"Finished exterior pics at the bottom of page 6.... Poor post planning on my part haha"

Engine bay.





Interior.









Im going to tinker with it this week, and get some miles on it, and hopefully get an alignment appointment. Then Ill be bringing it back to my new place and driving her to work everyday. Im going to try to get a couple videos for you guys too. Some better ones hopefully with a passenger filming instead of me strapping the camera to the speedo.

J.

 

Looks like a very well done, clean install.. I like it! Have fun with her and get us some more pics/videos!

 

Very cool, very clean man - DEFINITELY something you can be proud of!!

(Just isolate or insulate that cone filter so that the engine's not sucking in all that hot under-hood air! {Big pet peeve of mine...})

 

Thanks guys. As for the filter...couple things. I was going to try to isolate it with a "cold air" type box, but never got aroudn to trying it. There is a gap from the 4th gen rad install, and while moving it should be letting plenty of cooler air in.

According to my scan gauge, my IAT never shows temps that are anywhere near the coolant temp of the motor. Ill set the gauge to show engine temp and IAT so you can see the difference. I know the cooler the better, but I dont think that the ambient underhood air is killing me right now.

Im still going to look into improving the filter though...that set up was always meant to be temporary. I wish the fuse blocks weren't where they are, because Ide cut a hole and run the filter down in the fender.

J.

 

Amen, and the paint scheme aint bad either, matches the wheels. Have you thought about scuffing and just reclearing the thing? It looks pretty good to me as is.

 

No way.... The factory clear is very incosistant. It would be almost impossible to get it to look good and be a lasting job to just clear over it. Some of the spots the paint is "burnt away" to primer. And where the cracks in the clear are, they go pretty deep.

Ive heard of people not being able to clear over old clear. Something about the adhesion. So Im just gonna sand her down past clear, and lay new paint. It will look just like new, only much better because I plan to lay about 4 coats of clear over it, and wetsand/buff the heck out of it.

The color now is very dead. It pops when its wet...but as soon as it dries, you cant even really see the metallic. Part of that is the crappy factory clear job. The other part is that its just old. And it went from being garage kept all its life to sun shocked over this past summer. Even the GFX show signs of fade...which stinks because i didnt plan on painting them.

I do like the color scheme though. So Ill be keeping it dark blue metallic and silver GFX. Gonna give it a try before I go to all black...its grown on me a good bit. But seeing it as a fresh, shiney paint job might sell me even more.

J.

 

Right on man, I think you'll really like it...

 

Congrats on a job well done!

 

Hey everyone. Got home yesterday, fixed a couple little things, then took her out for some more miles. I was kidn enough to take some crappy video for you guys haha.

First...some pics...

Something's missing...


This is what was there...and I felt the blue was kind crappy. Plus if I ever color change, it wont match. Even now that I think Im sticking with a blue car...it just doesnt go.



So...this is what I found to replace it.











Next a couple under car shots since I had the rear up...







Cont'd....

 

Ok...first...I took a quick little cruise to see if the few things that I fixed were good. I was greeted with this when I got back.



Most of those are "normal". But it shows that the pass bank of coils failed at some point...? Car ran perfect. So Im thinking it was a fluke. Hasnt come back yet.

Now the vids. A couple disclaimers. I dont have my good camcorder right now, so Im still using my crappy digi camera. BUT...it does ok. It has a hand strap on the bottom that I made...like a camcorder. So I slip it on my left hand, and drive. It makes it look like Im steering more than I am, because it rocks back and forth on my knuckles. She actually drives very straight and nice. haha.

Make sure you click the "High Quality" thing in the video...

First the somewhat boring one. Cold start. Cut out 100% closed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4e8Qfm0yK4

Next...I was making a left from a stop. I was taking it pretty easy, and shifting very slow due to clutch break in, and probably needing to bleed the hyd. some more. This is with the cut out about 20% open. Just a couple bumps of the switch. How I normally drive around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SKz2WCnL3A

And finally...decided to slow it back down and do another little stab in 2nd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Vm-ZWMnW0

Mind you...I never went WOT, and I was probably letting off right around 6k. It felt really good last night. Still no issues. Looks like Ill be bringing her to the new place the end of the week.

