SIKHS 5

ive had the car about a year so far and it's my first car. 19 then(20 now) and on a college budget i decided to by a car that was running/drivable, then turn that into my daily driver/project car. the chevelle came with a 350tbi/700r4, body panels seemed straight, and was/is covered with a poor paint job.

the police caprice 350 seemed like it would have been fast(i didnt know what fast was) and it had enough torque on the test drive, so i brought it home. everythings ran great but it was slow as hell after 2nd gear (horrible highway runs :/

I started buying little things here and there(intake, longtubes, etc) and really it all didnt help much. I got around to saving up and my dads a bit of a gearhead himself(grow up in punjab, modifying his tractors lol) so we decided to look into a little top end kit(and a carb conversion) to install/learn with. my brother suggested for me to just rip out everything and do a lsx swap(he has a procharged ls1 camaro ss)... we all decided that would be the best bang for the buck given my car is daily driven/my only car. being my first car i didnt know much about working on cars hands on, but it was all very simple stuff once i got the ball rolling(plus ive grown up in the hardware store since i was a few years old). i started looking around and with lots of help from this section i was able to get just about everything i needed. i learned everything as i went along and did my whole install by myself(firewall work, engine/trans install, an hoses, etc.) in the back yard of my dad's hardware store. its taken my 5 months, working on the car on weekends and reading up on everything between classes on the weekdays... money has been super tight but this is how it all sits so far. so far no major problems - ive been driving it around everyday for a few weeks now

LQ4(30K miles) and a 4L80E Trans(picked it up for $350 with everything on it)

Future plans: S60 rear end, shaved handles, interior and get the body all straight/repaint

Taken today:




Some random photos throughout the process:






















































Some of the car:









What I want it to look like ONE DAY: (just with the same blue and the glasstek cowl im running)


a little video from the other day (stock 10 bolt/one tire fire):

http://www.facebook.com/v/286273541449335

camfreak

Good lord that thing looks I wish I had your college budget you are be every lucky

rfrankb4

looks great. the firewall smoothing turned out well.

Why did you cut the holes in the trans tunnel for the cooling lines? Did you build something to go back over it?

SIKHS 5

haha yes, my dad helped with getting the engine itself. there's no way i would have been able to save up enough anytime soon.

3.8redbird

iTrader: (3)

Killer. I am in my 3rd year of college and doing a muscle car as well but no LS (yet).
Mine is slowly nickel and diming me to being a classic broke college student.

Good luck

camfreak

Man don't ever sale that car man I wish I could find one

SIKHS 5

Thanks it was my first shot at body work, evercoat metal2metal helped alot/was by base for everything. I had to skim everything at the end lightly with bondo to get a smooth finish(metal2metal alone wasn't sanding too smooth)

i had to cut the holes in the trans tunnel to get to the cooler lines, i still need to put something together to cover it all. im guessing a humped plate i can rivet on then seal will silicone and sound deadner?(just incase i need to let to the cooler lines again)

ls1nova71

iTrader: (4)

Don't use silicone to seal sheet metal, it will cause it to rust, instead, get you some good quality seam sealer, urethanes are the best.

And I have to say, I'm just glad to see a 20 year old that isn't driving a primered Honda Civic with a fart can exhaust on it! Keep up the good work!

CutLS

iTrader: (6)

Looks good. Congrats. Where did you get your mount kit from? Is that the Get Disc Brakes kit? I bought my 4 wheel disc brake conversion kit from them last year. I like them and it turned out pretty nice.

SIKHS 5

thanks for the tip!

i'm glad im not driving hopped up civic either haha, most people are surprised to see me(a turbaned sikh rolling around with this as my daily driver). we might only make up less that 0.38% of the world's population, but damn do i know alot of Sikh kids my age with muscle cars. When i was younger i remember all the older guys had LS1 Camaros and 03/04 Cobras, now i'm seeing alot more guys transitioning into classic muscle.

SIKHS 5

The mounting kit was from BRP and i also ran a LH8 oil pan on the LQ4

anddd yeahhh, it's a get Disc Brakes kit pieced together with a 9" booster - just i already '68 front disc assemblies on the car

COOKIE MONSTER

iTrader: (5)

Awesome build. Very unique.

tta656

iTrader: (5)

I like your better then the black one,you see the black torq thruster style all the time---yours is sweet....4DSC 4 door sports coupe

TDFDiesel

Take lots of pics and detail the project well. This will be an amazing car when you're all done.

I agree though, yours looks better then the black car.

oldgoat69

Good job, keep up the good work! Continue to take photos, you will look back one day and pat yourself on the back for your hard work.

98camarols1

iTrader: (1)

good build man..keep us posted...proud to be sikh..

nitroracer

iTrader: (4)

I'm taking a similar route building up an old sedan too.
Nice work with your project!

Ballzee

iTrader: (5)

very nice build.

OutlawDrifter

iTrader: (9)

i really like the blue/black wheel combo you have going, gives it a "stock car" look. very clean so far!