five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Since I've broken everything else, I'm going to try to get Berlinetta #1 back running again before August 27th (the next points race where I have to run 13.99 or quicker at 5800' elevation).

Situation:
- Berlinetta #1 ZZ3-clone/TH700 pulled and sold.
- Berlinetta #2 with LS1/T56 has broken Trak Pak, which damaged the driveshaft and probably the transmission output shaft (can't get yoke out of transmission, has started dripping tranny fluid, which it didn't do before). Need to figure out a better TA mount than the swinging unit that came on the Quick Performance 9" housing, and fix the driveshaft and whatever is wrong with the tranny before it will be back in action. It has already seen action in the 13.99-quicker class, but I don't trust being able to get it running in time.
- '57 Bel Air 396 spun a rod bearing and has a cracked TH400 bell housing. I've sold the 396 long block, carb, and intake. The LQ4/4L80E that is supposed to go in it needs completely going through, and more parts (like the parts to complete the L92 heads, 90mm TB, either water pump that works with the L76 intake & truck alternator or all f-body accessories, H8 oil pan if the LQ4 pan doesn't work in the shoebox).

So, Berlinetta #1 gets the 2000 Camaro LS1/4L60E that I've had since December.

What's left to do:
- Pull 853 heads, install shaved 317 heads. Have Cometic head gaskets, new ARP head bolts on the way.
- Install Melling oil pump (in the same box as the head bolts).
- Install shift kit and 3000 stall converter in transmission (have converter, shift kit in same box as head bolts).
- Drop fuel tank, exchange for the tank that came out of Berlinetta #2 (California car, tank in better shape). Have a TPI pick-up into which a Walbro 255 pump will be installed (the pump is in the same box as the head bolts). Plan on grafting in a Vette filter/reg (still need to get the filter & fittings).
- I'm going to assume the K-member needs to be notched for the oil pan. No reason to get that far and discover I have to do it anyway (limited garage space these days with three cars dead). I'm using swap mount plates on this one (not using 4th gen AC compressor), so I don't have to pull the chassis-side engine mounts.
- Will be using Hawks swap transmission crossmember and adjustable BMR torque arm - just ordered today.
- To expedite (and preserve current funds), I'm going to pull the coated Hawks LT headers from #2 and install them in #1. Will need a custom Y-pipe fabricated to mate with the existing 3" cat back (w/Magnaflow single in/out muffler).
- When the tank is dropped, the rear will head over to the drivetrain shop for install of Auburn posi and 3.73 gears (already have 28 spline aftermarket axles and aluminum support cover).
- Driveshaft loop from Jegs on the way (type that bolts to the floor pan, is made to go around TA on one side and leave room for exhaust on the other).
- PCM has been shipped to Spareecm for reprogramming. Should be back next week.
- This engine/trans dropout came with the fuse/relay box. Will need to wire it in along with the usual chassis connect wires.
- Need to decide whether to use the 3rd gen aluminum driveshaft, or get a 3" DOM shaft fabricated.
- Will also steal the MSD 2-step from the #2 car and wire it into the brake on this car.
- Still need a bunch of little things like throttle cable, radiator hoses, intake hoses (got them from intakehoses.com for #2, will probably duplicate), air cleaner, radiator fan wire connectors. I will probably do without speedo for now (need electronic to cable drive box), unless funds become available. Have a 145 mph cluster that needs the trip odometer repair, will eventually use that.

I am going to bow out of Pinks All Out this weekend and Super Chevy next weekend to try to get this done.

Another motivation to get this car running rather than fix #2 is to finish out the racing season with an automatic car. Last weekend I qualified for the NHRA Division 5 finals in Topeka in mid-September, and I'd really prefer having an automatic car to run there.

I'll get started back on #2 after this car is running and reliable, in hopes of having it back together next spring. Will also start working on the LQ4/4L80E.

3.1EyeCandy

iTrader: (3)

That's alot in not alot of time. Better get started now, time's a wastin'!

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Had a meeting to go to this evening, but do plan on being in the garage starting tomorrow evening.

Falconiroc

Looks like you've got quite a bit of work in front of you, but it also looks like you've got things figured out too. I hope you get back on the list soon!

