80 series ls1 conversion

[BFCK97]

i hav a project that the base of is an 80 series. Just wondering if i convert to ls1 do i need to buy both the $1400 and $1600 kit? Seems like 3k is a bit excessive before i even have an engine. Looking to hear from people who have done the conversion.

[hiluxmad]

which kits and from where?

[VKYOOT]

they are from marks4wd.

[zackde]

One is with the clutch fan and one without, buy which one suits your application.
Cheers Zack.

[hiluxmad]

the bellhousing kit is sort of essential if you are running a manual box
the engine mounting kit includes modified brackets to move the alt etc around so the engine fits between the chassis rails and also includes an engine driven fan the kit to do it with thermos is about 1k vs 1600ish
you could fab up your own mounts etc but it is a lot of work to get it right
the way marks kit mounts the alt is a very good idea if you do mud or water......
this is just a personal opinion....

[crankycruiser]

just pay the money and get all the marks kit, it will b worth it

[TheBigBoy]

Agree, The mark's kit just bolts it. All the work is done for you.

[mick80]

what does it cost round figures to pay someone to doe this conversion?
and how muck could i sell my 4.5 4?
just roughly
cheers mick

[ledgend80]

if you are worried about cost just supercharge the 4.5

[TheBigBoy]

$16 - $20k to get someone to do it in total (engine aswell, drop off pick up.) roughly. And you will get about $1500 for your 4.5 they are worth hardly anything. It will coast about 8 - 9k to supercharger but then you still have a stupid dizzy. Go the V8...

[mick80]

what about a v8 deisel pros and cons???
cheers mick

[mick80]

$16 - $20k to get someone to do it in total (engine aswell, drop off pick up.) roughly. And you will get about $1500 for your 4.5 they are worth hardly anything. It will coast about 8 - 9k to supercharger but then you still have a stupid dizzy. Go the V8...

new engine or second hand?
cheers mick

[crankycruiser]

what about a v8 deisel pros and cons???
cheers mick

big, heavy, still slow.

[crankycruiser]

$16 - $20k to get someone to do it in total (engine aswell, drop off pick up.) roughly. And you will get about $1500 for your 4.5 they are worth hardly anything. It will coast about 8 - 9k to supercharger but then you still have a stupid dizzy. Go the V8...

new engine or second hand?
cheers mick

mine now owes me less than 7k including engine.. (only had 90thou on it)

i managed to pick a HSV clubby motor, auto box, complete front sub frame with brakes, steering rack, and full exhaust including cats for 2.3k..

i have sold most of the stuff i didnt need it now owes me less than 1k for the motor.

[mick80]

unreal but you obviously do alot urself hey cranky.
how bout the power gain even without the charger is it impressive?
cheers mick

[TheBigBoy]

Oh, yeah.. So cheap if your doing it all yourself. And no I didnt mean NEW engine. less than 150 thou on it. I got 320 bhp out of mine in a 4bie. And bloody good eco aswell.

[mick80]

shit its expensive hey my mate bought a 383 in a crat 4 9000 sum years ago.
so double that to get it all running.
cheers mick

[zackde]

what about a v8 deisel pros and cons???
cheers mick

Cons would be cost$$$ Brunswik Diesels price for a freshed 6.5ltr was 3G dearer than the crate LS3 I ended up getting.

[Kitika]

i hav a project that the base of is an 80 series. Just wondering if i convert to ls1 do i need to buy both the $1400 and $1600 kit? Seems like 3k is a bit excessive before i even have an engine. Looking to hear from people who have done the conversion.

What type of project are we talking about? Is it going to be an offroad only or going to be a tourer and do you need A/C? I made up my own mounts etc as marks wouldn't break up the engine mounting kit as I didn't want the A/C or alternator mounts. LS1 thermo fans are almost a bolt on to the 80series radiator and if you dont A/C the alternator can stay in its original spot. You'll need marks extractors tho and I'd recommend you get them ceramic coated as I'm having a few underbonnet heat temps (also mine have got heaps of surface rust on them already and have only done 2000kms anyone elses like that?).
After selling off my 1hz bits etc the whole project has cost $5305 in total to get running and driving on the road. Add another $1000 on top for engineering and licensing tho as I am in the process of doing that now.

[rockcrawler31]

what about a v8 deisel pros and cons???
cheers mick

Bloody heat prone boat anchors. If you want a diesel go a 4-53TA Detroit FTW!!

[killalux]

Don't buy the marks mounting kit its not worth it. Engine mount brackets are very simple to make using the commodore rubbers, basically just need a braced L bracket off the chassis rail. Alternator fits down the bottom if you set the engine to one side by about 15mm. if you do want aircon then there are brackets available to mount a standard sanden type compressor high up on the drivers side. Makes hoses simplier this way to.

vt-vy commodre electric fans pretty much bolt straight to the 80series radiator and keep it cool no worries. LS1 was designed to run a elec fan setup, so why use the engine fan??????

Steve

[VKYOOT]

this is mark (bfck97) on my brothers account.
the project is an 80 series with the boddy ripped off and replaced with a 75 series ute cabin.
wont be having air con and will be used for daily/bush basher (once i get used to the idea of scratching all the nice paint i just put on it).
I sorta figured i could get away with making my mounts to suit the ls1 engine mounts and i was planning on using the 80 series radiator if i could mount it easily enough into the 75 series engine bay.
looks like me and a mate are goin shares in an ls1 and 6 speed thats just missing a loom and computer, just waiting to hear back from the guy with the motor.

does anyone have some pictures of their engine mounts and the clearance of the alternator to the chassis??
cheers, mark

[Kitika]

I can get some pics on the weekend for ya if no one else has yet. I made my mounts the same as the marks ones so I didn't have to do any welding to the chassis but doing as killalux suggested would be alot less mucking about with angles etc.

[jsttry]

always interested in pics.

what does the $1400 and $1600 kits give you? Got to be a difference for $200

[BFCK97]

they are 2 diffrent kits. The cheaper is bellhousing. The dearer is brackets to move alternator and air con and the engine mounts.

[jsttry]

ah gotcha

[hiluxmad]

engine driven fan set up works better for off road stuff thermos are fine in a commonwhore. i much prefer an engine driven one off road.
i have had too many problems with thermos offroad.
my 2c
that and i would rather pay the money and have it work first time than bust something when it doesn't (garage door last time lost my angry )
but hey im lazy

[crankycruiser]

vt-vy commodre electric fans pretty much bolt straight to the 80series radiator and keep it cool no worries. LS1 was designed to run a elec fan setup, so why use the engine fan??????

Steve

because a commodore was never designed to be used in the bush?!

[crankycruiser]

unreal but you obviously do alot urself hey cranky.
how bout the power gain even without the charger is it impressive?
cheers mick

power gains were good with the NA LS, definatly worth it, havent got to drive it with the charger yet, its in getting tuned atm and im working in WA

[mick80]

unreal but you obviously do alot urself hey cranky.
how bout the power gain even without the charger is it impressive?
cheers mick

power gains were good with the NA LS, definatly worth it, havent got to drive it with the charger yet, its in getting tuned atm and im working in WA

so b4 charger signifigant gains!
how bout fuel eco better than the 4.5 or same.
cheers mick
wa dude ur long way from home