Generation IV Internal Engine - LS7 Firebird anyone???

I am holding in my hands the keys to a REAL LS7 2000 Trans Am. Here's my little story....

A few months ago a guy came into the dealership looking for a New 08 Denali Pickup. He was a nice guy and owned a Business down in Ulysses. He ended up buying a black 08 Denali and wanted to put wheels on it. By the time we were done it had a lift and new 20" wheels with Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ tires measuring 325/50R20.

A few weeks later, his business partner came in with his wife and bought THE EXACT truck his buddy bought one month earlier. Well he only put wheels on it and called it good.

After I got put in charge of the Accessories shop here at Western Motor, he came and talked to me about putting a lift on his truck just like Jim did. Don (new guy) wanted some cool looking rims and tires and pretty much gave me 4000.00 to put whatever wheels and tires I wanted to on his truck. As we are talking he told me about his Trans am. He mentioned a few things about it and that it was getting a motor swap done by TSP (Texas Speed and Performance). He really didn't say much but mentioned it would be a "monster".

Today he came up to pick up his Denali and I could hear him coming from blocks away. His car was louder than mine, and my car is ****ing loud! He gets there and pops the hood and I swear I jizzed my pants right there.

Tucked in the shock towers was a head and cammed LS7!!!! This motor put down 672 to the flywheel and 56? to the rear wheels!!! It was the first ever LS7 swap that TSP has ever done into a F body!

We start talking about waxing and polished and he mentions how he just paid some guy in Ulysses 200 dollars to do his car and there were still swirls all over it. I tell him about my process and after awhile he was like well I might have you do mine someday.

So we go look at his Denali and he is blown away by how it looks and loves it. He mentions he has a small oil leak of some sort coming from his car. We decide to put it on a lift but this thing is lowered so far we can't. Stealing the idea from someone here on the board, I tell him I can build him some ramps out of some 2x8's stacked on top of each other so we can pull the car on the lift. Well since he lives out of town this would require him to come back sometime within the next few days. His next move astonishes me.....

HE THROWS ME THE KEYS!!! and tells me to keep it all week as long as it will sit inside! So until next Monday I have a 560 horse LS7 Trans Am in my possesion to fix a leak and polish the hell out of it. Damn I love my job....

CLIFFNOTE: He basically told me to take it out whenever I want and rag on it as much as I want but just don't wreck it. But sorry, it is not leaving the shop, although I may take some pictures of it!

i would be too scared to break it, i would maybe take it out for a bit and drive it right back in. and then just look at the ls7 all day long.

must be nice, but then again i would never give my keys to a complete stranger. but then again when you bleed and sweat for your car you wouldnt either

niiiice story my friend.

Take plenty of pictures :D

]http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee11/97formulakid/DonEllisLS7001.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee11/97formulakid/DonEllisLS7002.jpg

Just a regular 2000 WS6 Trans am......right???

Yeah, sure buddy, keep on thinking that!

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee11/97formulakid/DonEllisLS7003.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee11/97formulakid/DonEllisLS7004.jpg

Just to be clear, this car is not leaving the garage. I am not going to take it out AT ALL. I would not want anything at all to happen to it and would feel horrible if even an unavoidable accident would take place.

:drool:

Sex on Wheels. :D

Boner Time!! I want

Yeah it looks pretty good Mine is better LOL

Beautiful... But I have to agree with Bandit, he has the proper color and breed for an LS7. But then again I may be biased for a few reasons :)

:hail: i want

That's fantastic! I work in GC at the hospital but live in Wichita. I recently finished my 69 SS/RS Camaro vert with a LME modified LS7. Those are the numbers I was hoping to see from that powerplant. Just getting out on the pavement for some rubber time after 18 mos. I'm in GC until Thurs. I'll stop by to check that ride out, very cool.

Beautiful... But I have to agree with Bandit, he has the proper color and breed for an LS7. But then again I may be biased for a few reasons :)

You???? Never LOL hahahaha soon young padwan learner soon hahahaha

I like mine better..LOL

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/Blue00ss/IMG_4272.jpg

DobdBrd - you have no excuse to not post a video if you have the car for that long.

And Bandit - yes I can be taught LOL

Stangs bane I agree yours looks great I have a few things in the ole garage getting ready to be installed and then I have a long road of tuning ahead but after that i think Ill win the arguement hahaha

Bandit1, those are nice. What brand of breathers are they? Do you think they will perform better than the stock LS7 intake? I KNOW they look better!

Stangs bane I agree yours looks great I have a few things in the ole garage getting ready to be installed and then I have a long road of tuning ahead but after that i think Ill win the arguement hahaha


You will win with those, running or not:D

I need to do some cleanup work on mine. Like get rid of that damn Eibach sticker...

How much do those breathers usually run....?

Ow it will run just take a bit of tuning to get it right. They will outflow my ported LS7 heads and since they are my bottleneck should let the LS7 shine to its full glory hahaha. Since I am speed density anyway shouldnt be too hard and throttle response should be fantastic!!! I found them while doing a search for itbs and they also make a billet lower manifold to match to the LS7 heads just waiting on that to get here already got the ITBs they look great I am having the tops and other red pieces painted to match the car hugger orange. Cant wait to get it all sorted out!

The whole setup I will say cost me less than a beck or wilson if that helps any and each one can outflow the heads so there ya go

Stangs bane I agree yours looks great I have a few things in the ole garage getting ready to be installed and then I have a long road of tuning ahead but after that i think Ill win the arguement hahaha

Are those hand-fabed by Jesus?

Are those hand-fabed by Jesus?


No I think Moses was on duty Jesus usually does the heads :D

thats awesome....thing prolly sounds nasty...

but arent those numbers kinda low on a cammed/headed LS7?? My buddys full bolt on and cammed only C6 Z06 put down 563rwhp with just a cam

OK, they look great, do I need to do a search or can you spill beans and tell me who makes those?

Depending on the drivetrane that Firebird has it could be considered low.

A Cammed, Ported Head, Ported Intake, all NA, through my knowledge says an LS7 should be around 700-750 at the crank with no Accesories running it down.

At the wheel I would have expected around 580-600 for a mild mannered LS7.

It may have stockish heads and intake which could bring the numbers down, and no one here has seen the tune so its up in the air.

But that is still a nice build none the less.

No I think Moses was on duty Jesus usually does the heads :D

Now if we had this type of religous tolerance there would be no more troubles in the world. :D

Depending on the drivetrane that Firebird has it could be considered low.

A Cammed, Ported Head, Ported Intake, all NA, through my knowledge says an LS7 should be around 700-750 at the crank with no Accesories running it down.

At the wheel I would have expected around 580-600 for a mild mannered LS7.

It may have stockish heads and intake which could bring the numbers down, and no one here has seen the tune so its up in the air.

But that is still a nice build none the less.


It is far easier to mess a ls7 head up by porting it than to help it. Make power that is. It is pretty easy to up the flow numbers, but actually make more power is another thing. For 95%+++ of street car builds, the factory ls7 intake port is more than enough. Typical port jobs done to these heads, combined with the typical big cam applied to them, make less power then if the heads would have been left alone.

I am just speaking in general, not talking about any body in particular, just some of the results I have seen from "ported" ls7 heads around here..

It is far easier to mess a ls7 head up by porting it than to help it. Make power that is. It is pretty easy to up the flow numbers, but actually make more power is another thing. For 95%+++ of street car builds, the factory ls7 intake port is more than enough. Typical port jobs done to these heads, combined with the typical big cam applied to them, make less power then if the heads would have been left alone.

I am just speaking in general, not talking about any body in particular, just some of the results I have seen from "ported" ls7 heads around here..

Couldnt agree more but careful work in the bowl and exhaust area is VERY beneificial!!!!

OK, they look great, do I need to do a search or can you spill beans and tell me who makes those?

Tell ya what dave let me do the R&D for ya and as soon as Im done and I assure you it did wonders for me and fits great I will post up where you can get it and my results. Otherwise if it fails all I have is a very pretty paperweight LOL.

Sounds great! I'm old school, so I love that look. Keep us posted and good luck I hope it rocks!

Yeah me too hahaha

DobdBrd - you have no excuse to not post a video if you have the car for that long.

And Bandit - yes I can be taught LOL

I will get a vid tonight before I start washing it.

That's fantastic! I work in GC at the hospital but live in Wichita. I recently finished my 69 SS/RS Camaro vert with a LME modified LS7. Those are the numbers I was hoping to see from that powerplant. Just getting out on the pavement for some rubber time after 18 mos. I'm in GC until Thurs. I'll stop by to check that ride out, very cool.

Yeah man defintely stop by or give me a call, 620-272-1039. I actually used to work at the Hospital in the Pharmacy. I have a buddy that still works there now, Scott, in the Lab and he was actually telling me about your Camaro one day.

Depending on the drivetrane that Firebird has it could be considered low.

A Cammed, Ported Head, Ported Intake, all NA, through my knowledge says an LS7 should be around 700-750 at the crank with no Accesories running it down.

At the wheel I would have expected around 580-600 for a mild mannered LS7.

It may have stockish heads and intake which could bring the numbers down, and no one here has seen the tune so its up in the air.

But that is still a nice build none the less.

Keep in mind the drivetrain as well. That car has a 12 bolt in it which will definately bring the numbers down on the dyno. The car also has a Y-pipe with borla on it, I think on a motor like that it could definately benefit from a cutout or X-pipe set up. Just my .02 cents.

Is it a A4 or M6? That would explain alot of the story. The auto cars really suck up the power! Don't ask me how I know!?:D

Oh, and that shit looks sweet Bandit!! And Stangs Bane.......I was told your motor doesn't even look like that if you know what I mean?? Traver

Oh, and that shit looks sweet Bandit!! And Stangs Bane.......I was told your motor doesn't even look like that if you know what I mean?? Traver

Your right, it looks like this right now....

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/Blue00ss/IMG_4534.jpg

:bang::bang::bang:

Hey JG thanks for the call, got tied up Weds and couldn't drop by and heading back home today. Pick up the Camaro tomorrow from my builder. Had issues with the acc. drive, fixed now so I'm putting some pavement time in next week. I'll post you some pics. Scott wanted me to give you grief but you sounded like a straight up guy so I told him to F o, lol. Cool ride nice #'s. Hey Bandit, Kinsler?

DANG!!! I just noticed that you were in Kansas!!! Very Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It would be nice to come and take a look at that thing!!!!!!:chug:

All nice cars for sure!!! I have cubic inch envy. :drool:

WS6R6 I'm in Wichita, the Firebird's in Garden City. I'm going to try to make All Wheels June 8th and definitely Automobilia on July 12th, great car show.

Alright, I'm in Hays so I will definitely be thinking about showing up there and seeing some of the cars!!!!!

Go on line and check out Automobilia, lots of cool cars, in Old Town, one of the best Mid-West car shows around.

I think mine looks pretty good also! :)

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d52/Deeavi/427-03.jpg

That is pretty...

What are you guys putting to the wheels with LS7 builds and your drivetrane setup?
Maybe we can calculate an aprox. drivetrane loss here.

That is pretty...

What are you guys putting to the wheels with LS7 builds and your drivetrane setup?
Maybe we can calculate an aprox. drivetrane loss here.

Mine made 548, but it is very unhealthy as you can see above...

mines hush hush hahaha

I'll post mine when I get it back on the dyno. With new 1 7/8 ATS headers, more than just 200 miles on the engine, and an oil change I'm hoping to see well over 500 with my
4l60e. Driveline loss of probably 17%-21%

Have not put mine on the dyno yet. Motor currently has 800 miles on it. I am planning on taking it to Nick Williams somtime in Late June or early July. We will see!

Good numbers. I hope you guys do post up when you get the numbers.

Yeah it looks pretty good Mine is better LOL


Sweet ride, getting ready to do a similar swap to my vert 02 SS; were you able to use the stock ls1 computer or did you have to swap to another? I have heard mixed things about the ls1 computer not syncing with the ls7?

Thanks!

What do ya know................I did this swap 2 years ago!!!! Only thing is now I'm up to a 441 instead of a 427. Bit by the horsepower bug as usual!! Traver

I think mine looks pretty good also! :)


I could be wrong, but shouldn't you have larger heads than those AFR's?

How much do those breathers usually run....?

A lot but they are amazing on the dyno.

any numbers yet??