Small update because I was bored. Got the engine all cleaned up and brushed on a coat of black paint. Ordered an F-body oil pan that should be here friday. I will have to have a fitting welded onto it though before it goes on my engine for the turbo drain line. Also got my valve spring install tool so should be putting the Z06 cam and valve springs in tomorrow maybe?? Pulled off a valve cover just to see what I was working with and am extremely happy with how clean the engine is internally. Looks like someone did their oil changes!

Ready for paint...




Painted...

 

Got around to installing the ZO6 camshaft and valvesprings. Went pretty smoothly...I had bought this tool off a guy on ebay that allows you to change valve springs without pulling the heads off. It comes with an air hose which you thread into where the spark plug goes to fill the cylinder. This way when you remove the old springs, the valves will not fall into your engine. Also purchased the much needed front accessories (power steering pump and alternator) so should have that all buttoned up as well as the F-body pan on next update. Then the engine is ready to drop into the car!

Installing the cam


MY NIFTY SPRING TOOL...

 

Looks good. I wanna see the race between you and your bros when both cars are done, that would be epic!

 

Billet rails (actually extrusions not billet) make a boring LS1 intake look sooo awesome



Ive never had any issue with valves dropping. Just bring each piston close to TDC. The valves will fall down some, but never out of reach with the spring compressed

 

Very nice Scott!

 

Thanks...and I want to see that race just as bad! Haha...definately will not be something you see every day.

That's the method I was going to use at first, because I heard there is nothing wrong with doing it that way. Only reason I filled the cylinders was for a piece of mind. I REALLY didn't want to pull the heads off if I miscalculated something haha.

Thanks man!!

 

Hey guys. Not a lot of huge updates but just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive and I'm not ditching the project lol. It's just been a long few weeks between losing power for 6 days and yard clean up (noreaster in october? Thanks new england...). Anyways, I've been hustling to get the drivetrain in the car. Just ordered the LS1 bellhousing and will be ordering the swap mounts this week. All I will need to get is the clutch when I decide which one I want to go with, and then there should be some major progress. I notched out the K-member over the weekend to clearance the LS1 oil pan. Still need to weld it up in the next day or two. Also have been looking for a set of wheels... I came upon some M3 wheels that a co-worker of mine was selling and knowing that they have the same lug pattern, he let me take them home to test fit. I was a little leary at first, but I kind of like them! They are staggered, 18x8 front and 18x9 rear. It's tough to really gauge how they will look since the car is up on jackstands and not at normal level, but I will get some pics up as soon as the car is back on the ground. Let me know what you guys think, and I promise there will be more updates soon!

Clearanced K-member


NEW LS1 water pump


M3 wheels...NOTE, I will be getting rid of the BMW center caps!




Rear 18x9 (has a slightly larger lip than the front)

 

I love the look of those BMW wheels. I think Twin Turbo put some 5 spoke M6 wheels on one of his Camaros... looks badass!

 

Thanks man. You gotta stop by sometime soon! These wheels look much better in person. The pics really don't do justice to how nice the contrast is between the gunmetal wheels and the gloss black paint!

 

Yeah definitely, just let me know when! And I can imagine it looking really nice in person.

 

You're going to box that k-member in right!??!

 

Yes, and I actually just did box it today. I will try to put up some pics later.

 

Here's the pics of the K-member all boxed up. Keep in mind this was essentially the first time I've ever welded besides a couple small practice beads, so may not be the prettiest. Overall it came out good though. I ordered the swap mounts and clamshell bushings from Spohn this weekend as well (gotta love sales!), so the engine will possibly be going in next weekend if I'm not too busy from all this X-mas stuff. Stay tuned...









ENGINE WAITING FOR INSTALL...

 

subscribed..

 

its not about your welding skills its all about your grinding skills

looking good

 

The welds look pretty good to me!

 

Got some goodies today! Thanks to Spohn for super fast shipping and great customer service. Still on target for this weekend to have the engine in. Won't be able to get the trans bolted up untill I find a clutch though.

 

I love those fuel rails!

 

Wish I had some big news but unfortunately this weekend was a total wash. I needed to get the LS1 oil pan on the engine before I dropped it in, so I left it at the local machine shop to weld the aluminum drain bung on for the turbo. They called me and said it was all set. When I went to pick it up, they welded it with the threaded part into the oil pan! WTF? No logic at all behind this, and I was pretty dumbfounded. They are now supposed to get me a new -10 fitting and weld it on the correct way for monday. Probably won't get time to drop the engine in untill next weekend though.

 

Wow I don't know why the shop would put the fittings inside the pan. I guess it gives you time for more parts shopping lol.

BTW, did those BMW fit without any adapters/spacers? And what are the sizes?

 

I have 2in billet spacers up front, and a 4th gen rear axle, so essentially my car has a 4th gen wheel offset. Other than that, they fit without any modification. They are 18x8 front and 18x9 rear. lug pattern is the same 5x120.

Good news! Got the pan back today. Everything looks good. Just need to slap it on and the engine goes in. Also picked up this sweet little EGR blockoff plate with the LSX logo. Figured it would dress up the manifold nicely.

 

Got the swap mounts in...Getting closer!! And I know that the K-member is not painted under where the old SBC mounts were, but I plan to go with a tubular K-member next winter anyways so didn't bother touching it up.

 

The GM pattern is NOT the same at 5x120. 5x4.75=120.65. it is close enough to work, but this can stress the studs and cause them to fatigue over time and break.

