1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
06-18-2011, 12:22 AM
#201
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
they fit, but the ones i had were in pretty rough shape. didn't like the way they looked. may get some other ones, but leaving them off for now. not too worried, may pick up some boot covers just in case, but should be ok as-is.
06-18-2011, 10:07 AM
#203
Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
getting stuff done little by little, but no real great updates yet. however, did get some goodies to show off until I have something better to post
thumbs up for Founders Performance - quality looking pieces at a really good price. Now if only they made a strut tower brace.....
thumbs up for Founders Performance - quality looking pieces at a really good price. Now if only they made a strut tower brace.....
you know, i got a package in the mail yesterday that looked almost identical! well only difference is i bought the poly/poly non adjustable control arms. and the on car adjustable panhard rod.
06-18-2011, 03:44 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
i went back and forth on what i wanted to do for options. i knew i had to do some sort of adjustable panhard since i was lowering the car. since i knew i wouldn't be making adjustments too often, but wanted to be able to tweak things when necessary, i opted for just the single adj setup on all 3 parts.
06-22-2011, 03:34 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
unofficial update - closing in a on 9" rear locally that's selling for a song. crossing fingers that it'll be in my possession in the next couple days....
(which would also mean i'll have a 9-bolt/posi/pbr up for sale locally
)
(which would also mean i'll have a 9-bolt/posi/pbr up for sale locally
)
06-23-2011, 08:35 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
06-30-2011, 12:51 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
9", vette rims, and aluminum DS are in the driveway today, pics to come soon. I love craigslist!
06-30-2011, 08:38 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
Score! Some guys have all of the luck 
07-25-2011, 03:42 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
i've been keeping busy this week, took some time off from work to do some house projects (built a new deck) and devote some time to the car. rear's finally in the car, just need to get the brakes back on. front steering and suspension are almost done; ls1 brakes are on and would have had the rest of the moog goodies in place if the skies didnt open up and start pouring on me. here are a couple shots of today's work, hopefully more to come tomorrow.
07-25-2011, 03:46 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
sweet dan, nice parts, im getting there too, i anticipate mine to be running in 2-3 weeks, engine and mn12 are going in this week.
07-25-2011, 03:54 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
Strange
I just put on a set of KYB GR-2's and they were solid black where yours are a pretty silver
I just put on a set of KYB GR-2's and they were solid black where yours are a pretty silver
07-25-2011, 04:38 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
interesting - every gr2 i've used/sold/seen has been silver, but maybe they're doing something different now? mine were both apparently from different batches too, as there were a couple subtle visual differences, but nothing that would worry me as to function
07-25-2011, 04:39 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
good luck, keep it up. i'm shooting for the super unrealistic goal of this weekend (1aauto car show on sunday), but we'll see what happens...
07-26-2011, 06:03 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
today saw some progress, lots of little things. brake lines all run and connected, rear brakes completely installed (minus ebrake cables), moog steering goodies bolted up (tie rods, center link, idler). as for photos, here's one of my 4" DIY cold air intake. needs a bigger filter, but it'll work for now
07-26-2011, 08:24 PM
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Transmission: MN12 6 speed
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
Lookin pretty sweet man, what did you use for that CAI tubing? Guess by asking im cheating (not searching) lol
07-26-2011, 09:36 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
looks good dan that car is going to be looking like a sleeper from the outside!
07-26-2011, 11:25 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
got all my goodies from siliconeintake.com. from what i searched, they had some of the best pricing and options. ended up being somewhere around $100-150 but really good quality pieces compared to some of the other options out there. probably save a few bucks if it was all 4", but I had to get a 4.5" to 4" elbow off the throttle body (90mm) and 2 4" to 3.75" reducers for the 85mm MAF.
08-04-2011, 09:15 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
almost there! wiring is 99.9999% done (just gotta get the cooling fan and oil pressure sensor done), waiting for new trans line fittings to come in, and gotta bleed the brakes. if nothing else goes wrong (and when is that ever the case???), I should be able to crank it over this weekend and hope for the best.....
08-04-2011, 09:29 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
almost there! wiring is 99.9999% done (just gotta get the cooling fan and oil pressure sensor done), waiting for new trans line fittings to come in, and gotta bleed the brakes. if nothing else goes wrong (and when is that ever the case???), I should be able to crank it over this weekend and hope for the best.....
awesome dan, at first when i read your post i said DAMNIT! lol i thought i'd beat you to the first start of the engine, i just have to send my harness to jon and order my pcm and i can run mine, let me know in 3-4 weeks if you want to go to a local show. BTW, theres a rumor that a track is being re-opened in Orange MA.
