ghettocruiser

Another small but time consuming task taken care of tonight. I really really wanted delay wipers in the new car. It didnt come with them...and I never realized how much I loved delay until I didnt have it.

So...easy. Switch columns right? Wrong... The 87's column was loose. The tilt was sloppy. I know it can be fixed. But I figured...why not just switch the wiper switch over to the 86 column. A lot less miles on it, its nice and tight, and much cleaner.

So tonight I completely disassembled both columns, swapped the wiper switches, put them both back together, and got the column installed.

Not much for pictures. And I wanted to get more done. But it took awhile to do the columns. First time I ever took a GM column that far apart. Another thing I found out. I need to put the column flange BEHIND the sound deadner. I also need to put the clutch pedal braces BEHIND the deadner. I wasnt sure on this when I was putting it together... So thats for the next time I work on it.

Pics...

All this...





To get to this...



And what I ended up with.



More updates soon. I go on vacation starting next weekend... Unfortunetly Ill be going away. So no work on the car til after the 1st. Gonna try to knock some big stuff out this week. It kind of hit me tonight... Tonight its officially been 3 months since I started. WAAAAAAYYYYYYY longer than I wanted this to take.

J.

V6canvas

Just a thought, one of the times I was putting the motor into the car, I hit the wiper motor housing. just broke the outer plastic cover, but I got another motor just in case. Swapped over the cover (there is a circuit board inside it too), when I tested the wipers, I had lost delay. I swapped over the original circuit board, delay worked. Maybe it was a bad board, maybe not, just keep that in mind if the delay doesn't work right away even after swapping the column switch.

__________________
Steve

my rides:
Red '89 Firebird GTA
Green '97 Escort

ghettocruiser

Yup...got that covered. There is a delay cover and a standard cover. Ill be stealing the delay cover off the 87 as well. Should all work as it did in the 87...hopefully.

Thanks for the advice though!!!

J.

ghettocruiser

Well...no pics tonight. Too hot and too busy. On the list tonight... I torqued my wheel spacers. So I can put the wheels on once I bleed the brakes.

I took my pedal braces off, and bolted them back on UNDER the sound deadner. This actually did two things. One, it made the rod line up even better. Two, it feels a LOT more positive. I guess the sound deadner was causing enough "cushion feel" to make the pedal feel alittle mushy. Feels good now.

Once that was done, I got the column bolted in all the way. Then it was time to hook the battery up and see what I had. And....EVERYTHING WORKS! Lights, horn, HVAC, cranking, windows...everything.

I found out that I put the bulbs for the turn signal/high beam indicators in the wrong sockets. haha. With my left turn signal on, the right indicator flashes, with the left turn signal on, the high beam indicator flashes, and with high beams on, the left turn signal indicator lights up. Haha... Ooops. So I gotta pull the bezel back off and re-install the bulb sockets. Ill do that after the car is mostly back together so I can sit in the seats.

Then, to cap the night off, I pulled the trans crossmember back out, and adjusted some of the holes so I could use all 6 bolts again. Had to egg one out alittle more.

So....thats the update. She cranks. It was good to hear her do something. Im going back tomorrow to do some more. Im going to do one of two things. Im either going to empty the car out, and remove the remaining interior parts to check for dead mice. Or Im going to start pulling the rear suspension apart. Havent decided yet. Ill report back tomorrow night.

J.

Screamin86

just latching on

ghettocruiser

Ooooooook... Now we're getting somewhere. Got alittle job done first thing. Added another ground strap. No big deal. I got ambitious and decided to do the rear of the car.

Everything is out. Rear, exhaust, springs and all associated suspension, fuel tank...all of it. Also got rid of the rest of the e-brake parts. I would have had all of those parts out of the 87...but I had to battle some wasps. They made a nest in the rear bumper of the 87. Really ticked me off. I cant see the nest, so I just kept spraying brake cleaner in between the tail light and bumper cover. That seemed to flush them out. For those of you who dont know...Autozone's "Valuecraft" brake cleaner kills bugs bees and ants almost on contact. Its great.

Anyway...by the time I felt safe, I was pooped and it was getting late.

So here are some pics to hold you guys over. My goal is to have all of the good parts back under the 86 before I leave for vacation. In fact...if I get all of them installed, and get the tank wired up, I might have to try to fire her up before I leave Its literally down to the tank, tank wiring, plug in a few things, plug in the PCM, put the coils on. It should fire at that point.

Start of today:


My intended victim:


Everything unbolted...Just need to lower the jack:


More non-rust areas :


...


Pile's getting bigger:


cont'd....

ghettocruiser

More non-rust:


My one complaint about this car. This darn undercoating is such a pain. Its gooey, and ugly, and just generally a mess. It really makes the car look crappy underneith. When in reality, its perfect metal under it. I COULD clean it off. But that would take another month probably haha. And besides, its kept the rust away so far. Might as well let it do its job. No one is gonna see it...except for my pics.

An example:


Thats it ladies and gents. Now the fun part. The 86 is pretty much at the end of the disassembly phase. Its all assembly from here on out. Some wire routing, hose hook up, few odds and ends and Im in business.

J.

ghettocruiser

Where you guys at? This is getting good

Lots of work done tonight after work. First a disclaimer. Every picture used a flash. The flash on my pos camera makes everything look like total crap. Things really arent as dirty as the pics make them. Also...I opted to get everything together, then detail/clean everything when its done. My impatience showing again On to the pics.

