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C4 conversion to LS3 hot cam


C4orce2

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thought some of you might be interested in what I'm doing with my 92 C4 convertible. Many of you have probably seen it at various shows. It is highly modified with ghost flames, air brushing, custom interior with carbon fiber, etc. This week I am leaving for Europe for 7 weeks and gave my car to Kim at Corvette Restoration AZ. I am having a new LS3 with the hot cam installed. It is a crate engine with 480 hp and 475 torque. With the other modifications already in the car the total hp will be well over 500. We're also installing a Dana 44 3.08, new heavy duty radiator, new computer, etc. It will be ready when I return in early May. It looks like the conversion will be featured in Corvette Fever in the future. If anyone is interested I can attempt to share some pictures of the conversion as it progresses or I'm sure Kim would not mind you viewing the progress at his shop.

Larry

Quick update. We were having a hard time finding a Dana 44 with 3.08 gears so we decided to leave the differential alone for now. It currently has a Dana 36 with 3.55 gears. My main reason for wanting to change it out was to reduce the wear and tear on the engine while running down the road. With the 3.55 gears, at 85mph I'm running at about 2750 rpm. We think the 3.08 would get that much closer to 2000 rpm. Other than that, Kim feels that the Dana 36 will handle the extra torque especially since I will not be drag racing it. If I blow out the differential in the future we will change to a Dana 44 at that time. New heavy duty aluminum radiator, new fans, long tube headers, 3" cats, new top, all in, along with most of the other minor parts. The entire exhaust system is now 3" from headers to mufflers, should sound great. Still need to install the computer interface and pulley system this next week, along with the new "bling". "Should" be ready for my return to the States on 5/5/10. Eddie will be posting some great new pics of the exhaust system, radiator and fans. I plan on taking it to the first vette night at the Pavillions that I am home. I will post when that is in case anyone wants to see the finished product. Kim from Corvette Restoration AZ will also come that same night so he can answer any questions that are way over my head (that will include most questions). See you soon.

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Guest 1FASTC4

Thought some of you might be interested in what I'm doing with my 92 C4 convertible. Many of you have probably seen it at various shows. It is highly modified with ghost flames, air brushing, custom interior with carbon fiber, etc. This week I am leaving for Europe for 7 weeks and gave my car to Kim at Corvette Restoration AZ. I am having a new LS3 with the hot cam installed. It is a crate engine with 480 hp and 475 torque. With the other modifications already in the car the total hp will be well over 500. We're also installing a Dana 44 3.08, new heavy duty radiator, new computer, etc. It will be ready when I return in early May. It looks like the conversion will be featured in Corvette Fever in the future. If anyone is interested I can attempt to share some pictures of the conversion as it progresses or I'm sure Kim would not mind you viewing the progress at his shop.

Larry

Quick update. We were having a hard time finding a Dana 44 with 3.08

Have you contacted Exotic Muscle?

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Thought some of you might be interested in what I'm doing with my 92 C4 convertible. Many of you have probably seen it at various shows. It is highly modified with ghost flames, air brushing, custom interior with carbon fiber, etc. This week I am leaving for Europe for 7 weeks and gave my car to Kim at Corvette Restoration AZ. I am having a new LS3 with the hot cam installed. It is a crate engine with 480 hp and 475 torque. With the other modifications already in the car the total hp will be well over 500. We're also installing a Dana 44 3.08, new heavy duty radiator, new computer, etc. It will be ready when I return in early May. It looks like the conversion will be featured in Corvette Fever in the future. If anyone is interested I can attempt to share some pictures of the conversion as it progresses or I'm sure Kim would not mind you viewing the progress at his shop.

Larry

Quick update. We were having a hard time finding a Dana 44 with 3.08

Have you contacted Exotic Muscle?

No we have not. Thanks for the tip. We may still try and have it done but we are running out of time. We are taking it to San Diego on the 14th of May for the Plastic Fantastic car show. It is one of the largest and oldest all corvette shows in the southwest. Last year there were over 350 vettes and our car took second among all the C4s. They only have 6 classes each year so we were against all the C4s. Should have a chance this year also assuming it makes the trip. The first sign of trouble with the Dana 36 I will change it out. Thanks.

