76 244 LSx LQ4 Swap - no cut subframe

I am making the mounts for jonah111's 76 244 LSx swap. He dropped the car off on Monday and I am pretty close to making mounts. His car will end up with a 6L and a 4l80e. I think he is talking about a cam and tune.....maybe some head work.

Either way the goal for this was to make some mounts and did not require the subframe to be cut. From all the threads I have seen it has not been done. I can see why.... But I am pretty close to having mounts available that will do just that. Install without cutting the subframe...and keep the oil pan above the subframe.

In the pics below you will see the oil pan hanging below the subframe but I have a holley LSx Swap pan in route which is the same profile as the pan below (h3 pan/GM swap pan) but the sub is slightly higher.

Here is a picture showing the differences.


About where the engine will end up




Around 3.5" off the firewall.


Subframe clearance to oil pan...


Some of these are hard to see what's going on. I cannot raise the car up much to show the clearance as the trans is supported on a trans jack and the engine is sitting on the subframe.









Hard to see here but this is off the steering rack and sway bar. The engine is sitting on around 3/8" of wood right now.





Back of trans...


Right now the oil pan is hanging below the subframe...this is with the $140 GM swap/h3 pan. The holley pan will be higher up.


Beginning of the mounts.... The next sets might have a bit more material on the bottom and side but I had these plates on hand. These will still be more than strong enough as is.





You can see the plate here sitting on the subframe...that will get bolted to the subframe.

passenger side


drivers side


Then there will be a piece of 2" DOM that will connect the bushing DOM to the plate that gets bolted to the subframe. Like this...


hooker headers clearing the steering shaft.




I really think some block hugger headers would fit as well.

Some more just random pictures.




Trans tunnel will need some....adjustments here.
The picture looks like it is hitting a lot but really just at the top rib there.






Feel free to check out some of my other swaps at www.classicdaily.net

Been following along with the e36/LS3 build on GRM - welcome Jakeb.

M.H. Yount said:

Been following along with the e36/LS3 build on GRM - welcome Jakeb.

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Looks good, you mention a $140 pan, it looks like the Holley pan is $400 from Summit or can you use the cheaper pan?

The $140 pan is the GM LSx swap pan (which is actually a H3 pan). This pan WILL work in the 240 but it will hang below the subframe. The Holley pan (which is $400 from summit) is shorter so it should be above the subframe or really really close at least.

You can see the difference between the two different pans.


With that said if someone wanted to do this swap they COULD use the $140 pan but again it would hang below the subframe and if the car was really low or you went over something in the road there is a possibility you could rip a hole in your oil pan.

How much clearancing did you have to do with the 4l80e?

Fab up a stainless skid plate as well!

740atl said:

How much clearancing did you have to do with the 4l80e?

Click to expand...

A fair amount... Mostly on the drivers side with a big hammer. No heat yet. It still needs a little bit of work to get room around the VSS sensor and the round plug in. The tunnel might actually have to be cut there and a little pocket made to make room to plug the connector in.

The 4L60e has the plug in a different spot so there would be less concern there. Also the T56 is completely different so again less clearance needed. I have a 4l60e and t56 so once the mounts are made I will be testing with both those transmissions

atrokz said:

Fab up a stainless skid plate as well!

Click to expand...

That would be an option too with the pan hanging down low. Still a possibility to crack the pan though. And if you broke the pan the entire engine would have to either come out or you would have to drop the subframe to replace it.

Yea. I mean even with the shallower pan. Even with a skid plate it'll probably flex back and crack the pan anyway. May as well have insurance right?

atrokz said:

Fab up a stainless skid plate as well!

Click to expand...

Doesn't have to be stainless, just tough enough to withstand a good hit. BFH on the tunnel for a nice massage. 700r4 may actually slide in better. Like the idea of the mounts though. Making it easier is always better for the swap guys.

Yes, could make a skid plate as well but if it is above the subframe but I do not see that much of a reason unless the car would be really low.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't occasionally look for a cheap Ellis/Treefittysicks on Craigslist.

This is TB. Slammed is king Nothing a good suspension setup can't fix though.

JohnMc said:

I'd be lying if I said I didn't occasionally look for a cheap Ellis/Treefittysicks on Craigslist.

Click to expand...

I do it too, don't feel bad. Would be a nice project for another 245.swapping in a V8 or something odd

Damn. I was under the impression this motor was so big you had to slice the crossmember...

I think the engine in my daily driver is going... might need an lm7 to fix it.

The Holley Oil pan showed up today

Here is is compared to the GM pan






Mounts not welded but the weight of the engine is supported by the mounts right now.
passenger side



drivers side



Random pictures








Clearance at the tunnel at the top of the trans.



To get the engine angle I wanted and as low as possible the sway bar will need to be spaced down just a little bit. Or a different bar used. 1/2" should be more than enough. This is with the bolts just loosened.



In the bay sitting on the mounts and trans jack...
Truck intake will not clear the flat hood. It might if some of the plastic bits are trimmed out tho.



Car intake fits a lot better..



Hooker manifold clears great...as does a 2010 camaro (but not on passenger side)




passenger side


I did a quick measurement and the T56 will put the shifter about 2" back in the shifter hole. Easy to center with a different shifter.

These looks great! Glad to see people building things that some may need later on down the road.

Cut the webbing off the truck intake manifold, ls1 manifolds are junk.

Also, what trans are you going with? That 4l60 won't last very long, they have a hard time staying together behind an LT1

4l80e

This is not my car but something I am
Making mounts for another forum member.

I plan to make a trans mount for 4l80, 60, and t56.