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I have evenings the rest of the week, all day Saturday, and Sunday afternoon to work on it. Meeting next Monday evening, rest of the evenings free, all day Friday and Saturday next weekend off. If I'm close by then, the remaining evenings the week of the 27th should finish it up.

I may leave off things like the AC/heater to speed things up. The radiator fan mounting may turn out "interesting".

One hitch is I have to have mufflers for the race on the 27th. Getting it into the shop for the y-pipe may be a challenge.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Got the rear end out this evening. Will drop it off at the shop tomorrow for the new posi and 3.73 gear install. Kind of disturbing when you have to cut things off of your car (couldn't unbolt the sway bar links, too much rust).

I started pulling the exhaust off of #2 last night and said, "This is stupid". I added 1-3/4" x 2.5" LT to my Hawks order this morning. Shipped this afternoon, should be here next Tuesday.

The boxes from Jegs (driveshaft safety loop) and Summit (Walbro fuel pump, ARP head bolts, Transgo shift kit, and Melling oil pump) arrived today.

Next is the stuff to get to before the engine/transmission are ready to go - old ECM harness out, fuel lines removed, fuel tank changed out, notching the K-member for the oil pan, etc.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Got the tank out, installed the new pump in the other tank (the one that came out of Berlinetta #2) with an EFI pick-up from a TGO member, reinstalled the tank. Rewired the EFI pick-up to the non-EFI chassis - borrowed an unused wire that ran to the back of the car (used to have back window wiper) for the pump power, just extended the fuel level sender wires to the original wires. Picked up a Vette fuel filter (2 stores didn't have it and no longer stock it - O'Reilly's had the Wix 33737). Now need a fuel hose "repair" line to attach to the pump outlet on the pick-up, supposed to be here Monday. Also need the Russell fittings that go to the filter (the local speed shop will most likely have it). Actually, I already have the 5/16" fitting, the LS1 tank that went into #2 had 3/8" for the supply and return, I got one 3/8" and one 5/16" because everyone said that's what it would have; so rather than try to return the 5/16", I just kept it. Now I'll be able to use it.

Pulled the old ECM and its wiring out. Got started on pulling other engine bay wiring that won't be used (like the vapor lock cooling fan, remote starter solenoid).

Hope to get more of the engine bay wiring sorted out tomorrow. I'll probably pull the HVAC housing as well.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Pretty much removed all of the wiring from the engine compartment that won't be used. Interesting project. This had a lot more than the #2 did, primarily from the electric radiator fan and knock sensor.

The "repair" fuel line came in, picked it up. I was considering working on that first, but decided I needed all of the filter fittings before tackling that. Perhaps next session.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I think I've identified everything I need for the fuel system, but one fitting won't be here until tomorrow. The rear end should be done tomorrow as well, so I'll work on those - tomorrow!

The engine compartment is ready for the engine except for the K-member notching for the oil pan, which I'm planning on doing this evening. Hopefully I know enough what I'm doing this time so I can get it done in a couple of hours. I took the HVAC housing out last night, so it'll be out of the way for the rest of the work.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I got the K-member notch done, need to finish the brake line routing and mounting. I have all of the fuel system parts now, just need to finish installing them.

The rear end shop ran into a snag trying to harvest the posi out of the 10-bolt I originally had in Berlinetta #2 with the LS1/T56, so he's getting a new unit for this car. Should be ready this afternoon or Monday.

I have the day off, so after getting the brake lines and fuel system done and exhaust reinstalled, I'm going to pick up the engine/trans from the storage unit and start on the heads/oil pump/shift kit/converter install. If all goes well, it should be ready to stab tomorrow.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

The shop got the rear done, so it's in. Still need to install brakes, and a new swaybar is on the way. Didn't get to the brake line rerouting in the engine compartment, or the final fitting on the fuel line.

This is the closest these two have ever been to each other.




I realized this evening that I didn't get the IAT, so I need to find one.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Come to think of it, I don't recall having a MAF, either.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Must have been late. I do have the MAF.

Picked up an IAT from O'Reilly's. I'm starting to like their change from Checker - a lot better stock, good brands, good prices, etc.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

This drop-out included more of the chassis harness than I'm used to.




I'll be using the fuse relay box(es), but there are a bunch of things I won't need as part of them, so I'll have to sort all that out. Should be easier still than starting from scratch with a swap fuse relay box like I did with the LS1/T56.

