I have this posted on some other sites, but thought I start the thread here as well in case anyone hasn't seen it. I've just cut and past from another thread.

Here's what the car looked like before I started tearing into it again.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/Picture018.jpg

Here's the car as it sits today

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0016-2.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0017-1.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0018-1.jpg

Here's some of the goodies I got today :yes::)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0020-1.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0021-1.jpg

DSE Deep tubs

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0023-2.jpg

Moser M9 with back brace and G-Bar ready

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0028-1.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0037-1.jpg

AirRide suspension (same as a G-bar)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0038-1.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0054.jpg

Wilwood brakes

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0049.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0051.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0052.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0053.jpg

Hydraboost system

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0055.jpg

I've had these for a while already, but these are the rims I have

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/Foose18s.jpg

So I thought I would finally do a build thread on my car. It's a 68 Acadian that I orginally bought for $700. When I got it, it was white with black racing stripes. I fixed the car up on a pizza shop manager's wage. I had it painted cherry red, rebuild the 350 and th350 and put on 15" cragar rims with BFGoodrich tires. Now that I'm a cop and make way more money than I did back then, I'm doing the car again...but the way I want to. My plans are as follows: (this will probably change many times as I keep changing my mind. I will update as I change my mind)

Pro Touring theme
18" Foose Nitrous II with Falken FK452 tires. 285-35-18 in the rear and 245-35-18 in the front.
Speed Tech subframe with Speed Tech high clearance tubular control arms.
Speed Tech 1.25" solid sway bar.
QA1 coilover shocks.
Wilwood 6 piston calipers with 12.2" rotors
AirRide rear suspension (Same as Alston G-Bar) with QA1 coilovers
Moser M9 housing
Moser axles
Wilwood 4 piston calipers with 12.2" rotors
Strange Pro Nodular centre section with 3.70 gears and half billet posi
DSE deep tubs
LSX454
Tremec TKO600
Flaming River steering column and steering wheel
Unisteer rack and pinion kit
JL Audio stereo (haven't decided what but will be big)
Custom paint job. Leaning towards ghost flames right now
and more to come.
I hope to get working on the car next week as the wife and daughter will be gone for 4 days. I will be living in the shop. Will update as I go.

Here's the Wilwood master I got today also

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0047.jpg

I must say thanks to Frank at Prodigy Customs and www.gpsuperstore.com for all he did. I got smoking deals from him on the housing and the brakes. He also went out of his way to get all the brackets welded on the housing so I didn't have to worry about finding pinion angles. If you need parts...give him a call. He's great to deal with. Thanks also to Nightshade for the sheetmetal. He was also great to deal with. Thanks again Jeff...will be in touch again.

Today I was able to get the G-Bar/Air Ride rear suspension mocked up. It took some cursing and swearing, but not too much. Now I can get this thing as a roller and start putting the body panels on.

Bottle Jacks to help hold brace in place

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0014-1.jpg

Bottle Jack attached to main brace

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0013-1.jpg

Rear suspension is in!!!

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0015-1.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00212.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00192-1.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00182-1.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00162-1.jpg

Well today I did some more chopping and cutting. Guess there's no turning back now.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00042.jpg

Well I haven't had a lot of time to work on the car since my last post, but I did get a few opportunities to get in the shop. I started doing the deep tubs install, but has taken longer than it should have. I originally cut a piece out of the floor and was going to stretch the wheelhouse, then I decided to do the deep tubs. I'm doing a lot of guess work as I can't measure from the stock wheelhouse location. My welder has become my greatest friend. Along with a sheet of metal to fill in when I cut too big. I've got the passenger side deep tub and new outer wheelhouse mocked up. I also put in a new trunk drop off. Now to mock up the quarter panel to make sure my outer wheelhouse lip is right. I did find though that with the deep tubs and the 285/35/18 tires I have....I have almost 2" more that I can go. May have to get some 12" wide rims. Anyone looking for a set of 18" Foose rims and tires?? :devil: Anyways...here's some pics.

I had to cut a rusted piece off the rocker panel. Will be an easy patch.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00032.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00052-1.jpg

Frame notched.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00173-1.jpg

Wheels mocked up.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00213.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00203.jpg

Quite a bit of room still.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00232.jpg

So I finally got to go to Killer Customs and pick up my Speed Tech subframe. It is awesome!!!! And it was $1000 cheaper than some of the other companies (every penny counts). I also picked up my new Unisteer rack and pinion kit. Now if I can just get the deep tubs and quarter panels done...I can get the frame bolted up. Here's some pics.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00045.jpg

G-Mod built in
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00054.jpg

Built in adjustable trans crossmember
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00064.jpg

Adjustable motor mounts
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00073-1.jpg

Billet shock mounts
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00083-1.jpg

Ready for some wider tires up front now
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00093-1.jpg

A feature I hope to never use, built in tow hooks
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00102-1.jpg

Sway bar mounts up front, not underneath where the frame can break (mine did)
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00112-1.jpg

Unisteer rack and pinion kit
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00122-1.jpg

Polished pump
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00174.jpg

Braided lines
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00153.jpg

Now back to the shop to see if I can get the passenger side quarters done today.

So I got the Speed Tech high clearance control arms and sway bar that go with the Speed Tech subframe. Now I have the entire Speed Tech subframe package, I just bought it in stages that's all. My plan now is to try and get the driver's side deep tub done and get the quarters on. Then I have to put the driver's side cowel panel on, finish welding up the new floor pans and I'll get to try out the rotisserie that I built.
Here's some pics of the Speed Tech high clearance control arms. These things are sick!!!

Upper Control arm with billet aluminum ball joint cover
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00055.jpg

Stainless Steel cross shafts
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00046.jpg

Lower control arm
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00065.jpg

Sway bar end links
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00094.jpg

1.25" solid sway bar
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00144.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00134.jpg

Well I got to work on the car for a few hours today, then the power switch on my air compressor blew. Wouldn't turn off at all. Thankfully I have a separate breaker in the shop for the compressor. Oh well..this way I'll be able to get a new on that regulates better for the plasma cutter.

Here's some pics of the passenger side that is mostly done. Still have some welding to finish up, but it's strong enough right now to be secure.
new quarter installed

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00352.jpg

Deep tub in
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00154.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00302.jpg

Today I started on the driver's side. Going to replace the outer wheelhouse, put in deep tubs, replace the trunk drop off and obviously the quarter panel. Here's some before pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00312.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00342.jpg

The glue that didn't work :mad:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00332.jpg

And here's what I got done before the compressor kicked out on me:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00372.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00382.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00432.jpg

Since I had some spare time after the compressor died, I thought I would look and see how much room I actually have to play with now that I have the deep tubs. The tires that I have in these pics are a 285-35-18. I'll have to trim the quarter/outer wheelhouse lip as it's pretty tight, but wow what a difference. If anyone ever wondered if it was worth it...here's proof.

Gap between tire and wheelhouse/quarter lip
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00442.jpg

Distance between wheel and inner wheelhouse now
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00482.jpg

This is a 2 1/2" piece of square tubing that fit between the tire and inner wheelhouse
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00532.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00512.jpg

So now I am definately going to send my rims away and get them widened to 12". I need to find a tire though that will fit flush with the rim. Here's what I mean:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00602.jpg

Anyone have any ideas? Well I've locked the shop up and will be off to New York on Sunday. In the mean time...off to KMS Tools so I can get my compressor fixed :(

So I got to work on the car for a few hours today. The driver's side deep tub is going pretty good. I need to cut out the pieces to fill in the frame rail and gap between the trunk and frame rail. It was also good, I looked at some 315 wide tires online and found that on a 11" rim, they will measure 12.6" wide. I cut out a 12.6" wide piece of cardboard and put it in the wheel opening. Lots of room all around!!!! Think I know what size tires I'll be going to.

Some people have asked about notching the frame rails when installing the deep tubs. Here's some pics of what the frame rail looks like notched. The openings will be filled in with some 1/8" steel plates and the tubs get welded to those plates.

Marking for the frame notch
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00047.jpg

Frame notched
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00056.jpg

Frame notched from underneath
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00104.jpg

Areas to be filled in with 1/8" steel plates
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00135.jpg

Hopefully I'll be able to get back to work on the car tomorrow and if not then, will be on Wednesday or Thursday as I work until then. Will post more pics as I go.

Well I've made a bit of progress over the past couple days. I finished filling in the frame rails. I got the driver's side quarter panel fitted. Now I'm just welding in the outer wheelhouse, then I'll get the deep tub welded in and then the quarter panel. Here's a pic of the frame filled in.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00562.jpg

Made some progress on the car today. The driver's side outer wheel house and deep tub are in.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0063.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00612.jpg

It was easier just to cut the old bracket out so I just made new brackets where the wheel house supports the rear deck lid.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0065.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0067.jpg

I'm hoping to spend a couple hours in the shop tomorrow when my wife and daughter go to Kelowna, although I told her I would do some yard work also so we'll see. I should have the driver's side quarter panel on by the next update. Once the quarter panel is on, I will be replacing the driver's side cowel panel. I already have the old one off. It looked like someone had been in an accident as the old one was crushed in. I tried to straighten it the best I could.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0004.jpg

Once I get the cowel panel done, I will probably cut out the firewall and put a smooth one in. Right now I'm leaning towards the Mike's Custom Cars inserts. I was going to make them myself, but after looking at several different pics, I think I do like it with the factory seam reproduced. I find it beind completely smooth almost too much and the seam adds just enough. I'm going to replace the driver's side also and then hide the wiper motor under the driver's side fender. Here's a link to the firewall panels I'm looking at. $145 for both.
http://www.mikescustomcars.com/projects/projects.asp?proj=CatalogProTour&album=1&pic=10
http://www.mikescustomcars.com/projects/projects.asp?proj=CatalogProTour&album=1&pic=6

Well I made the wife happy, I got up early enough to do some yard work and take a load of garbage to the dump...now the shop is nice and clean again :D

She took the daughter to Kelowna for a girls trip so that left me some time in the shop. I got the driver's side quarter on and am about half way done welding it on. The next chance I'll get to finish it will be next Monday. Here's a pic:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0072.jpg

I also put both rear tires on to see how it looks. It looks awesome with the 285's, but I can't wait to get the rims widened and get some 315's, it will look sick :devil: Here's the 285's:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0074.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0075.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0081.jpg

