The GM Coyote is getting swapped into our Ford Fairmont Futura to piss off the purists. This Northstar LH2 engine is getting Twin Turbos as well. This is going to be sick!! T-Shirts: www.paccracing.com/store
The NorthStar is another example of “what might’ve been “ had it been right from the beginning. By the time GM had the issues resolved it was already too late to ever overcome the horrible reputation that it had. There needs to be a list of the top ten “What might’ve been “ engines. I’m looking forward to this build.
Yep, GM really messed up with the Olds diesel and northstar. If they had both been fixed from the beginning, GM would most likely be in a better position now. Diesels might be popular still
Ya that's like the "LS" big blocks the vortec 8100 and LS7(i know it has small block crank, can be stroked to 8L makes it big block family). Neither got the engineering love that the LS 4.8/5.3/6~2 had. The 8100 was little more then a proof of concept, literally called a boat anchor because the whole thing was cast the heads/intake/exhaust manifold, even the damn water pump was cast, soooo heavy. Then the LS7 went the other way all aluminum really light...but a well advertised valve drop issue then no one wants one. At least with the latter people saw the obvious potential and got to work like this guy is. It really is to bad the 8.1l never really got after market support the way an AMERICAN GM big block should, more then likely a fuel economy thing I'd guess.
@ALR74 and with total deadpan expression like he is completely serious and saving us the trouble of searching for parts that don't exist lol... because he is.
GM actually fixed the head bolt and head gasket issues with the LH2 in 2004-2005 and NorthStar Performance also makes performance valve springs that’ll allow the engine to rev up to 8,000 rpm on stock cams and TimmyC also makes a larger 85mm ported TB
I get bored watching guys opening boxes and bolting parts together. Your way of blazing different trails and creating the parts to get to where you're going is very entertaining. You and your dad are true craftsmen. I like the classical music too!!
As someone who was a mechanic in early to mid 2000s I loved this engine, I made so much overtime. Most of the time it was a elderly person who went 10000+ miles on a oil change and brought it in due to engine being noisy. To check and see oil was very low and black with glitter. Maintenace/ checking oil levels is super important but over looked. I use to add about 1/2 - 1 quart after the full reading for anyone elderly or who was unlikely to check oil. In my experience if maintained 250,000 miles no problems. Years and years ago I helped put one together to go into a Fiero. For its time it was fast low 12s car due to traction issues. Awesome video
I loved doing fuel system services on them when they were owned elderly folks. The carbon buildup would make for a John Force burnout style smoke show when taking the car for a road test! 😂😂😂
I worked at a gm dealership in 1998-2000 and we mainly serviced Cadillacs and H1 Hummers ( go figure) . I was the upholstery guys helper at the time . I can't tell you how many of these Northstar Cadillacs we had engine problems with back then . I remember they had a coolant conditioner that was pellet based ,and a special fuel system additive. I rode in a lot of trunks trying to find rattles and squeaks . Also I was the test driver .The techs would just go have me floor them on the freeway until they stopped smoking from the fuel system additive . The Bose sound systems were nice though .
@@Room1sixtyfivedefinitely would be insanely fast. But why do all that work to the worst jeep ever made. Just a rebodied fiat. I guess that is the fun in it, but damn haha
This a fascinating engine swap, GM spent a lot of time and money developing Northstar and its racing program, it would be nice to have access to their race program information.
I own a 4.6 STS in Poland. It is very rare car in Europe, so not even a chance to stumble upon any tuning project with LH2 here. Great to watch you guys getting all the potential out of this engine. Can't wait for final result
The complete lack of drama and bs on this channel is refreshing Calvin, and your shameless inability to think inside the box is astounding. Keep it up brother, I'm here for it. ✌🇦🇺
I can not state enough how well the classical music went with the video ! 👌😎👍 Looking forward to this crazy build. I totally understand the long time dilemma. It's the same for every new project that has no precedent or very little in the way of parts and resources. I imagine it was the same with the ATLAS platform at some point in time. Good luck and keep us posted. ✌️
I always wondered why nobody built the Northstars, they seemed like great platforms to start from....glad to see somebody doing it right on RU-vid where I can watch along!!
