VIN 2022, LS Swap

[Josh]

Hey guys, I just wrapped up another LS Swap so I figured I would share here.

The owner of 2022 had seen a video of my car on Youtube and reached out me to ask if I would be interested in fixing up his car. It was all original and missing the engine. This original inquiry was in late 2016.
I thought about it for a year, and we worked out the details. He shipped me his car in late 2017 and work began. This was just shy of a two year project. It was not my only project as well - I still did some major work to 11408 and house renovations. To put it lightly, it was a very busy time for me. But in the end, I am extremely happy how 2022 turned out. It is very much a "hop in and drive" kind of car. Everything works as it should and the car has proven to be very reliable. All the gauges work, the power comes on in a subtle way, starts and warms up like any modern car, nice cold A/C, etc. I have also documented the car fairly well. I drew up a full wiring diagram and compiled a small "owners manual" including information such as replacement parts and the vehicles they came off of for future trouble shooting.

This build was very in depth and required a body off as it required a full restoration in addition to the engine swap. Futhermore, this is my first time working with this Porsche transmission so I had to start from scratch with all the mounts and whatnot. If this car had a stock UN1 transmission it would have sped the whole project up. The UN1 was originally going to be used in the swap but the transmission had been sitting for many years and had severe internal rust and pitting.

Build Details:
2006 GM LS4
2002 Porsche 911 6 speed transmission
GM factory EFI
Full emissions equipment (4 x O2 sensors, Charcoal can, evap valve, vent valve, etc)
Cruise control
6" Touchscreen android stereo
Full QA1 Coil over suspension (drivestainless)

Now on to the pictures:

The original pickup. The car had been sitting for almost 10 years in this state. No engine, all original parts. Everything needed replacing.

[Josh]

Teardown and stock components buildup:

LS4 engine, right out of the junkyard


Body removed from frame


Cleaning the frame up. It is a desert car, the frame is in very good shape. Some touch ups needed but nothing major.


Front and rear brake and suspension setups. Miata brakes up front, QA1 coilovers all around. Using DeloreanGo LCA outriggers and refurbished stock LCAs by the talented Clint Wolff.




All new brake lines and master cylinder



Wilwood clutch master cylinder, a smaller bore than stock to help lighten up the clutch pedal.

[Josh]

Here are several pictures of the process of adapting the transmission to the engine, then making the mounts to fit it to the frame.
Used a 2002 Porsche 911 transmission. Most of the other swaps i am involved with use the stock UN1 transmission, but the one that came with 2022 was damaged beyond repair due to improper storage unfortunately.

Porsche Transmission and comparison to the stock transmission



Shortened the transmission to allow room for the accessories. Front to back room is very tight!


Installing the Adapter plate. This is not my design, I am working on another design that is much nicer. It will be a one piece setup, not three pieces like this.






The engine and transmission mounts





Overall pictures of the engine and transmission sitting in the frame






Shifter Mounting. This was a bit of a challenge as the Porsche uses a cable shifter.


A few pictures of the removable rear crossmember. I also incorporated exhaust hangers.

[Josh]

After the engine was in, the body went back on. It sure would be nice to have a proper 2 post lift!

[Josh]

With the body on, I needed to finish up plumbing the coolant and fuel systems. I made many custom components for the coolant system, such as pipes to neatly run the lines around the engine and transmission and a header bottle to work with the LS4. As for the fuel system is is much simpler than the stock one.

Fuel pump and filter/regulator. Only 3 lines used in total.




The GM emissions devices are hidden in the pontoon


Some pictures of the custom coolant pipes and routing




Custom coolant header bottle. My next iteration will look more like stock. Non pressurized as the LS4 waterpump has a pressurized cap built into it.

[Josh]

Some more custom components

Air filter housing, incorporating the MAF sensor




Since the engine bay is cramped front to back, an elbow for the throttle body was fabricated. There are provisons for the cruise control cable as well as the MAP sensor.

[BABIS]

awesome engine swap!


a quick question about this piece:

Wilwood clutch master cylinder, a smaller bore than stock to help lighten up the clutch pedal.

is this master cylinder plug and play on the stock location? same thread for the clutch hose and reservoir hose adaptor?
is the pedal feeling lighter?
Thanks!

[Josh]

awesome engine swap!


a quick question about this piece:
is this master cylinder plug and play on the stock location? same thread for the clutch hose and reservoir hose adaptor?
is the pedal feeling lighter?
Thanks!

I would not use a smaller bore master cylinder with the stock transmission and slave cylinder setup. it would result in only partial disengagement of the pressure plate due to lack of stoke.

As for the wilwood master it bolts up, but the clevis needs to be modified and a adapter fitting used to interface with the delorean clutch line. I just made a new line front to back.
It also only comes in bores smaller than stock. Once again you would only use this in applications that do not use the stock transmission.

[BABIS]

I would not use a smaller bore master cylinder with the stock transmission and slave cylinder setup. it would result in only partial disengagement of the pressure plate due to lack of stoke.

As for the wilwood master it bolts up, but the clevis needs to be modified and a adapter fitting used to interface with the delorean clutch line. I just made a new line front to back.
It also only comes in bores smaller than stock. Once again you would only use this in applications that do not use the stock transmission.

not the answer I wanted to hear but thanks anyway! it looks like that the key will be to find a softer spring for stock master

[dn010]

I still haven't completed a permanent air filter setup for my EFI conversion. My filter currently sits above the exhaust by the expansion tank - pretty awful since it's sucking in all that hot air and my MAF/IAT is right after the filter reading it all. I'd like to make something like you have pictured, Josh, where the filter goes into the pontoon. I'd need to cut into the passenger side since that is the direction all my piping is going. My question is, do you block off the vent that goes to the exterior of the rear quarter panel so the filter remains dry should the vehicle get caught in the rain or during a wash? Have you noticed more dirt or dust with the filter in the pontoon?