monkey-leader

Bad news, the base where my T/A project is located is currently shut down, thanks Corona. Good news, I got an 85 firebird a while ago. 2.8L, T5, NO RUST and most importantly the price was right. Even came with one of those aluminum rear window louvre sets. Has a bit of a Mad Max look to it.


The plan is to use up all the spare parts I have lying around that nobody is interested in buying and hopefully have a decent daily that I can abuse.

IE:
- Accell DFI 7
- Balanced/Blueprinted Vortec 350 with a 480 lift cam
- Built TH700R4 (Extra clutchpacks, Corvette servo and etc, etc, etc...)
- A/C
- T/A Mags
- NOS controlled by DFI (if i get arount to it)
- 9 Bolt 3.42 Diff
- Poly Bushings
- The list goes on

zman1969

iTrader: (9)

Nice sounding project dumpster dive LOL

monkey-leader

Yeah, was on the fence between that and Hand Me Down.

Also on the fence about the transmission, I also have a Super T-10 sitting around.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

That will be great driver!

monkey-leader

Made some Progress...

Not too bad for a 30 year old car, lucky I have some sheetmetal lying around. Still a lot more than I'd like...


To be continued...

monkey-leader

The next one was a treat:

Next time on FML this is more work than I intended...

monkey-leader

In case youre wondering why the inner fenders is crappy looking, it was hard to get the grinder in there and it's not really visible so IDGAF...

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Like a TV show, it seems like you are moving along really fast. A few more days (TV time) and you should be done!

monkey-leader

Just like a TV show I censor the long nights and swearing...

CKone

iTrader: (2)

I would only like to add that I love it when people make threads like this and show progress along the way. Really inspires me to get off my *** and do something if anything in my spare time. Kids responsibilities heat who has time for that lol 👍🏻

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

monkey-leader

Not much to report other than I dug all this BS out

zman1969

iTrader: (9)

Covid is a great time to self isolate - in the garage! in May and June I had to use up my vacation time so I did
D-Dive what you have planned for this bird? you know us car guys like engine pics

monkey-leader

Like a TV show I also dont show the shitty work I did in some areas.. :P

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Editor's privilege.

monkey-leader

COVID, work, and moving again led to slower progress.

I managed to get the motor more or less together. Lifter proeload adjusted.
The motor is pretty well built for a "low budget" build. Balanced and blueprinted, modest cam, higher compression than your average bear. Machine shop said the rotating assembly is good until 8000RPM but the heads and valve train are not suitable for that kind of powerband. Also, the transmission would probably not survive.

1974 Target Master 350 (4 Bolt)
- Vortec Heads
- Chevrolet Performance Valve Springs 12499224
- COMP Cams Steel Valve Spring Retainers 787-16
- Summit Racing® Aluminum Water Pumps SUM-310116
- COMP Cams XE 286H (.477/.480 Lift)
- COMP Cams Standard Length Pushrods
- Chevrolet Performance Pistons 10159436 (LT4/ZZ)
- GM Forged Crank
- GM Pink Rods (X rod)
- Clevite 77 bearings
- Edelbrock 7138 - Pro-Flo XT EFI Intake Manifold (Vortec) w/ Fuel rails
- eBay 92MM Throttle Body
- 42# EV1 Bosch FuelInjectors (Green)
- Spectre Aluminum Timing Chain Cover
- Edelbrock Valve Covers
- eBay Long Tube Headers w/ Y-Pipe

Heres a Desktop Dyno power estimate.
Not bad for stuff I had lying around. Powerband is pretty wide, 350 Ft-Lbs off idle. All that stuff and its almost as good a a junkyard LS 6.0l, it only cost considerably more money. SMDH...

Jbuchanan

Keep up the progress, I really need to do my build thread.

NoEmissions84TA

iTrader: (1)

Tighten until pushrod no longer spins freely + 1/2 Turn

Wrong. Tighten until no vertical movement + 1/2 turn. Spinning is unreliable.
I assume you know that each must be on the base circle? Just looking out for you.

monkey-leader

Yes, both vertical movement and resistance and on base. As per COMP its turning resistance though.

monkey-leader

Was super nice out today, 17C. Rolled the bish into the shop and started sorting her out. Threw on a Magnaflow cat-back which I bought from some guy for a steal ages ago. Stainless 3 inch job, the guy said it was loud AF but maybe not illegally loud. It took some finessing to get lined up right(ish). Woung up using two passenger side stock hangers. The passenger side required some trimming IOT raise the pipe 1.5".
I think I'll flip the passenger side mount to try and pull that side forward a bit. Be good for a half inch. Also threw the rear shocks on. That's boring, yet time consuming, sorry no pics. I dont know if anybody noticed the wiper nub and rear window washer. Crazy that a firebird has that and my T/A doesnt. Not much use with the louvers, maybe I'll use the rear washer as a nitrous purge.

monkey-leader

I dont know if anybody cares but I took some pics of the cheap eBay headers. They are surprisingly good, despites some interesting welds.

For 280CAD shipped I can't complain. They feel sturdy enough, despite some questionable welds. I guess I'll wait and see how they fit in the car. Definitely comparable (if not better) to some domestic name brand exhaust which cost me significantly more.

jharrison5

Wow nice find! Not a lot of rust free cars up North!

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

I like that idea!

monkey-leader

Been a few long nights of fighting this car.

At somepoint around 3AM my phone died, so there's a lot of undocumented sadness and frustration. Budget engine mounts and budget longtubes make for the perfect storm. Headers interfere with the K-Member hard. I geuss I'm the 2 out of 10 that dont fit guy. These headers gonna learn today...

monkey-leader

That's about as far as I got, starters don't fit, heater hoses dont fit, radiator hoses MIA, Edelbrock uses a different MAP than I have. On those clowns, Edelbrock also supplied THE WRONG SIZE coolant block off plugs/fuel presssure regulator vacuum reference nipple. The intake also takes the LS1 throttle body that I dont have with staggered bolt holes. WTF 700CAD intake and they give you the wrong ****. To top it off and somebody walked off with my fuel line fittings. SIIIIICKKKK!!!

On the headers, intalling them required lifting the engine as they came, and they still hit things. Clearancing them allowed them to drop in the driver side and install from the bottom on the passenger side. They do make working on anything around them harder. I changed the tranny filter/fluid, because I did everything *** backwards that day. I had to move the transmission crossmember and it required quite a bit of up and down on the transmission jack. Probably my fault as it was 4AM but IDK. Also, installing the torque dust cover took like 30 minutes of 1 ratchet at a time.

Now the wiring nightmare begins, should be cake compared to the prior festivities.

GTA1990

iTrader: (1)

oooh, pro flow intake. Have a vortec build with the same intake and yeah curious how it runs and also if it clears the stock hood

monkey-leader

I don't know, I'm putting the hood on today. I had to wait for a buddy because it's awkward to put on by myself. Here's what the top of the fenderline looks like, it looks tight

monkey-leader

The Pro Flo "fits". With some compromises.

monkey-leader

Let me tell you a story about spark plugs. Changing them on this setup sucks. No such thing as a ratchet for this.

Basically all of them were best done from the bottom except cylinder 1. That was the top and required removing the temp sensor. I will probably be permanently relocating that particular sensor.

monkey-leader

And this was how I left it before deploying for 6 months...

Komet

Ideal fitment spec.

Badass build, I like where this is going.

monkey-leader

Fast forward 7ish months. I got a bunch of work done without taking any pictures and found a ton of "issues". Some related to stuff that got lost in 7 months, some my fault, some not my fault and etc.

So, Edelbrock decided that since I paid some $700CAD for their intake, plus another $200CAD for their fuel rails, that I can afford to supply my own fitting/hardware for the deal. At first they outright ignored my emails before I was deployed. I got back and called their tech support line. They claimed they dont come with fittings. But, somehow, it came with the wrong ones, and not enough to possibly plug half the ports or even a vacuum port for the brakes. Safety third I guess. The second guy seemed to be more reasonable, and said "they would reimburse me the value of the fittings". Whatever that means. I have not received a dime. I recommend just buying the Chinese stuff if this is the way American name brands treat you. At least with he Chinese stuff you know what your getting into.

The problems with this intake are really annoying. It has some kind of staggered 4 bolt or 3 bolt throttle body. Which oddly enough, only Edelbrock seems to sell. For a lot more than a throttle body is worth. So eff it, I drilled out my China special 92 MM throttle body.

I had intended to get te fuel system done, but Amazon decided to send my fittings to another province. So, I decided to sort out the power distribution. I had originally bought a Summit Mini High Torque Starter. Surprise! It's not so mini. Doesn'n really fit in any usable way because the long tubes interfere with the offset design. The only way it fit was with the solenoid on the bottom. Which I didnt like, but YOLO. Turns out the wires didnt reach either. Back to see what I can get overnight from Amazon, worst case I send it back for free. PowerMaster 9100. I like the sound of that. Reminds me of Home Improvement. Its some kind of Hitachi unit. My ex liked her Hitachi unit, so why not.

monkey-leader

Here's a side by side comparison of the Summit Racing Mini High torque starter and the PowerMaster. You can see there is noticeable size difference. Not that either is very large in the first place, I just dont have space. The gear reduction of the Summit unit offsets the motor in a way that wouldnt work unless I flattened TF out of the cyl 2 primary or mounted it upside down. The Powermaster is also much more "clockable" is a blinged out gold color. WINNING...


The Powermaster bolted up first shot, no re-clocking required. Also, it didn't need shims to mesh properly. There is one shim that comes pre installed between the mounting block and the starter. I removed it in order to bring the starter gear .065 further into the flexplate. It probably would have worked this, but I'd prefer to have the peace of mind knowing its 100% in spec.