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Another Conversion: My '90 V6 truck gets an LT1 V8
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This conversion is about 20 years in the making with the planning and collection of parts. Recent changes at my shop as far as storage has forced me to either move on this project or sell it off in pieces. I do need a functioning pickup again and I do miss driving it and in reality both the truck and its parts aren't worth a whole lot as far as cash value. Certainly the drivetrain isn't worth what I originally paid for it back in '97 :( so I've decided to finally build it and get it up and running as planned. Attachment 205075 Here is how it looked about 8 years ago. It has the V6 engine and these early ones were notorious for blowing head gaskets. This one blew both of them about 10 years ago so here she has sat. I'd get about 3-5 notes a year under the windshield wiper asking to buy it. But its got a blown motor and its on a salvage title. Meaning: It ain't worth squat, other than its use to me as a truck and that I happen to still like it. So I never entertained any offers. Attachment 205076 I'm not full size truck guy which is why I like this old beater so much but I do want full size truck power and..... sound. :P I bought this '93 LT1 small block complete way back in '97. It was a killer powerplant at the time but with the introduction of the newer LS powerplants and the passage of time it too isn't worth much. :( However, I own it clear so I'm going to put it all to good use. More later... Thanks for looking!Justin |
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I have way too many irons in the fire but I'm not doing this alone. My buddy Rick had offered to help me with the physical swap then its off to Utah this fall where my cousin David who runs a specialty speed shop will build the V8 engine and will interface all EFI and emission stuff along with plumbing for the A/C, heater, Power steering and brakes, exhaust etc. In the end it all has to work and pass SMOG. I'm not building a Hooptie, it has to be nice vehicle in the end. Attachment 205077 Fast forward about 8 years and the desert sun has taken more of a toll on the old girl and my 35's (tires) long rotted away. A buddy of mine gave me some stock rollers to get it around. Attachment 205078 Time to begin breaking it all down in prep for the new motor. Attachment 205079 Interior all had to come out as well in anticipation for firewall modifications and any needed changes to the tunnel. I've built and rebuilt this truck 2 times over so I know this old truck well. :) More later...Thanks for looking! Justin |
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Transmission choice. Like everything else I was on the learning curve and it took me some time to figure out exactly what my options where as far a transmission for this conversion. I only had two criteria that had to be met, it had to remain a functioning 4X4 and it also had to remain a manual transmission. An Automatic is nice but I prefer the fun and experience of banging my own gears especially with a V8! I went of course with Advance Adapters. I explored the options like the bellhousing conversion for a Toyota trans to accept a Chevy motor but it seems designed for the Vortech V6 motor. I thought about it but I'd always worry about this stock Toy transmission. I'd have to baby it otherwise it wouldn't hold up for long against the torque of a V8. The axles too, which will be the next weak link in the chain to be changed but they'll work for now. So the conversion kit I narrowed down to was for mating an NV4500 5-speed to an early 23 spline gear drive Toyota transfer case. This meant I could not use any of the existing 4X4 running gear already in the truck. The transfer case is the weaker chain driven version. I was soon on the hunt for a transfer case and a new transmission. Attachment 205080 Eventually found this NV4500 trans in great condition from a '98 Chevy 4X4 truck. This was perfect as the bell housing is all set up for my LT1 motor. Would have really been simple if I could have just used the Chevy transfer case too but the output shaft comes out on the left side. :( Also pictured is the correct early style gear drive Toyota transfer case. New adapter housing is bolted to it in the photo. Attachment 205081 This is one big heavy duty dog! Cast iron body with PTO outputs; this trans would also be found behind a Cummins diesel in a tow truck. Way more than I need for my little mini-truck but this is the only combination that they make a conversion kit for that fit my plan. What you see here has taken me several years to round up, paint etc. I bought those alloy PTO coolers just because I liked them. The other side won't clear the eventual drive shaft so I'll probably only be able to use the cap. Attachment 205082 So with my cousin David agreeing to help me with the motor I dug this all out of long term storage and began fitting it together in earnest. Only modification required on the transmission is to shorten the output shaft a little. That next..Thanks for looking! Justin |
Looking forward to seeing what solutions you come up with, especially for shoehorning that big transmission in place. What is your LT1 out of and what kind of horsepower is it supposed to make? I have a first-generation 4runner and I too would like to give it some V8 power. I will probably choose a 1UZFE 4.0 L V8 out of a Lexus. With a stock output of 260 hp and a peak torque of 260 ft lb not arriving until 4500 RPMs it can play nice with a Toyota R series manual transmission. My runner was equipped with an automatic from the factory, but I also have at least two of every part needed to convert over to a manual. After thinking about it though, I will probably choose to stick with the automatic. I am leaning that way because it would make the swap possible without the need for any expensive conversion parts. If I understand correctly, a version of the A340 transmission that came in the later T100 pickup trucks has a factory adapter and output shaft that will allow 4 x 4 transfer case to be mounted on the back of the Lexus A340E transmission. I would like to do this swap without having to buy any expensive conversion parts. The T100 stuff is pretty inexpensively sourced in the wrecking yard.
