My LSX swap - 1991 Z28 convertible

[BlueZee28]

Here's the build specs:



Mains:

Block

1. 2.5607
2. 2.5606
3. 2.5610
4. 2.5606
5. 2.5608

Crank

1. 2.5586
2. 2.5586
3. 2.5588
4. 2.5588
5. 2.5589

Clearance

1. .0019
2. .0020
3. .0022
4. .0022
5. .0021

Rods:


Rod

1. 2.1016
2. 2.1017
3. 2.1016
4. 2.1015
5. 2.1015
6. 2.1016
7. 2.1016
8. 2.1016

Crank

1. 2.0995
2. 2.0995
3. 2.0994
4. 2.0995
5. 2.0994
6. 2.0994
7. 2.0995
8. 2.0994

Clearance

1. .0021
2. .0022
3. .0022
4. .0020
5. .0021
6. .0022
7. .0021
8. .0022

Cylinders 4.030 + or - .00025

Pistons 4.0265 + or - .00025

Clearance .0035 + or - .00025


Ring Gaps

1st .020 + or - .001
2nd .018 + or - .001
Oil .016 + or - .001



Crank end play .006


Rod side play (between rods) .012 + or - .001

Rod Torque 50ft/lb

Mains:

Inner 50ft/lb
Outer 58ft/lb
Side 18ft/lb




Cam degreed in at 109








I took a pic of the freshly cleaned heads with PRC springs from Texas Speed.







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I suppose this is the point of no return. :salute: :evillol:



Thanks to Mike (1mean96ss) for helping me out, the car is no longer drivable in its current state:







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I got the valve covers back from getting powdercoated. I think they turned out pretty sharp. The color is a version of Black Chrome. Here's a few pictures in indoor lighting, and then what they look like on the block:











I also picked up my Scorpions the other day!

[Zdrrguy]

Hey Nick, Thanks for all the updates, I am planning the same job for my 91 and was wondering about a few things.

Will the Truck intake fit under the stock hood ??

I know it will not be as good as the LS2 or LS6 intake but I am trying todo this on a budget.

do you keep the stock K-member??

Will the 4l80e tranny fit in our cars??

Thanks, Mark

http://www.ccfbg.com/sig/zdrr2.gif

[BlueZee28]

Originally Posted by Zdrrguy

Hey Nick, Thanks for all the updates, I am planning the same job for my 91 and was wondering about a few things.

Will the Truck intake fit under the stock hood ??

I know it will not be as good as the LS2 or LS6 intake but I am trying todo this on a budget.

do you keep the stock K-member??

Will the 4l80e tranny fit in our cars??

Thanks, Mark

http://www.ccfbg.com/sig/zdrr2.gif

No the truck intake won't work. You'd have to have a really big cowl hood for it to fit, like bigger than a 4" cowl. If you want to do it on a budget pick up a regular LS1 intake (which is what I have for right now) which can be had ranging from FREE to about $30 on LS1tech.com

You CAN use the stock k-member, most people do. But I'm not, in fact I ordered a tubular piece from Spohn thru hawksthirdgenparts.com. If you want to use the stock k-member and use a/c, you either have to put a notch in the k-member to make room for the LS1's a/c compressor, or use a custom bracket which is expensive to use a 3rd gen compressor. With the aftermarket k-member I won't have any issues.

And yes, the 4L80E will work, although I personally don't recommend it. The first gear on those transmissions is SUPER short because they're made for trucks to haul with. I would get a 4L60E.






And I guess I need to update again:



Here's from the mess getting the old parts out of the car. The guy that bought the engine and trans from me picked them up last weekend and paid me in full ($1,000 for everything 8O )























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I took off the EVAP line all the way back to the tank, but I still need to cap it off with a small filter or breather. I also used a bunch of Simple Green and a power sprayer to clean out the engine bay, and I cut the hole in the battery tray for the 4th gen coolant reservoir. The hole is a little bigger than it needs to be, but it does the trick. Upon further inspection of the reservoir I bought, it has a huge crack in the top of it so I need to get a new one before I put it in. The picture is just to show the fitment, it wasn't bolted down or anything.





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Then this past Sunday I picked up a T56. It has the Hurst shifter, a Spec 4 clutch and Spec aluminum flywheel, both with only 100 miles on them, plus all the hydrolics. It put me back $1,200

[BlueZee28]

I made some more progress yesterday and today. I taped off most of the engine bay and put primer down on parts that had started to surface rust. I sprayed some blue in the bay, but ran out before I got it good and covered. So on Tuesday I'm going to have to buy another can of paint so I can finish it and then put clear coat over everything. I also need to take a rag and some thinner to the brake lines and booster as well as the fuel lines. It got way too complicated taping them off, and I really felt too lazy to remove them.

