Short update

I haven't gotten as far along as I had planned.  But, that's how projects go, don't they?  With the advent of cold weather (it gets cold in that unheated garage around 6:00 pm), the Christmas season, and the usual other distractions, work has slowed quite a bit.  I want to get the body on within the next couple weeks so my wife can use her side of the garage before the real bad weather hits. I got her a new snow blower for Christmas just in case.   Progress since the last post:

Engine accessories reinstalled - had to change out the stock LS2 water pump (wp) for a LS1 because the LS2 pulley is not deep enough to run the LS1 brackets/belt. However, the LS1 wp has bolts that hold the rear cover on and these bolts hit the timing cover, requiring the bolt heads to be ground down.  I had to remove the heater hose fittings and tap the holes for the 90 deg offsets (again) and tapped a hole (1/8" npt) in the wp boss for the steam line from the heads.  You can see the stainless line in the pix below.  That's a MAF with air cleaner from Street & Performance and the AC brackets are made by Josh at Custom Image Corvettes.

The steam vent at the top of the head and the vent line routed under the MAF.

The LS1 pulley sticks out further to accommodate the F-Body brackets/pulleys/belt.

The vent lined attached to the fitting I drilled into the wp boss at the thermostat housing boss.

 

The vent line passing under the MAF.



Driver side exhaust manifold adapter for LS2 made by Dan at VetteWorks.  I got the first set made.  They fit the stock flange and have a 2 " long section for fitting the exhaust pipe.

I will have to offset the exhaust pipe slightly to clear the clutch lever.

Passenger side.

Magnaflow exhaust kit in for mock up.  It's made for stock Big Block C3 vettes and almost lines up perfectly with the stock LS2 exhaust w/adapter.



The X-tube.

 I'm still debating if I want to go with factory C3 side pipes or stay with this MagnaFlow.  The pros for the side pipes area just that - they're side pipes and look cool.  The cons are that they are loud and the sound is at your ears rather than at the rear, there is no performance advantage, and I would have to buy them and fab the connectors.  I have the MagnaFlow kit, they make great systems, and the performance factor will be an improvement over the stock system of the donor car. But, I'll still have to fab the connection.

'Nother update

The frame with drive train is almost complete. The motor and tranny are in, the gas tank with fuel pump mod is done and the Russell fuel line is run, the VB&P Performance Plus suspension and Rack Attack steering unit are installed, the rear end has new pinion and side yoke seals/inspected and installed, stainless steel brake lines/powder coated calipers from VB&P, etc.

Just a few more items before I do a test start while the body is off the frame/drive train!!

Stock clutch Z-Bar w/custom adjustable rods. I'm going to use the mechanical McLeod throw out bearing. I painted the stock exhaust manifold and polished the covers and painted them with hi-temp clear. I sold the Melrose headers and am trying to decide to go with after market factory style side pipes or use the Magna-Flow polished stainless steel C3 system I have now.

The u-joints are for the steering column.

The fuel line and ss brake lines.

The fuel pump and lines. The loop is a design by Dan at Vetteworks to eliminate the fuel return line. That's an Edelbrock in-line filter.



The fuel pump installed using Vettework's brackets. They come plain and I painted them to prevent rust. No comments about the sloppy tack welds - I am an amateur, you know!

Had to cut a 3.875" (3 7/8") hole per the instructions. I could only find a 3 5/8" hole cutter. I used it, thinking I would grind the hole to fit the pump. Actually, it cut a perfect fit because there was just enough slop while it was cutting.  I decided not to compete for the Darwin Awards by cutting and welding the original tank, so I bought a new steel reproduction tank that had no fuel residue in it.



I moved the body out so I could degrease and pressure wash the underside. I need to wire brush and paint the fitting points for the body mounts and the metal under side where the frame side rails fit.

More to follow soon.