Stepping up to a Vortec (LM7)

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I did a griffen 19x22, mech. fan custom mount and shroud. 100 deg temps, crawling on the trails and I've not seen the temps go above 200*.
Mine did NOT come w/ a drain port though and I wish I had installed one.
Don't forget... You need both upper and lower hose ports on the PS.
 
Same here. I did use half of two different hoses to create my lower rad hose, so I used a hose coupler with a petcock (got it from Jegs). It works great and it's almost even with the bottom of the rad.

chicago said:
Mine did NOT come w/ a drain port
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spotcruiser said:
Same here. I did use half of two different hoses to create my lower rad hose, so I used a hose coupler with a petcock (I believe it got it from JTR). It works great and it's almost even with the bottom of the rad.
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Mines too tight of a fit, but that's a great idea!!
I got a coat hanger, bent it to what I would need for a hose and took that into a parts store.
Used the hose adapter kit from summit to make life easier in matching the tubing ID's.
 
got started on the fuel lines, and didn't get very far because the POS summit AN fittings I got suck. I had some left over fittings from when I put hydro boost on my chevelle and those worked fine. I'll hit the local speed shop tomorrow on the way home and grab the last 2 fittings I need some some split loom and I should be able to at least prime the pump. Also got the new fuel guage in and tested.
 
made and ran the new fuel lines, primed the pump, and then ran it for a second or so. Seemed like the idle picked up quite a bit and I shut it down as I wasn't able to get the oil pressure guage to read anything when I was turning it over trying to prime it. I'm going to disconnect the pump and turn it over for a few seconds again and verify I have pressure before I try and run it again.

Regardless, it ran and I am pretty stoked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXKpw9tmwuw
 
spotcruiser said:
I used a 19x24 aluminum cross-flow Griffin from Summit (under $200) with my 5.7l and it works great. I originally planned on using something in the stock mount, but that would have been too high for the stock manual cooling fan, so I made a custom mount. With a stock nylon fan and the fiberglass shroud, it keeps the engine temps right where they need to be.
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That setup looks awesome! I really wish I had access to a welder and some fab skills and make my own as well. I maybe able to bribe a buddy into helping. I made some calls and did some homework and there is a nice griffen with an electric fan and shroud on summit for around 430. Man-A-Fre says they have a new one coming out that is specifically for LS swaps. Though I have read all the negative reviews on their previous aluminum radiator I am leary. I'll keep checking around and see what I can find. The local speed shop does custom shrouds so I can always pickup a nice fan or do the Ford Taurus fan if need be.
 
Congrats on getting it fired up. That's a pleasing milestone. :)

Building the mount for the radiator was not difficult and the welding was minimal. I did have to hire-out welding of the aluminum flange to the radiator, which I used for mounting of the shroud and for connection of angled braces to the frame.

The fiberglass shroud was not difficult to build. It was a little messy, but not difficult. John Rudzitis showed me his method for building one, using a sheet of particle board to make the mold. TAP plastics in Lynnwood has all of the glass/resin materials needed.

My own preference is for use of a clutch fan, over an electrical fan. Electrical fans are typically easier to mount, but bring their own set of issues. I'd go with the clutch fan if you can make it fit.

Good luck with the rest of the work. :beer:

badsamaritan said:
That setup looks awesome! I really wish I had access to a welder and some fab skills and make my own as well. I maybe able to bribe a buddy into helping. I made some calls and did some homework and there is a nice griffen with an electric fan and shroud on summit for around 430. Man-A-Fre says they have a new one coming out that is specifically for LS swaps. Though I have read all the negative reviews on their previous aluminum radiator I am leary. I'll keep checking around and see what I can find. The local speed shop does custom shrouds so I can always pickup a nice fan or do the Ford Taurus fan if need be.
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spotcruiser said:
Congrats on getting it fired up. That's a pleasing milestone. :)

Building the mount for the radiator was not difficult and the welding was minimal. I did have to hire-out welding of the aluminum flange to the radiator, which I used for mounting of the shroud and for connection of angled braces to the frame.

The fiberglass shroud was not difficult to build. It was a little messy, but not difficult. John Rudzitis showed me his method for building one, using a sheet of particle board to make the mold. TAP plastics in Lynnwood has all of the glass/resin materials needed.

My own preference is for use of a clutch fan, over an electrical fan. Electrical fans are typically easier to mount, but bring their own set of issues. I'd go with the clutch fan if you can make it fit.

Good luck with the rest of the work. :beer:
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Ok I will look into it, is John on seattlecruiserheads?? That name seems really familiar. I have a friend who is a tech at a GM dealer here locally who is going to look into getting me a clutch and fan setup. I have the correct pulley for it already.
 
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Yep, John is in the cruiserheads. I or one of the cruiserheads that live closer to you can help you with welding stuff up.

