Why the Camaro is in a coma.....

[streetk14]

Hey Andy,

I'm not using the OE cover tunnel since the line comes up the RH side of the car. I did not want to have any more heat soak time than necessary, hence the "T" on the aft RH rail.

Magnuson is more than comfortable using the 255 with the Corvette FPR. Supposedly the tune that Germanson put in is close, based a lot on the C5/Lingenfelter LS1 GT2-3, but when the time comes they will final tune it.

So what are you doing about the port on the driver's side rail where the fuel manifold is supposed to bolt up to? Also, what mods were required to put that T on the right fuel rail? I like that setup you've got there.

I'm not sure if you were aware that John Germanson recently passed away. It's very sad to hear about things like this, I think it was some kind of cancer.

Andy

[CarlC]

Yes on all counts. Unfortunately, I missed the funeral.

Magnuson makes a plate that will cover the LH side fuel inlet, or you can swap out the rail. It is VERY tight getting the rail to go up and rotate to clear everything. The plate can be easily made.

Basically I swapped out the RH side aft -6/o-ring straight fitting for a -6/o-ring "T". To make up for the difference in length I cut the stainless tube to fit a M/F elbow. The tube will need to be re-flared.

[CarlC]

It's been a while, but it is getting close to firing up.

The wiring has been a killer. I elected to integrate all of the PCM and sensor systems into the factory Camaro harnesses. In conjuction with this new Hella headlamps, DSE RS door systems, ECM/Intercooler power center, and WeatherPack connectors are being used. I'll have pics shortly.

The latest project is the console. I'm being stubborn about keeping the tick-tock-tach, which has limited the ability to add two additional gauges. Since the car needs a boost and voltage gauge, I opted to take a different path to get to additional gauges mounted.



It's two Autometer gauge pods grafted together. There's at least 10 hours of cutting, trimming, fitting, filing, etc. It needed to be slid forward/cut, and widened 3/32" on each side toward the rear since the console opening tapers. In order to fit this part all of the stock horizontal console bracing needs to be removed and replaced with fab'ed parts. The forward part of the console where the standard Autometer pod mounts needs to be removed and an entire new mounting system made. Lots of work to mount two silly gauges.

The aft shifter plate is made of 0.060" aluminum and curved to match the gauge pod. The shifter boot ring is from a BMW 528e, and my mom (Thanks!) sewed up a new boot to fit the Hurst shifter handle.



The stock Hurst shifter was also modified internally by changing the centering springs. $4 worth of springs vs. $150 for a new shifter was not adding up to me.

[Flash68]

Nice work on the gauges/console. Looks very nice!

[rsk68]

Carl,
Console looks very nice, hope you get it running for the next ACH trip.

[Chad-1stGen]

Agreed, the console came out very nice!

[David Pozzi]

Carl,
I was wondering about how much room the extra plumbing and heat exchanger take up in the engine compartment.

I have a choice to make on my 67, - go with a Brodix block 427 stroker with NASCAR 18 deg heads, with Hilborn injection converted to EFI like the first non-turbo Mule engine, or I have an LS2 that I could just add a supercharger to. I'm trying to figure which would have less weight and have good response for autocross, open track and street.

Is the torque curve pretty smooth on your combo? How about blower whine issues? I haven't driven or ridden in a Magnuson equipped car.
David

PS, I should actually get some work done on my 67 this winter!!!

[maldo]

nice

[CarlC]

David,

The the high temperature radiator in in the manifold. The other major components not seen in the engine picture that are needed are the LTR, pump, and reservoir. The LTR mounts in front of the radiator and can be had in a variety of sizes. Mounting the LTR is the next biggie.

The other Magnuson equiped cars that I have driven have some whine under load, but most of the time it's hardly noticeable.

The blower, not including the LTR and pump, is 65#. One big advantage to using the blower is that a very small cam can be used, and hence very nice idle, cruise, mileage, and low-end torque. I'm using a 208/[email protected]" 118.5LSA.