J.

 

Snarly!!!!! She sounds mean.

Good work. I know how it feels to have to shift slow after romping on it. DOnt worry though, it does go by quick. You know all those excuses you use to make to go for a drive??? Nows the time to employ them

love the sound.

 

Sounds great Justin. I feel like Ive driven down the road in your first driving vid lol.

 

CAR IS SICK!!!! Enjoy!! Kinda makes you anxious to build another cause it's so damn fun!!!!

 

that is so badass man. I cannot wait to get my swap started. You are an inspiration to us all!

 

oh yeah, I definitely like the "no stripe" side better too. It doesnt transition well with the sticker, and I cant stand the fact that the stripe doesnt continue over the fender scoop. I'd strip that sucker off personally.

 

Very Nice. Looks like a super clean installation. Well Done.

 

Wow I just did a some what quick read through of all 7 pages lol That's a lot of work you put in her, that would have made me give up long ago, anyways she looks amazing! awesome job you did there and nice and clean to boot I like seeing that kind of stuff. Can't wait to see her painted and I got to admit that photoshop pic with the grey looked pretty hot

 

I have a couple small requests if you could. Could you get a picture of the shifter in neutral to show how the shifter looks in the console? Also, what shifter do you have?

Lastly, could you get some idle and driving videos with the cutout completely open? I love how LS1s sound with cams and open cutouts at both idle and driving.

 

Thanks again for all the kind works guys!! I dont know about the whole inspiration thing...but if my thread and car can help a couple people out along the way then it served its purpose!

Im planning to head home today to tinker with her some. Still trying to figure out why my darn wipers arent doing what they are supposed to.

1bdbrd: Ill gladly take pics of the shifter in every position. Ive been meaning to do that anyway so people could see how bending the stick changes the location. Im running the Pro 5.0 and so far I love the thing. I chose to cut some threads off, and bend the stick to get it where I want it. Its still too high, so Im going to either remove the jamp nut, and screw the ball down and use loctite to hold it, or Im going to cut more out of the stick and weld it back together. Probably going to do the last to retain the easy removal and adjustability.

I dont generally like the sound of my car while driving with the cut out completely open. It gets quiet raspy. Unless you are beating on it. Then it just sounds like the gates of hell are open and satan is running the 1/4 in his thirdgen. haha. But Ill get some more vids today if I get a chance.

Hoping to hit some cruise nights soon...and hopefully some EPFBA events.

J.

 

snoogins!

 

I would appreciate those pics if you could get them. My t56 sitting in the garage has a modded Pro 5.0 with it and I was curious how different it would look compared to the same setup in a 4th gen. I am wanting to cut the shaft a little shorter and rethread it for an 03 Cobra (or similar) **** if its any bigger than it was in my old Camaro.

As for the videos,the rasp you talked about is the reason I wanted to hear that actually. I think I am the only person on the planet that loves that sound. I would LS1 swap my car JUST for that..

 

OK... 1bdbrd these are for you. haha.

I took a bunch of pics, and some vids today. I also re-did my ashtray window switch plate...and I 100x happier with what I have now. So... Lets get to it.

First, the shifter position pics. The pictures go in succession. First, two pics of it in neutral. Then 1st, 2nd, 3rd...etc to reverse. There is also a video...because, why not. haha. The vid also shows how my reverse lock out button works. I kind of push it over without hitting the button, hitting the lock out, then push the button, and it pops over. I prefer this over it doing it automatically.

Neutral


Neutral


1st


2nd


3rd


4th


5th


6th


Reverse


And the vid...Click high quality if you wish...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgrBFznxH6I

cont'd...

 

Some clips I put together of cut out open driving. DEFINETLY click high quality for this...and watch the volume on your speakers/headphones. haha. Oh...and the reason the vids look similar to the others, is that they are. Same roads in the beginning, same route. Just with the cut out open. Sorry about the music too. I didnt realize the camera would pick it up...it was pretty low.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHJIKfKEJQI

Now for the window switch plate. The old one was crap. Flimsy weak plastic.

