1970 Pontiac LeMans "The Bomb" Build Thread

[Way2qwk4u]

Going to start a build thread here on my 70 LeMans. Have one over on another forum. Seems more fitting over here with the direction I am taking the car. I have completed a lot of the work already. So some of this thread will be past tense. Car was my dads car back in college. Inherited it from him on a trade for a Polaris 500. He hunts more than I do and he was going to get more use out of the four wheeler and the car was just sitting. So easy decision for me. Took the car home and got started with working on it. Started life out a little rough. But she came around. I will post updates to the thread a little at a time. Have life going on like everyone else. Hope yall enjoy. Thanks





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[Way2qwk4u]

Car was sent down to a friend that my dad knew and he worked it over. Got new interior and new vinyl top. New paint job. Put back together and we got it back home. Dad held onto it for a bit til we made the trade and I took it home. Looks a lot better now that she is cleaned up. Picked it up from my dads and made it about 4 miles and ran out of gas. Found out the hard way that the gauge was broken. Got it home and found milky fluid coming from the radiator cap. Kind of pink colored. Diagnosed bad trans cooler. Had to replace the radiator and flush the trans fluid and change the filter. Got that sorted and started tooling her around town. Man did she float around. Also the drum brakes were terrible. Sometimes you would stop, sometimes not, and sometimes pull you in a ditch. So after driving like that for a while I started ordering parts. And of course once you start its hard to stop.

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[Way2qwk4u]

Got the first batch of parts in. New intake and carb. The old Q jet was leaking fuel. Installed new intake and carb. Removed and installed new HEI distributor and got rid of the old points. Installed a MSD digital 6AL box. New wires plugs etc. Also found a reason for the floating around. Looks like car was still rocking the original spiral shocks in the back and fronts were clearly shot. Got to look at the drum brakes and they were all out of adjustment and leaking wheel cylinders. So of course had to new brake setup. Ordered a new 4 wheel disc setup. Also had noticed that the tires on the car are older than I was at the time. So had to start figuring that out as well. Sorry about pics old potato phone pics.


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[andrewb70]

Good looking car! Looking forward to more updates.

Andrew

[David Sloan]

Nice solid car to start out with!
In for updates!

[Way2qwk4u]

Got the brake kit installed. New calipers, brackets emergency cables, prop valve. Also new stainless lines and flex lines. Installed new master cylinder and booster. Ran into an issue with rear wheels. Calipers Cleared the front just fine. But the rear set would not let me install the rear wheels without contact with the caliper. So for the time being I ordered a set of steel wheels from Summit just so the car could be driven. With the new brakes and shocks the car drove much better. Not quite as nice as I was hoping but at least passable as a daily. Started making my excel spread sheet for what I wanted to do with the car and set my budget up. Had to start thinking of trying to stay original or to go more aggressive. Since I want to make this a driver and its not a GTO and is not numbers matching, I decided to not worry about originality. I wont be doing any sheet metal changes but everything else is on the table. At this point I had not decided on staying with Pontiac power or going a different direction.


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[Way2qwk4u]

Drove the car at night ONCE and decided that the original T3 headlights are junk. Upgraded to HID and LED lights. Changed the woodgrain over to carbon fiber inlays. Removed the old wally world special radio. Dash was already mutilated for that install. Installed a new Kenwood Excelon head unit and added new kick panel speakers and new 6x9 deck speakers. Pulled the dash and installed a new harness. Installed a repo hood tach. Got back to driving and enjoying on the weekends. Acceleration is terrible from a stop. checked the code on the rear axle. No wonder she is running 2.73 rear gears. Has pretty good top end but gutless down low. Adding that to the list of changes.




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[Way2qwk4u]

So as usual life gets in the way. Building a new house, kids and my companies growth kept me from doing a lot with the car for a couple years. I did get a couple of big things accomplished during that time but unfortunately could not find the SD card with the photos. But I did get the car a new suspension. Ordered a UMI stage 3 kit. Changed all the front suspension. Changed the shocks to ridetech HQ adjustable. Installed the lowering springs and sway bars. Changed the rear end rubber bushings to poly. Changed the rear gear set to 3.73 and added a limited slip rear differential. Also swapped the dash over to a Dakota Digital VHX setup. Installed a keyless entry and start kit. Now the car is like most newer cars. Just have to have the fob with me and I can get in and start the car without any keys. Got my self a lift for the temporary garage. Which my son thinks is awesome. So now that I have the time to get after the project I really started to think about what my next steps were. Did the math on the different power train combinations and one thing was clear. For the money there is only one choice for me at this time to check all of my boxes. I am sure you guys know what motor family I decided to go with for now. :) Started gathering parts for the transformation about 2019 and really got after it hard this winter. I did not want the car un able to drive. So I did not get started until everything was here.



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[ryeguy2006a]

Great platform to build on. Curious to see what motor you went with. I'm sure it's not a Poncho haha.

[Way2qwk4u]

First thing in 2020 that I did was got her a new pair of shoes. I like these a lot more. Plus with the better tires the turn in and handling is way better. And the braking performance is soooo much better. I feel that I am getting full use of the upgraded brakes that were already installed. Took the old girl out on a date to the local drive through, brought my wife too :). Then took it down to local shop to get a base line dyno on the old motor. Made more than I thought to the wheels. Was actually quite happy with that. The motor and trans were rebuilt before I was born and I'd say they only had about 40k on the pair. Was a little worried with how the power fell off at the top end but after the pull I remembered that I had set the MSD to 5200 so that my heavy foot would not hurt the old motor. But she is still shy of the power that I am looking for. Would love to be up around 750 tire but would be happy, I think for a while at least around 600. I want enough to be quick around town. Most of the roads around me are curving hills and 2 lane back roads. Not looking to go 9s in 1/4 mile, but to have fun carving up the back roads and maybe an autocross or road course from time to time.




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[Way2qwk4u]

Got tired of the sticky , thin, huge old stock wheel. Installed a new MOMO wheel and quick release. Much nicer to hold onto and easier for a bigger guy to get out of the car. Especially with no tilt wheel. And as I would find out later makes getting under the dash etc. a lot easier. Well at the risk of being "me too". I decided to go LS. My company has a fleet if express vans and I have first dibs on any wrecks or fleet retirees. Plus I already had a iron block 5.3 that I had built for a friend who never paid for labor. So that helped make it an easy choice. I also was able to secure through, one of our installers wrecking a van, a low mileage less than 15k mile 4L80E brand new GM replacement transmission. Also some if the latest van purchases have came with the 6.0. So the course was set. LS motor and 4L80E trans. Time to order parts.

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Got the trans from the wreck with a bonus engine attached. :) $500.00 for the insurance buy out. Also got the headers in, the mount kit, and the fuel system, oil cooler and AN fittings.
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Also wanted to get the audio system done up a little better. Everything I have had before has always had maybe a head unit upgrade and or large sub box and thats all. This time I wanted to try to do a better job on this aspect. So I ordered Alpine amps one for subs and one for door speakers. Ordered a audio cap and built my first amp rack. Subs are behind the rack. 2 12" pioneers. Sounds way better than other systems I've had in the past. Still need to build out the trunk floor and side panels.
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Also started figuring out the wiring for the LS. Was looking at just running the stock van ECU and using HP Tuners. But after spending the time setting up the harness and then adding up the credits and the hardware I decided to go a different route. Terminator X Max for now. I really like the software, found it easier to work with and more what I was used to. Plus later if I need to go to the dominator most of the harness can stay the same.
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[GarageToys]

Sweet build so far. Perfect wheel choice by the way.

[Way2qwk4u]

Thanks. It was an easy choice. There were a few other options that I had considered but I did not want to sell the house to be able to buy one wheel. :)


Getting another spare trans and another motor. Free on this one :)

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New ARP hardware, Summit Pro LS cam, new converter, billet 710 cap, and more plumbing materials.

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One of the last drives before pulling old engine.
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Test fitting the swap pan on the new motor. Pan is supposed to be for A-body swaps. Has -10 oil line connections and is baffled.
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[andrewb70]

If I can help with the Holley EFI tuning, let me know.

Which Summit cam did you go with?

Andrew

[Way2qwk4u]

If I can help with the Holley EFI tuning, let me know.

Which Summit cam did you go with?