Edit, oh yeah, posted a before and after pic of my engine bay in this thread if you wanna check it out.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...st-engine.html
08-04-2011, 09:38 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
awesome dan, at first when i read your post i said DAMNIT! lol i thought i'd beat you to the first start of the engine, i just have to send my harness to jon and order my pcm and i can run mine, let me know in 3-4 weeks if you want to go to a local show. BTW, theres a rumor that a track is being re-opened in Orange MA.
my luck's not always the greatest.crossing fingers my harness is ok, wont know til i try and crank it though. plan to redo it over the winter to clean it up a bit; underhood looks good but quite the rats nest under the dash. may clean up the wiring to the fuse box a bit too while i'm in there
i can't wait to give this car a try at the local tracks, NE Dragway's only about a 35-45 min ride from here, but more options isn't a bad thing. Really would like to try a road course or two as well
08-05-2011, 07:58 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
hit a couple snags last night. trans lines wouldn't work out, so braided lines and fittings are on their way. in the mean time, went to bleed the brakes (since i put on new lines, upgraded to discs in the rear and did the ls1's up front) only to find there's something blocking the driver front lines. time to pull off the caliper and work my way back. luckily the caliper's in stock locally (and under warranty!) and i still have a spare brake hose from an order oops I made a few weeks back.
08-05-2011, 09:11 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
today's good news: it started!
today's bad news: i need to buy new braided lines for the trans cooler. while trying to install the lines, one of them happened to magically come in contact with the (disconnected mind you) positive terminal on the battery and cause some serious burns to the hoses.
today's bad news: i need to buy new braided lines for the trans cooler. while trying to install the lines, one of them happened to magically come in contact with the (disconnected mind you) positive terminal on the battery and cause some serious burns to the hoses.
08-06-2011, 06:00 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
and since everyone loves carnage shots, here are the trans lines i fried up
08-22-2011, 08:28 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
so a little update
http://youtu.be/T3XkbZXy-9w
y-pipe's in, trans lines have been redone and installed. still need to get the cooling system filled, ebrake cables in, throttle cable bracket modded and mounted, and some wiring inside buttoned up.
but she runs
http://youtu.be/T3XkbZXy-9w
y-pipe's in, trans lines have been redone and installed. still need to get the cooling system filled, ebrake cables in, throttle cable bracket modded and mounted, and some wiring inside buttoned up.
but she runs
08-22-2011, 08:40 PM
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Car: 1967 Firebird P.T.
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
so a little update
http://youtu.be/T3XkbZXy-9w
y-pipe's in, trans lines have been redone and installed. still need to get the cooling system filled, ebrake cables in, throttle cable bracket modded and mounted, and some wiring inside buttoned up.
but she runs
http://youtu.be/T3XkbZXy-9w
y-pipe's in, trans lines have been redone and installed. still need to get the cooling system filled, ebrake cables in, throttle cable bracket modded and mounted, and some wiring inside buttoned up.
but she runs
nice dan, sounds good, i just got everything installed for my borla exhaust except the one custom piece from the y pipe ends to manifolds. glad to hear yours run, congrats man!
09-26-2011, 01:50 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
looking and sounding good Dan 
cant wait for my swap..
cant wait for my swap..
11-15-2011, 09:05 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
Hey Dan, have you dyno'd the car yet?
11-16-2011, 06:51 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
unfortunately not yet. she's been put aside for the rest of the year (no garage kinda puts a damper on things). almost there though. exhaust is almost complete and just about everything's done under the hood. ran into a couple snags with the 4th gen dash and I need to retrace some crossed wires. looking forward to getting things going again in the spring and having it on the road
11-16-2011, 08:42 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
ive decided to go single front mount turbo on mine. lol I'm sure you'll see me driving it around before i put it away, been driving it for about a month!
11-16-2011, 08:47 AM
#241
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
very nice, i'm starting to think about doing the same. however, i've got to get all the loose ends on the current swap tied up and all the kinks worked out before i think of adding forced induction. i have a feeling the dash swap is what's going to kill me. half works, half doesn't. doesnt help i'm slightly color blind and the wiring is 20+ yrs old. everything starts to look brown!
04-19-2012, 06:47 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
tiny update. looking to dive back into the car in the next few weeks, really need this thing on the road in time for the summer! just came home to a beautiful UPS delivery:
04-19-2012, 08:22 AM
#243
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
weird....those look really familiar...
glad to see you are pushing forward. you will love the headers!
glad to see you are pushing forward. you will love the headers!
04-19-2012, 08:31 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
I have no idea what you're talking about
They do look to be very well built, good welds, nice finish, well worth the money. Unfortunately we're showing rain for the next week or so, but they'll make their way into the engine bay soon
04-19-2012, 10:15 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
Welcome back Dan! Glad to see you are getting back into it. I'm sure having a beautiful set of headers arrive at the house helps the motivation
04-19-2012, 08:31 PM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
hey dan great build, were you able to get ur dash swap all figured out?
04-20-2012, 06:57 AM
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Re: 1ADan's 5.3 swap (aka tax check's gone)
that's actually first on the to-do list. *Most* things worked when I testes last time, so I really think its only 1 or 2 wires that I jumbled up.
and I dont know why, but I'm still slightly stumped on how to wire up the dimmer circuit on the birds. Its been a while since I was hunched over the schematics, but I'm sure I'll get that cleared up to.
here's to having the swap on the road in May
