TR6060 and Other Junk

Received the TR6060 this past week. Everything looks to be good-to-go on it. I can see that I’m gonna need to figure out lines for the slave cylinder as it uses a quick disconnect. I’m not sure if there are any options out there to convert it over to AN, but worst case scenario I can cut the line and weld on a -4 male end. Jeff over at Jordan Innovations is telling me that Tick Performance offer some conversion fittings… so I’ll check those out.

I also received my stage 3 (they have 6 stages) Monster clutch/flywheel combo. The stage 3 is good for 700hp/tq… so I think I’ll be good:) I have a couple of friends on Zilvia that run this clutch on their LS1’s and they have nothing but great things to say about it. I have also read a lot of positive feedback on the www so I went with Monster. I’m use to spending a gang of loot on a Blitz or Cusco for import engines… this thing was on sale for a measly $649.

Since I’m trying to source everything I can to get this trans in and not have to take it back out, I went ahead and also picked up a MGW short shifter. It’s fully adjustable and cures the issues the stock shifter is known to have. This kit is pretty badass:

With all the recent new parts bliss, I about forgot that I needed a little thing called a starter. So I quickly ordered up a MSD 5096. Also fully clockable to aid in any clearance issues.

Stumbled Across a Transmission

I originally was going to do a T56 transmission for my swap. It’s a good trans and it’s what my Sikky trans mount and driveshaft are designed for. However, they are going up in price lately. It’s hard to find one for less than $1500 and seem to average around $1700. Jeff Jordan from Zilvia opened my eyes to how cheap the TR6060’s are going for. They are even more bullet proof than the T56, not to mention that it will have FAR fewer miles since it’s out of a new Camaro. The only thing left was to find one.

I typically Google for TR6060’s every few nights with little luck. Either it’s a trans that was for sale 2 years ago or something that is overpriced… or just no results at all. Well, I came across a WTB thread on Camaro5.com. I figured I would check to see what luck, if any, the guy was having finding one. Very first reply a guy said he had one that he was selling along with the OEM clutch, hydraulics, OEM pedals, Hurst shifter etc. He wanted $2000 + shipping for everything. Basically he was switching over to an automatic 4L80E for the drag strip… he has a 850-ish whp 5th gen Camaro that was just built. So I promptly become a member on Camaro5 as fast as my man fingers could slap the keyboard. As I go to click on his username to send him a PM, I realize that the dude lives in the same damn town as me… Normal, IL. I thought to myself, you have to be shitting me! Bloomington/Normal is a little over 100,000 people… so it’s not that big. And it’s not like it’s a suburb of a large city… it’s really out in the middle of nowhere. So I end up talking to the guy and the trans is on the east coast where the car was built. But he said he could do everything for $2000 shipped. So I’ll have some extra parts that I can hopefully part out for a few bucks. Looks as though I need to order up that Monster clutch!

As far as pics, nothing major as I have been waiting to post them in a substantial update. But it would be very rude of me to make a new post without some pics. I finally found some black fuel rails. The Black Label ones that I planned on going with have seem to be discontinued. But lucky me Katech just released some a few months back. They are simply FAST rails made for Katech in a black color… and believe or it not the price isn’t jacked up just because it says Katech on them. I also finished all of my hoses including the power steering hoses. Note: the power steering hoses, heater hoses and oil filter hoses will get fastened to the block, frame rail etc to keep them where I want them. I just need to figure out what type of clamps I want to go with. I won’t do that until the hose ends are actually crimped on though. I also got my harness from Chase on there, but I don’t have the coil pack sub harness plugged in yet in these pics.

I also talked to Justin at Sikky today and they have a mount in the works for the TR6060. He informed me that they will be going into production hopefully in a few weeks. They can then just custom make a driveshaft that will work with the TR6060 and my S15 rear-end. Justin(Sikky) has been very pleasant to work with. They have always answered their email within 24 hours and have always been accommodating to me. Thanks again to Sikky!

Surge Tank

I designed a surge tank last week and had my local machine shop fab it up for me. It consists of a billet upper neck with a 1/8″ NPT port for a -4 overflow line. On the upper front a -8 weld-on XRP double o-ring port that leads to the top side of the radiator. A weld-on -4 AN nipple at the top side for the steam ports. Then at the bottom left two -8 weld-on XRP double o-ring ports for a pass-thru from the heater core to the front inlet port on the water pump:

All of the lines mocked up:

Nice Update (XRP lines, Chase Bays products etc.)

I decided to mount the XRP oil filter above the frame rail on the driver’s side. I needed to mount it somewhere that was accessible and would also show it off a little. Since the brackets for the filter mount using bolts from the rear, I needed to make it so it was easier to unbolt and access. So I am mounting the brackets to an aluminum 1/4″ plate. I will then mount the plate to the vehicle using some nice hardware. I will also powder coat the plate black before it’s all said and done.

