Glock's new project: "Fred" w/ 5.3L LS swap info

[Cherub]

I see your sticking with the electronic throttle control

[flamingbig10]

looking good Bob

[joe231]

very nice!!

[JohnC]

Oh BABY that thing looks sweet sitting in there. Great progress Bob.

[menace121978]

wow... i keep looking at those teaser shots and keep seeing more and more done! the wirings laid out, power steering looks to be hooked up... where's the a/c compressor?

great news on the plates... thanks Bob!!

[nlped]

Man, you are really knocking this thing out. I'm with ^^^, did you already test fit the A/C compressor...I know you did, but I have to know for sure ?

Great Progress.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by Cherub

I see your sticking with the electronic throttle control

Yep, clean and simple, and easy to hook up the factory cruise.

Originally Posted by menace121978

where's the a/c compressor?

I have to clearance a couple spots on the AC bracket than I'll put it back on. I had to tweak the trans cooler lines slightly to make sure they weren't rubbing or getting pinched by it. Then I will have to notch the frame for the lines to clear. This part has me scratching my head. I didn't spend a lot of time there though cause I was out of gas! I was concerned at first about the amount that would need to be removed from the frame there since the idler arm mounts in that area, but I think it should be OK if I reinforce the the frame rail around that area real good. But like I said I didn't spend a lot of time looking it over. When I go back out with a clear head and not so tired, it'll come to me.

Originally Posted by lolife99

Glock,...
did you happen to make some "templates" of your new engine plates?
Maybe some for sale in the near future?

It's really going to come down to whether or not I can definitely make the AC work in the LS's original location without too much hassle. So far everything has worked out well. I'm hoping I can so I don't have to spend the $$$$ on a high side mounting kit.

More pics up later.

[silvereagle07]

Wow! Nice progress. Can't wait to see more.

[glock35ipsc]

OK, here we go!

Passenger side exhaust - I decided to use the truck manifolds because I like the way they look, and I am going to JetHot coat them some day. I had to notch the frame just a little bit to make room for one ear with a stud, but nothing too big. The head pipe has plenty of clearance, and it can be rotated to position the O2 sensor wherever you want it.




Drivers side exhaust - No clearancing necessary. The O2 sensor is about 1.5" from the flange, but the turn of the pipe runs it right into the frame rail. So I cut the head pipe off right at the flange, flipped it over, and marked it where it shot the pipe of away from the frame. Then I welded the pipe back to the flange. Now it turns away from the frame, and there is no issues with the shift linkage. O2 sensor is easy to get to also.



Trans crossmember - Slid it back and it lined up with two holes on the drivers side. Had to drill two holes there (one on the side and one on the bottom) Two on the pass side bottom needed redrilled too. There was 2 holes on the top pass that lined up already.

Shift linkage - Lines up in the original location. Had to adjust the shift linkage rod a little, but the shifter goes into all gears, including 1st.

Power steering pump - Used the 5.3's pump. I don’t know what the name of the part is, but it’s the threaded part on the pump that the pressure hose threads in to. Remove it from the original pump, and install it into the 5.3's pump. Than reuse the original hose. The return line on the pump needed a little tweaking to clear the frame. I cut the truck’s return line, and put a 90* bend in it. Works perfect.



Trans cooler lines - Had to move the bracket up (the one on the engine), otherwise the lower line rubbed the cross member. Cut and bent them in front of the motor, and I will run them to the radiator with braided SS lines.



I turned the injectors 180* so that the wires to them would be out of sight. Looks much better this way!




The wires for the pass O2 sensor are quite long, so I will reroute them and shorten them too. Also, the MAF sensor is on the passenger side originally. I don't want to move the battery, so my air intake will be on the drivers side. So I will have to reroute that part and probably lengthen it too. No biggie.

After spending WAAAY too much time trying to remember how to put the serpentine belt back on (with no luck), my son decided to give it a try. 15 minutes later, I hear “Got it daddy!”

[bigbadjohn84]

ROTFLMAO!!

[JohnC]

Looks awesome man. It's a good thing you have such great helpers with you. I am starting to think they are the ones doing all the work on this thing, and you are just sitting back taking pictures.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by bigbadjohn84

ROTFLMAO!!

LMAO at what??

[bigbadjohn84]

the little helper jumpin in there and getting the belt on in 15 min. Ive had the same issue before.. just wasnt holding my mouth right i suppose. lol

[tvblazer78]

You got it in sweet! like the looks of it. what all do you need so you can start it up?

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by bigbadjohn84

the little helper jumpin in there and getting the belt on in 15 min. Ive had the same issue before.. just wasnt holding my mouth right i suppose. lol

The kid is a little 9 year old mechanical genius I tell ya! Some of the stuff he comes off with and does simply amazes me. He puts me to shame regularly! He can spot a 67-72 truck in a blinding snowstorm, and can tell the difference between each year at a glance. We saw a 72 at Walmart once that had a 68 front clip on it. As we walked by, he said "that's a nice 72 you have there." The guy said thanks, then asked him how he knew it was a 72. My boy goes "your mirror is on the windshield!" The guy was absolutely floored! I was going

Originally Posted by tvblazer78

You got it in sweet! like the looks of it. what all do you need so you can start it up?

Other than the fuel system and some electrical, mostly little stuff. Fuel system is fairly straight forward.

I still need to wire in the LSx harness to power, speedo, cruise, fuel pumps, electric throttle, re-pin the cluster connector, etc. The electrical will probably take the longest time.

