Rebuilding Dad's Panoz; LS1 swap

[NewToPanozGTS]

Originally Posted by Cobra4B

Measure twice, cut once... majority of the heat shielding is complete. Much cleaner than the previous panels. Lighter too.

Brian,
What brand/type heat shielding are you using and where did you source it? I've decided to upgrade mine while everything is apart.
Thanks, Bill.

[Cobra4B]

Originally Posted by NewToPanozGTS

Brian,
What brand/type heat shielding are you using and where did you source it? I've decided to upgrade mine while everything is apart.
Thanks, Bill.

It's DEI floor and tunnel shield II. Purchased it from CV Products (they have it drop shipped from DEI). Best price around. You can find the older version DEI for a little cheaper. The new stuff has the dimples to increase surface area. I've used DEI cool tape to seal any seams/edges. The thin foil looking stuff is something CV had on a huge roll. I thought it was DEI heat screen (basically their cool tape in sheets), but it's thinner and more form fitting than that.

Here's the older stuff sans dimples when I used it on my Corvette a few years ago.



Was trying to make the most of leftovers... covered those seams with DEI tape eventually.

[Cobra4B]

Dad came up to assist this weekend. Got a good bit done. Fuel cell modified to accept road race surge tank (not pictured), fuel line, rear brake lines, and steering shaft all cleaned up and installed, and got the engine trans in and test-fit the new radiator/oil cooler. Everything installed as expected. The engine mount adapters and Jeep CJ-7 mounts worked.

[NZGTRA17]

Originally Posted by Cobra4B

Dad came up to assist this weekend. Got a good bit done. Fuel cell modified to accept road race surge tank (not pictured), fuel line, rear brake lines, and steering shaft all cleaned up and installed, and got the engine trans in and test-fit the new radiator/oil cooler. Everything installed as expected. The engine mount adapters and Jeep CJ-7 mounts worked.

Brian, looking really great. I notice you have moved the engine back a fair way? If so I will be interested in how your weight distribution works out when the car is completed.

We are nearly spot on 50/50 with Dart block and standard engine position. Suggests you may actually end up with Porsche type distribution with the lighter engine and moving the engine rearwards.........!!

Have you done some numbers on this or did Eric provide some stats from his car?

Kel.

[Cobra4B]

No numbers run, but I do have scales and plan on weighing the car once I get the rear axle back together and in place. The engine should be back 1" relative to the previous setup. The TKO600 is the same case as the 3550 in there before and I used the existing trans mount with no modifications. The difference is that I used the "chevy" TKO to LS1 bellhousing vs. the "ford" version which is 1" shorter to account for the shorter input shaft on the "chevy" transmission.

I believe Eric ended up moving his trans mount back 2", but his car was setup based on the 4.6 DOHC motor which may have required different mounts to begin with (vs. the 5.0 car we have). I know his engine mount pedestals, while appearing the same, are actually further back in the chassis. Instead of coming up off the cross-bar that ours do, they come up off the back side of it.



Here's where the 5.0 sat with the longer bellhosuing...

[NZGTRA17]

Originally Posted by Cobra4B

No numbers run, but I do have scales and plan on weighing the car once I get the rear axle back together and in place. The engine should be back 1" relative to the previous setup. The TKO600 is the same case as the 3550 in there before and I used the existing trans mount with no modifications. The difference is that I used the "chevy" TKO to LS1 bellhousing vs. the "ford" version which is 1" shorter to account for the shorter input shaft on the "chevy" transmission.

I believe Eric ended up moving his trans mount back 2", but his car was setup based on the 4.6 DOHC motor which may have required different mounts to begin with (vs. the 5.0 car we have). I know his engine mount pedestals, while appearing the same, are actually further back in the chassis. Instead of coming up off the cross-bar that ours do, they come up off the back side of it.



Here's where the 5.0 sat with the longer bellhosuing...

Its an optical illusion then Brian as looked to be back more than 1". I cant see 1" being make or break.

Kel.

[Cobra4B]

Probably because the accessories on the SBF took up a bunch more room and were more top heavy. Plus the engine doesn't have a power steering pump and the alternator is on the axle housing.

