Barn Find 56 Bel Air LSA w/ TR6060

[lsx70]

Took some time to mock up the tank, its a tanks inc direct fit with a walbro 525 pump, which should be plenty for what I'm planning.




I also threw the gauge cluster and clock in. They're classic instruments units.



mock up of the rear suspension, I ordered a complete rear end from quick performance, it's a 9" ford in the standard tri five width. I'm pretty happy with it overall.



Monster LT1-S triple disc clutch should be plenty! I'm excited to try this clutch out, it's supposed to have stock drive-ability but be able to handle 1150whp which is way more than I'm going to be making.

[lsx70]

So from the outset of this build I knew I wanted to do a different drivetrain than the chevelle (6.0L w/4L80E), my very first plan was to do some sort of boosted LS. I actually looked pretty seriously at doing a procharger or another centrifugal supercharger but the cost to do that was higher than what I was looking to get into at the time. I also considered doing a turbo but it just didn't feel right for this car. So with all that being said I started to look for a PD blower, I was mostly interested in a whipple based primarily on looks, I soon found out that a PD blower was no cheaper than the centri blower so I scrapped the whole idea and decided on the solid roller spin it to the moon plan. That was all well and good until I started really thinking about what I would have to buy to make that plan happen (shaft mounted rockers, CID intake, accufab TB, etc) and I realized that for the price I would be paying for that setup I could probably get close to the cost of an LSA setup.

So the plan changed and I started looking for an LSA supercharger.

Dad couldn't let me have all the fun so he got one too. we got a good deal on the pair.



I also picked up an LQ9 from a 2005 escalade. This would give me gen 4 rods which I planned to keep and use.

Unfortunately the plan to use everything over didn't last long. As I tore the engine down I started to come across some issues. Cam bearings were bad and the pistons were scuffed. Fortunately for me I work at a machine shop in the summer months while I'm not in school.



I dropped the block off at work to have the cylinders checked and in the end it had to be bored 0.030". I went with a wiseco forged piston and BTR forged rod. the crank also had to be gorund 0.010" on the main journals and the rod journals were ok, so just a polish for them.



A friend if mine is in school to be a mechanic, I invited him over to help put the engine together and showed him how to assemble the pistons on the rods.

[lsx70]

Wow it has been a long time since I updated this...

Since the last update I finished assembling the engine







Lots of good parts in this one. Brian Tooley camshaft, Wiseco Pistons, Brian Tooley connecting rods, Johnson lifters and ARP headstuds.

[lsx70]

Some final mockup



the quick performance 9 inch finally arrived



I got it cleaned up and painted after having a buddy tig weld the 4 link brackets on




9 inch installed with brakes. I keep thinking this car is looking more and more like a racecar lol





Monster triple disc assembled and installed on the engine



and the tr6060 is on also... ready for install

[lsx70]

Drivetrain is installed






The shifter position lined up perfectly with the hole I cut in the new tunnel


I also stuck the seat in for now, I'm pretty happy with the overall shifter position ergonomically


some more mockup, 2" primary hedman headers that I will have to make some small modification to, the LSX concepts race drive fits phenomenally and the holley high mount alternator looks like it will work well. The blower snout is off so I can install a smaller upper pulley along with a solid isolator


There is some more progress since these pictures but I'll get to them soon. Current day I am getting ready to wire the car, I have an American autowire harness that I loomed using techflex woven loom.

I had planned on using a P01 LS ecu that I converted to a 6.0L 6 speed with custom 3 bar OS using HPtuners along with a harness I built custom to fit the engine super tight that is loomed with the same techflex woven as the American Autowire body harness. Unfortunately the combination of injector angle on the LSA blower and the cathedral to square port adapters I am using are likely going to cause me some tuning issues using the factory ecu (there is not enough adjustment in the transient and tip in fueling to adjust for the injector spray hitting the side of the adapter plates and it causes stumbling and stalling issues at tip in and off idle)

Sooo the solution to this is either change the cylinder heads or change the engine management system. I'm leaning towards putting a holley terminator system on the car but most of my tuning experience is with hp tuners so this would be a new ball game. Hopefully someone will chime in with some experience with the holley stuff and possibly even someone who has an LSA with a holley

[thumper877]

Andrew I hear someone calling your name

Drivetrain is installed






The shifter position lined up perfectly with the hole I cut in the new tunnel


I also stuck the seat in for now, I'm pretty happy with the overall shifter position ergonomically


some more mockup, 2" primary hedman headers that I will have to make some small modification to, the LSX concepts race drive fits phenomenally and the holley high mount alternator looks like it will work well. The blower snout is off so I can install a smaller upper pulley along with a solid isolator


There is some more progress since these pictures but I'll get to them soon. Current day I am getting ready to wire the car, I have an American autowire harness that I loomed using techflex woven loom.

