Registry 8x Series V8 Swaps (8 Viewers)

[azcrackshot]

Anyone with an erod (LS) have any issues with the Chevrolet issued accessory package? I suppose from looking at pictures, the only issue would be (perhaps) the starter and A/C compressor?

Chevrolet Performance Parts - 19155067 - CPP Accessory Drive System With A/C - Fits LS2, LS3 & LS7 Engines

I will be calling Pace to verify whether or not they will customize this system with a higher amperage alternator and whether or not I'll have to buy their silly connector if so.

Any alternator suggestions?

The EROD uses the Corvette harmonic balancer which puts the belt closer to the motor. You have to either run Marks AC relocation bracket or change the harmonic over to the truck style so you can run all the truck accessories. I have the Marks AC relocation bracket which puts the AC Delco compressor low on the passenger side. The only compressor you can run down there is the AC Delco unit from a 2006 GTO or switch over to Dirty Dingo's low mount option. I might go this route in the future. Mine has been a problem since the beginning. I have had it to three different ac shops and I still have issues.

I run a 250 amp alternator made by High Output Alternators from DC Power Engineering - 100% New USA OEM Quality This thing works great .

 

[9780LC]

I have a DC Power Engineering alternator. 270 AMP It's been working fine.

 

[bloc]

Azcrackshot your alternator bracket looked aftermarket as well.. was that marks or something else?

Is the erod set up for a regular 4-wire alternator or the 2-wire ECM controlled config like most genIV v8s?

Another consideration with the accessory package.. I think truck accessories mandate a truck water pump and idler pulley which will interfere with the lower car intake manifold.

 

[orangeboxxfab]

This was one hell of a read. Dang you guys rock. I like engine swaps and this one takes the cake.

 

[ThomasMore66]

Been swapping emails with Beau Harrison at House of Hot Rods about the conversion. Here are a few of his comments:

"If we do the conversion and program the VIN, the EGR stuff does not matter. There is still not a way to do a 100% “LEGAL” engine transplant on a vehicle that is 1996 or newer. As long as the inspection person does not open the hood and notice there is a changed engine other than stock, you will be good to go. The E-Rod engines are made for states that have C.A.R.B. emissions standard adopted. This E-Rod is still intended for a vintage vehicle that is going to be changed from stock and does not apply to anything that is inspected by computer or on the OBD-2 system."

 

[Squad1]

Awesome. I suppose that means I'd just need to get some new Toyota Rubber mounts or use mine if they don't look too bad.

Anyone have the Toyota PN for the rubber mounts handy?



I am not. Not for any reason other than the Erod doesn't come with one. I feel like the LS community is all about getting rid of the truck intake for power gains? Are torque figures different with the truck intake? Either way, modifying this engine is about the last thing on my list, especially with a warranty.

The truck intake probably has a better torque curve for our heavier rigs and I like the packaging of the truck accessories. I had no problem fitting under the stock hood and have about 7" from the tip of the water pump to the radiator. I am using the stock denso a/c compressor with the tensioner. I know some of the newer trucks come with out an a/c tensioner and you could lower the engine probably an inch. The no tensioner models use a different belt and require you to unbolt the compressor to change belts. I had the marks engine mounts and new toyota rubber cushions and couldn't get any of it to work. I scrapped all the engine mount stuff from marks and made my own. find my earlier posts for pics.

 

[Squad1]

Been swapping emails with Beau Harrison at House of Hot Rods about the conversion. Here are a few of his comments:

"If we do the conversion and program the VIN, the EGR stuff does not matter. There is still not a way to do a 100% “LEGAL” engine transplant on a vehicle that is 1996 or newer. As long as the inspection person does not open the hood and notice there is a changed engine other than stock, you will be good to go. The E-Rod engines are made for states that have C.A.R.B. emissions standard adopted. This E-Rod is still intended for a vintage vehicle that is going to be changed from stock and does not apply to anything that is inspected by computer or on the OBD-2 system."

