And every time you turn that crank to roll the engine over, you are going to have a big smile on your face.

 

Boy, am I grinning!! That stand is sweet! I had to swap out the oil pan on the new engine. The LM7 pan clears the front cross member, the LS3 pan does not. I have to sacrifice some ground clearance to pull this off. I plan on welding a square steel tube under the cross member so it will hit and not the oil pan. The pan hangs down about an inch lower (last pic).

 

While changing out the windage tray and oil pump pick up, I got to take a gander of the innards on this engine.

 

Tomorrow I will mate the new trans to the engine for the first time, then put it into the frame to measure the pinion angle. Once I have that, it's off and running on the four link rear suspension. I found a good fit for a fuel tank on Tanksinc.com. Most of the fuel system is now on the way. I am using a universal tank styled off a '70 Mustang, but deeper. It's capacity is 22 gal. I really didn't want a 15 gal, I have a feeling this setup won't be stingy on the fuel consumption. Outside of the new engine and trans harnesses, the chassis wiring will need replacing, too. My plan is to get a chassis harness from Painless Performance. I have used their product before, and the quality and ease is worth what they ask for them.

 

The first mating of the engine and trans, and the first test fit in the chassis.

 

Exhaust on that is gonna be TIGHT. I would try and avoid using stock manifolds......

 

I have headers that I already test fit using the LM7 engine, but with a 4L60E trans. I will put them one this set up tomorrow since the 6L80E trans is bigger.

 

Wow, those wrap rather nicely.

 

Just popping in to see how this project is going. I still own my Dak but my online presence has shifted more to BMWs...perhaps not because I like them more, but because they simply demand more attention. Anyways, I still think about this project sometimes and I'm lurking around to see updates. And may I say, great updates! It's looking awesome! Just wanted to post up and let you know that people are watching with great interest even if they're not posting much. Thanks for continuing to post your detailed updates.

 

Thanks for the kind words. I have multiple projects as well, but this winter I am focusing on the truck. So over the next couple months there should be regular updates on here.