scooter

iTrader: (11)

Currently my car is mostly stock, with the only real exception of the Borla cat back, since the stock intermediate pipe blew out down the seam and I already had the Borla in the basement when I took it off my 91 after it had a fire. I also put the black crosslace wheels, LS F-body brakes in the front, 36mm sway bar. Spohn wonderbar (had all this in the basement). I also put HID's in rear projectors and I have LEDs to put in the fog lights, but I have to modify the bumper to clearance for the heat sink on the LED and the back of the fog light needs to have some metal added because the LED housing is wider than the bracket. I have also swapped out the dash lights with LED's, I have to do a little more on that since I am not happy with the light distribution.
I will be starting a swap tomorrow. I hope to have it finished in 2-3 weeks max since I have been collecting parts for the swap for a long time and this will be my second LS swap with this engine. I originally put it in my 73 Camaro for kicks and then I decided I wanted to DD manual transmission, I can't stand driving automatic. I was going to wait until the fall for the swap, but it looks like the 3.1 ate a freeze plug at the back of the engine. I was in the middle of rebuilding a 9 bolt from an 88 that I had, so if time permits, I will finish that and put that in with 12" PBR disc brakes since my car currently has a 10 bolt drum. I'll have to swap the R&P to a 4.11 later since this is really my dail driver and I don't want to drive my BBC 69 Suburban for too long, 7 MPG on that last fill up and I drive about 52 miles a day round trip to work, gets expensive-r fast

Going to use a stock 4.8 with car manifold, injectors and TB, stock 4th gen manifolds, stock 3rd gen exhaust routing using a RetroLS oil pan, which is essentially the Holley pan. Stock T56, which I am dropping off for rebuild to Hanlon on Monday. Going to be using the Holley accessory drive with the mid spacer and the AC bracket so I can use a stock R4 compressor since I have a fully charged AC setup in my basement. Tomorrow will be tear down, at least get the exhaust out and the coolant drained, lines off the transmission, harness off, driveshaft out and maybe drop the rear for a 4th gen tank, since I have 3 of them and someone cut all the lines to the stock sender along with a fuel pump access HACK, and I do mean hack. When the tank is low on fuel I smell it inside while I am driving.

I will also be building my own plug and play harness. I ordered all new connectors and a crap load of TXL wire in mostly the factory correct colors, I am not ordering special wire with the color stripes. I have a cool label machine that can print on heat shrink, so I will label all the connectors with that. I will be upgrading the fuel pump wire, very similar to how Racetronix does their wiring kit since I have one of their kits and it makes a lot of sense. I already ordered heavy gauge wire to replicate the feeds to the C100 and I have to put in a fuel pump relay with a new harness.
I should have enough wire to do one or two more harnesses if anyone is interested. I won't be able to offer anything but an LS1/6 with a T56 though.
I can also do the gauge lighting, but it wasn't cheap. This picture is a little over exposed, but it is fairly close in person.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

My friend came over and helped me, got this far today. Most of the exhaust is out, console, shifter. I will be dropping the engine and transmission out the bottom as I do for all my 3rd gens, it's just easier.




I wanted to get this done quick and dirty, but my friend and cousin convinced me to fix the little bit of rust and paint the engine compartment. I ordered the DSE sub frame connectors since I have some rust underneath and the connectors will cut out some of the problem areas, not that it is bad really, but I was going to have to grind and do rust converter under there anyway.
The front sheet metal will come off and I will pull the interior out all the way. I'll put in new carpet and re-cover the headliner since it was falling down.

I also have all stainless hard lines for the brake and fuel, so essentially I will be completely taking the car apart.

fiveoformula

Nice! can't wait to see the progress.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Wow, I've come a long way despite not getting as much done as I would like because summer, it sucks, too hot all the time.

I have the LR4 in with the T56 right now and I just put the exhaust back in so I can start mocking up the Y pipe using the stock L98 routing.