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the only 'arm chair quarterback' critisim that I can offer is; do you really need 3" pipe all the way back? OEM uses 2.5 on the stock LS3. Thoes Cats could have been staggered/offset so they are not making contact with the tunnel (aka cooking your legg as you drive). With all the custom tuning that is involved, why have cats in the first place? At worst one could put the cats farther back in the tunnel if you needed them to pass visiual inspection. While they may not gat as hot as needed to do there function, but you could program out the rear 02 sensors my 2 cts, from a narrow view point. cant wait to hear her run. chers chad

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Thought some of you might be interested in what I'm doing with my 92 C4 convertible. Many of you have probably seen it at various shows. It is highly modified with ghost flames, air brushing, custom interior with carbon fiber, etc. This week I am leaving for Europe for 7 weeks and gave my car to Kim at Corvette Restoration AZ. I am having a new LS3 with the hot cam installed. It is a crate engine with 480 hp and 475 torque. With the other modifications already in the car the total hp will be well over 500. We're also installing a Dana 44 3.08, new heavy duty radiator, new computer, etc. It will be ready when I return in early May. It looks like the conversion will be featured in Corvette Fever in the future. If anyone is interested I can attempt to share some pictures of the conversion as it progresses or I'm sure Kim would not mind you viewing the progress at his shop.

Larry

One more hurtle overcome. One of our major concerns from the beginning was where to put the air compressor. Kim often kidded me and said the car would be without air. You can imagine how happy that made my wife. The problem was that the frame on the C4 is much narrower than on a C6 so the compressor could not go below the alternator like it is on the C6s. Kim at Corvette Restoration AZ was finally able to contact a company that specializes in custom pulley systems and with exact measurements, was able to get a system that we thought would work. Eddie will post some pics showing the end result. The compressor is now hung on the opposite side. The only major issue now is the interface between the two computers. That system should be coming soon. The system lets the old LT1 computer control most functions except for the engine itself and tricks it into thinking it is still even controlling the engine. Of course the new computer actually controls the engine. So most of the sensors feed info into both computers. Thanks for your interest.

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Guest 1FASTC4

Thought some of you might be interested in what I'm doing with my 92 C4 convertible. Many of you have probably seen it at various shows. It is highly modified with ghost flames, air brushing, custom interior with carbon fiber, etc. This week I am leaving for Europe for 7 weeks and gave my car to Kim at Corvette Restoration AZ. I am having a new LS3 with the hot cam installed. It is a crate engine with 480 hp and 475 torque. With the other modifications already in the car the total hp will be well over 500. We're also installing a Dana 44 3.08, new heavy duty radiator, new computer, etc. It will be ready when I return in early May. It looks like the conversion will be featured in Corvette Fever in the future. If anyone is interested I can attempt to share some pictures of the conversion as it progresses or I'm sure Kim would not mind you viewing the progress at his shop.

Larry

Quick update. We were having a hard time finding a Dana 44 with 3.08

Have you contacted Exotic Muscle?

No we have not. Thanks for the tip.

The cool thing about Exotic Muscle is that they sold the whole "kit".... the drive shaft will be a bit shorter and EM sells this in the kit.

I bought my D44 from then a couple of years ago, with 373's, and haven't had any trouble.

Looking good so far!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thought some of you might be interested in what I'm doing with my 92 C4 convertible. Many of you have probably seen it at various shows. It is highly modified with ghost flames, air brushing, custom interior with carbon fiber, etc. This week I am leaving for Europe for 7 weeks and gave my car to Kim at Corvette Restoration AZ. I am having a new LS3 with the hot cam installed. It is a crate engine with 480 hp and 475 torque. With the other modifications already in the car the total hp will be well over 500. We're also installing a Dana 44 3.08, new heavy duty radiator, new computer, etc. It will be ready when I return in early May. It looks like the conversion will be featured in Corvette Fever in the future. If anyone is interested I can attempt to share some pictures of the conversion as it progresses or I'm sure Kim would not mind you viewing the progress at his shop.

Larry

.

