Just a small update...

I bought new truck plug wires to match my other wires. I bought 36# injectors off e-bay & I bought new Corvette coil covers. Only problem with the coil covers is that I bought them to go with my two outlet fuel rail (built-in regulator), but they appear to be made for perimeter bolt valve covers. So the mounting points don't quite line up, but they are close. I'm going to have to work with it to see if I can make it work. They also aren't made for the accelerator cable bracket. So I will have to mod-it for that too. Are we having fun yet?

I also took my fuel rail down to get sand blasted & powder coated gloss black. It had rust on it in some tough spots to get to, so I figured that was my best bet.

Hopefully next week I can get a hold of Monster & get my new trany ordered

I want to get my harness sent off to Pocket as well, but I have a few questions for him before I can. I'll PM you Pocket.

That's all for now.

 

Just a small update...
I got my powdercoated fuel rail back and installed today with the 36# injectors. It looks much better

Not sure why the picture looks so weird. It must be all of the shiney stuff!

I was playing around with the coil cover and the fuel rail lines.

obviously that's not going to work!

It occured to me that the hard line was bent like that for a reason so I decided to try a few different things to see if I could figure out why. It also has a clamp on it, so I wanted to figure out where that went too. So I turned the line down a bit and it appears to be that way to fit under the coil cover and the clamp appears to go on the air flange on the exhaust manifold.

I know some of you guys don't like the coil covers, but I'm going for a cleaner look. Just my preference

 

Question for JaysZ28, since I bought the fuel rail from him...
Do you think this is what was intended from this set-up the way I currently have it installed? Do you know if it was from a Corvette?



See where I attached the clamp... what do you think? Seems pretty rigid and fits under the coil cover just fine like this. Of course I have the wrong coil covers, but I can fix that.

 

Just thought I'd add a little more information about the coils & coil covers. Obviously I didn't do enough research. I bought the truck coils & bracket for the passenger side to avoid the conflict with the A/C box on the firewall & the plug wires to go along with them, but the truck coils appear to be too tall to fit under the coil covers properly. The LS1 coils don't appear to fit on the truck coil bracket and the harness doesn't work either. Hopefully this will save someone else the headaches that I am experiencing. If I didn't want the coil covers I wouldn't even worry about it. I like learning the hard way... NOT! I guess I'll just have to trim my A/C box.

Oh yeah, make sure you get the correct coil covers too. Nook & Trany sells some on e-bay that are already trimmed for the accelerator bracket & stuff. Hopefully they'll let me swap out the ones I bought for those.

 

Thats the 97-98 C5 fuel rail. Its a hard find because its the ONLY LS1 rail thats return style so you dont have to modify the fuel lines extensively. Just extend the two from the framerail. Do NOT mount the return line tab to the exhaust block off plate permanently

Also, if you ditch the hardline return for a braided line like on the other side, that cover should fit

For the pass coil cover, why not just move/tilt the #8 coil enough to clear then the cover will still fit

 

Yep, It was from a corvette, which is why I bought it initially. It made the plumbing easy.

I would not run the return line like that. The lines ran around the master cylinder when i did it.... I even found a pic!

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...t/P1000435.jpg

and FWIW, My ls1 coils cleared my ac box just fine.......

 

Thanks for the input guys!

 

Yay! I just ordered my trany from Monster. I ordered the Super Sport 4L65E with the level 2 shift package so that it won't break my neck shifting gears when cruising. I got the Synthetic fluid to go with it. Man, I can't wait to get the engine & trans back in the car! It could happen as early as next weekend!

Next step is to get my harness over to Pocket. I am going to order a Denny's driveshaft for it too. Finally some progress!

 

What kind of torque converter?

 

I bought a TCI Breakaway Converter at Summit this past summer for $100 on sale! It was a Demo. 2400 to 2600 stall. I also bought the ARP bolts for it and the flywheel. I think I hit the jackpot since that converter lists for close to $400! I usually don't find anything at those Summit sales that I can use OR, I don't have the money when I do find something!

