Evilokc

keys got locked in. had to break into my own car. I would be a terrible car thief. I was able to push the window away from the door enough to get something in there to push the lock button. it took about 20 minutes and I was terrified I was going to break the window. turned out well though. one less thing.

Evilokc

I noticed that the brake pedal was feeling soft a couple of days ago. it got worse until I knew there was an issue. I opened up the master cylinder and it was almost empty. so I have a leak. I havent noticed any fluid in the driveway but I suspected a wheel cylinder. I put the rear up on jack stands and pulled the wheels and brake covers and it was clear that the issue was on the passenger side. it was covered in thick black crap. im going to have to replace that wheel cylinder this weekend. brake pads on that side aren't bad but the driver side could use new pads. I added some brake fluid and bled the passenger side. I went to bleed the driver side and it looks ( it was dark ) like the bleed screw is broken off. I will have to look again tomorrow. with only one side bled the brakes are still crap. if you give them one or two pumps they get hard. so wheel cylinder and a bleed valve this weekend. ive also been looking into sfc. im a little confused though as most of the sfc don't actually connect to the sub frame. I would think they would be more chassis stiffeners than sfc.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

Got the new heads slapped in. Valvetrain went in after the pic when it got dark, so maybe it'll be running tomorrow.

Evilokc

i was back out today and it look slike the rear bleeder valve isn't broken. there is some kind of clip over it. I think I can use a small flat blade to push it out but im not sure. going to go try.

NoEmissions84TA

iTrader: (1)

NO. Break it free with a 6 point socket. Plenty of your favorite penetrating oil first.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

Back together! Right off the bat it idles more smooth and consistent than it ever did when I built it in April with the old EQ hybrid heads. Seems like the valve job was botched on both heads. I looked at them more closely and saw that all the exhaust valves were leaking to some degree and severely wore most, if not all, of the guides. Didn't bother looking at the intakes. The new Trick Flow 195s looked fantastic out of the box. Lesson learned, scrutinize the valve job even on brand new assembled heads.

Gotta loosen up the y-pipe tomorrow and fix a leak at the driver side collector and then I can drive it, too beat to do it today. Then the re-tuning begins... if it doesn't crap out again. One of these days I'll suck it up and go EBL Flash II or P4 or something.

Evilokc

it turned out I didn't need to remove it to bleed the brake... however I messed it up. I don't know if ive mentioned to you guys that I am a genius. "wylie E coyote super genius". I neglected to put the brake cover back on when I started bleeding the brake. turns out without the brake cover on there the drums push out until they destroy the wheel cylinder. so now I need TWO wheel cylinders! im so good at life.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

At least they're dirt cheap! I imagine you could go even cheaper and get rebuild kits and just rebuild them. I don't think you hurt anything if a piston or two popped out.

I just know I'm going to brain fart and do the same thing one of these days.

Evilokc

can you explain this to me? im changing the wheel cylinder. do I get a socket that fits over the clip and crank it until it breaks? im not reusing it. what size socket?

TireSmokin'

We got the new heart...LT4.

Evilokc

the old retaining ring popped off pretty easy. I was expecting a 2 hour fight. I used a punch and ran it down the groove and popped out the first side then the second. took all of 30 seconds. I was feeling good. now ive spent 25 minutes trying to put the new clip back in.. im going to run up to harbor freight and get a set of snap ring pliers. it looks like it will work. the snap ring pliers worked like a charm on that stupid retaining clip. in the future if you have to change the wheel cylinder do yourself a favor and get snap ring pliers I got the driver side drums completely put back together. I was giving it a good once over and I noticed there was "C" clip on the ground. had to really think about where it goes. took it back apart in the dark with a crappy light and put the "C" clip in and reassembled it all. by this time it was drizzling rain. I was able to reassemble it better the second time. I need to put the brake drum back on and its done. im sure its going to be a pain in the a$$ to get back on. I thought that all drum brakes had a long shoe and a short shoe. when I pulled these off they were the same size. kind of worried me.

NoEmissions84TA

iTrader: (1)

For the bleeder screw - 10mm IIRC, 6 point socket on a 1/4" drive ratchet so you don't round off the bleeder's hex.

d3m0n54in7

Today, I admitted that an 83 Camaro kicked my butt. For being a young guy I still can't wrap my head around how the vacuum system works. I've figured out much of what it's supposed to do, but it's the when and which component does it. Somehow I've got something wrong because even though the car starts easier now than ever, after 15 seconds it shuts itself down. Tach rises to 1000 then climbs to 2800, pops the check engine light then drops back to 500 and just dies. Usually I'd have put things right back where I found them but unfortunately the rubber disintegrated as I tried to move it and many of the ends never got marked with their mates. If anyone can point me in the direction of a good diagram as to how the manifold vacuum is supposed to get to the EGR I'd be greatful.

