RS Blog 27 - The Power Plant
This is another bit of fun, finally moving the crate engine from storage in front garage to the shop for tear down and part installation before it gets the first test fit in chassis. It has been sitting for almost 2 years now waiting…. The time has come!
As previously noted in a very early blog, this is the last of the LS7. Hand assembled by GM with some upgraded parts yielding a hp output of 570 instead of the original 505 in a Corvette.
As you may have guessed the next few steps weren’t as simple as just plop it in.
First headache was merely getting it off the pallet. Does GM just assume everyone buying an engine will have a ceiling crane??? Ended up using a floor jack, some blocks of wood and stands. Not hard, just minorly annoying. But it was free for the first time!
After removing the parts I no longer need and finding the lost washers…. I got to install shiny new stuff
The machining on this Dailey Engineering pan is amazing. It just bolted on without any questions or concerns. One minor note if you are removing a stock pan, the dry sump uses one extra bolt. Took me at least 30 minutes to realize this while freaking out about a lost bolt.
I’d rate this as an overall success even with the lost washer, giant oil mess and realization I can’t swap the intake direction without a new lifter valley cover.
It is basically ready to drop in, the damper and pan installed nicely.
Next on my todo is finding the proper length belt and some additional pulleys. Originally I was going to move the A/C compressor forward to the extra 4 rib pulley, but think I can actually make a single serpentine belt work.
Note to future me, anything that falls off with an orange bolt mark means I ‘tightened’ it….
Stoked for progress
3D Scanning w/chance of rain
Unrelated to the Ultima progress I am still preparing for Baja in Miata. Meaning I obviously needed to scan the A pillar in between rain showers. Another posts will cover this fun in detail.