Well today I only got to go into the shop for a couple hours so I thought I would work on the rotisserie to take a break from the car. I had already built most of it, but wanted to change some things and I finally got some good strong casters (capacity is 700lbs per caster). Once I get the rotisserie done, I'm going to put the Speed Tech subframe on it and do some cleaning up and then primer. Then I'm going to try a new product from Eastwood. It's a ceramic coat chassis coat. It has small pieces of ceramic in it and when it hardens, are you ready for this......................it's like a ceramic coat. I ordered some last week and hope to see it in the next couple days. Here's a link to it:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1596&itemType=CONTENT&path=32&KickerID=425&KICKER
Once I get the subframe coated, I'll put the car shell onto it and I plan on putting two coats of POR15 and then a coat of Raptor bed liner on top of the POR15. Should stop the rust and help with sound.
Here's a few pics of the rotisserie in progress:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0082.jpg

The bars that will bolt up to the car

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0083.jpg

Bottle jacks (the same ones that I used to install the g-bar)
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0084.jpg

Got a chance to spend a good portion of the day in the shop today. The driver's side cowel panel is on, I finished welding up the floors underneath and I started putting the new tranny tunnel in. I actually got to put my new TKO600 into the car, even if it was only for a few minutes while I cut the hole out in the tranny patch. Tomorrow I hope to finish the tranny tunnel, finish welding up the driver's side quarter panel and then I might even start smoothing the firewall. Hopefully by next week it will be on the rotisserie. Here's some pics from today:

New cowel panel is in
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00023.jpg

Putting the tranny in with motor mocked up
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00048.jpg

TKO600 in the car
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00075.jpg

New tranny tunnel
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00085.jpg

I spent another good day in the shop today. Just taking a break as the hand's getting sore. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here's what happened: http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102493
I finished welding in the tranny tunnel. I also took the stock subframe off for the last time. I was waiting until I have the tranny tunnel fit and the quarters in before I took it off. If anyone is looking for a stock subframe in really good shape, I have an extra one. I decided to start smoothing the firewall today also. Everytime I've seen pics of a smooth firewall, no one has posted an in between photo. They are always before and after. I have an in between photo to share for those who are debating about putting in a smooth firewall.

Tranny tunnel in
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00155.jpg

Smooth firewall insert
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00095.jpg

Firewall before
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00105.jpg

Firewall cut up
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00124.jpg

Smooth firewall in. It still needs to have some minor adjustments and to be welded in
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00136.jpg

Here's a couple more pics from today. I'm going to weld in some plug welds to add some strength to the smooth firewall. I'm using 16 guage sheetmetal so I'm not as worried about it warping. I was also able to smooth out the infamous area where most cars with an HEI distrubutor get the hammer treatment. It's not perfect, but it's better. I'll probably spend a bit more time cleaning it up before I weld everything into place. Here's the pics:

Smooth firewall with plug weld holes and held in place with cleckos
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00165.jpg

Smoothing out the hammer beating, will be easier to clean up with filler now
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00185.jpg

The next area to be smoothed
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00176.jpg

I spent a couple hours between last night and this morning working on the firewall panel for the driver's side. It still needs a few adjustments before I weld it in. I'm going to put the wiper motor into the driver's side cowel panel so it's hidden under the fender. I'm just going to use the stock style as I really don't need to buy the DSE one. Here's some pics:

Firewall panel
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00195.jpg

Firewall before
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00176.jpg

Firewall cut up
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00206.jpg

Panel held in place with cleckos
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00216.jpg

Full smooth firewall, still needs to be welded in to place
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00223.jpg

Today I spent about 4 hours welding on the smooth firewall panels. It sure takes a long time when you're trying to be careful and not warp. Hopefully the next time I post some pics, it will be of the car on the rotisserie. Tommorow I plan on getting as close to lifting her in the air as I can.

Here's pics from today:

Smooth firewall all welded in. Welds still need to be ground down and cleaned up

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00282.jpg

It's a good thing I plan on replacing basically everything inside the car. I didn't get rid of all the insulation on the firewall and next thing I knew, there was a fire under the dash

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00303.jpg

A few things have happened since my last update. Unfortunately I was in need of some money and I have been debating if the engine parts were the parts that I really wanted to use for my motor build, so I ended up selling all the engine stuff that I had. I still have the heads (AFR 210cc) though, which are for sale in the classified section. I've been looking at quite a few different options now. I was even looking at LS engines. The only thing about the LS engines...they're not shiny enough. I know I know....the shine doesnt make it go faster. That really doesn't matter when what ever motor I get it will be well over 500hp. I've also been looking at a Scott Shafiroff 434 crate engine that is 595hp. Right now I don't have the money to do the engine anyways, so I'm just throwing around ideas. Realistically I think I'll be ready for the engine by spring.
I did get some work done on the car (sort of). The way things were going I thought I'd never see the day when I would get it on the rotisserie, but here it is. I hope to get everything welded up tomorrow and hope to get a coat of POR15 on by Friday. Here's some pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00106.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00115.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00125.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00137.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00146.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00156.jpg

I spent about 8 hours in the shop today. I was hoping to have it ready for under coating by tomorrow, but when I realized that's not going to happen, I figured I might as well call it a day. Only so much grinding and welding one can do in a day. I'm not trying to get a 10 point car or anything, I'm just trying to clean things up. I ended up getting the welding on the floor boards and tranny tunnel finished. The air bar is welded in place now also.

I did come across one issue. Both the driver's side and passenger side front eye mount brackets were welded to the body (some of you may have seen my thread about this) so I had to grind them off. Once I had them off though, the metal underneath wasn't that bad. I was debating about cutting a new piece and welding it in, but after cleaning up the metal some, I think I'm just going to fill the little holes in with the welder. Here's some pics:

Driver's side
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00242.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00272.jpg

Passenger side
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00217.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00224.jpg

Driver's side removed
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00393.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00403.jpg

Passenger side removed
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00383.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00373.jpg

I also decided to clean up the front where the new floor boards were welded in. I wanted it to look smooth and not see where the metal overlaps. I'm using Metal to Metal to fill it in. It's not done yet though.

Driver's side
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00343.jpg

Passenger side
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00353.jpg

The next picture, hopefully someone can help me. I'm going to have to fab up something to fill in this gap. If you've followed my build thread, you'll know that I replaced the quarter panels, trunk drop offs, outer wheels houses and put in deep tubs. I just noticed today that I have a big gap on both sides between the quarter panel and the trunk drop off. It's right below the deep tub. Is this common to have this gap when you replace everything??? Here's some pics:
This is with the car sideways on the rotisserie. It's the passenger side.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00443.jpg

As for the car, I've sold all the engine parts that I had so now the crate motor is more likely. I see GM is coming out with a LSX 454 soon. That's got me thinking!!!
I sent the arms for my air bar set up to Frank at Prodigy Customs/gpsuperstore.com to have them converted to adjustable ones. Hopefully will have them soon and will post pics. I also ordered a rear sway bar set up. I thought I better get it ordered as I need to drill holes through the rear brace on the M9 housing for the brackets. Once that is done, I can get the housing powder coated.
I got to spend some time in the shop today. I was able to get both gaps between the fender, trunk drop off and inner wells done. I also decided to used Metal to Metal filler and do more of the floor. I don't want a perfect car, I just don't want it that obvious that the floors have been replaced. Tomorrow I hope to sandblast the rest of the floor and finish up some grinding and clean up work. Maybe next week I'll be able to start putting on a coat of POR15. It will be so nice when I can put an update on that isn't about body work.

Here's some pics:

Piece of sheet metal used to fill in gap:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00613.jpg

Passenger side. I decided to weld it to the deep tub so it all blends together.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00632.jpg

Driver's side
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00652.jpg

Cleaning up the front floors and trans tunnel.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00662.jpg

I told myself I wasn't going to post any more pics of the car until I actually got the undercoating on, but I decided to post these as it's the only time I ever hope to see my car this way.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0086.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0085.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0087.jpg

It feels like it took me forever to get to this point, but I actually started undercoating the car. I decided to go with two coats of POR15 first to stop any rust. I was going to use POR15's new bed liner until I saw the price. It's $255 US or if I get it in Canada it will cost me $350. I was hoping to use it to save a step, but I think I'll have to do that step anyways. With the POR product on top of POR15, you don't have to use a primer. Now I'll likely end up having to use their primer, then put another brand of bed liner to finish the undercoating. For those that wonder why I chose to use POR15, I wanted to use something that will stop any rust from coming back. The other nice thing is since I replaced the floor pans, POR15 helps hide my ugly welds as it's quite thick.
My next step is to get the bed liner done. Once that's done, I found a powder coating place in Kelowna that will do my subframe for $175. They will sandblast, prime and then powder coat. He'll do the rear end housing for about $75. I'm just waiting for a rear sway bar to be shipped to me and once I get that I can drill the holes in the back brace and get the brackets mounted, then off to powder coating.

Enough of that and onto the pictures.

I had to pull the car out of the shop to rinse of the POR degreaser and oxidizer.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0088.jpg

After it was cleaned with degreaser
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0091.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0092.jpg

Finally some progress!! This is after 2 coats of POR15. The white dots all over are because the lens on my camera was dirty.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0093.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0094.jpg

Here's the tranny tunnel after using metal to metal to clean it up. Can't even tell there's new floor pans. It's not that grey in color. I tried not using the flash to get better detail and that's how it turned out.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0099.jpg

WOW, sure is lookin' Great !!!

keep up the good work and keep us posted :thumbsup:

I see GM is coming out with a LSX 454 soon. That's got me thinking!!!

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g170/novanutcase/KinlserLS7intake2.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g170/novanutcase/KinlserLS7intake1.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g170/novanutcase/KinlserLS7intake.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g170/novanutcase/shoppics9-25-2007020.jpg

Just thought I'd throw it out there again!!! LOL!!!

John

Geez John...you took longer to do that than I thought it would take you..lol. I like the numbers on the new GM one, but now sure if I want to carbed or do the Mast Motorsports fuel injuection set up. It looks like a good set up too. Kinsler......maybe....one day!

I love this thread. Its going to be an awesome ride when your done:thumbsup::cool:

Thanks 69NovaSS..I appreciate that.

I finally got around to getting the POR15 tie coat primer on today. They recommend it when you are putting a non POR product on top of the POR15. The annoying thing is, the stuff cures with heat and not moisture so I had to get my shop nice and toasty. Those that are in cold climates will appreciate what I'm talking about. I had to get my shop to a minimum 12 degrees celcius. With the help of two 240v construction heaters and two halogen work lights, it got quite warm in there. I even put a cheap thermometer in the shop to make sure. Next week I hope to get the undercoating on. I'm going to use U-Pol's Raptor bed liner. Once that's done, I hope to get the subframe done and mounted to the car so I can actually start putting parts on.

