mikezohsix

Don't complain, could be zero at night and 15 for a day time high.
50* in New England this time of year is a break.

Bead blaster, I didn't know you had a bead blaster. Hmmm, bunch of small parts in my garage that could use some help...

R13_Braz

First post for me (long time lurker) but figured I'd use it wisely..lol

Subscribed. The amount of attention to detail you have is, quite frankly, daunting. However, I learned quite a bit just from your 3 pages so thanks for that.

I'm pulling the trigger on my 305 and finally going to start my LS motor swap. I probably need to do just about as much work as you are doing, but I'm on a budget and will be taking care of everything over time. I just need to get my car running first. lol

Side note: You weren't kidding when you mentioned engine costs... 3 years ago, I could have gotten a 350 for practically nothing. Now, everyone wants crazy prices.... one guy was asking for $1k just for a bare block!! Junkyard motors, it is.

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

lol! Haven't heard that one in a long time.

You really are getting to it and things are getting done. I spent my entire holiday break with family and not a single thing accomplished. At least I can read about what you're doing.

TP355Z

Thanks for the replies guys - Qwik - you have my sympathy about not getting much done. I'm a single guy with no family obligations around the holidays, so I'm happy to work on behalf of the TGO guys stuck traveling!

It's been a very productive winter break (I get ~1.5 weeks off around Xmas / New Years) and I've put it to good use. Here's the update!

FOR ONCE - everything went according to plan. Xmas day I spent painting the bottom of the car with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator (even though the rust was gone). The day after I sprayed the bottom of the car with semi-gloss black. It doesn't look perfect, but I don't want perfect, I want CLEAN.

In the process I found a couple pin-hole spots in the body and one 1" long crack in the tunnel where the reinforcing sheetmetal is tacked on. I'll blame GM on that one for building a t-top car without enough structural support. Since the flaws were small I just covered them with a little RTV and painted over it. With the SFCs and strut tower brace I doubt I'll have issues.

First one to gig me for not painting the e-brake bracket gets banned from the thread

cam-

You wanted clean, you got CLEAN! Lookin good

TP355Z

Once the bottom of the car was done, I had to strip/repaint my Eibach rear springs. Total prep time? 5 hours. God I hate powdercoating. Well...at least when it's bubbling from rust. It took FOREVER to remove.

Side bar: my father and I went through a number of iterations with his bead blast cabinet to get the best performance. Here's what we learned:
- Don't use glass bead or regular sand, it's not aggressive enough and degrades quickly.
- We used a ~40 grit aluminum oxide material which costs ~$50 a bag (2 bags to fill the hopper) but boy did this stuff power through most everything. Only powdercoating slowed it down.
- Keep an eye on the ceramic nozzles in the gun. New, they have an ID between .2 and .5 inches (approx). We found that after a couple hours of blasting the nozzle got so big that it needed to be replaced. Keep your tips fresh and small - it focuses the material better. (There's obviously a trade off to keep in mind - if you go with too small of a nozzle then the venturi inside the gun won't generate enough suction to pickup the media in the hopper. Experiment to find what nozzle size works best, then keep an eye on how fast it wears!)

cam-

^ You just proved your lunacy. Blasting off powder coat is a form of living hell. Kudos to your patience

TP355Z

Welcome to the thread Braz - thanks for saying hi. While it may appear that I'm being super OCD with this build, it doesn't take a lot of money to do things neat and correctly. I think the biggest enemy to a car crafter is that nagging voice in one's head that says stuff like...

"Just use a zip-tie, it'll hold."

"I should put that 2nd coat of paint on now even though the first hasn't totally tacked yet."

Etc etc.

Just take your time, do things right, and don't cut corners. If I could talk to my former self when I first built this car I'd have made a few decisions differently (like removing the AC condenser box).

To all of this, my father would say: "I told you so..." Some things we have to learn on our own.

If you ever have questions feel free to PM me. I'm happy to offer advice/help.

TP355Z

After that I got to start putting stuff back together, which - when working with clean parts - is actually very fun and therapeutic. All the heat shields went back in, the tank went in with new straps, and the panhard-bar relocation kit went in as well. All permanent fasteners were cleaned, painted, loc-tited, and torqued to spec.