I had planned on using a P01 LS ecu that I converted to a 6.0L 6 speed with custom 3 bar OS using HPtuners along with a harness I built custom to fit the engine super tight that is loomed with the same techflex woven as the American Autowire body harness. Unfortunately the combination of injector angle on the LSA blower and the cathedral to square port adapters I am using are likely going to cause me some tuning issues using the factory ecu (there is not enough adjustment in the transient and tip in fueling to adjust for the injector spray hitting the side of the adapter plates and it causes stumbling and stalling issues at tip in and off idle)

Sooo the solution to this is either change the cylinder heads or change the engine management system. I'm leaning towards putting a holley terminator system on the car but most of my tuning experience is with hp tuners so this would be a new ball game. Hopefully someone will chime in with some experience with the holley stuff and possibly even someone who has an LSA with a holley

[ryeguy2006a]

Love this build and you're doing a great job on this car! I'm hoping to find a 55 or 56 Nomad sometime this year to start building.

I ran a Terminator X Max with my 6.2 LSA and TR6060 trans, which is very similar to yours. I did have LS3 heads on mine, so no adapter plates. I'll say that it works really well for boosted applications and I was able to very quickly get the tune dialed in. The software is very user friendly compared to HP Tuners. With the X Max ECU you can run the VSS into the ECU to enable speed based outputs and commands. I used it for the reverse lockout and to disable my cooling fans above 40 mph. I'm happy to answer basic questions, but if you need in depth questions I'd contact Andrew here on this site. He's the go-to guy for tuning Holley ECU's.

[lsx70]

Love this build and you're doing a great job on this car! I'm hoping to find a 55 or 56 Nomad sometime this year to start building.

I ran a Terminator X Max with my 6.2 LSA and TR6060 trans, which is very similar to yours. I did have LS3 heads on mine, so no adapter plates. I'll say that it works really well for boosted applications and I was able to very quickly get the tune dialed in. The software is very user friendly compared to HP Tuners. With the X Max ECU you can run the VSS into the ECU to enable speed based outputs and commands. I used it for the reverse lockout and to disable my cooling fans above 40 mph. I'm happy to answer basic questions, but if you need in depth questions I'd contact Andrew here on this site. He's the go-to guy for tuning Holley ECU's.

I appreciate the kind words! I love 56 nomads, I don’t love the rear wheel well on a 55.

In terms of Holley, did you use a cable drive throttle body or drive by wire? I like the idea of a drive by wire setup but I really don’t want to lose the instant throttle response of the cable.
Andrew slipped my mind, I have him on Instagram so I’ll have to reach out

[ryeguy2006a]

I appreciate the kind words! I love 56 nomads, I don’t love the rear wheel well on a 55.

In terms of Holley, did you use a cable drive throttle body or drive by wire? I like the idea of a drive by wire setup but I really don’t want to lose the instant throttle response of the cable.
Andrew slipped my mind, I have him on Instagram so I’ll have to reach out

I like the rear wheel well on the 55 better, but I really love the hidden fuel filler neck on the 56. I'm waiting for the right project to come up and I'll take whichever fits my criteria haha.

I ran DBC on mine with a Nick Williams 92mm. No idea if it made any difference in HP, but when I took the snout off to swap to the ZPE hub, I took the opportunity to port match the TB to the snout and got rid of the hump on the right side inlet looking in the intake. Motion works makes a DBC bracket, but I made my own from a piece of aluminum plate and an old truck intake throttle bracket I had. I have tons of pictures and documentation of the LSA swap I did on the build in my signature.

[andrewb70]

I appreciate the kind words! I love 56 nomads, I don’t love the rear wheel well on a 55.

