maichor

Cyrus emailed a picture of his new crossmember. LOOKING GOOD! You can copy and paste this URL to see it. The link will not work since geocities forbids it. http://www.geocities.com/maichor75104/1.jpg

Here ya go! If you right click and select properties, copy the web address for the photo and then go to the board and click on image. Paste the web address of the photo. Mark, owner of S&P said you can keep the stock PS with this setup. The AC is about 2" tighter than stock.

1) I am going to see if I can modify the AC bracket. I'm sure somebody could do it. 2) All accessoies clear the mounts. 3) Some people say they didn't have to widen the tunnel. I widened the tunnel and cut off a few of the cooling fins on the trans. That was to get the motor way over to the passenger's side. JTR setup is 3/4" to that side as was the stock motor. However, When I went to fit my headers, I moved the motor back toward the center. I only have about a 1/4" offset now.

Very good point. I have thought of that. I ordered a catalog from Borgeson for that very reason. They also sell a cv style joint that works fine at angles up to 70 degrees. I can make things work the way I have them now. However, if I added the extra U-joint, I could use the center dump headers on both sides, That is a very clean look and has no other problems with my setup. I just don't know the cost yet. P.S. Here is a pic of the mounts I got from S&P

Hey Jeromio, The rack is from a 1984 Ford Thunderbird. Terry Oxandale (blueovalz) wrote up his PS conversion and I went from there. I guess those aluminum mount towers come stock on Corvettes. However, that info came from the same guy that told me the AC compressor won't work for me. I will have to ask him why. He has done 4 LS1 swaps into different vehicles, but not into a Z. I'll let you know what I find out. I will try to keep adding photos as I go at: www.geocities.com/maichor75104/ Good luck guys!

I removed the engine mount towers. I also cut off the old rack mounts because I am converting to power steering. The headers are from Street and Performance. The driver's side is their "G-body Monte Carlo" style and the passenger's is called "tight tuck." They are going to modify the driver's side a little so that the vibration link at the upper joint clears. Other than that, everything fits. I turned the stock cross member around. I did this for 2 reasons: 1) It allowed me to weld a piece of 1" tubing directly to the cross member to mount the Ford steering rack. Correct spacing with less grinding. 2) I can now weld or bolt my fabricated cross member to the original.

I want to test my free web stuff. I put some pictures of my setup at: www.geocities.com/maichor75104/index.html !!WARNING!! These pictures are large files! I will take some more pics of the cross member with the motor out of the car. I can email anyone who wants to see them. P.S. Lonestar 1 and Jeromio had to cut the flanges off, rotate them, and weld new pieces on. No converters.

Truthfully, I don't know. I was told that it runs differently than older compressors and won't work with our stuff. That came from a guy trying to sell me a new one, so . . . I know Lonestar1 used the Sandon? Sanden? compressor. Maybe he could tell you why he did it.

I will have to take a look. We are talking about the motor mount towers, right. I cut off the towers a long time ago so it is hard to remember what it used to look like. Also, you the A/C hits the frame if you don't remove the bracket and move it in 1", I will probably go to a Sandon compressor since the stock camaro is a variable speed that I was told will not work with the Datsun stuff.

It hits the tower and the steering.

The small alternator and brackets can be purchased at Street and Performance, www.hotrodlane.cc or www.tunedport.com . . . It will be worth your time to get a catalog from them. I don't know where the accessories are on the truck motors. However, you not only need high mounts, they need to be tight or they will hit the strut towers. If you do not have an LS1 yet, you can get a 6.0L truck motor. This motor has an iron block and you can stroke it easier and cheaper than the aluminum block (~$10,000 for a stroked aluminum LS1). The truck motor has a taller intake that may not clear the hood. Also, the pan is a few inches deeper and will need to be changed.

I should be home early. I sent email!

These are the solutions I came up with for some of those problems. 1. A small GM alternator will fit high on the passengers side because the head is set back on that side. Stock alternator will not fit in the stock loction. AC seems to fit with my steering but I am doing a PS conversion to the Ford Rack. 2. Exhaust manifolds are problems on both sides. I have a mixed set of headers from Street and Performance that fit with minor modifications. Not cheap, but they are at the going rate for high quality stainless headers with ceramic coating inside and out. Alternatively, you can cut the flanges off and reweld them to the manifolds like Lonestar1 and Jeromio. 3. I cut off the old trans mounts and hammered out the tunnel. The LS1 will go all the way back with some effort. Good Luck! Oh yeah, my wife and I are expecting a baby in August and so we bought a digital camera . . . So, stay tuned for some pictures of my swap.

Thanks for the photos. I have welded a 1" tubing frame for the fuel tank. I used the stock tank straps from my donor car. I have not decided which way to put the tank. Right now I can bolt it up either way. Obviously, it fits best the way you have it. However, is the sump made to work best in the stock position?

I think I got the email. Sometimes I take a cyberspace siesta and don't get online for a while. I'll give you a call. By the way, the LS1 swap is finally coming along nicely. If I had more time, I would be done soon. NOT! I have much to do but I am making a lot of progress. Since we are so close geographically we can swap ideas. I had a rare moment of inspiration and came up with a cool idea for my power steering swap. It is in the car already! Only took a few hours!

At this point, the swap is a do it yourself job. Gary (Lonestar1), Jeromio, Phantom and I are all working on this project. Gary is done. He gave me a ride. That car is killer. I have the motor in the car and I am working on the fuel system. Everyone is doing this differently. I am converting to power steering and keeping all the accessories. I am also doing custom headers. Someone mentioned www.hotrodlane.cc. That site is for Street and Performance (S&P)in Mena, Arkansas. They have been awesome to deal with. They maintain another site www.tunedport.com. They have a mount to convert LS1 to older 350 mounts. You could then use the setback plates per JTR. However, not a good idea. If you have all the pieces, you will see that the plates are ~4" long and the conversion pieces are a few more inches long. That is a lot of leverage on the aluminum block. I used the S&P biscuit mount kit with corvette towers. I then built a cross member directly under the motor. No pics yet, but it is very simple. You can then chop off the Datsun towers and all accessories fit except the alternator which needs to be moved high to the passenger's side. S&P has the mounts for that conversion. Dig in! Solving all the problems is the fun part for me. I am currently putting the fuel system together with a camaro tank like Jeromio.

DON'T SCRAP THE PROJECT YET! Just don't start from the block. True, LS1 stuff is expensive. However, hunt ebay or auctions and get a complete motor and mated trans. I saw and rode ine Lone's car. ZOOOOOOM! Awesome! Save your pennies. I bought a totalled WS6 Trans Am. It was a 2001 with less than 9000 miles. I paid $4500, parted out many things, and so far my cost is down to $3000. Soon to be $2500. Good luck! The swap is not easy, but I'm having a blast dreaming of solutions.

I have the motor and the car and the JTR kit. Of course, the kit doesn't work with the LS1. The only ideas I have are; 1) fabricate 2) Street an Performance makes LS1 adapter plates that allow you to use the older style motor mounts. Can I use the JTR stuff that way?