GM 5.3 E30 conversion

[steve_k]

looks good euan, keep it up

[shedrool83]

Looking forward to seeing this finished .Great thread.

[verde]

Thank you guys. Apologies it’s slow going. The guys have been very busy and it’s not a cheap build either. The next part il be getting the flywheel and adapter. That will mean the only thing left to do is book a week off and help Kyle build the motor

Then I can install it and play at being Earnhardt a˜‚

[pianist]

Following this, good job dude

[k1ll3r]

pfiuuuu.... love the color ....following this from CROATIA..... is this org BMW marrakesh brown or with some modifications....

[steve_k]

Any updates on this euan?

If you don't mind me asking what the dimensions of the "tuner" wheel nuts?

Mainly what size socket fits them?

[verde]

Well folks huge delay in updating this due to being locked out and then getting distracted by buying R32 Skylines and houses.

I see Tinypic has obviously gone down the pan or the hosting has dropped so I will need to reupload all the pictures in this which I will do. I know that Facebook has taken over massively but being a long time member of the zone and still enjoying build threads I will keep this up to date.

There has been some developments. I now have my Rx7 brake kit on and working well as well as the important bit, my LS is now finally sitting in the barn next to the car! this has been a long time coming and I will explain in further detail a bit later on.

[steve_k]

Welcome back buddy,

Be good to see some updates,
As for FB taking over? Its getting beyond the joke to be honest, too many scammers & keyboard warriors.

[verde]

Definitely seems to be the case man! But good to see folks still on here.

Anyway, I have begun reuploading some of the images deleted from tinypic but below you will see that I have now completed my brake upgrade.
This was using the Garagistic RX7 Brake Adapter kit to run RX7 FC turbo callipers and Corrado G60 disks ( 280mm )
I stripped them down and rebuilt them, had them powdercoated and fitted some YellowStuff pads.
The standard pins on the callipers were completely seized and coroded out of shape so luckily a friend runs a small brake and fabrication business in his shed who has a lathe and pillar drill machined me up some nice new stainless ones. I will also be converting to a clio servo and potentially switching up the master cylinder to a 750IL for better feel but so far these work great, only issue I find is they lack a bit of feeling!


Next post I will put up the engine which is now here, but below an image of the brakes and how the car currently is.

[steve_k]

they do look good, got a similar set up on my sport, hi spec billet 4 calipers, 284x25 discs, thinking of going up to 300mm discs as i can fit them behind my new azev a's.

as for the clio servo & 750 M/C? have a look at the e90 dual plenum servo & M/C (25mm), bolts straight up, only mods needed are some m12 male to m10 female adaptors for the outlets.

[verde]

they do look good, got a similar set up on my sport, hi spec billet 4 calipers, 284x25 discs, thinking of going up to 300mm discs as i can fit them behind my new azev a's.

as for the clio servo & 750 M/C? have a look at the e90 dual plenum servo & M/C (25mm), bolts straight up, only mods needed are some m12 male to m10 female adaptors for the outlets.

Im guessing you are on 17s to run that larger disk? That extra diameter must be quite a bit of stopping power as these certainly have made a big improvement over the stock ones!.
I will have a look at that e90 set up thank you, since getting into drifting and buying the skyline I havnt overly kept up to date with what can be done on e30s from newer models so am possibly out of touch with stuff like that. Sounds a better more modern upgrade to me so thank you! It will still need to be put in the glovebox however as it wont fit in the bay.

[verde]

Right, engine stories....

So the largest hold up around this has been supply of an engine. I placed a deposit in 2018 for an engine. Originally I wanted to run with an LS1 ( for non Chevy/GM people thats the Gen 3 5.7 litre from the C5 corvette ) however, due to the lightweight base of the e30, the grip potential, charicteristics I am looking for and the type of use it will see that was deemed not the best option. I want the car to be relatively high revving, not lazy and torque further up the range more suited to where I live, single track mountain roads and coastal back roads.

I was incorrectly under the impression at that time LS engines were exclusively alloy whilst the counterparts in the truck/SUV range were all steel. This is not the case at all, and it was decided I would go for an L33 which is a 5.3 litre alloy motor from a specific year of Chevy/GMC silverado/sierra. This was due to the fact these are generally a bit more rev happy, cheaper to source and the torque figures are lower. Keeping in mind I am aiming for circa 400/450BHP and under 400 ft/lbs if possible.

