meindaparish

I've been neglecting you guys for a while. But, I've been back at it. I'm using a t5. I've already cut my firewall and made all my mounts. If you all can wait till later in the week. I'll take as many pics as possible. I really do think that we should mostly stop trying to worry about fitting either trans in without cutting. As much as it would be nice to not believe him, BRAAP is right. It won't happen. I just want to see guys making good progress on thier cars, instead of wasting time beating a dead horse. so get out there and fire up the sawzall, side grinder, plasma cutter, Plastic explosives, or whatever else you need to get through your firewall. Lol.

So I finally got back to it today.... been waiting on time and funding(aren't we all!) I finally completed the motor mounts 100%. Just gotta paint em now. They came out well, definitely think they will work great. The good part is, you can drill the hole where ever you want, so I can move the motor slightly forward or back. The other side is open so you can get the the bolt/nut. Ill post more pics later

Thanks for the concern, drew. Yes it was cinder blocks, but now I have it on stands too. I needed to use them because at first my jack stands were in the way. But, all is well now. Nola cobra, PM your number if you wanted to chat and come check out how things are going.

I've been working on my project, but I work 6-7 days of the week. Hopefully Thursday and Friday I will be finishing fabrication of the trans tunnel I cut, and the motor mounts( which are mostly done).

I really hate to mess with suspension geometry. It is something that is gets so much R & D, moving it around seems too risky. But at the same time, alot of people dont realize that putting coilovers on a car changes the roll center of the suspension, so maybe moving the rack wont be that big of a problem with a little calculation. I just think that the added bump steer would be detrimental in a road race/ drift/ autoX car, since track surfaces are far from perfect. Thats why I just decided to trim the tranny tunnel.

Well BRAPP, in all your infinite knowledge and research, you were right! I can fit the ls1/t5 without cutting the firewall/trans tunnel , but I would have to have it position about 3 inches more forward than I want to (since im going for a ultimate road race / drift setup). It would still technically work fine, but its not worth it to me, Id rather just cut the trans tunnel a bit so i can have it as far back as possible. So you were right, I will need to cut a bit. But no worries, Im not scared! lol.

I could make a few for people if they really wanted them. I just dont wanna deal with any lawsuits or anything if something breaks!! lol Not that I dont trust my welds or anything, but you know how it goes. When everything is 100 % i will give some good pics and measurments. And that wood on the ground is the wood flooring left over from the house that was there. When they demolished the house, they didnt pull up the wood flooring off of the slab.

sorry for the ignorance cary, but can you send me a link to the parts you found on speedway. I cant seem to find them.

Update.... again with the help of graham from v8rx7forum, I found this http://www.shopfbparts.com/servlet/Detail?no=266 Thats the exact pilot bearing needed to adapt the ls1 to the t5

Ohh god, so much pressure! Stop looking at me! lol. Just kidding. Im gonna be back on it tonight at like 4:00pm. Keep an eye out for updates tonight hopefully. Btw, i don't know if you all read my other thread, but I've solved the problem of the clutch/flywheel/pressure plate. I spoke with a fellow hybrid builder on v8rx7forums.com named Graham/fx who did a 5.3 to world class t5 build on his vert FCRX7. Amazingly enough, he said a stock ls1 flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate is what he used. For throwout purposes he used a Howe hydraulic throwout bearing found here: http://www.howeracing.com/p-7753-imp...-clutches.aspx That with a pilot bearing from a newer GM truck and its a wrap. He said it goes together like stock.

Scott, I've solved the problem of the clutch/flywheel/pressure plate. I spoke with a fellow hybrid builder on v8rx7forums.com named Graham/fx who did a 5.3 to world class t5 build on his vert FCRX7. Amazingly enough, he said a stock ls1 flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate is what he used. For throwout purposes he used a Howe hydraulic throwout bearing found here: http://www.howeracing.com/p-7753-improved-hydraulic-for-stock-clutches.aspx To finish off the issue, he said he used a stock pilot bearing from a newer GM pickup truck. Im very happy with this info. He said it went together like stock and performs just fine on his road tests. The TO bearing is only 165 dollars from howe. Not too bad IMO.