 

Okay, I was doing some research tonight about the transmission lines & switching over to the braided lines like some of you have done. I found a diagram of it with the part numbers and quantities, which is cool. Thanks to whomever made that! I already have a B&M SuperCooler for my new trany, but it has hose ends already built in. Having never worked with braided hose before... is there a way to connect the braided hose to my SuperCooler? Can you just slide the braided hose over the hose end on the cooler and clamp it down? Doesn't seem like it would be that easy! Man, I hate being such a noob at some of this stuff!

 

Also, how much hose do you guys recommend I buy. And do I need to buy the AN Hose Cutters or can I just use bolt cutters or something?

 

Id get 20' if doing the trans lines too

See if your trans cooler fittings are removable. If so, use a common hose end and an adapter. If not, try a compression fitting

I cut the line by wrapping the end with masking tape and cutting with a cutoff wheel. Ive seen lots of methods used from the expensive shears, to even a chisel

 

Good deal. Sounds easy enough. I guess I'll have to go buy two compression fittings for the cooler. Thanks for the info Pocket!

 

The chisel method works well, even with the stainless braid. You take a wide cold chisel and put a block of wood under the hose and use a minimum 4lb hammer. If you hit it square and hard enough the first time it cuts very clean without flaring out the braid strands.

 

Not to scare you but braided lines are anything but easy. You will have frays, you will ***** your fingers, you will say bad things about them

I imagine the chisel method would require almost a perfect edge to cut clean. None of my chisels are like that, even the new ones

 

i grabbed an 8" cut off wheel and used it on my chop saw to cut my braided lines (along with cutting my aluminum CAI pipes and exhaust pieces). wrapped the ends a few times with electrical tape to reduce fraying and everything came out pretty clean.

 

Wrapped in electric tape and a new, fine tooth hack saw, works for me.

 

I like the cut off wheel method as well. Wrapped with electrical tape before cutting and after the cut I start the hose in the fitting just enough to flare the hose frays inward. Then remove the electrical tape before final install.

 

I have a chop saw, so I'll look at getting an 8" cut-off wheel for it. Sounds like a pretty easy way to do it. So you guys wouldn't recommend bolt cutters then? I don't see how they would be much different from the chisel method.

I'm too lazy to use the hacksaw method!

 

Bolt cutters? No

I do recommend having a very sharp set of wire cutters handy to trim back individual frays

 

Okay, no problem. BTW, UPS said you should receive my harness on Tuesday, just FYI.

 

Yay! Big truck delivered a monster to my house today

I can't wait to get this thing on my engine this weekend. I'm a little concerned about the length of the shaft coming out the side though. It's about an inch or so longer than the one on my other trany. I guess I'll have to put the brackets on there and see how it looks. Maybe even call Monster about it.


Monster seems to do a quality build. Now I just have to swap out my deep cast aluminum pan for the stamped chrome one that came on this thing. I still need to order my braided hose & fittings as well. I figure it will be much easier to install the braided hose on the trany while it's out of the car.

 

Pretty

Thats a truck trans so you'll either need an aftermarket crossmember mounted TA or swap the tail housing with one from a Fbody

Yes, the trans fittings are worlds easier to install out of the car

 

that's what I suspected. I have a Spohn crossmember & TA set-up already. So no problem there. Will I need the shifter linkage brackets from a truck to make this work?

Did you get my harness today Pocket?

 

I installed my shifter linkage brackets on "the monster" this afternoon. I wanted to get your opinions on it since I really don't want to send this thing back to Monster.

I installed the shaft bracket like normal, but I flipped the pivot ball around. There is a bit of an angle to it. What do you guys think? I will try flipping the shaft bracket around along with the pivot ball tomorrow. It looked like it may hit the pan when I tried it earlier though.


The trany came with a nice chrome pan too


Here is the length of the shaft on my other trany.

I am going to get up under my other T/A tomorrow to see if that longer shaft will hit anything

 

I worked on getting the new trany ready to go by swapping over all of the parts needed from the old trany yesterday. Luckily I inspected everything first. I am surprised at Monster.


