I know been a long time since an update has been put up here. No I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. No the project hasn’t been scrapped. Real life has a way of getting in the way sometimes so I had to put her on old for awhile. I’m happy to say I’m back on the horse and ready to finish the home stretch of LSx Cobra.
Had to get the rest of the interior splash guard panels installed behind the driver and passenger sides. Also finished wiring up the headlights, parking lights, blinkers, and rear brake lights. The panels took some massaging with the BFH to get them in the right spot. Also go the Lokar e-brake installed and working correctly. That took awhile to get the cables tensioned correctly but it’s working now.
Also finished up most of the trans tunnel pieces towards the rear. Not going to put the front piece and top piece on until the car is almost done. Still need to do some work in that area before it gets buttoned up.
And finally my goofy neighbor got ahole of my camera and was snapping pictures of my ass while I was working..
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this year with your families..
Just wanted to put up a link to another site I started. It’s geared more towards LSx Conversions. I got tired of having to search around the net for information, parts, etc… So I decided to start this to put all the information in one place for guys / gals that do this. So here’s the site. Check it out, sign up, and start contributing..
Welp it’s been almost a year since I started this project. I’ve had lots of twists turns, issues that needed to be worked out, ideas to make stuff fit or work, but it all pretty much came together today. The original plan was to get the drive shaft lengthened a few inches and have the exhaust stuff in. Well the drive shaft got done and and I’m still waiting on some parts for the exhaust. I basically said screw it, I’m driving the damn thing. And lemme tell ya. Words cannot put into meaning that this car is gonna be fun!!!
I took it out three times before the video checking things, making sure nothing was leaking, etc… Also getting up the confidence of working the loud pedal. Wow is all I gotta say at this time. Welp here’s the video, I’m off to go clean the driveway. Got a little cluch / gas happy on one of the runs..
Finally. 9 months after taking delivery of the car I finally got to fire it up. Man I can’t describe how happy I am. I was honest to god worried that it wouldn’t start or burn to the ground. When it fired up it scared the shit outta me.. Didn’t expect it fire on the second crank. Thanks to my brother James for swinging over and helping. He was also on fire extinguisher duty.. Here’s the youtube video:
If you can’t view the youtube vid click on this link. Youtube Video
Happy New Year everyone. Still moving along with the car. Made some progress over the holiday. Still working on the wiring and little other little things. Got the battery box mounted, battery installed, remote solenoid mounted and the remote distribution block mounted. Also wired up the rest of the grounds for the motor and chassis. So still making progress. First start is just around the corner. It’s hard to take my time cause I’m pretty excited to see this thing come to life. Still have to take care of a few things on the motor but they’re minor.
Figured I’d get an update in here before the holidays. Still moving along with the car. Like I said doing all the “little” things now. Wiring is moving full speed ahead. It’s actually not that bad if you take it one thing at a time. Got the cooling system routed, the induction system on, and most of the engine harness has been layed out and plugged in. Still waiting on the PCM, starter, shifter, and few other small items to show up. I’m shooting for the new year, or right afterwards for the first start. Can’t wait!! Here’s a few pics of the progress.
I know I know. Long time for an update. Sorry. All the major components are on the car so like I said earlier. Nothing really picture or update worthy so I’ll cram most of them into one big post. Started on the wiring this past weekend. Ya know this is one part of the project I wasn’t looking forward to. Wiring really isn’t something I enjoy. However I do have to say that the Ron Francis and the people at Painless Performance have made it pretty easy. Everything is clearly labeled.
I’m having to use two harnesses. The one from Painless is being used for engine managements and a few gauges. The RF harness I’m using for things like the headlights, taillights, blinkers, etc… Got them roughly routed this past weekend and layed out on the car. Alot of back and forth but I think I have it where it needs to be.
Long time since my last update. Been taking care of alot of small odds and ends things. That along with working so finding time to tinker with the car has been a challenge. Getting to the point in the project that all the major things are installed. Now it’s on to all the little items. So the updates might not come a frequently as normal. Unless it’s something important I won’t bother posting.
At any rate got around to hanging the AFCO radiator this weekend. Not to bad of a project. Pretty straightforward for the most part. I will admit that having two people is a must. It was only me in the garage and it was a challenge at times. Got it up and the angle set temporarily. I’ll start getting an idea of how I want the hoses ran.
Decided to do a rough fit of the body so I could see what all I’d have to move, adjust, etc… Looks like all I’m gonna have to do is move the brake/clutch fluid reservoirs either down or out a little. To be honest I’ll probably end up moving them down cause I don’t want them over the intake. We’ll see how they turn out. Thanks to my other half Renee for helping take the body on and off. Couldn’t do this without her.. I know you don’t see that many pics with her in them but trust me she helps out enough. Even during the times she’s driving me batty with all the questions..
Finally had some time to spend on the car. Got the majority of the fuel system installed. Still have to run the return line and fasten the lines to the frame. That won’t take that long. Anyhow I ran across a tool called Koul Tools. Man these make putting the Russel ends on SS line so much easier. I was having a really hard time getting them together before this. Trust me after the first hose install these things paid for themselves…
Anyhow here’s the link to the gallery for the pics. Too many to past here so I’ll let ya sift through the gallery. Enjoy! Click Here For The Pics.
