Shoeless GTM #501 Here we go!!!

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

I've never ran into that before. If you switch the bushings around, you're going to have to do both bushings so that the control arm can't slide back and forth on the bushings. How far off are the actual mounting holes from lining up with the control arm? Rather than doing a bunch of cutting and welding, I think I'd spend a few minutes with a chainsaw file and just open up the mounting holes in the chassis a bit in whatever direction they need to go.

[Shoeless]

I've never ran into that before. If you switch the bushings around, you're going to have to do both bushings so that the control arm can't slide back and forth on the bushings. How far off are the actual mounting holes from lining up with the control arm? Rather than doing a bunch of cutting and welding, I think I'd spend a few minutes with a chainsaw file and just open up the mounting holes in the chassis a bit in whatever direction they need to go.

I’ll take a couple more photos tonight holding the control arm in place. If I remember correctly the holes are about 1/8 - 3/16 off. Plus going with the PFADT setup, the pins that go through the bushings are machined to fit over the mounting brackets on the car. I’ll post up some pics tonight when I get home.

[Shoeless]

I will say I lost some sleep last night over this driver side front upper control arm mount issue. To help show the issue I came across, I took some more detailed pictures when I got home today. I set the upper control arm on the mounts as shown below.



I lined up the rear mount and then took pics of the holes on the forward mount. As you can see the holes are significantly out of location.





In the following pic you can see there is a difference in the thickness of the PFADT bushings. This pic is with the bushings and the pin installed per the instructions. In order to try and alleviate the issue, I swapped the outer and inner bushing to effectively shift the location of the mounting pin.



After swapping the bushings on the aft mounting location, the alignment of the holes on the forward pin are A LOT closer and definitely something I can work with. The forward hole lines up almost perfectly and the aft hole I will file a bit on the mount to open it up and make it work.





DISASTER AVERTED!!!

It still baffles my mind how these mounts could be off from the factory.

[carbon fiber]

It still baffles my mind how these mounts could be off from the factory.

Wait until you get to the doors.

[Roger Reid]

One of my upper control arms was bent due to the nature of it being a donor part. Each arm should measure 11" outside measurement without bushings.

[Shoeless]

Wait until you get to the doors.

I’m ok with the known issues that are on all the builds, or at least I say that right now LOL. It’s the unknowns that I havn’t seen before that have me concerned.

[Shoeless]

One of my upper control arms was bent due to the nature of it being a donor part. Each arm should measure 11" outside measurement without bushings.

That was one of the first things I checked, or at least that both control arms measured the same. Thanks for confirming the 11 inches.

[Shoeless]

It’s been some time since an update, so I figured one was in store. I have been pretty busy lately and it seems like everything I do with the GTM is taking a bit longer than planned, but it’s nice to get some progress.

I had plans for a local welder to come by the house and do some work for me, but the guy just wouldn’t return calls, so I went with my backup plan. I have a friend at work that has a tenant that works at a local collection in West Palm Beach as a master fabricator and he said he would come by. I saw pics of the owners warehouse full of old school Porsches, Ferraris, and other classics and I knew I had the right guy for the job. Not to mention Oscar just finished a Ferrari Daytona that was taken to SEMA this year, I was stoked to have him work on my GTM. Oscar came by one Saturday and made quick work of the trailer tie downs and Canton Cooling Tank bracket I got from Shane.

[Shoeless]

After welding I cleaned everything up and laid down some paint to match the frame the best I could.

[Shoeless]

Now time to throw up the Canton Tank. Here’s where it gets a little interesting. So the first Canton tank I got actually had the bottom boss moved to the left out of an ideal spot. I figure no big deal maybe they just did this one differently. I returned it and asked for a replacement. I got the same damn tank back!!!! I could tell as it was returned in a Jeg’s box and not a Canton box and the two fittings were loose, as I had removed them. A quick call to Jeg’s to explain the issue, and they promptly shipped me a replacement, as I held onto the first one. The second tank has the fitting in the same spot. I decided to call Canton to ask if there were changes, but they were not much help as they didn’t recall any changes. O well, no big deal, I’ll just get some fittings to get the hoses to come up where I need them. Here is the tank sitting on the welded in bracket.



