Builds V8 Swap Project Begins!

[kirk]

I unplugged the resistor and jumped the two input wires. It worked. the fuel pressure stays constant now. I also swapped out the 92 vette chip for a custom chip that I had in my camaro before going to a aftermarket ECU. This made the idle perfect. It now idles like the factory vette. I drove it up to my house and back. Lots of power and noise, but no shifting yet. I need to hook up all my wires to the TCU yet. Making progress now, very exciting!

 

[Waggoner5]

Most excellent.
G

 

[OGBeno]

Nice Kirk...

I'll see you when I get back to OH....can't wait to hear the roar....my voice mail probably didn't do it justice...

 

[clownmidget]

Kirk, sorry I missed the latest developments as I'm in the midst of dealing with the same problems with maintaining fuel pressure at WOT

The Supra pump is Part # 23221-46110.

I've been checking my fuel pressure trying to maintain it under boost through the zero point (0 psi in intake manifold) with the rising rate fpr and it looks like my pump is maxing out at 46 psi - which ain't cutting it...

Good luck and can't wait to see some action shots, primarily the all wheel drive peel out

 

[gnx7]

Congrats on getting it running! A Walbro 340 (255lph) fuel pump is worthwhile to look at and are only $99-109. They support upwards of 500rwhp easily.

 

[kirk]

Kirk, sorry I missed the latest developments as I'm in the midst of dealing with the same problems with maintaining fuel pressure at WOT

The Supra pump is Part # 23221-46110.

I've been checking my fuel pressure trying to maintain it under boost through the zero point (0 psi in intake manifold) with the rising rate fpr and it looks like my pump is maxing out at 46 psi - which ain't cutting it...

Good luck and can't wait to see some action shots, primarily the all wheel drive peel out

Mike and GNX7,

Thanks for the input. I am considering the Walbro but know it is a lesser quality piece than the denso. They work fine in mustangs camaros etc so I am sure they would work for me. Deleting the fuel pump resistor did the trick at idle. I gave it a 3/4 throttle blip last night and she really moved out with no studder from fuel pressure loss. So right now I am going to attack my transmission wiring/ tcu operation issues to get her shifting. I also need to bleed the brakes which are zero right now, before I take out a garage door or another motorist.

Cant wait until 5.29's. It will be a speed demon!

Mike, I am hijacking my own thread but who cares. If 46 psi wont get it I would recommend the bosch oem porsche 959 pump. I am pretty sure ACCELL sells it under a #74702 I used it with a vortech supercharger and got lots of psi. I think I may still have it around if you need one to try. If price is no object and you want tons of pressure check out Weldonracing.com. This is what I run now in my camaro.

Regards

Kirk


Regards

Kirk

 

[gnx7]

I have a Bosch 286 (I believe that # is right) turbo Porsche pump (external) used pump if you want to use that. $110 shipped

Of note- I've built (2) GN powered FC RX-7's and an (1) LS1 powered FD RX-7 with Walbro 340's in them.

I am now building an LS7 powered FD RX-7 (550rwhp) and will run the Walbro once again.

They work fine... just don't run them out of fuel or they are prone to failure (overheat). The Supra pump pushes more fuel and is thought of as higher quality.... at 2-3x the price of the Walbro.

 

[clownmidget]

Kirk you still planning on running 40's with the 5.29's?

Thanks for the offers, I had been told about the Bosch/Porsche pump but the fact it was external and would add another component kind of swayed me against it. My experience with the Walbro was that they are "noisy" so much so you can hear it in the cabin. Maybe they're quieter now, dunno. They are a lot cheaper than either the Bosche or the Denso. There's just something nice about having the Supra one fitting and working pretty much like the stock pump. I just need it to give me 75-psi when I want it...

 

[kirk]

Mike,
I am going to run 39.5" super swampers via opening the fenders all around. On 36" tsl's right now. 5.29's for sure. All the gear I can get plus the marks crawler box. My pickup is 100 to 1 and i love it. Must have close to it in the 80 too. If I break axles I am going to a fabricated 9 inch front and rear.

Kirk

 

[OGBeno]

If I break axles I am going to a fabricated 9 inch front and rear.

Kirk

You mean, when you break your front and rears!!

J/K....glad the idle issue worked out...

Did you order the Supra pump yet.?

 

[F0RSAKEN]

Awsome swap man, looks good! Any more developments so far? Also, have you set prices for the mounts/fan shroud etc...? Or still working on those?

 

[Toyminater]

Mike,
I am going to run 39.5" super swampers via opening the fenders all around. On 36" tsl's right now. 5.29's for sure. All the gear I can get plus the marks crawler box. My pickup is 100 to 1 and i love it. Must have close to it in the 80 too. If I break axles I am going to a fabricated 9 inch front and rear.

