John Bzdel's LS1/T56 Monte Carlo SS

John Bzdel's

1988 Monte Carlo SS

LS1/T56 Change-over page

December 2001 Project Updates

Coolant Pipe by-pass connections
I never did connect the coolant by-pass line from the throttle body or directly from the intake manifold to the radiator. It never created any problems for me but it should be connected to prevent potential air pocket build-up and cooling problems so I took a few minutes to devise a proper connection to the radiator.

There was an existing plastic fitting on my IROC aluminum radiator that was threaded with a 12MM x 2.0 plastic O-ringed plug near the top of the radiator on the passenger side. I found a 12MM x 2.0 x 10MM long stubby bolt (used the O-ring for a good seal) and used this to fabricate a fitting that enable me to connect a 5/16" hose.
On the first design that I tried, I drilled a hole through the center of the bolt using a 9/32" drill bit and then tapped it with a 1/8" NPT pipe thread tap. I then screwed in a straight brass nipple with a 1/4" barbed end into the bolt. I didn't like the fitment of the hose once installed because it aimed it too far straight forward.
My 2nd attempt involved finding a brass nipple with a 90° bend to it and screwing this into the bolt. Whola! Correct angle that I was looking for and more importantly looks better since it aims the hose in the direction that it needs to go.
This final view shows the completed installed hose at the radiator with the OEM protective sleeve installed over it and an OEM hanger that I found and used to secure the hose to the radiator.

Phase II modifications begin!

With Phase I now basically complete I started the installation of the following components: MTI "B1" camshaft & kit - 222°/222°, 0.559"/0.559" @ 114° C/L; LS6 intake manifold and ASP crank pulley.

The installation was pretty straight forward. I replaced all of the valve springs with new ones contained in the cam kit along with new hardened pushrods. The only real pain here was breaking an 8MM socket while attempting to loosen and tighten the rocker arm bolts. I finally settled on using a thickened impact quality 3/8" drive socket since I broke a high quality S&K chromed one.
Final buttoning up was going along just fine until I tried to replace the crankshaft seal on the timing chain cover. To make a long story short, after trying to carefully install the seal I managed to break the aluminum seal retainer (the LS1 timing chain cover is a cast aluminum unit!). I had to order another cover and it will be here by mid week next week so no more updates until them!

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