Andrew

Thanks, Went with the summit stage 4 auto pro LS cam. Got matching stall converter. I might need a hand on tuning when I get it one the road. Right now I have the cold start and idle tuning done. Correction on the learn is down to less than 2% in the idle area. I went ahead and lowered the allowable correction % down to 10%. Left the upper cells alone til I can actually drive it. Snow is too deep and then there is the road salt. Might also have some trans tuning questions. Working on installing a trans line pressure transducer here soon so I can log line pressure. This winter 2021 or next spring the plan is to go LSA charger.

[Way2qwk4u]

Gave the new engine a coat of Pontiac blue. At least the color will still be correct.



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Pulled the heads off. Installed the new matching spring pack and new valve seals. Installed new lifters and trays. Reused push rods and stock rockers for now. Will probably replace the rockers soon. Lift on the new cam is .625 so not sure about not having a roller tip rocker. New OEM bolts for this round. Going to reuse the truck intake for now. Installed the heads and new head gaskets. Mocked up the headers and the coils and wires. Pre wired the motor to figure out the wiring harness routing. Painted the new water pump and brackets. Verified cam specs and degreed in the cam. Checked oil pump tolerances. Primed with oil and verified rotation and valve clearance.


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Got the Terminator X wired in on the test bench. And could not help it, had to hear it run. So I stand started it to verify oil pressure and that it at least ran. Id hate to drop it in and then fight an issue that I coulda found first.


https://youtu.be/KOQb9z6gg58

[andrewb70]

Thanks, Went with the summit stage 4 auto pro LS cam. Got matching stall converter. I might need a hand on tuning when I get it one the road. Right now I have the cold start and idle tuning done. Correction on the learn is down to less than 2% in the idle area. I went ahead and lowered the allowable correction % down to 10%. Left the upper cells alone til I can actually drive it. Snow is too deep and then there is the road salt. Might also have some trans tuning questions. Working on installing a trans line pressure transducer here soon so I can log line pressure. This winter 2021 or next spring the plan is to go LSA charger.

There is no reason to reduce the CL or the Learn limits until you have the whole VE table sorted out.

Andrew

[ryeguy2006a]

Lots of progress, Nicely done! One suggestion is to upgrade your pushrods now. With the higher lift of that cam, you'll likely bend them. LS pushrods are a major weak link.

[Way2qwk4u]

There is no reason to reduce the CL or the Learn limits until you have the whole VE table sorted out.

Andrew


Andrew,

What about failure of the wideband? Would not think Id want it going pig rich and not running to get back home. I only changed the limits in the idle area not up in cruise or wot area. But of course that is easily changed. Im sure I will need pointers as I get to that point. If only I knew someone with more experience :)

[Way2qwk4u]

Lots of progress, Nicely done! One suggestion is to upgrade your pushrods now. With the higher lift of that cam, you'll likely bend them. LS pushrods are a major weak link.

Yeah upgraded valve train I feel is in the future. Probably be in the next month or so. Any running I have been doing has been below 4k rpm. I set the limiter to 5k on purpose for now. The heads were never milled and deck is stock. So I should be able to get stock push rods. Kind of wanted to get the new rockers and verify push rod length with them.

[Way2qwk4u]

Got the rest of the parts in. So got started pulling the old stuff. Doing it by myself so do not have a lot of step by step pictures. Old motor came out really easy actually. Good thing I pulled it. After getting it out I could see that about every seal and gasket was leaking oil. Transmission was covered in old dirt road and motor oil. Got the lift up as high as it would go. Having to try to swing the trans over the fiberglass front was a chore.
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Got it all out and then had to get the car out of the garage and cleaned up. Rolled her out and got out the pressure washer. Bought a 3 gallon jug of purple power and filled a garden sprayer. Sprayed the engine bay down and got to work. About 2 hours later and 3 gallons of degreaser, had it all cleaned up. Then the fun part how to get it back up my ramp into the garage. Borrowed the neighbors 12 winch. Mounted a fall protection plate to the floor of the garage. Hooked the winch to the battery from the car. Had my son hit the button while I drove the car back up in the garage. Worked pretty good. Taped off the engine bay and gave the frame and firewall a fresh coat of paint.
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Installed the new mounts for the engine. Using the BRP hotrods ls swap kit. Got the mounts in and dropped the engine in for the first time. Well finally first roadblock, the JEGS A body pan would let the engine drop straight in. But when releasing the hoist the engine would not rotate to the rear. Raised the lift, got under and the drop on the pan was resting on the back of the crossmember. Clearly this was not going to work. Not wanting to try to modify the pan the engine came back out. So first set back. Solution was to order the Moroso pan called out in the BRP catalogue. Ordered the pan and was shipped and at the door in 3 days. Great service on that.


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Got the new pan in and installed. Dropped the motor back in ad it fit perfectly fine. Got to start working on trans mount and drive shaft. So I had a spare trans laying around that was burnt. Tore it down and used it as a mock up case to verify tunnel fitment and shaft length etc. Made the job a lot easier than laying on my back trying to lift a 4L80 up and in place multiple times in a row. Got the crossmember setup and called in for the new drive shaft. The mounts moved the motor up enough it was only 1.5 inches that needed to be cut from the shaft.
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[Way2qwk4u]

New Drive shaft is in. Got the motor and trans in the car. Still doing all alone so not a lot of pictures on this either. Plus was trying to get it finished before I got busy again at work. Installed a new Tanks efi tank and in tank pump. Ran feed and return lines. Mounted the filter to the frame. Installed the regulator on the firewall. Installed the pressure transducer for fuel. Ran the wires for the Terminator. Installed the headers which fit almost perfectly. Installed the swap radiator. Installed the electric fan. Its a Rock Auto piece that is for the ford Windstar, 2 speeds and plenty of airflow. Installed new alternator, water pump, power steering pump, changed the flow valve on the pump to match the steering box. Made up braided lines for the power steering and for the trans cooler. Installed the trans cooler and ran the lines.




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Built my own relay panel for the fans. There are 2 for the rad fan and 1 for the trans cooler fan. Made the wiring so that the high and low fan relays for the radiator fan are interlocked. That way there is no way for the 2 speeds to be on at the same time.
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Ordered the exhaust system for the car. Got a Pypes stainless system. Found one that had the GTO valance exit. Got the system in and installed. Installed also electric cut outs with turn downs. Also got the factory style splitter tips that mimic the OEM ones. Also have been meaning to pick up TIG welding so thought it was a good time to get one and start learning. I've MIG and stick welded for a while but wanted to add TIG to the mix. I want to get the tips pulled up in the cut outs but other than that I like the way the system fits. Was looking at their 3" system but was not going to exit where I wanted it to.

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[Alponcho]

I really like your project! I've been a die hard Pontiac guy for a long time, but as I've gravitated to this end of the hobby, I understand why folks go LS. I considered it for my '70 Firebird project, but already had an aluminum IAII, lightened crank, etc. I like that you painted it the right blue for '70. Are you going to keep it a LeMans? Hope so! I've actually been looking to buy a 70-72 LeMans or Tempest for while...ideally an honest original paint/interior car I can drive and build at the same...surprisingly difficult to find. I'm done with 5-year projects.

[Way2qwk4u]

I really like your project! I've been a die hard Pontiac guy for a long time, but as I've gravitated to this end of the hobby, I understand why folks go LS. I considered it for my '70 Firebird project, but already had an aluminum IAII, lightened crank, etc. I like that you painted it the right blue for '70. Are you going to keep it a LeMans? Hope so! I've actually been looking to buy a 70-72 LeMans or Tempest for while...ideally an honest original paint/interior car I can drive and build at the same...surprisingly difficult to find. I'm done with 5-year projects.

Ill keep it a LeMans. There are not many around anymore. I really do not plan on doing any sheet metal changes. I wanted to do a Butler stroked motor in aluminum or aftermarket iron. But to get the power per dollar down just could not do it. I did not want more in the engine than what I could just go buy a corvette for. :). Going to make it a semi daily. Be neat to drive around in a car that most ppl dont see.

[Way2qwk4u]

Got the intake and filter installed. Installed the battery in the trunk. Ran the wiring for the started and installed the fuse links and fuses. Tested the wiring to the rest of the car. Primed the fuel system. Checked it over for leaks. Installed new plugs. Changed the oil over to break in oil. Went and got plenty of 93 for the tank. Started building the tune file. Got the temps and sensors set up. Tested the fan operation in both high and low. Also verified that the trans cooler fan is being controlled by the ECU. Filed the trans with new fluid. Topped of the radiator and bled the block.

