ill remember that in the future- for now the fuel line is in and it seems much better suited.

drove her out to the gas station just a few minutes ago, and let her rip a little in second and third, and wow does that feel good.

i really do need to replace the steering box at some point, but i just cant prioritize well for some reason right now. i need to do something better with the exhaust, get fully weatherstripped, get the rear end, wheels/tires, and paint/dents fixed.

thinking of the exhaust, does anybody still sell a double hump style xmember? i would be interested at this point in swapping to that to simplify my dual exhaust, that or i think i might look at running straight pipes of each collector with no X and just hang the mufflers at the back where the one is now...

~Steven

 

I think Hawks Sells the double hump style Trans Mounts. I have been considering one as well, I think I have a Spohn now, and I'm longing for true duals for my project!

 

ill have to take my goPro camera out and mount it on the fender or something so you guys can hear this thing.

i ripped up through fifth gear on the parkway tonight and i have never felt so happy about this project

people bash the LT1 all the time about how much better the LS series engines are, but as a 17 year old thats never driven a muscle car- this thing is heaven. The pedal feels like power is available all the time, and the T56 is shifting like butter

ill come back every now and again with pictures of what im up to, ill try to lay off the speculative posts

~Steven

 

Nobody should ever talk smack about any small block Chevy. They're all great engines.

I'm glad you're happy with how it's running. I'll bet she screams when you stomp the gas.

 

I really want an LS-1, but honestly, if I can't find an LSX car I'll start looking for an LT1 Car, and start building. LT-1 Cars can make plenty of power, and because they have similarly short runners as LS-X cars, they have a similar flat-torque curve.

I think the main reason why I am looking to go with an LS-X car over an LT based car is that I love the sound for one, but more importantly, the LS series cars have a bit more power potential and soon to be parts availability since they're still making LS Series motors.


Either way, I think your car is great! Keep up the updates and get some more vids!

 

thanks falcon, ill be watching your swap as you get into it.

i thought this was useful information to have in one place:

the oil level sensor is on the drivers side of the LT1 oil pan, and it is never re-used in these swaps unless the fourth gen dash is going in as well.
mine is leaking right now about three to five drops every time i park it from around the sensor port.

the sensor can be removed using a wrench, it is a big plastic threaded thing that comes out.
to plug the port for good, it is 20mm x 1.5
autozone part 090-040.1 is a dorman drain plug and gasket that will be perfect.

I have one on order and will be plugging this port for good once i get some seafoam and change the oil.

~Steven

 

i finally did away with that god awful T handle shifter and replaced it with a sparco **** i had laying around. I also shortened the stick up a bit- it is far more comfortable now.



also got in a stretch of intake tubing to bump my filter over into the battery tray area. Had to trim it down from 12" a bit, but it sits snug and happy right now.


Im leaving for Bon Aire tomorrow for a week of scuba so ill talk to everyone in a while. Happy fourth of july!

~Steven

 

Looks great Steven! I just got done making the brake line flares with new fittings, for my prop. valve installation. For some reason, a few flares turned out kind of funky, even though I prepped the line ends properly. I hope there are no leaks.

I'll have to pay extra extra attention to the fuel line flares.

 

I think its great! I love seeing people do custom things to their third-gens. I have always loved how all of our cars are so unique from one to another.

 

well i returned today from Bonaire.

my brother took the car out for a spin while i was away, and ran it out of gas in the middle of the damn parkway. My dad had it towed home and filled her up- no problems.

i went through my house and garage and cleaned out all the extra and old crap i had laying around from this build. its surprising just how much stuff it involved.

not sure what my plans are for the car this summer yet. my biggest issue is getting new door seals and the t-top side strips, but all are discontinued...

perhaps ill order the double hump crossmember and redo the exhaust soon. ill grab a driving vid for you guys the way it is now sometime this week.

~Steven

 

where can i find the double hump crossmember? i knew someone made one i just dont know where..

 

Right here brother They probably have these types of crossmembers for various trannies, but I haven't checked into it much, since I don't care about long tubes and dual exhausts (too much $$ and hassle for not much gain, in my opinion).

http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/tr...66speed-1.aspx

 

Why did he run it out of gas? That's not good.

Anyway, if you have lots of money still, I'd get a Strange S60 rear end, and I'd look into Advanced Induction's (AI) stuff for the heads and camshaft. I'd sell you my rear diff from my 97, but I'm swapping it into my 86, until I can afford a Strange S60.

AI looks like good stuff to me. Great power on naturally aspirated LT1s and nice torque curves, too. Prices aren't too bad, either, for what you're getting.

I think Eckler's Camaro has decent prices on weather stripping and all that stuff. You should check them out.

-Tim

 

how about the T5 trans? does anyone make a double hump crossmember for that?

