BUILD THREAD Grand prix LS1 build

[motorholmes]

If not i have Iceman or a G force crossmember, Who has one? and any issues with it fitting especially with the setback plates.

I used a Gforce 700r4 crossmember and mine didn't fit very well at all. The whole piece is about 1" too narrow to fit correctly on the frame supports, and even with my engine nearly touching the firewall, the trans mount hole was too far back. No biggie, just some extra cutting/grinding.

That's a drag about the emissions stuff. It was a wonderful day here when they got rid of that Nazi crap. Cars over 25 yrs old should get a pass IMO. They're only less than 1% of the cars on the road anyhow

 

[85GPLef41]

I am going to see what i can do do my stock crossmember for now, And yeah they tightened up the emissions standards for cars 82+ and they took away collector plates and emissions exempt status plates as well. So only way is with a 73 and older ride.....

 

[85GPLef41]

Update:
Ordered the Speedway alt kit and had trouble figuring it out at first..I'm a retard... :lol: Well I got home from work and with a beer in hand i figured it out..It replaces all the fbody alt and power steering brackets. once bolted on the damn belt was too short... :| I'm gonna try and redo it and see if it goes together in the morning. Here are some pics of the alt and power steering pump/pulley bolted on. If the damn belt would've fit.. another thing i wasn't comfortable with was that the cylinder 1 plug wire hits the alt and there is limited space for the sensor on the head and harness plug... :?

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clearance between the hood and power steering reservoir cap

 

[LS1GN]

As for the trans crossmember i am going to mock up the 4l60e and see where my crosmember fits and see if i can make it work. If not i have Iceman or a G force crossmember, Who has one? and any issues with it fitting especially with the setback plates.

If you dont have the tailshaft with the rear mount, see if you can get one. I found that THAT tailshaft lines up perfectly with the rear set of X member holes. All I needed was a straight piece of steel, easy simple crossmember.

 

[motorholmes]

Wow, I'm extra glad I built my own brackets now. That looks like a headache.

Let us know how that crossmember works out. Always good to have simple solutions to stuff

 

[85GPLef41]

LS1GN thanks for the low budget idea! 8) I'm gonna install the trans this weekend and find out what i can do..

Wow, I'm extra glad I built my own brackets now. That looks like a headache.

Let us know how that crossmember works out. Always good to have simple solutions to stuff

Yeah this sucks!! :| I did get the belt on finally!! But i'm not happy with the tensioner position... OH WELL i'm gonna run it for now..

 

[LS1GN]

Coming along very nicely! I think it looks great!

My crossmember has no humps so my exhaust has to loop under - If I had to do it over again I'd revise the design a little.

1. Does the cap of the P/S actually contact the hood? I'd sand down or shave that little cap.
2. Your temp sensor is way up in there by the P/S, you can lengthen the wire and instead use the hole on the passenger side head (rear) if there is room back there. Remember it is the same head, just on the other side of the car.
3. You might be able to put a generic idler pulley under the p/s alt, there are a few bolt holes down there, right? That will give you more "wrap" on the balancer.
4. Is the tensioner maxed out? Take it apart and put a stronger spring in there?

 

[motorholmes]

Naah I think once that belt breaks in a bit you might find the pointer right between the marks.. I could be totally wrong though

 

[85GPLef41]

Coming along very nicely! I think it looks great!

My crossmember has no humps so my exhaust has to loop under - If I had to do it over again I'd revise the design a little.

1. Does the cap of the P/S actually contact the hood? I'd sand down or shave that little cap.
2. Your temp sensor is way up in there by the P/S, you can lengthen the wire and instead use the hole on the passenger side head (rear) if there is room back there. Remember it is the same head, just on the other side of the car.
3. You might be able to put a generic idler pulley under the p/s alt, there are a few bolt holes down there, right? That will give you more "wrap" on the balancer.
4. Is the tensioner maxed out? Take it apart and put a stronger spring in there?

Thanks!! LS1GN I didn't get to install my trans this weekend hopefully Monday.. I am going to see if i could figure the crossmember out, As for the cap it has about 1.75 clearance between the cap and hood. As for the temp sensor i'm not worried abou the length it the connector hitting the alt. I did think of adding another pulley but the belt is pretty tight now.... :|

Naah I think once that belt breaks in a bit you might find the pointer right between the marks.. I could be totally wrong though

Hoping too that it will... 8) i was thinking of trying to hunt down a belt that would be more fitting...

 

[79loserbluebu]

You can always use a billet tensioner from Katech, Comp, etc. Once the belt breaks in I don't think you'll really see that much change, if that was the case I'd be having to adjust my Katech tensioner all the time

I have an Iceman crossmember and I'm extremely happy with it. The BRP mounts that I have don't use the original V8 mount holes, so technically it keeps the trans in the same spot just as it would with other mounts.

If you have any junkyards around you, try and look for an alternator from a truck with a 4.8/5.3/6.0, as it's the same casing alternator just without the stupid cooling duct on the back. I'd be willing to bet if you got a truck alternator on there you wouldn't have too many issues with the spark plug or coolant sensor.

I also wouldn't worry too much about the distance from the crank to the next pulley.