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Been debating on the grille. Decided to try it in black. Masked everything off and prepared it for paint. I think it turned out good. Next debate is do I go back and paint the front edge of the squares silver or just leave it all black.

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Also got the Dakota digital to Holley EFI can bus box. Made hooking the dash up a breeze. So did not have to run extra sensors and I get a lot more data on the dash now. Next was time for the first start in the car. Tune was really rich. I have since worked that out. But I was happy that it was basically push the button, prime the pump, and short turn over and fire. Always a good feeling when a project starts and does not catch fire. :)

First start. Dad does not know how to hold his phone. :) Good oil pressure 40 psi at idle and good fuel pressure. AFR was around 12:1 at idle.

https://youtu.be/NFU3cmjSSp8

From inside after it was running for a min.

https://youtu.be/VCRj4_DXv8E

Then open cut outs

https://youtu.be/AQhUz3ILxuk

[Way2qwk4u]

Changed the headlights out for some better LED versions that have the turns built in. Also they have a better cutoff than the old ones I had installed. I also changed all the bulbs over to LEDs. Makes a big difference in power draw and light output. Hopefully will make her easier to see at night and brake lights during the day.

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Not Pro Touring. But two other builds that I have done in the past. Both were a blast to drive.

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[TanMan]

I’m loving this build thread. I’m a Pontiac guy (‘70 Grand Prix) so seeing this LeMans come to life is thrilling. I built two ‘70 GTOs with my dad many years ago, so it’s in the blood.

I too struggle with the LS vs. Butler build and every time I run the numbers, I lean toward building an LS and one day adding a blower.

Which headlights did you end up going with? I may have missed it.

Anyway, keep the posts coming!!

[Way2qwk4u]

I’m loving this build thread. I’m a Pontiac guy (‘70 Grand Prix) so seeing this LeMans come to life is thrilling. I built two ‘70 GTOs with my dad many years ago, so it’s in the blood.

I too struggle with the LS vs. Butler build and every time I run the numbers, I lean toward building an LS and one day adding a blower.

Which headlights did you end up going with? I may have missed it.

Anyway, keep the posts coming!!

Yeah it was a hard choice, maybe one day when I win the lottery I will build a pure poncho motor. It was just a money decision for me. They are some amazon specials I found that had good reviews. I can't speak for how good they are yet. It is finally warming up here so as soon as the salt is gone and I get the ramp rebuilt on the garage I hope to get it out and drive it some. Then I can see how well they work. Once I get it all settled in and get the AC and heat installed, then I will work on getting the LSA blower installed.

[1965gp]

Wow. Wow! This is trippy and awesome to see. My first car was also my dads 70 LeMans that is silver and originally had a black vinyl top. I drove it to high school and destroyed it. Eventually I restored it and removed the vinyl top. Same hood tach, same blacked out grills, same GTO valence w/splitters.... except mine had/has dark green interior.

while I am not a LS swap guy- it’s fun to see what would have happened if I took a more modern approach to the car. Very nice build!

[Way2qwk4u]

Wow. Wow! This is trippy and awesome to see. My first car was also my dads 70 LeMans that is silver and originally had a black vinyl top. I drove it to high school and destroyed it. Eventually I restored it and removed the vinyl top. Same hood tach, same blacked out grills, same GTO valence w/splitters.... except mine had/has dark green interior.

while I am not a LS swap guy- it’s fun to see what would have happened if I took a more modern approach to the car. Very nice build!

Thanks

What did you use for the front spoiler? I was trying to find something for mine.

[jetmech442]

Oh great, just what we need, another drivable Pontiac that makes reliable power for reasonable money. :) Love the build, will keep an eye out for updates.

[Way2qwk4u]

Got a few more updates going on. Found an idea on the center console from another member here. So going to give that a try and see how it turns out. Picked up some carbon from Rock West to make the top plate. Ordered a shift indicator from Lokar. Also got the shifter module from Dakota. It will integrate with the VHX gauges and the Lokar indicator. Plus will give me an output for the backup lights as well. Picked up a wireless charging pad for my Iphone and am going to graft that into the front pocket in the center console. Can't decide if I want the gloss or the dull side up on the center console. Also looks like I am going to be able to order the Vintage Air, rockers and hardened push rods this month as well. Hope I can get that all in before summer. Finished extending the ramp from the garage yesterday. Still not sure on the exhaust clearance from the ground. Edges of the cut outs are 2" lower than the trans pan. Just looks low to me. I have the x pipe touching the drive shaft at full droop. When under compression at ride height its about 2" above the x pipe.

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[1965gp]

The chin spoiler on my 70 LeMans is from a 70 Judge- reproduced and easy to find

[Way2qwk4u]

Ok I will have to look for that then. I am going to order the vintage air kit and front drive kit this week. Got to get her out of the garage Saturday and put about 5 miles on the car. Need to take it back out for a tuning session. Got it to shift through all gears but need to adjust the lockup settings as it would hunt back and forth. Also have a miss fire in the middle of the rpm sweep. May just be a little lean still on the tune in that area. But its warming up and it will be time to start working the bugs out of the system.

[Way2qwk4u]

Well the Vintage Air kit is on its way. The hardened pushrods and roller rockers are shipping. Got the LSA front drive kit shipping as well. And the Dakota Digital controller is in the mail. So YAY more work for me :)

[TimMC]

Great project. clean install on the LS. Where is the relay/fuse block from. IT looks like a clean simple unit.

[Way2qwk4u]

Great project. clean install on the LS. Where is the relay/fuse block from. IT looks like a clean simple unit.


Thanks. It's from Amazon. Has all the terminals and the seals. You just have to populate the terminals and wire it how you want. Then has the fuse holders built in.

[Way2qwk4u]

Got a few things in the mail this week. Placed the order for the Vintage air system. They are 6 weeks out. Also ordered the controller from Dakota digital. Also on a delay.

LSA adapters and the front drive brackets and the ac mounts for the compressor. Also the crank pining jig and pins.
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Weatherpak connector kit. Hope this helps me clean up wiring and make things easier to remove and replace.

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And a warranty take off blower. Got a good deal on it. Found the fuel rail and injectors. Went to order the ZL1 lid but found out it is on national backorder. Placed an order for one anyway. Would like to find someone selling a CTSV lid. Also don't have pictures but the parts for the center console showed up as well. Going to get started on it this weekend. Next on the list are the throttle body, coolant tank, hoses and the heat exchangers. Also got the solid coupler and new oil in the mail as well. Its going to be fun trying to fit the heat exchangers in behind the grill. May have to get creative with a location for it. Or maybe running two individual heat exchangers.

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[Way2qwk4u]

Got the snout off and the isolator changed out. Cleaned up the surfaces and got her all sealed back up. Started to measure for the heat exchanger location. Then got to work on the center console a little today.

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Cut out a piece of carbon to replace the plastic wood trim that was around the original console shifter. Grafted in, and wired a wireless charger. Changed the interior plug over the a fast high amp usb charger as well. Later this weekend I hope to get to fitting the new console and cutting out for the shifter. Cleaned the glass in the car. Going to drive her in to work tomorrow I think. I have to teach a class all day so wont need the work truck. It will give me a chance to put about 30 miles on her and get some data logged on the drive.

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[1965gp]

Console is going to look great

[deejai35]

This is an awesome build. Great fabrication skills on display.

[raustinss]

Cadillac console ?

[Way2qwk4u]

Console is going to look great


Thanks I hope that it will.

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This is an awesome build. Great fabrication skills on display.

Thanks!!! I humbly say that I don't think that I have near the skills that I see on other projects here on the forum.

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Cadillac console ?


No Actually it is a 2007 Impala center console.

