ghettocruiser

Hey everyone. I just thought I would post some pictures of the second round of modifications to my 87. Among other things, the big project was my exhaust. The y-pipe was a mess. It had leaks and hung way too low. And it was just not good. So, I wanted to build a new crossmember, a y-pipe to go along with it, and also add a cut out. Im going to let the pictures do most of the talking. I got to drive her around today for the first time in about a month. The new y-pipe seems good to go. No noises, no leaks so far, and the cut out is funnn!!!! I love that thing. I wired it up to a vert top switch from the 99 donor car that I had. First, a pic of the old y-pipe, and also how close to the ground it hung. This was a hawks conversion y-pipe. I had to cut it up and re-weld it just to get it to fit. And even then it would hit on everything I drove over and was just generally a mess. Ok, Now some pictures of the crossmember to start things off. This was fun to make. Turned out pretty good. Should be PLENTY strong. Now for the y-pipe. First, everything started with some v-clamps. Those are the clamps I chose to work with, and Im glad I did. They work perfectly, and so far they have lived up to the hype of not needing gaskets or anything. After a lot of cutting and fitting and tacking, I ended up with this. This is before I tacked on the cut out pipe and rear clamps.

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__________________


ARE shortblock, Ross custom boost pistons, arp rod bolts, ARE ported oil pump,
MTI 2e 5.3L ported heads milled .030 with double springs,
228/224 113+1 Comp XE-R, Cloyes adjustable timing chain, LS6 valley cover,
fast 90mm intake, NW 90mm throttle body, SVO 30lb injectors, 85mm MAF,
ASP underdrive pulley, 160* t-stat, stainless LT headers 1.75" primaries

ghettocruiser

This is after finish welding. No MIG welds here...









Here are some pics after its all together. How it all fits and all that jazz...





Cut out with a flange installed ready for fitting a turn down. The valve opens up so that it would blow onto the floor. SO I made a simple quick turn down for it.

ghettocruiser

Now just some overall pics...

Alittle better clearance...







Questions/comments encouraged!

Justin

88 350 tpi formula

looks real good! great welds on the y-pipe! I plan to run mine almost the same but no cutout though

SnkSknrZ28

Very nice work, much better than before

__________________
1988 Camaro IROC-Z
99' LS1/T56 swap.. now rumbling..

cam-

Dead sexy!

ghettocruiser

Thanks guys! Im just happy to finally have her on the ground again. She's been up on jack stands for like a month. I missed the best part of the year for driving... spring. I want to sort out a few more little details before I start driving every day in her.

On the list to do yet is another semi big job. I need to pull the rear and rebuild it. I have a noise that sounds to me like a bad carrier bearing. But Im just going to replace all the bearings and check things over in the rear. Im also installing LCA relocation brackets and Im swapping out the BMR LCAs for new Spohn ones. Then its just little stuff. Charging the A/C, finishing up some minor wiring like cruise control and such. I need to do some maintenance on the body like new t-top seals and hatch/door seals. And I have all the parts I need to rebuild all the door hinges and latch parts. Should make her alittle tighter and quieter.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Justin

A10Beav

Nice work Justin!

I may have to mount my torque arm like you did. My BMR crossbrace seems to hit everything.

ghettocruiser

Thanks man. I almost went with the BMR one. But I didnt like how low it hung. I have enough problems with ground clearance. haha.

The torque arm mount was a bit of a challenge. Im not 100% sure I like the way the little straps angle back. But it was either that, or extend the mount for the cylinder that welds to the crossmember. I thought that would create more leverage and other issues, so Im trying this.

I get some clunks when I get on-off-on-off of the gas. But Im thinking thats normal and something that I have to get used to. I also have room for the poly bushing that was originally on the torque arm. So i might change the rod end out for that...see if that quiets things down.

So far so good tho! I havent beaten on her too much yet. Im gonna cruiser her around alittle more, then hammer on her, then put her up int he air and check everything out. All my welds and all that jazz. Next week Ill be installing new LCAs, relocation brackets, and rebuilding the rear. Im also going to dial in the torque arm and pinion angle.

A10Beav

Sounds like you've got your summer planned already!

I've been needing to check my pinion angle too, I just haven't found the parts stores in Germany yet. My Dad's going to mail an angle finder to me and then the car should ride smooth

ghettocruiser

Yeah I plan on doing the rear in one night. Thats removal, dis-assembly, and re-assembly. With the install taking place the next day. Shouldnt be too bad. Especially since I can work on the rear in my garage so after dark I dont have to stop for the night.

Im not even positive how to set pinion angle. I read a few write ups, I just never know what number to subtract from the other etc etc. I think Im close now tho...

J.

TexasLT1

what headers are you using?


