billg

iTrader: (3)

Okay, today I trial fit the 00 Z28 LS1 into my 69 Elky. The original intent was to set it in with no mounts so I could figure out which plates to buy for the motor mounts. To my surprise the motor dropped down fully with the stock Camaro pan on it but naturally the pan is hitting the frame crossmember but it does clear the firewall, its close but it clears! I then noticed that there was no way to put the AC compressor back on due to the Chevelle frame bracket that "sticks out" from the front of the frame crossmember so I started thinking either notch the pan or the frame. I then had a brain fart due to stubborness so I pulled the motor back out and installed the original Camaro mounts back on the block. I took a set of motor mount "cages" that I had laying around from an early 80s Chevy truck that I pulled the 454 out of and they wouldnt quite fit over the F Body mounts so I took my trusty grinder and shortened the mount where the thru bolt goes thru about 1/8" per side, then installed the cages loosely upside down on the F Body mounts and set the motor back in the car, it sat all the way down and centered itself instantly! So I pulled it all back out, removed the original frame brackets and set it back in, the AC compressor now clears the front of the engine crossmember by 1/4" or so and no issues with the steering linkage. Crawled under the car to check the pan and noticed that its only lightly touching in the corners as the crossmember has a curve to it so it looks like a little bit of "heat and beat" in 2 small spots and the motor is in! Now the only problem is that its gonna be hard to mark the cages as to where to drill the frame to bolt them down so I guess I will just tack weld them to the frame, pull the motor and then drill and bolt them and then cut and grind off the welds. Rough measurements show the T56 will be at about the right height also so this is getting WAY too easy! Just thought I would share another way of doing it! Bill :>>>>>(me in my Elky pretty quick!)>>>>>>>>drive:

malibuman69

iTrader: (2)

Hey there billg, i am in the process of putting an ls1 in my 69 chevelle too. i ended up cutting the bottom cross member some and lowering the motor a bit. i ran into a problem of the motor sitting to high when it was bolted to the transmission. the trans actually hit the tunnel some. so i cut and boxed out the frame. mine hit in those exact some spots where yours did. right at the corners, but i needed the motor down a bit more to keep the 3-5 degrees of lean back in the motor.

billg

iTrader: (3)

I was running into that when I was trying to line it up for plates. The way it sits right now has the crank centerline the same distance above the frame as my other Elky with the Big Block in it and has a couple degrees of down slope to it also. I guess the biggest thing to doing it the way I did is no mods to the frame or pan plus the AC comp still clears. Im gonna stab the T56 in it tomorrow Before I "lock it down" so I guess that will determine if I did right or I did wrong! LOL! Bill

Stu Cool

iTrader: (13)

As an alternative to tacking the mounts in there you an get it in position, then spray paint the mounts and frame. Once you pull it all out, you should be able to put the mounts back in place by setting them back inside the paint line. Tacking them in would give a more secure hold though

Pat

malibuman69

iTrader: (2)

let me know how yours goes in... i will post some pics of mine tomorrow. i cut the frame some tonight and made it so the motor bolted to the trans actually has 3 degress of tilt back for oil.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

I am doing a swap myself.. have searched and lot and trial fitted alot.. You can get the stock F-Body pan to fit, but is is very close.

Using BRP style mounts, I didn't like the idea of having the pan so close to the x-member.. I have no tried a CTS-V oil Pan, the low slump is shorter but deeper by about 1+". It game me a lot more room arould the X-member.

I have tried using both normal mounts and the Tall/narrow mount (1/2" taller). one thing i did was to narrow the frame mount by about 1/2" and used spacer to jack the engine back and forward to center the areas of contact 0(power steering pulley/box and the firewall (A/C box). That help be a lot.

I notched the frame to clear the A/C to use the factory AC unit.

