91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
05-21-2010, 12:59 PM
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
This car has been a few years in the making, and I don't think I've ever put any pictures of my build up. I'm nearing the end (should be done by the end of summer), so I'll take you guys through my build.
Started with a real nice 91 Z28 (red on red) 305 tpi a4 car. The project kind of snowballed.
EDIT!!! STARTUP VID ON POST 37!!
I stripped the entire car down to the bare metal.
I decided to paint the car black, so I had to make sure everything was 120% straight. (all of the red paint was eventually stripped of the doors)
Started with a real nice 91 Z28 (red on red) 305 tpi a4 car. The project kind of snowballed.
EDIT!!! STARTUP VID ON POST 37!!
I stripped the entire car down to the bare metal.
I decided to paint the car black, so I had to make sure everything was 120% straight. (all of the red paint was eventually stripped of the doors)
Last edited by fast377; 10-24-2010 at 01:59 PM.
05-21-2010, 01:06 PM
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
I'm running 19x11 in the rear, so I cut the lips out of the quarters and welded everything back together.
Off to primer...then more sanding.
Off to primer...then more sanding.
05-21-2010, 01:11 PM
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
I painted the car in 2 different locations. I did the engine bay and interior in my shop. The I took it to my friend's body shop, and we did the rest of the car in a paint booth.
Fitting of the 4th gen dash.
BMR k member
Fitting of the 4th gen dash.
BMR k member
05-21-2010, 01:27 PM
#6
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
At this point, the car sat for a few years. Life got in the way. I moved a couple of times also. I'm just now getting back to working on it. Here are a couple of pics of how it sits now.
I recently painted the hatch and rear wing and installed them. I ordered a stock flat fiberglass hood from VFN (which should be here some time in June) and some new hood blisters from Hawks. So I will paint them both at the same time.
I recently painted the hatch and rear wing and installed them. I ordered a stock flat fiberglass hood from VFN (which should be here some time in June) and some new hood blisters from Hawks. So I will paint them both at the same time.
05-21-2010, 01:38 PM
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
The engine is currently a forged 347, g6x3 cam, 799 heads, crane rockers, fast 90/nw90, billet rails with 32# injectors. That's just to get me going for the time being. I plan to add a nice set of heads and more cubes. It'll do for now (money is super tight).
I also converted to a 6 speed with a textralia twin disc passing the power (don't have pics of that yet).
I also converted to a 6 speed with a textralia twin disc passing the power (don't have pics of that yet).
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05-21-2010, 01:41 PM
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
I have 14" cts-v front brakes (and will be adding the rears), that I will post pics of later. I also have coilovers on all 4 corners. The entire drivetrain is out at the moment, but I will be putting all that back in shortly. I'll post updates as I progress.
05-21-2010, 02:50 PM
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Car: 1989 IROC-Z, 1979 Malibu Classic
Engine: LSx 5.3
Transmission: MN12 6-speed, 4L60E
Axle/Gears: 4th gen 3.42
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
WOW! I wish I had the time and the money to do mine this way. Very nice job.
05-21-2010, 05:06 PM
#10
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Car: 92 Firebird
Engine: Supercharged 6.0
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 8.8 3.73
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Do you happen to live in Charlotte?
I picked some parts up for my swap from a guy who had a car that looked just like that. IIRC he had about 3 LS1s in his garage too
I picked some parts up for my swap from a guy who had a car that looked just like that. IIRC he had about 3 LS1s in his garage too
05-21-2010, 05:09 PM
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
What parts did you pick up? I live in Concord...and I've had quite a lot of stuff laying around, so it's possible 
.
.
05-21-2010, 05:23 PM
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
Engine: LQ9/L92
Transmission: 4L60E
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
man, i gotta clean the keyboard again. too much drool. awesome looking project, keep the progress (and pictures) coming!
05-21-2010, 05:45 PM
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Car: 1986 Pontiac Firebird
Engine: 97 LT1 W/ Alot of goodies.
Transmission: 4L60E W/ Yank SS3600
Axle/Gears: 3.27 9 Bolt BW
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Seriously jesus. Amazing work, Subscribed!
05-21-2010, 11:18 PM
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Car: 92 Firebird
Engine: Supercharged 6.0
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 8.8 3.73
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
What parts did you pick up? I live in Concord...and I've had quite a lot of stuff laying around, so it's possible
05-24-2010, 11:21 AM
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Car: Camaro
Engine: 6.2L
Transmission: T56
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
LOL I really can appreciate "life got in the way" man does that ever happen! Seems every time I think I have time and tear up a project... blam swamped with higher priorities.
Anyways looks awesome and VERY well done thus far. Hope the last push goes quickly for ya
Anyways looks awesome and VERY well done thus far. Hope the last push goes quickly for ya
06-12-2010, 04:21 PM
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Couple of small updates. I haven't had much time, and I've been waiting for parts. Here are a few pics of what I've been up to. Please excuse how dirty the car is. I can't roll it out to wash it (no rear end under it currently).
I mentioned earlier, but I didn't have a picture. My 14" CTS-V brakes, and koni coilovers.
The engine was out before, and I just got it back in last weekend. Here are a couple of shots of that.
After waiting 2 and a half months for VFN to build my hood, I finally got it. I didn't want anything crazy, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to look stock. So I went with a stock hood. Still unpainted obviously.
I mentioned I wanted to look stock, so since my car is a Z28, I bought the reproduction blisters from Hawks. I made a couple of templates out of cardboard to get my placement right.
After drilling my holes (which by the way was extremely hard to do. I did not like the idea of drilling 12 holes into my brand new VFN hood) I was able to fit my blisters. Now I figured they would need a little tweaking, but this is a little more than I had hoped. They were not curved to fit the hood. They were perfectly flat. I was disappointed in that regard. Hopefully there is enough material to sand down to make them fit properly. Judging by the depth of the indented part, it has me worried. Maybe someone from Hawks will read this and offer advice.
This was after lots of sanding.
When I paint the hood, I'll finish fitting the blisters. I have more work to do before I'm ready to paint.
Lastly, my carpet came in from the guys at 1Aauto. I still need to work on the fitment some, but you get the idea. I opted for the one without the cutout for the console. Mainly to keep things nice and neat. Once it's fitted to my liking, I'll cut the hole for the shifter to come through.
I mentioned earlier, but I didn't have a picture. My 14" CTS-V brakes, and koni coilovers.
The engine was out before, and I just got it back in last weekend. Here are a couple of shots of that.
After waiting 2 and a half months for VFN to build my hood, I finally got it. I didn't want anything crazy, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to look stock. So I went with a stock hood. Still unpainted obviously.
I mentioned I wanted to look stock, so since my car is a Z28, I bought the reproduction blisters from Hawks. I made a couple of templates out of cardboard to get my placement right.
After drilling my holes (which by the way was extremely hard to do. I did not like the idea of drilling 12 holes into my brand new VFN hood) I was able to fit my blisters. Now I figured they would need a little tweaking, but this is a little more than I had hoped. They were not curved to fit the hood. They were perfectly flat. I was disappointed in that regard. Hopefully there is enough material to sand down to make them fit properly. Judging by the depth of the indented part, it has me worried. Maybe someone from Hawks will read this and offer advice.
This was after lots of sanding.
When I paint the hood, I'll finish fitting the blisters. I have more work to do before I'm ready to paint.
Lastly, my carpet came in from the guys at 1Aauto. I still need to work on the fitment some, but you get the idea. I opted for the one without the cutout for the console. Mainly to keep things nice and neat. Once it's fitted to my liking, I'll cut the hole for the shifter to come through.
Last edited by fast377; 08-28-2010 at 07:55 AM.
06-15-2010, 12:59 PM
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Car: 87 IROC-Z
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Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
great build i saw the a.c ducting are you planning on doing ac?
i like my ctsv brakes.. but i need a proportioning valve to balance out the brake system.
i like my ctsv brakes.. but i need a proportioning valve to balance out the brake system.
06-15-2010, 01:57 PM
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Car: 1991 Z28 convertible built 3/1/1990
Engine: Cammed 6.0L LSX
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: custom Ford 8.8", 4.10 gears
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
That really sucks about the blisters. I haven't seen anyone having that problem before, but I guess I never really paid attention to who's using those aftermarket ones anyways.
06-15-2010, 08:58 PM
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Yea, it really sucks. I don't know if I can even get them to fit properly. They need a rather large section removed from the middle, and Hawks didn't leave enough meat to trim down. I'm already sanding on the back side of where the "grills" would go. I would have tried to modify my oem ones if I knew they were going to be this bad. Of course, I sold my oem ones knowing they wouldn't fit a flat hood without modification...hence me buying the Hawks pieces.
06-15-2010, 11:13 PM
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06-17-2010, 08:49 AM
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Car: 1988 Iroc
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Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Amazing work! In the process of gathering parts for my LSx swap. Subscribed.
Did you really need to bondo the whole door? was it that bad?
Did you really need to bondo the whole door? was it that bad?
06-17-2010, 09:16 AM
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Let me give you a quick lesson in body work. Metal is naturally wavy. That wavyness is extremely fine, but noticeable once painted...especially black. The only way to make your finish look like glass, is to cover the panel with a skim coat of body filler and block it down. 98% of that filler will be sanded away. Only the low spots of the natural wavyness will have body filler. And the filler that's left is only a couple thousandths thick. So anywhere on my car you see body filler, it is only as thick as a sheet of paper. All the metal was hammered straight and welded where it was needed.
06-17-2010, 10:10 AM
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Car: 1988 Iroc
Engine: 5.7L
Transmission: '96 T56, Hurst Shifter, Mech VSS
Axle/Gears: 3.45 9 Bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Let me give you a quick lesson in body work. Metal is naturally wavy. That wavyness is extremely fine, but noticeable once painted...especially black. The only way to make your finish look like glass, is to cover the panel with a skim coat of body filler and block it down. 98% of that filler will be sanded away. Only the low spots of the natural wavyness will have body filler. And the filler that's left is only a couple thousandths thick. So anywhere on my car you see body filler, it is only as thick as a sheet of paper. All the metal was hammered straight and welded where it was needed.
06-17-2010, 10:25 AM
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Car: 92 rs camaro
Engine: planning bbc
Transmission: planing t56
Axle/Gears: planing moser 12 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
hey evrybody been a long time sence i posted but i had to say great job on this one soo glad u didnt just rebuild the dore out of bondo lol ( seen it done before) looks realy great good luck with the hood it looks like a pain in the @@@ but worth it i too cant stand the flat hoods
06-17-2010, 01:49 PM
#32
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Car: 1986 Pontiac Firebird
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Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
I don't think he took he took it the wrong way, Since he said/thought you used Bondo after all. 
Amazing job 377, maybe one day....
Amazing job 377, maybe one day....
06-18-2010, 12:41 AM
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Car: 1991 Camaro Z28
Engine: 2002 SS LS1
Transmission: 6 speed
Axle/Gears: Auburn 3.42
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Sick ride man! 2 questions, will those fuel rails fit an LS6 manifold? And was there allot of mod to get the CTS brakes to fit your car? And where did you get them? Cant wait to see your car when its done!
06-18-2010, 02:36 AM
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Car: 92 rs camaro
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Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
just realized ur doin almost the same thing i want to life is currently waaaayyyyy in the way for me though project will be on hold for a couple of months 
06-18-2010, 02:19 PM
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Car: 1991 Z-28
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Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Really nice work bro. You've got a lot of man hours invested in that Z and it shows. I do have a question for ya though. If you wanted to blisters on hood, why didn't you purchase an Iroc/Z-28 hood instead of the flat hood? Not trying to bust your ***** or anything....Im just curious.
06-18-2010, 07:29 PM
#36
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Really nice work bro. You've got a lot of man hours invested in that Z and it shows. I do have a question for ya though. If you wanted to blisters on hood, why didn't you purchase an Iroc/Z-28 hood instead of the flat hood? Not trying to bust your ***** or anything....Im just curious.
. And there was no way I was putting that 100# stock steel hood back on. I'm hoping to tip the scales well under 3000#. Last edited by fast377; 10-24-2010 at 08:04 AM.
10-24-2010, 08:08 AM
#37
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Here is a quick startup video (quality might suck as I was having trouble uploading it to photobucket and it was just a digital camera). I just got it running, so it's just a baseline tune. Once I dial it in more, idle will be a little more choppy. Plus, I just have some turndowns crammed into my mufflers...I can't decide on tips, so I haven't put any on yet. Just click the pic.
CLICK THE PIC FOR VID
CLICK THE PIC FOR VID
Last edited by fast377; 10-25-2010 at 04:14 PM.
10-24-2010, 09:39 AM
#38
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Hey fast377, very nice build. I had a question on the blisters. Did you ever get them to fit. The reason I ask is, I think the stock hoods have an indention that the blisters sit in. Is that not right? So, if Hawks was making a repo for those hoods they would not need to match the curvein a stock flat hood. Just a thought.
10-24-2010, 01:56 PM
#39
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Hey fast377, very nice build. I had a question on the blisters. Did you ever get them to fit. The reason I ask is, I think the stock hoods have an indention that the blisters sit in. Is that not right? So, if Hawks was making a repo for those hoods they would not need to match the curvein a stock flat hood. Just a thought.
To answer your question, no, I never finished fitting them. I don't think I'm going to either. The hood is the only piece of body work left to be painted, so I'm thinking I'm going to just fix the holes and paint it.
11-04-2010, 08:28 AM
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Car: 1991 camaro RS
Engine: currently swapping 5.3
Transmission: 4l60e
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Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
what headers are you running?? are they the ones from the hawks/youngs website. thanks man, your project looks amazing, i wish i would have done the newer dash swap...
11-04-2010, 03:30 PM
#42
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Thanks! I ended up making my own headers. My car sits so low, I was afraid the Hawks were going to hang too low. Now that I have my duals installed, I might have been okay with the Hawks. I might break down and buy some to try eventually, but I'm happy with what I have at the moment.
11-04-2010, 07:46 PM
#43
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Car: 1991 RS
Engine: L03
Transmission: T5
Axle/Gears: 4.11
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
I would love to see how you build your headers as that is something I am interested in learning about.
11-05-2010, 06:10 AM
#44
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
Cut and weld, cut and weld, cut and weld. It's very time consuming. I didn't have all the equipment I really needed when I did mine, but they came out okay. I'll probably end up making another set eventually.
03-27-2011, 02:31 PM
#45
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Car: 91 Z28
Engine: LS1
Transmission: t-56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 4th gen 10 bolt
Re: 91 Z28 LS1 T56 swap
One small update...finally. I've had so little free time, I haven't taken the cover off the car in months. My new wheels finally came in. Thought I would post a quick teaser pic.
03-27-2011, 03:36 PM
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03-27-2011, 03:41 PM
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