So in my perpetual teeter-tottering I was looking at swivel oil pick ups that I could use in a shallow wet sump? Any one ever use these things. Milodon makes two different models, and the turbo hayabusa guys make sweet, little ones out of billet.

 

you should make this into a kit... i would definetely buy it...

 

Thanx for the compliment.

If I were to make a kit it would have to include a mid plate, motor plate, trans mount, trans mount spacer, modified cross member, and a modified gto oil pan. The pan alone would have to be near $600, and I spent days modifying my crossmember. Even then you're going to have to weld in bolt spacers in your frame rails, and then weld in the mount plates for the mid and motor plate.

I guess that what I'm tryng to say is that if you have the skills to install "my kit" you probably don't need it. But if you or anyone else is seriously in need, shoot me a pm.

 

Well first I need to buy the engine and tranny, LS1+T56, (they are all compatible with one another mount wise right? I mean, hinson's kit is universal for all LS engines right? LS1, LS2, LS6, LS7? Meaning one could utilize it for the future too, not that i would go beyond LS2).

Hmm, I am confused as I'm just a newb enthusiast learning, I do not understand the purpose behind the engine plates and whatnot. Other than that its a very cool setup.

Basically i do not have the means to fab this myself... not a garage or space or tools to do major work myself....... thus I have a friend who is a mechanic and i do some of that work at his shop, but major work, of course he won't do free, as he's got customers and a relatively small garage and time is money...

So purchasing a kit is something I will have to most likely resort to even though he is capable of doing plenty custom work (he built this small car once that was on that car building show on tlc... monster garage or something like that).

So yeah.. hinson's kit is ovepriced for what it is imho, and something worthwihle like your kit would be worth paying hinson's price. Something along those lines, you would make better business than hinson imho if you did the kit...

Hence I would most likely be interested... if you were interested... unfortunately this won't happen for me for another 6 months till i get the engine and tranny, paying off some other things, plus moving, but im doing my research.

I am concerned with my car's handling, therefore this is a must... even small addage of weight to the front and we get less responsive handling plus understeer, and why patch it up with suspension setups when one can do the right thing from the start and have that weight back, down low and less.

*end rant*

That is all... really loving what you did...

 

The main advantages of the front motor plate vs. standard side mounts are:

1) weight (the two aluminum plates weigh less than one side of a stock f-body mount)
2) rigidity (it's like the worlds most bad *** strut tower bar)
3) header clearance (1 7/8th to 2" stepped headers here I come!)
4) limited block distortion (side mounts can put uneven stress on a block and sap 1/2 a hp)
5) serviceability (I can drop the k-member without dropping the engine, or I can drop the trans or engine without removing the other)

The only down side is the NVH. I'm expecting a bit more vibration to be noticed in the passenger compartment. But I can handle that...

 

Well man that sounds awesome. I still believe you should build this as a kit like hinson does... Can't wait to see you progress more. Totally cool!

 

So any updates bro? I really enjoyed reading this thread, I hope there's going to be some updates And I still would LOVE if you made this a kit just as hinson does

 

X2

 

I called Aviad about their dry sump systems today. I was interested in their hi mount 2 stage pump. A typical dry sump can pull 12-15 psi of vacuum, but according to John at aviad their two stage system can only pull 6-8 psi. It's an elegant solution though as the only mod needed to the accessory drive is a new tensioner pulley that's included in the kit. He was supposed to e-mail me a price list today, but hasn't. I'll give him a call again tomarrow.

I've also purchased a set of LS7 bare cnc ported heads that I had shipped straight to Richard at West Coast Racing Cylinder Heads in Reseda, CA. Now I'm just agonizing over the fact that I can't afford $1000 for the stock titanium, or $2000 for LG hardened intake valves. I'm also trying to determine my exact cam specs so that I can tell Richard how much to shave the head. The good part of all this is FLOW, And the fact that I can use the stock LS7 intake manifold (which is a work of art)! The down side is that I've now locked my self into a $$$big bore block, which I don't have yet.

I also just started a new job with a nasty commute, so don't expect the big updates to come rollin in too fast!

 

Oh something else... I had almost decided to stay with a cable operated throttle pedal. It probably would be a little easier to set up. But I just spent the last 6 weeks working at TTP, where Matt Sorian does a lot of wicked tunes on his dyno-jet on cars with seriously huge cams. And he showed me how the IAC on cable TBs is no where near as capable of smoothing out idle as the LS2 style 90mm TB. So it looks like a few more mods are going to be necessary to fit a LS2 style gas pedal. just a little FYI

 

If you do have any more updates, please post! I still have a lot of decisions to make. One is, I was offered a '96 240 for $900. Just a blown motor!! But, I believe Im still going to use the stripped '93 that I have.

I was told that there's a foam mock-up motor that can be bought but I have no idea who makes them. I have a feeling that I'll have to wait until I buy the actual motor (leaning towards the LS2) before I start any real work on the car. I'm also considering boosting the motor, but I have to see if that will fit under the hood. ANY more pictures you may have will definitely help a lot. TIA

 

Aviaid has been very helpful in helping me figure out the dry sump, I'm still talking with them about mounting.

I disassembled a core t56 that I bought, and bolted it up to a cracked LS6 block. All bolted together I can still pick the engine/trans up by myself and walk around with it! Don't spend $300 on a plastic block when you can get a junk ls1 block for around $100.

If you want to see a specific angle that isn't already posted, just ask and I'll post the pic!

 

There are so many decisions to make when building this. My first concern is the location of the engine and tranny. I plan on boosting the motor, so location is KEY. This car will be street driven, maybe not daily, but often enough. So, solid motor mounts or not? Move the motor back as far as possible? I 'd really like this car to be done right, even if that means it takes longer than I'd like. I have quite a few friends helping me out, each with their own talents, so I'd like to think I'm better off than most. If you could have done something different or better, let me know! TIA

Lenny

 

Lenny,

I havn't heard any complaints out of the guys with solid mounts about NVH! And the motor plate will give you WAY more room for turbos, or a bitchin place to mount a centrifugal blower. I'd say that the motorplates are an even more attractive option if you're going boosted.

 

ok, in the next couple of weeks I'll be purchasing an LS1 for my S13 and I really need to make a decision on the motor mount options. Consider this:

-Low compression boosted (turbo)
-T56
-needs to be as streetable as possible (it may see the track a few times, but this will be a street car)
-and I really do not want this car to shake my fillings out so personally, solid motor mounts are out of the question.

Should I modify the stock k-member, get an R32 or R33 k-member? And which motor mounts would give me the best ride AND room for a tubo setup?

 

Regardless of the k-member you use, you're going to have to modify it unless you want the engine hanging out over the nose. Make life simple for yourself and copy some of the other builds that use lightweight aluminum plates to adapt stock type SBC mounts. The C5/C6 mounts are bulky, and the 4th gen F-body mounts are bulky AND Heavy. If you're going with a completely stock turbo kit it shouldn't matter which k member you use as far as the ex.manifolds are concerned.

 

From what I've seen.......I have no idea which k-member would be best to modify. Any unbiased advice?

 

The best option is anything from a R32 or R33 Skyline. You can use the factory K member but the stock mounting points will get in the way unless you get custom headers or the Hinson set.

 

looks good!

 

I plan on using custom headers (exhaust manifolds) because its going to be a boosted application. My concern is space for the turbo. I'd like to get the motor far back enough for that, but not so far to where I'm cutting the firewall.