I'm subscribing to this thread. Good luck and keep the pictures and words coming. |
Thanks Wrenchtech! Its all comes down to personal preference. I've read the opinions that you should keep your Toyota all Toyota and that's fine I can certainly respect that but for me personally a Lexus /Toyota V8 doesn't interest me. I'm sure they make for a nice conversion and the ones I've seen do look nice sitting in an earlier engine bay but I'm drawn to American muscle besides as I posted earlier I already own this powerplant and am completely upside down in its investment at this point. The engine originates from a '93 Camaro Z28. I bought it way, way back (1997) from Billy Grahams Camaro/Firebird salvage in Alabama. Don't know if he is still around but what a great guy to deal with. He shipped it to me absolutely complete with all the accessories and their related lines, ECU, Harness , smog pump ETC. Everything and I mean everything peripheral needed to successfully transplant this engine into another vehicle. I also had the T56 six-speed it was mated to but sold it years ago. As for performance...With David's (engine builder) ability he could have it turning out 750HP if I asked and paid him to but do I really need that? Because I can't leave well enough alone I did snag an old GM performance LT4 upgrade kit so when its all over I'm aiming to have just a nice Healthy and reliable LT4 that will probably be good for a solid 375-400HP and most of that output should be down in the lower RPM ranges. This is another personal preference, I like low, grunty stump puller motors. As for the transmission clearance, I was prepared to cut and modify the tunnel or shim the body just high enough to clear. A 2 or 3 inch body lift kit was out because the truck sits high enough and I had one some time back and just hated the instability (body roll) it created. As of this posting I'm a lot further up the road as the drivetrain is now fully mounted in the chassis. I'll try and get this all caught up but I can say it went smoother than I was expecting. Thanks for following this and best of luck with your conversion whichever way you decide to go.Justin |
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Commitment time on the tranny. Attachment 205083 Per instructions the output shaft has to be shortened just ahead of the splines that where once used for an internal dampener. Attachment 205084 Wrapped the tranny like it was getting a hair cut and carefully zip wheeled the excess off. Attachment 205085 The end was file finished and polished next. Attachment 205086 Now able to mock it up fully for the first time. Attachment 205087 The adapter housing has accommodations for a more forward gear selector. I'd figure this one out later. Attachment 205086 Attachment 205088 Decided I wanted that selector as close to the shifter tower as possible for a more correct look and feel; That later. Attachment 205089 Another requirement for this kit was a 23 spline output shaft gear drive transfer case. As I'd discover those where only found on the four cylinder Turbo version trucks. I faintly remember those in the 80's and they are sort of a rare bird. Most standard gear drive transfer cases have a smaller 21 spline which this one certainly had. The way around it was to buy a lower 4.70 gear set from a company called Trail gear which had the 23 spline output shaft as part of the kit. Problem solved, I'd have a lower crawler gear and most importantly it was now going to work with the transmission adaptor kit. :P A buddy helped me install this kit several years ago and one of the requirements was that we had to grind away some of the inner housing to get the new larger gear to clear. A potential problem is that this factory casting is very light and a few guys where experiencing cracking in their modified housing. Attachment 205090 Advance adapters offers this heavy duty replacement housing machined especially for the larger lower gear sets. Attachment 205091 I went ahead and ordered one as I figured I've got the extra weight of this HD tranny/drivetrain and the extra output of a V8. For 200 bucks it's just good insurance. Installing that next. Attachment 205092 Fast forward several weeks and we are now over at my buddy Rick's shop who was nice enough to help me with this conversion. Getting back to that gear selector location change I wanted: I learned that Toyota made two different transmissions for this particular transfer case. An EFI version and Carbureted version. The Carbureted version has the more forward selector location and I of course had purchased an EFI version. Fortunately the transfer cases are Identical and its as simple as just changing the shifter rails. You can see the new shifter rails with the claw ends poking out of the new housing. Attachment 205093 Done! New HD housing and shifter rails installed. Attachment 205094 Original EFI version shifter location gets a factory cover plate. Now ready to install this for good on the tranny. Thanks for looking!Justin |
