So my car is gonna under go quite a few changes here coming up so I thought I'd start a build thread just so I could look back on the transformation and so anyone else can see also. It's nothing special just a Formula me and my dad saved from going to the junkyard. It had a knocking engine and was hit pretty well in the front. We put in a new engine and built the rear end. We got it done pretty quickly on a budget and now its coming back to haunt me. The paint was mainly dupli color in small spots and the quarter panel had a dent on the body line so it looked horrible. After many times of waxing it that quarter panel started to develop checks in the clear coat after the elements got to it and my buddies girl friend left her drink on the hood and my friends german sheppard decided to jump on the hood and scratch it for me . So now I'm at the point where I might as well paint the whole thing since I'm gonna be chasing imperfections forever. So now I'm planning on putting on a 4th gen trans am spoiler along with some fresh paint. I also have 4th gen power seats that were in it but I took them out and already kinda regret that lol. I got tons of new suspension things aswell like shocks, struts, rebuilt control arms, new ball joints, energy suspension bushings, J&M caster/camber plates, and new tie rods. I also have a 5.3 from a 2005 Tahoe going in at somepoint! Heres some pics!!!

Here she was the day I got her home!


An here's the day I pulled here out of the garage after we got her done!


and heres the new Formula 350 decals



I'll post some more pictures later!

 

Looks like you got a nice project going on there!

 

Wow, that came out nice. Look forward to following the "freshening up".

 

Working on the spoiler at the moment, its nice to have another car to work off of lol

 

Looking good so far!

 

Thanks, the car should be going in the paint booth by next weekend

 

looking good so far! its fun to watch these build threads.

 

I got my caster/camber plates in, I went with J&M. I also painted my tie rods today since they were raw metal.

 

Made some progess on the spoiler today, dont mind the bricks and dirty garage lol!

 

More progress, haven't made up my mind if I want to keep the third brake light.

 

Slowly making progress

 

Heres a recent picture of it

 

Havent posted in awhile, been a little busy. The spoiler is super close and about ready for primer. I hope to get the suspension stuff installed very soon!

 

Awesome looking car you have there. If you don't mind me asking, but what's wrong with the spoiler you have on the formula now?

 

I see you're in central il! Where exactly at? I'm 15 mins west of springfield! The spoiler on the car now isn't horrible, but its starting to crack and warp.

 

I'm close to Peoria. I just went to springfield last week!!

It's kind of hard to see in your photos, but I see why you would get the 4th gen spoiler. I need to look for a replacement soon. Mine is already pretty far gone.

 

Haha weird cause I was in Peoria last week! These spoilers are pretty expensive to replace, the hawks fiberglass one is almost $400 or so. I got my 4th gen spoiler for $100

 

I have these on my car. Quality is good

 

Awesome! I should have them installed by next week.

 

Got it installed and ready for thirdgen fest saturday, tinting the third brake light tonight and may get a few more pictures

 

Better picture with the new spoiler

 

cant go wrong with 4th gen spoiler and power buldge

 

Glad you like it! Im pretty happy with how it turned out

 

Great job!

 

Fixed the spilting sides on my console, redid the lettering on the switches. Now I need a new lid!

 

Nice! Mine is separating too. What method did you use to repair the console sides?

 

Its really easy to do, I'm not sure if theres a right or wrong glue to use but I used expoxy on mine. You'll need some decent clamps, paint sticks, and of course the glue. I started by cleaning the area that glue will be applied to very well. Then put the glue in the part that had separated along with a line across the plastic. Then using common sense lined the glue stick up (on the outside of the console) along the edge to hold it all flat, then used around 4-5 clamps along it depending on which side. The epoxy I used sets up in around 5 mins so if you're in a rush you could probably have it done in a day. But it turns out great and gets rid of an eyesore!

 

Its that time, I'm tired of the TBI so in goes this! Was going to put in a 5.3 but my dad is going a different route with his 69' Camaro(the newer 6.2) so I get his 6.0 LQ9. He got it from a dealership, it has a tick so the guy who owned the SUV that it was in wanted the whole engine replaced? Its more than likely a lifter, which is common on those. My plans are just to get a different cam and a tune. Which with that engine should put me close to 400 hp and that is more than enough for a daily driver.

 

I've been planning out my LSX swap, and checked the insides of the engine. Next is to remove the heads and check the lifters. The inside looks nice and clean so thats a plus.

 

Very nice that will be a sweet daily driver. Based on your sig, why not use the 5.3 in the formula and put the 6.0 in the gta after you build it up and build a screamer. Even a cammed 5.3 would put out decent power especially for a dd.

