LS-1/T-56 Update #6

[Phantom]

Progress is being made! Motor & transmission mounts complete and AC compressor mounting figured out but butt is being kicked by header requirement on driver's side. Tried 4 different S&P units and none worked. Now talking with Sanderson. Has anyone else out there found another header manufacturer that can get past the Z steering gear without having to move it?

Is this going to take a bunch of cutting & welding on one that is close? If so - whos???

 

Help!!

[Guest JESTER3798]

i have the same question. my ls1 and t56 are sitting in the engine compartment and the trans is bolted in and im waiting to see what sort of header/manifold fit best before making the motor mounts. mine is a 280z and so far it fits like it was made for the car, a/c comp and alternator included.

 

thanks

ryan

[Guest Anonymous]

Ok i have read that if you use cast iron exhust manifolds and have them agle-milled to gain 1/4" more clearance between the steering shaft and the headpipe flange.

I don't have all the specs with me but I will get them if you want me to

hope these helps for now.

[Lone Star 1]

Try JBAheaders.com

[Phantom]

Lone - JBA is one I am going to try. First blush has their headers at about $900. That is a bit more than I really wanted to spend but may have no alternative. I'm going to follow your suggestion, though, and stick with headers,if possible, rather than the original exhaust manifold because of increased air flow.

Thanks to all for suggestions!!

[jeromio]

Jester, from which vehicle did you source your LS1: FBody or C5? I ask because if you have the FBody accessory brackets and everything fits with no mods, I am VERY interested in seeing pics.

 

For my install, I had to remove the Datsun towers and I am having to mill the A/C bracket to get the accessories to fit (removing the Datsun towers was not done solely for accessories, but it they were in the way).

 

For exhaust, I am using the 99 sheet metal manifolds. I have welded up all the fittings, including the driver's side O2 bung. I lopped off the flanges and welded 2 1/2 ich tubing on the tail ends of each manifold. I then used standard 2 1/2 inch 3 hole flanges on both. There's not a whole lot of room, but both sides fit.

[Guest JESTER3798]

the engine/trans was sourced from a 99 firebird. I have not created the motor mounts yet but the trans is bolted up and with the ac and alternator in place there seems to be about 1-1.5 inches between the framerails. i have about 3-6 inches from the firewall to the heads but i may have heater hose problems(ill cross that bridge later.

 

i was a little curious when i was test fitting the engine also. i have been following the posts for over a year now and all the clearance problems were getting me discouraged. when test fitting i just about dropped the engine completely throught the frame rails up to the bottom of the heads at least. i dont know if i have a weirdo 280 but i seem to have a lot of room.

 

hope this answers some questions.

im taking from your posts that jba has the most suited headers. what about the c5 type exhaust manifold. anyone try these yet?

 

ryan

[jeromio]

There's a coupla posts mentioning that the C5 manifolds will not work.

 

Do you also have the steering shaft in place?

 

It really does sound like you have an oddball car. You are mounting it quite a bit farther forward from where most people are putting it. But that doesn't explain the A/C. I have my engine shifted over to the passenger side about 1/2 inch. The A/C is about 1/2 inch into the frame rail (slightly less) so I'm taking 5/8 out of each side of the bracket (1/4 on one side, 3/8 on the other). Leaves me with a whopping 1/8 inch clearance and I'll probably have to unbolt the motor and lift it up a bit to actually mount the compressor.

 

So, yeah, 1 inch is really a huge difference. This is with the stock FBody bracket??

[Mike Mileski]

Remember, there is a process known as "extrude honing" where an abrasive clay-type material can be forced through the stock cast iron manifold passages to enlarge and smooth them, resulting in increased flow rates. I don't know anything about pricing, though. It might be worth looking into for this application. Here's one site.

http://www.extrudehone.com

 

Mike Mileski

Tucson, AZ

[maichor]

Hey Phantom,

 

Since you are local, there is a guy that will do custom headers reasonably priced. The benefit is that he can work with the car, instead of shipping parts back and forth. I have his number that I will not post here but I will email. If you use him, tell me if you like him. I am thinking of doing long tubes. Then you can send them off to a coating company.

 

By the way, S&P has be very accommodating.

However, they say they will alter their headers to make them fit, but I am on my 3rd set also. The ones you saw on my car worked before the coated them. They were a tacked set. When I got them back, they didn't fit. I am giving them one last shot because their headers are beautiful and reasonably priced.

[Phantom]

Maichor,

Thanks for the info. Really hoping that this can be done without having to get headers custom fabbed. I've been quoted prices of $1,500 to $2,500 to have that done. That would significantly increase the cost of this installation and would push me hard toward doing something more about relocating the steering arm. I am hopeful about some of the options though.

[maichor]

OUCH, DOUBLE OUCH$$$$$!!!! I was under the impression from Jason that his guy could do it for about $500, but that doesn't include coating. If it really does cost that much, I would seriously consider changing the steering. I was looking at the Borgeson stuff. With the odds and ends I picked up with my Ford PS rack, it will only cost ~$200 to add another joint to the shaft and a heim to hold the shaft to the frame and out of the way. Just a thought.