6 Speed Manual 95 Bonnie Build (Update 8/17)

[95naSTA]

I've owned an n/a 95 Bonneville for 7 out of the past 8 years. I learned a lot of what not to do with my first and made my second much better.

Over the past three years I've done DIY front coilovers, custom rear springs with air assist struts, LS1 front brakes, E39 headlight conversion, shaved a couple things, black onyx 202 paint, new carpet and headliner, and spaced out some Super RSes.

I did cam/heads/headers and pretty much every n/a bolt on (3800 series 2) but the engine is very very tired. It burnt a lot of oil and had poop compression. (wet test confirmed rings)

I had been planning a new n/a build for a while now and it was scheduled to go down this winter. A very nice lady decided to cut infront of me as hard as she could on 95 to apparently avoid and accident a couple weeks ago. This had me trying to squeeze between her and a jersey barrier. I never hit her but I did hook my wheel on the barrier, pop up slam down, poked my hood with my strut, bottomed out my subframe, crack my trans, ruin one of my Super RSes (fml), and scraped my mirror.

So, my build started a little early.

Here's the short list. And keep in mind I know all about how far you can take these engines with a heat gun m90 or a properly sized turbo. I just want to see how far I can take it n/a while still being streetable. hp/$ blows but it's more interesting to me.

05 low mile short block
home made longtubes with upswept 33" long primaries
Abbott racing cam and stage 3 heads milled 0.050"
(these heads have a near perfect I/E flow ratio)
shorter intake runners (HV3)
69mm TB
EWP
roller tip rockers
and some other things..

I rebuilt the trans (4t60-e) with better clutches 3.43s and a shift kit

And I do all my tuning via EFI live and TunerCATs RT. (I'm OBD1.5)

There's going to be a lot of polished/painted/AN stuff going on and I would like to relocate and clean up as much crap in the bay as I can.. In addition to a fresh spray.

When I bought it:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/1995naSTA/DSCN0317.jpg

Nowish
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/THqXLPYhBfI/AAAAAAAAJPA/lyAmFuZ-xmY/s800/IMG_4896.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TB0zG702ayI/AAAAAAAAIDQ/COkxYW6a63c/s800/IMG_2419.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TF9LqxC4VGI/AAAAAAAAI7U/0F7XzL_tmLg/s800/IMG_4735.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TBWEX0KBw0I/AAAAAAAAH-I/iUSr5Jy3i-Q/s800/IMG_4333.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TBWELqQGweI/AAAAAAAAH8Q/bI8BuIiaddk/s800/IMG_4319.JPG

95 love
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TNGoX913mQI/AAAAAAAAJrE/NUGUUpkMaSo/s800/2010-11-03%2013.58.49.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TNLwOkUeqbI/AAAAAAAAJrU/rionoNrSoEE/s800/2010-11-03%2013.29.48.jpg

New Set (9/10")
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TMevv8ovKxI/AAAAAAAAJlA/r9NK2w0OfV8/s800/IMG_4965.JPG

Headers
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TGb0mT5nWHI/AAAAAAAAI9o/hp9725H5Tpw/s800/IMG_4742.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TGb0lYzDC4I/AAAAAAAAI9Y/lVPGROxmBIk/s800/IMG_4740.JPG

On the car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd-yRwWZYLY

Polished crap:
http://picasaweb.google.com/cooneym63/Polished?feat=directlink

And the pull
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TOCIj34z0EI/AAAAAAAAJuI/NT3sAyM6kC4/s800/IMG_5009.JPG

[PunkboySL2]

That's one dope Bonneville. The wheels compliment the car greatly.

[DelayedZ]

That is just downright awesome, haha

[WolfsFang]

Omg the before and after pic is just awesome. love the car and as said before the wheels really bring out the car.

[Int3grA Da9 GsR]

Wow i can honestly say ive never seen someone hook up a bonneville... hands down that car is sexy as hell major props

[lownslow95]

I thought I would never say this about a Bonniville, but goddamn that things sexy.

[Honest_Bob]

hot!! :mrgreen:

[jesse096]

In the one pic, I coulda swore it was a BMW at first glance...

Nice Bonnie man, curious as to how much you can get out of her!

-Jesse

[ambitiousCK]

car looks great man, props to a very nice and unique car. Amazed at the before and after photos, keep up the good work and good luck

[Honduh]

Props for doing a motor install on the street.

[95naSTA]

Got a little interweb action:
http://www.stanceiseverything.com/2010/12/creative-thinking/

[856jersey]

Dope just flat out dope.

[Sublime1304]

Now that is something different. Props to you for a unique and different build

[95naSTA]

Thanks.

I got my longtubes back from Jet Hot. 2000* Black.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TQgaU9Y4jPI/AAAAAAAAJ64/CYHcuaRHqsg/s800/IMG_5119.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TQgaVfYqrxI/AAAAAAAAJ7A/xyechvfMoak/s800/IMG_5122.JPG

[milanoej1]

dam ****s sick bro!!!!

[Big_Jim]

Love this car, makes me miss my Bonnie.

[Erik@R/TTuning]

Wow! How much work was involved with the BMW headlight project?

[95naSTA]

They were work.

Added metal and kitty hair to the hood, cut the hood and grill near the inner top of the headlights, epoxied/rivited in front sections of E39 fender (got 2 damaged ones TG), kitty hair over that, built up the bumper corners with more kitty hair and screws to act as rebar, then skim coated it all with bondo.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/Slj_OSEc6WI/AAAAAAAAD70/oblElZq3VIs/s800/2009-07-11%2016.58.04.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/SmvsLY1re9I/AAAAAAAAEB4/-x3ST6EwpRU/s800/2009-07-25%2013.29.41.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/SmvsYx-FIxI/AAAAAAAAECM/xeSNy9Io1Hk/s800/2009-07-25%2016.35.04.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/SoIddox3tkI/AAAAAAAAEFE/1slW4iLJ0eU/s800/2009-08-11%2018.26.21.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/SqwfwDGp5FI/AAAAAAAAELc/i46v-9QkBns/s800/2009-09-12%2017.43.03.jpg

[Got Insulin?]

That headlight retro looks awesome! Great car all around, good choice on the RSs too.

[DaBombDiggidy]

awesome work!

[PunkboySL2]

damn, I didn't even notice the headlights! That's super clean.

[Erik@R/TTuning]

Killer work on the headlights man.

[Sublime1304]

Looks sweet!

[Teku18]

Nice job on the lights dude. Thing looks factory made.

[Asif22]

I saw a pic of the car at first and LOL'd

Then I saw what you did to it and my jaw dropped....holy freaking crap man. That is an amazing machine. You should have kept the stock lights and wheels and make it sleeeeeper : )

[95naSTA]

I got some polishing done today.

Not perfect but about as far as I would like to go for a DD.


http://lh5.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TQ7B85VzIxI/AAAAAAAAJ9E/RkBI8t-Pxew/s800/IMG_5110.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TSo3p1r0WRI/AAAAAAAAKp8/tlUaCk7FEF8/s800/IMG_5431.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TSo3qiSfmlI/AAAAAAAAKqE/Rk_bEntSLho/s800/IMG_5432.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/TSo3rIg5IkI/AAAAAAAAKqM/uclzPzNJE_Q/s800/IMG_5437.JPG

Here are some of the other things I've done that will be in the bay:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/R3MxK8cGjpI/AAAAAAAAABc/3BApWlZ6jQ0/s800/DSCN0556good.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/R3MxKscGjoI/AAAAAAAAABU/HLRqAEkbwIM/s800/DSCN0555good.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/R3MxLccGjqI/AAAAAAAAABk/ytZ1Oaeloic/s800/DSCN0568good.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/Sx20Z_CGJlI/AAAAAAAAEao/tdql2kqXEyY/s800/DSCN2268.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/Sx20aG2ZXNI/AAAAAAAAEas/c5LNT7EG6P4/s800/DSCN2262.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/SyQi95BAvGI/AAAAAAAAEeo/XS2prkGyUzU/s800/DSCN2306.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/SyhX9_iD0NI/AAAAAAAAEgM/lEgHnDC-Hs0/s800/DSCN2317.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_j26UOMifp74/SyhX9p8rcSI/AAAAAAAAEgI/qThZRkaZ1yM/s800/DSCN2311.JPG

[i_ride_fieroGT]

Any plans for a 3800SC?

[95naSTA]

Nope.

And keep in mind I know all about how far you can take these engines with a heat gun m90 or a properly sized turbo. I just want to see how far I can take it n/a while still being streetable. hp/$ blows but it's more interesting to me.

[Sublime1304]

Wow lookin good man

[qbcsvt]

Sweet. Polishing just does the engine bay good. I am doing the same. Quickly polishing everything I can in my engine bay to make the DD a bit nicer.

Dont know wtf you were thinking buying a Bonneville thinking it will look good! I would drive that thing any day of the year, great job on it!

- amyn

[Sublime1304]

What kind of product did you use to get those looking so nice?

[95naSTA]

Thanks guys. I'm glad that other people are diggin the car even if it is a granny mobile.

As for polishing, it's time and sanity.. lol.

Just to give you and idea, that tensioner assembly and coolant elbow probably took 18 hours or so, the master cylinder was 16 I think and everything else I think I forgot on purpose.

For the most part I take everything down to 180 grit via hand sandling. I use a dremel with a plain shank and directionally wrapped sections of sand paper for the smaller radii. It's the only real way to get rid of the porous surface and casting marks. After that it's 220, 320, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, and polish with white rouge on a buffing wheel then mothers mag and aluminum polish. For polishing the tighter radii, I use a dremel with a section of old cotton t-shirt directionally wrapped.

Parts with a lot of curves are less work since it's easier to burn through a radius, 90* angles and tight spots obviously blow, and flat spots are 2nd easiest.

[jesse096]

Honestly, I probably would have given up before I even took the stuff off lmao. Looks great none the less man, good work!

-Jesse

[dugganzx3]

Sick car man I'd love to know what kinda power you can get out of a 3800. Although I'm selling her soon I own an 01 impala ls nd originally had planned to work it myself. I just love the gm 3.8s tho. Beat of luck with urs

[skalor]

At least you'll never break your transmission from power production. I've broken mine twice and I'm working on the the third time now.

[95naSTA]

Yep. It's a nice aspect of the build. :)

[The01Cav]

The attention to detail on this car is insane PROPS!

[blkZ06]

....pimp

[95naSTA]

I'm finally making some headway.

I stripped the bay, picked up most of the stuff from the powder coater, got the car off the street, fixed the blower motor housing where it had rusted through, and got some obligatory in the engine bay pics.

I've been thinking about a solution to the cracked firewall plastic.. I broke off all of the old plastic and insulation when I was stripping the bay and realized that the bare blower motor housing, if cleaned up, would look just fine. I'm going to give it to the powder coater and have it ceramic coated. That will be simple enough to keep a lot of the heat out and make it look good. I'm also going to give them my STB to have done in purple and probably other things as I go.