[David Pozzi]

Carl,
Thanks for the info.
That's gonna be nice...
David

[CarlC]

Last Saturday was the maiden voyage, but only around the block a few times to make sure everything basically worked. It started so easily that I could not believe it. After dealing with distributors and carb’s my whole life, this thing is a dream come true.

Today was a bit different. I stretched her legs. More on that a bit later.

I have not been updating this as I should have, but here are some pics of a few new items not previously mentioned and some lessons learned the hard way.

The engine is basically complete. The cold air box needs to be built to seal off the front RH corner of the engine bay. Cold air will come in from between the radiator support and the hood along with a hole cut in the front of the support. The intake tube is from an ’06 GTO with a few straight aluminum tubes sections and silicone elbows. It gets very tight around the radiator hoses. It would have been easier to route this to the drivers side except that the GTO engine wiring harness would not reach to the RH side. If I ever do it again I’ll extend the harness to fit. As it is the GTO is just barely long enough to reach the front LH side.



The intercooler reservoir is mounted on a hand-made bracket so that it is the highest point in the system. The canister against the firewall is a Mann – Hummel OE spec oil separator. It’s plumbed in-line with the PCV system. It has an automatic drain system and super nice filter media. It takes about 12 seconds to remove the filter for cleaning. The hardest part to adapt this filter is that the in/outlets are set up for 5/8” hose, so adapters must be made to fit 3/8” PCV lines.



The intercooler is from a C5 Corvette application. It’s a 5# intercooler in a 5# hole. I painted it black for stealth. The mounting brackets on the bottom are the only attachement points. Two foam pads on the upper rear of the IC along with a pad on the front under the hood latch hold it in place very securely. I tried to mount the IC pump up inside of the fender near the DSE headlight motors but found that there was insufficient head to feed the pump. Bummer, it was a really clean mount. Now the pump is mounted in the engine bay near the radiator outlet.



Here are the oil lines coming off of the ATS pan. The ATS pan comes with two -12 fittings that come straight down. The car already had -10 hoses and fittings, so I had do use adapters to make everything fit. Even so, it would have been much more convenient and cleaner if both fittings turned 90* to the front of the engine. The option of a -10 connection would have made it much easier as well. Fitting -12 hoses would have been pretty tough given with the power steering lines and return hoses all fit through the same spot, making space a premium along the side of the pan.



The header fitment is great. With the spark plug wire modifications there are zero problems with heat or electronic noise. The Lokar oil dipstick, peeking out just under the #4 plug boot, required making a “Z” bracket to allow attachment to the head. The standard bracket will not fit with headers. The header bolts did require retightening after startup.



The ECM is mounted under the fender on the front of the LH fenderwell. An F-body bracket was modified so that it could be bolted through the fenderwell. All of the power for the engine also comes from the Painless power center. The power center mounts to a plate that bolts to the radiator support through two holes that are already there. It extends almost all the way out to the outer fender and mounts the power center, two headlight relays, DSE headlight controller, 60A main circuit breaker, 25A headlight circuit breakers, and a + power distribution block. Everything is tagged using a DYMO label maker and Weatherpack connected. It gets very busy in there. The foam block helps keep the ECM from vibrating. Wiring diagrams were also made of all the circuitry.



A new power panel was made for the trunk to fit circuit breakers for the fuel pump and stereo amplifier. There is also a small bypass to allow the various memories and interior lights to remain functional when the main power is turned off.



Mounted on the aft trunk latch support is a Ford fuel cutoff breaker. If the car is hit hard it will automatically trip the internal breaker and immediately shut down power to the fuel pump. To reset it just push the red button. It may be overkill since the ECM will kill the fuel relay after a few seconds of the engine not running, but I don’t like fires one little bit. The fuel pump relay is mounted on the other side of the latch support and is pretty well hidden from view.



The exhaust consists of 3” stainless headpipes, 3” Dr. Gas X-pipe, 3” stainless pipes into 3” – 2-1/2” Flowmaster reducing cones, Magnaflow stainless mufflers, and 2-1/2” Flowmaster tailpipes that end at the rear tires. I was worried about this system being too loud since the muffler is a straight-through design. No worries there, it is much quieter than the previous setup with Super Turbo mufflers. The much milder cam and smaller engine size help a bunch as well. This whole thing was done while lying on my back with the car on jackstands. I hate exhaust systems almost as much as the cost of paying someone to build it the way I want it done.



