rotorbrain

just wanna know if there are any other conversion kits besides hinson and the less than remarkable granny's kit.

jimlab??? you gonna sell a cradle? that tubular setup is oh-so-nice. hahaha.

paul

jimlab

I've sold 2, but I don't really have plans to make any more and my cradle is for the LT1/SBC anyway. I'd have to get an LS1 mock-up block and set up motor mounts for it.

Mine is also a bit more expensive than Hinson's (I broke even on the last one at $1,100 for the chromemoly version), but it is a complete replacement, not just a hacked-up stock cradle.

rotorbrain

all of those qualities are the reason i like your cradle. . .

jim, do you mind if i ask you some questions about the v8 conversions? . . . well, im gonna anyways. hahaha.

obviously, im thinking about doing the ls1 swap. lets say i did the hinson swap. i "figure" i could sell all of my rotary related crapola in order to fund the entire turn-key swap. pretty much just the base deal. no frills. . . cause i also figure that a stock ls1 should be able to move faster than my car with 400rwhp. . . which is what my current setup is shooting for.

im just wondering what "maintenance" i should be aware of AFTER the swap is done. are there problems with the chassis? basically, can i just do their base swap and maybe get away with doing some other stuff that might be needed done about a year from the completion?

thanks,
paul

jimlab

None that I'm aware of, and people have been driving LS1 FDs for thousands of miles now. Of course, Torque Central is the best place to get direct feedback from owners.

Sure. Put 12-15k miles on it and change the oil 2 or 3 times.

rotorbrain

haha, its too easy. . . these guys on a local forum think im stupid for wanting to do it. they keep on talking about the problems incurred by putting a motor in a car that it doesnt belong to. i dont think they fully understand the rotary!!! they seem to think im some jerk kandy kid talking about some super power mod like when the newb's get on here asking about 20bs and such. whatever. haha.

i for some reason cant get on to torque central. i registered. . . wait, that was ls1 tech. anyways, im waiting on my email from torquecentral, so that i can finish registry.

so, heres my reasoning behind this. im married, and my wife hates my car. . . because its always down and all the such. i told her im not selling it. . . so i figured this might be our compromise. . . besides. . . im tired of messing with the damned thing. . . nothing is cool about a car that ALWAYS sits on jackstands. . . but then again. . . you seem to be okay with it. hahahaha. . . low shot, i know. i can understand in your situation. . . quite a different beast youre building there. . . and the fact that you have a z06 and a supra to play with would be enough for me "not to care" about the FD. hahahaha.

thanks,
paul

jimlab

Yep, doesn't bother me. I can afford to let it sit for several more years if I feel like it.

BTW, have you seen my latest creation?



Had. Past tense.

The point was that some people seem to think that I've spent all of my spare time working on my FD over the last few years and still haven't been able to finish it. They don't know about the other cars I've had during that time, because I didn't post that much about them. If I'd posted about two full seasons of drag racing the Supra and all the modifications I'd made to it and Z06 in the same thread as the FD, it would be twice as long as it is already.

razorback

damn thats a nice rear subframe. oh and i cant remember if i asked you this before but what did you use to make your cradle out of? (steel, size etc) i plan on starting my conversion next weekend.

rotorbrain

jim, i have seen that and i want it sooooooooooo bad. . . but its just too far out of my reach right now, unless i am able to sell enough of my rotary stuff to get it all squared away. i figured i would come out with roughly $10k after i sold all that crapola. . . that should be enough to cover the conversion + ls1 drivetrain.

if i have money left and youre still doing the rear end conversion group buys or just happen to have something left over. . . im in. . . as of right now. . . i simply cannot. . . which sucks.

paul

jimlab

4130 chromemoly tubing (1 5/8" OD, 0.083" wall thickness).

4130 requires TIG welding. 1020 DOM (drawn over mandrel or seemless) mild steel tubing (0.134" wall thickness) is what most shops typically use for roll cages and would work just as well. It's just heavier.

wingsfan

Paul, My cammed LS1 ran problem free for a full year before I decided to take it apart for a few upgrades. Not so much as even a hiccup after I got all the initial bugs squared away. I let two widely recognizeable forum members (turbojeff and DamonB) drive my car, so you could sloicit thier opinions if you want non-biased third party thoughts. You can read some of their thoughts here

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=ls1

I did my conversion myself using Hinson's stuff before deciding to upgrade some of it. Feel free to send me a pm if you want to ask me any questions about the process of the swap, or anything else swap related.

razorback

thanks jim.


does anyone have any good program reccomendations for a program that i could use to design an engine cradle?

razorback

have you talked to "phillyfab" on torquecentral? does he do good work? and does he do mopar stuff? (i need a dodge 318 custom cradle) and id really like to not call grannys.i may email him tomorrow (philly, not grannys) and see if he can help me.

jimlab

He now goes by "GEG" and his e-mail is rx7smallblock@yahoo.com. Personal differences aside, he seems to know what he's doing.