Evilokc

drivers side drums seem to be working. I have pedal and the car stops pretty well. its wet so not the best time to test brakes.

Evilokc

the wife drove the car today. when I got home she told me the car stopped much better but the brakes were making noise, I assumed it was something I had done wrong. we took the car out to dinner and I didn't hear any brake noise nor did she. im guessing shes hearing the new shoes seating. we are taking a trip to the other side of the state this coming weekend and it looks like we are taking the race car.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

Oil filter and drain plug were leaking so I went ahead and did another oil change with a different brand oil filter and a new drain plug with a built in rubber gasket groove instead of a crush washer. I've been noticing certain brands/models of filters leak and I think I finally see why, there's a little gouge in the filter gasket pad. Some filters seem to have slightly larger sealing diameters, slightly wider gaskets, or softer gaskets that seal it. So far the ones that haven't leaked are K&N and STP. Wix is hit and miss and Fram leaks (the cheap ones anyway). Maybe there's a spacer or adapter that'll seal it and then I won't have to worry about what filter to get?

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

Swapped the oil filter out again because it still leaked. Trying a Fram HP this time and so far it's bone dry. We'll see after a few more days.

I compared a few of the filters: the used K&N that didn't leak, the leaking STP, the old leaking standard Fram, a new Fram HP, and a new Wix. The K&N and Fram HP both had thicker and taller gaskets and I noticed they both said to tighten 1-1/4 turn compared to 3/4 turn on all the other standard filters.

Next time I have the filter off, I may take a Dremel to the oil filter pad and feather the gouge out and I'm betting any filter will seal fine afterwards. Another lesson learned, inspect the oil filter pad on a new/used engine before you stab it in the car. You can see the imprint on the old oil filter that leaked:



Compared to the imprint on the K&N that didn't leak:


Couple more comparison pics if anyone is interested: https://imgur.com/a/6G0ZKjK

MikeP_82

Replaced the missing clutch pedal pad.

Evilokc

did you get a brass replacement or an aluminum? I had a hell of a time getting the aluminum to fit I finally found a brass replacement that slipped right in.

Evilokc

took a short road trip to tulsa Oklahoma this weekend to see one of the greatest bands of all times ALICE IN CHAINS. the race car performed great for the 500+ miles we drove. a road trip does give the car plenty of time to tell you what it needs though.

Evilokc

thanks man. when I looked at the back of the brake I didn't realize the big chunk was the rear of the wheel cylinder. I thought that was the clip I had to remove. once I got in close I saw what the deal was and got it with a small socket.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

Where'd you find a brass one? Seems like all that's left are aluminum ones.

That said, there are incorrect aluminum heater cores being sold/listed. They look very similar but don't quite fit. The ends aren't the same so the factory retainer clips don't fit and the inlet and outlet don't line up properly. I lucked out and got the right one when I did mine, but my friend ended up with one of the poor fitting ones. Thankfully one of the other stores had a newer one with the right core and exchanged it. Tried to make the wrong one work but it just wasn't going to happen without modifying stuff. Correct one dropped in just like the factory original. Pretty sure there are some threads about this on the forum somewhere.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

Received my Hawks reproduction shifter plate, new window switches, and 6 speed shift indicator. My old shifter plate was a modified automatic plate but I just couldn't get the glue for the boot frame to stay stuck, so I gave up on it. The new window switches are nice, it doesn't take so much force to get the windows to roll up and down anymore. Not crazy about this shift **** though.

Before



After

88IROC-USA

Messing with my transmission now, I swapped u-joints in my aluminum driveshaft only to realize upon installation that the rear cups are TOO SMALL.
Camaro down!
(again)

Evilokc

on my trip I was forced to deal with the terribly dim 1991 headlights. I knew they were dim but I don't do a lot of night driving with the new work schedule. however after trying to find my way around a strange town with basically no headlights something has to be done. I bought a set of silvania silverstar headlights and silvania silver star flood light bulbs. the sealed beams weren't that expensive but the bulbs for the fog lights were. I will get them installed this weekend I hope.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

Got my new 15x8 Vision American Muscle 521 Nitro Series wheels and had them installed. The center caps that came with the wheels are too short for the front wheel bearings/spindles so I had to order some different ones. Sucks because the supplied caps are nice fitting aluminum ones. I need to drive it on the freeway more but I think the 65mph+ wheel vibrations on the highway are a lot better or even gone. The old wheels used shank style lug nuts and the holes in all the wheels were wallered out.

