Originally Posted by beastmode

6.0 FTW nice Hoe btw... wheels look great, are those off a Impala?

Originally Posted by D&H_Customs

btw. I'm looking at the ATI Procharger kit. The truck is stock with 255hp. I have a K&N FIPK and flowmaster exhaust. The Procharger kit states 9psi boost with a 60-65% hp increase. Would that about around 350rwhp with a tune? The kit cost like 3600 bucks. Would it be worth it?

Originally Posted by RedHeartbeat

Starting this to answer as many questions as I can in one place. I am trying to compile the most complete list of what to do to complete a conversion as I possibly can. I am only a man so don't blame me if I forget something. I will work on this slowly as time allows. Let me know if I forget something. Drinking lots of beer just goes without being said.



A good read to start your education...

http://www.automotiverebuilder.com/ar/eb040538.htm

How to Build High-Performance Chevy LS1/LS6 V-8s by Will Handzel. Publisher Cartechbooks.com ISBN 1-884089-84-4

HPBooks CHEVY LS1/LS6 PERFORMANCE by Christopher P. Endres. Publisher Penguin.com ISBN 1-55788-407-2

GM manual 88959384 "LS1 ENGINE KIT INSTALLATION GUIDE"

Another document good to have if you can get it is the ASE 16013.00-2 for GEN III V8 Specialized Engine Repair. This is a document for remanufacturing a GEN III engine.

A good read if you want to do a stroker... http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...1_engine_build

Removal of OBS engine...

Be environmentally friendly and have your a/c evacuated and reclaimed if you have freon or 134a in your system. Most places will do it for free, they keep the gas and re-use it. That pays for the labor of reclaiming it.

Remove OBS engine and transmission as one piece...

Step 1 is to set the parking brake.

Step 2 is to have the battery disconnected. I prefer to remove it from the vehicle to prevent shorts. Don't set it on concrete for too long unless you just want to buy a new battery.

Remove exhaust system from factory exhaust manifolds.

Cut/sawzall the exhaust off behind the OBS catalytic convertor(s). Do not discard, old cats are valuable. Take them to the recycler to recover some funds.

Remove air intake system.

Drain all fluids(coolant, transmission fluid and oil). Leave old oil filter in place.

Remove all electrical connections from old engine. Go ahead and label them if you know where they came from. You will be re-using the coolant temp, oil pressure, starter, alternator and a/c wiring.

Remove upper and lower radiator hoses. Feel free to cut them off because you won't be re-using them.

Remove the top half of the radiator shroud.

Remove the radiator fan by unbolting it from the water pump.

Remove the lower radiator shroud.

Remove transmission cooler lines. It's going to get messy here. Be prepared.

Remove engine cooler lines if equipped. Again, messy.

Remove the radiator.

Remove the heater core hoses by cutting them off at the firewall, you'll replace them with new hose the correct length when the new engine goes in.

Disconnect the throttle linkage and remove the cable from the bracket. If you have throttle body injection you will have to totally remove the cable from the firewall and accelerator pedal. This will be replaced later with an S10, NBS or Fbody throttle cable. This list will be updated later as others let me know what cables they used.

Remove the cruise control cable from the throttle linkage. A longer one will be required if you had TBI.

Remove the brake booster vacuum hose from the intake manifold if you have one.

Remove power steering hoses and drain fluid (save the return line,it's the one with a light weight hose clamp on it, you may use it again in your conversion)

Remove a/c low pressure hose from accumulator canister on firewall and disconnect high pressure line at condensor behind front grill. Disconnect the hose assembly from the compressor and save for later. Whomever builds your a/c lines may need the connections.

Remove starter and power leads(main power battery lead and the purple solenoid signal lead). You should be able to reach them from the top side under the passenger side exhaust manifold, if not remove the manifold. If you don't like that option you can crawl up under the truck and unbolt the starter and then disconnect the two wires.

Remove alternator lead if you haven't done that already.

Remove and save oil pressure and water temperature sending unit.

If you have a returnless fuel rail, cut the fuel line just behind the old fuel filter and cut the return line at just about the same location. Unbolt any bracket and hanger for the fuel lines going towards the front of the truck.

If you have a return type fuel rail, two connections, do not cut the fuel lines, disconnect them at the throttle body and disconnect any mounts than hold the lines to the engine and transmission.

Remove speedometer cable if equipped. Disconnect speedometer sensor otherwise.

Remove all transmission wiring such as the main connector on passenger side above the oil pan on 4L60E vehicles.

Remove gear shift selector wiring on passenger side if you have it.

The transmission cooler lines will come out with the engine and transmission.

Unbolt the transmission mount from the crossmember and unbolt the crossmember from the frame.

Disconnect the shift cable or selector rod from the transmission.

