Heater core will be an easy fix. Take the heater core out, cut off the end enough to fit and put a 37 degree flare on it. Run AN hose from there to the heater box with rubber grommets to prevent puncture.
New cab mounts will give you a lot more clearance for the bellhousing. The factory rubber sags and the body falls. My 83 s10 had the firewall seam covering the bellhousing bolts on my first trans swap in 2002. My 93 k2500 had front tire clearance issues until I'd realized the body mounts sagged on it too. Polyurethane bushings fixed both permanently. Food for thought.
Remove the heater core. You are a great TIG welder, so weld the new outputs of the heater core in a different direction. Make completely new openings in the fire wall, where you bring the hoses out from a better place.
I did this on my ls swapped s10. But I just turned the tubes into 90s out of the firewall. Build has been running and driving for 4 years and it worked great.
Just get yourself two 90 degree metal SharkBite fittings for the heater core and slide them on the pipe after cutting!! If there is room you can even get 90 degree compression fittings. I PROMISE its the easiest solution and honestly wont look bad either! Either way you can get the hoses to hug the firewall at any degree of circle you want. loving this content man! I remember watching you on TV years ago! So glad you are sticking with you tube!!
I have been mounting my trans coolers to the bottom of the beds with dual 8inch fans on 40k cooler. This has made a great difference in trans temps and it's one less thing in front of my radiator. Ran this setup on several different truck with zero issues and great trans temps under harsh conditions.
@@GreatLakesLoggermore for hauling probably. Wondering could change ratio gears ? Not talking about final drives. I mean in the transmission 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Fourth gears ? Ones really need to change 1st and 2nd.
@Silkmaster4200 I wondered that myself. I believe there's some ratios available for the 4l60, so I would think the same would be available for the 4l80
Your videos are getting better from when you firsst opened the shop... and I'm loving this content. I can't wait to see what this truck will do at the strip!
LT, Just an FYI the LS1 & 2 manifolds are not any good. The ONLY good low profile manifold is a LS6 for the cathedral port. Per Richard Holdener testing. I used the early truck manifold and shaved it then added some fiberglass, a skim coat of Bondo and a few coats of hammed flat black.
LT, I've been watching you for years and years now on the old show and your youtube channel. You are definitely coming into your own, man. I could tell early on you were very nervous recording everything but now you are a pro and I always look forward to your next video. Great job!
My 4WD GMC Jimmy with an ls swap has an LS6 intake. Mostly because I raised my engine about an inch higher than yours (from the looks of it) I had to use holley brackets and everything is tight, but fits very well. Next time I pull the engine, I'm getting a new AC box for it. Now, i need to decide if I'm going BW 4472 or NV149. The 149 is easier to source and bolts right up to the 4L60E, but as you can see, it's designed to hang low under the full-size truck. Looking forward to see how you make it work!
Well shit. I'm not a mechanic anymore. But in my old age, I chose woodworking and furniture building. Seems like whatever hobby one chooses, things don't fit, they barely fit. Special purchase items, and homemade stuff is the norm. You're great. I learn from you. Thanks.
1 maybe 2 episodes after posting his video about this truck running. A video posted about selling used parts with a very "lightly" used 4l60e. 😂 Jokes aside, i am blown away with this build and wish i had the knowledge n experience to put together a similar build in my first gen s10. Love the content and cant wait to see this thing running
Wow, LT! In spite of your heater core issue, and desire for heat in Colorado, you make it all look so easy. Your attention to detail is amazing and admirable.👍👏
LT, just fix the heater core hoses now. Get it over with and enjoy the heat. It sucks but you’ll be much happier having it done now than doing it later. Everything is apart now so just do it. Nike 🤣👍
Why not take the heater core out and make the connection under the dash then run rubber lines out through the firewall. Maybe if you can fab a bulkhead and some 90s switch it to AN fittings You are a fab guy you got this.
The heater core tubes can be cut off and use rubber hoses with clamps “inside”firewall. Old trick to change heater cores without pulling dash. As heater core can usually slide sideways to remove them. I did this on an equinox.