I also found a lot more rust as I was going on, it really sucks because it is in some really strange places. I don't have the time to fix all that right now, so I am just going to fix the rust underneath that is going to be trapped by the SFC's since I'll never get another opportunity to fix it once they are in. Once I fix the rust I will etch the bottom of the car and spot places of rust and epoxy paint the whole underside. I will, one day, take the car apart again and do the rust repair for the rest of it. I am going broke driving my 69 Suburban with a 454/TH400 as my daily driver getting ~11mpg. I need to put the car together so I can start driving it, and get on to other projects

fiveoformula

I feel your pain with the heat. I ran out and bought a car with a AC because my 84 GMC doesnt have it, and the AC in my '88 formula needs alot of work to get functioning again, And who has time for that when im trying to LS swap it. lol

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Yeah, the AC in the Suburban isn't ready either. First year I've had a car with no AC, sucks. In the Burb I have everything, but I ordered the wrong side compressor bracket, didn't realize it wasn't going to work, so now I have to order the pass side bracket and a drivers side alternator bracket before I can finish it.

For this car I have a completely charged AC setup from a V8 car I will install and hopefully it works, but I probably won't get to test it this year before the cold. I still have more parts to order to finish this swap. I need a few more sensor connectors, ECM connectors and some more wire so I can finish building my own harness

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Got my Y pipe all fabbed up this weekend, it is mostly a Magnaflow Y pipe for an L98 application. I figured it was a great starting point, and it was, I probably only have 10 hours or so in all the fitting and cutting of everything. It is all stainless, down to the flanges. I do still have to weld it all up, just need to clean up the garage a bit more so I can get to the TIG and then use my MIG cylinder as a back purge.

grngryoutmyway

iTrader: (1)

Nice work so far man. That Y pipe looks killer. Love the yellow on the firebird too.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

This weekend I got the air ducts cut for the Infiniti speakers up front. Just have to get some heating duct tape or something like that to close up the area I cut out




The heater control valve retaining clip broke so I got a 10-24 weld nut and a short screw to fix that. The control had been hard to use in the past, and this made it work very smooth afterwards. I understand why GM did it their way, but this should last a lot longer, lol. I used wicking thread retaining compound on the threads after I got it together so it won't spin. It would turn on the screw a little before I did that.



Along with the heater control I decided to mount my new heater core since the old one was nasty inside and I think weeped coolant a little. There is no way I could have done that with it still in the car because of the aftermarket core. It fit once I got it in, but the angle and placement of the tubes prevented me from getting it in with the box still mounted to the firewall. I wound up having to take the box halves apart to get the core and plastic mounting part in there. I hope to never have to do that job again.

I also pulled the reverse light wires and the starter relay wires out of the harness from the auto gear select and over to the C100. I also moved my alarm up to the top of the dash instead of just zip tied under the foot well and got the wires all ready to connect again. I also mounted a timed relay under the dash, when the alarm unlocks the door it will start the timer on the relay and it will light an LED strip that I will mount under the door handle for easy night-time viewing. I also mounted the express window module up on top of the dash since It seemed like the best place to put it for space and wiring, got the wires pulled, but not connected yet since I am going to buy new terminals for the window motors and run a heavier gauge wire than factory to try to get the windows to work a little faster.

Also got the hole cut for the clutch master and a reinforcement from a factory firewall all cut, cleaned and ready to be welded to the firewall.

Feels like I got nothing done this weekend, even though I was out there around 10 hours a day for 3 days I got half of a bunch of other items completed too but flipping the dash over and then back to do all the wiring again and again was so time consuming. I did a few small things too, like cut the back of the auto gear selector off because it is one of the mounts for the console, cutting the hole in the floor for the shifter you lose two mounting holes for the console.

grngryoutmyway

iTrader: (1)

So many feels right here lol. Just so much to do. Those vacuum control valves are a PITA too. I think they recommend some grease on them while it is out. I have spent too much time getting mine to work.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Yeah, I put some grease on it when I put it back together, even on the metal-to-metal on the weld nut side, you can kind of see the red grease in the picture.