Construction heater #1

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00024.jpg

Construction heater #2

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00049.jpg

After a couple hours, it was at 18 degrees celcius, by the time I was done it had gone up to about 24. My wife is going to be so mad when we get the hydro bill :devil:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00058.jpg

I had to sand the entire underside before applying the primer

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00016.jpg

With the POR tie coat primer on it. The nice thing about the POR products is they can be applied with a brush.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00076.jpg

I finished up the undercoating today. I ended up using Hippo bed liner instead of Rhino. It's a two part urethane caoting so it should be pretty good. I know some guys will say to stay away from do it yourself liners, but the paint guy at the shop I bought it from (which I go to a lot) swore by it. He said their store alone sold over 120 kits last year and he didn't have a single complaint about it. The only time he's ever seen an issue with the stuff is when the surface area wasn't prepped properly. The other nice thing was that it usually sells for about $105 a case and you need 2 cases to finish the whole underside. They were having a trade show and I ended up getting them for about 1/2 price. Now hopefully I had it prepped right.
I was going to roll the liner on, but I figured for $25 bucks for a gun, I couldn't go wrong in spraying it. So far I'm pretty happy with the outcome.
Next week I'm going to start prepping the subframe so I can get it painted and bolt it back on (finally and hopefully for the last time). I was going to use the Eastwood ceramic paint, then I decided I was going to have it powder coated. Well what a shock, I've changed my mind again. When I went to put the POR15 on the underside of the car, I opened the can I had and found it was hard as a rock so I ended up buying another gallon of it. I barely used 1/2 the gallon to put 2 coats on the underside so I have over 1/2 gallon left. I liked the way the stock subframe turned out with the POR15 so I'm going to do the new subframe the same way. I'll put 2 coats of POR15 and then a coat of the POR chassis coat to help with UV rays.

Car masked off

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00096.jpg

Liner is on

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00107.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00138.jpg

Close up of the texture

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00126.jpg

I finally got my rear sway bar package and converted arms for my air bar set up. The arms have been converted by Frank at www.gpsuperstore.com so they are adjustable now. These are what come with his prodigy bar rear suspension set up. The rear sway bar is a Hellwig package. I was able to get the rear suspension mocked up again today. Hopefully that's the last time for a mock up. It was definitely a lot easier to put together with the adjustable arms. I'm going to get the rear sway bar mounted over the next couple days so I can take a bunch of stuff, including the subframe and rear end housing, to get powder coated. Hope to have everything back mid next week after I get back from Las Vegas. Here's some pics:

Arms have been converted so now they are adjustable

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00483.jpg

Close up of the short arms

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00492.jpg

Rear sway bar package

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00502.jpg

Rear suspension mocked up with converted arms

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00513.jpg

Today I got the rear sway bar mocked up. Because of the back brace on the rear housing, I wasn't able to use the U-bolts. If I hadn't sold my plasma cutter, I'm sure I could have got the U-bolts to work. Instead I thought I would just weld the brackets to the housing. I also did a bit of clean up work on the subframe and got it ready for powder coating. Tomorrow morning I plan on heading to Summerland to Sunview coating and get the subframe and rear housing coated. I hope to head back down next week when I'm back from Las Vegas and pick everything up. Will post pics when I get everything.

Here's some pics of what I did today:

Rear sway bar mocked up. I still have to adjust it to make it level.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00563.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0058-1.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00594.jpg

Brackets welded onto housing

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00605.jpg

Subframe ready for powder coating

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00712.jpg

Motor mounts, trans cross member and c-clips also getting powder coated

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00722.jpg

I picked up the subframe and rear end housing from the powder coaters today. It cost me more than they originally quoted me a few months ago, but it included sandblasting, priming and coating so I guess I can't complain. It ended up costing me $480 to get the subframe, rear end housing, motor mounts, trans cross member and c-clips done. I love the way it turned out with one exception, which is my fault. This is the first time I've had anything powder coated and I got so used to how thick POR15 is. POR15 fills in a lot of blemishes and small dents and such. There are a couple small areas where I assumed the powder coating would have filled in, but it wasn't as thick as I thought it was. I wish I would have spent a little more time doing body work on the frame so I wouldn't have the few little spots. But on the other hand, if anyone sees the spots that I'm referring to, I better be at the car too cause they're way too close. Anyways, here's some pics. Hope to start putting some of it back on Friday.

Rear end housing

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0073.jpg

Close up

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00742.jpg

Subframe

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00772.jpg

Motor mounts, trans cross member and c-clips

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00752.jpg

This build is wild.

This build is wild.

Thanks.

I think I sold my Foose wheels and Falken tires to a guy I work with. Now that I have so much more room with the deep tubs, I want go with 315's. My buddy doesn't want his wife to know about buying the rims, so he's asked to pay in installments. Hopefully he doesn't take too long to pay. Here's the rims I think I'm going to replace them with. I'm looking at 17x11 in the back with 315's and 17x8 in the front with 255's.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/billetspecialties_fastlane.jpg

I got some new leaf spring perches as the old ones were welded to the car and were ugly when I took them off

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00025.jpg

I got to spend some time in the shop today. Some of you may find this update boring as it's going to look very similar to some other pics, but it's exciting for me as I finally got the car completely off the rotisserie and got the rear housing and rear suspension put in for the last time. I just need to get the rear sway bar, axles, centre section and brakes in and the rear end is all done. Here's some pics of today's accomplishments.

Car finally completely off the rotisserie

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0005.jpg

Spring perches painted

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0004-1.jpg

Rear end housing and suspension

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0007-1.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0009-1.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0011-1.jpg

HEY, that's lookin' VERY NICE... and stout too !!! ;)

congrats on the job so far... it's lookin' good, keep it up and don't forget ta keep us posted on progress ;)


JR

Thanks JR.

I was able to get the center section of the rear end in today. The one I'm using is a Strange pro nodular case with 3.70 gears. It has a half billet posi unit and I've upgraded to the black aluminum (nodular) pinion support with a 1350 yoke. I know I've gone overkill with this, but better not to have any weak links. I got the Moroso race anodized blue ujoint caps to go along with it.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00344.jpg

I also got the rear brakes and axles in. I sure like how easy Wilwood makes it to change the brake pads. Pull out a cotter pin and the pads come out. The brakes have a drum brake parking brake. Once I figured out how to install the safety wire with the safety wire pliers, it all went together quite nicely. Tomorrow I hope to get the rear sway bar back in and I'll do some more grinding on the firewall so I can get the subframe back on.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00364.jpg

lookin' good mike!

hey buddy...in regards to your choice of 17" wheels,proceed cautiously.i've also purchased 17"x11" with the plan of running a 315mm rear tire on my wagon build,but i didn't find out until after the purchase that i'm very limited on sticky performance tires in that particular size.something to consider if you haven't 'jumped' yet.
leftcoast carl.
p.s.- tom the tire guy in surrey was awesome to deal with and gave me a great price too!!!

Thanks Carl. Yeah I know there isn't a whole lot to choose from. I see BFG has a 315-17 now in the G-ForceTA KD. I still think I want 315's even with the limited choice, they will look sooo good.

Today I finally go the rear sway bar in for good. It looks awesome back there now. I can't wait to get some 315's in there. After I got the sway bar in, I spent about 3 hours grinding, welding, grinding, welding, grinding, etc, the firewall. Once I get all the welds ground down I going to put some metal to metal filler and get it looking all nice. Here's some pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00293.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00304.jpg

Looks Great!!! Nice Job! Powdercoat is so nice isn't it?

John

such a shame that you wont be able to see half of this stuff....just make sure you get a stailess gas tank..lol makes up for it

such a shame that you wont be able to see half of this stuff....just make sure you get a stailess gas tank..lol makes up for it

Oh he'll see it alright! When he's washing it down for whatever cruise/show! LOL!

John

wash down...pff whats that

A stainless tank is definitely in the plans. It really doesn't matter to me that half the stuff won't be seen. I'm not building this car for everyone else, I'm building it for me. If people do see some of the stuff...I better be there as well cause they are too damn close to my car :D When true cars guys see the car, they'll know what's been done to it.

A stainless tank is definitely in the plans.

You gonna make your own tank or are you gonna have someone like Rick's do it for you?

It really doesn't matter to me that half the stuff won't be seen. I'm not building this car for everyone else, I'm building it for me. If people do see some of the stuff...I better be there as well cause they are too damn close to my car :D When true cars guys see the car, they'll know what's been done to it.

YUP!!!:yes::beers:

It's just nice knowing that it's super sano ALL the way through!

John

Right now highly leaning towards one of the Rick's tanks with the pump in the tank. I'll be getting a fuel injected set up once I get the LS package put in.

Right now highly leaning towards one of the Rick's tanks with the pump in the tank. I'll be getting a fuel injected set up once I get the LS package put in.

Just make sure you talk to Rick and Carlos about the time frame. It takes them a LONG time to finish them.:sad:

John

carlos is the white mexican i know.....should just call him carl...lol

mine took 3 weeks

just letting you know you are doing such an awesome job on this baby!! This should be more like a motivational thread then a build up thread makes me want to start tearin mine apart to rebuild it! I two have my own materials to build my own rotisserie. Where did you get the rams and how much $ ? The build is sick man keep firing over the pics and thanx for the inspiration as well!!

just letting you know you are doing such an awesome job on this baby!! This should be more like a motivational thread then a build up thread makes me want to start tearin mine apart to rebuild it! I two have my own materials to build my own rotisserie. Where did you get the rams and how much $ ? The build is sick man keep firing over the pics and thanx for the inspiration as well!!


Thanks. I really appreciate the comments. By rams I'm assuming you mean the jacks. We have a place in Canada called Princess Auto, it's kind of a junk store that has a bit of everything. Hydraulics though are their specialty. They cost me $40 each.