Also made some great progress on the tune finally. After going to the new TFS heads, I've been noticing that it wants stuff more stock. The old jacked up heads idled like crap, surged in closed loop, and needed the low MAF tables adjusted. At this point the only changes from stock APYP are a few temperature settings because of the 180F thermostat, some closed loop O2 timers since I have a heated O2, spark related stuff because the Vette ones are nuts, and the usual little things like disabling VATs and pulling back PE a bit because it's crazy rich. Something that was causing me all kinds of problems was highway spark. I was messing highway mode stuff and I never realized that highway spark didn't factor in vehicle speed, so it kept turning on when trying to be quiet while driving around the neighborhood at 15-20mph at low RPM, causing the car the buck violently and be annoying to drive due to too much timing. The main spark table is similar to a stock 5.0 TPI manual car table now and it feels really nice.

Evilokc

I picked up my headlights from orlileys today. the counter guy said we can install those if you want for free. I said hell yes. ive never done pop up headlights and they seemed like they had and it would be a breeze. 2 hours later and 2 lost adjustor screws I took over. got the headlights installed but without the two side adjustors the headlight bounces around in the bucket. I ordered the lost adjustors and drove home. they never got to the fog lights. I pulled it into the garage and jacked it up to see if the bolts were in a nook of the ground effects somewhere but couldn't find them. when I looked at the fog lights o noticed they were torque heads and that one side didn't have a screw. the lens just popped off of it when I touched it. I cant believe it hasn't fallen off already. however there is some kind of metal plate there that stops me from changing the bulbs from the front. must need to come out the rear even thought I cant see where. I will figure it out.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

Hah, speaking of O'Reilly, I took my old original aluminum drums to an O'Reilly to see if they can be turned. They fiddled around with them in the back for a few minutes and brought them back out and said they don't know how to do it, couldn't even measure them. Probably for the best. Need to find a more experienced place to get it done.

Replaced the rear wheel cylinders that I should have replaced last week when I did the drums and shoes. After bleeding with the new master cylinder, the brake pedal feels much better. Grabs more quickly and seems far less questionable. I have to say, just buy the damn spring tools if you're going to mess with the drums at all. I have done a few drums without them or with one of those goofy all in one brake drum plier multi-tool things, and I feel silly for not forking out the $20 sooner for better ones. I picked up a Lisle 46750, a Performance Tool W158C, and a brake spoon (which was silly and unnecessary in retrospect) because that's what they had in store. I can blow the drums apart and set them back up so much more quickly and easily now.

Evilokc

okay it seems I was whining to soon. the fog lights are very straight forward. remove the torque head bolts and the whole unit moves out where you can get to the rear and switch the bulb out. I also removed the glass and cleaned it out. the headlights are hard though. the lights are in and working. I drove it around the block in the dark. the headlights are much brighter. its like going from 1991 to 1999 immediately. when I added the flood lights it bumped me up to 2003. it was a very good investment of time and money for a driver. I don't drive in the dark a lot but when I do I need to see and now I can.

Evilokc

did this about a week ago. I feel your pain.

Evilokc

got the two new adjuster bolts today. I had to remove the whole light again to get them installed. however I found the correct way to do it and it wasn't difficult at all. once the headlights were in I adjusted them and waited for dark. took it out for a night drive. stopped a couple of times in the middle of the road to make small adjustments until the light beams hit right where I wanted them. im very happy with how this turned out.

Evilokc

I got my new kyb agx adjustable shocks , struts, and moog ball joints in today. ive got more parts for the front end coming. im not going to do the shocks/struts/control arms until I get the caster plates and strut tower brace. exciting to see new parts coming in.

Evilokc

ordered caster plates and lowering springs from founders performance. im excited about these parts,

feralZ28

Power brake booster swap - getting those top two nuts from under the dash provided a fun contortionist session.

Evilokc

ordered sphon wonder bar and a Qa1 strut tower brace. I need to order the swaybar bushings and I will have every part for the front suspension rebuild.

DaveyDug

iTrader: (3)

Yesterday I changed the transmission filter and fluid. I also changed the oil - trying Royal Purple HMX 10W-30 and RP filter.

