LUVTruck.com

Stock '99 5.3l Vortec. TH350. Late 90's S-10 rear end with mini spool. After 12 passes at the track: average speed 83mph and 8.30 ET. Was fun to build and a blast to run down the track.

http://s704.photobucket.com/user/goober ... y/79%20luv

Nice

Fill us in on the 5.3 swap

Not a very good narrator, but here goes...
Started with a junk block with oil pan and TH350 trans for basic mock up. Set the engine in place or at least where it fit best and made the motor mounts. (I like to tinker with stuff like that) Made a plate that bolted to the engine and one that bolted to the truck's motor mounts, measured the distance between them and welded in a piece of 2x2 tubing. Yes it is hard mounted, but it works. With a floor jack under the tranny pan i measured up and modified the stock trans mount. Whew...so far so good. Tried to remove the engine and found it quite difficult due to the depth of the oil pan in relationship to the cross member. Easy fix, remove the cross member. Close but no cigar. Check internet...idea...remove the core support and trim back the radiator mount to the width of the block. Oh look, the engine and transmission now just slide straight out. Woohoo!.
Got a wrecking yard engine from a '99 Silverado for like $950. Came with harness, CPU (computer) exhaust manifolds, O2 sensors, fuse box...complete swap out set up. Sitting on the pallett it was a mess of wires and holy cow it looked huge.
Followed the rewiring tutorial from: http://lt1swap.com/wiringharness.htm That guy rocks! Thought of reworking the harness was gonna be overwhelming, but turned out to be fun once I got a feel for what was needed to make the engine run. Send the CPU off to the author of the article, was leary of that, but that guy was amazing!
OK, now I have a reworked wiring harness, flashed CPU, and engine that ran when pulled. Pulled out the mock up block. removed the transmission and joined the trans to the new engine. I used the adapter collar spacer thingy to go between the torque converter and flywheel. Start to slide the unit back into the truck...Darn...exhaust manifolds are not gonna work. Pull engine again. to be continued.....

Very cool. I have a 406 in my LUV now but hoping to install a 6.0 supercharged soon. Would love to see some pictures.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

So I am looking at the exhaust manifolds and the engine bay wondering the best way to modify something to make it fit. Searched internet for aftermarket headers...$400...not gonna happen. hmmmm. Just build a set. Sure, why not. Went to remove the exhaust manifolds and found two broken bolts and snapped another. DOH. Search internet for ideas on how to remove the broken pieces...weld a nut to the stud they say. Son of a gun it worked, took a few tries but the broken bolts came out and no damage to the heads, and I did not have to pull the heads to do it. Traced the outline of the manifolds on to a piece of 1/4 steel and cut out the plates. Went to the muffler shop and bought 12 90's. I knew i would mess up a couple so extras not a bad idea. Also dug through the scrap bin and found some old exhaust pipe that looked to have the right bend and size. Bolt on the plates and slid the engine back into the truck. Yep, inner fenders were in the way. Break out the sawzall and grinder...plenty of room. After many tries i made my own exhaust. Ain't pretty, ain't "tuned" but does get the exhaust away from the engine. Mighty tight by the steering rod, but it does not hit.
Hmmm, wonder if this thing will start? Remove a gas tank from a S-10 blazer. Set it on floor next to the truck and ran some rubber hose for the supply and return. Hot wired it to a battery and low and behold i got fuel. Hooked up the wiring harness, layed the CPU on the winshield, made a few connections inside the cab, said a prayer (or three) turned the key and IT LIVES! ( Victory dance. ) Let it run just for a second and then shut it off.
Need radiator. Back to the web. 19X22 radiators seem to be the best fit a common size. Pick up one on Ebay for $100. After many hours of looking and measuring figured out how to mount it and plumb it in. Zip tied a transmission cooler to it, and electric fan.
Running gear: Stole the rear end out of the Blazer. Hey look...the spring perches are the right width! Bolt it in. Get a driveline made. Had to adapt the brake line from the Luv lines to the blazer lines. Threw the blazer gas tank into the bed of the truck, wired and plumbed it in. Test run! (to be continued)

