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speed metal army
smile.gif smile.gif I think I actually started this a year ago.I bought a 5.3 out of a wrecked Silverado with almost no k's.(11,000 IIRC)I went back and forth,should I,shouldnt I...I actually called the fella who was going to build it for me and asked him to sell it for me. biggrin.gif

Then,as luck would have it,my car was giving me grief early this summer.D-jet hassles,etc.No surprise,I dropped a valve seat.At this point I was pretty sick of DJet(had some sweet Italian Webers in the wings lol),and really wasnt feeling the big 4 idea,though I had collected parts already.I just wanted to drive my car. mad.gif I wanted to be able to turn the key,and get instant fun and reliability(motor wise),and yeah wayyyy more power than the 2.0 was giving me.Needless to say,the dropped seat made me make up my mind much quicker which direction I was going to go.After reading a bunch of V8 threads,and some you tube stuff(Especially Byndbads vids and car,that thing just kills)I put the wheels in motion.

The motor I bought is an LS Iron blocked engine,and came with FI.But Truck FI.(quite tall)My buddy Murray at Real Horsepower had been doing carb'd LS's for a while,I like carbs,so we converted it to a carb'd motor.We used the MSD programming module to run the coil packs,bolted up a LS carb manifold(Edelbrock) and put on a Holley 670cfm Street Avenger.The other thing about the 5.3 Truck motors are the pan.Quite deep.Too deep!No sweat,Murray had a brand new takeoff from a 2010 Vette he did in 2010. smile.gif Its nice and shallow,lotsa clearance.

Week 1-12
I phoned Renegade,ordered the loot and waited.In the meanwhile I mounted the fuel pump and filter(Did Sir Andy's cool fuel pump trick) and started to cut up the front of my car a bit. beer3.gif (The guy in the car is my buddy Andrew.I owe him big for all his help!)I tig'd in woven SS mesh to keep birds and 2x4's out.The rear firewall had lots of shitty old brown glue on it,and the battery tray sucked too.I welded in a new tray and got my body guy to respray the firewall as well as the mesh.(After lizard skinning it)
I ripped out all the carpets,fixed an ugly spot under the drivers side seat and welded the Engman kit in.My body guy sprayed lizard skin over the entire floor/inner firewall.
I also repalced the throttle,and clutch cables as well as ran a new 3/8" SS fuel line through the tunnel.Installed Racer Chris's Sway Bar.
I had a nice uncracked dash top saved for this,so it went in too.I also installed a new black carpet kit for good measure.
Bought a high torque starter.Put in all new brake hoses and 320 calipers in the front.Installed the tee.
Whew!

Week 9

Cooling system from RH came! beerchug.gif Installed it and ran some wiring for it too.

Week 12

The rest of the RH stuff came!(In the most destroyed boxes I have ever seen,but thats another story lol)
I dumped it all off at Real Horsepower.Murray went on vacation for 2 weeks!!AARRGGGGG!! biggrin.gif Im still learning how to be patient!lol
Anways,Murray came back and he bolted the whole works together.The one thing RH doesnt make a provision for is the Iron block LS's are missing a tapped hole for their alternator mount.(We used a single wire 120 amp alt BTW)Murray and I made a slick mount that you can see in the pics.
I called Murray and said"Hey,give me a shout before you bolt that thing in the car,I want a couple of pics!"He told me i'd better get my ass over there now,cause it was in progress! aktion035.gif

Murray's a cool guy.Hes not a Porsche guy tho.He has his shop full of beautiful(customers,and his own) hotrods.When I told him what we were up to,(the conversion I mean) He didnt even bat an eye.He was in.I told him I wanted to do as much of it as I had time for,and that I had to do the exhaust.I told him I would take the car elsewhere to work on the stuff I wanted to do myself,and he refused.Murray is a cool guy.

The other cool thing about this whole thing was the reaction from the regulars,and his new customers too."That is going in there?? That is super cool!!"My little car was on the lift,surrounded by $100k Hotrods,and it was the Belle of the ball. biggrin.gif
While I was there,there were at least 4-5 phone calls to Murray from his cronies."It it running yet?Have you driven it yet?"