Some simple 1.750 DOM tube would be a sick lil custom front drive shaft 👌. Imagine is LT was your Quality Control Inspector at work 👀🤦♂️🤣😂 jk LT . Your work ethic and meticulous nature is what makes your projects yours and always more than trustworthy and reliable 👏👊
I have an LSA set up on my Xtreme S10 Blazer. Never hooked up the heater hoses (live in south Florida). You will likely have fitment issues with the stock hood and the ZL1 lid. I'm running a cts-v lid and the stock hood closes fine.
Heater core option: is there an aftermarket electric defrost option similar to what is found in Ford Super Duty diesel trucks? They use an electric booster to get hot air going to the glass before the engine warms up the coolant.
It the heater core lines back far enough that your connections will be inside the truck. The rubber lines exiting the firewall will be easier to manipulate
Pounding the pinch weld flat is a must on any s10 transmission, even when replacing stock for stock. Cant tell you how many times ive smashed that spot at 10 and 2 o'clock for an extra 2 mm, Just a thought, get shark bite 90° plumbing connectors for your heater core. I know they are intended for indoor plumbing, but they totally work for hot water, maybe they would hold up? If they hold up to water pressure, they should hold up to coolant pressure?
On the 4l60e. I will give you some personal experience advice. With just the Corvette servo and teans tune you should be okay. If you go with a full valvebody kit and servo... forget the trans tune. I forgot to remove the tune i had after a HD2 kit and billet servo upgrade. And promptly sheared the output shaft of behind the sunshell. The short 4x4/awd shaft doesn't have enough distance for torsional stress handling lol😂
If you are worried about getting a 4-bolt throttle body to work on a 3-bolt intake manifold (like LS1 or LS6) then use an ICT Billet throttle body adapter. SKU#: 551597-3B-102 will adapt up to a 102mm throttle body. SKU#: 551513 will handle up to a 92mm throttle body
@EGGINFOOLS what broke do you know, I had a local guy install it but I bought the monster in a box kit from monster transmissions and the input drum broke and same just a tune cold air intake and a muffler but thats a stock part so unless you want to spend another like $600 or something for the sonax upgraded one it is what it is
I think i would have gotten one of the shift correction kits for the trans too while you had it out although it is something you can install in vehicle but if you want to keep the 4l60e you should probably rebuild the spear one with upgrades before to long
The reason you had issues with the TBSS intake is the same reason why it's so good. The base engine in the TB is the super tall 4.2L Atlas inline 6. So, when GM put in the V8, they had tons of room to make the TBSS intake massive. Speaking of the Atlas engine, you should do something with it in a single cab first gen colorado/canyon.
Love what you do LT, but I feel like cutting those heater lines to facilitate the truck intake was a big mistake. Just run the LS2 intake and resell it later and get most of your money back.
We know the 4L80 consumes more horsepower than the 4L60, but it is interesting that the difference was discernible when launching. I would have guessed that there would be an ET difference, but a small one. A seat of the pants difference is substantial!
I don’t disagree with the 60e choice for now. I have one with a corvette shifter, B&M shift kit and pinless 1-2 accumulator piston (the only mods) and a stock converter in my 03 awd RCSB silverado. It has a 6.0 with twin turbos and the 60e has been a champ with many boosted launches. We’ll see how long it lasts, but your truck is still quite a bit lighter.
I know it`s more money but to save future problems I always replace the OEM heater core and I also have a radiator repairman finish filling in around the tubes at the core so there will be no possibility of cracking the soldered joint where the tube enters the core body while handling the heater core and at that time I would solder on some AN fittings then after some fire wall work to remount the core there might be enough room to thread on some 90 degree elbows! Before you beef up the tube you might think up a way to bend some tubes to make your elbows then have them have the solder new pipes on to the core?
Those exhaust manifolds remind me of old school factory headers, I think they look great and I’m sure they don’t flow as well as headers but are you going to notice the loss.
I'm wondering of some type of oil starvation could be a problem with that pan in high-G's handling. Perhaps it should be converted to a dry-sump system? (Note: I don't know much, just guessing)
First like and comment! Nice. You know the Typhoon doesn’t seem to get much replica love. My dream would be an Xtreme Blazer converted to GMC with the ATS-V engine. The 4L60 is likely faster 0-60 due to the lower first gear compared to the 80. I’d just tell your wife you have to buy a LSA supercharger to get heat in the truck. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices like that. 😂
I think vintage air has a heat and air setup that would work for a S10 and you could remove the AC box from the engine bay and give you more clearance around the motor just a suggestion
Trz motorsports just released billet body mounts for s-10s I'm sure yours are sagging after 20 years and that should give clearance for the heater hoses
I remember Rick Bacon had a hell of a time ls swapping his s10 blazer. It was spike tv but I can't remember which show. I'm sure you can find out you got the hook up.
