72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby 1100kaw » Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:39 pm

Well... I really wasnt shooting for that. I'm not sure if it needs to come up yet. need to open up the tunnel and fit bellhousing and trans. then start setting driveline angles before i actually start fabing mounts. I have F body intake, and the truck version. will play with both i guess. I'm not worrying about the torq loss in this little thing.
DD
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby NixVegaGT » Wed Jul 13, 2011 10:44 am

Thats a good point. That is what all the truck guys complain about with the lower intakes. One guy was saying 10hp and 10ft/lbs. Not sure I believe that... I'm looking forward to following your project.
- Nic '73 Vega GT "DogBoxx" Batwing LS1
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby 1100kaw » Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:26 pm

A few new pics. Fab d up the mounts. got engine aligned left right top to bottom. got tunnel fab d. gotta pull out jig block and full weld everything.
I managed to get trailblazer manifolds to fit with out cutting them up. But wow. they are close.
CAn these be cut and welded on? these seem to be steel, not cast? anyone done it?
I cut the F body pan to get engine 1 1/2" lower. (still need to weld up)Just clears inner tie rods. I allowed a little for rubber mount squish.
feed back plz.
Darrell
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby 1100kaw » Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:29 pm

more
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby Kenova » Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:00 pm

1100kaw wrote:
CAn these be cut and welded on? these seem to be steel, not cast? anyone done it?

Darrell

I have read that they can be easy to weld if you keep the manifold's temperature above 250 degrees while welding. The weld seems to be durable and reliable.
I gleaned this little tid-bit from a build thread over at LS1.com. The thread author welded turbo style V-band clamp rings to a pair of truck exhaust manifolds.

Ken
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby 80 MONZTA » Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:43 am

I think your engine is sitting maybe too low. If you can raise it so the head just touches (or almost touches) the throttle cable where it comes out of the firewall, a whole lot of clearance will suddenly appear around the manifolds. That is where mine is located right now, and I would like to raise it a little more as the oil pan is just a little over an inch below the cross member. It will require a little more clearance at the trans tunnel though.
How much lower is your oil pan sitting below the cross member right now?
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby 1100kaw » Thu Aug 04, 2011 5:50 pm

leroy
I will try to get a pic of pan clearance for u. I dont beleive it hangs hardly an inch lower as it sits now . I built a new crossmember out of 2x3 box. I think my crossmember is higher than stock too. sounds odd. Higher may have helped exhaust clearance, but I was shooting for as low as poss. without too low pan. The whole lower center of gravity thing.
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby 1100kaw » Tue Aug 09, 2011 5:32 pm

Heres a couple oil pan pics to show relationship to mounting and crossmember. The new crossmember not finished but in place.
Notching the pan got it lower and no harm done. I dont think anyway.
DD
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby 1100kaw » Tue Aug 09, 2011 5:38 pm

Finshed full welding the tunnel in place. Need to do a little finsh work. I know. Not real pretty. But solid. Will spruce up nice with a grinder and a little seam sealer.
Worked out good. Plenty of work for any trans combo i may change to later. Can get to all bolts. Didnt intrude into the drivers foot well or relocate gas pedal.
Operation a success.
DD
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby NixVegaGT » Thu Aug 25, 2011 11:05 am

Dude. you're build is really coming along!! HOT stuff. You were totally right about the truck intake. Turns out that stuff about guys getting more power out of them is total big talk. There is NO performance advantage to going with the truck intake. It turns out the runners on the stock LS1 are damn near the same length. Only 1mm shorter. The intake volume is a bit smaller for the truck intake too. Technically there's a better low-speed torque curve from the faster column but not really relavant for us with 2500 lb cars. So you must have gotten the L33 then. Good choice. Great heads.

There's so much support for these engines. It's such a big change for me.

ANyway back to your build. Your sheet metal is in amazing shape. My jaw dropped when I saw that inner fender bulkhead. HOLY SHIT! I've been considering moving the firewall back a little and maybe modifying the tunnel like you did.

Fun project thread so far.
- Nic '73 Vega GT "DogBoxx" Batwing LS1
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby 1100kaw » Mon Oct 31, 2011 10:09 pm

Just thought i would throw a couple pics out. havnt really had a lot of time or cash to work on it.
Got the bell housing figured out, relocated engine again. moved back 1 more inch to gain much needed exhaust manifold clearance. mock up block, bell and 5 spd in place. Had to let it down to move it for another project. shot a few pics with the wheels i'm running for now.
still sitting way up in front, cast block is empty thou.i'm confident the full engine and accessories will put it about right. we'll see........someday
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby 1100kaw » Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:39 pm

Hey, I've had some time and got some more done. Thought I would share.
Been working on frame connectors and stuff. I have pretty much copied Nicks with a modified version of rear crossmember.
Its all in place and partially welded in right now. Still need to do a lot of finish welding and details.
This was a lot of work. A LOT.
I also full welded Upper rear control arm mounts and stitch welded multiple areas I thought couldnt hurt back there.
I'm real pleased at this point. I hope it shows in the overall feel of the car when finished....... You know, I have never even driven this car before work, for that matter, I cant remember ever driving a Vega. I had a Starfire for a short time years ago. 265cu.in. 4spd. I remember it being kinda fun.
Check out the pics.
Thanks again for all input and sharing on this sight. This sight and members have made this possible to get this far.
Darrell
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby Vegabee » Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:26 pm

Nice looking frame.I really like the idea of 'Tubing' a car trimming out and adding framing and migging it all up solid,it's the best of both worlds uni-body and frame merged.I like that original 60's-70's paint on that Vega and the wheels also.What grooved then is retro groovy now man.
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby NixVegaGT » Mon Mar 12, 2012 11:12 pm

Damn, Darrell. I'd say more like you copied my 'concept' and really refined it into something better. I love the finish work of the front radius where it pairs up under the front frame rail. That part was hard to work out and I didn't really like my solution. One thing I'd do differently was probably spend a little less time welding the entire pinch weld. It sorta set me up to have to seal in the whole thing. On the other hand, with a plasma cutter there's a lot more flexibility.

Nice work man. I'm looking forward to seeing it integrated.
- Nic '73 Vega GT "DogBoxx" Batwing LS1
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Re: 72 Vega GT , LS 5spd

Postby megavega » Sun Apr 01, 2012 6:06 pm

Darrell, How ya makin out ??
1972 hatchback, 28,000 orig miles, 427BBC/twin T4 turbo's/T56 six speed/big wheels, lowered down pro touring style-work in progress....

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