I already went ahead and ordered everything for the lines.

The front end isn't too much of a concern. I'm going to need to get some of the weight towards the rear though, of this thing will skate allover the place. The bed is all single wall, and its so light that I can literally move it around myself.

 

I should be spreading that mulch in the background. But this seemed like more fun.

 

I agree

 

ill 3rd that, way more fun.

 

Calling it good. Paint has runs. But it's hard to care since A.) It'll be hidden and B.) I have no idea how long it will even hold up.

 

Haha gotta agree with that as well

 

love it

 

Just snatched this off of eBay to ride in the bed once this **** pile is road worthy.

 

awesome man keep us posted im loving this build

 

Fittings came in today, so I got the oil lines made up.

 

Crummy update. Been too focused on house projects and the Colorado now that the weather is nice. Desperately needed garage space, so I slapped the body on the frame so I can roll it around. Seeing it semi-assembled again makes me want to finish it even more!

 

it happens. i put my porsche build on hold for a good 6 months because i got so busy with work i had no time for it, so i stuck it away in the trailer so i couldnt even look at it.

 

You will get there, just don't forget about it. I have a zfr ready to go on the cobalt and koni's for up front but instead spent all my winter working on my sons old car. Gives me something to look forward to this next winter.

 

We want updates!

 

Time to get this thread churning again! I've been doing some research when I get the chance, and more often than not, creating questions faster than answering them.

I've only acquired a few parts since the last time I posted.
-Brand new windshield and a used solid rear window.
-22x19 Tru-Cool rad from Speedway.
-Engine harness/ECU from an LSJ.

Currently reading and reading on what I need to weed out of the harness and the tune to get it to run stand alone.

One thing that is baffling me is the lack of a cam position sensor. Is this something that I can just have tuned out of the ECU and be fine? Or do I need to add the housing and sensor to the back of the head? I was hoping to avoid doing that, as it takes up precious firewall space.

 

im not sure that you can tune the cam sensor out of the lsj ecm. i can tell you when the cam sensor fails it goes into failsafe and runs batch fire injection and waste spark ignition, and there is likely more to the failsafe strategy.

might wanna ask about this on the hp tuners forum.

 

I ran my car like that for a while but sequential injection is much smoother. I would add the cam sensor if at all possible. Maybe it can be ran off of the intake cam if that helps, im not sure though.

 

Also about the standalone part, all you chould need is to run the can wires, power, and ground to an obd2 port and put that under the dash. You shouldnt need any other modules if you do the VATS delete and write entire. Lmk how it goes, or if you have any other questions.

 

i build custom ls swap harnesses for people, its not really hard to do a stand alone harness. generally i start with stripping all the loom and most of the time im moving the ecm location so i cut the ecm plugs off, then strip out everything thats not used for a swap (egr, downstream o2, evap, a/c, etc) and moving any connections around for stuff thats being relocated. i typically use a small gm fuse/relay box found in early 2000s mid and full size gm cars. in the end there are about half a dozen wires to hook up inside the car (12v run, tach, vss to cluster, clutch switch, brake switch, performance mode switch, check engine light) as well as fan and fuel pump outputs from the fuse box. the ecm doesnt care that it doesnt have a bcm or other modules hooked to it, at least after you remove all the codes for things that its not hooked to.

im sure the lsj could be done the same way, although there is very little being moved around (mainly upstream o2 and vss) and the ecm wiring should be going in the right direction, you could likely just put a hole in the firewall behind the valve cover and run it inside the truck. to do it my method would be to strip the loom and keep the harness in tact and remove the extra stuff one wire at a time.

 

Would you happen to have a part number to that box? There is a nice sized one that is part of the original Saab harness that I might use, but I need to confirm that it will have enough spots.

I really shouldn't have to relocate much now that I'm swapping over to the LSJ harness, since the original location on the ECU is on the driver side of the engine. That will land it right on the firewall in my application.

 

i dont have a part number for the fuse box, i get them at the junkyard and refurb them. most of the people im building harnesses for are doing truck engines they got for cheap so i have to keep the costs of the harnesses down a bit. here is a pic of a complete harness, you can see the fuse block on it



i dont have any closer up pics. they are a metripack fuse block and use mini ato fuses and relays like the cobalts use. you can configure these in any way you want, they have spots for 9 ato fuses, 5 for maxi fuses, 3 x 35 amp relays and 2 x 20 amp mini relays, or you can remove a 35 amp relay and repin the box for 2x 20 amp relays in the same space. it should have plenty of room in it for an ecotec, i have room to spare with and ls engine.

for an ecotec id run a 35 amp relay for a single fan, 35 amp relay for fuel pump, a 35 amp relay to run switched power, and that would run a fuse for coils, a fuse for injectors, a fuse for the ecm switched and another for 12v sensors (o2 heater, boost control solenoid, etc). you then would have room to add another 2 relay sports and fuse sports for gauges and other accessories.

ill see if i can find a better picture of it. gm used them from the mid 90s till mid 2000s, often you find 2 of them on opposite sides of the engine back, newer cars have 2 of them stacked together on the passenger side with a cover making it look like one big fuse panel.

oh, here is the bussmann one i used on my porsche. i really like them but they are around $120 when you buy them with all the pins and seals. offroad guys love them cause they are fully waterproof. there is limited room for relays though, you can fit 5 minis or 3 35 amp

 

Finally went ahead and made and Imgur account since Photobucket sucks the big ones. So I suppose I can update this.

Dropped the motor down into the engine bay for the first time, just to see how things fit. Its currently just resting on the crossmember, but there is plenty of room under the hood for it to come up some.

Alternator clears the steering rack by a mile. Also, the bosses in the block are right in-line with the factory mount brackets.



Even without the rad being recessed, I have plenty of room for efans, and to slide the engine forward so I can add the cam position sensor to the back of the head.



Turbo side has all kinds of room for the exhaust and coolant line.

 

Looking good man!

 

Looks tight to the firewall. Also, the way it faces it will be hard to reach the cam sensor and correct the oil leaks that pop up.

Very cool project.

 

I need something ecotec and rwd...