LSx Z32 with stock TT transmission.

[hobbdebub]

I've had the engine in the car for a while but have been laid up with a broken ankle so I haven't had much time to mess with it.

The car is a 1992 2+2 that had a JDM TT 5sp swap in it when I first bought it. The TT motor had cracked ringlands on cyl 6 because of the egr was what I was told. I had every intention to just pull the engine, do a simple rebuild, and be on my way.




After pulling the engine out and getting it apart. I felt that it would be cheaper and easier for me to work on in the long run to just swap the motor out. (I understand its a great motor and makes crazy power but it is a pain to just do general maintenance on)

I found a cheap LQ4 in a local junkyard for a good deal so I decided to bite the bullet and start the swap.

Parts and part numbers to make this swap easier...

Universal LSx mounts --welded to the subframe
Trans-dapt part # 4501



Oil pan/pickup/windage tray
Moroso 20140 (oil pan)
Moroso 24050 (pickup)
GMPP 12558253 (windage tray)--has to be modified to fit pickup tube



Stock vette fuel filter/regulator combo
Napa # 3737



normal fittings for filter for hoses:
3/8" (pressure): DOR-800-121
5/16" (return): DOR-800-120

AN stuff if that's your thing:
3/8" -> -6an: 640850
5/16"-> -6an: 640860

I know that there are better intake manifolds out there but I used one from a 98 firebird. The stock truck intake would have required a HUGE hole in the hood.

DIY throttle cable bracket.



Corvette harmonic balancer for this reason...



I went with the big pulley waterpump with the forward facing outlet from a LS1 but one from an LS2 with the thin pulley would be quite nice as well.



I ended up using the alternator and bracket from a C5 corvette which places the alt up top.

You can keep heat if you braze some bends on your heater core but I took the easier route and pulled my core out (was leaking and I don't plan to use the car as a daily anyway) These show how close the engine sits close to the firewall.





I removed all of the powersteering lines and depowered the rack while I had everything out. I took everything apart and regreased it. The oil pan sits very very close the rack and required me to cut all the lines off the rack and weld the holes up (not needed for my setup anyway)

Flyin' Miata : Tech: 1.8 conversion



I did the swap on a pretty strict budget and found that stock headers from a LS2 Corvette fit almost perfectly. I had a local exhaust shop help build the pipes to connect to my factory exhaust. Here are a few pics of the driver side.





The fun part of the build was getting the transmission mated to the engine. I had an adapter plate made at a local shop out of aluminum. Its around 3/4" thick.

I can't find any of the pics I took of the plate itself, but I did find one I took of the wooden model I made just to get an idea of what I wanted.



I took a stock LS1 flywheel and had it turned down so a stock TT ring gear would fit. I'm sure you could use the one from an NA if you have it. The flywheel has a spacer and a custom set of M11 bolts (had no clue that you couldn't just buy longer ones) The pilot bushing fits nicely in the spacer.

You can use either an NA or TT clutch with the swap just make sure you have the dowel pins/holes drilled for whatever you are using.

Because of the way the engine sits and the size of the intake I decided to cut the core support and lean my radiator forward a few inches. Looking back it may have been more beneficial to use an aftermarket NA radiator because they aren't quite as wide.







I ended up cutting the latch and some of the ribbing from under the hood to accommodate the new radiator position so hood pins are a must.

You can see that the transmission just sits a little further back. We modified the stock transmission crossmember a little and it works perfect. You will also have to hammer the starter pocket with a BFH as well.



I used the shifter kit for mounting a Z32 transmission to a SR powered 240.

Xcessive VG30 / KA Shifter Relocation Kit - Enjuku Racing Parts, LLC





**BIG thanks to Future_Gohan for showing me this.**

You have to trim the tunnel just a hair because of the way the shifter is offset on the transmission. It fits pretty well and with everything back together and sealed up its hard to tell a difference.



I had a one piece driveshaft on the car already so it was a simple as having the shop take a few inches off and rebalance.

Wiring was super super easy. I stripped out most stuff from the harness and used the body plug for most of my stuff. I rewired the fuel pump (the stock Z used a grounding system with the relay and the fuel pump, the chevy ecu used a diff signal so that was an easy fix) The good news with the swap is that you will only need one signal converter for the tach. Here is one that should do the job:

Universal Speedometer Signal Interface

I mounted an OBD2 connector in my center console so I can hook EFIlive up and tune. Currently the car is running on an open loop speed density tune. I still need to get in and pull a ton of timing. I see something like 10 degrees @ WOT? It also needs to have fuel pulled from the higher rpms as well.

Here's a few pics from the first day out and getting the layer of dust off from the shop:






First start:




Yes that is a gatorade bottle as a catch can, I've since swapped to a LS6 valley pan to clean things up a bit.

If you have any questions about the swap I'll do my best to answer them.