Now it was time to move on to coating panels. I elected to go down the path of a bed liner product as recommended from Tom (Wallace18) on the forum. So I set up a portable carport in the driveway, put my dehumidifier in, and got to work. I picked up a used Eastwood paint gun off the forum, watched a few videos, and was pretty confident on my approach. I prepped all the panels using my air grinder and scotchbrite pads, then hung them in the tent. After hanging up the prepped parts in the tent, some practice on cardboard, it was time to coat the parts. I learned quickly I could only do so many panels at once due to overspray around the edges getting on other parts. I changed my configuration in the tent to minimize overspray issues and knocked out two full days of work. I figure I have about 4-5 more days of coating parts as I will be finishing the bed liner, then spraying Lizard Skin sound and thermal protection in selected areas. Overall I am very pleased with the finish of the parts and it seems to be holding up very nicely, as I tested some areas that will be covered up later.











Overall, I’m pleased with the progress and can’t wait to continue this journey.

[Shoeless]

Today’s been a good day. I took delivery of my LS3 427 I had built for Shoeless GTM. The guys at Blue Print Engines really took care of me on this one. They mostly serve the Mk IV guys, but really wanted to get one of their motors into a GTM and I was glad to take them up on their offer. Should be plenty of getup and go for me for a bit Dynoed out at 625.9 HP and 594.5 ftlb of Torque

[beeman]

Holy Smokes! Lot of torque from 3k rpm!
Glad they mailed it to you in a cage, it's an animal!
Should be fun

[BluePrintEngines]

I was Glad to help!! I actually just added our LS engines to the factoryfiveengines.com site!

This thing is going to be a monster!!!!

-Johnny

[Shoeless]

Holy Smokes! Lot of torque from 3k rpm!
Glad they mailed it to you in a cage, it's an animal!
Should be fun

Thanks beeman, I can't wait to get this beast installed and set up. You are right, it will be a lot of fun!!!

I was Glad to help!! I actually just added our LS engines to the factoryfiveengines.com site!

This thing is going to be a monster!!!!

-Johnny

Thanks again for all your help Johnny!!! You definitely went above and beyond to help me work through all the questions I had and making sure I was making the right choices with this set up.

To give everyone a little background on the engine decision, purchase, and what I have planned for it, here you go. I was essentially sold on the LS376/525, but I hadn't pulled the trigger just yet on it. That's when Johnny reached out from Blue Print Engines to discuss some possible options and share his enthusiasm for wanting to get in on a GTM project. I explained that I was looking for a solid power plant that I could pair up with an AEM Infinity EMS and was open to some recommendations. The reason behind this was most importantly to add traction control, but to also add all the engine protection options available. The Infinity system, as I'm sure others will do, will allow me to set safety trigger points for loss of oil pressure, fuel pressure, high transaxle temp... you name it, you can set it up to default to a safety RPM range to not damage anything. I can even set a certain RPM to shut the AC compressor off and let me get max power to the wheels. The final option I wanted for this setup was on the fly tuning using Tino's system. Sure enough, his system will run third party software, so I will be able to open up the volumetric efficiency tables and tuning software on my second screen/tablet make adjustments and get back to driving.

The point being, I wanted a straight forward, powerful engine, that I could add a twist to. The LS3 427 that Johnny recommended does come standard with computer, wiring harness, ... everything you need to install and get it running. Johnny was kind enough to delete the items I would not need, make sure it had the proper oil pan to not cause any install issues, and gave me a very reasonable price.

I can't say enough positive things about my experience with Johnny and Blue Print Engines. If you are in the market for an engine and looking for options, I recommend you give him a call.