If you have a manual transmission you'll have to remove the shift handle, shift boot cover, shifter filler panel and finally unbolt the top loader shifter from the transmission. Next you need to remove the hydraulic line from clutch slave cylinder or remove the slave cylinder from the trans.

Optionally, you can now remove the drive shaft.

Remove the engine mount bolts. There is one on each mount using 5/8 bolt heads and 11/16 nuts.



The assembly should be ready to come out about now. Time to remove the hood because you are going to need the room.

Hopefully you have an engine hoist and chain available about now. A load leveler comes in handy too when removing both parts at once. A couple buddies would be helpful, too. Go easy on the beer drinking at this time because it's easy to get hurt.



You'll need to put a jack under the tail of the transmission to get the mount stud out of the crossmember hole. Use the factory engine lift brackets if you have them, otherwise bolt your chains to the cylinder head at the passenger side rear and the other end can go on the driver side some place that has a 3/8" or larger bolt hole. The engine will be heavy so use good quality bolts with a minimum of 10.8 metric reading or 6 points on the head SAE.



If you have already removed the driveshaft, I like to take a heavy freezer bag and slip it on the transmission tailhousing and then electrical tape it on really tightly to prevent making a big mess. An old slip yoke or plastic plug works good but I don't have either.



Time to hoist the engine out. If you don't have a leveler, one of the buddies will have to maintain weight on the transmission to angle the engine assembly upwards to clear the radiator core support.



Good luck, have fun. All the easy stuff is over, now it's time to use your brains and max out your credit cards.

Originally Posted by RedHeartbeat

A good read... http://www.hotrodlane.cc/PDFFILES/Lisa%20Tahoe.pdf
Items needed...
Everyone that doesn't have a late model Vortec V8 engine (pre 1996)...

Walbro 255lph in-tank fuel pump or AC Delco EP-381. The Walbro I buy is for the Buick Grand Nationals.

Replace fuel pump with high pressure pump...

I find it much easier if you remove all the hoses, electrical connections and have the fuel pump assembly in hand away from the vehicle.

Removing the bed is the easiest way IMO.

Remove the retainer ring holding the pump and fuel level sensor by rotating it counter-clockwise. Disconnect the old pump by first removing the in-tank fuel filter sock, disconnect the electrical connection from the pump and pull the pump sideways to dislodge it from the hose. Remove and discard factory rubber hose connector that was connected between the pump and the feed tube..

Install the new pump...

If your pump came with new wiring connectors that are different from your factory wiring or your old wires are brittle or cracked, it's time to solder in the new connector or use red crimp connectors to join old with new. Be sure to cut one wire at least 1/2" longer than the other so that the connections won't have an opportunity to short to one-another.

DO NOT reuse the rubber hose that came with your factory OBS pump, it won't handle the pressure and WILL eventually blow out or leak and you WILL be doing it again. Use the hose that came with the Walbro kit or fuel injection quality hose or braided stainless hose that is rated for at least 60 pounds of fuel pressure. I use the hose from the kit and I buy the hose clamps that have smooth bands with a bolt through it. I prefer not to use the worm type clamp because it damages the outside of the hose. After you install the pump in the pump assembly, install the new in-tank sock type filter. DO NOT attempt to re-use the old one you removed from your old pump. Buy a new one if you didn't get one with your pump.

Re-install pump assembly into tank. If you had to remove a bunch of black butyl sealer around the fuel pump retainer ring, be sure you get some from your auto part store or GM to seal the tank back or else you WILL leak fuel when filling or when you have close to a full tank of fuel. Lock the fuel pump assembly back into the tank by turning the retainer ring clockwise until it stops. While you are at this point check all the electrical connections and grounds. Plug your pump electrical connector back in and reconnect all hoses you removed.

This section is if you will be using a single inlet fuel rail. A return style rail will use the old style filter and return line.

Corvette fuel filter commonly used in OBS conversions if you are doing a returnless type fuel rail install....

http://www.wixfilters.com/filterlook...;TempYear=2000

http://www.wixconnect.com/images/filters/2510_1.gif

Wix 33737 www.planetautoparts.com $37.93

GM 10299146

Purolator F55493

GF1822

Hastings GF336

PGF336

GKI GF1822

Connectors required to hook to the filter...

Dorman PNs

3/8" female connector DOR-800-121 www.midwayautosupply.com $7.36 (2 required)

5/16" female connector DOR-800-120 www.midwayautosupply.com $7.36 (1 required)

3/8" x 12" double ended male connector DOR-800-155 www.midwayautosupply.com $9.57 (1 required)

Remove the factory fuel filter by cutting the tube with a tube cutter, not a saw, immediately behind the OBS fuel filter.

Cut the return line in about the same location and bend it slightly downward to make a new slip-on connection. You can now remove all the fuel lines forward of this point going to the OBS engine. Do not remove the smallest tube(evap/charcoal canister).

Install the Corvette fuel filter...

