[Stonecoldtx]

Just a few points of clarification:

• I am using the ICTBillet LT to SBC adapters, and using the 4th of 5 bolt hole sets (from the front)
• This is the Wet Sump LT1 engine used in the Camaros
• The guy who built this car installed his own Rack & Pinion, by cutting the bottom out of the existing front crossmember, placing the rack inside and bolting it back together, so there are no clearance issues with the LT1 oil pan
• I am using the SBC Side Mount engine stands that someone else welded to the frame in place of the Front Mounts, and using the BBC mounts that were on the SBC that came in the car
• I am using the transmission mount from the M-22 and the crossmember that was in the car on the 8L90E; it's about 2-1/2' further back, so I had to drill some holes in both the crossmember and the frame mounts
• The stock Camaro exhaust manifolds have plenty of clearance
• The 8" Dual Diaphram brake booster required the CPP Offset Bracket to clear the left valve cover and insulator & side cover

 

[Stonecoldtx]

I forgot to mention--I had to shim the right motor mount about 3/8", because the bolt holes weren't lining up . . . the builder had used washers behind the mount itself previously . . . I used a Moroso Shim kit . . .

Last night, I finished assembling the Holley Front End Accessory Drive system (except for the Thermostat and housing); here it is, with the shiny bits and the serpentine belt installed

 

[57R’villeHT]

Fantastic progress. Wasting no time on this one. Keep up the good work.

 

[blueflame235]

Quite the setup you have there…beautiful job

 

[Stonecoldtx]

Fantastic progress. Wasting no time on this one. Keep up the good work.

I still have a LOT to do . . . I'm replacing the rearend with a Ford 9" as you know, but also installing rear disk brakes on the new axle, new Corvette C5-type Mustang II spindles and 13" rotors and calipers on the front, putting the battery in the spare tire well, updating the instruments to Dakota Digital, and of course, all the wiring that comes with the swap and the new instruments--not to mention, getting a shifter installed that will work with the 8L90E and getting all that working, then there's the exhaust system . . .

While I've got most of the engine stuff done, that's about 20% of what I'm doing on the car . . . I am hoping to have it on the road before the end of April . . .

 

[Stonecoldtx]

So, I painted my new Quick Performance 9" Ford rear axle housing black, using a self-etching primer and then a dry coat and finally a wet coat . . . it was looking pretty good . . .

THEN--I decided to spray it with clear . . . BIG MISTAKE! The paint started wrinkling up . . . "no problem", I thought "I'll just let it dry, sand out the wrinkled area and re-spray" . . . well, after doing that three times, and each time the paint would wrinkle again, I decided to strip it back down to the bare metal . . . it took me about two hours to do that yesterday.

A friend of mine said he has a 5X3X3 oven, and we can powder coat the housing . . . I think I'll take him up on his offer . . .

In the meantime, I started working on installing my Power Cool Systems module; it comes with a core support designed for a crossflow radiator, the radiator itself, a dual-fan cooling module, a condensor and even an aluminum overflow tank. The one I ordered was supposed a radiator designed for a LS/LT, with a trans cooler . . .

When I got it, I opened the box, and everything was in the box upside down . . . I pulled it out, and one ear on each side of the tie bar was bent . . . again, "no problem", I thought "I should be able to straighten those out"

I discovered that the radiator didn't have the trans cooler, and the inlet and outlet size were for a SBC, not an LS/LT . . .

I called both the vendor where I bought the unit and the manufacturer, and they were willing to work with me, so I disassembled everything, so I could work on the core support piece . . . only, this core support seems to have been designed for a different year chassis . . . the tie bar bolt holes tilt upward, from rear to front, and the holes in my 57 are straight across . . .

Needless to say, I'll be having another discussion with both the vendor and the manufacturer come Monday.

Here's a picture of the Core Support, sitting in the car . . . it should illustrate what I mean when I say the bolt hole tilt up . . .

Also, in the picture above, you can see I had the battery tray mounted, and the ECM fit really nicely in it . . . however, the veritcal portion of the tray and part of the horizontal part were intruding on the area for the Crossflow radiator, so I won't be able to use that configuration . . .

I had purchased an ECM bracket for a 2017 Camaro, but it came with a bunch of stands and a couple of studs, and didn't look like it would easily fit anywhere . . .

I cut a few things off of it, located an area on the inner fender well that looked like a good place, drilled a few holes and this is what I ended up with:

The harnesses tuck up nicely into the back area of the fender well . . . and as you can see in the picture, I'm also using a set of stainless steel hoses with faux ends for my heater hoses . . . they look good and unless you're looking closely enough, they look like the real deal.

I was also able to hook up the power steering hoses; I've mentioned it previously, but the guy who built this car originally, installed a rack & pinion into the stock front crossmember, and he had AN fittings for it . . . well, the output of the pump is AN -6, and I had a hose that I could use for that, but I had to get some 3/8" stainless steel hose with faux ends, and a 90-degree AN -6 to hose barb fitting for the return line . . . this is what it looks like:

 

[Stonecoldtx]

Well, unfortunately, I hit another snag with the Power Cool Systems module . . .not enough clearance in the front to run use the fan module with the Holley FEAD kit . . .

