The never ending K5 Build LS Swap

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

I got the VA installed. I had to deviate from the instructions because I didn't want to run bolts and drill holes through my freshly painted firewall. I searched the board and online as well because I know people have done it on here but I couldn't find any detailed pics of how guys actually mounted the VA system without going into the firewall like the instructions. So I had to get a little creative with it and this is what I came up with.

I went to home depot and got a few 90 degree brackets. I used two of them for the two screws up top that and one down on the bottom. The two brackets up top are screwed into the underside of the cowl and then the bolts go through a hole I made in the brackets and that screws into the backside of the VA bracket. For the bottom part of the VA bracket, I made a 45 degree bend in the bracket I used for this part and drilled a hole just below the slope of the firewall.

Here are some pics. I also had hoses made locally since I needed custom hoses for the bulkhead fittings.



Top Brackets


Bottom Bracket


Hoses

[harrisoncole4]

How did you route all the wiring through the firewall? I didn't see a fuse block mounting location after the filler kit.

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Originally Posted by harrisoncole4

How did you route all the wiring through the firewall? I didn't see a fuse block mounting location after the filler kit.

I'm going to be using this fuse panel and relay panel from MGI Speedware. I'll have to decide where I would want to drill a hole in the firewall to feed the wiring through.

I put together this bracket to hold the fuse panel without having to drill through the firewall.



The 4 red wires going up and to the right are for my ACC, IGN, BAT, STR and the other 2 go to the battery and Alternator.



MGI is a relatively new company and I found them searching for fuse panels on the web. Reasonably priced and their customer service is exceptional. Their sales guy put me in touch with their electrical engineer and he helped me figure out all my wiring needs with everything that I'll be running. He also put together custom wiring diagrams for the fuse panel, relay panel and switch panel.

[DeadheadNM]

Any updates?

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Any updates?

Yes sir!. I have to admit I was being lazy about posting.

Here's what I have finished since last post.
1. Center console build is done
2. All Electrical done
3. Engine installed (hoses, harnesses, etc)
4. Vintage Air install completed
5. Steering column, dash, and seats are all back in

I'm sure I've left some stuff out. I'll post the details and pics up on here soon.

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

I wanted to build my own center console and I was searching the ol interwebs for some ideas to help foster the concept I came up with.

I started out with some cardboard pieces to mock up the initial design and went through 4 or 5 reiterations from there before settling on the final design.

I used PVC komatex board that I ordered through TAP Plastics. The sides are 1/2" thick and the top piece is 1/8" thick.

I traced the cardboard onto the PVC board and used a router to make my cuts.

I then used various pieces of wood in-between the two side pieces to give it structural strength and to act as the base for the top piece to lay on top.

After it was all screwed together I had an upholstery shop cover it the same vinyl wrap I used on the original console to match.

For the center section I made my cutouts for the radio, switches, and shifter. I then wrapped the center section using 3M Rosewood vinyl sheets to cover it. This is the same material I used on the door panels and side trim so it all matches.

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

more pics.. I used a special bit (forgot what it's called) to make the edges rounded on the sides. The 6x5 speakers fit nicely inside

[DeadheadNM]

Good to see an update. Console is sharp and compliments the truck.

Can you comment on fitment of the LS? For example any clearance issues against the firewall or front differential?

Do you have an OEM style dash and/or AC harness you won't be using?

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Good to see an update. Console is sharp and compliments the truck.

Can you comment on fitment of the LS? For example any clearance issues against the firewall or front differential?

Do you have an OEM style dash and/or AC harness you won't be using?

Thanks Pete. I'm really happy with how the console turned out.

Now for fitment. I did have some minor issues. Not sure if you remember, I swapped the TH350 for a 4L80E prior to the LS conversion. I had moved the Tcase back 5" in order to have the SBC remain in the stock location. After installing the LS it was a bit too close to the firewall for my setup.

If I was running stock LS valve covers I could probably get away with leaving the transmission where it was. I opted for these billet specialties valve cover adapters to give the look of a sbc. This adds additional height and the provisions for PVC are in the back of the vc adapters.

Here is a pic keeping the trans where it was. You can see I have just about 1/4"-1/2" of clearance. It's actually just touching the gas pedal threaded inserts.



I decided to move the trans/tcase fwd 3.5". Now to put that into perspective, the Tcase is still 1.5" further back from stock location but the additional 5" the 4L80e adds actually moves the engine fwd 3.5" from stock.

I now have plenty of clearance for the PVC hoses. There is one on each valve cover adapter and they run to a catch can. It simply acts as a vapor deposit. Oil wont actually flow through the hoses to catch can.

Attachment 1982701
Attachment 1982702

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

The oil pan is the stock LS that would have came with the 6.0 2500HD truck, hummer, escalade. I had just enough clearance for it.

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Do you have an OEM style dash and/or AC harness you won't be using?[/QUOTE]

sold them both already.

[DeadheadNM]

Going to amazing when done. Thanks for sharing. If I were to build another 4wd that needed a motor I’d strongly consider this route and it was the clearance of the stock style valve covers with adapters that I was most curious about.

[Bocker85]

Your build looks great! What size are your tires and where did you find your steel wheels?

[jaros44sr]

amazing job on all the work you've, have driven it yet?Enjoying your thread

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks good, it's coming along nicely

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Going to amazing when done. Thanks for sharing. If I were to build another 4wd that needed a motor I’d strongly consider this route and it was the clearance of the stock style valve covers with adapters that I was most curious about.

Thanks Pete. I'm really happy i went the LS route. I really wanted to have a K5 I could take anywhere and get decent gas mileage.

Originally Posted by Bocker85

Your build looks great! What size are your tires and where did you find your steel wheels?

