topher455

iTrader: (6)

So your motor is bone stock right now right? Have they developed a perfromance cam for the vvt motor yet? Might be tough to make it work with the DOD.

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Well, it's pretty much bone-stock right now. The only departures from stock are ARP rod bolts that I put in, an L76 (car type) intake manifold & a custom 4" cold-air setup that pulls fresh air from outside of the engine compartment. (I'm guessing that last item could be good for around 8 hp or so...)

I'm probably going to just get stock F-body exhaust manifolds for the short term, & build the headers over the winter. That'll allow me to RE-use the manifolds when I swap a 5.3 into my wife's RS (she doesn't know about that swap yet!).

And yes, Mast Motorsports & Comp Cams do make performance cams for the VVT engines, & the potential there is downright NUTS - check out this article for an idea...

Bet you can guess what I'll be asking Santa for this year...



EDIT: And in related news... We might just have an idea now what the next step in LS engine development could be like... (I found that when looking for the link above.)

topher455

iTrader: (6)

Both articles are def a good read. I hope they dont screw up a good thing by going ohc like ford did. If it is as innovative as the ls we have nothing to worry about. The info on the vvt was awesome and honestly makes good sense. Hopefully santa hooks you up this year LOL. Arent the l92 ports the same as the regular ls? I thought there were already swap headers availible for the 3rd gen. Out of curiosity how much did your 6.2 cost you as long as your wife isnt listening of course. I assume some tuning will really wake up the 6.2 since it doesnt have to haul around 5k lb of truck anymore.

zman1969

iTrader: (91)

cool project cant wait to see it rollin, I had a 87 T/A that now my son owns and I'm looking at a 91 GTA that can be had reasonable - must resist temptation

topher455

iTrader: (6)

I meant to ask before does your motor have dod or just vvt? Rereading that is somewhat funny... Dont forget xyz. Im drunk.

zeake

iTrader: (5)

Awesome build. I had an 89 GTA t top with the 305. I loved that car. I wore it out. I want to see some video once you get it going.

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Oops - I thought that I'd already responded to a couple of these... Sorry guys, my bad...

Well, that's kind of a mixed bag, I guess. There are probably benefits to be had, & GM's engineers are as good as anyone's - but I just don't prefer the added complexity. More parts/subsystems frequently means more things to go wrong.

Of course if I really felt that way, I'd be driving a flathead...

Thanks. Given our finances right now, it doesn't seem too likely, but I can hope!

Nope, not at all! They're basically similar to rectangle-port big-block Chevy heads, although the entrance into the cylinder is different. These heads -bone stock- flow about 320 cfm @ .550 lift, so the net effect is sort of like having big-block capacity in a compact & lightweight package.

Yeah, there are swap headers available, but I just choke on the price - they're around $850. I remember spending $450 (+ the cost of Jet-Hot coating) on the SLP headers that I used to have on the car, & I swore I'd never do that again.

And no worries on the cost thing, we discussed it before I bought it - I paid $3500 for the engine, which I didn't think was half-bad, since it's brand-new (0 miles) & I was able to get some of that back by selling things like the oil pan, intake manifold, etc.

Yeah, I'm sure hoping so. I know that there's a pretty fair bit of potential locked inside - I just can't afford to do too much (at the moment) to unlock it!

Thanks. I'd love to have a '91-'92 GTA. I used to hate the shape of that nose, now I LOVE it. Go ahead & get it!

Heh - it just has VVT. I know that a number of people have thought that it has both, but AFAIK, it's just the VVT.

I'm still trying to find out about what's needed to add a power-adder to this engine (ha! I need to save up just to add a cam!), so the added tuning complexity of the AFM is something that I'm OK with not having...

COUNT on it! I've already thought of different things I can do with that - but I need to concentrate on finishing the project before doing anything else...

Thanks for the interest guys.

topher455

iTrader: (6)

I knew the intake ports were hella different but I didnt realize the exhaust port spacing was different requiring a different header to be used. I guess I should have specified. As far as the money thing I feel ya. I dont think the brick will be mobile until the holidays. At least is runs though.

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Whoops, I forgot to address that part. I'm pretty sure that the spacing on the exhaust ports is the same as the "regular" LS-type engines, so the existing headers should work - I just can't bring myself to spend that much on just a set of headers. And since I've done the math, I'm just going to build a set that are exactly what I'm wanting. Should make for a decent winter project (once I develop a bit of skill at welding, that is...).

topher455

iTrader: (6)

Just practice on some junk tubing before you weld em up. I've been welding for years and I still do it so I have the heat and feed settings correct before junking my new pipe. Look at my thread for the Brick. Those turbo headers are my first set. Just take your time. Also get a junk head to set on the work bench for your fabricating it will be invaluable.

