Budget LS swap 6spd RWD Z26 project.

[coryh8504]

What engine software are you running?
I'm looking to ls4 swap my old beretta and leaving it fwd. I was going to pull everything off and run the holley terminator max stand alone system.

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[woody90gtz]

Factory truck. PCM, wire harness and fuse block were free from the donor...and I'm tuning it for free with LS-Droid and TunerPro.

The Holley is great, I have the HP setup for my EFI conversion SBC Camaro, but free is nice too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXfN8isphhM&t=0s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3xdQ-FMNnU&t=0s

[coryh8504]

Nice. I'm going mostly for the convenience factor with the swap. Holley has everything needed without splicing wires or anything along those lines. Only keeping the wires needed for the headlights and such.

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[woody90gtz]

It's in, and this will be final placement - offset to the pass side. Figuring out radiator, fans and hoses. Just bought the Camaro steering rack too. Need to cut the firewall and floor out to fit the trans and weld up the engine mounts. Probably should wash it too. haha
Gotta keep making good progress to get it done before June. haha
https://youtu.be/T87LyyP1CSA

[woody90gtz]

Keep plugging away at it. Sawzalled the firewall and floor out to mock up the trans and the 5spd fitment could be better...that's for sure. Working on a solution to that right now.
https://youtu.be/qDjVmT1ggmM

[woody90gtz]

More solid progress this week...and a huge upgrade! Screw the budget, I'm going t56 6spd. I mocked up my Camaro trans just to compare and it fits basically perfect. And every single thing about the t56 is better than nv3500...shift feel, strength, aftermarket, gear splits, highway rpm... Just price is the only issue. And it looks like I've found a nice solution to that, buying a Tick Performance level 2 for my Camaro and using the stock Camaro trans in the Beretta. I'll have to swap input shafts, front plates and bellhousings...but well worth it to upgrade both cars at the same time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI4HAS2zp7A
Got the motor mounts all done. The subframes will become one piece with a C channel crossbar for the steering rack up front, and a skidplate/brace in the back under the oil pan/bellhousing.
Got my brake math figured out and the Wilwood pedals and Afco masters ordered. Next step is to make them coexist with the steering column.
Bought a rockauto full-aluminum radiator and pushed it forward for some more fan and water pump room. Looks like it will work pretty mint.
Also got the crossmember in and the back half of the raised floor mocked up. Not too far away now! Just trans mount...torque arm mount...front floor...tunnel...pedals...steering...wiring...

[Rettax3]

Nice progress -I had figured you would make a linkage for the NY3500's shift, maybe similar to an old Saginaw or a Mopar A833 4-speed... But heck yeah, T-56!! Definitely jealous over here -you seem to have the best luck for manual transmissions -a T-56, NV3500 for cheap (even if you aren't using it here), the six-speed in your Silverado, and even the five-speed Blazer... Very cool. I'll be watching for the next step, keep it coming!

[woody90gtz]

Actually going 4spd in the Blazer now. The Nv4500 guy ghosted, so I'm picking up an SM465. Don't need overdrive with 37s, and the crawler gear is a bit deeper at 6.x:1. $300 with clutch!

So that 6spd that's mocked up in the Beretta is stolen from the Camaro. Still needed to find another one...and I was able to snag a used Tick Performance T56 built for nitrous! Test drove to make sure it was good and pulled it in the guy's garage. That one will go in the Camaro once I swap it from LS to LT style. I'll take the LS input shaft, front plate, bellhousing, clutch & flywheel and throw them in the Beretta with the stock 94 T56 that I used to run in the Camaro.
Also got the crossmember built and welded in and the torque arm fabbed and installed. So now it's sitting on the suspension and it's a lot higher in the front than I expected. so I gotta figure out some coilover sleeves for the struts with a higher rate and less height. Keeps moving forward though, that's the key.

https://youtu.be/3W7nko-Vj54

[woody90gtz]

Got the stock LT1 trans swapped over to LS style and ready to go in. I'm doing a video of that at some point. This is the second Beretta trans to get opened up on that bench. haha
Also got a few things figured out and started final floor installation. Not a ton of progress in the last couple weeks, but it's still going forward. Couple more things came in while I was in Texas so I can jump back on it.
https://youtu.be/hW1XC6hA9x8

[woody90gtz]

Started mocking up steering and it's kind of a mother. Most of the RWD stuff has been going pretty well, but this is a pain in the ass! haha
Driveshaft came in and didn't fit...and I couldn't chuck it in the lathe to trim it down, so it went back to Texas to get fixed.

https://youtu.be/ESzU80rEKA0

[woody90gtz]

Got it all connected from V8 crankshaft to rear tires. Put the Camaro clutch in it, fixed the trans yoke that Texas "fixed" and put it back on the ground.

The old man has to get a junk Cuda parted before Mopar Carlisle, so he needed his lift. The nerve!

Getting it outside really shows how high the front is with less weight in front of the tires. RWD distribution is so much better... Gonna have to cut the coils though.

Still fighting with the steering. And I'm at the point now that I might be cutting out the engine mounts I welded in to fit the rack better. I knew it was going too smoothly. haha

https://youtu.be/eY5Lu1RB3zk

[Rettax3]

REALLY nice progress. I guess it must feel like two steps forward and one step back, but even that is one step farther than most of us make on a project like this. I haven't even STARTED on my twin-engine Z-26 idea or finished the GTA yet. So nice work, kudos.

[woody90gtz]

Doing some math to figure out spring rate with cut coils.

According to rockauto, a 96 Z26 has 150lb springs, and according to the picture, I would call it 5 active coils, because the tangential end top coil doesn't do much...nearly touching the other coil at rest.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 12&jsn=911

And when I plug the info in the calculator, the math checks out pretty well:
https://www.blueovaltrucks.com/tech/coilspringrate.htm
stock setup
Coil Spring Wire Diameter (d) .593
Coil Spring Mean Diameter (D) 6.1
Number of Active Coils (n) 5
Coil Spring Rate (lb/in) 153

If I cut the "dead" coil off the top, and one additional active coil, that should bring my spring rate to just about 200lb, which is where I want to be
cut 2 coils - one "dead"
Coil Spring Wire Diameter (d) .593
Coil Spring Mean Diameter (D) 6.1
Number of Active Coils (n) 4
Coil Spring Rate (lb/in) 191

I may need to use an additional spring isolator to get ride height back up to where it needs to be with two coils cut, or it may be perfect as-is. And if the free-fiddy fix doesn't work...I can always use some Afco sleeves and do actual coilover springs in the front, too.

[woody90gtz]

Yeah, it's a little sketchy...but you can lift an engine from the bottom with a cherry picker.
https://youtu.be/xuwgxGyi-Lc
I had to cut the engine mounts out and change them to make the steering rack fit better. After butchering the stock subframe, I welded some structure back in and made my rack mounts.
Once my rod ends and steering arms come in from Speedway, it should steer!

[EPfiffner]

Yeah, it's a little sketchy...but you can lift an engine from the bottom with a cherry picker.
https://youtu.be/xuwgxGyi-Lc
I had to cut the engine mounts out and change them to make the steering rack fit better. After butchering the stock subframe, I welded some structure back in and made my rack mounts.
Once my rod ends and steering arms come in from Speedway, it should steer!

Your first solution would have been much easier to implement, but I can see what the issue was, you needed to bring the rack back much closer to the headers. I gotta get caught up on your vids!!