1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomod

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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Wed Nov 16, 2016 4:19 am

more parts arrived.

I decided to pickup an ls1 intake instead of trying to repair the ls6 intake for turbo use(i will probably eventually repair it to resell)
mainly because i didnt want to deal with possible boost leak and the ls1 has an EGR hole up top that ive used before for IAT sensor.

ive also picked up an hptuner pro unit. so when i get this ready ill be ready to go.

also picked up some turbo spec TSP 228/230 cams :th: :th: :th:

downside, my schedule is really busy until 2nd week of December, which means no real progress till then.

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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Sat Dec 17, 2016 11:29 pm

UPDATE: It begins

Finally on winter break. Fairly short break so I dont think I will get much done since I have a lot of other priorities.
But im hoping to at the very least mount the engine/transmission so i can slowly build stuff around it.


I took down the exhaust thats on there, i dont know what this muffler is made out of but its heavy. Im so surprise of the weight that I had to mention it lol. Its not going back of course.
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Finally pulled the engine out of the truck and strip the accessory out.
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Had to open it up to make sure nothing is broken up top, not as clean as i would have liked(well maintained) but not too bad either. Everything seems to move freely so i decided that initial "check" is a pass. :mrgreen:
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A quick cleaning, and ready for test fitting, I decided to reuse the top gasket for now until everything is mounted and fired up. Once im sure its in good running condition i will take it down for the final refresh of all gasket and more thorough cleaning. This is just so im not grabbing a bunch of grease when im moving it around the bay.
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Heres the first test fit. engine is sitting high in the front, looks like the "ears" is hitting
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and had to cut these off.
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thats all for now. BUT looks like the trans tunnel will have to be modified and remade. The 80e is just too fat :cuss:
so while im at it I may considering modifying the top part of the firewall to move the engine 6" back as well
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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Tue Dec 20, 2016 2:44 am

A little bit more progress. Taking out what the previous owner added. engine fits but I need to clearance the tunnel more to fit the bottom part of the 4l80e.
This is officially the first time im modifying a tunnel and firewall of any project. Should be a learning experience. :th:

Im a bit worried that I may have caught the "while Im at it bug" :shock:
I had originally ditch the idea of AWD but being this far deep in the project making a few more cut and making room for awd doesnt seem so bad now. So now im kinda wondering if i want to ditch the rx7 front suspension and go awd of save the awd for my future project (70 transam)

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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby BadBowtie » Tue Dec 20, 2016 7:32 pm

I think you've got a lot of work either way but thats the great part about a project. Just brought this video to mind, not trying to fuel the fire :lol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uR47JefP30


edit: i didn't realize, but the video doesn't mention that its awd, but it is! I think using the transfercase from an Astro or similar
James

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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Monza Harry » Wed Dec 21, 2016 3:47 am

BBT I seem to remember an AWD Vega on here many years ago. The AWD T-case from the Astro/Safari/Blazer/Cyclone isn't a long life unit' I've had two now [and an Envoy now] and they just don't have enough front pull when they get older even with older/tired 4.3L's and the undercarriage parts aren't tiny. But if you make it fit/work it will be COOL BoostedVega ! Harry
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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby BadBowtie » Wed Dec 21, 2016 10:05 am

Monza Harry wrote:BBT I seem to remember an AWD Vega on here many years ago. The AWD T-case from the Astro/Safari/Blazer/Cyclone isn't a long life unit' I've had two now [and an Envoy now] and they just don't have enough front pull when they get older even with older/tired 4.3L's and the undercarriage parts aren't tiny. But if you make it fit/work it will be COOL BoostedVega ! Harry


Now that you mention it it rings a bell, this and the link inside the post describe it somewhat. I cant find anything on the website, it could have been updated. I almost remember the car being blue or teal. http://h-body.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41243
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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Thu Dec 22, 2016 3:03 am

Yea ive seen that link before but also empty as it is now.

these two guys are actualy the main reason ive consider the awd ls1

awd corvette
http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3- ... y-awd.html

awd chevelle

http://www.engineswapdepot.com/?p=4520
Heres a video from a dig.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJTJ3_ARmPI


I would love to tackle the task and ive done just basic research that parts wise it looks doable.
most probable path would be nvg149 with adapter to mate with 4l80e.
IFS would just be from an astro van.

my main concern(i havent look this up) would be the cost of narrowing the IFS(im sure it can be done but at what cost) astro van track width is 10" wider.

second would be space. this is a pic i found of the 4l80e with the 149. by the looks of where i want the engine at. i just dont have the room for the transfer case unless i raise my seats.
I think the driveshaft would fit. then a whole front suspension redesign. its still a possibility but i dont think i will pursue it. It will definitely be on my next "long term project" not something like this as i want this up and running by summer.(atleast on its own power.)

