Well it's been awhile since I've been here, figured ya'll needed an update and honestly it's been a lot of planning for the LS swap. I ordered the parts I needed for it from Bullet Speed in March/23 and got them in November. Keep in mind they usually do the swaps themselves, so was one of the first times a kit was made for someone else to give it a go (I think). This is what I got:
- Headers
- Bullet Speed aluminum billet motor pieces
- coil pack relocator kit
- billet fuel pump mounting hat/float plate setup
- abs delete block
- 400 watt power steering motor, harness, bracket plate
- motor mounts
- fab bot ar5 to ls conversion kit
- water pump
Not only did it take a bit to get the parts I needed to do the swap the motor itself has been an issue. I had a guy lined up to do the machine work / rebuild and then he got to busy to do it for the friend price... Had another guy who wanted to help then he found out it wasn't for a build my friend was doing but for my sling and the guy got cold feet. Sooooo I'm rebuilding this motor myself with the friends I do have with some knowledge vs taking to machine shop. Step one was stripping it down and seeing what we're working with and it's not too bad. At some point it went way to long between oil changes and ran a little hotter on one end, but no real damage. Buddy thought we'd be able to polish out the wear marks we did see on the crank for example. No idea mileage on this motor, but was interesting to see the factory hash marks still in the cylinder walls. It's with another friend who works for a city garage near me getting boiled and then we'll work on getting it back together.
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Crank getting polished now, will get all new bearings, stage 2 cam, more bearings, shit ton of seals, rings, plungers, etc.... my list is long. Besides the cam though, it's really mostly just wearable stuff you'd replace on a rebuild. I'm just really worried about all the supporting components for that cam swap like springs, the lifters/pushrods etc... that I not only got good shit, but the right size shit so it doesn't slap something wrong when all back together. Have friends that will help with that part, hopefully...
To control it all, I got a Holley Terminator X with a digital pro dash. The tuners I have around me are very familiar with LS motors and even more so Holley over say the Haltec. So while they could do it, will be easier and I'll get more features setup by going with the holley. Goal is to be ripping out the old motor by January, just waiting on a few more pieces and then I'll share some more pics, but it's a lot closer then you'd think for someone who's learning a shit ton as we go!
We have enjoyed the sling throughout the year, despite this work to get the ls swap done. We did a 3 day trip with the wife and I for the first time with a group going all around the western part of Colorado and enjoying some roads and areas I had never seen before. Wife had a blast despite not imaging how she could live out a 50L dry sack for the trip and can't wait to do it next year. We did some car shows, added to the trophy collection a bit and overall it was a great year. Always wish for more miles, but the miles we did put on were all smiles for sure!
Stay well my friends!
Some random 2023 pics:
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Comments 1
Br4hm4
LS with Terminator X is the same set up I have on my LS swap...just not on the Sling. lol. Good route to go.