Hi everyone thought I start a build thread on my 99 Camaro SS. Before I start I would like to state that im very new to the LS1. I am 28 years old this is my first F-body. I have owned Mustangs all my life. I still own a 91 notch and 91 GT. Ill tell you alittle about how i got to buying a Camaro

- I have been tired of not having a cruiser. Few friends have cars and cruise them all the time.

Few weeks ago i went on the hunt for a cruiser. 03-04 cobra are too expensive and mods are too 2v were out of the question as they are **** slow. So.. LS1 is def the best choice even if it wasnt a Mustang.
+ no late Mustangs have T-tops that i think are WICKED COOL! A buddy found this SS on CR posted 3 weeks ago guy stated it had a lower end noise and had no time for it. Went after work and picked this 1999 original
SS from a guy out in Chicago. Car had been sold in Wisconsin had been in IL since 2006 and been garage kept winters since 2007. Car is pretty solid for the age. I went to look at a few f-body's. IL winter cars have already taken there toll on meny of these DD f-bodys. Any way picked it up for the right price and drove it home KNock and all. LOL

-I have Three goals for this tread i think they should be pretty easy to get I hope.

1- It needs to have good drivablility. Needs to have A/C and needs to go cuise to the track 1-2 hrs away and back. I want to keep everything working cruise control and all. Needs to be wife friendly also and go grocery shopping once in a while.

2- This is a WOULD like goal-would like it to run mid 11's alittle spray if needed is ok. I would like it to be reliable. One of the reasons for this build is I cant cruise the notch. It fell off the deep end into racecar mode and kind of regret it. I dont want to have to worry about parts and temp and stuff. No need to pull out the trailer for a little track fun. I dont want to need to put a roll bar in it so 11.50 is just fine with me. LOL

3- Budget- Need to keep in a budget. Now i know reliable- cheap- fast pick two thing but i really dont want to get crazy with this. I seem to always have a problem with the budget thing.

I had the car for three week. Hadnt touched it until Saturday (had some things to fix around the house) I pulled the motor and checked the motor out. Reason Im calling it "Project Hard Knock' is well it has a knock and when i was taking it I was running into surprises. This poor thing seen a few hack mechanics. Nothing is chopped up or anything but man it there bolts missing and wrong bolts. I have never taken this motor apart but i KNOW some bolts belong in some holes and some bolts just look simply wrong. She needs someone thats willing to take care of her. Lucky for her im here to save her she just needs some TLC.

ILL post some pics here shortly

Jr.

BTW is this the right section to post this in?

 

Hope this loads video of a few min before.

 

sorry crappy pics off the iphone this is a pics off the previous owner

 

 

as far as where it should be posted this may be the right place but most of the build are in Conversions and hybrids just south of here on the home page. It looks like a fun project have fun! I'll be watchin! 9sounds a lil creepy) haha

 

I decided to make it a shortblock and pull this out the top. I had a little help from a friend. Started at 4pm Saturday had it out at 11pm Saturday night. Most importantly I didnt spend hours on my back.Might of been faster but had to make trips to the store. A couple trips to the fridg and a few min to BS with friends. Good Times!!







Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

I pulled the pan the same night. Metal EVERYWERE! LOL Found #3 rod bearing upside down and alittle damage to #1 and #8 here is pic of the crank.

 

Cylinders have alittle wear not bad going to hone them alittle see were i can clean them out.

 

[IMG][/IMG]
Tried to clean up the cylinders cleaned out at 3.903-4
Def need a home to 905.
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
Def needs pistons too clearance on average is 6-7

 

Last night I pulled the crank only to find another surprise. the following was on the first counter weight
[IMG][/IMG]
Cranks already been cut prob explains why it got a knock now and why there is bolts missing everywere.

 

i decided to pitch the crank and went on the hunt for a new crank. I was just going to just get the crank from a local guy BUT he had a good deal on a LS6 block and crank.
Got the LS6 with ARP studs mains and head bolts along with the crank



[IMG][/IMG]

 

Def going to need pistons for the LS6 too. Bore is already at 3.905 so thinking about some rods and pistons. Any suggestions? Going to try to sell the LS1 block. What are they worth BTW?

 

is the car a 6 speed or auto? if ur shooting for 11's with a auto grab a healthy cam and a stall and a good tune and beat the brains out of it Lol


Posted from LS1Tech.com App for Android

 

It's an Auto. Yeah def looking for a heads/cam combo. Been looking at the engine bay last few days. Thinking about a wire tuck.

 

Nice buy and good start. I decided I'd rather be able to put the power down before I have the power you know? I'm going suspension stall etc before any more engine go fast parts. Keep us updated

 

Nice buy and good start. I decided I'd rather be able to put the power down before I have the power you know? I'm going suspension stall etc before any more engine go fast parts. Keep us updated

 

Its been a while since i last posted on here just thought i post my progress so far. I did decide to to do the engine wiring tuck. I started with the drivers side first and did the upside down version of the tuck. I tried my best to make a bracket were both fuse boxes would be mounted upside down while using existing holes in the frame(i dont want drill into frame rails and have rust later). So here are some picks of it.



and here it is mounted on the rail using bolt holes for the cruise control unit

 

I also started to weld the seams and smooth out the drivers side tower.
[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/689/seamweld1.jpg/][/URL

Plate were the fuse box was originaly mounted. No longer needed



I finished mig welding and applied evercoats short glass filler.

 

Found some really bad damage to both inner fenders. The more i get into this car the more hack work i find. When i first bought the car i noticed both front fenders didnt fit well neither did the hood. I didnt think it was too much of a problem but come to find out its been in a bigger accident then i thought.

Im not going to thow this car away I almost feel like its a abused pet that now found a good home. It is my job to know bring it back and better then ever. I plan on taking this to a frame and alignment specialist to check the damage but wont be able to for a few days. Any body men out there or someone I can help me if i post some picks? Just so i get an idea of how bad this is? Thanks

 

bring her back to how she was off the dealership floor!