This new one is aluminum. Took better care making this one. Laminated it with my favorite black textured laminate. haha. Looks better in my opinion.

Started with a CAD sketch.


The old one that I free handed out of some crappy plastic I found laying around.


Cut out and drilled for openings.




Covered.


NEW switches installed.




The wires coming up through the ashtray area.


Hidden away.


Opened up.


The little thing infront of the switches is a red light. I blacked out most of the rearward facing side. When its lit, it reflects off the little piece of metal under the ashtray lid, and illuminates the switches. Mostly for my passengers, and just for the heck of it. haha.

Thats it... She's parked out front of the new place. And I keep checking on her. Im alittle nervous. haha. More updates as I make them. Im still taking pic/vid requests and Im definetly happy to answer more questions via this thread or PM... so let me know!

J.

 

Question, how does the reverse lockout work on a factory setup t-56?

 

Congrats mate, a job well done.

 

The reverse lock out is very simple set up. Its a solenoid attached to the trans tail housing. When there is no power going to it, the end of the solenoid that sticks into the shifter part of the tail housing prevents the shifter from moving into reverse.

You CAN get it into reverse if you over power the spring in the solenoid. Its not too difficult...but gets annoying.

When you apply 12 volts to the solenoid, the pintle retracts, and moves out of the way so you can easily get over into reverse.

The PCM controls this on a 4th gen. I think it uses a speed input and possibly a clutch switch input to give voltage to the solenoid. That way it knows not to release the solenoid at like 80mph. Essentially, the solenoid is getting power anytime you are idling, or moving slowly. Which, is kind of another reason I went with pushbutton. Didnt want the thing having power all the time.

I chose to hook it to the switch in my shifter. Its second nature to me now to just hit the button when I need reverse. Works great, its very simple, and I was able to retail the function without adding another circuit to the PCM. The switch could be anywhere. Dash, console, heck even an old floor mounted dimmer could be made to work.

J.

EDIT: Found this pic and figured why not. It shows the solenoid pintle. You can see how when you try to put the shifter in reverse, the bottom of the shift cup hits that pintle.

 

Dude, that's a GREAT idea - and it looks to be really nicely done as well! Nice way to work the reverse-lockout as well.

Too bad your shifter reminds me of a certain burger joint's mascot...

 

Those videos were great. The shifter looks a little taller than the one I have (or atleast compared to when it was in my 4th gen). I am really wanting to cut mine down a little more and put an 03 Cobra **** on it because I think it looks much nicer than the Hurst **** I have now.

Is the covertible top switch used for your cutout? I think thats a great idea because it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

Thanks for the media!

 

Yeah... I dont like how tall mine is. But its bent back and over far enough that the motion feels good. My shift ball has a jamb nut on the bottom, so it cant thread all the way down on the threads. You have to leave a few for the jamb nut. Its either that, or I loose the nut, and use loctite or something and just "glue" the ball in place. It would thread further down then. Appearing shorter.

I dont want to do it that way, so Im going to cut and re-weld the stick to whatever height I decide on.

The vert top switch works PERFECTLY for the cut out. The switch looks good, fits good, and feels good when you use it. Better than a toggle in my opinion. Plus like you said, anyone looking in hardly notices it.

J.

 

what window switches are you using ?

 

Factory switches...Not sure what years looked exactly like that. But my 86 and 87 both had the exact same. I got the new ones from Perry Pam...who I believe runs modern day muscle now. I got them when they only had an ebay store or listing.

J.

 

those are the same switches that came in both my 91's so maybe they're newer year stockers?

 

ty for the explination!

 

If I had to guess, Ide say the switches are gonna be listed as 85-92... At some point the older switches were all black I believe. But Im not a historian. I bet the info is on this site somewhere... But I can believe 85-92 since my 86 had em, and your 91 had em.

