We were starting to thread jack the MSD thread so lets move it here.


Glad you got it going Tom, last you said you had found bunches of rust like I did and you kinda tossed in the towl but was just a FP???

 

Good idea about the separate thread!

Yeah still lots of rust - even more rust since then. Luckily no mice crawled in (although a cat was apparently living on the engine for a while, yuk). I (obviously) stopped using the car as a daily driver, didn't want to stress the frame out any more than it already is. I'm still going to have to get another Firebird for it's body/frame, then swap all my parts (especially all that suspension & rear axle work) over. I have nowhere to do any kind of work like that right now so I put it all on hold - but at least it's running again so I can take it to inspection for a new sticker.

I actually had to cut a hole in the hatch to get to the fuel pump; for years I told people not to do that, and I had replaced the pump twice already "the right way" by dropping the rear axle- but again, I don't have a place to do that kind of work anymore. It'll get fixed up nice though; using rivet-nuts (or Dzus, not sure yet) to create a trap-door, using AN-fittings & SS hose to replace the cut-in-half pressure line, etc. (See 2009 message here: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...cess-door.html I'll have braided hose right from the top of the tank down to the inlet side of the fuel filter.) When I get another body/frame, I'll create another pump trap door in it- except by then, I'll be cutting the hole with the tank out and taking my time with it.

When did you convert your ride to a carb?

 

I bought a low mile 85 S15 with a spun rod for parts to go carb, as a back up plan, but I kept having small scuess with finding the computer fault and never did it, so the carb will go on but the engine will be in the S15, and the Firebird will sit engine less till I find a BBB 455 for the wagon to put the SBB 350 into the Bird.

hand me down engine swaps

Then will have a truck, gonna do a mini rat rod with it, which irks the purist as as a rot rod is only from a certain era they say but had nothing to do with the era but a lack of money to build with. Which is excatly that. Gonna do a pedal swap and install the T5 in it, even though the stick will be to far back as reported, [rat rod], so I can build a funky shifter that will correct it being to far back and have it 3 times to tall. Its has bucket seats stock so its easy.

 

Ah I get it now, lots of projects- I can barely manage one. Pretty cool.

I agree about the purists vs "rat rod"; some people even think that a rat rod is supposed to be ugly (coffee cans as stacks and exhaust tips?), mainly they didn't look finished because the owner couldn't afford paint - and they'd rather spend cash on a cam grind instead.

I'm just glad to see that plenty of people started doing turbos, and headwork, and intake, and etc for the v6's. Pretty cool stuff. Back then, everybody was talking turbo but nobody was walking it. And of course we still have Pacesetter headers thanks to Karl's efforts back then!

 

yeah i was talking about a turbo back then...i finally walked the walk its amazing how far the v6 cars have come since then.

good ole karl....its a shame very few people realize how helpful he was on this board. everybody get your boogie on

 

project89 seems to have found that sweet spot with his 3.0
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/v6/5...urbo-dyno.html

 

" 11-23-2010, 03:34 PM
#3
TomP
Senior Member

Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Central NJ, USA
Posts: 13,320
Car: 1986 Firebird
Engine: 2.8 V6
Transmission: 700R4

Classifieds Rating: (0)

Re: Power loss/momentary stall/vacuum leak



I've had harness wire trouble by the coil before (first got the car- used a blue splice connector to hook in an aftermarket tach- years later, from vibration, the splice connector almost cut the coil signal wire in half!). The wiggle test = wiggle the harness wires (not spark plug wires) while the car runs will usually show a bad wire."


[Im shaking my fist at you with a smile on my face.]
Just when I think Im out, she drags me back in.

 

Ya lost me on that one?

 

i wouldnt say found everyone has known what needed to be done to make the power just noone had the time money or resources.hell i dont even have them if i did the 3.0 would have been built years ago.i think i talked about building the turbo 3l motor back in2005 and am just now getting to it. hell i even talked about turboing the 2.8 before that and that took 2 years of collecting parts. altogether though im predictin some mid to low 10 second cars this spring time.who knows we might even see a 9.99 or faster pass from somone. gumby what ever happened with the m90 adapter u bought
btw typing on a cellphone even with a keyboard sucks

 

Yeah it's definitely impressive with all the work you've done! I really liked your idea of a destroked 3.4 (using the 2.8 crank). I personally never considered a 3.1 or 3.4 swap for my own car because I didn't want a stroker motor.

 

I think you found my problem.


------

Thinking back to that Hilborn FI midget race engine someone here bought, was over 400/400 in its config and was destroked. Im betting they didn't do it to be different


Bore to Stroke / BS Ratio can make a big difference

 

never happened.

 

Did you never buy it or did it not get off the ground?

 

someone else bought it, and it was for carb only.

 

Damn, I really wanted it. It probably wouldn't of been to hard to convert to FI

 

It would not be hard to make from steel with a cheap welder and tools, not much but a box.

 

Ah OK I thought I missed a message or something. yeah wiring problems are the worst to figure out; I've had two that wound up being my fault (first was a bad ring terminal crimp that ran the fuel pump power, and the second one was that splice connector on the coil).

Funny though when I was getting my Firebird started (after all those years of sitting), first thing I did was squirt Marvel Mystery Oil in the spark plug holes and let it sit for a few days. When I came back, the engine turned by hand (which was a big relief, I was so afraid that the rings were frozen), so I changed the oil and then pulled the distributor out so I could spin the oil pump with a drill. I found that my cold start injector was unplugged- I had done that last time I pulled the distributor to spin the oil pump with a drill, about 3 years before. Oops. I made sure to plug it back in this time when I was done.

 

I kind of lost intrest in the whole hopup the V6 thing after good 'ol Doward ripped me off for a grand on turbo parts I never got. Live 'n learn I guess. I have a court judgement against him in Alachua county, FL that is as worthless as the paper it is written on and the time out of my lilfe filing papers, takiing vacation days to show up in court, etc.

I'd have to spend a bunch of money rebuilding the 3.1 in some form before I put any boost to it anyway, by the time I do all that and fab a turbo setup I could swap a 5.3/4l60 into the thing, prices on the late model stuff have come down a lot and so many have done gen 3 swaps it's easy now.

The RS itself is getting parked until such time I can go through and fix all the zillion little things wrong- speedo gear on the tailshaft is messed up, so speedo does not work, therefore converter lockup does not work, therefore mileage is not what it should be. Turn signal switch broken. Trans leaks at the throttle valve cable grommet when sitting for more than a day or two. Paint is chipping everywhere. Rear axle howls like a banshee. Door bushings shot and rattling doors. Wipers work about half speed. Hi/lo beam switch does not work. I think the fuel pump is dying. When the insurance is up in march the plate is coming off. She will ride again though I promise, no rust and the interior is still decent.

Last straw was it shut off at about 50mph without warning as I was driving my five year old to catch the kindergarten bus, there I sat in the suicide lane with container trucks whizzing by- trying to listen for the buzz of the fuel pump. It later started, I got it home and we have not left the yard yet!

Needed a reliable second family vehicle that could tow a boat, and ended up with an '03 Hemi Ram quad cab 4X4 one owner with only 46k on it.