[Way2qwk4u]

Well got to drive the car to work on Friday. About a 23 min drive to the office. Everything seamed to stay in line. Was watching the gauges really close and had the dash displaying the AFR the whole drive. Its the first time that I have gotten the car to up to any speed. I need to GPS the car and verify the speedo. Seams that it reads fast. But with the overdrive it may be correct. I noticed on the way in that once locked up there did seam to be a miss or a bucking. So I was logging the drive in. I made it in fine and there were no leaks or blow outs. On the way back home at the end of the day it was the same nothing very out of the ordinary other than the slight stutter and shake under lockup. So once locked up I added throttle to put more load on and it just got worse. Once the trans kicked down the motor felt like it smoothed out a little. Still I kind of felt that there a few horses left in the barn. I have no dyno numbers for this yet but I think that the combo should be an easy 400 flywheel. When I got home I opened the hood and started to look at a few things. Nothing was obvious. There were no burnt plug wires. There were no sparks jumping that I could see. So went back to old ways of tracking things down. Pulled the coil driver harness for each cylinder, found that #6 did not change the rpm any at all. Pulled the plug and it looked like it had been firing at some point. All the plugs were new when I installed the motor. Spark checked that coil and had a good spark at over 3/4". Put a new plug in the engine. Started it up and same result. Was not excited about this as my brain went straight to mechanical issue. But pulled the plug and it was still clean and solid white on the insulator. So went to the parts bin and changed the injector out. After swapping the injector the cylinder picked up and now pulling the plug on the coil would change the rpm. Took her back out and up the road and well I am ashamed to say that NOW it feels like a 400 horse motor and is really smooth. I should known it wasn't right. So I pulled the log this weekend and looked it over. I think that I can see that the AFR was jumping all over on the log which makes sense. As that bank has the O2 in it. And if that cylinder was down then the whole motor would be rich. I think that I can see the motor pumping the air charge from the dead cylinder on the log. This must be why even though when I was doing cold start tuning that when the Holley was saying it was idling at 15:1 that my eyes were saying something else. :hand:

Anyway going to try to take it again this Friday and see how she does. Hopefully once I get the fuel lined out there will be more pickup as I am sure I am rich across the board now. Got more parts in though.



Got my lid for the charger. Was a tough one to find. But a member on here sent me in the right direction and I found one available in stock at a good price. I'm sure everyone knows but Lance over at R&D is a great guy to work with and has great service.

186231

Picked up throttle body and cable bracket.

186230

And thanks to Super Bright LEDs got the hood tach matching the dash lights. Need to add a resistor to dim them down a bit.
186229

Also got the driveway redone and gained more parking.

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[andrewb70]

Glad you figured out the injector issue. A dead cylinder will wreck havoc to the tune.

Andrew

[Motown 454]

Good to hear it was an easy fix.

[Way2qwk4u]

Glad you figured out the injector issue. A dead cylinder will wreck havoc to the tune.

Andrew

Yeah I shoulda known sooner. After getting it figured it was obvious that cylinder had been down longer. The primary pipe on that cylinder was not as dark as the others on that side.

[Way2qwk4u]

Good to hear it was an easy fix.


Yeah me too. And a lot better than loss of spark where id be washing that cylinder down. Id hate to have to do a rebuild in the middle of getting the LSA on and the rest of the car finished up. Well as finished as a driver project might be for the moment.

[Way2qwk4u]

Pretty busy weekend. Got yard mowed and mower serviced, Sharpened all the blades and aired all the tires. Got the tractor out and serviced for the season. Got more of the garage ceiling installed. Also swapped all the old lights out for new LED strip lights. Made a huge difference in the lighting. Also got more done to the center console. Got the majority of the wiring done. Got the plate mounted and the indicator installed. Test fit in the car. Tested the wireless charger. Marked and cut in the cut out switch in the console. Put about another 20 miles on the car. AFR is more inline now that I got that cylinder fixed. Car runs out a lot better. Much smoother in cruise. Need to get the speedo calibrated. Its close about 5 mph off. Really like the overdrive data I am seeing. Much better rpm than what I was seeing on the old TH400. Still waiting on Vintage to ship out and for Dakota to ship. Trying to find space for the Heat Exchanger is kinda hard. I think I may have to run 2 separate ones.


New lights and more ceiling up. Need to finish so I can blow in insulation.
186468

Marked and cut in the exhaust cut out switch

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Plate finished and cap screws installed. I think the carbon weave makes them look off center. But in person they look fine. Wired everything up and installed a weather pak connector to carry bat and ignition voltage. A ground, the one wire for the dash to show gear, and the reverse lights trigger wire. Makes taking the console out a lot easier. Now just have to mount the sender for the indicator and program that. And finish the mounts to hold it in place. Also need to decide what to do about the shift knob. I dont think brown is a good match anymore.

186464186465186466186467186469

[egoman]

I like the idea of using a newer car for its interior bits. I am lucky with using a newer car that I can recycle most of my interior in one way or another.

[Way2qwk4u]

I like the idea of using a newer car for its interior bits. I am lucky with using a newer car that I can recycle most of my interior in one way or another.

Yes it makes it easier to update the interior with more modern tech a lot easier. Plus I am not in a position to go and custom build all that out of MDF or other materials.

[Way2qwk4u]

Got more done this weekend. Thrashed on it Friday. I was on call this weekend and wanted to get as much done as possible. Also being Easter weekend had a lot of other commitments as well. But got the old intake off. Installed the new LSA front drive conversion. Installed the new supercharger. Got all the connections made for the electrical. Measured for the new belt and started a new base tune. I also finished up the wiring for the center console and gear indicator. Got the trans line pressure sensor installed and stared on wiring it in.

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186700
186701
186702

186706

186705

Changed the shifter knob color. Did not go well with new interior. :-)

186703
186704

[Way2qwk4u]

Got everything buttoned up on the LSA install. Got a temp. HX installed. installed the pump and the res. Ran the lines and connected to the lid. Got it out and filled the coolant and started up. Setup the laptop for some logging. Took off and drove about 18 miles. Runs real good and strong, need to get some more driving in and start working through the tune file. Logged about 18 min of the drive but at some point it lost the log connection. Never lost the USBlink. Also I think that I made a mistake on the converter. I believe that it is going to be too loose. I feel the converter start to couple around 4k. I think I am leaving a lot of acceleration on the table. So I guess I will have to make some calls and try to get that figured out. But overall its a night and day change. Still waiting on the Vintage Air. Did get my Dakota Digital HVAC controller.


Getting pump installed
187130

Got my new Dakota Digital HVAC controller. Going to start making the new dash panel for this.
187131

[ryeguy2006a]

Wow, you have been busy! You made that LSA Swap look easy. I'm hoping to have mine buttoned up very soon.

What are your impressions of the LSA and Holley? I'm building my base tune now as well.

[Way2qwk4u]

Wow, you have been busy! You made that LSA Swap look easy. I'm hoping to have mine buttoned up very soon.

What are your impressions of the LSA and Holley? I'm building my base tune now as well.


Thanks it was not too hard. Just did a ton of reading and looking before I started. Well so far with the Terminator I have been impressed the whole time. Was super easy on the initial NA setup. Fired on the first try. Took a minute to get the idle sorted out and get the IAC% down. And then same thing with the new LSA. I just started a new global file from the base folder. Input the injector information and the cam specs. Copied over all the other settings and custom changes from the NA tune. Hit the start button and she fired right up like it was from the factory. Spent time after that getting the idle fuel good and talking with Andrew made a couple other changes. Took it out for a spin and not a single major issue. There are a few things I still want to learn and understand better about the trans tuning etc. But overall very happy with it. Glad I did not go the HP route for tuning.

[Corinthian]

Are those the Year One Rally II's?

What size wheel/tire did you go with? Thinking about getting these.

Thanks

[Way2qwk4u]

Are those the Year One Rally II's?

What size wheel/tire did you go with? Thinking about getting these.

Thanks

Yes they are Year One Rally 2's

Wheels are their 17x9 5" BS

Tires are Fire Hawk 275/45/17

No clearance issues

[Way2qwk4u]

Got a few things done have not updated the thread as soon as I would have liked. Got the LSA installed and the car running. Have put about 150 miles on the car since installing the LSA. Noticed a few things right off the bat. The torque converter may be fine. I will have to spend some time driving the car. The engine is more violent in a good way than any other V8 I have owned. So everything is happening quickly. Either I am getting old or its just been a while since I've had a vehicle like this. The more I watch the tach when the car gets up on converter is more around 3500. The cam has an operating range of 3,750-7,000 rpm. Once we get to 3500 if I am in the throttle much more past 45% then we are blowing tires off and getting sideways. And the car is just pulling on through. I have not had the nerves to stay in it much past that. Guess I am just a sissy but would rather work up to full performance and not wrap it around a tree. Running the Holley and with the 4L80e there is a lot of tuning that can be done. One thing I have already changed and but as of yet have not driven to test, is that the trans comes out of first way too soon I think. Shifts to second before 10 mph. Going to move all the shifts up a little. And I think that the line pressure is a little aggressive. On the base global file it is at 0% duty before it gets to zero manifold pressure. So I have noticed at light throttle around town the shifts are way too firm.