I haven't had a lot of time since the last update to work on the car, but got a little bit done. I've been spending most of the time I have had on the firewall. I went to install my new Flaming River steering column with the installation kit that I bought from them, but....it's doesn't even come close to fitting. So I sent them an email with a bunch of pictures explaining the issue and they told me I needed a another part, so I ordered it directly from them as no one in Canada has the part and it would have taken them about 6 weeks to get it. The new part cost me $40US and $30US shipping, so about $90 CDN. When I finally got the part, I was charged another $40 for brokerage fees. So now I'm at $130 for the new bracket and $200 for the installation kit. I go an try the new bracket...guess what...it's doesn't even come close to fitting either. So now I've spent $330 on parts that don't even fit. In the end, I ended up using a $10 piece of exhaust tube, had it welded onto the steering column. I need to get one more piece exhaust tube and wrap it around the other piece that was welded on and it will fit in my car just like stock. Glad I spent the other money, but enough venting. Today I cut out the area on the firewall where the steering column goes and put in a piece of sheet metal to get rid of the big ugly stock hole. I have probably a couple more hours of grinding and cleaning up on the firewall, then I'm going to put some metal to metal filler on to make it look better and spray some primer. Then I need to decide if I'm going to paint the firewall black or the same color as the car (which I haven't 100% decided on yet). Here's some pics.

Where the steering column fits

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/wherecolumngoes.jpg

Bracket that came in the installation kit that doesn't come close to fitting, oh well now I have a nice piece of billet aluminum to do something with

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/flamingriverbracket.jpg

Bracket that I needed off stock steering column. I had to drill out all the plug welds to get it off. With the 69 and up is nice cause they bolt on.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/stocksteeringcolumnwithbracket.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/stockbracketoffcolumn.jpg

Bracket I got from Flaming River that doesn't work with a 68

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00404.jpg

Bracket I made to be welded onto the new column. I'm going to weld one more of these on top of the one already there and it will fit in the stock bracket nicely

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00412.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00423.jpg

On the column (it's a polished stainless steel column, I just have electrical tape on it to protect it)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00444.jpg

Area of the firewall I wanted smoothed

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00206.jpg

Out with the old

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00464.jpg

And in with the new

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00453.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00473.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00514.jpg

Well time for another update. Not a whole lot done, but it's getting there. The other day I was feeling a little destructive so I ripped out the rest of the dash. It really ticked me off, once I had the gauge cluster out, I put it on top of a cabinet for safe keeping. When I went into the shop this morning, everything that was on top of the cabinet was lying on the floor, including the gauge cluster. Unfortunately it has 3 big cracks in it and the radio area broke right off. As most of you know, the 68 gauge cluster is rare as it is one year only. I was thinking about getting a Covan's, I guess I'm committed to that now. Here's some pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00615.jpg

Wiring harness out

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00664.jpg

If you've read the rest of my thread, you'll know that I had a little fire when I was welding the firewall. Here's the inside of the dash where the fire was

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00683.jpg

What ended up on fire....my defrost ducting. Guess I need to find a new one of those now too

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00625.jpg

As I was taking the dash apart, I found this. Add this to the list of strange things found in a car

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00743.jpg

I did some more work on the firewall and since I used sheet metal that I had laying around, it had some surface rust on it. I found some of these 3M pads that fit into a die grinder backing plate and they work great for taking off surface rust, paint and even POR15. They are not cheap, but well worth the money.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00554.jpg

Here's how the firewall's looking. I'm getting almost to the point of putting primer on it, but then I got thinking. I want to put in a Vintage Air kit and I don't want to weld studs on the back of my firewall and ruin the primer/paint so will be ordering a kit from Frank at www.gpsuperstore.com and get it mocked up before I spray any primer. I've also decided to paint the firewall the same color as the car. I think I've decided on Viper Red for the car. It still needs work, but here's where I'm at:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00703.jpg

Area around steering column

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00732.jpg

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

So I ordered a Vintage Air Gen IV from Frank. He said it shouldn't take too long to get to me, but after hearing a lot of the horror stories about how long guys are waiting, I thought I'd put my Speed Tech subframe on and start working with the gaps. I hope to get the brakes on later this week or next. Here's some pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00017.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00038.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00059.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT000410.jpg

Nice!!

John

Thanks John.

I finally got going on the front brakes. Not without issue though. I started putting them on last week when I found that Wilwood sent me too many of the bolts that attach the hub to the rotor and none of the bolts to attach the rotor to the adapter plate. I called them and after spending a few minutes convincing him that I knew what I was talking about, he agreed to send me the bolts. They were to me in Canada in about 4 days. Very impressed. So now that I had the bolts I was able to start attaching every thing. When I got to putting the entire hub assembly on I realized that when I bought new spindles, I never bothered to get new spindle nuts. Thankfully I called one of the local GM places and they were able to over night it. I went and got the nuts this morning and was able to get the passenger side finished. Here's some pics.

Rotor with adapter plate on and showing the safety wire. At this point I still needed to run safety wire around the bolts holding the hub on.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/backofrotor.jpg

The aluminum hub. Very nice piece of work.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/hub.jpg

The brakes are on :D

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/brakes.jpg

Close up

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/brakescloseup.jpg

I know some of you are wondering about the black coating. Apparently it will wear off with braking. I've been tracking my Vintage Air Gen IV kit and it should be to me by Monday or Tuesday. Next week I'll likely start mocking that up.

sure is going to be nice once completed... with every update i'm more impressed. Great Job :thumbsup:

Thanks Shifty.

Today was a good day. I got a knock at the door and my stuff from Vintage Air showed up. Thanks again Frank. It's a Vintage Air Gen IV Magnum universal kit. I didn't order a A/C pump yet as I haven't decided what serpentine kit I'm going with. I also didn't order any of the vents. I'm going to put a custom centre console into the car and am leaning towards putting an air vent on either side of the console. This kit came with all the mounting brackets, new defrost ductwork (thankfully as my other one was melted) and all the wiring. I also ordered one of the streamline 3 knob panel controls. I'm going to put it into the custom console so all my controls are central. I'm also going to end up getting one of the Prodigy Custom LS aluminum radiators that has an attached condenser. Here's some pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00077.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00086.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00097.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00108.jpg

So today I got the front sway bar mounted. My buddy confirmed and even gave me part of the money, that he's going buying my Foose Nitrous wheels and Falken tires. Now to figure out which new wheels and tires to go with. Still leaning towards Billet Specialties Fast Lanes, 10" in the back and 8" in the front with 315's back and 245 or 255 in front.

Next Friday or the following Monday I'll be going across the line to pick up some new exciting parts :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Will post pics of the parts as soon as I can.

Before my buddy comes and picks up the wheels/tires, I thought I would mount them on my car to see how it's going to sit. This is the first time my car has been outside in over 7 years. Here's some pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00166.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00157.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00218.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00207.jpg

Wooow its looking soo good. I wish I could build a full pro touring nova like yours.

LOL with the huge list of other stuff why did you get air conditioning now...lmao

Toss a motor in that thing and got beat on it. Lets see if we can put them over kill for brakes to good use

Wooow its looking soo good. I wish I could build a full pro touring nova like yours.


Thanks JeffersonC. Don't wish you could...just do it :D

LOL with the huge list of other stuff why did you get air conditioning now...lmao

Toss a motor in that thing and got beat on it. Lets see if we can put them over kill for brakes to good use

If you would have actually read the posts instead of just making smart *** comments about the way I'm building my car, you would have saw the reason I got the air conditioning unit now is so I can weld the brackets onto the inside of the firewall before I lay the primer and paint on the firewall. I'd rather not ruin new paint by welding it in after the fact. I guess I'm just planning ahead.

If you don't like the way I'm building my car.....don't look at the thread and keep your comments to yourself. Easy as that!!

i think he was joking (the LOL & lmao) ;)


hopefully no harm, no foul ;)

i think he was joking (the LOL & lmao) ;)


hopefully no harm, no foul ;)


I saw the LOL and lmao....to me it came across as sarcastic and being smart. If he was just joking around, I'll be the first one to apologize. I'm not here to **** anyone off and hope I haven't. He's posted on my thread a couple times, all which read very sarcastic to me. I don't want to turn the good nature of my thread into a ****ing match and if I did read too much into it, my apologizes. I was sick all day yesterday and that may have affected my judgement and I hope I was wrong. I know my build isn't for everyone and that's why it's my build. I have nothing against him and was actually hoping to bounce some ideas off him in the future as I like what he's doing with his car.

Im just pushing you to get this thing on the road, not being sarcastic at all..I normally keep only my posts to be information only, but when a fellow pro-touring enthusiast comes along Ive got to jab at him when I can.

Ive been gone from the forums for a long time and was hoping this thing was up and running, and once i saw you post about your new a/c unit i said ive got to say something. We are two different people, ill go out and have fun and brake something and wish i would have taken my time to do it right the first time and your the guy that does it right the first time....

Even though I get lot of update emails on your car, I wont post anymore comments

Im just pushing you to get this thing on the road, not being sarcastic at all..I normally keep only my posts to be information only, but when a fellow pro-touring enthusiast comes along Ive got to jab at him when I can.

Ive been gone from the forums for a long time and was hoping this thing was up and running, and once i saw you post about your new a/c unit i said ive got to say something. We are two different people, ill go out and have fun and brake something and wish i would have taken my time to do it right the first time and your the guy that does it right the first time....

Even though I get lot of update emails on your car, I wont post anymore comments


pm sent

This is the last that I want to mention about this on my thread as I want to get back to what it's really about....a car.

I want to apologize to everyone for my quick response to a comment that I misread. I had been quite sick the day before and was not in a good mood (not that that's an excuse) and I jumped to a conclusion. In respect to Chuck, I should have PM'd him and not posted it publicly. I don't want any of you to think I can't take jokes. Trust me...I can and I can give just as good. I should have known better anyways. It's hard when you are looking at text to interpret what the person is saying sometimes. I can't count the number of times I've had to call the wife after I sent a text message that she read wrong. So again..my apologizes to everyone, especially Chuck, a fellow pro-touring car lover. And please keep the comments coming, good, bad, sarcastic. I look forward to reading them.

Now back to the car......later today I will have pics of new parts. Heading out the door to get them now :hurray:

Thanks Mike, i/we appreciate your comments... i've found through the years that the type written word is misunderstood often due to the lack of infliction. happy/smiley faces help a lot, that's why they're there. i hope you and Chuck have everything sorted out, i/we appreciate everyone's participation here at Team Nova and don't wish for anyone to "not" participate especially due to a misunderstanding...

again, i hope everything's sorted out. if there's anything i can do, let me know ;)



JR

So I know many people decide to name their projects, well I've finally come up with a name for mine which I feel is appropriate. My build will now be known as project 'Overtime'. The reason I chose this name is in order for me to get this thing done sometime in the next decade, I'm going to have to work a bunch of overtime shifts. I already have 5 ten hours shifts planned for the next month, so it's a good start.

