Conversion to Turbo LS6 Power

[Tydriver]

Hey guys, made alot of progress in the "visual progress" department this weekend. Also got to roll down to JSmanufacturing.com to see the birth of a CNC Plasma cutter thats no doubt going to reap many a SyTy project in its lifetime.. (I am awaiting project #1 to complete my LS1 Front Disc brake conversion 8) )

Anyhow, heres where I am now :










People with the keen eyeball will notice that the LS1 calipers are NOT shown, as well as the CV shafts. They are both awaiting the bracketry to allow the larger brakes to be installed. This thing is gonna corner as good as it looks (I hope), and hopefully stop really well too !!!

A keen eye will also notice the Edelbrock Tie rod connectors. I haven't had a chance to turn the wheel yet.. But I think that this maybe a MUST for those with coil overs concerned about contacting the springs, it seems to provide more clearance IMO. Time will tell..

I'm hoping that next weekend, will lead to the placement of the motor bolted to both the converted LS1 motor mounts and the transmission. The altered oil pan will also be in place. Its going to be a very big day for me any my project. Its going to throw some items up I am sure I havent dealt with yet.. As well as get me just that much closer.. I can hardly wait !! As always, alot more pictures are posted on my site, and will be updated with stuff that doesnt make it to the forums..

[LS1Nica]

Now that looks awesome! Great work man.

[farmtruc]

Look like some nice work!
What are the details on the engine? I'm sure it's going to be turbocharged!

thanks,

allen

[Tydriver]

Originally posted by farmtruc@Feb 14 2005, 07:34 PM
Look like some nice work!
What are the details on the engine? I'm sure it's going to be turbocharged!

thanks,

allen

My apologies, been working like a DOG here..

Right now the initial plans are to put the stock LS1 motor in that I acquired from a 2000 Camaro SS. ( so what 320-330hp ??) Depending on what the exhaust nitemare turns into, it may go turbo charged from the beginning.. I wanted to get the LS1 in and running in "normally aspirated" mode first before I attempted to tackle turbocharging, but that may NOT happen sorta depends I guess..

Long term goals/plans are as follows:

One BFT or a Pair of smaller ones..
60# Injects
A2A Intercooler (if it will fit it somewhere)
6.0L LQ9 Heads (LS6 combustion chamber) to lower effective Compression ratio
LS6 Intake

And, as if that wasnt enough, ~~maybe~~ a Dana 44 Corvette IRS suspension out back (why do I do this to myself ??)

[Tydriver]

Alright !!! Not to waste any more time, I had some friends over yesterday for some Final MOCK purposes.

The the JURY is in ...........

wOOt wOOt.. Its gonna fit !! ( I always knew it would, but this is gonna be TIGHT). Going to need alot of help in the exhaust area, but the LS1 will indeed fit in the frame rails.

Here is a pic of my mock LS1 block (No rods, pistons etc, light weight mode).. Sitting on the custom motor mounts, against the transmission bellhousing with the front differential AND the modified 6.0L Oil Pan.



The following pictures show the extremely TIGHT clearances down under ;-) Dayamn.. This is gonna rock !!




Special thanks goes out to (no particular order) for lending a helping hand and giving me ideas how to conquer the issues confronting me on this conversion.

Mike D (2kwik4u, die hard enthusiast who drove up here 140mi to help yesterday)
Gary R and JJ (both Local SyTy'ers here in Indy)
Mark S. (Maxtor, and 2 Syclone owner <--- Mark is a glutton for punishment for owning two of these things &#33;&#33


The pictures tell ALOT of the story, but not the whole story.. its going to be a nite mare for the exhaust. I am currently "toy"-ing the idea of running it OUTSIDE the frame rails and running individual true dual exhaust. The worst issue is nearest the steering shaft. I currently have my 6.0L heads on loan to a friend in NC so I wasn&#39;t able to place them on the block for a better idea of the interference there but its GOING to be the most challenging part of this conversion..