Oh, the time pressure probably just got relieved. I asked on Facebook (tongue in cheek) if anyone had a 10.50-13.99 car they'd loan me on the 27th, and a fellow racer said, "Sure, we were going to park our car at the track on Friday night and come back on Saturday to race, so it would much rather go down the track Friday night than sit in the parking lot." I called them up, they were serious! So, that gives me another week to get this done. (Actually got two offers, but one was a 'Stang...)

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Got the rear brakes installed. Spent a good bit of time rerouting the brake lines in the engine compartment (mostly to relocate the line lock and properly mount it on the strut tower, but also getting the line routed around the new notch in the K-member). Getting the stock fuel line rerouted and flared for the male quick disconnect was also more of a chore than anticipated (a bunch of straightening and dressing to get the flare sleeve to go down the tube far enough to get the flare tool clamped on the line).

That should get the car pretty much ready for the engine/trans, so I started in on the engine upgrades (heads, oil pump) when I was stopped in my tracks by what is recorded here: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...traighten.html

I think it's surmountable, but just another setback in a series of unfortunate events.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Well, got the engine torn down as far as necessary, and started putting it back together. Got the cam, timing set, oil pump, front cover, oil pan, and damper put back on. Tomorrow, hopefully heads et al. Then on to the transmission shift kit, and the engine/trans should be ready to be stabbed.

Still a bunch to go, but at least things are (mostly) going back together now.

BlueMagicSS

Nice to see it coming along.... somewhat decently at least... minus the pushrod

Awesome-X

The pushrod came out of the motor he took out irc. You've only got 2 days left though! Better get on it!

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

You must have missed this:

I've now had a total of 4 offers, but I'll be going with the first, a '68 Camaro, 383, runs low 12's up here.

The pushrod and lifter issues have been resolved. The cam lobe was a little scuffed, I took a diamond stone to it and removed the raised material. Not ideal, but the lobe pattern wasn't seriously affected, and the roller should glide over that spot. I got a new lifter to put back in, and stole a lifter guide and pushrod from the LQ4 that eventually will go in the '57.

Tonight, hopefully, the lifters will go back in, and the heads will go back on. Might get as far as getting the longblock buttoned up. I think I'll wait to install the intake until after the engine/trans are in the car.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Oh, one curious thing - the Felpro timing cover gasket kit had two cover gaskets in it, stuck together. I couldn't see a difference, and it seemed to go together just fine with just one of them. Buy a front seal, and I'll have enough parts to do the front cover on the LQ4...

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

sounds like you got something positive finally, those front cover gaskets are pricey for sure. Wish my gasket kits came with extra items.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

It came with both reusable and paper water pump gaskets, and both types of oil pump pick-up o-rings as well!

Since the Melling oil pump came with both o-ring types, I've got the oil pump pick-up o-rings covered.

gearheads78

What are you doing posting in here? Shouldn't you be out working?

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I got an email that someone had responded in my post.

Back out to the garage...

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Heads are on. Valve train geometry is just fine. Will finish putting the engine back together Saturday, hopefully get the shift kit in the tranny, then maybe stab it Sunday afternoon. THEN the wiring and little things.

For now, bed. Then a few hours of work. Take off after lunch, go racing Friday evening in the borrowed car.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Nothing done on the car Friday, went racing in the borrowed car. Points leader went out first round, I won two rounds before going out, moved up basically even with him (he has one bonus point on me - the same margin by which I won the season championship in another class). Two more races to go in that class, the next one on the 10th.

After lunch on Friday, the truck wouldn't start. Had to call my son and have him tow me home with his S10. Diagnosis indicated the lift pump was failing ('95 C2500 HD 6.5 TD), so Saturday I had to spend time fixing that. Of course, it was due for an oil change, so did that as well. It was 5 p.m. before I got back to the Camaro.

