LS3 Build Thread - S13 Hatch - Hate the V8!

[JDM SPUG]

very nice. I was thinking about doing an LS3. but opted for a 2JZ instead

[Pstl_pete]

Originally Posted by boost infested

so the tranny hangs lower than the front cross member?

Yes, if you look at the shot of the engine and trans you can see my aftermarket bellhousing and the way its shaped means it produces beneath the crossmember. I figure that problem doesnt happen if you are using a stock T56 bellhousing.

[K_style]

I have been missing this !!!! seems the end is a few moments away..

[onequartlow]

wow....all I can say. Mad props on the build.

[chwks13]

Sick build man! Love it

[Pstl_pete]

Well the car just got back from a cut and buff at the paint shop. Shit is so clean and reflective that I dont think I want to drive it ever. I should seal this car up right now and crack it open in 20 years....mmm nope.

Ill get some better photos tomorrow. Here's one from the phone.


Oh and I need some trim parts!! Painter lost some of my shit!
http://zilvia.net/f/wanted-buy/40293...look-here.html

[GSXRJJordan]

Wow, I'm glad I took all my parts home when I took my trim/interior apart at Donlyson lol.

Can't wait to see this paint! Car is sexy as f*ck with those wheels and that motor!












... just needs a cam

[CamryOnBronze]

Stoked to see more- looking good!

It might be worth shooting Toby a PM- I think he has a spare S13 shell he is trying to get rid of. Maybe he would be willing to part with some of those items- not positive, though.

[Matthew Murphy]

a cam sounds fun haha. But bad ass job on the swap, can we see paint now?

[tricky_ab]

I had seen this build in the latest issue of Modified...It's going to be a treat to people who are not a part of Zilvia...

[cole shoes]

so awesome.

[Pstl_pete]

I dont have any pictures to share right now since Im dog tired from working all day but here's a little video of what's to come.

LS3 running - YouTube

[CamryOnBronze]

Sweet!!! Congrats man- sounds gnarly!

[towlie]

Sounds raw!

[s13_rb25]

good stuff! i have z32 rear 5 lug hubs if your still running those ichibas

[GSXRJJordan]

Originally Posted by Pstl_pete

I dont have any pictures to share right now since Im dog tired from working all day but here's a little video of what's to come.

LS3 running - YouTube

I'd like to thank my Mom, my family, and of course the Academy, for the gracious awards you've all placed on me for my performance behind the wheel in that fine film.

Glad we got everything sorted today Pete! Nothing about this car is individually super crazy, I mean LSx 240's or clean black hatches aren't 1 in 1,000,000... but the overall impression of the car is more than the sum of it's parts. This car is fucking sweet, for the type of person that chooses an gunmetal Aston Martin over a yellow Lambo. Understated, but extremely well-executed, and owned/built by a true automotive enthusiast.

I had a great time working on it.




Oh, and guys, look forward to my FD being featured in an upcoming issue of Modified lol. Feel free to use my copy above in the magazine.

[future]

Nice. Hopefully I can join the ls3 s13 list sometime soon too

[Om1kron]

Originally Posted by Matthew Murphy

a cam sounds fun haha. But bad ass job on the swap, can we see paint now?

Not when you need to pull the motor again to install it. Wonder how I missed this thread! Tell Nate I said hi =)

[GSXRJJordan]

I took this vid today, first drive! Sounded great for no o2's or exhaust.

[NewS13Guy]

Very nice!!!! (said in my borat voice)

[Pstl_pete]

About 4 days ago the car came back from the painter looking really good. Almost too good. I dont even want to touch it since the shine it as perfect as it will get.


The engine bay was coming together really well. Not much was left to do. Just some wiring and small odds and ends.


I got hooked up large with some Amsoil products, including the break in oil which Ive never used before but it seems like a great product. I put ATD fluid in the trans after reading some good reviews on it.


I also got a shitload of vibrant piping for fabricating my exhaust system.


I was going to use the Vibrant cats but found out that I needed to use the GM supplied cats to pass smog so I began cutting them up to make them fit.


There's not a lot of space for the cats but with lots of test fitting I found a suitable spot for the drivers side and began to build my pipe from the OEM manifolds.


This is what I ended up with.


I then proceeded to do the same on the other side and managed to fit the cats almost identical to the drivers side.


Here you can see the fitment around the steering rack is actually quite good. It's 2.25-inch piping FYI.