The sand rail guys did from the start. All aluminum engine that was putting out 100 HP more than a 302 or 305. In the late '90s they were getting 400 + to the wheels naturally aspirated with comparatively primitive tuning. It is easy to spot one by sound, they don't sound anything like a Ford or Chevy.
I ran into a facebook marketplace listing in Caldwell. ID , twin turbo Northstar motor with intercooler and radiator, comes with fuel system electronics. Couldn't help but think of you guys and your project, can't say I have seen one listed for sale before.
Your killing me bro I need you to post more about this bro I'm trying to build my LH2 and I'm learning a lot more about the capabilities of this engine watching your channel I'm routing for you!! ❤🎉
I had an Oldsmobile Aroura for a while a long time ago. It had a smaller 4.0 Northstar engine in it sideways for fwd. She pulled hard and gained rpm fast. Can't wait to see this build Calvin.
Calvin, the stuff you and your dad do is amazing. I ran a custom exhaust shop for the better part of 20 years. The quality of your work would of been matched only by my top fabricator. Me. You definitely have some skills my friend. Not only can you design and fab your own parts, you actually understand the inner workings. Your not just a parts installer. We need more guys like you to keep our love of racing alive.
Excellent presentation. Thank you. Really looking forward to this series. It is nice to see different things being done with different configurations in a "home shop" environment.
You and your dad are true pioneers. Breaking the mold and doing the impossible, I absolutely love it. I think it's gonna be amazing. Can't wait to see it passing coyotes on the track.
You guys have incredible patience , creativity and drive. You give hope to those of us that can get overwhelmed at the amount of fabrication that is needed.
I’m sure offering those one off parts to the public will help fund anything you need for this build haha . I was hoping to see a manual trans setup but I’m still interested to know what these engines can do !
Me too, 4 years ago my roommate bought a 40k mile pullout from an STS-V for $400. Can't touch the blower for that much now.. he had aspirations to put it into an S10 mini truck build with a manual but we couldn't figure out how to make it work with anything off the shelf so we were stuck with the 6l80 that came with it.
@@malaukcrysis You can use the 60 degree V6 bell housing from a camaro or S10 with minor modification to one mounting hole and starter clearance. Do a search, flywheels are available. McLeod made mine.
Great video. I always loved Frankenstein cars. Was a dream of mine when I was younger to own a junkyard and just build crazy stuff like this. Keep making these crazy builds. Can’t wait to see it run!
Your craftsmanship skills are amazing. I hope the parts you developed can be sold to others who may be interested. The trans adapter and exhaust flange designs and or parts would be super helpful to others. Great job! Can’t wait to see more.
Very excited to see this project come together and see what kind of power you can pull out this motor. I think we out here all understand how thorough you are on these things. But I love that you’re not afraid to give it a try no matter what anybody thinks about. Good luck and this should by fun to watch.
😊amazing work you guys do, one of my favorite channels to watch. You guys build great cars that’s how your pop survived holy crap! Keep up the great work, inspiring all us other car guys!
@Nivlac57 Thanks for working on this engine 😊 I have done some performance work with the LH2 in my STS-4 and love it! Delta Cams will regrind the stock cams and has a few good profiles, however, make sure he knows it's a new style roller cam or he won't do a Northstar cam. The stock LH2 intake was designed for torque and the plenum design restricts upper RPM. You'll see that the plenum is fed by the inlet duct with a 90 degree bend, and there is a lot of area the plenum can be expanded to upwards and back. I cut a 1/2" wide by 12" slit in the bottom of the intake and used that as access to hog out the plenum area from the front all the way to the back. I then 3D printed a dome shaped cap to close off the rear of the intake with epoxy and pop-rivets holding it. I then sealed off the bottom of the intake with a piece of steel that was 3" by 15", also using epoxy and pop-rivets. This intake has been tested to above 20 psi 😉 Hit me up, I have lots to chat about the LH2 and ECUs.