I know your testicles were probably drawing up while you were cutting that I’m proud of you for being able to do something that wasn’t exactly perfect for the time being God bless you, brother
The heater cores in the s10/Sonoma/Blazer/Jimmy I'll put together kind of funky. Were the pipes going to the core itself is o-ringed. The welding on it or moving it around will make the o-ring fail. Another one of GM standout designs. And to change the heater core you need to take the dash out, no Forward thinking by the GM engineers there.
Since you're modifying the heater core tubes anyway, would it be worth the effort to move them to a different part of the firewall so that they are not right behind the engine? It could also aid maintenance in the future!
idk if you know, but in 97/98 they changed the trans mount position by about 5/8 of an inch on the 4l60e. could explain the pan clearance if you changed years.
if you want good power with a punch. go with the hellcat blower as they are cheap and make better power than the LSA. but also overall a better supercharger. if you want you can fabricate your own blower lid to give it that sleeper look u wanted. trinity performance and design has a kit for it
Heater core will be an easy fix. Take the heater core out, cut off the end enough to fit and put a 37 degree flare on it. Run AN hose from there to the heater box with rubber grommets to prevent puncture.
New cab mounts will give you a lot more clearance for the bellhousing. The factory rubber sags and the body falls. My 83 s10 had the firewall seam covering the bellhousing bolts on my first trans swap in 2002.
My 93 k2500 had front tire clearance issues until I'd realized the body mounts sagged on it too. Polyurethane bushings fixed both permanently. Food for thought.
Good to know. Should prolly use poly mounts.
Fix your heater LT, you're going to need defrosters. You have the talent, make it happen
Remove the heater core. You are a great TIG welder, so weld the new outputs of the heater core in a different direction. Make completely new openings in the fire wall, where you bring the hoses out from a better place.
Tearing that dash out is a real pain but I agree with you !!!
Make it Happen !!!
Retired radiator serviceman says yes 👍 100%
I did this on my ls swapped s10. But I just turned the tubes into 90s out of the firewall. Build has been running and driving for 4 years and it worked great.
Just get yourself two 90 degree metal SharkBite fittings for the heater core and slide them on the pipe after cutting!! If there is room you can even get 90 degree compression fittings. I PROMISE its the easiest solution and honestly wont look bad either! Either way you can get the hoses to hug the firewall at any degree of circle you want. loving this content man! I remember watching you on TV years ago! So glad you are sticking with you tube!!
Exactly what i was thinking and dont even have to remove the core
I have been mounting my trans coolers to the bottom of the beds with dual 8inch fans on 40k cooler. This has made a great difference in trans temps and it's one less thing in front of my radiator. Ran this setup on several different truck with zero issues and great trans temps under harsh conditions.
4L60 has a 3.06 low gear. A 4L80 has a 2.48 low gear. It makes sense why the truck was better in 60 ft
I was going to say the same thing
No wonder why my Silverado slowed down on the take off but I feel like 4.11 gears helped a lot
Yeah, 4L80s do not have good gear ratios.
@@GreatLakesLoggermore for hauling probably. Wondering could change ratio gears ? Not talking about final drives. I mean in the transmission 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Fourth gears ? Ones really need to change 1st and 2nd.
@Silkmaster4200 I wondered that myself. I believe there's some ratios available for the 4l60, so I would think the same would be available for the 4l80
Gen 3 intake works fine. Clears my heater connections in my 96.
Can't wait to see this BEAST run..
I enjoy your builds. Always clean and "as if stock".
Progress is looking great, gonna be a fun ride for sure.
Your videos are getting better from when you firsst opened the shop... and I'm loving this content. I can't wait to see what this truck will do at the strip!
On my 5.3 swap with the truck intake I used a 3/8 extension and slowly bent the heater fittings out of the way .
Now this is more like it!
Supercharged and AWD is gonna clown on the street.
With that short wheelbase it could be a little monster off road, yeah?
