Nascar Truck project

[jayjohnson600]

Starting a thread where I can put in progress notes on the Nascar Truck Project. I picked
up the rolling chassis through Craigslist, locally.

My goal is to run this truck 200+ mph, at Texas Mile, Bonneville, or any place similar.












First thing I did was to prep a motor to use. I had a 98 LS1 in storage, so I pulled the
heads, found a crusty cam and cleaned it up, then I found some home ported heads(no
valves/springs). I had to replace the valves and seals, so lapped in the valves and put
on some LS6 springs. I replaced the oil pump, and installed the cam, then the heads.
230/232/.560/.560 115LS camshaft.

I found some NASCAR SBC motor mounts and some LS1 relocation plates on Ebay, then I
used a Plastic LS1 long block to mock up the location and put together the motor mount.
I got it into a reasonable position, then I bolted the T-56 and found that tranny was not
in position for the tabs on the truck. The motor needed to be moved a little to use the
tabs for the tranny mount, and even then I could see that the shifter would have to be
relocated also. I wanted the motor and the tranny to use the mounting tabs that were
already in the chassis. I went to the other side of the tranny tabs but I think it will
hold well. Then I made a relocation plate for the shifter stick, and got the stick moved
to the driver side 2 inches and forward 1 inch. It puts the stick in the center of the
hole. I made a shifter boot bracket, and found an SFI boot on Ebay.

All of this was well and good, but I could see that the tranny was too low and I would
have to raise it up at some point when I needed to drop the truck down to the ground.
The header install showed this even more.

Fab'd the motor mounts by stacking NASCAR SBC mounts to an relocation plate for LS1,
then stacked some shimming plate under the mounts to rais the motor a little bit.
The next time I lift the motor, I'll re-make the motor mounts and raise it up another
1/2 inch.

The transmission is too low. It's about 3 inches under the bottom of the body plane.
I can raise it up, but the floor pan needs to be cut open. I wanted to avoid doing this,
but the body waas not made for a T-56.

Right now I have the body up at max by the jack bolts, but when the truck is ready,
it can be dropped to the ground, so the tranny needs to be raised up.

I had some Kooks LS1 f-body headers from a previous build, I put those on.
The headers are about 4 inches under the body. When I move the tranny up about
3 inches the headers will move up also, but still too low. I'm looking to pick up a set of
headers that are less-tall. Like the Nascar headers. Kooks makes a set for the K&N truck
series, but it would be expensive. I see some used Yates D3 NASCAR headers on ebay.
I have been trying to get the center-to-center measurments for the exhaust ports. If it
works out, I could get a set of the Yates headers and but off hte mounting flange, and
put on an LS1 header flange.
* Anyone know the center-to-center measurment for the Yates D3 heads?

I have a painless wiring harness and pcm, I don't think I need much more than some
basic changes to the tune. Unlock the PCM, raise the rev limiter, turn off speed limiter,
28 tall tires, 35lb injectors.

I found an aluminum seat in my parts storage and I started to fab the seat brackets.

[jayjohnson600]

Saturday
Grape came over to look at the project over the weekend. The truck alignment will need to
be looked at when it's ready to move on it's own power.
Possibly an a-arm change and match up the tires left and right. I didn't realize the tires
are different on the left side versus the right side. The truck will need to be scaled also.

Grape mentioned that the heads/cam LS1 might run 200mph. I was thinking it would take
more but it's going to be tested with the current motor anyway.
I can make some small ajustments to produce more power with the same motor. Like bigger
cam, more port work on the carb-style intake, better flowing elbow, 102mm throttle
body. Then the truck can be modded to help out, pan out the under carriage, aerodynamic
adjustments, etc.

He mentioned was that the crank axis can be horizontal, so the tranny will be raised more
than I raise the motor.

Sunday
I picked up a 9inch center, open diff, 2.75 gears. That puts 200mph at 5400rpm in 5th gear.
I targeted a 3.00 ratio but for $50 I couldn't pass up this center section.
* Will a T-56 in 5th gear stay together pushing 200mph?

[Baron Von Crowder]

Post pics, sounds like a cool project.

[Clifton]

I would think more than 5400 RPM at 200mph. Leaving a lot of power on the table.

[Cooter]

a turbo will solve those pesky header issues

[jayjohnson600]

I didn't find any LS2 injectors nor fuel rail, that's another hundred bucks or more if I stay with the LS2 intake that I had on the motor
This build is an exercise in using the parts that I've been accumulating and storing for years, and trying to keep new expenditures down.

