Justin9 Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 (edited) It's time to start another build thread. You will see a lot of the same steps with this build as the last one. Although I'm building the body style I want this time, the 93-97 Camaro body style was never a favorite of mine, and I always wanted a Firebird, so that's what I'm going to do. Yesterday, I moved my new trailer and some of the tools and parts we have left (btw, anyone want a deal on 2nd gen RX7 parts, please message me). I have so far killed 7 pigeons (22 shellshot... fun!) and had to sweep/clean a large amount of crap/feathers, but I'm close to being able to enter the place and not wear gloves to touch anything. But hey, the guy is letting me use his completely empty 60x40 metal building for a steal so I'm not complaining... this should be temporary until I can start on a place of my own, until then, we will build... The plan is to outsource the roll cage, seat mounting, fuel cell mounting out to a third party. I just don't have the tools and equipment to try it again yet, I mean, it took me 10 years of birthdays and Christmas requests to get where I was, building my own cages, and I know it will take some time to get back there and money, and I have more time than money. Today, @MTD2799 and I moved the chassis to the shop, across town, in the rain.. a rolling chassis, but luckily it had brakes. It is partly gutted, so that will save some trouble. I have the 94 LT1 Camaro I've been driving, it runs ok, it has a miss for sure that I will need to address when I put the engine and go through it. Edited February 11, 2018 by Justin9 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted February 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 I've already order a new Ultrashield Road Racing Seat that should be here tomorrow, and I have a new Fuel Safe 18 gallon tank sitting in the dining room. I've also got to spend some time putting together all my new equipment, welders, plasma cutter, air compressor, tool box, and hopefully the mechanic will have my injectors done in my F350 in a week or so, so he can start on the wife's A/C compressor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technical Advisory Committee Ray Franck Posted February 11, 2018 Technical Advisory Committee Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 Great news brother , ain't nothin like some Road Atlanta ta get ya goin. . Wish I was close enough to lend a hand ..good luck to ya , you deserve it ... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technical Advisory Committee Chris Huggins Posted February 12, 2018 Technical Advisory Committee Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 Might this be of use to you? https://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/d/lt1-and-t56-transmission/6494003849.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted February 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 4 hours ago, Huggy said: Might this be of use to you? https://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/d/lt1-and-t56-transmission/6494003849.html That's kind of pricey for just an engine and trans, I mean, i bought a running driving car for $2300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technical Advisory Committee Chris Huggins Posted February 13, 2018 Technical Advisory Committee Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 1 minute ago, Justin9 said: That's kind of pricey for just an engine and trans, I mean, i bought a running driving car for $2300 sorry, carryon then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted February 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 13 hours ago, Huggy said: sorry, carryon then. I appreciate it though... it never hurts to have spare engines and trans... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted February 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 Deposit paid for tubing today... just waiting for a start date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 Looking forward to this. One "upside" is you're familiar with the build now. Crappy way to get experience, but shouldn't be any surprises for you. Any leads on the perp? Guessing no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted April 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2018 The disadvantage of having someone else build your car who is 4 hours away is that someone else has to be there to help with seat placement... However, the advantage is I'll probably have a caged car 6 months faster than when I built my own... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiredBirds Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 welcome to the cool guy club. Camaro's are for Nerd's but Firebirds....well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiredBirds Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 On 2/12/2018 at 7:43 PM, Justin9 said: That's kind of pricey for just an engine and trans, I mean, i bought a running driving car for $2300 picked this up running driving for $1200 WS6 Formula 305TPI w/ 5 speed. (that is in our 84 now) This after a good wash and I vaccumed about 5 lbs of cigarette ashes out of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted April 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 40 minutes ago, TiredBirds said: I vaccumed about 5 lbs of cigarette ashes out of it. Apparently, along with a mullet, Camaro / Firebird owners chained smoked as well... everyone I have bought has cigarettes in it somewhere... 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Infiniti Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 1 hour ago, Justin9 said: Apparently, along with a mullet, Camaro / Firebird owners chained smoked as well... everyone I have bought has cigarettes in it somewhere... Perhaps you need to start, your last txt sounded stressed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted April 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 3 hours ago, Team Infiniti said: Perhaps you need to start, your last txt sounded stressed I already have enough medication to worry about... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted April 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2018 Engine from red 94 LT1 and transmission has been removed. Roll caged car is now home, took a few days longer to complete the 4 hour journey than expected, story on that probably to come later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted April 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2018 Spent a few hours tearing down the engine. I don't know why but there is always a broken header bolt on the rear driver's side of these LT1 heads. So I gotta get that taken care of but everything looks good so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiredBirds Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 15 hours ago, Justin9 said: Spent a few hours tearing down the engine. I don't know why but there is always a broken header bolt on the rear driver's side of these LT1 heads. So I gotta get that taken care of but everything looks good so far. heat I'm guessing. The last 2 on either side are back up under the cowl. I hear the V6's tended to burn up valves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 On 4/15/2018 at 4:40 PM, Justin9 said: Spent a few hours tearing down the engine. I don't know why but there is always a broken header bolt on the rear driver's side of these LT1 heads. So I gotta get that taken care of but everything looks good so far. Vortec truck heads also break them. One of the 906's had three broken. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted April 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 Donor engine and transmission... LT1 4 Ever! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted April 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 Roll cage porn! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted April 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 Oh, and I had to "help" build my nephew and daughter each a pine wood derby car for our little church.... Batman was 3rd fastest overall and 2nd in design.... Monster High car was 3rd in design but had some handling issues... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted April 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2018 Ok, today I got the clutch mount drilled out, since this was an auto car, I welded in the seat belt mounts and finished getting the seat position correct and the window net. I need to wipe all the tubing down and get ready to paint the interior. I spent an hour looking for the seat belts I saved from the shop fire, only to find that mom's special needs helper cleaned them out of her carport and... yep, you guessed it... burned them to scrap the metal... someone is telling me something, but I ain't listening.. so I guess I will have new belts too.. again... like everything else... #firesucks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted May 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2018 On 4/15/2018 at 10:10 AM, Justin9 said: Engine from red 94 LT1 and transmission has been removed. Roll caged car is now home, took a few days longer to complete the 4 hour journey than expected, story on that probably to come later... Ok, so I'm going to tell you guys a story... At the time, I didn't want to talk about it because I felt embarrassed. Back in April, I had taken my firebird to a guy to be caged about 4 hours north. My mom offered to ride back up a week later to pick it up so I figured why not. We were going to leave at 1pm, but were late because the rear pinion seat blew on my pickup and was leaking everywhere. So I had to swap to her pickup, get a trailer 7 to 4 way adapter, move everything over, etc. Long story short, we left at 2pm. Now, I have always gotten car sick riding with, and only with, my mom. I however do not like driving, and I hate driving with her. So I decided I would close my eyes, and tough out the 8 hours there and back. Ride up was fine, other than an out-of-county deputy running about 75 on a two lane country road only encouraged my mother to speed the entire way there with our borrowed 18 foot trailer. We arrived, discussed plans for the next car, then loaded up the car. I used three straps, one through a wheel, one from both front corners wrapping several times around the cross member and one at the rear axle wrapping it on both sides of the pumpkin, same way I had transported it there. About 8pm, it started getting dark, I had already taken 4 Tylenol for the headache the driver was causing me, as I lay partial asleep in the passenger side seat. We were heading South bound on I-75 around Perry GA with mom in the left hand lane. I think I most have doused off for a minute or