1988 FC Convertible + 2005 L33 V8

[Chevy V8 Converter]

This car was rescued after sitting near a tree (pulled a lot of leaves out of it during the build ). The car was $860, the motor $800, and the T56 $500. I lucked into great deals all the way around. I've attached a few pics of when I got it and with the new motor.

After pulling the old motor & tranny, I used a Hinson kit to install the V8 (the L33 is from a 2005 Silverado SS, and is an all aluminum 5.3L high output motor). I added a 2002 Z06 cam and used Pacesetter LT headers (not recommended due to clearance issues) into 2.25" pipes into oval Magnaflow mufflers.

The motor uses a Vette accessory system since this setup mounts closest to the block. I had a leftover radiator from my Supra swap from a 1991 Chevy truck & was able to adapt it in after relocating the AC condenser forward. I'm using a 3.8L Taurus fan with an aftermarket controller.

I got in on the Racepak dash GP here, and it works very well. The only issues are the odometer does not read the full mileage and I can't figure out how to make it control the cooling fan.

The wheels are 18x8.5" ADR Classics with 245-40 tires. The fronts are really close and will rub at full lock or occasionally on hitting a bump. I would like to space these out a little and add a pair of flared front fenders.

I used a base F-body VCM program with my HP Tuners to get it going, it runs very well and is a blast to drive.

I still have a few bugs to work out, such as the dash AC control, a passenger window regulator, a new convertible top, and a new windshield.

Most of the parts were found here or on LS1tech/Craigslist at bargain bin prices!

In the middle of doing this, I sold my house & had to move the fleet one at a time to the new garage.

Here is the LS1 Tech Video Link:
Click here to see Video

[b005td]

can u post more abt the dash
thx

[WhiteSeven]

Awesome deals on that stuff, well done! Post more pictures of the finished product.

[Chevy V8 Converter]

The plus side of the dash is:

• It works great with the T56 electrical speed output.
• It is fairly easy to program. I had my fuel sender out of the car when I did mine, but you could do it by having the car out of fuel & then filling up. Trial and error will get the speedometer done.

On the minus side:

• It requires a lot of fabrication to fit it into the dash,
  
• Although it indicates it can control electric fans I have not found info on how to do this (the manual only addresses how to set the cut on temp, not the cut off, it may be preset, but it doesn't say anything about this).
  
• The odometer mielage on high mile cars like mine will never show up correctly. When I took it in for service, they wrote down a funny number for miles, I realized it was set on battery voltage. The odometer abbreviates 6 digit readings, so 155,555 will read something like 1555.5. I don't think I did anything wrong in programming this since you put in 10% of the actual value, there is just not enough room for all digits.

I cut a sheet of 1/4" plexiglass from Home Depot to the shape of the dash opening and left extra on it in 4 different places. I then drilled mounting holes for the dash and cut openings for the wiring per the supplied template. I painted the plexiglass black and heated the legs of the plexiglass into angle brackets to attach it to the Mazda dash opening.

I used the Racepak harness and added in an oil temp sender on the back of the block using a Tee from the LSX oil pressure sender. All the wiring is very straightforward per the instructions with the exception of fan control. I'm using an adjustable unit with the sensor mounted in the top hose in an aluminum adapter. On the minimum setting, the fan comes on around 218+/- degrees on the dash, but the dash sensor is right next to an exhaust port.

[Chevy V8 Converter]

It was about all I could do to get the car out & on video- had been meaning to do this for a while. We moved into a new home & garage & I still have a million things to do- and then I have to sort out the garage so I can continue wrenching.

I'll have some more pics sometime in the future. The car needs a bath & polishing, but should clean up good and be a decent "20 footer".

[aram]

How much did you have to chop up those pacesetter headers?

[Chevy V8 Converter]

I had to cut & re-weld (using a 3" 45 degree angle pipe) the driver side to get the outlet where I wanted it- this came out really good. I didn't do anything to the passenger side, but the flange part was up against the floor of the car, I "massaged" the floor a little to get some clearance, but don't like to do stuff such as this.

I also had to notch/grind the engine crossmember in a couple of places. My .02 is that these are more trouble than the savings, the next best thing from what I've seen here are the "poorboy" headers made up from the BBK Mustang units w/ LSX flanges.

[b005td]

i might be able to drive the car soon
u think we can meet up and give me a hand on installing the racepak thingy ?

[Chevy V8 Converter]

Have you checked the original Racepak GP thread? I don't have the time right now even to work on my other cars, but I'm sure one of the others can help out.