Fitzgerald’s ‘87 5.7 “VORTEQ” Build

[Fitzgerald]

Greetings Fellow Mudders,

Bought a 1987 FJ60 with a 5.7L Vortec off a wheelin' buddy a few weeks ago. The swap is "in progress" and still needs a bit of work. I like to use pictures to do most of my talking, so here we go...



Spent the last few years sitting out in a field.

Brought her home and making her feel welcome.

Got a little overwhelmed with the amount of harness that came with her...

...so I set all of that aside and began the cleansing process. A few field mice made her their home, so I found poop EVERYWHERE, found some rust too....

Clear coat was pealing, so I removed most of the loose stuff, cleaned then polished the paint. Will do a more through job (wet sand, touch up paint, polish & reclear) later on. Not too pretty though since her main duty will be wheelin'. The door shows what it looked like "before" and the rear quarter is the "after".

 

[Fitzgerald]

Cleaned the engine bay a bit.

Have the wiring harness pulled and will tackle that next.

And picked this up recently...

...I'm more of a de-badger than someone who adds stuff, so this will probably end up on a toolbox.

 

[Fitzgerald]

I've been on the Mud for a few years now (mostly in the 55 section, 100 section, and the Colorado Land Cruisers clubhouse), so I know what a great resource this section is going to be. I've just started researching my 5.7 swap on here tonight and have already found a wealth of information.

Thank in advance for the assistance I'm sure I'll receive.







...Oh yeah, anyone know where I can find a wiring schematic for a '98 GMC 5.7L Vortec?

 

[norsk]

looks like a barrel of fun

 

[Fitzgerald]

looks like a barrel of fun

Well... it's a barrel of something.

Feeling a bit ...

 

[MANUCHAO]

Nothing to add, but LoL...!!!
With that title you going to piss off some of the purist in here...

The build looks great, welcome to a world of mo' powa in them 60 $eries.....

 

[Fitzgerald]

Nothing to add, but LoL...!!!
With that title you going to piss off some of the purist in here...

The build looks great, welcome to a world of mo' powa in them 60 $eries.....

Ha! No offense to the purists out there. I love looking at other owners wonderfully stock vehicles, but always tend to mod my own (and since it came to me with the 5.7, I don't think I'll be switching back). As for the name, that can be credited to @Springs505 . Goes along with my call sign: K0TEQ

 

[Fitzgerald]

Did some interior cleaning yesterday. My "Little Green Machine" and some Folex (wonderful stuff if you've never tried it).

Here are some "Before" pics and what came out of that little wet-vac. I'm going to go over them again before posting the "Afters".

 

[ROBsSON]

looking good! Looking forward to hear about that harness going in!

 

[spotcruiser]

The OEM manuals for the vehicle that the engine came from are very helpful. There are also wiring diagrams on LT1 Swap http://www.lt1swap.com/96-99_vortec_harness.htm and Brendan does a great job of programming ECMs for a very reasonable price. I suggest doing the upgraded fuel spider mod and replacing the intake manifold gaskets with the Fel-Pro set while it's all easy to get to.​

 

[Fitzgerald]

looking good! Looking forward to hear about that harness going in!

Yeah, you and me both man!

How's your 60 going? Load it up with the fam and come over for a visit sometime.

 

[Fitzgerald]

The OEM manuals for the vehicle that the engine came from are very helpful. There are also wiring diagrams on LT1 Swap http://www.lt1swap.com/96-99_vortec_harness.htm and Brendan does a great job of programming ECMs for a very reasonable price. I suggest doing the upgraded fuel spider mod and replacing the intake manifold gaskets with the Fel-Pro set while it's all easy to get to.​

Thanks for the link! Full of good stuff!

This is why I posted up a build thread. Had hesitations about starting yet another build thread on here, but I knew you guys would deliver the goods.

Also, thanks for the heads up on the spider/gasket info. I know nothing of Chevy engines (it's is my first, altough I guess my old F was essentially a Chebby) and in my initial research I had learned that I'd probably want to upgrade the spider but hadn't read about replacing the gasket. I'll definitely add it to my "ToDo" list.

 

[spotcruiser]

Shop around for the fuel spider. Some places are reasonable and some are outrageously expensive. I think I paid around $200-250. The part is Delphi FJ10566 Fuel Injector SCPI to MFI Conversion Assembly.

This is the gasket set you want: http://www.amazon.com/Fel-Pro-MS98000T-Manifold-Gasket-Set/dp/compatibility-chart/B000CH0C0Y It replaces the crappy stock plastic gaskets with rubber/steel. Good stuff.

 

[kling-on]

Great start keep at it ...Toyota shoulda veeated these from the get go... Makes them a joy to drive

 

[ROBsSON]

Yeah, you and me both man!

How's your 60 going? Load it up with the fam and come over for a visit sometime.

If you ever need help just let me know!

Its.... Driving , waiting on the after Christmas specials to see what kind of deals come out on tires! Had someone tell me I couldn't do a decent paint job with rattle cans so I'm thinking about trying to prove them wrong!

that would be awesome once the holidays slow down so I'll let you know if we get the chance to come swing by anytime soon!

Merry Christmas!

 

[cruiser enthuiser]

 

[Fitzgerald]

If you ever need help just let me know!

Its.... Driving , waiting on the after Christmas specials to see what kind of deals come out on tires! Had someone tell me I couldn't do a decent paint job with rattle cans so I'm thinking about trying to prove them wrong!

that would be awesome once the holidays slow down so I'll let you know if we get the chance to come swing by anytime soon!

Merry Christmas!

Cool. I've seen some pretty good rattle can paint jobs. I've also seen some pretty cool "paintbrushed" jobs. If you're willing to do hours of wet-sanding, you can get almost anything to look nice.

I've got a powerful little compressor and a few paint guns if you want to try your hand at shooting paint.

 

[Fitzgerald]

Shop around for the fuel spider. Some places are reasonable and some are outrageously expensive. I think I paid around $200-250. The part is Delphi FJ10566 Fuel Injector SCPI to MFI Conversion Assembly.

This is the gasket set you want: http://www.amazon.com/Fel-Pro-MS98000T-Manifold-Gasket-Set/dp/compatibility-chart/B000CH0C0Y It replaces the crappy stock plastic gaskets with rubber/steel. Good stuff.

Just ordered the gasket set.

I'll keep my eyes open for a fuel spider on sale, only see them going for $350+ at the moment. I also want to see if this engine fires up. It's been sitting for a few years, so I'm a little apprehensive about putting too much money in her just yet.

Once the kiddos go done for bed, I’m going to spend the evening sipping on a few beers and reading through some of the V8 build threads I’ve glanced at on here.

Thanks again!

 

[ROBsSON]

Cool. I've seen some pretty good rattle can paint jobs. I've also seen some pretty cool "paintbrushed" jobs. If you're willing to do hours of wet-sanding, you can get almost anything to look nice.

I've got a powerful little compressor and a few paint guns if you want to try your hand at shooting paint.

Really? that would be awesome if i could do that if you have room for that to happen!

I've done a rattle can and roller\brush job before and much rather rattle can than brushing again!

 

[Fitzgerald]

Really? that would be awesome if i could do that if you have room for that to happen!

I've done a rattle can and roller\brush job before and much rather rattle can than brushing again!

Sure! I've been wanting to learn how to spray and we can practice on yours!!! Might want to wait 'til it get a bit warmer though.