[TheBabyBadger]

Awesome build man! Excited to see more progress!

[Shoeless]

Not much done on the car today, but lots of research on the Infinity AEM EMS I am looking to implement in Shoeless GTM. There is a Series 5 and Series 7 available. There are way more sensor inputs and outputs on the Series 7, but it also comes at a price compared to the Series 5. My number one reason behind wanting this system is to integrate traction control. The Series 5 can only support 2 wheel sensors, but the Series 7 will do all four corners of the car. The decision has been made, Series 7 it is. Now to finish my hundreds of pages of reading and learning this EMS and what it can all do for me.

BTW I finally received my last delivery from FF, my inventory is 100% complete. I took delivery of the kit 10/3/17 and here we are 4 months and 3 weeks later. Not sure if this is good by their standards or not LOL

[MLC_LS1]

Very cool! I like your attention to detail on the control arms.

[Shoeless]

Its been a while since an update, so I figure one was due before I head to the garage today. I have finished my first round of coating a bunch of my panels and have taken down my coating booth. So far I am extremely happy with the outcome. Here are the few rear panels attached to the frame.







Now that the first set of front and rear panels are in place, it was time to focus on the suspension. I had been piecing together a couple pieces here and there, but now I can finally get it all on. The control arms and spindles are Silver Hammertone powder coated, PFADT Bushings, Corvette ZR1 hubs, ARP bolts, Bilstein Coilovers, and QRP rear shock mount relocation bracket.

[Shoeless]

The weather is finally warming up and seas are calming down, so the wife and snuck out last weekend for some fishing and we scored our limit of Golden Tilefish. Damn good eats.

[beeman]

Looks great, how did you choose the coil-overs?

[Shoeless]

Looks great, how did you choose the coil-overs?

Thank you Sir!!! As for the coilovers, I spent some time talking with Ted at Quick Racing Products as I was very interested in his double adjustable Genesis setup that he offers. After sharing this will be mostly a street car with an occasional track day he recommended his custom Bilstein setup. He let me know the Genesis was prime to leaking over time and unless I kept a nitrogen tank ready to top them off, I probably would not be happy with them. I agreed and went with the aluminum Bilsteins. Ted also gave me his recommendation on the spring rates. I believe they are rear 650 and 350 front, but I’ll have to double check to be 100% sure and not lead you down the wrong path.

Here’s a link to his chassis page.

http://quickracingproducts.com/html/chassis.html

[BluePrintEngines]

Getting there!!!!

[Shoeless]

Hey guys, it was a nice weekend for me to get my motor out of the crate and on the engine stand so I can spend some time mocking everything up.





I installed the AC Compressor, Bracket and hardware just to see how everything lined up. I noticed some people actually changed the location of the plug to not have to notch out the frame where it currently is in my photos. Looking at the other location, and the bracket I have, I’m not sure this would work. The secondary location that I can move the plug to on the compressor is located just to the left of the top AC Bracket pulley.

Does it look like I have the proper AC Compressor Bracket?

[beeman]

You'll have to rotate the water pump fitting 180 degrees to clear the frame, plus you want it pointing towards the tunnel where your coolant lines will run. And rotate the intake manifold 180 degrees
That is the location people typically run the ac compressor.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

It looks like you have the right AC bracket. Did you have to clearance out a bit of it to clear anything on the block?....seems like there is a bolt boss or something sticking out that needs to be clearanced for the bracket to seat tight to the block. And yeah....you will need to clearance the chassis for the AC connector. Doesn't look like you have another option.....

You actually need a whole new waterpump. That one will not fit as the thickness at the t-stat housing is more than the LS1 pump and the t-stat housing will end up tight up against the chassis. You need to get a pump for a 2000 Corvette.

If those are LS3 motor mount brackets laying there, you'll probably find that they will hit the back side of the compressor and you will have to take just a bit of material off of the mount or the compressor for the bracket to sit flat against the block.