I also started working on the inside of the car this afternoon. I got the seats and the top of the center console pulled out so I can cut the hole for the Hurst shifter. For those of you that swapped to T56's, do you have any pictures of how big of a hole you cut? Would it be good enough just to make a hole within the area of the 4 bolt holes for the automatic shifter? And is there any more modifications needed for the T56 swap as far as the center console is concerned?

[Epitaph]

I'm watching this build just to let you know, I'd like to see updates (when possible).

[BlueZee28]

Originally Posted by Epitath

I'm watching this build just to let you know, I'd like to see updates (when possible).

Ask and ye shall recieve.

The clear coat was done on the paint job last weekend, and with the help of a friend I got the old k-member out this week and put in the new (sexy) tubular Spohn k-member and the LSX motor mount plates. I need to re-run the brake lines and undercoat the car tomorrow with some POR-15 and then as soon as I have time to get the T56 bolted to the motor I will be putting it in the car for a test fit and get it ready to cut the hole in the console for the shifter.










Next weekend I am picking up a set of stainless long tubes for it, and I bought the wiring harness this week as well. It's starting to finally come together.

[BlueZee28]

I did some more piddling around with it today. I intended to start undercoating the car with the can of POR-15 I bought, but because it rained real hard today there was still a lot of moisture in the air and I was afraid it might hinder the undercoating's bond with the underside of the car. I ended up just cleaning up the transmission tunnel with Simple Green and some rags to get it ready for the POR-15. I think what I'm going to do is just concentrate on the transmission tunnel and then undercoat the rest of the car once it's running and I can take it to my friend's shop and use his lift. It would be pretty uncomfortable trying to undercoat an entire car while it is sitting 2 ft above the floor on jack stands.

Anyways, I was really pleased with how clean the under side of the car was under all the road grime. The trans tunnel looks brand new! Keep in mind this car has 103,xxx miles on it, and has been driven in rain and snow. Even with that considered, the frame and floor panels look awesome, the only surface rust on the bottom of the car is where the sub frame connectors were welded on.






Then after working on that for a little while and getting sick of laying on my back, I started working on the 4th gen windshield washer reservoir. It's not secured down yet, but I'll have it mounted tomorrow. It's just sitting in there right now because I was checking how well it fits, and it fits well!







More of the reservoir install (you can't see it from my custom grill because I mounted it so high on the frame. I even got to keep the plastic "funnel" that directs air from the grill area to the radiator:







I also got around to re-running the brake line to the passenger side front caliper. All I did was un-wind some of the line and ran it down closer to the center bar on the k-member and fed it over the a-arm mount on the other side. I didn't have to end up buying a new brake line, just used a single zip tie in the middle and then used the holes that Spohn drills in the k-member to mount it on the ends. It's not really pretty but it does the job:

[Milk 1027]

nice

[Sinister]

Keep up the good work Nick...I'm watching this build also!

[91t/a]

nice man....i wish i had the money and balls to dig into mine like that!!!! cant wait to seee it done and go for a SPIN! :hap pyanim::happyanim :

[Super83Z]

Did you cut the hole yet? When I did mine I mocked the tranny in place before doing the clutch and marked the hole. I got a universal lower boot from Autozoo and used that for my stencil. No other modifications to the console are needed. The factory 5-speed top plate works with no problems.

[BlueZee28]

I have not cut it yet. I wasn't sure how I wanted to go about cutting it. Either put the engine and trans together and drop them in, then mark where I want the hole from the bottom and drill 4 corners with a drill bit and then saw it out from inside the car...not sure. I would like to not have to take the engine and trans back out of the car once it is in there though.

[BlueZee28]

I picked up some stainless longtubes a few weeks ago and finally got the header bolts I needed in from Summit, so I did a mock-up for fitment. I think they look pretty sweet. I also were bonkers with my paypal account since we sold my wife's IROC-Z this past weekend, I bought an LS6 intake with rails and injectors from LS1tech, paid for my wiring harness which will be here tomorrow, got some plugs and wires, a Ram adjustable master cyl, a bunch of Russell Performance fittings and some braided line to make my own fuel delivery system, and I also ordered my adjustable torque arm for the T56 swap:

[Q's 91z28]

Damn....that looks sexy....keep up the good work Nick.