So I always had 3rd gens growing up (on my 7th one now) but never really had the time or more importantly the cash flow to make one into what I really wanted...came close...had a couple of pretty fast ones...but never one that I was really all that proud of. Well now that I'm all grown up now (turning wrenches full time at a chevy dealer...I'm certified and all that junk lol) I think I'm finally in a spot where I can get one done the way I want it.

So heres what I started with

- 86 IROC...all there...very little rust
- Subframe connectors (unknown brand) (weld in perimeter square tubed)
- 2.73 orginally (swapped to 3.73) auburn limited slip rear with disc brakes
- 3970014 early 70's 350 longblock with stock 86 TPI unit on it.
- very tired 700r4 which I immediately swapped to a WC t5

 

Ok so here are my plans...picked up a warranty take-out 80,000 LQ4 longblock for $400, still need to find a decent LS t-56 which are damn hard to come by from my experience, but this car is in no rush whatsoever

- 6.0 Iron block with LQ9 flatops

- already had 317 heads cleaned, reconditioned and milled .050 (61 cc chambers now down from 71 cc)

- cam choice TBD (kinda back and forth between a couple different ones)

- Some sort of LS intake...honestly whatever I can get my hands on for the right price lol

- already picked up an f-body pan kit through parts department at work

- probably going to use stock k-member (just notch it) for now

- LS T56 (manual swap already done from before to T5)

- 4th gen limited slip rear with 4:10 gears

- Lakewood Traction/Action Lift bars to eliminate the need for a torque arm...more room for exhaust...plus a crap ton more adjustibility http://www.jegs.com/p/Lakewood/Lakew...44085/10002/-1

again Im in no rush...so subscribers dont be disappointed if this build thread doesn't move lightning quick...I'm just a tech so I don't make ridiculous money...I know this swap is damn expensive but TOTALLY worth it in the end. Just be patient (I know I know...I'm learning what that word means too)

Heres how the car sits as of now...engine bay gutted and painted...need to redo some of it...orange peeled really bad...I rushed the prep (bc I'm impatient lol)

 

You can have intake alignment issues milling over .030, so you have me wondering if you will run into a issue there.

 

If that becomes an issue I will run an aluminum intake and have it milled or I have even seen guys mill the plastic intakes...I don't foresee .050 being a huge issue with alignment...ill cross that bridge when I come to it tho...still have to mock up the motor to check piston to valve clearance and rocker geometry...

 

Ok so I haven't had much time to work on her lately but I have gotten around to getting the heads, front cover, rear cover, and valve covers all painted...be working on the block here soon...but I do have a sneak peek of the color combo I'm using on the motor :-)

 

My motor plans have also slightly changed...because of the milling on the heads not allowing me to run a cam with high lift and extensive duration I have decided to stick with the stock lq4 cam (which after some research on GM service info and comparing part numbers, have found out that its the same cam in the LS1...around .480 lift) and use the stock dish LQ4 (+ 6.7cc) pistons and use a .040 head gasket putting my static CR at damn near 11:1 (10.91:1 if you wanna split hairs). Should run pretty damn good...wasn't looking for ridiculous power numbers anyway...would be happy with high 300's which is very possible with this setup and a good tune.

 

I'm dying to see how things go with the Lakewood Traction bars and no torque arm! Pic and opinion asap please!

I've been looking at sub-frame connector crossmember mounted torque arms so the Lakewood stuff would be great if they can eliminate all that.

 

I ran them on a 91 RS that I did a 355 + turbo 350 trans setup on...worked great...def worth the $250...and a crazy simple install...never thought the idea of transmitting all of the torque through the cast aluminum tailshaft housing anyways. I will def post pics tho...

 

I thought five7kid tried those tq arm eliminators and didn't have much success. I could be wrong though. I still think a Spohn torque arm relocated to the crossmember is a good solid setup, just takes some fab skills to make room for the exhaust.

 

I honestly don't see how you could NOT have success with the lakewood setup. They literally bolt directly in place of the rear LCAs and there is a U-bolt setup that clamps solid to the axle tube...and an adjustable link between the forward LCA mount and the bracket that bolts to the axle tube...a 30 min install tops. Now if you are running extremely wide rear wheels you might run into clearance issues with the bracket b/c is hangs kind of low...I had 10in wide wheels and a 295 tire of mine with no issues though. I absolutely loved them...really made the car plant, great weight transfer. Thats just my experience though...not knocking what anyone else says...different strokes for different folks :-)

 

Here's a few links from people who have run them. Believe me man, I understand your desire to get away from the torque arm and gain some exhaust room underneath. But one thing I've noticed with the 3rd/4th Gen cars, if something works and works well, you see it everywhere. And vice versa for products which are outside the box and have mediocre results. I'd prefer to break out the welder and fab up a good double hump crossmember that makes room for exhaust. Good luck with your build, nice looking car you found for the swap!

http://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension...tion-bars.html

http://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension...tion-bars.html

http://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension...lift-bars.html

http://ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt4-mo...-rear-lca.html

http://ls1tech.com/forums/drag-racin...trac-bars.html

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...lift-bars.html

 

Ok guys not alot of progress to report...unfortunately...been trying to get my engine stand back from a someone that "borrowed" it. Finally just bought another one...got the block up on the stand and cleaned all the mating surfaces. As soon as I get some free time I'll take the power washer to the block and get it clean an all ready to prep and paint. I did get a hold of an LS1 intake complete with rails and injectors off of an 04 Z06. Probably be ordering gaskets, head bolts, and bearings (rod, main, cam) next week so I can get most of the shortblock together...still need to get some shorter pushrods. Anyways guys more pics to come soon after I get the block prepped for color!