One issue I ran into: the Founder's panhard bar relocation kit (eg: the "other bar") interfered with a lip in the sheetmetal and as a result, was 1/4" off the surface it's supposed to bolt to. It was easy to fix (die-grinder) but I figure'd I'd put it out there in case anyone ever has the same issue. Other than that, it's a gorgeous piece.

Side bar: from the factory, the gas tank has a fabric strip between itself and the rails 'up inside' the cavity of the car. I obviously destroyed them when I stripped the gas tank. As a replacement - I used reinforced / rubberized tool-box drawer liner material. Cut a couple strips ~18" long, RTV them to the top of the tank, and install.

TP355Z

Next, the rear axle was dressed with all the suspension components and was slid into place. Only the torque arm was torqued so far due to how difficult the top bolts are to reach (loctite was used on all 4).

I also coated the inside of all the car's frame rails with an Aerospace grade parafin-based rust inhibitor. My father always got dibs on the expired consumables at work, so I'll thank UTC for footing the bill on this part of the project. haha.

Oh, and I finally found a good use for the catalytic converter that was on the car...

TP355Z

So where do things stand as of today?

On their way from Summit Racing are BMR's sway-bar mount brackets and a set of Bilstein heavy-duty rear shocks. Next weekend I'll install them with the stock Z28 rear sway bar and poly end links / bushings.

I could have re-used the stock-style mounts, but honestly, they look sad. I'm referring to the "exhaust U-clamp" style that aren't very wide (where the bushings sits) and have a very narrow clamping surface on the axle tubes. The BMR units are much wider and - since I'm going to track the car - should perform better. Or they'll be overkill and I'll just feel good about it. Whichever.

I consulted with some seasoned road racers about what shocks they'd recommend. My options were...
- Kayaba (KYB) AGX adjustable shocks (compression only)
- Koni sport adjustable shocks (rebound only)
- Bilstein heavy duty shocks (non-adjustable)
- (What about QA1 or -insert brand- coil overs? Simple: I have a budget and it'd be overkill)
The feedback I got was that the Koni's weren't that loved as they need to be fully extended to adjust. The KYB AGX shocks were the favored of the adjustable shocks, but ultimately, the better shock was the Bilstein. Apparently they're tuned better out of the box, and since I'm not going to be pushing this car *too hard* having the added adjustability would just be an unnecessary **** to turn.

TP355Z

And here's the obligatory installed picture as proof. It's amazing how big my garage feels now that I don't have a gas tank...rear axle...exhaust system...etc taking up floor space!

Now I'll turn my attention to the engine-bay. No point in laying fuel/brake lines until that's done. I had initially planned to blast the whole thing, but I think I can buff it instead. After stripping the bottom of the car the engine bay should be cake. I'll scuff it up, remove any flaked paint, primer it, then spray the whole thing orange to match the body color.

By spring time I hope to have a roller again so I can get the teal Z28 into the garage for...surgery...

mwuhahahahahah!

TP355Z

-In the voice of Gollum from Lord Of The Rings-

"Master says the paints must come off. Musts be clean and shiny for the precious..."

jazzdadss

NICE!

TP355Z

Hey TGO,

It's been quite a while since my last post. Allow me to explain: those of us in New England were treated to a lovely fall / early Winter. During that time I got a ton done on the Camaro and was able to settle into a nice routine thanks to Mother Nature.

Unfortunately the old hag flipped the bit some time around mid-January and the snow started falling. And boy did it fall. At one point I had snow 5' deep in my front yard. The town 'helped' matters by pushing the embankments 10' into my property with a bucket loader. Between shoveling, snow blowing, and plowing out friends / family, the LAST thing I wanted to do was be inside a cold-ish garage. My Xbox One got a good workout for the remainder of the winter.

But now sunlight once more shines upon the rolling hills of Connecticut, and it's time again to go to war with the agents of time: decay, rust, and wear. My battle awaits...

TP355Z

Goodies have arrived. Last week the UPS guy dropped off my KYB adjustable shocks. I posted earlier that I ordered Bilsteins - but after over a month on back order (and realizing that the price was PER SHOCK) I decided to go with the Kayabas.

