PabloCruise
SILVER Star
If you don't know Georg, you need to!
Excellent guy.
I finally got to meet him in Moab.
Builds Build Thread: Jim’s ‘55 (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter JLB206
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Excellent guy.
I finally got to meet him in Moab.
- Thread starter
- #42
So I’m lined up with the donor rig, the tranny and t -case rebuild kits and the tranny/motor adapter arrives today. My buddy is flying in to help me out with the swap in June. Does anyone have an LS swapped Cruiser that I could look at in the Seattle area? I’d like to see where people have mounted all the other crap that has to go along with the motor/how much of the Chevy ends up in my Toyota. Thanks in advance!
- Thread starter
- #43
Lots of progress this week! 2F is out and 5.3L LM7 Vortec V8 is in! Even took the time to rustoleum the engine bay. Sorry for the lack of blow by blow pics right now, but did not stop to document. Had too much to do this week. Advance Adapter’s kit with Mark’s 4WD LC to L/S adapter worked out great. Couple minor tweaks needed, but all in all, great products. Couple big hurdles still to overcome: re-jigger the steering linkage as the engine mount kinda got in the way. Purchase a lower profile oil pan- the deep sump pan is just too close to the drive shaft for me to be comfortable. Then comes the layout of the engine bay: ECU and fuse box want to be drivers side, and coolant reservoir, A/C, air filter want to be on the left. Battery wants to be in the driver’s side too, but there is no space, so purchasing some longer leads. More photos to come, but here is a taste.
- Thread starter
- #44
Still too much work to stop and document much, but here is a recap on the last couple weekends: pulled the remainder of the wire harness out of the Silverado-THAT was a chore! Tore apart the steering column to get all that wiring too (more on that later). Cut out the Silverado exhaust. Wired up all connections to the engine. Although we lost a lot of tags due to thin wire breaking (zip ties are way better), enough remained to figure out the rest. After trying so many different configurations with the power steering, I ended up moving it forward about 3” to get it away from the fan pulley and shock tower. New U joints and DD bar should tighten up the steering a bit. Laid out the battery and Coolant reservoir on the passenger side, with fuse box and ECU on driver’s side. Finally, today was all about the exhaust-I was able to route the exhaust outside the frame and will turn the tailpipes out just before the rear tire. Custom welding these pipes was quite the challenge, but I’m happy with the result. New high pressure Fuel pump and tying the Silverado harness into the LC ignition are my tasks for next weekend, and then I hope to start her up!
Wow, that’s a ton of work! Great job. Can you share pics of the passenger’s side exhaust? I’ll be interested to hear how the steering is with the box more forward than others have run it.
- Thread starter
- #46
I ran out of donor pipe so the passenger side isn’t quite done, but I was able to get out over the frame with this racked welded piece. I’ll definitely post pics of the finished piece when complete.
- Thread starter
- #47
Tack welded. Stupid auto correct!
- Thread starter
- #48
Snuck in a half day after work. Took a novel approach to route the wire harness into the cab. Hooked up all the J-boxes, fuse box, etc. I’ve got a lot of wire management to deal with, and still need to delete what isn’t needed, but I hooked up the battery and things powered on, so fingers crossed, I didn’t snag a wire or miss a connection somewhere.
- Thread starter
- #49
Had my first frustrating day yesterday. Intended to finish exhaust piping and run new fuel pump. Two tack welds into exhaust work, I ran out of wire. I transitioned to fuel pump, and realized I didn’t have anywhere near the right fittings needed to put this all together. Seems like I really need to incorporate AN fittings as the fuel pump, regulator, etc are all AN standard. (Side bar: does anyone have strong opinions on hard pipe vs rubber fuel line vs PTFE). So then I transitioned to coolant hose routing and realized I’ve got a larger intake air routing issue than previously thought. I knew I couldn’t use the entire Silverado intake air molded plastic manifold, but even with just the 1st 90 off the throttle, I’m running into considerable air intake/radiator top hose/fan clearance/hood clearance issues.
Sorry- no pictures of my cluster-F on the top of the engine. Will try to take some today so you can see what I’m talking about.
So, yeah. Not a great day, but every challenge provides an opportunity for innovation, creativity and the exhilaration of figuring out a solution. If everything went perfectly easy, what would be the fun in that? At least that is what I’m telling myself as I sit in the sun, at the beach, while my daughter has morning swim practice.