My electric water pump is boxed up and ready to be sent out for a rebuild, I've got 8 S1 L67 injectors boxed up and ready to be cleaned/tested, and the parts I need anodized ready to go as well.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ2wBkrbRI/AAAAAAAALhE/a00NsCS3gY4/s800/IMG_0272.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ2wq8IaaI/AAAAAAAALhM/oJ3XiP3kBQU/s800/IMG_0276.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ2xLmzSgI/AAAAAAAALhU/vgbnzGYnpNI/s800/IMG_0277.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ2yH2k0FI/AAAAAAAALhc/1oosMuaFmh4/s800/IMG_0294.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ2yom7jeI/AAAAAAAALhk/rmF0ZpiaMKg/s800/IMG_0295.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ2zGUj4oI/AAAAAAAALhs/5cxt9b0wQSk/s800/IMG_0296.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ2z2MuFsI/AAAAAAAALh0/1Qf_RQa2k0s/s800/IMG_0299.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ20fI1eXI/AAAAAAAALh8/3k4QmDPzftI/s800/IMG_0300.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ20ycV08I/AAAAAAAALiE/XATR0RKtb-M/s800/IMG_0302.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ21Y8xI_I/AAAAAAAALiM/jEKCyaH-KDs/s800/IMG_0303.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ22PJWd4I/AAAAAAAALiU/yWebLyQWLqo/s800/IMG_0304.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ22USnJeI/AAAAAAAALic/OUJ3bbGnq_E/s800/IMG_0305.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ23HqDAmI/AAAAAAAALik/p1ju5EqfdFs/s800/IMG_0306.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ234CjQOI/AAAAAAAALi0/iOETP8XY6js/s800/P3050493.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ24teNPwI/AAAAAAAALi8/3p43SDHuris/s800/P3050498.JPG

[jesse096]

Should look sweet when you're done!

-Jesse

[arkadyzv]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ234CjQOI/AAAAAAAALi0/iOETP8XY6js/s800/P3050493.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXQ24teNPwI/AAAAAAAALi8/3p43SDHuris/s800/P3050498.JPG

LOL, making good progress brosef. I need to stop by and check it out.

[95naSTA]

Yeah dude, drop by (and plzzzz help me sand lol)

List of stuff that's been happening:
Most of the ordered parts came in (ACDelco rack/bushings/power steering lines/blower motor/booster/proportioning valves/00+ tie rods. Delphi heater core. All oem subframe bushings/caps/spacers/bolts. 20' of red and black 4 gauge wire, remote terminals.)
Picked up the ALT/FPR brackets and the long tube brackets form the Bonehead (These guys are the best)
Dropped off the header box (ceramic satin), power steering subframe hard line (purple), and STB (purple)
Dropped off the fuel rail and fittings to be anodized
On the passenger side:
Cut and moved the battery relocation tray up a bit since it was hitting the bumper a little
Cut out the pinched seam above tire that keeps me from getting lower and welded it up
Cut out some rust and repaired
Cut the whole battery tray sheet metal out since it was a mess, welded in new
Welded in 4 major holes near battery tray plus a few smaller ones
Welded in half of the rad support holes
Kitty haired the whole battery area and sanded (ready for muddin)
Mudded the rad support
Undercoated the new battery tray metal, welded seam, rust repair

I still have a ****on of sanding left on the passenger side but I threw some rattle can primer on there to keep the bare metal covered. Water can get through but it's better than nothing.

This + the wiring will be the most labor/time intensive parts of the build. How I have the patience for this.. dunno.

Pics:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXrP83r6cHI/AAAAAAAALog/UtbThDAWAXY/s800/2011-03-11%2017.04.06.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXrP9TtUirI/AAAAAAAALoo/gGPqWYEahzE/s800/2011-03-11%2017.04.24.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vDjfWFzI/AAAAAAAALv8/EGzjuDTbtrk/s800/2011-03-12%2016.34.34.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXrQFC31UEI/AAAAAAAALpg/BJ2k2i2RY5o/s800/2011-03-11%2018.05.33.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TXrQJQzJ1II/AAAAAAAALqA/0noEeEOSt00/s800/2011-03-11%2018.14.07.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vCQzQfxI/AAAAAAAALvs/VarcbYUnNQI/s800/2011-03-12%2016.33.53.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vDNqJNiI/AAAAAAAALv0/Fr39fVpim0M/s800/2011-03-12%2016.34.07.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vEMaaeVI/AAAAAAAALwE/QyQcksgYI80/s800/2011-03-12%2017.11.35.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vE5-RKII/AAAAAAAALwM/IkF95OtK_7w/s800/2011-03-12%2017.25.17.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vFVxg8qI/AAAAAAAALwU/KrtQytxlEcI/s800/2011-03-12%2018.00.33.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vF0LYy1I/AAAAAAAALwc/c1lQEUcJ4A4/s800/2011-03-12%2018.27.15.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vGf_yPjI/AAAAAAAALwk/2bdN7riqEKQ/s800/2011-03-13%2013.45.02.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vHNUws9I/AAAAAAAALws/ZWB0r3eF-k0/s800/2011-03-13%2014.27.10.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vHhdtC1I/AAAAAAAALw0/n47OOi5mr_k/s800/2011-03-13%2014.55.28.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vIYe1ptI/AAAAAAAALw8/JfjqNl2buic/s800/2011-03-13%2015.11.12.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vI3C__yI/AAAAAAAALxE/Gsqo3Xm-ie4/s800/2011-03-13%2015.14.38.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vJVCua3I/AAAAAAAALxM/WeScQRWhzmE/s800/IMG_5530.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vKetKiWI/AAAAAAAALxU/vL516hAm-Gk/s800/IMG_5532.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vK3gRZJI/AAAAAAAALxc/qnYiwximDXs/s800/IMG_5533.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vLWpafaI/AAAAAAAALxk/HmamkS9FtCs/s800/IMG_5535.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX1vL0NpqII/AAAAAAAALxs/zIRLemyIGDw/s800/IMG_5524.JPG

[95naSTA]

I figured out how I'm going to tuck my ABS distro block:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX63Q9Pi6dI/AAAAAAAALys/nSlYF2jx-ro/s800/IMG_0312.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TX63RkmJ3kI/AAAAAAAALy0/BAJP1Kl3ok0/s800/IMG_0314.JPG

With a little trimming and the OEM bracket welded in there, it will fit like it belongs.

I didn't want to delete it since it's come in handy a few times.

[89lowlude]

By far the most unique builds i've seen.

[Oakes]

I remember this thing!

Sorry to hear about the accident, but clearly that has led to some better things! Good luck with it!

[95naSTA]

Thanks Nick!

One of the other things I wanted to do in this major front end overhall was improve the roll center. The front control arms are past neutral currently..

I didn't want to reweld the knuckles to make drop spindles and spacing the lower balljoint out doesn't actually do anything so I opted for a balljoint with a taller stud.

I'm going to use a Chrylser 727 screw in type ball joint with a Howe extended stud, and a carrier/adapter I drafted in CAD. The carrier bolts up to my stock control arm and will have a threaded sleeve TIGed into it for the ball joint. S&W Precision Specialties are currently waterjetting the carriers for me.

Other than the TIGing, all I need to do to make this work is have the knuckles reemed out slightly and do some clearancing at the end of the stock stamped steel control arms. I have the same ball joint taper stock but the Chrysler stud is a bit thicker.

[95naSTA]

I got the passenger side bodywork finished:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TY6JyfC8AII/AAAAAAAAL2E/GIO2iFoPJVg/s800/IMG_5538.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TY6JywH-DJI/AAAAAAAAL2M/_5tlsb6k3Ww/s800/IMG_5539.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TY6JzjlS6VI/AAAAAAAAL2U/41JPft4lB6U/s800/IMG_5550.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TY6J0Pk1akI/AAAAAAAAL2c/rw7yMofzNz0/s800/IMG_5551.JPG

[boostedfury]

you sir have skill with a welder and body work!

[blkZ06]

love it

[VERTZX]

bonerville

[lownslow95]

bonerville

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww293/MsPiggy4/Laughing/i_see_what_you_did_there.jpg

[95naSTA]

Haha. I definitely loled at the last 2.

So.. The monster truck ball joints came in..

From left to right.

Aftermarket replacement front 92-99, Aftermarket replacement 1960-66 Chrysler, Howe Extended stud ball joint with threaded sleeve, 10* reamer for the knuckle, Howe ball joint disassembled. The dust boots are across the top in the same order.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZPl0Mxp1yI/AAAAAAAAL8M/AGvIpycQuo8/s800/IMG_0422.JPG

I should have the adapter/carrier for the threaded ball joint sleeve if not next week, the following.

I got a tank for welding yesterday.. So I'm good there.

And I ordered a Zoop Seal kit to seal all of my polished aluminum stuff.. I reallllly hope it works because clear powder coating didn't.
When I first read about it a few years ago it didn't have many good reviews, but now it does and also suggests that those bad reviews are from people who didn't read the instructions.. We'll see.

Rain or shine, progress is happening this weekend.

[95naSTA]

Today I:
Cut out the upper wheel well pinched seam, welded it shut, and underbodied it.
Modified the ABS unit front mounts to have it sit a little higher, bolted them in, made the third mount and used one of those sandwiching threaded metal clips in an OEM hole which made things clean and easy. I'm pretty happy with how the mounting turned out. Everything bolts up, it's solid, there's plenty of room for routing the lines, and it even still uses the OEM rubber bushings.
I welded plates and filled in all the unneeded holes in the front of the engine bay on the driver's side. I got about half way through grinding it all down before I had to call it quits.
I still have to do some welding on the upper rad support and strut tower, then comes the filler.. my favorite part.....

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZfVZIdcu8I/AAAAAAAAMNg/Or6dld2m67c/s800/IMG_0466.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZfVbFgtuPI/AAAAAAAAMOI/BwJ9hZyUsGk/s800/IMG_0471.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZfVa_LsfZI/AAAAAAAAMOA/VtxD_XQpBR0/s800/IMG_0470.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZfVaTU5S6I/AAAAAAAAMN4/faPQqhYgvhA/s800/IMG_0469.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZfVZywq2rI/AAAAAAAAMNw/qK1hVk9pJhU/s800/IMG_0468.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZfVgD1bF7I/AAAAAAAAMPU/Uph8x74fDZ0/s800/IMG_0482.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZfH3oGuV5I/AAAAAAAAMMQ/WKEOBNhGzGY/s800/2011-04-02%2015.25.16.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZfIJ9Y8OUI/AAAAAAAAMMg/ZgOy9y_Ws6M/s800/2011-04-02%2016.55.45.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZfJofX5qDI/AAAAAAAAMM8/-7Vye1oruPU/s800/2011-04-02%2019.01.23.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TZfVeBS8zRI/AAAAAAAAMO8/smBbZNcj05Y/s800/IMG_0478.JPG

[Nick Merrone]

i love this.