I always knew it would be the hardest part, its getting time to address it now. Next days off I have I will be looking at brake lines and trying to address that issue. The stockers probably are NOT going back on.. Its time for some new brake lines.

An interesting little tidbit.. Thanks to JJ having the only other Typhoon at my house yesterday we were able to compare locations of the engine vs overall lenghth. At best an &#39;educated&#39; guess/measurement the LS1/6 motor is only going to be 3.5" longer than the 4.3L it replaced and its VERY VERY close to the same weight as the fully loaded 4.3L as well... I may just be able to pull this off

As always, more pics are on my gallery on my website..

www.turbols6.com

[GMCwantsLS1]

Looking real good&#33; I&#39;m glad my first attempt was a full size. I still want to convert my father-in-laws&#39; S-15 Jimmy sometime to LS1.

[Tydriver]

Made some progress this week on the truck, however small, its probably worth updating.. I decided it was time to tackle the brakes and get progress going on them...

So far these are the big parts I have.. I havent had a chance yet to address the flexible fluid lines since I am going to wait for the PS Pump from the corvette to be &#39;in hand&#39; to assure proper length & fittings..


Keep in mind that I cant settle for any thing not being completely custom (so it seems) so the master cylinder is causing some additional expense on my setup. I wanted to go with LS1 Fbody car master cylinder as I figuired it would be better matched to the LS1 brakes on all 4 corners. (Piston diameters, rod stroke etc).. If you were going with a standard Astro or SyTy master cylinder (prolly same parts) it would be ALOT easier to do this and alot less fabrication involved.

The parts shown on the lower LH corner of the picture are parts that go INSIDE between the booster and master cylinder. These parts are NO LONGER AVAILABLE FROM GM for the &#39;94 Astro setup. I managed to get them from a &#39;00 2500 HD Parts catalog and thats what you see here. They fit inside the booster just fine, but the &#39;PISTON&#39; is too short and is better illustrated here :




I&#39;d strongly recommend that IF you go this route you check the overall length of your piston when going with an alternative master cylinder like I did... DONT TAKE MY WORD for the dimensional length on your setup.. Yes its tedious to check, but will provide the best results in the end.

I chose to clock the hydroboost booster UPSIDE DOWN so the fluid lines all run in and out of the bottom (so I didnt have to see them and to help with routing you can see the orientation here as well as the gap that was left over from the different plate sizing between the two boosters:



Since the LS1 master cylinder completely changes the output side of the fluid lines its going to require all custom lines be made. I figuired since the truck was 12years old, the stock lines were looking a little shabby, that I would just go ahead and replace them so I purchased a flaring tool and will be running AN fittings where I can. Here&#39;s the flaring tool :



Earls wanted &#036;75+ for the same tool, that one was &#036;42/shipped from Summit.





Standard Automotive brake fittings are 45* Double Flared, this setup is a single flare setup and its a 37* for all AN fittings, keep that in mind when doing brakes, you DONT want to mix and match those fittings/flares, at the least you will have leaks, worst case failure.

The only remaining item that needs to be addressed is the brake rod length where it attaches to the pedal. Its probably best to just post another picture here :



In the above picture "X" dimension is different between the Astro booster and the SyTy vaccuum booster. Some people prefer to &#39;cut and paste&#39; with a welder these two rods.. Errrr. I&#39;m sure it works, but I&#39;m sorta nervous about doing that with a brake system part...

Both the of the items here are going to also be addressed in addition to the previously mentioned FILLER plate by Eric @ www.turbotime.us which will make the NAPA parts a straight bolt in setup. There will be parts coming very soon if you want to wait for them. Right now we just need to get the dimensions finalized and built.



Would I recommend following my build on this ?? (stupid question to ask a guy shoving an all aluminum v8 in the place of the wimpy 4.3L dont ya think ?)



