4k GT86 Gets a Rocket Bunny Kit & LS3 V8 Swap!
Discussion
DanielSan said:
I read the first few pages of this thread when you first started it then just never seemed to bother reading it again until I was looking at GT86 threads on Google. Jesustittyf
kingchrist! I didn't realise you'd gone quite as mad with it as you have done! I love it.
kingchrist! I didn't realise you'd gone quite as mad with it as you have done! I love it. 
Well welcome back haha, yeah it's been pretty wild so far but all good fun.
I've always loved modifying cars, building pc's anything like that and my only real "dream car" about 10 years ago in my late teens was an R34 but seeing as those are absolutely bonkers these days my next dream could would simply be one i made but something Jap and Tuner-ish definitely
That all sounds super cheesey but that's essentially what i'm doing now I guess, I'd love to say i'll never sell it but who knows what life brings, etc but i'm going to try my damndest to hang on to it for as long as possible!
Another video update this week!
got the heads for the LS3 buttoned up, cleaned up the second head, proceeded to lap the valves and then re-install them along with brand new valve springs, seats/seals and the refreshed and upgraded rocker arms!
There's unfortunately not much else to say than that! It took quite a bit of time and alot of elbow grease to get them cleaned up as thoroughly as I could and then all 16 (thankfully only 16!) valves as they were quite heavily pitted, especially in the case of the exhaust valves.
Without further ado the pictures to show it all off and the video to accompany them!
got the heads for the LS3 buttoned up, cleaned up the second head, proceeded to lap the valves and then re-install them along with brand new valve springs, seats/seals and the refreshed and upgraded rocker arms!
There's unfortunately not much else to say than that! It took quite a bit of time and alot of elbow grease to get them cleaned up as thoroughly as I could and then all 16 (thankfully only 16!) valves as they were quite heavily pitted, especially in the case of the exhaust valves.
Without further ado the pictures to show it all off and the video to accompany them!
Cookeh said:
Going to be watching this with interest. Certainly intriguing, and I wonder how much saving it will yield (especially with increased insurance costs on Cat N/S cars) over getting a non-Cat N one. It's something I've considered on a few cars in the past as well.
I know this is an old post but I'm reading through this thread again. Insurer's don't care about Cat N cars. They are no more difficult or expensive to obtain insurance for than any other car. They don't even need a new MOT, just an existing one that can pre-date the damage record. W201_190e said:
I know this is an old post but I'm reading through this thread again. Insurer's don't care about Cat N cars. They are no more difficult or expensive to obtain insurance for than any other car. They don't even need a new MOT, just an existing one that can pre-date the damage record.
Yeah it's very much as simple as this. Having insured two previously written off cars now (VX220 was Cat D and the 86 is Cat N) it's never been a hassle at all. It's my understanding that if an insurer were to ask "Has the vehicle ever been written off or involved in an accident" you must answer truthfully as of course failure to do so could result in void insurance. My current insurer did ask this for the 86 and so I explained and as a result my premium might be a little bit higher (I pay in the Mid 600's currently as a 29 year old with all mods fully declared) whereas on the VX220 i was never asked about it but went out of my way to query it with them on the phone to which the answer was "As long as it has a valid MOT we're happy to insure it".
Anyway will probably have another update coming soon, things have been going somewhat slowly as i've been out and about alot lately at car shows etc enjoying the car and seeing mates rather than tinkering away on it or the engine.
I've also been in the process of buying my first flat since March which is FINALLY coming to and end next week (fingers crossed!) so i've not really been spending any money on the car lately.
Although I couldn't resist entirely and did buy all the parts to totally rebuild the engine block, about £1500 all in including everything from ARP head studs to new rod bearings, lifters, headgaskets and plugs so not overly expensive! In the end i've decided against replacing cam bearings due to the hassle of it (and mine aren't terribly worn) and removing the crank to have the engine hot-tanked as it didn't really feel like many machine shops around me wanted to take my money and give me the time of day, with everything else going on in life at the moment I welcome the easy approach of just not doing it.. we'll see if these decisions cost me dearly in the future but i'm somewhat banking on the yank v8 powering through with a simple piston re-ring, re-hone & bearing replacement style rebuild.
Once the last few parts arrive from the states for the full engine build i'll get some pictures up as that's always fun.
I'm looking to tear the engine out of the car late september and then carry out the swap over winter. Been speaking with Craig at Dynotorque as it's always been my plan to carry out the physical bits of the swap myself using an off the shelf swap kit but then take it to them to have the complex jobs of the wiring, canbus integration and tuning done by the professionals to save me headache.