When you turn the intake around, I'm guessing you're going to have to cut down the oil pressure boss on the valley cover. We can do that here for you if you don't want to tackle that yourself. We cut the boss off and drill and tap the remaining hole for a plug.

What crank pulley do you have? That does not look like it will work with the rest of the accessories? Does the AC compressor pulley line up with the crank pulley? I'm guessing that either the AC compressor belt will not line up or the belt for the alternator will not line up.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Oh...and don't forget to swap your valve covers around.

[Shoeless]

All great information here, time to get in the garage and start addressing these items. I'll send some pics later as an update.

Good call on the valve covers, I was wondering how difficult it would be filling the engine with oil LOL.

[TDSapp]

To bad Blue Print Engines can't set it up for the GTM if they know that is the car it is going on. That way you would not have to break the seals and have to replace gaskets.

I wonder if flipping the intake 180 affects the horse power and torque? Not knowing how the intake is made I don't know if the air\fuel path is changed much with the change of direction.

[BluePrintEngines]

To bad Blue Print Engines can't set it up for the GTM if they know that is the car it is going on. That way you would not have to break the seals and have to replace gaskets.

The engines ship from us as pictured. We're happy to upgrade to the correct vette oil pan, as Shoeless's was. The valve covers and intake are O-ring seals, no gasket breaking. Pretty painless in the end. I'm sure Shoeless can handle it! All the add on accessories should be highlighted in the GTM manual. I unfortunately don't own a GTM...so I have to point you back to FFR for things like engine mounts and water pump #'s.
PSLS4272CT-med.jpg

[Shoeless]

To bad Blue Print Engines can't set it up for the GTM if they know that is the car it is going on. That way you would not have to break the seals and have to replace gaskets.

I wonder if flipping the intake 180 affects the horse power and torque? Not knowing how the intake is made I don't know if the air\fuel path is changed much with the change of direction.

I will say that Johnny at Blue Print Engines did reach out to the guys at FF to get some information on items that would cause fitment issues. One example was the oil pan. The pan that is originally build with this engine would not fit in the GTM, so they swapped it out for me for one that will. If we were aware of the water pump, I'm sure Johnny would have swapped this for me as well. Thankfully its not a high dollar item and I can just swap it out and sell the one I have.

This is actually the first of this engine (LS3 427 Stroker) from Blue Print that will be installed in a GTM. Johnny and I knew there would be some challenges, but both of us were very excited to go down this path and make it work. I plan on giving him feedback along the way of the changes/adjustment I have to make so that Blue Print can make this more turnkey for a GTM, if they choose to do so, its entirely up to them. Thankfully I have guys like Shane, and others, to help point me in the right direction to help minimize unexpected issues.

Seems I was typing this message the same time Johnny responded. Like he mentioned, all these minor changes are VERY simple for me to handle. They provided a stout power plant, and these adjustments are easily handled on my end.

[Shoeless]

Hey guys,

Not a GTM update, but my brother came to town after he returned from Afghanistan and we did some serious fishing. Enjoy

[TDSapp]

Not a GTM update, but my brother came to town after he returned from Afghanistan and we did some serious fishing. Enjoy

Now your just bragging... I also took some time with the wife and we recently went fishing. This is the only result.

[Shoeless]

Now your just bragging... I also took some time with the wife and we recently went fishing. This is the only result.

At least you didn't get skunked

I'm still in recovery mode after serious fishing and getting my boat to the mechanic for some routine work, so I have been watching some videos on engine tuning before I place the order for my AEM Infinity EMS. I'm all about learning every step of the process and did some research on available courses and content out there.

AEM offers a 2 day onsite class in CA training on their system for $750. Add flights, hotel, car, and food and I'm looking at close to $1,500.

I also ran across a company on FaceBook called High Performance Academy. They give out a live 1 hour class and then offer up their content for sale. They give lifetime access to all their videos and training and 4 years access to their online forum. Not to mention very specific content related to the AEM setup I want and a few others. I think it came out at $450 all together. I decided to pull the trigger on this and so far I am very happy with the course content. They start with the basics of EMS and then get into more advanced topics of dyno and street tuning, plus modules on turbo and launch control tuning.

