65 Impala... a new chapter begins

[Octane]

And then...





Time to get cleaning the engine bay...

John

[Octane]

scrape, wire brush, clean, sand, mask, degrease, prime, blah blah blah...

this:



More on the blog...

[Octane]

Work and life has conspired against me, but we FINALLY got a chance to test-fit the LS into its new home...



Fit was pretty good, with only a couple of sticking points.


Trans servo to tunnel...




Engine mounts...



More photos on the blog.

J

[Bird]

Fascinating stuff! This is what I love about this forum. Modern day hot-rodding at its finest!

[Octane]

The original plan was to make packer plates between the mounts and adapter plates, to move the engine mounts closer to the pedestals.

That idea was ditched as I wasn't confident the holes would line-up across the car.

Plan B: fabricate new pedestals!






All tacked-up and ready for seam welding...



More details on the blog.

J

[Octane]

Now to get the gearbox cross member sorted.

J

[Lucky Phil]

Looking good, Chevy orange is a great touch in my opinion....
Brings the LS to life....

[Russ]

Hey J, how did you go with the headers?

These L76 headers dump right at the steering box. No way they'll fit. Looking at the Hooker aftermarket jobs, and they look like the only other chance, as well as LS3 headers from a Holden. Just wondering if they'll interfere with the column shift linkage rod.

[Octane]

Originally Posted by Russ

Hey J, how did you go with the headers?

These L76 headers dump right at the steering box. No way they'll fit. Looking at the Hooker aftermarket jobs, and they look like the only other chance, as well as LS3 headers from a Holden. Just wondering if they'll interfere with the column shift linkage rod.

Hey Russ,

Haven't gone too far into headers, but I will hit that obstacle (pardon the pun) shortly. We initially had the engine bolted-up to the adaptor plates as far forward as we could go and noticed that the stock Holden headers dumped onto the steering box (as you say).

We have since moved the engine as far back as we could and need to re-test the headers to see if they clear the steering box/pitman arm.

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Octane

Hey Russ,

Haven't gone too far into headers, but I will hit that obstacle (pardon the pun) shortly. We initially had the engine bolted-up to the adaptor plates as far forward as we could go and noticed that the stock Holden headers dumped onto the steering box (as you say).

We have since moved the engine as far back as we could and need to re-test the headers to see if they clear the steering box/pitman arm.

I was actually looking at your blog a few hour ago seeing if there were updates

LS3 headers from a VE should work. They move the outlet to the rear. I ended up picking up a set of the Hooker headers (similar design to the LS3 headers). I was umming and ahhing which way to go, and then VPW had a 15% off everything sale last weekend, so that made the decision easier.

Other thing that made me go that way is the Holden headers have the tri-bolt flange for connecting to the cats. It takes up just a little bit more room than the standard 2-bolt flange - and it dumps right were my column shift down rod sits, so I wanted as much room as possible.

The Hooker's are nice, but cast iron, so they're very heavy. They almost nullify any weight savings I was getting going from an SBC to LS.

[Octane]

@Russ: yeah, those headers look like they would do the trick!

I had a dig and mentioned a bit about headers here: Header Ramblings

I have these off the VZ...



We'll see how we go...

John

P.S. Blog is updated!
- trans x-member done
- park brake done
- trans linkage done

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Octane

@Russ: yeah, those headers look like they would do the trick!

I had a dig and mentioned a bit about headers here: Header Ramblings

I have these off the VZ...

Those look like they should work. These came off my L76. No way will they work.

[shaunv8]

Gday mate, been following with interest. I have an aussie delivered 64 belair which I have been thinking about converting to an LS engine. What are you going to do with the fuel supply side, as in return lines to tank, high pressure pumps etc. Cheers

[Russ]

Originally Posted by shaunv8

Gday mate, been following with interest. I have an aussie delivered 64 belair which I have been thinking about converting to an LS engine. What are you going to do with the fuel supply side, as in return lines to tank, high pressure pumps etc. Cheers

With a '64, you're in luck. You can buy an EFI-ready fuel tank. Internal baffle. The works.

http://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/pa...rod/prd409.htm

[shaunv8]

Thanks mate. Im toying with buying a stat write off and putting it in my 64 to replace the original 283/ glide (whick will be safely stored in my shed), pretty much same as you.....Im following with interest.....