Okay, so it's not a Trans Am yet, but a 1991 Firebird. Bought it for $550 with 124k and a bad V6 engine. Body fairly straight, mild/minimal rust. I picked up an '06 LQ4 shortblock with 10k original miles along with brand new L92 heads for $750 total. My plan is to completely restore the car plus upgrade everything... 4th gen ebony interior, rear end, T56 swap, C5 deep dish wheels, etc. I am building it in memory of my first car, so it will be painted Ultra Blue Metallic. With a cam and ported heads Im shooting for over 500 rwhp, and with weight reduction I am hoping to get the car down to nearly 3000 lbs. Updates will vary depending on time and money, right now Ive just been working on stripping the car down and getting the engine bay ready. This is my first time attempting something this heavily involved and also my first time building an LS car, so any of your comments and suggestions are welcome! I went through several LT1 builds and now I'm back in the Thirdgen game.

Time for pics - you can also visit my photo album to see more pics that I might not put in this thread.

http://s257.photobucket.com/albums/h...%20Trans%20Am/

Car when I got it home:



Engine pulled:


I cut out the battery tray due to rust, and welded in panels to cover that and the other side, and deleted HVAC, welded all unused holes shut, and smoothed the bay over with some body filler.

Engine bay:


After paint:

 

Here's a shot of the first car I owned as a teenager.

 

So far I have ordered or recieved:

Founders Performance camber/caster plates
New GM clutch master/slave cyl with line & reservoir (plan to do the "drill mod")
LS1 brake master cylinder
LT1 brake booster
NOS LT1 brake reservoir
LSx conversion mounts from Hawks
LS1 6 speed pedal set
Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve

My next step is to get the pedals and hydraulics installed, braking components installed, and the brake lines ran. Then I need to run fuel lines, need to figure out how to run AN fittings and braided line down behind the motor so I can hide the lines, without running all new lines to the tank. I dont want the lines in the stock location to the driver side of the motor. Also I scored an LS1 plastic fuel tank with pump for free, but Im not worried about installing that quite yet.

 

Just for the record, the exterior and interior work is far ahead, but I'm planning on the paint (of course), Trans Am rear wing, Ram Air I hood (LT1 style), shaved antenna, Trans Am tail lights, lowering springs, and 18x9.5 18x10.5 C5 deep dish in chrome with 335/30/18 Nitto NT555R. Interior will get full ebony 00-02 Trans Am parts, lightweight black carpet. Probably no back seats or any heavy stereo equipment.

 

Engine bay looks fantastic! I really like how clean it is.

 

Looks like it will be a nice swap. Good luck.

 

Sounds like this is going to be a nice little screamer......You are either the luckiest guy who has done the swap, or just right place right time. WOW!!! That motor and those heads for that price, plus free tank, not to mention the price of a fairly solid looking 3rd gen. Good for you!

Good luck, and keep the pics coming.

 

I would say GOOD LUCK, but think it should be GREAT TALENT!!!
Very Nice

 

Need a little advice here. I'm confused... from what Im reading, it looks like the LS1 fuel lines coming from the tank run into a T after the fuel filter, and then it's just a single line up to the fuel rail ???

I just ordered a 3 gauge pillar pod with fuel pressure, oil pressure, and water temp gauges. That way I can go ahead and hook up the fuel press sending unit into my new lines. Also going to be ordering Aeromotive LS3 red anodized fuel rails soon, get a Vette filter with the built in regulator, and then I can just run to the local speed shop for my braided lines and AN fittings. Also what size braided line do I need to run??

 

The factory line has a "T" that returns fuel back to the tank where the regulator is located.

You could build a similar setup with the 3rd gen tank & a Vette filter.

The LS1 tank does not need a Vette filter, only a "T" after the filter.
A single line then runs to the front.

I typically use a -8 line, but the -6 is good up to approx 700rwhp, before it poses a significant restriction. If you are buying everything anyway, -8 is not much more in cost over the -6. It will not hurt to run a larger line.
You can run the return line in -6

 

So the factory LS1 plastic tank has the regulator built into the sending unit?

I do want to use the 4th gen tank, and future plans might end up being north of 700whp. I hope to add a Magnacharger within the next couple years. The tank I got didnt come with the lines or quick connects..

So from what I understand it would be best to run a new -8 from the sending unit to stock filter, then a T with -6 return line back to the tank, and a new -8 up to the fuel rail? I should also upgrade the pump, do you have any recommendations

 

If you are planning on 700hp, your best bet is to run a complete fuel system with a front mount regulator & full return line back to the tank.

The factory in-tank regulator cannot accurately control pressure at the engine, plus you would be able to boost reference your fuel pressure with a front mount regulator in a boosted application.

You can easily remove the regulator from the LS1 tank.


If you are going to the effort to run all new lines, get an aftermarket filter, no need to use a factory filter.

 

Alright well I know it's better to do things right the first time, but who knows when and if I will eventually go boost, so for now I would just like to go with what is needed for H/C/I, so would I be fine with the setup I mentioned in my previous post, only I'll go -6 and with an aftermarket filter?

Do aftermarket fuel rails like the Aeromotive accept a single line or would I need to run separate feed/return lines anyway

 

If you went low budget with stock rails & a Vette filter I could understand.


As soon as you add a set of aftermarket rails, you just spent about $300 in extra rails, fittings, line etc. for nothing but appearance.

Personally, if you are not going to run the entire fuel system now, you are only saving less than $200 over running an external regulator & return line.

I'm going to run the full system on my LS3 even though it is overkill.
This way when the ProCharger goes on, I'm ready.

To answer your question though, you can run aftermarket rails without a return system.