Thanks firstgenguy! Have you guys seen this mans gas tank he modded for his Camaro? Its a great alternative to the stainless tank made of gold and the lower end versions. Good luck firstgen on your build!!!

 

I got to looking at the last few pictures I posted and hadnt really ever looked at the wiring under the dash before but that picture highlights all BS that has been done to it over the years. So I hit up a good friend of mine that has quite the collection of older Chevy stuff to see if he had a wiring harness for under the dash. Turns out he had one brand new in the pack!! Retail on the harness was $395 I got mine for $150. Brand new fuse block, color correct wires, correct gauge of wire, correct plugs and bulb sockets. I would like to have the engine harness as well but I got to looking at the one I have and I am only using 2 wires out of it other than the wipers. One for the ignition and one for the starter. Amazing I had eliminated all of the other wires with the old setup. I still have the wires that plug into the fuse block connector in case I ever needed them again. I may need a couple with this new setup. I havent really sat down and thought about it yet. I have 5 fuses that need a constant hot so I am thinking about adding a power lug and just jump them from there. Or I could just stab into the back of one and series it from there. It maybe cleaner to do that.

One thing I did forget to do before bolting my clutch master in, I didnt make a plate to cover the hole around the clutch master through the firewall. Any suggestions on what I could use? I would really like to use something that could be split so I wont have to disassemble everything again. I had give the black pipe insulation some thought. You wont see it from outside and it may just do the trick. I could make a collar of some sort and lay a piece of rubber in behind it and screw it to the firewall but then I will have the threaded ends of the screws protruding out.

Another issue I have run into: I need a 3/16 double flare tee that has a bolt hole through it so it can be afixed to the frame. I have the new front brake lines bent and went and purchased new brake line clamps but I dont like the thought of my tee just floating around. Anyone know who carries such a part? I have seen them I just cant remember where.

Heres something to consider, its a little off topic but will or can affect most of us that are pouring out our hard earned money into these cars: I talked to the tax lady the other day and was joking around about taking off my expenses from my Camaro on my tax return. She replied and told me to keep all of my receipts and we could do an "investment" sort of thing next year. I was like "lets do it this year since the bulk was bought in 2010". She told me that I could use all of my receipts regardless of the year. She explained it to me like this: You are investing money into an item that will retain its value and only investing money into it to continue its value or to increase its value. What that will boil down to next year who knows but its worth considering. I have a total of $34,000 in this car currently and it would be nice to be able to take some of that off and make this project worthwhile outside of the fact I get to enjoy it while I am doing it. Think about it like this, my car cost approximately $3,200 new and is worth in the neighborhood of 10 times that now. To me that is an investment! Better than the stock market at times. A steadier investment anyways. Their not making 69 Camaros anymore real ones anyways. I feel there will always be a demand for the classics especially after we are all forced to drive electric cars. How sweet would it be to blow by the daily drivers in an LS powered Camaro breaking all of the laws.

 

man, i just did my taxes yesterday. I did not even know that was possible. Im going to have a talk with my tax guy for next year. Thanks for the info. Keep posting those pics. Im fallowing your build and trying to keep up with mine.

 

Thanks for the resto pics! Very inspiring. My car will need all that and maybe more. Hopefully I can drive it for a few years before I attack the body. Are rat rods still cool if the rust goes all the way through and not just on the surface?

 

The good and bad thing about a 1st gen LS-x swap is that this is well trodden ground...

 

Very nice build... I been following it for quite some time. If it were me, I'd have someone tig the aluminum fans on. Mig just isn't pretty IMO... and isn't quite as strong. Also where did you get the spal fans from? I been looking at different radiators and fans lately and this setup looks like it will work well. I can't seem to find myself spending $700 on up for radiator and fans just cause they bolt right in.

 

Another question: what is the procedure for torquing the head bolts on an lq4? Isn't it like torque to a certain foot lbs and then turn a certain number of degrees?

 

BBC632= Thanks! The fan setup was purchased from Speedway Motors and the part number is #9174007.

RP0029= You can go to this website and it will explain in full detail on a head swap. It gives good tips on torque procedures and all.

http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=3

 

After searching and searching I finally decided to drill and tap the water pump for the steam vent. It is the highest point on the cooling system that can be accessed. So I drilled a 11/32" hole and used a 1/8" pipe tap and made it happen. I used a spring loaded center punch and progressively enlarge the hole to 11/32". I greased up a pipe tap and went at it. This is the final result. I did however go back and run the tap in a little deeper to lower the fitting once tightened.

[IMG][/IMG]

 

No more spacers behind the water pump!!! I removed the truck balancer and installed the Fbody balancer which moved everything back .728" from the truck. I am using spacers behind the tensioner and the alternator bracket but alot shorter. These brackets and tensioner are designed for a Corvette and since the corvette balancer will not work on the LQ4 this is where I am. It is a little cleaner but I wish I could remove all spacers.

 

Ok here is the final result of moving the steam vent. I used the crossover that came with the LS3 intake and also the hose. I have enough slack in the hose that it didnt interfere with the throttle body but not too much it would hit the water pump pulley. I had to bend the steam tube a little to get it out of the way as it came straight out and would have looked like ****. I think this turned out ok.


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Installed the release bearing and the remote bleeder.

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Remote bleeder from the front.

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It doesnt seem like a lot got done but after fighting the truck balancer for an hour and could not get it off. I removed it when I started this build and for some reason I could not find the puller that I once used. I had every puller I own out and not one would do the job. I went to Oreillys Auto Parts and got one of their loan-a-tool pullers and she was off. After that ordeal I went back and returned the puller and chased down fittings for the steam vent. I went to Lowes hardware, Home Depot, Advance Auto and then back to Oreillys. I found what I needed there in the brake fitting section. It is a 1/8"NPT to 3/16" hose fitting. Worked out great!!! Tomorrow I will be setting the engine in hopefully for good.

 

I did manage to install the flywheel and clutch assembly. I used ARP bolts in the flywheel and in the pressure plate. Added a little Loctite to the threads and she is done!


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For some odd reason or pics look alot alike!!!

Looks good, but I'm nowhere ready for a install!! firewall work and other stuff, Keep on going!!!

 

Your right Steve we do have similarities but you have the nicer stuff. Other than my car being complete other than this project you will be leaps and bounds ahead of me. I looked and seen you making such great progress that I had to get off of my lazy butt and try to keep up.

I am going to guess here, either everyone was kissing their wife's butt yesterday for being out in the garage all week, or you were out in the garage working on your build! Right or wrong? There wasnt a soul on LS1Tech yesterday.

 

Your setup turned out very nice, but I am feeling a little concerned about my steam valve positioning after seeing your pic.

My engine came with the steam vent positioned in a different location. Should I be concerned?

 

From what I have read, the steam vent bleeds out the air pockets trapped in the heads at the highest point. Your vents are located up front which is good but the connection point in the water pump is low. This is prolly not optimal but it may just work. It is like trying to push the air bubbles down through water rather than let them float to the surface. I am not real sure on this.

 

Well, I'd love to tell you that I was in the garage working on the car, but, I was actually doing yard work, I have 3 large oaks and there dumping leaves and pollen, my white Nissan Maxima is greenish yellow, and the pollen kills the youngest kid, luckely we had rain on Friday and that knocked a bunch of it down, today I get to do the backyard,

I'll get a little garage action this evening!

I think that you and I just posts to each other threads with our own progress, but you do get some questions every now and then,

I don't get anything! but I get people looking to see my progress!!! which I like getting every now and then......