Torchred87T/A

May 2007 I got this car, I was about 11 yrs old (I'm nearly 16 now) and it sat for a good bit not doing anything but let weeds grow around it, did some small odds and ends but nothing major. But today I started into it serious, because this is gonna be the car that I drive to school when I get my license in within the upcoming months.

About the car:

Purchased for $300

Original 305 5 speed (CCC)

Has a 350/TH350 going into it now but big plans in the future

This is the progress I've had since I've got it and mostly from today

Torchred87T/A

Photos to be up momentarily (within next 5 minutes)

Torchred87T/A

The twisted bumper reinforcement and a picture with the bumper off

Torchred87T/A

All of the stuff that came out/off of it packed into the back of my Bronco including 4th gen seats that came out of a 94 camaro

Torchred87T/A

The 350 going into it needs paint and have to put the dress up kit on it


The battery tray

Torchred87T/A

Only paid $75 for the 350 and all it needs is a gasket kit (bought one off of speedway motors) and its in good shape overall. It was in a circle track car that used to run on a speedway here until they put a housing subdivision on top of it. No big plans for it because I see LSX swap in the future but it should be enough to get from Point A to B

fervernt

Your 16 and you have 3 cars 0_o? huh. lol. Hey, it looks like its got potential there, but I think you've got a pretty huge job ahead of you. rustwise, any major problems(besides the battery tray of course)? how bout that engine? any plans to build it? Or are you just planning to clean it up and drop it back in. How mechanically inclined are you?

Torchred87T/A

No major rust besides the battery tray, only surface rust, my dad is in paint and body work which I'm learning to do, hopefully going to WyoTech when I get out of high school, been around cars all of my life. The 350 is probably only getting a cam in it, clean it up and drop it back in. My dad did manage to snag a 2011 Camaro exhaust system that had been wrecked, so it should sound nice. Paint and Body wise its going Torch red with silver around the bottom, the way it was factory, the poor thing had a single stage paint job shot over it (very poorly). As for the 3 car thing there all projects, the Bronco runs and is a mud toy, the mustang is next to be fixed after the Trans Am.

dprest68

iTrader: (1)

Looks like you have your work cut out for you Torch'! Start saving your pennies now for the LSx swap... it's not cheap!

fervernt

right on. Sounds like it's gonna be a fun project then. Good luck with it! Make sure you keep everyone posted on here as it progresses. Everyone loves seeing a project come out beautiful.

Torchred87T/A

Basically this is how the car is going to be setup for now when it gets going again

350 with a 650 Holley shorty headers and 2011 camaro dual exhaust minus cats and resonater.

TH350 w/ shift kit and B&M Z Gate Shifter factory 10 bolt 3.23 unless its not a posi then its getting swapped out

If I can get the money for it I want to do a 2" front and 1.5" rear drop on it (Eibach), Koni or Bilstein shocks (or just do a coilover conversion), adjustable torque arm, tubular upper and lower control arms, Polyurethane bushings, thicker sway bars, 6 point cage, and strut tower brace.

Looking at running Nitto 255/45/17R 555R tires on all 4 corners and use a set of BMW wheels on it as well but that might be too aggressive for a Daily Driver more than likely just gonna find a set of factory 15" wheels to go back on it and go from there

GOAL: Its gonna be a bit low on power but have gobs of torque (Its a suburban 4 bolt main 350 010 block, made nearly 350 tq factory) and take a corner like no other, but be fast enough to beat burn the rice

Also currently attempting to source out a stock firebird hood w/o louvers to make a Frankenhood out of it and a Mustang GT fiberglass hood, probably very similar to the FIRECHKN hood but part steel and part fiberglass

Thanks For Viewing!

dprest68

iTrader: (1)

There are no upper control arms on these cars. And I think I'd probably install subframe connectors before I messed with a cage.

79tagio

Sweet! good luck, subscribed!

Torchred87T/A

I completely forgot about the subframe connectors and I didn't know about them not having upper control arms thanks for the info!

Torchred87T/A

What the FrankenHood ''Should'' look like when the Foxbody hood gets melded with a Firebird hood its sat on top of the Trans Am hood for now

dprest68

iTrader: (1)

No problem Torch'

Torchred87T/A

Just tore down the 350 for the first time, its been rebuilt before, looks clean, overall in great shape. It was supposed to be a 4 bolt main and ended up being a 2 bolt main, but hey it only cost $75. It has 9.0:1 pistons in it but stock heads casting #462624, either 1.94/1.5 or 2.02/1.6 heads hopefully the latter though. And its a 1977 suburban block not sure what power it put out but if anyone could tell me the block casting # is 3970010.