This is by far my favorite project on this channel love these little trucks
LT, Just an FYI the LS1 & 2 manifolds are not any good. The ONLY good low profile manifold is a LS6 for the cathedral port. Per Richard Holdener testing. I used the early truck manifold and shaved it then added some fiberglass, a skim coat of Bondo and a few coats of hammed flat black.
Cut the tube shorter, flare the end, use a tight radius silicone 90° hose.
Loved the chain and crowbar trick, Awesome....
LT, I've been watching you for years and years now on the old show and your youtube channel. You are definitely coming into your own, man. I could tell early on you were very nervous recording everything but now you are a pro and I always look forward to your next video. Great job!
My 4WD GMC Jimmy with an ls swap has an LS6 intake. Mostly because I raised my engine about an inch higher than yours (from the looks of it) I had to use holley brackets and everything is tight, but fits very well. Next time I pull the engine, I'm getting a new AC box for it. Now, i need to decide if I'm going BW 4472 or NV149. The 149 is easier to source and bolts right up to the 4L60E, but as you can see, it's designed to hang low under the full-size truck. Looking forward to see how you make it work!
Easy way to fix your heater issue is to just fit the LSA supercharger now
Vacuum caps work great for things like your fuel line leak while you’re working on it
Well shit. I'm not a mechanic anymore. But in my old age, I chose woodworking and furniture building. Seems like whatever hobby one chooses, things don't fit, they barely fit. Special purchase items, and homemade stuff is the norm. You're great. I learn from you. Thanks.
Grab a low-profile intake manifold with a matching throttle body to keep the heater. No matter what state I'm in, you would want heat!
They’re cheap in my area, not sure what the problem is elsewhere
Really enjoying this series, keep up the great work!!!
1 maybe 2 episodes after posting his video about this truck running. A video posted about selling used parts with a very "lightly" used 4l60e. 😂
Jokes aside, i am blown away with this build and wish i had the knowledge n experience to put together a similar build in my first gen s10.
Love the content and cant wait to see this thing running
Pretty cool trick to get the servo in. I like it
Wow, LT! In spite of your heater core issue, and desire for heat in Colorado, you make it all look so easy. Your attention to detail is amazing and admirable.👍👏
LT, just fix the heater core hoses now. Get it over with and enjoy the heat. It sucks but you’ll be much happier having it done now than doing it later. Everything is apart now so just do it. Nike 🤣👍
I love this project. Sad to see you had to/chose to cut the heater tube............ The heater core is a real PITA to swap out 5-8 hour job :(
Those bright red parts in the transmission must add another 11% more torques! LOL
You'll figure it out. You always do great work!
Why not take the heater core out and make the connection under the dash then run rubber lines out through the firewall. Maybe if you can fab a bulkhead and some 90s switch it to AN fittings You are a fab guy you got this.
Choices… so many choices. In the end I know you will do the right thing LT
The heater core tubes can be cut off and use rubber hoses with clamps “inside”firewall. Old trick to change heater cores without pulling dash. As heater core can usually slide sideways to remove them. I did this on an equinox.
Some simple 1.750 DOM tube would be a sick lil custom front drive shaft 👌. Imagine is LT was your Quality Control Inspector at work 👀🤦♂️🤣😂 jk LT . Your work ethic and meticulous nature is what makes your projects yours and always more than trustworthy and reliable 👏👊
Love the videos and detail. I’m currently building a crew cab s10 with a 6 foot bed then plain to do a 4x4 ls swap very similar, keep it up!
I have an LSA set up on my Xtreme S10 Blazer. Never hooked up the heater hoses (live in south Florida). You will likely have fitment issues with the stock hood and the ZL1 lid. I'm running a cts-v lid and the stock hood closes fine.
Just weld a new end tank on the heater core and two -10 bungs. You can then run AN lines through a different spot in the firewall
21:28 weld on bung will do it. One could actually measure so the AN threads mount flush as there are thru firewall bolt on fitting plates.
Heater core option: is there an aftermarket electric defrost option similar to what is found in Ford Super Duty diesel trucks? They use an electric booster to get hot air going to the glass before the engine warms up the coolant.
Come on man you got me drooling let’s get this thing done
Great Video LT as usual
Nice job! Super cool build!
