Good info
Successfull 1970-1 6.0 LQ4 build
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Here's what i started with.
In January of 2015, off of craigslist, I picked up this 6.0 LQ4. Its out of a 2004 6.0 Chevy 2500 Express van, with 75K miles
I was still in the middle of getting the second quarter panel on so it went straight into storage.
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Finished the body and Paint in November of 2015.
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In and outside the Vo-Tech School I did the painting at.
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Cut and Buff'd. Not fun to do in the winter.
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It only took took me 5 years to go from this to this:
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In January of 2015, off of craigslist, I picked up this 6.0 LQ4. Its out of a 2004 6.0 Chevy 2500 Express van, with 75K miles
I was still in the middle of getting the second quarter panel on so it went straight into storage.
Finished the body and Paint in November of 2015.
In and outside the Vo-Tech School I did the painting at.
Cut and Buff'd. Not fun to do in the winter.
It only took took me 5 years to go from this to this:
8
Started cleaning up the motor in January, but it quickly got too cold, so things were put on hold till I had some time in May.
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The Engine mount plates from Stokers and the Alt/PS bracket from Speed Engineering.
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The Engine mount plates from Stokers and the Alt/PS bracket from Speed Engineering.
7
Manifold and Headers on. You can see the Kick out of the Camaro headers on the Driver side.
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Truck pulley on the left(7in). 1994 Camaro v6 pulley on the Right(5.5in).
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It got too cold at this point and things were put on hold.
Truck pulley on the left(7in). 1994 Camaro v6 pulley on the Right(5.5in).
It got too cold at this point and things were put on hold.
4
Started working on the interior during the interm.
Picked up a set of both BMW E46 Coupe and Convertible seats.
The Coupe seats are in now, but after the Convertible seats are dye'd there going in so that I have the built in shoulder belts.
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Had the rear glass put back in and had the Front windshield taken out and resealed.
This one of the only things on the car that i did not directly do, and i was very glad I let professionals do it.
$125 for each. Well worth it.
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Picked up a set of both BMW E46 Coupe and Convertible seats.
The Coupe seats are in now, but after the Convertible seats are dye'd there going in so that I have the built in shoulder belts.
Had the rear glass put back in and had the Front windshield taken out and resealed.
This one of the only things on the car that i did not directly do, and i was very glad I let professionals do it.
$125 for each. Well worth it.
7
Memorial day, May 2016 ...Out with the old...
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...In with the new.
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It took 3 different times to get it right. I never unbolted the rear trans mount, all the issues where with the PS pulley and zirk fittings.
Very Close.
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The Holley 302 pan is tucked up nice.
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...In with the new.
It took 3 different times to get it right. I never unbolted the rear trans mount, all the issues where with the PS pulley and zirk fittings.
Very Close.
The Holley 302 pan is tucked up nice.
7
The 2004 VAN LQ4 did not need the flex plate adapter because it already has it built in. Only needed to elongate the Holes in the flex plate to match up with the TH2004R Converter.
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I used these spacers to raise the motor to clear the steerign box and zirks.
Again, it was a some trial and error.
I ended up using Energy Suspension "wide and fat" SBC engine mounts since I don't want to use the old style rubber block mounts that can just rip off.
-(P/N 3.1114G $38 each)
-Also used Steel 3/8 bolt spacers 1/4in Spacer (Sears hardware $2x6 P/N 58593-b)
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After the 1/4 spacer
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I used these spacers to raise the motor to clear the steerign box and zirks.
Again, it was a some trial and error.
I ended up using Energy Suspension "wide and fat" SBC engine mounts since I don't want to use the old style rubber block mounts that can just rip off.
-(P/N 3.1114G $38 each)
-Also used Steel 3/8 bolt spacers 1/4in Spacer (Sears hardware $2x6 P/N 58593-b)
After the 1/4 spacer
7
Motor in, checking the camaro exhaust header fit in the engine bay and against the existing 350 SBC Flowmaster american thunder exhaust system.
(its going to take some work to connect these new headers up)
Pass side fit is great.
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Drivers side clears the Steering shaft.
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(its going to take some work to connect these new headers up)
Pass side fit is great.
Drivers side clears the Steering shaft.
5
The course Fuel filter, The Fuel pump and the Vette fuel filter/pressure regulator.
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Some parts from the Junkyard. Caddy Northstar Fuel lines, Injectors, LS truck fuel tube, ODB2 Plug, Oil filer and truck fuse box cover thing
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Some parts from the Junkyard. Caddy Northstar Fuel lines, Injectors, LS truck fuel tube, ODB2 Plug, Oil filer and truck fuse box cover thing
2
The Motor mounts that i tried, I have an original 307 motor with the 307 frame perches. I tried the Standard 307 SBC, the interlocking SBC mounts, the ES wide\fat and the ES tall\narrow.
I ended up using the ES short fat mounts.
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I ended up using the ES short fat mounts.
4
Cleaning and testing all the injectors on the bench.
Used injector cleaner and a 12v power supply to get them to activate. I had to replace 2 of them.
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For the 2004R TV cable I used the old Spector SBC bracket and just flipped and tac welded the cruise control mount.
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Used injector cleaner and a 12v power supply to get them to activate. I had to replace 2 of them.
For the 2004R TV cable I used the old Spector SBC bracket and just flipped and tac welded the cruise control mount.