[Cobra4B]

Spal 16" mounted. Far smaller and lower profile than the previous OEM Ford fan.


Reworked the fuel system. Was able to make it far tidier than before and was able to do it with the existing lines and fittings. Just need to get a -8 to -6 adapter to run the line from the pump to the fuel cell outlet.





Before

[Cobra4B]

I wonder if wrapping paper tube, old radiator hoses, Gorilla tape, and metal pipe will pass tech? I found this to be more accurate than coat hanger. Need to clamp the joints and go hunting. The shapes aren't overly complex.

[Cobra4B]

Oil cooler lines assembled and installed.


Remote filter block cleaned up and re-plumbed with oil temp, oil pressure, and a 2nd oil pressure sending unit to activate a large red 20 psi light. Plumbing is setup to use the lower oil cooler port as the inlet. Strongly considered the CV Products filter block, but the plumbing just works better with this one and it's provided sufficient oil pressure over the years. Don't mind the cheap Fram filter... break-in only.


Customized the seat rails that came with the "new-to-us" Kirkeys out of a C4 Corvette to work in the Panoz. Seat is fit exactly where Dad needs it... no more sitting on a foam pad because the seat is too low from sharing the car with me.

[NewToPanozGTS]

Remote filter block cleaned up and re-plumbed with oil temp, oil pressure, and a 2nd oil pressure sending unit to activate a large red 20 psi light. Plumbing is setup to use the lower oil cooler port as the inlet. Strongly considered the CV Products filter block, but the plumbing just works better with this one and it's provided sufficient oil pressure over the years. Don't mind the cheap Fram filter... break-in only.


If I did it correctly here are a couple shots of my CV products remote filter with AN12 lines, oil temp sender and three pole switch for oil pressure light and fuel pump safety switch. The extra line is for the Accusump.

[Cobra4B]

Not seeing any... would like to though.

[NewToPanozGTS]

Originally Posted by Cobra4B

Not seeing any... would like to though.

Brian,
I'll take another crack at the pix tomorrow.
Meanwhile I notice from your pix that with the Chevy block you get much better (i.e. straighter) hose runs using the stock GTS filter location than I could have hoped for with the Ford block's forward filter location. That's why I moved my filter to the firewall.
Also, where did you source the carpet on the drivers floor and bulkhead. Heat shielding is the one area where I'm not trying to save weight.
Thanks, Bill.

[Cobra4B]

Bill,

The piece on the driver's floor is just a thin piece of plywood with the DEI stuff on the bottom and spray-on truck bedliner on the top. It just bolts to the sheet metal. Since this was a school car in it's original life I think they put these in for durability. We made a new one (what you see pictured here) out of thinner wood and added the DEI and truck bedliner a few years back.

The carpet pieces also came with the car. They're some type of high quality carpet (you'd have to ask my father as he's the ex-textile industry person) with heat reflective stuff on the back. It's held on with snaps that just screw into the sheet metal tub.

[NewToPanozGTS]

Originally Posted by Cobra4B

Bill,

The piece on the driver's floor is just a thin piece of plywood with the DEI stuff on the bottom and spray-on truck bedliner on the top. It just bolts to the sheet metal. Since this was a school car in it's original life I think they put these in for durability. We made a new one (what you see pictured here) out of thinner wood and added the DEI and truck bedliner a few years back.

The carpet pieces also came with the car. They're some type of high quality carpet (you'd have to ask my father as he's the ex-textile industry person) with heat reflective stuff on the back. It's held on with snaps that just screw into the sheet metal tub.

Brian,
I already added the DEI material to the underside of the drivers floorboard but the bed liner/wood/DEI is another idea I'll steal from you. Thanks.
It's pretty much standard that all carpet must be removed from race cars to pass tech (fire hazard) but something removable would be nice for testing at track days, etc. I've also considered sourcing some NASCAR type fireproof heat barrier matting and taking it to a auto carpet shop for custom fitting -- but that's well down the to-do list.
Thanks again, Bill.