Those speaker panles were actually an option that came from the factory on our cars. I don't know much about them in terms of what years they were available in but I'm pretty sure it was the performance sound option with the adjustable subwoofer dial on the dash. I saw them sitting at a guys house I get parts from and he only wanted $25 for them so I grabbed them.

Hahahaha, exactly me and my brothers thought as we were trying to catch it. My brother kept saying "it's a sign, it's a sign." LOL

 

That's a Luna moth. They seem to be pretty rare I've only seen one or two around Oklahoma and Missouri.

 

Don't those things make you fall asleep when they land on your head? Oh wait I'm just thinking of that Lunesta commercial....

 

Well good news....I got the trunk popper button and the defroster wired up permanantly! Wiring is basically done now. I'll be ordering a carpet probably from 1A soon and I can start to button up the interior in this thing! FINALLY!!!! LOL. I'll get pics up soon.

 

Hey is that herculiner a roll on or spray on application? How much did you use?

 

Got my T-tops on today to get the brackets lined up and get the tops fitted on nicely before the weatherstripping. Still need a T-top center bar so hopefully I can find a nice one soon. Also snapped a few pics of the last of the wiring.

Got the T-tops nice and lined up properly.




Heres the defroster relay all wired up. I re-used the factory one since it has an auto turn off feature after 10 minutes of use which I wanted to keep.


Heres the E-brake grounding switch. I tied this into the trunk popper button so that the trunk will only open with the button when the E-brake is up. Don't want to have my trunk accidentally opening while I'm driving! LOL.


I rolled it on but I think you could spray it as well if you had the correct spray gun for it. I used about a gallon and a half all said and done for the complete underside of the car.

 

Good news! Just picked up some stock LS1 injectors from a freind of mine and put them in. Put the 2 fuel pump relays in and turned the key and heard the sweet sound of dual walbros kicking on. Checked the line and just one tiny drip at the fuel rail fitting was the only leak. Snugged it up a little and it's perfect! Got my pressure gauge on the rail and I'm getting a solid 58 PSI of fuel pressure at the rail which is exactly what LS1's are supposed to run at. Turn the key off and the pressure drops to 40 PSI and doesn't bleed down at all past that, so I'm pretty happy with how the fuel system turned out. Now I just need the front engine accesories and a wiring harness with a computer and I can fire this thing up!

My brother also scored me the exact Alpine CD player I wanted from his work. It was recently discontinued and I was so pissed, but it was still available new on ebay if I wanted (prob leftover models). My brother came home from work today and said my CD player was sitting inside. I was like "what?" He said his bosses daughter recently sold her old SUV and bought a brand new one. She knew my brothers car had the stock radio still so she brought her 5 month old CD player in to see if he wanted it. He saw the part number and grabbed it for me. It just HAPPENED to be the identicle one I needed lol. Thats good luck!

Anyways, I'll def have pics up in the next day or so.

 

Looking awesome. I was also gonna say that the insect you saw and trapped was a Luna Moth, I see them around here in NJ. I am about an hour and a half from the CT state line via I-84. But even so they're not common. I'm lucky if I see one a year. They scared the living hell out of me when I was 5 or 6 or so.

I finally scored some work, I'm hoping it turns into something a lil permanent. But in the meantime, I'm hoping to build up the cash so I can get moving on my own project. I just need parts lol. You'll be done before me thats for sure.

 

Yea I found out thats what they were called. To be honest, I can't remember the last time I've ever seen one, and it just so happens that yesterday, ANOTHER one flew into the garage! I just grabbed it and threw it back outside since I knew what it was this time, but it's pretty crazy that I've seen 2 now in less than a week.

And on another note, thats great news about work. Def start up a build thread on here when the time comes. I'll be waiting to check it out.

 

you should leave the big bugs, maybe they understand that you have a great build on your hands too and just wanna watch, and admire

 

LOL, now that would be strange. I'd really be scared if they were bright orange moths rather than bright green! I would have had to use them as mascots.

 

Great build man. Got me wanting to go out to the barn and start tearing my 89 GTA down to the ground and treat right. Wasn't sure about the color you were going with, but I got to say I love IT.

