This thread has made me so..........jealous. AWESOME car Neil. That thing is just bad.

Yeah, I think Corolla's are the thing to have now, enough with this turdgen crap! I mean, how's an 85mm wide tire for you out back? LOL. Okay, that was a sick joke and Mike, sorry but I am not going to abandon this project to pursue your dream car!

Now, on to the car....I'm taking my lunch break so i'll make this quick. Spohn's K-member did not provide enough clearance for my steering linkage, (the inner tie rods). The ball portion of the inner tie rod (Moog) comes very close, approx. 2 mm from hitting the notched area. That is cutting it too close! Also, with the suspension uncompressed, the rods hit the notched area of the down tube thus preventing the ability to steer. I am not cool with that! I've attached pics for you to see. So, I ordered a BMR K-member and will do a swap when that gets in.

I have started cleaning the interior and next week i'll start installing the new Dynamat. I will have more pics of course.

That's with a "stock" sterring setup?

Yes!

Alright then since I don't want a rack & pinion setup I'll avoid the Spohn K-Member when I do my LS1 swap. Is the BMW one the same price?

Hmmm good infos there.

Did you call Spohn? Thats the 1st time Ive seen this happening. I mean, 3-4 persons are using this x-member and they dont have trouble with it... or do they?

Yeah, I talked to Steve Spohn about this (via email) and he said he has heard of this problem occurring in about 1 in 50 of the K-members he has sold. I am not telling you guys not to buy his product, but just to inform you that you might have this same problem. As a matter of fact if you search the Suspension forum, you will find 3 or 4 threads regarding this issue. Search for Hawk's K-member and/or Spohn K-member and you will see pics by someone else with the same issue. After talking with Steve, I learned that his design is such, so that the stock A-arms can be used, which requires positioning of the down tube where it is as well as notching it for clearance of the inner tie rod.
BMR's K-member will not work with stock A-arms (to my knowledge) and has the down tube positioned further back, clearing the steering linkage with plenty of space. So, I am going with BMR now, cross your fingers that this one works without any glitches!

Cool dude, thanks for the heads up.

Nice project! I've got the BMR piece and it fits fine. The first one actually had the engine mounts in the wrong place, but they shipped a new one in 2 days. Their customer support was pretty good.

Well, don't tell me you've been sitting on your butt!! Have you dynamatted the Corolla yet?

haha "the corolla" ha!

Amazing project!! What are your plans for the interior?

All dynamatted and back on the ground rollin' !

So, my buddy seems to have become quite the comedian these days! LOL. I think the mirrors are absolutely SICK!!! What do you guys think about that mod on the camaro? hmmmmm? j/k

...must resist....to mod....my GTA....like....the Corolla....

Don't hurt me for this...

Finally, I have pictures of the first layer of Dynamat on the firewall and floorpan. As you can see I still have a few spots to hit with the Dynamat Extreme and then it's on to the Dynapad. I'll probably go through the heater/AC box; replace the heater core and clean it up. Once I mount the AC box, i'll glue the Dynapad around it. Any opinions on sticking dynamat on the area where the AC box will seal up? I thought about it, but I don't think it's necessary since the AC blower motor/evaporator housing will shield that area from engine heat.

You've just successfully covered up ALL of the factory bolt/screw hole locations for mounting the dash!

Who needs a dashboard? Sounds like weight redux to me

I didnt think he was using the stock dash anyways.

I cant believe this thread is still alive and kickin... although with that car youve got goin neil i suppose it makes sense.

Reminds me of when I was at that stage. Great work Niel. And just so you hear it from a person who has used all that annying sound stuff b4. IT WORKS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!

Here are a couple pics to remind of my install







Don't miss an inch. It will be worth it in the end. I had the car on the road with and without the stuff on the doors. MAN it got quieter when I did the doors like this....skins and frames.



I am done posting pics of my car here. haha. Sorry Niel, just trying to help.

AWSOME car!

1bad91"slow"Z.....No my friend all the bolt locations are uncovered (see the top rail) and actually i'll be cutting some off to fit the 4th gen dash in!

Slow, ehh? Well, technically my car is still faster (beings I can start my motor) right now, your's wont even start! HAH~!!

Do you still need me to order the back dash piece? Also, there was something else you wanted me to price from GM........ what was it??

Did the new K-member for the Corolla come in yet?

Parts are ordered.

Come by the shop Saturday and check out that lower piece you need. I'll be out there working on mine and another guy's '91 Z.

Great Pictures Neil! Looks like the inside is coming together nicely. I forgot to ask Martine about that little seatbelt bracket you are missing...I'll talk to him Monday.

I cant wait till this car is done itll be like unwrapping a present at christmas time.......except it wont be mine but hey I can still dream

alright neil,whats going on?Did you strap a 42" mower deck to the bottom of the corrolla start mowing like 15 acres &forget what was going on around you?I'm sure it could be easy to forget with all that dyna-mat and those mirrors to see if anyone was sneeking up on you.LOL. LSX IN GRASP OF REASON YET?

^^^^hahhaha, laughing so hard, probably because im jealous of this project, but also teh concept of a giant car lawnmower ....

take ur time neil, u know that, do everything right not rushed, dont let us bother u, .. too much

Sorry guys for not updating you, but I have been swamped at work and have had very little to no time to get at the car! However, here's a quick update:

Dynamat progress: not done yet, still working on covering the remainder of the floor pan, the side panels and the rear wheel well area.

Clutch pedal and slave cylinder has been ordered and arrived (thanks Mike!). Next week i'll start installing those.