Carlos89

Replaced alternator, PCV valve, recharged AC system, seafoam in the fuel and intake, cleaned the Throttle Body. Had some bogging that almost disappeared completely after all this. I'm content.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

I received my Detroit Speed 3-point strut tower brace yesterday and completed the holy trinity of chassis bracing for these cars today (subframe connectors, wonder bar, and strut tower brace). It's a really tight fit on a Firebird, but it's also entirely possible mine is mangled and it's not a typical fit. Ended up having to notch the bar a bit to clear the TPI and notch one brace on the driver side of the hood. Starting to want a fiberglass hood now...

I don't think the engine is touching the bar, but I still have to drive it more and listen to be sure. Can't get it to sit any lower and I'm already using rubber engine/trans mounts. It's possible that the Spohn T56 crossmember drops the trans a bit more than it should which may cause the intake to be a little high. But the bar is awfully close to what I would think is the pivot point so it's hard to say if raising the trans will actually move the intake away from the brace.

So far it seems like the front end feels a bit stiffer. Little bumps feel like they go through the suspension instead of it primarily being the body flexing and absorbing it. Cruising on the freeway feels more confident as well. The little bit of steering slop is starting to become more apparent now, may need to tackle the steering linkage next. But I do really want some Koni yellows.




My cut looks a bit crooked, and it might be, but it's mainly the engine leaning. I changed the mounts earlier this year because the old new ones had a massive amount of lean due to them being mangled for no apparent reason.




Don't judge me



Couple more pics: https://imgur.com/a/aJTHLAD

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

So...the dents in the hood bracing...you did those to clear the brace, or the brace has done that from hitting there, or???

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

The pic was from before I cleaned up the cuts from notching. I had to open the left side of the notch (when looking at the pic) to get it flatter because that edge was digging into the brace a bit even though the hood closed fine. I may have bent that firewall end of the notch when I was test fitting and pushing on the hood to try to figure out if it was touching or if there was clearance. I'm actually thinking about removing a little more of the section of the hood brace that runs towards the firewall because it runs fairly parallel to the strut tower brace.

Otherwise, this hood was pretty jacked up by the previous owner(s) if you're referring to other areas. I wouldn't have done it that way if the rest of the hood was nice. I don't know what they did to this poor car; sometimes I wonder if I should've got another shell. But it was $1000, complete, and nice enough for a worry free driver and for modifying without feeling bad about ruining something nice.

If my car was as nice as your car, I'd have just returned the brace and found something that fit a Trans Am better. Seems like most companies did the R&D with a Camaro which has more space between the hood and engine from what I gather. Not sure why it ended up so close to the engine though. There was maybe enough room to slip a sheet of paper in there before I notched the strut tower brace.

GTA88

Changed the oil in my 88. It only had about 2,500 miles on it, but it was maybe 10 years old! Got a new filter too ( Napa Pro select). Maybe my imagination, but car seems to be faster now at high rpms.

LsxMatt

iTrader: (4)

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

Those came out fantastic! Looking forward to seeing how you did the visors.

Love your videos, by the way.

92droptopws6

iTrader: (10)

I looked at my newest addition and thought to myself, " it has been 13+ years since I have had a 3rd gen" Part of me feels like I am going backwards and the other part says NO car has taken corners like my old 3rd gens had!!!! I know I will spend a bunch on this car but whatever its fun....

Evilokc

got my QA1 3 point strut tower brace in today. feels really solid and looks great. im excited to install it.

Evilokc

did you have any issues drilling the firewall holes? im concerned about having enough room to get my drill in there.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

I was able to use my 1/4" impact driver (the shortest drill-like thing I have) along with a hex drive drill bit for a pilot (1/8") and a hex drive stepped bit to open it up to full size (7/16" according to the instructions for mine). The holes did get drilled at a bit of an angle, but it didn't seem to be enough to cause any issues. I figured that since the pilot drill started without a problem, I could get away with finishing it with the hood in place. I think the stepped bit was key because of how short it is compared to a 7/16" bit and how the drill is able to straighten out some as you get closer to final size.

They make right angle drills and I think even right angle drill attachments, so if your drill and all that is too long and you end up at too much of an angle to drill, you could pick one of those up if it's too much to remove/move the hood. Probably even have cheap ones at Harbor Freight.

Evilokc

I have a dewalt impact. I can give that a try before I buy any attachments. the Detroit speed brace looks awesome.

rburrow87

iTrader: (1)

You should be alright then if you have some drill bits and maybe a step bit that fit. HF has good-enough step bits with a hex drive if not. My impact is an older Ryobi and I've noticed it's pretty big and bulky compared to what you can get nowadays.

Evilokc

got my
got my wonderbar , springs, and founders caster plates. have almost all my parts now.