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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Thu Dec 22, 2016 3:07 am

UPDATE: found some more of "those" things nothing really surprise me anymore. I just kinda expect it lol
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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Thu Dec 22, 2016 3:35 am

UPDATE: Engine and transmission location finalized. Looking to get a driveshaft made so i can make the engine and transmission mount. I want to make sure i dont have too much angle from the transmission to differential so i decided I want the driveshaft made first so i can dial the proper angle if needed.


As it turns out I needed to cut more to get it where I wanted it.
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Heres how far back the transmission sits. It looks like i can relocated the steering and the brake booster/master. As well as have some what enough room for the gas pedal.
This is basically where it will sit.
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Heres the engine final location. This is a mock up with alternator and AC at their planned location. unfortunately all bracket for the accessory will be custom since stock are too bulky.
This also means that my power steering will be MR2 electric pump due to lack of space.

Notice the flipped headers. Yes TWINS are a possible route if i can find a way to route the exhaust to the back while keeping all the accessory.
worse comes to worse it will be a single turbo :cry: :cry: front or rear mounted.(which will for sure make the power but i really want twins this time around)

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Now this is where I really wanted this swap to shine. LS fits nice in the engine bay as people have done before but Im aiming for it to be as close to 50/50 weight distribution. I pushed the engine back as far as i can. Hopefully everything works out in the end :th: :th: :th: The front of the engine is just about lined up with the wheel center. :D :D :D
I was hoping to lower it more but I didnt want the oil pan to be the low point. As it sits the oil pan is the same level as the subframe.

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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Thu Dec 22, 2016 4:02 pm

pulled the trigger on the Driveshaft today. Called Hinson Motorsports and Brian is going to be making my Aluminum Driveshaft.

This means AWD is out. and sticking to this and see how things end up.

:th:
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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Mon Jan 16, 2017 12:38 am

UPDATE:

So this came in 2 weeks later than what I was told. :evil: :evil: :evil:
Definitely do not order from Hinson if your in a time crunch. Good price, product looks great but bad customer service though.

anyways here it is. Trying free up my schedule this coming weekend and hopefully I can work on the car and get things mounted

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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Tue Jun 27, 2017 10:41 am

UPDATE: Took a long break from working on this. Been extremely busy lately. But I had some time to spare and got a couple more stuff going.

It took some time but I was finally able to set up the exact location of the engine and transmission.

I also placed some stock parts to see how well it all fits. (still undecided if I want too cut the upper part of the firewall to make room from the truck intake or keep the LS1/LS6 style and modify the bracket and water pump pipe-not ideal since it would void the warranty on a new part.)
Key goal here is to keep as much STOCK GM accessory as possible so maintenance is cheap in the long run. As it sits, it looks like I can make use of the stock alternator and PS(stock bracket with truck intake or modified stock bracket if LS1 style intake). Im still trying to figure out a way to make use of stock GM AC unit or just go with aftermarket LS bracket.

It does make use of Truck accessory and this is by choice. The truck crank pulley was the perfect spacing for the PS rack. If I had used fbody or vette the engine would have to sit much higher.

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As seen in previous pics. I'm really satisfied with how far back this engine is right now.


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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Tue Jun 27, 2017 10:55 am

UPDATE: Passenger Engine Mount
Driver side will have to wait until I figure out if I want to mount the turbo up front or in the trunk.

Had a chance to test out my Budget TIG welder setup and It performed great. Im still in the process of learning TIG so I decided to do 3 pass on the body mount - this is to ensure proper penetration since I felt like my welder was not strong enough for the thickness that im welding.


Body mount- Decided on low profile body mount design since it looks like a long/tall body mount will get in the way when I remove the engine/trans.

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Motor mount - before paint
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Here it is mounted and holding the weight of the engine. The frame mount is tack welded and will need to be "finished off" when I have the engine removed. It will also receive a top plate for reinforcement.
Really happy with how this turned out. Ton of room for piping if I decided to route my piping that way.
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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Sid » Tue Jun 27, 2017 1:49 pm

Mine sits almost in the same place. I'm using a Tremec 6 speed manual and the shifter position is almost perfect.

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1975 Vega wagon
1972 Buick Skylark
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Re: 1971 Chevy Vega-RX7 suspension. Turbo V8 to come-Restomo

Postby Boostedvega » Wed Jun 28, 2017 3:19 pm

Sid wrote:Mine sits almost in the same place. I'm using a Tremec 6 speed manual and the shifter position is almost perfect.


I was actually over on your thread not to long ago. Crazy build looks great. Got any pointers on how I can redo my front suspension framing? or do you think that its strong enough for heavy street use?
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