Anyway,Murray and I probably did the whole install of the motor/transaxle in about 4.5 days,including Andrew and I doing the exhaust.Murray held up the old wiring harness and said"Tom this thing is kinda scary!Im not using it!" So,all the wiring got a nice upgrade in the bay.I used the Parkerflex coolant hose,expensive,but very tough and can bend into a tight,tight radius with zero collapse.Yes I ran hose under the car.It bugs me.(I wish I was more patient and ran SS like I will do for next season,but I simply did not have time.The sun is running away!)
The goodies from Renegade all worked as they should.Thier instructions are stromberg.gif biggrin.gif No,really they need an update and I told them so!Hi Scott,Steve, Ian! Despite the "Instructions" The parts,and the guys at RH are top shelf.I called,I got answers.Really good guys. beerchug.gif

Murray and I started the car.It was almost alien!Ive started the car many times,but this time it lit up in 1/2 a revolution,and sounded crazy!It was odd at first,my little green car sounding that way,but not in a bad way.More like a "Oh thats much better"kinda way!We filled it with water(Also weird as hell)and follwed the burping procedure. That was last night.This morning I got to drive my car! evilgrin.gif

Its crazy.The car feels the same,but just wayyy more assertive.Im taking it easy,because of clutch break in,but wow.Its so much more fun you couldnt beat the smile off my face with a baseball bat.My car is "fixed" beerchug.gif The cooling system works flawlessly,it sounds tough,and is scary fast.I loved my car when it was stock.It still feels that way,just more.
I had two guys tailgaiting the hell out of me on the way home(My maiden voyage of considerable distance,45 min)to the point that I pulled over.They also pulled over,and I immediately thought"Shit!somethings on fire!" Nah.They wanted to know what was in the car! biggrin.gif Jeesh!
Anyhoo,here is some pics of the process.It was fun as hell.(though,it would have been cooler if it was done 9 weeks ago lol)
Thanks to
Mikey 914
Andrew
Murray@Real Horsepower Hotrods
Cheers!! beerchug.gif beer3.gif

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speed metal army
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Heads up!This is the bracket you need to fab for the LS IB to make RH's Alt bracket fly.Heads up!This is also a terrible photo!Ill dig for a better one.
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Andyrew
WOW that is one clean install!

Congrats! You should be proud! (Tig'ed SS exhaust is a very nice touch)
speed metal army
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Cool bonus for me.The Tuner guy shows up.Hes a highschool pal of mine ive not seen in 19 yrs!The very first drive I took in the car,Brian(The tuner/Buddy of mine from GR 12)was sitting in the passenger seat with a cable flapping away over the targa bar programming away while we bullshitted about the good ol days!

Cheers!
balljoint
Very sweet. smile.gif
matthepcat
Very clean! Like everything about the car....but a carburetor??!!


It's like getting to the Olympics, and then sleeping in past the alarm. smile.gif
Drums66
...Very sanitary man!(monster power plant) thumb3d.gif
bye1.gif
bulitt
Very Nice! Couple of questions.
Why the carb on backwards? Easier to install the throttle linkage?
Stock linkage?
Did the Avenger need alot of adjusting?
Where did you get the metal mesh?
SLKWrx
Awesome install. You do really great work. Though, all I thought of when I read the title was: IPB Image
ottox914
Looks great. Bet it drives great as well. Hopefully that awesome exhaust doesn't melt any wires near by. But I suspect as clean as this install is, that has been addresses and any melting danger is just the perspective of the photo and not a real problem. Does that beast run an air cleaner, and how does it fit under the engine lid?

Nice, nice, nice.
tomeric914
QUOTE(bulitt @ Sep 20 2012, 06:02 AM) *

Where did you get the metal mesh?

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-wire-mesh/=jdg639
speed metal army
QUOTE(bulitt @ Sep 20 2012, 03:02 AM) *

Very Nice! Couple of questions.
Why the carb on backwards? Easier to install the throttle linkage?
Stock linkage?
Did the Avenger need alot of adjusting?
Where did you get the metal mesh?

