GTAman

iTrader: (2)

SUCCESS! I drilled and tapped the hole and it's holding real good. i was real nervous but all went well. Thank for the help guys!

so today i got the brackets sorted out (still need to get longer bolts for the braces that connect to the manifolds), put on the crank and power steering pulleys, along with the A/c delete pulley.

I couldn't get the smog delete pulley on, though. Tell me what you guys make of this: I bought it off of summit racing. it's part #10129569 (GM performance). I was expecting it to fit in the bracket just like the A/C delete pulley did, but it didn't. The bracket on this new pulley is much narrower and also has threads tapped in the holes. Am i missing something?

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

the pulley you bought is just a guide and just bolts on low tension. I like the ACDelco 10186167 amazon has a good deal on that.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

ACDelco 10186167

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

so this pulley i have is just a waste? is there anyway of using it or do i need to buy the other one?

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

no the pulley you bought will work like post 52 but you will need a 968K6 belt or 6K970.

https://www.thirdgen.org/serpentine

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

ok. how does it attach to the bracket? as you know, this pulley i have has threads tapped in the holes. both bolts do not have threads running their entire lengths. the one i'm most concerned about is the largest bolts, as it also helps to mount the bracket to the engine.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

not positive but you might need to drill threw the threads and make a spacer to go behind the pulley bracket and serpentine bracket . I think That is what is used on the 12497697 kit.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

that's what i thought. i picked up some metal tubing at the local home depot. hopefully i can get to that tomorrow before it rains or becomes unbearably hot.

also, let me run this by you guys before i install the plenum and runners: When i took the intake manifold off the 4 corner bolts were ridiculously hard to get out. when i finally got them out (with the help of some heat and a strong arm) they had on some kind of sealant. it was red. i'm thinking it was loctite red. Is this what GM recommends? when i put the bolts back in i just put high temp thread sealant (the white stuff) on them. is this good enough or should i use something else? i understand these 4 bolts go into the water jackets of the heads so i want to double check.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

gm used liquid pipe teflon for the intake bolts . the plenum bolts I just use a little anti-seze.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

alright! that's what i used on them. now my mind can be at ease about this.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

hey guys! i need some advice on something. So, i definitely need to empty out my fuel tank. Gas has been in there since 2008 and i forget if i put sta-bil in, not that it matters now anyway. obviously i have to drain and would like to drop the tank and replace fuel pump and sock. I had an idea about an external fuel pump. What do you guys think of this?

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

Lots of people use external pumps, but first you will hafta drop the tank & pull the in-tank pump out.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

do you know any threads on the process? or can you give me a summary of what's involved?

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

made some more progress today. made spacers for the accessory bracket braces. not bad if i do say so myself. also installed new memcal. also picked up some pennzoil synchromesh for the T5. dreading emptying the gas tank. friggin GM can't make anything easy. my toyota not only has a fuel pump access panel, but also has a fuel tank drain plug! yeah...

i gotta get my photobucket account back up and running to show off ha ha

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

I find it amusing how other auto makers made vehicles with the Access Panel, yet when a 3rd gen owner adds one to their car? It is thought of as a hack & not doing things the right way (dropping the tank to change the pump).

Yes, a lot of the access panels done to 3rd gens are exactly that.....they are called hack jobs. But even when people do it 100% right with a flanged hole, nutserts for the panel & even hinged & properly sealed it is called a hack job.

I'm not saying anything about YOU. Merely referring to the kind of comments that I've seen posted by various TGO members here on the boards. I like to think of it as correcting a factory oversight!

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

ha ha! blackendbird, that's funny you bring that up because i read a whole thread yesterday entitled "fuel pump access...done". man o MAN was that a slug fest! everyone became an engineer (some actually were!) on both sides and debated back and forth about it's validity. just wow. i honestly think it's a great idea and it really should have been implemented from the factory because it's a replaceable part that is vital to the car's condition. Now, i don't want my swap thread to become a battleground about this, but do i wish i had an access hole, ABSOLUTELY! do i have one, no. do i want to do this? well, considering i cut the car to put in the t-5 i might as well, but those fuel hard lines are real close to the metal panel. i have to think about this some more...right now i need to get the car on her wheels and move under her own power.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

also, i got back into my photobucket account! here's a pic of my most recent progress!

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

Well, if your gonna do it, the time to do the hard lines would be "now", while the tank is down & out of the car. The hole can be cut with the tank in place (been there, done that) & people say they have cut the lines with the tank in place but I can't imagine spinning a tubing cutter around with the minimal space available.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

actually, my tank is still in place. i never took it out. I'd like to so i can replace the fuel pump and pulsator to start fresh. actually for what i'm doing now, it's probably better to drop the tank and see what's going on in that area as it's never been dropped before.

i thought the same thing about the tubing cutter. some people said they cut the lines with a sawsall? how the heck do they not blow up? crazy...

camarorookie

Beginning in 86 the Vette had aluminum heads with 128 casting. In the later part of 87 they switched to the 113 casting and gained 5hp for a total of 240hp.
My 88 Vette has 113 heads and they do not have the two threaded accessary bolt holes required for the 3rdGen brackets. The Vette uses two studs on the passenger side water pump holes for the accessary brackets, plus one on the head.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

thank you for your insight! i have since drilled and tapped a hole to accommodate the brackets.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

Today's progress:

1) drained gas from take with siphon. filled one whole 5 gallon jug. don't really know why it was brown. probably from sitting? hope the tank's not rusted. looks out from outside. put in a bottle of chevron with techron and will fill with premium (duh). anyone know where i can get rid of gasoline...the LEGAL way?

