jonus079

yea i agree. thats something i likely going to add. not that i think it will right out snap (tig welding is STRONG) but as wheelman said it could flex and after a while fail.

yeap, i welded the stock crossmemeber in place. there are also 1/8 plates welded to the bottom of the front frame rails for the entire length. im actually planning on running the exhaust out the back. i have a good amount of the downpipe done and it looks like everything will fit. the down pipe has a 3.5 inch diameter so its a tight fit. once i finish it ill post some pictures. it would be even harder to run the down pipe out the back if i kept the stock towers, plus i dont like how they look. when i first mocked up the engine over the summer (without any mounts) i used a t56 core that a friend let me borrow to make sure i wouldnt have any issues. the engine is in just about the same place, but about 1/4 higher and about 1/2 further back. i think i should be fine (well i hope).

finally! winter break is here and i wasted no time and got right back on my 240z. well i just couldnt bring myself to buy ready made motor mounts for the s30 chassis so i decided to go custom. problem was i really didnt like the universal weld in motor mounts ive seen. my main problem was with the bushings. they just didnt seem thick enough. i really want this car to be as comfortable as possible so i decided to go with the gto ls2 mounts. i bought a set off ebay for $65 which i thought was a good deal. first thing i noticed when i mounted them on the engine is they are off center. no problem... i just redrilled the holes so they are the same distance from the center of the engine. then i made a crossmember and used ~ 3/8 plates for the mounts. everything it TIG welded. i think it worked very well. the engine is about 1/16 of an inch to the passenger side but i can live with that. i still have to weld the bottom which ill do once i put the chassis back on the rotissery to do some the rear end fabrication. the next step is to make the down pipe. its also gunna be very tight but im confident it will fit. btw look how nicley the oil pan wings clear the t/c mounts. its like it was ment for it! THE BIG MISTAKE: as you can see from the pictures i cut a big chunk out of the driverside engine stand. turns out i didnt need to. the steering shaft fits fine without the chunk removed. i about threw a wrench through the window in my garage when i figured that one out. no problem however, theres a guy near my house who happens to be selling the stands for $25! still a stupid mistake. if youd like to see bigger pictures visit the link in my sig.

first thing i thought when i looked at the picture.

couldnt have said it better myslef

i cant believe i just saw that...wow and is it just me or was there a supercharger that didnt have the belt on yet. can you imaage the sound with the supercharger?

or you could have the best of both world... turbo and low down torque!

actually, i dont think that engine will work. first off the water pump is very strange looking because its mounted diffrently than a rear wheel drive engine. i also rember reading that i has a diffrent crank shaft to mount up with a fwd transmission.

the engine is mounted rouughly in the same position as where the ready made mounts put it (oil filler cap lines up with the pas. side strut tower). i havent created the mounts yet but i can move the engine back further and it will still clear the shock tower because of how low it is. heres what my costs came out to so far. engine: $400 oil pan: $75 oil pickup/dipstick tube/dipstick: $42 intake manifold: $35 aeromotive fuel rails: $200 8-42lbs injectors: $398 total: $1080 i planned on going witht aeromotive ls1 rails and upgrading the injectors for the turbo which as you can see are some of the most expensive parts on the engine. i supose you could save a about $400 if you use factory rails and injectors. there are people practially giving them away on ebay. btw my goal is 450hp+ @ 6 psi (with a t56 transmission) and 25+ mpg (highway of course)