Kirk

FWIW, I would go with dana 60s after swapping in a nine you may still break parts with a sixty you will really have to abuse it (your 80 isnt light)

 

[kirk]

FWIW, I would go with dana 60s after swapping in a nine you may still break parts with a sixty you will really have to abuse it (your 80 isnt light)

I do not like dana 60's. 9 inches are far better IMHO. I like the stamped housing versus the cast. Also the High 9 is what I plan for a center section. There is the ultimate fabricated 9 inch coming out on the market soon. From my involvement I suspect this new housing will be the choice piece.

What do you see breaking on a nine inch? Surely not a pinion. People thrash them in drag racing and just about every other motorsport and just love them.

 

[kirk]

Awsome swap man, looks good! Any more developments so far? Also, have you set prices for the mounts/fan shroud etc...? Or still working on those?

Been busy lately outside of my 80, worked on my tranny valve body swap last eve. Have plenty of wiring to do yet. It is running perfect, sounds awesome love to start it up and listen to it idle. Beno came over and heard it in person last eve.

No brakes yet, those are a must fix. They need bled from the ABS delete project. I have been driving it around in my field and am just asking for a crash.

As far as parts I am considering a kit. Some people would just not pick this motor though. I like them b/c they are cheap easy to fix and powerful. Also when you find them out of a corvette they are typically low mileage and clean. A kit may be based on the vortec 5.3 or LS1 engine. Dont know yet.

 

[F0RSAKEN]

Personally I feel that the LT1 is the best choice for a cheap swap. The engines go for roughly 1k on ebay with all accessories and wiring, and as you noted cheap and easy to fix. The LS1 on the other hand is still upwards of 3k, so its quite a bit more for essentially the same thing.

As for the engine you are using being a high revving engine, GM put LT1's in their trucks too, would that be a better option than one out of a 'vette? Also, could you report fuel efficiency when you get a few tanks through it? Ive heard of some people getting very good gas milage out of chev v8 swaps, in the area of 20mpg, but also have heard people claiming to only get 10. 20+mpg, while unlikely, would be a huge selling point for a v8 swap.

 

[kirk]

Personally I feel that the LT1 is the best choice for a cheap swap. The engines go for roughly 1k on ebay with all accessories and wiring, and as you noted cheap and easy to fix. The LS1 on the other hand is still upwards of 3k, so its quite a bit more for essentially the same thing.

As for the engine you are using being a high revving engine, GM put LT1's in their trucks too, would that be a better option than one out of a 'vette? Also, could you report fuel efficiency when you get a few tanks through it? Ive heard of some people getting very good gas milage out of chev v8 swaps, in the area of 20mpg, but also have heard people claiming to only get 10. 20+mpg, while unlikely, would be a huge selling point for a v8 swap.

The LT1 is not as high of a rever as one would think. I have a 93 camaro 6 spd owned since new. My best 1/4mi times when shifting the car at 52-5300 rpms. The fuel efficiency of the vette is awesome. I know stock vettes with autos that exceed 20mpg if driven properly.

Kirk

 

[gnx7]

The LT1 never came in trucks; however it did come in Impalas and had iron heads vs. alum heads for the Vettes/F-body's.

The main downside IMO to the LT1 is that the Optispark with a little moisture in it causes major problems and it is common to replace them in high humidity areas often. You can build a 383 based LT1 which is nice... but the costs really add up to make it breathe (ie better heads and the LT4 intake upgrade).

The LSx based motor has individual coil packs with superior port design on the heads, better flowing intake (truck intakes favor low end torque but can still make 1000rwhp), NO Optispark, and a better PCM as well as other attributes. 5.3/6.0 truck blocks/heads/cranks/rods/intakes are interchangeable with most F-body and Vette parts also. You can make a 408ci stroker LSx motor for the same cost as a LT1 383 basically and have way more torque and the latest tooling/engineering offered by GM.

I would love to see an LS1(F-body) or 5.3/6.0 (truck)/4L80E setup in an FZJ80 one day. The main drawback is that it wouldn't be much more fuel efficient I believe than the 4.5i and the conversion would be costly and also timely to make it seem like factory.

 

[concretejungle]

kirk, as you mentioned, the 9inch is the end of choice for race applications. When i was working for a NASCAR team last year, all of our cars and craftsman trucks ran ford 9inch. These things were pushing well over 700 horse power. Never broke one.

 

[OGBeno]

All I have to say (after experiencing the engine at full throttle) is that Kirk now has a race car.

That is all.

 

[kirk]

After some on road time and tuning I have decided to scrap out the factory transmission electronics. It runs great, but I am having unresolvable kickdown and upshift issues. I am installing a aftermarket programmable tranny control module that will allow me to control upshifts downshifts lockup etc. In fact the factory ECT button will even work. The control has dual mode programming so I can make a "street" and "offroad" program that will be swapped when the ect button is pushed.

More to come, Thanks to all that are helping me!

Kirk