LS4 / F40 swap - fieroguru (Page 58/216)
fieroguru DEC 15, 05:46 PM
Thanks guys!

I forgot to take a pic of the radiator with it installed:


Used some truck bed liner to coat the outside of my cold air intake. This helps to insulate it, as well as masking any weld imperfections:



Also added the last two hose barbs for the coolant system. The small one is post-thermostat and is for the hose from the steam ports on the heads (it normally dumps to the top of the radiator, but post thermostat is pretty much the same. The larger hose barb is pre-thermostat and is for the supply hose to the heater core. The hose for this will run underneath the main hose coming off the thermostat housing:


I also sent the ECM and TCM off to get the stock 2007 LS4/4T65E-HD calibration loaded on them with the same VIN #. This will let them talk to each other and then I can eventually start the long process of tuning this this for all the changes.

It is almost time to refocus on preping the engine bay for paint and the smooth firewall panel.

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 12-15-2012).]

fieroguru DEC 23, 06:41 PM
Been slacking.... but finally spent some time in the garage.

I soldered on the battery cable end at the starter, routed the power cable around the starter and then coiled up the excess. I will run the cables on the final install.




Then I removed the water pump and thermostat housing and painted them aluminum so they would have a more uniform look:




Then I started playing with the smooth firewall panel. I tacked some 3/8" nuts to the backside to space it from the stock firewall, then drilled the 1/4" mounting holes for the bolts and cut the hole for the harness connector:







Now I get to clean the engine bay and sand/prep it for paint!
Jims88 DEC 23, 10:16 PM
Nice fit on the fire-wall fab.

I am getting ready to start painting my alum. water pump assembly too, yours looks good!
Since I'm limited to spray bombs, would you happen to have a recommendation?
Fiero_gtp DEC 23, 10:31 PM
i love how if you Really did not know what you were looking at you would just think he painted some vavle covers and made it look pretty. amazing job!
fieroguru DEC 24, 11:59 AM

quote
Originally posted by Jims88:

Nice fit on the fire-wall fab.

I am getting ready to start painting my alum. water pump assembly too, yours looks good!
Since I'm limited to spray bombs, would you happen to have a recommendation?



Thanks! I made a couple of templates to get everything nice and tight to the edges. The very bottom edges that go against the frame rails need more clearance as the rails pinch in as they move away from the fire wall. Also, with the top sides being quite close, you have to flex the panel slightly to make it clear the flange on the top frame rails.

For most of my rattle can painting, I use Rustoleum professional grade paint. Lowes sells is in the silver cans.
fieroguru DEC 24, 12:13 PM

quote
Originally posted by Fiero_gtp:

i love how if you Really did not know what you were looking at you would just think he painted some vavle covers and made it look pretty. amazing job!



Thanks! I normally take a subtle approach to showcasing my fabrication skills.
fieroguru DEC 24, 12:17 PM
One of the last loose end to finish up on the engine was relocating the oil level sight tube for the catch can. So I marked the holes, drilled/tapped them and now have the sight level in a visible spot:


The original holes were filled with threaded caps, then the ends ground down flush (they are up against the mounting bracket:
fieroguru DEC 26, 05:38 PM
The other radiator hoses came in today. These are the same as the previous one I cut up for the pipe to water pump inlet, so I figured might as well keep using the same part # to make the rest of the hoses.


Just by cutting the hose in the proper place, I was able to use one hose for both the thermostat to pipe and lower coolant tube to pipe hoses on the passenger side:


Then doing the same on the driver side pipe to lower coolant tube:


Also started on smoothing out the tops of the strut towers some as well as the small work I did to the lower frame rail when I relocated the factory bulge to the rear about 1/2":
KissMySSFiero DEC 27, 09:41 AM
Looks amazing
fieroguru DEC 29, 04:17 PM
The ECM and TCM are back with the stock 2007 LS4/4T65e-hd calibration loaded on them. In a week or two I will have to spend some quality time with HP tuners and do all the baseline calibration changes to this thing will actually start.

There was one place on the chassis that I really didn't like... where the previous owner or some shop cut into the side of the framerail to access the nut for the cradle bolt...


So the first thing I did was to make a new nut assy that will sit inside the frame rail, allow some general movement side/side and front/back but not allow the nut to spin. I used some M12-1.75 nuts, pressed one into a large washer, welded the nuts to the washer and added an arm to it to keep it from spinning:




With the nut taken care of, it was time to close the hole. I figured it would be easier to make a patch panel if I cleaned up the edges of the hole, so out came the cut off disk:


I used the carboard from a cereal box to make a template, transferred the pattern to some 16ga, sheared out the patch panel, and tacked it in place:


Patch fully welded:


Welds ground smooth:


The engine bay is waiting for paint, but it need to get another 5 degrees warmer in the garage first.

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 12-29-2012).]