Re: LS powered '74 Chevelle wagon

by Wallyuph Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:20 am

ratnfested wrote:That pan hangs pretty low. I set the 5.3 into my bu last night with the truck pan attached and I have all kinds of clearance but I think the pan hangs down an inch below the frame. I did not have mounts so I set it on a 2x6 on the crossmember and measured the back of the block to the firewall using my 77 Chevelle as a reference. I see no way that pan could get near the frame but the depth is a concern. One good bump and I cold crack that wide open.

Are using a truck set up or a car set up as the car intake is much lower that the truck set up. I wanted to run the A/C so mine sits up pretty high but the hood clears. I used Dirty Dingo mounts but had to shim them and the A/C does clear the cross member. But it will sit about 4-5" more forward in the bay then stock 73-77 set up did, and as you saw in photo the pan still hangs down with a pan swap. The truck set up is pretty reasonable priced the cars LS set up are really pricy in my neck of the woods. I'd love to find a totaled car for drive line set up but never come across any here.

by Wallyuph Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:21 am

JB2wheeler wrote:Doesn't the offroad crowd have a skid plate you could install to protect the pan? Just an idea... JB

I plan to weld a piece or two of 1/4" angle iron to the lower cross member for a new scrub line.

by ratnfested Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:25 am

I have the truck motor but no accessories. So my plan is to get car accessories. Pace performance sells a kit for $700 which includes all the brackets, pulleys and PS pump, alt and AC unit. Then I might buy the stock intake for a Camaro from pace $270 for that. Getting kind of costly but I want it to look nice. I think the intake from the truck motor will be super close to the hood. I have pics but I need to get them off my phone so I can post them here. I too plan to use the dingo motor mounts but my mockup should have been close. I hope!

by Wallyuph Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:33 am

Yes it will look much better with car intake. That truck one is a big and ugly but for my first swap I wanted to get it all down and figured out before I do it in my 73. That is the main reason I bought this 74 project. Plus it has a big hole for a shaker hood scoop so that will cover up most of the intake after I figure out how to mount that on top of intake. It fits with hood shut so I know it will work. Plan to work on it this winter. My 56 Chevy and 73 Malibu go to storage by end of the month so 74 will be inside heated shop for winter. Just need to get my butt off the chair at night now.

by ratnfested Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:46 am

Cool. I will post some pics soon. we can compare notes as we go. I'm glad I am not the only one doing this swap.

by Wallyuph Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:51 am

Should probably start a new post post as we highjacked this one. Sorry

by Brainstain Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:09 am

Do not buy a stock LS1 intake. They suck. Buy an LS6 if you buy a stock intake. If you are dead set on a LS1, they are everywhere on Craigslist and LS1tech.com for under $100.

by Wallyuph Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:18 am

Whats bad about them?

by ratnfested Wed Oct 16, 2013 12:27 pm

I will post on my thread. I have some pics already.

by Brainstain Wed Oct 16, 2013 1:37 pm

They are the worst flowing intake out of all the car intakes.

by ratnfested Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:02 pm

I read a dyno result that show little improvement with the ls6 over the LS1 intake. There was a 14HP gain and 3 ft lbs. And it was the intake swap and a new exhaust so I don't know how much was the Intake.

by thatfnthing Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:04 pm

Seeing as even the early LS1 was a major leap forward in power production, they can't suck too bad...no?

by Brainstain Wed Oct 16, 2013 6:58 pm

I personally wouldn't use one but my engine isn't/won't be stock. If I was going to use one, I sure wouldn't buy it new for $250+ when you can get them used for under $100.

by coreys73chevelle Fri Mar 28, 2014 1:03 am

badass! Laguna nose would set it off perfect IMO. good luck with the build. and yes a ls6 intake is better flow... the GTO ls1 came with LS6 intakes becuase of the better flow. dont get ls2 intake btw.. they are worse than ls1 flow. get some 243 heads on it!

by Brainstain Wed Apr 30, 2014 1:46 am

No Laguna nose. Ever. I have 241s that will get ported out and probably make their way on here eventually.

by Limey SE Wed Apr 30, 2014 1:55 am

I am glad this didn't sell I wanted to see how it turned out for sure !!! And I agree on the NO Laguna nose looks better without it.

by Brainstain Mon May 26, 2014 3:06 pm

Finally picked up an El Camino to part out and snagged the rear bumper off of it. I've wanted to do this swap since I bought the car.

Before
LS powered '74 Chevelle wagon - Page 2 2B01C86B-3E22-4FA4-A357-CE1C42BD2F4C_zpspov8hsre

LS powered '74 Chevelle wagon - Page 2 2B01C86B-3E22-4FA4-A357-CE1C42BD2F4C_zpspov8hsre

A little grinding on the side of the frame.

LS powered '74 Chevelle wagon - Page 2 0738176E-238D-4885-AE18-7DCAA1BFEEBA_zpscgmgu2n0

And here we go

LS powered '74 Chevelle wagon - Page 2 8825770F-FBDA-42FC-BEE4-50981922D157_zps0hdbahov

by Brainstain Mon May 26, 2014 3:08 pm

It's not completely done. I need to drill a hole on each side to mount the bumper brackets and then obviously sand it down and paint it the same color as the body.

by driveit Tue May 27, 2014 12:55 pm

That is cool sir. I like it!

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