Did get an email from vintage that my kit should be on the way this week. Hope it gets here soon. Its basically the last piece of the pie for now. I think another thing is that since I pulled the old HVAC out and left the hole in the firewall that it makes all the engine noise more amplified in the car. But it keeps me warm on the cool mornings that I have driven the car to work. Also on the plus side my kids went to town with me the other day and absolutely loved it. Kept hearing from the backseat, "Pedal To The Metal ane I can't Drive 55" the whole way there. :-).

The converter is a billet single disk. I need to do some research into weather it would be ok to lock it up in say maybe third instead of just fourth. Not sure if that would help with acceleration. Other wise everything else seams to be doing ok. Cruises down the road with no strange noises and a lot lower RPM than the old TH400. Temps never get over 195 even in city traffic. Actually I have not even seen the fan go into high speed yet. I know its not hot outside yet but the old engine in traffic would be inching over 220 just sitting at the light.

It will be car show season soon and cruise nights are starting to happen. So once I get the ac in then it will be getting a lot more time on the road.



https://youtu.be/XpA0R-gD3XA


https://youtu.be/UilwHFq6YSA




Plugs look ok to me.
187605

Block off plate for the ac controls.
187606

Drove it to the firehouse for training.
187607

Bad picture but got the ac controls in. Will probably change this not completely happy with how it looks.
187608

[andrewb70]

Looking good! Plugs look good.

[Motown 454]

Nice job fitting the A/c controller. I love the SC whine.

[Way2qwk4u]

Looking good! Plugs look good.

Thanks still have to get with you in a bit so I can get some assistance.

[Way2qwk4u]

Nice job fitting the A/c controller. I love the SC whine.

Thanks. I am not sure that its going to stay that way. I would like it more flush mounted. But not sure I want to bring it forward and plate over the hole. Or open up the factory slot and get it to sit a little better. So far its in there and I did not cut anything on the dash. I liked hearing it too. But once the air intake was on then its pretty much gone away.

[Way2qwk4u]

Been a bit since I have updated the thread. Things have gotten hot and I had to get to work keeping customers comfortable. Got the vintage air evap installed and the ducts ran. Installed the wiring and the dakota digital controller and sensors. Installed the condenser and got the lines connected. Pressure tested and evacuated the system. Charged up and tested. Blows good and cold. Just need to put the seats back in and start to clean the wiring up under the dash. Got the reverse lights installed and wired. Got the front spoiler installed. Got the Vintage air talking with the Holley so that the fan comes on with a call for compressor. Need to get the input commanding idle as well. Worked on the underside cleaning things up. Got to get the upper rad brackets figured out. Then hopefully its tune and driving time and get to enjoy the ride.

Dakota Controller Fired up

189591

Getting under hood back together
189587

Compressor and lines. Might redo these later.
189588

Front spoiler installed
189589

Reverse lights mounted and wired. Will have to test when I get it outside and at night.
189590

[1965gp]

Coming along nicely. Chin spoiler looks great.

[Way2qwk4u]

Coming along nicely. Chin spoiler looks great.

Thanks. Took it out today and did just fine in the low 90's outside. Never got over 200 on the temp gauge. Ac worked perfectly. Just got to increase the size of the heat excahnger for the supercharger.

[derekf]

185153


Where did the relay panel come from? I like that.

[Way2qwk4u]

Where did the relay panel come from? I like that.


From amazon. It was a kit that you have to pinout and install the wiring. I like it so far. Had to think about the wiring a little. I wanted to make sure it was setup so that the low speed and high speed relays were linked. That way they could never energize both high and low speeds at the same time.

[Way2qwk4u]

Nothing major to update. Just cleaning up loose ends and making things cleaner. Need to work on upper radiator mounts, get the underside of the car cleaned up. Going to get the exhaust welded the band clamps when hot are allowing the middle to sag. Looking for new front seats. Either a set of 04 GTO seats or some thing similar. Have ran about 4 tanks of gas through the car. Last oil change was spotless. Have been having Andrew help me on the tune. He has been great to work with. As soon as work slows down I plan on getting more miles on the car and start to plan this winters projects. Also got to get my boat back together. Lower unit was broken. And the kids really want to get out and go fishing. Ill hope to have more substantial updates in a month or 2 maybe.
191468
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Wife and kids were hit by a lady running a running a red light. Everyone was ok but vans toast. Kids are most upset about loosing the DVD player. Now the fun of dealing with the insurance.
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Also got to add my first ever new to me vehicle. Stoked about it.
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[Way2qwk4u]

Well good news and bad news. Good news is got the car to the dyno today. Was able to get a few pulls in and was pretty happy where things were going. After getting things set to where the converter would stay locked I was able to get a pull from 3200 to 6000 in. Put down about 414 WTQ and 428 WHP. Not bad out of the gate. Made another pull with 2 more degrees advance and made 440 WTQ and 436 WHP. Quite a jump for only 2 degrees. But after that it was bad news. After coasting down to a stop and idling we picked up a top end tick. So guess I am going to have to investigate this and hope its simple or just collapsed lifter. So might have some questions about lifter choices. Also noticed that on the top end fuel pressure was dropping. Volts to pump were consistent and I think that I am at the limit of the pump any way. So I guess that is on the agenda as well. But all in all really happy with where it is right now. Looks like there are more gains to be had in the timing department. I will update as I get things apart over the next few days. Thanks for every ones help.

[Way2qwk4u]

Pulled the valve covers tonight. Started the engine and could really only detect the noise on the drivers side. I could see that cylinder 7 exhaust rocker was not moving at the same amount as the rest on that bank. Disabled that cylinder and pulled the rocker and push rod. Could not find any issues with that rocker or that push rod. Restarted the motor and could not detect any more noise. So I am assuming that the lifter for cylinder 7 exhaust has collapsed or is stuck. Guess I am going to pull the heads and see what is going on. Hoping that there is not any cam damage. Looking for lifter suggestions. Cam is .625 lift on a 1.7 ratio arm and spring pressures of 160# seat pressure and 425# open pressure. Currently running stock LS lifters. Any suggestions are welcome. Also looking at upgrading fuel pump as well.

[andrewb70]

I'd rock a much milder cam. I'd look at some BTR PD cams. Ryan runs a Summing Ghost cam LSA and seems to really like it.

[Way2qwk4u]

Might be an option if I have wiped a lobe. Guess that starts me back over in the tuning department? And probably will require a converter swap Id say. Which all may be good things to do. Just money that was spent that might be lost. Any ideas on running a surge tank for the fuel so that cornering and launching issues can be reduced? Was looking at upping the in-tank pump but that may be requiring a tank change cause the high flow pumps are not suggested for use in the current tank.

[andrewb70]

What tank are you using now?

[ryeguy2006a]

I'm very happy with the Summit 8715 Ghost Cam. I like that it has negative overlap so all my boost stays in the cylinders. It also was very easy to get the idle sorted out. I'm curious what fuel pumps and tank you are running now as well? I'm running into some fueling issues with the stock CTSV pump in my tank. I ordered a pair of AEM 320 lph pumps to hopefully solve this issue.

[Way2qwk4u]

I am using the Tanks INC Pontiac fuel tank. With the 250lph pump. Its the non notched tank. I was looking at the ghost cam last night. Wonder if anyone has any dyno charts for that cam in an LSA swapped 5.3. Guess if the cam is wiped I might switch cams. I had great fuel pressure til about 5200 and then was falling steady.

[andrewb70]

I am using the Tanks INC Pontiac fuel tank. With the 250lph pump. Its the non notched tank. I was looking at the ghost cam last night. Wonder if anyone has any dyno charts for that cam in an LSA swapped 5.3. Guess if the cam is wiped I might switch cams. I had great fuel pressure til about 5200 and then was falling steady.

I'd do as Ryan suggested.

