Talking about LS3 engine conversion in a Griffith...

[panic]

I know many of you do not like the idea of swapping a new LS3 Chevy engine (plus driveline and ancillaries) into a Griffith chassis (and I admit neither me...) but I want to try how a meaty 480hp powerplant feels on the 970kgs body of my baby which by the way is also fixed with a 3.7 rebuilt gears...

After all, the original 500 engine is getting old and lazy (and its electronis are frankly driving me crazy since months...) and to get real power from it would cost me a small fortune anyway.

The con is that I'll have to ship the car to UK but the most difficult choice seems to be:

To what address??

Topcats racing

OR

Sportmotive?

[TVR Beaver]

Some good info on 'Major Mods'....

I was thinking cheap Tuscan and LS7.... Mmmmmmmm

[carsy]

Not selling the Griff surely.

[farmeryellow]

Do it! Give the old girl some new life,

I am thinking of doing the same with mine in the future or getting a Cerb to convert.

Getting a new engine is the the same as replacing any other part on the car, With the LS engine your are turning a great car into a very special car.

Get it over to Topcats and let Brian and Tom work there magic.

Paul.

[carsy]

Must admitt i dont have any problems putting an LS3 into a TVR. Just the pennies holding me back because they aint cheap even if doing it yourself.

[SSPPGG]

i built a 7l ls in a cobra replica, which weighed about the same.... but 560hp

fantastic fun



sold it, and the next day it looked like this
|http://thumbsnap.com/jCotNciA[/url]


built another, fitted an ls3 in this one
|http://thumbsnap.com/dih8983L[/url]

sold that....so far it is still in one piece


but this time, happy to have a more sedate 400 hp in a "gentlemens cobra" aka griff, so rebuilding the griff like this...



i've a build thread on here somewhere if you're bored.....

just get it done

Edited by SSPPGG on Wednesday 7th March 18:54

[carsy]

how much is this going to cost engine and gearbox doing it myself.

[SSPPGG]

for new

engine gearbox, ecu, plus all the clutch,flywheel, starter, alternator, vat etc. 10k

add 2k for exhausts

add 1k for "stuff" you will need to change/amend/adapt/machine....

less what you sell your old engine/gearbox for

Ian at sportmotive have some good illustrative costs on their website, but don't underestimate the £20 for this, £30 for that that is part of this sort of swap. i seem to spend 20 on ebay every day for something or other, it easily adds up, and you have to be very careful not to waste money, but as ive built a few cars before, learned this pitfall

i'm doing this pretty much myself, with a good but used engine/gearbox. so apart from getting the exhaust done by craig, and buying a set of Ians' headers, ( I cant weld that well),ive done pretty much everything else

I spent 3.5k on engine/box, 3.5k on exhaust, shifter mods, and chassis rebuild, bushes, springs, brakes etc, and got 2k back on bits ive sold from stripping old driveline

so allowing for some "finishing money" I will have spent just under 5.5k when all done, but the chassis rebuild is in that too

Edited by SSPPGG on Wednesday 7th March 21:22

[TVR Beaver]

very interesting.. so you think the LS3 engine is enough?.. a LS7 is too much??
.
you must have been gutted over the Cobra... I re-built a CB1100RC once and the guy who bought it smashed it up on the way home I know I had his dosh in my hand... but all the time spent!..
.
BTW... no, not selling the Griff... It will never happen coz I don't have the time

Edited by TVR Beaver on Friday 9th March 08:10

[macdeb]

panic said:

I know many of you do not like the idea of swapping a new LS3 Chevy engine (plus driveline and ancillaries) into a Griffith chassis (and I admit neither me...) but I want to try how a meaty 480hp powerplant feels on the 970kgs body of my baby which by the way is also fixed with a 3.7 rebuilt gears...

After all, the original 500 engine is getting old and lazy (and its electronis are frankly driving me crazy since months...) and to get real power from it would cost me a small fortune anyway.

The con is that I'll have to ship the car to UK but the most difficult choice seems to be:

To what address??

Topcats racing

OR

Sportmotive?

Craig at Dyno torque. No bullst and no rock star prices either. Give him a call, or better still talk to many of his customers, if it were me that's where I'd head.

