STREETDEMON

Where to start?

I've owned this car since the end of my sophomore year of high school. Picked it up with roughly 62K on the clock. Car now has around 107K. Factory L98/700R4 G92 car.

It survived high school, college, a few moves, marriage, kids, etc. In the Fall/Winter of 2011 I completely went through the drive train. The L98/700R4/10 Bolt was replaced with a 6.0L/T56/8.8 Hybrid combo. When tracked the car was trapping around 113-115 @ 3660lbs (approx 422hp to the wheels). There is a build thread on it in the LSX swap section.

After I finished the swap I was pretty religious about driving the car every Friday to work. Life happened, and the car now sits waaaayyyy too much.

I can't part with it, as I've owned it for almost 2 decades, and my dad shared too many stories about the ones he wished he'd kept.



Well the time has come to put some lipstick on this pig. I recently acquired a Dana 44 replacement axle to swap in place of the 8.8. For no other reason than its a "period correct" swap, same reason I would love to find a Banks muffler to put on...nothing sounds as good. Car also needs the AC system put back in, cruise control, and the front steering and suspension gone through.

I hope to have all of this completed by this summer, so I can enjoy it the way I intended. Pictures to follow soon.

STREETDEMON

Well...soon may have been a bit of stretch!

Here are some pictures from a local car show this weekend. That's my '49 GMC next to it, it's also LS powered and one family owned.

Picked up a GM cruise control module to wire up, and I've been doing some more reading on the AC updates planned.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

Is the 8.8 rear end something you built or bought completed?

STREETDEMON

I built it a few years ago.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

Do you have any info on it or pictures? I'll be starting an 8.8 frankenstein build this summer. I haven't asked you about this in a prior thread have I?

STREETDEMON

A few more pictures. After too many projects piling up in the shop, it needed a good rearranging and a sweep. Trying to get motivated to wire up the cruise control and get started on the AC setup.

Abubaca

iTrader: (3)

Nice lookin car, and nice lookin truck! Glad you've been able to keep it all these years. I've owned my Iroc for 20 years as of this past January, BUT.....I guess I'm a little older. MY high school thirdgen is no more. Let's just say it didn't make it. I bought my current Iroc in my early 20's.

What are your AC plans? Factory, or something like Vintage Air? I've been looking into Vintage Air myself, but it's not gonna happen right now. Not this year anyhow.

STREETDEMON

Thanks for the kind words! I just "finished" the '49 last fall. Purchased new by my great grandfather, and the truck my dad learned to drive in.

I think I'm going to use an R4 compressor in the stock location. Probably utilize Holley's bracket setup for ease of installation. Originally I had purchased a homemade bracket from Pocket that he never used, but don't want to mess with fighting "custom" parts.

I've been going back and forth on what refrigerant to use. R134a, source some R12, or try the R152a. I'm always open for suggestions!

Here in the humid northeast corner of KS, good AC is a must if you want to enjoy your car in the summertime!

Buddy

Very nice, clean car, clean engine swap. I'm always so impressed with the LS swaps guys do to their 3rd gens on here, they all look so factory smooth.
Nice old toy truck too, cool to hear it has history with your roots and your keeping it too.

STREETDEMON

Thanks Buddy! If I would have left the intake and fuel rails painted black, it would for the most part, look liked it belonged. In all fairness, I did have the runners on my TPI painted red also. As far as clean...I inherited my dad's ability to clean and care for a vehicle, almost get physically ill when my DD is dirty, inside or out.

The old truck has now been driven by 5 generations of my family. My oldest daughter took it to her senior prom this year.

Here's what it looked like before I loaded it up and brought it back to KS.

STREETDEMON

Time to get this thread going again! Life yet again, gets the best of my best laid plans. I still don't have the cruise wired up or the AC installed. Just finished another shop project so it's time to get back on my stuff. Recently just went through and built/sold a 60K original mile 1989 K5 Jimmy and a 1987 C10.

So AC, cruise control, and rebuilt steering up front are going to be necessary things to get done this spring. My hometown, 600mi away, has a big car show for father's day every year. I never was able to make it back with the car while my dad was alive, and I'd really like a chance to do it this year. Either the Z28 or my '49 will be making the trip, maybe both, we'll see.

Stay tuned for some updates in the very near future.

STREETDEMON

Finally had a weekend to get some work done. Factory vacuum cruise is removed and figured since I was working up front I would change the oil...less than 3K miles in the last 2 years.

Parts are all sitting on the floor to rebuild the steering linkage, and as I was changing the oil, I realized it was time to replace sway bar bushings and end links up front, in it's current state it's just dead weight. I'll start working on the wiring harness for the digital CC unit this week. I'll snap some pictures for the greater good as I'm working this time.

STREETDEMON

Pulled the trigger on a bunch of AC parts this week. Bracket showed up today, so I'll see if the LS swappers have a new unit we can use.

Also see in the Hawks email that they are finally reproducing the leather shift **** for the manual trannies. Working with Holley right now to see if they can get me the correct black round shifter stick for the Billet Plus shifter I have installed in the car, time to go back with a stock look.