After much debate on what I was going to run for a motor...I finally made a decision. I am officially part of the LS group. I ended up going with one of the L92's that Frank at www.gpsuperstore.com had. For those of you that don't know what the L92 is, here's what Pace Performance has about it:

Standard equipment on the 2008 Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon Denali, the L92 has brought Corvette technology into the truck market. The L92 engine brings you the same 403HP @5700 RPM effort from a 6.2L Vortec V-8 small block that borrows from all of the features that have made our LS family of engines world renowned for thier efficiency, design and performance. Now the L92 is available to you as a crate engine from GM Performance Parts. The 6.2L L92 engine features an all aluminum design: deep skirt 6 bolt main LS block, variarble valve timing, coil on plug design, high-flow L92 heads designed with influences from the LS7 Corvette head, true 4-into-1 exhaust manifolds, hig volume intake plenum, beehive valve springs, cast aluminum rockers on needle bearings, and a large volume throttle body.

Here's also a good thread about it on www.ls1tech.com http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iv-internal-engine/499059-ls3-l92-info.html

This engine is 403hp and 417tq stock. The displacement is 378cu in. It is basically a truck version of the LS3. If I was to take out the VVT cam and put in a LS3 cam, they would be almost the same (from what I understand).

Here are my plans for the motor:
- Get rid of the truck intake and put on a car intake, either the corvette one or the new FAST 102mm intake
- Cam, springs, water pump and 3 bolt timing gear upgrade. Will likely go with a comp cam: 231 / 239 at .050, and 616 / 623 lift
- Vintage Air Frontrunner or Billet Specialties serpentine kit
- I plan on keeping the VVT technology. Right now Mast Motorsports is the only one that is producing an aftermarket computer to run this set up. I will likely go this route unless by the time I need it, there are more on the market
- Speed Tech/Stainless Works polished stainless long tube headers http://www.speedtech-performance.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=183/category_id=230/home_id=230/mode=prod/prd183.htm
- Autokraft oil pan and motor mounts
- polished valve covers with some type of coil relocation set up

With the cam upgrade, I've been told I should be at around 525hp. I'm hoping with the intake and headers upgrade, I will be closer to 550hp when I'm all done.

Anyways, enough yapping and onto the pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00234.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00252.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00243.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00313.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00262.jpg

I already bought the Autokraft oil pan and motor mounts. For some reason though the motor mounts were in the package. Need to make a phone call this morning. Amazing work though on this oil pan.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00335.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00347.jpg

And I also decided to get new Goodmark door hinges for both sides. I didn't like the Classic Industries ones. These ones look more like the original ones I took off so am much happier with them.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00355.jpg

Don't worry Mike! We all have our bad days.

Chucks a good guy and a wealth of knowledge.

L92 looks nice. Just wondering why you picked it over the LS3?

John

Thanks John. Yes we do all our bad days and unfortunately sometimes we make rash decisions when having those bad days.

As for the L92 over the LS3, I read a few articles that talked about the potential of the VVT technology so I thought I'd give it a shot. With the Canadian dollar gaining ground on the US dollar, it also made the L92 cheaper (although need to get an intake which the LS3 would have had). If I decide not to use the VVT and swap cams, I'll end up with a LS3 in the end anyways. I think I am going to stick with the VVT though as it will be an easy cam and springs swap along with the Mast controller and I'll be about 530hp.

Well definitely not as exciting as the last update, but I did get some work today. I had to take the subframe off again so I could get the firewall done and painted. Once that's done, the subframe will be back on for good.

Now that I have the motor and I know that I will be using a drive by wire throttle, I decided to smooth out the throttle cable hole and the throttle pedal mounts.

Two areas to smooth

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00424.jpg

Throttle hole smoothed

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00434.jpg

I posted this in the Body section also, but since this is my thread, I thought I'd post it here also. I know there are lots of great fabricators and body guys on this site, none of which would ever need any advice from a guy like me, but I thought I would share a tip a discovered today,all because I was lazy the other day.

This is for anyone who had a hole in a panel that they needed to fill in with more sheet metal. I'm sure a lot of us have sat there cutting and testing, cutting and testing until finally the filler piece is the right size. Sometimes it may take several attempts, but eventually we make it. Today I was doing some more work on smoothing my firewall now that I now I will be using a drive by wire throttle. I cut out the area I wanted to smooth and started looking at the hole I had to fill trying to figure out the best way to make a template. I happened to look over on the floor and saw a roll of masking tape that I was too lazy to pick up the other day and it gave me this idea.

I thought of taking pics after I had the tape on, but you'll get the point.

The area I wanted to fill in was the pedal holes to the left of the steering column hole.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00424.jpg

Once you have the hole cut, cover the entire hole with masking tape.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00445.jpg

I used an exacto knife to cut along the sides of the hole

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00454.jpg

I then stuck the newly cut piece of tape to some sheet metal giving me my template

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00465.jpg

If you cut it along the side of the tape, it will be the about the same size of the hole. Since I wanted to butt weld it, I cut a little smaller than the tape

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00474.jpg

Take the tape off and you have your patch

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00484.jpg

Tack it into place. The nice thing about trimming a bit smaller than the tape was it left me nice gap to fill in with weld

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00493.jpg

Finish your welding

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00503.jpg

And finally after some clean up

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00515.jpg

I'm also going to smooth out the two mounting holes for the emergency brake. I'm going to fab something up to mount the new Lokar unit when I get it. I had smoothed it out, but forgot to take my camera back to the shop with me so will post pics later.

These will be filled in

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00523.jpg

Nice work on your Nova. I'm really enjoying this thread.

BTW, could you post a pic of your CI door hinges? I'm curious as to what is different about them. My hinges are shot, and I'm debating about rebuilding them, or just replacing them.

Thanks.

-Russell

(edit)

And I also decided to get new Goodmark door hinges for both sides. I didn't like the Classic Industries ones. These ones look more like the original ones I took off so am much happier with them.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00355.jpg

Nice work on your Nova. I'm really enjoying this thread.

BTW, could you post a pic of your CI door hinges? I'm curious as to what is different about them. My hinges are shot, and I'm debating about rebuilding them, or just replacing them.

Thanks.

-Russell

Russell,

Sorry to take so long to get back to you. Thanks for the compliments. Here's some pics of the hinges. If you interested in them, let me know and I'll make you a good deal on them. I just decided to go to the Goodmark as everything else I've bought has been Goodmark. Here's the pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0118.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0120.jpg

Nothing major to update. The past couple months I've been pretty busy with other things. We spent 5 days in Vegas, I built a deck in the back yard and with all the forest fires in the area I've been working a bunch of overtime shifts making sure no one is looting in the evacuated areas. I've spent a bit of time on the car. I'm hoping next week to get the firewall primed and then to figure out the paint. I also bought a few new parts. Here's some pics:

I mentioned that I built a deck, here was the before pic of our backyard

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0023-3.jpg

Here's the after. The deck is about 400 square feet.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00282-1.jpg

Back to the car. When I was stripping the windshield channel, I found some rust

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00348.jpg

Out with the rust

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00356.jpg

In with the new

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00435.jpg

Other than that, I've just been getting the firewall ready for primer and paint. But did get new stuff

Autokraft motor mounts

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00485.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00494.jpg

Lakewood LS scattershield

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00524.jpg

Keisler hydraulic actuator kit. I went with this kit as I don't have to modify the firewall to mount the master

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00504.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0107.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00516.jpg

And finally some of you may saw that I ordered new wheels. I decided to go with New Gen Splitters wth the brushed centres and polished lips. I'll be running 18 x 10 with a 5.5" backspace on the back with Nitto 555R 305-35-18's. On the front I'll be running 18 x 8 with a 4.75" backspace with Nitto 555 245-40-18's. I was hoping to run 315's in the back but with and 18" wheel it just wouldn't fit. I could have ran 315-17's, but wanted to stay with the 18's. Here's a pic on Jon's (from Driverz Inc) Nova.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/Splitters.jpg

So I finally got some primer on the firewall. I did it in black to see how my body work would look and was told it would make a good base under red. Guess I need to do a bit more on it before I lay the paint. Thankfully I'm not painting the car black and the red paint should hide some of the blemishes. I also need to fix the orange peel look to it. Anyone have any suggestions. To be honest I'm a complete idiot when it comes to body work, especially using the spray guns so any advice would be great. I'm using these guns from DiVilbiss: http://www.eastwood.com/paint-equipment/paint-guns/devilbiss-auto-paint-and-priming-system.html

Here's a pic:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0108.jpg

Well after getting off the phone with Carl aka 2 black ragtops, I've decided to strip the firewall back down to the metal and use a different primer. I'm going to use Nexa's high build epoxy primer. I went out for about 1/2 hour and got a pretty big area stripped, but need to get more 80 grit sandpaper. Guess it will wait until Tuesday now until I have another 4 off. Thanks again for the advice Carl.

So now I'm not going to use the Nexa primer...I just ended up ordering a gallon of BASF's high build epoxy primer. Will be nice, can spray it on and block sand it. Less spraying and doing the same job. It's not cheap, but it's a good product. If anyone wants parts numbers, they are EP569 for grey, EP769 for black and PA897 for the activator. Will hope to spray the firewall again next Wednesday and will let it sit for a while. Thanks again Carl for all your help.

I know I haven't updated this thread in a while that's why there's a few replies all at once. Thought I would get this one up to date.

So I got the firewall stripped again and sprayed it with BASF's high build epoxy primer. When I was stripping it, I decided to get rid of some of the mud that I had put on there and glad I did. I think it looks way better now. I guess it also helps that I got some help with the settings on the gun. Makes a big difference. I'm going to let it sit for a week or so and get to the blocking.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0116.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0117.jpg

Looks sharp but I dont think blocking would really be needed for a firewall? A little shot of guide coat and a DA sander with 600 and finish with 800 should work. But your the project manager so its your call.

Looks sharp but I dont think blocking would really be needed for a firewall? A little shot of guide coat and a DA sander with 600 and finish with 800 should work. But your the project manager so its your call.

I know it's a little over board. But on one hand it's good practice and I figure that I've spent this much time on the car, a couple more days on the firewall isn't going to hurt and on the other hand....I'm going to have a sweet looking firewall.

This isn't a very exciting update, but it's an update. Here's after about 4 or 5 hours sanding and applying filler. Again if anyone is wondering, I'm using Evercoat's Rage Extreme body filler.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0193.jpg

And after a few more coats of primer....definitely is looking good :hurray:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0197.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0199.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0200.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0202.jpg

Now I need to choose a shade of red for the car. I know I want something that is a deep red but I keep finding ones that end up too maroon looking at night. I might end up going back to the cherry red that I had on it originally. I might throw in some metallic to make it different.