[ryeguy2006a]

Yeah the 250 LPH pump is not enough to support a boosted 5.3. Most people double up the 255 pumps and run them in parallel. Vaporworx sells a fuel tank ring that you can weld into your tank that would allow you to run a CTSV or ZL1 fuel pump. You'd also need the PWM controller that Carl sells, but it's great because it will ramp the fuel pressure at a 1:1 ratio when you are in boost. What injectors are you running too?

Alternatively, I've seen a lot of guys who are running the Hellcat 525 LPH single pump with great success on e85. So if you ever planned to go that route in the future, you would be all set. Might be a more straight forward swap from what you have.

Lots of guys on the LSA swap Facebook group have LSA swapped 5.3's. The results are all over the place. I think typically they fall between 400-500 rwhp, but there are too many variables to consider. I'd say based on your setup, you are making really good power. Add e85 and I'll bet you'd be over 500 rwhp.

And as for starting over with the tuning, far from it. For one, Andrew knows what he's doing so you are in good hands. For 2, if your cam has similar specs it will likely not even change your base fuel table much. Probably just a little clean up and maybe some slight idle adjustments. That said, if your fuel pump was cutting out above 5200, you may have a little work to do above that level. I'm basically in the same boat you are with my fueling needs. My fuel pumps weren't keeping up in boost and was adding a bunch of fuel up top, so my VE table is all messed up...

Keep us posted!

[Way2qwk4u]

Yeah Tanks sells a hellcat module but they want a different tank used. Which I can use and swap to but like everything else they are back ordered. :-(
60# injectors. What is rough is there is not any E85 where I am. Now there is a pump up the street with 110 fuel. I am just researching this before I get it all apart. If the cam is good for the moment id probably keep it in for now. Upgrade the lifters and work on fueling. Then I have spare blocks to work with as well. Was looking at building one of them over next year. I can live with not making more power for a while. The old motor was 220 at the wheel. So this is a large improvement. And yes Andrew has been awesome on getting the tuning lined out for sure.

[ryeguy2006a]

You should be able to pull the 250 pump off and just wire/plumb up a Hellcat pump. Unless the baffling is really bad, I see no reason why you would need a new tank. The other thing you could do to improve the fuel pickup is run a Holly Hydramat if they make it for a Hellcat pump. Then you should always have fuel in the pickup.

[Way2qwk4u]

I was thinking of the hydromat. The baffle is like a 4x6 casserole dish with holes in the corners if I remember correctly. Guess ill get the fuel parts list going after I get a handle on the motor if anything is damaged. I am pretty happy with the power considering its still on a stock pulley.

[Way2qwk4u]

Ok gaskets and studs are on the parts list. Also getting a push rod length tool. Also did find that Tanks offers the Hellcat pump. Might get it on the way as well. Guess when I get a few other projects done in the morning may get started on the tear down to check for damage and pull the lifters. Sent a message to a few vendors to get a lifter suggestion. Looking at johnson lifters drop in ls race lifters. Or just go ahead and get tie bar lifters and be done.

[Way2qwk4u]

Ok got the top end off the motor. And found that the #7 exhaust lifter was collapsed. Inspected the cam lobe and it looks the same as all the others. So looks like I dodged that bullet. The roller looks good and is not loose. Do not see any other damage. Heads and cylinder walls look good. Did find an issue with an oil leak. So I will fix that while I am in there.

[ryeguy2006a]

Glad you caught it when you did, our you wouldn't be so lucky. I've heard good things about the Johnson lifters. Be careful if you go with the short travel lifters because they have a smaller margin of error for lifter pre-load.

Also, while the Supercharger is off, my suggestion would be to pop off that stock pulley for a ZPE hub and griptech pulley. If you didn't want to run the higher boost levels right away, go with the 2.75" unit that is just slightly smaller than stock (2.95"). Then when you are ready, just swap out the upper pulley, rather than pulling off the whole supercharger unit.

[Way2qwk4u]

That was my thoughts exactly. I was looking at a pulley change as well. If I am looking at this right I can get the pulley/hub and as long as I stay with same brand, I can just swap pulleys at will.

I got a pushrod tool as well and will be double checking the pre load on the lifters.

[ryeguy2006a]

Yes, that's exactly right, just stick with the same brand and they are interchangeable. I personally went with a ZPE hub with Griptech pulley. They use 10 5mm bolts that hold the pulley on. Pretty much all the CTSV and ZL1 guys run either the ZPE or Lingenfelter hubs/pulley's.

[Way2qwk4u]

Rodger that. I will get to looking at having one of those sent out as well. Will probably get the measurements on the push rods and have my math checked as well. Nothing has been decked on the motor. But not sure on what change the head gaskets will be.

[Way2qwk4u]

Ok got the drivers head back on and am checking PR length. Put cam on base circle and inserted the comp tool. Adjusted for zero lash. Counted the turns on the tool. And then verified the exhaust valve for that cylinder as well. Someone check my math on this.

Comp tool base length 6.800
Number of turns 2 zero 14.75
Each turn is .050

So then 14.75 x .050 = 0.7375

6.800 + 0.737 = 7.537

Preload is .030

7.537 + .030 = 7.567

Looking for a 7.56 push rod

Does my math work? Going to check the whole engine to make sure its the same.

Thanks

[ryeguy2006a]

I'd say that the math works, but remind us what you did to the engine again? What cam is in the car? What length pushrods came out of it? Stock length is 7.400 for most common LS motors and unless the cam has a much smaller base circle, those calculations are quite a bit different. My cam for example took a slightly longer 7.425" but mostly because BTR recommends a slightly higher .100" preload vs the stock which is recommended to be around .060".

I'm not saying that what you have isn't right, but seems quite a bit higher than what I usually see. Good idea to double check on a few different cylinders around the motor.

[Way2qwk4u]

Summit 8711 cam. Short travel lifters. 7.400 was in the car. I checked each corner ex and int. Verified for any difference on each corner. I think the math is good as well. I know that the new lifter cups were visually lower/shorter than the stock lifters. Thanks for the input.

[Way2qwk4u]

Ok new lifters and new pushrods are in. Re verified the pre load with turn method just to see. Got the new valley cover on. And got everything but the drivers header hooked up. Also serviced the blower and swapped to a ZPE modular pulley setup as well. Got to get a shorter belt and finish the exhaust connections and we should be good to start her back up.

[ryeguy2006a]

You work quickly! What pulley diameter did you go with?

[Way2qwk4u]

I try. It does not always happen that way. But when I get my mind to it and time to do it then it usually gets done. That was the worst part of the build. Bull headed me just "HAD" to the the trans in the car. Laid on my back and wrestled the full 4l80e in by my self alone. It got done but there were quite a few words and I was glad the boy was in the house. :-). Now I did empty a 4l80e case to use for fitment and clearance first. I went with the 2.45. So I will have to see what the new boost level is. Had to work late tonight so I will have to get the exhaust finished up later and get the newer belt on. With new pulley I was able to get a gates HD green that will be in the length that will work. Waiting on the Hellcat pump to get here and want to get the car out and drive some of the fuel out of the tank before I do the pump.

[ryeguy2006a]

Nice! You should see a pretty huge gain with that smaller pulley. Just be careful going WOT right away because boost should come on sooner now and at a higher PSI. May want to check in with Andrew first.

[Way2qwk4u]

Yup well as soon as I can get it running I will for sure get with him on the tune to double check. I do not think that I will over run the boost scale but with what I was seeing on the dyno I do not want to be lean. I have actually been thinking of adding some sort of custom table to do timing pull on fuel pressure drop. Also got a spare block striped down. Going to send to the machine shop in the beginning of the new year. Planning on a forged stroked engine for the next phase of the power train.

[Way2qwk4u]

Well got all the parts in and got it started up. No noise from the valve train. I think the lifters have been an issue for while. I hear no valve train noise anymore. Only noise I can pick up is a little noise from the charger snout. Also picked up a little manifold vacuum. I wonder if the old lifter and pushrod setup was loose the whole time. Will have to get it out of the garage tomorrow and drive it up the road to verify a few things.

At the dyno
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First clean pull before adding timing.
194239

Collapsed lifter causing the tick noise.
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Cylinders looking good.
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Back together with a new green belt and pulley.
194241


Thank again for all the information and help.

[ryeguy2006a]

So what did it make after you added timing?

I think you may have an issue with the pulley hub. The hub needs to sit flush with the end of the shaft, and in your picture it looks like it needs to be pressed on a little more. I noticed it because with the engine accessories at the truck spacing, the 6 rib belt runs in the center of the 8 rib supercharger pulley. I know it's a lot of work to get the snout back off, but if you don't address it now, you may have issues down the road.

