My 1965 GTO project

[GTO Jack]

Hi all, new here. Been lurking for a while but now I've started my project. Here are a couple pic's of where I am. The body has wider rear wheel tubs
and is about 90% done. We put some old left over paint on it to protect the primer for a few months that's the different colors you see. The frame has been boxed and narrowed a couple inches in back. It has Kore3 brackets and C6 brakes. A Quick Performance 9 inch in back, no gears yet till i pick a transmission. My plan was Connect and Cruise but I think I am finding it provides only basic information. My plan is a 430hp or 480hp with 6L80E, 6 speed automatic transmission. I think the tap shift will not work. Dakota Digital says the gear indicator will not transmit either. Speartech can make some of it work but its a pricey way to go and still require a separate shifter indicator, a very not factory look. Thanks.

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[andrewb70]

This will be fun. I like the bracing in the back. Looking forward to more updates!

Andrew

[Motown 454]

This will be fun. I like the bracing in the back. Looking forward to more updates!

Andrew

Me too ! It looks nice.

[GTO Jack]

Made a little progress. Got the rest of the suspension done, shocks, D.O.T. flex brake lines. I have a LS3 430hp and a 6L80E auto transmission coming tomorrow. My plan was a EFI 455 Pontiac motor but my machine shop is backed up 4 months and tells me it will take several more months to get the parts. So this LS will be fine. I like a dependable drivetrain. Anyone have experience in early A body motor mounts please let me know. I here good and not so good about Dirty Dingo and others. I boxed the frame so the trans mount will be custom sized.

[andrewb70]

Holley makes an excellent set of components that work well together for LS swaps into the A-bodies.

Andrew

[RMMiller]

I bought the Holley adapters for the 5.3 in our 65 Chevelle. I picked up the set for the stock location and it fits great.

[GTO Jack]

The Holley stuff looks very nice but not cheap. I may use some of it. Waiting on the engine, trans, and rear center section to come. Hopefully by the end of the week.

[andrewb70]

The Holley stuff looks very nice but not cheap. I may use some of it. Waiting on the engine, trans, and rear center section to come. Hopefully by the end of the week.

It's not cheap, but it's very well engineered. Other kits, not so much.

Andrew

[GTO Jack]

A little update. Got the front about done, just add the brake pads later when I'm ready. Back is done for now. QP is another 4-5 weeks out for the center section and that was ordered 3 weeks ago. Got the LS3 and 6L80E in and the engine was damaged by the shipper. Refused the pick up, sent back, chased my money and spent a lot of time finding another. The dealer actually had a 427/570 also in stock, real tempting but I stayed with the 430hp. Spent al day setting the motor and trans. Not many choices for motor mounts. I called Holly to talk about there set up, specifically the trans crossmember, thinking about the entire swap kit. After 30min on hold I talked to a guy who was no help and a bit of a ahole so no Holley parts are going on this car. I like the UMI mounts, they even have grease zerks but they are for a 68-72 A-body so I am adapting to my 1965. If anyone has a good measurement for the front of the engine I will know if I need to move it forward or back.
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[andrewb70]

It's unfortunate that you had a bad experience with Holley tech support. Their mounting system is superior to anything else on the market, because it keeps the engine as low as possible, which is critical to achieving proper drive line angles.

Andrew

[GTO Jack]

Can anyone with a 64-67 GM A-body using the Holley frame mounts, either the part that sets the motor 1in forward, or the one setting the motor in the OEM location, get me a measurement from the front or back of the oil pan to a solid measurable spot on the frame. I am trying to find how far forward the engine sits in relative to the frame/crossmember. These crate engines come with a LS1 oil pan that I am using as a starting point. Thanks.

[jetmech442]

Great progress Jack. Too bad the Holley tech had an unhelpful attitude. I pieced my mounts/headers/oil pan together back in 2009(before the holley system was widely available) and ended up with a "custom" firewall, tie rods that "lovingly kiss" the oil pan at full lock, and edlebrock longtubes that won't allow the normal temp sensor solution cause they're too close to the filter. Sometimes you catch people on bad days and it affects the company's otherwise good engineering and reputation....just sayin. :)

Either way you go it looks like the car is gonna be a screamer..whats the plans for it, any autoX or roadcourse?