Sorry- no pictures of my cluster-F on the top of the engine. Will try to take some today so you can see what I’m talking about.
So, yeah. Not a great day, but every challenge provides an opportunity for innovation, creativity and the exhilaration of figuring out a solution. If everything went perfectly easy, what would be the fun in that? At least that is what I’m telling myself as I sit in the sun, at the beach, while my daughter has morning swim practice.
I like to run hard lines as much as possible. My thought is less to snag or puncture while on the trails. Hard lines last longer and look better, too.
Cobra Head Reducing Elbow 5" ID to 4" ID
Check out the deal on Cobra Head Reducing Elbow 5" ID to 4" ID at Intake Hoses
Maybe something like this will help.
RUSH55
SILVER Star
You’re not going to be able to use that intake pipe unfortunately. There’s a major difference of under hood space from a Chevy Silverado to an FJ55. That fan shroud looks like it needs to be yanked also.
The easiest route for the intake pipe if you’re running a mechanical fan is the Cobra head that Scraps posted above, and pick up some 4” aluminum coupling pipes and 4” ID silicone couplers and route them to a space for your air filter and use one of those conical filters hanging off in space. The other obstacle I’ve recently encountered with this method is placing the MAF sensor out of the direct flow of hot air from the radiator. If the sensor starts detecting high heat it will cause the ECM to start retarding the timing to prevent pre detonation of the charge. Long story short, place the MAF sensor as far away as possible from the incoming air through the radiator.
The easiest route for the intake pipe if you’re running a mechanical fan is the Cobra head that Scraps posted above, and pick up some 4” aluminum coupling pipes and 4” ID silicone couplers and route them to a space for your air filter and use one of those conical filters hanging off in space. The other obstacle I’ve recently encountered with this method is placing the MAF sensor out of the direct flow of hot air from the radiator. If the sensor starts detecting high heat it will cause the ECM to start retarding the timing to prevent pre detonation of the charge. Long story short, place the MAF sensor as far away as possible from the incoming air through the radiator.
- Thread starter
- #53
I know I can’t use the whole thing. I’ve already hacked it to pieces just for the 90 off the throttle. I’m planning on going the conical filter route, but even that seems like a challenge, with the radiator hose crossing over right there. Still thinking about it and your warning about the MAF sensor is duly noted.
Post some pictures of your engine without the silverado plastic bits in there so we can see what your clearance looks like and how the upper radiator hose is running.
PabloCruise
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #56
Installed both exhaust pipes today…after spending WAY TOO LONG drilling out the exhaust studs that we had to previously cut to get the motor out of the Silverado. Note: do not waste your time with penetrating oil. I soaked those studs every day for a week and not one little budge. Tried heating up the manifold, and that did nothing. But now the engine is in, and getting the studs out was so much more difficult. 6hrs, 5 drill bits, and so many cus words later, the job is done, the exhaust pipes are in and I am calling it good enough. They ended up closer to the frame than I would like, so I’ll have to wait and see if they rattle on the frame when the engine is under load. Third picture is my innovation. I call it the bar clamp drill press. My arms were getting tired and the drill was wandering, so I got creative. It leaves something to be desired- set up is a bitch, and the round end wanders off the back of the drill if you aren’t careful, but it helps a ton and reduces arm fatigue.
- Thread starter
- #57
Air intake- I think my dad figure out the best spot: between the coolant reservoir (front corner, passenger side) and the battery. It is a pretty straight shot. Will need to cut a hole in the sidewall to get at the fresh air tunnel in the fender, and fabricate a housing for a cone filter, but I think this should work. Cut up Silverado air ducting only for visualization. Will have to get a length of tube to marry up to the Silverado elbow off the throttle. Should get me far enough away from the radiator to avoid any false readings in the MAF sensor.
RUSH55
SILVER Star
There’d be a ton more room if that giant plastic reservoir was gone. Use a smaller universal aluminum tank.
Any plans for a shroud?
- Thread starter
- #60
Have cut down the Silverado shroud to fit in the space. It gets complicated with the hose routing being different than on the wider truck. May need to fab something new. But that is taking a back seat to just getting this thing running with the new motor.