Honing and stuff with the crank in place sounds a little scary to me in terms of metal debris getting in the bearings / oil galleys and such, but then the yanks do all sorts to the LS with zero fks given and they seem to be fine!
I noticed you mentioned ARP rod bolts and also ARP head studs, presumably as you're leaving the crank you're not going with ARP main studs as well? I only mention it because the extra clamping pressure of the ARP main studs pulls the mains slightly out of round. Again, many of the yanks just send it and it's fine, but thought I'd mention it as if it reduces the main bearing clearances too much it could cause issues. It'd need an align hone to sort (so crank out) or alternatively just replace with OEM main cap bolts instead.
Same rule applies with the ARP rod bolts really, whacking them in to factory rods can pull them out of round, but this doesn't seem to get mentioned as much as being a concern.
Just to continue my mild party pooping (apologies if it's coming across as negative, I've just got a 402ci LS2 I'm building back in pieces now as it seems there's always some additional point to learn for longevity with yank aftermarket stuff so am just keen to share what I've picked up!), if that's the 231/246 TSP cam, it's got 0.640" lift on the intake lobe, which is a LOT with stock rockers. I know you've upgraded the trunnions, but I think accepted wisdom (Brian Tooley frequently says this at least) is that 0.62x ish lift is about the limit with stock rockers at which point rocker tip / valve tip wear starts to become a problem. Here's one post (of many) mentioning it for reference:
https://www.yellowbullet.com/threads/effective-max...
You'll notice he also references a maximum spring open pressure around 400, of which I think the TSP kit is 415.
The US idea of 'daily driver reliability' is basically "lasts one season of drag racing before I'll rebuild it anyway", rebuilding an engine every 2,000 miles makes sense to them as everything is cheap and readily available next day etc. if anything goes wrong.
Really cool build anyway, look forward to seeing how it continues
ks given and they seem to be fine!I noticed you mentioned ARP rod bolts and also ARP head studs, presumably as you're leaving the crank you're not going with ARP main studs as well? I only mention it because the extra clamping pressure of the ARP main studs pulls the mains slightly out of round. Again, many of the yanks just send it and it's fine, but thought I'd mention it as if it reduces the main bearing clearances too much it could cause issues. It'd need an align hone to sort (so crank out) or alternatively just replace with OEM main cap bolts instead.
Same rule applies with the ARP rod bolts really, whacking them in to factory rods can pull them out of round, but this doesn't seem to get mentioned as much as being a concern.
Just to continue my mild party pooping (apologies if it's coming across as negative, I've just got a 402ci LS2 I'm building back in pieces now as it seems there's always some additional point to learn for longevity with yank aftermarket stuff so am just keen to share what I've picked up!), if that's the 231/246 TSP cam, it's got 0.640" lift on the intake lobe, which is a LOT with stock rockers. I know you've upgraded the trunnions, but I think accepted wisdom (Brian Tooley frequently says this at least) is that 0.62x ish lift is about the limit with stock rockers at which point rocker tip / valve tip wear starts to become a problem. Here's one post (of many) mentioning it for reference:
https://www.yellowbullet.com/threads/effective-max...
You'll notice he also references a maximum spring open pressure around 400, of which I think the TSP kit is 415.
The US idea of 'daily driver reliability' is basically "lasts one season of drag racing before I'll rebuild it anyway", rebuilding an engine every 2,000 miles makes sense to them as everything is cheap and readily available next day etc. if anything goes wrong.
Really cool build anyway, look forward to seeing how it continues
SturdyHSV said:
Honing and stuff with the crank in place sounds a little scary to me in terms of metal debris getting in the bearings / oil galleys and such, but then the yanks do all sorts to the LS with zero fks given and they seem to be fine!
I noticed you mentioned ARP rod bolts and also ARP head studs, presumably as you're leaving the crank you're not going with ARP main studs as well? I only mention it because the extra clamping pressure of the ARP main studs pulls the mains slightly out of round. Again, many of the yanks just send it and it's fine, but thought I'd mention it as if it reduces the main bearing clearances too much it could cause issues. It'd need an align hone to sort (so crank out) or alternatively just replace with OEM main cap bolts instead.
Same rule applies with the ARP rod bolts really, whacking them in to factory rods can pull them out of round, but this doesn't seem to get mentioned as much as being a concern.
Just to continue my mild party pooping (apologies if it's coming across as negative, I've just got a 402ci LS2 I'm building back in pieces now as it seems there's always some additional point to learn for longevity with yank aftermarket stuff so am just keen to share what I've picked up!), if that's the 231/246 TSP cam, it's got 0.640" lift on the intake lobe, which is a LOT with stock rockers. I know you've upgraded the trunnions, but I think accepted wisdom (Brian Tooley frequently says this at least) is that 0.62x ish lift is about the limit with stock rockers at which point rocker tip / valve tip wear starts to become a problem. Here's one post (of many) mentioning it for reference:
https://www.yellowbullet.com/threads/effective-max...
You'll notice he also references a maximum spring open pressure around 400, of which I think the TSP kit is 415.
The US idea of 'daily driver reliability' is basically "lasts one season of drag racing before I'll rebuild it anyway", rebuilding an engine every 2,000 miles makes sense to them as everything is cheap and readily available next day etc. if anything goes wrong.
Really cool build anyway, look forward to seeing how it continues
Haha cheers for the info, I don't really see it as party pooping myself as they're all very valid points and I had heard alot of it beforehand, albeit perhaps a bit too late as I purchased my Cam before reading all the info about the lift and rocker limitations!ks given and they seem to be fine!I noticed you mentioned ARP rod bolts and also ARP head studs, presumably as you're leaving the crank you're not going with ARP main studs as well? I only mention it because the extra clamping pressure of the ARP main studs pulls the mains slightly out of round. Again, many of the yanks just send it and it's fine, but thought I'd mention it as if it reduces the main bearing clearances too much it could cause issues. It'd need an align hone to sort (so crank out) or alternatively just replace with OEM main cap bolts instead.
Same rule applies with the ARP rod bolts really, whacking them in to factory rods can pull them out of round, but this doesn't seem to get mentioned as much as being a concern.
Just to continue my mild party pooping (apologies if it's coming across as negative, I've just got a 402ci LS2 I'm building back in pieces now as it seems there's always some additional point to learn for longevity with yank aftermarket stuff so am just keen to share what I've picked up!), if that's the 231/246 TSP cam, it's got 0.640" lift on the intake lobe, which is a LOT with stock rockers. I know you've upgraded the trunnions, but I think accepted wisdom (Brian Tooley frequently says this at least) is that 0.62x ish lift is about the limit with stock rockers at which point rocker tip / valve tip wear starts to become a problem. Here's one post (of many) mentioning it for reference:
https://www.yellowbullet.com/threads/effective-max...
You'll notice he also references a maximum spring open pressure around 400, of which I think the TSP kit is 415.
The US idea of 'daily driver reliability' is basically "lasts one season of drag racing before I'll rebuild it anyway", rebuilding an engine every 2,000 miles makes sense to them as everything is cheap and readily available next day etc. if anything goes wrong.
Really cool build anyway, look forward to seeing how it continues
As you mentioned i'm largely just going to wing it and see what happens which granted isn't the best attitude to have at times but it's not like i'm threatening to go twin turbo and push 60psi of boost through stock internals!
I like to think there's and air of lee-way with an LS compared to something more precise like a BMW V10 or a Nissan RB26.I Share your concerns in regards to honing it with the crank still in place, i'll be thoroughly flushing the engine before and after and i imagine any particles will get trapped in the oil I use (or I could just hone it upside down) I can't say i'm a particularly experienced engine builder but having rebuilt our VX220's engine before with my dad we did the same thing there and ran it in with proper run in oil, changed after the first 150 mile run in, changed after 500 miles, etc and never found a huge silvery mess when we emptied the oil.
I am only doing ARP head studs and a few others such as the cam bolts, main pulley bolt etc. Not wanting things to run away money-wise I didn't want to go for the ARP main studs and so keeping the crank in place gets rid of that hassle, likewise I stressed out for ages about replacing the rod bolts resulting in the rods going out of round either having to have them re-ground or just replace them altogether but was eventually re-assured and read myself that the OEM rod bolts are torque to angle rather than torque to yield so they can be re-used.
Again it's not neccessarily "best practice" but the costs would have ran away from me a bit if i went through the steps of replacing the rods, pistons, etc.
Might be right dumb in all honesty but you have to make some silly decisions to learn in life and I like to think atleast i'm fully informed on what might be the effects of my potentially silly decision after researching until i'm blue in the face
(They'll always be the comebacks of "well if you can't afford to go to the full length why bother starting a project like this at all?" but that's a pretty boring way to live
)Junkyard LS's are still money pits over here
compared to the states. If i went the full length i'd have been better off buying a crate-LS3 from GM to be honest so I need to draw the line somewhere, we'll see how it goes!Edit: Re-reading this back i do sound like a bit of a nonce trying to justify my terrible decisions
but time will tell to see if this is total nonce-ry or a brilliant execution of man maths Edited by Samjeev on Wednesday 30th June 12:39
Samjeev said:
Haha cheers for the info, I don't really see it as party pooping myself as they're all very valid points and I had heard alot of it beforehand, albeit perhaps a bit too late as I purchased my Cam before reading all the info about the lift and rocker limitations!
As you mentioned i'm largely just going to wing it and see what happens which granted isn't the best attitude to have at times but it's not like i'm threatening to go twin turbo and push 60psi of boost through stock internals! I like to think there's and air of lee-way with an LS compared to something more precise like a BMW V10 or a Nissan RB26.
I Share your concerns in regards to honing it with the crank still in place, i'll be thoroughly flushing the engine before and after and i imagine any particles will get trapped in the oil I use (or I could just hone it upside down) I can't say i'm a particularly experienced engine builder but having rebuilt our VX220's engine before with my dad we did the same thing there and ran it in with proper run in oil, changed after the first 150 mile run in, changed after 500 miles, etc and never found a huge silvery mess when we emptied the oil.
I am only doing ARP head studs and a few others such as the cam bolts, main pulley bolt etc. Not wanting things to run away money-wise I didn't want to go for the ARP main studs and so keeping the crank in place gets rid of that hassle, likewise I stressed out for ages about replacing the rod bolts resulting in the rods going out of round either having to have them re-ground or just replace them altogether but was eventually re-assured and read myself that the OEM rod bolts are torque to angle rather than torque to yield so they can be re-used.
Again it's not neccessarily "best practice" but the costs would have ran away from me a bit if i went through the steps of replacing the rods, pistons, etc.
Might be right dumb in all honesty but you have to make some silly decisions to learn in life and I like to think atleast i'm fully informed on what might be the effects of my potentially silly decision after researching until i'm blue in the face
(They'll always be the comebacks of "well if you can't afford to go to the full length why bother starting a project like this at all?" but that's a pretty boring way to live )
Junkyard LS's are still money pits over here compared to the states. If i went the full length i'd have been better off buying a crate-LS3 from GM to be honest so I need to draw the line somewhere, we'll see how it goes!
Edit: Re-reading this back i do sound like a bit of a nonce trying to justify my terrible decisions but time will tell to see if this is total nonce-ry or a brilliant execution of man maths
No noncery at all, I totally understand your position! As you mentioned i'm largely just going to wing it and see what happens which granted isn't the best attitude to have at times but it's not like i'm threatening to go twin turbo and push 60psi of boost through stock internals!
I like to think there's and air of lee-way with an LS compared to something more precise like a BMW V10 or a Nissan RB26.I Share your concerns in regards to honing it with the crank still in place, i'll be thoroughly flushing the engine before and after and i imagine any particles will get trapped in the oil I use (or I could just hone it upside down) I can't say i'm a particularly experienced engine builder but having rebuilt our VX220's engine before with my dad we did the same thing there and ran it in with proper run in oil, changed after the first 150 mile run in, changed after 500 miles, etc and never found a huge silvery mess when we emptied the oil.
I am only doing ARP head studs and a few others such as the cam bolts, main pulley bolt etc. Not wanting things to run away money-wise I didn't want to go for the ARP main studs and so keeping the crank in place gets rid of that hassle, likewise I stressed out for ages about replacing the rod bolts resulting in the rods going out of round either having to have them re-ground or just replace them altogether but was eventually re-assured and read myself that the OEM rod bolts are torque to angle rather than torque to yield so they can be re-used.
Again it's not neccessarily "best practice" but the costs would have ran away from me a bit if i went through the steps of replacing the rods, pistons, etc.
Might be right dumb in all honesty but you have to make some silly decisions to learn in life and I like to think atleast i'm fully informed on what might be the effects of my potentially silly decision after researching until i'm blue in the face
(They'll always be the comebacks of "well if you can't afford to go to the full length why bother starting a project like this at all?" but that's a pretty boring way to live
)Junkyard LS's are still money pits over here
compared to the states. If i went the full length i'd have been better off buying a crate-LS3 from GM to be honest so I need to draw the line somewhere, we'll see how it goes!Edit: Re-reading this back i do sound like a bit of a nonce trying to justify my terrible decisions
but time will tell to see if this is total nonce-ry or a brilliant execution of man maths Edited by Samjeev on Wednesday 30th June 12:39
Going in with eyes open is all that's needed, I'm inclined to agree that there's a lot of leeway with a pushrod engine, it's a fairly simple mechanical device and so long as oil is getting to where it needs to go, it'll make decent power and probably last long enough before you get bored and start putting 60lbs of boost through it
I find researching these things quite frustrating at times, you think you've found it all out, you buy the bits, and then an hour after the bits have arrived at customs, you find out some catastrophic thing you've missed or need to do that's then costly or impossible to find experience with here in the UK.
You mention a prime example, the internet's confusion of torque to angle vs torque to yield and the whole threads of misinformation about that until one sane person points out they're not the same thing etc.
Maybe I'm just sore about the set of ARP main studs I have on the shelf that I didn't use because I found out about this out of round BS after they'd arrived
The exchange rate has improved a bit this year, you might find using a (free) service like MyUS you wouldn't end up too out of pocket picking up a slightly milder cam (comparatively speaking...) and spring combo, your parts will sell easily over here for decent money, and you'd not have to worry about the longevity as much...
As an example, look at the GM crate engine with 525hp. The cam in that is comically small and yet they rate it at 525hp... It's going in a GT86 so it's going to melt the tyres whatever you do
EDIT:
Those cam specs by the way, 226 / 236 with 0.525" lift on intake and exhaust
https://www.chevroletperformancestore.ca/product-p...
Edited by SturdyHSV on Wednesday 30th June 13:55
Right well.. it's been a little while since I last updated this post.. and that's not to say there hasn't been bits going on, i've just been so absurdly busy I keep forgetting to take photos!
For starters I finally moved out of my parent's house and got my first property, a decently sized little flat which has been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions and made and already very fast-moving year suddenly jump 3 months in the blink of an eye!
But getting back to the part you're all here for the car & engine..
After sprucing up the cylinder heads I wrapped those up and stuck them up on the shelf back in March and moved on to removing the pistons from the engine.
As stated in the previous posts between myself & James i flip flopped back and forth exactly what I was going to do with the internals of the engine and to what extent I was going to take it all apart - In the end I decided to not remove the crank & crank bearings down to a few factors, namely the fear of the main journals going out-of-round and replacing the main cap studs & bolts with ARP items which can get expensive already ontop of having shelled out for ARP head studs etc.
As well as this I decided on retaining the stock internals again because the rod journals are known to go out of round if you go with ARP rod bolts and there's so much drama when it comes to forged items if you're on a budget it's such a headache! - I'm glad I did this in the end because as I type this my lights might simply turn off at any moment due to the fact the flat didn't come with a pot to piss in!
With all of that I moved on to removing the Cam, lifters, etc and painting the engine block. All very easy and I made a couple of youtube videos covering the topics:
https://youtu.be/4Nu4iKF605k
https://youtu.be/1LR8d22JWXc
https://youtu.be/8iSihhg9jcA
And that neatly brings me on to where I am now, with freshly honed cylinder bores, measured tolerances & bearings and ready to assemble it all again, but as they always say - THIS THREAD IS USELESS WITHOUT PICTURES which was half my reason for a lack of update, i simply keep forgetting so lets see...
Nicely cleaned up & painted block:
Honed Cylinder bores:
Pistons ringed & ready to go!:
and the engine block again, this time featuring considerably more pistons!
As for the nerdy bits in regards to tolerances and clearances, here are my findings regarding the top & Middle compression rings and rod bearings:
OEM Top Ring clearances:
Production - 0.23‐0.44 mm
Service - 0.23‐0.5 mm
Mine - 0.5mm - so right on the upper edge of a "serviced" engine but It's not the end of the world.
OEM Second Ring clearances:
Production - 0.44-0.7mm
Service - 0.44-0.76mm
Mine - 0.56mm - well within even production specs so i'm quite happy with this!
Piston Rod Bearing clearances:
Production - 0.023-0.065mm
Service - 0.023-0.076mm
Mine - 0.051mm - Only measured using plastigage but considering this is right in the middle of the range i'm quite happy with this
And with that the lower end of the engine block is all back together and i've got 95% of the new parts required to close up the engine too!
If you're a fan of shopping lists boy do I have a fun one for you, in the above pics you're looking at:
Brand new intake manifold - /w gaskets, fuel rails, injectors, throttle body & map sensor (purchased "used" but it's very much as fresh as a daisy!)
Head gaskets
LS7 Lifters /w new lifter trays
New Cam Timing gear, chain & guide (required for the removal of VVT)
New Sensors & plugs all over
New cam retainer plate
New Front Timing cover /w seal & Gasket
New Rear main cover /w main seal
More gaskets - Valley cover & Exhaust manifold
New front Pulley
ARP Cam Bolts
ARP Exhaust Manifold Bolts
ARP Head Studs
ARP Pulley bolt
& More bolts, brackets & otherwise as well as the bits I showed off in previous posts.
All that really leaves to close up the engine for good is a pair of new rocker covers as mine are rather nasty, a new valley cover simply because I want to and the new Sump pan & pickup tube which comes with the engine swap kit.
Next weekend I'm going to get the new Cam, lifters, timing bits and perhaps even the refurbed heads back on and in a way the engine build is then "done"
For starters I finally moved out of my parent's house and got my first property, a decently sized little flat which has been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions and made and already very fast-moving year suddenly jump 3 months in the blink of an eye!
But getting back to the part you're all here for the car & engine..
After sprucing up the cylinder heads I wrapped those up and stuck them up on the shelf back in March and moved on to removing the pistons from the engine.
As stated in the previous posts between myself & James i flip flopped back and forth exactly what I was going to do with the internals of the engine and to what extent I was going to take it all apart - In the end I decided to not remove the crank & crank bearings down to a few factors, namely the fear of the main journals going out-of-round and replacing the main cap studs & bolts with ARP items which can get expensive already ontop of having shelled out for ARP head studs etc.
As well as this I decided on retaining the stock internals again because the rod journals are known to go out of round if you go with ARP rod bolts and there's so much drama when it comes to forged items if you're on a budget it's such a headache! - I'm glad I did this in the end because as I type this my lights might simply turn off at any moment due to the fact the flat didn't come with a pot to piss in!
With all of that I moved on to removing the Cam, lifters, etc and painting the engine block. All very easy and I made a couple of youtube videos covering the topics:
https://youtu.be/4Nu4iKF605k
https://youtu.be/1LR8d22JWXc
https://youtu.be/8iSihhg9jcA
And that neatly brings me on to where I am now, with freshly honed cylinder bores, measured tolerances & bearings and ready to assemble it all again, but as they always say - THIS THREAD IS USELESS WITHOUT PICTURES which was half my reason for a lack of update, i simply keep forgetting so lets see...
Nicely cleaned up & painted block:
Honed Cylinder bores:
Pistons ringed & ready to go!:
and the engine block again, this time featuring considerably more pistons!
As for the nerdy bits in regards to tolerances and clearances, here are my findings regarding the top & Middle compression rings and rod bearings:
OEM Top Ring clearances:
Production - 0.23‐0.44 mm
Service - 0.23‐0.5 mm
Mine - 0.5mm - so right on the upper edge of a "serviced" engine but It's not the end of the world.
OEM Second Ring clearances:
Production - 0.44-0.7mm
Service - 0.44-0.76mm
Mine - 0.56mm - well within even production specs so i'm quite happy with this!
Piston Rod Bearing clearances:
Production - 0.023-0.065mm
Service - 0.023-0.076mm
Mine - 0.051mm - Only measured using plastigage but considering this is right in the middle of the range i'm quite happy with this
And with that the lower end of the engine block is all back together and i've got 95% of the new parts required to close up the engine too!
If you're a fan of shopping lists boy do I have a fun one for you, in the above pics you're looking at:
Brand new intake manifold - /w gaskets, fuel rails, injectors, throttle body & map sensor (purchased "used" but it's very much as fresh as a daisy!)
Head gaskets
LS7 Lifters /w new lifter trays
New Cam Timing gear, chain & guide (required for the removal of VVT)
New Sensors & plugs all over
New cam retainer plate
New Front Timing cover /w seal & Gasket
New Rear main cover /w main seal
More gaskets - Valley cover & Exhaust manifold
New front Pulley
ARP Cam Bolts
ARP Exhaust Manifold Bolts
ARP Head Studs
ARP Pulley bolt
& More bolts, brackets & otherwise as well as the bits I showed off in previous posts.
All that really leaves to close up the engine for good is a pair of new rocker covers as mine are rather nasty, a new valley cover simply because I want to and the new Sump pan & pickup tube which comes with the engine swap kit.
Next weekend I'm going to get the new Cam, lifters, timing bits and perhaps even the refurbed heads back on and in a way the engine build is then "done"
Looking good mate! Glad you got the pistons in easily enough
I have my standard rocker covers if you want them, although don't know how much better they'll look than yours, they're fairly clean? Can send you some pics if you want anyway...
Can't believe you're using metric measurements on an LS, need to embrace the bald eagles and go imperial
I have my standard rocker covers if you want them, although don't know how much better they'll look than yours, they're fairly clean? Can send you some pics if you want anyway...
Can't believe you're using metric measurements on an LS, need to embrace the bald eagles and go imperial
Another small update from last weekend.
Got the new Cam, Timing gear bits, Headgaskets & Refurbed heads back on the LS which was good fun.
Took a few hours doing it together with my dad and everything went in smoothly.
First off was the Cam which for anyone wondering (And not wanting to scroll back through the posts) is a Texas Speed LS3 Stage 3 cam:
https://www.texas-speed.com/p-5762-tsp-stage-3-ls3...
This went in nicely with a new timing gear, timing chain & Chain LS2 Chain guide.
The original Setup in the L92 was VVT so a big single-bolt setup with a tensioner, etc. Chucked all that away! (not really, might make a lamp out of the old cam) for a good old 3-bolt non-vvt setup. I believe there are now some pretty good ECU configs and info out there for VVT setups but half the reason for wanting to go LS was for some nicely grumbly noises so non-vvt was the way to go for that!
The next step on this end of things will be to install the new GM high performance oil pump but before that i'm going to open it up and pack it out with vaseline as a way of keeping it lubricated as well as helping it to build Oil presure when the time comes to start the engine as it will most likely sit for a good 6-12 months after i'm finished putting it together before it ever gets started up.
After that the new Headgaskets went on, again just using all OEM quality GM/ACdelco parts for this followed by the refurbed heads and the ARP head studs. ARP's head studs are most definitely overkill in this application but ohwell!
Next up will be the aformentioned oil pump bits. I also need to then take the engine off the stand to get the new aluminium oil barbell in and rear-cover on. Front cover will need to go on and then i'll also chuck on the old Oil pan (Rear sump, no good for my application), Valley cover and rocker covers (very mashed, going to replace) to just close it all up and chuck the inlet manifold on to keep it all together, so stay tuned for those pictures!
Got the new Cam, Timing gear bits, Headgaskets & Refurbed heads back on the LS which was good fun.
Took a few hours doing it together with my dad and everything went in smoothly.
First off was the Cam which for anyone wondering (And not wanting to scroll back through the posts) is a Texas Speed LS3 Stage 3 cam:
https://www.texas-speed.com/p-5762-tsp-stage-3-ls3...
This went in nicely with a new timing gear, timing chain & Chain LS2 Chain guide.
The original Setup in the L92 was VVT so a big single-bolt setup with a tensioner, etc. Chucked all that away! (not really, might make a lamp out of the old cam) for a good old 3-bolt non-vvt setup. I believe there are now some pretty good ECU configs and info out there for VVT setups but half the reason for wanting to go LS was for some nicely grumbly noises so non-vvt was the way to go for that!
The next step on this end of things will be to install the new GM high performance oil pump but before that i'm going to open it up and pack it out with vaseline as a way of keeping it lubricated as well as helping it to build Oil presure when the time comes to start the engine as it will most likely sit for a good 6-12 months after i'm finished putting it together before it ever gets started up.
After that the new Headgaskets went on, again just using all OEM quality GM/ACdelco parts for this followed by the refurbed heads and the ARP head studs. ARP's head studs are most definitely overkill in this application but ohwell!
Next up will be the aformentioned oil pump bits. I also need to then take the engine off the stand to get the new aluminium oil barbell in and rear-cover on. Front cover will need to go on and then i'll also chuck on the old Oil pan (Rear sump, no good for my application), Valley cover and rocker covers (very mashed, going to replace) to just close it all up and chuck the inlet manifold on to keep it all together, so stay tuned for those pictures!
Another small but exciting update, the engine is now technically "Finsihed"
Popped round recently to install the last couple of pieces and close up the engine which is how it will mostly likely sit now over the winter.
The bottom and top end parts of the engine build can be watched here on my little youtube vids for anyone interested: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk19Yu4ThvZ_GKqFP...
but in these final steps I had to get the engine off the stand to install the new aluminium Oil barbell (had heard it's a nice cheap safety step rather than relying on the old plastic ones to hold up) as well as get the new rear cover on with the real main seal already installed.
After that I packed out the Oil pump with vaseline to give it a helping hand when it finally times come to start it up, i'll probably end up priming it with oil as well before then anyway but it was a fairly easy thing to do so why not, finally it was a case of chucking on the final piece of the puzzle for deleting the VVT, the new LS3 timing cover and Cam sensor!
And then I just threw on the old valley cover and wonky rocker covers that I painted to tart up a little but i'm most definitely going to replace them with some new OEM or aftermarket items perhaps and then I threw on the intake manifold to close up the intake ports and "complete" the look.
The next things to go on will be the front pulley and accessory drive once I buy the latter but i'm in no rush to do that yet.
Such a difference from start to finish!
Before - Core L92
After - Rebuilt with no VVT, basically an LS3 with 0.5 less compression
From here i'll soon turn my attention back to the GT86 itself to start disassembling and removing the OEM Boxer engine and Gearbox, tidy and tart up the engine bay and eventually get the LS mated up to a brand new T56 and at home in there, things are going to slow down a bit now though as it'll require a fair chunk of change for the gearbox and other bits of kit.
I'll likely sell on the FA20 that comes out sooner rather than later as they often go on the market in the region of £2-3k
Popped round recently to install the last couple of pieces and close up the engine which is how it will mostly likely sit now over the winter.
The bottom and top end parts of the engine build can be watched here on my little youtube vids for anyone interested: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk19Yu4ThvZ_GKqFP...
but in these final steps I had to get the engine off the stand to install the new aluminium Oil barbell (had heard it's a nice cheap safety step rather than relying on the old plastic ones to hold up) as well as get the new rear cover on with the real main seal already installed.
After that I packed out the Oil pump with vaseline to give it a helping hand when it finally times come to start it up, i'll probably end up priming it with oil as well before then anyway but it was a fairly easy thing to do so why not, finally it was a case of chucking on the final piece of the puzzle for deleting the VVT, the new LS3 timing cover and Cam sensor!
And then I just threw on the old valley cover and wonky rocker covers that I painted to tart up a little but i'm most definitely going to replace them with some new OEM or aftermarket items perhaps and then I threw on the intake manifold to close up the intake ports and "complete" the look.
The next things to go on will be the front pulley and accessory drive once I buy the latter but i'm in no rush to do that yet.
Such a difference from start to finish!
Before - Core L92
After - Rebuilt with no VVT, basically an LS3 with 0.5 less compression
From here i'll soon turn my attention back to the GT86 itself to start disassembling and removing the OEM Boxer engine and Gearbox, tidy and tart up the engine bay and eventually get the LS mated up to a brand new T56 and at home in there, things are going to slow down a bit now though as it'll require a fair chunk of change for the gearbox and other bits of kit.
I'll likely sell on the FA20 that comes out sooner rather than later as they often go on the market in the region of £2-3k
Expect some fun new updates after this weekend!
Gearing up to take apart the front end of the car and lift out the FA20 and gearbox from the engine bay. Apparently quite an easy thing to achieve as the vast majority of wiring stays on the engine itself with nice clean breaks. Here's the last look of the car in one piece today!
Oh and I just received the Engine swap kit from Sikky manufacturing today! Very excited as this should cover 90% of the headscratching and guessing that comes with an engine swap.
Definitely not any form of ad for them (I wish!) but included is:
Engine mounts
Gearbox Mounts (For T56 Magnum)
Front Oil pan to clear subframe/steering rack /w Oil pickup tube etc
Oil filter relocation kit
Brake line replacements to relocate them slightly
1 7/8" Exhaust headers
And the Drive/Propshaft to bolt it up to the OEM rear diff.
One of three hurdles for the engine swap cleared, the next two being the purchase of the gearbox itself and the management/ECU solution but first i'll get the old engine out, tidy up the engine bay (probably have it painted) and start test fitting.
Gearing up to take apart the front end of the car and lift out the FA20 and gearbox from the engine bay. Apparently quite an easy thing to achieve as the vast majority of wiring stays on the engine itself with nice clean breaks. Here's the last look of the car in one piece today!
Oh and I just received the Engine swap kit from Sikky manufacturing today! Very excited as this should cover 90% of the headscratching and guessing that comes with an engine swap.
Definitely not any form of ad for them (I wish!) but included is:
Engine mounts
Gearbox Mounts (For T56 Magnum)
Front Oil pan to clear subframe/steering rack /w Oil pickup tube etc
Oil filter relocation kit
Brake line replacements to relocate them slightly
1 7/8" Exhaust headers
And the Drive/Propshaft to bolt it up to the OEM rear diff.
One of three hurdles for the engine swap cleared, the next two being the purchase of the gearbox itself and the management/ECU solution but first i'll get the old engine out, tidy up the engine bay (probably have it painted) and start test fitting.
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