[Hotwire]

You might ask the mount question over on www.chevelles.com, couple guys have used the blackheart setup and rave about it. I'm sure they'd frequent enough to get measurements to you.

When you're setting your driveline angles and firewall clearance move the jackstands to the front a-arms. Trust me, even w/ the bracing our frames are wet noodles. Put a jack under the crossmember and watch how much it moves before the frame comes off the stands. I had my stands where yours were and learned the lesson the hard way.

I'm running custom engine mounts and f-body oil pan. Had to notch my cross member but don't have any tie rod issues. I could use a degree or 2 more of nose down though.

If you want to dial the frame in a little further I highly recommend a front frame brace. It triangulates the frame horns at the bumper bracket to the cross member, makes a big difference in flexing when cruising and turn in when racing.

[andrewb70]

Great progress Jack. Too bad the Holley tech had an unhelpful attitude. I pieced my mounts/headers/oil pan together back in 2009(before the holley system was widely available) and ended up with a "custom" firewall, tie rods that "lovingly kiss" the oil pan at full lock, and edlebrock longtubes that won't allow the normal temp sensor solution cause they're too close to the filter. Sometimes you catch people on bad days and it affects the company's otherwise good engineering and reputation....just sayin. :)

Either way you go it looks like the car is gonna be a screamer..whats the plans for it, any autoX or roadcourse?

I had the exact same parts, from the same time period, and last year it all came out to install the Holley parts.

Andrew

[GTO Jack]

Either way you go it looks like the car is gonna be a screamer..whats the plans for it, any autoX or roadcourse?
At the moment just a street car.

When you're setting your driveline angles and firewall clearance move the jackstands to the front a-arms. Trust me, even w/ the bracing our frames are wet noodles. Put a jack under the crossmember and watch how much it moves before the frame comes off the stands. I had my stands where yours were and learned the lesson the hard way.
Good to know, will keep that in mind.

If you want to dial the frame in a little further I highly recommend a front frame brace. It triangulates the frame horns at the bumper bracket to the cross member, makes a big difference in flexing when cruising and turn in when racing.
Did not think of that, I have seen them a lot on the G-bodies.

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Got this done over the weekend. I changed the oil pan to the GM version, we will see if it hangs to low. The car will not be real low, just normal bit lower I guess. I did some measuring and I am going to make my own engine mounts. Some of the aftermarket including Holley use 5th gen F-body engine mounts, so you can get them in rubber, poly, or solid. I have the UMI version here so making a frame mount should not be that hard. Sure I could buy the Holley but $175 for Made in China is not for me. Make them here for $175 or make them there for $79. That's my rant.

[Hotwire]

Hate to tell you but that pan is going to hang under the cross member and hit your inner tie rods. That's the GM muscle car/hummer pan, had it on my ls swap blazer.

[GTO Jack]

Hate to tell you but that pan is going to hang under the cross member and hit your inner tie rods. That's the GM muscle car/hummer pan, had it on my ls swap blazer.

I have seen cases where it does hang low. I want to give it a chance since this engine is new, and warrantied I feel if I use GM engineered parts I am covered better. My daughter is a engineer and is making me a CAD of the motor frame mounts and a friend has a water jet shop so when I get that done I will decide if I need to change. This pan is shaped same as Holley pan except deeper so I hope it won't hit anything.

[jetmech442]

My daughter is a engineer and is making me a CAD of the motor frame mounts and a friend has a water jet shop
That is wicked cool! She probly knows all about it, but for anyone else lurking here...the iphone 12 has a lidar camera that can scan your engine bay and turn it into CAD. SuperfastMatt on Youtube showed the process on his telsa swapped jaaaag. If your iphone-less like I am, the other free option is a process called photogrammetry. you take about 50+ pics at different angles and free programs like MeshRoom will create the CAD from stiching the pics together.

