So gentlemen..its that time of year where your either owing back taxes..or getting a check. For those of you getting some cash..what are your tax dollars being spent on. Im getting 3grand back so I have a list of things I want to tackle on my car with that.

First up...BRAKES! Ive been sitting on my ls1 swap for awhile and it would be great to have more stopping power to get that turbo beast to a hault. Bigbrakeupgrade will be getting and order for the hubs preassembled and the rest ill do myself.

next up is buying a t56 rebuild kit.Ive out great miles on my trans and its taken yrs of abuse but no hard launches.3rd sometimes grinds still at high rpm and Im pretty sure when my 9bolt grenaded..it damaged the driveshaft and bearings in the trans.Plus..the rebuild stage 2 kits are a must for shift forks etc.

And since i know my stock driveshaft is bent from my 9bolt screwing off..im having a new tube made which isnt crazy money either.Along with that will be small ticket items..lca's since the car has been lowered for as long as I can remember..sfc's..something i shouldve also done from the beginning of time.Ill be able to feel more confident to push on the car with these things taken care of.And then save up to put all new floors in before my seat falls out lol

 

haha this is a cool thread, I always spend my tax return on car parts

Sounds like you have some pretty solid plans.

I just bought HP Tuners pro and I also plan on hitting up bigbrakeupgrades for a new rear brake setup. Going to put whatever is left over towards getting my exhaust done so I can finally drive my car after 5 years of waiting lol.

 

Lol yup..taxes are just the car parts fund the govt decided to hold onto so that I pace myself rebuilding the car each yr :P

I have thought many times to buy hp tuners and dable with learning,but my tuner has been great to me and I stick by the "if it aint broke..dont fix it" rule.My tune feels great..I dont want to mess it up lol

Brakes..I shouldve started with that a long time ago.I chased so hard for my power goals..and now i have soo much of it that I baby the car at the track in fear that it will never stop!Ive kissed the grass patch once..never want to panic ebrake the car again.

 

I'm using some funds towards an LS turbo kit. Good timing too - CXRacing is having a 10% off sale.
http://www.cxracing.com/index.php?ro...roduct_id=2264

 

Taxes.

 

Lol totally agree they are BS!

 

mine will most likely be going to rebuilding the front end as well as sub frame connectors. Just spent a decent amount of money on fuel injectors, cs-144 alternator upgrade, and a bunch of other little things that added up fast.

 

decided to get my driver license back this year. it's only been 25 years, lol.

 

I think mine is also going towards a T56 "stage 2" rebuilt kit from the gearbox... I haven't been able to put this trans in to 4th, maybe I can finally take the car to the track this summer... I've got a pesky kid at work with a fox body that needs to learn a thing or two.

 

Thanks to your post, I came across this awesome radiator piping kit for the LS swap!
Upper piping, and the lower piping that includes a different pump outlet for a better angle to the lower rad... Considering I might be pulling the motor out this spring I may have to order this, and TIG in a steam vent nipple on the upper hose.
http://www.cxracing.com/index.php?ro...roduct_id=2246

Also, I haven't forgotten about you sending me that CAD file, we are just getting our CNC plasma cutter going at work, so once we get a bit of down time I can maybe put something together for you as thanks... Or some decals/graphics type stuff if you're interested.

 

no problem WTR388. i wonder if their piping is for 3rd gen radiator or 4th gen. maybe they're the same size and it doesn't matter - i'm not sure.
i'd definitely be interested in some CNC stuff. i'm sure i can come up with something i'll need for my build. car just got done being painted. hope to mock up engines stuff soon and then i'll need to start saving for interior, brakes, tranny, wheels, etc...

 

I'm writing a check, not getting one back!

 

And the rest on stupid Dr bills.

 

Wow thanks for that link! I think I am going to pull the trigger on that radiator hose set up. I was never too keen on some of the solutions that are used around here. My hoses could be set up much better. Especially the lower hose.

 

Exactly. I send in a check on April 15th (17th this year). I keep my money the rest of the year.

 

Lol *redneckjoe* having a license might come in handy if your going to drive a car around.

I already got my return today..bought my ls1 front brake conversion spindle from BBU,bought UMI lca's..and bmr bolt on sfc's. And pulled the driveshaft out to have a local shop built me a new shaft.

Wtr388..Im also looking at the stage trans kit.Seems like they are out of stock on the stage 2.I might end up getting a kit from Tick or hawks based on availability since I think they both use the same kit and then you pick out a few options on what you need.

 

i took the same class 3 times and they kept losing my paperwork. now i have a notorized letter from the court clerk that they lost my file. my 25 years of fighting city hall over principals is getting old. i give up. i drive every day, just tired of looking in my mirrors. maybe i'm slightly stubborn?

 

I bought a Spohn torque arm, 10:1 hawks steering box, and a 9 bolt T/A Diff cover with my return. Well it covered some of it lol.

 

Lol I loved my 9 bolt till it started making lovely crunchy noises..and the howls.Before it had a chance to leave me stranded somewhere..I bought a lt1 rear and swapped out in a day.

Is the spohn arm the adjustable one..or just tubular replacement?

 

It is adjustable. I got mine with 2 drive shaft loops, new hardware and poly bushings. Im trying to keep my 9 bolt. Im not planning on doing anything crazy to the engine. Just some simple mods.

 

It doesnt take anything crazy to break the 9 bolt..or 10 bolt for that matter...Mine survived hell for a long time but i always rolled into it..i hardly ever tried to hook the car. This 10 bolt though..slicks are in its extreme future so..im preparing for a tow ride home from my first track day.

 

Im gonna run it till it dies. Car only has 83k on it. Wasn't touched till I started messing with it.