*edit* nevermind, just saw you have an LS1

A10Beav

I've never adjusted the pinion angle either. Just in case you haven't seen it yet, here's a write-up I'm going to use:

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/archiv.../t-454627.html

ghettocruiser

Good find. I was gonna use Spohns instructions...but thats nice and easy to find. Thanks!

I have a pretty decent clunk under car....Im still wondering if its just from the rod end.

J.

A10Beav

You said you removed a bushing from the end of the torque arm? I'd start by putting it back in place. Also, when you lift the car check your Y-pipe for marks; it could be hitting your crossmember as the engine torques over.

ghettocruiser

Yeah I might try putting the bushing back in. I had similar clunks before too though. I think its just that spohn torque arm. Just little clunks here and there from a solid set up. Its only if Im driving dumb...i.e. bliping the gas at weird times etc.

Im pretty sure my y-pipe is clearing. But Ill check. I have 1/4"+ everywhere, and Im running poly motor and trans mounts. Things dont move much. haha.

Justin

A10Beav

What angle does the front mount of the torque arm sit at? I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be vertical, so it allows fore and aft movement but not vertical. If it's sitting at an angle then it would move vertically as well, probably enough to "clunk" as it tugs on the crossmember.

My BMR kit has a similar front mount, but I don't have any noises coming from it. Good luck figuring it out.

ghettocruiser

I thought about the angle of those front mount straps. The torque arm wants to pull back and up. From the diff trying to rotate up. So, I figured that it isnt really going to move much vertically since its tryin to pull back alittle as well. The clunk is exactly the same as before I built the crossmember. I never eliminated it before, and I havent yet. I plan to look into it further when I pull the rear to rebuild it. Since Ill have to remove the torque arm.

Ill get her sorted... About the only thing driving me bonkers right now is the darn fuel level gauge. Apparently the only fuel level guage that works with an LS1 gas tank...is the LS1 gauge. Friggin pain...

Justin

cam-

Not to worry heres an easy solution

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/lt...s1-fuel-2.html (How-To: Modify LS1 Fuel Sender for 0-90 Ohm Use)

ghettocruiser

Cam,
Funny that you posted that! I was up until 1am last night looking for info on swapping the senders. I remembered reading about it awhile back when I was thinkin about doing the swap. I read though it and I would really love to just do that.

Here are the only things holding me back. I now own two autometer gauges. A programmable one ($100), and a preset one that was CLOSE to the LS1 sender range ($40). The last one I actually sent back to autometer for reversal of the movement per their instructions. ($30). So I have almost $200 in gauges sitting around that dont do squat. I know I could probably sell them. But Ide rather make one of the two work. The other thing is, Im not sure I want to go through the trouble of pulling the tank at this point in time. Ill have the rear out soon...so I guess that would be the time to do it. But I know what will happen. Ill pull the tank. Then Ill go hey, I might as well replace the pump while its out. Etc etc.. haha.

But we'll see. Im gonna fiddle with things alittle more. I still dont see why the programmable one wont work. Its just reading resistance. Im ready to just hook up a digital OHM meter right to the purple wire and use that as my darn fuel level gauge. haha.

Thanks for the link though! Ill let you know what I end up trying.

J.

cam-

Ya I too was going to change the pump but after some research and spending some time at the local LS1 shop the consensus is the stock pump supports up to 500rwhp. As for the gauge ironically I too was mired into getting an aftermarket as I wanted all pro comps in my dash but there is no real bolt in fuel gauge solution for the oddball ohm sweep sender in LS1 senders. The sender swap is uber easy and it works great. Can always use an aftermarket gauge on a new sender too ya know.

ghettocruiser

Yeah I hear ya. I just dont understand why the programmable one wouldnt work. Like I said, the LS1 sender is well within its range. So something just has to be goofed. Wiring or something. Im hoping to dig into it today some. Just a pain to tear the dash out with the way its wired and installed an all.

Hopefully Ill have some good news. Haha I keep running like 4 gallons of gas out and trying to re-calibrate it. Ill be ecstatic if I get it to work.

J.

ghettocruiser

FIXED IT!!

In order to try to keep EVAP, I had the fuel level sender wire routed to the PCM and to the gauge. Well...I didnt think this through enough. The PCM told the LS1 cluster what the fuel level was. So the purple wire from the tank WASNT a guage wire...but just another PCM sensor wire.

Now I was trying to make it a gauge wire. But the PCM was sending voltage down the purple wire at the same time that the gauge was sending voltage down the purple wire. This was driving the gauge crazy, and also setting a P0462 DTC code. That code is for "fuel level input voltage too high" or something along those lines. Basically I think because the two voltages were combining or screwing with each other.

So.. I cut the wire goin to the PCM...re-calibrated the gauge, and it seems to be working 100% as it should.

