Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

Here ya go.

http://www.pstds.com/custom_driveshafts.htm

"For high horesepower applications 1200+."

"Passed SFI test at 2800 Ft/lbs torque."

Everything you'll need is there. Mild steel, aluminum, chromoly, carbon fiber driveshafts. Reasonable prices too.

commguy

Dude, you're awesome. That was exactly what I was looking for.

I know this project has been all talk no walk, all show no go, insert your favorite "no progress' metaphor. but after a lot of planning and even more waiting, I'm finally getting the body and interior stripped down. I'll definatly have some pictures soon.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

Thanks man.

It's not all show no go, builds just take time. I'm way behind schedule. I've mentioned that I was going to have my IROC painted by now, but the engine is not even rebuilt yet.

I only have a little less than 2 grand put away, and here's my shopping list:

Eagle rotating assembly # 12011 6.000 H-Beam 10.52 C/R - $1,781.

Dart 11721143P - Dart Pro 1 Aluminum Cylinder Heads - $818.95 EACH.

Corbeau CR1's $399 each + seat brackets for 82-92 Camaros at $89 each.

Duraflex SS hood - $359.

VFN Fiberglass doors - $604/pair.

VFN Fiberglass 1 piece dash - $279.

Fiberglass fenders from UP are around $400 (I think).

I decided to keep my costs down by keeping my 700R4, and actually studying up on automatic transmissions. I wanted to swap to a T-56 due to my lack of knowledge on automatic transmissions in general.

Anyway.. List continuing.

Bowtie Overdrives 3,200 RPM stall torque converter - $569.

BMW Jet Black paint code "668" - $347 per gallon. I estimate that a professional painter will need a bit over a gallon to lay down three coats. Then there's the primer, and PPG clearcoat which is also pretty pricey.

Then there's my interior. I'm going to be wiring my ignition, fuel pump, horn button, and fog lights all to a Moroso rocker switch or toggle panel, that also has a push button start. The reason for this is that I'm not restoring my interior to stock. I'm using a lightweight 1 piece fiberglass dash, and I don't want 10 pounds of wires hanging off of it. So, I'm mounting nearly all of the wiring to the end of the transmission tunnel, and wiring it to a switch panel.

I'm also replacing every single interior piece with 20 gauge aluminum sheet metal. I don't want to fool around with flimsy plastic and carpet interior panels, but I want a "finished" look.

I've got a huge project ahead of me, and hope to be done halfway through 2011. But, with just below 2 grand put away so far, it really is a HOPE. Powder coating and custom bent aluminum interior panels alone will probably add up to over a grand.

commguy

Thanks, that actually makes me feel a little better.

I like the aluminum panels in place of the plastic idea. I was thinking of building new panels for mine out of fiberglass using the old panels as a form.

I like the push button start too, I'm putting one in my too. Then I can laugh at those damn Kia commercials that put so much emphasis on that being a "new" idea.

Oh and while I'm thinking about it you might try Certifit. They have tons of replacement body parts for different cars. They have a few things for Trans Ams. Not sure it they have what you are looking for but worth a look.

I'm going to start hitting the junk yards out here for electric leather seats. I found out today that the 02 Trans Am interior front and rear seats fit the Third Gen. I'm looking forward to confirming that.

I've been looking into shaved door handles too, which made me think of automatic opening doors, hood and trunk lid. Which made me think of all the possible failures, mostly electrical. Which of course brought me to the important question; What if my battery dies? Then I thought about my truck, I have a clip on the hitch that plugs into my jumper cables, which started me on a new line of thinking about how to control the opening and closing of the doors, trunk and hood, then I started thinking about pinball machines or something for some reason, I think I was hungry. eventually I found a way to build a battery cart that could plug into an access plate on the car that would power and control everything so that I could do service in the event of a failure. that way I could directly power the servos and solenoids, I also developed a key that would prevent intrusion from just plugging up a battery in the right terminals. It'll be interesting to see how that pans out.

But I digress. I've been toying with some designs for gull wing doors, I think I have something in an earlier post about that. I think I figured out how to make the hinges work without breaking the glass and making them tall enough so I can get out. It will just be a matter of making them strong enough to last and be able to keep the T top. but thats R&D work for another time.

I have an infotainment system for it that is waiting for the dashboard. and as stupid as it sounds I'm building a flux capacitor like contraption to go in the back that I'm going to build out of fiberglass and LEDs. its just going to be half a sphere with LEDs that blink in a preset adjustable pattern. I'll probably mould it into the area between the back seats.

I just realized that I don't remember how I got on this wild tangent. I think I just found an opportunity to brainstorm and took off with it. Anyway, off to find a new rear axle. Any suggestions? I'm thinking Posi, or limited slip, whatever they're calling it these days.

commguy

Would I even need to change out my rear axle and diff? from what I'm reading putting on rear disks wouldn't be too hard but unless my rear diff and axle assy would handle the new motor and trans just fine. Could be wrong. gonna keep looking.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

If you're building this car to actually do something, i.e. go to the drag strip, do NOT shave your door handles. A lot of tracks require the "street" class cars to have manually functioning doors that can be opened from the outside and inside.

You'll see this rule for nearly any track. "Must be functional from inside and outside of vehicle. Exact duplicates in carbon fiber or fiberglass are allowed".

I actually plan to get into drag racing someday, and I've been reading up on their extremely strict rules. I'm actually hoping that these interior rules don't screw me over if I want to enter any type of street car class.

"Must have stock dash or stock appearing for vehicle. Composite or other lightweight material allowed. Must have door panels"

I will have a stock appearing dash, but I'm not sure if they'll consider pieces of 20 gauge aluminum sheet metal to be "door panels".

By the way, which part of MD are you from? I'm a few miles north-west of Milton, Delaware. Pretty close to the beach. I was thinking of finding a few people to go cruising with sometime in 2011. If I don't have my Camaro stroked, painted, stalled, and the interior put back together by late summer 2011, I should just give up. LOL.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

I've never heard of anyone having to swap out their rear axle and differential just to swap to disc brakes. I personally wouldn't bother if you have rear drums. Just save the cash, and focus on upgrading your front brakes. Larger discs, stronger calipers, ceramic pads.. You wouldn't have to worry about stopping then.

commguy

I was thinking more about the ability to handle the bigger engine and trans, but you're right about the drums, I just like the look and feel of the lighter disk brakes seems like you get just as good or better performance out of good disk brakes as stock drums.

about the shaved handles, I'd like to get it on the track to see what it can do but I'm not really planning on racing it. but with touch sensors in place of the handles wouldn't that make it functional by their loosely worded rule book? just a thought.

I'm near Morning Side and Clinton, I'm stationed on Andrews AFB. I'll probly be here for a few years to come...

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to upgrade my brakes soon, but it'll come last. I actually made a thread before asking about good aftermarket brake setups, such as Wildwood and what not. I just couldn't see myself investing so much money into brakes before the engine, trans, and body is rebuilt the way I want it.

I'm just going to maintain my current brakes, since I have discs all around. Then again, I don't need too much stopping power. As my Camaro sits right now, it's just a shell that happens to have an engine, trans., driveshaft, rear differential, and wheels!

I'm going to be very light in the front when finished. No heat, no A/C, no radio, all 4 speakers were pulled, head unit pulled, pulled the A/C and heater controls. It will have a fiberglass hood, fiberglass fenders, fiberglass doors, no console, I'll be relocating the battery to the rear. Then there's all the weight that aluminum heads and a forged rotating assembly would save. The average aftermarket aluminum head weighs around 25 pounds lighter than a factory iron head each. The entire rotating assembly that I want, rings, pistons, rods, crankshaft, only has a shipping weight of 90 pounds. That's boxed up. Then further down the road, even more weight will be taken off by buying an aftermarket aluminum radiator.

So, needless to say, it will stop quickly with even stock brakes.

commguy

A fair point. like I said earlier, disks are just as good or better, but that's my opinion and the oposite could be said as well. From what I've found the stock diff could hold up to an engine pumping out over 500hp. But I've also read that the dif falls apart after a few thousand miles. The DANA 44s are supposed to be a good limited slip diff but weather I would need to replace the whole assembly axel and all is in question. Then what do I get that is compatible and on and on. I just have to get the rest of the details on what I have and what is a good replacement.

commguy

I found this rear end on summit, decent price and looks like it will be everything I want. I don't see anything about it I don't like. Supposed to be good for daily driver or performance. Should hook up perfect with the motor/trans combo. Says disk brakes, also says brakes included. looks like a good deal. Research continues.

commguy

Still not sure about the rear end but did some more research on 4L80E and 4L65E. The 4L65E will be a better fit due to its strength and the lower weight than the 80. Monster Transmissions B85-7732 Torque converter with a Stall at 2800-3200 RPM will make the most use of the power the LS3 will produce.

This of course is just opinion based on research I've done, no real experience behind it, but for the money seems to be the smart way to go.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like you've got all of your ideas together. I'm really starting to like the idea of keeping my 700R4. I saw a video of an LT1 with a 3,200 RPM stall converter with a Transgo shift kit. It was pretty wicked.

