To answer your question:
Getting the Racetronix wiring harness is a benefit no matter what -

There is a section in the harness for a Plug-N-Play for the KB BAP at the rear of the harness where you mount the KB BAP near fuel pump -

A pure source of voltage from the Alternator and the 10 gauge wire that the Racetronix harness provides for the fuel pump and BAP verses the stock 16 gauge wire that has to run through the vehicles is a true benefit and one that should not be overlooked -

Thanks,Matt

 

AS Matt says the Racetronix wiring kit is a great turn-key upgrade that provides robust wiring and PnP feature for your KB BAP....simply a no-brainer for the "must have" list.

If I were you I'd replace your water pump simply because you're in there already, you have a 100k miles and water pumps are a critical accessory that are relatively inexpensive. An "LS3 CORVETTE" WP lines up correctly, flows better and will accomodate a larger TB if you decide to upgrade in the future. I learned this information on here in the thread (link) below.

LS3 "Corvette" water pump thread

Guys this is the kit and components I removed from my car.

Cody I'm watching your progress here AND you have my cell number for any questions, comments or concerns.

 

My plans changed slightly. At my last drag event, my clutch was starting to slip after a few passes. So i figured this was my opportunity to do everything at once and then go all out with the tune.

So I've ordered most of my parts by now, waiting on delivery of my recent orders:

S/C kit from nemesisC5 (delivered)
---A&A Vortech S Trim
---Alky Control Single nozzle meth injection
---8 rib conversion
Crank Pin Kit from Innovators west (delivered)
60lb injectors (delivered)
Racetronix FireWire (delivered)
Mcleod RST Clutch with Mcleod steel flywheel (delivered)
Tick remote clutch bleeder (delivered)
DTE diff brace (delivered)
C6Z06 shafts and guts from GM Parts Direct (en route)
HP Tuners Pro (en route)
MTX-L Wide Band (en route)
Newer GM Alternator Bracket (en route)
Pro Parts pillar dual gauge pod (en route)

I got hooked up with Bret (BlownBlueZ06) and we discussed tuning. Gonna go with the SD tune so I had to make a few changes to the S/C kit:

Mafless Charge pipe from A&A
Tial Q BOV

So i started the tear down this week:

Here she is up on jack stands


And after the hood, radiator shroud and e-fans removal


My goal for this weekend is to get the steering rack out of the way, and get the 8 rib crank installed and pinned. If I have time, I will tap the oil pan, and start mounting the S/C brackets. At that point I will be waiting on the new alternator bracket and some misc parts that were missing from the S/C kit that will be coming from A&A/Bret.

Total Spent: ~$6,400
Estimated build cost: ~$8,200
HP Goal: 600 rwhp

Future mod's that I cut (for now) because costs were escalating and I'm trying to stay married:
DD Radio bezel with 3 gauge pod
Roll cage
B&M or Hurst short throw
Drag tire/wheel setup (GTO spare skinnies and 16"/17" rear slicks)

 

Clean your radiator and condessor while your in there.

 

Yeah it's pretty nasty and I just cleaned it this summer. Will def give it a thorough cleaning.

 

So I worked a few hours yesterday and I got the alternator and PS pump removed and the bracket that holds them on. I started moving everything over to the new bracket, but realized I needed a PS pulley puller. Gotta go get one from vatozone.

I ground down a bolt and traced the threads in the head where the supercharger bracket bolts on. Spent about an hour just tracing/cleaning threads and flushing out debris from the threads with WD40.

Then I moved on to removing the steering rack. It took some time and some tetris skills, but I got it removed out the passenger side. I didnt have any luck busting the bolt loose on the Harmonic balancer with my impact, and I was at a good stopping point yesterday.

So I came to work today intending to borrow one of our impacts that should bust it loose. If not, I will try a breaker bar.

 

Got the PS pump pulley pulled and moved over to the new alternator/PS bracket.

Mounted the main bracket to the head, but didnt torque down just yet. Making sure i havent missed anything (long bolts are in already).

Still haven't had any luck with the harmonic balancer bolt. I tried an 18V impact gun that's good for 400+ ft lbs and it wouldn't bust it. I tried a long breakover bar and it didn't work. i tried a little heat and it was no help.

Buddy is bringing over a bad-boy impact this evening and I'm gonna try that with more heat.

 

I don't see you being able to heat without heating the bolt as well thus swelling it making it tighter. I could be wrong so waiting to see your solution. Any decent pneumatic 1/2" impact should do this easily. With pneumatic impacts best results are obtained by short 2-3 second blips as power diminishes with time on the trigger.

 

if the impact doesn't work try lowering the rear wheels back on the ground, chock them in front and back, put it in 4th gear, and use a breaker bar with a cheater pipe on it and that should do the trick... done mine a few times this way and haven't had any problems

 

Got it with the impact and a little heat!

