Npulver's 71 Fj55 Build "Sea Unicorn"

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great, now we're doing turbos! That would be something.

I love my Pig, and im certainly having fun collecting parts and doing the "restoration", but i am a hotrod guy at heart. Im only looking at getting myself and easy 500hp/tq. Which most would say why go turbo? Its amazing what mpg a 500hp LSx style engines can get with proper tuning and proper turbo. (A lot better than a 500hp N/A engine). Why not have the "free" horsepower?
 
I like that, but isn't it easier to go supercharged, and not have to deal w/ moving all that heat around?

Going supercharged is without a doubt easier as its pretty plug and play, however superchargers will always (IMO) have the downfall of parasitic drag on the engine which hurts mpgs. Heat is always an issue, luckily there are things out there to combat that, like heat shields and turbo bankets.

One big issue is space and where to put everything. You have to get very creative. Might have better luck fitting the turbo.

Part of the reason I have decided on a turbo. I have an idea of how I'm going to run piping and do some placement of things, hopefully it pans out.
 
Better look into chromoly axle shafts or Dana 60s. That's a lot of horse for those stock axles.
 
All the axles will be upgraded. Engine swap will happen hopefully this winter or spring, turbo wont happen until next year. In which at that time i'll upgrade most everything attached drivetrain wise. (axles, lockers, and new gears.)
 
Well, been a while since i've posted so here i am again to give my extremely slow update. Making "some" progress, purchased the donor engine, and finally picked up a welder. Welder will be here today Via UPS (given its not damaged...)



Donor engine i picked up is a LM7 (LS based 327ci, same as scrapdaddys) from a 2001 chevy tahoe. Picked it up for a good price fairly complete. Came with everything minus accessories. Came with a fairly uncut wiring harness and ecm. Trying to decided now if i just want to send it off and have it cut up and and ecm flashed for 300 bucks. (then do all my rerouting after getting it back) or do all the wiring myself (which is fine, just takes more time)

As far as accessories, since my engine didnt come with any accessories im looking at swapping everything over to a LS2 style setup which makes things slightly more compact, which i'll need for stuffing a turbo in there. GM performance sell complete accessory drive systems that are reasonably priced. I plan on running A/C so this also comes with an A/C setup as well. The kit im looking at is gm performance 19155067 and only runs $800 bucks. Not bad considering it comes with a new alternator, ps pump/reservoir, ac compressor, brackets, bolts, belts, and rollers. Link to the kit below.

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

Goal is to hopefully sell my small block out of my pig to purchase that system.

Lets see how ambitious i get this winter lol.
 
Motor looks good! One concern I had was the fit between the frame rails and the power steering pump on the left and the A/C pump on the right. As an after thought, I bought the PSC pump which freed up some space.

Look forward to your progress.
 
Motor looks good! One concern I had was the fit between the frame rails and the power steering pump on the left and the A/C pump on the right. As an after thought, I bought the PSC pump which freed up some space.
QUOTE]

Same engine in mine. It fits between the frame rails with both AC and Power Steering pump. The stock Chevy exhaust manifold doesn't fit between the rails though.


On $300 to flash ECM and cut up the wiring harness, that's a decent package price. I did my own harness work but worried if I was doing the right thing with each step. It's tedious work and I learned a lot by doing it. I just hope I did it correctly.
 
I didn't mean to say wouldn't fit, but mine was really close. Thinking about that, I had scab plates welded on each side. You're right about the exhaust, too. Well worth the trouble in the end.
 
Motor looks good! One concern I had was the fit between the frame rails and the power steering pump on the left and the A/C pump on the right. As an after thought, I bought the PSC pump which freed up some space.

Look forward to your progress.

Thanks for the heads up, havent dug to far on the fitment yet as i've been mostly going off of my current small block in there. Luckily there's a few different options of fitment on the serpentine kit, some are taller and skinnier, and vice versa. I plan on plating my frame as well, but was planning on doing it on the outside.

Same engine in mine. It fits between the frame rails with both AC and Power Steering pump. The stock Chevy exhaust manifold doesn't fit between the rails though.


On $300 to flash ECM and cut up the wiring harness, that's a decent package price. I did my own harness work but worried if I was doing the right thing with each step. It's tedious work and I learned a lot by doing it. I just hope I did it correctly.

As far as the exhaust manifold issue, i ran into this issue when i was doing this same swap on my 83 Rx7 (fun car :D) I ended up going with corvette stock headers on that as well because they hug the block closer. Once i get the engine in i'll have to take a look at my routing for the turbo before making any huge decisions. One option while going turbo is to flip the exhaust manifolds upside down and have the exhaust routed forward (making less piping for the turbo) this obviously cures the frame rail issue, however i'll have to see how much room there is in the end.

As far as the ECM flash and harness package, it wont be perfect as i'll have to fix the harness to put everything at the length i want anyways, but at least it will allow someone else to eliminate wires that dont need to be there, and i'll know the ecm will be tuned in mind with that. The tune as well will work fine before i go turbo, but after, i'll have to get a little more creative.
 
And just to add, my welder did show up! Horray!

 
That they did, its probably about 4 to 6 inches shorter in height, the handles are mildly handy as well for moving it around for now (until i get my cart)
 
side note as well on the new welder, i havent read into it yet so this is speculation. The new 211 welder has a third dial (one in the middle) It has a setting for flux core, 3 types of steel, and aluminum. I believe this is the solution to having to swap wires and change polarity. Which will be nice.
 

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