I don't want to hijack your thread with a bunch of details if it's not needed,but it seems like you've decided to do this DIY style so I want to help where I can.

[GTO Jack]

That is wicked cool! She probly knows all about it, but for anyone else lurking here...the iphone 12 has a lidar camera that can scan your engine bay and turn it into CAD. SuperfastMatt on Youtube showed the process on his telsa swapped jaaaag. If your iphone-less like I am, the other free option is a process called photogrammetry. you take about 50+ pics at different angles and free programs like MeshRoom will create the CAD from stiching the pics together.

I don't want to hijack your thread with a bunch of details if it's not needed,but it seems like you've decided to do this DIY style so I want to help where I can.

I will ask her about those ways to CAD, she likely already knows, or has much better equipment. Yea, I like DIY anyway and will do it that way even when not needed. This in my first LS swap and Pro Touring style car so I am learning a lot, but I like it that way. I did buy the UMI LS motor mounts for the 68-72 A-body thinking it would be close and I could adapt, but I was wrong so I will soon be posting that for sale in the parts heading.

[Hotwire]

I wish you the best w/ the build! My f-body pan is just about level w/ the bottom of the cross member, the muscle car pan is 2" deeper.

When you nose the engine up to clear the inner tie rods you're going to run into hood clearance issues w/ the intake. 1st gen a-body engine bays aren't tall. I had to switch from a trailblazer ss intake to an LS6 to clear my hood. I had my front end blown apart to repair lower windshield channel rust, didn't realize the problem till everything was bolted back together and couldn't close the hood.

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/132551-LS-Oil-Pan-Buyers-Guide

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[BrianP]

Nice ride; my favorite year of GTO.

Are those GM exhaust manifolds? They tuck in really nicely to the engine.

Do you like/recommend your two post lift? I haven’t seen a lift with low posts like that one and the low height makes the area around the lift seems more “roomy”. (I must be watching too many home improvement shows)

[Alwhite00]

I highly recommend the Holley 302-2 or-3 oil pan. You are going to fight that pan you have until you are completely frustrated and then get the Holley pan in the end anyway. Save yourself the aggravation and get it now.

[andrewb70]

I highly recommend the Holley 302-2 or-3 oil pan. You are going to fight that pan you have until you are completely frustrated and then get the Holley pan in the end anyway. Save yourself the aggravation and get it now.

And get the Holley mounts while you're at it.

Andrew

[dhutton]

Hate to tell you but that pan is going to hang under the cross member and hit your inner tie rods. That's the GM muscle car/hummer pan, had it on my ls swap blazer.

Yep you are wasting your time with that pan. You can get a knockoff Holley pan on eBay if your budget is tight.

Don

[GTO Jack]

Nice ride; my favorite year of GTO.

Are those GM exhaust manifolds? They tuck in really nicely to the engine.

Do you like/recommend your two post lift? I haven’t seen a lift with low posts like that one and the low height makes the area around the lift seems more “roomy”. (I must be watching too many home improvement shows)

The manifolds are nice and heavy, designed to be quiet up front. They are Summit brand, a copy of the newer Camaro manifolds. I do like the lift. It bolts to the floor and I can remove them in about 5 minutes when not in use.

[andrewb70]

They look exactly like the Hooker manifolds. I bet Holley makes them for Summit without the logo insert in the mold.

Fifth gen Camaro manifolds are very different.

Andrew

[GTO Jack]

They look exactly like the Hooker manifolds. I bet Holley makes them for Summit without the logo insert in the mold.

Fifth gen Camaro manifolds are very different.

Andrew

I thought that was what my research turned up, but I could be wrong. Holley makes them, Flowtech makes them, these are Summit and plenty of no name versions on Ebay. Most the cheap one's are 2.25in, these are 2.5in. The box said made in USA so probably not made by Holley.

[airbuspilot]

Front seats from TMI? Know anything about fitting them in a GTO? I have a 67 and thinking about new seats. TMI sells a "universal" seat but states "brackets need modification".