Touring LSX/T56 swap

[AHenry014]

Its about time I made a thread for this project. I took the car apart end of this past January, as you may recall from my drivetrain part out thread, and the project has been in process ever since. At this point, we (mikeday1036 and I) are currently getting some plates cut to make the custom subframe. Project proceeds as such: Subframe -> mount rack -> rack means we can create the steering shaft -> steering shaft in place means we can build headers -> headers means exhaust can be plumbed -> and so on. Any questions, just ask and ill try to field them all.

engine
6.0L lq9, 120k mile motor from '05 Escalade
Tick Street Heat v2 Stage 1 cam
BTR pushrods
PAC double springs
F-body ls1 accessories/pan/intake/fuel rail
Bosch design 3 injectors, 4bar fuel pressure makes these ~40lbers
custom long tube headers

It will be run by a EFIsource Gold Box, which is nicely packaged Megasquirt III. I resprayed the engine bay and relocated the ABS.

trans/drivetrain
'97 LT1 Borg Warner T56. Sent it away to Texas Drivetrain Performance for LSx conversion and a stage 2 rebuild.
Diamond Stage 2 clutch with Lightweight steel flywheel.
B&M short shifter
M5 rear subframe and 3.73 large case differential, added camber adjusters. Every bushing is new except for the radial slide bearing/bushings in the trailing arms. Wheel bearings were also replaced.
M5 driveshaft modified for GM slip yoke at trans end
Added second set of calipers for hydro ebrake setup

Front suspension
Went with the Fbody rear sump pan to be able to covert this car to a front steer, steering rack setup, like most other bmw's.
e36 spindles
e46 control arms
e30 lollipops
z3 rack
e36 tubes to covert my current ksport coils
e46 m3 rotors, f40 calipers

enough info, heres some pictures. I have over 100 of them so far, so heres just a few for teasing. I will post more later.


















money shot (video, click it)

[0reo535i]

Wow

[eddycooper]

Whoa. You need to post more pictures!

FYI, on high-torque swaps like this, you might want to consider a driveshaft from a 540i/6 (assuming you haven't already built the driveshaft). The 540i/6 units are beefier than the M5 units. Guibo is 105 mm (vs. 96 mm on the M5) and the CV joint is 94 mm (vs. 86 mm on the M5).

[AHenry014]

good info to know. Ill keep an eye on it and see how she holds up. Ill get more pictures up when I get some more free time.

[mikeday1036]

About time!

[AHenry014]

moar

[Sam Son]

I haz a happy

[ShapeShifter]

Awesome!

[zubbie]

Finally a real lsx thread. Best way to post it. After the work is done.

[Kinghorn]

hell yes. see so much amazing'ness in this thread already with only a single update

Let me know what you think of the rear camber correction kit once you get it installed, was interested as well.
but wooooow! My touring puts out 250hp crank and the S3.46 is too high for it. Not even going to guess what this beast is going to put out, yet you went even higher with a S3.73?

Your one crazy man, building one crazy awesome e34 touring.
Look forward to watching this continue, thanks for making my day.

[AHenry014]

Thanks man! Appreciate it. The diff gear ratio jives well with the trans gearing. Its a small bit higher than say a stock gto or fbody, but will still be able to cruise at 80mph at 2krpm in 6th. It should go pretty good. I conservatively estimate 380whp but have seen similar setups making 400whp, so we shall see.

dumping a bunch more on you guys here

[chuddism]

I've never considered an lx swap for my touring, but man you have so much respect for doing this. I'm happy to see the rust too, shows in not the only one trying to fix a non perfect car. If love to see this thing when done. Looks like your close enough.

[B10 BITURBO]

Really good looking,,,,,,,,

do you have pictures with the subframe boltod on !!

stunning job

[AHenry014]

Thanks guys. Subframe has yet to be started. We are getting plates cut that will bolt where the stock subframe bolted on. We will make a tubular subframe that will mount the rack and the inner control arm ball joint.

[stoney85]

What are your plans with the car? Road, street, drift?

That's a decent sized radiator! Looks like it was made to suit the E34. Off the shelf or custom job?

Would this be a viable radiator compared to the tiny mishimoto ones everyone seems to use, or is it only suitable for your setup now the A/C is removed and whatever else is missing?

[AHenry014]

What are your plans with the car? Road, street, drift?

Autox, drift, road course, hill climb, etc.

That's a decent sized radiator! Looks like it was made to suit the E34. Off the shelf or custom job?

Off the shelf universal Griffin radiator, P/N 1-25242-X. I wanted to delete the expansion chamber to simplify things and make the bay more aesthetically pleasing, and it will be more efficient then the Mishimoto m3 rad I had in there.

Would this be a viable radiator compared to the tiny mishimoto ones everyone seems to use, or is it only suitable for your setup now the A/C is removed and whatever else is missing?

Not sure how viable this rad is for everyone else with more stockish setups, that retain A/C. Lower hose size is 1.75" on this radiator, so its a .25" larger than the mishimoto. Top is the same size, 1.5", and may very well be close to the same spot as the factory port, but the lower is certainly in a different location, so that hose would be custom. The stock condenser sits on two rubber isolators at the bottom, and bolts into two spots up top on the radiator support. I am not sure if the condenser still fits with where I placed the radiator. I don't think this car will see A/C again, though I left the option open.

