gbayfisher

Your getting close!

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

An update! such as it is...


Got a couple parts put in throughout last week. Lately its been a week waiting for a part, and 10 minutes installing it.

I rolled her out into the driveway and gave her a bath too

Throttle body elbow came in this morning. I have to do some machine work on it to accept vacuum ports and throttle cable brackets. As you can see in this pic, there's only soft parts left to install! hoses, cables, intake tubing, and a couple sensors and plugs. Soon I'll be


Washed a winter's worth of dust and cat footprints off her

gbayfisher

Lookin good man....... Nice and clean!
The little things take time.
Do you have a base tune that you will use to run the initial start up?

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Looks good. That elbow going to fit under the hood?

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

It barely fits. I measured twice tho The main goal was to keep the TB and it's throttle linkage from interfering with the water neck and FPR.

As for a tune, I have a chip with a combination of a few different bins on it. I used ARAP, Orr's AE and PE fueling, a spark table from an iron head 350 TPI car, and a pile of other misc changes. Should get me a decent start point.

gbayfisher

Definately a sweet looking elbow. Who made it?

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

The elbow is from Aaron at 6061.com. He has several different configurations and can prolly make anything you'd need. I just wish I could weld like that!

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Took her for a drive today! 100 yards in reverse to the end of the driveway, and 100 yds back.

Learned two things:
I'm lost when it comes to tuning

and

Avgas smells GOOD

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Here's my TV cable arm, bolted up the the LS1 TB. I've been driving it around with just a little clamp holding the cable on there. This works much better


My new intake tubing installed. Siliconeintakes.com is a great resource for silicone couplers and aluminum tubing, but I wouldn't buy anything else from them.


That pretty much concludes my build! I've been working on tuning, and getting little hints of the power this thing is capable of making. I need bigger fuel injectors, and then hopefully I'll be able to put it on the dyno and get some hard numbers. Exhaust is also in the works.

gbayfisher

Congrats!!!
Very nice finish!

I just bought a few silicone couplers and reducers. How do you say.....bend over?
You have some nice room to work in that engine bay.
Hurry up and get thise injectors, waiting to see the dyno results

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Siliconeintakes.com has the best price ive found for silicone and aluminum tube, and its pretty good quality compared to the factory rubber pieces. I don't know if they're subpar for all those little riceburners pushing 60# of boost through them, but they're perfect for NA cars! I spent about $40 for the parts from the MAF to the TB, and another 10 for a reducer so I can pull my air filter back inside the engine bay eventually.

I will cut out the floor of the original air filter pan there on the passenger side, weld in a 1"x1" square tube frame for rigidity, and box off that corner of the engine compartment with some stainless or aluminum to keep the heat out. Its prolly hard to visualize from that description, but I'll post pics when its done

LS4GXP

iTrader: (2)

looking sweet!

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Well the next big purchase for my project turns out to be plates.... I'm gonna go with hobbyist plates, since they don't have to be renewed, and the only restriction is I can't drive the car in January. But it turns out I never transferred the title for my DD into my name (I bought it from my dad), so I had to pay for that too. Total came to $269.50, but it will be nice to never again have to pay the $75/year for new tabs for my TA.

That also means buying fuel injectors is still a couple weeks away :-/

LS4GXP

iTrader: (2)

what you doing for cooling? what water pump do you have, what thermostat you running. Details and how does it run

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

This is my water pump, only reason I went with it is that it is reverse rotation, yet still has the standard v-belt accessory mounting bosses.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TFF-1511NBREV/

I'm using a 180* T-stat from O'reilly's.

And a factory radiator.

CTS in the ECM (physically located in the intake mainfold crossover) reads 180-190* at all times, and I've been cruising down the road at 5000rpm in 1st for 5 min at a time trying to pay attention to my BLMs.
Gauge in the dash reads 200-220 (its located in the side of the head).

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

A couple of pics taken in daylight

And a video: http://youtu.be/wkuJwa55248







And for my future reference, the engine was swapped in at 190,319 miles.

LS4GXP

iTrader: (2)

do you have a belt tensioner? i dont see one

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Nope, no tensioner. I may have to add one, my belt is pretty squeaky.

gbayfisher

Nice! Going to run strong!

How long did it take to get your silicone and aluminum intake ducting delivered? I have some ordered through local supplier here, but been over a week with no idea how much longer Cant drive more than 10mph with hood sitting on a block and not latched down.
I need to drive

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

It prolly took about a week to get mine shipped.

I would just add a rachet strap for some insurance and drive around anyway

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

I figured its time to update this thread its been a while.

Nothing big has happened since my last update, but I've been driving the car more now, and its successfully reached the 500 mile oil change, and the oil looked pretty good, so I'm confident I've got a strong motor here.

