Mounts and Adapters

Motor Mounts

The motor mounts for the LS1 sit a few inches further back on the motor than on the old 350. To adjust for this, I had my buddy, Dan, make some adapter plates. One quarter inch steel should be plenty strong enough. They are drilled for the four LS1 bolts and tapped for the 3 Corvette mount holes. This makes it relatively easy to replace the mounts if I need to. I tried to use as many off the shelf parts as I could for my conversion.

Water Neck

The water neck posed another problem. It pointed right at the upper control arm mount. Unfortunately, no one makes a different one for an LS1. It is unique in that it has a thermostat built into it. I used a stock 70 corvette lower hose and cut it in the middle. I flipped one end around and reconnected them to get the shape I needed. For the upper radiator hose, I used the hose from a 99 Camaro. It fit perfectly.

The heater hose outlets from the water pump were another problem. They are on the passenger's side and stick straight out of the water pump and straddle the mounting nut for the upper control arm. This makes connecting hoses impossible. I pulled out the pressed in fittings and installed some with a 90 degree bend in them. They now point straight up. I went and picked up some bulk hose and cut it to length.

Transmission Mount

With the motor and transmission in place, I could crawl under the car and figure out where to re-install the transmission crossmember. As it turns out, it could have stayed where it was! It went back exactly where it came from. What a waste.

The original Muncie rubber mount bolts up to the T-56 perfectly. I gave Dan a call with the plans and he made me a plate that gets welded to the bottom of the crossmember with a tounge that protrudes forward a little. The rubber mount then bolts to the tounge.

Air Intake

I like the air intake that the LS1 Corvettes use. There is a flex tube that extends from the throttle body and connects to a cobra hood shaped piece that fits over the radiator. It curves down in the front and follows the slope of the radiator. Attached to this is the MAF sensor and then the air box. I found a K&N filter that fits on the end of the MAF instead of the stock air box. The nice thing about this setup is the K&N filter sits just behind the center grille. Should get some nice cold air. Now, to get it all to fit, I had to cut off and lower the top center section of the radiator support. I used two pieces of 2X1/8 steel to form the sides of the new center section. Makes some good mounting points for the cobra hood shaped piece.

Exhaust Manifolds

Here is one of the exhaust manifolds. These are stock C5 corvette manifolds. They look a lot like shorty headers. I painted them with high temp silver paint to give it the good look.

LS1 conversion

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	Mounts and Adapters Motor Mounts
	The motor mounts for the LS1 sit a few inches further back on the motor than on the old 350. To adjust for this, I had my buddy, Dan, make some adapter plates. One quarter inch steel should be plenty strong enough. They are drilled for the four LS1 bolts and tapped for the 3 Corvette mount holes. This makes it relatively easy to replace the mounts if I need to. I tried to use as many off the shelf parts as I could for my conversion.
	Water Neck
	The water neck posed another problem. It pointed right at the upper control arm mount. Unfortunately, no one makes a different one for an LS1. It is unique in that it has a thermostat built into it. I used a stock 70 corvette lower hose and cut it in the middle. I flipped one end around and reconnected them to get the shape I needed. For the upper radiator hose, I used the hose from a 99 Camaro. It fit perfectly. The heater hose outlets from the water pump were another problem. They are on the passenger's side and stick straight out of the water pump and straddle the mounting nut for the upper control arm. This makes connecting hoses impossible. I pulled out the pressed in fittings and installed some with a 90 degree bend in them. They now point straight up. I went and picked up some bulk hose and cut it to length.
	Transmission Mount With the motor and transmission in place, I could crawl under the car and figure out where to re-install the transmission crossmember. As it turns out, it could have stayed where it was! It went back exactly where it came from. What a waste. The original Muncie rubber mount bolts up to the T-56 perfectly. I gave Dan a call with the plans and he made me a plate that gets welded to the bottom of the crossmember with a tounge that protrudes forward a little. The rubber mount then bolts to the tounge.
	Air Intake I like the air intake that the LS1 Corvettes use. There is a flex tube that extends from the throttle body and connects to a cobra hood shaped piece that fits over the radiator. It curves down in the front and follows the slope of the radiator. Attached to this is the MAF sensor and then the air box. I found a K&N filter that fits on the end of the MAF instead of the stock air box. The nice thing about this setup is the K&N filter sits just behind the center grille. Should get some nice cold air. Now, to get it all to fit, I had to cut off and lower the top center section of the radiator support. I used two pieces of 2X1/8 steel to form the sides of the new center section. Makes some good mounting points for the cobra hood shaped piece.
	Exhaust Manifolds Here is one of the exhaust manifolds. These are stock C5 corvette manifolds. They look a lot like shorty headers. I painted them with high temp silver paint to give it the good look.
	LS1 conversion next