STREETDEMON

I ordered the ICT Billet 7176 bracket, as of right now, I'm hoping it will work. The hood closes, and there is clearance to spare. I'll know for sure when I get the compressor next week. While I had things apart, I pulled the intake and valve covers and re-sprayed them. The first time they were painted I used cheap clear coat and it yellowed badly.

Installed the new "struts" for the rear hatch...I forgot how nice it is when it stays up on its own!

I have the new heater core valve, but I want to wait on few more parts before I trim the hoses to locate it.

Holley/Hurst hooked my up on the new shifter rod. I went to order the shifter ball from Hawks with some other parts I had in the cart and it was the only one with freight...and it was $21...I'm not ok with that.

STREETDEMON

I was able to get the compressor on and the new heater core shut off valve installed. Everything clears, I just need to be careful how tall the fittings are coming out of the top of the compressor and find a new solution for the oil cap. I'll try a pickup/suv cap extension and go from there. Could always swap the covers if it came down to it.

STREETDEMON

Belt length measured with 18ga wire was 90"...went to the parts store grabbed a handful of belts and ended up being 90.5" for the correct length. K5060905.

Condenser I ordered ended up having the wrong ends, so I had to reorder, correct one should be here tomorrow.

I worked on the throttle cable bracket with a rasp to get the new cruise control cable to fit...then hit it with a new coat of paint.

My two different styles of AC manifold adapters will be here today. And hopefully all of my new shifter parts will arrive by tomorrow.

Plan is to have the AC stuff sorted out, ready for new lines, and to have the cruise control wired up by Sunday.

STREETDEMON

Well..like most things, you always need Murphy to kick you in the guts! So I ordered a condenser, installed, and then realized it didn't match up with my AC hardline. Send it back and order another. Then I was installing the cruise cable on the bracket and busted the mount off the intake...really, this is what we're going to do today huh?!

Well I have fixed it once before. I bought this LS6 intake with the broken mount, so out comes the JB Weld and redoing the job I did 8 years ago. In defense of my initial fix, I was pushing a little too hard to clip the cable in place.

New cruise box is installed on the drivers side near the air filter area, the less expensive of the two AC manifolds for the compressor are going to work, and all of the wiring inside the engine bay is soldered, heat shrunk, and loomed.

Hopefully tomorrow I will get the cruise wired on the inside. 7 wires....how hard can it be...haha!

Hopefully all that will be left is rebuilding the front steering, new front struts, an alignment, custom AC hoses, and a charge of the AC system...followed by some chilled driver burnouts!

Confuzed1

iTrader: (4)

I appreciate how you're trying to keep the car as factory as possible considering the LS swap. Hopefully you will share what works (and what doesn't) with the AC swap as well! It's a beautiful car nonetheless! Most people don't go through the effort of making everything work as it should when upgrading to a newer drive train!

STREETDEMON

I appreciate the comments! The goal has always been to make the car reliable, fun to drive, and keep it as stock looking as possible. I'm glad I didn't have the money to change the hood and the wheels like I wanted too in high school! The older I get, the more important creature comforts are, and the more I appreciate keeping things GMish.

Confuzed1

iTrader: (4)

I hear ya....I was around 38 years old when I first got my Thirdgen (bought mine well used and abused). And even though it handles like it's on rails - it's not very comfy or near as reliable as anything with a modern drivetrain like you've installed in yours. Now I'm 56 and just getting in and out of this lowered Thirdgen is a chore!! So I bought a Hellcat. Now I call my Thirdgen "The Beast", and the HC is my "Refined Beast"...

Maybe one of these years, I'll do something similar with my Camaro....and if I do, I'll save this post for reference!
Looks like you're doing it right and seems like a nice clean install!

RubberDucky

iTrader: (4)

How are you liking that A/C bracket? I looked at that one, but haven't made a decision yet. How did you wire in the Sanden compressor?

STREETDEMON

I bet that MOPAR moves out! I try to do everything to the best of my abilities, in the past I've had to redo stuff because I hurried or cut corners. Learn from your mistakes I guess. Some days I miss the off idle torque the L98 had, but when I get fourth gear rubber shifting @ 6700rpm with the LS I quickly forget about it!


So far so good, hood clearance is good and it's a nice compact package. Compressor grounds through the mount and it's a simple 12v hookup from the car to power the clutch.

Confuzed1

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, it's a serious beast...you kinda punch it and aim it straight and hold on as far as the Hellcat goes. But I still have fun driving the Z28 too. It'll out handle the Hellcat on winding roads easily even though straight line it might not keep up. 0-60 the Z28 might win....after that it's all over. The Kitty will win. But the old '83 is still a lot of fun on any road, and has plenty of power....hence the better handling over the Kitty on two lane windy roads.....much lighter and sure footed. They both have their place. I did add a 36mm front sway bar from the IROCZ and a wondebar to help over a stock '83Z - plus Bilstein AK's.

92BLKL98

I like that you kept the factory wheels. I haven't seen wheels I really liked that didn't require a withdrawal from Fort Knox to buy. The only fly in the ointment is the street tire size limits at a 255/50-16 from BFG. Nice build.