 

Well I got the block all cleaned (got to use my brand new powerwasher )...all taped off and prepped...and then COLOR! finally....came out pretty well...still need to touch up a few little spots but all in all I'm VERY pleased with the color, think this color combo will work out nicely. Old school spin on a Gen III motor....

 

Well work has been REALLY slow at the dealer lately (hence the 0% progress lately) but i have managed to get some parts together and the motor is almost finished. I have gotten a hold of some 1.8 roller rockers, new ls7 lifters, ls3 yellow valve springs, trickflow 7.350 pushrods (bc of the mill on the heads), cometic .040 head gaskets, some polished valve covers, ls6 intake with rails, injectors, and TB. Will be mocking up this weekend to ensure proper PTV clearance and lifter pre-load. Once that is done I'll be ready for final assembly. Just wanted to keep everyone updated! Sorry for the ridiculous time between posts! Hope everyone has a great holiday

 

Finally got around to assembling my head with my ls3 springs today...heads look so much better with those bright yellow springs on them lol.

 

Wow...didnt realize how long it had been since my last update...well not alot but more progress on the motor....everything measured well...this is how it came out after final assembly...color combo and VCs came out well!

 

little more progress on the motor, coil brackets cleaned, painted, and installed. Also cleaned up the throttle body and got it installed. Money is tight so progress is slow lol.

 

Looking very good.....

 

Well here's a small update. Got a hold of a 4th gen rear, 4th gen fuel tank, and some truck accessories for free from work. They are torn down right now being bead blasted and prepped for paint. Got some time finally and got the fuel rails painted and installed, ran into a problem with using the truck brackets and tall valve covers (see pictures). Still slowly making progress. After the engine is completed I'll finally get started on the car itself...gets kind of overwhelming sometimes thinking about how far I still have to go. lol


p.s. plans are to have her back on the road next summer...going to have around 5 grand this winter to dump into it. Trying to stretch that as far as I can...kicking around the idea of doing paint/body myself

 

subscribed. Nice looking Build!

 

Looks good! I'm glad to see another thirdgen in the Indy area getting a LS swap...there isn't very many around here at all.

 

Looks like you have a good start. Maybe you can sell the t5 to help fund the project.

 

Yea I really don't see too many around here...most of the thirdgens around here are all destroyed :-/

 

t5 has been gone a while now...sold my whole setup for $700. That money is long gone sunk into the motor lol. There are a few T56s around town here for sale...just gotta save up the coin to pick one up

 

Well I guess its time for an update. The weather is finally nice enough outside to have the garage door open so I can finally get some work done. Today after I got home from work I decided to do a little poking around to see what I was working with as far as rust. I must say I'm DAMN pleased with the condition of this car as far as it being solid. The paint isn't in the greatest of shape but there is very little rust. I found a few places behind the ground fx and around the rear fender wells...I'll attach pictures. All of the places on the outside are mostly surface and still solid. As you can see in the pictures the fender lip is through but I plan on sectioning the bad part out and rolling the entire lip anyway, which I'll then cover with good undercoating. There is one seam in the passenger rear fender well (see pictures) that might give me some problems but I'll clean the undercoating off, clean the undercoating and reapply some seam sealer to fix that. Going to have to replace the doors (bottoms rusted from drainage, just easier to replace) which isn't a huge deal. There is a yard here locally that has quite a few 3rd gens with decent bodies. As for the underside of the car its still undercoated and in great shape. I will apply a better layer of undercoating after the underside of the car is gutted here soon just for piece of mind. Well that's all I have! Hopefully more to come soon, weather is getting nicer, so my motivation is coming back!

 

one more pic...this is the seam

 

On other note I got my harmonic balancer, accessories brackets, and water pump all cleaned up and put on the motor the other day...I'll get some pictures if I think about it at work tomorrow.

 

Mind if I ask which junk yard has the 3rd gens? I went to 3 different junk yards last year in the Indianapolis area and had no luck finding anything. There was a total of 3 3rdgens and there were very few parts left on them.

 

Looking good so far... I love the color on that Iroc... Keep the updates coming!!

 

There is a place out east between greenfield and knightstown on US40...little town is called Charlottesville...the salvage yard is called Paynes. The place isn't huge but its very well organized and the guys are good to work with on price. Last time I was there which was a few months ago, there were probably 6 or 7 3rd gens with some pretty decent parts on them.

annnnnnnnd I just realized I forgot to take some more pics of the motor with the accessories and stuff on it....I'll remember tomorrow...maybe lol

 

well guys got a little more done today...scored a good IAC motor and TPS sensor for free off of an LKQ motor we put in at work. Also have been piecing together a harness for some time now...(been raiding all the used motor cores at work lol.) got most of the pigtails I need and can start to mock it all up on the motor now to get the shape I want. Also as promised I have some pictures of it with all the front accessory brackets done.

 

Just another update. Got all the ground fx, front and rear fascias, and spoiler off. Found a little more rust, nothing huge. Wasn't planning on replacing the front fenders but probably going to now, the drivers side fender has a rust hole where the gfx screws to it, other side is little scary too so I'm just going to replace them with fresh parts. Going to have to replace the lower valance also, some jackass before me drilled holes in it for a front license plate. I'll get some pics up whenever I can.

 

Small update. Did some work on my accessory brackets today. Have the alternator in position and the idler moved to its new position. Will be using the turnbuckle I installed on the back side of the alt to tighten the belt. Going to have to use a power steering pulley off of a V8 trailblazer bc its smaller in diameter and will clear the idler pulley. I will be working on a bracket to support the front of the alt and trim the excess off the P/S bracket here in the next few days. Might mount a smooth idler on that bracket to improve belt wrap on the balancer and alt. Here are a few preliminary pictures but you get the basic idea

 

more pics