So, I'm going to have to use Pusher fans . . . that is, if I can get Power Cool to respond to me . . .

The first picture shows the interference and how far back the radiator is in the core support

The second picture shows how much clearance there is between the engine and the core support

I might have to tap on the shoulder of a buddy who has a bunch of fabrication equipment, and build my own core support . . . then, just order a crossflow radiator to fit in that spot, as well as a pair of pusher fans and possibly a condenser . . . I might be able to re-use the condenser that was on the car before I started tearing it down, but it's not very big

 

[Stonecoldtx]

OK, this is the latest view of the engine bay; this shows:

• The completed engine (with all the attached wiring, "insulators" and Corvette engine covers)
• The completed accessory drive system
• The fuel line connected
• The ECM permanently mounted
• The fuse block permanently mounted
• The heater hoses fully installed
• The power steering hoses fully installed
• The Transmission Control Module in the area where it will be permanently mounted, in the left fender well opening
• The new chrome brake booster sitting on the offset bracket

 

[Stonecoldtx]

Couple of updates; completed the battery cable from the spare tire well in the back to the fuse block and attached it, as well as re-routed the harness to clean it up a bit.

Started working on the third member; this is a Strange Engineering Pro-N housing with the "Daytona" pinion support, a 1350 yoke, 3.50:1 gears and a 35-spline Wave-Trac differential; I sprayed it with two coats of clear to try and keep it from getting rusty, because I didn't want to cover it up in paint or powder coating . . . I like the looks of new bare cast iron in contrast with the paint . . .

Just got the axle housing back from the powder coating company, will probably start assembling the rearend tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Stonecoldtx]

I ran into a few snags on the rear disk brake kit . . . it uses two brackets, one that bolts to the housing and another that bolts to it for the caliper; these axles stick out about 1/8" further than the originals, and the axle tubes on the ends are larger than the originals, so I had to grind the brackets that bolt to the axle directly in order to get them bolted up.

After I did that, because these axles stick out a little further than the stock originals, I had to space out the caliper brackets with washers to get it to line up with the rotors . . . when I did that, it placed the bleeder dangerously close to one of the caliper bracket nuts . . . I wasn't comfortable with the clearance, so I reversed the bolt which provided some additional clearance, but I'm still not comfortable with it.

Oh, and when I ordered this kit, it was long before I even thought about replacing the rear axle assembly, which came with 1/2" wheel studs . . . the studs on the original axles were 7/16", so I had to drill out the holes on the rotors to get them to install onto the axles . . .

I wasn't happy with having to space out the caliper brackets, so I called up Quick Performance, and they have a kit that uses the same calipers I have (79-85 Eldorado), and they sell the brackets that match up with their axles; I ordered those and they should be here tomorrow.

I also wasn't happy with the fact that the brake lines attach at the bottom of the caliper, which meant the flex line would have to somehow wind around the axle and over the spring once installed . . . that made me a little nervous, but Quick Performance also sells a line kit for these calipers that uses a 90-degree fitting at the calipers to route it up over the axle tube; the kit also incudes the rest of the lines needed to run across the axle housing and the center flex line, so I ordered that too.

Here are a few pictures, so you can see what I'm talking about:

 

[Stonecoldtx]

A little more progress this week . . .

Got the Quick Performance Caliper brackets and now everything fits well, but the brackets are only 1/4" thick, where I would have preferred the7/16" thickness of the other brackets . . .

I got the right front catalytic converter installed along with the right front O2 sensor; for those who are wondering these came with the "E-Rod" kit and are required to make the kit emissions compliant . . . the rear cats and some pipe are also included, which I should be able to tie into the rest of the existing exhaust system. Also, the "E-Rod" kit was lower priced than the standard kit (go figure!); one aspect of making this all Emissions Legal is that if I ever sell the car, and the person who buys it lives in a state that requires the vehicled to be Emissions Compliant (i.e.: California, where I underst and that the vehicle is subject to emissions compliance based on the year or the engine, whichever is newer), they won't have to do anything to make it compliant . . .

No, these cats aren't a hinderance to performance . . . the stock 2017-up Camaro is rated at 460HP with these in place and that's plenty for this car's old original chassis . . . as a matter of fact, I saw a Youtube video where they replaced the entire stock exhaust with long tube headers, "High Flow" cats, and even installed a CAI, and at peak HP, it made a whopping 15HP more than stock . . . I don't see any value in running any exhaust system that didn't come with the kit . . .

I had ordered a Spectre 90-degree elbow and 4" Aluminum tube with MAF sensor boss, and those arrived; I attached them in the planned direction . . . I am hoping I can build somethinng like a sealed box in that area and cut a hole for fresh air in the fenderwell area . . . lots of contemplating, fitting, etc. on this yet to do

Got the old rearend removed, and then the old fuel tank . . .

