or as per the forum site the engine was caught up in the '93 to '94 crossover therefore no MAF.
The other option is that the PO replaced the chip from the 94 PCM with one from the 93 version which many have done when tuning the LT1 to eliminate the additional air flow restriction caused by the MAF sensor.
As per the PO, the engine has a bigger cam, bigger injectors, bigger valves and a larger throttle body. He also told me that I should run a 2 1/2 inch exhaust system on this engine.
He gave me the specs when I bought the engine, but I left it in my friend's truck. When I retrieve it I will post the specs.
I guess this question will be answered when startup time comes around.

 

My understanding of the speed density mode is gets slightly worse gas’s gas mileage as the injectors are now batch fire vs sequential with the maf, not sure about swapping a chip from 94- 93 type thing as they are different computers, 93 did engine only and ran a 700 r4 trans, and needed a flashes chip to make changes, 94 controls transmission as well, and is tuned via a laptop and an obd1 cable,
within the 94 tunes. There is a check box, that’s says enable speed density, I haven’t done it, but might give it a whirl if maf goes bad!

 

Sanchez,
I've always thought of a MAF system with sequential injector firing to be more efficient and cleaner running. I had to google the technical differences to see exactly how they each operate. Here's a page of sites that go over just that.

Your PO built a "package" that had higher RPM horsepower in mind. The torque curve and power curve will move up in the RPM range and probably be more "peaky", depending on just how big the cam is. Usually, a "big" cam is not great for going to the grocery store or taking the family over to Grandma's for Thanksgiving, although it will probably sound good. It's much better for making an impressive pass at 70mph on the freeway. The bigger injectors, larger TB are needed to fully support the bigger cam. The bigger valves are needed to allow the higher air flow at higher RPM where the big cam works best. To go along with this, the PCM/ECM was re-calibrated for these changes. That's a good move for this package. The bigger exhaust is good for better "scavenging", but again, at higher RPM and exhaust flow. Not as good around town or the highway at 1700 RPM, remember, you have 2.88 gears (I am assuming).

After you research the pro's and con's of what the PO built vs how you want to drive your Jag, you'll decide which way you want to go.

Dave

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=difference...tb=v1-1&ia=web