I'm itching to get back to it tomorrow so I can give you guys a definite answer. I'm not saying it will definitly work, but for mine and everyones sake, I hope it does. Also, Has no one yet tryed to kind of notch and modify an fbody oil pan to give more rack clearance?

Sounds logical....heavy chevy!

Well, technically the motor is not bolted in yet, lol. But, I had it in the exact position that it will be in when it will be bolted down (hopefully in a few days) and it(exhaust) cleared the steering shaft, the oil pan was about 1/2 inch away from the steering rack, too. The t5 and bellhousing slopes dramatically faster downward than a t56, and leads to a much physically lower point. Thus allowing me to get the engine VERY close to the fire wall, clearing the dip in the oil pan. I dont wanna jynx anything yet, but things look good. Ill keep updating ASAP.

Ill take alot of pics tomorrow to show everyone what I mean. BTW Im using a world class t5, and i really think more people should look into them. You can build them to hold 600 hp for fairly cheap, and they are TINY.

not to dig this up again, but Im all mocked up, and Im not having ANY of these issues with my build. All Im doing to gain ample clearance in all directions is taking out the heater core, soldering some extensions, and cutting new holes closer to the battery tray. Its not that hard, only as complicated as soldering copper and taking the dash apart. This lets me move the engine far enough back to clear the hump in the F body oil pan, and with using fbody headers, the steering shaft is fine. Also, the engine is low enough to not notch the hood. Using 5.3 truck mounts notched and welded a plate, all I need to do is box in about 1 inch and weld another plate to the bottom and ill be fine.

Scott, I too am not 100 percent yet, but Ive looked into it, and I know its not too hard. There is a guy im in contact with that did an lsx rx7 with a world class t5, and I plan on messaging him soon. Ill let you know what exactly i come up with. Honestly, its the most ignorant part of my build yet. I basically just knew that i didnt want to fit, pay for, or find a T56. I also knew that others have done it, so its possible. With knowing this, I just jumped on it when i foudn a WC t5.

Got my world class t5 today, 350 bucks. My cousin trying to check out some clearance. Late tonight I put my mock up, cracked ls1 block and extra heads together to start to mock up and fabricate my motor mount extensions. It looks like the truck motor mounts will work perfectly. Also, the F body exhaust manifolds clear the steering shaft BEAUTIFULLY. The whole package appears flawless, I must admit. Ill take a bunch of pics tomorrow in the daylight so everyone can see. I love progress.

I still want to use a t5 on my ls1 z32 i think...I cant see spending the 1000 plus dollars on the t56 right now. Anyone ever found out whether the stock z32 tranny is easily adapted to the ls1?

i really hope this goes somewhere. Ive also thought about this idea for a long time.

UPDATE: Finally got the engine bay totally ready for the ls1. I found rust so it took longer than expected due to all the sandblasting and rust fixing that I had to do. heres a few pics of the engine bay all prepped and ready. [/url]

UPDATE: I pulled that heavy ass vg30de out 2 days ago, heres pictures. Did it by my self, it SUCKED! My flooded, hurricane Katrina garage/driveway in which I am doing the swap.

My plans are to sell the 5.3 block, rods, pistons, extra LS1 intake manifold that I have, as well as the heads off of the ls1 (since im using the 5.3 heads). Soo if anyone wants any of that, let me know. The block has been hot tanked clean and checked for straightness by a machine shop. The cross honings look pretty good too. So if anyone is interested, shoot me a PM. Thanks!

It is from an SS camaro. The motor was pulled out and replaced with a built ls1. So the guy just put the 5.3 truck oil pan on it so i could take it home. Im in the process of building it now, so ill keep updates when i get them. P.S. I got the motor for 300 bucks!

I went ahead and got the ls1 last weekend. Come tomorrow I will be starting to assemble the bottom end. High Compression 5.7l here we come!