 

Good news! Went to a local guys house today to see what he had for some parts I have needed for a while and he basically had all of it! I scored a mint T top bar since mine was slightly rusted and had a couple dents on the top, and he also had some real nice condition weatherstrip channels that run down the A-pillars. Now I can finally order my weatherstripping and get that all on.

I also grabbed a nice radio pod and trim plate since my original was hacked up on the inside from when I installed an aftermarket CD player. He even had some dome light screws that I have been searching for so I can get the headliner in. The interior is going to start coming together very soon!

Thanks for the compliment. The color was the hardest decision of my life, lol. I'm so glad I chose the orange though because everytime I look at it I still get the feeling like "wow, thats really my car!" Best of luck with your build when you get around to it.

 

I know it's not the same, but my 65 Mustang is orange, and I will tell you from experience, no matter what make of vehicle the individual likes, they always will love the color orange, just because it is unique.

And by the way, I love this build, I have been following it for a while, and all I can say is wow! Keep up the great work.

 

Made some progress despite the hot humid disgusting day. I had to take a break every 10 mins or so to wipe the sweat from getting in my eyes, but I think I made out pretty good still lol. Heres a few pics.

Injectors now on the 5.3. These are only stock LS1 injectors now for the innitial start up. I'll be swapping them out for 60 lbs/hr down the road.


Heres the mint T top bar I picked up!


My Alpine CD player. Freind of mine has this unit in his foxbody mustang. Such an aweosme CD player!


And heres what I was working on today. I made amp brackets where the back seats would originally be. (don't worry the wiring will be MUCH neater than this...I ran out of zip ties.) I plan on running the carpet over them so they will be hidden. At first I was only going to use one amp and not have a sub but I really love a little extra bass and I'm a big stickler for a great stereo in a car, so I'm going to throw a single 8" or maybe 10" sub in the back and mount it out of veiw.


More interior installed.....starting to look like a trans am inside!

 

is that the head unit that you can change the color?

 

Honestly, I'm not really sure. I didn't think this one changed color. I'd keep it blue even if you could though since my autometer cobalt gauges will be blue. The unit went for $300 new, but I got a smoking deal on it. It is ipod compatible and has just about ever feature you could ever want. The thing I love the most about it is the fancy "biolite" display on the main screen. It's a much more high def screen than thier cheaper stereos.

 

i think that may be the one that changes colors, my friend has one in his car, and he loves it, great unit. pricy but defiitely worth it. and since you got a deal on it thats even better. it will definitely look great with your cobalt guages

 

Might want to check into where or not putting that amp under the carpet might make it overheat, not sure if it would or not, but personally I wouldn't cover it with carpet. I would probably hide it some way or other though so it didn't get stolen.

 

That actually did cross my mind. I did a little research on it and it seems that a lot of people hide thier amps under carpet and have no problems. There are a few amps that run hotter than others, but it seems like alpine amps run cooler from what I read. The amps will be mounted where I put them, just not sure if I'll keep them above or below the carpet. I'll try both ways and see what I like better.

 

So no more back seats?

 

Nope....2 seater only lol. I wouldn't want anyone riding in my back seats anyways so I figured I'd just leave them out. Plus I may do a 4 or 6 point cage down the road and then back seats would be out of the question anyways.

 

Well guys....got some good news and bad news. Good news first. I got the interior dome and courtesy lights wired up and they work perfect. They come on with the doors open, and if I click the dimmer switch to the top notch which is good news since now the chassis harness is DONE!!!! I also cleaned my original headliner board and found out that a place by me sells the specific foam backed headliner fabric so I will be picking that up soon to recover it and get it in.

Now the bad news....My daily driver honda died today and left me stranded in the center of town. Luckily I know a freind with a trailor that was around so I got it towed to my house. The daily driver takes top priority so now I have to fix it before anymore work on my TA. God I hate when an old car breaks down. I'm assuming it's either the distributor or the fuel pump...both of which aren't a huge job but it still sucks that I have to put money into it. I know that I'll have to spend AT LEAST $100-150 on the beater now.

 

First the alien moth then your trusty Honda breaking down.... signs man! LOL

But seriously that sucks to hear that about the Honda. Hopefully it's something minor!

 

been watching this since day one, looks amazing. great job

 

sorry for the quote? idiot moment.

 

Haha, no problem, and thanks for the compliment!