On the agenda Saturday was:




I don't know about you, but I find this intimidating:



The fuzzy picture, taken to help upon reassembly if required, didn't help any. The instructions weren't as detailed as I remember the TH700 kit being, but I got through it. The worst moment was when it looked similar to the photo above at reassembly - I bumped the plate while positioning the valve body and all the check ***** went tumbling. I saw at least one fall into the case, and a couple more fall on the floor and roll. With my heart in my throat, I retrieved the ones I could see, found one less on the floor than I thought I had seen go rolling, and didn't have any choice but to turn the transmission over to find the one(s) that had fallen down in the case. Along with a bunch of tranny fluid, there was a ball on the floor when I turned the case back upside down, and a sponge count showed the proper number of ***** were accounted for. A little fluid clean up on Aisle 1, putting a dab of grease down to hold the ***** in place this time, and it finally went back together. One partial disassembly to get a forgotten plate installed, then another to realign the valve body plate and gaskets, and the valve body was snugged down. The kit didn't give torque values, and neither did the 4th gen Haynes Camaro manual, so I hope the TH700 numbers from my Haynes GM transmission book is close enough.

Then the new torque converter (sorry, forgot to take a pic) was slipped into place after getting a quart's worth of ATF, and at about 1 a.m., it looked like this:




Sunday I worked on removing unnecessary wires from the engine/trans harness (only did the rear O2's for now), partially connected and draped the harness over the engine, and lifted it to the engine bay. Had some issues aligning the front mounts (I have concluded that while the swap plates may put the mounts in the correct place longitudinally, it is impossible to get the correct width with them). I had to take a hammer to my K-member notch in one spot - in hindsight, I measured the notch on the LS1/T56 "Berlinetta #2" and cut that width, then welded plates in - which left it slightly narrow.

But, it's sitting in the engine compartment now. I need to tweak the front mounts to get the long bolts all the way through. The tranny is just being held up with a floor jack for now, but a quick check of the Hawks double hump crossmember indicates it will work fine. I'm going to have a heavy duty steel driveshaft fabricated for it, a fit check of the 3rd gen aluminum driveshaft indicated an inch longer would be better (I don't trust the small aluminum factory shaft, anyway).

I can't find the transmission dip stick. I'm not sure now I even got it - probably did, but I can't find it in the mess that is the storage unit. Hopefully a local junkyard will have one.

Still a bunch of work left - headers install, cooling system, chassis wiring, rear sway bar, intake, etc. But, I'm going to take half a day off today to keep working on it. Really need to have it started and checked out by Thursday.

Atilla the Fun

Before you go any farther, is the trans from a Z28? If it's from a truck, even a 6.0 truck, it won't have the "'vette" servo in it. If it's from a Z28, it will. Be sure to add a 'vette servo if it's from a 2wd pickup, it's under $20 delivered, and very well worth it.
Billet servos with stock converters are virtually guaranteed to break stuff, right away. If it's a 4400-stall, you may need a billet servo just to fix the feel of the 1-2 upshift.
Also, be sure that whoever tunes your PCM knows you did the trans-go kit. I have a TCI billet servo if you're interested.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Both the engine and transmission came from a 2000 Z28. It's been a few years since I did the TH700 kit, but the servo looked the same as the Vette servo I did in it. The converter is supposed to stall around 3000 RPMs. It is a small, 9.5"-ish type, not a restalled full-size stock type.

The PCM tuner knew everything I was doing.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Found the tranny dipstick & tube. Locking, even.

Now to get out there and get something done...

Jaysz28

iTrader: (30)

Impressive amount of work in a such a short time span....

congrats!

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Thanks. It still seems monumental.

I got the engine mounts sorted out, then wrapped the fuel and brake line that go by the driver side header before installing the headers. Of course, after getting the bolts through the engine mounts, I had to pull the driver side back out again to lift the engine to get that side header in. The other side went in without lifting the engine. I set the intake on the engine and started attaching things that will be hard to reach after it is bolted down. The transmission dipstick was a challenge to insert with the engine in the car, but managed. It was one of those things that needed to go in before the intake, but couldn't be bolted down until after the intake was set in place because it goes over the top of the intake.

The rear crossmember is on except for one of the rear bolts (82's didn't have the rear bolts). I wasn't happy with the nut/washer I had been using with the TH700 (also happened to be SAE), looked through my bucket of bolts for a metric nut to fit bolts the same size as factory - spent too much time doing that because I only found one and I'll have to go to Ace tomorrow anyway to get another. I'm taking a piece of 3/16" x 1.5" steel strap about 2" long, drilling a hole in it, welding the nut to it, and feeding it up into the frame channel for those rear crossmember bolts. Should hold better than the fender shims I tried to use before.

