Awesome-X

Kind of makes adding parts a pita huh? They never seem to work well together

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Yep but the exhaust is awesome. The Y pipe tucks very nicely besides me having to go back to the stock pan instead of my Derale pan. I struggled to get the back two bolts on the driver side header really bad. Probably will have to unbolt the y pipe and do them first then do the fronts.

The car is pretty much done once I get the exhaust up and its leak free. Was a very shitty day today so I didnt do much besides the Headers and Y pipe. No point since with the rain I wasnt gonna drive it. Last time I did it was basically a causal drive since any throttle and the Torque converter flashes and it spins like crazy.

Awesome-X

Well hopefully you'll get it all up and running before winter hits. It's raining here too so I had to clear out my garage today to work on mine some. I love Indiana.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Yep hoping that too. Looks like All I have to worry about is rain for now.

I am ordering better collector bolts since the ones I have break with just hand torquing. Might just go with regular Arp bolts and nuts.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well ordered alot of goodies for this weekend. Got everything I need to remount my B&M cooler and finish up my exhaust. Also got myself a little gift and another shiny part for the engine bay, I purchased the Canton Overflow Tank. Pricey but i had extra money to spend. Next week I will be ditching the KYBS and going Koni Yellows all around.

I have yet to decide on what wheels I will be going. I have been eyeballin the C5 ''Y2ks'' deep dish design from OE. Those I think would look great but I also like the 17s WS6 wheels. I will see, I know when I finish refinishing the laces that I can sell em for a good chunk of change to fund any wheel change I desire.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

ZR1s look good too. Most 5 spokes look good on the thirdgen bodies.

Awesome-X

How much were those KYBs? Do they ride decently well?

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

Kybs are pretty rough. I have them on my gta. KYB gr2s. Stiff and rough. Little to no body roll at all. Ride is unpleasant on rough roads.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

I have AGX on the front and GR2s on the back. So far on the few test drives their good. Keep in mind I am comparing it to my Daily (95 GMC Jimmy on Blisteins) and to my old 92 which had old Carquests premium shocks. Its gonna be raining most of the weekend according to my phone (I hope its wrong) so nothing too exiting gonna happen this weekend.


I do like the ZR1s as well. I would like to swap out my 9 bolt if I decide against crosslaces to eliminate spacers and run wider rears. I remember seeing ls1 rears everywhere and cheap too, now I cant find any

I will see later on, its all in due time. I love the Crosslaces but sucks about being limited on tires and having my front wheels stick out from the brake upgrade and spacer needed for the caliper to clear the wheels.

Awesome-X

Well when you get your new set in and take these off let me know, I need a set for my Camaro. IF you want to sell them that is.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well bad news. Looks like the headers 68460s I bought have bowed/warped flanges. Real bad as well. I have almost all of the bolts bolted up to the point I cant turn them even with a cheater bar on the ratchet. Still on the driver I can see the exhaust flame from exhaust port number 1.

Here is a picture of how badly it is on cyl 1.



Small on the 3 & 5




I checked the passenger and same deal there got leaks all over. I know my Percys Dead Soft Alum gaskets are used and have been torqued down many times now maybe causing them to sandwich but they are still thick enough or more thicker than regular gaskets that I can find at local parts stores. Meaning leaks will be way worse with regular gaskets.

Hopefuly I can find a solution tomorrow. Also a few people pm'd me about my Canton Overflow and All i have to say is that it is a nice piece. I might sand it down and polish it. My Canton valve covers need it as well since they have gotten scratched from just me working on the car soo much. Here is a picture of the Canton. I am in the process of removing the overspray from the engine bay so I will take better pictures on sunday.

Awesome-X

Wow those flanges are hardcore warped! I think I would be asking for my money back. You haven't sold your old set of headers yet have you? Looks like you're gonna be needing them...

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

They are sold, Gotta box up to drop off for Monday/Tuesday.

I got a good deal on the exhaust, it was not just the headers. The deal was Hedmans, Custom Y-pipe and Aerochamber exhaust. I couldn't sleep, So I went out and removed the headers. Passenger to be honest with you looks fine. The driver is out. I just need to lift the car and remove it from the bottom.

If I cant fix them then I will pickup Hedmans 68469s. Which are basically the same headers with D ports. I will update later on today. I was making too much noise So i finished up and went inside.

Awesome-X

You might be able to take them to a fabrication or an exhaust shop and have them bend it back maybe..