Depends, if you want an all out matched setup and are running discs all the way around, then yes. (remember I am running LS1Fbody car discs all the way around, if you are still running stock brakes, stay with stock master cylinder.) and I just didnt like the idea of running a mismatched master cylinder. I am unsure of the effects, or if there is even a HUGE difference between the two master cylinders (may in fact be very close, who knows ?). I havent talked to anyone with this setup that runs discs all the way around and inquired about pedal feel or performance yet. I figuired it wasnt that much more of a headache to get it done correctly since I was this far into it anyhow. I guarantee you it can be done for cheaper/easier than I have done.. So far with the above parts, I am upto about &#036;470 (flare tool is at your discretion, since it has other uses later on, I didnt include it) and these are all REMANUFACTURER or NEW parts with NO CORES available to offset the core charges. These nuymbers would be significantly LESS using junkyard parts or a combination of them. I also have to factor in the high pressure lines that I have NOT purchased yet, if someone is interested in purchasing them get in touch with me PRIVATELY and I can see if I can get Earls to make up more than one set (of course your ends will require accomodation to SYTY hose ends @ PS Pump).





Anyhow, I hope this information helps and of course, YMMV etc etc

[Tydriver]

Got some additional parts on Friday.. Check &#39;em out 8)


GT42r Full Ball bearing turbo with fully polished compressor and a whoppin&#39; 5" inlet and turbine outlet &#33;&#33; This thing is a beast &#33;&#33;



5" Inlet tubing & elbow


Tial 38mm Wastegate and associated hardware:




Special thanks to Eric @ www.turbotime.us for the quick service and shipping. I am somewhat concerned about using the turbo... As Ben Stiller would put it.... Its GI-NORMOUS.. This thing is is a monster at 44# dead weight and bigger than a basketball.. Its going to be hard enough to get the LS6 under the hood, much less a turbo of this size.. It may force my hand to run twins.. Just depends at this point.. I hope to get a chance to get into the garage tomorrow and actually start playing with some of this stuff... Up next are headers .. I wanted to snap a pic of the mandrel bend tubes but they are coated in oil to prevent rusting and I dont think the wife would appreciate it on the living room floor.. Perhaps tomorrow once I can lay them out on the garage floor.

[1998chevy1500]

Well, on the hydroboost. If you are woried about strenght of the weld when you lengthen/shorten the pushrod I would just sleeve it with a piece of tubing around where you cut it at to help add strength.

Also as for getting lines made you will need 2 M16x1.5 to AN6 adapters and 2 M18x1.5 to AN6 adapters to make your own custom lines. The fitting on the back of the PS pump should be M16x1.5 and the input into the hydrobooster M18x1.5 the HB output is M16x1.5 and the steering box input should be M18x1.5.

Another tid bit of information is that AN style fittings are the same as JIC hydraulic fittings that you can get at any hydraulic shop or wherever you get your hydraulic lines made. The only difference is that AN is about twice the cost and comes in pretty colors. On your PS lines you also want to use all steel parts due to the pressure, no aluminum

If you want more info on hydroboost and some more info on hydraulic lines and parts and part numbers check out http://www.offroad-tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=702 where I did a writeup on my install

Good luck,

Conrad

[Tydriver]

Bringing this post back from the dead.. Finally FINALLY have progress on my truck.. I could almost pee my pants ( no, not really, but I am pretty excited)..

I finally got a chance to attempt installation of my sheetmetal oil pan:


As you can see, we&#39;ve given up on the idea that the stock pan can be modified, while I am confident it still can be, however, warping is a concern. It was decided that this project would be better off in the hands of someone who has done a few of these before (not specifically LS1 pans, but sheetmetal pans for all sorts of motors).

The pan is about 90% there, it needs some additional tweaking (nothing too major), and FINAL WELDING and then its ready to rock &#33;&#33;


The stock truck pickup tube is also very close to fitting, not 100% yet, but minor tweaks there as well:




Hopefully this beast will actually RUN this summer&#33;&#33; I wont know what to do if it does.. I will be probably too scared to drive the dang thing &#33;

Anyhow, as always, pictures are up in my gallery on the website.