packjh Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Personally I would stay away from ASM. Been there and done that. collectors are crappy, and you cant hardly put bolts in them. then i had mine for abou 8 months then pulled the 6.0 for the 1st 408 and they were pretty rusted up and they have the high dollar coating on them. i called them up and got sorry not our responsibility. I went with dynatech. yeah they are a little smaller but the quality is great So far only problem i have is a leak at the collectors that i had to buy copper gaskets for. I be replacing those here shortly. As far as rust i dont have any as of yet. Overall quality... i would say 8 ot 7.5. I dont like how they fit at all tho.. Aight i be waiting for pictures... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnirenberg Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Your engine looks awesome. I have an LS6 in my '70 Chevelle and am considering the Abear valve covers so I can deep 6 the plastic engine covers. Are they setup to hookup to a PCV type system and are they internally baffled like the stock valve covers? How have you found the fit? Thanks for your help as they are a significant investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krambo Posted June 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 (edited) Alright, time for a little update. I took pictures of just about everything, even though some stuff may seem basic for some that are following this thread, I am doing it for the masses that use the search function looking for some help. So just sit back and enjoy, even though some pics and stuff I will be posting may seem rookie O.K. first things first. I am very disappointed (being polite here) with ASM (Arizona Speed and Marine) as a company! I ordered a set of their headers because my head pipes on my old set-up will bolt up to the ASMs without any further fabrication. This was a big part of my budget for this build so I figured i could save alot of time and $$$ by going with the ASMs again. I like the larger primaries and overall fit of the header.I ordered them in January ofer the internet on their website. After not receiving them in three weeks, I gave a call to see what is going on. I spoke with their internet sales guy and he stated that they are "fabbin up some now" and then sending them out to be coated, I should have them in 4 weeks. Alright, I didn't need them right away so I made sure I am the first on the list, they have my payment info and made sure they were aware that I am basing my exhaust off of having their headers. 5 weeks pass, I call. Not ready yet, 3 more weeks and I will be set. I again confirmed that I was first on the list and I need these headers for a build which already have the head pipes fabricated to accept the ASMs. I give them 5 weeks or so and call again, spoke with their internet sales guy (again). He wasn't sure where the headers are at in their production and he would get back to me. WHATEVER! I do not call until JUNE. So here I am 6 MONTHS later calling and asking when my headers will ship to the same internet sales guy. Then he drops the bomb on me. He states that the ASM design has been discontinued and they have been designing a new header all of this time. They do not have plans to put them into production anytime soon. W T F!!! So not only will not be getting the ASM headers that will mate up to my head pipes, they will not be ready for months! So what does the sales guy say..."I can call our distributers and see if they have a set in inventory". I was really ticked off at this point and said fine, do that. I took it upon myself to do some calling as well and found none on the shelf however some places had stock up until March. I also was told by Speed Engineering that they were aware of the changeover a long time ago and couldn't believe they strung me on like that. I hooked up with Frank from RevolutionRaceWorks and was VERY pleased. He was able to secure a set of Belinger headers at a very fair price. With that info, I called ASM and spoke to a young lady and told her to kill my order IMMEDIATELY and be sure my card is NOT charged. I told her that I was very disappointed with the situation and will not be doing any further business with them...EVER. O.K. Rant off, on with the update: I mocked up the alt/powersteering bracket, idler pulley relo bracket, WP and all of the accessories to see where I was at. To my disappointment, there was going to be alot of cutting, trimming and spacing to make this work. First off was the clearance for the FAST intake vacuum port and for the LS2 throttle body. Here is a picture of the meat I needed to cut: Here is a better look before paint. Everywhere you see bare aluminum, there was a cut (obviously). I didn't take before pictures really because I figured you can compare it to your stocker if you want to do the same set-up: I bolt everything back up and see that I need to space the WP out a bit to give the belt some good riding surface. I did this by using 4 WP gaskets on each side until I can find the time to make some spacers. I am a little concerned with leakage but they really compressed and formed a good seal (visually anyway). Anything more than 4 gaskets and I would be concerned with finding longer WP bolts. If anyone wants to know, the bolts