Now for the task of trying to figure out if I need that wire to the PCM for EVAP to function. That should be fun... Im thinking if I can find a common resistance that will trick the PCM into thinking its time to vent the tank, I could just use a resistor and just have it vent everytime it wants. I guess you cant vent a tank too much... Oh well...we'll see.

J.

ghettocruiser

haha...look who just emailed me. Autometer... I emailed them the other day asking about the gauge. 2 people over teh phone never mentioned this...and didnt seem to know much. Then I get this email.

Hello.

Yes, that gauge will operate with your factory sender. You will need
to use the Custom Calibration feature since your sender is 40 to 250
ohms.
The sender wire is the purple wire from the sender to the PCM. You
would have to cut the purple so that the fuel level gauge is the only
thing running off of that wire.
Thank you.
Cory
Tech/Service


Figures that as soon as I figure it out on my own, they tell me this....

J.

I H8 WWD

No video or exhaust clips.....No open cutout clips? AWWW MAYNE I would love to hear this thing opened up with and without the cutout open....PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT PUT THE CAMERA RIGHT NEXT TO THE EXHAUST OR THE CUTOUT.....STAND AWAY FROM THE CAR AND SHOOT.

I say that because everyone seems to think it sounds better or you cant hear it as much if it isnt right by the exhaust...I dont know why but alot of people probably have badass exhausts but we'll never know because they make PC speakers pop and bang more than the exhaust rumbles.

LMAO.....VIDEO VIDEO VIDEO I VOTE FOR VIDEOS!

cam-

*Borat voice* "very nice.. a great success"

ghettocruiser

Haha... dude thats funny. Just so happens I made a quick vid tonight. Be warned..its not the best. I just used my digital camera. Im going to take some more driving and fly bys and all. Sound gets alittle bled out, but not too too bad.

I will say it sound BAD *** at 6500rpm with the cut out open!

Like I said, Ill make a better one with a regular video camera. Should get some better sound then.

http://video.ls1tech.com/video/ff547...4d01343338.htm

Justin

cam-

You bastaard! Now I want a cut out!!! sounds evil

I H8 WWD

Damn...my computer at work doesnt have a sound card....SOB..now I have to wait until 5:30 to watch it..Thanks for posting though....keep posting...more more more...theres never too many videos...especially of a car like yours...HELLZ YEAH!

I H8 WWD

You bastard....now I REALLY cant wait to hear it at 5:30.....thanks alot....LMAO.

ghettocruiser

HAHA... Im going to try to get some more/better vids this weekend maybe. Ill have my girlfriend hold the camera from the passenger seat. I havent made vids like that yet. Usually just me with the camera on the speedo.

Maybe Ill do a run with it closed up, then a WOT with it opened. Do alittle compare and contrast...

I drove past a row of harleys yesterday while I was out playin around. Coming the opposite direction from a stop sign. Had my mom with me... haha. She loves it. Anyway, they heard me pulling from the stop sign and a few revved their bikes up since I was already making noise. So I nailed it in second while I passed the rest. Probably like 15 of them in a row. The last handfull had big smiles. It was great.

Justin

Jay

I just posted about this and my fix for it. The rod mount is fine, it's the other bolt where the problem is. It doesn't seem to be well planned unfortunately, and with the price of it I'd expect better. Luckily it only cost me $40 between the bolt and paying the guy to machine it and make a bushing

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/su...arm-clunk.html (Spohn torque arm "clunk/bang" fixed.)

ghettocruiser

Hmmm...heading to check it out now jay... thanks.

Justin

I H8 WWD

Videos Yet....Sorry Im just anxious

ghettocruiser

Just the one I posted above... I still need to get some better ones of me driving. I had a really busy couple of weeks. My girl has the camera right now, but Ill see if I can get some this weekend again. All depends on what comes up and what we end up doing.

J.

91_5.7_TPI

Back from the dead haha.
Awesome!! That's the way I want to run mine, but never seen it. I think I'll need pics to convince any shop around here it can be done.
Thanks for posting this, BTW. Big help!

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KONIs I Eibach Pro-Kit I 36mm/24mm sway bars I Spohn: Adjustable PHB I Wonder Bar I SFCs
Custom LCAs I LCARBs I J&M Products Camber/Caster plates I Hawk's Ceramic Pads I 4th Gen 3.23 Posi I LS1/LT1 Brakes

socal

looks great i like the crossmember the most. looks like it added alot more space to build the y pipe

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view project @ http://joshrmz.com/default.aspx

it a firehawk t-ram

ghettocruiser

Thanks guys! My solution might not have been the BEST...but it works great. The crossmember, while slightly ugly, works nice. Plenty of space for the y-pipe, and if I did a little more work, could have fit a 3" y-pipe easily.

If you guys have any questions...let me know. Your shop should be able to fab something even easier than I did. But if you need any other info or specifics, I can try to help ya out!

J.