Spartan V8

Coil Brackets

2010-03-01T20:01:00.001-05:00

The factory truck spark plug coil mounting brackets and the LS1 intake interfere with each other - the fuel inlet wants to be in the same place that a coil does, so I've made some brackets that slide the coils down and away from the intake. These use the same factory mounting points as well. I will be having them cut out of T6 aluminum and test fitted sometime this week.

Test fitted the new bracket on the valve cover, and everything fits perfect - except one hole being a bit off. Also trial fitted the coils to the bracket and everything fit and cleared perfectly. I fixed the hole that was off and also added holes for the coil wiring clips, now I'm ready to have two new brackets jetted and installed... These brackets are also much sturdier and weigh marginally less than the factory brackets.

Warning - experimental

2010-02-20T15:30:00.005-05:00

Added the logo from an earlier emblem design to the front of the engine cover, as well as "experimental" to the sides. These would be likely decals cut from heavy gauge vinyl, stuck onto the aluminum or CF "hood". It strikes me as a little in your face, but I like it. We'll see what makes it to final production of the prototype.

Wiring, continued..

2010-02-14T13:50:00.001-05:00

Customizing the wiring harness took a while longer than anticipated, but I am very pleased with how it has turned out thus far. Every single whire in the harness has been shortened or lengthened for my application. My harness looks a bit different than other custom harnesses you may have seen, this is due to the intake being turned around 180 degrees, which moves the MAF, IAC, and TPS connectors to the back of the motor. Since this was originally a drive by wire motor, the TPS and IAC wiring had to be added.

At this point, it's ready to be taped up the rest of the way and test fitted one last time, then can be loomed up to look nice. Of course, the wires all still need to be repinned into the blue and green pcm connectors as well.

Electric Version?

2010-01-12T22:16:00.000-05:00

I got it in my head a few weeks ago that an electric hybrid version would be fun as well. Read an article on the e-car that Audi is designing, and was drawn to the amazing torque that is available with electric motors. That, and the lack of a need for a gearbox, given the electric motor's available rpm range. Of course, there comes a cost - what drives these high power electric motors? Batteries? No thanks. The obvious solution would be a drivetrain something similar to the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight - small gasoline motor turns a generator, which in turn powers the electric motor, maybe with a small battery thrown in for good measure.

A 250 ft-lb motor at each wheel, good from 0-10,000 rpm? They could be geared as well, at 1:4 or higher... 1000 ft-lbs on tap, at all 4 wheels, there's an interesting thought... And that's evidently just what Audi plans to do.

It isn't in the works and probably won't be for a good while, let alone the budget, but food for thought nonetheless.

Modeling a Human Driver - Andekan "Andy" model

2009-12-24T14:21:00.004-05:00

Some of you may recall my previous and rather crude human models for calculating cockpit ergonomics. They were simplistic, looked like 1960's era robots, and looked awful in the Spartan car model. A friend (thanks Tom!) pointed me towards these folks:
http://www.andekan.com/our-revit-family-meet-andy

These guys have created a good looking, fully positionable model of a 5" 9" tall man for modeling and scaling purposes. With any luck, I'll be able to convert their model to SolidWorks format and import him right into the Spartan V8 model! I think "Andy" will be quite happy behind the wheel, while lending an excellent sense of scale and proportion, and allowing me to ensure that the car's ergonomics are the best they can be.

Wire Bundling

2009-12-19T21:01:00.000-05:00

Still working on the custom wiring harness, but have just about all the wires incorporated in. Added the 5 wire MAF with a rubber coupling, it seems to all fit together nicely. Since the intake manifold is rotated 180 degrees, the MAF will face the cockpit, and in fact there will be another rubber coupling to the filter, which will actually sit inside the cockpit, under the dash in between the driver and passenger. Should make for a rather vocal engine, with sidepipe exhausts roaring and intake reasonance whining. All together it should make it a very raw and visceral experience.

Chassis Wiring

2009-11-29T10:54:00.000-05:00

Parts are ordered to begin building a fuse block and relay assembly that will support the PCM and supply power to the various electrical loads. Fortunately, on a vehicle such as this, not many circuits are required. Lights, horn, cooling fan, fuel pump... and that is about it.

I'm building my own system based on Brendan's fuse block/relay assembly found here

The reason for building my own is mostly to eliminate extra circuits and complication, as the factory fuseblock is large and has too many circuits. By building it myself, if there is ever a problem, I'll know exactly where and what to look for to troubleshoot.