It looks kinda odd without the rearend and fuel tank in it . . .

Here's the old vs the new Tanks, Inc EFI tank

I have the new tank sitting in place, but I need to do all the fuel line/EVAP line/Wiring work before I finish strapping it in, because there is just no room at the top of the tank to do anything . . .

 

[Dragsix]

Man that looks great!

 

[rynoman1110]

Got a few more pictures and updates . . .

1.) There's a bunch of parts that the Chevrolet Performance Connect & Cruise LT1 engine doesn't come with, including the valve cover "insulators" and the side engine covers . . . I had the choice of either the Camaro or Corvette covers . . . I chose the Corvette covers . . .

2.) I have decided to place the battery in the Spare Tire well, under the floor; I bought an AFCO Stainless Steel battery tray, and determined where I'm going to place it in there . . . I'm using 2/0 Welding cables for my battery cables, one red, one black, and I cut a couple of holes to route them in yesterday, then crimped some ends on, used some heat shrink, and used some grommets in the holes to prevent chafing . . . I'll be attaching the cables along the frame rail, using wire clamps, about one every foot on each cable, alternating between them, so there will be one every 6 inches or so

View attachment 359467 View attachment 359468 View attachment 359470 View attachment 359471 View attachment 359472

I plan to put my battery in the spare tire well also. What grommets did you order? I am using 1/0 red and 2/0 ground. I am going to fab a better base out of 1.5" square tubing and fasten it to the walls of the well then add the battery tie down to that.

 

[Stonecoldtx]

This is what I ordered:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0915GYTCJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm just going to use some angle iron attached at the top and bottom of the opening behind the battery tray, and attach the tray to those . . .

 

[Stonecoldtx]

So, I wasn't pleased with the angle of the Fuse Block, and decided to create a new bracket for it, that would make it more horizontal, and place it at a level below the hood; this is what it looks like now:

 

[Stonecoldtx]

So, when I got this car, the hood was configured to tilt forward, using an actuator . . . in my last post above, you can see that the original builder put in a fabricated box with a latch that was cable operated where the original hood hinge would normally be . . . I didn't like that (it is impossible to open if the battery dies--there was no manual cable release from the actuator), so I decided to convert it back to the conventional method of opening; to that end, I purchased a set of Ring Brothers hinges . . .

Initially, I had some problems, because these hinges attach from the passenger side, and the bottom bolt hole on these hinges had a curve that made it impossible to thread in a bolt while standing on my head and reaching up under the dash . . .

One other aspect of the bottom hole is that it bottoms out against another part of the hinge assembly, so you have to not only try to get that thing threaded, which is nearly impossible standing on your head, but you also have to make sure and use a bolt that is long enough to engage all the threads, but short enough that it won't bottom out . . . after trying for about 45 minutes, I got pretty frustrated, gave up and sent a scathing e-mail to Ring Brothers . . .

The next day, after I cooled down, I figured that the best way to install these hinges was to use studs . . . I ordered some 3/8" x 2" long Stainless Steel "set screws" that have an allen socket on one end so I could use that to tighten the stud . . .

For the bottom bolt hole, the stud worked perfectly, but for the top, the stud was kind of loose, so I threaded it through the hinge and tightened a nut on that end, to keep the stud from moving.

The first picture illustrates what I mean about the curve on the backside where the bolt hole is . . . the next pictures are with the studs installed (for the bottom bolt hole, I had to hold my finger on top of the threads while attempting to start the stud into the bolt hole, and was finally able to get it threaded in), and the last picture is with the hinge installed in place of the fabricated box on the right (passenger) side.

 

[Stonecoldtx]

I got the hood mounted last night, and this morning, I filled the gauge cluster with the new Dakota Digital gauges

 

[55wagoncrazy]

I wish I would have known you were replacing the tank. I would have had Mickey grab it with the rear end he is having me put in his 55 convertible. I
need a 57 wagon tank for my sedan delivery project.

Mikey

 

[Stonecoldtx]

I wish I would have known you were replacing the tank. I would have had Mickey grab it with the rear end he is having me put in his 55 convertible. I
need a 57 wagon tank for my sedan delivery project.

Mikey

This tank was a repro, and though the car only has 1400 miles on it since it was built, it was completed some 10 years ago, and mostly sat around, so I don't know the condition of the tank . . . Mickey could probably still pick this up, but it might be better to just get a new repro from someplace, like Tanks, Inc.

 

[Stonecoldtx]

As I was looking at the picture of my gauges, something didn't look right . . . I couldn't quite put my finger on it, and then it dawned on me that I hadn't installed the trim rings; the gauges that were in the cluster previously were Autometer gauges, and only the main, Center gauge had a trim ring, so I had to order the set from Summit, and those should be here today.

I went ahead and installed the one that I had, and this is a picture of what it looks like with the trim ring . . .

By the way, the lights above the gauges for the turn signals, high beam and oil pressure are not used, because they are included in the Dakota Digital gauge set, so they provide blackout pieces to place in those lights.