Blue Bandit

Well I finally got my dream car although it has seen better days. Anyway i already started the project after buying it about 3 week ago. Quick back ground, I bought the car from a guy who had bought it for his project but I bought it off him after offering him a price he couldn't pass up. It had a blown motor and needed some other minor work on top of that or so i thought. I paid a little more than I should have but I wanted it bad, hind sight is 20/20 i guess . Any way I started to drop the engine and put in the new one.

here we are in the process:


after it is out:




well here was the first surprise:





the guy I got the car from said that the previous owner to him put in a new clutch about 500-1000 miles before the engine let loose. I call but it is too late to bitch about it. Looks like I will have to fork out some money for a new clutch. We also found the upper strut mount shock bolts rusted out and pretty much junk. Damn this thing is already turning into a damn money pit . Luckily i already had a brand new LS1 Engine in my garage from a previously abandon project car. Oh yeah my BBK headers showed up friday at my front door, they look nice! more to come when i get back to into it in the next day or 2.

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

stuff happens. just upgrade as you go.

blk/slvr02ss

iTrader: (21)

Let the Fun Begin !!!!!!

Blue Bandit

Oh yeah, it will be fun alright! I probably will just get a stock replacement or a LS6 clutch. I will get back on it this coming Tuesday and see what other surprises pop up.

SOMbitch

iTrader: (8)

I would do an ls7 clutch if you aren't gonna try to make crazy power. Have fun with it!!

V68Sweep

Congrats on the dream car!

Just a little TLC and she'll thank you

Orange Juice

iTrader: (3)

Another vote for the ls7 clutch

Blue Bandit

Thanks guys! I don't have plans to go to wild with it just bolt ons. I want to drive the car everyday and not worry about reliability so I will probably just do cosmetics and have a nice driver.. or so is the plan. Is the ls7 cluttch stiffer than the regular stock one?

Orange Juice

iTrader: (3)

The ls7 has a bit more weight then the 6 but it is very drivable.

Blue Bandit

Well we got the engine back in along with a new clutch. I went with a stock ls6 clutch setup mainly because I got a smoking deal on it. We buttoned it all up this morning and tried to fire it up but it didn't start. After some quick checks we found the the fuel pump wasn't priming up. Found and fixed that problem and then fired it up. It ran ok but had a miss, swapped out the coil packs with new ones and tried it again. Success! After a brief warm up and fixing an exhaust leak it was running good. the only big problem was we discovered a leaking radiator. Other than that there are some small minor things to fix.

One thing I have to say is that these BBK headers fit awesome!! All sorts of clearance everywhere. If you don't need to worry about emissions then these are the best bang for the buck IMO. I took a bunch of pix of the setup while it was out of the car but I can't upload them because my computer took a **** and I am typing this up on my phone. Hopefully I can get it going so I can post pix of the progress. More to come

stephen4036

i dont see how a new clutch or a nut makes this car a money pit lmao.. if anything now u know YOUR car has a new clutch.. i got my car with an LT1 T56 Trans coversion, except it had the LT1 input (1" shorter) and the input didnt even sit in the pilot.. just wobbled around and broke slave cylinders..

Blue Bandit

Yeah I know I was being sarcastic about the money pit thing . Its more of a labor of love for my dream car. By the time im done it will be a new car!
Now I am looking into new upgraded suspenssion worthy of a fun daily driver but I will have to buy all that after I get a new radiator and Christmas is over.
How did you end up with a T56 with a short imput shaft, I thought they were all the same?

stephen4036

LT1 T56 is an inch shorter than an LS1 Input.. to swap over from a LT1 to a LS1 you need the Input shaft w/ bearing, the front plate, and the bell housing.. they did 2 of the 3.. lmao.. so my input wasnt sitting in the pilot.. just resting in the clutch/flywheel.. and slapping slave cylinders like a hoe.. all fixed now.. stage 2 T56 with correct input

Blue Bandit

Ok I finally got my computer fixed and here are the pix as promised. Most of the pix are of the BBK headers since I know most people want 'clearance' photos of headers. What better way to see the setup than the headers bolted up and out of the car in the open! These things fit AWESOME!!!! BTW the motor mounts were replaced along with the engine, since i was there, lol.

Enjoy!!



























After we got the engine back in the only thing we had to modify was the pass side header collector was hitting the heat sheild. A quick modification cured the problem. Other than a few other aforementioned adjustments the car is running good and is ready to tune out the cats and EGr to eliminate the peskt Check engine light. I should have this thing on the road here soon after I get tires and a new radiator installed.

@stephen4036: Boy that sux! I didnt know there was a difference between the transmissions, Good info for the future learn sumthin' new everyday!

Anthony Williams

iTrader: (3)

Looking good, work and learn!

99VetteFRC

You will always appreciate a car that has you blood sweat and tears in it more than if you just went out and bought it. I love to make junkers sweet again.

A.R. Shale Targa

iTrader: (2)

Great job !!!! BBK makes some nice headers.