[Teku18]

Well hot ****ing damn. Looking good. Really wish I could weld like you can. I feel that skill comes in handy so much.

[BigWhiteTodd]

i keep checking this thread and loving what i see every time. shaved b-ville bay going to be sweet

[jjm4life]

love it. unique build. cant wait to see where it goes

[D Money]

gangster

[95naSTA]

I picked up some stuff from Bonehead today after work.

Power steering subframe line in purple.. I probably shouldn't have done this since it's not going to cool as well but I couldn't not.. I'll add a mini cooler later.

Then STB in purple and the heater box is ceramic coated to make up for the disintegrated firewall insulation.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TaTr4usdc5I/AAAAAAAAMSU/EKER9W0PHic/s800/IMG_5570.JPG


Below are a modified tail shaft to block bracket, and a front support bracket for my headers (wrinkle to match jet-hot 2000), and modified alt bracket for my FPR/fuel setup (satin).

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TaTr5LTjCGI/AAAAAAAAMSc/R2zGo_fMv2c/s800/IMG_5571.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TaTr5ue-RwI/AAAAAAAAMSk/rS7cYR01I-s/s800/IMG_5574.JPG


Pics of before and where they go:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TLe7MPMoZmI/AAAAAAAAJe4/urkXF14MhdE/s800/IMG_4926.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TLpRjiC7YqI/AAAAAAAAJgs/EXPjKz-p5XA/s800/IMG_4949.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TPLki-EH8ZI/AAAAAAAAJ0Q/zZWPc4-pPso/s800/IMG_5100.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TPLmImcmP1I/AAAAAAAAJ0g/QY085X0K9_Q/s800/IMG_5091.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TPLkg_e75ZI/AAAAAAAAJ0A/jk2pDh8ZyME/s800/IMG_5084.JPG


Hopefully I'll pick up the anodized fuel stuff this weekend.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Just wild

[PunkboySL2]

so so good

[Rtaylor21]

Good work very clean!

[ThePrimerSuspect]

this is so badass. I wish I had the time/patience/experience/tolerence for my car. Can't wait to see this thing finished.

[95naSTA]

I have no idea how I have the patience for this stuff. Stubborn helps?

Time is something I wish I had more of.. I've been home maybe half this year so far. I flew 28k miles and drove 4k ish for trips, most of which was work related.

So, I took a day off to work..

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taeq24tfM3I/AAAAAAAAMrw/MAkUqsuw9uo/s800/IMG_0659.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taeq3IIUfhI/AAAAAAAAMr4/e6qmsPINJ0s/s800/IMG_0661.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taeq32WeHZI/AAAAAAAAMsA/Ax-7njql0Js/s800/IMG_0663.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taeq4YJaeyI/AAAAAAAAMsI/yc6VXeFQmL0/s800/IMG_0664.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taeq40MuX4I/AAAAAAAAMsQ/L_qcoOHsYwM/s800/IMG_0667.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taeq5SgGA9I/AAAAAAAAMsY/3W9684P4xZQ/s800/IMG_0668.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taeq5-1dVAI/AAAAAAAAMsg/G_jz-z-NnDE/s800/IMG_0672.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taeq6jiXFCI/AAAAAAAAMso/zjTA7zJv3sc/s800/IMG_0673.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taeq7VgqC3I/AAAAAAAAMsw/ov8vw_wS7To/s800/IMG_0674.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taeq7y6-CaI/AAAAAAAAMs4/etDPjiuuWqE/s800/IMG_0675.JPG

[95naSTA]

Nothing exciting but progress nun the less. The bottom has to be knocked down and I still have to grind and fill in all the strut tower spot weld b.s.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taje1lOESiI/AAAAAAAAMtM/cVjvyQISY3A/s800/IMG_0691.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Taje17w1zrI/AAAAAAAAMtU/oP8nc5xlANs/s800/IMG_0696.JPG

[95naSTA]

I had a feeling it was going to rain today.. which was why I was hustling the past two days. That and as of tomorrow I won't be back in Philly till the 25th.

I did get some more stuff done anyway though.

I went up to the anodizing place to check out the progress. They asked if I wanted them to polish the fittings/rails after they anodized them and showed me the difference. I couldn't say no. I should have that stuff at the end of the month.

My ball joint adapters I had waterjetted came in and I pressed the threaded sleeves into them. They fit a lot better than I thought they would and I only had to do a very minimal grinding on the control arm to clear the sleeve and ball joint housing. They still have to be welded and coated.

I bolted up the power steering line to the subframe to remind myself why I had it powder coated, looks legit.

And since Zoop Seal is no more (the order I placed for it was refunded), I bought Shine seal to coat all my polished aluminum stuff.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tao-NJsOR-I/AAAAAAAAMt4/fdpi1I2anRY/s800/IMG_5576.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tao-Nhx4knI/AAAAAAAAMuA/G9P1hx6K6T4/s800/IMG_5577.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tao-OMdlzQI/AAAAAAAAMuI/g6PcLfNDbuc/s800/IMG_5578.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tao-OgwBnjI/AAAAAAAAMuU/f72RjOr_b1I/s800/IMG_5583.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tao-PNYTvsI/AAAAAAAAMuc/Go7emwyTC5o/s800/IMG_5585.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tao-PU6hgEI/AAAAAAAAMuk/9FUH86Zn_r8/s800/IMG_5590.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tao-PhjqpYI/AAAAAAAAMus/5VGbVMf6ikY/s800/IMG_5593.JPG

[95naSTA]

I had some time this week to do some thinking and research on what I'm going to do to finish up my front suspension.

Now that I have the taller ball joints figured out, that leaves the tie rods and top mounts.

Tie rods:
The plan is to flip them so that they are on the bottom vs. top (stock). Since the knuckle is higher in relation to the p/s rack, the tie rods are pointed up at an angle. Flipping them will bring them closer to the stock angle and the new lower control arm angle. Some people just reverse ream the tie rod hole in the knuckle and effectively use half the surface area to seat the tie rod. I would maybe consider this with a cast iron knuckle but not a softer aluminum one.
I found a few different sleeve kits and once I get home and check out a stock one, I'll be able to see if any one of those matches stock taper

Top mount:
The issues I have currently..
-Spring meets at an angle, contacts strut body, and eggs the 2.5" pipe I welded to the bottom of the mount to position the spring.
-If I go any lower, the top of the strut body contacts the bottom of the mount.
-The passengers side top mount is nuked from the wheel ruining accident.

I had the idea yesterday that I might be able to modify the stock top mount to raise where the strut bolts, use the stock bearing and rubber isolator, and possibly a 2nd flipped and modified upper mount as an adapter between the coilover spring and the isolator/bearing.

I've been trying to figure out what to do about the top mount for a while now.. I do not want to go the common aftermarket route of putting all the vertical load on a spherical bearing. I know it can work for a while but spherical bearings are not meant to be loaded axially and I don't like doing things the wrong way.. This makes it a lot harder to figure out how I want to distribute the load of the spring, have it at the right angle as the strut turns, and mount the strut shaft but I may have that all figured out..

In other news.. I'm hoping to finish the engine bay work/prep with two more free days and I'm trying to make that as soon as possible.

[Sublime1304]

You sure do put a lot of thought into your build. I like it

[Spawne32]

dude how much time was put into the polishing of those pieces lol ...wanna polish a supercharger case for me? :x

[DTownHemiD]

Wow great job with the body work and whole vehicle

[95naSTA]

Thank guys.
The polishing took literally forever. Over 15 hours per part on the more complicated pieces, which blows. I finished most if not all of the stuff I was tyring to polish and I hope I never have to do it again. lol.

[95naSTA]

I took a comp day today to get some more stuff done.

The short list:
-Finished drivers side bay bodywork
-Mounted battery terminals
-Drilled hole and tucked passenger side body harness.. (the easy side)
-Drilled hole and started to tuck drivers side body harness

I'm going to get in touch with my painter buddy and figure out when he can come by and spray the bay. I still have some prep left but it's not much.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk10L5BGI/AAAAAAAAMyw/32p2CmaI-qo/s800/IMG_0706.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk2Qn8qEI/AAAAAAAAMy4/s_EiQ6thtfk/s800/IMG_0713.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk21QZWTI/AAAAAAAAMzA/zSZw2gR_GnE/s800/IMG_0715.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk3SqrXLI/AAAAAAAAMzI/ANUrdPrW5so/s800/IMG_0716.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk3_imyPI/AAAAAAAAMzQ/9SB2ieYh_s4/s800/IMG_0717.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk4RN0hBI/AAAAAAAAMzY/7jeb1yo5URM/s800/IMG_0720.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk1aGbo6I/AAAAAAAAMyo/WksJ0X7OGFk/s800/2011-04-26%2017.03.31.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk5YHPT9I/AAAAAAAAMzo/l4CIzTJ1-Ng/s800/IMG_0726.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk52XLpYI/AAAAAAAAMzw/DySYs-jAJ_4/s800/IMG_0727.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk6XxdgiI/AAAAAAAAMz4/CNz8hGjPugw/s800/IMG_0728.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tbdk6xel3eI/AAAAAAAAM0A/RQPZBc0Uhqk/s800/IMG_0729.JPG

[tranceporter]

too dope!

[95naSTA]

Last week this stuff happened:

New heater core.
Took apart my spare engine and found 500 gallons of water in it.. cylinders were rusted.. Techincally didn't pay for it so not a huge loss.
All the ABS and drivers side headlight wiring is extended and loomed. I'm running the ABS wiring outside the unibody with cushion clamps..
Mounted the drivers side horn.
Lost the IAT sensor wires.. lol. I'll find them it just got too dark.
Welded in and grinded down a couple too far cut marks on the inside of the upper rad support.
Welded washers to my modified rear trans mount plate. I had the washers there before but just sandwiched in.
Got a tie rod out of one of my spare front knuckles that wouldn't come out with an impact..
Brought my misc tie rod/ball joint/knuckle/reamer stuff to the place that did my CAD work so they can ream out the ball joint holes and reverse ream and sleeve the tie rod holes.
Por-15'd my ABS brackets, the newly welded rear trans mounting plate, and under the rad support where I welded metal.
Found my IAT wires and extended them to where the filter will be.
Stripped the clear powdercoat off my polished master cylinder (so I can re-polish and seal with ShineSeal)
And I had the bay sprayed. It was a bit cold and getting dark by the time my buddy started spraying so there are a few runs.. He'll be back over hopefully this week for a re-do.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcCmHX8Z_4I/AAAAAAAAM3k/TKhYKmv8uSM/s800/2011-05-03%2014.48.45.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcCmCoo0sLI/AAAAAAAAM3Y/Xd0OPTj5QXU/s800/2011-05-03%2014.48.55.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcCl65ga35I/AAAAAAAAM3M/Kzaq9-LN4JM/s800/2011-05-03%2018.32.33.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcClya-YTZI/AAAAAAAAM3E/bm8YDJN_gKc/s800/2011-05-03%2020.10.32.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcPtJYYVxiI/AAAAAAAAM44/quQ-VcVN0qs/s800/2011-05-06%2008.26.18.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcPtmiyPvHI/AAAAAAAAM5A/sgGBTJCM8b4/s800/2011-05-06%2008.26.29.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcPxsiVx2lI/AAAAAAAAM5Q/YDByJNTccFI/s800/2011-05-06%2008.26.38.jpg