'02 camaro dash: still haven't cleaned it yet! Once I do, i'll dye it a deep satin black as well as the center console. Also bought a synthetic suede for the headliner and a-pillars, but I am a ways off from that!!! Just getting anxious! I wish I could clone myself!

LSX block has arrived!!! Sunset Racecraft & Performance has it and I should have pics to show you soon.

Supercharger is a NO GO! Kenne Bell has not made their blower for an LS7 yet, so I am going NA w/ 11.5:1 CR. Kinda a bummer but later on down the road i'll have something to do with the engine for a performance upgrade

K-member: the BMR k-member has arrived as well as the Koni adjustable struts. I am going to return the Spohn K-member due to the issue I had with tie rod clearance (see previous post w/ pics)

So, that's it for now, i'll have pics for you soon.

damn thats a nice car man. great progress its looking good! and my name is also Neil by coincidence. but that is one sick looking iroc

Neil, are you still shooting for 4 digit HP? and what are you punching the LSX block out to? final displacement? You could go with a procharger setup?

No, not shooting for 4 digit HP now, if I am in the neighborhood of 700 HP I will be happy with that! What am I punching the block out to....good question! I have been thinking about this for the last couple days....if I go with a 4.25" stroke, I'll bore the block to 4.125". This configuration has raised concerns b/c of the large stroke and the smaller bore size. Consequently, they suggested I go with a 4.100" stroke and a 4.200" bore, which would also make 454 cu.in"; however, as a friend of mine suggested, why would you take a brand new block and essentially bore it to it's almost max of 4.250"? That made sense and so I am leaning toward my initial specs. This good friend of mine, Dennis has helped me build very stong running stroked motors in the past and he advises I go with the 4.250" stroke.

What are your guys' thoughts on this?

standard bore. Save room for later. 4inch stroke. and TWIN T76 turbos.

BTW AWESOME CAR !!

Great news about the block Neil. Sounds like progress marches on.

Give us some feedback on the block when you get stuff done to it, I plan on buying it myself.

Alright, I have some cool pics of the LSX block on the CNC at Sunset Racecraft Performance. It's getting bored out to 4.200" and the Callies Magnum 4.100" crank, Lunati Pro-billet 6.125" connecting rods, Diamond pistons and Total Seal rings. The crank arrived today and should have pics in a few days. 454 here we come!!!!!!!!!

niice!!
finally a little more progress!
getting pretty antsy huh?

Right on! Block looks good!

I'll get you a price on that exedy twin disc the next time I go over to work at JBZ. Jim's a dealer for that stuff. Also, I'll look into a Zoom clutch setup as well, I've heard good things about that brand too, but Chris says that all the bad *** LS-x cars that they did at MTI ended up using the twin disc exedy.

I'll call you arround lunch time tomorrow.....

I finally swapped the Spohn K-member out for the BMR today and now I have plenty of tie rod clearance, I'll take pics of this tomorrow. For now, I have a few photos of the new adjustable Koni's and the K-members side by side (the Spohn K-member is the gloss black one).

Oh, does anyone know where to get new plastic or rubber coverings for the strut shaft? I lost one and the one I have is cracked and in pretty rough shape.

Like the dust caps at the tops of the struts, MDM, has NOS ones moderndaymuscle.com

nice progress Neil!!! Keep up the good work man!

That thing is moving right along, AWSOME!!!

Alright guys, i'm making progress..........slowly! Here are some pics of the A/C & Heater box rebuild. I used insulation tape from the Home Depot which blows away the crap GM uses! For example, the dash I have from a 2002 camaro, the foam they use behind the vents to seal the ducting is already degrading and flaking off, pure junk. The Home Depot insulation tape I put in my A/C & Heater box is still in new condition......pretty durable and I installed it 6-7 years ago, when I put A/C in the car. Just thought I would share that with you guys. It is relatively thin, but when you need more material in certain areas, it doubles up quite nicely, very sticky adhesive.

I will be jumping all over the place in these next couple posts, here's the BMR K-member installed with tons of clearance for the center link and inner tie rod ends.

I've come to the conclusion...

This car is no longer a "3rd gen"...It's a 5th gen, in 3rd gen clothing! Too many brand new, not rebuilt, parts, to be a rebuild anymore!

Kinda like the repro '67-'69 bodies...1st gen my a$$! In looks, yeah...but stamped in '07.

How are those titled anyways? As a '67/'68/'69, or '07?

Cut the hole for the clutch rod/master cylinder assembly (the smaller hole to the left of the larger steering column hole). Doesn't look so much like a hole b/c I covered it with Dynamat and punched a hole in it. Also, a pic of the new '02 style clutch, brake and gas pedals....thanks Mike! I decided to ditch the ole 3rd gen gas pedal and stay with the new setup. I didn't have the heart to cut that new assembly, so i'll have to drill a couple more holes in the firewall, oh well.

Now that's funny, I like that!

I've got more for ya......Dynamat & Peel-n-Seal layers are down. Still have to put the 2nd layer on the firewall after I mount the A/C/Htr box.

Also, I moved the tail lights inward about 1/2" and now they line up much better. Still have to straighten them out...in time. I did polish them with 3M Swirl mark remover, how do you like 'em?

Ok, last one and i'm going to call it a night and get some rest.....hopefully tomorrow i'll start cleaning the dash and work on mounting that biatch, we'll see???

Look at all that crap! I need a bigger garage.

Lookin' damn good! Did you buy brand new taillights?

Dude, that is one sick car.... I will never miss an update on this thread again!! I know you have probably heard this a million times, but again....Great job!
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That car is da sheeawwwt!