Um...no shifter. Back to the web and get a B&M Star Shifter from Summit. Test run. Zero traction. Was fun for a while. Single wheel drive just wasn't gonna happen. Also, the blazer rear end was just a tad wide, so i traded it for a 90's S-10 rear end. It is only the 7.5. Someday will upgrade to a Ford 9in. Picked up a mini spool and went for another test run. Now both tires put on a smoke show! As long as I was gentle on the throttle, I made it around the block a few times (insert cheezy grin here). So I know it runs and drives. Fuel cell, battery disconnect, battery box, gauges...needs more traction. Back to the web. Cal Tracs...too much. Slapper bars? Sure. Looked at a few photos and made a set. Removed to overload spring and installed them. Didn't help with the traction. Get a set of 26x9.5x15 Hoosiers. waited till the weekend and took it to the test and tune. OMG! Hooked and went straight!
I know that I left out a lot of the small details, like drill and tap the top of water pump got the temp gauge, and drill and tap the piece by the oil filter for the pressure gauge. I will try and be specific in answering any questions. As I was putting this together I thought that i should take pictures, lots of them...just didn't happen. Build took about 4 months and about $2500.
Hope you enjoyed my story.

Mark

Very nice. Thanks for sharing your story. Looks like you're going to be having a lot of fun in the coming months.

Your truck is looking good... Didn't see it with the hood on. Should of asked to hear it run when we were there.
Always in a hurry I guess. The 1.8 runs good... it's in the '80 4x4 now. Drove it today. Thanks!!

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75 Luv 350/TH350 (Project in progress)

Happy to hear your up and running again.

Cool story , thanks

Like the story too. Keep us up to date.... the track does not have a problem with the cut off switch being in the bed? I guess not or you couldn't run it. Any track association? NHRA, ISRA? We run at a ISRA track but I have never seen one like that.

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

I do believe they are associated with IHRA. Nothing said about the cut off switch.

I'm not sure how the rule is worded exactly, but in NHRA, anyone I've seen with a cutoff switch, has a push off/pull on battery switch, and the handle is sticking out of the rear of the vehicle somewhere. That's probably why PapaG was asking.

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OK, I'm over it. Where's the beer?

Am newb to the race scene. So the technical stuff I am learning by trial and error. Most rigs in the "sportsman' class had a turn switch like mine or none at all, like pure street cars. I suppose I will save my pennies for the push/pull type switch just in case I am called on my switch or venture out to another track. A quick look at various other web pages it seems that the switch is to mounted in the rearmost part of the vehicle...(mine is close but not the rearmost).
8:4 MASTER CUTOFF
Mandatory when battery is relocated, or as outlined in Class
Requirements. An electrical power cutoff switch (one only) must be
installed on the rearmost part of each vehicle and be easily
accessible from outside the car body. This cutoff switch must be
connected to the positive side of the electrical system and must
stop all electrical functions including magneto ignition. The off
position must be clearly indicated with the word “OFF.” If switch is
“push/pull” type, “push” must be the action for shutting off the
electrical system, “pull” to turn it on. Any rods or cables used to
activate the switch must be minimum 1/8-inch diameter. Plastic or
keyed switches prohibited. Switches and/or controls must be
located behind rear wheels on rear-engine dragsters.

what did you mean by this?? "needs more traction. Back to the web. Cal Tracs...too much"
cal tracs too much traction or to expensive?

X

Cal tracs too expensive for my budget

update: took the truck up to Spokane County Raceway which is a 1/4 mile track. Made about a dozen passes. Average time was 13.33 with speed of 102mph and the tach reading like 5100 rpm. That is with 373 gears (at least that is what i was told) and 9x26 tires. I thought that was pretty good, seeing i have never ran a 1/4 mile before. Would also like to mention that the folks up in Spokane were very friendly. Will be looking forward to running with them again.

Nice!

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If you think no one cares, try missing a couple of payments...



FIAA!

SFPP!

Fun times !! Will have our Luv on the road soon.

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75 Luv 350/TH350 (Project in progress)