1963 Studebaker Lark

Dude, Matt Happel? I wonder what kooky things he wants to cook up with the Atlas...

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

I would love to see him take on one of these engines. He offered to Dyno the car once it is done. I'm going to take him up on it.

Kid, these last few shots are scaring me.....all this would 'FIT' in the Bravada....excellent work as always and have you mentioned engine management scenarios?   Oh and Merry Christmas!!!

In reply to 759NRNG :

Glad you are enjoying it.

I plan to run Microsquirt on the car. It has the settings for the stock trigger setup. The part I am struggling with is the crank sensor. My engine has a VR sensor. This is known not to function well with Megasquirt. In order to run Megasquirt, guys change over to Hall effect sensors. The '08 engines went to Hall effect sensors, because they are 58 tooth engines. I am a part of a facebook group that is centered around 4200 engine swaps. They keep referring to something they call the "magic" sensor.

The issue I have with them is they won't share any information about this "magic" sensor. I asked if it is just an '08 sensor. No reply. I private messaged the guy that offered me information on the sensor if I sent him a message when I was ready. No reply. I made a post on the page asking for more information. One reply from a guy saying, "Good luck getting a straight answer." The gate keeping is frustrating. I ordered an '08 sensor, so here is hoping that it works.

Anyways. Merry Christmas to you too!!

In reply to TheV8Kid :

Wow, that's really frustrating. One of the main reasons I love this forum is the willingness and openness of members to help each other out. Hope you find what works. This is a really great build.

In reply to maschinenbau :

That's something I love about this forum to. People here are so willing to share. It's really nice. I guess I've been spoiled.

Don't worry. I'll make it work if I have to. I've already thrown a set of calipers on a sensor from an LS engine.

That level of gate keeping makes me think the sensor is something super common and challenge cheap. Also I don't throw my calipers, it makes them unhappy!

When you figure it out, blow their gate wide open. I hate that E36 M3. The secrecy and the closed group attitude was part of my decision to walk away from the 4200.

Work continues. Finished intercooler mount. Also doubles as the trans cooler mount.

Made lower radiator hose.

Instead of buying fittings, I decided to modify the ones out of the block to suit my purposes. 

One issue with these engines in high output applications, is the oiling system. The oiling system prioritizes the front main, and the cams/VVT. This results in spun bearings on cylinders 4 through 6.

To fix this people have found that redirecting the oil from the output of the pump to the oil galley between 4 and 5 does the trick. Hence the custom fittings.

Dad also made some new fuel lines.

Next we pulled the engine and started looking at the flex plate, etc.

Made extended dowel pins.

I’ll take a trans adapter please 

add that to the oil pan in my shopping cart...

In reply to Patrick :

We'll get right on that.  Right after we finish the other 10 projects that are in progress.

Are the dowel pins in the same location on both?  That makes things much easier.  Debating finding an atlas for the new car 

Patrick said:

Are the dowel pins in the same location on both?  

Yes. Atlas and SBC share dowel locations

Update time!

When I searched, I could not find detailed pictures of the bottom end of one of these motors. So here are a couple.

We used a pickup tube from a 5 cylinder, and lengthened it to get the pickup to the back of the oil pan.

Had to notch the block to give the dipstick some room.

These bushings are used on LS engines to adapt to earlier transmissions. The part used on the LS are the right diameter, but not the right length. Dad made a custom one for our application.

Also, Christmas came and went. I got some new wheels for the car. I am excited to get them on the car.

We also had to make spacers for the flex plate to torque converter. Thank god for milling machines.

and lathes

Also made the turbo drain boss and welded to the oil pan.

Buttoned up the engine.

Married it to the trans.

Back into the car.

And back together.

I think Dad approves.......on to ECM magic???

sweet. I hope you make the american barra-beater!

Is that LONG horizontal run going to make it difficult for the oil pump to prime?

I would think that the inlet would only half fill and not really prime well.

Just thinking out loud.

Going without a vaccum booster on the brakes? Any particular reason?

759NRNG said:

I think Dad approves.......on to ECM magic???

Yep. Commence project spaghetti!

In reply to Robbie :

Me too. There are a few things that are inherently better with the Barra. Rod/stroke ratio, aftermarket availability, etc. I think the Vortec 4200 is a worthy competitor, though.

wvumtnbkr said:

Is that LONG horizontal run going to make it difficult for the oil pump to prime?

 

I would think that the inlet would only half fill and not really prime well.

 

Just thinking out loud.

I think it will be alright. We'll find out very soon.

GIRTHQUAKE said:

Going without a vaccum booster on the brakes? Any particular reason?

Weight. Lack of space. It's what we do on our race cars. I'm used to not having it.

Ah, makes sense...

... but just thinking out loud, when the rest is complete there's gotta be some small ones that might fit. I think that in the 90s Tercel booster was one of the smallest OEM examples- some of the EV crowd would use them 'cause it gave them powered brakes without using too much power from a powered vacuum source.

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

I'll keep it in mind. Personally, I am used to manual brakes. Every hot rod we have except for 1 has manual brakes. It's just what I'm used to. To each their own.

More progress.

Dad shortened the driveshaft.

Dad also made a plug for the original dipstick hole.

I worked on the wiring. I think I'm about 40% done.

Also wrapped up the oiling modifications.

Also plumbed the turbo.

Lastly we have the in tank pump just about sorted.

My goal was to have it running by the new year. We are going to be close assuming nothing unforseen happens.