Nick - build is looking great so far. I’m in the planning stages for my Gen3 Coupe R build, which will see serious autocross and track time while still being street legal and driven on the road VERY often.
I’m not brand loyal, and I’ve owned GM and Ford products both. Current daily driver is a 2017 Mustang GT Performance Pack which run in CAM-C several times a month pretty much all year long other than out 2-3 month “winter” break we take here in the south. I love the Coyote now that I’ve owned it, and had expected to build one for the Coupe R.....but I’m really thinking hard about the LS now too. Mostly due to lighter weight, smaller package, and cheaper. My favorite thing about the Coyote is the rev ceiling. Tuned, and with the known issues of Oil Pump Gears and Crank Sprocket Parts upgraded to billet steel variants, I’m revving to 8,000rpm. I love the idea of better torque curve at lower RPM which the LS can provide, but I don’t want to lose the high RPM ceiling if I can help it. I’ve heard of taking an LS to 8k (or beyond) but I don’t know what it requires.....yet. I’ll be watching, and researching, and thinking more on all this.
Nick - build is looking great so far. I’m in the planning stages for my Gen3 Coupe R build, which will see serious autocross and track time while still being street legal and driven on the road VERY often.
I’m not brand loyal, and I’ve owned GM and Ford products both. Current daily driver is a 2017 Mustang GT Performance Pack which run in CAM-C several times a month pretty much all year long other than out 2-3 month “winter” break we take here in the south. I love the Coyote now that I’ve owned it, and had expected to build one for the Coupe R.....but I’m really thinking hard about the LS now too. Mostly due to lighter weight, smaller package, and cheaper. My favorite thing about the Coyote is the rev ceiling. Tuned, and with the known issues of Oil Pump Gears and Crank Sprocket Parts upgraded to billet steel variants, I’m revving to 8,000rpm. I love the idea of better torque curve at lower RPM which the LS can provide, but I don’t want to lose the high RPM ceiling if I can help it. I’ve heard of taking an LS to 8k (or beyond) but I don’t know what it requires.....yet. I’ll be watching, and researching, and thinking more on all this.
Great work, keep it up!
I totally missed your comment until now, sorry for the delayed response. I've been working non stop and had some on/off health issues keeping me occupied.
I'm not exactly a brand loyal guy either. I like what I like and certain manufacturers appealed to me more during certain time periods (early 60s Mopars anyone?). I briefly considered a Coyote for this build. It really is a great engine for what it is. Previous modulars have always been a bit of a joke in the performance engine building industry. The only selling point that seemed to keep them alive is you can cram them full of boost, which makes it a sturdy engine but not a great one. Ford finally got it right with with Coyote. Some great heads a few more cubic inches made a world of difference (though the bore spacing is still lacking). I felt the LS was a much better fit for my goals with this chassis. From your comment, I think it would be a better fit for yours as well. It's physically smaller, a little lighter, lower center of gravity, easier to work on, cheaper to modify and maintain, has greater displacement potential, dead reliable, more user-friendly factory PCM, and it'll make more power per dollar every time.
As far as RPM, it's very easy to turn the same kind of RPM as the Coyote. The engine in my Formula is a 376 cubic inch LS with a hydraulic roller cam and stock rockers that regularly sees 8,500 RPM. Nothing super expensive or fancy in it, all off-the-shelf parts that I use and sell every day. I'd be happy to guide you through the parts selection process if you're looking for reliable RPM and power.
The chassis took about 7 weeks at powder coat. Sometimes you get put on the back burner but I'm ok with that. Within a couple days of coming back from powder coat, I started moving my business anyway....into the building my powder coater was using. They moved across the street so I took over their old space which works very well for both of us. Moving all the lifts, dyno, equipment, parts, etc took up quite a bit of time and energy. I'm fairly certain I never want to do any of it again.
The chassis got blasted, primer, base, and clear. So it should be pretty durable. Color is Bronze Chrome with a high gloss clear. Pictures don't do it justice. The color looks amazing in the sunlight.
I also started on the engine blueprinting and assembly. The cylinder heads are assembled and ready to go on once I get the short block together.
Congratulations on the new place. I think the powder coat looks phenomenal. You can see the color pop along some of the larger pieces in the photo like the roll bars. Can't wait to see it start to come together.
LS2 crate motor in my coupe, did 408/410 HP/Torque at the tire. 32K miles on it now runs great burns NO oil, just lots of power! I get 28 MPG@ 90 in 6th gear! Super flat torque curve. Gen II weighs 2373 lbs.