I got my temporary exhaust figured out, added a heat wrap around the starter, and got new valve cover gaskets since the crappy $10 ones I had weren't doing their job.

For exhaust, I'm running a secondhand set of Hooker 2055 shorties that I got a good deal on, and a magnaflow glasspack muffler. The muffler is not really a true glasspack, since it has a perforated core, instead of the usual louvered cores, and does not have fiberglass packing to blow out. Its mounted right off the Y-pipe, and runs diagonally underneath the car, and exits right behind the front U-joint on the driveshaft. Its not the quietest in the world, but I don't think I'll get hassled by the cops too much.

I also installed an Innovate LC1 Wideband O2 sensor and gauge, but I haven't had it in long enough to get a good impression of how much I like it. It does give me some peace of mind to be able to look at the gauge and see my AFR to know I'm not too lean, since I've still got quite a ways to go on the tune.

The biggest news is not good news. Last week, I noticed my trans was acting kinda funny, and today is the first time I've driven it since then. When the trans warms up, I lose 3rd and 4th, based on a little reading in the drivetrain section, I'm lead to believe my 3-4 clutch pack is shot, or not receiving the right apply pressure. The transmission is 4 days past warranty... It is from a local shop though, so I'm hoping they will still honor the warranty beings I started having problems with it before the warranty period ran out. If not, then the car gets parked for the winter, and I save some cash for a T-56.

gbayfisher

Nice to hear the update!

I hope you can keep it running for the remainder of the summer!
After coming this far, I would hate to see it stop so soon!
I would think the shop would honour the repair, but even if they don't, 3-4 pak is cheap, do it yourself! Sticks are over rated! lol

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

But I like rowing! That's one thing I have always missed about my first third gen, even though it was a v6, the 5spd sure was fun. I'm really hoping they'll honor the warranty though, I can't afford a T-56 right now with school this close on the horizon.

Plus, I've just decided to freeze spending on the car for a month, it should give me a chance to step back a bit and just enjoy driving it (if the trans is warranteed, I'll pull it, since it shouldn't cost me a penny.)

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Transmission is back in the car, has been checked out by the trans shop, and I've got the green light to start driving it again!

The manual valve body is fun to drive, and will be even better after I get a decent shifter in there. Its nice to be able to mash the gas in 2nd and not have to worry about the trans shifting into first if I want a big burnout

Its also the first time I'd really driven it with the AFR gauge installed. Its really nice to be able to see at a glance what my tune looks like. Now back to tuning...

gbayfisher

Glad its all back together.
Tuning will go much quicker with the Wb!

1gary

Outstanding work.

gbayfisher

How is the project going? You find anytime to work on it these days?

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Found enough time to be frustrated with it. I'm fighting a problem with it stumbling at 1/2 throttle accel or when I go up a hill and try to maintain speed. If I jump right to PE, it runs fine though.

Not sure if its mechanical or in the tune, although I haven't made too many changes lately. I pulled the plugs this morning, and it seems like its an incomplete burn. Gonna go over my ignition system and see what I can find.

Other than that, she's pretty much winding down til winter. Got one last cruise with the local car club coming up in a couple weeks, and then she'll prolly go back into hibernation.

Couple of planned projects for the winter:
http://www.dynamicefi.com/EBL_P4_Flash.php
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/alte...-build-my.html
http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...p?model=M00209
http://www.classicindustries.com/fir...ts/*c6571.html

gbayfisher

Another busy winter!

Why not just buy a TB? Are you sure you want a Tbi over your setup now, I don't see the benefit?

Just got by EBL couple days ago! cant wait to get it setup. Time is precious these days however, limited to weekends atm. bummer.

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

I already have $2000 worth of crap on that shopping list! I don't wanna pay $500+ for something I can make in a weekend for $150. It's not TBI, it will just flow air, but it should flow a lot better than the elbow and LS1 TB on there now.

gbayfisher

heck, its only money!

I thought you were going tbi. Will there be any chood clearance issues, or you keeping a low enough profile? If you can make one, thats awesome and will save you $.

There is a local mini ram setup here locally, would work well on your combo!

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

The victor I got works well with my combo, I just need to let it breathe

Shouldn't have any hood clearance problems, it's about half the height of a carb. I haven't decided yet whether I want to run a carb hat or just an open element, but both would flow pretty good.

It is only money, and I have no qualms with spending every spare dime on my car, but I just don't have $2000 worth of spare dimes

LS4GXP

iTrader: (2)

we could always as gbay, am sure he would lend us some spare dimes!!!

gbayfisher

Geez, all you had to do was ask! whats your paypal #

Gunmetal, I cant see that nice elbow causing much flow issues. Not at least for the HP range we would be in.