Camera man killing it
It the heater core lines back far enough that your connections will be inside the truck. The rubber lines exiting the firewall will be easier to manipulate
The doorman LS one that Richard Holdener talks about works just like the NNBS intake with the low profile
Is that the v6 4l60e? If so you may only last a short time since the v6 trans has fewer clutches in it for the clutch stack out.
Are you sure about that? Not what I was wanting to hear lol
If you can find a shark-bite elbow you can cut it off and reroute it. I have used them on aluminum and it works.
Pounding the pinch weld flat is a must on any s10 transmission, even when replacing stock for stock.
Cant tell you how many times ive smashed that spot at 10 and 2 o'clock for an extra 2 mm,
Just a thought, get shark bite 90° plumbing connectors for your heater core. I know they are intended for indoor plumbing, but they totally work for hot water, maybe they would hold up? If they hold up to water pressure, they should hold up to coolant pressure?
And it would even go on the cut off pipes.
On the 4l60e. I will give you some personal experience advice. With just the Corvette servo and teans tune you should be okay. If you go with a full valvebody kit and servo... forget the trans tune. I forgot to remove the tune i had after a HD2 kit and billet servo upgrade. And promptly sheared the output shaft of behind the sunshell. The short 4x4/awd shaft doesn't have enough distance for torsional stress handling lol😂
AWESOME!
If you are worried about getting a 4-bolt throttle body to work on a 3-bolt intake manifold (like LS1 or LS6) then use an ICT Billet throttle body adapter. SKU#: 551597-3B-102 will adapt up to a 102mm throttle body. SKU#: 551513 will handle up to a 92mm throttle body
4L 60s can be made tough. Richard at performance transmission is someone who can help with the upgrades.
The truck being lighter helps a lot
I broke a FLT stage 3 trans on my tune only 4x4 RCSB 4.8 Sierra. 2003. Totally destroyed it. My 98 S10 SS went 20k making 360-380whp from the 4.3.
@EGGINFOOLS what broke do you know, I had a local guy install it but I bought the monster in a box kit from monster transmissions and the input drum broke and same just a tune cold air intake and a muffler but thats a stock part so unless you want to spend another like $600 or something for the sonax upgraded one it is what it is
Tap the heater core tube that you cut off and thread in a 45 or 90 degree fitting.
Why didn't you cut the heater core nipples at 45° angle and weld it back at the angle you needed ?
I agree that.
I notice you having trouble getting drivers side coils on. On my 96 s10 I'm running a geo metro brake booster. It stop perfectly
Could you put coolant through the evaporator coil for heat as a temporary solution?
You can use a AN bulk head plate for those lines
I think i would have gotten one of the shift correction kits for the trans too while you had it out although it is something you can install in vehicle but if you want to keep the 4l60e you should probably rebuild the spear one with upgrades before to long
The reason you had issues with the TBSS intake is the same reason why it's so good. The base engine in the TB is the super tall 4.2L Atlas inline 6. So, when GM put in the V8, they had tons of room to make the TBSS intake massive. Speaking of the Atlas engine, you should do something with it in a single cab first gen colorado/canyon.
I had a level 6 rpm transmission 4l60e 2wd behind my turbo 5.3 making close to 700hp for over 3 years and it was flawless
Also if that’s a corvette fuel filter it will not work if you go up to a 450 pump in the tank
And you can buy an fittings for the trans and run the hoses over the trans to the driver side which will give you a ton more space 👍
We all know you're going to pull the dash and weld new angled nozzles on that heater core. ;-)
You can just braze a 90 degree adapter onto that heater core to get it to fit, everything else is looking good
Love what you do LT, but I feel like cutting those heater lines to facilitate the truck intake was a big mistake. Just run the LS2 intake and resell it later and get most of your money back.
We know the 4L80 consumes more horsepower than the 4L60, but it is interesting that the difference was discernible when launching. I would have guessed that there would be an ET difference, but a small one. A seat of the pants difference is substantial!
Lookin good..
Could you have notched the intake manifold and plastic welded it? Maybe it would have been too big of a notch?
I don’t disagree with the 60e choice for now. I have one with a corvette shifter, B&M shift kit and pinless 1-2 accumulator piston (the only mods) and a stock converter in my 03 awd RCSB silverado. It has a 6.0 with twin turbos and the 60e has been a champ with many boosted launches. We’ll see how long it lasts, but your truck is still quite a bit lighter.
