- Thread starter
- #41
Drivetrain should be here Thursday, other parts should start arriving soon. While I wait, started making new drawers for the rear. Still need to build wings, drawer boxes, and panels, but the test fit worked out well.
Member Build Threads
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #42
Waiting on parts for the swap, so cracked open the t-case and changed out some gears.
This thing is taunting me…
This thing is taunting me…
- Thread starter
- #43
Welp have a problem, just not sure how much of one.
My L86 has a scratch in the #5 cylinder wall. Absolutely can catch a fingernail. Otherwise, it’s healthy and ready to go back together. I just can’t decide whether I should have it machined or run it. Leaning toward a bore since it’s already halfway torn down. Anybody have thoughts?
My L86 has a scratch in the #5 cylinder wall. Absolutely can catch a fingernail. Otherwise, it’s healthy and ready to go back together. I just can’t decide whether I should have it machined or run it. Leaning toward a bore since it’s already halfway torn down. Anybody have thoughts?
I did
FMC80
SILVER Star
If it were mine, I’d take it and get it fixed properly while you have access. No ragrets.
- Thread starter
- #49
Late night yesterday, but there's finally a V8 sitting in our 80
- Thread starter
- #50
Been making baby steps over the past week. Ran into some fitment issues - passenger head was grazing the firewall and the AC compressor doesn't clear the passenger side motor mount bracket. Trans dropped perfectly into the factory crossmember though, made that super simple. Ordered some fresh OEM motor mounts, hoping the new rubber will level things out a bit and get me the clearance I need on the AC compressor.
Fuel is plumbed, may reroute the supply line, TBD. On to electrical, hoping to get a test fire tonight or tomorrow.
Fuel is plumbed, may reroute the supply line, TBD. On to electrical, hoping to get a test fire tonight or tomorrow.
- Thread starter
- #51
Been picking away at this when I can get some time.
Went down an apparently silly rabbit hole of cleaning up all the extra wiring in the harness, including behind the dash… wasted some time there but at least the wiring is clean. I’m using the Swaptime Muscle Car Module, and have that mounted behind the glovebox. Added a connector behind there to connect the GM harness to the Toyota so it’s easily separable. For the time being I’m using the OEM ECM for the few remaining wires, but I’ll probably change that once I have the truck on the road.
Used @NeverFinis tach modification to make the OEM work, that was nice and simple. My initial adjustment was a little off, I’ll have to refine it again at some point but it’s within ~150 rpm for now.
Used the Torfab shifter linkage, pretty darn simple. Just add a few bends and hook it up. I had to slightly enlarge the diameter of the bolt hole on one piece, not a big deal at all.
It’s running and open headers sound soooooo good.
Still have a bunch of things to do before I drive it for the first time:
- flush heater core
- heater hoses
- radiator hoses
- install fan (have a 2016-2019 Chevy Volt fan assembly which has dual ~300w SPAL PWM fans, will make a mount to attach to Toyota radiator)
- put the truck back together
- finalize harness placement
- GM charcoal canister
- finalize ECM mount design and print it
- finalize intake tubing
- fill trans
- weld exhaust
Went down an apparently silly rabbit hole of cleaning up all the extra wiring in the harness, including behind the dash… wasted some time there but at least the wiring is clean. I’m using the Swaptime Muscle Car Module, and have that mounted behind the glovebox. Added a connector behind there to connect the GM harness to the Toyota so it’s easily separable. For the time being I’m using the OEM ECM for the few remaining wires, but I’ll probably change that once I have the truck on the road.
Used @NeverFinis tach modification to make the OEM work, that was nice and simple. My initial adjustment was a little off, I’ll have to refine it again at some point but it’s within ~150 rpm for now.
Used the Torfab shifter linkage, pretty darn simple. Just add a few bends and hook it up. I had to slightly enlarge the diameter of the bolt hole on one piece, not a big deal at all.
It’s running and open headers sound soooooo good.