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Attachment 205101 First little glitch. These factory shift forks don't reach down quite deep enough to where Advance adapters has drilled and tapped the base holes. I couldn't reach and engage 4 High completely. First thought was to move the base back to center over the forks. We drilled and tapped new holes and I shaved some of the back shoulder of the housing to allow for more movement. After all that it still wasn't enough. This was full afternoon so defeated I went home. Attachment 205102 After some time thinking about it after dinner I decided that the best approach was to add more length to the forks themselves. Rick wasn't really sure about this approach but I said that I don't care what they looked like, they just have to work and do their job. Besides the whole point to this was moving the selector forward. Forks pictured there with an additional quarter inch added. That turned the trick and worked perfectly with base in the original holes. Felt bad about the additional holes and grinding that I did. Wish I would have come up with this first but it won't really mater once the base is on for good. Problem solved anyway. :) Attachment 205103 Transmission and transfer case fully sealed and bolted together as unit.Attachment 205104 Really neat to see it all together after all these years of planning and parts collecting. Attachment 205105 It was now time to bring the truck over and remove the old drivetrain and make ready for the new. That next :) Justin |
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Getting her ready to accept the new drivetrain. Attachment 205106 To make everyone's life easy the core support and inner fender liners where removed. Attachment 205107 We just plasma'd them off at the firewall but before its done I'll fabricate new flanges with capture nuts so this entire front assembly will remain removable for easier service of this larger V8 engine. Actually its not larger than its old V6 only just slightly longer as I'd later realize. Attachment 205108 Out with the old Attachment 205109 Prepping the chassis itself next. Attachment 205110 My buddy Rick plasma cutting the old motor mounts off.Attachment 205111 Cleaning up the remaining slag Attachment 205112 Surfaces all clean but we'd eventually have to cut past those platforms and into the actual frame rail to have enough room for the new mounts. Attachment 205113 Time at last to join the motor to its new tranny. Attachment 205114 One Looong assembly. Attachment 205115 Time to find out whether this is all going to work or not. Fitment into its new home begins.Thanks for looking! Justin |
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Got the new drivetrain sitting in the Sweet spot. :) Attachment 205127 As we jockeyed it for best position the first of several obstacles quickly made themselves known. Attachment 205128 This rearward axle mount is in direct interference with the bellhousing and the eventual starter motor. I'm running the suspension lift and you can see the drop brackets that came with the kit. By Cutting this mount free and eliminating the brackets I can easily remount it lower and hopefully out of the way. Will know once the entire motor is set up. Attachment 205129 But for now it just needed to go. The other side would also have to go. :( Par for the course with custom retro fits. Attachment 205130 With that mount gone the motor really slipped into place and at a really nice angle. I mocked up the water pump for a more accurate final length and to see how far it was going to intrude into the core support. With most of these conversion the radiator must go forward and you end up losing the hood latch. I'm trying desperately to avoid that and at first glance I think I might get away with it. Attachment 205131 As for engine height the front of the oil pan just has to clear the steering link. The motor is spaced off it here in about its final position. Attachment 205132 Other clearance concerns: Surprisingly good clearance with tunnel and bell housing. Worst case scenario would have been a required body lift but I was desperately trying to avoid that too. Attachment 205133 Plenty of room down here and to develop a new axle amount and/or position. Attachment 205134 What was most relieving was to find the shift towers in nearly the stock position save for they are a touch wider apart. So glad I moved that rear sector forward . My initial measurements had the shift tower a lot more forward than this but much to my great relief its almost equal. I was getting worried it was all falling into place a little too easily. Attachment 205135 With all these planets in near alignment we began building the new front engine mounts. Justin |
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Further motor mock up and a few minor but expected clearance issues. Attachment 205136 Welding in the new motor mounts Attachment 205137 Engine now mounted with good oil pan clearance . Attachment 205138 Now time to mock more of the engine up with heads and intake. Attachment 205139 Again this motor started life as an LT1 from a '93 Z28 but being as I can never leave well enough alone I found this complete factory NOS GM Performance LT4 upgrade kit on Ebay several years ago. So once David has completed the rebuild it will be a nice healthy LT4 as what would have been found in the '96 Grand Sport Corvette. Attachment 205140 Interference with the fire wall immediately cropped up on the right side with the head and valve cover. Attachment 205141 Left side fits beautifully so far. Attachment 205142 Head and valve cover encroach into the embossed relief for the A/C evaporator box. Attachment 205143 A quick relief was added so we could keep going. I'll go back and address this later. Also below this cut the lead corners of the tunnel hit the bell housing so they'll have to be reworked a bit. Attachment 205144 Same story on the drivers side but nothing really serious much to my great relief and surprise. Again this will be a clean up detail I'll fix later. Attachment 205145 End of the water pump is damn near even to where the end of the original powerplant sat. Really pleased with the position and fitment so far. Attachment 205146 Onto the next challenge of exhaust manifolds. Justin |