You are one very switched on and dedication to innovation young fella, at 70 you inspire me to do better. looking forward to seeing this one booggy. Eddie Australia.
This is so sick! Also your channel deserves sooo many more subs. I've always said the Northstar is underrated and people always scoff. Excited to see what this does!
I love that you're building this engine. The way I see it, So Much Potential. With turbos in endurance racing it made 650. I hope you get at least that. Im excited to see the coming videos. Keep up the good work
Fantastic build sir your skill set and knowledge to turn something every mechanic called the worst GM engine ever made into this monster is truly an art. This man knows his stuff folks! The force is strong with this one! Keep up the good work sir! Impressive!
I’m extremely excited. Single turbo takes a bit more time to link together so twins makes sense. I unfortunately have space constraints and can only fit one on my m112 Mazda truck b2200 build. Thanks for posting this. Keeps me moving forward on my project because I felt like giving up as no parts are available for my build and everything is hand built.
Can't wait to hear this engine run. should flow really well with DOHC and should rev pretty high. Great work as always. Good to see your Dad back at it
What a cool build, you guys are dedicated. Not many people would start a project like this knowing they will have to custom fabricate every part they need. Super excited to follow along!
If you need to suregrip head stud tools for redoing the head bolts to his studs I have the tools you can barrow. I had a Northstar in a rock crawler buggy. I think they are a highly overlooked engine. I will definitely fallow this. Pretty cool.
This is an insane project. I really hope it goes to plan. I have 4 Cadillac Northstar cylinder heads in my dorm room that I'm slowly swapping parts between during my off-times at school. I look forward to having the time and resources to do my own projects like this.
"Now, this may sound ridiculous... but no one makes a kit to mount a Saturn III booster to the rear bumper of an '87 AMC Gremlin. So, we had to make one ourselves... and I think it came out pretty decent."
Such an interesting build!!! I sure wish I could do stuff like you! Having maintained a '78 Fairmont wagon during the 80's, I have my reservations, but I like unique stuff. My only advice is to keep sn eye on the backup light lenses - they fall off when the glue lets go. 😊 Looking forward to your upcoming videos!
Thanks for the great out of the box builds, I always look forward to them. Your visions and skills are always inspirational. I just read to the bottom of the comments (639 as of now) and have to say to the writers of negativity, Wake up! GM Dominated Indy with the IRL version of this mill! They did their home work well before arriving at the LH2 and LC3 versions of this platform. These engines came in $60,000 to $100,000 luxury cars from 2004 to 2010, they are very refined somewhat complicated and weren't cheaply made. The head bolt issue was on the early transverse models and a Northstar's starter location is not exclusive to this engine. Some performance parts are out there like rods, pistons, MLS head gaskets and a dry sump system. It's also been mentioned that Northstar Performance has stud kits and possibly cams. I know Calvin and his dad will make an awesome build as usual because they know what they are doing with a engine most people are afraid to work on..
YES!!! So glad to see you guys not only continuing the project, but solving issues in a unique way(LOVE the jig y’all made for the exhaust ports!!!)! The GT35 turbo was a VERY popular turbo upgrade for the original Dodge SRT4 crowd. 2.4L DOHC setup, redline in the 6,200-6,500 range, boost would start to build around 2,500 rpm with full boost available by 3,500 rpm range(depending on timing). That setup was typically good for an easy 500 whp. I don’t think that 800 whp will be an issue for those turbos at all. I’m patient and am not going anywhere, but I can’t wait to see how this project progresses!!!
I love my Northstar powered Eldorado. Studded the block , ported the heads n used stiffer springs. Big tube exhaust .It's a high revving motor that'll surprise people on a rolling pull. Can't wait to see what kind of power you get from this combo. BTW, I have heard of an adapter and block mods that would let you use an 86 GM 5spd but that was a few years ago.