So you want to know about the 5.3l gen III v8 huh? *(crack knuckles). Well here is what I can tell you. Background: The lm7 (5.3l) Gen III sbc engine shares the exact dimension with the ls1 meaning you can use and motor mount kit for the ls1, and it will fit the same way. The similarities don’t end there. The engine shares the same crankshaft and rods as the ls1. The only differences with the internal parts are the pistons. Obviously the pistons in the lm7 engine have a smaller diameter to make it 5.3l rather than 5.7 (ls1). The block however can be bored to ls1 displacement. If you choose to do this, you will find an endless amount of possibilities for aftermarket internal parts. The ls1 heads are very similar to the lm7 ones as well. The only difference is the intake valve is like .05 (or something like that, I cant remember the exact number) bigger. They are so similar that a popular upgrades for the ls1’s are to swap out the head for the lm7 version to up the compression ratio of the engine. The other obvious differences in the two long blocks are block material. So how much of a difference do you think iron makes over the aluminum block? 300lbs? 200lbs? Well actually if you look at the illustration below, the difference is only 118 lbs. Intake: The ls1 and lm7 (5.3l) engines uses difference intake manifold but because the engine dimensions are the same they can easily be swapped. When I first got my engine I planed on keeping the truck intake manifold. As the following picture shows, it will fit under the hood however it’s extremely tight and the engine is put far back in the engine bay. My bet is it wont work with jr mounts meaning you will probably have to custom make you engine mounts if you don’t want to cut your hood. You will also have to move the hood latch as it interferes with the manifold. The alternative to using the truck intake is to use the ls1 intake. They are very cheap (I got mine for $35 buy it now off eBay) and bolts line up exactly but you will have to move around a few things to make it all work (explained further down). The throttle body is also a direct fit but only if its NOT a drive by wire setup. As you can see from the picture bellow, the fit between the coolant hose and the throttle body is close but its clears. To increase the clearance you can heat the water pump up with any old torch (I used a propane torch) and turn the pipe. Oil pans: There are a few things you can do here. All ls1 oil pans will work with the lm7 or any gen III sbc engine. In my case I am using the corvette oil pan with allows me to mount the engine extremely low in the chassis but I am custom making my motor mounts. The simplest alternative is to get an f-body oil pan, pickup tube, dip stick tube and dipstick. It’s a direct bolt on solution. This will alow you to use jr's ls1 mounts without any problems. Transmissions: Since the two engines share all the same dimensions and crankshaft, the t56 and clutch/flywheel are direct bolt ups. No modification needed. Pretty much, any transmission you can use on an ls1, you can also use on an lm7 or any Gen III sbc engine. Headers: Since the engine has the same dimensions, any heads you can use on the ls1, you can also on the lm7. The biggest problem: The only major problem I ran into is the alternator. Because its mounted so high it actually hits the hood. To fix this problem I modified the lm7 alternator bracket to swing it further out. This solution works well and only takes a spacer and cut off wheel to pull off. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the modified bracket and but once I go home for thanksgiving break (im away at college) ill try and get some good pictures to give you an idea of what needs to be done. Here is a picture of my serpentine belt system. There are a lot of other ways to deal with the problem other than the one I listed above including swapping all the pulley (including the water pump) to the ones used on the ls1. I think the lm7 is a great engine an I am currently using it in my 1972 240z. There are people over at performancetruck.net with turbo charged lm7’s putting close to 700rwhp on stock internals! The cost for the engine itself is also significantly lower. I found my engine for about $400 with 49k miles (they even let me check the odometer on the SUV before they took the engine out). Of coarse all the modifications I’ve listed about adds up. Still, for the intake, oil pan, and all the other parts I needed to make the engine work, you still save a lot over an ls1, especially if you get an ls1 from a corvette. Cost vs reliability and performance makes it a hard engine to ignore in the V8 category. So really, I cant think of a reason not to choose the lm7 although Im not saying its any better or worse than the ls1.

thanks, thats what i needed to know.

does anyone know the name of the company that makes the s12w calipers. its not toyota is it?

this winter im gunna start the body work on my 240z. i already have the windshield out (it was out when i bought ht car) and all the other windows removed. my question is whats the best way to take the rear hatch window out without breaking it? also who would i call the have it put back in? i talked to one auto glass company in my area and they said they will not put old glass back in. they told me i would have to order a new window.... sounds like b.s. to me.

id be interested in knowing if there is rwd transmission that mounts to it. the starter is in a strange place, never unstood how those things didnt get cooked.