Sorry for the delays. It's been a busy few months. I'm done traveling for the year (minus the PRI show), so I'm back on the coupe! The front and rear suspensions are all bolted in and torqued down. Fuel tank is in place and lines run up to the front. I'm very happy with the titanium finish fittings and hardware that Deatschwerks sent me. I also used them on one of my other cars over the summer. They look great and hold up very nicely.
Saturday we started putting some cockpit sheet metal in place. I need to figure out a color for the engine bay sheet metal and we'll get that in this week hopefully.
Nice progress. Have some bad news unfortunately. You've fallen victim to the upside down upper ball joint mount error. Has happened on a number of builds, so don't take it too personally. The UCA's of that vintage (they've changed again recently...) come out of the box upside down and have to be dissassembled and the ball joint mounts flipped over. The upper ball joint has to point out, like this picture from the manual. You won't get the proper front end geometry or alignment with it the way you have it now. Sorry about that.
Last edited by edwardb; 10-28-2019 at 12:01 PM.
Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread Build 3: Mk4 Roadster 20th Anniversary #8674. Sold 09/07/2020. Build Thread and Video. Build 4: Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe #59. Gen 3 Coyote. Legal 03/04/2020. Build Thread and Video Build 5: 35 Hot Rod Truck #138. LS3 and 4L65E auto. Rcvd 01/05/2021. Legal 04/20/2023. Build Thread. Sold 11/9/2023.
Excellent catch, Edward! I actually didn't even notice. I took for granted that they were previously assembled. I'll get that straightened out this evening. My assistant will be less than thrilled. It took all 34 lbs of him to torque those bolts down lol
Excellent catch, Edward! I actually didn't even notice. I took for granted that they were previously assembled. I'll get that straightened out this evening. My assistant will be less than thrilled. It took all 34 lbs of him to torque those bolts down lol
I saw the pic. Cute. No issue with torquing those particular bolts down. But FYI, in case you haven't gotten that far yet, those bolts have to be loosened for the front end alignment. So you'll be back to them. To correct the ball joint issue, I hope you realize it's a little more complicated than those particular bolts. The ball joint has to come out of the spindle, removed, then flip the plate over, then all back together again. The simplest way to flip, once you get to that point, is to remove the two pivot lock bolts (the same ones you mentioned) back by the cross shaft pivots. Then flip the whole assembly over.
Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread Build 3: Mk4 Roadster 20th Anniversary #8674. Sold 09/07/2020. Build Thread and Video. Build 4: Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe #59. Gen 3 Coyote. Legal 03/04/2020. Build Thread and Video Build 5: 35 Hot Rod Truck #138. LS3 and 4L65E auto. Rcvd 01/05/2021. Legal 04/20/2023. Build Thread. Sold 11/9/2023.
Update: The engine is together! I made some time to get the short block blueprinted and assembled and finish up the engine a couple weeks ago. The engine is down at my shop now waiting on the transmission. I took advantage of the Black Friday sale from Stainless Works and ordered my header kit as well. 1 7/8" primaries with a 3.5" collector.
I've also decided it makes more sense for me to go stand alone engine management on this one. For what it would cost to buy a stock PCM, harness, and all of my gauges I can buy a Holley Terminator X system with the 12.3" Pro Dash and have far more functionality.
I still need to pull that from the other car and freshen it up. Thankfully a T56 is pretty quick and easy to go through. So that's next on the list.
More lost time in the hospital, but back to work catching up and was at least able to set the engine in place for more mock up and possibly header fabrication soon.
Foot box and engine bay panels came back from powder coating. They were done in anodized silver so they still look fairly natural while being protected. I went ahead and mocked them up because I wanted to see them and I'm impatient.
It's been months since I've updated here, but things have been total chaos. I had a feeling our business would slow down during all the pandemic nonsense, but we've been slammed at the shop.
Updates:
-My son and I started permanently mounting some aluminum panels in the cockpit and engine bay
-Pulled my T56 and disassembled to figure out what it needed before putting it in the car. Everything appeared to be solid with the exception of a twisted mainshaft, so that's getting replaced during the rebuild. It's also getting an upgrade package from The Gear Box
-I decided to compromise a bit on the clutch in the name of street manners. I went with a Spec 10.5" Stage 2+ clutch kit with aluminum flywheel and billet aluminum pressure plate. The 1" smaller diameter and aluminum combo is good for a 20 lb weight savings over stock while still maintaining street manners. I did get a chance to order a second one and install it in a friend's Corvette and I'm extremely pleased with the engagement and feel of the clutch.
