Bob Johnsons 05 CTS-V/LS2 402 w/ATI ProCharger F-1A
This update from: 11/23/2009

Bob Johnson has an 2005 Cadillac CTS-V that we installed our ATI ProCharger D-1SC kit on last year. We had also installed Kooks 1-3/4 long tube headers on the car, and a Magnaflow cat back. Bob has the same love of horsepower that the rest of us do, and found you can never have enough!
In anticipation of adding even more power to his V, Bob wisely decided to have a stronger rearend installed in place of the notorously weak rear that is the same one that is found under any V6 CTS! Bob found a shop that was supposed to be known for building stout rears for the CTS-V Caddys, but sadly Bob found that it appeared his V was the first one for this shop, and what was supposed to take less than a month took about six months, and they never did get it right! Bob flew out there twice when his car was supposed to be done, and decided enough was enough. Bob took his car and delivered it to a shop in Ohio to get it finished. 



The rear that Bob ended up with uses a Ford Cobra center section, which hopefully will handle the 800 to 850 rwhp we anticipate this V will end up producing.



Out came the LS6 405 hp engine that we had pumped up to about an extra 200 hp with the ATI ProCharger D-1SC that we had installed. This LS6 engine is still in perfect condition and Bob wants to hang on to it, so we removed the engine and wrapped it in plastic.





We are modifying the front end to accomodate a larger radiator.



We will be installing a Ron Davis radiator. Ron Davis radiators are used in a wide variety of professional race cars, and are cosidered to be one of the best in the business.



This radiator is going to help this V to run much cooler than what would of been possible with the stock radiator.



We also made room for a larger intercooler than what we normally supply with our CTS-V ProCharger kits, as we will be pushing a lot more boost with this V. We are using the same intercooler that we use with our F Body front mount intercooler kits.





We dropped the tank out of this V to get it ready for a larger fuel system. In order to remove the tank, we needed to take the rear end out of the car.





Here is a good picture of what the fuel bucket assembly looks like from a CTS-V.



We added two pick-ups to the tank assembly and as you can see, the fuel tank and the rear-end are back in the car.

The LS2 engine build:

 

In it's place we started with a new LS2 block, and we will be adding a Callies Compstar 4.00" stroker crankshaft, which will give us a 402 cid.
We will be adding the DM Performance bottom end girdle to this engine, as we are shooting for 18 psi of boost, and the girdle will help to make a stout foundation.

 

Callies Compstar connecting rods, Diamond pistons, and Total Seal file to fit rings were used in this engine build, as they have been used in most of our builds.  

 
 
 

The Diamond pistons are ready for their new home.

 

ARP head studs are used as well as GM 6.0L MLS head gaskets.
We installed a new SLP oil pump and bolted the V's oil pan back on.

The camshaft we are installing is the same grind we have used in many of our project cars, and has a great sound, plus it makes a lot of power. We are also installing a new Comp timing chain before the timing cover goes back on. The cam spec's are .232/.240 .595/.608 on a 115 lsa.

 

AFR 225/72cc cylinder heads were ordered up for Bobs engine.
We use these heads on a lot of our builds where we will be pushing the boost past 16 psi, as these AFR heads have a much thicker deck surface that will help to keep the head gaskets in place.



The chassis looks a little lonely here!



The engine is bolted back into the k member. Bob had us install Kooks 1-7/8 headers in place of the smaller 1-3/4 Kooks headers that we had installed last year on the LS6 engine. These larger tubed headers will help to make more power with the larger 402.
We installed MSD plug wires while we were at it, and a new GM water pump.
You may also notice that we installed an LS2 intake manifold and the larger LS2 throttle body. The larger throttle body will help you to make the power we want to see out of this 402.  The drive-by wire module on the LS2 thottle body is on the passenger side of the throttle body, just the opposite of where it was on the LS6 throttle body.



We took the transmission to RPM Transmissions, which is located about an hour away from us, to have Rodney work his magic on it. We had Rodney do his Stage V build, which will ensure that this transmission is up to the task of handling the enormous amount of horsepower  and torque we will be asking of it.














Here we go!




With the LS2 engine in the car, we ran into an interference problem with the larger ProCharger F-1A. The F-1A is only .38 of an inch longer than the D-1SC, but it created an interference problem for us. What Brent cleverly did was to notch out the chassis frame, and partially routed tubing he welded up through it.
Thinking ahead, Brent installed the tire and checked for interference, which is why the tubing is boxed in the way it is.







There is still a lot of welding to be done to weld the tubing into the chassis frame. The tubing is as thick as the part of the frame we removed was, so we're not worried about taking any strength out of the frame.





The inlet side is completed and we're now ready for the blower!





We coated the completed inlet assembly in rustproofing to blend it back in to the chassis.



The blower is now installed and the inlet side worked out very well. It won't take an abrupt turn like it would of had, even if it would of fit.







Subframe connectors:



The CTS-V is a unit body chassis, which means there is only a front and rear frame, with nothing more than sheetmetal in between these two frame assemblies holding the chassis together! Normally this situation is not a problem until more power is added, which is exactly why we made up a set of subframe connectors.