This weekend:

The new (17k) engine came Friday. I took everything heads up off, wheeled it up into my garage and put it on the stand.
I ran the (cunifer) brake lines from the ABS distro to all 4 corners with new proportioning valves in the rear. I didn't do one section that goes across the rear of the car from the proportioning valve to the passenger side rear wheel. It’s 3 years old and a huge PITA in a slanted driveway. I'll bang it out on a lift eventually.
The Kent-Moore J-45405 flaring kit I picked up not too long ago and used to do the lines is beyond ballin. I'm real happy I got it.
I still have to run the 1 soft and two hard lines from the distro up to the master cylinder. This will come after the paint redo so I can mount the new booster and after I repolish and seal the master.
Those 3 lines are the only ones you'll see in the engine bay coming from behind the drivers strut tower to the master. I hid all the other ones.
The ABS electrical is cushion clamped up out of the way and the connectors all reach without issue.
I made the jumper cables form the battery to the terminals. I have the rubber covers for the battery side, they're just not on yet.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcdPo96-_YI/AAAAAAAAM84/KFk2N61SIho/s800/2011-05-06%2017.37.54.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcdX97zOH_I/AAAAAAAAM9I/4ESltIVTIzU/s800/IMG_0759.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcdO9y_CT5I/AAAAAAAAM8o/4gkDuTMpkqI/s800/IMG_0744.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcdO55hpXwI/AAAAAAAAM74/LglXxmCyS0U/s800/IMG_0750.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcdO6Vqh0lI/AAAAAAAAM8A/jlsea6STXLk/s800/IMG_0752.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcdO66Qy_LI/AAAAAAAAM8I/1m9F2JuJQ3k/s800/IMG_0753.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcdO7WQv5AI/AAAAAAAAM8Q/8Gg4zmwK824/s800/IMG_0754.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcdO9A00LrI/AAAAAAAAM8Y/DwgdnCCR_hQ/s800/IMG_0756.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/TcdO9ePh-3I/AAAAAAAAM8g/s5GpD26-oSs/s800/IMG_0757.JPG

[sobigsofly]

I love this build and your work

[motorvated]

very impressed.

[jesse096]

I love this build and your work

This.

-Jesse

[95naSTA]

I got the bay repainted Wednesday. It came out a lot better. There are no runs but there are a couple spots where condensation from the gun/hose connection sprayed water and made tiny bubbles. Those spots are going to get buffed out later.

I got the booster, evaporator, ceramic coated HVAC box, blower motor, resistor in after work Friday.

The bay is already dirty in the pics.. yay pollen.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tc3-dB4aDkI/AAAAAAAANA4/viUeeWqfu3Q/s800/2011-05-11%2019.50.37.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tc34W8_Z0DI/AAAAAAAANAI/3kWw3YBohNE/s800/IMG_0765.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tc34XJbSsEI/AAAAAAAANAQ/GJfDAQclCxk/s800/IMG_0766.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_j26UOMifp74/Tc34Xr1ay4I/AAAAAAAANAY/btTZckeqHK8/s800/IMG_0767.JPG

[Renegade_]

This is the only time when the word classy and bonneville are going to end up being in the same sentence.

Good job man

[95naSTA]

All the brake lines are run to the MC. I used a 90* bulkhead for the ABS reservoir rubber line and bushings for the F/R brake lines. I still need to repolish the MC and the bleeder snapped off my driver’s side F-body caliper.. I'll get that out somehow.

There's a pic showing what you'll see brake liens wise in the bay.. Just 3 lines running behind the strut tower.

The passenger side wiring is finished, grounds, bushings, etc.

Most of the battery wiring is run. I used a plastic bulkhead for where the power goes through the unibody. I still have to cut the line at the starter, throw a connection on it, and make an alt to fuse/relay center line. I popped my trunk for the first time in 6 months.. lol.
The battery tray is going to get por-15'd.

The driver's side wiring is mostly complete. I just need to get a bushing around where the body wiring goes through the unibody.

I got the new cam in the engine with new timing chain.. I'm just going to run a stock chain/damper since my last chain/damper still had life left in it after 80k with LS6 springs. I'm waiting on a tensioner to put the front cover on. I ordered a por-15 black engine paint kit I'm going to do the block and heads with that.. I was going to paint the heads purple but I think it'll look good to have the black as a contrast. The LIM/front cover and trans are all purple. This is the it's too late or crappy out part of the build.

I picked up my reworked knuckles with the flipped tie rod hole and reamed out ball joint hole. They had the top part of the bushing cup I'm making done too.
I welded up the ball joint carriers and bushing cup then test fit the monster truck ball joint on the car. I ran into a problem that I have been worrying about.. There isn't enough range of motion with the ball joint and it's maxed out before I can even bolt up the knuckle. I'm kinda bummed out about it but I'm hoping I figure something out. I might be able to find a different 727 style ball joint that will work. I know of at least 1 other I can try.. I just have to look more into it.

I also decided to just run the same style of top mount I was running. All the solutions I came up with are a huge undertaking that will probably never get finished in the time I need them to be done. I at least used a shorter pipe so it can't get out of round.. I welded those up but still need to paint them. I'll address this later..

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lf8vxeOCi6o/Tel0SRu7iOI/AAAAAAAAON4/GnqCspUrr5Y/s800/IMG_1201.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ISgp8pgp588/Tel0URedEYI/AAAAAAAAOOY/7W418IjEWMA/s800/IMG_1205.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gBAqIqUdne4/Tel0VC3Bg7I/AAAAAAAAOOg/i7hflPYskHw/s800/IMG_1206.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-kXI00Q6njx0/Tel0V4YzeQI/AAAAAAAAOOo/M9x6fg641sM/s800/IMG_1207.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--0xuhqOSES4/Tel0TZPeHzI/AAAAAAAAOOI/YXVectGeszE/s800/IMG_1203.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SxOCmIhr3qw/Tel0Ty_iN0I/AAAAAAAAOOQ/oDhOplOBzXI/s800/IMG_1204.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QRGcUxgMfY0/TexQKIxmp3I/AAAAAAAAOSk/OifLV7jFMU8/s800/IMG_1217.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jHLLH_spQsk/TexQLtzLWvI/AAAAAAAAOS8/V_ilSsRVxMA/s800/IMG_1220.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XjNrhDbDN3Q/Tel0ZIZv5aI/AAAAAAAAOPI/vuIAoHcjq-E/s800/IMG_0759.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mU19ynBMYUg/Tel0aOzZR0I/AAAAAAAAOPk/SXJ3d-CGIRs/s800/IMG_1193.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-WnWVmuJJJWc/Tel0a1WseFI/AAAAAAAAOPs/hOMuoCGV2XM/s800/IMG_1194.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jp1Dg0yCm-U/Tel0bIyEJqI/AAAAAAAAOP0/rxXpxjXzE7M/s800/IMG_1195.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EJeqDnXmeHw/Tel0bVya1-I/AAAAAAAAOP8/P_B5NI6CJng/s800/IMG_1196.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5WcKr4F1rXU/Tel0bh6_MnI/AAAAAAAAOQE/k36BGAfx2pQ/s800/IMG_1197.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VxUEYlWTeRI/Tel0b5XwlkI/AAAAAAAAOQM/rmH-ISaT3MQ/s800/IMG_1198.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xfsazxfa1mA/Tel0IOoVgaI/AAAAAAAAONo/OUGNs2_c2tU/s800/IMG_1210.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tRYjhZaIdiE/Tew9qaN6RoI/AAAAAAAAORo/f_Z9wlevydo/s800/IMG_1212.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EOmThxyrZVI/Tew9qlLodUI/AAAAAAAAORw/zndIxiMoT3M/s800/IMG_1216.JPG

[JDMmuscle]

This is just way to cool, I LOVE it when people break the mold man!

Im defiantly in for the final result!

[95naSTA]

Thanks!

Lol. This is probably the first and only time a lot of this stuff will be done to a Bonnie.

Looking at the pics of the angles and realizing I have spare control arms.. I'll probably modify the ends of them. That makes the most sense at this point.

I can make 3 cuts, push the mounting face for the ball joint down, correcting the angle, box it in and even add sheet metal to the top for strength.

The only real hard part is making them 100% identical.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LjFP1GT5hbA/Te0KMsm3goI/AAAAAAAAOUA/wGfWPtIQbCI/s800/IMG_1210s.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FR2M_4mx8L0/Te0KPpGrIRI/AAAAAAAAOUE/YIK-wCKbtog/s800/IMG_5578s.JPG

[95naSTA]

I may have found someone to make the original 3D design for the ball joint carrier. But, I'm going to have to hang this part of the project up for a later date to get this thing on the road.

Crap I got done:
-Installed powdercoated subframe, new rack, and bigger front sway.
-Grinded and Por-15ed: front unibody corners in front of front doors, areas where the subframe bolts up in the rear, and newly welded coilover top mounts
-Got all the subframe to body bushings in after the paint dried
-Ported oil passage in rear cover, went to dealership to get the new style aluminum rear cover gasket and rear main, installed
-Re-installed oil pan
-Painted the engine GM Oil Leak Black with a Por-15 engine painting kit. It's a 4 step process which took a while.. I used spare L26 parts to cover the tops of the heads, lifter valley, and front cover area.
-Installed EWP to front cover
-Put L26 oil pump in the L36/67 cover and packed it
-Got a all aluminum oversized rad made for an Eldorado
-Got an adjustable dogbone rear trans mount to use since the rest of my mounts are raised 1.5". It's made for a Fiero.. I guessed it would work and it does.
-Soaked trans tailshaft and buttoned up side cover.

With my heads milled 0.050" and thinner head gaskets I was wondering if there were going to be alignment issues. The aluminum LIM gaskets needed to be shaved at the bottom to work with the rubber valley gaskets. The LIM I had milled to match does bolt up but there is a lip at the bottom of the intake ports transitioning to the heads. The top and sides line up good though. So, I'm going to have to port the bottom of the LIM ports before I install the LIM. I'm hoping to take care of that soon, along with the front cover.

