Fuel Tank

I ordered a Tanks Inc. kit through Summit which included tank + pump + sender.

The only problem is that even though the kit is for a '65 Impala, the tank included in the kit was for an A-body (TM37-2T)...




Once brought to their attention, Summit came to the party and sent me the correct tank (TM37C-T) straight away.

BIG thanks to Summit Racing and excellent customer service!

J

Retro LS Swap Video

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Driver, John
Date: Wed, Nov 18, 2015 at 1:05 PM
Subject: 65 Impala - Retro LS Swap Video
To: JtC

Don't have sound here at work, but this looks goo-ood!

Start at 1:57…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGsLrOm-FQg

Significant in a number of ways:

1.

Centre throttle body only (no throttle body injection) that maintains multi-point injection.

2.

Because I have no sound, I am not quite sure what he has done with the coils… are they the standard coils, arranged in a ring with a cap over the top to make it look like a dizzy?

3.

Perhaps most important, it maintains the PS pump on top with low-mount alternator. If that is the standard GM F-body (i.e. our) accessory drive arrangement, then things are looking promising for saving cash.

Interestingly there are no heat shields on the plug boots.

Also, it looks like they have used the heat-shrink hose clamps I was telling you about.

J

Headers

From: John
Sent: Monday, 16 November 2015 12:06 PM
To: JtC
Subject: Headers

This guy has LS3 headers out of a Camaro…
Chevy Talk Forum Post
...and it looks like they fit in his ‘65 Impala LS swap.

And this guy has headers out of a 2010 Camaro...
Pale-yellow '66 Impala convertible build
...which fit fine.

They look *very* similar (identical?) to my LS2 headers. I am hoping that is the case as I am keen to keep my headers.

However… the HSV LS3 headers are definitely different…




We’ll just have to suck it and see during trial fitting.

J

OBD2 Display

Commandeered my old HTC Android phone to test the OBD2 software ("Torque") and a Bluetooth ELM327 adapter using my VE SS Commodore.

J

It lives!

We ignored supplying the starter solenoid through a relay and simply powered it via switched-power directly from the ignition switch... and ignored having a Park/Neutral inhibitor switch ;-)

The starter pack we had didn't have the herbs to kick it over so the battery from the Chev was quickly pilfered and pushed into surface.

We managed to forget to plug the vacuum hose to the brake booster (you can hear it in the video and JtC quickly found it), that was easily plugged with a bolt.

HUGE thanks again to JtC for all his work... especially his fab skills on the test frame, it is rock-solid!

J

Wiring

A nice aspect of the test frame being 100% steel is the ability to earth back through the frame as if it were a car body; plus the C-rails meant there were locations to easily connect/disconnect earth straps...




We - thankfully - kept the battery terminals/cables off the VZ, which were pressed back into service...






Wiring the ignition switch and testing...




Red = power from the battery
Brown/white stripe = accessories
Orange = ignition on
Purple = starter



J

Fans are go!

Red = positive 1st fan
Green positive = 2nd fan
Black = common negative
Not sure about yellow... low speed?




I've come to be a BIG fan (pardon the pun) of terminal strips! Perfect for temporarily wiring-up on the test frame.

J

Fuel pump sorted

Put 12V across it and it whirred away happily.

Purple/white = power
Black/white = earth

Normally it would be...
Solid purple = power
Solid black = earth

Because the VZ was a ute, it had a separate fuel pump control module to reduce the fuel pump speed (and therefore noise) under low demand as the pump is close to the cabin.

The white-striped wires connected the fuel pump to the fuel pump control module, with solid purple/solid black wired into the module from the harness on the computer side.

Make sense?

J