The local track-guys recommended an adjustable shock (these are rebound adjustable I believe) and they had good things to say about the KYBs, even if they're a "budget" shock. (The Bilsteins would have been $900 a set, vs $400).

TP355Z

I was pretty busy today (love my vacation time - thanks UTC!)...

The steering linkage needed to come completely apart. I think I'll re-use everything but the 4 end-links and couplers. Some race hardware will look nice I think. The rest of it got stripped and put in primer.

I also managed to get the front spindles stripped. I ordered the BigBrake.com spindles/brackets last week - so I'll need to send mine in. I can't wait to have some REAL front brakes on this car. The "discard" pile gets bigger and bigger...

TP355Z

<TANGENT>

One spring I had a stumble off-idle with the Mustang. Since everything on the car was new (including the carb) I blamed fuel gunking in the carb during the winter. Ever since then I've drained the carb in the fall, this is how I do it for those interested...

STORAGE
Remove 1 lower bowl-bolt (for Holleys) and let the fuel drain out onto a rag. Replace bolt. Place a paper towel under the accelerator pump squirters and give the throttle a couple pumps to clear the bladder. Now the carb is <mostly> dry and ready for storage.

PREP TO RUN
In the spring, to avoid running your fuel pump excessively to fill the carb (or to avoid cranking the snot out of the car if you have a mechanical pump) I use a fuel fill bottle from a nitro RC car. (Google "Dynamite Fuel Bottle"). Disconnect the main fuel hose to the carb, and attach a spare hose between the carb and the bottle. The bottle allows you to generate enough pressure by squeezing to push fuel into the bowls. Once the floats rise it'll get MUCH harder to squeeze and you'll know you're done.

The Mustang fired immediately using this trick this weekend, and no stumble!

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

Good to see you back on the board.

92BLKL98

You are doing a beautiful job gives me more inspiration for mine, I keep reminding myself slow down do it right. Right now I have an empty engine bay and a shelf full of parts waiting to clean and refurbish.

R13_Braz

Welcome back! Looking forward to more progress posts and pictures!

I'm full swing into my swap now, btw. Doing my best to not rush, but at the same time finish within a time frame. $$$ being the biggest set back (although that damn rear-end took 4 weeks to redo and THAT didn't help...).

TP355Z

Thanks for the positive feedback guys. Feel free to post links to your build threads if you start them. Knowing that I have to answer to the TGO community helps me stay motivated. haha. With this build I only work on it when I FEEL LIKE IT, so the care and attention is there.

Should have some updates this weekend. If things go according to plan I'll have my rebuilt steering linkage, modified LS-brake spindles, caster/camber plates, and some other goodies to show off.

Eventually I'm going to run out of parts to prep and am going to have to tackle the engine bay. Argh!

R13_Braz

The longer you put it off, the more daunting it will seem.. lol

My thread is here: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...-25th-ann.html

I went at the engine bay with POR-15 degreaser, a scrub brush, green scotchbrite pads, and finally tack clotch. lol Paint came out pretty good, all things considered.

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

That is my philosophy too. My car is for fun. If it's not fun any more then I go do something else.
I'm not saying every task has to be happy joy joy, but if I'm sitting there hating on it then I'm done for the time being.

92BLKL98

I agree 100% gotta be fun, so far mu Z28 restore is fun.

TP355Z

Another productive weekend. It's funny - I do NOT remember my garage time being as enjoyable and relaxing the first time I built this car. I guess wisdom and experience make things more fun.

Started at 8 AM in the morning painting all my newly received front-end parts. Moog heavy duty steering links, UMI tie rod adjusters, and the crown jewel: the LS1 ready spindle/hub set.

And yes, I did mask off the studs and center cap on the hubs. I'm just that unhinged. lol

TP355Z

While I was working the FedEx guy showed up with these...

TP355Z

After everything was painted it was time to move onto installing the KYB shocks on the rear. This job kind of sucked. I imagine the conversation between the design engineers at GM went something like this...