31's. I found the steel wheels on Instagram. The guy I bought them from has a lot of 67-72 chevy truck parts that he post on IG

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

amazing job on all the work you've, have driven it yet?Enjoying your thread

Thanks Jaro. Not yet. Had a tiny setback. The engine builder came over to my house and we we tried to fire the motor but had a couple issues come up. The lifters got stuck somehow and he doesn't know why or at least that's what his explanation to me was. We did get the motor fired up for about a whole 2 seconds and we heard a unusual loud noise. After hearing that, we pulled the heads off and two of the pistons surface had gotten marred up pretty good. We found a couple of tiny pieces of what looks like hardened alloy steel sitting on top of one of the pistons.. The engine builder thinks a washer ended up down the intake but I really don't see how that could have happened, plus I don't think a hardened alloy steel washer would have broken into 100 pieces and disintegrate... Anyways, I pulled the motor and dropped it back off at his shop. He's replacing the lifters and push rods and two pistons. The parts came in last week and I'll have the engine back this week.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks good, it's coming along nicely

Thank you!

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Here's the electrical wiring & changes I made. I took out the stock style fuse panel and replaced it with this universal 24 circuit fuse panel from MGI Speedware. I got rig of the aluminum home depot brackets and welded up this bracket of 14 gauge steel. My painter gave me some base coat of the 506 Dark olive. it kind of looks like it could belong there.


I also added a relay panel to help take some of the load off the main electrical system during start up. It is a 8 panel fused relay with a 150 AMP Main fuse breaker. Probably overkill but oh well. I' should've went with their 4 relay panel.


I mounted the replay panel underneath the drivers seat and it's controlled through switches and that's what will help with the load on the electrical system at start up. I'll only need to turn the the fuel pump switch (powered by the relay panel) before start up. The two electrical fans are switch operated and I can flip those on after the engine is on. They are triggered through the Holley terminator with set parameters. No need for a thermostat directly connected to the fans.

FAN 1 comes on at 195 and turns off at 185.
FAN 2 comes on at 200 and turns off at 190.

The fourth switch will activate my seat warmers which also have their own switches to turn on and set heat level.

The fifth switch will control my e-locker for when I want to do burnouts and race people at a street light


For the stereo and amp I was able to mount both of these under the passenger seat connecting to the frame of the seat so it is not on the floor.



The cross overs will be stuffed inside the center console I made. They will actually be on the carpet not underneath shown in the pic

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

I decided to go with the Dakota Digital gauge cluster because they have a BIM module that can pull in data from the Holley Terminator ECu such as oil pressure, RPM, speed, temp, AFR, etc..



I also couldn't resist this Ring Brothers dash bezel. It's pricey but it's a very good quality piece. just the weight of it tells you the material used was top notch and the brushed aluminum gives it a nice touch. matches the steering wheel and my cup holders.

Here is the VHX module for the dakota digital. Another reason I like this compared to others is that you don't have to wire everything directly into the back of the gauge cluster. One wire from the VHX to the back of the cluster and that it. Allow for a much cleaner look imo. '



Found a spot right behind the gauge cluster for the Holley Terminator Max X. The X version also gives you transmission control so no need for two separate ECU.

[SeventyOne]

All super cool. Will the pass seat still be able to flip forward?

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Originally Posted by SeventyOne

All super cool. Will the pass seat still be able to flip forward?

Ya I made sure to leave just enough slack for the wires.

Question, I've been searching the internet everywhere but cant find a solid answer.. Could a hardened alloy steel washer crumble into piece and I mean really small pieces if it was dropped through the intake and made it's way down the cylinder? Engine ran for a total of 4 seconds if that

Only the top of the piston had damage. And the damage it had wasn't all that bad.. You could mill if you wanted too. (I wish I had pic, forgot to take one). The only other damage was a small chip in the cylinder head which will get milled. The walls were perfectly fine and same thing with valves and stems.

It's just bizarre to me. I'm not convinced a washer fell down the intake and did this. and of course if a washer fell down the intake, the responsibility falls on me. I picked up the engine from the his shop and did the install.

Washer or no washer, That would have nothing to do with the lifters being stuck and one rod was bent?? The rod bearings needed to be replaced too.

[SeventyOne]

Did you install the intake? If they did the install that means a washer fell into the plenum and rolled all the way down to the valve.

Easier to get a washer down there if you did the intake install and it got there before you put it on.

Was the damage to the piston on the same cylinder as the damage to the cyl head? Same rod? same lifter? All on cyl 5 for example?

What's interesting to me is that you have no damage to the valve....

[Bocker85]

Would 16 oz of cerekote cover the motor and trans? I am trying to figure how much to order. Thanks
Posted via Mobile Device

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Originally Posted by Bocker85

Would 16 oz of cerekote cover the motor and trans? I am trying to figure how much to order. Thanks
Posted via Mobile Device

Yes, more than enough. I also recommend shaking the bottle for at least 5 minutes. Ive been having better results where as before I'd shake it for about a minute.

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Engine back in. Made some cosmetic changes. I fired the engine up and ran it for a few minutes but wasn't ready for a test drive cause I had no brakes. Made good oil pressure, no unusual noises, so far so good. I spent 2 weeks messing with my brakes. Air was getting in somewhere and for the life of me I couldn't locate it. There was no visual leaks of any kind. I tried using a new MC and prop valve and the same thing kept happening, pedal would sink right to the floor with no pressure. I did the two man bleeding process, I used one of those mityvacs, and I even tried reverse bleeding sending fluid back to the mc from the bleeder valve. I was completely stumped.

I decided to replace the lines at this point. Went to local parts store, bought 25 ft of 3/16 brake lines and new union fittings and started making new lines. After doing all that the brakes started building pressure right away and was able to bleed them.

[Ol Blue K20]

Sounds like it's almost time for a drive