Got a little more done yesterday and today. last night I wired in my timed relay for the door lights, cleaned up some other wiring and mounted the relays to invert the signal for the door lock/unlock signal from the alarm.
Tonight I started making the harness for the ignition coils. I was going to use the stock coils that came with the truck, but as we know the number 8 hits the HAVC box. I bought an LS1 with extras from a guy I know and he included the coil setup for an LS4, those coils will work perfectly for not hitting the box or anything. One of the coil wires is cut so I just decided to make a new harness. That setup is cool because it has a plastic run/retainer for the wires behind the bracket, so you see less unsightly tape covered wire. I will be able to get away with a minor amount of visible tape, if I use any at all.
Also did a little hammer and dolly work on the LH front corner of the engine compartment near the battery tray. The car was in an accident at some point before I got it and that corner was crunched a bit and the previous shop didn't do anything to make it look nice. I think I did a pretty good job getting the damage out of it. There is some rust up there, so I didn't take a picture. I will abate the rust and probably epoxy prime over it since I will be doing some other spots anyway.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

I got my Furick cups for the TIG welder yesterday so I decided to weld up the Y pipe. These large torch cups are AWESOME! You do use a lot more gas though, but it is worth it with the amount of stick out you can have with the electrode. I got all but two joints finished, the TIG was starting to have some problems striking an arc as it was getting later. I told my friend who actually owns the welder and he found some info an what may be the problem. Apparently they use points for the high frequency and they can get fouled up or that part can break, but it is likely the points. I shut off the HF and was able to strike my arc with the scratch method, so when I get back to it, I will just scratch strike to finish it up.
I have to say, all the prep for TIG welding is time consuming. I had to grind some of my crappy tack welds down since I was doing overhead, in an awkward position when I was tacking up the pipes under the car. Also, I wanted to sand/smooth down all the joints and then clean them before I started TIGing. I probably spent almost 3 hours getting ready, then another 6 welding, moving the piece, re-positioning my purge setup. I understand why a good welder charges a lot for stuff like this and anyone who has ever said "X shops" stainless headers are overpriced has never done ANY TIG welding or fab,

I'll post pictures of the cup and a little of my terrible looking welds after I finish, lol

Wph351

iTrader: (1)

Bump

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Umm, what?

Wph351

iTrader: (1)

I don't know how that happened.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Alrightythen

scooter

iTrader: (11)

I pulled the heater/evaporator box off the firewall and repaired a few cracks in that. Then I painted it with SEM Trim black, and I masked off the stock Harrison sticker that says R12 on it, since I will be keeping the system R12 in the car. The Trim Black looks soooo good compared to the factory blah black plastic and the SMC/fiberglass bottom part. I'll try to get a picture of that tomorrow.
Here is one shot of covering the vent cuts that I made. First I used aluminum tape to give it a little structure, then I used Gorilla tape over it to try and make it more durable so it will last a good long time.



Also blasted my manifolds and the stock factory heat shields, then painted with Cerakote High temp. I treated the small screws with phosphoric acid to make them black and installed new studs for the Y pipe, coated all of them liberally with anti-seize before installing. I used Graphite black on the manifolds and Tungsten on the heat shields. Blasting, cleaning, then baking and painting took most of the day, just for one pair. I did the blasting on the other set during the week, so I just had to clean/bake and paint last night.


Tomorrow I will install the manifolds again and make sure my Y pipe still bolts up now that I welded it all up. If all is well with that I can move on to pulling the engine/trans back out so I can do the wiring harness, the rear engine cover gaskets, install the clutch hydraulic throwout bearing (and bench bleed it with the master) and get the oil pressure sender installed. I had put an aftermarket sender on the engine for the gauge in the other car it was installed in, but I can't get enough leverage to get the adapter off so close to the firewall. I also need to pull the crossmember off the engine and install the new stainless brake line for the front right brake.
After all that it is on to the dreaded rust repair and painting the underside of the car.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Here is the Y pipe all welded and installed. I never said I was GOOD at TIG welding, lol. Some of the welds are terrible looking, but good penetration. I think my foot pedal is broken or something, at first it didn't seem to do much, but I kicked it once and it did a LOT more adjustment after that. I actually wound up blowing holes in the tubing in a few places and it was a bitch to fill. I also had some undercut, so I sanded down some of the welds and did a second pass over the undercut spots. It should do. Even if it cracks, I can get it out easily and I should be able to fix it quickly, even MIG it if I need with the stainless wire.