Engineer 1: Hey - how do you want to handle the top mount for the rear shocks on this thing?
Engineer 2: I dunno, 2 bolts? 1 bolt? Whatever makes it easier to remove the shock.
E1: Ok, hear me out, what if we mount the shock so you have to be inside the car to remove it and, hear me out, you have to remove half of the interior, hear me out, as well as some foam bra padding that we'll put on top of the stud so people don't impale themselves on it?
E2: Nice. Do it.

At least I was planning to delete the rear seat anyway, so I would have had to do this eventually...

92BLKL98

Yeah, as long as I have owned this car I never understood the rear shock configuration. Those guys at GM must still be laughing at this one.

TP355Z

Remember - many Engineers are mechanically inclined. But all the rest just have a fancy piece of paper that says they know what they're doing. lol

TP355Z

Hey TGO - it's been a while, but I haven't accomplished much to "show" until recently...

Since I need to move the car around w/o the transmission in, I installed a BMR T-56 crossmember which takes the torque arm mount off the transmission. It's adjustable too, but requires an aftermarket torque arm bushing. No problemmo.

The only hiccup was the stock crossmember nuts. They're welded into the frame and 3/4 of mine were stripped or blown out, so I had to drill them out and figure out a way to get nut installed inside the frame rail - that took some doing, but it's possible.

TP355Z

While I was at it, I got the drum brakes installed on the Moser. <side rant> How can drum brakes be SO much more complicated and SO much less functional than discs!? I also finished stripping the engine bay and interior. I pulled out the pillar gauges, wiring, mechanical speedo drive, brake booster, etc etc.

Tomorrow I'll mask off the engine bay from the rest of the car and start stripping. Once the engine bay is painted I can start putting the nose back together!!!

Oh yeah, there's an auto garage 200 feet down my street - I asked them what they'd charge to strip the teal Camaro and they said $400. PERFECT.

Hopefully in a month or so I'll have a rolling orange Camaro and a T-56 / LT1 ready for rebuild!

Side note: I'll be selling the 3.42/posi/disc rear out of the 4th gen as well as the 17" SS rims on it if anyone is interested. Pickup only.

ploegi

Well, that was some interesting reading.

I do believe that you are indeed OCD, masking off the lug studs convinced me of that.

Awesome build though. You are doing some excellent work.

Friend of mine did kinda the same thing.... bought a car, built it, drove it for a while, sold it...... fast forward 20 years....... saw the car sitting behind a barn.... tracked down the owner. (not the guy he originally sold it to, but, the next guy....) Owner said it had been sitting for ten years, and he didn't think he was ever going to get to it, so, sold it to him pretty cheap. (cheap for a 68 camaro in decent mechanical condition, at any rate.) My friend spent the next two years tearing the car completely down to nothing. If it unbolted, it came off...... and got cleaned, painted, or replaced. It was Farking awesome when finished. And once again, he drove it for a few years, and sold it again..... (at a significant markup.....) I am waiting for him to go looking for it again.


I met a GM engineer when I was in St. Louis, back in the 90's...... we were staying at the same hotel...... (was an event there.) When I discovered what he did for a living, I just smiled, and told him: "I know a bunch of folks that would LOVE to kill you."

He was shocked! But, but, WHY???????

I asked him if he ever worked on any of the engine packages he designed, in an actual car...... "No".... Told him to try it sometime. Specifically, change the water pump on a late 80's celebrity with the V-6...... Don't know if he ever did.

You are doing something here that I would absolutely LOVE to do..... Unfortunately, I no long have the health to manage it, so, I will live vicariously through your build. Hope ya don't mind.

Keep up the great work.

camaro1185

How did you get a nut on the inside of the framerail? Mine were stripped out too I just drilled and re-tapped the hole with a bigger bolt. However I cringe anytime have to pull the crossmember. Trying to get ideas on how to fix it better next time.

TP355Z

For each side I welded 2 nuts to a flat strip of steel - the strip is longer on one end of the nuts than the other, which allows me to position it by hand up inside the frame rail. If you really want to do it right, use an air chisel to blow out the old riv-nuts welded inside the frame rail. That way the strip lays nice and flat (instead of on top of the old nuts - which you'd still have to drill out).