The interior also received a few modifications. The speedo is currently out being modified by Redline Gaugeworks for an electronic speedometer upgrade. It will use the ECM output and will incorporate an engine malfunction light as well. The tack will also be reset to work in 4-cylinder mode so that it too can interpret the ECM signal. The center console is complete with the six-gauge pod and shifter plate.



Thanks to Mike (mkelcy) I had to buy a center console armrest. This thing is really nice to have. I forgot how comfortable one of these things can be. I took Mike’s advice and added a small bracket that extends down into the seatbelt well so that the console will not slide back.





So, how does it drive?

After having nothing but carbureted fun-cars it is a pleasure having EFI, especially an OE system. Turn the key, it starts. It idles nicely, it makes little exhaust fuel smell, etc. With the small camshaft (208/218 @0.050 118.5LSA) it is very easy to drive at slow speeds. The LS7 clutch is hilariously easy to drive. My buddy, who has a Keisler hydraulic setup on his TKO, thought that the clutch was not working properly since it was so easy to push in. No drama, no grabbiness, no nothing. It just works great. Cruising around town is effortless, and 6th gear at 65mph is easy.

Now, here’s three things that I did not expect:

1) It is deceptively fast. Since it is so much quieter and has so much less drama than the old setup, you THINK that the car is going slower. The annihilation of the rear tires through many of the gears and the really cool whine from under the hood tells my brain something else.
2) It cruises even better than expected.
3) Even with the blower setup, it is lighter than the iron small block. I had to lower the front end of the car ½” to account for weight loss.

It’s still on the rough tune. Final tuning will happen at Magnuson the week after next. With the final tune and a cold air box it will get even better. After almost a year (many delays due to work) it was a relief to be able to drive her again.

[Lance-W]

Very nice. I can't wait to see it in person.

[icebird84]

I like your center console it looks good

[rocketrod]

Great work and thanks for sharing the details of your conversion!

[Gearhead Dude]

That's a really nice setup. I've got a friend with a supercharged Cobra, and that things an animal, especially at low rpms! After riding in it, I vowed to transplant a supercharged LS engine in a project car someday. I appreciate all the details you've included. It saves soem of us some headaches.

[6'9"Witha69]

Congrats Carl. Can't wait to see her on the road this month!

[Motown 454]

Wow your making a very nice car even better. Awesome drive train. The console looks great.
Wayne

[Steve1968LS2]

Very nice... can't wait till it's done and I can check it out in person.

Hey, how about something for our f-body garage section?

[Steve1968LS2]

Mounted on the aft trunk latch support is a Ford fuel cutoff breaker. If the car is hit hard it will automatically trip the internal breaker and immediately shut down power to the fuel pump. To reset it just push the red button. It may be overkill since the ECM will kill the fuel relay after a few seconds of the engine not running, but I don’t like fires one little bit. The fuel pump relay is mounted on the other side of the latch support and is pretty well hidden from view.

Hey Carl, I have one of those as well, but I was told you also need the wiring pigtail from Ford. Is that correct? If so do you have the part number. I would like to do a little safety tech story on it.

[CarlC]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Steve,

I got the parts from the boneyard. There's about 1000 of them at Pick-a-Part to choose from. I just cut the wires and put in in-series with the primary + feed. I cannot tell if the plug is mandatory (blade connectors) without dismounting it. There is a mounting bracket that is also used but in not necessary. It could have been used but would have left the ends of the studs sticking out into the trunk area and create a cutting hazard.

Since they are mounted from Ford in the trunk/hatch area usually behind some kind of panel they are usually in pristine condition. I agree with having this as a tech article. Given what can happen if an electric pump runs unchecked after an accident, this is cheap insurance.

Check out the Cruise the Crest thread in Non-Racing Events. The 21st is coming soon!