Here are the pics and a short list of stuff that needs to happen before I drop the engine and trans in... Still lots of misc. crap to do after that before I can take it for a spin though.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uuI0YxCYqG8/TfrFXlgIhfI/AAAAAAAAOiE/uPP0beUgktc/s800/IMG_1227.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EuSHaWuvzlo/TfrFX0Nx8-I/AAAAAAAAOfs/g-svMVzp_Cs/s800/IMG_1229.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C53aSY2geUM/TfrFYiAsutI/AAAAAAAAOf0/moVVKBKm7r8/s800/IMG_1230.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xJ3CDfx15Tw/TfrFZKMwKQI/AAAAAAAAOf8/TF37boGWd6c/s800/IMG_1231.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-kSE6Ln8JezE/TfrFZt3vSGI/AAAAAAAAOgE/Mh-F9lwV2YI/s800/IMG_1232.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0BfxIB5CckY/TfrFaMGMSFI/AAAAAAAAOgM/8LGHmkrrvio/s800/IMG_1234.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aFWzQlR8D-s/TfrFaRxP96I/AAAAAAAAOgU/veDyXWu190E/s800/IMG_1237.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tkYL0zw5gac/TfrFbC5N4sI/AAAAAAAAOgg/aFZHW-ef-fo/s800/IMG_1238.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3ONDYjOEAWI/TfrFbYS5jRI/AAAAAAAAOgo/E9XIXDHdCFI/s800/IMG_1239.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9uUWfDDx-9A/TfrFb2H2eKI/AAAAAAAAOgw/hHfYZQxI86Q/s800/IMG_1240.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MMwWNoJ6BaA/TfrFcIo6i3I/AAAAAAAAOg4/1h2TT5N9An8/s800/IMG_1241.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-fDtRoX1fpss/TfrFcgwUqkI/AAAAAAAAOhA/N3ilZFk0Hc0/s800/IMG_1245.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qI43XqYycfk/Tf0t6eveX6I/AAAAAAAAOkQ/OUXDddeUdps/s800/IMG_1251.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-k4mY6Rj8ims/Tf0t7FUAQ3I/AAAAAAAAOkY/V42_zmnk-A0/s800/IMG_1252.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Z8SI35PyruY/Tf0t7vxohwI/AAAAAAAAOkg/QX4gAbdKHvA/s800/IMG_1253.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k4xGicx6Y4Q/Tf0t8XOYocI/AAAAAAAAOko/HUQY0oXKIvE/s800/IMG_1254.JPG


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-AeAyCGbdqkI/Tf6L8tW5lmI/AAAAAAAAOmE/eGQiy2GcFyU/s800/2011-06-19%25252016.07.29.jpg

[95naSTA]

Crap I got done Wednesday:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s1yK9skgT_A/TgK03AJ0ecI/AAAAAAAAOoA/N5X4jYiOljk/s800/2011-06-19_16.07.29.jpg
Also:
-Installed the timing chain damper, front cover, and front oil seal
-Installed a different oil pressure spring (think it was zzp?) along with the oil cooler oil filter adapter. The fittings barely clear the aluminum pan but they do clear which is sweet.
-Ported LIM more to match and installed
-Junked drivers side caliper trying to get the seized bleeder out
-New ball joints
-Realized I didn't order new coilover bearings and ordered those
-Por-15ed the tops of the struts above the threaded sleeve and the two small brackets that sit on the strut towers opposite the STB.

I'm definitely happy with the control arm bushing tool. The only part I needed something else was when I was installing the bushings on the actual control arms. The receiver cup was too large so I used a busted old trans dogbone as a receiver.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ut0Tz_2lMks/TgK4BUXnzCI/AAAAAAAAOos/qQ5NwGl3vrg/s800/2011-06-22%25252014.08.51.jpg

Other pics:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ho2WsCMkcyI/Tf0t-cOuEKI/AAAAAAAAOlA/wb7LZaHdEHU/s800/IMG_1257.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ZdGmxTVgkdo/TgK0MhK9eVI/AAAAAAAAOnc/xRrNxYSP3e4/s800/IMG_1268.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-19z4AP9ivbs/TgK0fTdpk9I/AAAAAAAAOnw/mrtC9mIjFQc/s800/IMG_1263.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u-ZtzyFQDjA/TgK0gHjYi5I/AAAAAAAAOn4/1QBPz_gdQFI/s800/IMG_1264.JPG

It might look like there is a lip up now on the LIM to head transition but it's level.

Crap I got done yesterday:
-Repolished the master cylinder and shine/sealed it. The original issue with it was I had it powdercoated clear, got brake fluid on it without realizing it and it effed up the powdercoat. I stripped it a couple weeks ago and it's been staring me down ever since.. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be I only had to hit a couple areas with sand paper.
-Started to repolish the valve covers I had stripped chemically because of oxidation under the clear and realized they're oxidized much more than I thought.. I found out I have to take the covers and the alt down to 220 grit and work my back up.. FML.. I got the one cover down to 220, thought about blowing up the world and moved on to something else for the time being.
-Shine/Sealed the tensioner assembly which was easy since it was clean and never coated before.
-Got new drivers side caliper from AdvanceD (actually passenger side for an F-body) took it apart, and got it to the powder coater.. Along with my rusty flex plate for ****s and gigs. The caliper will go purple again and the flex will be black satin. I should get those early next week.
-Bent the power steering lines to give more clearance for the LTs and put the rear mounts in while I was there.
-Threw the 1.6 RRs, polished thermo housing, and tensioner assembly on the engine. I still have to check the preload though.

That ATI balancer does not want to go on easy at all.. It kind of has me worried about using it. I'm not even sure what puller to use if it gets stuck.

I should have the front suspension back together this weekend and hopefully by next weekend the engine/trans will be ready go in. There will still be a bunch of misc crap after they go in though.. so that's not the end of the road.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oFQPOfPSN2g/TgP2n6I8otI/AAAAAAAAOp4/vr9qdf9xAl8/s800/2011-05-04%25252018.52.55.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2CSRBC_KN9U/TgP2gU40lrI/AAAAAAAAOpw/ZmplwIWnqHg/s800/2011-05-04%25252018.53.04.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oGHU8-Tz5Gw/TgP1qrnKdNI/AAAAAAAAOpY/28oE079SCTs/s800/IMG_1276.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-H1xR1zySBkY/TgP1rkVO2wI/AAAAAAAAOpg/5-S4umP455I/s800/IMG_1278.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e4OOODsTqpI/TgP1pfau2bI/AAAAAAAAOpI/iGc8ZeqSCbM/s800/IMG_1273.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oO76V6eMv20/TgP1pxLZ2OI/AAAAAAAAOpQ/dGWm2pbLBL4/s800/IMG_1275.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Wj487dq8T48/TgP1sHAp00I/AAAAAAAAOpo/sCTXkDH24CA/s800/IMG_1280.JPG

[rocknrace03]

wow, this is awesome, my dad had one of these, handled like a Cadillac and made it to 200k before we sold it to someone else

[95naSTA]

The engine is getting closer. Pics and hit list:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Xbq_TXVJ8Xs/TgkvPabTY-I/AAAAAAAAOsE/8apB93Q0BGA/s800/IMG_1289.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-UHrIAWJP64c/TgkvPzQkFAI/AAAAAAAAOsM/BGU4WqxIpvI/s800/IMG_1290.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-e5Mo49I_4xI/TgkvQ7Nd93I/AAAAAAAAOsU/MpJBIzvoKYE/s800/IMG_1292.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Nu9olqskJSg/TgkvRVefOiI/AAAAAAAAOsc/4gYsFFYOX7M/s800/IMG_1295.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WOV9_HqyV1w/TgkvR3tm0qI/AAAAAAAAOsk/rNQCnwYmmr0/s800/IMG_1296.JPG

-Checked lifter preload and found I need shorter pushrods. Ordered those.
-Checked the F-body 2-pc rotors I got fit my bolt pattern, and they don't.. My F-body powerslots do but these have tighter tolerances. So, I'll have to have them redrilled.. I did read they didn't fit somewhere but had to see for myself.. Wouldn't be the first time.
-Brought home my disassembled engine hoist from storage.
-Drained the trans and got it off the stand.
Assembled the master cylinder and installed
-Lubed LCA bolts where there's metal on metal contact
-Cleaned, re-assembled, and installed front coilovers with new top mounts and bearings. I decided to try wheel bearing grease on the roller bearings..
-Flipped the sway bar around the right way and tightened cause I'm an idiot
-Cleaned the crap out of the UIM and installed with HV3. I'm using the UIM that I removed the inside fins from just for s&g.
-Cleaned p/s pump and T/A mount
-Rattle caned the flow matched injector bodies black

The aluminum valve covers and alt are getting sent out to be repolished and I'm having the alt and p/s pullys chromed. Polishing these things once was once too many.

I decided to just go with the stock balancer for now since it seems like it wants to go on a lot easier than the ATI.

And I'm waiting for the fuel rail legs to dry.. So, I will have something holding the rails down.

The engine/trans might go in this weekend if I get a few things in the mail.

[Ej6Mike]

what a crazy build! such devotion and effort! My hat is off to you sir, Keep it up!

[DaBombDiggidy]

impresses me every time you post pictures. keep going with it man!

[blkZ06]

champion

[95naSTA]

Thanks guys. I can't wait to drive this thing.

[95naSTA]

I got done a few more odds and ends with the engine and put the hoist together. I also dynamatted the trans tail shaft just in case.

Keep in mind:
-The alt, p/s pump, and valve covers will all be swapped out when I get them back from polishing/chroming.
-I intend to tuck the engine harness and relocate the coils once I'm sure everything is running correctly.

I'm hoping I'll get the flywheel and caliper tomorrow. If I'm lucky the shorter pushrods will be here by Saturday but the engine will go in either way.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wjTaUV2eYPM/Tg0n7OOkJYI/AAAAAAAAOvE/KlSwHMIawSs/s800/IMG_1302.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wHTYdXlEBIU/Tg0qRQDHV4I/AAAAAAAAOvw/c8NitMxt2-0/s800/IMG_1298.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yzbAaLLDkjM/Tg0n8gBpXhI/AAAAAAAAOvU/Y73_DsMG7Pg/s800/IMG_1299.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yidvSw8foF0/Tg0n9almVzI/AAAAAAAAOvc/6xdVjjvVJn4/s800/IMG_1300.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c6aC5IrMr88/Tg0n-F6dp-I/AAAAAAAAOvk/kboS2mKN3FE/s800/IMG_1301.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KCAGU7YDqYQ/Tg0sbez1_ZI/AAAAAAAAOwE/1t_xQCzPuDU/s800/IMG_1306.JPG

[PunkboySL2]

hot dang

[eviljokerSTI]

Wow this is amazing! really makes me miss mine, I had a 92 SSE Didnt do much to it besides headers to stock exhaust with a cut out intake, and a 10lb sneaky pete bottle. I'm in utter shock at how awesome this is! great work

[95naSTA]

Thanks.

Where did you find headers for a L27 though??

[95naSTA]

The engine/trans/rear header went in today..