You'll need fuel injection quality fuel hose to connect the Dorman quick connects to the old steel fuel lines. I cut both the pressure and return lines about 2" before the factory filter location. Use the rubber fuel injection hose to connect to the new filter. Use 2 hose clamps on each end of the new connections. It's best if you use the hose clamps that have a smooth stainless steel liner to protect the hose. You'll need about 6 feet of hose to connect from the filter to the fuel rail if you have an extended cab. The outlet side of the filter will require the male fitting be cut to about 4"-6" long from one end and then push it into the fuel hose and double-clamp it.

Originally Posted by RedHeartbeat

V6 to V8 engine mount conversion...

I've heard of guys actually turning their adapter plates around backwards (triangular section of mount pointing towards transmission) to mount the GENIII engine into a V6 frame. I prefer to convert the frame to V8 mounts.

Parts needed...

Buy these part to fit your year model truck.

V8 frame mounted rubber engine mounts that bolt to the crossmember(pre-1999)

V8 engine mount cups that bolt to the side of the engine block (pre-1999) 15719194 (thanks Brian1987)

If you were unfortunate enough to have the V6 engine before, now you get to have some fun!

To make your frame V8 style you have to remove the V6 engine mounts/pedestals. You should remove the lower control arms from the spindle and unbolt/remove them from the frame along with the coil springs to reach the bolts inside the crossmember.

Once you have unbolted the factory V6 mounts from the frame, it's time to install the new V8 engine isolator mounts. Bolt the new rubber isolated engine mounts to the holes in the crossmember. You'll have two holes at the bottom and one at the top of the mount. Use the bolts from the V6 mounts. Once you have the conversion to V8 mounts done you can replace the coil springs and lower control arms.

It's a great time to replace the stock coils with lowering coils or to cut a full round off of them to lower the front about 2.5".

Originally Posted by RedHeartbeat

Time to prepare the engine for installation...

If you don't have a wiring harness, time to order one now. There are many suppliers of engine wiring harnesses. From looking around all over the internet I have to agree that the Nelson Performance - Performance without Sacrificing Drivabilityharness is the best value around. When you order your harness be sure to know where you want to locate your PCM. The factory PCM is located behind the glove box. A good place to locate the PCM is on the passenger fender well. Take a measurement from the center of the firewall and then follow the routing you want to run the wires all the way to the PCM location. Give John and Allen that measurement so that they can make the wires long enough for your needs. Let them know if you have removed any smog devices and they can delete them from your new harness. They will need to know if you have a cable or electronic throttle body.

If you have a stock factory wiring harness that you want to try to convert, you will have to work out the wiring. Pink wires are typically switched 12V supply, red wires are 12v constant, dark blue and dark green control the electric fans. The fan leads provide a ground for relays. Below is a post I did years ago on LS1Tech.com and someone quoted my post in their conversion topic. There is a lot of good information there.

LS1Tech conversions

Bolt your engine adapter mounts to the block with the triangular portion towards the front of the engine using the supplied hardware. Do not put a bolt in the bottom forward hole, that hole will be used to mount the engine mount receiver cup. You may need some of the stock engine mount bolts to complete the installation. Some adapter plates use metric bolts and others use SAE bolts so be sure you have the correct thread pitch, don't cross-thread them by accident. If they get hard to turn try a different style bolt. Metric bolts have a number such as 10.8 on the top and SAE will have lines, 3 or 6 typically. Time to bolt on the engine mount/receiver "cups". The cups should have three holes to bolt them to the adapter plates. The bottom one will use a metric bolt, the two top ones you will have to check to make sure if they are metric or SAE. One thing I do to help the cups sit best on the adapters is to either to flatten or remove the raised section that mates to the adapter plates. If I don't have a torch to heat the detent area I take a hole saw close to the same size and drill it out and then grind off the rest of the raised section. If you don't do this the distance between the engine mount cup holes will be much greater than the distance between the frame mounts. You can verify this by measuring the distance between the mount holes on the frame and then using two plumb bobs or weighted strings hanging down from the mount holes on the engine. Most times I still find myself having the coax the mounts a bit during the install. Some people will slot the holes on the crossmember to allow a little adjustability of the mounts. You'll need to slot the holes about 1/2" on all six holes to do this. You'll also want to take off or leave off(if you converted from a V6) the lower control arms until the engine is installed so you can tighten the rubber isolator mount bolts after the engine is installed. Be sure to have all six nuts and bolt installed loosely before dropping the engine in if you're going to attempt this method.

Remove any exhaust parts beyond the manifolds, any pipes or convertors that may have come with your take-out assembly.

If you are going to reuse the transmission cooler lines from the LS1, leave them on because they are tough to install later, just watch that you don't crush them on the mounts when installing the engine.

Remove all radiator and heater hoses remnants from the original vehicle. It's much easier to do it now.