First up today. I removed the seats form the 87. Just needed the room to get to shock bolts and some other things. After that, I started working on the e-brake cable bracket. You guys didnt see this on my last swap...I never took pics of it. Before, on the 87, I had the bracket bolted to the floor. It was kind of hacked. Today...I welded it. Came out ok. A tad crooked..but its ok. It will work 100% and no unsightly bolts.







That bracket was hacked off the 99 Camaro donor car... Figured it was easier than fabbing a new bracket..and I was right.

Also got the e-brake handle/cable in.



Next up, removing all the rear parts from the 87. Pics will explain.





Gas tank came out too...but I literally got it out, laid it on my chest, and pushed myself on the creeper right under the 86 and bolted it in. Figured I might as well since I was ready.

Cont'd....

ghettocruiser

Tank installed.



Another thing I never really got a pic of before. This is how I mounted my filler neck. I used the neck from the 4th gen, and the little mount fell right on a flat spot, and I was able to drill a hole and bolt it in.



Gave me this...



That ring around the neck is also from the 4th gen. I had to trim it alittle, but it makes it look alittle tighter.

Now its getting dark... Exhaust is in.







And finally.... 12 bolt is in. Its all bolted up, ready to go. I need to clean it up, throw on some paint, figure out if I want to clean up my rotors or just get new ones.







Im beat. Tomorrow, after work, Im heading back home to work on it again. I hope to get the tank wiring installed. Ill take pics of my install of the 4th gen tank bulkhead too. After that, Ill probably change the fuel filter, hook up the lines, throw on the coils and maybe...MAYBE try to fire it up. Not sure if Ill push it that hard.

She's gettin there!

J.

V6canvas

looking good, almost there.....

VAN454

I'm just loving watching this, and wishing I could get my hands on a good 4th gen donor so I could do the same.

ghettocruiser

Man Im hurting this morning! haha. My hands have that tattered, overworked, raw feel to them this morning. Added a few scars to them last night too.

Van.....have you tossed up a wanted thread over on LS1tech? Thats how I found mine. I was able to research the seller on there, he was a MOD. Turned out to be a very good deal in hindsight. The biggest bit for me was the donor car already having the 12bolt, a built T56, and a couple motor mods

Keep looking, you'll find the deal you want. There is no shortage of them to use for donors.

J.

Orinackra

Dont worry, we're all still here, watching patiently. You make this stuff look easy thats for sure. I cant wait to do my swap!

online170

hmm, i have decided to put a cap on my car mods indefinatley (aka: 2 years minimum) so i can recoup some of the $$$ ive spent. Only thing stopping me from having a near street machine is suspension.

Looking at the last round of pix, all i can think of is..... $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Lots of good stuff in there. And did i read that right??? did you say 12 (TWELVE bolt?). I didnt know u had one of those, i couldnt tell just by looking at it.

VAN454

I would, but I'm in Australia, and there are very few LS1 4th gens here. That, and I don't have the cash atm lol

ghettocruiser

Yes sir. Strange 12 bolt with 3.73s. I forget what posi is in it...but I believe its an eaton. I tore it apart last summer to replace the bearings and put in a solid spacer instead of a crush sleeve. And I must say, thats a stout axle.

There is a decent amount of dough tied up in suspension. However...It was WELL worth it. I keep telling people that my brake and suspension upgrade gave me just as dramatic results as more than doubling my horsepower.

I also sold some stuff off to fund the suspsension. I went alittle overboard though. My budget was stretched thin...and probably went way over. But I kept saying...well while its apart, I might as well....

I love the simplicity of the thirdgen suspension. Its very simple, yet works very well. Compared to some other cars, the amount of parts that you can/have to upgrade are pretty limited. The things I did to my car made it handle better than I can drive it. So it was worth it I think.

J.

ghettocruiser

AH...I didnt even notice you were in Aus. Well in that case...keep your eyes open for Monaro's when you get the money But like I said...if you really want to do it, just keep saving, and keep your eyes open. I didnt plan on doing all this to my car. I was just looking for a stock LS1 to plop in. But a deal came along that Ic ouldnt pass up. And with a donor car, you can sometimes break even...or even make some money back if you part it out.

Ill post more updates tonight when I get done. Not gonna be a long night tonight. Going to take it easy probably.

J.

A10Beav

Looking good, can't wait to see it all together again!

3.1EyeCandy

Still here as well. In the mids of putting my tank in and taking a break for lunch It's taken me a bit longer than it took you though, ha!

ghettocruiser

Im on auto pilot right now with it. Its just remove/replace stuff now. I didnt do anything on Friday. Got home, cleaned up alittle, and just headed back to my new place. Just wasnt up for it.

Well...no updates for a week gents. Im going on a much needed vacation this week. Ill probably knock some more work out starting next monday.

Cant wait to get back to work on it! haha. Ill be thinking about it all vaca probably.

J.

Blownz28man

Gettocruiser... I just got done putting my fourth gen tank in and mounted the filler neck where you did..Worked great! Thanks for the post. Now back to the rest of my ls1 swap...

ghettocruiser

Nice! Im not sure if everyone is doing that or not... But it works good. Kinda fun trying to locate the spot to make the hole...but its a really solid set up.

By the way...did you happen to notice how much easier the 4th gen tank is to remove/install??? It almost drops straight out with the neck being hose instead of a solid pipe. Very easy.

J.

VAN454

Yeah, it's not too hard to get a Monaro or Commodore for a donor, but there is a lot more that needs to be changed, and I can't use many other parts

3.1EyeCandy

Understatement of the week there.

I didn't utilize the mounting hole on the 4th gen filler neck, and everything is pretty solid anyway. Maybe I'll take another look at it - hadn't thought of putting the head of a screw on the underside.

cam-