I may be wrong, but I believe the 5.3 uses the same fan and clutch as all Chevy V8s for the past 10-15 years or more. They're easy to find at pnp's or from RockAuto. My '96 5.7l originally had a 5-blade steel fan, but I changed it out to the later model nylon fan that moves more air.

I don't know which stock bellhousings the NV4500 might bolt to, but I think they might have all used the Chevy internal clutch slave set-up. The internal throwout bearing set-up might work OK, but I'm not sure that the stock LC master cylinder moves enough fluid for the Chevy bearing. Advance Adapters sells the bellhousing for the NV4500 using the Land Cruiser clutch slave on the driver side and the adapter from the NV4500 to the LC transfer case, which is what I used. The AA adapters don't come cheap, though.

badsamaritan said:
Ok I will look into it, is John on seattlecruiserheads?? That name seems really familiar. I have a friend who is a tech at a GM dealer here locally who is going to look into getting me a clutch and fan setup. I have the correct pulley for it already.

I also saw in your signature that you run a NV4500...do you know if they will mount up to the older style bellhousings that the the sm420 uses? I maybe able to score one pretty cheap and was thinking about making the change.
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here are some better pics of the fuel system if anyone is interested.

IMG_2746.JPG


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Using the stock return on the tank. I found a better fitting to use in another thread here on mud it's a 3/8" JIC to 1/4" BSPP fitting, I ordered one to give it a try.

IMG_2748.JPG
 
In regards to radiators, I just got rid of our MAF Radiator setup with Ron Davis Radiator since it would not fit in our 1971 FJ40. They fail to mention that the way the radiator mounts and the size of it requires you to mount it back towards the engine quite a bit to clear the headlight buckets of 1971 and earlier FJ40's since the radiator is too wide to fit between the buckets.

Ended up getting a Champion 4 Row aluminum that fits in the stock mount and will clear the mechanical fan with clutch by 0.5-0.75". Will be putting a simple fan shoud on as well.
 
So I've come to the conclusion that I need to stick with a radiator that will fit in the stock mount. As I have pretty limited access to a welder etc. That was going to be my gift to myself this year, but my employment situation has taken a turn for the worse so I won't be forking out for something big for a while.

So far I have the Champion direct fit rad, the Griffin rad ( I have 2 PN's one for direct fit, and one for race, which can come in LS configuration) and the big 4 core one from CCOT, which is brass/copper. Are there any others?

I looked at the MAF one and it seems like there are a lot of complaints about it especially in regards to cracks etc. AA has one but hasn't gotten back to me yet if it can be setup for LS engines. So far the answer seems to be no.
 
badsamaritan said:
So I've come to the conclusion that I need to stick with a radiator that will fit in the stock mount. As I have pretty limited access to a welder etc. That was going to be my gift to myself this year, but my employment situation has taken a turn for the worse so I won't be forking out for something big for a while.

So far I have the Champion direct fit rad, the Griffin rad ( I have 2 PN's one for direct fit, and one for race, which can come in LS configuration) and the big 4 core one from CCOT, which is brass/copper. Are there any others?

I looked at the MAF one and it seems like there are a lot of complaints about it especially in regards to cracks etc. AA has one but hasn't gotten back to me yet if it can be setup for LS engines. So far the answer seems to be no.
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If the work can be traveled, you welcome to come by and use my Lincoln 140.
 
Here is the Champion 4 Row that we just got in to replace the MAF setup we had previously. As you can see, it bolts right in to the stock cradle and doesn't stick out from the front or back of the radiator - should work out nicely. I do need to add one hole on the left hand side in the middle to capture the third mounting bolt and slightly enlarge the upper left one since it is just a bit tight, would likely not be an issue, but I figure do it right the first time.
ChampionRadiator_zpsf058d53e.jpg


All vendors are currently out of the 3 row, but have the 2 row and the 4 row in stock. Took about a week to get in.
 
UWdave said:
If the work can be traveled, you welcome to come by and use my Lincoln 140.
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Thanks Dave, I will definitely keep that in mind

jtaco1 said:
Here is the Champion 4 Row that we just got in to replace the MAF setup we had previously. As you can see, it bolts right in to the stock cradle and doesn't stick out from the front or back of the radiator - should work out nicely. I do need to add one hole on the left hand side in the middle to capture the third mounting bolt and slightly enlarge the upper left one since it is just a bit tight, would likely not be an issue, but I figure do it right the first time.
ChampionRadiator_zpsf058d53e.jpg


All vendors are currently out of the 3 row, but have the 2 row and the 4 row in stock. Took about a week to get in.
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That looks nice, does the 4 row fit with no mods as well?

ElHefe said:
Tried to send you a PM Bad, but your inbox is full.

Looking great so far. Keep it up. :beer:
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Sorry about that, I cleaned it out and sent you a PM.
 
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