 

Yeah I may even do something different with my GTA once I get to the engine. The 6.0 is where I can work on it everyday as far as convenience. If I remember correctly the 5.3 needs a little work because it was in a wrecked truck and the manifold studs got sheared off in the head. Either way the GTA will be boosted

 

Ah ok. Good luck with the swap . A lot of potential in the 6.0, leaving it relatively "tame" with so much untapped potential would be a dangerous thought for me especially If the car is supposed to be a dd.

 

Just saved quite a bit of money, my dad had this tucked away in the garage. It's a harness from a 98' Camaro

 

That wiring harness ended up being the wrong one, its for a LT1. So I went down to my dads buddies salvage yard and ended up with a complete 5.3 with a wiring harness from the truck it was in and he's throwing in a PCM. Its out of a wrecked 2000 Silverado, it was a really clean truck with 90,000 miles.

 

The progress has been pretty slow on the engine build but its coming along nicely. I have a ton of used parts I got from my uncle who has a Trailblazer SS with a huge cam. He had a decent sized cam then redid his valve train and got an even bigger cam. So I have 2 sets of push rods, one set is Comp and the other is Crane. He upgraded to dual valve springs and gave me his yellow LS6 beehive springs which should be good for up to .570 lift. My intake is a SLP LS6, heads are 862's and I had a machine shop clean them completely so they are carbon free. I am currently porting them and cleaning up all the casting flaws. I lapped the valves and cleaned the carbon off. I haven't decided on what lifters to get that are budget friendly but Summit has a LS2 tray and lifter combo for $150. As far as the cam I've had my eye on the Comp XR281HR with a 3500 or more stall. I want something with a fairly rough idle and decent lift, which that cam seems perfect. I have a set of 2010 Camaro Manifolds for it, hopefully they'll work. I'm probably forgetting a lot but here are some recent pictures of the car and engine stuff!

 

Man, that car is beautiful. And the wheels top it off perfectly.

 

Beautiful!

 

Thanks guys, black cleans up nice! The wheels were on the car when I got it, I got in contact with the previous owner (2 owners ago) and he said he put them on. I guess I lucked out!

 

Got some parts in today Torquer V2 cam, Comp 918 springs, LS7 lifters, and LS2 trays

 

swap the formula lights to trans am lights from 87 to 92 makes a big difference the car looks nicer with them specially if the formula is black or red

 

 

Looks nice Im in the middle of the same Im going with a LQ4 it makes 530 HP should be fast and I have a 76MM turbo to go with it

 

I thought about changing to the 91-92 trans am tail lights but Ill need the harness aswell. I may just lightly smoke the stock ones by adding a little black to clear coat.

Very nice Mirror Image, I'm hoping to boost mine in the future. A 76mm will make your LQ4 extremely happy lol!

 

Well there you are. I've been wondering what you were up to.

 

Lol! I haven't been up to a whole lot. I'll try to up date this thread a little more as I progress. This year I bought a car shelter for it and parked it for the winter, so I haven't worked on it too much. Just been collecting parts for my LS swap! Tody my MLS headgaskets, timing set, LS engine swap mounts, LS3 fuel rails, and ARP head bolts arrive. I am going to order a 98-02 f body oil pan soon and get it put back together.

 

I have a set of de-lam 91-2 tails and the harness, but you won't need the harness. ;-)

 

ade some progress on the 5.3 today, modified the oil pump for a little more pressure, installed the Torquer V2 cam, new timing set, 98-02 Camaro/Firebird windage tray, pickup tube, and oil pan. Tomorrow the lifters/trays, MLS headgaskets, and the heads go on! Which are 862's that I ported and added comp 918 springs to. Cleaned all the carbon out of them and the valves, then lapped the valves. Thank god for the LS1/LS6 building book and my dads 1998 Corvette engine manual lol!

 

Coming together nicely, only ran into a few problems with the fuel rail brackets. Other than that my 7.4 pushrods are on the way then I'll be ordering some fabricated valve covers.

 

Looking Good - like the contour pinstripe.
LS heads respond well to exhaust side porting - get headers (1 7/8 min, 2" if you can). You won't regret it.

Let's see some more interior pics. If you're re-doing the console lid, it should tie-in with seats and other subtle mods (seats, door panel, lid all same leather hide):

 

I like your interior alot! Kind of what I'd like to do, give it a more modern look but not over doing it. This is back when I had 4th gen seats, not sure if I'm going to put them back in or not. I removed the pocket of the map pocket for a cleaner look and added a few carbon accents.