I was solo for the most part. I just had my girlfriend push the engine/trans away from the passenger side unibody when I dropped it in.. She's whatever is more than awesome.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NH58dDJoXWg/Tg-qG5SSd_I/AAAAAAAAOw4/I45GIovDSBg/s800/IMG_1309.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8ljmuSSoZUc/Tg-qHwCBg1I/AAAAAAAAOxA/uex3qIRZVyk/s800/IMG_1311.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WsCS1vOXWHQ/Tg-qIjfkPtI/AAAAAAAAOxI/0zI2vet1nmY/s800/IMG_1312g.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YsKLk81JZnA/Tg-qJf1xn1I/AAAAAAAAOxQ/_K1VdkPkdbM/s800/IMG_1313g.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-RCrrx4m8hGU/Tg-qL6Np5iI/AAAAAAAAOxY/A1lpRNkirtc/s800/IMG_1314g.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-CpGNuPE_jOA/Tg-qM_t_lTI/AAAAAAAAOxk/pAdCjHa7jYM/s800/IMG_1316.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-GxqZ9xrFuDA/Tg-qNkd6t7I/AAAAAAAAOxs/xx7CdJg2NOo/s800/IMG_1319.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hZgDFgovHB4/Tg-qOWQnjvI/AAAAAAAAOx0/h3xpwRgGjwo/s800/IMG_1320.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-UZ5CEzms2Yw/Tg-qPGnciQI/AAAAAAAAOx8/vpwDKB5ViNU/s800/IMG_1321.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6HvsLeewnYw/Tg-qP8NN5jI/AAAAAAAAOyE/0tAEHM4RVZA/s800/IMG_1322.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WlM-JH3fi8E/Tg-qQiL0W-I/AAAAAAAAOyM/cPbwuIkPJUQ/s800/IMG_1323.JPG

Welcome to Philadelphia...

Lots of misc crap left but this was a biggie.

[PunkboySL2]

I wish the part of philly I was working in on saturday was this nice lol

[eviljokerSTI]

Thanks.

Where did you find headers for a L27 though??

My friends dad helped me make them, I'm trying to find some pictures but it was so long ago i dont have any on my comp.

We took the flange from the stock manifold and did a template out of Stainless Steel. Then he cut and bent the tubing and welded it. It didnt come out to bad either but the clearance was a bitch because of the way he bent and position the pipes but we made it work.

Mine wasnt nearly as nice looking as your's. Mine was maroon on maroon

[95naSTA]

Slowly but surely, it's getting there:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-X_uk5W5mPs0/ThO_iNWMFlI/AAAAAAAAO0U/I1yrLmqsJHo/s800/IMG_1328.JPG



It fits! (twss)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NmOCJkkSQNY/ThO_ig-OtOI/AAAAAAAAO0c/57CR4tUmb6U/s800/IMG_1329.JPG


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UPIp6mQYiqc/ThO_ePVPu5I/AAAAAAAAOz0/5U8xbmZR5LY/s800/IMG_1324.JPG


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--0qTzL-9SHE/ThO_fKOTkeI/AAAAAAAAOz8/A2RMYcjwQzA/s800/IMG_1325.JPG


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-sZwdtKveDAM/ThO_f7zJMiI/AAAAAAAAO0E/q4bEUZVp4Fs/s800/IMG_1326.JPG


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OG89od_ORFE/TjQ9JeeWBzI/AAAAAAAAPEw/ck7wI6ODS2Y/s800/IMG_1430.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wJ4LnFgMBYs/TjQ9J9xdG4I/AAAAAAAAPE4/ktDndtcr3kI/s800/IMG_1431.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1Pqahj_LFfs/TjQ9KgOawII/AAAAAAAAPFA/l8Hvm9f_uuE/s800/IMG_1432.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yMQYb5t6AjU/TjQ9LvCRoeI/AAAAAAAAPFI/EyCD0X9UibQ/s800/IMG_1433.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oWtQcqOs13Y/TjQ9MU8DRvI/AAAAAAAAPFQ/86HbBaxLvZs/s800/IMG_1434.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-OI2k3hsbLEk/TjQ9NNU59QI/AAAAAAAAPFY/m8GPC2PseTI/s800/IMG_1436.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bbL7mKlI_bc/TjQ9N5HyZ2I/AAAAAAAAPFg/Cv9rCPD_K2o/s800/IMG_1437s.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Hp4XQ8Q7yqU/TjahrEeuIHI/AAAAAAAAPLI/EIcRwDXkg4A/s800/2011-08-01%25252008.52.16.jpg

[95naSTA]

To do a mini recap, I had polished the valve covers and alternator housings and had them powdercoated clear. Bad idea. They oxidized pretty bad under the clear. Polishing takes a massive amount of time and although it killed me to do it, I outsourced having them re-polished. The time was just not there to spend on the parts. I also had a couple pullies chromed while I was at it. I went with a guy well known in the 3800 community, Jason Farnsworth. Here are some teaser pics he sent me:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XIpIrZMYers/TjdX0Esyu1I/AAAAAAAAPQ4/CNvNA-qGI1Y/s800/PS_pump.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-cBUjkhmO1wk/TjdX0vpQ-FI/AAAAAAAAPQ8/-E4A0naKY7U/s800/valve_covers.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-659WrOLmq0c/TjdX09SL00I/AAAAAAAAPRA/ucHguOfS9h4/s800/alternator.jpg

[dugganzx3]

Your my hero, who ever thought a granny car could be this cool.

[87fierogt]

Makes me want to keep my 99 grand prix coupe because I do love the car and hopefully get my license Thursday (im 20 had tp go thru medical paperwork since im on pain meds + need hand controls although it was a bunch of bull **** im glad I got through it. ) Itz a great first car(well first I could actually drive) but,

Like you said mods for these motors/platform are either non existent off the shelf or else $$. That's the only reason I want a foxbody of a Camaro.

Sorry if you said but what cam did you go with? And what exhaust?
It looks great can't wait to see more. Shoot me a pm its easier to reply then send on my phone :)

[95naSTA]

Thanks.

Here's the engine mod list:
ARP head studs
0.045” MLS head gaskets
6.95” pushrods
Electric waterpump
Home made 33" long long tubes with true merge collectors and upswet primaries to match exhaust port angle, 2000* Jet hotted
Heavily ported L67 TB (69mm)
S1 L67 Injectors
HV3 (shorter intake runners)
Some oiling mods to the front and rear covers and oil cooler plus thermostat.
Abbott n/a Racing Cam
-210/220 @ .050
-.320" lobe lift on the intake, .512 with a 1.6 rocker ratio
-.320 lobe lift on the exhaust, .512 with a 1.6 rocker ratio
-112 lobe separation
Abbott Stage 3 Heads
-ARH Competition valve job
-SI Stainless valves, 1.840" intake, 1.550" exhaust
-Fully ported combustion chambers, intake, and exhaust ports
-Combustion chambers are C.C.ed to spec size
-All ports are flowed and tuned on the flowbench to ensure they meet
spec flow rates
-Guides cut down for high lift cams
-New valve seals
-Check for cracks
-Bronze valve guides
-Milled 0.050” (which combined with the smaller HG's will yield over 10.5 static CR)
-Ti retainers With 90# LS6 springs
The heads have a near perfect intake to exhaust flow ratio, which is why I chose them.

I rebuilt the trans with:
-3.43 FDR (3.06 stock)
-4t65 pump (11 vanes instead of 9 which will help with the reving)
-Alto 2nd clutches
-Transgo shift kit (minus the TC lock up mods)
-Shimmed input and 3rd clutch packs for faster engagement
-All new solenoids, plastic thrust washers, hard parts where needed
-Stock TC with slightly higher stall

[87fierogt]

Wow way more then I thought what's your goal power wise and what did the abbot heads and cam run ya? If you know anyone interested in a grand prix coupe you'll have a couple hundred bucks in your parts fund ;)

[PhillyLS1]

This is the best build I've ever seen. You sir are a rarity these days especially when we live in a time where rusted hoods, roof racks and zip ties are appearing at car shows.

[jesse096]

How much power are you expecting to put down with those mods?

Car looks sick, and your attention to detail is amazing!

-Jesse

[95naSTA]

The heads and cam were probably in the 1500 range. Not cost effective but nothing with this build is anyway. lol.

I'm hoping to put out 230-240whp with a healthy torque curve. Nothing huge, just comparable to something 10+ years newer.

[sillyeye]

Def got respect for this build, great job.

[jesse096]

The heads and cam were probably in the 1500 range. Not cost effective but nothing with this build is anyway. lol.

I'm hoping to put out 230-240whp with a healthy torque curve. Nothing huge, just comparable to something 10+ years newer.

Deff a respectable number considering the engines not completely built.

-Jesse

[95naSTA]

Getting closer..

The new p/s pump is in, lines are hooked up and fluid added.
Both coolers/lines are ran, hooked up, and fluid added to the coolers
All the suspension bolts are tight, ball joints and tie rods are greased.
Engine harness is on for the most part. I still need to plug in the oil level sensor, hook the rear ground up, and solder in the rear knock sensor wire.
I died a little bit inside putting the dirty non-tucked harness on..
A/C lines are all hooked up.
Added trans fluid/oil/coolant.
I put 2.5 gallons in the rad before it filled up. :shock:
I also died a little inside putting a rusty pinch clamp on the thermostat housing. (bought a new clamp today)

New to do list before I turn it over and try to move it:

-oil dip stick
-plug wires
-finish installing engine harness
-ball joint cotter pins
-purge feed fuel line and hook up feed/return
-find other x-over v-band and install (was in my hand thurs.. fml)
-hook up vac crap
-install at least one fan (need to extend wires)
-tighten STB bolts
-temporarily hook up electric water pump
-make trans vac modulator holder thing till I get to JY
-tighten engine mount bolts

The goal is to at least start it before Sunday.. We'll see..

Pics right before the sky opened up Saturday:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KU0Dv4KTdXI/Tj8Lmy67TZI/AAAAAAAAPUY/CtPliuhbcyE/s800/IMG_5856.JPG


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jq4CkdcuipI/Tj8L2s8401I/AAAAAAAAPUg/R4LzgSwzfKM/s800/IMG_5858.JPG


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c1GRyz9TUpA/Tj8L9PdH_jI/AAAAAAAAPUk/zwmPFu7DFpI/s800/IMG_5859.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jF7GyVuF_Uc/Tj8MDPue8DI/AAAAAAAAPUs/C6LrU0g1msk/s800/IMG_5860.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Rg--MiVkWvM/Tj8MJxDio5I/AAAAAAAAPUw/wOrwvbuA7Sk/s800/IMG_5861.JPG



I'll worry about the polished VCs and alt after it's running ok and I re-do the engine harness.

[Ej6Mike]

Looks good so far! Man what an effort! Thats allot of hard work you have put into this. I hope it starts up as you had planned without a hitch.

[Teku18]

Damn man that looks great. Props on doing something totally different. Like Mike said I hope it starts right up for you.

[95naSTA]

So it started.. But the rear fuel rail was peeing fuel everywhere.

I knew this.. and have used yellow teflon before, but for whatever reason I decided to use ptfe on the allen plugs and inlet fitting on the rear rail. Fuel dissolves ptfe super fast..

