LS1 V8 fd conversion progress thread

[Grub2000]

How far along...well just at planning stages at mo :2Rolleyes

I want to be sure of what to get and how much it will cost me before I go ahead as I will have to rent a garage.

Thanks for answering my questions, I have just spent nearly the whole day reading up on the v8 RX7 forums trying to get my head around what to do and what to use.

I think it was you that kindly sent me the Hinson spread sheet a while ago. I am RexVate on the other forum.

[SmbFD3S]

Hi mate, just wondering if the LS1 is still going strong and how you\'re getting on with it really, been a while since an update ??

[hairyhoover]

BTTT..... how things going??

[Spartacus]

Really sorry for the lack of updates guys but since the house move just before Xmas I’ve had to put my time and priorities else where for the most part. That’s not to say that I haven’t had done some tinkering with the car just not much.

Well the news is that it runs great (or it did:mad:) if a bit loud as at the moment as it only has a back box but more on that later. You could say that the power is adequate:rolleyes:, it’s happy to trundle along at around 1000 revs in 4th and still pull like a train when you put your foot down.
I\'m not sure what sort of power it\'s making but the GTO it came from should have been around 350bhp and 350 ft/lbs torque and it now has tubular manifolds, 3.5 inch exhaust, K&N air filter and ecu tune so it\'s anyone’s guess.

Since using it I now have a shortlist of mods I’ve either carried out already or will have to at some point.
The first thing I did was make a radiator top shroud to make sure all the incoming air is forced through the rad.
The Mazda under tray still fits, although it needed to be stretched a bit here and there.
I bought a scangauge so I can see intake temps etc and have found that the intake is suffering form heat soak which now looking at is isn’t surprising as the intake and the temp sensor is right above the top rad hose so I\'ll have to try and insulate it and maybe try and work out how to get some colder air into the intake.  

I\'m also going to try and add another silencer further up the system just after the Y pipe although there isn’t much room because although it sounds great it\'s a bit too loud for me (I am getting on you know).

Now for the bad news.............. The clutch cable snapped at the pedal leaving me stranded:3Confused. The original design form Hinson’s was a remote master cylinder operated by a cable to the pedal as there is very little room between the bulkhead and the cylinder head. It was always something that I wasn’t 100% happy with and now I know why.
The ironic thing is that before I used this solution I asked Hinson’s If the original GTO master cylinder could be used 1/2 inside the footwell and 1/2 in the engine bay (as it has a remote reservoir), but I was told it couldn’t be done. So bowing to his much greater experience I went with the cable. Well guess what, it broke and Hinson now ships GTO master cylinders with his RHD kits! :flamed

Anyhow I’ve found one from a Vauxhall Monaro which was being broken so I’m swapping over (or at least trying to) to a full hydraulic system but it\'s a bit of a pain due to lack of room, it would have been so much easer to do if it was done in the first place with out the engine in but hey ho.

Should be back on the road soon and I\'ll keep the thread updated with any other news.

[D3xt3r]

Just get the engine out you will get used to it. I dropped mine four times till everything was said and done. I\'m getting pretty fast on it now

[BlitzBoy]

looking good, luv to hear/see a vid of it rumbling before you silence it

[Spartacus]

looking good, luv to hear/see a vid of it rumbling before you silence it

I\'ll see what I can do:Thumbs-up

[mar71n]

Good to see it all together. I’ve got a 3" silencer just after the Y it’s straight through but with that & the back box just about right.

[tinker-27]

hi spartacus drop me a line i might be able to help with the master cylinder mod as there are things that make it work better, craig

[Spartacus]

Well I’ve sorted out the clutch problem by swapping in a Vauxhall Monaro master cylinder directly on to the back of the Mazda pedal, but what a pain it was. As you can see from the 2nd pic there must be at least 3mm to spare before it touches the cylinder head (phew) it would have been handy if the remote reservoir was bigger than half an egg cup too!!! but hey......  The clutch now feels so much lighter and has given the car a whole new character to drive.:burnout.

[Bobbit]

Can you not get a bigger reserve for it bud? Looking at the pics it looks like you\'ll just need a bigger reservoir with the same sized connection? Or am i need new glasses??
Damn fine job getting it fitted tho, that is what you call close!

[Spartacus]

Can you not get a bigger reserve for it bud? Looking at the pics it looks like you\'ll just need a bigger reservoir with the same sized connection? Or am i need new glasses??
Damn fine job getting it fitted tho, that is what you call close!

Once it\'s in and working the reservoir is fine, it\'s just a bit of a pain when you’re filling/bleeding the system from empty. I don’t know how many times I had to stop and refill it, not to count the times I didn’t get to it quite quick enough and had to start over:mad:

[antnicuk]

pah,  3mm, that what grinders are for

glad you got it sorted,  wish i had 3mm to play with in places....

[Spartacus]

pah,  3mm, that what grinders are for

glad you got it sorted,  wish i had 3mm to play with in places....

:rollin Lol I’ve not been trained by the Jedi grinder master like you have.

[tinker-27]

hi which way up is the master cylinder ? are the fittings at the bottom ? , it looks like it in the pics,you can use the brake master reservior there is normally a blanked of bung where the manual car feeds from. i have a manual res if you need one.good to see it running !!!!