 

Thanks for the info. Never heard that factoid before. I do know of dozens of people that use BMW wheels on their GM vehicles with ZERO error though, so I'll take the chance.

 

Engine is in!!! I've been hustling over the past few days to get all the little odds and ends done. Drilled out, blasted & painted the mount clamshells and installed the poly bushings. Cleaned and installed the LS1 windage and pickup as well. Also had to drill and tap the block for the last alternator bolt since the truck iron blocks don't have it already done. Came out flawlessly though. It's nice to finally see some major progress and things starting to take shape. Should be ordering my monster S3 clutch and slave cylinder this week so I can bolt the trans in next.

 

Frickin sweet man. Looks great. Cant wait to see you and your bros car next year on the pike.

 

Subscribed! I've been following PITA forever, now it's time to watch this one.

 

looking good

 

Thanks guys! Messed around with it a little more tonite. Wanted to see how all the turbo piping was going to fit so I mocked it up to check clearances. My bro took off his turbo hotside to be modified so I borrowed it to see how it would look/fit with my setup. I think I'm going to run a turbo blanket because I don't want to burn the paint off of my fender well, but otherwise there should be plenty of clearance.

 

Looking good! I like your turbo location, seems to fit in there real clean. What are the plans for the downpipe? You turbo guys are making me envious...

That LSX plate on the manifold really dressd it up, looks great. Nice work!

 

Thank you. Here is the downpipe. I threw it on when I got home today for some pics.

 

What paint did you use? How did you remove the old paint?

 

On the motor mounts I'm guessing?? I just used Krylon gloss black spray paint. I removed the old paint/rust at work in a sandblast cabinet.

 

Sorry should have specified, i ment the block. I know its got some crazy thick paint on it from the factory.

 

Well since the engine has 75k miles on it, a lot of the paint was flaking. I just used a wire brush and high power air hose to remove all of the loose debris, and then brushed on the new paint. It was a dupli-color brake caliper paint...comes in a can with a brush and cleaner. Most local auto stores will have it for around $20. Got mine at advanced auto parts.

 

looking good.

 

Small update. Got a throttle body! Long story short, I ordered a FAST 78mm. They ended up sending me a FAST 90mm. The 90 doesn't bolt to the stock intake, so I needed to order an adapter. After some thinking, I figured if I upgrade to a 90mm manifold down the road, this TB will be perfect, which is why I kept it. Also ordered a Monster S3 clutch kit. Not sure if it will be here before x-mas, but when it comes I will throw up some pics. The rest of the drivetrain should be going in within the coming weeks.

 

Nice score on the throttle body!

 

So the rear end is at the shop having the gears installed, and as soon as its back (sometime this week) it will be going back in. Now I made another purchase unrelated to my bird. Was cruising through the next town over a couple days ago and something caught my eye...2006 GTO. A car I've always wanted to own, just never run into the right opportunity. It was traded in on a new Hyundai just a couple days before. I think i was the first one to test drive it, and ended up taking it home the next day. I'm a sucker for test drives

 

I've always been a sucker for the 05-06 GTOs, the 04s with the single exhaust and no hood scoops just didn't cut it for me. You're probably gunna fall in love with the LS2. They're great looking cars and yours looks super clean. I almost bought and 06 silver GTO last year, wasn't stick like yours, but still such a clean car.

Anyways, nice score on a great looking GTO!

 

Nice GTO! Good luck with that in our NE winters.

 

Haha...yea about that. Me and my bro made a deal for this winter that any time it snows he will take me to work (which hopefully won't be a lot). Then by next winter I should have some other little beater to get me around.

 

Now it needs a SAP grill kit!

 

Here's where I'm at now. Got my clutch, and now just waiting for the slave cylinder and i can throw the transmission back in. Rear end is still at the shop so hopefully I will get that back soon. I'm going to be pulling the gas tank back out because I've decided to go with a sumped tank from Nasty Performance. I only want to have to do this fuel system once, so I'm going all out the first time. Should have some more progress soon.

MONSTER STAGE 3 700HP Rated






Remote slave bleeder with new OEM flywheel/pressure plate bolts

 

nice it will hold up well

 

Nice! Ive been following your brothers and your builds from the start.. been away in korea so i havent gotten to finish mine yet but i also bought an 06 gto same as urs but its ibm.. amazing car i love it

 

Thanks for all the comments guys, and I'm loving the GTO. There's nothing I want more though than to get this car on the road! Got the clutch/flywheel and the bellhousing all bolted up, then ran out of heat in the garage and that's as far as I got lol. It was a frigid weekend here. I ditched the BMW wheels for something I thought would look/perform much better also. It's a set of oem C5 Z06 wheels. 17x9.5 front and 18x10.5 rear. These things are super light and look great. Once I refill the propane heater I will be getting the transmission in there.

 

Lookin great. It's gonna be a beast!

 

Hey guys...been a little while. Got the transmission in! One of the bolts was stripped for the slave cylinder, so I tapped it with an M7. Come to find out, M7 is one of the harder to find bolts! Had to look at 3 different local sources before I found a bolt at a small local hardware store, but other than that minor problem everything went well. Now just waiting for the rear to go in. Can't wait to see it back on the ground!

2 wheels down!!




I have a shifter again!!




Cleaned up the trans tunnel...

 

Those C5 wheels look schmexy on your car!