If you just have loose nuts up in the frame you can use a little electrical tape to hold the nut in the end of the wrench while you slip the wrench up into the frame. Once the nut is tight, just twist the wrench free.

TP355Z

Evening TGO,

We've hit our first week of warm weather, so I'm hiding in the AC with a strong Manhattan. I did some research today on engine management and thought now would be a good time to open it up to the readers for their opinions. The way I see it, I have a few options...

I could run the stock LT1 engine management and use freeware to tune. This is the low buck solution, but my research suggests that either the ECM or Optispark doesn't do well at high RPM (though a few claim to be shifting modded LT1s at 7000+ RPM). My goal is to build a motor that redlines around 7,000-7,500...so I worry that this may become a problem.

I talked to MSD, and even though JEGS makes some claims about 10,000 RPM for the MSD optispark, the reality is that they ONLY recommend the unit as a stock replacement. The tech on the phone even admitted that they had quality / design issues with the product initially. So that's out of the option box...

I also reached out to Bob @ Dynaspark. They essentially advertize a high-zoot optispark that has improved bearings, venting, and is balanced to 6,800 RPM. The price is comparable to a stock opti...so that is the leading 'stock style' option.

I could do the 24X conversion - it would cost me approximately $2500 by the time www.eficonnection.com was done with me - but it sure would be a trick setup. And I'd avoid spending $500 on a new Opti and I have a friend with HP Tuners that could give me the rundown on how to tune.

I could also do the 24X conversion using a 3rd party EFI controller, like Microsquirt. It would require a little more leg work - but is cheaper than the combined cost of the GM ECM and HP Tuners. Additionally, Microsquirt has a 'self-tune' functionality if you're willing to pay for it. That's appealing.

What does the community have to say? Posters with LT1 experience preferred ;-)

Other than brainstorming I haven't much new to report. I'm back to making a mess in the garage with my 90 degree grinder. Soon the engine bay will be bare metal and ready for paint, then I can finally put the k-member and front suspension / steering back in...

camaro1185

I personally will be going either efi connection gen 1 SBC or ls1 swap. I really like the idea of using factory parts that if there is a problem replacement parts are cheap and readily available rather than if you went after market system like fast, holley etc. You cant go down to the local napa and pick up parts for those. This is especially true if one of those components fail anywhere in the US. In addition most of these systems are going to cost a smiliar amount of money to get working fully, so its really just a matter of preference. This is just my 2cents.

TP355Z

Solid points. Further research (I bought the LT1/LT4 book that the guy from TPiS helped write) shows that a healthy Opti can function around 6,500/7,000 - so that may not be a big issue. That was the primary concern that got me looking around.

The LSX route doesn't work for me - I can't have a nice motor and enjoy it at the same time. I'm just not wired that way. If I build an LSX I'm going to baby it and hate myself for it. Plus I know the Gen I platform - no new voodoo.

The LT1 coming out of the parts car has a gazillion miles on it, so I'm contemplating buying a used low-mile motor to use in the near-term. Dump a XFI 268 cam in it and maybe do a little intake/head work. 350 RWHP would tide me over until I figure out what I want as my "race motor".

This is what happens when I'm doing "busy work" like the engine bay - my mind wanders into the millions of possibilities...

R13_Braz

If you build an LSX motor right, and keep up on the PM, it'll last and last man. I'm expecting mine to blow up sometime late next year as I get my TT setup going, but thankfully the block is cheap.

My little 4.8 will be able to spin up past 7.2k, although I'm probably going to limit it to 7k just for peace of mind. And I plan on putting my foot to the floor often. Just food for thought.

TP355Z

Understood - I absolutely comprehend the merits of the LSX platform. The problem isn't the motor I choose - it's the driver ECU. My particular unit has picked up a few quirks and I tend to over-think and over-analyze everything.

I'd rather worry about a cheap LT1 right now than something 'nicer'.
Besides - the T-56 I have is for an LT1, so that's the path we're going down.

TP355Z

Another weekend, another mess! 6 hours today grinding the engine bay and radiator support. Luckily the undercoating was scarce - but it was a lot of work. I'm pretty sure my 90 degree grinder is on the way out...oh well.