2) installed steering intermediate shaft. found out had to remove header (again!) to get it on.

3) jacked the back end of the car up to see what i'm dealing with. found out my rear axle's pinion seal is leaking. anyone know where i can get one for a aussie 9 bolt rear? also looked at fuel filter. Original delco filter. probably never changed. Also, after i get the car on the road, i'm really going to have to clean up the axle. it's so rusty it's like it came from the titanic and it's been in the garage for 4 years!

4) flushed cooling system with water. nice and clean start to finish. no leaks either.

tomorrow's plans:

1) hopefully, Hurst shifter will come in the mail. will fill trans with synchromesh and install shifter.

2) install thermostat, gasket, throttle body and bypass hose.

3)modify spare coil bracket to fit corvette manifold.

4) replace fuel filter

...and maybe some more. trying to fire it up by friday.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

This is what i'm talking about! also, it seems spiders have made their homes in the undercarriage. Not for long, though!

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

today's progress:

-replaced fuel filter. this old gas stinks worse than fresh gas! also learned that the connections have o-rings. they should give you new ones with the filter.
-vacuumed out the engine bay.
-removed front-to-rear brake line. will put in SS line tomorrow.
-cursed my head off because my shifter didn't come in the mail.
-found part # for pinion seal. at autozone, no less.
-installed rail mounted fuel pressure gauge.

i wish i had a wider garage.

here's a questions since i'm not dumb enough to go driving around in a car with a stick shift and crappy cast iron rear calipers where the parking brake doesn't work: are the rear calipers from 93-97 camaro / firebird the same as 1le rear calipers?

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

things are just chugging along: put in new radiator, fans back in, SS brake line in, Shifter finally came in the mail and installed that. Also put in the manual pedals and drilled the holes for the U bolt. i think my back is broken lol

It's almost to the point where i can at least start it. Can't wait! Also, big thanks to brian from tuned performance for the rear brake parts and the memcal. he's been a great help in this project.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

forgot this question: while installing my pedals, i was looking around for the this elusive neutral safety switch harness my car is supposed to have. I found one connector that might be it. I found a 4 wire connector that's clipped into it's own holder (i'm guessing?) all the way to the left near fuse box, riveted to the body. it had 2 yellow wires and 2 green wires. each color had one heavy gauge wire and one small wire. the heavy gauge wires were on the outer sides of the connecter. I checked the wires on my automatic neutral safety switch and the two heavy gauge wires are purple and green. what's the deal here?

seems like it would connect to this and then plug into the neutral safety switch on the pedals?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/88-92-Camaro...6#ht_874wt_772

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

Please correct me if im wrong. I think the clutch safety switch is like a standard motor products NS35 . This would use a acdelco pigtail pt217, or STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS Part # S633 . Your old harness needs to be re routed to goto this switch dark green one side purple the other it does not matter what side is what. The orange/black b10 wire that goes park neutral switch will not be used. In a automatic this is grounded in park and neutral and the ecm does a idle speed adder.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

Btw thats for the support gtaman and the parts trade. we want too hear this bad boy run

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

Brian, as always, thanks for your help! you and the TGO community have helped to make this project a reality. Let me know when you receive the parts. Also, I referred you to my friend Bill. he has either a 91 or 92 GTA, and will need some memcal tuning.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

ok, so i'm looking at my 1988 FSM wiring diagram and it says my wires are supposed to be yellow and purple. i'm thinking, instead of looking for this elusive connector up in my dash, i'll just extend the wires from the gear selector switch to the clutch start switch on the pedals?

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

here's a picture of my Gear selector switch from my auto shifter. notice the two heavy gauge wires: one purple, the other green with white tracer. i'll try and get a picture of that other connector later today.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

found some more information that my help, since the vats is disabled the starter enable relay. Im not sure where the splice is but you might be able to tie in the clutch switch right under the das and may not need to reroute the wires. I think the purple large gauge wire that goes to the starter solenoid exist through the drivers side bulkhead connector.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

pic of the header i wrapped up with DEI titanium.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

can anyone show me where the neutral safety wiring is supposed to be? i've heard under the dash and under the driver's side kick panel. I don't see anything. my car has an alarm and i need to know if they used it.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

got lots done today. drilled hole for clutch master cylinder, installed the hydros (wow putting that slave in was hard), put the brake master and booster back in (top nut over the brake pedal = @#*$&!), installed oil cooler pipe fresh from the paint shop.

closer and closer.

also, i snagged a picture of the connector i thought was for the neutral safety switch. tell me what you think. i don't even know what it is. note how it it has a thick green with white tracer wire like the one on my gear selector switch. it also has a thick yellow wire like the neutral safety switch pigtail connector has.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

that is the starter interrupt relay In the schematic above although the colors of the wires are different. I think you can take the large green and yellow from the starter interrupt relay and hook them to the clutch switch, take the large gauge green with white and purple wire and connect them together were the old park neutral switch was.

you could always do this with jumper wires first and see if you have continuity through this circuit. I think the purple wire bye the old p/n switch goes out to the starter s solenoid.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

ok, stupid question, Brian, but what exactly does the starter interrupt relay do? is this used with the VATS system? the connector for this looks like it would hook up to the harness i saw on ebay from tpi parts as the two thick wires spread apart the same way. I may tap into those wires and see if it will work with the switch on the pedals.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

the starter interrupt relay is one of the parts in the vats or passkey system. the vats say if it was enabled in your programing if some one tried to hot wire the car and the didnt bypass the vats you will not get injector pulse. The starter interrupt relay is there so if a thief broke your lock cylinder and the vats was active the vats module module will send a ground to the relay allowing you to crank the starter.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

i'm still here! plumbed up the heater core hoses to the bypass valve and throttle body. did a little custom routing as i can't use the metal pipe that ran along the frame rail due to the headers. after that figured i would put the headers back on now that they're both wrapped and ready. didn't count on them being difficult to put back on because of the wrap, brake lines, oil cooler pipe, and intermediate steering shaft being in the way but the driver's side is in. still need to get the passenger side in, and that's the easiest one! i'll keep you all posted.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

Ill stay tuned

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

question: the two wires next to the thick purple and green/white wires are for the reverse lights, right? (please refer to post #81)

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

yes the small dark blue power side of the reverse light and light green are reverse light, the orange/blk stripe and the black with white stripe are for a automatic the orange /back get grounded to the black/white in park and neutral for a rpm adder. you dont need to do anything with those 2.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

primed the oil pump today. Got the tool from autozone. Didn't fit the shaft well so i popped the roll pin off the end and tapered the slot at the end so it would fit. Oil came out the driver's side bank. This is confirmed since i could take the valve cover off easily. The pass side bank i believe has flow as well. i took the oil cap off and saw some oil running around. I also turned the crank 180* to see if it got more flow. the oil fill hole looks in between two rocker arms and i can't see the tops. I had the drill running for a while. got it real hot. Should i prime it more?

I also put about 5 gallons of premium in, and bought a battery. hopefully will start it tomorrow.

LilSki

iTrader: (1)

You should be fine on priming. It is not like the motor has never run before so there is still a thin film of oil on everything. Just don't be surprised if the lifters make some noise on the first fire up especially if it fires right up on the first try.

Good luck today!

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

ok guys, big update...

so today i tried to start the car. Didn't go so well. When i first tried to start it nothing happened. I figured it was because i didn't jump the two big wires on the gear selector switch. so i made a jumper wire quick and then i was able to crank the motor. however, the car refuses to start. When i crank it, it backfires occasionally. I smell fuel (exhaust dumping out of headers), it has decent fuel pressure at the rail (my helper told me it was around 40 psi, i think it should be higher?), it's got air, and it's got some kinda spark if it's backfiring, right?

i'm thinking it might be ignition timing, the ESC module (i'm using my old 305 unit), or bad gas? What do you guys think?

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

alot of the esc modules are the same for 305 and and 350 and 2.8 depending on the code or part number on the module. for cranking psi thats fine at 40 psi. I think its a timing issue or the distributor is 180 off.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for chiming in, brian! Let me run through what i did when i put the dizzy back in. maybe i did something wrong. take a look:

1) turned crank until the timing mark on balancer lined up with the 0 on the timing tab.

2) manual said to line up dizzy between cylinders #1 & #8 if crank was moved.

3) stuck long flathead screw driver to align oil pump intermediate shaft. slot in shaft lines up straight with plenum.

4) installed dizzy. rotor in-line with plenum, which is between cylinders 1 & 8.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

Hey mark, your timing mark on the balancer when you aligned the marks you might have been at tdc of cylinder number 6. I have a bump starter basically a switch that hooks on the starter battery positive terminal and the purple s terminal so I can take out the number one spark plug and bump the engine over. When you feel compression pushing on your finger while its pushed against the spark plug hole you are coming up on compression. You will have the rotor pointing at between 1 and 3 cylinder. The firing order is 1,8,4,3,6,5,7,2 with 1,3,5,7 on the drivers side and 2,4,6,8 on the passenger side. if your plug wires are long enough you can just try to reposition them for testing. Put number 1 on the number 6 terminal and start the firing order from there going clockwise.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

alright, Brian! i'll give it a shot. i'll report back tomorrow, weather permitting.

GTAman

iTrader: (2)

brian, what's the initial timing for this motor? or can i just put it at TDC on compression stroke and have the rotor on #1 cylinder wire?