STREETDEMON

Thanks! If I ever changed the wheels, it would be to a set of Ronal R15's or some of the Hawks 17" GTA Crosslace wheels. Tire size definitely sucks, trying to get a 245 street tire to hook with 425rwhp is always a challenge!

STREETDEMON

More progress made and some rework. I was having issues with the serpentine belt jumping a couple of ribs. Tried a new tensioner and still no joy. ICT Billet sent me their other model for the 7176 compressor with a different tensioner and now all is good again. Such a great company, I highly recommend their products, and their customer support is second to none.

I also installed the new grill, nose emblem, and GM park lights. The front end looks 100% better now! Also, the new shift ****/stick really brings the interior together well. Steering, struts, and alignment in the near future, then I'll finish up the AC.

MeenZ28

Beautiful car! I love the color scheme in the engine bay. The red on white is very cool.

92BLKL98

Very nice, You did a very good job on your Z. I hope mine comes out as nice.

STREETDEMON

Thanks for riding along, I appreciate the comments. Should have it aligned later today or tomorrow. I also hope to have some other awesome period correct aftermarket part news soon.

STREETDEMON

OK, so my craigslist search prowess has paid off yet again. I have scored a NIB Banks 2OTL Stinger catback exhaust. The SLP stuff is nice, but I always preferred the sound of the banks. Super excited to get this setup on the car.

STREETDEMON

The Banks 2OTL is here!

Documenting this for future generations:

This is what they look like, in the box as shipped, and the guts of the muffler. This one shipped from Banks in late 2003 or early 2004 according to this newspaper used to wrap the bracket on one of the tailpipes. Came with a CARB sticker and 70hp worth of Banks Power stickers. Can't wait to get this thing on my Z28!

STREETDEMON

Installed on the car last night. I have 2 more adjustments to make until I'm totally happy with the installation.

Initial thoughts on the sound/volume:

Upon startup it's quieter inside the car. It's VERY deep at idle, and sounds like the trumpets of hell at WOT.

The Banks replaced my Hooker Aerochamber, which sounded great. The Aerochamber had a more classic muscle car sound to it and amplified the cam lope. The Banks makes it sound like the 10:1 LS that it is. For the record, the Aerochamber was much more gnarly, and sounded angry when you first started it up, I read somewhere on this board someone described it as "sounds like it eats small children when on startup"....that was very accurate! The Banks obviously flows better, and a few less db's in the cab won't hurt my feelings any!

STREETDEMON

Cleaned up the car, clay bar, wax/polish.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

It looks better on Garage Journal!

STREETDEMON

It's a good site, thanks!



AC line fittings came in, local auto parts said he had barrier hose in all the sizes...apparently not #10. So I have 1 line made, and am waiting on 1' of #10 barrier hose from coldhose.com. Also ordered an assortment of o-rings. I'm just going to put it all together, pull vacuum, and charge on my own. Hoping the AC wiring is still properly intact, Pocket made my harness when I did the swap and it was setup for stock.

Ordered some header studs, the far back #8 cylinder bolt keeps backing out, and I finally lost it. I put studs on the '49 shop pickup and have never had to touch them, time to do the same for the Camaro.

After receiving countless samples of headliner material...it looks like I'll be going to SMS for a custom dyed headliner. Hopefully with this board pushing people there for Flame Red headliner material they will start to stock it in small amounts.

Last oil change I couldn't find German Castrol 0w30, which I have used in this car, since I assembled it. So I went with full synthetic 5w30 Castrol Syntec stuff that I use in my wife's Suburban. It's not as heavy as the German Castrol, which based on testing is closer to a 40w oil. With the extreme ramp rates of the F13 cam, the valve train noise is much more noticeable. I think I'll pick up 7qts of Rotella T6 5w40 and give that a try. If nothing else, it's got a stronger add pack than a gasoline engine oil.

I think I'm going to send my factory tape deck of to have an AUX cord installed. I never have my CD's with me in the car, and most of the time, I just listen to Spotify now anyways. Then the interior will look bone-stock.

STREETDEMON

Header studs installed, AC charged and functioning properly. Needed to order a high pressure switch to thread into the hard line. Factory switch in the back of the R4 compressor is no longer an option. Also switched to a manual tensioner on the belt, works muy bueno!




There is an idle/rev video of the exhaust on my instagram, click the little icon under axle/gear part to the left to take you there.

STREETDEMON

Made an 1100+ mile trip with the car last weekend. Performed flawlessly with the AC and cruise. 24.5mpg @ 79mph, and 26mpg @ 68mph. Not quite a hybrid, but pretty awesome for a car that has over 500hp at the flywheel.

Had a little race with '69 Z28 that still sports its DZ302. In his words, "not as bad as I thought it would be, but still pretty embarrassing". From a 15-20mph roll I put about 3 cars on him at the hit and kept pulling away hard from there. Apparently my Banks exhaust was so loud he couldn't hear his car...haha.

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

LOL! I hate it when that happens to me. Sucks when you can't hear your own car when you're racing.

STREETDEMON

Yeah, it was pretty comical, considering the 302 is a solid lifter engine.