Equal Length Long Tube Headers in a S13

My current project on this build is attempting to make a set of long tube headers.  I started with a 1-3/4" OD long tube header kit from Summit Racing, a set of 3/8" LS1 flanges and two 180 degree J-bends from Jegs.  The long tube header kit has tubes that are bent for a small block, probably to go in something pretty large, like a monster truck, because when I placed one of the pipes in the 240 it hung under the car about 2".  For this project I'm not sure if the kit was the way to go, but for about $100, after cutting the tubes up, I have a lot of bends to work with.  Also I was unimpressed by the fit of the collectors so I purchased a set of Megs formed merge collectors and merge bullets, these are beautiful pieces. 

Megs Merge Bullets after welding.

I was happy that I had called them they pointed me in the right direction for my power goals and my usage of the car.  As a result I am using smaller than typical collectors and going with a 2-1/2", the same size as my Y-pipe.  But with the tighter collectors I am going to have to make sure to have a good equal length design for my header tubes.  So far this has been extremely challenging.  

Update: I've made a new tool tonight that should help ease the process a little.  I made and adjustable collector holder to hold the header collector in position.

To be continued....pictures coming

Going In

That engine is going in this car!

This year I gave myself an early Christmas present.  I took some time, dropped the engine in and fabricated a set of motor mounts and a transmission cross member.  I'm trying to take a different approach, with the LS1 sitting on my Nismo motor mounts.  I was able to find some of the important dimensions searching the forums to get a good base line and had some plates laser cut for my mounts.

 

The LS1 went in pretty smoothly, but it had to come right back out.

We needed to do some more pounding in the tunnel, in a band from 4-6 inches in front of the pinch weld you have to knock it in at least an inch, it doesn't sound like a lot, but it takes some serious pounding to get there.  That's my friend Kurt in the tunnel, we were taking turns with the hammer.

Finally after getting savage on the tunnel with a compthane sledge hammer there was enough room to mount the engine where I wanted it.

There is the passenger side motor mount, its just tacked for the time being and there will be gussets if I stay with the tube design.  I have the engine situated with the sump of the oil pan about 1/4" above the bottom of the cross member which should offer it some protection against bottoming out.  Its about 1/8" forward of the cross member, in attempt to get it as far back as possible.  The biggest limiting factors in getting the engine low and back in a 240 are the heater core outlets if you want to keep heat (in NE Indiana its a necessity at least for the defrost) and the massive T56 bellhousing.

Drivers side, this side is going to be a nightmare when building headers.

Just in case you were wondering why the front looked so open in the other pictures, I cut the front core support and it is now a bolt in piece.  This is nearly a necessity if you want to make your own mounts and makes the engine go in and out a lot faster and easier

The Engine and Clutch

2002 LS1 with Fueled Performance Moroso Oil Pan

The engine set-up is:

2002 LS1

799 Heads

LS6 Intake Manifold

Thin Cometic Head Gaskets for 11:1 compression

ARP Head Bolts

LPE GT2-3 Cam

LPE Matched LS9 Springs

I haven't determined which clutch I want to use yet.  I have a quartermaster twin racing clutch I was considering using, but I have decided that it was a little more aggressive than I wanted to deal with.  I working on finding a good, low mass alternative without going quite so extreme.

Decisions and Finally Picking Up an Engine

 

This summer I began the tear down.  What started as a quick clean up job became much more.

 

There was scoring in the cylinders, a broken section of  cylinder sleeve and one SR20DE rod that didn't belong, which I'm sure was doing great things for the balanced rotating assembly.  The LS1 decision caused a few sleepless nights, I loved making power with the disco potato boosted SR and the insane surge as it rushed up to 18psi.  The LS just seemed like a crime against nature, so much of what I had done to the car was to make it more like the Japanese Nissan Silvia and I was going to tear its 2.0 liter turbo charged soul out, sell it all for parts and replace it with American iron....er aluminum.  The decision finally just came down to logic, the car typically was spending more time apart than together, no fault of the engine itself, but I just couldn't build the same thing again, and every mod done to the car was to make more power and to keep it lower in the revs to make it more responsive.  The next natural progression was to use a v8 that wouldn't have to breathe hard for my modest power goals (375-390whp)

Locating an Engine

I started with buying an engine off of Ebay from some guy in Texas.  He seemed like a nice enough guy until about a month later when I was still getting excuses on where my engine was and couldn't seem to give me a straight answer on when it would ship.  I called him and he claimed that he didn't have the engine or the money and that some friend of his did.  Finally I had enough and luckily through paypal I was able to get my money back.  Round two:  I discovered Search Tempest and searched a 150 mile radius on Craigslist and found a few engines, I finally found one in Dayton.  Low mileage from a 2002 WS6, with a T56, it came with the improved LS6 intake, I was happy with my find.

Background

This Blog is about my ongoing build of my LS1 powered 240sx.  For those of you who don't know me I work at Antwerp Tool Die & Engineering we make custom parts and equipment for primarily industrial customers, but the shops capabilities are also a huge help in my build.  I am also fortunate to have the assistance of our neighbors at Advanced Chassis where they build highly competitive drag cars, pulling tractors, and custom headers.

My build started in 2002 when I bought a total basket case of a 240sx off ebay with the intentions of swapping in a SR20DET

Yes, it was ugly, but I saw the potential.  Over the next year I got my parts list together and put the SR in the car, leaving it a mostly untouched bolt on SR swap.

In the spring of  '04 after about a year of fair weather driving I decided it was time to dig in and take care of the SR20 timing chain slap. When I found some damage inside.

I spark plug had came apart at some point in the engine's life and slammed around inside damaging a piston and bending some valves.  So I had the engine rebuilt, and added forged pistons, upgraded valve springs, ti retainers and a larger turbo among other things, while you're in there might as well right...

I drove it around as a sleeper for a year then jumped into the body and paint work in 2005.

I went with a d-drug (origin) wide body kit, with bomex lowers and a text modified aero front bumper.  Then painted it all black with a lot of assistance.

Then my nice almost new SR decided to self destruct shortly after I painted the car .

There's supposed to be a cap on the end of that rod...and its not supposed to be smashed into the side of the block.  Apparently my short block was assembled on a Friday afternoon at the engine machine shop I used, I sent it back to them, they admitted fault in the matter and "fixed" it.   Which fast forwards me to this summer, when I opened the engine for a little clean up on a small external headgasket leak and found scoring from a dirty build and one SR20DE rod, which was used as a replacement for the DET rod.  Needless to say I wasn't too thrilled with the prospect of building the engine again.  After a lot of deliberation and some calculations I determined the LS1 swap idea I had been toying with for sometime was the route I wanted to go.