I had my friend at the body shop mix it up and paint it for me.

 

There's a store here in Peoria called Born Paint. They'll put about anything you want in a spray can. They have books of GM interior colors for your car.

You can get anything done in Peoria. That's the nice thing about living in an industrial town. I found a guy here that's an expert in plastics. I've been meaning to take my car over to his shop. We've talked about making a custom air box and ram air setup.

 

Well, that was easy. Low tire pressure on both front tires. Steering is normal again.

Been waiting for colder weather to see how my idle tuning holds. Weather changed and the darn engine is hanging again above idle. Still determined to solve this via tuning rather than resetting throttle blade stop like prior years. Added some fuel and removed timing. Definitely helped. Still got a bit of lurching in decel at low rpm but improved it with the same technique. Got a little ways to go yet but moving in the right direction it seems.

 

Trade you for a low mile 94 Hawk with a small potential opti gremlin

 

Never done a full detail before so I thought I would learn how and give it a whirl. Well, actually what I did was ask @scottmoyer what products to use. Seriously though, all his cars look amazing and the guy ktnows what he is doing! (and I don't).

One thing I've learned is that detailing is very, very, very time consuming, and a bit expensive too. Honestly, I can't imagine why some of you think it's fun. Anyway, I'm 4 or 5 days in to this job now (don't really remember for sure because I think I have lung and brain damage from smelling the chemicals) and all I've gotten done is the first 2 steps of clay bar and compound.

I haven't done any polish or wax yet, but I just had to share a picture anyway. This is after using the "Wolfgang Uber Compound 3.0". Wow. Scott, you're the man!

 

Looks slow. Jk, love the look of those birds. Car looks really really good.

 

nice work. I agree, detailing is a love/hate process. I am still fond of doing it, but I am sure as I get older, that will tail down. Maybe. I still do everything by hand. I don't own a buffer or polisher, and I just get out a stack of movies (or youtube on chromecast) for the garage tv and spend the day in there. clay bar, red paint touch-up of chips, hand polish, hand finisher, hand sealer, hand wax, use a toothbrush in the cracks of the body panels to get the caked up wax off, its a labor of love. keep at it.

 

I never knew detailing a car was so much work, but boy does it glow now!

clay bar
Wolfgang Uber Compound 3.0
3M Finesse-It machine polish
Meguiars NXT 2.0 wax




The car was clean only for a few minutes though. One cruise with my buddy's Z06 and I had to clean tire dust and rubber off the rear quarters again.




Now the door jams stand out like a sore thumb. Guess I should work those over sometime too.




The real QwkTrip. A little worn out but pleased with the results.

 

Fantastic work ! Turned out great !

-man, I love that roll bar setup. I want to do one just like that

 

nice covid beard.....

 

Proof that a C5 headlight module is a direct drop-in with a 1989 Firebird.
Sorry for the 1980's video quality, seemed the phone couldn't decide what to focus on.



From the GM Parts Direct website, "1989 Firebird headlight control module 16523917. Also fits 2001-2004 Corvette." I found a wiring schematic for the C5 headlight module and compared it to a wiring schematic for my Firebird headlight module and the pinouts are the same.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ht-module.html

So it seems to me that most places try to confuse the matter by having different part numbers and prices for C5 and Firebird. In fact, the box I received from Ecklers had a label on it for C4 Corvette, so go figure. And if you're from California then don't eat or excessively lick it and you'll be fine.




The new C5 module I received (right) was a little taller than the original 3rd gen module (left) such that I could not slide it into the bracket. I used a file to take down the edges a bit and the unit slid right in. Literally just needed to knock off some of the high spots.




Plug and Play. Everything operational and the motor overload detection works and shuts off the motors properly.

 

This. This is why this thread (and your work) are a blessing to the rest of us. Thanks for giving it a go and testing. Having a newer option for the headlight module is fantastic. Thanks!

 

I’ll second that! 👍🏻

I’ve always found it odd or interesting when a part from another vehicle just replaces another. Surely GM wasn’t gonna leave millions of Firebird owners in the dark (no pun intended, well not really) with no replacement module. Great to know this one works as it will be available to Corvette owners for infinity most likely!!

 

GM leave customers with no option for for vital parts? Perish the thought!

You don't know GM very well, do you?

 

Well all but 3 of the 20 or so vehicles I’ve owned in 28 years of driving have been GM’s so we have a relationship I guess. Not sure if I should feel good about that or not 😂

 

Very kind and encouraging words. Thank you!

 

nice work QT ! Didn't even know there was a headlight module. what does it do?

 

It makes the headlight motors operate so the doors go up and down.

 

Qwk, Looking good man! (You and the car, lol)

I love cars with a really stock exterior look, but the drivetrain is complete upgraded.

Sorry If I missed it, but is that the original paint?

How's the Holley stuff been treating you?

I've been messing with mine and getting it fairly dialed in. It's really a nice system.

 

It's a mix of 1994 full repaint, and 2017 accident repair. I had door strips and emblems removed in 2017. Love the smooth doors. Kind of miss the 'Bird on sail panels. Don't miss the 'Bird on the front bumper.