[stoney85]

Great response! thanks for the detailed info

[AHenry014]

Got dis

[moroza]

This should be interesting! Subscribed.

[AHenry014]

Subframe plates cut

[Sam Son]

Wooo

[moroza]

Hm? What do those do?

[AHenry014]

They mount/bolt to the bottom of the frame rails, same as where the engine subframe bolts. We will be building a custom subframe from these plates to mount the steering rack and inner control arm ball joint to.

[AHenry014]

Small update. Got the interior hydro ebrake stuff done for the most part. The bracket and handle pictured in the middle of post #11 are installed in this picture. We gutted some of the foam backing the carpet to the left of the console to hide the master. I was adamant that there was little to nothing shown from the ebrake besides the handle, and the master really didn't fit anywhere else under the console/shift surround. Hell, it'll also be a cinch to bleed (occurring this evening). There is also a 2psi residual valve plumbed in just below where the window switches go. I am going to shorten the handle a couple inches. We fabbed it up long on purpose so we can cut it where it will be most comfortable. I am equipping the end of the handle with a BMX grip, as shown. A little throwback to my bmx racing days. The one pictured will not be used. Im thinking some vans waffle pattern

I T-ed the ebrake feed into the clutch reservoir, so once I got the ebrake plumbing all set, was able to bleed the clutch. Everything feels great there! Two pedals working!

Also note the 370mm Mtech 2 wheel I got from our friend Sriufke here on the forums. He custom wrapped it for me and added the red strip at the top as per my request. I am extremely happy with his work, and his prices are phenomenal!

Tonight is cut the handle down to proper length, bolt it up, bleed the ebrake, and reassemble my interior again. I have a flat ASC shift surround ill be modifying for this. Mike and I were thinking that the black leather boots that go around the seat belt on stock e34 comfort seats would be a perfect addition to the shift surround/ebrake base. Let me know if someone has one I can purchase!

[AHenry014]

Shortened the handle 2" and bled the ebrake last night. Everything works awesome, and no leaks that I could find. Depending on how it works when its actually driving, I may opt to go from the 3/4" ebrake master I installed to a 5/8". Right now the throw is very short and firm, and may take a bit of effort to lock up the rears. I wouldn't mind a bit more throw and ease of use from a smaller master. We shall see.

A bit of further information on the ebrake. As mentioned before, I T-ed into the clutch res for the ebrake. I ran this hose through an existing grommet in the firewall that dumped it out just above the throttle pedal, next to the hvac box. I fished this around the hvac to the center console where it drops down to feed the master. Little tidbit on the wilwood masters, they use a 7/16-20 thread for the inlet, which from my research is a strange thread to use. Its a long deep hole with an inverted flare at the bottom. I could not find a 7/16-20 brake line fitting to use, and eventually found a 90deg fitting with these threads, an oring, a washer and a jam nut, made for master inlets. The other end was a male -4an. I could not, for the life of me, find a female -4an to 1/4" barb (that would go to the feed I fished through the firewall). Sure, I could get a female/female union, then get a male -4an to 1/4" barb, but what a mess that would be. Too many points of leakage....next to the tunnel....in the carpet...next to my feet and sport seats....yea you get the idea. As it turns out, a -4an fitting IS 7/16-20, and there is an oring counterbore in the feed port on the master. We do this regularly with AN fittings at my work, why didn't I see this before! I had a male -4an to female 1/4" NPT adapter on hand, slapped an oring on it (brake fluid compatible of course!), and tightened her in there. From there, I have a 90deg 1/4" NPT to 1/4" barb. Done deal. As for the outlet, wilwood supplies you with an adapter to a 3/16 standard brake line fitting. I sourced a short rubber brake line from etrailer, meant for hydraulic trailer brakes. It was a foot long in total, with male 3/16" fittings and flares already constructed at each end. Plug one end into the master adapter, and the other end into my wilwood 2psi residual valve, then wilwood adapter to the plumbing I already did under the car (I drilled a hole and slapped a grommet in it to feed the line up through the floor under the console).

Also, for my future reference, and yours, I am using e39 rear calipers/carriers for the hydro ebrake. They feature the same diameter piston and apply to the same diameter/thickness rotor as the e34 m5/540i rears I have on there. The real only differences are how the brake lines attach (I went with a banjo fitting), and where the mounting holes are. I believe all the e39's (save for possibly the m5) use the same caliper/carrier.

The subframe plates are being picked up from a friend this weekend, and the custom tapered tubes for the inner ball joint are being taken care of by a machinist at my work as we speak. Then its subframe time.

So now onto a small pole here! Two different companies make the vans waffle in bmx grip form. The Cult grips come in all sorts of colors, of which I have narrowed down to red, black, or gum color....though I could be swayed to something different. The ODI lock on grips come in those colors as well, but with the options to pick any color clamp, and can also get it laser marked!
https://www.danscomp.com/products-PA...ans_Grips.html
http://odigrips.com/store/bmx/bmx-pr...-lock-on-grips

opinions?