I did have to cut the tunnel a lot to get the right tilt of the engine/trans. I am going to look into shifter reloocation to use the front access point (Mcleod not make a shifter and kit to do so). as I am using a Bench seat and the shifter come up right on the front of the bench seat.

if you search on "CTS-V Pan" I posted some pictures.

rotoober

iTrader: (8)

Im in the beginning stages of putting an LS1 w/auto in my 1970 El Camino, has anybody tried using the S & P motor mount adapter plates? They've got a decent writeup on the website, but it is for a T-56. I would rather swap out the oil pan than cut on the X-member.
Also, will it still be necessary to do trans tunnel work to get the driveshaft angle correct? It appears as though there are no bolt on solutions for the trans and engine mounts.
This is looking like it could be a difficult swap, I think my 93 RX-7 would be easier....

shifty`

iTrader: (3)

why notch the pan? just get a C/K truck pan, pickup tube and dipstick. Botls right on and clears the elky xmember as well as it did on my truck...

99+ Chevy K/C truck oil pan: GM part #12560393
C/K Truck Oil Pump Pickup: 12563961
C/K Truck Dipstick: 12558684
C/K Truck Dipstick Tube: 12563918

Install is a snap. I ordered all my parts from gmotors.com, Bill and the guys down there are great, will have the parts to you in no time, shipping is usually about 1/3 of what gmpd charges and the service is so freaking fast (and you can call em on phone) they rock

Good luck - elky is one of my dream cars. I want a 71-72 with a good body

bczee

iTrader: (12)

The Truck pan is about 8 1/2" deep, the CTS-V is about 6 1/2" and the F-Body is about 5 1/2" deep.. the Truck may hang too low. F-body is very close, too close for me.. but it will work. CTS-V pan was a good fit with the exception of it hanging about 1" below the x-member. Headers and exhaust will be that low or lower that that anyway.

the S&P allow you to use the stock frame mount, but you have to swap out much of the A/C pump, alt, etc.. costly.

BRP style will have to move the mounts but you can use the stock LS1 oil pan, Alternator and A/C (if you notch the frame some). Was easy to sit engine in place, mark, remove and drill new holes. (I used used tape on the frame to mark). I used both of the energy Supension SBC mounts , standard and Tall and Narrow (about 1/4" diffenents, and ended up using the tall and narrow and narrowed my frame mount to get the two areas of contact to be centered (Alternator / steering box and the firewall / A/C box).

I glue the nut and lock washer together, then used a some long wrenchs or extention with a swivel socket to reach in the frame to tighten (glue on the lug nuts is a nascar trick on pit stops on changing wheels).

And, yeah.. cut a t shaped slot in the trans tunnel. spead and weld in new steel to enlarge the trans tunnel to get the right angel for the engine/trans.

Good luck.

shifty`

iTrader: (3)

I guess I assumed your frame would be very close to mine, if not almost exactly the same - does the elky use the chevelle chassis or a truck chassis?

I know what you mean about notching the frame, for me it was necessary for the A/C compressor, but I found it wasn't needed for the alternator - although it IS a tight fit (see pics of my ls1 install in my gallery - about a half inch clearance). The truck pan really doesn't sit that low in my situation using the ECE Gen III mounts ($250). I'm assuming your crossmember is close to mine?

Just curious - why did you choose to notch instead of using mounting brackets from the LQ9 or custom fabb'd brackets to move the alt and AC compressor to the top of the block? Did you weld in reinforcements on the frame to strengthen where you cut?

Did you bother with moving your shifter to the forward position on your T56? I understand Keisler automotive in TN does this for $500. Only crappy part is I already bought my Pro 5.0 shifter and don't think I can use it in the forward position. I really like the idea of not having the shifter tucked under the front edge of the seat though.

Not sure if this helps, but I found the '98 Camaro exhaust manifolds to be an excellent fit and if you're not in an emissions exempt state, the '01 cats fit perfectly on mine as well, so I believe I could possibly pass emissions if necessary.

Do you have a buildup thread here on the forum or pictures of everything? I love the 69-72 elkys and chevelles, especially the 71 and 72 years. My family races them out in Vegas, cousin won "king of the track" in NASCAR division 7 last year with his chevelle (straight line racing).

bczee

iTrader: (12)

Not 100% sure... but I think the Elk and Chevelle frames were just about the same up front.