Still waiting on a couple fuel system parts, should be here Thur of Friday. Just got back from NAPA getting heater hoses, oil PSI sending unit, manifold to pipe gaskets, fuel pumps strainers, and some clamps.

Oh yeah, gotta swap the rear end too!

My goal is still to drive it to our Colorado BBQ and cruise on the 27th of this month.

[rongstad]

Nice build....waiting for the list of goodies to order. I have a 6.0 going into a 86 chevy.....same color as fred..

[tvblazer78]

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

Oh yeah, gotta swap the rear end too!

My goal is still to drive it to our Colorado BBQ and cruise on the 27th of this month.

The rear end what are you doing to it? And 27th is coming uo soon, so good luck with that..

[glock35ipsc]

I had planned on installing the rear end out of my parts Burb, a 10-bolt with 3.42's, but the PO of the Burb trashed the housing. So I am picking up another Burb rear end from a board member in Colo Springs tomorrow that I believe will have 3.42's as well. If not, the ring and pinion from my Burb are in good shape, and I can swap those in to the "new" rear end.

The 27th may or may not happen, but it gives me a goal date to shoot for.

[glock35ipsc]

Wasn't planning on even going in the shop tonight, but I had to for other reasons. Of course, this led me to do a few things to Fred.

I got the oil bypass drilled and tapped for the oil pressure sending unit and got it installed on the engine. I bought a new SU since the one out of the old motor was 1/4 NPT and I needed 1/8 NPT. In the pic you can also see the revamped drivers exhaust flange and head pipe.

Got new heater hoses today so I got them installed.

Also found the "missing" wire that feeds the fuel pumps. In the fury of removing the unnecessary wiring I must have snipped it! Doh! So I soldered a wire on it to run to the relay.

I also separated the harness in a couple spots. The harness had the MAF and the passenger O2 sensor coming out in the OEM location (you can see them draped over the tensioner in the heater hose pic). I failed to tell Jesse and Hannah that I was going to have the MAF on the drivers side, not the OEM passenger location. So I stripped that all the way back to almost the PCM plugs, then I will shorten it when I get the CAI installed. I'll also reroute the pass O2 behind the engine. Now the only wire loom you see is the large one leaving the top cover and running to the PCM. Very clean.

[nlped]

You are making some major headway!!! It really looks like it belongs in there. I cannot wait to get started on mine!

[bigbadjohn84]

man that looks fantastic glock. thats the way I like to see these done. factory looking setups. nice!

[glock35ipsc]

Thanks guys!

Well, I tinkered with the AC last night. I have the compressor mounted and the belt on for testing, but I have mixed emotions about using it in this location for two reasons.



First, the trans cooler lines must be tucked up much higher and closer to the block than their OEM location because they sit on the cross member and the drag ling link if left in the OEM location/bracket. So I moved the bracket up to clear all that. But with the AC compressor bracket on, the are squeezed between it and the block. Not pinched, but rubbing. I worry that normal vibration could rub a hole in one of them. I slid on some split loom, but that doesn't ease my worries. It does look like I could pull them down and away from not only the block, but to get extra clearance to the belt/pulley, and make a bracket that I could attach them too with line clamps.




Next is the location of the outlets. It doesn't look that bad in the pics, but the smaller port, which is lower on the compressor, would come out up under the top rail of the frame. Given the size of the fittings, the top of the frame would have to be cut out, and a raised portion welded back in, similar to how folks notch are raise the rear frame for bagging.




(This is a side view of the frame. The red dotted,line is what would be cut out, and the green lines are new metal to be welded back in. The side would also have new metal welded in on the outside of the frame.)



The part that gives me heart burn about doing this is the proximity of the idler arm. I am a little nervous about cutting and modifying the frame in this area, because the idler arm mounts to the frame about 2"-3" in from of where the AC fittings need to come out. It's not my welding skill that makes me nervous, it's just the location. And Fred will be no garage queen either, he will see a lot of miles on less then smooth roads. Maybe I'm worrying about it too much, because if I do my part correctly, it should be just as strong or stronger when I'm done.

I have a couple other options. The compressors used on the Trailblazer SS 6.0 and a handful of other GM vehicles is not only SHORTER (thus not requiring the motor mount mod), but the outlets are further up on the housing, so they look like they would clear the frame. I might run to NAPA and see if they have one of these (top pic), and one like I have (bottom pic) so I can compare them side by side. In the bottom pic, it is the lower fitting location that is giving me the problem.




The other solution, which is light years easier, but will run about $400, is an AC compressor relocation kit I found. It is available for most all LS front end setups (Corvette, F-body, truck), locates the compressor high on the passenger side, uses a better design Sanden compressor versus the OEM, and uses the same belt as the rest of the accessories. This may be the route I eventually take.

http://www.kwikperf.com/lsx_ac.html




I don't mind spending the money to do it this way, but I was really hoping to keep it as OEM as possible.

I guess I've got some thinking to do today.......

[Cherub]

The last option is the way i decided to go, but yet to do it. The cost of the kit and compressor has put that on hold. The reason i want to use the relocation kit was to keep from cutting into the frame.

[glock35ipsc]

I have no problems cutting a frame, it's just that I have a problem cutting the frame in this location since the idler arm is mere inches away. That doesn't give me a warm fuzzy.

[Jonboy]

If you have the room, I think the relocation setup is the way to go. The sanden compressor is a proven unit, and looks relatively OEM. I guess the relocation kit would be better (to me, anyhow) than modifying the frame to fit the compressor.