I love the sound of manuals over automatics though, and just how fun it is to drive a 5 or 6 speed. I'll probably end up picking up a decently priced 99-04 Mustang GT as a new daily driver, specifically so I can have a V8 with a manual trans. Doesn't matter with a Mustang anyway, they don't make enough power where the quick shifting of an automatic would even help. LOL.

commguy

I would love a manual trans but for this build I really can't get away from the automatic. It will be a daily driver but the interior design will mean flushing out some of the 'protrusions' such as a shifter lever. I'm pretty happy with the design overall. Just getting it made will be the hard part.

I've always like the older Mustangs, I'd like to get a 67 Fastback at some point to play with.

commguy

I've been emailing with a few companies and got confirmation on a few parts.

The toque converter I mentioned before
The Transmission will be a 4L65E
I won't need to swap out the rear end after all. The one I have now I found out can handle the new drivetrain

I've been looking at shaved door handles, I've seen some good products but the cover work on the old door handles is either really difficult or they really sucked at it.

From what I've heard the local junkyards are really knocking back prices so I'm hoping to find a formula front bumper dirt cheap that I can modify.

commguy

Here's another pic. I've made some more progress today. Got the hood, bumper cover, and headlight buckets out. I only have one pic. I'll get more tomorrow when I have more light.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

Looking good man, keep up the work. When do you expect to be done your build? Realistically I won't have the money for the stroker kit and heads I want until early 2011. Then I'll be able to haul my broken down IROC up to ACA Performance in Newark, DE. They've built a few 400-500+ Horsepower street cars, and a few drag cars, I think they'll be able to handle my little 383 build.

I'm trying to keep it cheap though, so I can actually get this done in time to head out to a few of the late summer shows in August and September. So I'm just going to sandblast my Edelbrock manifold instead of buying a new one, keep my Edelbrock 650. My power will be seriously limited by a little 650 trying to flow enough for a 383 with Dart heads, but it'll be better than not running at all. Keeping my stock 3.42 rear, and my stock 700R4, except for a 3,200 RPM stall converter.

It'll be neat if we get finished with our builds around the same time man, we'll have to track down the Third Gen owners of Delmarva to go for a cruise!

commguy

As long as the prices hold or drop (I can only hope) I expect to be finished around mid spring. I'm planning to have the body work done by the end of summer and the interior work done by the beginning of winter. We'll see how that pans out but its a plan anyway.

I'd love to see yours up close, when I get mine done of course. I think at this point if I saw another fbody that was actually running that someone's been working on I'd lose it. lol

I hear there is a track near here also. Maybe we can switch it up once we get both ours moving.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

Awesome, basically a similar timeline as me. I would have my IROC in the shop in the next couple months, but I'm still saving for a new daily driver. I've only got about 2 grand put away so far, and I've always wanted a 99-04 Mustang GT, so this is the perfect opportunity to buy one.

The need for a daily driver is what's holding my IROC back. I'll have to blow 6-7 grand around the end of December, early January, while car prices are down, then start saving up again. I should have the roughly 4,000 put aside that I need for the Eagle stroker kit that I want, Dart Pro 1 230 heads, and the labor by late spring/early summer of '11.

Paint will have to wait until almost the end of summer when I can afford to put more cash away though. Either way, it's going to be the best feeling in the world to be able to drive the IROC again. Summer of 2011 will also make three years since I bought it too, so it'll kind of be an anniversary present. LOL.

commguy

Yeah, family of five is holding my project back. That sounds worse than how I mean it. I'm hitting the junk yard in the morning to look for parts. I can't afford to buy anything this month but I can find what is out there. Nice part, and frustrating part about these yards is that they don't inventory alot of these types of parts.

I'm also using aircraft stipper on the hood right now, that stuff rocks. I thought stripping the paint was going to be alot of work. Turns out a little steel wool goes a long way.

The bumper was the biggest pain in the @$$ I've ever had the misfortune to attempt removal. Now the front end looks like something off of Mad Max.

commguy

Here's the progress today. Both fenders, bumpers and inner fender wells are all off. The hood is on stands in the back getting stripped. I'm hoping to have it sanded, filled and primed by mid June. I'm hoping to have the new nose next month too so I'll be doing a little prep work with that too.

Here's the pics

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

Coming along good. Besides the top bolts by the hood mounts, where are the other bolts to pull the fenders off? I was going to pull mine off today, and felt dumb, because I do not know where the other bolts are.

commguy

Don't feel dumb I was in the driveway until about 130 this morning getting my nose off. took me a couple hours today to get the first fender off. Here's what I found (and remember)

Ok, on the fenders, the bolts on the top from nose to windshield (I'm sure you found the ones holding the hood hinge) then in the front there is one on either side of the nose at the top of the fender, then there are two attached to braces that run from the frame to the bottom of the fender then at the rear of the fender ther is one that mounts the fender to the frame. if you have ground effects there will be hex screws attaching the the ground effects to the fender and on the rear part of the fender there are two additional bolts holding the upper portion of the ground effects to the fender. You have to be able to get inside the fender to get to most of that. helps if you have the fenders with the vents, otherwise you just have to remove the headlight assembly and inner fender wells.

