V6 to V8

V6 to V8

 

When I started this project I had no idea how many differences there are between the v6 and the ls v8. The first major difference is the k member. See the posted photos for the diffences. If you are considering doing this and you can easily get a ls1 k member that is the easier way to go. If you cant find one you can convert one if you are handy.

 

 

          The other major difference is the steering rack. The v6 and lt1 cars are the same but on the LS1 the angle of the steering knuckle is a steeper angle to clear the motor mount. Also the knuckle that attaches the rack to the steering column is different.

   Then finally the transmission cross member is different. The v8 manual trans is substantually different than the v6 auto. This gets the engine and transmission sitting in the car. Surprisingly the driveshaft is the same length and shares the same yoke as the v8. The V6 driveshaft is made out of steel however but can be used.

As for the wiring for a v6 to v8. I am going to modify a Ls1 harness and make it a stand alone harness.

 

 

 

 

Seat mount

        The seat mount was pretty straight forward. First step was figuring out where I wanted to sit in relation to the steering wheel and pedals. So I temporarily installed both of them. Then using 2x4s pieces of metal and whatever I could find I set the seat in the car and started figuring out where it needed to be. After this was figured out I tack welded the top part of the mount in place. This was sturdy enough to figure out if this was truly where the seat needed to be. This sounds all simple but this process took a couple evenings and there was a lot of trial and error. I was calculating the mount location using the middle holes of the seat brackets. This way if I screwed up i can go back or forward one inch.

 

To get the seat centered with the steering wheel I also need to remove a small section of the floor brace. This allowed me to move the seat the needed 3/4 of an inch toward the center of the car.

Here is the finished product. It is probably overkill and wieghs too much but it is solid.