L67 conversion help needed

[LachlanMiller2703]

So after getting sick of working on bloody Hyundai’s I’ve decided to try my luck on commodores. Basically want the cheapest, best mang for my buck kinda race car.

Looking at putting an L67 in either a VS or VP sedan and converting to manual. Looking at a vt auto s/charged wagon for $500 for the donor car. What bits do I need to go with it/what’s the best way to go about it? (Info on loom/box/driveshaft/general info).

Thanks a million.

 

[_R_J_K_]

Ideally buy a VS S2 with one that already has it. Interiors are much better and the VP never came supercharged which will cause some headaches with legalities and wiring, also I believe the supercharger may foul on the bonnet, particularly if it's intercooled. Fitment will be exactly the same as an Ecotec for either.

Buy your manual conversion (for a VS only, others won't work because of different fitment) whole instead of in pieces and make sure it comes with a starter motor, tail shaft, cross member, flywheel, pedal box, loom, and ECU. The rest can kind of be worked around.

Choose your gearbox conversion: T5 is generally easier to get parts for but you'll need to find a manual T5 VS ECU and has a cable clutch. It's worth mentioning here that the a VN/VP/VR flywheel will not work on an Ecotec/L67 due to different balancing. Getrag uses a dual mass flywheel that needs to be replaced with a solid one, will do the job and is hydraulic and you can reuse an auto ECU but more people seem to favour T5 beause it feels better and seems to be stronger.

Basically the conversion is the same as any other Ecotec and gearbox swap, you just need to have the memcal reflashed and the auto trans flags turned off/L67 tune loaded. This can be done by mail order tuners (PM The1 or Delcowizzid or head over to the PCMHacking forums).

 

[LachlanMiller2703]

Ideally buy a VS S2 with one that already has it. Interiors are much better and the VP never came supercharged which will cause some headaches with legalities and wiring, also I believe the supercharger may foul on the bonnet, particularly if it's intercooled. Fitment will be exactly the same as an Ecotec for either.

Buy your manual conversion (for a VS only, others won't work because of different fitment) whole instead of in pieces and make sure it comes with a starter motor, tail shaft, cross member, flywheel, pedal box, loom, and ECU. The rest can kind of be worked around.

Choose your gearbox conversion: T5 is generally easier to get parts for but you'll need to find a manual T5 VS ECU and has a cable clutch. It's worth mentioning here that the a VN/VP/VR flywheel will not work on an Ecotec/L67 due to different balancing. Getrag uses a dual mass flywheel that needs to be replaced with a solid one, will do the job and is hydraulic and you can reuse an auto ECU but more people seem to favour T5 beause it feels better and seems to be stronger.

Basically the conversion is the same as any other Ecotec and gearbox swap, you just need to have the memcal reflashed and the auto trans flags turned off/L67 tune loaded. This can be done by mail order tuners (PM The1 or Delcowizzid or head over to the PCMHacking forums).

Thanks heaps for your reply mate, really helped.

I couldn’t find a vs that came with one unfortunately.

I have sourced a neat shell and an l67 motor, now onto gearbox. I’ve found a manual vs statesman be a worthy donor? Fitment identical? It’s got all the bits you stated. Sorry if I’m asking silly questions, new to working with these cars. Cheers

 

[_R_J_K_]

The VT L67 swap into VS is pretty common anyway so it's not really an issue. The good thing about using a VS is that you don't have to worry about linking components (ECU and BCM mainly) like you do with the VT onwards.

Statesman will need to be a V6 (V6 and V8 drive line isn't interchangeable). If it uses a Getrag, you're all set. If it uses a T5 just make sure it doesn't vibrate like hell (flywheel, although could just be misaligned tail shaft) and that the speedo works (if you can't drive it just check the label on the ECU). If it's cheap enough just buy it for spares anyway, just make sure you know if there are bits missing and pay accordingly because the VS Statesman never came in manual. For the tail shaft, just take the front half of the tail shaft from the Statesman and attach it to the back half of the tail shaft from whichever car you're putting it in.

 

[LachlanMiller2703]

Okay so here’s where I’m at:
Got a motor.
Got a t5 box, came with everything except loom as the bloke refused to sell it. Flywheel ended up being no good too.
So I can just find a t5 manual vs n/a loom? And get a flywheel and clutch and bobs your uncle?

 

[_R_J_K_]

Pretty much. If worse comes to worse you can attempt to modify an auto loom, the most important part for the T5 conversion is making sure the speed sensor works so the car doesn't stall because it thinks it's in neutral. You may have to get a brand new flywheel as they don't really get sol separate from kits, so budget up for that.

 

[LachlanMiller2703]

Pretty much. If worse comes to worse you can attempt to modify an auto loom, the most important part for the T5 conversion is making sure the speed sensor works so the car doesn't stall because it thinks it's in neutral. You may have to get a brand new flywheel as they don't really get sol separate from kits, so budget up for that.

Okay so I’ve had an bit of a break from this as I’ve been busy with other stuff, beginning to look into it again. Here’s where I’m at:
I have a t5 manual conversion suit vs
L67 which I’ve discovered has spun a crank bearing, from vt.
Supercharged loom from vt or vy I can’t remember.
The only thing I haven’t worked out is a shell, and a mate has offered me a vt all done up with suspension, camber etc and cage, pretty much suitable to race now, with an Ecotec plus auto in it, and I’m starting to wonder if this is the better option. How hard would it be to supercharge it considering the things I already have, and the manual conversion I have wouldn’t suit it would it? Is it the whole lot that won’t work or will the gearbox itself work? These machines are completely different to work on that’s hundys but I’m pretty excited.

 

[_R_J_K_]

Top swap for an Ecotec is a dyno tune because they run different compression, you'll need to find somebody that tunes Delco if you don't want to go to another ECU.

Manual conversion for a VT with a T5 is more effort than it's worth. The pedal box won't bolt in (and the VT never had a cable based pedal box), the tail shaft is totally different and the wrong length, the gearbox crossmember probably won't bolt in either.