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well I fixed it sort of... I went and cut the flange up. Making it into 3 diff connections. Similar to slp shorties. Worked well on the outer sections, not soo good on the middle. Still leaked even with new gaskets ($30 ).


I really hate this, the exhaust has been nothing but problems since day one. Sadly all this could have been avoided if I would have just kept the Slp shorties and never thought about longtubes.

I just ordered the 68469s. Just tired of problems. If throwing more money at it fixes it then so be it.

Awesome-X

I wish I could say things like that if only I had a little more cash to throw at these things...

So what are you gonna do with your current headers? Can you not take them to an exhaust shop and see if they can't line them out?

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

They are basically wall throphies. They can be fixed by grinding them down even but even then the collector flanges are warped too...

I want to get this thing done. Not to drive it but just to put it to the side and work on other things. I just want to finish it so I know that all the money in it was worth it since everything works like its supposed to. Seeing it there in the garage unfinished to me seems like it was a waste. Not that I am saying it was but then again if I could travel back in time I would of done things way differently...

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well the Hedman 68469s came in today and frankly I wasnt impressed by the quality.

First off the supposed D Ports. They seem to swallow the LT1 D ports fine from what I see from putting the Percy LT1 gasket on them. Still as you can see the term you get what you pay for comes into play very well here. These were $256 while the 68460s are $180..






To top it off, on Summits page it clearly shows and states a 3 bolt flange. These are actually a ball and socket. Really not a big deal but if summits page was correct I would of purchased Hedmans reducers at the same time to get the Y pipe modified for the job for today.



Overall not happy since its gonna take another order and a trip to the exhaust shop to get 2 o2 bungs welded in

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well since I had the day off from work I decided to start stripping the new headers from the protective coat. I will be stripping them completely and coating them with VHT. Gonna go black this time. The silver does not blend real well.

I also found a problem solver with Hedmans 21143 Reducers. They are the ones I need to adapt to my Y pipe and even better they come with 02 bungs. That saves me $50 and having to have a local shop torch the headers and weld in a bung. Ordered them just now.

I am also in the look out for a oil friendly hose for my power steering reservoir. Its 5/8 or 3/4 if I recall but I only seem to find Heater hose type.

Awesome-X

Man you're having some terrible luck here lately but I'm glad you're getting it all sorted out even if it is piece by piece.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Yep, so far everything has gone smoothly and the only problems have been with the exhaust. The good thing is with ball and socket I dont have to deal with gaskets the bad is I already bought 2 sets of them and they were kinda pricey.

I also ordered Summits Pro torque starter, 820323. The starter I am using now is a stock style starter but its brand new. Its very close to the headers. I can however remove and install it with no problems with the headers installed but still, might as well replace it with a better unit and it was not that expensive anyways.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

I was wondering how hard was the LS front brake install? What is needed to be done to the spindle?
Thanx

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

To the Spindle? Just cutting off the ear and drilling/tapping 2 holes if I recall. Seems easy but you really need the right tools to do it easy and fast.

In the driving I did so far they are great brakes. A good upgrade from stock.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Got a few things done today, nothing I wanted to spend time on but eh.

I picked up a 4th gen Firebird Radio at a yard today. I couldnt pass it up even more since it was spotless and was not missing any *****. I had a bit of a challange adapting it to the 86 but I yanked the newer style radio connectors and a stereo install adapter and soldered them together. Worked perfectly. Sounds great too. It was only $13 as well. Yes its cassette but I plan to modify it with a aux port like I did to my other decks.



Dont mind it in my Daily, Just testing it out before I go through with doing all the wiring.


I am also still continuing to strip the Hedmans from the protective coating and man has it been a pain in the ***. I want them to be gone of all of it so I can coat them and not worry about them. They are about 80% done so I see myself giving them the love marks they need to clear the kmember and coating them and installing them on sunday.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well other things got in the way over the weekend. Didnt get much done .

I plan to yank out the 9 bolt and smooth it out. I will also be looking into doing a 3.70 gear swap on it. I will get a quote on having the gears swapped from a few speed shops around here. If its not much ($250-$400) then I will let them do it. If its more than $500 then most likely I will be doing it. I will be looking into this all week.

I did get a few things done. I was having a real hard time getting the headers to my standards. Meaning 100% stripped of the rust protective coating and coated in VHT. Originally I planned to strip them, give them the clearing (BFH) they needed for the kmember/arms and have them coated. I got quoted $300 to do so.. Decided against it and settled with just a vht paintjob. I got most of the coating off but some spots were real stubborn. Most of the areas you see from the engine bay were good So I decided to say screw it and finished them up.