See anything wrong with the first pic? It looks like something a Mud Dauber would make. I'm glad I didn't install it that way. Either the flow path would have been blocked or that junk would have broken up and went into my trany! Either option is not good. I got it all straightened out though.

 

I tried flipping over the shaft bracket, but it didn't work as you can see in the pic below. So I put it back to the way I had it. I checked under my other Trans Am and there shouldn't be any problem with the longer shaft.


I removed the chrome pan and replaced it with my deep cast aluminum pan. What you see where the harness connects is just a home made plug to keep the debris out


I revised my dipstick connection point a little. I just replaced the nut with a nice spacer. It just looks a little better & was slightly easier to work with.

 

When I cut the 2" hole in the firewall for the harness will I need to cut this bolt out?

zoomed out view

I'm assuming that's where the hole goes since it's the only flat spot around that vicinity.

 

It took me forever to get the trany on the engine.

I installed the converter properly, so I knew it wasn't that. So I was thinking that the converter wasn't seating into the flywheel properly. But I was only having a problem on the right side. Turns out it was the coating that Monster puts on the trany. It was extra thick in the dow pin hole on the right side. Once I cleaned it out and sanded the dow pins it went right on perfectly.

Monster claims to install their transmissions in a car to test them before they send them to you. Seems hard to believe with the problems I have been having with it. I'm sure they did though since my trany still had a little fluid in it when I removed the pan. I sure hope this is the most awesome trany ever to make up for all of the up front troubles I have been having.

Now I just need to get the trany lines installed along with my harness and then I can put it in the car. (I'm not trying to pressure you Pocket) I still have quite a bit to do to get the engine bay ready before that can happen anyways. So hopefully by Christmas I can have this thing back in the car.

 

Up to you, but Id move it more towards the framerail

Heres where I cut mine. Headers dont get close to it either. No bolt holes were harmed. It did trim a bit of the edge of the HVAC box inside the car, but it was purely cosmetic

 

Oh, okay. I'll look at it today. Thanks.

 

Not a major update. I just got my correct coil covers in today and got them installed.

Much better!

I also stopped by and talked with my dyno-tune guy today and got a price on that. I still have so many things to buy to finish the swap! Seems like there is always something else to buy

 

yeah, I know how that goes

and I've already had a running swap once.... its fixing all the stuff I missed the first time thats killing me!

 

It is a sad day when you think you have everything you need for the swap, so enjoy buying new parts while you can. LOL

Engine and tranny comb are looking great. Nice combo.

 

Thanks HP! Speaking of buying new parts... I took advantage of Hawk's sale yesterday. Here is what I bought:
BMR 3 point STB
UMI tubular A-arms
UMI tie rod adjusting sleeves
UMI subframe connectors
UMI tubular adjustable panhard bar
& some synthetic grease

It's like having a second Christmas! That takes care of most of my suspension. All I have left to buy to complete my suspension are upper strut mounts, adjustable tubular LCA's & a better set of front brakes. Possibly a set of Corvette wheels too depending on which brake kit I decide to go with.

As far as my swap goes, I haven't had time to make any progress on it. After reading through WhitedevilTA's thread though, it has inspired me to paint my engine bay the same color as my car. So that will probably push things back a few months. Oh well. I've been taking my time, so what's a few more months, right?

 

I have a question about the upper strut mounts. I'm looking at two different styles of them on Hawk's site. there are the caster/camber plates... http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/82...berplates.aspx and the fabricated spherical upper strut mounts... http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/ca...ountspair.aspx. Which of these two would be the better option? I already bought Eibach Sportline springs.
Also, is there a need for dropped spindles for my set-up or are the stockers fine? Sorry, I'm a noob when it comes to suspension set-up. I just want to make sure I get it correct the first time.

 

I figured I better do some research on this suspension stuff so that I don't have to get my wrist slapped. Looks like the dropped spindles are used in lieu of lowering springs to help keep the suspension geometry close to stock. Correct? I haven't been able to find a comparison thread on the upper strut mounts. Do the fabricated upper strut mounts just give the struts more travel?