Seems I finally got idle sorted this summer! Just got one quirk left that I can't get rid of: Car bucks around 1800 rpm at very low throttle. Might be time to get professional help.

 

Mine does the same, I believe it is due to off idle throttle transition. I also believe it is common for high output LS motors. My cam isn’t very responsive below 2000 RPM.

 

I can drive at a lower rpm and it will improve. Higher rpm and it will go away. What makes it so annoying is it happens smack on top of where the engine cruises on most slower city roads.

I've been focusing on tune, but my buddy thinks it's actually a drivetrain resonance (literally a physical characteristic of my setup). And speed density tune doesn't play well with load oscillations because MAP values swing, causing fueling to be erratic. He suggested changing axle gears to move the resonant rpm, preferably below cruise speeds.

Another option we thought about is ignoring the MAP sensor below 2000 rpm with an Alpha-N tune. At least fueling will be smooth and maybe the engine won't buck out of control. But I don't know how comfortable I am with Alpha-N in a cruise situation. I guess I need to read up on the topic.

 

Add some timing in the cruise area. What size is the cam again?

 

Comp Cams 240/254 114+3 with LSG lobes

 

You did it right with the exterior. Nothing flashy, just really clean, smooth lines.

NIce! I've spent a good amount of time with idle, but my cam is not that crazy, idles at 800.

I hate throwing advice around, but check the fuel table in that area, you can highlight that specific area and zoom in for a closer look.

So is there a range of rpm that it happens in?

 

Thank you! I do like my cars simple and smooth.

Regarding the tune, yes, I played a lot with fuel and timing this summer. Made it better, made it worse, but haven't ever made it good. Chalking it up to inexperience. Just took my last drive this year so it'll be waiting for me next spring. Got some repairs and modifications needed over winter and I'm going to get an early start.

 

Hey QT my phone is low on battery......

 

LOL! Yeah, it can be hard to get me to stop talking.

 

I recently locked up my front brakes at over 100 mph. It happened way too easy and that was the last straw with my lousy rear brakes. I'm determined to do something about it this winter. Lo and behold, I might have stumbled across an important issue that's been contributing to the problem.

Went to replace axle seals in my Strange 12-bolt and discovered a lot of axle end play. Turns out the axle was not assembled properly. This is kind of a neat discovery because it means I've had brake pad knock this whole time and I should be able to expect improved brake performance after the fix. What's not neat is I probably need custom parts to put it back together properly. Investigating options with Kore3 and BigBrakesUpgrade.com

Here is the criminal. Somebody tried to adapt a 1LE backing plate to a c-clip eliminator axle with big Ford tapered bearings. The plate is flat and won't mate up to the bearing seal, so they opened up the ID of the backing plate to 3.25" to fit around the seal. Problem is they didn't shim the seal properly and there was no preload on the bearing with the retainer plate tightened down. It was so loose that the axle had quite a bit of end play. (Axle leak + brake pad knock).




I have a hodgepodge of parts that make up my axle and brakes. Going to capture it here before I forget and have to figure this all out again.

GM small flange, 2.70" brake backspacing
Axle inner lip seal: Strange p/n A1030C (National 41013S)
Axle bearing, lock collar, and outer seal: Strange p/n A1013 (big Ford set 20)
Bearing seal stand-off to flange: 0.25"
Brake backing plate: 1LE, shims welded to caliper mounts
Brake caliper assembly: PBR LT1 F-body ('93-97)
Brake rotor: 1LE F-body ('91-92)
33 spline axles with 3-inch splines

 

That't the picture I wanted to see. Looks like someone welded a couple spacers on the backing plate where the caliper mounts to.
I'm sure it may be just slid in place for the picture but the bearing retainer normally goes on the other way with the groove facing the housing. That is of course if it's all set up correctly.
The bearing being pressed on should hold the axle from any in/out movement, again, if the bearing retainer is setup properly. If it did move to much, you would see wear marks on the rotor where the caliper bracket is.

 

They really did install it backwards. All I've done is loosen the bolts by that point.

I bought the axle from Forte's. They used to advertise in magazines back in the day before internet. I'm pretty sure they did the brake setup themselves and that aspect was not done by Strange.

 

That's some scary shyte, like quicksand. At least you found the problem before it was catastrophic.
I plan on trying the Miller Built C5 rear floating setup on my D44. I too am "worried" about pad knockback
Here's a link to the Ford Big bearing setup, if you're interested
https://millerbuiltusa.com/big-ford-base-kit/

 

I got to thinking it might be fun to swap out my stiff front springs (800 lb/in) for some loosey-goosey stock springs to see how much more traction I can get off the line. I searched the Moog website and compiled a list of all front springs offered for '82-92 Firebird.

It looks like Moog has 5 different performance levels with approximate spring rate groupings of 300, 345, 420, 700, 750 lb/in. Each of those groups has offerings aligned with how much sprung weight is on the springs. That way cars equipped with different options (different weight) can settle in to the same ride height.

I'm interested in trying one of the springs in the 345 lb/in group. I know my car's weight (with a fair guess at sprung weight), and I measured up the compressed spring height at the ride height I want. All I need to do is choose the spring that lands me at that ride height. Easy stuff. And the best part is it only costs $80 for the pair I'm looking at.

There are a couple numbers in the table that look a little suspicious because it doesn't check against the math. It is not a typo, it is what Moog shows on their website.

 

Sharing this in case some people find it useful. All the application data that I gathered from the Moog website for '82-92 Firebird front springs. Keep in mind the "Load" is sprung weight, not the scale weight of the vehicle on the tires.

 

I did the same thing on my 'bird after the ls swap.

I want to say I settled on 5606, but that was a few computers ago and I didn't write anything down...

It is still too stiff, and I ended up pulling my ws6 sway bars off and dropping to the smallest sway bars I could find which were 28mm frt, 19mm rr.

I sold the ws6 bars, and ironically they would work great on my 82 berlinetta with its super soft stock springs and an LS swap..... lol

 

I'd like to know if somebody has advice which way to install these seals.

This is the inner axle seal that keeps oil lube from washing out the grease from the axle bearing in my Strange 12 bolt. Seal on the left is the original and it was installed with the metal side facing the bearing. Seal on the right is the new service replacement from Strange. I'm guessing the new seal goes in the orientation shown in the pictures. This way the lip seal taper is facing same direction as old, and the seal keeper is facing the bearing where it will be captured after assembly.

 

I'm not too familiar with that type of bearing setup, but my guess (based on heavy-duty truck systems) is that both sealing lips will go pointing towards the inside of the axle.

Outermost seal has the lip facing inward to keep grease in (duh), and the inner seal has the lip facing inward (towards the gears) to keep the gear oil OUT of the bearings.

 

Thanks! Yep, taper is facing the center differential. I'd say you have plenty of experience in the matter. Going with it.

Don't have the proper tools so I drove the seals home with a plumbing PVC pipe fitting that mated up perfectly. Figured I can't do too much damage with it. But I was surprised how much I had to hit on it to get the seal installed flush. That last little bit was a bit stubborn. Never done this before so not sure what's normal and not normal.

 

Now I got the UMI panhard relocation bracket kit and it's not working out so well for me either. My plan is to combine the best parts from both kits and try to solve the issues. More to come....

 

QWK,

That looks serious.

I'm running their relocation kit #2024, and it installed without problems. Probably, doesn't help much....

I think I have a picture on my build thread.

 

Im sure you will get it figured out

 

I'm struggling to explain some of the issues with a write up so decided to make a video.
Video is a bit boring. Camera quality kind of stinks. But the pain is over in 7 minutes.

Update: Additional writeup, https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...rd-heidts.html

 

I watched the video... 2.5 times! And have some questions about the specifics.

On the frame side bracket:

1. Stepped bolt -> M12 -> drill out holes for 9/16 bolts. Do you have the bolt length handy?

2. Thicker sleeves -> @3:00 you said you used the sleeve from the Heidt's kit. Do you have a suggested source besides Heidt's?

- I did some searching, McMaster-Carr, MSC (sucks!), Marshall’s hardware. I have not found a 9/16 ID spacer. 5/8 ID to 7/8 or 1” OD, with lengths in 1, 1.5, and some 2” spacers are available. Would that be close enough in your book?

3. Skip the M14 bolts, instead use 9/16" bolts for 3/4" rod ends. Where did you get the "setup like this" @ 4:01 in the video? That is the stepped sleeves to space the rod ends into the bracket,

4. Grinding on the frame side bracket... I had to, too.



Axle side:

Upgrade to 9/16" bolts for the support bar. You said "QS in Indiana" for the 9/16" - 5/8" bushings. I found QSComponents and specifically 5/8 to 9/16 reducer spacer. Did you just use that and washers in place of the original stepped bushings?

 

My new bolt is 86 mm from underside of head to the end. I don't have a source for the sleeves but it is cut from bar stock and is 1-7/8" long.

Rod end misalignments (inserts) are from Kartek.com, straight spacer for 3/4" Heim for 9/16" bolt with 1-7/8" stack height. https://www.kartek.com/parts/17-4-st...ck-height.html

Yes, the 5/8" to 9/16" reducer is from QS Components in Muncie, IN. I have not yet found a spacer to sit against the sides of the ball joint. If nothing else I can grind off the flange from the UMI inserts and that will work fine. For the extra long bolt, I found a high quality bolt from Caterpillar for less than $5, part number 8S-4749 (9/16-18 thread). I think it has a phosphorous coating though so you'll want to paint it to keep it from rusting.

I updated the video with a little more information (and I'm in a better mood today).

 

Man, I never knew making videos was so easy. You guys might come to regret that I found iMovie on my computer.

 

what a great movie trailer!

 

HAHAHAHAHA. That was great.

 

looks like a fun new hobby you can enjoy while entertaining us. nice!

 

[QUOTE=QwkTrip;6406190]Man, I never knew making videos was so easy. You guys might come to regret that I found iMovie on my computer.





think of all that time you could be working on yer car instead......

 

What a cool video The 'bird has turned out great also, I know it's a fun ride.