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New drivetrain fully mounted in the chassis. Attachment 205155 Upping the ante with the more parts. Exhaust manifold will require some additional clearance with the firewall and so will the eventual emission system I can tell already. Attachment 205156 Brake lines will also need to be rerouted but just enough clearance in to run a pipe through there. Attachment 205157 Left side will require much more work as I couldn't even mock it up. This side dumps out the center and collided with the torsion bar. Attachment 205158 The other axle mount down below there will also have to relocated. I'll deal with all that later... Attachment 205159 Could have been worse.. Attachment 205160 transfer case/ mount sits farther back so the original crossmember could not be reused. Attachment 205161 Fabricated this quick tubular version which utilizes the original mounting location Attachment 205162 And stock mount. This is pretty much just a holding fixture until we finalize its design. Attachment 205163 What I am most shocked and pleasantly surprised with(not to mention grateful) is the clearance I have in with the tunnel. I always thought I was going to have clearance issues with this behemoth of a transmission. I was prepared to either shim the body or major surgery on the tunnel to get them to clear but fortunately neither where required . Attachment 205164 Can't keep the cooler on this side of the tranny due to the eventual drive shaft but it keeps it sealed from the elements for now. Justin |
Lots of work going into this! Can't wait to hear it run! Keep it up.
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Thanks a lot Jake! Its a labor of love. Truck back at my shop to finish out the rest of the sheet metal modifications. Attachment 205165 Mocked up with inner fender aprons and core support. Attachment 205166 Old radiator installed to check for final distance with the water pump. This won't be the unit I'll use but it represents a close approximation. Attachment 205167 Plenty of room for an electric fan assembly. Attachment 205168 The significance of course is that the radiator doesn't need to come forward to make way which means the hood latch can stay intact. All that I've read through the years says this is normally required but I might get away with it. Attachment 205169 The new motor is longer but as you can see its significantly shorter than the old motor with its Plenum and dual overhead cams. Attachment 205170 Sheet metal work on tunnel and fire wall begins next. Thanks for looking! Justin |
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Sheet metal modifications: Tunnel at shifter Attachment 205171 Cut the tunnel back to accommodate the new shifter location and its larger base. Tried the stock lever that came with this trans and as you can see its a bit too long for this much smaller cab; almost like an old rat rod shifter. Attachment 205172 Also gets into the steering wheel as its set up for a much wider full size cab. Custom lever for this application in works. Attachment 205173 Gutted that lever for the threaded insert and will build to suit. Rear of the tunnel now opened to accommodate the new 4WD selector location. Attachment 205174 The difference between now and what was there originally is minimal and it looks almost stock again. So glad I moved that rear selector forward. Attachment 205175 My stock Toyota leather boots and console damn near fits though the span of these two levers is just a touch too wide to leave as is but it was close. Leaving this for now and moving onto the firewall next.Thanks for looking! Justin |
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Begin Fire wall modifications Attachment 205185 Mocked up both my heater core and A/C evaporator box to see how much room if any to recess the firewall. My worst case scenario was that I'd have to buy a vintage air system and make my own custom dash, vents etc. Much to my great relief I found ample room between the wall and these housings to make the needed changes. This meant I was going to be able to keep the original dash, heater core, blower motor and ALL the stock ducting and under dash works. I can't begin to relay what a relief this was and just how much ceremony this saved me. Attachment 205186 The flap that was cut back to make way for the protruding valve cover still didn't reach the heater housing. I knew almost immediately that I'd be able to keep the original system. Attachment 205187 Same amount of clearance to other side with the A/C evaporator box. Attachment 205188 planning my basic attack. Attachment 205189 Began cutting away the wall in and around the A/C housing. Attachment 205190 Then a section in front of the heater core. Attachment 205191 Cut the bottom of this bowl feature Attachment 205192 with plans to raise it up out of the way and hug the A/C box more closely. Attachment 205193 Once I get the new section to hug those housings closer that will give the relief I need for the right engine bank. Attachment 205194 Big hole to fill but I'm getting my brain around what needs to happen. Thanks for looking! Justin |