I still have the originals from my 87. One of the bezels is broken, and they are generaly in rough shape. I have the originals from 86 as well. And they are a good bit nicer. I dont see any NOS window switches on MDM anymore, so maybe they're depleted? Im sure you can still find some though.

J.

 

Hey all. Just wanted to touch base. My post count is down a bit since the car is "done". She's still running well. Ive driven her every day to work for a week, and took it for errands here and there.

I took it for an alignment today...NEVER AGAIN will I use firestone. Total mess. Im going to take it somewhere reputable to have it re-done...without getting into details, I actually had to walk back, and PROVE to the guy that you can adjust caster on a 3rdgen. And the said he couldnt get the measurements I wanted, when I KNOW you can...I have spohn struts hats that have extra adjustability. Grrrr...anyway. It drives good atleast.

I still cant figure out my wipers. Im guessing the switch is bad....Or something is weird with the wiring from the 87 delay system to the 86 non-delay. Ill get it figured out some day.

Today I decided out of the blue to build a sub box. I had a blazer back in high school and I had a 12" MTX sub in a sealed box. And I still had it. haha. It was in the back of my 87 for a bit...on the rear seat.

First let me say Im not building a comp set up. That obvious. I have been planning a dual 10" set up with a 5 channel amp...but money is tight right now. So...this will do me just fine.

The sub is a 12" MTX Blue Thunder...Old school The amp is a very cheap walmart brand. Scorshe or something like that. POS. Even had a pretty nice amp wiring kit laying around. The sub right now is just in open air. I plan to pull it back out, and try to seal it. Should be able to without much trouble. It was fun. Took me a couple hours to cut the plate out and run the wires. And for me...and the music I listen to, its working perfectly. Just enough bass to make me happy...for now.

Anyway...a cell pic. Maybe Ill take some more after I finish it and carpet it.



Im not a box builder, and I dont know much at all about car stereo set ups...r even how to tune my crappy system as it is. haha. Oh well...it'll do.


J.

EDIT: On a not so bright note...I seem to be losing clutch fluid. Great... The past two mornings the pedal has been very weird feeling. Today it was impossible to get into gear. After pumping it, I was able to make it to work. Once on the road, the pedal felt fine. Checked the fluid when I got to work, and there is very little fluid in the reservoir. NO CLUE what this could be. Better not be that remote bleeder leaking..Ill be so pissed. Im almost hoping it something obvious like my master cylinder is busted. But I have the sneaking suspicion that Ill be pulling the trans

EDIT EDIT: Ok. WEnt out and poked around. No fluid or dampness around the master cylinder at all. Not inside, not outside. Nothing on the hose from the reservoir to the m/c. Today when I get home, Im going to crawl under and look for dampness on the trans. I suspect my autozone slave cylinder is leaking. Just my thought. Going to order a new GM unit today to get it on its way, and if I see anything, start pulling the trans tonight. Wish me luck....

 

What'd you find??

 

Absolutely nothing. I felt all around the master cylinder. All around the bottom of the motor. All along the lines. Stuck paper towel into the areas around the slave fittings. Stuck it up into that slot between the bellhousing and the block... NOTHING. Couldnt find any wet areas under the car.

I even pulled my carpet up since my hyd. line runs inside and under my carpet. Nothing. Bone dry. When I was feeling around the quick disconnect fitting at the slave, I would randomly get a tiny bit of something on my finger. But I couldnt pinpoint where it was.

I had my dad pump the pedal while I was under there feeling around....nothing.

Im at a total loss. I ran the reservoir almost dry within a week. About 200 miles worth of driving...if that. Might be 150... But with all that fluid disappearing in that short amount of time, I would have assumed there would be wetness somewhere.

Oh...and today, I bled the clutch and topped it off in ACE Hardware's parking lot. And by the time I got home, I could visibly see a drop in the reservoir.

NO way that I had that much air in the system and still have the clutch work. haha. So Im at a total loss. Im about to get a new slave, new master cylinder, and remove the trans to redo it all. I just dont know what else to do.