-Thanks!

neeb_usmc

iTrader: (2)

welcome Im subscribed

Torchred87T/A

2 Bolt Main

dprest68

iTrader: (1)

Nothing wrong with 2 bolt mains unless you plan on big HP. You could always put an ARP main stud kit on it for extra insurance. That's what I always used to do. I have a brand new cam & lifter kit that would be perfect for that thing. PM me if you are interested.

Dave

Torchred87T/A

If I knew it didn't have a cam in it I would probably bite but it has a lot of aftermarket stuff in it from the previous build it had, thanks for the offer though!

If my dad sells the 2 Stock car cams (came out of a USAR pro cup car) I have to a person he works with I'm getting a Lunati VooDoo or Barebones cam for it.

-Thanks

Torchred87T/A

A question for anyone who can help (searched already can't come up with any solid information on it)

Do I need to get a new Torque Arm since I'm going with a TH350 trans?

Torchred87T/A

Also I nearly forgot about this. A few months ago I sold some spare parts I had off my bronco, got $150 for them. I went on craigslist that night found this shifter http://www.jegs.com/p/B-M/B-M-Z-Gate...45757/10002/-1 for $100. Ended up getting it for $60 with the shift linkage plus a bonus. He gave me a Holley 650CFM carburetor for free! Goes to show good people are everywhere still, which also applies to you guys who have helped me out in the last few days.

dprest68

iTrader: (1)

No problem, just thought I'd throw it out there since I no longer have any use for it since I switched over to an LS1.

Torchred87T/A

Was just wondering about how much I have in it so far and it nearly blew me away, I thought I had much more into her than I do. Here's the list of all the stuff I've purchased/acquired for it.

Total investment as of 11/07/2012

1987 Trans Am - $300

Engine (350) - $75

(2) Cans Duplicolor Ceramic Engine Paint/40oz Purple Power - $20

Cal Custom Valve Covers & Air Cleaner - $45

Speedway Motors Full Gasket Kit - $40

Aluminum Intake - Freebie (pulled of factory 305 that was blown up)

Transmission (TH350, fresh rebuild) - $150

Seats (4th Gen.) - $125

Shifter (B&M Z-Gate) - $60

Jegs 2500 Stall Torque Converter - $115

Carburetor (Holley 650CFM) - Freebie

Radio (Jensen made for 2nd & 3rd gens) - $40

Rims (CR Racing or CR Custom 17x10 Needs Tires 255/45/17 275/40/17) - $100

87 Camaro Steering Column (Grant LeMans Steering wheel, I think) - $25

Total Investment so Far - $795

Note: May be edited if I remember anything else I have put in her.

dprest68

iTrader: (1)

I would think you'd need a torque arm that mounts to the trany crossmember or something similar since the TH350 has no provisions for the torque arm mount on it. Something like this... http://www.spohn.net/shop/1982-1992-...nsmission.html

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Yes, you are going to have to either fab up something yourself, or buy an aftermarket cross-member with the torque arm mount attached.

I don't have specs all the way back to '77, but my '86 shop-manual lists 165hp @ 3800 and 275 lb-ft of torque at 1600 rpm. That's pretty common figures for those years SBC in a truck. I'm interested to know how you measured the compression on those pistons as well. My manual lists an 8.3:1 CR for a truck SBC through all of those years. The valve reliefs on the pistons don't necessarily mean it's a 9.0:1 or 9.5:1 CR engine. You've got to remember that most of the truck engines came with larger CC combustion chambers, which drops the compression ratio.

Also keep in mind that with a cam change, you will have completely changed the HP/Torque output of the engine. If you don't know what cam is in there now, you may strongly consider sourcing a cam, lifters, and valvesprings, and doing the swap before the engine is in the car. I don't know much about circle track engines, but I would bet the cam is designed more for running within a certain RPM band than all around performance on the street. Kind of like a boat cam, but without the built-in water reversion considerations.

Your best bet is to research, research, research. It's a wonderful world of speed out there, but there's a whole lot to learn before being able to complete a project like this correctly.

Torchred87T/A

I was going by what my dad said on the pistons, he said they were aftermarket. As for the cam, it was more of a backwoods style racing well I guess you could basically consider it LeMons style. Thanks for the info on the motor as well. Also I love you bird its one of my top 5 that I've seen on the boards.

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

Thank you, I really appreciate that.

Those look like factory 4-valve relief pistons. The 350 in my old suburban had the same pistons in it.

If you're really worried about it, you can figure the actual compression ratio by CC'ing the combustion chamber of the heads. You'll need a graduated measuring device, a piece of plexiglass with a hole drilled in the top, and some play-doh or something to seal up around the edges. Put a ring of the sealant around the combustion chamber and lay the plexiglass over the top with the hole in it over the combustion chamber. Add water until it's full, keeping track of how much you put in. This will be your combustion chamber volume.

