OVA1 96 Z28 is Dead. Conversion to 95 Chassis begins. Long Live OVA1 96 Z28!
03-15-2014, 03:40 PM
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OVA1 96 Z28 is Dead. Conversion to 95 Chassis begins. Long Live OVA1 96 Z28! Well, the day has come when the old 96 Z28, which has served us so well, for so long has finally being replaced.
She broke... from a combination of the torque produced by the Stroker and those 5.13s... and 19 years divided by Michigan early on.
Naturally, in keeping with her history, she's being replaced with an older car...
Picked up a 95 Camaro V6, which has a newly rebuilt tranny, and which blew COLD AC... right up until she started gushing oil. Naturally, this didn't lower the former owner's expectations of what it was worth, but eventually he came around, when I explained to him that he was welcome to come get the tranny, and the AC, stock suspension and anything else he wanted, once it's piled up and ready for a trip to the reclycler... . He said he'd come get it, but I expect we'll never hear from him again.
So here she is:
Skin is fairly clean for a 20 year old car... She's a hard-top, so the T-tops are behind us... which I doubt we'll miss much this summer. And she should be a tad lighter, which is good, considering the Dana 60, sub-frame connectors, BMR trak-pak and massive sway bar we're about to put on her.
Undercarriage is sweet-clean... and being a V6, she's never seen any torque.
I'll be loading photo's as the transfer progresses.
She broke... from a combination of the torque produced by the Stroker and those 5.13s... and 19 years divided by Michigan early on.
Naturally, in keeping with her history, she's being replaced with an older car...
Picked up a 95 Camaro V6, which has a newly rebuilt tranny, and which blew COLD AC... right up until she started gushing oil. Naturally, this didn't lower the former owner's expectations of what it was worth, but eventually he came around, when I explained to him that he was welcome to come get the tranny, and the AC, stock suspension and anything else he wanted, once it's piled up and ready for a trip to the reclycler... . He said he'd come get it, but I expect we'll never hear from him again.
So here she is:
Skin is fairly clean for a 20 year old car... She's a hard-top, so the T-tops are behind us... which I doubt we'll miss much this summer. And she should be a tad lighter, which is good, considering the Dana 60, sub-frame connectors, BMR trak-pak and massive sway bar we're about to put on her.
Undercarriage is sweet-clean... and being a V6, she's never seen any torque.
I'll be loading photo's as the transfer progresses.
03-16-2014, 10:42 AM
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LOL! I ran across a '99 WS6 Firebird with the LT1'... so while I'm standing there, looking directly at the LS1 in there, he went on about the mods he's made, which was quite unlikely, given that he didn't even know what kind of engine he had. I just wanted to see a 99 with an LT1 and get some feedback... sadly, such was not available.
03-16-2014, 11:34 AM
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I'll post up some pictures of the damage later. But the old car came out Michigan originally and had what turned out to be a ton of rust up in the body beams.
Like everyone else, I made improvements here and there. Rebuilt the engine, added headers and all of the obligatory stuff... killed three 10 bolts and trannies and, by attrition, eventually stroked the engine, installed a Performabuilt lvl 3 tranny, Dana 60 with a set of 5.13s and a decent set of Drag Radials, then decided to take her up to Bradenton, just after they built a beautiful set of brand new lanes, which were MIND BLOWIN' STICKY and...
Well... you know how it is. With ample torque from the power plant, bullet proof tranny, bomb proof rear end... it pays to be sure that all of THAT is bolted up to a sound chassis. Because all that power is, apparently, going somewhere and if there's a weak-spot before it gets to the tires, THAT is where it's going. Suffice it to say that THAT day was hands-down the sorriest day I have ever had at a track, which didn't end in a tow-truck. I drove her 3 hours back to the house, blissfully ignorant that the ***-end was ruined.
In this case, the axle shoved the front LCA bracket 8-10" up into the back cabin, which is where the guy I had asked to weld on my SFC said was too roached to mess with.
That probably SHOULD have been a clue... but, in my defense, for what it is... I had nothing to compare it to, at the time, so I didn't really get what he was saying... in hindsight, it all makes perfect sense.
It tore the sheet metal, separating the various braces that were tucked in there to make up that body beam and, the farther I dug into it, the worse the rust got.
That's the outer side of the front LCA bracket from the old gal. Not much left to mess with and that's just the stuff that's outside of the LCA bracket. It get's worse on the other side of the LCA.
So... she's gone.
Like everyone else, I made improvements here and there. Rebuilt the engine, added headers and all of the obligatory stuff... killed three 10 bolts and trannies and, by attrition, eventually stroked the engine, installed a Performabuilt lvl 3 tranny, Dana 60 with a set of 5.13s and a decent set of Drag Radials, then decided to take her up to Bradenton, just after they built a beautiful set of brand new lanes, which were MIND BLOWIN' STICKY and...
Well... you know how it is. With ample torque from the power plant, bullet proof tranny, bomb proof rear end... it pays to be sure that all of THAT is bolted up to a sound chassis. Because all that power is, apparently, going somewhere and if there's a weak-spot before it gets to the tires, THAT is where it's going. Suffice it to say that THAT day was hands-down the sorriest day I have ever had at a track, which didn't end in a tow-truck. I drove her 3 hours back to the house, blissfully ignorant that the ***-end was ruined.
In this case, the axle shoved the front LCA bracket 8-10" up into the back cabin, which is where the guy I had asked to weld on my SFC said was too roached to mess with.
That probably SHOULD have been a clue... but, in my defense, for what it is... I had nothing to compare it to, at the time, so I didn't really get what he was saying... in hindsight, it all makes perfect sense.It tore the sheet metal, separating the various braces that were tucked in there to make up that body beam and, the farther I dug into it, the worse the rust got.
That's the outer side of the front LCA bracket from the old gal. Not much left to mess with and that's just the stuff that's outside of the LCA bracket. It get's worse on the other side of the LCA.
So... she's gone.
Last edited by OVA1; 03-16-2014 at 11:54 AM.
03-17-2014, 08:22 PM
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Began the process of stripping the Hell-Bitch... Pulled the radiator, trans-cooler and fans.
Tomorrow comes the front fascia and preparations to pull the engine out from under her.
Need to rent a hoist for that.
Tomorrow comes the front fascia and preparations to pull the engine out from under her.
Need to rent a hoist for that.
03-17-2014, 10:12 PM
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Oh thanks brother.
I ended up acquiring a clean 95. Just prior to that, I had a line on a 99 and before I bought it, I wanted to be sure that the BMR K-member from the 96 setup would bolt up and what if any electrical distinctions there might be.
Thank you for asking tho'.
I ended up acquiring a clean 95. Just prior to that, I had a line on a 99 and before I bought it, I wanted to be sure that the BMR K-member from the 96 setup would bolt up and what if any electrical distinctions there might be.
Thank you for asking tho'.
03-18-2014, 01:55 PM
#11
AHHHHH they redid Bradenton? Nice! I'll be back in FL next month.
Last time I was at Bradenton I wrecked my original 10 bolt that had micronited 4.10s in it with a girdle cover and cap studs. I also destroyed a pushrod snapping it in three and two roller rockers. Not how I expected that day to go.
Last time I was at Bradenton I wrecked my original 10 bolt that had micronited 4.10s in it with a girdle cover and cap studs. I also destroyed a pushrod snapping it in three and two roller rockers. Not how I expected that day to go.
03-18-2014, 07:37 PM
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AHHHHH they redid Bradenton? Nice! I'll be back in FL next month.
Last time I was at Bradenton I wrecked my original 10 bolt that had micronited 4.10s in it with a girdle cover and cap studs. I also destroyed a pushrod snapping it in three and two roller rockers. Not how I expected that day to go.
Last time I was at Bradenton I wrecked my original 10 bolt that had micronited 4.10s in it with a girdle cover and cap studs. I also destroyed a pushrod snapping it in three and two roller rockers. Not how I expected that day to go.