So, I decided to run this carb-style intake. Again, it was just sitting on a shelf in my garage, along with the elbow and MAF.


Only problem with ported heads, is that you have to port the intake, and keep good flow in all the pieces.
So I opened up the ports on the bottom of the intake, then gasket matched the top of the intake and then the elbow.
The throttle body bolt holes had to be opened up to get the 92mm TB to line up correctly with the elbow. Otherwise it's skewed towards the bottom making a ledge and flow restriction.

I got the TB from ebay, and it's a knock off of the name-brand TB's. There's issues with it so it cannot be bolted on and run.
The travel stop has to be opened up quite a bit for the blade to be wide open at WOT.
The IAC bore had to be opened quite a bit to fit the stock IAC valve.
The TPS has to be clocked or it will read 15% open when the TB is completely closed, and a WOT pedal would probably break the sensor trying to travel past it's range
It's a knock-off sure, but it's really far from being bolt-on and go.

I got it on Ebay for about $110, which is much better than $350+ for name brand bolt-on-and-go TB. It took about an hour to mod it to work but well worth the price difference. The 102mm TB's are selling for about $120.
If I see a need later for intake mods, I might have to snap that up and get a better flowing elbow and see if that picks up some power.

The tranny and headers are below the body line, but the shifter base is nearly contacting the tunnel.
Here's a pic horizontal to the body line:


I bought another tranny cross member from ebay today($25), it is flat across so that will get me set to raise the tranny 3 inches. This will also bring up the headers but they will still be 2 inches under the body line. I'll need to get a low-profile t-56 relocation shifter, and they are on ebay for $270-$290. It's either that or cut the tranny tunnel, and I was hoping to NOT cut into this chassis.

The 351w swap headers looked like they would be less droopy, but they are still 2-3 inches below the f-body oil pan. I need headers that don't go below the f-body oil pan. Then I can slam the truck in high-mph form.

I found some chassis headers made by Schoenfeld that are 15inches tall, versus the 19inch height of the LS1 f-body headers. I think I'll try those, since I haven't been able to find the LSx headers from the K&N series.
Those would be the super long design.

Craigslist had an ad for an 99 LS1 long block for $700. Had a busted starter boss. I went to go see it. I had seen this kind of issue before, and it was just the same. The starter's outer bolt kicks out the outer part of the ear. The last motor I had like this was fixed by the old man at Ferry cylinder heads in Seagoville. He's passed away now and the shop has moved to Mesquite. I'll shop around and see if I can get it tig'd up closer to home.
Here's a pic.

A good deal was made for $600, and it has all the sensors. Hand crank compression tests shows all cyls were even.

It was loaded it up to carry it home. Now I have a spare 5.7 aluminum, or maybe it'll go in the Miata while it waits for a more focused use
There is a 4L60e in the garage, wish I found a t-56 in there. Definitely don't want to buy another T-56/clutch setup/hydraulic setup. The Miata is a 1990, so 2014 makes it a "24 and before" car.

The seller also had a Lingenfelter Corvette air filter piece, it's a 4inch ID which is what I will be running on the NASCAR truck. So, I picked that up too.
$20 got it. I'll bet Lingenfelter charges hundreds for it, new. I'll have a pic iof it later when there's more action around the motor compartment.

I thought more about the dash. Since I'll be running a painless LS1 harness, it has the ODB2 connector. So, I'm thinking that I could run an ODB2 dash app on a tablet mounted to the dash. Plus add some gauges for the mechanical sensors like oil pressure and temps. I'll have to figure out if I can recalibrate the pcm to expand the speedo to a max just over 200mph.

The recently aquired 9inch center hasn't been cleaned up yet. I'll need a v-belt pulley on the yoke to run the fluid pump. I think the open diff that is in it should be fine on asphalt. The 2.75 gear ratio might present some issue, but for the low-low price I paid, I can test it and see how it performs then make changes as needed. When I mount the center section and get the tranny raised, then I'll be able to get a drive shaft made or maybe order one if I can find the right length. MuscleMotorSports has many to choose from.

Going turbo is still not out of the question, but I would like to get the current configuration up and running and testing. Then see what needs to be done from that point. There is a pair of twin turbo headers in my garage. They're made for a f-body where the turbos are splayed outward behind the headlights.

I got another set of motor mount plates in the mail late last week, and I picked up some steel tubing and plate, so I can make new motor mounts that will be a little higher. I'll see if I can get the turbo headers to clear the chassis bars. If not, maybe the turbo headers will have to be cut and re-clock the last couple of inches away from the chassis down bars. I'll have to take pics of the location in test-fit.