one thing I learned from doing another swap (into a jeep) is that you cannot change the vin to a non chevy vin. I wanted to change my genIII computer to my jeep vin for emissions reasons. It wouldnt take it, the tuner tried and we discovered that you can change a computer to another chvy vin as long as that computer and program could have come in that vehicle. If that makes sense. I had trouble only once with emissions when they plugged into the obdII port on my '97 Wrangler and got a 2004 chevy truck vin. In Connecticut all it meant was I got a call from an emissions compliance officer who needed to come out and see the vehicle and verify that it indeed had a different engine in it. He did not care he just needed to check a box in a government computer somewhere . He told me that my jeep threw a red flag because of the vin mis match and they were concerned about the test stations trying to scam the system and get vehicles passed. For example , the test station had plugged into a chevy truck but was trying to use that data to pass my jeep. Just food for thought if your swapping as you may run into something similar. didn't mean to be long winded but thought it was worth mentioning and also out emissions test stations are not run by the state , they are regular independent repair garages that have specific stat monitored test equipment

 

[azcrackshot]

Azcrackshot your alternator bracket looked aftermarket as well.. was that marks or something else?

Is the erod set up for a regular 4-wire alternator or the 2-wire ECM controlled config like most genIV v8s?

Another consideration with the accessory package.. I think truck accessories mandate a truck water pump and idler pulley which will interfere with the lower car intake manifold.

I run a C5 GM alternator bracket and a C5 harness IIRC.

 

[azcrackshot]

The truck intake probably has a better torque curve for our heavier rigs and I like the packaging of the truck accessories. I had no problem fitting under the stock hood and have about 7" from the tip of the water pump to the radiator. I am using the stock denso a/c compressor with the tensioner. I know some of the newer trucks come with out an a/c tensioner and you could lower the engine probably an inch. The no tensioner models use a different belt and require you to unbolt the compressor to change belts. I had the marks engine mounts and new toyota rubber cushions and couldn't get any of it to work. I scrapped all the engine mount stuff from marks and made my own. find my earlier posts for pics.

I thought about that but the LS3 makes lot's of torque with the stock vette intake and with the 6L80E 1st gear she moves out fast on the bottom, midrange, and pulls like a rapped ape on the big end as well.

 

[azcrackshot]

Well, it'll pass if the 80 came from the factory with an OBDI port......up through year 95 I believe. They won't be plugging into your LC. If they plug into a OBDII port on a 96 or 97 with a chevy swap and see there's no EGR it will fail. To make matters worse there's no way to turn a fake EGR on in the Chevy ECM because the chevy did not come equipped with it. Maybe some do but my 2009 5.3 didn't. The DEQ here wants to see what the 80 had from the factory when they plug their test machine into OBDII.

I know this because it happened to me.

Bottom line here is if you do a swap.....it's best to do it into a 95 or earlier just to be safe.

What about if they plug into my 1995?

 

[azcrackshot]

Been swapping emails with Beau Harrison at House of Hot Rods about the conversion. Here are a few of his comments:

"If we do the conversion and program the VIN, the EGR stuff does not matter. There is still not a way to do a 100% “LEGAL” engine transplant on a vehicle that is 1996 or newer. As long as the inspection person does not open the hood and notice there is a changed engine other than stock, you will be good to go. The E-Rod engines are made for states that have C.A.R.B. emissions standard adopted. This E-Rod is still intended for a vintage vehicle that is going to be changed from stock and does not apply to anything that is inspected by computer or on the OBD-2 system."

What if it's a 1995?

 

[MDJ]

Been swapping emails with Beau Harrison at House of Hot Rods about the conversion. Here are a few of his comments:

"If we do the conversion and program the VIN, the EGR stuff does not matter. There is still not a way to do a 100% “LEGAL” engine transplant on a vehicle that is 1996 or newer. As long as the inspection person does not open the hood and notice there is a changed engine other than stock, you will be good to go. The E-Rod engines are made for states that have C.A.R.B. emissions standard adopted. This E-Rod is still intended for a vintage vehicle that is going to be changed from stock and does not apply to anything that is inspected by computer or on the OBD-2 system."

I posted earlier regarding at least CO emissions...CO goes by whatever is newer...engine or vehicle. In my case, it doesn't even have to be an erod. It could be any other engine that'll pass emissions and is 'suitable' for a 'light truck'.

Why do they have to make all of this BS so complicated!? It needs to be a nationwide standard.