In terms of Holley, did you use a cable drive throttle body or drive by wire? I like the idea of a drive by wire setup but I really don’t want to lose the instant throttle response of the cable.
Andrew slipped my mind, I have him on Instagram so I’ll have to reach out

Drive by wire is the way to go. You won't lose any responsiveness, and you will gain drivability. Shoot me a message if I can help with the tuning.

I also highly recommend the Bowler all in one T56 controller. It will handle your reverse lockout solenoid and provide an easy way to add a VSS channel to the Terminator X Max ECU. Call Bowler to make sure you get the right one for your particular T56.

Andrew

[lsx70]

I like the rear wheel well on the 55 better, but I really love the hidden fuel filler neck on the 56. I'm waiting for the right project to come up and I'll take whichever fits my criteria haha.

I ran DBC on mine with a Nick Williams 92mm. No idea if it made any difference in HP, but when I took the snout off to swap to the ZPE hub, I took the opportunity to port match the TB to the snout and got rid of the hump on the right side inlet looking in the intake. Motion works makes a DBC bracket, but I made my own from a piece of aluminum plate and an old truck intake throttle bracket I had. I have tons of pictures and documentation of the LSA swap I did on the build in my signature.

I was following your build a little while back but it was before I started this build, I’ll have to look back through

Drive by wire is the way to go. You won't lose any responsiveness, and you will gain drivability. Shoot me a message if I can help with the tuning.

I also highly recommend the Bowler all in one T56 controller. It will handle your reverse lockout solenoid and provide an easy way to add a VSS channel to the Terminator X Max ECU. Call Bowler to make sure you get the right one for your particular T56.

Andrew

Andrew I’m going to shoot you a message on instagram

[lsx70]

On to some more updates



Engine fitment with the front clip on, the clip is on temporarily to measure for a radiator, heat exchanger and fans







I couldn't resist taking some pictured with the front clip on. I love how the stance is looking, its getting me thinking about wheel choices..... any ideas??

[Alwhite00]

Damn nice looking 56. My favorite year. Great build.

[andrewb70]

Per our conversation, I would run this fan:

https://www.vintageair.com/custom/pr....php?pn=280479

Andrew

[ryeguy2006a]

Those Spal Brushless fans are where it's at. I grabbed mine off of a C7 and modified it to work with a custom fan shroud on my aluminum radiator. Also, get the largest heat exchanger that you can fit.

[Pingar]

Loving your build.

[lsx70]

Damn nice looking 56. My favorite year. Great build.

Thanks! my favorite as well!

Per our conversation, I would run this fan:

https://www.vintageair.com/custom/pr....php?pn=280479

Andrew

Thanks Andrew, I already have a fan that isn't the one you linked but I definitely think you will like what I have acquired...

Those Spal Brushless fans are where it's at. I grabbed mine off of a C7 and modified it to work with a custom fan shroud on my aluminum radiator. Also, get the largest heat exchanger that you can fit.

Fan update coming soon.. heat exchanger too.. I appreciate the input, I remember looking through your build thread thinking that I would love to have an LSA at some point!

Loving your build.

Thanks! lots to come!

[lsx70]

Since the last update quite a lot has happened so this update may be quite large...

To start off I had a buddy modify the blower snout to remove one of the unnecessary vacuum ports

and then reinstalled the snout on the blower



then after much consideration dad and I decided we should get a tig welder

It's an everlast 255EXT with the water cooler. The only problem was neither one of us know how to tig weld... so I started goofing around with the welder

first with some steel

then with some aluminum. After a weekend of messing around trying to figure the welder out I decided I was ready to do something that would actually progress my project.


I decided to try and weld Vband flanges on my headers. Now the headers are mild steel and the flanges are stainless so I used a 309 filler that is specific to welding stainless to mild (or so I've been told)

[lsx70]

I also welded in O2 sensor bungs. There is probably a bit too much heat in the welds but overall I'm happy with them for my first attempt.


this is one I did for the headers on a 69 chevelle we're building for my mom. Her headers are 304 stainless so this was my first stainless to stainless.




I also picked up a terminator X max for a good deal. I already re-loomed the injector harness and stripped the main harness to do the same

[C Presley]

Dude, the LSA looks right at home in between the fender wells of the 56. Nice touches, mixing the old with the new!