RJComins

I figured it was time to start a thread and hopefully spark an interest in some other musclecar owners that may or may not have done the swap and hopefully this will help anyone that is interested. I am no expert by any means but I'm not afraid to do a little research and take the bull by the horns and dive right in. My friends and family think I'm a little nuts to be doing this to my car because it really had nothing visibly wrong with it and alot of people are extremely envious of what it was but it just wasn't what I was happy with.
This is my first car which is also my dad's first brand new car. He used it as a work car, field runner and family sedan. I have pics of this thing with big bucks laying on the hood and it stuck in our front yard!
I started on this thing in about 1993 after it had a long 14 year nap in our garage. I changed motors, transmissions, gears, floorpans, just about everything a 16 year old could imagine. Just out of high school I put a 383/700R4 in it and had that combo until this past July and decided to go the LS route.
I tore out the motor and trans and decided to paint the engine bay so off came the front clip to make it easier to clean up the front frame rails. Disgusted by the amount of work I just took on, I let the car sit until New years eve, then I hit it hard! After giving a good look, I decided to replace the body bushings and paint the entire frame. Well one thing led to another and I ended up boxing in the whole frame, having it blasted and powdercoated, replacing the trunk pan and floor pans the right way (unlike how I did it when I was in high school), basically made a new tunnel and firewall and thats where I'm at today with progress.
I do have a pile of parts here right now but I'm having a hard time finding time to work on it as I work full time, try to get to the gym 3 days a week before work, fix cars on the side, and also have a beautiful wife and 3 little monsters-all boys 3,5,7! I've made good progress in the last 3 months but things have slowed down a bit because of my boys in wrestling and now baseball is starting up. This is what I started with.

67Skylark

Wow what history. not may with a 6 speed auto, Good luck! Would love to see pictures of where you are at and the boxed frame.

oldgoat69

Cool project, get motivated and get going! Look through the stickys for parts combinations and don't be afraid to ask for help.

RJComins

I'm actually trying to post more pictures but it won't let me because the files are too large. My wife is a photoshop guru so I'll have to ask her for some help.

RJComins

I think I have it figured out but I'm not sure how they'll turn out.

RJComins

More pics of the trans tunnel cut out.

Aceshigh

Wow.....seriously, that's an awesome piece of work if you can make it happen.

That trans is fuggin HUGE. Cool that you're making it work. Just out of curiousity since I'm not a fabricator, what is the steel
framing around the top of the 6L90 for ?? Is that so you can use a thinner gauge steel to wrap it for easier bends ??
Or are you going to do some kind of fiberglass transmission tunnel ??

Reason I ask is because I have my T-56 in my 1970 A-body and I gotta figure out how I'm going to recover it also.
So this might help me too.

RJComins

Thanks!
That is the template I made out of 1/4" steel line. I then took it to my buddy's shop (sheet metal worker) and he made me a new tunnel.

Aceshigh

NICE!!!

So is that basically just uncoated brake line you used to make the template ??
That spot welded with no issues ?? This is awesome, now I have a better idea on how to make mine.

RJComins

The spot welding worked out fine but it's probably not ideal.
Here are some more pics-in no particular order.

psi3000

Your idea to raise the engine mounts with a piece of C channel is easy and effective. It needs to be in the Sticky section for the A bodies. Thanks for that.

bhop42

iTrader: (2)

Looks like its going to be a good build. Word of advice; be sure to hook transmission power to run/crank. If you dont, the transmission will go into limp mode the next time you start it. The Tcm wants to be in constant communication with the Ecm.

oldgoat69

Goofy question? Why did you move the engine so far back? It looks like a truck AC bracket, am I correct? With the proper mounts you don't need to notch the frame, trans will have more room as well. Not judging, just asking.

RJComins

I moved the engine back about 4.5" from the stock location to accomodate the headers that I wanted to use which are stainless longtube race headers for a 2010 Camaro. By moving the engine back and up, it allowed me to use the truck oil pan, 6L90E deep trans pan and also cured clearance issues with the tie rod ends.
The downside is that I had to make a larger tunnel than originally planned, but what the hell when I was going to get new seats and belts anyways.
I was also forced to recess the firewall a bit but that too was somewhat in the works because I was going to smooth it out anyway. I'll still be able to use the vintage a/c without interference and it won't affect my pedals at all.
These are some major modifications but I'm glad that I made the decision to not cut corners this time because I think I'll be pleased with the final product.

Here are some pics of the frame rework and somewhat finished product.

lt1 sport

iTrader: (13)

I noticed that you have the slip yoke for the monster 34 spline output shaft of the 6l90, did you get that when you bought the pullout? I'm currently working on swap myself and need a slip yoke.

RJComins

Just a few more pics of the sheetmetal progress.
I am also a huge advocate of giving credit where credit is due so I'd like to thank my friend Paul for all the help on all the sheetmetal and any other aspect of this car!

RJComins

And a few more pics.
A thanks should also go out to Chris and Joe!

Aceshigh

Dude, your tunnel looks perfect. I wish I had the space to take my body off myself so I could really perfect it as well as the T-56 crossmember.

I'm curious what it would cost to pay someone to do a tunnel for me.....I'll have to call my old welding instructor.
I don't know how to roll the steel like that.

If you need other ideas, I had 1/4" spacers sized to the base of the frame mounts cut by a local metal supply shop for just $10.

Just find a shop that has no minimum order and use them.

RJComins

No, I wasn't fortunate enough to get the yoke with the trans so I had to go to the local GM dealer with the VIN and get it that way. Kinda pricey but what else can you do? Since then I've found that my neighbor is the head mechanic at the local GM dealership and he'll give me everything I need @ 10% over dealer cost! That is an awesome find! Although I did have to work to find that out because I am an electrician by trade and very seldom do I do "side jobs" but he was building a new house on a budget and asked if I could help him out (and I have a hard time telling people "no", which my wife finds very hard to deal with) so I did it and got to know him a little better and now I have a good friend in a good position @ a dealership.

RJComins

The C channel was just something I had lying around the shop and it just happened to be the right height for what I needed. If you look at some of the later pics, you'll see that I boxed in the channel so it doesn't look so cobby.