FlashLCD33

iTrader: (8)

First off I want to say that there have been a couple people on here that were huge inspirations on this build.. I've been following the sloppy mechanics gang for quite a while and I love their style. 2nd would be Zbrown with his stupid fast and awesome FC... he's the reason I bought this one and decided to give it the "sloppy treatment."

A friend of mine found this car on craigslist and sent it my way, I picked it up for next to nothing with a "not running" engine. It is a brown 86 GXL model, with a 355 SBC, a "built" TH350, Grannys conversion parts, a ratchet shifter and a fuel cell. It was advertised as not running, and no title. I pulled it on to the trailer, and ended up getting a title that someone had tried to modify. I planned on just using it for parts, for my white car that I have a clean title to - more on that later.

When I got home with it, still loaded on the trailer, I drained the fuel cell and dumped in fresh gas. I had to tighten a few jankey battery cables, beat on the starter a bit, and get the carb floats unstuck. Viola, she fired up. I dumped a little antifreeze in it, adjusted the timing a little, and took it out for a drive. HOLY **** this thing is quick. It felt just as quick as my 450whp Camaro. We were out doing rolling burnouts 30 minutes after I got home with this "not running" car.



A couple days later, I posted the SBC for sale on local classifieds and had it sold within a week.



Andddddd, shortly after... this showed up. A 75k mile 02 5.3.



I took my newly acquired engine, and the TH350 from the car to work and pressure washed/degreased them.

FlashLCD33

iTrader: (8)

I was able to find the last registered owner, who originally built the car, on Facebook. After messaging him back and forth for a while, he seems like a really awesome guy and he said he'd go get a duplicate title, and sign it over to me. Now I have a title on the way for this brown car, and I'm just going to build it. I was cringing about using it for parts, because it's quite a bit nicer than my white one anyways. And it saves me a pile of work . He had a pretty mean 406 SBC in it, and said it ran 10s. Apparently the motor blew up on somebody, so they put a 355 in it.

So I got the 5.3 torn down. I have mixed feelings about this engine... it either didn't get maintained very well, or it has way more miles than I was told. It is pretty dirty inside, BUT the cylinder walls look great, it turns over easily, and the cam bearings look great. In the spirit of junkyard builds, I'm going to run it. If it blows up down the line, so be it.

$70 ebay/KMJ/ProComp head studs installed and the cam coming out.



New goodies going in.. a baby cam, trunion rockers, ls7 lifters, ls2 trays, and hardened pushrods



And double springs of course



And then I bought a bunch of black Friday crap I didn't need. HP Tuners Pro, an AEM Failsafe wideband/boost gauge, and a new tuning laptop.



Topped it off with an LS6 PCV system and a 4 corner coolant crossover.



At this point I installed and removed the engine a total of about 10 times trying to get it right. I'm using Grannys SBC mounts, with 1" setback LS adapter plates, and a CTS-V pan that is clearly not as shallow as the suggested f-body pan. But I had it for free, so I used it. Finally with some spacing, cutting, grinding, etc it fits.

FlashLCD33

iTrader: (8)

January happened, and so did a ton of progress.

The beginning of the truck harness...



Anddddd getting closer. I'm leaving the automatic trans plugs on because I have a 4l80e that will make its way in to the car when the TH350 fails. I'm just using it because it's supposedly built, shifted great, and already has a crossmember and driveshaft.



The wiring harness is just about done.. I have fuse blocks and relays to add once I get everything situated where I want it.

My Christmas presents to myself showed up



Anddddd I wasted no time. In 2 days, with the help of a friend, we had the hotside completely built. Nothing fancy about it, and no expensive tools went in to the making.

Welded on some extensions and v-bands



Helps to have a spare LS1 sitting around for mockup



Nothing fancy here...



Andddd done.



And here's where the inner fender got in the way of the turbo inlet/outlet.. The wire loom is just there to protect our digits while working, something more permanent will get put in place



The money shot



As of tonight, I just ordered 19 things off of eBay. I'll be patiently awaiting the arrival of the oil feed/drain lines, wastegate flanges, heat wrap, turbo blanket, and a bunch of misc stuff. More updates for this week while I wait on parts will be finishing the wiring, and swapping out the fuel cell for a stock tank (single walbro 400 for now). Hope you guys enjoy!

ajrothm

Nice build! Big progress in a short amount of time.. I like that..(I hate these build threads that take forever and sometimes never finish). I always liked the late 80s RX7. I can't wait to see how yours does. It should roll out with the t350. Lighter and consumes much less power then the 4l80e.

Sub'd

FlashLCD33

iTrader: (8)

Thanks . It's really been about a 3 month project, but the majority of the work has been done in the last 2 weeks. I almost gave it up for a C10 project, but I decided to stick it out. The goal is to be done and running by TX2k in 5 weeks.

I just finished ordering all of the fuel lines and fittings, as well as a Speedway alternator bracket. It's kind of money wasted because I know I can make one, BUT time is of the essence. Bolt on and go is worth a lot right now!

Ryans99ls1

iTrader: (16)

There is a very good chance ill be blowing up your inbox in the near future. I picked up an 86 GXL as well (grey with red interior) for one of my friends to build. What mounting setup did you go with or whats in the car?

Forcefed86

iTrader: (4)

I do believe I built that car... Bought the roller from some guys in OKC. Had a good title when I sold it. That is a good carb that was on it. Tuned by mike schill here. Trans had a shift kit in it built by Flip transmissions. Nothing special. Was a 12.7x car at around 107... just a junker 350 with low compression "re-builder pistons" vortec heads and a huge cam.

Was a little cleaner when I last saw it...

kjm

build is coming along nice .... cant wait to see it running.

FlashLCD33

iTrader: (8)

It is a pretty cobbled up mess. It has Grannys SBC mounts and trans crossmember, but I used 1" setback LS swap plates. A ton of grinding and cutting later, I'm wishing I would have just made my own mounts. I'm going to have to rebuild the trans mount anyways since the engine is set back.

Interesting stuff! The guy that is sending me a title (Chris) had it as a running 406ci SBC that he sent me pics of. I know somehow he sold it to a friend, then he sold it to someone else and it ended up blown up in OKC. And it still had the same carb, because there was a Schill sticker on it. I was told the engine was a 355, but who knows.. and I found a ton of old time slips in the console that were pretty close to what you said. I know when I drove it, it felt like a lot more than that. Maybe it's just because it's a little car though .

The car is DEFINITELY not that clean now. I see you're in Wichita, and that's where I bought it. The guy didn't seem to know much about it.. and it had sat at his apartment complex for quite a while not running. I think it passed through several owners and was never registered by any of them, because I had the original Texas title in Chris' name. It looks like someone had signed it as a buyer, then passed it off, and someone had tried to erase it to put their name in the place. Either way, I have a new title coming from the last registered owner. I should have it cleaned up and faster than ever shortly

aknovaman

iTrader: (7)

Flash, where are you located?

Think this is a fair deal?

http://lawrence.craigslist.org/cto/4288756664.html

FlashLCD33

iTrader: (8)

I'm near Hays, KS. I wouldn't pay near that much IMO... But I got a steal on this car, so I'm a little biased.

aknovaman

iTrader: (7)

Got it. I grew up in hays, 30 years ago. Live in topeka area now.

Forcefed86

iTrader: (4)

Fun little car for sure. Glad someone is taking the time to fix it back up. Maybe I'll see you out at our drag strip. If you need any random LS stuff during the build I've got a little stock pile...

Good luck!

STEEPSS

iTrader: (30)

Yay boost.

Looking good Jeff.

redc4

iTrader: (2)

Small world! Chris is my brother and he originally built this car with the Granny's conversion. He sent me a couple pictures of it the other day.

When he sold it it had a solid roller SBC with Canfield heads and a PP Hurricane Intake.

FlashLCD33

iTrader: (8)

He's gone miles and miles out of his way to help me out and he really had no reason to.. I can't thank him enough .

Second round of Christmas has showed up!



OH and the title!

I'm locking myself in the garage this weekend... expect some updates!

Forcefed86

iTrader: (4)

Any updates on this?