 

i have no idea about a T5 xmember josh, sorry.

he ran out of gas because the fuel gauge is still pegged past full, and he didnt ask me how much was left in the tank... at least he didnt sit there trying to start it and kill the fuel pump.

tonight i swapped out the other power steering hose that was bleeding for a fuel rated hose. that was my last leak that isnt engine oil.
my two oil leaks are from the timing cover and the low oil level sensor port i described earlier. I will change the oil sometime this week and plug up the port, but i dont know what to do about the timing cover?
is there anything i can do other than pull apart the front of the motor and put in a new gasket?

~Steven

 

I'd use that black goop from the dealerships that seals valve covers on many cars. The Mopar stuff works frickin' great. Of course, one would think that oil should not be leaking out from behind the timing cover. are you sure it's not leaking from the pan gasket?

 

ill look closer but it seems to be accumulating on the bottom of the timing cover. havent spent enough time looking at it to really know for sure. ill figure out the source when i have her jacked up for the plug in the oil pan.

if it stops thunderstorming out here ill take her to work and get you that video

~Steven

 

Yeah cool. A video would be great

Good luck on that oil leak. I hate oil leaks.

 

so my brother and i have planned this weekend to be cars only after my swim meet. he needs a new maf and some work done on his fmic etc. since his car has been stumbling lately, and he has a new boost gauge and A/F wideband + senders to install.

im planning to seafoam my engine, change the oil, pull the oil pan and do a new gasket, and plug the low oil level port. other than that im in pretty good shape for now. we are also planning to fix my fuel gauge and try to calibrate my speedo.


i have opened dialogue with a guy in richmond about a fourth gen rear out of an RS with 100xxx miles, fresh oil, and 3.42 gears. he says he's selling it because he picked up a rear out of an SS which is stronger? is that true?
basically are there any disadvantages with getting a rear out of a V6 car? it comes with all brake hardware, fresh pads, etc.

~Steven

 

Use an oilpan from a 1pc RMS SBC. It wont have the oil level thing in it

SS vs V6 10 bolt being stronger is nonsense. A 10 bolt is a 10 bolt is a 10 bolt when dealing with 3rd/4th gens

 

Hah... yeah Pocket's on with this one. This is the one that I told you about, ya? If he's getting rid of his to "upgrade" to the one from an SS, tell him you'd be glad to take that inferior axle off his hands

 

yeah its the one you pm-ed me about, i was just about to reply and say thanks for the heads up!

im waiting on him to text me some pictures of the thing, and after that i was going to offer 250 picked up in the next two weeks. could be cheaper but richmond isnt too far and it has some new brake hardware on it.

the ss rear he got does have taller gears, but he seemed convinced it was heavier duty than this one from the RS. i didnt call BS cause i thought i would confirm here first. I knew i had read multiple times that they were all comparable, i just forgot if that included V6 cars.

thanks guys ill keep you posted if i get it.

~Steven

 

Hey Steven. Got my engine out today. yay!!

 

man i have been following this build,... and you did some great work man you should be proud. very proud. Ill be watchin for any updates. and is it steven?

congrats on the vids man cool cool. I am planning a ltx swap with the t56 as well but i will be running the dizzy instead. but nice man nice

 

i would offer him 200 for it,rears are not a hard item to find at least not in MA

 

yeah he never sent me pictures and hasnt been responding so i think the deal is dead on this one in particular. Ill have to keep looking.

I did buy myself a manual shift plate and boot yesterday to replace my see through console haha

didnt get much else done this weekend though, wound up working on my brother's car the whole time...

~Steven


edit: lo and behold he emailed me back with pics this morning so i offered him 200 cash

 

got my shift plate and installed it this evening, and boy does it look good.



sparco shifter interfaced fine above the leather. i also drilled a hole in the ash tray to allow my audio aux jack through. the ash tray hides the jack when not in use and my iphone sits in it when it is.

 

Looking good man, Did the guy respond back to you about the rear end?

 

yeah he wants 275 for it plus a driveshaft. i havent gotten back to him saying i dont want or need a driveshaft and im not paying that much...

maybe ill settle for 250 and wind up getting it. ill definitely post up here if/when i do.

~Steven

 

i paid 150 cash for mine, but if it has low miles and in good condition then 250 sounds pretty fair.
plus it gives you an extra 1.5 inches of wheel width, and it looks really clean

 

well i settled him down at 250, my brother is going to pick it up tomorrow on his way back from norfolk. hopefully ill get a prop. valve soon and get it set up!

i know its a little overpriced, but since im leaving for school in two weeks its now or never, and by never i mean not until next may at least.

ill get pics when i have it

~Steven

 

here she is after a good pressure washing. im going to clean up some more and then shoot primer and then red


~Steven

 

first coat

second coat


this yellow port was leaking oil... what is supposed to go there / how should i cap it?
and i dont need the wiring to the top for traction control right?

~Steven

 

the yellow port is a vent. there is a cap for them you can get or run a hose to a high point. the thing on top is a speed sensor and you dont have traction control or abs so no need to worry just leave it like that.