[Way2qwk4u]

You are correct on the spacing of the hub. I saw where they are supposed to be flush. I am not sure if there is a tolerance stacking issue. I measured the rib location on the old pulley and matched them to the new. I plan on moving it back even more. I noticed that the bearings are noisy in the snout. So I guess I am going to get the snout rebuilt. Might have been my fault. Did drive it out to mom and dads for Thanksgiving. Drove great and id say engine was smoother as well. Also noticed that the oil dip stick o ring is leaking. Added a catch can setup as well. And so far there is not any oil in the can either.

As far as after adding timing I don't have a clean graph on that I will scan and post it as well. But it was pretty much +45 WHP and same torque. Maybe even closer to 50 in the meat of the curve. It was a dramatic change I thought for only 2 degrees.

I logged the drive to my parents and was planning on looking it over tonight and getting it over to Andrew. Still waiting on the pump so I never pushed it and was watching the fuel pressure the whole drive.

[Way2qwk4u]

Very small update. Warmed up enough to get out and do some stuff in the garage. Un winterized the car and added the catch can to the system. Started the car and warmed it up. Installed new tune and verified all fluids. Getting ready for the warmer weather.
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[Way2qwk4u]

New Snout is in and on. Amazing the difference in the openings. Got the pulley set back to where it needs to be. Have not had a lot of time to drive it. Been busy with work and with the new baby on the way have had other things to do. Did order new tail light lenses from OPGI. Ordered a hellcat fuel pump. And got a new fast ratio steering box for the car. The old box is leaking pretty bad and is the original unit.


Well cant get pics to load

[Way2qwk4u]

Did something change or am I just Dumb? Don't answer that part :-). But I every way I save these Files they are not loading.

[ryeguy2006a]

Glad to hear that you got the new snout installed and congrats on the kiddo! Curious how you are going to install the Hellcat pump. Do you plan to use a PWM pump?

As for the pictures, I've used Flickr for years now. I just post the [IMG] code and it will show the pictures once I post. Not sure what you have been doing, but that's how I post them.

[Way2qwk4u]

I have looked at PWM and just staged. Not sure 100% on either one. Thanks itll be a life change but it is our third so got plenty of practice. Its just that he will be 10 years younger than our oldest. I have just been using the forum tools to insert images. Just does not seem to like these. They were HEIC and I saved as jpeg but no go. I will look into Flickr in a little bit. I have to map the rest of my outputs on the Terminator X. Need to make sure I have one for the pump and also got to check the input status as well I need to use one for the Flex fuel.

[Way2qwk4u]

So I tried to load to Flickr and apparently all the files are in .HEIC and it says invalid file and kicks them out as well. Guess I will have to get a converter program of some sorts or try to get my Synology to share the photos. Bummer. New baby came 8-12-22 so I will be home for the next week or so getting everyone back on track. Maybe Ill get time to address the photo issues.

Hopefully soon I can get back to the car and get the new items installed. Also got a trans pressure transducer to install as well.

[Vimes]

New baby? We'll see you again in about 20 years. :lmao: Congratulations on the new little one.

[Way2qwk4u]

Ha nope. Already done this twice. Last one was 7 years ago though. Got my budget all fixed up :-) . Heck he sleeps 2 hours at a time now so this week I will get a few things done while he is napping. Cause momma is napping at the same time as well.

What do you guys think that the E85 will do to injector sizing? Is it add 30% for the extra fuel required? Or is there an easy formula for that?

Apparently Apple defaults all pics to HEIC. So guess that is an issue from the latest SW update. Guess I will look for a solution for that as well this week.http://Way2qwk4u.quickconnect.to/mo/sharing/g9bGW0F6P

[Way2qwk4u]

Let see if this pic works. Getting baby on routine. Went out and worked in the garage last night between feedings and helping the wife.

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Ha looks like I got it figured out.

[ryeguy2006a]

Wow, that ported snout looks great! Who did the work? BTW, I can see the pictures.

[68Formula]

How does the throttle body seal with the o-ring gasket groove gone?

[ryeguy2006a]

That's what all the higher HP guys running LSA's do. They open the snout up to 102mm, then run a paper gasket.

[68Formula]

That's what all the higher HP guys running LSA's do. They open the snout up to 102mm, then run a paper gasket.

Wow, moving to a paper style especially with how thin the sealing surface is after removing all that material seems like it'd have issues. But if it works, it works.

[andrewb70]

Wow, moving to a paper style especially with how thin the sealing surface is after removing all that material seems like it'd have issues. But if it works, it works.

That gasket only sees engine vacuum, not boost.

Andrew

[Way2qwk4u]

Wow, that ported snout looks great! Who did the work? BTW, I can see the pictures.

DC porting took care of it. I made a mistake with the first snout. I thought that I was smart and pulled the old stock pulley off and thought I would just use my garage toaster oven to heat the new hub and slide it on. Well that kind of worked. It went on about 7/8 of the way to being flush. And then stopped. It was late and I was having a stressful day. So out came the persuading device. Its about a 8# one. And i got it almost all on the way and it was working. But I had damaged the bearings. So my fault I take full fault. Called DC porting and he had that snout already prepped and sent it out to me for a reasonable price and had it to me in less than 4 days. Awesome customer service. Sent him my old one and the spare hub I bought. Great company. Slapped the new snout on and was ready to rock.

[Way2qwk4u]

How does the throttle body seal with the o-ring gasket groove gone?


Correct as Andrew said it seals with a paper gasket. Its actually on my setup in order as follows.

1. Throttle body
2. Paper gasket
3. Throttle cable bracket
4. Paper gasket

Has not seamed to be an issue.

[Way2qwk4u]

Here are some pics of the snout.
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[bkbkbk]

Wow awesome porting work!
Also very glad to hear your family was all safe in that accident.

[ryeguy2006a]

That's a huge difference between the ported and non ported. What happens with the hard edge that's created now between the snout and supercharger case? I'd be tempted to pop the supercharger off and use the snout as a template to port the case.

[Way2qwk4u]

That's a huge difference between the ported and non ported. What happens with the hard edge that's created now between the snout and supercharger case? I'd be tempted to pop the supercharger off and use the snout as a template to port the case.

Yeah. Looked through the snout when it was installed. And like you would expect it has a good lip there. Im sure that causes a disturbance in the flow. Its on my list for a possible fall project. But honestly I think that after I finish tuning timing with Andrew and get the fuel situated I will be at the limits of a fairly reliable bottom end. Bottom end is all stock truck. Just hyper pistons and clevite bearings. Im really trying to decide on building a stroker from one of my many iron 4.8/5.3 blocks or just going bonkers and getting a 6 liter something or an LSX block. Then Id be more tempted to go full bore. I still have not gotten the nerve to got WOT on street yet. And I run outta fuel so there is that as well ;-)

[68Formula]

If the tune is right, and the rings properly gapped for boost, you should be good to at least 800whp.

[Way2qwk4u]

If the tune is right, and the rings properly gapped for boost, you should be good to at least 800whp.


There are piston rings? What is gap? ;-)

So I built the bottom end about 9 years ago for a friend. Never got paid and had to repo. So I know that I did not gap with the intention of boost.

Does everyone have data for max rpm for the stock 2000 5.3 rod bolts?

[Way2qwk4u]

Updates to the project. Got some time over the Christmas break to work on the car and get a few things done.

First most important thing got the new decor hung from xmas
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Got the car up on the lift ready for this winters surgery
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Old original worn out steering box removed. Unit was leaking and had about 3" of steering wheel play before anything was happening with the steering.
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New box on the bench. Fast Ratio Lares steering box.
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Painted and ready to replace the old box. Got the new box installed and can tell a big difference on the play in the wheel. Also much faster lock to lock.
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While I was up in the bumper area trying to find out why the horns don't work I found the noise from the front end I have been hearing the last few years. Apparently someone before me left a pair of vise grips in the bumper. :-)
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Dropped the tank and prepped it for the new fuel pump.
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New Walbro 450 hellcat pump installed and wired. Also going to install a fuel pump relay since the Term X is only rated for 30 and new pump can pull as high as 40 amps.
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Will update with more when I get it done. A bunch of little things to tidy up etc. Interior updates and wiring clean up. Still looking for a solution on a trunk finish kit. Not a good carpenter or fabric guy.

