badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

Here's the scoop :
I've got an '89 RS convertible and I'm pretty much replacing everything on it but the body. I've got an '99 LS1/T56 combo and about 20k worth of parts to install. So here's the pics:
First off the wimpy 305.

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

Here's the car, it had a fresh paint job a little over a year ago , still looks the same:

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

Here's the donor car a '99 M6 T/A , an unfortunate victim of a 50 mph crash with another vehicle , nobody was hurt , thank goodness!

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

Here's the motor and trans , the front of the car was cut off and made removal fairly easy. The right side frame was bent very badly and the T/A was totalled as a result. Damn shame as it only had 43k miles.

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

Got everything unbolted and it went pretty smooth. For a 16 year old motor , it was amazing how easily it came apart from the car . Didn't even break the exhaust manifold studs that the Y-pipe bolts to. When's the last time you had that happen? Here's my buddy Paul guiding the boat anchor out . It still runs good and passed emissions with flying colors . Interestingly , he's going to use it for a test mule to test transmissions he rebuilds.

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

One empty , nasty engine bay. Next ,up on stands and the stock suspension goes bye bye. Once everything is stripped , cleaning and detailing begins . I'm going to POR 15 the undercarriage and detail the engine bay.

2MuchRiceMakesMeSick

Wow thats going to be really nice when you get it all done.

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

After the detailing part , we're gonna get to the good stuff: mods! I took the 10 bolt out today to a local shop to get totally rebuilt. I scavenged it and the springs ,swaybars,and quick ratio steering box from an '87 IROC. My stock rear axle was a drum brake ,non posi so it had to go. The IROC rear axle was a rust encrusted eyesore , now it's fresh , clean metal waiting to be painted . I'll do that after all the internal stuff is done. I'm having 3:73 gears installed , Ratech rebuild kit and I'm putting on a Baer touring big brake kit all the way around. 13" rotors upfront , 12" rotors in the back. I also am putting a Thunder Racing girdle on it . Should hold up as long as I stay away from DR and slicks.

WILWAXU

iTrader: (6)

Looks like fun!

Should be a cool car when it's done!

Iroc313

iTrader: (1)

wow man could you make a vid of that thing running when it is running if possible?

Good luck we should be starting our engine swap in these next few months

Brandon Boomhauer

iTrader: (10)

damn thats gonna be nice!

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

The rear end is outta there!


Trash canned the whole setup because none of it will be reused except for the bolts. The gas charged rear shocks weren't so charged anymore , LOL. Also the bushings on the shocks were pretty wasted which explains the horrible noise when I tried to light up the rear tires.

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

Now here's something you might find interesting : a comparision of the stock RS rear swaybar VS the stock IROC swaybar. Guess there really was more to the suspension than nifty door decals.



And here's a closeup to give you a better idea.


I'm replacing the bushings and endlinks with Energy poly ones. The new LCAs are Lakewoods , rear shocks are Koni "Yellows", and a BMR adjustable panhard bar to round it all out . I also will be using stiffer IROC rear springs.

ExceSSive

iTrader: (13)

You definitely need to post a video when you are done.

Iroc313

iTrader: (1)

a week and it'll be done I'm guessing

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

I'm on vacation this week and going out of town tommorrow. My plan is to get the car totally stripped by the weekend. Got most of the front suspension off of it but not quite everything . I'm even replacing the k-member with a tubular one from Hawk's and I've got Spohn tubular A-arms for the front also.I also was looking at the floorpans and while they're not bad at all, there is some rust forming there. Nothing even remotely close to rusting through but with everything off , now's the time to address it. I'm thinking POR-15 would be just be what the doctor ordered with a topcoat.Also , the car is an auto trans and I'm installing a T56 so still gotta work on that , too. I'm on Christmas break from Dec. 22 to Jan.3rd so I'll do what I can on the weekends until then and plan on finishing the car up then. Also replacing the interior and top and doing some custom stuff like a '91-'92 Z28 hi rise wing so a little repaint work will be needed. I'm not overly concerned about how fast it is done rather how well it is done. I'll continue to post pics of my progress as I go.

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

Front suspension is outta there!



I was figuring the k-member was gonna be a bear to remove but it came out easily. Guess keeping car garaged most of it's life and not driving it excessively in bad weather paid off.

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

More nifty IROC info.

The left spring is the RS front spring and the right one is the IROC . Notice the IROC is a bit shorter. This is good because the LS1 is about 100-150 lbs lighter and would have caused the front of the car to sit higher . Looks like this won't be a problem now.



Same story with the rear springs , RS on left , IROC on right :

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

Last but not least , I'll compare the stock RS front swaybar to the IROC swaybar, the top is the IROC , bottom is the RS



And a closeup:

Fenster

iTrader: (3)

Damn Mike. Looking good so far bud. Long time no talk. Need to try and get together and Evan sometime!!!