[eff eff]

Sportmotive are dong a great job on mine

[SSPPGG]

TVR Beaver said:

very interesting.. so you think the LS3 engine is enough?.. a LS7 is too much??
.
you must have been gutted over the Cobra... I re-built a CB1100RC once and the guy who bought it smashed it up on the way home I know I had his bosh in my hand... but all the time spent!..
.
BTW... no, not selling the Griff... It will never happen coz I don't have the time

never too much, BUT

with the ls7, i think was 540ftlb, and over 400ftlb at 2000rpm! i used a fraction of the power most of the time, and in such a light car the difference between going forwards, sideways, and backwards was very much down to speed of reaction.

that car had 295 sticky track tyres, and would lose traction at over 100 if the throttle was prodded hard. great fun, but there was always a "risk" that the car would just want to kill you. it was very well set up, handled fantastic, 2k of AP brakes etc, but was just a real handful when pressing on hard. ( short wheelbase, loads of torque, lightweight etc). that car chassis/suspension etc was erring toward a track setup, and that accounted for some of the characteristics, but on the road, it was an excess of power for most occasions.

I recall a reasonable overtake manouver or a lorry, i got on the throttle a tad early, steering wasnt perfectly straight, a bit of a crest in the road, and the car was at 45 degrees within a fraction of a second. had to be treated with a lot of respect, and if anything, i was more cautios of the pedal, and therefore less likely to use full throttle.

the ls3, had less power and torque, but was a much easier drive, even when pressing on, as it was less likely to bite. that meant more full chat more often, with a little more confidence.

the ls3 wanted to be a road car, the ls7 seemed to want to be on the track.

but if i had a ls7 sat in the garage, itd be in the griff in a heartbeat!

Edited by SSPPGG on Thursday 8th March 17:22

[SSPPGG]

who would i send the car to if i were to have it done for me...

Craig and Ian at dynotorque and sportmotive are both top chaps, and i'd trust them to work on my car, and both have.

ive no personal knowledge of topcats, so couldn't comment

[panic]

Apart from the LS3 conversion I'd be tempted to go with an old gen carbed small blk chevy (I have a carbed 575hp SB in a Vette C3 which is a favolous and super reliable engine), would it be the same proceedings with this type of engines then with a modern LS series powerplant? Would those who're converting Tvr's to Chevy V8 do the job?

[SAGRIFF]

stick a TVR 5.0 Speed six engine in it, now that would be the bks and a bit special, 100% TVR as well for the ultimate TVR

[SAGRIFF]

[SAGRIFF]

farmeryellow said:

Getting a new engine is the the same as replacing any other part on the car,

no because turning a 300bhp car into a 500bhp car means upgrading everything else if done properly and even then the tyres won't cope unless you butcher the wheel arches and fit massive rubber,

so you are talking big money and not just a engine swap if done properly.

Edited by SAGRIFF on Friday 9th March 12:37

[SSPPGG]

SAGRIFF said:

farmeryellow said:

Getting a new engine is the the same as replacing any other part on the car,

no because turning a 300bhp car into a 500bhp car means upgrading everything else if done properly and even then the tyres won't cope unless you butcher the wheel arches and fit massive rubber,

so you are talking big money and not just a engine swap if done properly.

Edited by SAGRIFF on Friday 9th March 12:37

agree with the above.

I've changed
diff for a stronger unit
shocks and springs
brakes front and rear for larger
prop for stronger


and am anticipating to change wheels and tyres to get a little more rubber (I think i can get 265 rears without hacking any bodywork and 225 fronts, which would be about right

but you don't need to spend silly money...just spec the components to match the power levels you plan for.

where you waste money is doing things 3 times......

[SSPPGG]

panic said:

Apart from the LS3 conversion I'd be tempted to go with an old gen carbed small blk chevy (I have a carbed 575hp SB in a Vette C3 which is a favolous and super reliable engine), would it be the same proceedings with this type of engines then with a modern LS series powerplant? Would those who're converting Tvr's to Chevy V8 do the job?

pretty much the same, the bellhousing pattern is almost dentical (i think there is one bolt different, apart from the missing sump bolts, you might be able to get a t5 bellhousing for the chevy, and depending on the SBC output, that may be ok, though a tko would be better suited to the power

a carb is easy, no loom or ecu, fuel pump would need to be regulated down, or replaced with a simple mechanical one.

really easy swap

the cost for exhaust mods would still exist, but the engines are cheap enough, but perhaps no cheaper than an LS unless you rebuild yourself. My first cob had a 383 CI (6.3l|) SBC. it was great, but was not as smooth as a rover and nowhere near an LS, and while the torque was great, the old SBC didnt really want to rev well.

I wouldn't do it after having LS engines in similair cars, but it is a very personal choice. a 575 hp 350 SBC would be a really highly tuned engine, with a pretty radical cam.

Edited by SSPPGG on Friday 9th March 13:38

[7 TVR]

If you are ever over here, drop in!, i think coming for a QUICK spin in mine would soon help you make your mind up!