Popular Post KP_wag Posted March 16, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted March 16, 2018 Hey fellas After some years outa the car building game have been making some progress on a new project, its not old but thought Id post it up here since have lurked for years here and seems like oldschool's one of the last well frequented NZ fabrication forums... Have always been a fan of the american muscle truck thing, even though doesnt seem to really exist here. When shopping for a sensible new family ute a few years back a saw a tidy '05 KUN Hilux that had been tastefully transplanted with a drag-spec LT1 350 chev and 4L60E auto. Not sure I have any pics from when I first bought it but did a few things including deleting the chromy bits to this spec Having built a few cars in the past and having always ending up jaded over how you seem to burn more money than you could have ever dreamed, this was the first car that I bought already modified, as figured may as well make good on someone elses financial haemorrhage. Problem with that is after owning the truck for some months I found more and more stuff where the quality of 'craftsmanship' drove me insane. Stuff like washers spacing out the custom front brakes to make them fit (R32 calipers and bigger rotors), modified crossmembers reinforced with mild steel chequer plate that look like theyd been cut by a blind person (no deburr), abortion exhaust that was unremovable without cutting etc. Also the LT1 had way too big a cam for just punting around the streets day to day so ended up deciding to reinvent the shiny lux... First came some BC coilovers up front and new wheels and rubber, but most importantly the LT1 had to go: Keeping the american muscle theme its a '08 Silverado donk, aka 4.8 LS motor. It is the smallest of the LS series engines, couldve bought something bigger but plan is to turbo it and hopefully get the best of both worlds being fuel economy underneath boost, and insane crazy power when so desired. Also bought some bits to upgrade the baby LS To be continued 16 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KP_wag Posted March 17, 2018 Author Share Posted March 17, 2018 Heads off for a skim, new uprated valve springs and seals, and then back together using ARP head bolts and LS9 head gaskets which are GM gaskets made for boost. Also replaced the lifters (LS7), and swapped out the cam for something more turbo friendly. This is pretty much following a formula based on what the US guys are doing with these motors, my engine is a gen IV LS so has the bigger rods and with mods above these motors seem to hold together pretty reliably up to the ~600kw mark. Cam is pretty mellow but will piss on the stock cam everywhere.and idea is keep it snappy out of boost (ie retain low and mid range). Also has pretty sweet note (random Youtube link below). should confuse the 1UZ connoisseurs... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.H. Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Looks like its going to be quite a sleeper, what sort of economy do you think you will get out of it when driven quietly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KP_wag Posted March 17, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 17, 2018 Re economy, better than the last motor I hope as was a pig, but not really sure so will have to wait and see. Is 0.9L smaller than a factory LS1 so a touch better than that hopefully, cam is bigger than LS1 though... Am taking the opportunity to swap to a manual so that will help with miserly highway driving. Speaking of which, next up was to purchase one of these bad boys: Is a TR6060, and is gonna be a pain to make work given remote shifter and fixed output flange but T56 would likely die behind that motor so decided to man up and go the reliable (but cunty) path. Also bought a fancy new clutch (Mcleod twin plate). Is a strange feeling buying a clutch that is worth more than yer daily... 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seedy Al Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Shit yeah very interested to see how this turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testament Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 will probably do better than 15L/100km if driven with economy in mind. maybe even down to 11 or 12 is not inconceivable but does depend on how much effort is put into tuning low/part load, overall weight, wind, aircon, tyres. the old motor would have been bad if it had a big cam and only medium compression with a loose convertor meaning you would end up having to lean on it at lower rpm before the lockup would engage just to get it to move around town. are you sure the LS9 gaskets are OK on the 4.8? the 4.8 has a smaller bore (same as LS1 I think) and tbh any of the MLS type factory gaskets appear to do the job well and can even be reused in a pinch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KP_wag Posted March 19, 2018 Author Share Posted March 19, 2018 Yeah, last setup didn't run a huge stall or anything but powerband was all up top so if you wanted to drive it quickly (without caning it) you ended up using a fair bit of throttle. It would put a grin on your face above 5k rpm but the kun hiluxes are way heavier than the previous gen luxas so really needed something with better mid range to make me feel better about the fuel it drank. The trick with turbo sizing has been to choose something that will provide the mid range but not be so small that you can't cruise under boost - time will tell on whether I made the right choice there... Re the LS9 gaskets yeah they are oversize of the 5.3/4.8L bores but they are cheap for the quality of gasket and a LOT of people using them on the same motors and making stupid power reliably. That discussion has played out at length on the US forums and people argue it either way but prolly half the 5.3/4.8 builds on there use LS9 gaskets because they are so well proven, with not one instance I could find of one letting go (below ~800hp at least). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KP_wag Posted March 19, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 19, 2018 Oh and re turbos, zing! Taiwan-fresh GTX3067R. Will be x2 once I recover from paying for the first 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KP_wag Posted March 27, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 27, 2018 Out with the old, in with the new (ish) Big lump of a box fits the tunnel - massive relief there! Shifter linkage gonna be tricky though... LT1 motor had a rear sump but motor was mounted high enough that it sat above the crossmember/steering rack. Was hoping could do the same with the LS but since the motor has to sit low to get the box down the tunnel - no deal on the factory rear sump... First solution - got hold of a commodore LS1 sump which puts the bowl up front. Still fouled the steering rack so second solution - hit the scrappy for some 8mm ali plate Wish I could say the above worked out, but sadly the final weld kept cracking as it was cooling down so needed to grind out and reweld several times. I finally got it to stick (by piling on blankets and controlling the cool down), stoked. Went to bolt it up and sump was warped to fark due to putting so much heat into the stubborn bit. Commodore pan went in