I wonder if you could get a shark bite 90 on that heater core
Would like to see a SFI flex plate... or at least a tunnel blanket. that's a lot of power for a stock plate my guy.
If your going to try to keep ac also. Look into a whole under dash unit. Like vintage air, but i know there are cheaper options.
Hey Lawrence can you air hammer the firewall back around the heater core lines to expose more pipe where you can tig 90's on?
LT, cut a rectangle piece out of the firewall solder elbows on the heater core and then put patch on the firewall.
I know it`s more money but to save future problems I always replace the OEM heater core and I also have a radiator repairman finish filling in around the tubes at the core so there will be no possibility of cracking the soldered joint where the tube enters the core body while handling the heater core and at that time I would solder on some AN fittings then after some fire wall work to remount the core there might be enough room to thread on some 90 degree elbows! Before you beef up the tube you might think up a way to bend some tubes to make your elbows then have them have the solder new pipes on to the core?
Those exhaust manifolds remind me of old school factory headers, I think they look great and I’m sure they don’t flow as well as headers but are you going to notice the loss.
I'm wondering of some type of oil starvation could be a problem with that pan in high-G's handling. Perhaps it should be converted to a dry-sump system? (Note: I don't know much, just guessing)
First like and comment! Nice. You know the Typhoon doesn’t seem to get much replica love. My dream would be an Xtreme Blazer converted to GMC with the ATS-V engine.
The 4L60 is likely faster 0-60 due to the lower first gear compared to the 80.
I’d just tell your wife you have to buy a LSA supercharger to get heat in the truck. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices like that. 😂
Nope, I'm first! 😊
@ I don’t even see your comment. Timestamp or it didn’t happen!
I see a dash tear down in your near future to address that heater core ...
So have fun !!!
I think vintage air has a heat and air setup that would work for a S10 and you could remove the AC box from the engine bay and give you more clearance around the motor just a suggestion
Trz motorsports just released billet body mounts for s-10s I'm sure yours are sagging after 20 years and that should give clearance for the heater hoses
I remember Rick Bacon had a hell of a time ls swapping his s10 blazer. It was spike tv but I can't remember which show. I'm sure you can find out you got the hook up.
Not sure if they makr the size you would need for the heater core tube. But, Swageloc makes 90s compression fittings you could maybe use
Couldn't you put the engine forward a inch or so. No trans mount mods or cutting your heater core outlet
I know your testicles were probably drawing up while you were cutting that I’m proud of you for being able to do something that wasn’t exactly perfect for the time being God bless you, brother
The heater cores in the s10/Sonoma/Blazer/Jimmy I'll put together kind of funky. Were the pipes going to the core itself is o-ringed. The welding on it or moving it around will make the o-ring fail. Another one of GM standout designs. And to change the heater core you need to take the dash out, no Forward thinking by the GM engineers there.
Most cars are a dash out job for replacement. It's not just GM.
Get a 4L79 drum, billet input and output shafts put into that 60e
Oooh! now do my astro van!
The dorman intake is so expensive because it's a very close copy of the fast intake car manifold except it's not a bolt together
Weld on some 90° tubes on the cut heater core lines?
How about running a terminator mustang blower with the adapters ?It will take up less room and sit a little lower
Braze some 90* fittings on the heater core...route it to where you need
Love this channel
Wonder if there's a Sharkbite fitting that could work? Something 90 degrees :)
Since you're modifying the heater core tubes anyway, would it be worth the effort to move them to a different part of the firewall so that they are not right behind the engine? It could also aid maintenance in the future!
idk if you know, but in 97/98 they changed the trans mount position by about 5/8 of an inch on the 4l60e. could explain the pan clearance if you changed years.
if you want good power with a punch. go with the hellcat blower as they are cheap and make better power than the LSA. but also overall a better supercharger. if you want you can fabricate your own blower lid to give it that sleeper look u wanted. trinity performance and design has a kit for it
Those ls2 intakes and other parts you mentioned are all over my mktplc for cheap. Not sure where you lookin
A stepped transmission pan would've remedied your x-member woes.
Maybe relocate thecore tubes?I see in my 01 that theres alittle space to work with in there.