On a side note, I decided to close my sub box up. So I started building the enclosed area. I didnt plan ahead very well, so its not gonna be great, but whatever. I ran out of MDF or I would have kept going. Ill take pictures of it for the heck of it.

J.

 

Crap, sorry to hear about the clutch problem. I hate to say it, but I suspect that you're going to be pulling the bellhousing...

I seriously hope not though, I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya. Best of luck.

 

Wow this car has turned out amazing, looks awesome, sounds awesome, I cannot wait to swap an LS1/T56 into my car someday.

 

Looking back on your project, I agree on the 4th gen cables. What a pain in the a**. I spent more time fabbing a nice bracket that worked. I should have gotten the donor piece like u did.

 

Yup...I tried to cut corners only in ways that would work great. And using the cables that I had laying around, and making it work JUST like the 4th gen was the easiest, quickest, and best working solution that I came up with. And welding the piece in on this go around came out MUCH better than having the bolts through the floor. I would have loved to have gotten a set of conversion cables...but, I think someone's been trying to get them made for quite awhile now. So in the mean time...my solution hasnt failed me yet.

V8...yeah Im gearing up to pull the trans and replace the slave. The bellhousing doesnt have to come off though. Im thinkin about a new GM slave, and a new master cylinder...but no stock master cylinder this time around. Gonna try something new...expensive and new... haha. The system wont have an excuse not to work.

Shift06: Thanks for the props! Good luck getting your project rolling. You wont regret it!

J.

 

I think i know what your talkin about

Glad to hear its workin good! Im starting my conversion conversion this fall during my surgery recovery time (Putting the real deal LS1 in)

Thinking 6spd during that time also

 

Could the brake fluid be leaking into the vacuum side of the booster and getting sucked into the plenum?

 

Maybe youre dripping fluid in a location where its not leaving any trails. Like at an apex in a hose at the bottom of the curve or something....

Usually when i get leaks, i put this huge peice of white board under my car. My dad has an ample collection of these posters/signs in the basement, and the back is made out of that "ruffled" (yes like the potato chip) polystyrene of some kind. Its very common, and you can write on it with a marker and erase! If you dont have access to this stuff, a large white blanket (old blanket mind you) or something like that works too.... Lay it down under the car, fire it up, and just pump the clutch while its stationary. Maybe you'll find a drip (fngers crossed).

I dunno, it just seems sad that youre gonna have to solve a problem by throwing parts at it!!! It must be driving you insane not to know what it is..... My suggestion is, dont give up the search yet for the prob. If you cant afford to fix it this time, can you afford to fix it again?

As for the sub box. That looks really nice. I plan on building mine in the same place at the same height. Sounds like youre almost done, but i was gonna suggest you use the dimensions in the audio section sticky. The sticky has the "big sub enclosure" when u first open it up. BUt on the second page? i think theres dimensions for a smaller one like you are building. May have saved you (or save you depending on how far u are) some trouble.

Good luck

 

Shel.... If you know that I have to wait until the 17th to get this m/c...then you know which one Im talking about haha. We'll see.

1989GTATransAm: Huh? This is the clutch system that Im having issues with, not the brakes. On a side note though...I dont know that its possible for the booster to get brake fluid from the brake master cylinder in it. I wish it was that simple.

Online: I hear ya man. Im going to work on it today. I plan to put the rear up on stands, and just shift through the gears a bunch of times and really pump the mess out of the pedal. I might try to put something under it, but the fluid is so hard to see. Also...I would have thought that it would have left some sort of moisture trail from driving down the road. Like on the bottome of the trans, or the floor board. But Im going to get it up in the air and really start digging. Yesterday I was just using a jack so it was hard to get all the way under.

As for throwing parts at it. You guys know thats not what Im about. however..this hydraulic system has been giving me trouble since I first did the swap in the 87. I just feel like if Im going to pull the trans to inspect things, I might as well put new parts back in the car to not only freshen things up, but hopefully fix whatever is causing mayhem.