If it's a 64cc head, you probably have a 9-9.5:1 CR. If it's around 72cc, you'll most likely be looking at an 8-8.5:1 CR.

If you're set on just using the engine as a stop-gap before an LS1 goes in, then I'd put it in as is. If it was mine, I'd be real tempted to scrounge a good used cam/lifters and a set of used Vortec heads to go on that. You could build a real low budget screamer with a setup like that. You'll be real busy getting ready to go to college and start life soon. Money and time is going to be in short supply. It'd be nice to have something solid to use in the meantime without having to worry constantly about being underpowered. I'd build something now that you'll be happy with for a long time, and then enjoy it. It's a lot easier to do the engine work now when its out of the car than later on when you get it all put back together.

-cal30sniper

Skinny Neb

iTrader: (2)

Be easy on that B&M shifter. I bought an 85 TA with a console megashifter, shifted down into first and snapped the shaft off. put a nice gash down the side of my arm too!

Torchred87T/A

Getting a set of 17" Aluminum wheels out of the junkyard soon for $125 think my dads getting them tomorrow. Will put up a link of what they are since the phones not wanting to send any pictures at the moment.

Torchred87T/A

That had to suck, don't plan on beating on it to hard when I get it finished, but it is going to the local 1/8th mile strip when we get it running. Not expecting a whole lot but it will be a learning experience. The turbo 350 has some go fast goodies in it, it was built for a guy who kept breaking them in a nitrous small block foxbody, guy never picked it up and I bought it off a friend of my dads for $150

Torchred87T/A

got my 17's today. Goodbye 14's!

neeb_usmc

iTrader: (2)

Do you have a motor?

neeb_usmc

iTrader: (2)

Nevermind i wrote from phone

richkar87bird

My torque arm is attatched to the transmission tunnel and yes that part of the floor is beefed up with metal on both sides and the torque arm has the little bushing on it. I did not put it there it came there the car had a big block in it so I'm guessing it worked good enough.

Torchred87T/A

Got some carbon fiber and brushed aluminum vinyl a few days ago. Decided to experiment with it and did one of my door trim pieces and it looks pretty dang good

fervernt

that trim DOES look pretty good. I actually might have to look into doing that to mine sometime. I'm gonna be restoring my door panels in the next month or two, that might be a nice fresh look to go with it. thanks for the idea lol

cal30_sniper

iTrader: (16)

I really like the look of that trim panel. Well done, and it will match closely with the gauges and radio pod/shift panel to boot.

Nice.

richkar87bird

Nice trim good idea on using it there never would have thought of that! Maybe do the shifter trim piece? Or something else to go with it.

Torchred87T/A

I'm Back!!! its been a while since I've updated this thread but I did a few things today. I laid a template for a stripe to see how it would look, and I test fitted my Z-Gate shifter. The pics should be below.

Torchred87T/A

Also, my dad and I jacked up the car and tested for an open diff or a Limited slip diff, and its and open diff, sadly. But we put our heads together and since we wanted to put disc brakes on the back we could go ahead and swap in a 4th gen rear, that way the 4th gen wheels (the one on the back) will have a nice offset instead of being so far in. I'm going to be 16 on Feb. 25th and for my birthday I'm going to the junkyard with my dad and were going to gather up parts to finish up the Trans Am, so just another part to add to the list! My mom joked around and said, "Most kids your age can't wait to be 21 so they can drink, and you can't wait to be 16 so you can go into the junkyards."

Skinny Neb

iTrader: (2)

What color are you planning on eventually painting it? That car would look badass black with that stripe in silver and a red pinstripe.

My birthday is exactly a month after yours, except I'm going to be 17. If you aren't loving life right now, you will as soon as you can legally drive that thing to school

Torchred87T/A

My original plans were to paint it back factory, Torch Red (or flame red one or the other was the original color) with the silver around the bottom. If I use the stripe design its going probably going to be Kandy Brandy on top, Ice Black stripe, and Gun Metal Gray on the bottom. Getting my license over the summer, hopefully will have it done by then.

Torchred87T/A

Just realized I hadn't posted the Dress Up kit i got from Summit Racing when I was in Georgia, so here it is, the items in the pictures are 14" Cal Custom Air Cleaner, Cal Custom Valve Covers, 2 ECU's (90-92 Firebird/Camaro, 93-97 Chevrolet Silverado, on clearance for $5) and an Aluminum 1" Carb spacer which was on sale for $10.

Torchred87T/A

Well sadly I sold this car over the summer. I used the money to put into the 95 Silverado I got. Now I'm going to pick up a 91 Camaro tomorrow to try to fill its spot. Clean body, clean interior, no motor or trans though.