[zildjian4life218]

Hey guys I am in the process of learning how to modify an lt1 intake to fit onto a Gen 1 sbc. So far I have milled off the egr housing and redrilled the holes that go into the heads. I still have to drill and tap coolant nipples and cut the hole for the distributor. Heres some pics so far....





I figured to cut the distributor hole i will just make a jig that holds the intake and put one that already has the distributor hole cut in the jig and measure where it sits then swap it out for the lt1 and cut.

I have a couple questions on the distributor shim that is needed. I have found a couple threads that are over 5-10 years old that had the names of some people who were selling them but are no longer. Can anyone give me the dimensions or possibly a source to buy the shim. Thanks for all your help.

[bigdog7373]

Seems like a lot of work. Let me ask you 1 question though: Why are you doing this?

[eloc431962]

Originally Posted by zildjian4life218

Hey guys I am in the process of learning how to modify an lt1 intake to fit onto a Gen 1 sbc. So far I have milled off the egr housing and redrilled the holes that go into the heads. I still have to drill and tap coolant nipples and cut the hole for the distributor. Heres some pics so far....





I figured to cut the distributor hole i will just make a jig that holds the intake and put one that already has the distributor hole cut in the jig and measure where it sits then swap it out for the lt1 and cut.

I have a couple questions on the distributor shim that is needed. I have found a couple threads that are over 5-10 years old that had the names of some people who were selling them but are no longer. Can anyone give me the dimensions or possibly a source to buy the shim. Thanks for all your help.

Awesome work This is hotrodding, Man i just love hotrodding.
Keep us posted.


Cole

[zildjian4life218]

Originally Posted by bigdog7373

Seems like a lot of work. Let me ask you 1 question though: Why are you doing this?

Because I am learning a lot!!! I want an affordable option to learn how to make a fuel injected setup.
I have very little money to go spend on an aftermarket intake. I picked this up at my local upull for i think like $27.18....or something like that. Plus anyone can go buy an aftermarket intake.

[zildjian4life218]

Originally Posted by eloc431962

Awesome work This is hotrodding, Man i just love hotrodding.
Keep us posted.


Cole

Thanks for the support! I found out the small opening to the left side of the egr housing goes to the intake so i have to fill that with epoxy and i guess i didn't need to mill this to fit the distributor but whatever. Just gotta figure out the shim that is needed.

[bigdog7373]

Sounds good to me. But you could've bought a whole tbi system for under $100 and saved the work. But as long as you're happy then have fun with it!

[zildjian4life218]

Originally Posted by bigdog7373

Sounds good to me. But you could've bought a whole tbi system for under $100 and saved the work. But as long as you're happy then have fun with it!

Yeah but your not going anywhere barely. A carb and tbi are still wet style intakes. Going from carb to port injection or tbi to port injection makes a world of difference.

[curtis73]

Looking good! Aren't the ports going to be pretty badly mismatched? LT1 intakes' ports are more like Vortec ports. Wont you have un-gasketed port sections?

[zildjian4life218]

Originally Posted by curtis73

Looking good! Aren't the ports going to be pretty badly mismatched? LT1 intakes' ports are more like Vortec ports. Wont you have un-gasketed port sections?

I was wondering the same thing but other people have done this and i haven't heard of any other problems with it. I will check it though and make sure its not too badly mismatched.

[techinspector1]

Originally Posted by zildjian4life218

I was wondering the same thing but other people have done this and i haven't heard of any other problems with it. I will check it though and make sure its not too badly mismatched.

Never did it on Chevy parts, but I have made up some pretty wild Briggs Go-Kart motors by building up with J-B Weld and then machining it down to fit whatever.

[curtis73]

I like this guy... taking what he has and experimenting. That's hotrodding. If it doesn't fit, put it on a bridgeport until it does

[ap72]

Instead of epoxy on the back, I would just weld in an aluminum plate, and for the distributor I would just weld up a ring, then mill it flat and drill a hole through it- no need for shims. I know welding cast aluminum is not ideal, but both of these areas will be under fairly low stress, basically you just need to create filler material.

I'm getting an Lt1 engine tonight, not really sure why I'm pursuing this project other than I need to get with the EFI technology that is about 40 years old now...

BTW, I suggest dropping the distributor idea and just going with wasted spark ignition, easier to control, more reliable, and it just looks neat. You'll still need to install something to drive the oil pump though (look into the LT1 oil pump drive for ideas).

[zildjian4life218]

Originally Posted by ap72

Instead of epoxy on the back, I would just weld in an aluminum plate, and for the distributor I would just weld up a ring, then mill it flat and drill a hole through it- no need for shims. I know welding cast aluminum is not ideal, but both of these areas will be under fairly low stress, basically you just need to create filler material.

I'm getting an Lt1 engine tonight, not really sure why I'm pursuing this project other than I need to get with the EFI technology that is about 40 years old now...

BTW, I suggest dropping the distributor idea and just going with wasted spark ignition, easier to control, more reliable, and it just looks neat. You'll still need to install something to drive the oil pump though (look into the LT1 oil pump drive for ideas).

I have heard of there being problems with the heat from welding warping the intake. I haven't tried it but that's just what I have heard.

I like the idea of just doing wasted spark instead of having to worry about drilling the hole for the distributor in the correct location and make sure i get the height and angle correct. Would I just setup a crank trigger setup?

http://www.theherd.com/articles/lt1_cool.html This has a great article on the benefits of the lt1s reverse flow cooling.

[zildjian4life218]

Im liking this....

http://www.eficonnection.com/eficonnection/24x.aspx

[zildjian4life218]

okay ive been thinking about this a lot the past couple days. it will probably be a lot of work but i think it will be cool when i get it running and i am sure i will learn a lot in the process. this is what I am thinking. I will use the shaft that is in the lt1 to drive the oil pump

and i will machine the block to allow me to bolt it into place..


I can then use the vortec front timing cover with the crank position sensor on it to trigger the ignition.

I guess this would be a DIS ignition setup with wasted spark because i will be firing off the crank which will spin twice for every combustion cycle. What do you guys think???