two, because I feel like when I woke up, the truck was already swaying back and forth. Before I could say, "don't hit the brakes" I could see red taillights in the mirror reflecting off the front unibody of the car. At this point, me, and the three lanes of traffic behind us already knew we were wrecked. Mom must have fought it for 400-500 yards. Of course, when you are clicking along at the speed of light like she does, it doesn't take long to crash that far. Eventually, the trailer whipped us around in the middle of the interstate, across all three lanes, at this point we were facing the outside shoulder of the road, and car at this point broke all 3 straps (btw, they were all new straps, because if you haven't guess, all my old ones burned in the trailer, which was in the shop) and took a different direction of travel. The truck and travel finally spun around the hit the concrete drainage ditch on the right side of the road. We rolled up onto the driver's side of the truck, slide about 30 feet, then came back down hard on all fours (well, all three, the left rear hub snapped off at the axle, taking everything with it, the left front wheel blew out). Since i had been reclined and sleeping, I was not wearing a seat belt, I did try to put it on while mom fought it back and forth, but I couldn't get it so I wrapped one arm around the left arm rest, and push my right hand up against the roof... so when we rolled over, that's why kept me in my seat. Needless to say, I was pretty damn sore for about a week around my right shoulder blade. In the bed of the truck was my new ultrashield seat, luckily it was still in the box, all the firewall panels I had made for camaro #1 (Barney) which I saved out of the shop fire, and some extra brackets the roll cage guy made me. I was able to save the seat and aluminum panels, never found those brackets. After the truck stopped, I got out, like I mean as soon as we stopped, there was still dust. I pulled mom across the seat to my side and when I realized she was ok, I turned to look at the trailer, at this point, I didn't know the car was gone, but it was. I started to walk down the shoulder of the road, looking for my race car, as i searched the woods I noticed the light of northbound traffic bouncing off something in the median, it was the roof of my firebird. When I caught a break in the traffic I darted across. There it was, sitting in the median, the left front leaking air, but other than a damaged rim and some scuffs on the drivers side door, it had survived. I was just happy the key was in the steering lock, because I'm afraid it would have went into oncoming traffic, at night, with no reflective markings, and being solid black. There was also a concrete ditch in the median that slowed it down. I then called 911, gave them a better location and explained about the truck, trailer, and car in the median. Apparently, they don't pass that info along to their deputies, tow operators or anybody. So after about 5 minutes, when the trooper said a wrecker was coming for the truck, and i ask you mean flat bed, he said wrecker, and I had to show him the left rear laying on the ground, then I said what about my car. What car? The one in the median. The firebird was mostly unscathed. The rear panhard bar was bent like a pretzel, so we swapped it onto one of the parts cars, and I have to straighten the mount out, because it was 45ed a little. Since we are swapping a v8 into a v6, I had to change the cross-member anyway, so all that stuff will be retired. My second $1500 Fuel Safe cell was untouched thank god, I really like their products but I would much rather actually get to use one at some point instead of buying them and then destroying them. Mom's truck was totaled. I tried to get dad to buy it the truck and pop a rear end back in it for a beater truck. But with it being two hours away, we didn't care much about it at the time, I was more worried about getting my car home, and the remains of the borrowed trailer, which still works oddly enough. So it cost me a $9,000 truck, about $1000 in towing, and three days and a week of pain before my Firebird made it home. I'm sure someone is trying to tell me something about racing, but I guess I'm too stupid to listen. Happy Memorial Day guys... BTW.. Harbor Freight has 25% off on Monday, I know where I will be, I need a bench vice, horizontal band saw, 20 ton shop press, and a few other odds and ends. 3 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin9 Posted May 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 So I took advantage of the somewhat drier than expected Monday with TS Alberto coming in to make a few runs to Harbor Freight... I was able to pickup a 4x6 horizontal band saw with 25% off, for under $200, 16in floor mount drill press for $210 with 25% off, a 20 ton press for $139 with coupon, a 1500 lb atv jack that I will modify to help in the engine removal process on the F-Body (the engine and cross-member is design to come out the bottom) for $69 bucks (plus, my dad thinks he will be using it to change mower blades, a 14" chop saw for $79 bucks, and various little under $20 tools. I like buying the cheaper drills and grinders for random use things like wire wheels and things. That way i can leave them alone unless I need it, but not have to take my higher dollars stuff apart to change jobs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.