The pipe warped ever so slightly, which I expected. Still bolted up and shouldn't leak, time will tell.
I can still get the starter in and out with it in place and the oxygen sensors are tucked and out of the way, at slightly downward angles, yet I can still get them in and out easily

redmaroz

iTrader: (4)

What mounts are you using for the engine? You have a ton of room in between the k member and engine. Did you notch it any? just curious because I notched mine this 2nd time around and there is no way I could get a pipe in between there. Looks good though, I like the yellow.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

I am using Spohn mounts and a JZ Motorworks pan, which is like the Holley -1 pan, that is why I have so much room. I think the -2 pan would also be similar

redmaroz

iTrader: (4)

Ok cool thanks, I may have to look into one of those.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Yeah, I was so happy when I found the JZ pan all those years ago because I didn't want to run headers on a daily driver build. No pan notching, factory routing of exhaust, no clearance issues, no notching. I am trying to do this build as close to as if GM did it from the factory, with the exception of the stainless manifold back that is, lol

redmaroz

iTrader: (4)

Haha, I like it man. nice and simple. other than fabbing up the y pipe and putting it together lol.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

And I used a Magnaflow Y pipe for an L98 car as a base and just changed the ends a bit

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

Looking pretty good James! Should be a pretty sweet DD.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Thanks man. It's been a while. We should get together some time. You going to Englishtown this weekend?

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

Yeah its been a few years, time fly's. Defiantly need to catch up some
No Englishtown this year, the last few years have been pretty sad and I never found anything there except some tools occasionally.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

I only go to hang out with family really

scooter

iTrader: (11)

I have been working on the car as much as I can. I got the one spot of rust under the rocker on the passenger side replaced and I get part of the DSE sub frame connector in. I don't have any pictures as I burned out one of the splices to my service in the house when I was out there working. I had the welder on, the lights, an old fan and the air compressor kicked on when I opened the valve. I was going to blow out a potential flame with the air and the compressor was struggling to start and the lights started flickering. I moved to shut the compressor off and then the lights went out. Took me a while to figure out what was going on. I checked the voltage on both legs coming in and one was full and the other was about 5. The local company was there in around an hour and fixed it, but it was dark and late by that time, so no progress pictures on that.

I also ordered more connectors I needed to finish my harness and do some other electrical that I have planned and I did a little more on the harness. I also decided since I have the dash out completely, I am going to put closed cell foam on everything that will not bee seen back there to hopefully eliminate squeaks and rattles. So far I have only done two ducts, but it is a good project to do when I only have a little time after work, or at the end of the night. I use the 1/8" CC foam I got for the decoupling of the MLV sound deadening and the floor/vibration treatment. I am gluing it with some Weldwood contact cement, stuff really gets you out of it before you know what is going on in the basement, lol. Just did this tonight.



I just lay the piece on top and rough trace it out, then cut the foam inside the line. I am finding that the contact cement is softening up the plastic and it becomes a little larger than the size needed. This is just rough work since it is not going to be seen. If I was really into it, I would cover all the seams with thin strips of foam, but that isn't going to make a difference.
I also plan on putting extra foam in the air duct joints to try to close those up. With the handling on my part and the age of the factory foam, it probably won't seal as well once I put it all back together. I am also going to wrap some of the wiring and connectors in the dash that I think may cause noise. I will also get to the main dash piece once I get closer to final install since it is still in the car and I move it back and forth a lot when working in there.