 

[MDJ]

The truck intake probably has a better torque curve for our heavier rigs and I like the packaging of the truck accessories. I had no problem fitting under the stock hood and have about 7" from the tip of the water pump to the radiator. I am using the stock denso a/c compressor with the tensioner. I know some of the newer trucks come with out an a/c tensioner and you could lower the engine probably an inch. The no tensioner models use a different belt and require you to unbolt the compressor to change belts. I had the marks engine mounts and new toyota rubber cushions and couldn't get any of it to work. I scrapped all the engine mount stuff from marks and made my own. find my earlier posts for pics.

Why would the Marks mounts work for one LS and not another? Are you suggesting that because of your accessory drive system (space made available) your engine may have been sitting too low? Bad mounts from Marks?

 

[Squad1]

all I can say about the marks mounts is that they sat the engine too high and off center enough that the power steering pump pulley was too close to the box. I did manage to get the drivers side anchored but then the pass side mount was not parallel with the frame pad. In the end It was far easier for me to put the trans mount where i needed it and set the height where I wanted it and cut and make my own mounts. I used some tabs and 2x3 box tubing to built the arms of the mounts. I bought a set of plates that bolted to the engine and built the rest. probable 6-8 hours time in total

 

[9780LC]

What about if they plug into my 1995?

They will plug in here in Oregon if the 95 LC build is OBDII compliant I THINK..and the VIN might just tell them that. The engine spec is supposedly driving the OBDII plug in requirement here and the CARB regulations. A 95 swap would usually just get a tail pipe sniff here unless it was a late in the year OBDII compliant build. They aren't trained to look under the hood in Oregon that I know of. The DEQ only tests cars in the major metro areas in Oregon. 96 was the first year for all cars and light trucks in the US to be OBDII compliant. So I guess it's safe to say make sure the host LC is not OBDII compliant. Then there the issue here of the carb compliant/certified motor requirement. The erod package would be the way to go in states that follow the carb rules. It's really stupid how complicated it is. I'd be nice just to do a tail pipe sniff to prove you're cleaner than stock.

 

[4G63 POWER]

Is a v8 from a 100 series an option?

 

[ThomasMore66]

Is a v8 from a 100 series an option?

Yes, or a Tundra. Slee has done it. Search and I think you'll find others on here.

 

[daytonadogie]

Yes, or a Tundra. Slee has done it. Search and I think you'll find others on here.

Doable but a more difficult and expensive swap. Besides, I own a 2UZ-FE tundra and gen lll 5.3 Vortec in my Fj62 and IMHO the vortec is a better engine for our application. More torque, horsepower, better gas mileage, easy to maintain, inexpensive replacement parts etc. I love my tundra, but always felt that the engine was a little lacking

 

[MDJ]

all I can say about the marks mounts is that they sat the engine too high and off center enough that the power steering pump pulley was too close to the box. I did manage to get the drivers side anchored but then the pass side mount was not parallel with the frame pad. In the end It was far easier for me to put the trans mount where i needed it and set the height where I wanted it and cut and make my own mounts. I used some tabs and 2x3 box tubing to built the arms of the mounts. I bought a set of plates that bolted to the engine and built the rest. probable 6-8 hours time in total

My buddy is a professional welder and I'm not so bad myself. I can't justify 500 bucks for plate steel shipped from Australia. I'll probably go this route too.

Do you happen to have pictures of what you made?

 

[daytonadogie]

all I can say about the marks mounts is that they sat the engine too high and off center enough that the power steering pump pulley was too close to the box. I did manage to get the drivers side anchored but then the pass side mount was not parallel with the frame pad. In the end It was far easier for me to put the trans mount where i needed it and set the height where I wanted it and cut and make my own mounts. I used some tabs and 2x3 box tubing to built the arms of the mounts. I bought a set of plates that bolted to the engine and built the rest. probable 6-8 hours time in total

I've read in other threads that the Marks mounts won't work
Mark's LX450 build
This was with a gen lll truck engine. Don't know about a ls3 crate motor. If you have the fabrication skliis, make your own like squad1 did. Here's a DIY kit that I used on my FJ62 build and will use on my 80 conversion
GM LS Series DIY Caged Bushing Tubular Race Motor Mount Kit
Worked out great on my 62. Price is right too!