 

Sadly house parts lol, Wife wants to redo the basement. However Bonus and Vacation time is around the bend to so, tires for my new XXR 526's and Axles to narrow my 9".

Jay

 

I actually didn't put it towards parts this time, however, did get a sweet sunburst Gibson J45

 

I bought this, LS swap stuff will come in the future.

 

Nice seems like everyone for the most part is kicking things off with their returns..except five7kid.Hopefully the check you gotta send back isnt a crazy amount lol

 

Some progress this weekend. My spindles from BBU should be here anyday. I ordered lca relocation brackets and sfc's from Umi. Upgrading my driveshaft and now I have to put on the yokes on the car and measure for a new driveshaft length.Going with a 3inch steel shaft.

I started prepping my ls1 calipers with some fresh paint. Should look good behind my gta wheels.

 

What set up are you using on your wheels?
I have a feeling the two little dry cracks in my tires are going to require me to get some new rubber, and since I want some 17s, I don't want to spend the $ on new rubber for wheels that I'm not keeping.

 

Current ZR1's? 275/40 rears and 245/45 fronts (wanted to go narrower since i didnt like the feel of the 275s, but i think it was more suspension related)

My new setup is 18x10.5 and 18x9 with a 295/35 and 275/35 nitto invo. Just picked them up today.

Jay

 

I've always like those XXRs. I'll have to figure out what spacers to run for 17s... Did you need bolt pattern adapters as well? I thought they had more bmw bolt patterns than they do for us.

 

For the ZR1 i ran 1.75" adapters our front since i have C5 Z06 brakes (pushes the wheels out 0.300"). The rear I have a 4th gen length 9"

For the XXR's im running 1.25" adapters with 5x120 pattern and I will be narrowing the rear end and having dual bolt pattern axles made 5x4.75 and 5x120

Jay

 

I wanted car parts, but it looks like I'll be buying a new house instead. I'd rather have car parts...

 

Long term, the house will prove a wiser investment - congratulations!

 

i know but I really wanted car parts...😀

 

...ask my wife!

 

My savings account

 

i was possibly thinking getting the 700r4 rebuilt.... Depends on how uncle sam feels this year.

 

Well ive spent nearly all of my return on car parts but I think I will be happy about it once I get the car on the highway and make some pulls. Though the parts I got werent really expensive..but conversion rates and duty fees etc getting them here is what killed me. The only thing that wasnt bought from the US was my driveshaft.

Recap:
Umi lca relocation brackets $109.99
Umi subframe connectors $239.99
BBU partial ls1 conversion spindles $475
K&N filter ru-2510 $38.99

Shipping for the above was $376.71
Total is $1240.68....now the fun part.Damn conversion makes that into $1654.63cad (

My driveshaft is going to be $400. Pretty much leaves me a grand to tuck away for a rainy day.

Future plans from here is to give the car another good dyno run now that i have a better flowing exhaust and can run some more timing and boost and then maybe try a meth kit.

 

Got the car back out..and had some fun beaten up on locals.

 

I wish I was still in Ontario... We got snow here in NB today, I still have a few feet of it in my back yard!

 

Going Cruising on the Regal Princess!

 

have you got those UMI subframe connectors welded up yet? i still have mine sitting in the box waiting to go up.

 

My gosh you have some obnoxious drivers up there. Must be awesome.

I drove all last summer and not one person tried anything with me. This year started out a little more eventful with a 5th gen Camaro SS sending me a compliment with some revs, but also lunges in traffic to tell me he's all hot tamale. We had some honest (legal) fun flirting with each other for a few miles in traffic. After about 10 minutes of this I finally gave him what he was looking for with a brief 1 second demo of the 'Bird from a 45 mph roll. And that was the end of our blossoming relationship.

It was remarkable how different our cars sound even though our engines are the same basic family. He had exhaust for sure, maybe more. His sound was quiet while cruising and a deep rumbling tone when he goosed it. My car howls a lot and has a smooth scream when goosed. You wouldn't even guess these cars had same engine family.

 

Lol yea most times I never get anyone that wants to play around especially nicer/faster cars.I wasnt set out to push too hard on it. Its not too bad weather wise here but not quite warm enough to get good traction with my et streets. Though on ls1tech I posted this video and most guys think the car is slow lol..Ill take that,dont want people thinking its anything more than a 305 carb with no muffler.

I dont have the umi sfcs on yet but I will on friday and will post pics and first impressions about it. I realised from last night that I need to raise the rear up an inch or 2.When I hit hard bumps..my slicks are making contact with the fender lips pretty harsh.

My gmmg makes my car sound completely different than any ls engine.When I was n/a and had a magnaflow muffler on it was very close to sounding like a c5 vette.And yea my car starts to howl around 2-3000rpm.

 

Thanks for the info. I need to find an XXR dealer around here. I never thought of using a spacer as an adapter, stupid simple solution.
Hopefully my tires pass inspection this spring (two small weather cracks in one) so I don't NEED new tires and thus wheels since I'm ditching my 16" chrome Irocs... But part of me hopes they don't pass so I'm "forced" to buy upgraded wheels.

 

Didnt get the sfcs on yet..currently putting on my lcarbs.I like the ls1 brakes gives me peace of mind I can stop this thing.Looks like Ill be spending just a few more bucks on lca's..and a adj panhard bar and maybe shocks.

Listen to how hard the car rubs on acceleration or hard bumps...plus the trans making noise too

 

As an update. Shortly after doing this:


Has now immediately prompted me having to buy this lovely $1000 stg 2 rebuild kit from Tick as the noises and not being able to shift gears has my car kinda down and out. I got 1 month before my first armdrop racing event and Im dead set on spanking some modern muscle with my turdgen!