One thing leads to another and with Kyle caught up in larger builds for the drift season, LS7 builds etc with big tickets and me not being in a major rush nothing much occured. It was then decided due to a recent batch of Gen 3 motors Kyle had shipped over being in poor internal condition ( partly due to the age of these now ) it was discussed and decided I would probably be better off going for a Gen 4 5.3. This had a few benefits over the 3rd gen motor, names being floating pistons which again are much more compatibility with high revving applications and better flowing 243/799 LS2 high flowing heads. Literally the month before my engine was due in CHYY-NUHH broke the world and delayed matters. It was then entering the 3rd year since placing a deposit and Kyle agreed with everything going on it would be potentially better I do my own build in my own time, so he picked out an LH6 for me that I can conduct a refresh on rather than full build.

So it is now sat in my barn awaiting me to finish painting my skyline and stick it on the engine stand to begin. Luckily I have some Canadian buddies who are going to source me accessories and parts, I will also add anyone here with LS accessories/parts please drop me a line as there are bits I will need as its just a long block.

Heres the plan -
Displacement on demand delete
Cam and valvetrain upgrade - Potentially a Texas Speed Cleetus bald eagle cam
LS1 intake ( which I already have )
Fresh gaskets and head bolts ofcourse
Looking to run either F body or ideally corvette accessory drive. The truck, F body and corvette sit furthest from the motor to closest in that order.
ECU wise, I originally planned for something like a holley terminator set up but again my Canadian buddies have a way to run the stock truck ECU and wire in the gauges.

[steve_k]

they do look good, got a similar set up on my sport, hi spec billet 4 calipers, 284x25 discs, thinking of going up to 300mm discs as i can fit them behind my new azev a's.

as for the clio servo & 750 M/C? have a look at the e90 dual plenum servo & M/C (25mm), bolts straight up, only mods needed are some m12 male to m10 female adaptors for the outlets.

Im guessing you are on 17s to run that larger disk? That extra diameter must be quite a bit of stopping power as these certainly have made a big improvement over the stock ones!.
I will have a look at that e90 set up thank you, since getting into drifting and buying the skyline I havnt overly kept up to date with what can be done on e30s from newer models so am possibly out of touch with stuff like that. Sounds a better more modern upgrade to me so thank you! It will still need to be put in the glovebox however as it wont fit in the bay.

yep i'm on 17x7.5 azev a's, braking is taken care of via the afore mentioned front brakes, a wilwood adjustable bias valve to the rear with touring 38mm piston calipers, DS3000 pads up front & DS2500 pads out back, full braided lines F/R, if i can get some brackets made up i might look at running volvo v70 twin piston calipers out back (got an old spare set in the shed),

as for your V8 build? that does sound soooooo tempting, a lump like that up front would be a lot of fun.

looking forward to the updates.

[verde]

they do look good, got a similar set up on my sport, hi spec billet 4 calipers, 284x25 discs, thinking of going up to 300mm discs as i can fit them behind my new azev a's.

as for the clio servo & 750 M/C? have a look at the e90 dual plenum servo & M/C (25mm), bolts straight up, only mods needed are some m12 male to m10 female adaptors for the outlets.

Im guessing you are on 17s to run that larger disk? That extra diameter must be quite a bit of stopping power as these certainly have made a big improvement over the stock ones!.
I will have a look at that e90 set up thank you, since getting into drifting and buying the skyline I havnt overly kept up to date with what can be done on e30s from newer models so am possibly out of touch with stuff like that. Sounds a better more modern upgrade to me so thank you! It will still need to be put in the glovebox however as it wont fit in the bay.

yep i'm on 17x7.5 azev a's, braking is taken care of via the afore mentioned front brakes, a wilwood adjustable bias valve to the rear with touring 38mm piston calipers, DS3000 pads up front & DS2500 pads out back, full braided lines F/R, if i can get some brackets made up i might look at running volvo v70 twin piston calipers out back (got an old spare set in the shed),

as for your V8 build? that does sound soooooo tempting, a lump like that up front would be a lot of fun.

looking forward to the updates.

So a bit extra space under those for the larger disk. Pity you are as far as my buddy that I mentioned would be able to mill you up brackets no bother for those but shipping bits about would be ridiculous!

Should be an absolute smacker when its done, First step will be getting it on the stand, the Skyline should be done in a couple weeks so progress should speed up a little bit again.

[steve_k]

yes the defiantly extra space under there now compared to my old compo cxn's.

as for the brackets? no worries, there's a couple of places i know locally & in the wider area that could do them for me.

what's the spec on the skyline?