2
I had 5 broken studs on my LQ4. Four of them i was able to get out while it was on the stand using a MIG. The 5th was the first on the Pass side. It was broken off just under the head, and i couldn't get a nut to stay on. (I wish i try'd harder) I figured I 'd get too it eventually. The motor was then in and I then tried to drill it out.
Trying to drill straight with it in the car is impossible (at least for me). The drill is going to constantly wonder and want to go into the much softer aluminum. Eventually I had a hole to put a helicoil in, but couldn't tap it because of left over pieces of bolt so i tried some more drilling... and then in a split second I punched thru the head and into the water jacket.
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A week and $165 later had this.
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All i can say is, i wish i tried harder with the MIG.
Trying to drill straight with it in the car is impossible (at least for me). The drill is going to constantly wonder and want to go into the much softer aluminum. Eventually I had a hole to put a helicoil in, but couldn't tap it because of left over pieces of bolt so i tried some more drilling... and then in a split second I punched thru the head and into the water jacket.
A week and $165 later had this.
All i can say is, i wish i tried harder with the MIG.
4
Back together...
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Back to dealing with the wiring. All of the harnesses I have, had some part cut off, mostly the rear line for the trans connector, but that also has the driver side O2 sensor and VSS wires.
Its all online, just need to be patient with it.
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On one of the many junkyard trips , I found a mostly untouched 2005 express van with a 5.3 so i pulled everything i could for spares or for sale or for the next swap. I like the DBC throttles and return-less rails.
Plus the van's are easier to pull the harness out of since there is full access to the rear of the motor.
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Almost there...
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Back to dealing with the wiring. All of the harnesses I have, had some part cut off, mostly the rear line for the trans connector, but that also has the driver side O2 sensor and VSS wires.
Its all online, just need to be patient with it.
On one of the many junkyard trips , I found a mostly untouched 2005 express van with a 5.3 so i pulled everything i could for spares or for sale or for the next swap. I like the DBC throttles and return-less rails.
Plus the van's are easier to pull the harness out of since there is full access to the rear of the motor.
Almost there...
6
At this point I was ready to start it for the first time. But for a week I was dumb struck at what was wrong. It would crank, i had power to all the coils and injectors.
But the Fuel pump wouldn't prime like it should and even if I jumped the FP and got pressure to the rails, nothing. :angry:
I used the stock truck fuse box so that would could keep it simple and get it running as quickly and easily as possible.
But working on it for 2-3 hours a night, after work, i missed hooking up the 1 wire that comes from the C1 A9 pin to the ignition wire and the fuse box was not getting power.
Started right up after putting a jumper on it. :beers:
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But the Fuel pump wouldn't prime like it should and even if I jumped the FP and got pressure to the rails, nothing. :angry:
I used the stock truck fuse box so that would could keep it simple and get it running as quickly and easily as possible.
But working on it for 2-3 hours a night, after work, i missed hooking up the 1 wire that comes from the C1 A9 pin to the ignition wire and the fuse box was not getting power.
Started right up after putting a jumper on it. :beers:
2
Here it was for the first few test drives. But with the cowl hood the Vortec cover wont fit. Also switched to a specter air tube and ran a bigger air-filter rich down past the fans.
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Washed it for the first time for a ride. Notice the mufflers attached directly to the manifolds.
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Washed it for the first time for a ride. Notice the mufflers attached directly to the manifolds.
3
This is a great little toy. UtraGauge. It'll display any and all ODB2 readings and diplay and clear codes. I'm using it as the Tach, Temp and Volts here.
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Had a local exhaust shop weld on the ball and socket header connectors and mate it all up to the existing exhaust.
They Had to bend up some new pipes to make it all fit. And swaped out the Flowmaster 40's for a pair of Thrush turbo mufflers, in the hope of quieting it all down.
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Right now I'm just dealing with O2 and Misfire codes. But other wise its driving surprising well. I love the way it starts up.
Feel free to ask any questions.
Had a local exhaust shop weld on the ball and socket header connectors and mate it all up to the existing exhaust.
They Had to bend up some new pipes to make it all fit. And swaped out the Flowmaster 40's for a pair of Thrush turbo mufflers, in the hope of quieting it all down.
Right now I'm just dealing with O2 and Misfire codes. But other wise its driving surprising well. I love the way it starts up.
Feel free to ask any questions.
4
The Plan right now is to get everything 100%.
Then over the winter to do improvements and clean things up.
I'm going to consolidate all of the fuses and relays to this '95 Jeep GC fuse box.
7 Relays and 16 fuses
Plus it's all powered from a single feed with extra taps.
So when your out in the junkyard pulling a JGC Steering box, get the fuse box too. Its well worth the $10 bucks. '
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Same goes for the rear Power junction box in the trunk of any 2000's BMW 5 or 7 series. It's held in with one 10mm bolt so it comes out super easy.
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Then over the winter to do improvements and clean things up.
I'm going to consolidate all of the fuses and relays to this '95 Jeep GC fuse box.
7 Relays and 16 fuses
Plus it's all powered from a single feed with extra taps.
So when your out in the junkyard pulling a JGC Steering box, get the fuse box too. Its well worth the $10 bucks. '
Same goes for the rear Power junction box in the trunk of any 2000's BMW 5 or 7 series. It's held in with one 10mm bolt so it comes out super easy.
5
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