To..



If I see any problems by the first start up the remaining coat should burn off, I will then take them off and recoat if the remaining spots cause a problem.


I also messed around with my Crosslaces while I had free time from stripping the headers. I decided to actually use the Paint Stripper properly with a brush after it dug in the paint and I liked how this came out. There was some problem spots but I busted out the paint stripper wheel for my drill and went to town. It ended up having this machined look and the inner accents black. I like it. I was deciding on painting them gold since gold really shows the nice design of the wheels opposed to black. I will be doing a rear soon and seeing how a complete side looks.. Here is some pictures of it.



Side Shot



Installed





A far away shot




I will repolish the lip and seeing how that looks, I know the color setup does not match well with my paint but I like it so far.


I plan to get the 68469s installed over the week and then use the weekend to fiddle with the y pipe and adapting it for ball and socket. I really want a welder and to learn how to weld. I might gift myself one for this Christmas.

Awesome-X

I always did like those crosslace rims from the birds. I had a Camaro out in cali that had them. I wish things had turned out differently with it.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Love the wheels. I do want to go a different route and stick some wide tires in the rear. I have yet to decide on wheels =/. I don't plan to sell these unless I need the funds. They will find a vehicle sooner or later. Hell my old 92 Rs wheels made it onto my fathers 89 Caprice..





I consider them in safe storage until I get another 91-92 that might need them...

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well I plan to get to work this weekend. The 68469s are finally coated and dried up. I have all the gaskets and hardware to get them bolted in. I will be taking my Ball and socket adapters to a local shop and have them welded for easier installation.

I also got some good news, Seems Year one will be making a round of R15 Ronals. I already put in my pre-order.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

I ordered some goodies!

Went ahead and ordered my new wheels...



After much debate I went with the black/machined lip C5 deep dish wheels. Total came to almost $560. I originally wanted to go Ronals but decided against it. I will be also selling the Crosslaces sadly enough. I will get in contact with a friend of mine for his 89 GTA.

I will be working on the exterior after I get the exhaust finshed up tomorrow. I plan to have the whole day free to do so, no more distractions. I plan to wrap the fronts in 275s and doing a size check to see whats the max I can tuck on the rears most likely I can do 285s without some slight hammering.

I will also be tinting the car all around and tinting my tails. Similar to what I did to my 92



Man I miss that 92..

Anyways expect alot of exterior work from now on. I will also be ordering some lowering springs this weekend as well. I recall Sean (Wanab03ss) having some 2' Intrax springs so I will be looking into that.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Took her out for a few trips today. Did a quick highway run and got her up to speed and she was very stable and drove perfect. Front suspension is still untouched and had no problems and felt tighter than my old 92.

Got the speedo maxed a few times, So now I can officially say that the fastest I have gone in my 86 and not my 95 Jimmy .

The only issues I had were the god damm exhaust once again. It leaks on the driver header on the 7th. Very small but I wish to fix it besides that I need a oil friendly 5/8 hose for the power reservoir. The thing looks like its gonna burst anytime. Its all mushy and is coated with fluid.. So probably gonna get that replaced before it turns into a mess.

The wheels be here by the end of the week! I will probably have to lower it which means problems will come up with the longtubes.. We will see.

Anyways expect some videos of the car. Will probably get the new Iphone so I can finally take some good videos.

But for now, Enjoy this picture of it going back into sleep mode. Jacked it up for a inspection, everything is great!

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well decided to take out and wash it. It was really dusty. Man does it really clean up. Enjoy











Its back in its ''cage''




Since I will ditching long tubes, expect it to get more pretty. Deep Dish Y2ks are coming early during the week and I will be replacing the Moogs with Eibachs.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

it sits up sooo high=/

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Everything in the damm bay is Alum. Not enough weight there. A friend put the same set on his 89 Iroc and it sits way lower than mine and even with them unsettled =/

I plan to ditch this suspension and go Konis/Eibach all around. Trust me it will look way better than now.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

i mean car looks killer, paint those crosslaces or something but otherwise you got the cali lean going

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Not gonna keep the laces. Gonna refinish them and store them for another 3rd gen.