I stopped by the shop today, put down 1/2 of the cash for them to gut the 1995 car - they said they'll pick it up and start sometime next week. Very good.

Sorry to you all that I don't have much in the way of visible progress to demonstrate lately - trust me I'd much rather be doing bolt-ons!

R13_Braz

No worries! Just thought I'd put it out there.

As for the LT1 T56, doesn't take much to convert it over to LS1. Parts are only about $325ish.

camaro1185

Id have to disagree. I looked into converting my T56 to LS1 but the parts are more than 325. Not to mention you need a new master and tob setup in addition to the parts needed to converter the t56. This is one of the major reasons i'm staying Gen 1

http://www.thegearbox.org/catalog/it...17/3697124.htm
http://www.thegearbox.org/catalog/it...17/9916980.htm
http://www.thegearbox.org/catalog/it...17/9454054.htm
http://www.tickperformance.com/gm-sl...-firebird-ls1/

I know thats all new parts, but good luck finding usable used parts other than the bellhousing and maybe the front plate.

R13_Braz

Fair point, although I was referring to just the transmission here. I sold my LT1 stuff, and it was close to balancing itself out for the parts I needed to complete the swap.

3rd Gen master works fine. Don't need a tick slave... Clutch line consists of $14 russell conversion fittings, and clutch line that's steel braided, and has fittings on the ends to screw onto the russell fittings. I grabbed a used bell housing for a fair price from a member here, as well as an LS7 clutch setup for a good price.

All told, it's still far less than the trans costs by itself. To each their own, but it's not pricey enough to not consider it. Either way, conversion is a conversion. Rock on.

TP355Z

As my father says: "Don't confuse me with the facts, I've made up my mind!!"

haha

R13_Braz

Lol. Sorry!

TP355Z

The last few weeks have preoccupied me with house related stuff. Oil changes, lawn care, plow maintenance, etc have kept me from tinkering. But I made it up yesterday. I'm so tired of cleaning and stripping, I can't put it into words. On the plus side, the firewall is stripped, and I'd say 95% of the surface area is prepped.

As you can see, I tried out Eastwood's soda-distribution aerosol kit. It worked really well! My neighbors probably think I have a severe cocaine problem, but it got into some of the places I couldn't reach with a buzz-wheel.

I've got next Fri-->Mon off (as well as the upcoming holiday weekend) so I'm hoping to have a primered engine bay very soon. Seam sealer, primer, frame wax, and some other goodies are en-route from Eastwood. As are poly motor/trans mounts.

The garage taking the 4th gen apart is starting to get on my nerves - they wanted $300 up front and have put me off for 3 weeks now. I'm going to tell them to forget it if they don't come get the car tomorrow. I'm ahead of schedule with the orange one, I can get the 4th gen in the garage in another month or 2.

TP355Z

Friday was super productive. The new poly motor/tranny mounts are ready for install and I got the engine bay in primer.

To prep the engine bay I used denatured alcohol in a spray bottle with a brush and microfiber cloth. After blowing it dry it was paint time!

TP355Z

While I was tinkering in my garage, the teal 1995 Z28 went to the big junkyard in the sky. The shop at the end of my street pulled the rear end, tranny, and got the motor mostly out - I'll be picking that up Monday hopefully.

To GMs credit, this 190,000 mile Z28 ran like a top right until its life ended. Even after sitting in my driveway for 8 months she fired right up. The only obvious flaw was that she had a real bad oil leak. The bottom of the motor, whole tranny, and tunnel were SOAKED in a oil/dirt/crud mix. Glad my days of chassis cleaning are behind me!

Still...out of respect for the Z I poured out a Bud Light on the ground...

TP355Z

So that brings us to present day. Today all I did was scuff up the primer to ensure good adhesion of the base coat I'll be applying soon. Body-matched orange and gold flake will get laid down next Friday weather permitting.

In the next couple of weeks this thing is going to start looking like something again! I've been stock piling parts for months - it's GO time!

Oh yeah, and I'll have a 190,000 mile LT1 to autopsy. That should be fun.