And as far as updates for everyone, I have been waiting on my headliner to get recovered but the guy has been working slow. I also dropped off my T-top center bar and weatherstrip side channels off to be powdercoated black so they will never rust. Those I've been waiting on for a week and a half as well. When those come back I can get back to work on her!

I also helped my sisters BF put a performance clutch in his 05 STI. Holy hell, what a job it was! It took us 3 hours just to get the tranny seperated from the motor, and that was AFTER everything was disconnected. It was fused to the block and we had to beat it off basically. Makes me proud I own a nice simple RWD TA lol.

I also fixed my honda. Turns out the set screw that holds the rotor inside the distributor actually fell out so the rotor was just free-wheeling in there when I'd try to give it gas, lol. Loctited the crap out of it so hopefully it doesn't happen again. Stupid problem but you always assume it's worse than it is.

Anyways, pics will be coming soon. Hopefully I get the headliner today at some point.

 

What sheen of black are you using on the center bar? I'm getting ready to paint mine as well as the side metal pieces on my T-Tops (right above the window glass). I want to resemble a factory sheen, so do you think that a semi-gloss is appropriate? I can't seem to get an answer as to how it looked coming out of the factory...

 

Got my headliner and sunvisors back today from the upholstry shop. $100 bucks for both! Came out excellent too. Heres a few pics...

I wanted to re-use my factory headliner since aftermarket ones always look like crap. I had to fix a few small breaks with fiberglass resin and I got new clips for the front from GM. Came out awesome! Not sure why the pic makes it look blueish but it's a deep black in person. I also got my done light and sail panels back in too.


Heres a closeup of one of the sunvisors. Came out great!


Next I am saving for the painless LS1 engine harness and maybe I can fire this thing up soon finally!

I would def say they are a semi-gloss black. I'm having the powdercoat guys match the color so I'm not sure what thier going with. Theres this paint I've been using from SEM called "trim black." I've found that it's almost a perfect match to the factory exterior black pieces like the T-top bar, weatherstrip channels, etc. I'd give that a shot. If you scroll back through my build, you can see the B-pillar weatherstrip channels towards the back of the side window which I painted with the trim black paint....should give you an idea of the color. You can find it at any automotive body supply shop I'm sure. It's a popular paint.

 

Subscribed.

Alot of good information here. Thanks for documenting your progress.

 

Picked up my T top center bar and weatherstrip rails from the powdercoater on friday and got them in today. Now she's ready for some brand new weatherstripping! Heres a few pics.

T top center bar. Completely rust free with new powdercoat. I got a little sloppy with the adhesive but I don't want any leaks!! Plus once the seals are on it will be completely covered.


Heres the A pillar weatherstrip rails all blasted and powdercoated. I stuck my trim piece on with the gauge pod too just to see how it looked. Can't wait till it's on permanantly!




Thats all for now. Not much I can do till I get either a carpet, weatherstripping, or the engine harness. I'm leaning toward the engine harness first so I can get some life out of this thing! We'll see how it goes.

 

What kind of weatherstrip are you using?

 

Not sure yet. Since the car will never be driven in the rain unless of course I get stuck out in it unexpectantly, I may just opt for the cheaper route and go with the repro 1A auto metro seal kit. I know a lot of actual GM stuff is available but I can't see spending the big bucks when leaking really isn't an issue.

 

Small update... Filled the tranny with fluid today. 3.5 quarts of valvoline Dex III. Also got the shifter permanantly sealed up and bolted on. I picked up a lower rubber shift boot today from a local guy I deal with and got it screwed down to the floor as well. Nice to get that out of the way! Now I need a carpet.

I was surprised this covered the extended hole I had to cut since the T56 shifter plate came about 2 inches further back than the T5 one. I'm pretty relieved though since now I don't have to go welding my floors!

 

Idk much about manuals, it may very well be a much lower number, but I know an auto takes way more fluid than that, just throwing it out there, I was amazed how much trans fluid my transmission took, I thought it would take like 6 or 8 quarts, and it took 10-12....

 

FYI, manuals do take MUCH less fluid than an auto would. In an auto, you are filling the entire transmission, and the torque converter which is about 3-4 quarts itself. The GM spec for a T56 is 3.6 quarts completely full. I put 3.5 since it wasn't bone dry inside lol.

 

No wonder they call autos slushboxes, thats like 4x as much fluid nearly...