were torqued to 22 #'s. You can see the stacked gaskets in some pictures in later posts. So on to issue number 3. The Area 51 Idler relo bracket would not accept the stock bolts as the caps of the bolts would not fit into the recessed area on the relo bracket. I had to grind down the caps of the bolts (3 bolts) to make it work. Issue 4 - I bolt everything up and wrap string around the pullies in the configuration the belt will go. The stock truck idler is too large! The idler pulley forces the belt to hit the upper WP neck. Solution! I purchased a 2005 Corvette idler pulley which is a smaller diameter and forced the string (belt) high enough to clear the WP neck. Now the only problem with this is that the pulley needs to be spaced out a bit. I used 3, 5/8th, grade 8 (for the thickness) washers. They fit perfect and spaced out the pulley just enough. Issue 5 - Since I spaced out the WP a bit and the tensioner bolts up to the WP, I had to cut down the mounting posts on the stock TRUCK tensioner. I didn't bother to buy a car tensioner since I had a truck one already so I got busy cutting. The tensioner needed some clearencing anyway in order to bolt up to the EWP ....continued on next post! Edited June 30, 2008 by Krambo spelling (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krambo Posted June 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 (edited) Alright, lets drop her in! I don't have a fancy engine hoist so I had to muscle it up in there with the POS I have. Once in (took about an hour) and the mounts were torqued down, I removed the hoist plate and got ready to install the LS6 valley cover by first installing the gasket: Next was the LS6 cover. Go back a few posts for a good picture of it standing next to a stock LQ9 one. After that came some sensors. Here is the Oil pressure sensor. Make sure you use thread sealant on this puppy or you will be spraying oil most likely. In the background of this picture is the cam position sensor, I neglected to take good pics of it or its install: Just a random picture of both of them installed: Allright, time for the knock sensors! I am taking these pictures for the individuals that never saw where these sensors are located or how they are installed/removed. So anyway, here is what a knock sensor looks like along with the plug / harness. The plug just pushes on and to remove it, you must squeeze the sides where my fingers are. Now, when you are removing these puppies from the valley cover and you have big meathooks like I do, do yourself a favor and use a set of long nozed pliers or something of the like to avoid sensor damage and prevent cursing because your fingers do not fit into those little holes! Now, these knock sensors just screw down on the posts (pictured in the previous post). Be sure not to overtighten and just use a deep socket. Picture of one installed, also here is a good picture of the stacked WP gaskets: Once the sensors are installed, snap the harness plugs on the tops and push the rubber plug into the hole. Here is where I did some preventive maintenance. If you look at some of the pictures above, you will see where some wear was discovered around where the little plastic clip and the wire meet. I wrapped this area with electrical tape prior to sliding the little retaining clip over. Also I take some silicone sealant and place a small bead around the sealing surface of the rubber plug. I then push the plug in and finish up with a small bead of the same silicone around the outer sealing surface. I did this when I installed my Radix and had great results with preventing water from corroding the sensors. If you frequently wash your motor, this will be a good idea IMO. Although some say it isn't needed: (Yes I know I am missing a few bolts!, trust me, they are in there now ) Continued on next post! Edited June 28, 2008 by Krambo (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobradh77 Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 i know its alot of work Kevin but just think about how the finished product will be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krambo Posted June 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 (edited) O.K. Belt routing. The belt that seems like it will work the best is a Goodyear Gatorback in a 92.2 inch length. I bought a 90 incher however it was way too tight (couldn't even fit on). The AC belt is a 34.2 inch length and is just a cheapo Autozone brand one. I chose to use this idler relocation bracket because it gives the MOST belt wrap around critical accessories. There are a few belt routing methods out there so this is just my opinion. Next on the list would have been no relo bracket and just use the the corvette idler. If someone wants to know what that looks like, PM me and I will show ya. Keep in mind that I have a mix match of pulleys here and if you were to do the car intake swap, you may have different lengths. I have a PowerBond underdrive crank pulley, stock PS pulley, Corvette C5 idler pulley on a Area 51 Relo bracket, an Overdrive Alternator pulley, Meziere EWP, and the stock truck tensioner and pulley. Here is mine after the mock-up: A closer look at the relo bracket and how it works with the corvette idler: Remember where I said the clearance for the WP neck was an issue? Here is how it looks by using the