Easier to mount the linkage!
Almost no adjustment at all.The carb idled a shade high out of the box,that was it.
The pmesh is a 10 ga ss wove mesh from a local supplier. smile.gif
speed metal army
QUOTE(matthepcat @ Sep 19 2012, 11:32 PM) *

Very clean! Like everything about the car....but a carburetor??!!


It's like getting to the Olympics, and then sleeping in past the alarm. smile.gif

Ha! I knew someone would rip on the carb. I dig carbs,and if I want ( doubt it ) i can run FI later. I didnt have to cut up my engine bay at all either. This configuration( so far) is way more than I can use anyways. Plus it looks cool! aktion035.gif
speed metal army
QUOTE(ottox914 @ Sep 20 2012, 05:28 AM) *

Looks great. Bet it drives great as well. Hopefully that awesome exhaust doesn't melt any wires near by. But I suspect as clean as this install is, that has been addresses and any melting danger is just the perspective of the photo and not a real problem. Does that beast run an air cleaner, and how does it fit under the engine lid?

Nice, nice, nice.

Thanks! The wires are safely tucked away,i think its an in progress pic. I can close the lid,and do run an air cleaner. Im going to make one for myself that uses a k&n 4" cone.
With this setup,it barely fits under there.
porbmw
Wow!
Nicely done.
Hope to get a chance to see/hear it sometime!
That pretty well ups the ante around here...!
aktion035.gif
ballioint
Can we see the front bumper? Curious on how it looks. The rest of it looks amazing!
speed metal army
QUOTE(ballioint @ Sep 20 2012, 08:29 AM) *

Can we see the front bumper? Curious on how it looks. The rest of it looks amazing!

You can!I will take a pic for you.Its super stealth.One cool thing about the big rubber bumpers.(Plus I dig the way they look) smile.gif
speed metal army
QUOTE(porbmw @ Sep 20 2012, 07:40 AM) *

Wow!
Nicely done.
Hope to get a chance to see/hear it sometime!
That pretty well ups the ante around here...!
aktion035.gif

Im cruising to Stanley park on Saturday! smile.gif
porbmw
QUOTE(speed metal army @ Sep 20 2012, 09:17 AM) *

QUOTE(porbmw @ Sep 20 2012, 07:40 AM) *

Wow!
Nicely done.
Hope to get a chance to see/hear it sometime!
That pretty well ups the ante around here...!
aktion035.gif

Im cruising to Stanley park on Saturday! smile.gif


Damn.
Well.....
I'm going up country to put on a roof...will be there a few weekends....hopefully done before the snow flies. shades.gif
mittelmotor
Congrats! Your exhaust looks super clean (and the entire install). beerchug.gif It's kinda magical the way it gets up to speed so quickly, with so little effort. I've driven a lot of powerful cars, but the way the front end gets light under acceleration (in 3rd or 4th!) is really a rush.
Strudelwagon
OK, you all should know that this conversion was done in secret and that no animals where used for testing during process. Oh ya, and I knew all about it the whole time! happy11.gif
That is one insane transplant SPEED! screwy.gif

Now Just DRIVE!......and get a real camera tongue.gif
speed metal army
QUOTE(Strudelwagon @ Sep 20 2012, 11:00 AM) *

OK, you all should know that this conversion was done in secret and that no animals where used for testing during process. Oh ya, and I knew all about it the whole time! happy11.gif
That is one insane transplant SPEED! screwy.gif

Now Just DRIVE!......and get a real camera tongue.gif

Haha!I drove Strudel crazy probably phoning him all the time about this! biggrin.gif
And yeah,I am no photographer!
Strudelwagon
QUOTE(speed metal army @ Sep 20 2012, 12:48 PM) *

QUOTE(Strudelwagon @ Sep 20 2012, 11:00 AM) *

OK, you all should know that this conversion was done in secret and that no animals where used for testing during process. Oh ya, and I knew all about it the whole time! happy11.gif
That is one insane transplant SPEED! screwy.gif

Now Just DRIVE!......and get a real camera tongue.gif

Haha!I drove Strudel crazy probably phoning him all the time about this! biggrin.gif
And yeah,I am no photographer!


