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    THE AUTO BUILDER
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    Street Rod Showdown

    The 55th Annual NSRA Street Rod Nationals brought a roaring good time to the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville from August 1st to 4th, 2024. The event, a turbocharged celebration of classic cars, drew a massive crowd of enthusiasts. The Auto Builder was on the scene, capturing every thrilling moment. In this exclusive pictorial review, we’re showcasing some of our favorite builds from the show.

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    MEN AT WORK

    Is it us, or does it seem that Jim Bell and his crew at Kenne Bell turn out hot trucks at truly astounding rates? In the past, they have built such a wide variety of trucks and SUVs that it’s hard to count them all. But when you consider all their other projects, such as their ’05 Mustang, the ’04 Focus and the ’04 Escape, it seems they have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger (whatever that means). One of their latest projects is this ’04 Ford F-150. As with most all of the other Kenne Bell projects, it started out as a new vehicle and was destined to be displayed in its SEMA booth.

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    MOOSETANG

    Lots of people know what they want, at least generally—as in, “I want a car” or, more specifically, a performance car. A slightly more motivated person might narrow it down to a late-model car, as opposed to an old car, or even refine his goal further to a Ford car. The ability to thoroughly define your goals is generally the province of the mature individual who, with the wisdom of a few years under his belt, has come to truly know what winds his clock.

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    POPULAR READS

    LS Swapping a Classic Jeep CJ

    How a 1981 Jeep Found New Life with a 5.3 LS-1 Engine for Emission Compliance and Enhanced Performance

    In 1981 this Jeep, that now belongs to Clinton Campbell of Dallas Texas left the factory floor with a straight 6, but he drove it away from Street & Performance with a 5.3 truck LS-1 type engine and a 4L60E transmission. Clinton wanted more performance, drivability and, with the recent enforcement of emission laws in Texas, he needed to be able to pass emissions.

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    Picture of The Auto Builder Staff

    The Auto Builder Staff

    Story & Photography

    The old 40,000 mile six cylinder engine and transmission removed from the Jeep. One of the reasons for needing more performance was the 33 inch tall tires and 4:11 gears. This combination would not provide enough mid range to top end power. Another problem was that since the Jeep was not driven much, the carburetor was always having problems.
    We found a New 5.3 crate engine and 4L60E transmission. We then had to purchase a starter, computer and Mass Air Flow. This swap can also be done with late model used truck, IROC/TA or Vette engines. When purchasing a used engine, be sure to get the computer, Mass Air Flow, O2 sensors and, for emission type vehicles, get the rear O2 sensors
    1.Corvette Balancer
    2.IROC/TA Balancer
    3.C/K Truck Balancer
    Should have a new tightening bolt when replacing balancers. Tighten to 110 ft lbs. Then back off bolt one turn. Retighten to 35 ft lbs and then turn bolt a additional 140 degrees
    We contacted Advance Adapters for the engine mount kit and the 4L60E transmission to the Jeeps transfer case adapter. We installed the transmission adapter which allows us to use the 128 thousand pulse per mile signal for the vehicle speed sensor. Advance Adapters also has a 40 tooth reluctor ring in the adapter kit. Parts can be purchased as a kit or individually. Advance Adapters also has a kit for a manual transmission. These kits come complete with detailed instruction sheets.
    We put the output shaft from Advance Adapters into the transmission, then installed the reluctor ring onto the shaft. We used the adapter with the speed sensor to locate the reluctor ring on the shaft.
    After bolting on the 6 bolt speed sensor housing, we then used a feeler gauge to set the gap between the speed sensor and the reluctor ring to .030 to .060 as recommended by Advance Adapters. Once the gap was properly set we then tightened the set screws using loc-tite.
    The completed Transmission and transfer case. Note the large round plug on the passenger side is where the transmission wiring harness is plugged.
    The transfer case adapter is bolted to the 6 bolt speed sensor housing.
    The new 5.3 was lowered into the engine bay for a test fitting of the engine and transmission mounts.
    With engine mounts fitted, we then installed the rear cross member with the Advance Adapter transmission mount and JEEP skid plate.
    Advance Adapters passenger side engine mount uses the rubber biscuit mount. This is an easy bolt in.
    We installed a 26 gallon fuel tank with the in tank fuel pump assembly because the new engines require 50 to 60 lbs of fuel pressure. In tank pumps are more reliable because the pump is kept cool in the tank and it only has to push the fuel and not pull. Canister filters can not be pressurized in the first two seconds that the key is turned on. Billet type filters are designed for carburators and will not provide the fuel flow needed.

    LS-1 Motor Mount Plates come complete with all metric and standard bolts. These plates will allow the LS1 engine to bolt to the factory Chevy V8 motor mount and locate the engine in the proper place. Rubber mount pictured on plate is not included.