I figure before I drop major $$$$ on the setup I want, I better be ready to learn it and use it to its full potential.

[LCD Gauges]

Lovin' a nice, clean build. That engine should do the trick with 625HP pretty much from 5700 to 6000 RPM.

Sorry, I'm not much of a fish fan but I'm a boating geek!

[Shoeless]

It looks like you have the right AC bracket. Did you have to clearance out a bit of it to clear anything on the block?....seems like there is a bolt boss or something sticking out that needs to be clearanced for the bracket to seat tight to the block. And yeah....you will need to clearance the chassis for the AC connector. Doesn't look like you have another option.....

You actually need a whole new waterpump. That one will not fit as the thickness at the t-stat housing is more than the LS1 pump and the t-stat housing will end up tight up against the chassis. You need to get a pump for a 2000 Corvette.

If those are LS3 motor mount brackets laying there, you'll probably find that they will hit the back side of the compressor and you will have to take just a bit of material off of the mount or the compressor for the bracket to sit flat against the block.

When you turn the intake around, I'm guessing you're going to have to cut down the oil pressure boss on the valley cover. We can do that here for you if you don't want to tackle that yourself. We cut the boss off and drill and tap the remaining hole for a plug.

What crank pulley do you have? That does not look like it will work with the rest of the accessories? Does the AC compressor pulley line up with the crank pulley? I'm guessing that either the AC compressor belt will not line up or the belt for the alternator will not line up.

Hey Shane,

I got the PN off the pulley and its PBU1117ss25, its a PowerBond Race Performance Harmonic Balancer. I did my best to throw up a straight edge from the pulley to the AC compressor and it looks pretty dang close to me. If I am looking for a misalignment to the AC Compressor would it be a very obvious misalignment or very small? Also, I don't have an alternator yet to throw on there to look. Any specific year I need to purchase or just an LS3?

Thanks!!!

[beeman]

I went with the CTS-V alternator and bracket, gets rid of that FFR welded bracket. Check out the threads on it and see what you think.

[Shoeless]

I went with the CTS-V alternator and bracket, gets rid of that FFR welded bracket. Check out the threads on it and see what you think.

Thanks beeman!!! I tried searching the other forum and it looks to be down right now. I'll have to look it up later.

[Shoeless]

I was determined to get past the first few pages of the assembly manual here lately after getting all the panels coated and refit. Over the past couple weeks putting in a little time here and there after work and a couple Saturdays, I can finally mark this as complete.

I also got the steering column prepped. I followed all the instructions and burned out the injection molded plastic holding the inner shaft in place, but it still wouldn’t come off the upper shaft. I needed to cut off enough of the inner shaft to be able to slide it up on the upper shaft to see what was in the way. I had to use the dremmel and grind a little off the upper shaft of both sides as it looked like it was mushroomed a little bit and just wouldn’t let the inner shaft off. That did the trick and the inner shaft finally came off the upper shaft.

[Shoeless]

Dang 7 photo limit. Here are the shots of the steering shaft.

[Shoeless]

Hey guys,

So its been a while since working on the car and posting, here is what I have been busy doing . The wife and I ran to the Bahamas for 4th of July and I landed my first Blue Marlin. Likely 300-350 lbs.



Back to the car. I'm at the point of installing the foot pedals and there is a gap on the driver side between the frame and the pedal assembly. The passenger side and the bolts for the master cylinders fit perfectly, but the driver side doesn't. I guess I need to add some washers and get longer bolts for a nice fit up.

Have you guys ran into this? The pedal box PN I got with the kit is 340-11295 is this the right one? Not to mention the riv nut on the top side of the passenger side holes seems odd. There won't be enough room for the riv nut to upset to provide grip.