Firehawk896

iTrader: (6)

Ive been reading this thread for 3 hrs, all I have to say is... I honestly don't know, Awesome build, I hope you get to drive it before the winter, just nice

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Wow, I thought that I'd have some good progress to report by now, but I've been spending all of my time working. Feeling a little bit guilty for taking this weekend off, but man, stuff around the house needs to get done before winter too...

Not a LOT of progress to report yet, but I finally decided to just pop the A-arms off & replace the ball joints as long as it's already apart this far... (C'mon guys, all of you already know this chorus, so say it with me - "As long as I'm here, I MIGHT AS WELL..") I swear, this build has just about become the very definition of "mission creep"...

(On the plus? side, I'm going to have at least a passing familiarity with just about every freakin' bolt on the car...!)

In the latest stanza of this song, I've decided that I probably ought to replace the A-arm bushings as well - but I'll just be using the stock rubber replacements, not any overpriced aftermarket pieces.

VERY cool man, thank you for the tips, I'll do that!

That sounds like a great idea, thanks Topher. I've even thought about creating a movable stand to bolt the junk head to so that I can work around it more than having it just sit on the bench - think that's worthwhile??

Very cool, thank you! And is the car in your avatar a genuine Firehawk?? (I'm not jealous!) Those are sweet as hell...!

Firehawk896

iTrader: (6)

Very cool, thank you! And is the car in your avatar a genuine Firehawk?? (I'm not jealous!) Those are sweet as hell...![/QUOTE]

Well not exactly...lol I chose the name before I knew there was a car called a Firehawk

Having just searched that, They started making Firehawks in '91 - 8 of them, and 92' - 17 of em

But I could say its a Firehawk with an 86 bumper and GTA rims

subtlez28

iTrader: (15)

Wow, that was a great deal! The guy who sold you that deserves at least partial credit on this spectacular build, right?


Or maybe I should just get some effort into completing my own project...

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

True enough, true enough... I certainly couldn't have done this without you being quick-thinking enough (& entrepreneurial enough) to have snagged the engines up & offering them up to us...
I'm sure I'll be mentally thanking you every time I wind it out past 5000 too...

topher455

iTrader: (6)

I really didnt need a stand for fabrication but they were forward facing headers. Allthough the last 2 sets of lt's I did were kind of a pita. I say anything that makes it easier on you will yield a better finished product.

At6texan

iTrader: (1)

cool build

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Sometimes it seems that this swap is just fighting me for every inch of progress...

I'd decided that I wanted to try & get the car on the road before the bad weather hits, so I got a pair of F-body exhaust manifolds, since bolting those up would be a lot quicker than building headers. Got them mocked up the other day. I had a little bit of time today, so I thought that I'd work on some of the "more major" electrical components. Bolted the starter up loosely & discovered that the pass. side exh. manifold was just about pointing right at the starter motor. (That area's getting distinctly tight lately...) Well, it's a mini-starter that allows you to re-clock it in any of five positions, each one about 20 degrees apart, so I pulled it back down & adjusted it so that the starter motor was tucked in more closely to the block. Held it back up there, & all looks good now.

Except that it won't bolt up. Tried it again. And again. Tried different angles, everything I could think of. Finally brought a bit more light over, & discovered that the crankshaft position sensor is sticking out just far enough to keep the inboard starter mounting bolt from being able to line up...

At that point I just moved on to something else so that I could TRY to say that I made a little bit of "forward motion" today. (And, in all honesty, I did make a little bit.) But I swear, with all the time I wasted on that, it feels like some days it's just not worth gnawing through the restraints to get out there to work on it...

topher455

iTrader: (6)

Hang in there. I know the feeling. Im sure most people in this section do too. Im having clutch pedal fun right now. The real funny part is I already built a set before and sold them.

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

Oh yeah, I'm not taking it too seriously, I know that it's all just part of the process. I'm not denying that I was aggravated, but after thinking about it a bit, I'm thinking that I'll just return the starter to it's original configuration & oval the exhaust tubing a bit right there. That's going to be a LOT easier than trying to make the starter & the sensor coexist in the same physical space... And even though I hate exhaust wrap, I think I'll use a little bit of it there, just to minimize the heat that the starter's exposed to...

The only thing that really bugs me is all of the time that these things are taking...