Long Overdue Build Thread, H/C LS6 Swap
08-31-2014, 12:02 PM
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Long Overdue Build Thread, H/C LS6 Swap
Its about time that I contribute a little more the the CF community! I've been meaning to write this up for some time now....so here we go.
Over the years I've had the car (01 Coupe Z51 6-speed) I've been through every "common" C5 problem imaginable....literally EVERY SINGLE ONE, many of them multiple times.
So in a fit of rage after the second water pump started to go...along with a pin hole in the radiator and the expansion tank, oil pressure sensor leaking oil everywhere, shifting woes on the second T-56, etc... I decided to just pull the stock drive-line and make the car more fun to drive.
Parts List: I took my time finding everything mostly on CF and local Craigslist, trying to be cost conscious
LS6 short block with Patriot stage II heads and a MS3 cam, 24k miles on short block, 5k on H/C package. Motor assembled by MTI
XS Power 1 3/4" catless longtubes
I picked up a used MM12 on the board here and sent it off to Tick Performance for a stage II 650hp rebuild.
LS7 clutch and flywheel combo (in car with low miles from the first trans swap)
Blackwing filter with Vararam intake elbow
Torque tube rebuild kit
New rubber on all 4 corners
New radiator, belts, plugs, oil pressure sending unit, etc...
Car already had Hurst shifter, Granatelli catback, lowered on stock bolts and some other small stuff.
After parts were assembled I let the building / motor swap began. Unfortunately i don't own a lift so worked with a friend of mine who has build many f-bodys and Vettes for a living.
The swap itself was pretty straight forward, picked up the body from the drive-line and then plug and play.
Unfortunately I can only find a few pictures of the build, the rest were probably lost on my old phone.
After the assembly was complete, the motor fired off with zero hesitation. Since it had a new trans I babied it around for 500 miles, all under 2500 rpm, flushed the fluids and loaded up for a trip to the dyno. All tuning was performed at PCM of NC in Mooresville, NC (I highly recommend them btw!)
Put down 440/400 with peak power @ 6900rpm
Finished Product
I thought that everything was good to go, but started to notice a slight vibration under high rpm's. The vibration kept getting worse and worse until the point where the car was about undriveable. I could take the car out of gear, depress the clutch and rev the motor and it wouldn't even go back in gear. So back to the shop it went to have the clutch pulled and get a better look at what was going on. All said and done the flywheel/clutch was off balance by 9 grams and it destroyed the pilot bearing, carnage below.
So the entire assembly was balanced along with new hydraulics, slave, throughout, master and all is good to go!
I'm sure that I've left out a lot of info for the quick time it took to type this out, let me know if anyone has any questions.
Thanks,
Tyler
Over the years I've had the car (01 Coupe Z51 6-speed) I've been through every "common" C5 problem imaginable....literally EVERY SINGLE ONE, many of them multiple times.
So in a fit of rage after the second water pump started to go...along with a pin hole in the radiator and the expansion tank, oil pressure sensor leaking oil everywhere, shifting woes on the second T-56, etc... I decided to just pull the stock drive-line and make the car more fun to drive.
Parts List: I took my time finding everything mostly on CF and local Craigslist, trying to be cost conscious
LS6 short block with Patriot stage II heads and a MS3 cam, 24k miles on short block, 5k on H/C package. Motor assembled by MTI
XS Power 1 3/4" catless longtubes
I picked up a used MM12 on the board here and sent it off to Tick Performance for a stage II 650hp rebuild.
LS7 clutch and flywheel combo (in car with low miles from the first trans swap)
Blackwing filter with Vararam intake elbow
Torque tube rebuild kit
New rubber on all 4 corners
New radiator, belts, plugs, oil pressure sending unit, etc...
Car already had Hurst shifter, Granatelli catback, lowered on stock bolts and some other small stuff.
After parts were assembled I let the building / motor swap began. Unfortunately i don't own a lift so worked with a friend of mine who has build many f-bodys and Vettes for a living.
The swap itself was pretty straight forward, picked up the body from the drive-line and then plug and play.
Unfortunately I can only find a few pictures of the build, the rest were probably lost on my old phone.
After the assembly was complete, the motor fired off with zero hesitation. Since it had a new trans I babied it around for 500 miles, all under 2500 rpm, flushed the fluids and loaded up for a trip to the dyno. All tuning was performed at PCM of NC in Mooresville, NC (I highly recommend them btw!)
Put down 440/400 with peak power @ 6900rpm
Finished Product
I thought that everything was good to go, but started to notice a slight vibration under high rpm's. The vibration kept getting worse and worse until the point where the car was about undriveable. I could take the car out of gear, depress the clutch and rev the motor and it wouldn't even go back in gear. So back to the shop it went to have the clutch pulled and get a better look at what was going on. All said and done the flywheel/clutch was off balance by 9 grams and it destroyed the pilot bearing, carnage below.
So the entire assembly was balanced along with new hydraulics, slave, throughout, master and all is good to go!
I'm sure that I've left out a lot of info for the quick time it took to type this out, let me know if anyone has any questions.
Thanks,
Tyler
