shiriah

Hello All -

I've been a reader of ls1tech for a couple weeks now. I enjoy reading the helpful comments of all you experts and seeing the wide array of knowledge covered by the forum members here.

I am struggling to no longer be uneducated when it comes to cars. Over the next few months/years, I am planning on a massive undertaking. My goal is to take a body style I like (mid 1980's Trans Am) and keep only the body. I would like to replace the engine/transmission, dash, upholstery, lights, etc. This will be a "customization project" and not a "restoration". This car will be my daily driver, not a track car.

A major point of this project, is for the education. I want to learn; I want to know my vehicle from the inside out. I want to do as much work as I can and only use shops for handling the things I won't have the tools for. I have already had a lot of people tell me I should just drop in a crate engine and call it finished. I would rather take the time to learn and understand than to just skip all of this. I know I am not a seasoned mechanic and most of this is extremely complicated. That's why I am here and asking questions

Anywho, the reason I am posting is because I have some questions to ask that I am having a hard time finding out. I want to do as much research as possible, because changing plans on paper is cheap - changing plans in the shop is expensive!!! This project will already require a good sum of money, I don't want to make costly mistakes.

I am looking at using the LSX base engine block due to it's high level of customization and part availability. In my mind, I am favoring a 427 ci / 7.0L build. However, I ask this - what is the difference between the standard oversquare 4.25 bore / 3.76 stroke, and a "square" 4.125 bore and 4.00 stroke (and is the latter even possible)? Once this is decided, how do you determine the connecting rod length? I have been trying and trying to find this out and apparently I haven't given Google the appropriate question because the answer eludes me. (Side note: if anybody knows of a good engine building book or two, give me the name or ISBN)

The next question I ask pertains to the daily driver aspect. Is a normally aspirated engine more efficient or is forced induction? If NA, is a high compression ratio preferred (within limits of detonation) or if FI, is a twin-turbo (small ones in parallel) preferred? Lol, I know it's worth a few laughs thinking about fuel economy with a suped up engine but I would like to keep it above single digits MPG (I'm thinking fuel economy & power equivalent of a 2010 Corvette for example).

I hope my ignorance doesn't annoy anyone and if I say something wrong, please correct me - I am trying to learn! Unfortunately, I do not know anybody around here with this kind of knowledge of engines - most of the mechanics I know around here are only familiar with basic repairs and once you start talking mid-engine, their eyes gloss over.

I appreciate any help/advice that you guys can give!

Thanks
- Alex

cam

iTrader: (9)

Welcome aboard dude and before you get completely slaughtered I will offer you the best advice I can. For everyone who begins a project HALF as involved as yours theres only one or less in a hundred that actually finish it. Plus to expect a masterpiece on your first outing is simply foolish unless your willing to spend $50 plus grand on a build that you will be lucky to sell for 10 when your done and trust me on this... If you EVER finish it will be a serious love/hate relationship you have PLUS you will know every single problem with the car ( trust me there will be LOTS )

So now that I've fed you some thoughts and given you some reality you really have to look at it like this; If you want to build this particular car ( maybe its a special car and means something to you ) then I would not touch it right now. Start with an easier build say like an engine swap on another F body and do it cheap, and simply ( buy a used engine, no rebuild, do your own harness and go ) that way when you screw up a bunch of times ( which you will ) you wont be so upset and you can learn from it and your not out a down payment on a home or riddled with bad debt.If you finish it ( and i mean running, drivin g, road worthy finished ) and you still feel like you want to build this car your dreaming of now? PM me and I'll give you some more tips


Just remember there is a serious learning curve in front of you that will take many MANY years if you want to understand this stuff and trying to learn while building a master piece is simply unwise. Start small and go because the sheer hours involved and frustrations for even the most experienced builders can be hard to overcome.

Good luck

shiriah

Cam -

I've already expected this to be a hard sell. I know nowadays with the internet people feel with so much information at their fingertips that they can do anything with a few google searches. I'm trying not to rush right into this but think meticulously and plan it all out.

My father made a custom 1955 truck where he took the cabs of two 1955's and welded them together to make himself an extended cab. I believe he extended the frame to fit the cab and the original bed, and had a friend of his help custom build a chevy 350 engine for it. It took him a couple years to do it, working just a few hours a day on it and when it got operational, he left the interior just shy of finished. He used some cheap carpet and some junk seats to throw in there so he could start using it - the exterior and engine looked new and pristine. He seriously could have taken it to car shows and made some serious impressions with it if he would have only finished the interior.

Currently, my daily driver is a 99 Grand Am, that is starting to get a little sad. It was abused before I got it and it was delivered to me with the infamous gasket plague. I purchased a full engine gasket set (except head gasket) and did the replacement on it. It seems to be running better, but not sure how much damage occurred from the gasket problem. Since it is my mode of transportation to work, I don't want to do a lot to it.

I have thought about doing what you suggested - buy a 3rd gen car and do an engine swap. I want to do this for the experience - would you recommend hitting up an auto salvage for a small block 350 or something of the like? I have worked with carburated engines and I'm not much of a fan of them - I like fuel injection and only plan on working with it. I know the 3rd gen TA was TPI, so is there a mid-90's car you think has a decent fuel injected motor I could steal? I'll do some looking around and see what is available in the area for salvage.

Another thought I have had is to buy a motor from a junk yard and do a rebuild of it. I figure a rebuild gets me much more versed in the internal mechanics of the engine, assembly/disassembly. What are your thoughts?

My original idea was to buy the 3rd gen TA, and start working on the labor intensive stuff that didn't require a lot of expertise - sanding off the paint, removing all the rust, putting on primer, cleaning up the interior, etc. While doing all of that I would do my research on the motor and save up so that I could drop all the money and parts on it at once so I don't have a half-assembled motor in the garage collecting dust waiting for the next paycheck to get the next part.

Hope this gives you a little more insight into where I stand and what I am trying to accomplish. I appreciate your warning and I am not taking it half-heartedly.

- Alex

cam

iTrader: (9)

I see. Well seeing as your starting from scratch you might as well buy a 2nd gen to start with it matters not what car you begin with really. Theres lots of LS swaps in everything now. As for sbc and carbs??? Why bother? Not trying to pee on those great things but its old tech and not going to garner a lot of support here this is an LSx board and I figured this is the way you wanted to go. ( and the way you should go LSx engines are amazing )

Anyways its not that hard to drop an LS engine in but it is tedious. Take your time and have fun all the posts in the world wont make up for a few hours elbow deep in grease