As for the box...its actually almost done. I have the sub enclosed now. Just have to make one more piece, then take it apart, slather on some glue, and scew it back together. Honestly...I started doing it because I was bored. It just happened to turn out half decent. And it sits down further than any other ones that Ive seen. The sub is junk, the amp is super junk, and the box is semi-junk. haha. But it actually sounds half decent. Im anxious to hear the difference between free air and enclosed. That sub used to thump like a mother when it had the matching MTX amp...but I fried that amp while messing with it.

Im not sure how much airspace that sub requires. But Im going to go off the dimensions of the MTX box, and see how close I am. I might add some pyrofill or whatever its called if the space is alittle small. I even went to the stereo install joint and got some box carpet. Ill take more pictures tonight if I finish it.

The biggest thing, and the important part of all my projects, is that I learned some stuff. I never built a box and hardly ever work with wood or wood tools. If I have to do it over again, I know I can do a better job. So maybe I wont have to foot the bill to have the audio shop do it for me.

J.

EDIT: Sorry guys I know this was a long one. I just had a thought. Take a look at my trans.



See all that clutch dust? I never cleaned it out...haha. Too much trouble.



Now...I have a feeling, the leak is happening when the pressure is greatest. So right when the pedal hits the floor. That pressure is just enough to cause a quick spurt or leak, and once that tiny bit of pressure is leaked off, the leak stops. Causing notchy shifting, and allowing smooth shifts sometimes. That little spurt could be dribbling out of the slave, and soaking up all that clutch dust and never making it down to the bell housing. Because the amounts of fluid are so small, its not pooling up or running out of the bell. I mean...that little spurt, added up over how many clutch pumps per day, for a week. Its possible I think. Ide like to order a slave today and have it....but at the same time I kind of want to pull the trans and take a look. Ill update you guys as I go.

 

Anything is possible i guess. Especially if you have a bell-cover on there, itll give the fluid some time to really soak in.

Wouldnt this also cause you to notice a slippy clutch though? Maybe im exaggerating, but couldnt a spurt make it to the clutch disc or even the flywheel and cause some lubrication?>

Also for "replacing" parts, i was under the impression u had replaced all the parts anyway during the swap. But i guess that wasnt the case? In that scenario, its prolly not a big deal to replace em now.

 

Im thought on the fluid getting on the clutch is that its not making it there. The clutch works 100% other than notchy shifting. What Im imagining is that if the fluid spurts alittle, its going to hit the throwout bearing cup first. Im thinking its leaking around the slave cylinder piston..or whatever you want to call the interal parts of the slave.

The only thing I replaced was the slavecylinder. However, I used an Autozone reman unit. I also had some wierdness when I first put the trans and motor in the car...I talked about it earlier in the build. So...really what Im thinking is if I dont find any leaks anywhere else today, its narrowed to the slave. So Im just going to replace it...beacuse if I have to pull the trans to inspect it, I might as well.

Ill update tonight. Hoping to maybe pull the trans tonight. But we'll see how that goes.

J.

 

Well, I found the problem. Atleast what I hope is the only problem.

Here's the good news, I dont have to pull the trans...atleast for now.

The bad news, is the steel braided line is leaking at the quick disconnect fitting. This is bad, because Ive yet to see just a replacement hose, and it pretty much means Im looking at a new master. Sure I could find a used one maybe, but Ide still have to pull the master and deal with that mess.

Anyway, the reason I couldnt see the leak. It was quite a sneaky sucker. When moving, the drips were probably getting blown and just werent noticable. They were too small. When sitting still, the drips where falling directly on top of the O2 sensor wires. They were hitting right before the wire loom, and then running INSDE the damn loom. The loom split was facing up, so all the fluid was just sitting in there. It was the damnedest thing.

The only way I found the leak was I was pulling the fitting to replace the o-ring, and I noticed it was wet. So....Im weighing my options, but its not gonna be fixed in the next few days unfortunetly.

J.

 

Well, at leasst you found it.

 

Man this is a claen swap...... I hate leaks also and glad to see you found it