LQ4/Turbo swap into a 1981TTA
12-26-2010, 09:31 PM
#1
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LQ4/Turbo swap into a 1981TTA Really new at posting pic's, but I started working on the last car my dad owned before he passed. It is a 1981 Turbo TA, It was a pace car, but it was his DD. Need paint, body, and interior work, but so far this is what Ive done.
2002(LQ4) Stock Harness & PCM
Z06 cam, and springs.
Trick Flow push rods (7.450)
LS2 Oil pump& Timing Chain
Summit Oil Pan kit(LH8)
Poly Body Bushing(NPD)
Dual Fans (2000 Dodge. Pull-a-Part)
Hydro Boost Brakes(Pull-a-Part)
Stock Radiator
TH350, 3000 stall
Rear stock 3.08 posi
New door hinges (NPD)
New Hood hinge (NPD)
New Floor Pans (NPD)
295/50/15 MT/DR
Door&Trunk Weather strip(Rock auto)
Have turbo installed, 60lbs injectors,waiting for PCM/MAP, and the stock 6.0 manifolds have the V-bands welded on. May have left some thing out. Forgive the bad cell phone pic's. Tried to put up a video, but cant figure it out.
2002(LQ4) Stock Harness & PCM
Z06 cam, and springs.
Trick Flow push rods (7.450)
LS2 Oil pump& Timing Chain
Summit Oil Pan kit(LH8)
Poly Body Bushing(NPD)
Dual Fans (2000 Dodge. Pull-a-Part)
Hydro Boost Brakes(Pull-a-Part)
Stock Radiator
TH350, 3000 stall
Rear stock 3.08 posi
New door hinges (NPD)
New Hood hinge (NPD)
New Floor Pans (NPD)
295/50/15 MT/DR
Door&Trunk Weather strip(Rock auto)
Have turbo installed, 60lbs injectors,waiting for PCM/MAP, and the stock 6.0 manifolds have the V-bands welded on. May have left some thing out. Forgive the bad cell phone pic's. Tried to put up a video, but cant figure it out.
Last edited by MillsMotorvation; 12-26-2011 at 06:27 PM.
12-27-2010, 08:34 AM
#2
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Can any one tell me where I may find foam, and material to rebuild the seat's that came in this car? They are RECARO seat's that came in it from the factory.
12-27-2010, 10:09 AM
#3
12-27-2010, 10:13 AM
#4
Everything I've ever looked at, at NPD has WAY over priced 
compared to any other supplier I've comparred them to. JMOLooking forward to seeing future updates.
12-27-2010, 10:40 AM
#5
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Who is JMO, Did a few searches, and they were the one's I came up with. Got a link to some better site's, I would love to have them, Thank's.
12-27-2010, 10:50 AM
#6
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I also need to get a lower temp thermostat, but the only one I see is thru summit. Any Idea who else sells them? Will i need to change the whole housing?
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01-21-2011, 08:32 PM
#8
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Well got the interior in the shop, and got the gauges working. Want to buy a Scan tool(Areo Force) but not sure it works with a 2000 LQ4. Car is coming along nice, Starting to install the hot side for the turbo!
01-31-2011, 01:58 PM
#10
I am using a Swaptech thermostat conversion setup. It allows you to use a SBC style housing to accomodate your hose routing. My adapter came with a Hypertech 180 degree thermostat. I bought it off of Ebay from a seller that goes by Nooks and Tranny. They specialize in LS swap parts. Just type in LS swap and some of their products will come up. The JMO that Jimbo stated in his reply was "Just My Opinion". He is a good guy but he is opinionated for sure. I like the guy and he is really smart. And a smart *** at times but I still like him. Good luck on your build seems you are well on your way to getting the ol firechicken back on the road.
01-31-2011, 02:04 PM
#11
As far as parts for the Trans Am, you will have to search on the web for parts. Not to many people make parts for them. You could use Year One but they are high, Classic Industries may have some stuff. Camaro parts will sometimes work on the Firebirds. If that be the case you can try Classic Muscle. They are right down the road from me. Their website is oldmusclecars.com
NPD is ok on some stuff but watch out for certain items. I have bought several things from them and didnt have any problems. The restoration parts industry is just about all made over seas and sometimes the quality is not there. When I was working on my 1981 T/A I sourced out a few distributors on Ebay. Their are small companies that deal with new and used items on there and also have supplies of NOS parts as well as reproduction items. They may not get their name out there say like NPD or some of the big dogs but have quality value added products.
NPD is ok on some stuff but watch out for certain items. I have bought several things from them and didnt have any problems. The restoration parts industry is just about all made over seas and sometimes the quality is not there. When I was working on my 1981 T/A I sourced out a few distributors on Ebay. Their are small companies that deal with new and used items on there and also have supplies of NOS parts as well as reproduction items. They may not get their name out there say like NPD or some of the big dogs but have quality value added products.
01-31-2011, 02:10 PM
#12
Does NPD not carry this foam? You can go to an automobile upholstery shop and check there. I know they have it. You may have to cut to fit it though. Why not replace the Recaro's with some newer seats. I took two Mustang GT seats to the upholsterers and they qouted me $800 to do both seats. I couldnt get out of there fast enough. No way am I going to pay that kind of money for a run of the mill Mustang seat. I know the Recaro's are sort of rare but your car will lose it originality once you removed the original equipment. I say go new! I am eyeballing some Corbeau seats for $299 each. After sitting in them there is no way I am going to reuse my original 69 Camaro seats. I always wanted my car original just like it was from the factory but after driving for 30 minutes it sucks ***. I am older than I used to be and comfort is where its at.
01-31-2011, 02:31 PM
#13
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Thanks for the replys. I gave up on the seat and sent them to the upholstery shop, along with back seat, and door panels $900. They wanted $469 for just the door panels at NPD. It time for me to get the turbo, injt, and something to tune with. I really have no idea of how to tune, but for what they want to tune, I may as well learn.
02-04-2011, 06:54 PM
#16
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The brake system came from pull a part. You can get the booster, hose, and all off a mid 90's chevy mini van(Astro, Safari, ect.) a little fab work, and you can stop on a dime. Hydroboost rock's!!!
02-04-2011, 06:57 PM
#17
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The fans came from pull a part also. Got them off a 2000 Dodge Intrepid, found the wire diagram for chevy camaro, or newer tahoe, and set up a 3relay harness to run off the stock ECM.
02-17-2011, 02:57 PM
#18
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Finally got the interior from Mr. Loyld. They look great, I told him to go with a stronger material for the seat,s. Sorry for the bad cell phone pic, but I think the stock interior looks better than any thing I could have got!
Last edited by MillsMotorvation; 02-17-2011 at 03:07 PM.
02-17-2011, 08:58 PM
#19
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Man those seats look nice and I love the 2 gen builds on the T/A's. I love the T/A body style more than the Camaro of that generation. If the rest of that build looks that good, which I'm sure it will, it's going to be an awesome car. The later closer pulley LS water pumps like LS3 and LS2 (not sure on the ls2) have a removeable thermo stat, but you have to pull the pulley out a little for the truck and LS1 style drives.
02-23-2011, 05:51 PM
#20
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Man those seats look nice and I love the 2 gen builds on the T/A's. I love the T/A body style more than the Camaro of that generation. If the rest of that build looks that good, which I'm sure it will, it's going to be an awesome car. The later closer pulley LS water pumps like LS3 and LS2 (not sure on the ls2) have a removeable thermo stat, but you have to pull the pulley out a little for the truck and LS1 style drives.
. I wanted some 18inch wheels, but I picked up some nice 15inch CenterLines for cheap, but they look to be 10inch wide with 5.50 back space, hope they fit.