Marking the plate for drilling:

Holes for the brackets drilled and counter sunk:

Drilling with a 90 for the plate mounts:

Test fit:

Here are the heater hose bulkheads all finished. Using 1/2″ aluminum at 1-3/4″ diameter. Drilled, tapped and counter sunk for the XRP o-ring fitting. Backside consists of 3/4″ solid rod with a 3/4″-16 thread cut on the front half, then the back half milled to 5/8″ diameter with a hose catch on the end. Then the center drilled out to 7/16″. I then used a black epoxy paint to give it the proper finish. Some washers and an XRP bulkhead nut will hold it all in place.

XRP fitting in place:

Bulkheads mounted:

Mounting the tucked radiator I picked up from Chase:

Again, using nice hardware throughout:

I also received my engine harness from Chase… thing is awesome! More pics of that in an upcoming update.

For now I needed to get the Mil-Spec connector mounted up for test fitment. I decided to go low on the firewall. Since I am keeping the A/C ports on the firewall, there really wasn’t the standard place to mount it. I thought it would look funny running the harness across the A/C lines, above or below them, and have it mounted where the OEM harness comes out. So I decided to mount it where the green marker circle is:

It will fit there perfectly, but I had to fab an aluminum washer for it on the engine bay side. Usually where most people mount it there’s more room for a bigger mount plate, but not for me. So I cut this little booger out of 1/8″ aluminum:

I should have a lot more updates rolling in for a while, so don’t stray off too far;)

Small Update

Not much of an update, but I figure I might as well post them if I have them. Installed the KRC LS steam port fittings. These replace the OEM hard lines and make it easy to integrate into the rest of the AN setup. The driver’s side will “T” off at the passenger side and then into the surge tank.

I also snapped some pics of the alternator bracket even though I have had it for a few months. Now I just need to find the correct alternator to work with it:

KRC LS Accessories

Almost all of my KRC product showed up today. I have always loved this stuff…. great craftsmanship, looks sick and will perform at the top. Norm over at KRC had hooked me up a few months ago with an alternator bracket that isn’t advertised anywhere. KRC was actually commissioned to make them for the V8 Supercar series in Australia. He still had some left over and let me buy one. I informed Scottie about it and I think he ended up getting one also.

So today I received their brand new aluminum power steering pump. I guess these new ones are the bees knees. I obviously won’t put it through its paces as much as a lot of guys would, but by the time I would have bought a new GM unit, pulley and reservoir etc, it wasn’t all that much more for the KRC setup… and it looks a thousand times better. I also received the mounting bracket for the pump to bolt directly to the head, their LS idler-tensioner, LS 6″ pulley for the pump and their custom LS AN steam ports for the heads. I also have their surge tank on the way, but it was on back-order.

I love the attached reservoir for the power steering pump:

Bracket on the head:

Mounted up, as about as easy as you can get:

Fixed idler-tensioner:

About done with the front accessories. As stated before, I will worry about A/C probably this next winter. I just need to go pick up an alternator that works with the bracket.

I got a little time to test fit the heater box assembly into the car. And I say test fit because I knew it wasn’t going to fit since I had to hammer the shit out of the front of the transmission tunnel… which it didn’t. The vent for the floor had to be removed. I never have it on floor mode anyway…. and besides, it will still shoot air onto the floor, just not as directional.

I started to cut that angle section out until I quickly realized that section just unclips, bonus…. although I really like to cut shit up.

It actually fits perfect now, barely. Below are the plastic hard lines that I will cut down so there is room for my custom bulkheads inside the cabin. I will most likely need to cut them all the way down to the lip. I will then grind the lip down and the raised bar that forms a “T” with said lip. So that little 1-1/4″ section left over will be where I attach my rubber jumper hoses which will attach to my bulkheads. With it bolted in the car you can see there is plenty of room to work with in there to attach some hoses:

Once I get time I will get the bulkheads coated in black, then mod the plastic tubes and get everything all mounted up.

Some Minor Welding

Got all of my XRP port fittings welded onto the water pump and thermostat housing. I obviously hacked off the -16 threaded male from the thermostat housing to make room for the XRP clamshell port. Then the two -8 ports for the heater hoses.

Upper port welded on and mocked up with a 90 degree -16 clamshell fitting.

I also came up with a bulkhead design for the heater line connection at the firewall. 1/2″ aluminum plate with a -8 straight cut threaded center. Then a 5/8″ round tube welded to the back side. This tube will actually get cut down quite a bit. It will then attach to the plastic tube coming off the heater box on the inside of the vehicle via a rubber hose. I will also need to cut down the plastic tubes as far as I can to squeeze it all in there. I still need to thread the outside of the 5/8″ tube. I will use a large washer and nut threaded onto it to sandwich the bulkhead to the firewall. Lastly I will powder coat the bulkheads black.

