24 and in college when I did my swap. I just waited until I had everything ready before tearing my DD down. Told myself I wasnt going to have a 2 year project like most people because I wouldnt be able to stick with it, so I did it in a week

1.5" adapters up front will work, just grind the tie rods a little. 2" adapters are ideal though

 

yea, i figured i could grind away at it or buy some spacers and just space it out a lil more to give me clearance. like a 1.75 instead of 1.5, make sense? ya but yea when i get my settlement from the accident ill send of the wiring harness to ya pocket get that done. where would i get a ecm? or where would you recomend?

 

I just got back from the shop and I tryed to grind the tierod and that worked sum but now there is the problem of the rim hitting the fenderwell. so i need to get 2inch spacers. but the 1.5 will do for now just to get the car trailered back to the house and back in my garage. I need to get a torque arm. ill prolly go with the spohn torque arm and trans crossmember. i already got spohn motor plates so might as well keep it all spohn. but i am gettin there. I wanna get ls1 front brakes and rear brakes. what all do i need for the rear brakes? e brake cables? rotors, calipers, pads, mounting plates, and hardware? is that right? anyone

 

Check out this site, it has all kinds of great information, including information about an LS1 brake swap:

https://www.thirdgen.org/ls1reardisc

 

k so i got the car on the ground and rolable. now the problem is that the rim is hitting the inner fender wells so i need 2 inch spacers here are some pics of progress. it only hits when u turn the wheel. so i gotta get 2 instead of 1.5 but i am lanning on buying another hatch instead of using the one from the donor. cause it is all rusty. then i gotta get all the ttop stuff out and then the parts car is done. there is nothing else i need from it so

mybird3.jpg?t=1295393842

mybird4.jpg?t=1295393842

 

so i am gonna go work on the car tommorow. it is supposed to be cold so we will see but i have been really motivated lately just cause of gettin the car rolable so that has helped

 

One can almost hear Darwin smile...

 

You can hear him smile?

 

Familiar with the works of Sir Chuck, are you?

 

I didnt get it either,........... hmmmm but yea so I am in the process of looking for a dash. since the one outta the donor car was cracked and all I need a good used one for a 89 firebird. now i have been thinking bout my engine and thinking bout building it up when i get the settlement. this is what i am thinking.

LS1 block bored over .030
cp pistons
eagle rods
stock ls1 crank
arp head bolts
Tsp 5.3 heads
Tsp cam package
comp pushrods
commetic head gaskets
arp main bolts
and then a ls6 intake or professional product with a 92mm throttle body
injectors will be a 36lb

That is my current idea on how i would want it to go once i get the settlement money. so any thoughts on what kinda cam to run with that setup. i was thinking the tsp tsunami cam with a 114 lsa something like that idk

 

Boring the LS1 .030" is not recommended

92mm TB on a LS6 is a waste. The inlet can be ported to 80mm max (78mm stock). Have to switch intakes to use a bigger TB

 

Google "Darwin Award" and consider the possible outcomes of grinding metal away from steering components.


Planning on a big-buck re-sleeve, or learning the expensive way that LS1 blocks can't be bored that big w/ the factory sleeves?

 

Keep it going man. You need to get everything that you need to make the car run before you think about building a motor.....I am the same way right now, since I cant do anything to the car currently I've had nothing but twin turbos on my mind....

 

so I cant plan the build?? just throwing out ideas man.... lol well that is my plans so far i thought you could bore the ls1's ou a lil bit? but nvm. So the car is ready to go to my garage just gotta get my garage all cleaned out. Been stressed out lately but working on the finner details

 

97-98 LS1s can only get a .005" hone before requiring new sleeves. 99-04 cant go much bigger. If you want to punch it out, go with an iron block. It doesnt afford any performance benefits vs a stock bore size

 

figured as much. well then take that parts outta the plan lol! but yea just got back from my home town. where i worked on my bros wrx and pulled the motor and tore it down so waiting to put it all back together in bout a month or so.

 

Why were you planning on boring the engine out, was it damaged or something?