-I opted to go with a Holley TerminatorX EFI system for this car instead of the stock ECU combination. For almost the exact same price as it would cost me to go stock, I have far more capabilities with this system and I have a few surprises in store for this. The system is here and I'm working on the install now.
Rebuilding the trans will be the next step. Once that's done it can go in the car and everything is mounted in it's proper position. From there, headers can be fabricated. Once the headers are fabricated I'm really just a few hours of work from getting the engine fired up for the first time.
I'll post pictures soon as time allows.
On a side note I have surgery this Thursday and hoping to get my heart straightened out so I can get back to a somewhat normal life...which means more wrench time!
Thanks for updating. I am glad to see you using the Holley solution. I've been thinking Fitech with the LS Ultimate stand-alone because I don't want to be tied to someone to tune it nor mess with the whole HP tuners thing. Seems Holley is a better option than Fitech based on the research I've done.
Thanks for updating. I am glad to see you using the Holley solution. I've been thinking Fitech with the LS Ultimate stand-alone because I don't want to be tied to someone to tune it nor mess with the whole HP tuners thing. Seems Holley is a better option than Fitech based on the research I've done.
Good luck with your surgery. Hope all goes well.
Todd
Without a doubt, do NOT use FiTech. The product is lackluster at best and their service is nonexistent. We're at a point where we won't let a FiTech car in the shop anymore. Many shops and tuners in this industry are going the same route. Granted a lot of the issues we've seen are likely installer error on the customer end, but every single car I've seen with a FiTech system has been a trainwreck. The Holley systems are similar in price and exponentially more capable.
The stock ECU can do everything I need to do for my project, and I can tune them in my sleep as I do it all day most days, but for the same money it just made sense to go with a more capable system with more features for me to take advantage of.
Appreciate the well wishes. Hopefully I can be back in the shop within a few days!
Main body shell went back on so we could roll it around for our open house back in June. I really needed it on so I could fabricated the headers once the trans is mounted.
Spec 10.5" Stage 2+ clutch kit with aluminum flywheel and billet aluminum pressure plate. A stock clutch and flywheel assembly is 51-52 lbs, so the weight savings is great for a perfectly drivable clutch. Aside from the 20+ lbs removed from the back of the crankshaft, having a flywheel and pressure plate with wear surfaces that can be easily replaced is a bonus. No more machining or replacing flywheels and pressure plates, just replace wear surface which is much cheaper.
The T56 came in and got torn down. The twisted mainshaft is always an unwelcome surprise, but easily replaced. I just media blasted the case components and getting ready to order the rebuild kit so I can get this in place soon.
Good choice on choosing to go with the Terminator X, if you need some help with tuning one of my dealers tunes these on a daily basis and he can tune remotely if you ever need any help with it
Good choice on choosing to go with the Terminator X, if you need some help with tuning one of my dealers tunes these on a daily basis and he can tune remotely if you ever need any help with it
Thanks. I feel it was an excellent choice. I actually tune these and others all day every day. I spend most of my days on the dyno anymore.
I finished the T56 on Saturday and it's ready to go into the car this weekend. That ended up being way more hassle than it's worth. Realistically I could have bought a new trans for what it cost to go through that one. Plus the wait time for parts. The mainshaft was twisted, 2nd gear had damaged teeth on the synchronizer side, 3rd gear had similar issues, and a few other odds and ends.
So I ended up ordering the Stage II upgrade kit from the gear box, along with a complete bearing kit, new inner and outer 1-2 synchro rings, new mainshaft, and some miscellaneous hardware to replace. Hopefully it'll work! I haven't built one of these things in a decade and it isn't exactly like riding bike.
My trans mount should be here tomorrow. I'm not sure about the AN line for the clutch hydraulics or my remote bleeder fittings. Those were ordered directly from Holley over the weekend and haven't shipped yet. One way or another the trans is going in this weekend so I can start fabricating headers. Even if I have to pull the trans back out to change the slave cylinder fittings later.
The Spec aluminum flywheel, 10.5" 2+ clutch disch, billet pressure plate and bellhousing went in smooth as can be. Measured for installed height and it fell right into the acceptable range without and shims necessary so that's nice. I also installed the AN adapter and remote bleeder setup before the trans went in. The trans went in from the bottom with a little maneuvering but not as bad as I expected.