The rail is back out and I'll use something intended for petroleum products this time.

[boostedfury]

looks crazy man...great job thus far!

[lownslow95]

Congrats that it started.

[95naSTA]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiS6ScgLswk

Got a few more things sorted out, added some things.

I've got to get a vac gauge on there and rebleed my brakes. I think the ABS block prevented it from being fully bled.

[95naSTA]

I finished fabbing/welding the 3" exhaust all the way to just before where the tips are going to be. There wasn't enough time to really dig into that portion of the project.

Everything but the cat is 304 stainless. The cat is 409.

The stainless hooks I got off McMaster worked out good for the front factory exhaust hangers. Even with those welded in there was still some sag around the gas tank. I guess more and heavier material will do that.. The shop had a broken stainless exhaust that I stole a 90* hanger from, a common two hole rubber hanger, and I used an extra stainless hook I had to make an additional hanger under the rear lower control arm mount. I threw a bolt through the hook to the LCA mount with big washers up top to distribute the load and welded the stainless 90 to the exhaust. The result is awesome. The play in the exhaust is very minimal and factory feeling.

I did have to do some minor tweaking of the passenger exhaust hanger and pipe to get the muffler level and tips symmetrical but other than that it went smoother than I thought it was going to.

I also finally got to mount my ABS module too . I cut up a silicone coupler for cushion between the module, body, and bracket. Bracket positioning was dependent on body contour but it's solid.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g7SZ_LOAIkU/TxeAHkrXiwI/AAAAAAAAQVc/udSsJc4vETM/s800/IMG_1966.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-UJGfkHIrF0E/TxeAIIzRCNI/AAAAAAAAQVg/bp2Oy94mUEs/s800/IMG_1965.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-E8XhNJM-VSw/TxTZoDHcq2I/AAAAAAAAQTw/SdNKVcAakzU/s800/IMG_1961.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Eke_YQK4xfE/TxTdAsCioyI/AAAAAAAAQUo/jkCgcZLPPfo/s800/IMG_1959.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6R2ym4mx_1M/TxeAGOiIcTI/AAAAAAAAQVM/UftTSK12o5Y/s800/IMG_1970.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sepDtor-WGM/TxeAFjz5MrI/AAAAAAAAQVI/sLNE1o46TX0/s800/IMG_1971.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FLbWhKu5yDU/TxeAE1V4nFI/AAAAAAAAQVA/Z5gQ3a5SXGc/s800/IMG_1974.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SubC3pIn4ZU/TxTZoULhu3I/AAAAAAAAQT8/OOUc2mJ5Weg/s800/IMG_1964.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Hj9oF0v7vEY/TxeAHIrd20I/AAAAAAAAQVU/MTGmSMP17cQ/s800/IMG_1968.JPG

Video of the exhaust routing:
http://youtu.be/SoT4rZ4swm0

Sound clip:
http://youtu.be/fhs-_cRdteM

I'm not super happy about the rasp up top but the idle did end up being deeper and throatier than I thought it was going to be.
I'll probably add a resonator later but it's good enough for now.

For the tips I'm using the ones below but I'm going to notch out the bumper like the Lex below so the tips don't hang all out of place.
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/9493/gedc0470h.jpg
http://www.clublexus.com/forums/attachments/ls400/108804d1185467685-has-anyone-ever-cut-their-rear-bumper-for-exhaust-j_pics_011.jpg

Now that I have 3 O2 bungs I can relocate my factory to the rear and hook up my dual widebands to start really messing with the tune. I haven't really got on it due to the tune and lack of a main flex section.

[Vince@R/TTuning]

Love this car still.....Think I love the fact that the one guy is sitting on a clothed reclinable in the middle of the shop...

[dugganzx3]

Car sounds awesome at idle, but there's something I dislike about the Borla muffler at higher RPM's, although its hard to get these engines to not sound raspy. What type pf springs and retainers did you use, I didn't see it listed above.

[95naSTA]

Thanks Vince!

Whenever I get around to it, I'll be adding a resonator. You can't get these things to sound decent off idle while loud. You just have to cork them up.

I'm running LS6 springs and LSx style Titanium retainers.

[JDMmuscle]

lol this thing is just so down right awesome and original.

Love this build man, im so happy you are sticking with it

[95naSTA]

Thanks!

I wired up the dual wide band O2 sensors today.

Recap: One WBO2 reads the front bank, the other WBO2 reads both banks, and the OEM O2 sensor wiring is extended so it can also read both banks.

I hate running wires into the cabin but I got smart this time.. I used two of the EGR wires not in use anymore and wired the gauge signal wires into the cabin via the firewall plug.

Holy crap was my tune off. My LTFTs were wayyy rich and my A/Fs in PE mode were maxing out the WB gauges. I had to take a ton of fuel out to get the LTFTs close to 128 (0%) and the PE A/Fs in the 12s. So, as of right now, the car has a decent rough tune. That made a huge difference in acceleration and it hustles pretty good now.

Sometime in the future I'd like to drop the trans pan and throw in some Caterpillar trans fluid to mix. I've done this in the past to firm up shifts and prevent fluid breakdown. Right now I'm shifting at 5800 or so until I can mix that stuff in.

The next major thing on the agenda are the exhaust tips. I've got a decent amount of cutting to do to have them where I want.

I only snapped one pic unfortunately but I've got a short vid of the WB02 gauge in action..
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-auTmM8NkSz0/T0l_RVsWqoI/AAAAAAAAQgk/OgkW90J7Zec/s800/IMG_1996.JPG

http://youtu.be/8pjd0XicmqQ

Just a single pod 3m taped to the column. I didn't want a pilliar pod or anything and I figured this is the cleanest route to go.

[jesse096]

I like that gauge, easy to read. Car's coming along pretty nicely man!

-Jesse

[95naSTA]

I started on the exhaust tip bumper notching today.

I had to cut out the trapezoidal sections of bumper support in the way of where I want the tips, measured a bunch of times then I slowly started removing material from the bumper.

The notches only allow for a quarter of the tip to be tucked up into the bumper so far. I would like to get it half way tucked with clearance.

I ran out of light but I need SS wire plus a new liner for the MIG feed line anyway.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BHo8vmyOv7g/T0wlq1BzsII/AAAAAAAAQjs/PtJk-k2Qz2g/s800/IMG_1999.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-npH4OCsfkz8/T0wlp7Dso6I/AAAAAAAAQjk/fa0bScXyYMI/s800/IMG_2001.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-GtXHvh97nm8/T0wlpf62xAI/AAAAAAAAQjY/GA5qAK2CzEM/s800/IMG_2002.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0QhwaHrc608/T0wln7aOd3I/AAAAAAAAQi8/pmQ1gKmNzCs/s800/IMG_2006.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4ditrZg_8N4/T0wlmItinzI/AAAAAAAAQj0/2ZOuCjSKpnE/s800/IMG_2009.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-TX09E9zuRnM/T0wllxj2h8I/AAAAAAAAQiY/wzFT5xxDTNc/s800/IMG_2012.JPG

[OutToWinPAHC]

The ECU is under the car?

[95naSTA]

Nope..

I also finally got to mount my ABS module too . I cut up a silicone coupler for cushion between the module, body, and bracket. Bracket positioning was dependent on body contour but it's solid.

[95naSTA]

Finished up the exhaust tips yesterday.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oCyeQV_5YZ0/T6cn58BEC-I/AAAAAAAARCg/PV5mgDo8nzI/s800/2012-05-06%252015.19.20.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CP_PXGWvkOg/T6cn5HCDSsI/AAAAAAAARCY/-rinzzCWFXM/s800/2012-05-06%252015.19.27.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rW0jbrX0JLs/T6cuXO3V9tI/AAAAAAAARC0/-Uk7v_Uwk9I/s800/1336356256-picsay.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TnRBw7hbTW8/T6fEBlF6yrI/AAAAAAAARDM/q04IuI4yFYA/s800/2012-05-06_19.04.41.jpg

[Erik@R/TTuning]

Great work on fitting those exhaust tips.

[jesse096]

Looks really good!

-Jesse

[95naSTA]

Thanks guys.

Here's one more pic in the garage it'll be kept from now on.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6P5aHYndqok/T68JpENYDjI/AAAAAAAARIQ/8JeAO-69wAA/s800/2012-05-12%252020.02.29.jpg
(the rear struts are aired up from having junk in the trunk)

[95naSTA]

I've been working on this periodically and I have been trying to diag a no torque converter lock up condition..

The trans has to come out.

I thought about long term goals, money I'd have to spend, how I like DDing a manual etc. and decided to do a manual 6-speed swap. I'll be using a G6 6-speed. It bolts up to the block but that's about it. The clutch setup has been figured out in other cars though. (stock the trans is mated to engines with a thicker dual mass flywheel) I'm on my own for 3 mounts, mounting the pedal, axles, intermediate shaft mount, notching the frame, etc.

More power to the ground, more fun, and less money than having another auto built. It'll be a huge pain in the balls.. but I'm used to that.. I mod a Bonneville...

[Ej6Mike]

And i say bravo sir, thats the spirit.

We wouldnt be on this forum if we didnt do what your doing to some extent or another.

[95naSTA]

So.. I finally made some progress!

I finally finally finally got the 6-speed parts I ordered from GMPD. I was on travel when they came and UPS wouldn't hold the boxes till I came back.. So, they got shipped the boxes back to GMPD then I had to have them re-ship to me. It was free though.. I also came across an oil filter adapter for a lesabre that looks like it should clear the inner CV tulip. The intermediate shaft puts that tulip night next to the oil filter adapter.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-RXRwGj6CbLA/UEATz7jZayI/AAAAAAAARoA/uF3E9zdfN2A/s800/2012-08-30%252021.11.32.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1FxTlZfdvVc/UECqJQSg4bI/AAAAAAAARn4/mP1FzpLK7ms/s800/1992%2520buick%2520lesabre.jpg

I also found/bought a used intermediate shaft for the transmission (part that replaces where the 60-e's tail shaft would run) for $60 shipped. The cheapest I found new was 180+ shipping. I've got a few ideas on how I want to mount the shaft's bracket this to the block.. All involve welding obviously but I have some water jetting done.

The diagram for shaft:
http://gmoem.com/imgs/illustrations_orig/04/10/08/0410081A06-025.png

Mounting the clutch pedal and possible firewall modifications are the one of the biggest grey areas with the swap. So, I pulled the dash today.. and took pics of almost every single bolt/screw for when it goes back in. Initially, it looked like it was going to be really rough getting the pedal to fit. A bunch of wiring was in the way and it was coming out of the firewall more or less where the upper portion of the clutch pedal needed to go. But, once I unbolted the plastic bulkhead that the wiring came through, and got rid of the other plastic holding it in place, things got a whole lot easier.

I can easily move the wiring out of the way, utilize the large hole the bulkhead plastic went through for the clutch master and line, and make a new firewall section that bolts up, seals everything up, mounts the master, and keeps the wiring out of the way.