Ya, I was living Vicariously through Speed......The dude was focused and Gotterdone! Maybe if I say some more nice stuff he'll make me a Badass Stainless exhaust like the new on Lime green Rocket welder.gif
zymurgist
Cool build. thumb3d.gif
speed metal army
Here is the front end,and a couple of shots from a distance.What conversion? biggrin.gif

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Temps stay steady at 190-205. beer3.gif
Pass45
i have a 5.3 in my jeep it runs 193 at slow speeds when the fan is on 197 at highway speeds and 205-210 when im beating on it. looks like your cooling system is working perfect
shuie
Nice build. Very clean.
Andyrew
QUOTE(speed metal army @ Sep 20 2012, 07:10 PM) *

Here is the front end,and a couple of shots from a distance.What conversion? biggrin.gif

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Temps stay steady at 190-205. beer3.gif



Hope that works for you! The LS motors do run cooler than the typical SB's...
matthepcat
I always thought that the all aluminum LS motors run hotter than SBC. That is why they are a good fit for the 914 conversions.


EDIT: Yours is the cast bottom end...nevermind.
speed metal army
QUOTE(Andyrew @ Sep 21 2012, 08:02 AM) *

QUOTE(speed metal army @ Sep 20 2012, 07:10 PM) *

Here is the front end,and a couple of shots from a distance.What conversion? biggrin.gif

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Temps stay steady at 190-205. beer3.gif



Hope that works for you! The LS motors do run cooler than the typical SB's...

Seems fine so far!Ive been keeping an eye on it.The big bumpers have a huge void inside them,and actually sit 2" or so away from the bulkhead.I can always add holes if need be,but so far so good!Ive even been keeping track of temps with a small handheld infrared temp gun.
mittelmotor
It also helps that you're in Vancouver. biggrin.gif I've sized my cutouts for stop-and-go traffic and 100-degree ambient temps here in the Pacific Southwest.
speed metal army
QUOTE(mittelmotor @ Sep 21 2012, 01:36 PM) *

It also helps that you're in Vancouver. biggrin.gif I've sized my cutouts for stop-and-go traffic and 100-degree ambient temps here in the Pacific Southwest.

Haha! It sure does! It did get up to 28 yesterday tho..Thats like 83 or so! biggrin.gif
Like i said,the temps are really controlled so far.I can always cut more!
I drove the car all day today. What a blast! driving.gif
mittelmotor
QUOTE(speed metal army @ Sep 21 2012, 04:09 PM) *

QUOTE(mittelmotor @ Sep 21 2012, 01:36 PM) *

It also helps that you're in Vancouver. biggrin.gif I've sized my cutouts for stop-and-go traffic and 100-degree ambient temps here in the Pacific Southwest.

Haha! It sure does! It did get up to 28 yesterday tho..Thats like 83 or so! biggrin.gif
Like i said,the temps are really controlled so far.I can always cut more!
I drove the car all day today. What a blast! driving.gif

Nice! I'm still taking mine out for a spin every night at about 10 when the roads are clear, hunting down a Civic Si or two. piratenanner.gif
dakotaewing
Can you give some info on your sway bar set up? I have a similar bar, but I am having trouble with finding the arms and links...

Thanks!
speed metal army
QUOTE(dakotaewing @ Sep 22 2012, 05:09 PM) *

Can you give some info on your sway bar set up? I have a similar bar, but I am having trouble with finding the arms and links...

Thanks!

Tangerine racing.Racer Chris's bar. beerchug.gif
zonedoubt
Nicely done! aktion035.gif
polo classic
Nice exhaust!

Why carb, and why not keep the EFI?
NORD


Seen this car Sunday while up in Canada for races at Mission.


smilie_pokal.gif smilie_pokal.gif smilie_pokal.gif smilie_pokal.gif smilie_pokal.gif smilie_pokal.gif


It is a very nice car and has a nice exhaust tone. Really is a nice car

Speed metal army can now come down and play with us PNW people.
speed metal army
QUOTE(NORD @ Sep 24 2012, 05:36 PM) *

Seen this car Sunday while up in Canada for races at Mission.


smilie_pokal.gif smilie_pokal.gif smilie_pokal.gif smilie_pokal.gif smilie_pokal.gif smilie_pokal.gif


It is a very nice car and has a nice exhaust tone. Really is a nice car

Speed metal army can now come down and play with us PNW people.