This past week has mostly been ordering and getting parts in hand and not much actual progress. Did some spring cleaning around the house to get ahead of the summer.

[KBScobravert]

I am dissapointed at the lack of pictures but happy at the project's potential. Sounds like you have a nice toy to play with. Nothing more fun then working on them and making shit work vs picking up part A to bolt to part B and moving on to the next. Seems like nothing on my car is as was shipped from the manufacture.......and I like it that way. Of course, I was building a street car not a Texas Mile......but I would like to take it just to see.

[naynay]

use a motor plate

[KBScobravert]

Oh that is sexy. I want to put working headlights/tailights and get it tagged and inspected.

Keep up with the pictures.

[black2002ls]

Any updates?

[jayjohnson600]

I cut open the tranny tunnel for clearance of the T-56 shifter. The tranny was raised about 3 inches.

I raised the motor about 3/4inch and that's as much as it will raise unless I completely re-make the motor mounts.

The motor and tranny are almost completely level(no layback).
No new intereference in this location with the headers, alt, etc. The drive train is in it's final location, until a new issue presents itself.

I put together a new 4inch maf, Spectre 4inch test maf kit, and an LS7 sensor both from Autozone. It will need to be calibrated when the tuning starts, but there are a couple of calibrations available on the web. I'll start with those numbers and back it up with testing.

I picked up some 4inch silicone couplers and aluminum tube. Some test fits worked when I ran the intake tubing over the radiator and down. Similar to the Corvette arrangement.
Hood will close without intereference. So, I can run a 4.inch aluminum intake straight forward to cold air. I ordered one more piece of tubing from ebay, and a pair of couplers. Then the intake will be in it's final configuration.

The Edelbrock low-profile elbow was just too low, and it put the throtle body at a bad angle, making the tubing need another bend to go over the radiator. So, I found a better elbow on Craigslist locally. Still needed some height, so I added a 1inch carb spacer. Might benefit from another inch raised. We'll see when the last aluminum tube comes in.
By the way, replacing these intake parts required me to port match them.
Starting from the Heads, to intake, to elbow. The ebay 92mm throttble body required an hour worth of drilling, grinding, porting, and reconfiguring.

I've changed my mind on the painless harness. Since this project will not be running a 4L60e, I'm going to put on an Accel Gen7 harness that I had from spare parts for my Turbo Camaro. I think I'm the only person who used the Gen7 in the world. Everyone else has gone to BigStuff3 etc.

I checked the underbody clearance and the headers hang under the body about the same as the rear trailing arm mounts, so it's just as tucked up as needed.

Pics of this stuff coming by the end of this weekend.

Next up is to prep the 9inch center, and install it. I need to get a pulley for the pump.
Then I can measure for the drive shaft. Will likely come from used nascar parts, then cut down as needed.

And I need to get the seat mounted. I've got the brackets started, now need to get the seat located and mounted to the bracket.

[Rreemo]

If you are still looking for someone to fix that block, give this guy a call - http://mcgillprop.com/

A friend of mine turned me on to the old guy and he can weld damned near anything!! They'll do more than just props...he has fixed manifolds, blocks, intakes, and even did some work on my trailer at one point. Always been very happy with his work too.

[MattB]

Sounds like you already have the low-hanging transmission issue fixed, but I know there is a way to clock a t56 sideways. Pratt & Miller did it on their original Ctsv racecars they campaigned in the mid-late 00's. Not sure how they mounted the shifter and associated linkage, but they had the exact same problem and needed to keep a factory floor pan.

[jayjohnson600]

I just spent Friday and Saturday in DFI class in Ft Lauderdale.

Bill Mitchell took the class too, sitting just behind me. I was able to ask him a little about his LS engine development, this was before selling the program to World.

The in-class sessions were good. The dyno sessions were uninspired
We Tuned a 462ci NA motor that only made 400rwhp.
I didn't have the heart to tell them it would still get beat by a heads/cam 5.7 LS setup.

I knew something like his was going to happen after the instructor told me i couldn't bring my 402ci LS turbo car as the tuning subject. It was a dud NA motor of the local Accel DFI rep.

Half of the class had turbo setups and they used a dud NA big block to tune on.
They could have picked up a lot of kudos by tuning something more up to date and utilizing more of the Gen7 capabilities.

Anyway, at least I found out that I'm not the only person in the world running the Gen7, and I was able to pick up a lot of good tips on the DFI tuning.

[jayjohnson600]

Some pics of recent work and some changes.

tranny mount and tunnel opening:


Header ground clearance:


Clearance compared to trailing arms:


Intake:


Intake: