Builds 400HP 6.2L LS with 6 Speed auto swap....no lift. Plug 'n play swap kit in development (1 Viewer)

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Do you know if it matters if the engine and manifolds come from the same make/model? I am fairly confident I can make some factory manifolds work, but not the Escalade's manifolds. I also have no hope of utilizing the factory GM cats in their stock position. I can probably get them close, but they would be new aftermarket cats.

For the manifolds you want to stick to factory cast parts, because they look stock. You want to stay away from any kind of tube manifolds/headers. Those would be an instant fail on the visual, unless they have a CARB#. It would be best to retain the factory cat, re-routing the pipes to relocate them is sketchy just because these smog guys are afraid of losing their license's. Some of them will fail you if they are unsure of how to proceed. They get "undercover" cars sometimes trying to catch them doing illegal smogs.
 
Ok, it sounds about like I was figuring/hoping. Gotta make it look stock(one of my goals anyway).

Finnyfam60, I really want to get started putting kits out there, but I feel that it's very important to work the bugs out personally before I start doing that. As I get closer, I will definitely be looking for early adopters and I will keep you in mind.
 
Passing a smog test in CA will be easy. Passing the referee with his detailed info on the Cadillac(gm) and tape measure will be the key.

Talk to bink(pirate) if you wanna do stuff for Californians. He's done a few swaps (in other vehicles ) and his shop is a couple stone throws from our local ref. he also owns an 80 currently and I am guessing probably doing something similar to it.
 
Stock manifolds are legal in Cali.
Carb approved aftermarket cats are legal in Cali..
I live in Cali. and super interested in this. So much so, that once this really gets rolling, or even now/sooner, and you want to have me mirror what you're doing and then work it through the smog/ref/registration nightmare and get kinks worked out then I am interested. PM me and we can connect...


Interesting. Can you guys hurry up?
 
man you guys make me never want to leave GA. i can do whatever i want to my truck here and be legal. if i see the need to put a 500HP motor out of a HET in my truck i can ;)
 
If you are willing to notch the frame rails a little then stock ls3 manifolds will fit. The only reason I didn't use them was because I would have had to make little extensions to move the coupling down a few inches because there would be no room to uncouple the pipes from the manifolds should the need arise at a later date. I still have a set of brand new ls3 manifolds that I didn't use. The nice thing about them is that they have O2 sensor bosses already in place and the match the exhaust port holes perfectly. Let me know if you are interested in them. I even bought a set of laser cut steel flanges to build the down pipes from.
 
In CA.
The REF wants to see OEM CATS and will pull out the measuring tape to see these are in the stock location as well.
If everything is in place "ready modes" should be a non issue.
CA does allow you to have one mode as incomplete, provided you do not have any pending CEL codes...

Paddle shifter on a 400 HP engine.. :smokin:
 
If you are willing to notch the frame rails a little then stock ls3 manifolds will fit. The only reason I didn't use them was because I would have had to make little extensions to move the coupling down a few inches because there would be no room to uncouple the pipes from the manifolds should the need arise at a later date. I still have a set of brand new ls3 manifolds that I didn't use. The nice thing about them is that they have O2 sensor bosses already in place and the match the exhaust port holes perfectly. Let me know if you are interested in them. I even bought a set of laser cut steel flanges to build the down pipes from.

Are you talking about LS3 Camaro manifolds?

I really want to avoid notching the frame for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it will turn off a lot of potential customers. I'm hoping that the manifolds off of an early C6 LS2 will fit. They look a lot like the center dump headers that a lot of swaps use and hopefully will be tucked in tight enough to clear the frame.
 
ls2 and ls3 use the same manifold and are the center dumps you are thinking of. With a truck style intake there is not enough room to position the motor high enough to make room for the ls2/3 exhaust manifolds. Maybe a car intake would do the trick though.
 
Take a look at ls7 manifolds
 
Yup, those are the ones I've been trying to get ahold of. Damn, I was really thinking they were the ticket.

Are you interested in getting rid of them? If so, I'd be interested in trying them out anyway.
 
Take a look at ls7 manifolds

The LS7 manifolds are funky. I know they flow really well, but the flange on them is monstrous. I would be quite surprised if they clear the frame. I'll see if I can track down a set though. The problem is they're a solid upgrade for the LS2 guys, so they're worth money.
 
The c7 ones have a weird oval flange that might help with clearance
 
Cut the flange off and run an v-band.

That's not a bad idea. I have no idea how a smog ref will look at modified stock manifolds, but at some point I have to move forward with the swap and fall back to clean up some details for smog concerns at a later date.
 
Yup, those are the ones I've been trying to get ahold of. Damn, I was really thinking they were the ticket.

Are you interested in getting rid of them? If so, I'd be interested in trying them out anyway.

Yep they are for sale. I finally figured out that they are the stock manifolds for a corvette c6 with the ls3. Apparently other vehicles used the ls3 and have different shapes to the manifolds.
 

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