Over this weekend, I had the opportunity to check out some other LS FD’s for some idea I can use during my own build. I met up with Dan, the guy who inspired me to take on the swap myself, he went over details of his car and took me to see another local build.

A little background on Dan, I was checking out random cars at 7stock when I stumbled on his car. Turns out he did the swap at age 68 a few years ago, never did anything other than oil changes and brake flushes. He was one of the first guys in CA to do the swap, when it was only Hinson offering any sort of parts. Pretty amazing!

Dan's LS FD
If the car looks funny its because it’s jacked up from the driver’s side.

LS FD engine bay

Anyway, pretty much have the fuel system down, plans as of now is to bypass the stock Mazda fuel filter, run the Corvette fuel filter / FRP in the engine bay with the stock hard lines for supply and return. Pretty nifty how the Corvette has a filter / FRP all in one, I haven’t seen something like this before. Alternatively, I can run the vette filter in the back, near the fuel tank and the start of the hard lines, just use 1 of the lines for supply and connect that to the LS1 fuel rail. We’ll see if I can find a suitable mounting position, having less fuel stuff in the engine bay is always safer.

After checking out Dan’s car, he called up a buddy of his, Mike, from the v8rx7 forums so I could take a look at his work in progress. It’s pretty amazing, steel wide fenders in the rear, repainted satin black engine bay, built engine, even stripping out unnecessary wiring from the harness. Whole 9 yards! My original plan was to do the bay in flat black like this, but I was scared of how it would hold up. After seeing his car though, and how easy it is to touch up spots, maybe this is the direction I want to go in.

Mike's LS FD
Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe this car.

built LS FD

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