    LS-1 - LS-6 Motor Mount Plates Allows you to bolt LS-1 to Original V-8 Motor Mounts on most all vehicles with Chevrolet V-8 motor mounts
    S&P offers a kit that uses a GM GF481 stainless fuel filter with 16mm O-ring to AN6 fittings and mounting bracket. This kit is used when running one line up and one line back. S&P also offers quick disconnect and braided rear exit fuel line kits for most fuel injected engines.
    Lowering the new 5.3 truck engine into the engine compartment.
    Clinton decided that he did not want the big truck manifold, so we installed this chromed Corvette manifold in its place. We then mounted the S&P chrome accessories to match the manifold.
    New Transmission Installed
    LS-1 oil pressure manifold. Vettes comes with factory sending unit, but must be replaced with your gauge sending unit. IROC/TA and others have to be drilled and tapped to accept your oil pressure gauge sending unit.
    98 IROC/TA’s come with a three prong coolant temp sensor part # 12551708. On all other engines we convert to this unit so that we can use GM type gauges. This sending unit also supplies the computer with the engine temp. The Street & Performance wiring harness has the connection for this three prong sending unit.

    ‘97-’98 Corvette’s use an in and out fuel rail like the truck style engine. ‘98 – 2002 IROC/TA use a single fuel line like the ‘99 up Corvette. All single fuel line systems can be converted to the dual line system. Dual line systems have the advantage of always having cool fuel on top of the engine which provide less chance of vapor locks in hot weather and with most factory or after market tanks, it is easier to run one line out and one line back. When using a fuel injection system it is imperative that you use a filter that is for fuel injection. These filters are designed to allow 50 lbs of pressure and a flow of 40 gallon an hour. Canister filters can not be pressurized in the first two seconds that the key is turned on. Billet type filters are designed for carburetors and will not provide the fuel flow needed.

    S&P modified the fuel rail like a 97-98 corvette with regulator so that one line could be routed to the engine and one line to be returned to the fuel tank. This will allow cool fuel to be provided to the engine and not require a regulator in the fuel tank. All truck style engines come with a dual line system.
    All Street & Performance Headers come complete w/ Collectors, O2 Bunns, Gaskets and Bolts
    Taylor offers an LS1 type spark plug wire that is design to be used with header applications.
    S&P’s polished GM stainless steel fuel filter was used because of the high flow of fuel needed for the injection system.
    LS-1 4L60E WIRING HARNESS

    LS-’s1 are designed for easy installation. they come ready to plug in with only 4 wires to hook-up. One wire to key, one to ground, one to starter and one to fuel pump. All harnesses come with a fuse panel and diagnostic port and are available with full emission and are available for automatic or standard transmissions. All truck computers must be reprogrammed to remove the internal anti theft. S&P can reprogram your computer. Please specify emission or non-emission, trans, gear ratio and tire diameter.

    S&P can reprogram your LS-1 computer on an exchange basis. We must know tire diameter, gear ratio and transmission type and cam or engine mods.
    After installing the harness we then attached the S&P air cleaner which has the mass air flow built in and plugged the harness into it. This filter is available with the three or five pin mass air flow sensor.
    A. #6 Pressure Line to Rack or Gear Box
    B. Return #6 or 3/8 from Rack or Gear Box to side of reservoir.
    C. #8 or 5/8 Return from reservoir to pump
    To make the LS1 fit into tight spaces, S&P uses a GM power steering pump that has a remote reservoir. Shown is the mounting of the S&P chrome power steering reservoir. S&P provides custom Aero-Quip hose kits for your application. The return line from the reservoir to the pump, must be -8 or -10 and be rated for 24 to 27 inches of vacuum. S&P recommends the use of GM power steering fuild PT# 12345867.
    S&P offers a kit that will allow you to control the electric fans manually from the radiator temp rather than from the computer. We also tied into the air to activate the fans. We were able to use the original 6 cylinder radiator because the new engines do not create a lot of heat.
    We installed a constant volocity drive shaft because the lift kit on this Jeep created more angle on the drive shaft and caused there to be a vibration at high speed. This new drive shaft removed the vibration.
    Using a thermal inferred temperature gun we set the adjustable thermostat so that when the water at the bottom of the radiator reached 175 to 185 degree the fans would come on. We installed a hi pressure switch into the air conditioning system to bring the fans on when the AC is turned on.
    The thermal inferred temperature gun is also an invaluable tool to check that all the cylinders are operating at the same temperature by pointing it at each header tube when the engine is running.
    With the finished installation, Clinton can now pass emission tests, climb steep embankments and four wheel at high altitude with fuel economy ,drivablity and still run the 4:11 gears and 33 inch tires for off roading.

    ARTICLE SOURCES

    Picture of Rock Valley

    Rock Valley

    5295 28th Avenue
    Rockford, IL 61109

    1-800-344-1934

    Picture of Lokar Performance Products

    Lokar Performance Products

    2545 Quality Lane
    Knoxville, TN 37931

    1-877-469-7440

    Picture of Adavance Adapters

    Adavance Adapters

    4320 Aerotech Center Way
    Paso Robles, CA 93446

    1-800-350-2223

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