The cars nice but the Border Collie is better. Sorry.
Keep us posted on progress as there are plenty of interested people.
Haha thanks, yes Axel the mini Aussie is pretty alright you know! Here’s some more pictures of the build so far.
LS400 tear down
While the engine was out I put it on the stand and did some maintenance work like seals, gaskets, water pump, timing kit, got the alternator and starter rebuilt, replaced the power steering pump as it was leaking onto the alternator. I also installed a shift kit in the trans. I would have loved to do a manual conversion at this point but a CD009 was out of my budget. I also figured with the shift kit might be a good alternative. If I decide to put forced induction on the truck down the road I will be
upgrading to a stout trans like the CD009.
I spent hours going through the ls400 wiring harnesses removing components of the electrical system I wouldn't be using in the truck.
With everything I needed stripped from the LS it was time to start on the frame modifications.
The engine bay is pretty tight, I am leaning towards rebuilding the inner fender wells. I'm a little hesitant though because I don't want to have to do it again if I decide to turbo charge. I'm still up in the air as to what type of forced induction I would go with for this build. I want to do some track days with this truck so some quick spooling twin turbos would be what I would go with. I would rather do this opposed to supercharging because I really do enjoy fabricating and the feeling of a turbo charged car going into boosting is a feeling I love. But space is a such a premium I may have to supercharge instead and spend a bunch more money than what I could build a turbo kit for.
Being the LS track width is a fair bit wider than the truck was it has some wheel poke so with help from my brother, who does auto body, we will be making something like a wide body Toyota pickup! I'm also planning to run a wide wheel and tire set up in the rear so this thing will actually hook up. I'm leaning towards some Rotiform LAS-R wheels with aerodiscs for a kind of modern retro look.
This is the most recent picture I have of the project so far. The dash is mounted up along with the steering column. The massive holes in the floor have been repaired, the back wall of the cab has been modified so the center console from the LS will open enough to be functional. The dashboard had to be cut to fit inside the cab and for the window cranks to be usable. I'll have to figure something out for that to make it look better but for now I want to get this thing running and driving so I can finally drive it this summer! Its been two years since I started this project and I'm itching to drive it something fierce haha! Next up is deciding what brake pedal set up I will be using and seats and mounting all of that stuff.