the bin (or rather the scrappy for a $8 rebate on a weekends worth of frustration), and gave up on the factory sumps. Third solution was one of these ex the US, much better fit, more oil capacity than any of the factory sumps, and has a port for the turbo oil feeds built it. Only problem with the above was that the flared bit of the sump was a bit too wide, and wouldnt clear the crossmember brace on one side. Sump is zinc coated so decided to leave that unmolested and deal with the brace instead. Cutty cutty: 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Hurry up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KP_wag Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 2 hours ago, Stu said: Hurry up! Haha, here are some more pics youve already seen. Starting to catch up to current state though... Engine fits - with 2x4 offcuts for engine mounts. The truck LS intake manifolds are super tall and even dropping engine low as possible with low profile sump was surprised to see bonnet fits. Get about 20mm clearance btw bonnet and engine cover, was stoked to be able to use that manifold as although fugly they make more power and torque than the LSx car manifolds Steel engine mounts. Left the toyo outrigger thingees intact chassis side, and fabbed adaptor plates to work with some generic urethane mounts that were for some ye olde jeep thing... Needed to get trigonometrical interfacing the plane of the existing outriggers to block V. Tried by eye to start but math > measuring shit by finger width. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KP_wag Posted April 2, 2018 Author Share Posted April 2, 2018 Got the gearbox crossmember sorted. Gearbox fouled on the factory one as had a raised centre section but ended up being able to mod and reuse by flipping it so raised = recessed Welded in some 5mm plate to reinforce it where the gearbox mount was gonna go. Built a platform mount on top Installed with new urethane mount Also got the first of two new driveshafts made up. Tremec-side has no slip or universal so important to get right, positioned the gearbox mount so that could use the factory hanger, will probably add some reinforcement there though as not much to it. Anyone have any idea how beefy the hanger actually needs to be? Factory one is pretty wimpy... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KP_wag Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 Manifold time. Was looking forward to making these, fuck me I forgot how many hours goes into them though - and I bloody need to do two! Coming along, was lazy and bought the collectors premade from Sinco which removed a bit of the work. Primaries end up pretty long to get the turbo where I wanted it, think I will need to brace the turbo to the block Bought myself a #20 size water cooled tig torch to help get in around the collector, is so much more lush than the big chinese #26 I had been using. Also got a dual out regulator so could try my hand at back purging for the stainless downpipes and exhaust I will build. Drinks the argon but seems to work mint, makes perdy colours 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KP_wag Posted April 22, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 22, 2018 Chur bo number two showed up - hopefully last big ticket item I have to buy And while Im poor am focusing on the cheap labour intensive bits - manifold #2 coming along... Any wastegate boffins out there? Cant decide whether I risk 2x 40mm Turbosmarts or go with the ~$100 per side extra 45mms... US guys seem to get away with twin 38s on LSx motors but many applications Ive seen have more room so better able to build ports that help with flow to the gates. Mine wont be quite 90deg turns but arent exactly setup for best flow... 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KP_wag Posted April 28, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 28, 2018 Cobra #2 done (sans final welding and wastegate port) 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimjon Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Awesomeness!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortron Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 Must be a snake charmer. Wastegate out the bonnet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KP_wag Posted May 16, 2018 Author Share Posted May 16, 2018 Twin pipes out da bonnet would be rad, but more going for a 'tidy modern slightly bogon but otherwise sleeper' thing. Got the second wastegate pipe done, hope these flow OK I wanna be a cheapskate and buy the smaller gates (40mm), but will be a pain in the ass not to have spent the extra and have it creep... Opening is nicely teardropped but still might not be enough whaddyas reckon? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KP_wag Posted July 2, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 2, 2018 Progress has been pretty slow, mostly finishing welding the manifolds. Gotta bad tank of argon that sent me backwards. Was scratching my head for a while trying to figure out what was wrong and needless to say was a major fark around, had to remake one of the pipes due to compromised welds. Been accumulating many yellow paper bags of dirt cheap nickle and dime install parts from aliexpress (oil and water turbo fittings etc). Also bought one of the Aliexpress gas lens kits with pyrex cups for the tig torch. The visibility of the pyrex cup is a revelation, especially for $7 delivered! Also chickened out and bought the bigger wastegates, turbosmart 45mms. Contemplating a 4m long 2>1 screamer pipe exiting behind the rear wheel, should be enough room and sound ruthless (and hopefully pass cert). Wastegate, custom fit: ^ Can also see holes cut for the intake. Thinking air filters will go where fog lights are currently and get ram air straight from the front bumper. Dont have the filters yet but mocked up old filter for test (will be blacked out for stealth): 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KP_wag Posted January 20, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 20, 2019 As is the way progress slower than hoped on this money pit, so many damn projects jumping the queue but still inching forward... Built the driveshaft hoops, very happy with the fit and much nicer to look at than the previous hoop setup. Even If I wanted to be lazy and reuse the previous setup, it was not (re)certifiable given that it was made of 45x5mm steel (minimum spec 50x5mm). Pic of the old setup for your viewing pleasure - some proud metal work right there. Also got the last of the crossmembers modified/built. This one ties the frame rails together just behind the engine, but new giganto gearbox would hit even with it tucked up tight in the tunnel. In this case I cut some 20mm plate to same footprint of the member, tacked it to the bottom and then cut out the centre of the original box section. Came out good with no loss of ground clearance, 12mm plate probably wouldve sufficed but scored the material off a mate and whats a bit more weight in 2 ton brick anyway. And finally tidied up manifolds and got them coated. Hopefully keeps the temps down as the primaries are pretty long so a lot of steel to heat things up. Next on the list is new diff... 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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