John's LS 49 Dodge

[reaper71]

This is A Build I did awhile back..(the truck is done and driving)
It rolled into the shop(barely) 100% stock. My customer John told us that is barely hits 45 MPH and takes 15 min. to warm it up on a 90 degree day!
The original plan was to make it drive better with a new front end and maybe rear end swap...Then the nightmare began..I will give more detail as I move forward with the build..

Mark..

[reaper71]

Pic #1 is as she was pulling in the shop stock ride height etc.
Pic #2 front end coming off to reveal the beginning of the problems!
Problem #1. after taking measurements of the front axle placement is is very close to the firewall. So when we wanted to just drop a mustang II style front end under it the cross member was in the middle of the oil pan!
At this point there was no real solution using the 49 technology...So...out comes the motor and trans..And it did NOT want to come out!!
come to find out the Dodge has a 2 piece floor at the toe board so this made things a bit easier.

Mark...

[reaper71]

Here are a few pics of motor/trans coming out.
And the monster sitting on the floor!!
Till next time...

Mark...

[reaper71]

Pic #1 The new power plant...2002 LS 5.3l drive by wire...
Pic #2 the frame all de greased and ready for boxing plates..

[Crash'd Artwerks]

Originally Posted by reaper71

Pic #1 The new power plant...2002 LS 5.3l drive by wire...
Pic #2 the frame all de greased and ready for boxing plates..

What's the engine out of? All of the Camaros/Trans Ams/Silverados/Suburbans/Tahoes, etc. up to 2002 were drive by cable, is the only reason I ask.

[reaper71]

The motor and trans were from a Silverado..

Originally Posted by Crash'd Artwerks

What's the engine out of? All of the Camaros/Trans Ams/Silverados/Suburbans/Tahoes, etc. up to 2002 were drive by cable, is the only reason I ask.

[reaper71]

Pic #1 of the template from frame rail to be transferred to the 1/8" steel..
Pic #2 the boxing plate tacked in and ready to be fully welded...

Mark...

[tommys72]

Ill follow along

[Advanced Design]

Me too.

[yahoos]

Im In!

[rusty76]

Me too.

[reaper71]

thanks guys for checking out the build...

[reaper71]

Here is a couple of shots of the front crossmember going in...This was during mockup stages...
Front end is a mustang II style with tubular upper and lower arms, QA1 coilovers ,manual rack..Picked it up from (Gaylco in Arkansas) super nice guy to deal with his price hub to hub was around $2000 This is the 2nd unit I have used of his.
Nice quality and the ride is really nice..
Pic #2 if you notice the tube where the coilover goes, these are used for setting the ride height. I used 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" tube and weld a washer to the top and a bolt pointing up so it can go through the upper mount. At the bottom I then drill a hole for the lower shock mount bolt to go through..(these are cut to length so the lower arm is flat) At this point you can move the vehicle around with or with out an engine and still maintain your ride height. And not worry about trying to shove a coilover in and out..

Mark...

[rusty76]

Looks nice.

[ratty 46]

I'm in ... want more pix & build updates though ...

[reaper71]

Progress coming at cha!!!

Here is a shot of the crossmember and hats welded in...

[reaper71]

Close up of the crossmember and hats..

[reaper71]

Pic #1 here it is with all components bolted back up.

Pic #2 the front Dog house.. (had to do some trimming to get it to fit around the new A-Arms)

This is where we ran into problem #2...The LS truck engine's oil pan is very tall or deep if you will...and the configuration of the pan in conjunction with the front crossmember being so close to the firewall has revealed a Major issue!!!

The solution is the firewall will need to be cut out and recessed to allow to engine to sit back a bit more, on top of this the oil pan would need to be replaced with a shorter one from a Camaro GM part #12628771 (this is a low profile pan 5" depth at sump) You can find this in a full kit form (pan,gasket,pick up tube and dipstick and windage tray) look around diff. places for best price..
Till next time
Mark...

[Advanced Design]

Was looking at the cross member and thinking about contact with the oil pan. How much engine setback did you use? Guess I can wait for the updates....just kinda thinking / reading ahead.

We had a contact issue between the pan and center link on our 56 Belair, used the Camaro pan and modified the front of the sump to work...need to look at the new modified pans for a better solution.
Nice welds on the top hats too!

[reaper71]

As you requested Sir!!
I ended up moving the firewall back 1 1/2" to give me room to sneak the oil pan just past the backside of crossmember. I ended up with 1/4" between pan and member. (for referance speaking there is another pan called "muscle car"
pan it is 7" at sump) I made the mistake on this and ate the cost of the new pan. Hence the reason I used the 12628771 pan.
Pics below showing the section removed...

[reaper71]

A.D. Thank's on the "weld's" comment!

Here the engine being mocked up for fitting the mounts.
At this time is when we decided how much to recess the firewall..

Mark...

[rusty76]

I like seeing stuff like this. I have no idea what you are doing in one sense but man I sorta get it too. Thanks for sharing. I'm learning a great deal.

[reaper71]

Rusty..I had no idea what I was getting into either!!
If you ever have questions feel free to PM me
Mark..

Originally Posted by rusty76

I like seeing stuff like this. I have no idea what you are doing in one sense but man I sorta get it too. Thanks for sharing. I'm learning a great deal.

[ratty 46]

Nicely done so far ...

I've been looking at the "Dodge" as the AD & F1 are getting a bit scarce & pricey.

I can't wait to c this on the ground running.

R46

[flashed]

Wow ,that is a nice truck .