Tibo

iTrader: (15)

You're mostly finished, what do you need? I might have it.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Kinda but I still need small stuff like washer and coolant bottles, washer fluid lines, clips, bolts.....stuff like that.

Any idea what the washer fluid line differences are year-to-year??

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Oh and another thing, do any of you guys know why my parts car has aluminum spacers above the front sway bar? I'll post pics later but it doesn't seem to work with my 36mm sway bar and wonder bar....

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Garage work ate up all my time this weekend, but finally got the air compressor and hard line kit installed.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

That's strange, I don't know. Perhaps TEDsgrad, Sofakingdom, Drew or Dean would know.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Finished wiring the headlight harness. I modified the stock harness by running it inside drivers side 'frame' to keep the engine bay a little cleaner. Also rotated C100 so that the engine side faces the engine and the light side faces the fender. Also added the fog light wiring and remote start hood pin shutdown pins that I added to C100. Will post pics later.

After I ground away paint for all of the GND connections, I started electrical testing. The only gremlin so far was a swapped wire I'd mislabeled on my PCB. Tested and working:

- Trunk pulldown
- Gauges (power, lights, warning lights)
- Headlights/High-beams
- Fog lights
- Hatch release
- Power locks
- Power windows
- Starter

Need to test:

- Turn signals/Hazards
- Tail/Brake lights

Here's the dash:



Then I wanted to swap steering column housings Because my 91 was cracked and my grant steering wheel wouldn't fit it because it's an airbag year and the wheel runs into the housing.



So after swapping the housing I was lfet with this, which I expected from some measurements I took:



Since I'm almost an expert at disassembling these GM columns, I decided to use the '86 column but swap the '91 turn signal stalk and cruise onto it along with the turn signals and hazards. this allowed it to connect to the cars interior harness AND use the Grant steering wheel.



And yes, of course, I tightened the 4 bolts that come loose with locktite:

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

Pics aren't showing for me. Running the Headlight harness in one of the frame rails is something I wish I had done.I may extend the wiring and drill a hole in a side panel one day.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

I haven't posted any of the wiring, but are the others of the dash and column working?

rurnt88

iTrader: (1)

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Tibo

iTrader: (15)

I'm thinking of going the route you did and thowing on a pair of new fangled hig flow spun converter cats. Any thoughts on heat production from the cats affecting the trans temp or the floor pan/trans tunnel in that area? I know the factory used heat shields and you have heat shields on those converters.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

I'm not all that concerned with heat from the cats, but you bet I'll be building heat shields for the floor is they prove to be too hot. I even kept some old heat shields that I'd reuse in-case I need to.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

For some reason some pics are working, some aren't. If I'm not logged into Google photos (where all mine are stored, F U Photobucket), suddenly the pictures will appear in this thread. But it's random.....

Example: post 462 is the begnning of the exhaust build. Ther are 11 pictures in this post, but none show up. If I log into Google photos then refresh the thread, bam, they show up. Other photos show up all the time no problem.

Same with all of page 11. None of my pictures are showing up unless I'm logged into Google photos.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

picture testing...

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Pics should be working. I had to re-do everything on this page (11).

Post 462 is working now too.

One complaint - WHY DOES THIS FORUM LOG ME OFF EVERY 3.5 SECONDS?!?!?

I log in, edit a post, paste some text, save...............sorry can't do that, you're not logged in. Log in, refresh, aaaaaaand I'm logged out. Login, edit post, sorry you're not logged in. No other forum behaves like this w t f?!?!

Jorlain

iTrader: (4)

Maybe it's a browser thing? I'm presently using Chrome without issue.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Ran the rear brake and fuel lines:



As for the front brakes I ran into a problem. The larger 6mm brake line from the master to prop (rear brakes), has 2 M12 X 1.0 nuts on it, but my prop valve's threads are M12 X 1.5. There seems to be no information about this that I could find. I figured I could just buy the M12 X 1.5 nut and flare the line myself but that fitting doesn't seem to exist either....

Stolen and edited from QwkTrip's thread:






Knowing I had another prop valve, I grabbed it and it actually had the 1.5 nut!







Next I started work on the T56 slave and remote bleeder. As soon as I bought the speedway remote bleeder kit last year I noticed the same BS that thise guy did:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/manual-tr...kits-rant.html

The whole thing is backwards, so I bought my own fittings. What they give you in the middle, what I bought on the right:



Went with a -3AN line for the pressure line too:





Then started installing the clutch and flywheel, but needed to keep the crank from spinning when tightening the ARP bolts. I also needed to finally tighten the balancer bolt, so I made my own crank stopper. Worked perfectly:





Installed the new pilot bearing and flywheel:

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Then installed the trans and starter and ran the bleed line into the interior so I can bleed the clutch solo from the drivers seat.