Still have a bunch of things to do before I drive it for the first time:
- flush heater core
- heater hoses
- radiator hoses
- install fan (have a 2016-2019 Chevy Volt fan assembly which has dual ~300w SPAL PWM fans, will make a mount to attach to Toyota radiator)
- put the truck back together
- finalize harness placement
- GM charcoal canister
- finalize ECM mount design and print it
- finalize intake tubing
- fill trans
- weld exhaust
- Thread starter
- #52
Getting closer. Slapped together an adapter plate for the Volt fans, got heater hoses done, popped the t-case back on again, printed an ECM mount.
Hoping to weld the exhaust up this weekend. First time welding exhaust, so could be interesting!
Hoping to weld the exhaust up this weekend. First time welding exhaust, so could be interesting!
- Thread starter
- #53
Was hoping to use the OEM Escalade pedal, but it shifts the pedal ~4in inboard of the mount and didn’t fit. Ordered a corvette pedal, prototype mount puts in almost the OEM location.
Looks like you are making good progress, stick with it. This is good motivation for the rest of us.
Do you have any photos or details on your TorFab shifter setup? I'm debating whether to use the Swaptime C10 cable shifter I got or Tor's mechanical linkage. I'd really rather not modify my shifter and trans tunnel to accommodate the driver's side 10l80 linkage but I do want to have a nice positive shifter feel and make sure the detents all line up with the gate.
Do you have any photos or details on your TorFab shifter setup? I'm debating whether to use the Swaptime C10 cable shifter I got or Tor's mechanical linkage. I'd really rather not modify my shifter and trans tunnel to accommodate the driver's side 10l80 linkage but I do want to have a nice positive shifter feel and make sure the detents all line up with the gate.
- Thread starter
- #55
Thanks! Took it for a first drive last week, ran well. Still a bunch of little things to get wrapped up, but it's moving under it's own power finally.
Shifter-wise, I went pretty simple, Tor's linkage made it really easy. Basically, you pop the arm off the shifter, shoulder the thru-bolt, cut a hole in the base, and switch the arm to the driver side. Cut a matching hole in trans tunnel, and the shifter part of it is done. My hole looks like crap because I was half asleep and did it with a dremel cutoff... at some point I'll weld in a bit of sheet metal and redo it. But it works for now.
In my case, had to also ream the short piece where it attaches to the trans, the hole was a little smaller than the shouldered bolt on the 10L80 I have.
The linkage itself needs a few bends. On my 10L80, the short piece from Tor needed two 45-ish degree bends to clear a boss and hit all the gears. The long piece also needs two 45s to clear the transmission itself. My bends seemed to shorten it more than it was meant to be, and because I didn't cut and reweld the shifter arm to a different angle, the holes in the Torfab linkage didn't line up. So I drilled a new hole on the long arm a couple inches back (forget the specifics, I'll measure when I'm with the truck again).
Overall, it nails the detents. Actually got it first try and didn't have to play with the adjustment at all. I'd love to say it's because of the math I did... but I think I just got lucky. I have the long Torfab linkage attached to the shifter arm at exactly halfway through the adjustment slot right now. Actually feels better than it did stock, but that's likely due to two things. One, I used a dremel to clean up some rounded/ramped detent corners. Two, I spent a few minutes playing with the tightness of the thru bolt and the nuts. It's amazing how much of a difference a few degrees of tightening or loosening the bolts changes the shifter feel.
A few things I still need to play with:
- make a boot for the hole I cut in the trans tunnel. Not neccesary, it's small, but the hole wasn't my best work and sealing up the noise would be good. While I'm at it, plug up the old hole/boot.
- print a new PRNDM insert to replace the PRND21 OEM shifter insert.
- add a momentary ground switch in place of the O/D switch for tap shift
Last edited:
That's just the kind of information I was looking for. Thanks so much.
One thing that kind of gives me hesitation about his linkage is finding suitable bushings and hardware that will get tight and stay tight in the position and orientation that I want.
That does look pretty straightforward and I actually have the TorFab parts too. In fact, Tor mentioned that different generations of the transmission have different size shouldered or "double D" shifter shafts on them so he had me measure mine before ordering.
If you print a PRNDM insert that works, let me know. I'll gladly buy one from you. I'm running the same 10l80e.
One thing that kind of gives me hesitation about his linkage is finding suitable bushings and hardware that will get tight and stay tight in the position and orientation that I want.