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

No, but they're known to cause air distribution problems. And the half mile of tubing and 3 90* elbows definitely cause some resistance. Not to mention that worthless MAF stuck right in the middle of it.

I think I'll see some improvement from eliminating all that crap, and hopefully I'll be able to match those gains with a nice set of 1 3/4 or 1 7/8 primary long tube headers.

gbayfisher

Headers will help alot, as I am sure the intake ducting as well.
What about the rest of the exhaust?

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/ha...stsystem4.aspx

Something like that. Tho I'll prolly build it myself. Y-pipe will be 3", and I will run a Borla XR-1 oval case muffler.

I like the idea of a hideaway tip, just a hint of a turndown a with a slant cut, and PC'd black.

gbayfisher

Something like that. Tho I'll prolly build it myself. Y-pipe will be 3", and I will run a Borla XR-1 oval case muffler.

I like the idea of a hideaway tip, just a hint of a turndown a with a slant cut, and PC'd black.[/quote]

Thats nice,

4inch, after the Y I hope ? I think 3 is barely enough for mine.

I dont know if i showed you a pic of mine, but its dual tips, flush to bottom of molding/spoiler and you cant see it from the side profile, just like factory. Cant remember the size though, I think 3 inch from muffler out.

I also dont like tips peeking out from TA's.

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

I don't have a problem with a mild set of chrome tips visible, but its just not what I'm going for with my car.

I kinda like making people look hard to see what I've done with it. That way, when you get compliments on your car, you know they're coming from people who know what they're talking about. Just give people little hints that your car isn't quite what it appears to be.

That's what's fueling my dream of making a set of forged 3-piece 18" or 19" x 9-10" crosslace rims, and making them actually fit in the fenders of my car without making it look slammed.

Of course, my car will always stay gunmetal and gold, not one of the most flashy third gen colors out there. I will, however, be keeping the NON-period or GTA correct gold screaming chicken on the hood That's my one visible piece of "bling" to set the car apart. That and maybe a set of small "6.2 liter" decals in a nice gold script to match the "Trans Am" lettering on the rockers

gbayfisher

TBH, i think the gunmetal is awesome, back in the day, I had an 89flame red, my friend had an 88 gunmetal, I loved his colour, but he hated it, painted it an off shade of flame red, I wanted to kill him, lol.

When you figure out how to make the rims, factor a set for me, i would love them!

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

I said it was a dream lol. They will be pricey! Plus I need to find sources for the forged blanks and the rim lips! Not an easy thing to do considering how easy it would be for the average Joe to kill himself with a set of "homemade" rims beyond that I'd need about a weeks worth of machine time per set! I won't even bother with the design until I have a car worthy of them, which means paint, drivetrain, and suspension first!

KhaosTactic

I'm a little late to the party, but congrats on your build man it looks ****ing beautiful. hopefully the 383 TT I'm doing comes out as nice! once again great job!

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, she's not quite done yet, but then again these things never are

KhaosTactic

tell me about it lmao, it's always something

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Well my spark looked a little yellowish when I was messing with it today, so I bought a cheap MSD coil and put it in. The spark looks a little better, but I had to go to work before I could test it.

Hopefully this will solve my hesitation/miss problem.
It seems to occur only at high LV8's and high cylinder pressure decel, which seems kinda like the spark is getting blown out.

I'll get to test drive it tomorrow sometime, keep your fingers crossed.

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Well it seems my car has its own upgrade schedule.

Fuel pump and filter are on order.

Changing the coil didn't help too much with the problem. I cracked the throttle while watching the fuel pressure under the hood, and it dropped dramatically every time I did it.

gbayfisher

There you have it, I hope that fixs the issue.
have fun dropping the tank! Pain in the wazoo!

1gary

On the spark question,could I suggest you double check all the grounds related to the coil that they are corrosion clean and are in good working order.

You might be surprised.

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

I checked grounds at the back of the heads and they were all nice and bright, also resistance from the intake manifold or the heads themselves to ground was minimal.

I believe the fuel pressure fluctuations I'm seeing even at low RPMs are glimpse at serious fuel flow problems. Pump and filter are on their way and I already have the pump removed.

88gunmetalgta

iTrader: (1)

Got the pump and tank back in. It's waaay past my bedtime....

Haven't tested it yet, I still have to hang the track bar and its brace back up and go to town for a can of gas.

I ran the fuel pump, but with only half a gallon in the tank it never built pressure...

Aeromotive wants you to think they call it a stealth pump cuz it's sneaky, but the silhouette of the B-2 gives it away. This thing sounds like a bomber flyover

Hopefully that means it will push enough fuel to keep my car happy!