Rear of the subframe connector.
With this V having a much modified rearend, these subframe connectors are a little different than they would have to be for a standard V.



Front of the subframe connector.





Hal QA1 shocks were ordered up for this monster!







We used 4.00" aluminum mandrel bent tubing for the plumbing to the throttle body. The aluminum tubing is much lighter than it would be in steel, plus it looks great. The red object is the ProCharger race bypass valve, which is necessary to relieve the boost when the throttle is closed off.













We replaced the factory strut tower brace with a much nicer looking one from BMR that we carry.













We trial fitted the front end again, and everything clears and it looks really cool!



The power steering cooler can be seen remounted here.



The exhaust system is bolted back in place.



We're getting really close now!











Here are several pictures of the brackets we made to secure the front end items we installed.















809 rwhp at only 14.4 psi of boost on an conservative Mustang Chassis Dyno! Over 400 ft lbs of torque at just over 2000 rpm to boot! This is with a stock LS2 intake and throttle body.



Bob had a new hood installed on his V that really looks good.





Bob's V is back for more work.







Bob had us remove with QA1 shocks and had us install new KW coil over shocks all the way around. Bob will now be able to adjust the ride height at all four corners.



Bob brought with him a modified pillar pod that we shot with paint dye to match his interior, and we installed an Autometer fuel pressure and boost gauge.





Next we tried one of Edelbrocks new Pro-Flo XT manifolds to see if it would fit with Bob's new hood. This intake looks simply awesome!



This is all the further the hood closes, which is a shame!



We had a new FAST 92mm intake and fuel rails in stock as a back up in case the Edelbrock intake manifold did not fit, as Bob did not want to go back to the LS2 intake.



The FAST intake looks great on Bob's V, and we're sure it will pick up a lot of power over the LS2 intake.



Bob had nothing but problems with the Ford 8.8 rear that he had a shop out East install, and last year he had Madman install one of his CTS-V nine inch rears in the V.



We pulled the rear back out to take care of a popping noise coming from the rear, and the decision was made to swap out the Truetrac for a spool.



This rear will now be even more bulletproof than it was before.



With the rear out of the V the fittings we installed into the fuel tank last year are visible.

5/5/09



We're working on a new hood for the CTS-V's, and Bob was kind enough to donate his original hood to the cause. We removed the FAST 92mm intake and reinstalled the new Edelbrock Pro-Flo XT intake manifold to get this new hood designed.





The original hood was cut out just to clear the Edelbrock intake, the new hood will have the cut-out incorporated into it.



We are tossing around adding heat extractors into the hood, either where we have the hood marked, or in the back of the scoop.





The new hood will have the scoop molded into it, it won't look like an add-on as it does in these pictures.



The new hood is taking shape! We haven't decided on which shape of heat extractors to go with.  The single extractor drawn out on the passenger side seems to go with the lines of the car in our opinion.






Update:

Bob Johnson has decided to stay with the FAST 92mm intake manifold and his current aftermarket hood. We reinstalled the FAST 92mm intake and we'll have dyno numbers with it this next week. It will be interesting to see how much more power we will make over the LS2 intake.  



With less boost, attributed to the better flowing FAST intake manifold, we have made 864 rwhp on a 84 degree day on 93 octane!



This is what happens when you have over 1000 hp at the engine! These M/T drag radials have 2000 miles on them. Note that the steel belts are hanging out of the tire!



Bob wanted to try a set of G-Force T/A Drag Radials, we took some measurements and the size he wanted to use looked like it would fit. Sure enough, we have adequate clearance. These tires are a 295/35/R18LL, they look great on the car too!





Bob has been having some fuel  related problems with his V. The fuel would get hot after putting some miles on the car, and would eventually drop fuel pressure until it left Bob stranded on the side of the road. We have a -10 pressure line and a -8 return line on this car, two fuel filters, etc. It is a pretty standard set-up for an engine making this kind of power. We had a Magnafuel pump on the car, we swapped it for another Magnafuel pump as the first one was loud. We also went to Earls top of the line braided hose and both filters had what looked to be black rubber in them. A lot of people lately have been experiencing fuel line deteriationFinally, we're trying my Aeromotive Eliminator fuel pump from my Camaro, and, so far so good. The fuel pressure now seems much more consistant than it was with the Magnafuel pumps.


9/29/09

  Just four days after having a foot operation and wearing a foot cast, Bob decided to take his V out on a dragstrip. Bob has ventured out onto a dragstrip before, but that probably seems like it was in a previous life to him, as it was back in 1968. Considering the challenges that Bob had to overcome, such as banging gears with a cast on his left foot, and trying to let off the 2 step when dumping the clutch, Bob did a great job! Bob was only coming out at 3200 rpm and his 60 ft time was a 1.99. Once Bob raises the 2 step to 5000 rpm or so, and the 60 ft times drop down into the 1.5 range, he'll have a 10 second 2 ton luxury cruiser!
  Word has it that Bob's V is now the fastest V in the country!
                   1/4 mile video, thanks to Tony Mancini.
                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikiamvuecwc



Bob's V was a top 10 finalist out of 178 vehicles on the Jan 2010 issue of Popular Hot Rodding! Congratulations Bob!

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