 

Since no one commented about the upper strut mounts I'll try posting it in the suspension section.

I went to the paint supply store today. I think I should have everything I need now to get the engine bay painted. Hopefully I can find some time this weekend to get started on it. You guys that have just got your cars back on the road have got me all anxious to get that engine in there now!

 

Ah crap! I found quite a bit of rust in my cowl! I found it when I was taking the windshield wiper motor off yesterday. It's the first semi-major rust spot I have found on my car! It was hiding under the paint that was in there.


Here is the firewall side

I guess I'll have to break out the Ospho. Now I'm glad I decided to paint my engine bay. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have found this. Might be a good place to apply some of that bed liner stuff after I get it fixed.

I spent quite a bit of time this weekend taking everything out of my engine bay so that I can prep it for paint. What a PITA! Pretty much all I have left to remove is the brake booster and the bottom half of the A/C box.

I also found quite a bit of sludge in my master cylinder

Nasty stuff. I can't believe I am just now finding this! I'm going to switch over to the LS1 MC anyway. So no big deal.

 

progress is progress man.... keep it up!

btw, my car had rust in the same spot... it sucks

however, I got mine running two weeks ago!

 

You bet. Congrats. Did you get everything fixed the way you wanted it this time?

Oh, I forgot to mention that I ended up buying the J&M CC plates. Colorado Speed had them on sale with free shipping. It was too good of a deal to pass up on. So, now that all of these sales are over with, hopefully I can start focusing on stuff I need to buy to finish my swap!

 

damn, I was just looking at those strut mounts too.... might snag them if they are still on sale

plus, I ended up having to use that SLP maf...... my maf went bad! LOL

go figure!

 

Yeah, I think the sale ends today. Better hurry.

 

I got quite a bit done yesterday in the engine bay. The only two things I couldn't figure out how to get off was the hood latch cable and the A/C harness.

It looks like the cable need to be pulled back into the interior of the car, but the grommit on the firewall didn't seem to want to cooperate. It's in the upper right corner of the above picture. It is disconnected from the latch by the way.


I tried pulling the A/C harness back in to the car, but that didn't work and I couldn't find the other end to unplug it. I was trying to avoid ripping my whole entire dash out! That stupid A/C box behind the dash takes up way too much space! Maybe you guys can give me some pointers here.

Once I get those two items removed then I can start getting it all sanded down. I'm not going to get crazy filling everything and making everything smooth. I just want it to look decent and get all of the rust taken care of.

BTW, those two nuts on the brake booster beside the steering column were a nightmare. Especially the top one. I was not in a good mood by the time I got them removed! Also, I am just taping up the steering column shaft. I am not removing it.

 

It amazes me how leaves can find their way into a supposedly sealed system.

I guess it would have helped if it would have actually been sealed-up.

Makes me wonder if it came from the factory like that. I was thinking about putting it back together with a nice bead of silicone instead of the gasket. What do you guys think? I can only assume that the A/C system would be more efficient with a sealed system.

 

It's supposed to be in the mid 70's here again this coming weekend. So hopefully I can have it all sanded so that I can get the paint on there by then. We'll see.

 

My first item arrived yesterday of the Christmas gifts I bought for myself! It's the BMR STB. It's a top quality item. I took some pictures for those of you that don't have one yet. (better pics than what I saw on BMR's website)



I think it would have been better if they would have rotated the hole out from under the bar (bottom pic) or made the attaching plate (to the strut tower) with three holes instead of two, but oh well. It's still a nice heavy duty piece that will connect the front end together real nicely. I give it 4.5 stars out of 5. I would have given it 5 if they would have had it install on the upper strut mount points like the UMI STB does. I think this piece is probably a little bit more solid than the UMI piece though. At least it should be with the triangulation to the firewall.

 

I wouldn't silicone that in place, you may never get it off again in one piece. Pickup some weatherstrip adhesive and reglue the gasket to the housing.

 

I wouldn't want that to happen. Good point. I'll do that. Thanks