 

Good news! Just picked up a complete LS1 F-body front serpentine belt set up minus the balancer. Should have that sometime next week. After I get that on, the engine will physically be done. Then I just have to wire it up and she'll be firing up in no time!!

Also cleaned up all the stereo wiring and zip tied it all into place. Wired my Alpine head unit into the painless harness and I was bumping tunes all day in the car yesterday lol. Nice to have an ipod compatible stereo now since I listen to my ipod a ton. With just having the B pillar speakers hooked up since I don't have fronts yet, the stereo sounded amazing!! Can't wait to get the front speakers in and the 10" sub in the back. Then it'll really sound awesome.

I'll get pics up as soon as I get the front accesories cleaned up and bolted on.

 

pictures!!? update?? something?

 

I have not given up, I promise! Just going through a slow period now since I'm at a complete standstill until the front accesories get here. Also, towards the end of every month, it's bill paying time so car purchases get put on the afterburner, unfortunately. I should be getting the front accesories either weds or thurs and I'll get pics up then. Hang in there guys!

 

i just picked up that painless kit in 12 circuit hope it as easy as you say

 

Got my front engine accessories in the mail today! They are on the motor for the most part but I need to run out to the store for a couple things tomorrow to finish it up. I attempted to drill and tap the block for the alternator mount which is required and it didn't go so well. Ended up breaking the ear off the side of the block which won't affect the motor internally, but I can't use that hole now for the alternator. I ended up making a fancy little bracket that is held by a bolt through the cylinder head and comes down to the front of the alternator bracket to hold it in place. It already had 2 holes on the block to hold it, so this bracket I made is just extra security. I will def have pics up tomorrow since it's been a while. Keep checking back!

Mine was an 18 circuit so the 12 should be cake! I also had the factory service manual for my car which has all of the wiring diagrams in it. That made things a lot easier once you learn how to read a wiring diagram. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to PM me.

 

Finally got some pics for you guys. It's not much but I'm working on getting the front accesories on the motor. Found out my driver side turbo manifold is going to slightly hit the alt bracket. Guess I need to cut it up and re-weld it once I get a welder.

Anyways, heres the pics.



I bent the stock LS1 power steering lines to get them to work with the 3rd gen gearbox.


I'd like to try to use the stock 4th gen PS cooler but I don't know if it's going to be too crammed with all the turbo piping. Guess we'll see once I start fabbing! I'm sure it would be a lot cleaner looking without it though.

 

looking good sir!

 

Big thumbs up! Glad to see everything worked out. I'm going to use this thread as my guide to wiring my 92. However I have a question? I found a similiar harness from another company and was wondering if it will work or just a waste of money. Looking at the EZ 21 bottom right corner.

http://ezwiring.com/wiring_harness.html

I could potentially save a few hundred off the painless setup but dont want to chance it if it's a crappy setup.

 

I may be wrong, but that appears to just be a chassis harness, ie. no engine harness, just fyi.

 

I have heard of that company, EZ wiring. Honestly, I have never heard anything bad about them so I would say it's a nice kit. The reason I went with painless is because they are obviously very widely known and the customer support and lifetime warranty are nice to have as well. When I purchased my chassis wiring harness, I also got a 100$ rebate from painless for a special they were running so I actually got it for $280. It's really up to you, but as I said, never heard anything bad about EZ wiring. Do some research and as long as they have good customer support, I'd say go for it!

 

You have got to love big rebates, my catback exhaust was only like $80 or 100 after the $80 or $100 rebate, can't recall which way around it was. Seeing as its $5 cheaper, and a well known and respected brand, I would opt for the painless if they are still running the rebate, if not though the other brand seems like it should be ok.

 

pain less is running there rebate until june 30th i picked mine up for 320$ shipped so i am getting it for 220$ which is also why i went that route


any up dates sir?

 

Nothing really worth mentioning for updates yet. Tomorrow my power steering pressure and return lines should be in at advance auto. I decided against using the 4th gen lines since they look sloppy, and they take a lot of room away from how I will be running my turbo piping. The 3rd gen style lines just fit much better and I wanted to replace them anyways just to be safe. Also got my LS1 F body style balancer in the mail since I still had the truck one installed. I plan on getting the lines swapped, balancer installed, and belt put on tomorrow so check for some new pics and updates then!