LS3 for the Tuscan

LS3 for the Tuscan

Author
Discussion

Brummmie

5,284 posts

220 months

Sunday 7th August 2011
quotequote all
Walford said:
I have never said it cant be done (squeeze an LS into a "T" car) shrub said i had wasted my time altering the chassis

my Tuscan needed the chassis rebuilding, rebushing and painting anyway and handled appallingly badly before it was modified

have you any idea how many posts there are on this forum about Tuscan handling

i don't know how you divide the issues, if you want to put a more power full engine in you need to improve the handling, wrapping the exhausts around a front end that isn't working doesn't make sense to me

(sagaris is different geo and lower)
He hasnt wrapped the exhausts around the front, they are down the side of the block, like yours. But he made very nice bespoke ones by the looks of it, not off the shelf.

If the engine goes any lower than it is, you will clout the sump or flywheel on kerbs/speed bumps etc, using your sump as the first point of contact is not ideal?






Edited by Brummmie on Sunday 7th August 09:06


Edited by Brummmie on Sunday 7th August 09:08

macdeb

8,487 posts

254 months

Sunday 7th August 2011
quotequote all
tinker-27 said:

this is not the play ground it's a car
forum let's keep it civil and about the cars
clap

tinker-27

835 posts

223 months

Sunday 7th August 2011
quotequote all
My experience with these cars is that with careful set up and GOOD shock they seem very good , to be fair ive had more experience with ceberas and sags but they seem ok, the bump steer is the main problem but power has very little to do with that , you can still go fast in a speed six . As for diff ratios it depends on what spec motor and what you want ? 3.08 is good for big power cars and low revs and 3.64 is good for lower power cars and people who like to rev them , a Ls will rev to 7,000 with the right set up ( more is poss) . We even run cars with 4.1 - 3.9 what monaros come with ( on some specs). Like fitting the engine there are so many options and different ways to do thing depending on what you want and costs,time, what the car is going to be used for , not every one wants all out power at the expense of drivability . And it's easy to build a track bias car that never see track use which will be not so good on the road . Just take a look at Craig wins sag that wins GT cup races , all we did to the chassis when we converted it fr a road car was nitrons , stronger lower wishbones ( std modified ) STD rubber bushes , adjustable ARBS, big brakes that's it !!! , it just goes to show how well it can work even if on paper it not as good as it could be ,

Ken Barlow

86 posts

164 months

Monday 8th August 2011
quotequote all
tinker-27 said:
It has probably took me longer to make the headers than chop the chassis ! .
Have you ever lifted a body off a Tuscan and reworked a chassis, i have been told to do it properly, on a "car bench" and then paint it is 4 weeks min
I was told by one of the people doing the conversion's that this route is 10 thousand pounds more expensive

macdeb

8,487 posts

254 months

Monday 8th August 2011
quotequote all
Ken Barlow said:
Have you ever lifted a body off a Tuscan and reworked a chassis, i have been told to do it properly, on a "car bench" and then paint it is 4 weeks min
I was told by one of the people doing the conversion's that this route is 10 thousand pounds more expensive
I think he probably has, have you?
This kind of thing alienates those with knowledge and experience to come on here and try to help. That's why PH is slowley degenerating into a 'my mate sez this' source of information rather than what used to be regarded as an honest informative place to look. No wonder a lot of well respected, experienced and well meaning people have ceased to post on here. I used to come here in the early days and be grateful of help/advice given, now I look at it more like reading a comic book. rolleyes
Seems you've 'been told' a lot, so listen on.


Edited by macdeb on Monday 8th August 20:05

tinker-27

835 posts

223 months

Monday 8th August 2011
quotequote all
Yes I have done body off restoration on a tvr, didn't take four weeks, But it depends on how bad it is I suppose ,the Tuscan I converted was in very good condition so didn't need body off , just a engine chucked in it .

bikealarmblair

1,085 posts

207 months

Monday 8th August 2011
quotequote all
Ken Barlow said:
Have you ever lifted a body off a Tuscan and reworked a chassis,
Here's one he did earlier


Ken Barlow

86 posts

164 months

Monday 8th August 2011
quotequote all
bikealarmblair said:
Ken Barlow said:
Have you ever lifted a body off a Tuscan and reworked a chassis,
Here's one he did earlier

Sorry dont understand

why bother squeezing the exhaust in, when you have gone this far, just move the chassis rails out, am more confused than before

tinker-27

835 posts

223 months

Monday 8th August 2011
quotequote all
Right we didn't need to take the body off so why would we ? This has gone from it can't be done to it's not how you would have done it , oh and the don't handle so don't put more power into them ! Some of you seem to have a problem with people doing it there way , this thread was about ls in a Tuscan which fits end of, you say you don't want to get into converting cars but you are happy to slag off people's work without seeing it , you have said it can't be done correctly as did others well it can ,I'm not doing this for advertising just putting info onto a petrol head forum ! There are others out there doing more tvrs than me,Shame you are slating all our work on here. from what I see there are some tasty cars being built yours included when it's done ,
That pic is brummies cerbera not a Tuscan confusion over . The fastest tvr in the world we think ? Built here !!!!!!!

