King Tut

So I have actual data on this. One of my students at Sebring had LHT build him an LS1 swapped S2000. He retained the OEM unmodified AP1 differential. It lasted him 4.5 track days at Sebring before it failed. You can attempt to equate that to what you want on the street.

InterHat

Good luck with the build, LS swaps are always neat. I was looking at miata swaps for a while, but I just don't have the time, tools, or comfortable work space to actually perform it.

It might be a good idea to plan for a new aftermarket oil pan and pickup unless you're going to just be cruising with this. A decent one will add $400-600 to your build. Many gen III motors with stock pans can starve themselves on the track or drifting. Even if you're just drifting in parking lots, this is good insurance to not blow another motor. Until then, consider avoiding hard lateral G's. If you're running an aluminum 5.3 it's a truck motor with a mediocre pan and very little baffling.

The T-56 is going to feel insane compared to the honda shifter but you'll get used to it.

I'd echo what everyone else is saying about the differential.

S5300

Yeah a Miata would also make an insane swap.

The kit calls for the LS1 F-body pan claiming it's the only one that fits with everything else. Truck pan will obviously have to go, as it's way too deep. I will have to see about pans after I get it all mounted up. Is there a baffling kit you can purchase and/or dry sump kit?

Yeah I have heard that the T56 has ridiculously long throws. I will be putting a short shifter on as I don't even have a shifter at all currently. Do you have any recommendations on that?







4.5 track days beating the hell out of the car sounds like quite a bit of street life. I understand the concern behind using the stock diff., but it will end up changing soon enough. I am NOT expecting it to last. I will not be extremely disappointed if it breaks. Getting the car running and driving is my concern right now because it has sat for TWO YEARS in my garage. Running and driving does not mean I'm taking it to the track just yet. I will be replacing all wheel bearings, suspension bushings, brake pads, yada yada before I even consider beating on the car.

InterHat

If you're using the LS1 fbody pans there are baffle kits like the improved racing one which should save you some money. Just make sure you're not using a modded pan... it probably won't fit if you hack up the pan, obviously. You don't need dry sump for your purposes. Those kits are $$$$. A lot of LS motor drift guys run an accusump setup but if you're just hooning around and tracking occasionally, the baffle kit is probably enough. If you plan on going further, check into accusump.

Some people just run a bigger pan/extended pickup but that's out due to clearance probably in your case.

No recommendations on the T56 shifter. People have all kinds of wildly varying opinions on those. I'd say try some out if you can.

Aren't the gear ratios going to be totally ridiculous with a T-56 and the s2000 diff?

senior697

I'm king tut's student he mentioned above. I had PuddyMod do the rebuild/upgrade on the diff. Evidently the prior owner had a shop install a Quaife LSD and according to Puddymod, the work quality was terrible. It was so bad, the core was useless. Among other problems with it there was an excessive amount of RTV sealant through out the diff. I never expected this diff to last but on the other hand I never planned to turn this into a full track car - which is what it's quickly turning into. Get in touch with Puddymod when the time comes. He built a work of art for me, including a larger volume diff cover and heatsink - hand made by the pro.
[attachment=96180iff.jpg]

King Tut

Nice to see that Ben hooked you up. If mine ever fails I will be making a trip to see him for sure.

S5300

Alright so it's been a bit... I've been busy with school and some other things BUT I have gotten some stuff done in the meantime.

First off, I ordered the Import Muscle swap kit a couple of weeks ago so that should be coming in very soon. I have also purchased a clutch master, fuel pump, shifter, and probably some other stuff that I am forgetting.

I ordered a shifter for a T-5 instead of a T-56 like an idiot so I returned it and am waiting on the one that will actually fit to come in. I went with a Pro 5.0 shifter because it was cheaper and I've heard good things about it. I haven't gotten the chance to feel any others so I figured that this one will work for now. I'm not expecting anything too wondrous compared to the S2000 shifter.

No pictures of the fuel pump but I bought a Walbro 255 and it dropped right in! I was surprised how easy it was to hook up. Everything plugged straight in, pump fit in housing, etc.




Website just deleted my post progress up to this point. Awesome. I'll be short and to the point lol.


Primed engine bay. Needs more clean up. Will spray black once holes are welded shut and motor mounts are welded in.



Cleaned motor. Sprayed intake and coil brackets black. Drilled/tapped hole in block for uppermost alternator bracket bolt. It ended up perfectly fine. Still needs intake bolts, TB gasket, oil pan etc., and I think that's it.




Did some harness reworking. Took out like, 2lb of wiring from the engine harness:



Looks like this now:



Still needs wrapped and some misc wires routed.


Okay, I'll retype most of this because I'm excited about it. I cracked open my diff. to find this:







Unbeknownst to me, it has definitely been worked on before! From what I can tell, it looks like the bearing caps have the Puddy straps on them. Can anyone confirm? Is there any way to tell what has been done to it??



Anyhow that's about all that's gone on. More coming soon...

S5300

Not too terrible, sounds like. Unless I actually have a different final drive than I think I do... We'll have to see when everything is together!

Yeah I believe the only pan that works according to the IM guys is the 98-02 Camaro pan. [EDIT] Just realized I already said that, oops [EDIT] I will for sure take a look at those racing baffles though. I plan on installing an analogue oil pressure gauge no matter what as well.

golfandcars

Just to put my .02 in on the diff issue, my brother put together an LS1 swapped S2k a couple years ago and stuck with the stock diff at first, it lasted about 4 months, including trips to the drag strip almost every week. He ended up stumbling across a cobra rear subframe and diff setup for like 150 bucks and custom made some mounts and swapped in the ford 8.8. If wanna go that route you can get ford 8.8s out of old explorers for cheap, most of the kits out there actually use the Explorer diff case because it is stronger than the cobra case. Something about the cobra rear subframe helps take some of the abuse off the diff case or something. There is a company on here out of North Carolina that makes a kit you can buy that doesnt include the diff and it is pretty affordable, and you can build an 8.8 out of an explorer for cheap, i dont believe they are LSD so you will need to buy and install one of those but if i remember correctly the ford 8.8s are dirt cheap to build. I hope this helps, if any of this is incorrect it was about 2 years ago when my brother was putting all this together and i cant remember all the details. I will say when you are finished it is definitely worth the effort, i plan on building one myself in the future and my brother is in the middle of building his second one now. If you come across anything and have questions let me know and i can run it by him, he used the import muscle kit on his as well.

S5300

Where is this Cobra rear subframe for $150??? I want one!

Yeah I have heard that the Explorer diff. is the one to go for. What I had planned on doing was purchasing the Explorer case and then buying a new LSD, output shafts, axles, etc.

What company is it that makes the kit you're talking about? The only ones I have found are $3k and up which is quite a bit more then I intend to spend on it.