TopDown Solutions is the only place that sells replacement bushings for 36mm sway bars. But I'd already bought these from summit:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mog-k6459/overview/

I also had some sway bar spacers from my parts car that again, seem to not exist on any other car that I can find....:




Here's the problem. When installed these bushing leave a gap between the bracket and mounting surface:



Normally the wouldn't be an issue but I'm installing a wonder bar so that gap won't fly. So I measured the gap above and had the spacers milled to .310" thick. Then I cut them in half. Worked very well:





Then I took some pics of the finished C100 wiring. C100 is rotated 180 degrees and the light half runs through the frame under the drivers side fender:

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

I noticed my pedals were uneven by quite a lot. The clutch pedal was closer to the firewall than the brake pedal. So I pulled the clutch master to do the adjustable rod modification and I'm very glad I did.

Look at what was inside the master:



Here's the stock length. will work on it later tonight.I also cut the internal travel stop. It's on the right:

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

So I cut and threaded the clutch master rod to make ie adjustable. Had to weld the crimped section to the plunger to keep it from spinning:




Re-assembly was tricky but I figured it out. You have to keep the rod depressed in order to install the spiral snap ring, but the internal spring is fighting against you and you only have two hands. So I clamped the master between to 2X4's with a c-clamp then used the press to push the rod down just enough. this allowed me to use both hands to install the snap ring:





I built a clutch master fluid resivour bracket. No sense in buying one, easy to make (before paint):





Then I picked up a steering shaft from a GMC Serria van, sandblasted, painted, and installed:




Onto the parking brake cables. I bought the Lokar universal kit EC-81FU and modified it to work with the stock parking brake handle. I trimmed the sleves as required, but had to relocate the passenger side mount to avoid the exhaust. Here's the bracket I made:






Then to shorten the actual cables I cut some round stock, drilled a center hole for the cable to pass through, then tig welded it to the cable. Painted it to prevent rust too:



The other end:



Then I shortened the tie rods because the adjusters aren't fully threaded:



Here's what was cut:

rurnt88

iTrader: (1)

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robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

I installed a mechanical fuel pressure gauge onto the fuel rail. All LS engines should have one IMO. Here is the gauge and adapter I used:





After that I couldn't figure out why I had 100lbs of fuel pressure.......Qwktrip helped me figure it out here. I'd forgotten to remove the stock 4th gen regulator on the return line. The access door really came in handy here. Brief discussion about it:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...high-fuel.html

I used the stock passenger side PCM pass-through connector:





Then I installed the lower shifter boot. got it contoured to the floor pretty well.



Front brakes installed:

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Used a stock third gen power steering hose routed differently than I've seen in other swaps. I wanted to keep it away from the fans:



I used a coolant bypass valve and a few hoses I found at the local parts store:












Then installed a Detroit Truetrac. Because I have a Strange center section with a 3.25" carrier bearing bore I had to wait a few days for the correct bearings to show up. The 3.25" case is usually only used with 35 and 40 spline spools. To use it with a 31 spline Truetrac you need these bearings:

http://www.quickperformance.com/Ford...D_p_20375.html










And finally started the engine. Every system on the car that I've tested is working including the remote start. The exhaust is pretty quiet just like I wanted. Here's a quick video:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wEYTjnC37628COJP2

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

Are the cat converters still radiating tons of heat or have they cooled off after the initial start up? Did you get around to make the shields or look for any? The place I'm getting my perforated steel from is like a few towns over from you. Too bad we both couldn't of been doing this five years ago when we lived by each other!

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

I have not built any heat shields. Instead I used some DEI exhaust insulation wrap. It did a good job keeping the brake and fuel lines cooler. The floor is still quite warm but tolerable. And remember I'm talking about putting my hand directly on the floor. With carpet pad and carpet it'll be just fine. If not I can always build heat shields from the stock ones I've saved.

Here's the wrap:


I'll try to get some pictures soon. I plan on test driving for the first time tonight. My friends have a 30' boat in my driveway so I'm cutoff from the street.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Just bought some titanium wrap that I'll use instead.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Haven't updated in a while, but plenty has been done.

Modified the cruise control cable. It came off of a Monte Carlo and was too short (bracket to throttle body)

So I ran a new cable and marked the correct length:



Then cut off the old crimp fitting, drilled its center:




Then tig welded it onto the cable:



Here's it mounted in place along with the PCM wiring in the factory pass-thru:





I calibrated the speedo and fuel gauges, but the tach was still not reading properly. I couldn't find and 4/6/8 cylinder dip switched, or extra wires to cut so I took the gauge apart. Sure enough they had just gotten pushed into the gauge:



I cut both wire for 4 cylinder mode, now it works well.