Anyway, my advice would be to do whatever you have to do to finish your build. The idea (unless major problems are incurred) should be to plan your project, then gather the needed parts, resources, etc, then build your project. You've gotta be able to stick to your plan if you're going to complete this thing. We've watched you go through some pretty tough stuff between homes, sickness, tragedy, accidents, etc...and through all of it, has been an inkling to sell the car and parts...If you're that close to the "on the edge" of selling the project, my suggestion would be to make a run for the finish line and get the car driving...Fastest way, get the LS1 that's in there running!!! Once you've got the car running and driving, you can decide if you want to go with a turbocharged setup...next suggestion, after you've got the car running, you can slowly (or quickly) use your insurance settlement to purchase a cheap iron blocked 6.0L engine, and start gathering components for a turbocharged setup...you'll have plenty of time to go through the theoretical planning phase of the build, deciding cams, pistons, rods, crank, intake, turbo, intercooler, etc...and when the time comes remove your old LS1 and drop your new (fully assembled) engine in over a week (or less)...spend some time tuning and be happy that you've got an even faster "dream car". Then take your original motor and sell it off as a complete unit for a couple bucks and use that money for some other random project you've got lying around...or buy your wife a nice necklace .

 

I'm so jealous man... I have my ls1 sitting in my storage unit waiting to get worked on... just dont have the space to take my car apart... great progress man keep us updated with pics! get it running man we are all rootin for ya!

 

all you guys, that brings tears to my eyes guys. seeing you guys talkin me into this is like i got my older bro back. NO HOMO but i love ya guys and thank you so much for the help and support. i wish my bro was here to see me doing this ya no. like i am building my younger bros subbie and that has been so much fun. and you are right the build or plan should be just to get the car running and then plan my horsepower build. my wife is all for me doing this and she keeps me going.

so for the car, i got the hood on and i closed it thinking the latch would open but it isnt so what should i do? how can i get the hood to unlatch without the latch itself.......
and no the motor is fine just i need to tear it apart and put new rings in it i smashed a set when i put them in so my fault but other then that is is all good

 

I still may consider ordering new rods and pistons.

 

Marvelous, just think of all that hp while you're in the lawyer's office moaning and pointing at your hurt back.

If you can work up a few tears you might get enough payout for a shortblock.

 

haha that is to funny

 

so no updates on the car. but i got an update the garage is clean now just need to take trash out and clean floor up and surrounding areas then monday push the car in my garage with all the parts

 

Mine should be rolling into the garage on Monday as well. I'll race ya

 

sounds like a deal lol

 

so the garage is clean, ready for the car. So i think i am gonna move the car sunday(tommorow), then monday move all my parts and tools so then tommorow i will be

 

so i got the car here at the house yesterday,....... beat ya! lol well i have been working on things that i have already worked on like three to four times.

 

so here is a pic of the car in the garage when the weather gets decent out ill push here out and spray down and clean the engine bay of all the dust. need to get under it and put the fuel tank in it with new lines and fuel pump so do that and she will be readyt to go. just waiting on the weather to cooperate. current plans and these are revised once again.

ls1 stock crank
cp pistons
eagle rods
5.3 heads ported with ls6 valve springs
stock ls1 cam
ported throttle body and that is about it.



mybird5.jpg?t=1296609419

 

so i got the ls1 brake booster, look at the pic of the rods the one with the rod cap off and tell me if you think it is on backwards like it needs to be fliped around.

brakebooster.jpg?t=1296681214

wrong.jpg?t=1296681214

rodcap.jpg?t=1296681214

 

It should be the same as the rod two in front or two behind it. In other words, like the ones going to the same bank as it does.

Hopefully the cap hasn't been tightened down backwards. These rods are "fractured PM", meaning the fracture surfaces have to match back up the way they were broken - they aren't machined. It looks like at least one side has been smeared, which is not good. If you can confirm, or get a better picture (including the cap side), that would help. You might be looking at replacing at least one rod.

 

here is the motor fabbed up in the car looks so pretty!

engine.jpg?t=1296703663

 

thought about or am thinking bout replaced all rods and pistons with eagle rods and cp pistons

 

Keep up the work man, i've been working on getting my IROC done for about 3 years now and i definetly understand losing motivation and wanting to sell out. I just turned 21 and im about to get mine going for this summer, next winter i have a LQ4 and T56 to throw in. A t56 may not be as good at the strip but it sure is a blast to drive! As for the clutch im going with a SPEC or ACT just check them out.