i just dont see it. honestly i would just go with a front mount. i really dont think mounting the turbo up front is going to effect much. i mean if you really think about it, mounting it up high would raise the center of gravity.

i completely agree. i think the extra 2 feet would be barley noticeable (if at all). i don't understand why people take so much time and effort into making the charge pipes as small as possible. i mean come on, i see rear mount turbos making big power, just think about how many miles of charge tubing are in those setups. the only reason why i would take time and effort into shortening the charge pipes is because i think it looks better but i must say i like that setup allot, very clean! -Marcus

its an obx 44mm wastegate.

test fitting the engine. thats about all the work i can get done this summer, still have my senior year at college to finish up. ill be back on it winter break.

i was thinking about making another until i found out how long it actually takes to make a set. no plans as of yet to make another set. actually i havent done anything to the engine. the compression ratio on this engine is 9.5 : 1 which i think makes it ok for a while. there are people on performancetrucks.net claiming over 600hp on stock internals without problems. these engines are actually quite good with boost when properly tuned. for example http://www.performancetrucks.net/forums/showthread.php?t=395971 "we have been to the track 5 times and the dyno 3 times. one trip to the dyno we made 34runs. we have around 150runs on this set up between the dyno and the track. at least another 30 hard runs on the street. at least 50 full runs at full power of around 600rwhp." "in a stick car i bet we would be over 700rwhp on the dyno." ive heard alot of good things about this engine in stock form and i dont plan on going up to these numbers. im planning on putting down 400-500hp through a t56. considering that these guys go thier engine from a garage with unknown miles, i think i should be ok. maybe further down the road ill got with forged pistons since theyre only abotu $450-600.

it will clear the hood if you put the engine low and far back. i have some pictures showing them in the link in my sig. the big issue is the alternator which does not clear. im gunna stick with the ls1 manifold cause it fit and looks better, but i have heard the truck intake flows better and gives more torque.

i just posted somemore picture of the setup all heatwrapped up and with the ls1 intake manifold on. this time i posted it in the turbo section, heres the link

i havent yet welded that part because im still toying with the idea of using A/C, in which case ill change the entire downpipe layout . ill also wrap the downpipe for some protection and maybe add an aluminum heat deflect for safe measure.

thanks for all the positive replies, mean alot after all the time i spent. you know, im actually starting to kick myself for not adding a flex joint but ive seen alot of setups with a similar layout without problems. it also helps that the entire system is tig welded so i dont think cracking willl be a problem. and if all else fails ill just hack a section out and add one. i also plan on using a reducer right after the TB to make it 3 inches but it will be close. i also plan on using a shorter belt which will help. the belt that is on there now is fully maxing out the tensioner, fully swinging it up. it actually quite hard to get that damn belt on. i figure i should gain another cm or so with a shorter belt. Simply ingenious. thats a great idea. if the reducer isnt enough to miss the belt, i may have to got that route.

well ive been putting the finishing touches on my engine and turbo system and im just about done with it. just finished wrapping up the exhaust. all thats missing is the oil lines, injectors, fuel rails and some gaskets. now the body work begins...oh boy.....

ill get somemore picture for you soon. im using 2 bolt that go directly into the head. http://www.performancetrucks.net/forums/ they have a great forced induction section specifically for the 5.3 and 4.8 engines. for comparisons between all gen III sbc engines: http://www.automotiverebuilder.com/ar/eb040538.htm http://www.smokemup.com/tech/ls1.php for the intake swap: http://www.performancetrucks.net/forums/showthread.php?t=359987&page=1&pp=10 although i dont totaly agree with the way they did it. im planning on keeping the 5.3l waterpump rather than swapping it out for an ls1 waterpump. if you have any specific questions just pm me and i can likely answer it. with the corvette oil pan there is more ground clearence yet they hold more oil. this is important cause i plan on putting my car very low. another plus is that it sits high enough (or alteast in my set up it does) to where the crossmember protects it from the road. keep in mind that im using custom mounts. i dont think you can use this pan with J's engine mounts.