Man I love you guys...... I always knew that a Northstar Cadillac motor was going to be a force to be reckoned with so that tells me that I'm not crazy 🤣 I can't wait to hear this thing run I can't wait to see you make a quarter mile hit I'm so excited. New Orleans ✌️👍👍👍👍
Very excited to see how this shapes up! A Northstar swap into a 60s Era chevy truck has always been on my bucket list. Twin turbos just makes it that much more desirable.
I love your “think outside the box engine choices” I’ve always wondered what the northstar was capable of considering it was an over 300hp v8 from the 90s with some very ahead of the times tech. I also always wondered the 4200s capability as well. Your content is awesome love the channel.
I can't remember the years. But back in like 93-94 somewhere in there that Cadillac Northstar V8 what's the talk of the town. I've always wondered how one would actually perform. Excited to see the results✌❤😃
Im an auto shop owner in NWPA. Had a guy who bought a chevy colorado. He blew the engine up on way to work. His boss was like yeah my brother can fix ya right up. They tow it to his place and they get a "low mile" used engine and he slaps it in for him. When we had those sub zero temps last december he heard a snap and truck would not move anymore. He tows truck home and pulls out transmission. He finds broken flex plate. Google search led him to missing dowel pin. The converter snout broke. He got new converter and new rear main seal he put it back in and trans fluid is leaking bad. He brings it to my shop. Yeah it is. We replace the trans and I drive home. Shifts great and no trans leak. Oil is pouring from rear of the engine. I pull out trans and take flex plate off. I never removed it when I installed trans because he said he had put a new rear main seal in. Im looking at 2 holes ground in the back of the "rear main seal housing" which bolts to back of the block. "New rear main seal" looks odd. Well at first I thought it was in backwards but no it was in fine. I guess those 5 cylinders have rear main that is a reverse lip seal so its backwards of normal seal. Anyway he had ran the thing with broken flex plate for 2 hours to stay warm till the tow truck got there. He said he seen the holes but didnt think it was a big deal. Rear seal housing was backordereed and we ended up having to have his welded.
I just bought an '01 hearse and came into far too much money to see something like this. You guys are crushing it. I've heard of northstar performance.
Ha we’re first. “This is gunna sound ridiculous but nobody makes this for ________” -Calvin naming some extremely obscure engine and car combination no one has ever seen or thought was possible. 🤣
@@Calvin-Nelsonwasn't there a place called Northstar performance that used to build these kits to put in older hotrods? I could've sworn I've seen adapters for the Northstar to a traditional automatic. Isn't the Bell housing pattern the same as the series 2 3800?
I daily a 1999 seville that i bought with bad headgasket(s) and this engine is so underrated and overshadowed by the LS. I can't wait to see this fire up oh man
For the transmission Adapter plate for the trans just make sure its centered easy this should be a breeze for you. Bolt it to the trans then bolt the tail housing through the other side.
I had a customer some years back that had a mint Eldorado with super low miles and it had the 300hp northstar in it and it was very impressive for being a heavy fwd vehicle, I think another major downfall of these engines was not running premium fuel and adhering to oil quality and weight requirements all because it costs more resulting in “just put the cheap stuff in” and these engines weren’t designed for that, they needed consistent maintenance with top shelf products. Really cool build and I’m excited to see it finished!
The progress you’re making on this project is excellent! I’ve been waiting for this update video and your project is going to be extremely awesome when completed. I’ve always liked the Northstar ever since I read an article about it in Hot Rod magazine way back in the early 2000’s. It’s nice to see the Cadillac Northstar platform getting some love.
Man, I don't usually get too excited for builds on RU-vid. But damn, I've always wondered the potential of the northstar in a performance manner. Guess we'll be finding out.
I'll be watching with keen interest. As a long-time Fiero owner, I've seen several NorthStar swaps. But in the Fiero, it's a challenging swap with very little room for "activities". It'll be cool to see where Calvin can take it.
The Caddy bellhousing can be swapped out to a 2 wheel drive Chevy 6L80 between 06-09, Depending on the year of your LH2, 2010-2015 6L80 can be reflashed to the engine computer of the same year, or maybe use, HP tuners? Good luck on the build...can’t wait to see it finished and rippin