Next up we started on headers. I used a header kit from Stainless Works with 1 7/8" primaries and a 3.5" collector. Headers were designed with spark plug access and room for plug wires in mind. I like easy maintenance! They're attached to a Vibrant 3.5" 90 degree bend via Vibrant V-bands and dump into a Vibrant merge collector flipped backwards to split it back into dual 3 inch pipes to maintain the correct look for the car.
I'm planning on running a set of auger style muffler inserts on each side for sound. They are a bit restrictive which I why I stepped up in diameter a bit to gain back some exhaust flow. They will be removable just in case I decide to swap them out for something else or run wide open at certain tracks.
Passenger side header went together about the same as the driver's side. Just a bit quicker since I had more room to play with. Next step is to finish weld all of the primaries, set them back in place, tack them to the flange and begin the process of finish welding.
everything is looking great Nick. love the header work.
Question on your engine placement, how did you decide where it would sit forward/rear in the chassis? also what's your approximate driveshaft length looking like?
everything is looking great Nick. love the header work.
Question on your engine placement, how did you decide where it would sit forward/rear in the chassis? also what's your approximate driveshaft length looking like?
Thanks man! great work again.
Thanks Joe! Engine placement had various factors since I'm using an LS, a T56, and a solid axle instead of the usual options. Shifter placement was a factor as well as making sure I have enough driveshaft length. Being a solid axle I wanted to be careful not to have it too short and end up with any extreme u-joint angles as the rear suspension moves. Even though there won't be too much rear suspension movement it still had to be taken into consideration. I also wanted the engine a bit forward to help move some weight over the front tires.
Almost ready for the first test fire. Over the past couple weeks, I finished header fabrication, the accessory drive system, finished the fuel system, collected a few more parts, and did some temporary wiring for the Holley EFI system. This morning I finished a few fittings, fluids, made plug wires, loaded my base calibration into the Holley ECU, and gave everything a good once over. It's ready to start for the first time once I add fuel. I called it quits for the day since my friend Dean wasn't there. He's got plenty of hours in this thing and quite frankly a lot of the motivation when I've not been feeling it due to health issues and stress from work. So I'm going to wait to start it until tomorrow when he's able to be there with me. I'll get some more pictures uploaded soon.
The engine came to life today! My son Austin got to light it off for the first time. He's been telling everyone ever since. Thankfully I've done so many of these Holley systems I was able to get pretty close on the base file and it fired with ease as soon as we got fuel in it. Found one fuel leak at a bad fitting, but no major issues.
Congrats on the fire, those headers look great. Have you decided on an intake system? - I'm digging the look of the dual CAI for my LS3 if I can make it fit.
I haven't really decided yet. It will depend on where everything else ends up. A lot of that is still up in the air. As much as I want to do carbon fiber or aluminum, I may end up using stainless just to add some weight over the nose of the car
I knew I was bad at keeping this updated...but damn, it's been over a year. So after the first start we've done some work, but with the current state of the world most of my focus has been on running the businesses and family.
I stumbled on the right deal on a set of CCW Race Classics in 18x11 that I'm going to use. Temporarily it has a set of take off BFG Rival S tires on it in 315s for mockup. The interior panels are permanently mounted and sealed now. The powder coated engine bay panels had a mishap with brake parts cleaner, so they got pulled out and redone in matte black this time. The rivets and titanium fittings offer a nice contrast against the black and this coating should be a bit more durable, so I'm good with it.
The RF harness had all the unnecessary stuff removed. My Holley EFI harness was then integrated to the fuse panel to allow them to work together instead of everything running separate and wiring all over the place. The ECU was mounted to a simple bracket I made that fits under the passenger side of the dash. The diagnostic LEDs should be easily visible without having to remove anything. I also added wiring for backup lights which I'll add when body work is done. The aluminum panel for the top of the trans tunnel was cut and a removable panel installed to accommodate the shifter location as well as allowing access to the shifter without pulling the trans. The Holley 12.3" Pro Dash was mocked up so we could get everything wired in place as well.
I used an ICT Billet battery tray to mount that up front along with a marine battery. They usually have thicker plates which are less susceptible to vibration damage plus a great reserve capacity and studs for connecting the ECU or accessories. The coolant pipes were made of 308 stainless and TIG welded. I used a Canton reservoir for a fill point on the cooling system and mounted that up higher in the chassis to make bleeding the system a bit easier. For the intake tube I used a single 4" diameter 90 degree carbon fiber tube and a K&N air filter.
I saw the video on FB this morning but glad to see more of the steps along the way too. Sounds mean for sure! Are you going to do anything to quiet it down from the current state?
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Originally Posted by Logan