 

thanks for the info.

i did some searching and found some people who didnt cover the vent port at all- what do you recommend? if there is a cap made for it i would love to use it but i dont know where i could buy one.

~Steven

 

that looks right at home

 

everything is starting to come together. I ordered all the flare nuts and other stuff i need online today and it will come next monday. In the meantime i am planning to install the rear and get the brake/e-brake stuff set up in the back. the paint looks decent, i might give it another coat tomorrow night just for the hell of it.

pulled my sway bar tonight to clean up tomorrow and at least put some primer on. the V6 swaybar that came with the rear is like 1mm thick...

~Steven

 

if it was mine i would cover it. I think just take the info you have from your rear end..... vehicle.. year... make... whatever... and go to the dealership and get one. they call it a differential breather valve. the ones i found info on said they cost like $3 which gets you the whole thing i dont know how to put a normal image in here to show you sorry. i checked some aftermarket online catalogs and couldn't find it.... for $3 i would just go dealership mode.

 

sounds good. its probably not a big deal to leave it as is for a while until i feel like going to a stealership.

~Steven

 

So I take it you're not draining the fluid?

That breather valve really shouldn't be leaking unless it was tipped over so that the fluid could be right on it. I'm 90% I left mine just like that to no ill effect...

As far as the brake stuff goes, just take you're time with it and you'll be fine. I know getting pre-bent lines were something you were really pushing for earlier in the thread, but working them really is easy. Just take your time to get the right bends, make sure everything is clearanced fine, and you'll be good to go.

That 6-speed sticker sho' looks fresh

 

thanks man. it actually got the gear oil changed right before i bought it (the guy had paperwork to prove it) so im not going to bother. he said there was little to no flake in the oil and that everything checked out.

Also the vent was only dripping when i had rotated it upside down for paint which is how i discovered it was a vent... haha

and i have stainless rear axle brake lines in the basement from earlier in the thread like you mentioned, so hopefully those will fit fairly easily.

~Steven

 

yeah it wont really hurt anything i guess little stuff like that bothers me. also im from iowa and winter sucks.

 

heres my carnage for this evening



everything is free but the brakes/e-brakes



driveshaft and torque arm are free...

just need some more time. also my wilwood prop. valve was delivered today, now just waiting on the flare nuts and other fittings which should arrive on monday.

more pics to come,
~Steven

 

i just found a set of C5 wagon wheels (18x10.5, 17x9.5) is what the guy said with tires on them for 300 bucks.

i think i might jump on them... question is i thought that wagon wheels were 18x9.5 and 17x8.5?
either way its still a good deal, and i should only need spacers up front...

~Steven

 

this took about 3-4 hours tonight but it was so satisfying to finally set her on the ground
made my own little e-brake cable brackets and tightened/adjusted accordingly. everything is perfect except i didnt have time to put the brake lines on the rear itself. i moved the T fitting over to the new rear but didnt run the lines from there to each caliper... ill get to it before the prop valve stuff comes.

here is the new stance- significantly wider than i expected:




but i like it cant wait to get those C5 wheels to fill it out some more.

yay for having discs all around!


(yes i know the calipers are blue... ill change them with the proper type of paint later on perhaps)

~Steven

 

Hah... I've got a set of wagon's on mine. They're typically a pretty good deal to upgrade to some bigger meats - the wagon wheels seem to be the bottom of the line in preference for Vette wheels... and it's usually not too tough to snag a good deal on them. $300 with good tread would be a great deal... even better than I got on mine.

Wheel width I'm not 100% on, but you should be running 275's out back and 245's out front. Depending on the brand of the rear tire, you may or may not rub. When I had the original Firestone's on there, they never rubbed at all. The other run flat's they came with were the Goodyear's - I have them on now, and they rub the inner fender liner.

 

lookin good! just gotta finish pullin apart my sacraficial wrecked 97 and i can start mine. i cant wait.

 

thanks!

josh, yeah im picking up the wagon wheels sunday morning. they have goodyear eagle F1 tires on them (275/40/zr18 + 245/45/zr17), the guy said the rears will need to be replaced soon- oh well. it will last me two weeks at least which is all i need. 300 bucks sounds like a deal to me. i ordered my 2" wheel spacers for the front, and new brake lines for the rear axle. Ill get up pics when everything is back together.

After that, i think it may be time to move on from this thread. Ill be at georgia tech for school starting Aug. 9th, and the car will be in storage. Next summer I'll be back to work on it I'm sure, but while im away ill just be around the forums intermittently trying to lend a hand.

~Steven

 

looks very clean! i like the red alot.

where did the end of the ebrake cable bolt up on the caliper? im having a little trouble locating it on mine

 

this rear is 93-97 style, ls1 rear is different. there is a spring mechanism for the e brake below each caliper with a hole in a bracket before it and a tab for the e-brake cable to slip over. then when the cable is pulled it compresses the spring and applies the brake.

if that doesnt do it for you i can get a picture of it- let me know.

~Steven