With 90 degree XRP -8 clamshell fittings:

Mocked up in the car. Note: I may not use the 90 degree ports… I also have 45 degree ports, straight ports etc. to tryout and see which is going to work best with the motor in there. I just tossed them on there for picture sake.

XRP AN Fittings

The XRP group-buy was a success! I received my stuff on Friday. This is my first time handling XRP product and I am really impressed. I can’t wait to get some lines mocked up in the bay and see what it looks like. First I need to fabricate some simple firewall bulkheads for the heater hoses. Then I can drop the motor back in and get busy on some hoses. I’m still waiting on my custom radiator to arrive… which should be soon. I need to get the -16 ports welded onto the OEM water pump also. For now I’ll leave you with some pics of the XRP product:

XRP -16 Kevlar HS-79 hose with crimp clamshell fittings and weld-on double o-ring flange:

Smaller -8 Kevlar HS-79 hose which I will be using for my heater hoses and fuel line:

I’m pretty excited about this next piece. It’s an inline oil filter with a removable/washable stainless filter. You can get the stainless filter with various micron ratings and with or without a pressure bypass valve built-in. This one is utilizing XRP -10 Kevlar HS-79 hose:

Labor Day Weekend Progress

After taking the family to our local Labor Day parade, and beating down little kids to get my fair share of the candy, I came home and got some small things done to the car.

Mounted up the Sikky pan. Had to first modify the windage tray so the back of the Sikky pan would clear.

Modified rear section:

New front pickup in place:

Also needed to tap out the OEM dip stick port to an 1/8″ NPT. Sikky provides an 1/8″ NPT brass plug to fill the opening since the dip stick gets relocated to a new location on the Sikky pan:

New dipstick location:

Pan and mounts on:

I also wanted to mock-up the Chase Bays booster delete/brake line tuck. That way I could figure out where I wanted all the fittings and drill the holes in the bay before primer:

The 90 degree bulkhead location for the rear hardline:

Then the inner fender bulkhead for each of the front brakes:

Also contemplating whether I want my battery in the bay with some nice bulkhead fittings or just simply hide it in the spare tire well. I need to be 100% sure before I go drilling big holes for those bulkheads:

Sikky Product Arrival

I finally received all of my Sikky product Thursday. As mentioned earlier in this blog, Sikky was nice enough to give me a sponsorship. In trade for the hook up, I agreed to give my honest opinion on the product and dole out several write-ups on installation, performance and so on. I will start off by saying that they have been nothing short of perfection in the customer service area. I have been dealing with Justin over there and have had zero complaints!

Onto the product… I want to post a couple of pictures of each product to start off with. I’m sure some of you have seen this stuff several times, but this will be a good place to see multiple pictures of the product, on and off the vehicle/motor.

Sikky Headers: I went with the 1-7/8″ primaries since I plan on over 500whp and eventually more down the road. I opted for the coated ones. I went ahead and mounted one up because I wanted to check for fitment and clearance issues… all is good!

I knew it would be VERY tight at the bottom back of the motor where the bell housing bolts up. I just assumed I would have to shave that corner of the block just to get them to fit, but they actually fit. There is about 2mm of clearance… which I will be shaving that corner off just to make sure there is no rubbing issues at any point.

Sikky Oil Pan Kit: Very nice craftsmanship! The kit includes a new oil pickup, new oil dip stick, tube and bung, new OEM gasket and new oil filter relocation setup. Everything seems to be really well thought out. The new location for the oil dip stick is also baffled on the inside… little things like that were not overlooked.

I probably won’t be utilizing the Sikky oil filter relocation. While I’m sure it will work just fine, I will want something a little more “baller” for this setup… something similar to what I had on my SR. Everything in the bay will be braided nylon AN lines anyway, so I would hate to have some stainless lines just chill’n in the bay all by themselves. You never know though, I may use it temporarily just to get it fired up.

Sikky LS Motor Mounts: Not much to say, they are a solid hunk of metal that looks tits. As long as they line up and don’t break down the road then I guess they’ll work just fine. They also make a solid mount option, which I obviously opted not to go with.

Sikky Master Cylinder Conversion Kit: Utilizes a Wilwood master cylinder(which I’ll be coating black to match my Wilwood brake master cylinder) and Sikky’s CNC’d mount for an effortless install onto the firewall. Lines are also included.

Sikky Driveshaft: I went with the aluminum option… they also make a steal version. They have them for S13, S14, with or without ABS.

Sikky Subframe Bushings:

The transmission subframe is also included in this kit, but it is on back-order… should have that sooner than later. With the extended weekend, I’m hoping to get the pan on and work on the bay a little more. I promised a lot of my time to the family though, so we’ll see how it goes. It is a 2-day weekend for me though, so I should have enough time to please everyone:D