55.2-59 Ol' Blue

[8man]

6D, could it be the way it's primed?

Raven, it doesn't look like I'll need to do anything to the firewall. I have a friend coming over today to look at everything with me and help me decide if where I have it will accommodate the electric fans and the front engine belt stuff.

The engine pinion is 2.1 down right now, and he is going to help me decide if that is ok, or if I need to get it a little closer to 3. I think I can raise the engine a little to get that if I need to.

[dsraven]

best to match down angle of engine with up angle of rear axle pinion. then the ujoints cancel each other out. otherwise there could be some vibration and premature ujoint wear that you wil always struggle with.
engine down low and rearward as far as possible is best but you gotta work around the other stuff previously mentioned plus trying not to cut firewall.

[8man]

Yes, that is why I want a real mechanic's opinion of where I am before I start on the motor mounts. I think the engine might move a little further forward, but right now the trans is at 2.1 down and the rear axle is at 2.1 up. I think I need to move both a little, but I'll see what he thinks and then decide.

[6DoF]

could also be i'm just used to seeing the seams ...

painting the step black with the floor and the sides body matched?

[8man]

The interior will be white, the outside blue. I haven't thought about where the color will change. I still have some time to think about that.

I have a friend who painted his a tan in the step to match the outside, but the interior, except for the dash is white. So, I haven't decided yet.

[8man]

Well, the engine is now 3.1 down at the tail of the transmission and the rear axle is 3.1 up at the u-joint. I think I'll going to go with that.

At the firewall, I will have to trim some of the flange on the tunnel cover where the firewall angles up. About 1/2" on the two "corners". The tunnel cover is the flat one, so I will have to build a rib in it about 6" long down the center from the angle of the firewall to the second rib in the cover. This will allow it to clear the transmission.

After measuring, and re-measuring until I was cross eyed, I'm going to get the radiator and electric fans, and then measure one more time with them mounted to make sure it is far enough back before I mount the motor mounts. It is close!

[dsraven]

Leave a little clearance for sag in motor mounts and engine movement under torque and deceleration. Also body movement and sag/movement in rad support mounts. Sounds like you have it dialed.

[8man]

Thanks Raven. I believe it's close, but I need to check the fan clearance before I go any further, but I can work on the tunnel clearance for the next couple of days.

[dsraven]

just as a side, make sure to install the front balancer and pulley to ensure they clear the steering rack. I found the ls engine needs to be forward and sit taller in order to clear the firewall and the cross member/steering rack. I opt for the firewall relief but since yours is painted on the inside I can see where that option would be a last resort. one task force cab I did was really badly rusted so I cross braced the cab and cut the firewall completely out. then sheeted it with some 16ga, bent to the correct contours, and welded it in. then cut out the center area, placed the engine, and fabbed up a recess that would work and still leave room for the feet and accel pedal while not too sharp of corners that would make carpeting a hassle later. if it comes to this, or a lurker is watching with consideration, I recommend to leave the hood hinge attachmnet area intact so that you dont have to guess about where the holes are supposed to be later.
if trying to not change the firewall you might consider a dual fan set up so the motors can be offset from the water pump pulley? a set up with a decent shroud to ensure the fans draw as much air through the rad as possible. set the rad into the rad support or fab a new support that allows this if needed, making sure the grille will still fit of course.
curious what you are running for an oil pan. it kinda looks deep. I have used the camaro pan, oil baffle, oil pump pick up tube and dipstick set up. they come as a set from some vendors and work out to be about level with the trans pan. I try to keep the engine high enough so the oil pan is level with the underside of the IFS cross member or higher. a lesson learned from other engine swaps over the years on low vehicles, where headers got flattened and the oil pan got bent from potholes etc. those were steel oil pans, a little more forgiving than the aluminum ones.
anyway, keep posting up your progress pics, it's looking great.

[8man]

Thanks Raven. I was thinking of getting the radiator/fan I want to run, and the front kit, and see if it will work together, before I do the motor mounts.

The cab is only in primer inside and out, so I can make some changes if I need, so now is the time.

Also, the engine is running the stock 2009 Silverado oil pan that I got with the engine. It is level with the bottom of the crossmember right now. I could go with a different oil pan, as you mentioned, and I've thought about that. I can't put the engine much lower, as it is about 2" above the crossmember right now.

So, for now, I'm thinking about what I have, measuring, re-measuring, and leaning toward getting the stuff I want and then doing what I need to do to make it fit if it doesn't fit. This is the week I'll decide.