I'm a little confused about putting the Innovators West 8 rib damper back on. I am unsure of how far to press it on. I tried to use a straight edge and line it up with the idler on the supercharger bracket. I think its pretty close. Is there a measurement?

Also, the pin kit jig wouldn't fit inside the snout of the crank pulley. I've got it in the freezer right now to see if cold would help. Its gonna be close, i didn't need much. Has anyone had this issue before?

 

the balancer should go on fairly easy and when you feel a lot of resistance is when it's fully seated, don't try to force it more than that or you risk pulling the threads out of the crank snout... I used innovators pin kit rather than the standard pin kit and I like it a lot... basically it uses half of the keyway to hold the jig to the balancer and then you drill out the 3 holes and insert the pin... also don't forget to put some gasket sealer on the back half of the keyway if you are using a stock crank to help prevent oil leaks... here's a pic of mine after I got the pin kit installed

 

That's my exact setup. Did you have to press the jig into the balancer? It won't fit even after taking a flapper and cleaning/deburring the inside of the balancer.

 

good deal... it's a tight fit but should go in without much force, a couple of taps with a rubber mallet or a wooden handle won't hurt if you need to coax it a bit... I would put the key in the jig and hold it in place while you are doing this to make sure it goes in straight that way the keyways are lined up

 

Ok, so I got the jig to go in after some coaxing with a hammer and large socket. The holes drilled just fine, got the pins in there.

Then I went to install the ARP crank bolt that I had ordered. Its too short. The Hawk harmonic balancer installer tool is about 1" longer and it reaches the threads on the crank just fine. Is there a longer ARP bolt? I emailed CoSpeed and asked the same question because that's where I purchased it from.

Always something

I was hoping to get the rack back in tonight so I could get everything going back together.

 

call innovators and they can get you one... I actually have an extra one but it's for a 10 rib balancer, not sure if that will work with your 8 rib or not... my balancer bolt also has a thick washer, you might want to make sure you have that as well

 

Took the day off yesterday for a long day of travelling for some TX HS State Championship Football!!!

Ordered a new bolt yesterday, waiting on delivery...ugh. Here is the updated list

S/C kit from nemesisC5 (delivered)
---A&A Vortech S Trim
---Alky Control Single nozzle meth injection
---8 rib conversion
Crank Pin Kit from Innovators west (delivered)
60lb injectors (delivered)
Racetronix FireWire (delivered)
Mcleod RST Clutch with Mcleod steel flywheel (delivered)
Tick remote clutch bleeder (delivered)
DTE diff brace (delivered)
HP Tuners Pro (delivered)
MTX-L Wide Band (delivered)
Newer GM Alternator Bracket (delivered)
Pro Parts pillar dual gauge pod (delivered)
C6Z06 shafts and guts from GM Parts Direct (en route)
Longer Crank bolt (en route)

 

Well, I was hoping that today was the day that it really started coming together...that didnt happen.

Yesterday: I spent the better part of of the day running down parts from BlownBlueZ06. Got home and started working on the install in the afternoon. The crank bolt finally arrived around 5PM. Installed, torqued, and moved on to re-installing everything else. Got the rack back in, alternator/PS bracket installed, alternator installed, etc.

Started this morning with relocating the radiator support brackets. Found out I didn't have the right spacers, so I made my own. Seemed to be working just fine.

Cleaned the radiator with a Radiator Genie (worked good, used compressed air then water). Theres still some stuff in there that wont come out, but I did get a lot of material out. I had to get the radiator cleaned because the fans were going back on and then the S/C. Fans went back in next.

Then it was time to start mounting the supercharger, so I attempted to put the belt around the crank...UH OH. There was not enough space between the crank bolt and the steering rack to get the belt in there. CRAP. I gambled on an LS7 crank bolt because it was longer (see previous post), cheaper and I could get it in 2 days from Amazon prime. FAIL! The head sticks out too far from the face of the pulley.

So i started pulling the rack again. It only took me about an hour this time to pull the alternator, then power steering and bracket and finally the rack. I am getting too much practice at that. I ordered another bolt, so now i'm playing the waiting game... again.

I moved on to installing the meth injection pump. Got it mounted, hoses routed and wiring pulled into the engine bay. That was a good place to stop for the night.

 

Brett can get you a rack spacer kit so in the future it will be easier to change a belt

 

do you have the thick washer for your innovators balancer?... their bolts are cheap and are 10.9 grade, I would get the one I know will fit... on the belt just turn it sideways and it should fit fine between the rack and balancer... I'm running 10 rib with no rack spacer and I have enough room to change belts so I can imagine with an 8 rib you will have even more space... personally I don't like the idea of moving the rack forward