Yess that firewall looks slick as butter. You should fab up some custom covers for those body mount nut access holes (or whatever you call them). Iv always wanted to get around to making some as those holes are uuuugly

Thanks JeffersonC. You know ever since you mentioned that about making some cover, I keep thinking that I will add that to the plans.

Well I finally got the firewall painted. Overall I'm happy with the way it turned out considering I did it in my garage. There are a few dust specs and a couple places where a dark spot of red came out, but it is only the firewall and when the motor and everything is in there, it will be barely noticeable. Unfortunately I ended up with a few runs at some of the holes in the firewall. I didn't mask them from the inside and ended up with runs. Not sure if I'm going to bother fixing them or not as the fenders will cover them up and will never be seen by the public's eye.

Next week I hope to put the subframe back on and roll the car outside to get some pics of it in the sun.

Here's some pics:

My home made spray booth. I always had 2 litre bottles near by so I could keep the floor wet.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00072-2.jpg

The HOK universal black base coat (BC25 with RU310 reducer) is on.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00082-1.jpg

And finally the HOK apple red (KBC11 with RU310 reducer) with 3 coats of HOK clear (UC35 with RU310 reducer and KU100 catalyst). The lens on my camera was a bit dirty.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00116.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00147.jpg

WOW!!! Beautiful color!!!!

John

It's not done yet??!!! What's taking so long??

(says the guy that just got his car on the track after ten years)

WOW!!! Beautiful color!!!!

John

Thanks John. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm even happier with everyone's response to the color, it definitely makes me even happier with my choice.

It's not done yet??!!! What's taking so long??

(says the guy that just got his car on the track after ten years)

Tell me about it. I was thinking about that same question the other day...why is it taking me so long. But I guess when all the parts I'm buying are new and well...not cheap....it takes a little longer. I've always told myself I'm not going to go into huge debt to get this car done. I have most of the big purchases now, but still a few more to go.

Mike, what made you chose the QA1's over the Vari shock on your Prodigy bar?

Mike, what made you chose the QA1's over the Vari shock on your Prodigy bar?

When I originally bought a set of Speed Tech control arms and coil overs, they were QA1. Then when I bought the Speed Tech subframe, it came with QA1's. I went with QA1's in the back to keep it the same all around. I've heard good things and bad things about QA1 but thought I'd give them a shot. So no real reason, other than I had them on the front and thought I'd match the back. Are you thinking about getting a prodigy bar soon??

Im still trying to decide if I want to do a 4 link, 3 link or a Watt's link. Im a big shock kind of guy and love dealing with Fox and King racing shocks in the offroad world but Im not a huge fan of most of the shocks that are available for our car's...I tore apart my QA1's to do some valve work on them and there not the quality I expected, however Im not farmilar with the street car world in dialing in shocks...This maybe the kind of shocks we live with, dont get me wrong they rode good, just not sure how they compare to other shocks..Plus I stripped the shock shaft and ordered a new one it was $14.00..lol

In dealing in the offroad world you base your shocks off free bleed, compreesion, rebound and travel. I understand its different in a street car, but I would have expected maybe a little better shock for the money. Although having a decent pair of performing shocks on the street maybe like taking the prom queen to the prom and not getting a hotel afterwards....

I'm going to try the QA1's and see how they do. If in the end I don't like them...I'll likely switch to a different brand. You should give Frank a call and talk to him about rear suspension set ups. I know he's installed and tested quite a few of them.

I got the firewall wet sanded and polished today. Tomorrow I'll put the subframe back on for good!!! :D Next week.....new parts!!!

Here's some pics:

After wetsanding

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00208.jpg

After buffing

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00244.jpg

And of course the reflection shots

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00235.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00253.jpg

wow i love it keep up the good work man. looks amazing.

Thanks kkkunde.

I got the subframe back on. This time for good!!!! I also decided to polish the firewall again with swirl remover/polish. Hard to tell in the pics, but it did make a difference. You may notice that one of the front shocks are missing. That's because the ones I had in there were for a small block and now that I'm going with the LS conversion, I need some lighter ones. I'm also going a bit shorter as there was no room for adjustment on these ones.

Onto the pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00315.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00324.jpg

You can see where I was practicing before I painted :D

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00357.jpg

Scherp,
The car is looking awesome..just sat down and read the thread from start to now..you do some great work...wishI had some of your talent...makes me want to tear mine down and and do the engine compartment like you did..Well maybe after the 1st of the year..keep up the good work..Bravo!!!:hurray::beers:

Scherp,
The car is looking awesome..just sat down and read the thread from start to now..you do some great work...wishI had some of your talent...makes me want to tear mine down and and do the engine compartment like you did..Well maybe after the 1st of the year..keep up the good work..Bravo!!!:hurray::beers:

Thanks. Honestly I don't it's all that much talent. It's all trial and error....and a whole bunch of luck. Thanks again.

WOOHOO new parts!!!!!!!! :D

Speed Tech steering shaft kit for the rack and pinion. It will be used with the headers that Stainless Works and them built for their subframe.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00325.jpg

Since I sold the hyrdaboost, I decided to go with an 8" dual diaphragm booster, polished stainless of course

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00226.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00245.jpg

When it came to choosing a clutch, I know a lot of guys recommended going with the LS7 one. From what I understood, it was rated to 500hp at the wheels. I hope to be around 560 - 570 at the engine so would be close. I finally decided to go with a Monster level 3.5 clutch. Monster is fairly new but have nothing but good reviews over at www.ls1tech.com (http://www.ls1tech.com) And they offer a one year, 12000 mile warranty. They guarantee it will find the weak links in your drive train. The level 3.5 is rated at 700hp at the wheels, but is designed for daily driving.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00087.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00092-2.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00109.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00117.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00158.jpg

I know I could have gone with a stock LS3 intake, but this one was so tempting. Especially because where I bought it from had it listed on their website for $100 cheaper than it was supposed to be going for and they gave it to me for that price. I plan on getting a Nick Williams 102mm drive by wire throttle body, or if FAST come out with one I may look at theirs.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT000510.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00062-2.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00078.jpg

And finally....the new wheels and tires. Overall I'm very happy with the wheels. The only thing that will take a little getting used to is that I have always liked the really shiny chrome wheels. These are brushed aluminum in the centre and polished around the outside. They are then clear powder coated taking away some of the shine. Other than I wish they were a bit more shiny....I really like them. For those that don't know which wheels they are, they are New Gen's Splitters with Nitto 555's.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00316.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00027.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00039.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00018.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00336.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00349.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00358.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00365.jpg

Nice little parts list you got going..Im running a Fast intake and it was worth it..Of course mine was free..lol Not sure if I would have ponied the cash for it, but deffinately an improvement, especially with the bigger throttle body..

If you ever get froggy try the Nitto NT05's...fun fun fun tire....I ran the NT-555's very nice tire, but not sticky enough..You"ll find out once you drop in that LS3...That motor wakes up and works very well with some traction..lol

Nice little parts list you got going..Im running a Fast intake and it was worth it..Of course mine was free..lol Not sure if I would have ponied the cash for it, but deffinately an improvement, especially with the bigger throttle body..

If you ever get froggy try the Nitto NT05's...fun fun fun tire....I ran the NT-555's very nice tire, but not sticky enough..You"ll find out once you drop in that LS3...That motor wakes up and works very well with some traction..lol

Thanks Chuck. I kept looking at the FAST intake as it was being released and thought..why not. I needed an intake so thought I might as well go big. It's supposed to add a good chunk of hp with the 102mm throttle body also.

I've looked at the NT05's...sweet looking tire. If the 555's don't hook, I'll definitely give them a shot. The nice thing about the 555's is they don't kill the bank. I think they were only $250 a tire for 305's.

Well I decided to atleast put the rear wheels on today. I had to take the rear brakes apart though as I had the rotors on backwards. I'm getting pretty good at installing the safety wire :D I hope to have the fronts on next week as I go into my 4 work days starting tomorrow.

Before I got to the wheels, I spent a bit more time reorganizing the shop. I've put in a few shelving units to make more room. If any of you have ever wondered what you could do with your air tools, here's what I did with mine. I had them under a cupboard before, but the cupboard went to the dump so I made a new shelf. The initial cost isn't cheap as all the female air ends are not cheap. I plan on adding 3 more still for a total of 15.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00384.jpg

So now with the 305's, I still have about 2" clearance inside. I think once I wear these tires down, I'm going to send the wheels away to be widened (I can get them done for $150 each where a lot of the wheel companies want $400 each) and look at some even wider tires. Now that I have the wheels on the car, I'm really happy with the way they look. Here's some pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00505.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00436.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00446.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00455.jpg

shame on you !!! the license plate light assembly hanging on like that !!! :eek:


the car is lookin' Great !!! thanks for keepin' us up to date ;)

Who is going to do the wheel widening?

Thanks Chuck. I kept looking at the FAST intake as it was being released and thought..why not. I needed an intake so thought I might as well go big. It's supposed to add a good chunk of hp with the 102mm throttle body also.

I've looked at the NT05's...sweet looking tire. If the 555's don't hook, I'll definitely give them a shot. The nice thing about the 555's is they don't kill the bank. I think they were only $250 a tire for 305's.

I paid $185.00 for 245/40 and $213.00 for $275.00..For the NT-05's

Oh and after having a mail order tune from Wait for me perfromance, the car didnt always seam 100% so I found a LS guy local that had HP tuners..OMFG...My car pulls wicked, and cruises on the highway, its more like a sleeper. I do 80 while getting 19mpg all while crusing at 22-2,300 rpm...It has tons of top end..You will poop your pants with your setup. With a street tune he cailbrated the MAF sensor, anytime you change something on these motors that has to do with air you need to tune it..Another piece of advice is put your air cleaner tucked under your fender, My inlet temp was 125 he said he likes to see 105 or less, I live in a different climate so that might not be an issue but just an fyi...

I have stainless works long tubes, Lunati 599/601 cam 92mm TB 90mm Fast intake and putting 405 to the rear wheels...He said high flowing heads are a waste of money, but you've got the best flowing heads, so its no waste for you, but the cam makes a huge difference..Oh and he said LS motors love nitrous...mmmhhuuuaaa

Im stoked for you....


Now hurry the F-up!

If you need any advice dont hesitate, I've got my car dialed and I think I can give you a little more advice with how stuff works on the car..Learned more from this guy then I did from LStech...

shame on you !!! the license plate light assembly hanging on like that !!! :eek:


the car is lookin' Great !!! thanks for keepin' us up to date ;)

Thanks Shifty. It's funny I didn't even notice the light there until you mentioned. Damn lights anyways :D

Who is going to do the wheel widening?

If I decide to get them widened, this is the place I was talking about. http://www.greensautomotive.com/test/ I know when I was looking at getting my Foose wheels widened, it was $150/wheel.

I paid $185.00 for 245/40 and $213.00 for $275.00..For the NT-05's

Oh and after having a mail order tune from Wait for me perfromance, the car didnt always seam 100% so I found a LS guy local that had HP tuners..OMFG...My car pulls wicked, and cruises on the highway, its more like a sleeper. I do 80 while getting 19mpg all while crusing at 22-2,300 rpm...It has tons of top end..You will poop your pants with your setup. With a street tune he cailbrated the MAF sensor, anytime you change something on these motors that has to do with air you need to tune it..Another piece of advice is put your air cleaner tucked under your fender, My inlet temp was 125 he said he likes to see 105 or less, I live in a different climate so that might not be an issue but just an fyi...

I have stainless works long tubes, Lunati 599/601 cam 92mm TB 90mm Fast intake and putting 405 to the rear wheels...He said high flowing heads are a waste of money, but you've got the best flowing heads, so its no waste for you, but the cam makes a huge difference..Oh and he said LS motors love nitrous...mmmhhuuuaaa

Im stoked for you....


Now hurry the F-up!

If you need any advice dont hesitate, I've got my car dialed and I think I can give you a little more advice with how stuff works on the car..Learned more from this guy then I did from LStech...

Thanks Chuck. It won't be until the spring now until I get the computer and cam for mine. Have to pay off the parts I just bought before I get another load. Plans for mine include the Mast Motorsports controller and their SS cam. Not sure of the specs, but says it should be around 560 with their set up. I also plan on using the Stainless Works full length headers that are designed to fit the Speed Tech subframe. When I get the Mast stuff, I'll pay the extra bit and get the software to go with it so when I do find someone to dial it, I'll already have the software to go with it, or I'll play with it myself. I think I'll be really happy with the output of the L92, and I'll have the VVT to give me the good mileage to boot. Not sure if I'll go the nitrous route or not...but then again...you never know :devil:

That is gonna be one wicked acadian!!!!!

John

Thanks John. I can confidently say there won't be another one like it where I live.

I got the front end bolted back together with the shorter coils. I also got the front wheels on. Thought I would hang one fender and door to see how it's going to look. I think I like it :D

Next on the to do list is to get the tranny mated up to the motor and drop it in. I'll pull the subframe back out to put it all in at once instead of risking dinging up the firewall. I will need to check the clearance on the clutch as well as the scattershield.

Onto the pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00544.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00565.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00575.jpg

I started doing some work on the engine today. I know the LS conversion is becoming almost the norm, so I thought I be quite detailed in what I'm doing. Any area where I had any questions, I will post more pics. Hopefully there aren't too many to make it boring. Onto the pics:

First thing was to take off the stock oil pan

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00644.jpg

Yep it's definitely a LS

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00626.jpg

Replace the stock oil pickup with the one included with the Autokraft oil pan. After talking to another member who did the L92 swap, I decided to leave the stock windage pan on also.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00655.jpg

The stock oil pan gasket is metal so there's no reason not to reuse it

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00665.jpg

To get the stock gasket off, I had to drill out two rivets holding it in place

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00674.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00684.jpg

Gasket in place

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00693.jpg

Autokraft pan on

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00723.jpg

When using the Autokraft pan, the stock oil pan bolts are a bit too long. You can either put washers under then or get new bolts. I decided to get new bolts as they look way nicer than the stock one. They cost me about 4 bucks for all of them with washers. Torqued to 80 inch/lbs as per GM specs.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00733.jpg

I also put on the Autokraft LS conversion motor mounts. I've seen them put on several different ways, but after confirming with Autokraft, these are the proper way of mounting them. The driver's side and passenger side are both marked, so unless you can't read, it's pretty straight forward. Also, they are designed that when the engine is sitting in the car, you should be able to read the writing on the side of the plates right side up.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00744.jpg

This is with the motor upside down

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00753.jpg

Next came getting rid of the truck intake. If anyone is looking for one with drive by wire throttle body, I'm wanting to get rid of this one. Brand new, never been started.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00763.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00773.jpg

Taped off the heads.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00783.jpg

Next was to get rid of the ugly accessory bracket

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00823.jpg

Looks way better already

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00833.jpg

I then took the engine off the stand to start hooking up the scattershield and to dial it in.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00852.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00862.jpg

The stock flex plate (also for sale if someone wants them as well as the stock exhaust manifolds)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00872.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00882.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00922.jpg

You'll notice there is one bolt missing, that is for the dialing in process

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00972.jpg

That's where I got to today. I started to dial in the scattershield, but didn't have all the hardware to properly secure it to the block. I'm going to get the nuts and bolts in the morning and will hopefully have it dialed in. I will post pics of how to dial in the scattershield/bellhousing when I'm done.

You gonna run a meziere water pump and an ATI degreed damper pulley?

John

You gonna run a meziere water pump and an ATI degreed damper pulley?

John


My plans were to run a Vintage Air Frontrunner kit. It comes with a Stewart Hi-performance aluminum water pump and an ATI balancer. I need to confirm that it will fit though with the VVT left on. I see Mast Motorsports has L92 spacers to allow kits to fit with the VVT. They sell VA kits, although they don't advertise the frontrunner kit so hopefully it will work with mine.

So a little update, a very frustrating one for me, but hopefully someone will learn from my mistake. I started dialing in the scattershield. First I had to buy a dial indicator and a magnetic base. Some write ups I read said you could use a 3" bolt and a c-clamp, but for $18 I thought the magnetic base would be easier. The dial indicator cost me about $20. You can also use a test indicator for this.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0098.jpg

I hooked the dial indicator up to the magnetic base and put it on the flywheel to give a good picture of how it looks without the scattershield on.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0100.jpg

The scattershield went on and I put the dial indicator back on the flywheel. Here's some pics of how it looks

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0106.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT01073.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT01162.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT0114.jpg

After posting several questions on another forum, I found out this was not the right way to do it

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT01082.jpg

It needs to be as flat as possible like this

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT01102.jpg

Once the dial indicator was in place, I turned the engine 360 degrees and found the high and low points. My high point was at about 7 o'clock which put my low point around 2 o'clock. Your high point should be almost across from your high point. Once you get your high point and low point numbers, you take the difference and divide by 2. Then you get the off set dowels accordingly. For mine, I needed 0.0021 dowels.

Here's where I made a big mistake. It was recommend that I get some dowels from http://www.robbmcperformance.com/ but I thought "they're all the same and I can just get them in Canada and not have to pay the duty". So I had a pair of Lakewood ones shipped to me. They cost $19 for the dowels and $15 shipping. The Lakewood ones are supposed to turn using a screwdriver......I call bulls$*t. I'll get back to that in a minute.

So I finally got the new dowels

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00019.jpg

And it was time to take out the old ones. This was quite easy. I took off the exhaust manifolds as they're not being used anyways and used a long bolt. I then tapped them out with a hammer.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00284.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT000412.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00079.jpg

Now you want to put some grease on in the dowel holes and on the dowel and tap them in.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00098.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00118.jpg

Before putting them in, look at them and find out where the high point on the dowel is, for both. You want to have them parallel in the block.

Here's where I was/am getting confused. My high reading was at 7 o'clock and my low was at 2 o'clock. I wasn't sure which way to point the dowels. After watching a video by Keisler, I found you want to point the high side of the dowel towards the biggest number you got with the dial indicator. This is because that number is telling you that it is 0.0035 (for example) away from the center. I think this is correct, but please if someone knows...correct me and help me figure this damn process out. I want to do it right.

So I went to try and turn the dowel with a screwdriver, like it said to do, and I'm not sure who was doing it, but there is no way in hell those things were moving. So I grabbed some vice grips and was able to turn them with those. I kept turning the dowels and remeasuring but ended up no farther ahead. The annoying thing is everytime you need to turn the dowels, you have to loosen all the bolts holding the scattershield, turn the dowels and then tighten them back up. On the passenger side I had no problem fitting the vice grips but on the driver's side, I had to cut out the mechanical linkage bracket. Good thing I'm going hydraulic.

Before

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/IMG00050.jpg

After. I'm going to grind it down smooth and put some red paint on to clean it up.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00263.jpg

That last picture gave a glimpse as to why not to use the 'screwdriver type' of dowels. You can only clamp them so many times before they end up looking like this

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00219.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00159.jpg

So basically I wasted $40 on dowels when I was told to get the good ones to start with. Take my advice....get the good ones to start with!!!

Yesterday I called RobbMC Performance and they will ship me a new set on Monday. The new dowels run $28 and the thing that pi****es me off...I paid $15 to have the first ones shipped from a place that is 3 hours away. RobbMC is charging $10 to be shipped from Nevada. The difference between the good ones and the Lakewood ones are that once they are in place, you can use a open end wrench to turn them. They also have a screw down the middle that allows you to loosen the dowels so they turn. Once in final place, you tighten the screw and they are locked in place. Here's a link to the good ones: http://www.robbmcperformance.com/products/dowels.html

Another thing I found during all the trial and error runs was that my magnetic base was not sitting completely flat on the flywheel. I could lightly touch the shaft on it and it would rock. I found out why. When it was sitting on the flywheel, the lip on the crank that comes through the flywheel (hopefully that makes sense) sits slightly higher, causing there to be a ridge. Also, the magnetic base would not sit flat between the two bolts as it was a little bit two wide. Nothing a grinder can't fix.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00295.jpg

So today I am no farther ahead, but actually down $40 and a few frustrating hours. Hopefully next week I will get a chance to put the new dowels in and get this done once and for all. I just hope that I have all the kinks worked out and it goes smoothly.

Please if anyone has any suggestions or advice on dialing in the scattershield, please feel free to join in. I want this to be as informative as possible for anyone reading this.

Today was a good day. I got the new RobbMC dowels on Monday and really wanted to take another shot at getting the scatter shield dialed in so thought I would try it today. If you wondering what the big deal is about the RobbMC dowels, there is a huge difference between them and the Lakewood ones. You'll see in the pics. I was able to get it dialed in....and on the first try I got it to 0.0035" :D :D :D :D As the minimum recommended is 0.005", I wasn't going to play around with it any more. Onto the pics.

The new RobbMC dowels. They are .021. You can vaguely see a flat spot on the top of them. That is so you can use a 9/16 open end wrench to turn them while in the block instead of a flat screw driver which does not work.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00425.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00486.jpg

Here's the two side by side. Huge difference

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00525.jpg

Here's the old one's sticking through the scatter shield. No wonder they got chewed up

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00496.jpg

And the new ones

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00534.jpg

Now that I ground down the sides if the magnetic base for the dial indicator, it sat on the flywheel completely flat and there was no movement. A huge must for doing this.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00545.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00555.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00566.jpg

Now that the dial indicator was in place, it was time to get my readings. This time I decided to get only the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock readings. Last time I was writing them down on pieces of paper and trying to remember which was which or I had a bunch of pieces of paper going with a ton of diagrams. Here's a very easy way to keep track of your measurements. Get a dry erase marker and write it on the face. When you need to repeat, wipe off the marks and start over. Here's my readings.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00627.jpg

With these readings I was so happy. I tightened the screws in the dowels and set them in place.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00582.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00576.jpg

Not sure if I'll get it done today or not, but I plan on doing a new thread showing how to dial in the scatter shield will a bunch of pics.

Now that that was done...it was time to measure the clutch.

I didn't take a bunch of pics of this process as I know there are quite a few threads out there, but here's the engine with the Monster on

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00675.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00685.jpg

I took the measurements and found the following: The difference between the end of the clutch fingers and the face of the scatter shield was 3 1/8". The difference between the face of the trans and the top of the throwout bearing when it was fully compressed was 2 3/8" giving me a difference of 3/4". According to the instructions from Keisler, the ideal difference would be 1/4", so it looks like I need 1/2" shims. I've pm'd Shafi at Keisler as I'm not sure if these are shims or not. They were included in the kit. They seem to be shims, but have no threaded holes to mount the throwout bearings. Anyone know if these are shims as they are 1/2" thick together, and that's exactly what I need.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00694.jpg

I also used the RobbMC dowels! Really nice, and fast shipping too. Dowels is definitely not a place to go for the cheap stuff, could save a lot of head ache.

Project is looking nice!

i used the RobbMC dowels too... they're the best. at www.JollyRodder.com i have the dowls linked along with a great tech article on how to properly dial in a bell housing along with other info of possible interest.

yes, it CAN be a royal PITA to dial it all in but in the end it'll be worth it.

sorry ya had so many headaches, i wish ya the best... still one of the best projects i've seen :thumbsup:

Thanks guys. Yes I am definitely glad I went with the RobbMC ones. I just with I would have listened when I was told to get them in the first place.

I spent a couple hours in the shop yesterday and today. I finally got the damn scatter shield dialed in to within specs. It's at 0.005" both ways so I am happy with that. Here's my readings for the final time.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT000110.jpg

Once that was done, I had to swap the bearing plate or whatever it's called from the one that came with the tranny for a mechanical clutch set up for the new hydraulic set up.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00635.jpg

With it off

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00656.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00666.jpg

When you're putting the new one on, you have to be careful as there's a shim behind it that has to go back into place

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00714.jpg

New plate on

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00754.jpg

I had already done this step and knew I needed to use the two 1/4" shims, but I thought I'd post a pic of how you measure it. I've explained on the previous page what you need to measure.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00724.jpg

Shims going on

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00734.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00774.jpg

Once the shims were, bolted on the hydraulic throwout bearing

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00813.jpg

And then the scatter shield

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT000710.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00873.jpg

Then I had to install the pilot bearing. I read on one of the forums to freeze the bearing over night, so that's what I did. It went in pretty easy.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00883.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00067.jpg

The Monster is back on...this time for good!!!

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00088.jpg

And finally....the two have mated :D

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT001010.jpg

I debated about pulling the subframe and dropping it in today, but instead I thought I would run cable coax to the shop while the ground was still soft enough to do it. Next week I will drop the motor/trans in.

Nice that it worked out in the end and no hiccups during this session. Looks clean!

Thanks Magnus. It was a bit of a headache...but like you said in the end it all worked out.

I got the motor and transmission onto the subframe today. I thought the subframe was back on the car for good, but it was so much easier to put the motor/trans in when it's out...especially when you're doing it by yourself. The one thing everyone should get to make the job easier..is an engine leveler, something like this one: http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/80048/10002/-1
I didn't get the subframe bolted back to the car yet as I need to get some touch up paint for the scattershield and I have a new shifter coming that I may need to modify the shifter hole for.

Onto the pics:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT000111.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT000311.jpg

I really wanted to see how the FAST intake would look so I put it in place. It's going to look so sweet with that red.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00068.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00089.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT001510.jpg

One question for you guys though who have the Autokraft oil pan, what do I need to get for here? I just put the stock one on for now to keep crap out.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/PICT00127.jpg

Thats it, there is nothing else unless you run an oil pressure switch to that, then you would need to get an early F-body cover that has the pipe nipple on top..Either then that you re-use that thing off your old pan..Thats whats on mine..

There were so many different pan types that GM made those block off plates for cars that different oil pick up configurations...

Your good man!

Thats it, there is nothing else unless you run an oil pressure switch to that, then you would need to get an early F-body cover that has the pipe nipple on top..Either then that you re-use that thing off your old pan..Thats whats on mine..

There were so many different pan types that GM made those block off plates for cars that different oil pick up configurations...

Your good man!


Thanks Chuck. Where do you have your oil pressure hooked up?

I ran mine off the back of the motor..I bought some metric adapters for cheap and am running my Autometer full sweep sensor right on top..Worked out perfectly..It is easier to do with the intake out..Just an FYI

Edit: Meaning I replaced my OE oil sensor..its just a dummy light anyways

Thanks Chuck.

Not a bug update...but got some new parts.

Tremec's new shifter. Thanks Gene!!! According to Gene: The new Tremec shifter is lower profile and has spring biasing adjustment. It also make provisions for the 2-3 shift. Like he also said...since I have never used my shifter yet, I won't know the difference, but I'm taking his word on it.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000130.jpg

I also decided to get the new Speed Tech body mounts. I had the original silver ones and got them before Killer Customs bought the company. I thought I would go with the black anodized ones instead. Thanks Roger!!!

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000131.jpg

It's nice for dummies like me, they have put 1, 2 or 3 lines in them to tell where they go.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000132.jpg

If I don't spend a couple hours in the shop tomorrow, likely won't be until the new year. That's okay as last week we were down to -20 Celsius so was getting a bit cold.

We've had a cold snap for the past few weeks and with Christmas and New Years I really haven't had a chance to get into the shop at all. With reading about all the guys that are having to sell their projects, I knew I had to get into the shop today even if it was for a couple hours. Fired up a couple 220 heaters and got the shop to about 10 or 12 C or about 50 F. Got to spend a couple hours out there, not a major update but an update none the less.

I started by changing the old Tremec shifter to the new improved one

The old one

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000213.jpg

I'll admit I didn't know what to expect when I took the shifter off. I had no clue how it attached. Pretty simple set up, especially to swap the shifter from front to back.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000219.jpg

Before I put the new on one, I thought I would take some side by side shots to show the differences. The one on the right is the new improved one. You can the screws which allow you to make adjustments on the new shifter.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000216.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000215.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000217.jpg

And the new shifter is on the tranny.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000220.jpg

I know some guys were debating if after market aluminum mounts needed the factory shims when putting into a Nova. Speedtech has assured me they don't require the shims and here's why. The one on the left is the firewall mount and is higher than the back one to make up for the shims.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000221.jpg

And finally the subframe is attached to the body for good :D:hurray: It still needs to be aligned, but I had to put it on the ground to see how it looks. Aligning it by myself should be fun :(

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000222.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000225.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000232.jpg

Lots of room to spare

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000224.jpg

And my secret weapon. Two L92's :devil:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000226.jpg

I had to cut the shifter hole a bit to adjust for the changing it around. I still need to trim a bit more to make it more even all around. I plan on making a cover to fit over the hole. Do any of you think it would be an issue making a cover and putting some seam sealer underneath and using rivets to secure it down to the floor. I want to be able to just drill out the rivets if I ever need to access the shifter.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000230.jpg

Mike thanks for all the pics and information. I am getting ready to do the TKO swap on my 71. As far as the patch on the floor hump goes I think it will work fine. I had to do that for the T10 that I have in my car now.

Thanks Allen. I`ve decided that I`m going to use rivet nuts to attach the cover to the hump.

I finally had a couple hours this morning to go play in the shop. My step daughter started a new school this semester and hasn't made any new friends yet so I have been taking her out for lunch on my days off. It's amazing how that interferes with my shop time :devil:

I borrowed this idea from Billy's (72novadriver) car. http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k411/72novadriver/gascapweb.jpg I love the way it look so thought I would do the same thing to mine. Billy made his insert, but I cheated. I found someone who was willing to cut out the filler cap portion of a tail panel from a 67 Camaro.

Bought a filler cap from Chassis Works. Beautiful piece. Not cheap though. I know there are cheaper ones out there, but I decided to go with this one.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000270.jpg

Panel from the Camaro

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000269.jpg

Cut it down to a better size

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000275.jpg

There's a bit of a contour to these, so I had to finesse it a bit

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000272.jpg

Had to clean up the area where I was going to weld it into place

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000274.jpg

I had to find centre and start cutting

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000276.jpg

Temporarily in place

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000278.jpg

Welded into place and the filler cap is in place for a test fit. It's missing the gasket in behind so will stick out a little farther. I might make a thicker gasket so it is a little more flush with the tail panel.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000281.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000282.jpg

Now I have to modify the trunk to fit the filler neck.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000283.jpg

Hopefully I'll get out to the shop again in the morning and finish up the welding and start fitting the filler neck. What do you guys think??

I think it looks really clean. Lets see some pics when its grinded and cleaned up.

Thanks Magnus.

Not much of an update, but it's one anyways. After looking at where I have the gas filler panel, I thought it might be sitting too low once the bumper was on. I put the tail lights on and measured and found that the bumper likely would have been right at the bottom of the filler cap so I decided to move it up slightly. I also spent some time cleaning up the welds. The area that has some crack/lines/whatever you would call them is a bit indented so I will need to do a bit of mud work there so I'm not really concerned. Next plan is to get some exhaust the same diameter as the filler neck and figure out where I need to drill a hole through the floor. Here's the pics:

You can see how much I moved it up. It's about 1/4".

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000290.jpg

All cleaned up

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000292.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/scherp69/P1000293.jpg

What a great looking project so far Mike!

Very Very Nice !!!!:yes: