Yes, I had that issue with the PS hose that came
with my Johnscars kit. The Cad pump input is a bit complex, Variable input!!! And a steep curve for the hard part of the hose. I messed it up. Stripped.
O, as you, I replaced the pump with a Camaro rebuild. Another hose from John. Still, very tight.
No, I decided, I’m not going to strio another. So, in my engine package from Rancho Cordova recycle was a Cad hose. I was not about dig out the badly fitting JC hose at the box.
Still room to work in front. Radiator not yet in place. I got out my tubing box. Cut the hoses in the metal part. double flared the ends. Used a flare couoling. Joined the JC hose and the RC hose. Longer length allowed a gentler curve and it fit just perfectly. Some declare this method not good. It is just fine here. I credit my double flare.
good in brake lines, why not here ?
Yes, the electrics were/are my biggest challenge. I thought I was dealing with it by an after market harness. Plug and play??? Not by a long shot. The JS system of using the original would now be my choice.
I’ll not Id the harness guy. Nor besmirch him. Long gone, why???
Bob-Donor was a '96 Caprice. Yes, I’m using the harness from it. Have eliminated numerous unused bits. EGR, Air pump, etc are all removed. Will have the PCM flashed to delete. Iowa is much more lax than California.
Thanks Carl. Sometimes things just don’t plug right in. That’s a part of the conversion process, I guess.
I did make some preliminary progress on existing wiring removal. Eliminated all the Jag EFI wiring from the firewall. Opened up the center dash kickpanel and located the fabric wrapped wire loom, cut it open and snipped all but the thick white/green and white fuel pump wires. Had troubles pulling them out, so went under the back seat and cut the EFI wire clump out there. Much better. I don’t need extra wires in working areas that I’ll have to go back and look up what they were for.
Not really at the wiring point yet, but it is nice to start re-acquainting myself with those details. I have four new relays to use. Already replaced the fuel pump relay with the new Bosch; need a couple for the fans. It looks like I could install 4-5 more on top of those to update the existing Lucas relays.
Your 96 Caprice is similar to the 94 Cadillac Fleetwood brougham that donated it’s “organ” for my lump. Huge difference is that your car is OBD II, whole mine was the last of the OBD I’ s. Mid stream swap as mine used the OBD II plug, but wired for OBD I. Some consternation to the SMNOG guy, but no issue to you, lucky you.
I chopped the Jag EFI as you did. But the FP wire got it as well!!! Oh me. Spliced it back in.
I left the truncated harness in situ.
Only two Jag relays survived. And those replaced with Bosch or Buehler. Fuel pump and
starter. The after a bit odd. Diodes on two legs.
I almost understand why!!!
I replaced the teeny Jag relay rack with a folded metal one that was much larger. Most of my relays are there, side by side.
Plus a ground bus I made up along side. Each of the relay grounds, except the starter, go there. In turn that bus is grounded at the wing wall on the Battery - location.
Yeah, It would’ve been easier, if I could have ditched the air pump. I made pipes for the ram horns. My engine kit included a pair of after market ram horns with drilled holes for the air injector rails. They got by the Smog guy even if not the same as the Cad plumbing.
Oh, and I ground, drilled and tapped a pad for the EGR pipe. It looks factory.
My Ram horns needed to be ground along the inner top edge for valve cover clearance. MY HF grinder handled it well. They look “right”.
I got down pipes from Sun Coast. Very well made and not expensive. I drilled them and welded on bungs for the O2 sensors. Location OK, but could be better.
Paul,
Did your 1996 Caprice harness have an integrated fuse/relay box? In it is all of the fuses and relays required to operate the engine with the exception of a starter relay. Is yours still intact?
Bob
Great point. My engine package had the harness and the fuse relay box. It sure would have fit in well. but, as I recall, mine had empty receptacles. Merely, because they were robbed of the elements for other uses ? I’ll never know. But, I’ve wondered from time to time as to whether or not it had spots for elements that were not needed in the converted car.
My after market harness had two after market fuse receptacles, neatly paired. I mounted them to the passenger side wing brace. The OBD port right along side.
I did get a "decent’ price for my original harness.
The buyer stripped it a lot for a stand alone harness for the LT1 he built. Then midstream sold out!!! Each nicely done… someone got a nice package…
YES!! I kept it fully attached knowing it would simplify the install. For the starter relay-is it best to use the Jag relay system? I can replace it with a new Bosch relay, rather than the big silver one.
For the fusebox, I will simply need to add another fuse (big orange 40amp) connection for the second cooling fan, along with a relay. Caprice had one e-fan and one large mechanical.
Right now I’m having NAPA make up some hydraulic hoses for the tranny cooler lines. Found a complete set of radiator hoses. Radiator & Condenser are set in place, Caprice rubber mounts fit it perfectly; need two more, or something for the top. AC & PS pieces should be delivered in the next couple days.
Still need to talk to my machine shop about the driveshaft.
Need to mount up the cruise control box; it’s already connected to the throttle-body. What remains of the original Jag box under the dash? Still need that for the switches to communicate with the Chevy system? I have a wiring diagram for the brake light connection, but I don’t have a third brake light…will figure out something.
Speedometer needs to be replaced with the newer electronic version.
Vacuum lines need to be placed back on the engine, will source new ones. Not nearly as many with all the EGR garbage gone.
Need to dig out my list of all the fuel hoses and replace ALL of them. Tanks need to be cleaned out again, especially the passenger side as I have never had it clean enough to use.
Now would be a good time to send the PCM off for flashing. Might want to make the mount for it first.
A little way to go yet, but feeling pretty good. Holding off on placing the wire harness in until more of the mechanical mounts, etc are done. Onward & upward.
Although many use the big silver Jaguar relay, my
install kit instructions suggested the Bosch. And, my after market harness include a Bosch . I used it, Beware of the need for diodes. If not used, odd feed back does odd things!! Starter cranks along with the engine running !!!
My install includes two Efans. After market unit given me by my son. The Cadillac used two Efans. too big, I thought at the time. but, they might have fit if staggered. I sold them to an off road guy.
I did not connect my Jaguar cruise. I rarely use cruise.
Paul,
I agree with Carl. Sorting out the functionality of the electrical systems was the very rewarding! Especially when it starts and works the way it should. You may want to consider keeping much of the integrated fuse/relay box functionality. My LT1 donor was a 1996 Impala which is virtually identical to your 96 Caprice. Mine had two relays and fuses for two cooling fans. I install 2 fans behind the 96 Corvette radiator that I used for my project. The primary comes on sooner than the secondary. I did not flash my PCM since I kept everything on the engine that it had in the Impala donor. Arizona is tricky. They want to act like CA but it’s all bark and not bite. But, planning for the future, I wanted to build my conversion so it could pass the CA standard. I still have it but thinking ahead, the resale should be better if it’s able to pass in any state. I did end up replacing my Impala PCM with a 96 9C1 stock PCM. My reason for this was to make it easier to convert the tachometer signal. The 96 Impala (only) used a tech from a 4 cylinder design. The Caprice and 9C1 did not have a dash tach. GM reprogrammed the PCM to send a 4 cylinder tach signal on the Impala. Converting the Jag tach to be accurate with an 8 cylinder signal is simpler than getting it to work with a 4 cylinder signal. The 8 cylinder conversion is well documented. Even though the 9C1 cars did not have a tach on the dash, the signal was available in the stock PCM. The secondary benefit of using the 9C1 PCM is the top speed limiter is removed. Not that I’ve ever tested that