Sorry for the lack of updates folks. Project has taken a step to the side cause work has been demanding alot of my time as of late. I got the fuel parts in and I’m just waiting for some time to start the install. Hopefully I’ll get to over the Labor Day weekend. If so I’ll post up pics.
Crap I completely forgot to post an update on my exhaust findings. Well I found a set of shorties that worked perfectly. They came off a Silverado SS. They have and iron version of my block however the bolt pattern is the same. So I picked up a set from AutoAnything, a vendor over on performance truck section of ls1tech.
Pretty busy weekend. Had alot I wanted too get done. After getting the trans mount clearanced I needed to get the poly mount on the trans and bolted down the a-frame. I had to modify the a-frame mount by drilling a few holes so the trans mount would bolt to it. The kit came with an Energy Suspension mount for a 4.6l mustang and a tremec trans. This wasn’t going to work. So I ordered a poly mount for an Fbody T56. As you can see from the pics I had to use some washers to take up the space between the trans and the mount. I’m just using those as reference for the solid piece of aluminum I’m putting on later.
Next came the exhaust. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. I’m either going to run a set of shorty headers. I have a set on the way from Summit. They’re the BBk shorties that go on Fbodys. I had a set of GTO manifolds but they’re not gonna work cause they hit the motor mounts. Remember I modified the mustang mounts to work on the block so I wouldn’t have to cut them off the frame. Along the way I had a guy on the truck forums give me a pretty good idea in the interim. Truck manifolds. So I picked up a set for $25 bucks so I could use them as a reference. If I don’t like the shorties I’ll go this route. Eventually I’ll have to get a set of 4-4 headers made. I just don’t wanna swing it in the budget at this time. One nice thing about the LSx stuff is you swap sides with it and it’ll still bolt up. Pretty neat..
Next my alternator relocation kit came in. I had to do this cause of where the exhaust collector is. The alternator will work in the stock location however it’s too close to the exhaust for my comfort. So I decided to move it up top. I picked up this kist from a vendor over on LS1Tech called Carshop Inc. Here’s the link for the item: Click Here For Item. I did have to get another belt cause the one that came with the kit was too short. All in all this was a pretty clean install and a great looking product. The kit came with all the brackets, mounting hardware, spacers, and alternator along with the adapter plug.
And finally finished getting the 3-link set on the rear axle along with the pinion angle set. Looks like I’m gonna need to have the driveshaft made a little longer. That’s good though cause I won’t be running into driveshaft bind like I was worried about..
That’s it for now. Stay tuned for the next update. Fuel system is next.
Sorry for the lack of updates. Still waiting on some parts to showup so I can move to the areas that depend on themb being done. Got the coilpacks in so my brother and I cleaned them up and got them mounted.
Also had to clearance the trans mount a little cause the case of the transmission was hitting it. You’ll see from the pictures. Plus I wanted to lower the angle of the trans a little for the driveshaft. Made sure the motor was still level front to back and side to side. It moved a little front to back but still within the balance lines. Can’t move it too much. Don’t wanna mess up the cars handling with a motors that’s crooked… Anyhow here’s some pics of the weekends progress.
Ok now don’t laugh too hard. But after I finally get done with the brake lines I never want to see one for a long time. That and the flaring tool. Holy (insert colorful metaphor here). I finally went to Napa and got the preflared ones. Then Renee and I tackled the bending of the lines. That’s not so bad if you take it a step at a time. But the flaring part, ya not for me. That’s one of those lost arts like pyramid building..
So ya didn’t really take any pics cause I was still working on the same stuff. Got the front brakelines done. Waiting on the rear ones cause there’s a sequence of events that has to take place before I can do those. Picked up the injectors from Nic over the weekend. Looking at alternator relocation kits to move the alternator up to the top of the motor. Still waiting on tires. Soon as those show up and I get the front brake reservoirs mounted and the brakes bled she will be a roller. Then after that I’ll notch out the trans mount so the trans sit level and see if I’m gonna need to the driveshaft made longer. We’ll see.
Got the motor and trans in this past weekend. Big thanks for my brother and wife for helping out. Man it was hot out but we got it done. Also ran the front and rear brake lines along with fastening them down. All I have to do now is run a line from the master cylinders to the lines. Also got the hidden battery box mounted. Haven’t riveted it yet. Want to make sure everything else is fine beforehand. Next gotta get the tires, put em on the wheels, then get the car off the movers dollies. Damn thing is getting heavy now.. Anyhow here’s the new pics in the gallery:
The rearend came in Fri afternoon. Spent the weekend getting it prepped, axles installed, 3-Link bracket, etc.., installed. The install went pretty well. Still have to install a few more items and torque everything down but made alot of ground however. Car will be a roller here pretty soon..
Here’s some pics of the weekends activities: Pictures
Allright. All I did this weekend was test fit the motor and trans to see how much room I had in various areas. I want to run a bigger passenger footbox, more for comforts sake. I know I’m building one of the least creature comfort cars out there but hey, the passenger has to be able to stretch their feet.. The motor sits pretty low. It’s a good thing cause I’m gonna have to shim the motor mounts a little higher cause the main pulley is a little close to the front main tube for my comfort. Probably be a combo of shims and and underdrive pulley, we’ll see. I’m also going to have to modify the trans crossmember just a little. Anyhow here’s some pictures:
