2018/09/30 - Crate Engine
Earlier in the week, my LS376/480 was delivered! Somehow, the truck made it into the alley, so it went from the truck, down the liftgate, right onto the floor of my garage. Super easy!
Unfortunately, it did NOT come with motor mount stands. You know, the part that lets the engine actually BE mounted. Those are on order. Got a few things to do in the meantime, though!
The GTM was designed around a donor LS1 engine, not my brand new LS376/480. There are a couple of snags as a result. The Valley Cover has a spot for an oil pressure sender. Which is fine, except the mid-engine nature of the GTM requires the intake manifold to be removed and rotated 180 degrees. When you do this, there is interference shown in the pictures below. (These two pictures shamelessly taken from VRaptor Speedworks page http://vraptorspeedworks.com, Shane does fantastic work helping the GTM community). I removed the Valley Cover, and sent it off to Shane to remove that boss and plug it.
Before (not my engine)
After (also not my engine)
I didn't want critters getting into the engine while the Valley Cover was away, so painters tape went on.
If you'll look closely, you'll see something amiss. Did you spot it? Most LS engines have the oil filler on the passenger side. Again, because the GTM is mid-engine, that spot isn't going to work. I had to flip the Valve Covers around. Thankfully, the bolt pattern is identical.
Mid-way through valve cover exchange.
To anyone wondering, a quick google search returned torque values of 106 in-lbs for the Valve Cover bolts.
Estimated time: 2 hours