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Why is it every time someone asks a tech question on automatic transmissions the stick shifters chime in to cry blasphemy? Asking questions is like blowing a dog whistle.
Why is it every time someone asks a tech question on automatic transmissions the stick shifters chime in to cry blasphemy? Asking questions is like blowing a dog whistle.
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You're right, I should not have said a word, and I won't in the future. Your car, your money, your choice.
I am looking into jim meyers or martz, either eay it will have ford 9", AND just might get crazy and think about Art Morrison frame.....but price is scarey!!
oh and reason i dont consider 700r4 cuz i dont think it will hold up to 600hp, and i dont like the tv cable set up, 2004r is nice size but they cost alot to build up and dont think it can handle the power.
they did a 57 vette on velocity tv and install a big tans but dont know what they put in it, but on the show they showed a big hole in the tunnel. They put a 670 horse power ls, so i know the trans they used will hold up, but they didnt mention the trans on the show......
Im not sure, LS is definstly temping becuz of fuel injection and modern look, but its rasy to get 625hp out of 434 sbc.....and they make great awesome camshaft sounds....LS are quieter but i love the mean cam sound......still all on paper, just looking at all options and costs....
I used a 4l80e on my 5.3L 2002 Escalade Engine in a Nissan.
Had to hammer the tunnel quite a bit. Trans is around 220-250lbs iirc.
The OEM 4l80e from 02+ is supposed to handle 600 horses with all original parts, you just need a "shift kit" to correct some of the natural errors.
The factory truck engines from 02-04 (5.3L) are also known to be stout in the 500-600 horsepower range (turbocharged). The aluminum block being stronger and more expensive, I hear one recently went 184mph in the 1/4 mile around 3000lbs I bet. The yard was almost giving away the Iron versions... I got two for the price of one after compression testing and inspecting over 10 engines from a yard and choosing the best one, they threw in the next best one free.
It cost around $1000 to buy and prep both 5.3L Engines for 500~ horsepower. New gaskets, springs, and oil pump.
Wow that's impressive, thought about turbo 400 and gear vendors but I don't think it will fit, even if you alter tunnel it will probably have a weird looking hump.....
This is my fathers '59 that I'm putting together with him. I've done all the fav work to the factory frame to get it all in there. It's an all aluminum5.3 with a blower cam and procharger. It mades about 575 horsepower on pump gas. Fitting a 4l80e wasn't going to happen with the X member still in place without cutting the hell out of the tunnel. Because under 600hp is more than enough for my father to cruise around with, we opted for a built 4l65e with a Circle D 3200 billet converter. If you're planning on making more than that, keep the rear gear numerically lower and use a TH400 or glide. My '56 I'm building has a glide with a narrowed 8.8 rear. Power is from an ls2 that I'm building a single turbo setup for.
Great info, couple questions......
is the lokar shifter trans mount or surface mount on the hump....
whose front and rear end set up, martz Jim meyers??
and the procharger, do they make a kit specifically for c1 or is it generic and you fabbed it?
The lokar is trans mounted. It works quite nicely and I didn't have to worry about reinforcing fiberglass. It was simple bolt on application.
Front end is Jim Meyer. Fit and finish was top notch. The only modification I made was putting a notch in the driver side frame rail to get the D shaft by. This was more because I used headers instead of cast iron manifolds and needed some more clearance.
As for the rear, I mini tubbed the car. At first I had bought a Jim Meyer kit for it, but I found that the bars only gave slightly more clearance than the stock leafs. I still used the Jim Meyer supplied coil overs for the rear, but I ended up building a triangulated 4 link inside the frame. It fits a 285/35r18 tire on 18x10's with room to spare.
The procharger and intercooler are from a C6 Z06. It worked out great except there's minimal clearance for an air filter. I wouldn't consider the filter location to be ideal being behind the radiator, but there's simply no place else to put it.
If you have any more questions, feel free to fire away 👍🏼
I spy, why did you go with lrocharger instead of gm, edelbrock, magnesom, etc, that sits on top of engine, does lrocharger make more power?, are they cheaper?
I spy, why did you go with lrocharger instead of gm, edelbrock, magnesom, etc, that sits on top of engine, does lrocharger make more power?, are they cheaper?
and are you running an inner cooler?
are you able to run a/c with that set up?
There's a couple reasons we went with a procharger. The first was that hood clearance would have been a major concern with a roots blower. The second was that the 4l65e isn't as strong as a 4l80e, so the violent torque that a PD blower makes could be a major factor to shortening the life of the trans. To get the trans out of the car, you have to pull the motor... that's not something I want to do if it blows up. I'd say a LSA blower is similar in price to a procharger. Cost wasn't really a factor in the decision.
This car does have AC. It uses a 2004-2006 GTO ac pump and Vintage Air
You can see the air/air intercooler in the last picture 👍🏼
Little update, gentlemen. I know it’s been about a year. So, very much to my surprise, A 4L80e WILL fit in a C1 Corvette with a LS swap. Zero chance of installing or pulling the trans without the engine coming out with it, but I did just barely get it to fit in the tunnel. The passenger side head sits 2 3/4” away from the firewall. That’s as far back as the engine could go to keep the trans from hitting the factory tunnel. Still plenty of room in front of the engine for accessories and an electric fan. The trans mount sits right at the front of the X-frame. I have to fab a mount up, but it’s going to be very simple. Here’s a couple pictures. The tail shaft is sitting a little crooked in the picture, but that’s just where it was sitting at the moment I snapped the picture. It is straitened out now waiting for me to build the mount.
Thanks for that info ispy. I am not using a stock frame. I'm building a restomod that's why I ordered a Art Morrison chassis.
I thought about the Jim Meyers set up etc, but I wanted an incredible high end build so I'm trashing the stock chassis, they are junk compared to the professional stuff.
Either way I didn't want to modify the tunnel. Ultimately I went with a fully built 4l60e, took alot of money to build it to take the 650 hp for the stroked LS7 I'm putting in.
Hi there, did you manage to post some pictures? I'm looking at ways to get a 6 speed in (with my Gen 5 LT1) the TCI 4L80 6 speed is an option, just trying to understand where your 4L80e interfered with the trans tunnel? The X frame isn't a problem as I have modified that so I can drop the trans. The 6L80e will fit but is big and leaves no clearance for a shifter (I'm anti paddle shifters lol). Many thanks.
Hi there, did you manage to post some pictures? I'm looking at ways to get a 6 speed in (with my Gen 5 LT1) the TCI 4L80 6 speed is an option, just trying to understand where your 4L80e interfered with the trans tunnel? The X frame isn't a problem as I have modified that so I can drop the trans. The 6L80e will fit but is big and leaves no clearance for a shifter (I'm anti paddle shifters lol). Many thanks.
The most forward part of the trans tunnel is 1/8” away from the top of the trans. My body isn’t shimmed up on the frame yet, so I’ll gain a little more clearance. I ended up getting the 4L80e in just as easily as easily as I got the 4l60e in my fathers car. The big difference is that I kept my engine a couple inches further forward. His is just about slammed up against the firewall to have clearance for the procharger. I can stick my turbo just about anywhere, so I had more flexibility for where the engine could sit.
01-09-2018, 12:20 AM
