LS3 Swap (In Progress)

[beggs]

The shifter bracket in the works. The shifter had to be moved forward a few inches so it's very tight.


Welding pencil rod to make it stiffer.


The finished product. The aluminum bracket flexes a little bit but other than that it's great.


Here is a pic of the TINY selector rod. Bit of a pain to make and it took a while but it fits surprisingly well.

[beggs]

hell yeah man, me and you are literally almost at the same spot in our builds! it's coming a long good dude! it's funny you thread is 3 pages and already the motor is in...mine took like 14 pages. ahahha.

Lol well I did start the thread when I was halfway done with the build! Thanks though, if all goes well it should be up and running within the week.

Just a thought... I am to the point in power where the stock 5/16" fuel feed lines are limiting flow. With and LS3 you'll be in that same range if you do any upgrades especially if you do E85. While its all apart might be something to look into upgrading lines.

I thought about it, but since this is a LS swap my budget doesn't allow that to happen lol. I will definitely do that in the future with heads/cam or FI. But as for E85, the only place that offers it here in Colorado Springs is Kum & Go which is god awful. The only way I would ever do that is if I bought E85 in drums from a local company. Which as you can imagine isn't the cheapest.

Got some parts in today!
1350 driveshaft yoke which is rated to 1000+ hp so this will not be a problem in the near future.

2 Mishimoto slim fans since the big one doesn't fit.

Chassis Reinforcement kit all welded on and finished.

I also got some new hella headlights which I didn't snag a pic of. Both outers that have high and low beams. We will throw in some 90w bulbs and will also need to modify the harness a bit to handle that. Should be very bright.

[bmk]

Just a thought... I am to the point in power where the stock 5/16" fuel feed lines are limiting flow. With and LS3 you'll be in that same range if you do any upgrades especially if you do E85. While its all apart might be something to look into upgrading lines.

[Reyhan335]

hell yeah man, me and you are literally almost at the same spot in our builds! it's coming a long good dude! it's funny you thread is 3 pages and already the motor is in...mine took like 14 pages. ahahha.

[beggs]

Oh yea my headers aren't coated lol. Those little coil wire heat sleeves are EXPENSIVE! They do a good job though.

I'd keep the AC. But it's also like 100F range here with 2000% humidity.

Yeah they are expensive but with the brand new MSD wires sitting so close I kind of have too! and yeah here in Colorado the only thing I have to worry about is a heater.
Today some mock up fans were test fitted. The factory pusher fan will be replaced with the Mishimoto fan and 2 slim pullers will be put right behind the rad.

Got some new rear rotors and hardware for the rears.


Gear oil changed as well. As for the chassis reinforcements, the rear end might not have to come out to save time.

[shiboujin]

Oh yea my headers aren't coated lol. Those little coil wire heat sleeves are EXPENSIVE! They do a good job though.

I'd keep the AC. But it's also like 100F range here with 2000% humidity.

[beggs]

Nice work! sub'd

Thanks! I appreciate it.

Some backtracking, pulled the motor again. Without the lift we have to use a forklift like so. Changed the trans fluid, hammered the firewall, removed some sound deadening, shaved some bits on the tr6060. The shifter will need some fabbing tomorrow. I'm still debating whether or not to keep the A/C, It wont be expensive but it'll delay getting the car on the road!

[CorvallisBMW]

Nice work! sub'd

[beggs]

Not sure I like the PCM mounted in the bay. It'll get water and gunk and stuff. I somehow managed to mount mine in the factory location.

Are you wrapping those headers? I had heat (Read: melting) issues with the brake res/lines being so close.

Yeah Ill be sure to regularly clean it off but overheating shouldn't be an issue with it. If worse comes to worst ill have to relocate it to the glovebox. The Sikky headers come with a ceramic coating so I wont be wrapping them. I did put heat sleeves on the wires since some are very close to the headers. Hopefully I wont have the same issues.

Great progress!

Thanks! I can't wait to drive this thing.

[shiboujin]

Not sure I like the PCM mounted in the bay. It'll get water and gunk and stuff. I somehow managed to mount mine in the factory location.

Are you wrapping those headers? I had heat (Read: melting) issues with the brake res/lines being so close.

[Q8y_drifter]

Great progress!

[beggs]

Took out the fuel pump and checked the fitment on the Walbro 450. Very close.

After looking in the gas tank, there is a bit of dirt and grime in there so that will have to be cleaned, the photo doesn't really do it justice.

Oil filter/ sandwich plate mounted, it might have to be moved to the other side due to clearance issues with the sway bar.

Checked the shifter hole and how it fits, not that bad.

Accelerator bracket fabbed up and its all good to go, steering column is in and hopefully not coming back out.

[beggs]

Big Update!
Motor is in. Looks great and its just to mock up and see how everything will fit.

The fan is definitely too big, not sure how that will fit. Might have to get some slim fans

PCM is mounted on the wheel well.

Remote reservoirs mounted.

All lines to the masters connected.

[beggs]

Which pump are you gonna use for the trans cooler?

There is a pump built into the trans which is super nice.

Today, the struts and wheels were bolted up to the subframe which is now ready to go in!

The brake booster delete bracket from Garagistic is in and its not coming out thankfully. A support bracket was also welded on to make sure it doesn't flex at all. Radiator is in with the puller fan.

Just a cool shot since it's a short update.

[Q8y_drifter]

Which pump are you gonna use for the trans cooler?