Hope that helps.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

Thanks, I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out. There aren't many areas of my Camaro that I'm not familiar with, since I've torn nearly everything apart once or twice.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

I forgot.. I think I've found the bolts near the hood hinges too. LOL.

commguy

lol, I work in a job where a fix action is literally turning the volume **** when someone can't hear anything coming out of their computer. Stating the obvious becomes an unfortunate habit.

I've discovered aircraft stripper. Wonderful stuff, I've stripped about a quarter of the top of the hood already. got impatient with the underside, found a bunch of damage that was very poorly repaired at one point. along with all of the other shoddy body repairs. I found zip ties and bailing wire holding my driver side fender in place, someone added a bunch of screws to hold the body kit in the right place. Don't get me wrong, its exciting to pull all of the crap out and do it right. Seems to be more of an accomplishment to fix someone elses crap work when I do a good job.

commguy

The only thing more frustrating that trying to fix an hvac system in a car is trying to find an aftermarket climate control system that can be programmed, and automated. My opinion.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

Heh, that's why you get rid of it.



Between removing the A/C compressor, heater core, all the ducts, and the heat & A/C blower motor, it's probably a nearly 30 pound weight savings. I personally never put an A/C compressor on the 350 I have now, but I'm guessing between the three main components, it's around that 30 pound guess.

I'll never need heat, but one thing I can't really tolerate is weather over 85-90 degrees. So, if T-tops and the windows down can't cool me off enough next summer, I'll go home and play around on the computer or just watch TV in the A/C. My IROC won't be a daily driver anyway, although I do plan on enjoying it a lot once it's rebuilt.

2009 engine bay shot. (Before the heater core and blower motor were removed)

commguy

Well with all the crazy mods I'm doing, not having an HVAC system seems like a bit of a step backward. Delphi makes great systems but its looking like they don't do any end consumer sales. The search continues...

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

For me it kind of is a step backwards. It sounds lame, but I want to have the experience that the true muslce car guys had a few decades ago. You know, how all the "hi-perf." Shelby Mustangs, and the Yenkos had the heater, A/C, and radio deletes.

It must've been neat to go hot rodding around with not much more than a metal shell, and a high cubic inch small block in front of you. I wouldn't know, I can't remember back to the 60's, but it must have been wonderful. I'm sort of trying to recreate that feel, back to the basics, but in style.

I don't mind the weight savings anyway, I heard that every 100 pounds off of the typical car will gain you 1-2 MPG's. My cite mileage will most likely decrease though, whenever I buy a 3,200 stall converter.

commguy

I completely understand. My next build will probably have the same considerations. when you think about it the weight savings may only be 1-2 mpg but the lack of A/C means the MPG gain overall will be more because of the reduced stress that the compressor puts on the engine.

commguy

#%@$ I don't know what is more frustrating any more, trying to rebuild my A/C system, or finding an aftermarket option. I've looked at Classic Auto Air, another site for replacements for classic cars, most use factory controls. I haven't found much that suits what I'm look for. After two days of searching I've pretty much come up empty.

I can build the system using servos to move the louvers, fan controls, the origional vents and fan, but I want an interface that can automatically control the climate in the cabin.

I may be attempting the impossible but I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any ideas.

commguy

Progress

commguy

More progress

commguy

Been looking at sound deadening material. There are so many options it makes your head spin after a while, Fat mat, Dynomat, Second Skin, Peal and Seal, not to mention all of the goop they sell. Looks like I'll be going with Fat mat. Seems pretty good, well priced and seems to produce the desired results. I'm about half way done with the hood, but I'll probably start with the interior kit.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

How's the rebuild going dude?

PreKitt1.0

I'm a 20 year-old college student and am fully aware that without a job, planning Firebird projects is a little bit of a pipe dream. Even so, I am a big fan of all the stuff you builders do, it's inspiring. I've yet to own a Trans am to call my own but I draw a lot of inspiration from this website and all the members that keep it running.

These projects are really something, thanks for posting all this stuff, I've been learning a lot about car modifications from people like you guys that put so much effort into these projects.

Keep it up and thanks!

bakes85

hows the progress? how did the wiring come?

Prekitt1.0

Im 15, bought my 1985 trans am when i was 14, and i dont have a real job, just odd jobs. so if you want it bad enough it could happen.