I scrubbed and pressure washed the carpet, then let it dry in the sun (sorry no pics). This carpet came out of an '89 Formula and is in excellent shape. Then I bought some new carpet padding and cut it to match the carpet:



Painted the last 2 parts finally, the fuel door and drivers mirror. Pics are sanded and prepped:



Installed the backup camera:






Then installed the speakers:

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Got the doors finished. Lower ground effects, locks, and door panels installed. And for some reason the new weatherstripping fits perfectly now! Over the winter it simply would NOT allow the door to close.




Next was the Navigation system. This was not an easy install.... I had to raise the HVAC controls about 1/4", sand on the bezel (which was a piece I had 3D printed), and adjust the position many times.

Here's the modified HVAC bracket sandblasted and painted:





Head unit mounted:







Finished:

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Backup camera:

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Got the strut tower brace finished.

Here's how it started after the mounting brackets were cut down. You can see the 1" tubes mounting points are ground down to weld.



Here are the tubes I cut:



Welded before paint:





Finished:



Also installed the windshield. This wasn't easy to do alone but turned out well. I purchased the glass new from a local auto glass shop and used DOW U-428 primerless adheasive. A lot of people complain about it being too thick to use in a regular caulk gun but I didn't have a problem. I first left both tubes in the sun for a while then boiled some water, turned off the flame and let the tubes soak in the water for 30 mins. After that it worked very well:






The molding I bought from firebird central, and the suction cups came from harbor freight.

Here's the glass and strut tower brace finished. Tig welding when it's 102 degrees sucks:

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Hey Tibo, I plan to make a similar brace. Yours looks great. Is the attachment point a piece of angle steel? Any close ups of that? How did you decide on that mounting method? I think my Cervini hood sits flush in that area, so I don't believe I could accommodate those bolt heads, but want a nice strong lower windshield mount. Interested on how you think that will hold up. I think it will be fine if I copy your mount since, (not a racecar) this is similar to how edelbrock mounts their 3 point.

Furthermore, that windshield install is amazing. I need to do the same down the road. Will copy 100%. Your build thread continues to add value!

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

It's made from a single piece of angle iron that I didn't think was strong enough so I boxed it in on both sides.




Installing the windshield alone wasn't easy. I had to balance the windshield on the cowl, climb up and stand directly on the strut tower brace, then lower it in place.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Oh sorry robguitargod1, I thought I was looking at images from Tibo's build, not yours.

Guess that's what I get for looking at images while in the bathroom!

Anyways, like I said before, the build looks amazing and thanks so much for the close up. I may follow a similar mount direction, but slightly lower to accommodate my hood. Might have to mount into the drainage area below the windshield or something like that. Cross that bridge when I get to it.

As for the windshield, sounds like quite the balancing act. I will follow your lead but do my best to get a friend to assist. Knowing my luck, I will be doing it alone too!

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

I was sure that angle iron wouldn't be tough enough without the bracing.

Just remember to warm up the windshield adhesive before you use it.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

Mine use the same oval head Allen key bolts that Rob shows. On stock hoods there is a weatherstripping there so an oval head shouldn't interfere with anything clearance wise. One tip that I took was to weld the bolts to the brace's bracket. It was really aggravating trying to thread the nuts on back there. And for that rear bracket, mine just uses a straight piece of metal, 1/8". I'm sure angle iron and nothing more would be sufficient since it is being bolted to 22 or 24 gauge metal. It's thin and was extremely difficult to MIG weld.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Finished up the air conditioning and it's blowing ice cold! Such a good feeling.

I bought a parallel flow condenser from coldhose.com last year and finally got around to installing it. It's tilted to allow the top input connector to wrap around the raidator.





Then I made sure to add some more foam to the evaporator (not pictured). This is important because it forces air from the blower motor through the exaporator and not around it.



Because the condenser is not stock, I had to make my own hoses. I bought the hose and fittings from coldhose.com. Bought the crimping tool from ebay, gauges and vacuum pump from amazon. all worked very well.

Here are the hoses I made:



I oiginally bought 150 weight PAG oil, but the compressor said 46 weight so that's what I used. Also had to buy a seal kit for the compressor washers:



Also used the motocraft orifice tube:



What I didn't realize was that the high side schrader valve is larger than the common size. Took e a while to find one but I found it in a kit from oriley. You can also see the tool I had to make for installing it. Just a bolt cut down the middle.



Hoses hooked up:



Connections to the condenser:





After charging the system the dryer gets nice and cold:

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Then I started on the wipers.

