LFX in a 1966 Chevelle

[67-LS1]

Without a bcm it would have been difficult if not impossible to run gauges.
No problem.
I decided no gauges. I monitor speed on my cell phone. Plus I have a Scangauge II that can plug into the OBD2 port.
I got some black textured Formica and made inserts for both sides of the dash. It almost perfectly matches the stock strip above and looks totally factory.
The “next owner” stopped by to check things out.
Note that I also color changed the interior from black to red.

[67-LS1]

Some of the millions of other issues..
I cut and reangled the upper water neck to aim it better at the radiator. I didn’t want a high point in the hose to trap air.
I put the air cleaner on the drivers side behind the headlight. I used some carbon fiber sheet I had to make a box around it keep the heat out. I also insulated the tube.
The seats I bought came with mounts that were way to tall so I cut the mounts off shortened them and welded them back. I painted the red to try to make them blend in with the carpet.
I used an old PS hose to mock up a new one. I “clocked” the hose in position so I could take it and have a hose made with the ends pointing the right way.

[67-LS1]

Exhaust system is from Pypes with Flowmaster 50 series mufflers and goes all the way to the rear bumper. I’m going to change the mufflers to turbo mufflers because the Flowmasters drone to much.
I added a transmission cooler in front of the radiator. The stock Camaro lines were almost perfect coming along the frame but needed to be extended forward. A local shop sweated on some tube extensions and from there I switched to rubber hose.
Wilwood brake master. Note that there is no booster. Full manual brakes.
The voltage regulator for the Camaro is in the bcm which I’m not running so my alternator defaults to 13.6v all the time. So far no problems.
You can see that the bottom of the engine is well protected by the K member below it. I don’t have to worry about speed bumps.

[67-LS1]

The fuel system is comprised of a Holley pump and a Corvette by pass style filter. I mounted these pieces in the frame rail under the passenger side door. This feeds the high pressure DI pump on the back of the engine.
I cut the engine cover to move it back some. Stock it hangs way off the front of the engine. I painted it the same red as the interior.

[67-LS1]

At this point I was able to start driving the car and work out any issues. Everything went pretty well. A couple rattles that I was able to chase down and eliminate.
One issue I noted was I was not able to pick up fuel level on my phone or Scangauge. So I broke down and decided I would add a gauge.
Just one.
So I had a 270 degree sweep, 3.75” diameter fuel gauge made. I put in an old gauge cup I had from my Harley days and mounted it like a tach down on the console.
I modified “230” emblems to “217” which is the cubic inch displacement of the LFX. These did not make the cut.

[67-LS1]

With the modified trans tunnel a factory console would not fit so a built one. You can see a pic of it in the previous post.
I also mentioned earlier that when I enlarged the transmission and driveshaft tunnel that I didn’t go back far enough or tall enough. This became apparent the first time I had a passenger and the driveshaft rubbed the floor.
I could either raise the car or raise the tunnel.
Easy decision.
I gutted the interior again and cut the floor out. This time I went 2” taller all the way through the back seat. Here are some pics of tunnel mod 2.

[67-LS1]

Enlarging the tunnel this much presented some interior issues.
The carpet was no longer wide enough to reach the sides of the car. So I cut it up the middle and hid the gap under the console. Also the molded carpet needed to be remolded some.

[67-LS1]

The bottom of the rear seat no longer cleared the larger tunnel so I had to modify the frame.

[67-LS1]

Interior back together.
I’ve got maybe a thousand miles on it so far and it’s pretty cool. I added a later steering box from a 96 Impale SS which tightened up the ratio and added a lot more feel to the wheel. I also added tall ball joints to get more caster which helped dramatically.
I have 2” dropped spindles with 1” dropped springs in the front and 2” dropped springs in the rear. With the car on the ground I have about 3” clearance above the drive shaft so I’m lowering the rear even more.
I’ve spent a lot of time on NVH lately trying to eliminate every creak, rattle and whistle. The rearend whines on partial load so I’m going to need to address that. I’m probably going to change the ratio. It’s currently 3.07 and I may go to 3.70. That should add some more umph to the bottom end.
Overall the car has been great. It’s super light (3260 with a full tank) handles like a slot car, stops on a dime, chirps the tire (no posi) shifting into second when I get on it and gets lots of waves and honks. Mostly from older dudes, but whatever.
I have literally thousands of other photos if anyone wants any additional detail on any aspect of my project.
What do you guys think?

[Flhchaz]

Thank you for sharing! I really dig the build and "out of the box" thinking. Cool Car!!

[PaulsSS]

Far out, how did you get the pcm to run without the bcm or fuel controller. Did you know you could do this before hand? Awesome job, must drive like a dream with that v6 in that light car. I've built a few Frankenstein's and enjoyed every min of it but none were computerized. My fav was a 79 Scout II soft top version with a SBC 350 HP. I could fry the 35's in 1st and 2nd. It was red,lifted 35's black soft top and soft doors with LOUD exhaust. 350 emblems on the frt fenders. Every time I'd stopped for gas people would come over and check it out.

[67-LS1]

Originally Posted by PaulsSS

Far out, how did you get the pcm to run without the bcm or fuel controller. Did you know you could do this before hand? Awesome job, must drive like a dream with that v6 in that light car. I've built a few Frankenstein's and enjoyed every min of it but none were computerized. My fav was a 79 Scout II soft top version with a SBC 350 HP. I could fry the 35's in 1st and 2nd. It was red,lifted 35's black soft top and soft doors with LOUD exhaust. 350 emblems on the frt fenders. Every time I'd stopped for gas people would come over and check it out.

I did do some homework first, but not enough. The fuel control is from the ECM, so that wasn’t an issue. And since I don’t have all of the systems the Camaro had I didn’t need the BCM.

What I didn’t realize I was missing without the BCM was voltage control for the alternator, so it just stays at 13.6v. So far this hasn’t been an issue. So far that’s all I know I’m lacking without the BCM.

I sent my ECM to a guy who deleted a quite a few things so my check engine light wouldn’t be on all the time. As it turned out he missed one so the light IS on all the time. I’m going to send it back to him eventually to fix this issue.

I’m also going to see if he can delete the fast idle at startup to heat the cats up faster. Is super annoying and I don’t need it because I’ll never get smog checked anyway.

I’ve been searching for anyone who makes a PWM stand alone voltage regulator that I could add. That would be cool.

Otherwise, just adding miles and working on reducing NVH.

[Tajefe Couple]

All I can say is very impressive!

[co14camaro]

Just a few thoughts

You have some mad skills and I'm really impressed! But a part of me is sad you didn't toss in an old school big block. I guess it depends on your power goals and what the car is for?

Why not go full standalone at this point? A nice Haltech Elite series ECU could've done everything you needed and given you the choice between running your old gauges or using a trick digital gauge cluster fed by the Haltech.