Cost was one reason I notch the frame, paid my welder $150 to do the job. I wanted to keep the stock look of the LS1. If I went with S&P stuff.. well you figure the cost there! (not in my buget at this time, they do make 1st class stuff, but very costly). My welder fab'd up metal to fill in the notch. see attacted pictures.

I plan on moving the shifter to the front location, I am looking into the McLeod sifter and relocation kit.. Summit Racing can order and ship the shifter and kit. $325 and $115

The stock 99' Camaro exhaust seem to fit well enought, I will have the EGR port blocked by my welder. I don't need to worry about smog laws for my 71' Chevelle. but will move the driver side O2 some.

Current tasks for the project:

I am currently converting my fuel system with a 95' Impala gas tank and 255lph pump, standalone wiring system and Corvette File/regulator to keep the single fuel line.

Working on the Electrical / wiring harness, trying to move the ECM inside to the top of the Trans tunnel near the firewall, so some more mod's to the wiring harness.

Trying to design the cold air to use the Cowl Induction hood.

I will post pictures once it is all done (I can e-mail you some of the in progress if you need some to help compare your install.

rotoober

iTrader: (8)

^^ Thanks for the photos. Yes the El Camino and Chevelle are the same from the drivers seat up.
Do you think using the S & P parts would allow you to get the t-56 in without notching the trans. tunnel? Also, I'm not too familiar with the t-56 vs. auto. sizes, but, is the auto. trans the same size or smaller than the t-56? I'm thinking of going Auto so my wife can drive it. BRP states that more work needs to be done with the t-56 than the auto. Anybody have any thoughts?
bczee, I'm up near Chico, sometime I'd like to see your project when I am down in the bay.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

Not sure of the auto, but i guess it depends on which one your thinking of .. the 4L80e is large in size.. but the more you can move the motor forward, the less the chance of having to cut the tunnel.

Yeah.. we can hook up at some of the car show in the area.. Goodguys is this weekend. not bring anything this time. but my buddy are (if it doesn't rain LOL)

Picture is back from the paint shop.. no engine at this time. Still had a lot to do at that point. But a lot has been done since then. Since then interior, engine and trans, etc.. still a long way to go..

shifty`

iTrader: (3)

i can tell you this: with my particular project, if i would have went 4l60e on my truck, i could have used the factory auto tranny and factory bolt holes in the frame: it would have been a prefect match-up. i am pretty sure the length of the 4l60e is close to or the same as the TH350 or 700R4 (not sure which, i didn'g go auto - but have seen it installed in other trucks).

G-Body

iTrader: (4)

The 4L60E and 700R4 are the same length, actually they are basically the same trans, the 4L60E is just an electronically controlled 700R4.

rotoober

iTrader: (8)

Interesting, my only question is: how much larger/smaller is the 4L60E than the t-56? I think I'm sold on going auto since my car already has a th350 in it.

Stu Cool

iTrader: (13)

I believe the 4L60E usually fits easier than the t-56. I am changing from a 350/t350 and transmission fit has not been an issue. I even believe I am going to be able to hook up my existing column shift linkage.

Pat

StickSS

Hi Guys: I am interested about how you are mounting the 95 impala gas tank up. Does it need a lot of modification to work? Are you running a evaporator canister with this type of setup or just a vented cap? If it works in a 71 chevelle it should work in a 68-69 pontiac Lemans. GTO. Maybe you could post up a picture when you get it installed. Thanks.

blackrose90

I finally finished installing a 96 impala tank in my 71 chevelle. It took alot of changes. The trunk floor had to be raised to clear the hump in the tank at the sending unit and fuel lines. The tank is bigger than the chevelle tank and the strap mounts need to be moved.

StickSS

Thanks for posting the picture of the gas tank. Looks like you got it to fit in good. I figured it would need work to fit. It a cheaper way to go than getting one from Rock Valley.