Lots of credit goes to Brendan's website, http://www.lt1swap.com

Engine Wiring

2009-11-27T13:10:00.003-05:00

The engine wiring is going well thus far, but I still need a few connectors to be able to complete it. The engine looks considerably different with the intake flipped 180*, you can see the MAP sensor hanging out of the front of the intake now. As I add more wiring, I'm taping the wires into bundles, which will then get taped up and loomed. So far, most of the wiring is near invisible, which is in stark contrast to the unsightly truck engine harness spaghetti that used to sit right on top of the intake. As can be seen in the last picture, there is a bit left to tidy up.
Much credit goes to "Pocket" and his wire harness writeup here http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/ltx-lsx/544768-ls1-harness-start-finish.html

Fuel Injector Plugs

2009-11-26T22:54:00.002-05:00

Since I'm running an LS1 intake, fuel rails, and injectors, my truck engine wiring harness injector connectors will not fit the LS1 injectors. The fix for this is to either use adaptors, or cut the truck connectors off and splice in LS1 connectors - obviously I've opted for the splicing. Making the splices is easy, but as these connections will be out under the hood and exposed to the weather, I'm trying to take special care that they are well sealed. I twist the wires together, inline, and then solder them. After that I add a fair amount of silicone in the joined area, then slide the heat shrink tubing over the silicone and soldered joint. Heat the tubing to shrink it, and wipe up the excess silicone that gets squeezed out. It is my hope that this will ensure a good, lasting electrical connection. Note that I've used diagrams from AllData to ensure that I connected the wires correctly to each injector plug.

Truck Engine Harness

2009-11-17T23:32:00.003-05:00

Received my engine harness and have begun to label all the connections. This is the truck harness, which will be modified to work with the mixture of car and truck components on the Spartan's engine. Alternatively, I may still switch to an actual LS1 harness, which would involve slightly fewer modifications. Either way, there's a fair amount to be untangled..

I've made the leap to just redoing my current truck harness, repositioning the connectors and wires to suit the positioning of my engine and computer. I depinned the PCM connectors and labeled each wire's position. Next is stripping down the entire harness down to individual wires. The connectors are all already labeled, so at that point I'll be able to remove the portions of the harness that I won't be using.

Each connector was separated out of the harness and coiled up. Next I'll be eliminating any of the wiring that I can. The pile in the upper left corner has already been eliminated. I won't be needing any of the drive by wire, automatic transmission, four wheel drive, or air conditioning wiring.

Rear Suspension

2009-11-11T19:12:00.000-05:00

This is the rear suspension from my donor car, modeled in SolidWorks as a working assembly.

Front Suspension

2009-11-11T19:04:00.001-05:00

I figured I'd add in some of my older models showing my work with modeling the suspension from my donor car. This is the front suspension, including the rack and pinion, upper and lower A-arms, upright, hub, rotor, coilover shock and spring, and associated framework.

C5 Oil Pan modeled for fitment

2009-11-09T19:22:00.001-05:00

Added the C5 Corvette oil pan to the engine model. There are only a few missing items yet; exhaust manifolds (need to be redrawn), engine mounts, and starter. Once these items are all modeled, engine fitment into the tubular frame can be verified and adjusted where needed.

(added ac delco filter :)

More additions to the engine..

2009-11-07T00:15:00.000-05:00

Water pump and serpentine belt added tonight. Notice the missing idler/tensioner pulleys where the belt curves around thin air. I need to get measurements for the exhaust manifolds and redraw them next... Should be seeing a C5 corvette oil pan in the mail sometime in the next week or so - at that point I can get rid of my generic LSx pan and draw the actual C5 pan.

Water pump added, continuing to finish up the accessories on the engine..

2009-11-05T18:57:00.000-05:00

Corrected a few dimensions, added some texture to the alternator, and started roughing in the water pump. It's important to note here that the whole engine model is just a rough dimensional model - not really meant to look aesthetically correct, just as good as it needs to. The whole purpose in drawing the engine is just for a sort of virtual test fit between the motor, transmission, and frame. This will ensure adequate clearances, precise positioning and motor mount design.

Roughing in the accessories in SolidWorks

2009-11-03T20:04:00.000-05:00

Beginning to rough in the alternator and power steering pump into the engine model. I'm taking special care to ensure that the spacing off the motor is correct in all three directions, as a minor mistake at this point means that there may be a frame tube in the same spot that a part of the motor needs to be.