Omerta

2,009 posts

250 months

Tuesday 9th August 2011
quotequote all
I just reread this thread to try to understand what the complaints are about and I still don't get it. Every conversion is going to be different because the objectives of the owner are different, each builder will solve problems in different ways, and over time we hopefully all learn from what has gone before.

My LS Cerb (one of the first started, likely to be the last finished!) has got headers going forward chim/griff style because I wanted the engine as low as possible and a straight exit from the exhaust port which sits just above the top chassis rail, and I personally didn't want to cut the chassis. I'm not saying this is the best way, it was just my way.

I'm always interested in what other approaches people take and why - the pics Tinker posted on page 1 reveal some good information from an expert that I would have valued at the start of my build, so I can't understand the accusations here of experts not sharing. Shpub doesn't post so often these days, but has shared much more than most over the years and deserves a bit of slack if he's not posting here so often now.


tinker-27

835 posts

223 months

Tuesday 9th August 2011
quotequote all
Getting the exhaust in is the biggest problem on most conversions , getting 1D bends etc helps but still takes time , going forward, down the side doesnt really matter they all work . We all do them different for different reasons and that does not mean everyone else is wrong !! How's your going ?

Omerta

2,009 posts

250 months

Tuesday 9th August 2011
quotequote all
Pic in my profile is a few years old, but nothing's changed since then. A few more...





Close to finally having a workshop set up again after moving house a couple of times and other distractions, so maybe start making progress again later this year.

tinker-27

835 posts

223 months

Tuesday 9th August 2011
quotequote all
Headers looking good !! What you messing about at getvit done !!!!! ,I notice in one shot you have a after Market crank pulley ? ,be careful as some are not so good , when we ran a car in time attack it broke the cam chain three times , took some finding but it was the crap after Market pulleys not damping out the harmonics and snapping chains (even dual chains) .went back to STD and problem gone !! (ATI are the only ones I would use now). You will love it when it's done !!!

Omerta

2,009 posts

250 months

Tuesday 9th August 2011
quotequote all
Yeah headers are finished now - I just dont have any pics here - and look like they'll do OK. I might wish I'd gone for a bigger diameter though, they're 1 3/4" and iirc Brummie's are 1 7/8, or is that 2" now?

Yep it is an aftermarket pulley with 10% reduced drive - the rubber in the original was stuffed anyway. I don't remember where I bought it but will look out for any problems there. Cheers

bikealarmblair

1,085 posts

207 months

Tuesday 9th August 2011
quotequote all
Omerta said:
I just reread this thread to try to understand what the complaints are about and I still don't get it. Every conversion is going to be different because the objectives of the owner are different, each builder will solve problems in different ways, and over time we hopefully all learn from what has gone before.
+1

tinker-27

835 posts

223 months

Tuesday 9th August 2011
quotequote all
1"3/4 are big enough , brummies are the same , I have tried bigger headers but don't think they work that well unless you are on a real big inch motor ,427" etc , the e36 M3 with a stock ls3 just a mild cam did 438bhp @ wheels at tvr power on 1"3/4 headers and brummies is 530@ wheels now so don't think you will be losing anything ,

Brummmie

5,284 posts

220 months

Wednesday 10th August 2011
quotequote all
Walford said:
Am not slagging off anybody,s car or work, simply pointing out that some of the lower cost conversions are not the same as more expensive ones, my point is simple the higher you mount the engine the easier it is to get the exhaust pipes on

sorry if people take this as a complaint,

thanks to everybody who has posted pics and tech info

Tchou

So how low can you go!?
Are you so low the sump and flywheel are the lowest points on the car?
Have you modified the sump/flywheel to clear?
I am just curious hippy

Ken Barlow

86 posts

164 months

Wednesday 31st August 2011
quotequote all
bikealarmblair said:
Walford said:
The other big cost saving, is not to change gear/ final drive ratio,s the big V8 needs taller gears so seam like your not in top gear when your on big roads
Does your run? What's it like compared to STD?
Walfords car has been on the road since march,
not surprised he has stopped posting on here

The Facts don't seam very welcome here

Quite clearly some of the engine installs are very high and on big angles,

that is the point of these forums, i found his post very informative
as i want to do a DIY conversion myself

,

tinker-27

835 posts

223 months

Thursday 1st September 2011
quotequote all
Where are these " big angles" ? The reason I posted on here is because I have done a Ls in a Tuscan and want people to have some answers , so there are four or five people going it with no problems and someone saying they are all wrong !! , and it seems to me when you answer the questions it all goes quite ? . We are all entitled to our opinions , it does seem that some people through the teddy out if they don't get there way . There are always more than one way to do things and they can both be right ! Comment like engines fitted on roofs are just stupid and don't help the people who are looking at doing a conversion ( as per the title ) .

tinker-27

835 posts

223 months

Thursday 1st September 2011
quotequote all
Where are these " big angles" ? The reason I posted on here is because I have done a Ls in a Tuscan and want people to have some answers , so there are four or five people going it with no problems and someone saying they are all wrong !! , and it seems to me when you answer the questions it all goes quite ? . We are all entitled to our opinions , it does seem that some people through the teddy out if they don't get there way . There are always more than one way to do things and they can both be right ! Comment like engines fitted on roofs are just stupid and don't help the people who are looking at doing a conversion ( as per the title ) . The "facts are they fit " the flywheel is pretty much the lowest point even with a wet sump