I did the BMR torque arm tranny mount bushing before the crossmember, because you have to drop the back of the tranny to get the TA mount off. Getting the stock bushing out and the BMR bushing in took a lot more time than I would have liked. I had to trim the BMR bushing to get it to fit properly (didn't expect to have to do that). Attached the B&M shifter cable, that seemed to work out smoothly. I left the TA rear bolts on the old TA, which is in the storage unit, so I'll have to pick them up tomorrow to finish installing the TA. Also have a "new" rear sway bar to mount, and need to fill the diff with gear lube.

Haven't started on the chassis-side wiring yet. Need to find the fuel pump power wire, ignition signal, and I think that's about it to the fuse/relay box and get rid of the rest of the wires (everything else that is needed plugs into the engine harness directly). It still had the radiator fan connectors, which was nice. Install spark plugs. Install temperature sensor and sender, oil pressure sender (I'm reusing the 3rd gen unit to keep it simple), O2 sensors, starter, alternator, and basically plug in all of the engine wiring. Reinstall the brake master cylinder and bleed the brakes.

Boy, still seems like a lot left to do in just 3 more evenings.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Amazing how long it can take to get out to the garage after leaving work...

Got a call from the drivetrain shop that the driveshaft is ready. But, I was almost home when they called, and didn't want to drive the route required to get to their shop at that time of day, so I'll pick it up Wednesday.

Got the torque arm bolts and another nut for the tranny crossmember, got those done. Had to tweak the routing of the fuel line and rear brake line again. Final adjustment of the torque arm when the driveshaft is installed. Filled the diff with gear lube. Mounted the rear sway bar.

Installed the O2 sensors and starter. Couldn't find the brake booster vacuum line, so had to rig up hoses to do that (nipple on the intake is bigger than the nipple on the check valve). Couldn't find the fuel line, either, pretty sure I didn't get that with the engine, but I got a lot of extra stuff with the LQ4, so I'm going to fashion a line from that stuff. Found some exhaust bends with expanded ends that after being cut made nice collector turn-downs until I can get the exhaust finished up by the shop. Torqued down the intake manifold.

Took a quick look at the chassis harness stuff and discovered one of the fuse/relay boxes was missing the relays - you know, ignition, fuel pump, nothing "important". Good news is they are readily available at O'Reilly's. Now need to figure out which wire(s) tells the system the ignition is on (did find the fuel pump power out wire).

It's late. I need to get some sleep. Much left to do.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

T-2 days.

Picked up the driveshaft, installed it, finished setting the pinion angle. Spent more time than I wanted mounting the driveshaft loop. I made plates for the mount bolts from 3/16" x 2" plate, matched drilled to the loop mount bolt holes, welded the bolts to the plates, put them inside the car (under the seats) with the bolts sticking down. If I ever need to take out the loop, I don't have to take the seats out again (and I didn't have to have someone inside the car holding the bolts while tightening the nuts).

Pretty much got the rest of the mechanical stuff done, except the chassis to fuel rail fuel line, brake MC, heater box, and radiator. Still have the wiring to do, have it mapped out in my head. Main thing to figure out still is the ignition signal to the fuse/relay box. I'm going to steal the air intake stuff from the LS1/T56 car so I don't have to spend the time to fabricate that. I also got an aftermarket tach in case the signal wasn't enough to drive the factory 3rd gen tach - don't want to have to fiddle with a booster wire in the short time left to get this done.

I got an Auto Meter M12 to 1/8NPT adapter for the temp gage sender. When I went to put the sender in the adapter, it wouldn't go in. For some reason the adapter wasn't drilled out sufficiently. Hope I didn't thin the walls out too much, but I got the same adapter for the LS1/T56, and it worked fine. Weird.

Note to self: Don't forget to add gas, engine oil and ATF before you try to turn the engine over.

I expect to get most of it done Thursday evening, but since I have open headers, I don't think I'd better try to start it until Friday morning. I'm picking up a trailer tomorrow afternoon to haul it to the track. The events at the track start Friday morning, but if I can get there by the afternoon and make a couple of passes down the track, I'll be happy. The points races are on Saturday, and they give you two time trials per class, so even if I miss all of Friday, it won't be the end of the world.