 

thanks bro, and ya i am not lookin to make the car a straight strip i want it to be a good street driver for my wife and i. ya no? but i have looked at both spec and act and to be honest i like spec better they just seem to have a beeter looking product ya no. ya i just turbed 20 last july so i have problems with motivation so my older is my motivation so my goal is to get it done as soon as i get my settlement

 

As for SPEC i havent heard of a single complaint about the quality of there product, just make sure to pick up a decent flywheel while your at it, i think a LS7 Flywheel and clutch can be fitted to certain LS motors. BTW what part of Illinois are you from?

 

ya i dont no what flywheel i want ill prolly go with stock. heard complaints bout the aluminum ones so that is not in the equation,. as for where i live that is in springfield illinois

 

looking for a good brake setup,........... found the one i want that a user here has put on his car and that is the cts-v brake setup. that is what i am looking for so. what you guys think? or am i dreaming....... once i get my settle ment which will be here soo cause the insuarnce called and said that they are taking full liabillity? for the wreck so that is good. they also wanna take care of the settlement as soon as possible.

 

I'm running a Spec4 and a Spec aluminum/steel two piece flywheel. So far it's held up great and grips real hard. I bought it used so I don't really know how many miles are on it.

As for brakes, stock LS1 brakes are a huge improvement over your original brakes. And it can be done relatively cheap. $75 for the brackets if you can't make them yourself, then you should be able to find rotors and calipers around $150 or so.

 

if i go with the ls1 dont i have to get a spindle? for that........... i can buy the spindle brake lines and calipers and everything pretty cheap. so your saying i should just go with the ls1's instead of overkill. makes sense

 

You can use your stock spindles, you just have to cut off two pieces of them to be able to fit the new brackets on. You can also use the stock brake lines too. Then you would need to have your stock rotors cut down to use as hubs since the 4th gen rotors are "slip on" style and don't have the wheel bearings in them like a 3rd gen rotor.

I made a pretty detailed walk-through of the front brake swap here:

http://team3rdgen.com/modules.php?name=LS1Brakes

 

ok ok,..... maybe ill do that then make a ls1 front brake thread detailed with pics and measurements and all that jazz. what ya think? i think that it sounds like the more logical route.

 

i think the 4th gen brakes are 12" inch rotors with dual piston aluminum calipers, they are leaps and bounds better than our puny 10.5"s and single piston calipers. If your going for bang for your buck go with the 4th gen upgrade. But if your going for total overkill and stunning looks, go with the cts-v or C6 ZO-6 brakes. You may want to pick up a 1LE prop. valve while your at it.

 

ya well dependin on how much i get from the settlement. I would like to get the c6 zo6 over the cts-v but they are both sick. Im taking my time with it so just tryin to figure out the finner details befor i settle my mind on one thing. gonna have a frnd replace the floor pans for me and paint the car. so with the settlement even if it is 10,xxx i can get this car done if i get 8 or less i can get the car running and all that jazz just mgiht have to wait on the paint so. color of the car is gonna be black, or a darker color. what is the diff in the prop valves? they look the same to me?

 

They look identical, but the 1LE distributes brakes pressure better than a all the others. Im not 100% on what the differences but the 1LE prop valve is prefered over any of the other OE ones

 

ah ok,.... maybe somone else can put some innput on it. i just ordered a new but used dash off ebay for 100 with map pocket in perfect condition. so the next updates will be installing interior

 

a quick question i thought about and still am thinking about. for the t56 do i have to buy one outta a fbody 98-02 firebird or camaro? or can i use a gto t56 and use spohns trans crossmember ( with the torque arm mounted to the crossmember ).

 

GTO should work. There's a few guys on the forum running GTO MN12 transmissions, they're geared better too.

A 1991-1992 proportioning valve will work fine. Fortunately for those two years (1990 might have been included too, not sure), you got a 4 wheel disc brake proportioning valve even with rear drum brakes, so when I swapped to a 4th gen rear with discs I didn't have to change anything with the valve. It worked flawlessly from the get-go.

 

ah ok i was gonna say i have disc on the car already just looking to upgrage the front with dual pistons and the rear with slotted and drilled rotors

so you think the gto tranny will work with the sphon crossmember??

 

I am running the MN12 transmission from a 2006 GTO, the only difference physically is that it doesn't have a torque arm mount. Another thing is you have to use a GTO starter, the f-body/truck starters won't fit into the MN12 bellhousing. TPI TERR Is also running an MN12

 

Don't the GTO T56's have similar gears to the M29 T56's out of the 93 F-bodies with the performance axle ratio?