Jeff showed up saturday to finish up the wiring which included all the dash related items.


Then it was to the underside to get the alternator wire powered up.


Fancy loom and some sweet placement on the alt to starter wire. I dig it!


I dont really have photos of us starting the car, as we were both concerned about checking for leaks, temps, etc. I will say that we ran into an electrical issue with the factory relay box not having a pin properly mounted which resulted in a couple hours of headache chasing down the problem. Thankfully Jeff was on top of his game and figured it out.

After that the car fired right up and Jeff and I shook hands, he left after a job well done and I loaded the car up on the hoist again.

Today, I spent the majority of the day welding up the exhaust. I started off by attaching some Vbands onto the cats piping.


The GM cats are mild steel so I mig welded everything up to the Vbands, then I switched over to TIG for the rest of the exhaust. Ill end up painting the front assembly so it never rusts. The rest of the system is all SS vibrant piping.

Here's the making of my merge collector. The cat's entry was 2.25-inches so the exhaust from the header is that size, on cat exit it goes to 2.5-inches which I am running and merging to a 3-inch collector.


And here you see the piping mocked up. I feel kinda jipped since the piping looks so simple in these photos but it literally took me HOURS to make this section. I knew building an exhaust would be time consuming but not like this. Especially tig welding it.


Another V-band connector on the 3-inch side.


And here is how it sits. I probably have an easy 10 hours into this system and considering the great access to tools I dont know how some people build exhausts without a hoist.


You guys should have seen the mess after 2 hard days of work but I know my shop foreman would flip if he saw it so I tied up and called it a night.

Hoping I can get the rest of the exhaust built and finished tomorrow night.

[GSXRJJordan]

Saw your post on Facebook but damn, your forum posts are awesome. I got some pics like that last one when I was there, where you just look at it and go, "damn, I REALLY wish I had a work area like that" lol.

People buying the magazine should get an insert card with a link to this thread.

[Om1kron]

You are brave as shit getting the paint finished before the mechanical stuff. especially black, and welding around it.

Would be a good idea to put some heat wrap around those oil lines by the cats on the driver side. The hose on the inside will break from the heat over time. I've gone though about 4 earls hoses now because I'm just too lazy to put my sleeving on. LOL

[junn]

Glad to see another ls powered s13 out in the streets of socal
Great job

[stockbee]

Originally Posted by GSXRJJordan

I took this vid today, first drive! Sounded great for no o2's or exhaust.

Hey I've been in that building before! Love that place!

[kyles1988]

awesome work as always pete.

[murda-c]

Doesn't increasing the distance from head to cats cause problems with smog?

[GSXRJJordan]

Originally Posted by Om1kron

You are brave as shit getting the paint finished before the mechanical stuff. especially black, and welding around it.

Would be a good idea to put some heat wrap around those oil lines by the cats on the driver side. The hose on the inside will break from the heat over time. I've gone though about 4 earls hoses now because I'm just too lazy to put my sleeving on. LOL

Actually, he used some of the silver fiberglass-backed heat wrap around the oil lines right at the 90's. I was thinking the same thing.

Originally Posted by stockbee

Hey I've been in that building before! Love that place!

Hell yeah!

Originally Posted by murda-c

Doesn't increasing the distance from head to cats cause problems with smog?

Yes, in the sense that all emissions equipment (including cats) must be in the same place as it was in the original configuration... but we don't know what that's going to mean for the E-rod setup, since it has a CARB EO. Because he's using C6 Corvette manifolds instead of the E-rod manifolds, his cats are actually right where they would be with the E-rod's (E-rods exited right into the steering shaft). So we'll see.

[Pstl_pete]

Originally Posted by Om1kron

You are brave as shit getting the paint finished before the mechanical stuff. especially black, and welding around it.

Would be a good idea to put some heat wrap around those oil lines by the cats on the driver side. The hose on the inside will break from the heat over time. I've gone though about 4 earls hoses now because I'm just too lazy to put my sleeving on. LOL

Everything Im working on is under the car now so there isnt much that can happen to the paint.

And yes, I did heat wrap the lines, as well as many other items under the car, everything is so DAMN tight under there that I wonder how it will hold up to all the heat.

[Pstl_pete]

Originally Posted by murda-c

Doesn't increasing the distance from head to cats cause problems with smog?

The cats are actually closer than they would be with the original e-Rod rear exit manifolds so I know Im in good shape with that.