Time to get a little sleep.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

T-1 day.

This isn't what you want to see when you step out into the garage one day before a big race:




I guess the cell phone camera focused on the near objects, but you can see there is still a lot missing.




Made progress. Got the cables attached to the starter and alternator. Bled the brakes. Then started on the fuse/relay boxes and chassis harness.

Remember this? The part in front of the engine, the chassis-side harness and fuse/relay boxes:




After about an hour and a half of unwrapping, sorting, cutting, and threading, it was down to this:




I didn't get a pic of it, but the weird box actually tucked into the drive side front corner of the engine compartment pretty well. Have the branches wrapped, but need to get some of that corrugated split sleeve stuff that's smaller than what was taken off. Routing the branch over to the PCM harness is still one piece that I need to decide on, but I think under the radiator fans will be the easiest and cleanest.

Oh, the ignition signal wires turned out to be those pink ones on the right.

Still need to shorten the chassis power wires (the ones that went to the starter with the fuseable links - I'm taking them directly to the fuse/relay box battery cable connection), ignition wire, and splice together the 3rd gen and LS1 start wires. Connect the coolant temp gauge wire, tach wire, ground wires (fuse box and engine ground strap), and fuel pump power wires. Install the radiator, fan & hoses, mount & wire the aftermarket tach, reinstall the instrument cluster, heater box, and battery.

I did put in the engine oil, but still need to fill the tranny and get some gas.

Going to bed earlier tonight, get up and try to finish it up tomorrow. Not sure we'll make it to the track Friday, but should be no doubt for Saturday. If nothing else, get it to the track so I can drive it around without worrying about getting a ticket...

If you don't see an update tomorrow, it means it either didn't work, or I'm out at the track.

Jaysz28

iTrader: (30)

Good luck man..... wish I could've plowed through my wiring that quickly!

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I haven't done the brake light switch or OBD II connector, and don't have anything set up for the speedometer. There is still more work to do after this.

And now I need to get out there and finish the part that needs to be done to get it running.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

T-0 day. Launch delayed 24 hours.

Finished up the wiring and what seemed like a dozen other things that cropped up - like putting in power steering fluid.

I picked up the famous Ford lower rad hose like I did for the LS1/T56 - couldn't get that thing to fit for nuthin'. Decided to get a universal, the guy at Advance Auto wanted to find a molded one that would work. He must have spent 15-20 minutes looking through their hoses, comparing it to the 4th gen hose, until we decided on this:




Which is this Dayco p/n:



After trimming like this...




It fit like this:




Doesn't hit anything, isn't kinked, doesn't require clamping it down one size (you do cut off one end that is oversized).

I decided not to hook up the aftermarket tach. Couldn't find a decent place to mount it, and it doesn't tilt. I was going to put it under the center dash A/C outlets, but it was at an odd angle. So, we just hooked up the stock in-dash tach.

Then it was time to install the battery, and I didn't like the way the cables and C10x harnesses were routed, so disconnected and redid those (which included draining the radiator down a little). When the ground cable was connected, there were small sparks (the park lights were on), but no smoke. So, it was time to give it a try. It turned over, but didn't catch. I didn't hear the fuel pump come on, so I checked the fuses and relay - might have had the relay in backwards, after identifying the power and load terminals in the box, and the corresponding terminals on the relay, put it in properly. Still no pump. So, I hot wired the pump, and it came right on and built up pressure. Tried to start the engine again, still wouldn't catch. Then noticed we had fuel leaking at the filter and the chassis-to-engine hose disconnect, so had to spend time fixing those (another story - too long for now). As we were about to try again, I noticed that I had forgotten to hook the C10x connectors again - !

Put the fuel pump power back to "normal" with the fuse/relay box, turned on the key, and the pump came on for a couple of seconds then stopped - perfect. And, no leaks. So, tried again, it caught and sputtered, was clearly only running on 4 cylinders. Turned it off, the left bank wasn't firing. Figured it had to be a common thing to those 4 cylinders only, pulled the Inj 1 fuse, checked it out, it was fine - tried again, and it was hitting on all 8. Finally!

I checked tranny fluid and added some, ran it through the gears (it was still up on 4 jack stands). Everything seemed to be working, including the radiator fans, so I added crankcase flush and ran it at idle for about 25 minutes total. It seemed to sputter when letting off the gas going back to idle, especially in park/neutral, not sure what that is. But, it sounded pretty good. There was a bit of a tap before I put the flush in, but haven't heard it since. Oh, the tach doesn't work, and the temp gauge seems to read high. Drained the oil and pulled the filter, went in to eat dinner. Finished the oil change, hooked up the 2-step, realized I hadn't put the nuts back on the left tail light when I ran the fuel pump power wire, several little things like that.

I tried to take a video with my cell phone, but the sound is clipped (open headers, cheap video camera).

So, off to bed for as much sleep as I can afford. Gates open at 8 a.m. at the track. I'll get 6 time trials, and I'm sure I'll need every one.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Made it to the track. It has an idle issue after the RPMs have been up. Died on me several times, almost every time after the burn out. Worst was in the first round of the "Pro" class - I turned on the top bulb along with the other racer, and it died. I thought sure she was going to stage and I would get timed out, but I managed to get it back in neutral to start it, then back into first to stage before she staged, kept it running, and stalled up. But, my light was horrible, the car slowed down, and I lost.

I made it through the first round of the other two classes, it slowed down in the 2nd round of the first of the other two (against a "rival", no less, had it not slowed he would have broken out). In the 2nd round of the remaining class, I added time, the other guy wasn't catching me, I wasn't sure if I was running a lot quicker again, so I slowed down - too much, and let him back around me. It would have only been .01 sec faster based on the 1000' (of course, he red lit the next round, and his car slowed even more).

So, what did it run? Started off with 13.6's @ 101 with a 15 MPH head wind, got better as I learned how to stage and launch it down to a 13.41 @ 102 MPH. Later the wind died down and it pulled off a 13.34 @ 103. That translates to 12.37 @ 111 at sea level. Best 60' was 1.980 on the 26-9.50x14 Hoosier Quick Time Pros at 16 psi.

dynodanmanda79

iTrader: (1)

Great find on the hose man! The application for that hose appears to be a lower radiator hose for a 1987-2001 Jeep Cherokee with a 4.0 L6.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

It would seem that different hose manufacturers can get to the same places by different routes (at least the Ford hoses have been that way). If the application works with a different brand of hose, that's great. But, I found even the same brand & p/n of the Ford hose worked on one car, but 6 months later, wouldn't work on the 2nd.

Hopefully this will work out for more people.

dynodanmanda79

iTrader: (1)

Here's where I found out the 71321 hose applicaion:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DA...n/?prefilter=1

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

A company manufactures a hose to fit a specific application. Since we're cutting off the only parts of the hose that need to meet any standards then its a crap shoot

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Well, there is also routing (things to miss), but, you're right.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

wow, how did i miss this? i guess because i have been spending so much time in the shop trying to get mine back together...

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I don't know...

Thanks for the head gaskets, by the way. Seem to be doing just fine. I went ahead and used ARP head bolts, non-torque-to-yield.

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

How'd you like the MSL stuff?

I was surprised how easy it was to clean up the surfaces compared to that graphite crap. I do think they should rename them MLRB's though(multilayer razor blades)

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

The LQ4 had the multi-layer head gaskets, so I expected them to be there when I pulled the heads off this LS1. I realized through reading other posts that it wouldn't have them. I didn't have too much trouble cleaning off the block, but the LQ4 hardly had anything on it to scrape off (haven't really gotten to it yet, though).

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

man that's great. i'm glad they worked out for ya. i love mine, and the arp's make dissassembly and reassembly a breeze. the gaskets and bolts paid for themselves the first time i pulled the heads back off.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I appear to have a slight leak somewhere at the rear of the engine. Not sure where it's coming from, but it seems to be at the corners of the oil pan and bellhousing. I noticed a drip from the right side only when I first started it up, but it appeared to stop. Last night I ran some flush through and changed the oil/filter, and the puddle was a bit larger. It was probably worse with the thinning effect of the flush, but I'll have to keep an eye on it this weekend in Topeka - don't want to be black flagged for an oil drip (it's still less than the ZZ3 or the 396 always leaked, so I'll probably be fine).

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

Hopefully not the RMS

Did you mess with the oil sender on the rear china wall? Both Nick and I forgot to torque them down and coated our new pans with oil