I will be purchasing Dyno Dons Shorties this upcoming week so the new wheels wont get mounted up for a few weeks.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Delete

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

I thought I should share this since I just think its too cool.




Big Props to BLSolutions over at LS1tech.

Also a slight teaser, she might be getting lowered this weekend.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Thats sick, how much wad it & im that forum also...lol

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

$35 shipped If I recall. I just wanted it when I saw it.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Cool

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Do they have a website?

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

It was a one time thing I think, well they made another batch. Pm them. Maybe they made some extras.

Clicky

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well its official, I have no plans to take her out anymore. I plan to do everything I skipped on to get a test drive in before the good weather goes away. That goal was accomplished.


I have alot to do:

-Undercoat the body with POR-15
-Install Intrax 2' Springs
-Strip the Engine bay and Repaint
-Tint all around
-VHT Taillights and Side lights
-Front Suspension Rebuild


I have alot more planned to do this winter. My next goal is getting it over to Thirdgenfest next year. Always said I wanted to go but the projects were never finished.

I am in the process of ordering the POR15. So that job might be done this weekend. I bought a set of Intrax springs from Sean (Wanab03SS) and figured while I was under there I might as well tackle this job and start undercoating the car. I am also thinking of doing a gear upgrade on the 9 bolt to 3.70s while its out. I however am thinking twice since the Yank 3600 and 3.27s felt good enough for me.

I will also be replacing the KYB GR2s with Koni Yellows that I bought a few weeks ago but have been delaying the install. Perfect time now.


I finally have things to do to it for once. This weekend will be fun.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well alot of parts have been coming in over the week.



Still have other things coming in, ES Control Arm Bushings, POR-15, Alot of Moog Suspension Parts, etc. Gonna be a very productive Weekend. I already asked a friend if he can help with all this.

I also talked to Sean (Wanab03SS) and I see myself buying back the TT2s. For those wondering this is how they looked on the 86..




Gonna look pretty sick. I Traded them off due to fronts sticking out too much from the brake upgrade, I will be looking into seeing why they do much more than others.

karl's-92'-z28

iTrader: (5)

Change the taillights...lol, i got a set of trans am grids coming in with a white bird in the middle peice.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

I plan to give them a tint of VHT like I did to my old 92. Should come out good.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Well today started off good....


Went ahead and removed the passenger side control arm and it was a real easy job, I probably had the whole assembly off in half an hour. One thing I looked at was my LS1 brake setup. It seems the Wheel studs were bent causing the rotor not to sit flat on the hub.



Went ahead and hammered them out and ordered new ones.


I was amazed how easy the control arm came off, this is what you get on a practically rust free car..




They came off soo easy and are perfectly clean. Then of course the arm is out, job took about 48 minutes and that was because of me being cautious when getting the Moog spring out.





The bad is that I ****ed up my new ball joint. That arm had a practically new Moog joint and me being stupid I hammered it and messed up the thread. I have another new one laying around so no real problem.


I also made a small purchase.. Got a new daily driver





Supercharged 3.8L and has every option a GTP can have, one owner (Two now..) and got it for basically 3/4 of what it costs. Put almost 100 miles on it today alone, this thing sips gas and has some *****. Already looking into a Intake setup. I can hear a faint Supercharger wine but I want it to be louder.


Anyways I plan to get the new ball joint and bushings in tomorrow.

MI ROC-Z

No better time to work on your car in Illinois than in fall/winter, if you have a garage heater, lol! I'm putting my IROC in storage next weekend so I can park by dd in the garage when we eventually get like 6' of snow.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

I have a medium sized propane heater for when it gets really cold here. My 86 has the garage all for itself. I park my cars on the side of my garage, I will be putting the Daily in the drive way when snow really comes in.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Haven't updated this thread since well not much has been done.

I am currently working on getting the Intrax 2' springs installed. Decided to pull the Control arms and get new bushings in and coating the arm, spindles, hub with POR-15. As far a ''review'' on POR-15, it works well from what I have used it for. Here is a rough picture of the arms.



I know I could of done a better job by giving it a smoothing by sanding it down but its fine. It is a good product though, decided to test it by coating it first then removing the old bushings. Hammering does nothing to it and a propane torch didn't burn it off. Very pleased so far.

I also started the car for the first time in over 4 weeks. Took the bat out of my fathers 89 Caprice and it started right up. It does throw blue smoke though. Its ok since its getting a top end upgrade soon. Right now its Suspension time. I already piled up alot of parts that need to go on.