I sandblaster and pointed the linkage:



Installed:



New 18" wiper blades and the new painted arms installed and adjusted. Washer fluid pump, motor, and lines work perfectly:



Got the fenders and front bumper installed:



Pressure washed the hood:



All body panels finally installed:

jbenge

iTrader: (2)

Looks great, I love your attention to detail. I've been following your progress for a long time, glad to see you getting close to being done.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Got around to installing new gears from 4.57:1 to 4.11:1

Also installed a new Strange daytona pinion support, bearings, and 1350 yoke

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Then I installed C4 Corvette ZR1 style wheels. 315/35/17 tires and 17X11 wheels rear, 275/40/17 tires and 17X9.5 wheels front. Thanks to Kyle for pointing out exactly which wheels these were. I thought they were gen 4 camaro reproductions:

https://www.jegs.com/i/OE-Wheels/494/5910193/10002/-1

https://www.jegs.com/i/OE-Wheels/494/4750784/10002/-1




Next to 255mm tires:



Of course as soon as I installed them I realized the tires were pressed against the control arms.....

So I decided I needed to relocate the control arms inward about .5 inches. So I was able to cut the spacers down on one side, then add a spacer to the opposite side.

Here's one full length vs one I'd shortened:



Here's the locking collars that I found at Ace Hardware that were perfect:




Finished:



I also installed Viking double adjustable coilover shocks on the rear:

rurnt88

iTrader: (1)

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Tibo

iTrader: (15)

Get the mirror wired up? How's the interior coming along? I've got that 3d file if you want a big ol Z28 dash emblem....

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Haven't wired the mirror yet, but soon. I'm going to program it for my garage door too. Very nice feature.

My washing machine died so I had to spend some time tearing it apart to fix. Water pump bearing seized but I replaced it pretty easy.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Got new rear tires:



Used my Coats tire machine to install them:

rurnt88

iTrader: (1)

LOL your very own Coats Tire Machine! We should all be so lucky.

Where's the pictures?

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Yep I bought it from a shop in Joilet that was upgrading about 8 years ago. Paid $600.

My friends have used it more than I have, but it's a very nice tool to have. My 315mm tires are just about the limit of the machine, though 335's could be done too.

I keep everything in my garage mobile including the Coats machine. I keep it on a pallet with a pallet jack to move it around.

Let me know if you guys want pictures, didn't think anyone would be that interested really.

rurnt88

iTrader: (1)

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robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

A few weeks ago I installed the last 3 gauges (Oil temp, Fuel pressure, Wideband AFR)

The pod I used is here:


It's just the right size, blends in well and doens't look out of place.

The downside to mounting gauges here is that the whole dash has to come out because you don't want to be drilling through you HVAC ducts. Was worth it.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

What springs did you use for the front? Stock replacement?

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Front springs are Moog 5660 coils that I cut 1/2 coil off of.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Long overdue update.

The 9 inch rear has been wayyy too loud. Both sets of Richmond gear that I tried (4.57 and 4.11) would both SCREAM on decleration.

It was absolutely killing me and made the car undrivable. I tried moving the pinion in, out, more backlash, less backlash and nothing helped.

Because everything was new, I knew it had to be the gears, and I was right. I installed a set of 4.11:1 gears from US gear, and things are dead quiet now.

I also spent a few hours making 3 tools to address things that bugged me about working on this diff.

First, I hated dropping the whole rear out to make adjustments:



There had to be a better way to remove the center section without all that work. The main obstruction was the exhaust and torqur arm. Removing the torque arm is necessary no matter what but I really didn't want to remove the exhaust even though I designed it to be modular.

The biggest problem overall is wrestling the 80lb center section in and out of the housing alone. I could do it but it's dangerous and REALLY aggrivating.

So I made tool #1: A differential jack adapter:







Now I can install/remove the center section with my transmission jack. Because the exhaust is so close I simply adjust my panhard bar to the drivers side 1.5 inches and it comes out no problem.

Once the centersection is out, how do you work on it? It's very heavy and awkardly shaped, so I usually clamp it into a vice:



Using the vice makes it difficult to set up your dial indicator and is always at risk of falling to the floor when you're tightening the bearing caps.

So I made tool #2: A work jig:





It allows you to rotate at will, lock into position, never tip over, and bolts onto my bench in place of my vice using 3 bolts.

Until now I'd adjusted backlash and carrier preload with 2 screwdrivers and a pry bar. Works but is very awkard to do.

So I made tool #3: A 3/8" backlash adjuster/spanner wrench replacement.





It inserts into the threaded carrier adjusters and is turned by a 3/8" drive.

I'll hit them with a coat of POR15 soon, Everything cost $16 in material from metal supermarkets.