Engine Accessories

2009-11-03T15:38:00.001-05:00

Added the power steering pump, alternator, and their associated brackets. These accessories will then be added to the 3d SolidWorks model. Once that model is complete, I'll be able to accurately design the engine bay framework around it.

2009-10-28T18:21:00.000-04:00

Still working on the L33 engine model...

valves and valve covers

2009-10-26T18:00:00.000-04:00

Removed one side's valve cover to try cleaning it a little better, and for a quick inspection. The flash added a weird color tinge to the oil, but everything looks to be in great shape.

I cleaned up the valve covers as best as possible, but they look to be die cast and have a somewhat rough finish. At some point it would be nice to polish them, and powder coat or chrome them. At least that way they'd clean up with just a quick wipe next time.
I also got rid of the extension on the oil filler so that it now screws right into the cover, much cleaner looking that way.

Fresh Parts

2009-10-26T17:49:00.000-04:00

It was like Christmas morning, lots of parts for the engine came in today. An LS1 intake, LS1 throttle body, LS7 exhaust manifolds, LS1 clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel. Most of which were then test fitted, looking good so far..

It might be hard to tell from the pictures, but the car intake manifold drops the height of the engine considerably! Between the LS1 intake and Corvette oil pan, we should see an 8 inch difference in height.

2009-10-25T23:24:00.001-04:00

GM 5.3L V8 rendering

2009-10-25T22:55:00.000-04:00

Finally got around to taking measurements of the new 5.3L engine, which allowed me to update my previously drawn engine model with the new dimensions. Keeping in mind that this model is not meant to look exactly like the motor, it is only meant to have the same external dimensions so that I can verify clearances in the engine bay. The LS1 intake and oil pan are approximated, as I don't have them yet. Once they come in, I'll dimension them as well, model them, and add them to the motor.

In other news, I've got an LS1 intake, cable driven throttle body, LS7 stainless exhaust manifolds, alternator bracket, power steering bracket, and 6 speed flywheel all on the way here, should be a productive week.

I'm still looking for a T56 six speed transmission at the right price. Once I have one, I'll dimension and model it in SolidWorks as well, and mate it to the V8. With both engine and transmission modeled accurately, I'll be able to finish designing the motor mounts, engine bay bracing, transmission mount, and finalize the transmission tunnel.

Frame Design

2009-10-17T20:01:00.000-04:00

There is a lot that goes into the design of a chassis frame. One advantage of using SolidWorks to design my frame in is that it has a built in finite element analysis (FEA) program. FEA allows one to apply a load on a part, assembly, or frame, and see how it reacts to that force. In this case, I'm applying two forces, equal and opposite, to the front end of the frame. These forces are actually applied to the points on the frame where the weight of the vehicle pushes on it, mimicking cornering loads, acceleration loads, or other scenarios.

Since the frame design has been modified many times since I did the original FEA work on the preliminary frame models, now it is time to go back through and make sure I haven't introduced any weak points. It is likely that the frame design will still change a bit more, as the engine and transmission dimensions and mounting points are finalized.

This screenshot shows a stress plot of the frame while under load. Red areas are highly stressed, blue areas are not. From this shot, it is apparent that there are still some stress concentrations to be designed out, although to be fair, the front engine bay area is missing a few key tubes.

Engine on its way!

2009-10-15T19:11:00.003-04:00

Finalized the purchase of the engine for the Spartan today! This first engine will be for the prototype, chassis #0. Its the GM 5.3L all aluminum V8, the L33. Thank you to locostusa.com, ls1tech.com, and exocars.net members for your help with my engine choice!

A nice little motor, it is basically a smaller displacement LS1. In stock form its said to put out around 310 horsepower, but better manifolds, a cam, and springs will wake it right up and have it nipping at the heels of a corvette LS1 motor. Not to mention that 310 hp is severe overkill in a car this lightweight anyhow - that's okay, we like overkill.

Upon receipt, the new motor will get an LS1 intake/injectors/throttle body, an LS1 oil pan from a Corvette or F-body car, F-body accessories/brackets, and a good cleaning.

(this is someone else's picture, sorry I stole it!)

(more stolen pictures, sorry gjohnson!)

Next, the transmission, the T56 6 speed...

Sheet metal paneling added... mostly

2009-10-09T20:27:00.000-04:00

I just added the cowl panels, front bulkhead panels, and rear bulkhead panels. Gives a better idea of what the Spartan will look like when it's finished. This is about all the sheet metal and paneling that the car will wear - there are no side panels, no roof, no doors...