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Mocking up more of the system to check for clearance with the firewall. Attachment 205214 Head and valve cover mock up Attachment 205215 If I can get the new wall section to run tight against the housings there will be ample clearance. [Attachment 205216 Take the original relief section and just turn it quicker. Attachment 205218 Raise this lower bowl relief too. Attachment 205217 Oxygen tube added. Good clearance on this side but rubs the wall on the left. Will alter the tube to clear. Attachment 205219 Also mocked up a hardline that supplies coolant to the back of the heads. Attachment 205220 Rear shot of it. Have to make sure all this will clear before I start welding new panels in. Attachment 205221 Will clear the left side just fine. Attachment 205222 Getting it all to fit together little by little. Thanks for looking! Justin |
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Exit port issues on the left manifold required me to look into headers a little sooner than expected as those cast iron units don't really lend themselves for modification. I have always wanted the header system by SLP. Much to my disappointment the company is still around but they have long since discontinued parts for this old motor. Attachment 205223 After some searching I was able to snag this NOS set. Had to step up a bit but this is the system I wanted. Attachment 205224 Slightly larger than old cast iron units Attachment 205225 but will definitely flow better. Attachment 205226 Along with more performance they really are a work of art. Attachment 205227 Initial mock up. Attachment 205228 Right side fits about the same as the manifold did. Attachment 205229 However one of the tube runners does reach back deeper. Have to compensate for this clearance and for heat. Really glad I bought these before I welded that firewall back up. Attachment 205230 Left side of course has the same issues as the manifold. Attachment 205231 Exits right over the back of the A-arm. Some mild rerouting will be needed but I can at least modify this tube. Attachment 205232 I've complicated things more as other mods needed include the steering shaft but we'll get it all dialed in before its over. It will be worth the extra effort for the added performance not to mention they just look nice on there. Attachment 205233 Good clearance with the inner aprons. Attachment 205234 Continuing on down this rabbit hole. Thanks for looking!Justin |
Fire wall
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...716b27f8b2.jpg Slowly Jig sawing the wall back together starting at the top using as many original pieces as I could. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...25056c99a9.jpg Both sections set at more relaxed angles to allow for the needed head and valve cover clearance. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...1e8af06fb5.jpg Many test fits and mock ups with the heater core and A/C condenser along the way to get the needed clearance while trying my best to keep them in their stock positions as closely as possible so the dash and all the factory ducting could be maintained. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...b4852896fb.jpg Long way to go but it was nice to begin the process of backfilling that hole. More later... Thanks for looking! Justin |
More firewall
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...ad962a08bd.jpg Started playing around with relief shapes to clear around the header. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...0ace4ec07f.jpg but at the same time not intrude too deeply into the eventual A/C evaporator box. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...65f049969d.jpg A test fit with the header. More clearance shaping to do. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...09a3fcc3ca.jpg but it was at least moving forward in the right direction. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...25e7e10687.jpg Eventually got the shape clearance with the runner. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...ab08ee7266.jpg The runner gets within a half inch from the wall for just a second then tapers away as it moves down. Its going to get a little warm through here but its a tight fit anyway I slice it. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...5ce71bda2f.jpg The new shape relief for the valve cover also coming along. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...cae0725a60.jpg Took alot of time and planning just to get this far but the bright side was the hole in this fire wall was getting smaller. More later... Thanks for looking! Justin |
What a build... wow... awesome... thanks for documenting and sharing your labor of love...
can't wait to see the next update and finished product |
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