Tommy66 5.3/4l60 Build

[structures]

Those powder coated fenders look great!

I noticed you ran your b-quiet up the kick panel. Are you planning on carpeting that?

Where did you get your a/c controller?

[mooseknuckles]

Originally Posted by tommys66

Got my gauge panel built, minus the led indicators...I used the original face plate, drilled the holes with a hole saw, and covered it with a vinyl film from oreillys. As for the outer bezel, I bead blasted it, then slightly polished with never dull. the finish looks like brushed aluminum.

cool trick!

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by Strodder

Looken good Tommy

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by structures

Those powder coated fenders look great!

I noticed you ran your b-quiet up the kick panel. Are you planning on carpeting that?

Where did you get your a/c controller?

Yes, I plan to carpet, or make a vinyl or leather cover.

the a/c controller is from vintage air, i think i found the part # i wanted from their site and then shopped on ebay for best deal.

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by oldblue1968chevy

Wow, good work, looks factory!

[Alan's Classic]

Dang Tommy, awesome progress. That blue turned out really nice. Did you figure out the radiator mounts yet?

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Dang Tommy, awesome progress. That blue turned out really nice. Did you figure out the radiator mounts yet?

thanks, I used some after market mounts from jegs for the bottom, and made some ss hold downs for the top. Im having a bung welded on the radiator right now, when i get it back, i'll get some pics.

[smilts60]

Just spent the last hour reading this entire build thus far. great work very inspirational. Look forward to reading more.

[tommys66]

I finally got the motor running, however, it had no oil pressure! I dropped the pan to see if the pickup tube screen was stopped up, but nothing. So I thought it must be the oil pump, but had no idea that it was located on the end of the crank shaft, behind the timing chain cover. I tore into it and found the pump housing was cracked and the internals were shattered! Something like this is a draw back to buying a junkyard motor, just a minor set back though. At least I know the wiring is right.

[tommys66]

While I had the front of the motor tore down, I drilled and tapped the water pump for the steam vent line. The heads on these motors are the highest point of the cooling system so they have to be vented back to the return of the system. I used a 1/8-27 NPT tap, and a 21/64 drill bit. The 1/8 NPT calls for a R bit, but 21/64 is very close. This will be a cleaner look than running it to the radiator.

[tommys66]

I took some pics of the bottom end of the motor while I've got the oil pan off. The two discs with teeth at the rear of the motor are the reluctors. One is for the camshaft sensor, and the other is for the crankshaft sensor. Check the following link for further info on the internals of the LS engines.

http://www.chevythunder.com/ls1_page_1.htm

[structures]

Hey tommy sorry to hear about the pump. I'm a little concerned about my engine as well only because it was a roll-over and the intake manifold had a noticeable amount of oil in it.

You think you might be able to post up some pics of the engine bay after you get it all back together?

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by structures

Hey tommy sorry to hear about the pump. I'm a little concerned about my engine as well only because it was a roll-over and the intake manifold had a noticeable amount of oil in it.

You think you might be able to post up some pics of the engine bay after you get it all back together?

Sure, Hopefully this weekend. You shouldn't have any problems with yours, It couldn't have ran very long upside down. Actually my daily driver was a rollover with the same engine, It too had a bunch of oil in the intake. I just wiped out what I could get too and never had a minutes trouble with it.

[Shooters_7]

Lots of good info on here! I'm going to start my rebuild once I get back from Iraq! I'm curious as to any issues you run into with the LS motor and how you'll mount the gas pedal if it has the "drive by wire" stuff...

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by Shooters_7

Lots of good info on here! I'm going to start my rebuild once I get back from Iraq! I'm curious as to any issues you run into with the LS motor and how you'll mount the gas pedal if it has the "drive by wire" stuff...

This motor does have the DBW, as far as the petal, I just set it as close to the position as the original and welded it to the floor pan. If I were to do it again, I would have welded a bracket to bolt it to, just to be able to remove it if needed.

[tommys66]

I got the oil pump replaced, but I was looking the bottom end over and noticed something questionable on the side of a main cap, so I removed the main cap and sure enough the bearing was ruined. So I checked the others and two of the four I could get to were bad. I replaced all the main bearings except for the rear. When I finally got it back together, I pulled the fuel pump relay, and injector fuses and let the motor crank over for about a minute to prime the pump and circulate some clean oil.

[tommys66]

You think you might be able to post up some pics of the engine bay after you get it all back together?[/QUOTE]

here's some pics

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Dang Tommy, awesome progress. That blue turned out really nice. Did you figure out the radiator mounts yet?

here's what I did for the mounts...The top mounts are made from 3/16 stainless and the bottom came from jegs with the radiator.

[tommys66]

With some help, I got the doors fitted, and started on fitting the fenders. I used aftermarket counterpart fenders. The RH fender was way off, I had to drill off the top rear mounting bracket and do some cutting to get it to fit. I fitted the bracket to the door post and cowl, then the fender to the bracket.

[tommys66]

I just got the exhaust finished, I used 2 1/2 aluminized pipe, and flowmaster knockoffs. I gave the local muffler shop the measurements I wanted for the offsets, then I welded the pipe and secured the mounts. It was a straight shot from the headers to the crossmember then a 2 1/2 inch offset up to meet the muffler with turndowns right out of the muffler. I only used one hanger on each pipe, right after the muffler. It seems very secure with only one hanger.

[198plus]

Really lookin good........I like that blue.

[shrunken66stroker]

good to see you makin progress!

[QWYKTRUK]

You do nice work. That engine bay looks real clean!!

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by 198plus

Really lookin good........I like that blue.

yeah, I came across that color by accident...thanks

[tommys66]

Originally Posted by shrunken66stroker

good to see you makin progress!

slowly! the budget sets me back at times