That does look pretty straightforward and I actually have the TorFab parts too. In fact, Tor mentioned that different generations of the transmission have different size shouldered or "double D" shifter shafts on them so he had me measure mine before ordering.
If you print a PRNDM insert that works, let me know. I'll gladly buy one from you. I'm running the same 10l80e.
- Thread starter
- #57
No problem, I'll snag a few more photos for you when I get a chance and let you know how the insert goes!
I used the OEM style shifter pin/bolt/thing from the arm to the long piece. Doesn't seem to move, but I've only driven the thing for a grand total of 20 minutes so far, have a bunch of things to finish before I can really test it.
For the short-to-long connection I used a bolt I shouldered to match the slot. Used a matching metal bushing where it goes through the linkage pieces, then washers and ny-lock nuts to lock it down. TBD on long-term effectiveness also.
I used the OEM style shifter pin/bolt/thing from the arm to the long piece. Doesn't seem to move, but I've only driven the thing for a grand total of 20 minutes so far, have a bunch of things to finish before I can really test it.
For the short-to-long connection I used a bolt I shouldered to match the slot. Used a matching metal bushing where it goes through the linkage pieces, then washers and ny-lock nuts to lock it down. TBD on long-term effectiveness also.
Looking forward to hearing more as you go!
It looks like you dropped the engine and trans in first without the transfer case? That's a very appealing option for me since I'm doing it alone in my garage and any weight/size savings will help. I couldn't initially tell if Tor's adapter would realistically allow for transfer case installation after drivetrain install.
It looks like you dropped the engine and trans in first without the transfer case? That's a very appealing option for me since I'm doing it alone in my garage and any weight/size savings will help. I couldn't initially tell if Tor's adapter would realistically allow for transfer case installation after drivetrain install.
- Thread starter
- #59
Yup, I did engine-trans-tcase adapter-Torfab adapter in one go, then t-case after.
Also doing it in my garage alone for the most part (although my wife has been super helpful at key points along the way). Didn't think I had the room to do it all at once in the garage... and then rolled the truck out of the garage to install it anyways
. Would have been easier to do it in one go. But overall, reinstalling the t-case was no more difficult than it normally is.
Also doing it in my garage alone for the most part (although my wife has been super helpful at key points along the way). Didn't think I had the room to do it all at once in the garage... and then rolled the truck out of the garage to install it anyways
. Would have been easier to do it in one go. But overall, reinstalling the t-case was no more difficult than it normally is.- Thread starter
- #60
A couple photos of how I have the Torfab linkage set:
The bolt above was originally meant to go in the pre-drilled hole on the end of the long rod. I added a hole where it is now.
As it's set all detents line up, and it stays in gear perfectly so far.
Put the rest of the truck back together today. Power steering is bled, burped the coolant, ran it for ~25m today. I ordered a cheap Silverado CAI from eBay, wasn't thinking about tubing diameter when I did. It's a 3.5" tube rather than the 4" tubing the 6.2 should have. Definitely affecting how it runs on the base tune, some occasional misfires and surging. Have to fix that, tubing on order. Also forgot to zip tie an O2 sensor wire and melted the connector on the headers... urghhhh.
PWM fans aren't coming on when I want them to, so need to figure out what the issue is there.
Still have a few other small things to sort out and clean up before it's time to tune, but getting close. Hoping to get it out for a camping trip next weekend.
The bolt above was originally meant to go in the pre-drilled hole on the end of the long rod. I added a hole where it is now.
As it's set all detents line up, and it stays in gear perfectly so far.
Put the rest of the truck back together today. Power steering is bled, burped the coolant, ran it for ~25m today. I ordered a cheap Silverado CAI from eBay, wasn't thinking about tubing diameter when I did. It's a 3.5" tube rather than the 4" tubing the 6.2 should have. Definitely affecting how it runs on the base tune, some occasional misfires and surging. Have to fix that, tubing on order. Also forgot to zip tie an O2 sensor wire and melted the connector on the headers... urghhhh.
PWM fans aren't coming on when I want them to, so need to figure out what the issue is there.
Still have a few other small things to sort out and clean up before it's time to tune, but getting close. Hoping to get it out for a camping trip next weekend.