Update as of 5/7/10. Well I finally got back to the States on 5/4/10 and went to Corvette Restoration AZ early on the morning of 5/5/10. I knew that the car was not complete but Kim Madsen was good enough to let me get involved in the final stages of the conversion. Since I am completely worthless as a wrench, my main role was to run all over town getting the last few parts needed. As of Friday evening, all aspects of the conversion are complete with the exception of a few attachments for the AC (compressor is now on the right side not on the left as originally on a C4 or a stock LS3) and the radiator, and the completion of the work on the harness, including the hanging of the new computer. We know where the new computer and fuse box will go, the only parts still looking for a home are the old ASR parts. I've told Kim that I do not care about the cruise control or traction control features so as far as I am concerned the whole ASR system could go. But he wants to try and save all the functions and find a place for the ASR. It may have to sit in my lap! I guess the ASR also controls downshifting but there is a way around that issue if the ASR must go. Having said all this, it does appear that the car will be ready by mid week and I MAY attempt to take it to San Diego for the Plastic Fantastic car show on 5/14 thru 5/17. Wish us luck!

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Awesome deal. I look forward to seeing this car some day. :thumbs

Depending upon what dates I am in the States, I will bring it to vette night at the Pavilions. Not sure if that will be in June, July, etc. Currently I am spending about 2/3s of my time in Europe. I'll update this topic when I have the date. Kim Madsen said he will plan on being there the same Saturday night so he can explain the details. Hope to see you then.

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Thought some of you might be interested in what I'm doing with my 92 C4 convertible. Many of you have probably seen it at various shows. It is highly modified with ghost flames, air brushing, custom interior with carbon fiber, etc. This week I am leaving for Europe for 7 weeks and gave my car to Kim at Corvette Restoration AZ. I am having a new LS3 with the hot cam installed. It is a crate engine with 480 hp and 475 torque. With the other modifications already in the car the total hp will be well over 500. We're also installing a Dana 44 3.08, new heavy duty radiator, new computer, etc. It will be ready when I return in early May. It looks like the conversion will be featured in Corvette Fever in the future. If anyone is interested I can attempt to share some pictures of the conversion as it progresses or I'm sure Kim would not mind you viewing the progress at his shop.

Larry

Update as of 5/12/10. Unfortunately the car will not be ready for me to take to Plastic Fantastic in San Diego this weekend, but its far more important to get the job down correctly rather than quickly. Eddie will be posting some new pictures of the re-wiring Kim(the Vette Whisperer) is doing in these final stages. Next Monday and Tuesday the computer interface will be installed as one of the last steps. We have solved the transmission problem of having a cable driven automatic working with a wire driven engine. That fix will be installed next week also so I may be able to make the show I want to attend on 5/22/10. In any event, the conversion is almost complete and I can not wait to try it out. The only functions we have not saved are cruise control and traction control (who needs them anyway). I will make one more posting when the project is complete. Thanks for your interest and thanks Eddie for posting the pics.

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F22trainer
:highfive: Looks great - definitely a handful and not for the average DIY'r! It's gotta be a real chore to get your head wrapped around all that wiring.
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The latest pics

OMG that would be my electrical nightmare. Braver than I am bro !!! :cfdeadagain

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I use one of those long-handled lighters in my garage too!

Hope the whisperer gets that harness figgered out! :willy

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Desertdawg

Just don't ever wash under your hood, getting all those connections wet will be a nightmare in about 4 years!!!

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Update as of 5-22-10: Instead of being able to spend a month at home and seeing the car completed, I have to return to Albania on 5/23/10 and be there until 7/2/10. Once again I will have to watch the progress from thousands of miles away on the Corvette Restoration webcams. Next week the engineer who designed the computer interface will be working on the car and will complete the wiring and installation of the interface. We decided to mount the new computer directly below the old one since the cruise control equipment is no longer there. The new fuse box will be located underneath the left headlight. All the wiring is complete with the exception of what Kim wants the engineer to do after he hooks up his equipment to test everything out before lighting the candle. Once the bugs have been worked out on the computers and wiring, its off to the transmission shop. Whole project should be completed within the next two weeks or so and I fully expect to come home of 7/2/10 and find the car waiting in my garage. If all goes as planned I will take it to the Pavilions for vette night on July 3rd. The Vette Whisperer is also planning on being there to discuss what was done if anyone is interested. If those plans change, I'll post that. I will also be getting some new photos soon and will have Eddie post them for me. Thanks for your interest. It will not be long now.

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