[Way2qwk4u]

Also found why the horns were not working. After tracing the wires and getting in behind the grill I found the reason they weren’t working is because there wasn’t any horns connected :-) So ordered a new set of horns dual tone.

[Way2qwk4u]

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Found a power steering leak while bleeding the new box. Brand new pump. But looked at a few new ones and none of them have that bolt head there. Most of them are just blank in that spot. Also went and did a re torque on all the pan bolts and other hardware under there. Guess I’ll take the pump out and see if it’s just bad o ring. Or just get a new pump.

[Way2qwk4u]

Got some new parts in. On to the next level of upgrades. Going to give E a try. They finally got a pump in town. 208394

So I’ll get it wired and added to the terminator X. Also have trans sensor to wire and setup.

[ryeguy2006a]

Nice upgrade! Are you planning to bump up the timing or add more boost?

[Way2qwk4u]

Thanks. Well timing for sure. I’ll need some guidance on that. I’ll have to look at my last log file I think I’m already pushing 12-14 psi now. Stock truck lower pulley and 2.44 upper. Have not ran the calculator to see where that puts my blower speed. Andrew has my base tune pretty good now. So it’s just finding what timing max is. I have a 6.0 block I’d like to build and have on standby in case something on this SBE goes south. But so far every filter and oil change all looks good no silver magnetic pieces. :-)

[Way2qwk4u]

What do you guys think for flex fuel sensor placement. In supply before rail. Easiest least amount of fittings. Or return line out of regulator more fittings and not as easy. I assume return is more accurate because fuel is always recirculating. Mounting on firewall.

[btmatt]

I used a similar adapter and mounted on the return line, just downstream from my regulator.

I fabbed a small bracket from aluminum to mount to manifold.
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[Way2qwk4u]

Yeah I like the way that turned out. Mine will be on firewall beside regulator off set to the right. I think I’ll just go ahead and use the return line connection. It’ll just require a male to male to make it work. Also want to know if anyone has used engine rpm vs input shaft rpm to detect either torque converter slip rate. Or to determine if lockup is slipping. I don’t physically detect any but would be nice to look at the logs and see that.

[topperred]

Going to start a build thread here on my 70 LeMans. Have one over on another forum. Seems more fitting over here with the direction I am taking the car. I have completed a lot of the work already. So some of this thread will be past tense. Car was my dads car back in college. Inherited it from him on a trade for a Polaris 500. He hunts more than I do and he was going to get more use out of the four wheeler and the car was just sitting. So easy decision for me. Took the car home and got started with working on it. Started life out a little rough. But she came around. I will post updates to the thread a little at a time. Have life going on like everyone else. Hope yall enjoy. Thanks
Ecutools transformed my '70 LeMans into a powerhouse, and I'm ecstatic about the results! The chip tune I purchased from https://ecutools.eu/ not only boosted horsepower significantly but also enhanced overall drivability. The process was seamless – user-friendly and efficient. My vintage ride now roars with newfound vigor, effortlessly handling the road. The gains exceeded my expectations, making every drive an exhilarating experience. Kudos to ecutools.eu for delivering on their promises. If you're considering a chip tune for your car, I highly recommend their services. It's not just an upgrade; it's a transformative journey for your beloved vehicle!




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Wow, that's a great story and a beautiful car! I love the 70 LeMans, it's such a classic and powerful machine. You've done an amazing job restoring it and I can't wait to see more updates. Thanks for sharing your passion and your dad's legacy with us. Keep up the good work!

[ryeguy2006a]

Not sure where you ended up placing the flex fuel sensor, but I've heard that people have had inconsistent readings at times in the return lines if the line has low flow. I didn't have any issues with mine in the feed line.

[Way2qwk4u]

Wow, that's a great story and a beautiful car! I love the 70 LeMans, it's such a classic and powerful machine. You've done an amazing job restoring it and I can't wait to see more updates. Thanks for sharing your passion and your dad's legacy with us. Keep up the good work!

Thanks its like all project cars a work in progress. And I am sure it will never be complete.

[Way2qwk4u]

Not sure where you ended up placing the flex fuel sensor, but I've heard that people have had inconsistent readings at times in the return lines if the line has low flow. I didn't have any issues with mine in the feed line.

I have been slacking. I have all the stuff together to get it installed. However after getting it together, and getting all the other stuff compiled to work on the interior and clean things up. My whole crew here at the house was hit with the flu/COVID/RSV bug and it took us all out over the Christmas break, which was the week that I had taken off to spend in the garage on the car. So I guess now it will be March or April before I will have a lot of time to get to it. As for the Flex sensor I think that I have settled on the feed line to the motor. I need to force myself out there though on the weekends so that I can keep moving forward. I did purchase a Nut-Sert tool to help with a couple other projects on the car.

[Way2qwk4u]

Well got a few things done the last couple of weekends. Got the ECM bracket made. Painted and mounted. Installed a usb bull head so I can have clean access to the usb. Cleaned up under the dash. The guy who worked on it last winter was in a rush and it was a mess. :-) wouldn’t know who that was. 212572
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Once I got that done I worked on getting the flex fuel sensor mounted. I found my long lost nutsert kit. And put it to use making a clean install on the sensor. Also got a few things cleaned up under the hood. Loomed wires and shortened the wires that were too long etc. 212578
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Got it wired using a sloppy harness and that was quick and easy. Added it to the tube file and made sure it was reading the signal. Now to get the advanced tables added and start tuning on E85. Getting great help from Andrew on that. Also while the seats were out next plan is to sound deaden the floor and add some insulation. Also started to modify the lap blaster ducts to work with the vintage air. And also found some new goodies to add to the interior. They showed up on a pallet today. I have big plans for these. Might be a long road but hope to put them in before the summer. 212581

To be continued.

[andrewb70]

Nice progress! I like the ECU mounting plate.

Andrew

[Way2qwk4u]

Nice progress! I like the ECU mounting plate.

Andrew


Thanks, I do not have a brake or a bender. So since I do HVAC for a living i thought to myself, self why don't you call your sheet metal guy and see what he can whip up. So I did :-)

[Way2qwk4u]

Looking at these seats. I think it is time to upgrade the seatbelts and add a shoulder strap to the setup. Anyone have any recommendations as to what a good option is. Something crazy is probably out cause Id like good access to the back seat as I have a family of 5. Something that connects to factory mounts would be sweet.

[Mtrhd329]

Best belt option that uses factory mounts is Morris Classic Concepts.

https://youtu.be/c-Yz95v1NLs?si=JOheFXPT41LHYYBX

[Way2qwk4u]

Best belt option that uses factory mounts is Morris Classic Concepts.

https://youtu.be/c-Yz95v1NLs?si=JOheFXPT41LHYYBX


I will look at them and see. I think that I has seen them today when I was looking online. Thanks

[Way2qwk4u]

Got a lil more done today. Got the sound deadener started and carpet coming out. Also started modifying the seat bases. And working on insulation. 212632
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Got to get some steel to make brackets for the rear mounting points.

[Way2qwk4u]

Finished the seat bases. Got brackets made for the rear and welded in place. Marked the locations in the floor and got the holes made. Used flat washers on the bottom and nutserts through the double layer part of the floor and the washer on the bottom. Changed the seat connectors over to weatherpak. Made up a harness for the power seats. Laid in the rest of the sound deadener. Then overlayed that with insulation and sound absorber. Replaced the carpet. Will need to order new some time soon. I found it easier to place the seat bases in the car. Then bolt the seats to the bases once installed. Got both seats in place and checked the travel. Will need to get the new covers ordered and installed. Have just a few more things to finish up the front interior.

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Now to get the under side inspection and lube done. Then time to hit the road for this season I hope.

[Way2qwk4u]

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Hope she doesn’t get mad at me. :-).

[ryeguy2006a]

Very curious to see how your IAT's compare before and after e85. I didn't get a chance to check before I sold my Camaro.

[Way2qwk4u]

I was thinking the same thing. I will have to look back at the logs. But I feel like it made a little difference. I would not expect to see a huge difference since the injectors are down stream from the IAT sensor. I would however think that it would remove some of the heat transfer from the block to the super charger. I will have to look at some logs and see what I can find. I feel like the car ran different. For sure smells different. :-)