[dsraven]

here is a site that has a bunch of ls info and talks about oil pans somewhere
http://www.billavista.com/tech/Artic...t_1/index.html
he also has a page with tech articles that outline how the ls cooling system works. the cooling bible i think is the name of thaty article found here
http://www.billavista.com/tech/index.html

here is a link to the holly oil pan for ls swaps. it gives dimensions, if interested
https://images.holley.com/6445e702b4...6decf573a8.jpg

here is another oil pan link that shows different models
https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...-oil-pans.html

hope that helps

[dsraven]

found this as well. informative.
https://www.holley.com/blog/post/how...apped_vehicle/
just thought that changing the pan may help you do less work and end up with a lower center of gravity as well.

[8man]

WOW! Thanks! That was not only quick, but there is a lot of information to absorb there.

I really appreciate it.

[dsraven]

I usually use a block of wood between oil pan and cross member, for clearance. 2 2x4 gives inch and half. Just gotta make sure vibe damper also clears. I have revised the steering rack lines on some for clearance too.

[leegreen]

2 tips about aftermarket LS swap pans:

most don't include oil bypass so make sure you use a filter with built in bypass
ACDELCO PF48 perhaps

throw away the oil pickup o-ring the pan comes with and buy a name brand replacement, cheap ones may split randomly sometime down the road mixing air into the oil going to pump, making your lifters very noisy and causing you to pull the engine again.

[8man]

Thanks Lee. I'm hoping to avoid the oil pan swap, but it is an option at this point.

[dsraven]

yeah, good tip on the o ring. some years of OE o rings had the same problem. no fun to replace while in-frame either.

[8man]

After days of tinkering with the rear axle pinion angle, I got some wedge shims from O'Reilly's and the pinion is now set and torqued to about 2.6 degrees. I rechecked the engine and it was set as low as I could go and keep the oil pan above the crossmember. That meant I had to lower the transmission. So, I moved the transmission crossmember to below the frame, drilled the appropriate holes in the frame, mounted the crossmember. This put the rear of the trans at about 4 degrees down. I then shimmed the crossmember to bring the rear of the trans up to about 2.6 degrees and got back on the motor mounts.

Did I mention this is my first time welding in motor mounts? I got the POL mounts and started cutting them down a little at a time. After a couple of days of agonizing over the cuts and then the grinding down to make them fit, I was finally happy with the fit. Here is the rider's side tacked in place. The bolt goes in and out easily with the engine setting down as far as it can go.

That brought me to the transmission cover panel. The 4L60E sits a little tall in the cab. I looked at the 4-speed cover and didn't care for the size of the hump. So, I got a lesson from a friend who used a sheet steel roller to create the curve. I started cutting out the tunnel and welded in the new curved panel. I like the way it sits, and it doesn't cause too much of a curve in the floor. Should be pretty good covered in carpet.

[Tempest67]

nice work on both pieces, they look great

[8man]

Thanks Tempest.

[8man]

The test fitting is still in progress. I have to drill some holes for the wiring and the AC hoses, then I'll finish up the front and the doors, not in that order. I have the bed assembled, and just got the bumper, 13 of the 17 pieces of the rear bumper on the truck so I can check gaps. Man, I wish there was a video of how to assemble that! Here is what it looks like. The two long bolts are holding the drop-down door in place, because I'm not putting the chrome parts on it yet.

[8man]

Ok, getting ready for paint. I've contacted the painter, and he wants the truck "mostly" assembled so he can look at the gaps and make sure he likes them.

The hold up has been figuring out where I wanted to run some stuff. I decided to build a gas tank and put it along the frame, using the original filler tube location for the gas. The solid tube goes down from the outside under the cab to the tank. Pics 1 and 2

Then I also wanted to hide the AC lines, and thought since I was doing that, I'd just hide the heater hoses too. Pics 3 and 4

Pic 3 shows where the hoses will get into the area between the inner and outer fenders.

Pic 4 shows where the hoses come into the cab. The straight fittings are for the heater hoses, and I got some hoses with a 90 in them and they will terminate right at the Mini II unit. The 90 fittings are for the AC lines, and they line up pretty well with the unit as well.

The hoses will run between the inner and outer fenders up to the front where I used a Vintage Air bulkhead fitting where they will dump into the engine bay. Pic 5

[Tempest67]

looks really good

This planning will pay off when the truck is assembled.

Great work

[8man]

Thanks Tempest. It was a LOT of measuring, as there are no flat surfaces and there was sheet metal blocking the view to what I needed to see, but it looks like it fits now, so I'm back to reassembling the front end for the painter.

[dsraven]

I like your idea for the tank filler using the stock location. no hole to fill in the cab either.
hiding the lines behind the inner fenders is a slick idea. kabwe did that on his task force truck a few years back. I haven't heard hide nor hair of him on here for a long time. he does good work and fast too.