smaller Corvette pulley to "raise the belt height". I can pass a Craftsman 15mm wrench under the belt with ease (that is what you see in the picture). Add the coolant hose to the neck and there is about 1/4 to 3/8" clearance at the tensioner's "lowest" point and about a half inch at the highest. I feel that should do it. The stock truck idler would actually cause the belt to rub on the WP neck so using it was out of the question. I did some other stuff as well. I got busy with the soldering iron and some heat shrink tubing! Here is a picture of my new injector connectors plugged into my FAST injector. Please excuse the sloppy wires, once all is ready, I plan on rebundling and looming to make it pretty agian. I opted to use my FORD motorsport pigtails instead of the MSD connectors: My next step is intake and fuel lines but that will be the next update. Here is a teaser picture of some -AN fittings and fuel lines i will be using. Again, keeping with the red and black theme. Not that I have anything against the standard blue and red anodized fittings, I just want a looker as well. And here is the oil I will be using. 10W30 Valvoline VR-1 racing oil. I need this due to its high ZDDP content. I doubt I ever will use synthetic so this will most likely be the oil for me. Edited June 28, 2008 by Krambo (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 My phone is waiting for you to call. I am ready to give you a hand with the rest whenever you are boss! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krambo Posted June 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 My phone is waiting for you to call. I am ready to give you a hand with the rest whenever you are boss! Tranny! I have no tranny jack and that sucker just about killed me last time. I will need to get the locals together for lunch and tranny install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krambo Posted June 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 (edited) Your engine looks awesome. I have an LS6 in my '70 Chevelle and am considering the Abear valve covers so I can deep 6 the plastic engine covers. Are they setup to hookup to a PCV type system and are they internally baffled like the stock valve covers? How have you found the fit? Thanks for your help as they are a significant investment. Thanks. ABEAR covers are set-up for the PCV system however are not "internally baffled". So far the fit is tight. When they arrived, I had trouble separating the top "show cover" from the functional piece. I still have to bolt up the tranny so the motor is tipping back a tad making it appear like a tight fit for the show covers however I am confident there will be no issues. All in all though, very well machined and deffinately something different. BTW, you have a true 1970 LS6 Chevelle? Numbers matching? Wanna trade strait up for my truck? I will even deliver it! Edited June 28, 2008 by Krambo (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlkSSnCpt Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 WoW!!!!!!! lookin real good, im lovin the powdercoated pieces. -Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnirenberg Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Thanks. ABEAR covers are set-up for the PCV system however are not "internally baffled". So far the fit is tight. When they arrived, I had trouble separating the top "show cover" from the functional piece. I still have to bolt up the tranny so the motor is tipping back a tad making it appear like a tight fit for the show covers however I am confident there will be no issues. All in all though, very well machined and deffinately something different. BTW, you have a true 1970 LS6 Chevelle? Numbers matching? Wanna trade strait up for my truck? I will even deliver it! It was basically a frame and a vin# that I had rebuilt as a resto-mod--mostly all new body panels. The LS6 refers to the modern small block under the hood sitting way back in the massive engine compartment and several lbs lighter than an iron big block. I appreciate the reply about the Abear covers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hankg42 Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Tranny! I have no tranny jack and that sucker just about killed me last time. I will need to get the locals together for lunch and tranny install. Give a call when you're ready. If I'm not "previously spoken for", I'm there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomp62301 Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Tranny! I have no tranny jack and that sucker just about killed me last time. I will need to get the locals together for lunch and tranny install. I have a 4 wheeler jack that works really well as a trans jack. It's what i used to pull mine out. If your intrested, call me. Looks like shes comming together real nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04CHASE Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 looks awesome man , i wanna see the intake already . i bet that has a nice bw theme to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stroked out Posted June 29, 2008 Report Share Posted June 29, 2008 My god thats a nice looking motor. Keep up the good work kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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