Long story short I wrecked my 2000 Trans Am a little. Nothing major, just bumper and fender mainly. Anyway the insurance coverage was enough to fix everything and rebuild the motor(I work at a body shop so a 4k repair bill means about $400 to me). No major issues with the motor. 170k, piston slap(of course) and some cold knock to go with it. Was getting oil in my coolant but I'm pretty sure it was from the power steering cooler. Just decided it was time to rebuild. I just repainted the whole car(right before the accident), replaced most of the suspension and brake components(1.5" drop), new driver seat and headliner, so the engine is all thats left. My best friend Jason rebuilds engines for a living so another massive savings.

First thing I did was go out and buy a beater for $600. 95 Nissan 200sx. Not even worth a picture but runs well. I have a van but it gets terrible gas mileage and a few bikes but I have kids to haul around. I'm giving the car to the engine guy when we are done as payment.

We decided to go out the top. Tranny and all. If we had room at the shop I would have lifted the body off but we are just too busy.

Ready to get at it. The fender and bumper were already off but I would have taken them off if not to save them from hanging engine damage.


I'm going to skip a whole lot here. No need to get into it as it has been covered in many other threads. I'm just showing off.
Decided to dismantle the right head to gain some clearance.


I wish it were as easy as the pictures make it look. That's Jason the engine guy.


Looking good. Only took 2 of us and some patience and it all came right out.


I didnt remember to take the obligatory "I'm the new engine!" picture. But here's her hole.


Stood up and tore down. Only the crank and cam really left(head and pistons out after the pic).



I'm not doing anything radical, just a rebuild. This car is my daily driver so I'm not really looking to gain much HP or anything. Just doing it for longevity.

Ordering parts tomorrow(bearings, seals, pistons, oil pump, etc...)
Gonna take a few weeks since we both work all week. I'm sending my ECM to Frost for tuning. Welding all the EGR, AIR, and secondary o2 shut. Any suggestions, comments, or hints are greatly appreciated.

 

Got all the parts in. Rebuild kit with pistons. Ls6 valley cover. Traditional power steering cooler to replace stock "in line" cooler. ARP rod bolts. And lots of odds and ends. Painting the engine black and having the headers powder coated black. Feel free to chime in with opinions and suggestions. Should be another couple-few saturdays until its done.

 

I'd be very cautious with those new rod bolts...

 

She lives! Only got to work on it 1 day a week so it took a while. Everything went back together pretty smooth. Replaced hard trans coolant hard lines with rubber. Turns out we broke a few sensors(Oil pressure, temp, knock) and the water pump's gasket dried out and started leaking. New sensors and water pump. New motor mounts. Air, EGR, and rear 02 removed and welded shut. Just did the mail order tune by frost for now, I'll get it to the dyno after a while. All in all it went very smooth. The car is put back together and I've put about 100 miles on it with no problems. I still have tons of little **** to do like paint the sail panel, nib and buff the whole car but it's mostly complete. I bought a 95 Nissan 200sx to drive while my car was down and damnit have I been missing my T/A. I am going to do a photo shoot in the next couple weeks when it is 100% complete. So far this year I have done a complete repaint with shaker style hood and shaved key holes, new seat covers, steering wheel, console lid, full trans service, full suspension with 1.5" drop, custom stereo. Its like having a brand new bird all over again. Only question I have is how do I know when I'm done? I just cant see myself stopping. Are there support groups for this?

Ready to drop in




I have been told this picture is required of a rebuild


I guess thats where i quit taking pictures. I'll post the album when she's really something to look at. A big thanks to LS1 Tech in general. This is where I almost always ended up when I had questions and could always find them already answered.

 

did you resize the rods for the ARP rod bolts, if not you need to do it or you gonna damage the bearings..thats why many people go with the katech bolts, since they do not required rod resizing.

 

I had the machine shop check them when I had the new pistons pressed on and he said they would be fine. It's pretty mildly driven also.