Yep! I got to meet Nord! smile.gif now that im back up and running im in for some PNW stuff for sure!
speed metal army
bye1.gif Hey!
I haven't updated this for ages, but I thought I would for the sake of having all my build documented for myself through changes/upgrades etc. smile.gif I am planning further mods so I should do this before I get ahead of myself and forget things.
Its also a chance for some gratuitious photos of my car. first.gif
So, update on the swap after a year:
We have had the best summer in years and I drove the heck out of my car. No issues!
(Oh wait, late last summer I roasted a CV, and went with Renegades cv/shaft setup, no issues since laugh.gif )
I dig the power. shades.gif The 5.3 accelerates fast enough to scare the crap out of me, yet produce a huge grin at the same time. Light switch oversteer for fun in the form of black marks/smoke, also fun as hell. Especially in a 914 aktion035.gif !
Since I updated this I have:
-Installed a new Hella H4 kit. Now I have 2 lights that are the same! Yay! Plus they work nice. Much better than OG
-Had an odd electrical gremlin fixed that was worth every cent. Car would blow a fuse when I signaled left 20% of the time.. Turned out to be a short behind the guage cluster. Yeah. I never would have found that.
-Found a super low profile air cleaner that fits underneath my stock lid. w00t.gif It doesn't seem like much,but the LS style stuff is a shade taller than the SBC.
-I rebuilt my shift linkage, nothing fancy or picture worthy, but it works sooo much better than the crappy rushed version I slapped together when I was finishing my car. confused24.gif What?I was stoked to drive at the time. The new linkage uses stock parts,and is just a slightly longer creatively cut and mitred version of a stock linkage.If anyone has grief with the LS motor(corvette pan) linkage,LMK. Shifts nice now. smile.gif
How about stuff I have pics of?
Quickfuel Q series annular 750 mech secondary! smilie_pokal.gif Good stuff! Annular boosters are FI like! Weighs a 1/4 what my holley weighs too. Plus it looks cool. evilgrin.gif
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I also put a real regulator in there. sunglasses.gif
I also built a GT lid from Shea's tutorial. It looks cool, but I just dig the stocker.
Photos in next post..
speed metal army
The GT lid is cool! I built it using Erics tutorial, and it came out pretty nice, but I built it for looks, not cooling, and my green lid wins.
What say you??
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I have never had any cooling issues, so fashion outweighs function this time.
speed metal army
My old fuel setup needed a revamp! I installed a new filter,some SS valves and a Holley Billet gerotor pump. I had to fab up a new mount , as the new pump was bigger than the Holley "red" it replaced. The "red" was so loud it was crazy! blink.gif The new pump is the ticket so far. Quiet, and consistent. smile.gif
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speed metal army
There has been other stuff, but I cant think of it at the moment... Here are some pics of the car in its current state. I am currently torn about flaring this car. I don't know exactly why. confused24.gif I like the sleeper aspect, but cant leave well enough alone. biggrin.gif Big bumpers and flares?!?!! That's crazy talk..
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Waiting for the next sunny day... smile.gif
Rand
Very nice and clean build. I love it. Heavy in the mouth though. (being brutally honest)

If you want a $.02 from nobody, the BUBS have to go first. They make me barf a little in my mouth.

Before going full flare (which is the ultimate end where we all eventually end up......) That weasel on my other shoulder says, stretch those a little and fill them out like pumped biceps in a too-tight t-shirt.

Point being, work up. Fill your sleeves before you buy bigger clothes.
porbmw
Absolutely beautiful!
Jealous...in a good way....need to see it in person!
Paul
BTW
Stock lid looks best, if no cooling issues. I think the GT lids really only suit the GT type cars...the stock lid helps the lines flow better.
Sleepin
drooley.gif

Awesome to hear that you are still digging it a year later!
balljoint
It's beautiful. Bumpers and all. You don't need to worry about what is in Rand's mouth, he'll put anything in there.

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dakotaewing
Can you give us an idea on average MPG with your carb setup?

Thanks!
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