No dash
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HxBWLyPy3p0/UEU9cIsqn5I/AAAAAAAARqE/Y7YRCJkjG7U/s800/IMG_2508.JPG

Pedal propped in place (going to cut the brake pedal eventually)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gW0El7KkguY/UEU9czILVpI/AAAAAAAARqU/bQIprNkCYSY/s800/IMG_2510.JPG

Plastic bulkhead pass through
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-penJM7XIepc/UEU9unlBVfI/AAAAAAAARqs/mqEsIXPwO7M/s800/IMG_2487.JPG

Hole exposed and wiring moved partially out of the way
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_k4a2L8aF4M/UEU9bHWdisI/AAAAAAAARps/S-Wq5vMgWLM/s800/IMG_2505.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pEAi3bJMmG8/UEU9bwOFHsI/AAAAAAAARp8/58gshFa90Vg/s800/IMG_2507.JPG

Hard to tell but I can easily mount the pedal bracket to the firewall
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-fBM08roVDpo/UEU9aGJjaeI/AAAAAAAARpM/YeRJ_S82rw8/s800/IMG_2501.JPG

Clutch master coming through the firewall with plenty of space for the lines to the hydraulic throw out bearing and the reservoir.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z-D32o1YPzE/UEU9dCKsw4I/AAAAAAAARqY/dZKBckY_Gv4/s800/IMG_2511.JPG

[95naSTA]

Cobalt SS jack shaft, meet G6 trans:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YB_t4La-G8U/UEk4GikyjyI/AAAAAAAARrA/63jBxGQUW6Q/s800/2012-09-06%252018.31.14.jpg

[95naSTA]

The shifter got mounted today and the cables are through the firewall.

What needed to happen:
The driver’s side rear air duct needed to be cut to make room for the shifter’s front left mounting point.
The shifter’s front right mounting point got cut off along with a small portion of the right side of the assembly
The reverse lock mechanism had to go.
The front mounting point uses a bolt as a stud for the front mounting point. The bolt comes through the unibody from the exhaust tunnel and is secured by a nut.
The rear mounting points bolt to a bracket made from angle iron that’s bolted to the unibody rail.
I found a spot on the firewall that should work with the transmission’s shifter bracket and used a hole saw for the hole. The grommet that came with the shift cables fits in there nicely.
And I also put the shift selector in OD before I disconnected it. I’ll want the PCM to think it’s in drive all the time but I’ll need to wire up a shift interlock button to get the key out.

I plan on just using aluminum tape to seal up that rear air duct and I’ll make a shift bezel and boot once everything else is finished.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-SPgoJoHkJ5g/UEvC_FyUUmI/AAAAAAAARrU/IUxypVWxD3E/s800/IMG_2526.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iO42ZQ99IDY/UEvDN1IAu9I/AAAAAAAARsc/L5hvly3bX8I/s800/IMG_2535.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-avTwtUO1nVw/UEvDH83CPWI/AAAAAAAARr8/p6aEJ4ZtNac/s800/IMG_2531.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RSHJzGLcPjM/UEvDGbsqDOI/AAAAAAAARr0/goHnZ1eSnK0/s800/IMG_2530.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hwYc3Wd5Ens/UEvDEEXBVvI/AAAAAAAARrs/2HCHlww1pAA/s800/IMG_2529.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wWyHrqH1R0A/UEvDB-5u9II/AAAAAAAARrk/zih-aRAW3AE/s800/IMG_2528.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HCYqr9mplnw/UEvDV7_VsGI/AAAAAAAARtE/OIzpjbewJJc/s800/IMG_2540.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2qxUyFmxh-I/UEvDQiyKO-I/AAAAAAAARsk/yK7K03Axv4Y/s800/IMG_2536.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XoG_xqMubgA/UEvDa_BeweI/AAAAAAAARtc/amGMEDThmlk/s800/IMG_2543.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-C-VR9IQ7oG4/UEvDdjjc_gI/AAAAAAAARt0/KfBbK_MJO-s/s800/IMG_2546.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VASel1f6-eo/UEvDck8uH_I/AAAAAAAARts/8t1d4IWD2xA/s800/IMG_2545.JPG

[95naSTA]

It took a bit or trial and error but the clutch pedal mounted location and travel are where I want it.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TOkUJ4Xb7sY/UH4SSuFowfI/AAAAAAAARx0/7_3ifGTWTEI/s800/IMG_6107.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-OQN4cKOH2_c/UH4SbtGhItI/AAAAAAAARyA/UqKEMuy8uSs/s800/IMG_6109.JPG

Next step is mounting the master cylinder. This will tell me where I can run the wires originally intended for the hole I'm using as a pass through. Then I'll make a final version of the 2-part mounting plate.

[dugganzx3]

Man you never fail to deliver. I know how seriously difficult it is go the manual route on one of these. Best of luck man. I cant wait to see how it comes out. I know about the older 5spd swap, but everyone argues whether the trans is capable of the torque. Ive yet to see a g6 6-speed swap done, so bad***.

[FocusDude]

HOLY ****. This is impressive. And to think my grandfather once had one of these in hunter green. I loved it stock. I had a 86' 6000GTE, and it was a tank. Always wanted his Bonnie to follow it up.


Can't wait to see this 6speed hooked up- Thats an awesome idea.

[95naSTA]

Thanks guys.

There are a couple Grand Prixs running around with the swap but their firewall and engine mounting is completely different. It helps a little bit my I'm on my own for all the vehicle specific stuff.

The Pontiac 6000 was pretty sweet as a test bed. 4 wheel disks, 5 speed and in the later years they could be had with AWD. I read an article on the AWD system designed for it a while back. From what I remember it could hold much more power than the modified FWD trans it was behind and was designed to eventually work with 4 wheel steering. But, of course, it was scrapped.

I'm pretty close to finishing all the pedal/clutch mounting stuff now.

I re-did the mounting plate, mounted the master, tacked a pedal stopper in place, and figured out wire routing/grommeting. The MC has full travel and there's plenty of room under the pedal when it's at the stopper.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4gMRDRxLf1c/UIsz14adQDI/AAAAAAAAR0I/GmH4FyLnPbw/s800/IMG_2566.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-UI82CjXZaNY/UIsz1-8SPgI/AAAAAAAAR0Q/8-TBsrzAXmQ/s800/IMG_2568.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-uqOvAXlXXf0/UIsz17EhclI/AAAAAAAAR0M/2wjPV_v3SKY/s800/IMG_2570.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vv06y7ILDtU/UIsz3VC3s_I/AAAAAAAAR0g/I5OQVWKh24I/s800/IMG_2572.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vUEhKwNeBM4/UI8ATPopwmI/AAAAAAAAR1U/25uvHIyJJdA/s800/IMG_2574.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-l8CInW8A9Cs/UI8AJ22CRVI/AAAAAAAAR1E/qzbm3GdcS8w/s800/IMG_2575.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5hHOAIPFzg4/UI8AOJSZj7I/AAAAAAAAR1M/lSQoTycHPFk/s800/IMG_2578.JPG

The only thing really left to do with this is fix some of the wiring, mess with the MC hole a little more, and weld the pedal stopper solid.

Other than that, next on the agenda is making the jack shaft to block mounting bracket.

[95naSTA]

Sandy gave me another day off so I got to work.

With no gas for the MIG or epoxy lined shrink tubing, I decided to start mocking up the jack shaft mount.

Most people flip the aluminum mount 90* or cut it. I decided to remove it, flip it, and make an adapter plate. The top two jack shaft mount bolt holes will be drilled/taped/helicoiled into the adapter and the bottom will have a nut and bolt. The four mounting points include 3 on the block and one on the S3 oil pan. A gusset or two may be added depending on the thickness of the metal.

The mock up:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FOJTu9JzQ-M/UJBoc1M-sJI/AAAAAAAAR18/ewWVhdjZUzc/s800/IMG_2596.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CIXZdpAujnc/UJBoel1GwpI/AAAAAAAAR2E/t9nOLJwQUyE/s800/IMG_2598.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7BItmi9q-3U/UJBobqLbsUI/AAAAAAAAR10/S3NjBxHRsUs/s800/IMG_2602.JPG

And I finally got around to sealing up the HVAC duct which allowed me to bolt up the shifter for good.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4BTliPhxFco/UJBou897LyI/AAAAAAAAR2Q/hd2rqtEP19M/s800/IMG_2610.JPG

[Shipman]

I really commend the work youre putting into this car, you almost never see this

[95naSTA]

Since I've been home most of this month I got a few things done.

I pulled the trans and took measurements for mocking up mounts.
I also drafted up some of the plates needed in CAD and test fitted them.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0wXr-a-dxIs/UNu2y6FyrFI/AAAAAAAASIs/bcApW9eSo_I/s800/IMG_2767.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yIc4ytPRGFI/UNu2ypCaPeI/AAAAAAAASIk/NHVtq4GIb0A/s800/IMG_2768.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-uysDp0gz_c8/UNu2zs1sV1I/AAAAAAAASJA/nzuax5rd1s8/s800/IMG_2765.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_ZWxgNyCDsA/UNu20FjsSHI/AAAAAAAASJI/RZX4qPsYcMw/s800/IMG_2764.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bFKmfZuV37I/UNu21MxfzLI/AAAAAAAASJk/Bk8dGPCkBQM/s800/IMG_2760.JPG

[Got Insulin?]

Is there a name for that T-bar you've got supporting the motor and trans or did you put it together yourself? I'll be tackling custom motor mounts in the near future and something like that would definitely make life easier.

[95naSTA]

Here it is: https://www.amazonsupply.com/dp/B000QER3I2
It's rock solid and works great.

[95naSTA]

A bit of an update here.

Had a friend make me a bearing cup for the jack shaft to block mount
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YWMDn3kGM0c/UPSfYBi2W7I/AAAAAAAASQk/6Zu7Rq5XnR4/s800/IMG_2802.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XAzY_zEj1RU/UPSi_7CIu9I/AAAAAAAASQ8/g-V_B0jU28E/s800/IMG_2805.JPG

I decided to draft up the clutch pedal and master plate to have waterjetted.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NDQHUR56oes/UQXUCiYAYQI/AAAAAAAASe8/m6LK_GRtzO8/s800/IMG_2871.JPG

The part printed and tested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSfeo79j2X4

The unibody needs to be notched for the 6 speed to fit
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wi9vrgF9Us8/URW7cEj3swI/AAAAAAAASjE/tN0_vuMsKKw/s800/IMG_2893.JPG
I'll box it in with thicker metal after the mounts are figured out.

One hang-up is the front header will have to be modified and coated again. The one primary hits where the line for the HTOB goes into the trans. The auto didn't have a bulge there.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TbgFDJZbLEg/URW7Z22UYUI/AAAAAAAASic/B2-l1XL7bgA/s800/IMG_2888.JPG


Everything came back from S&W last week.

The clutch pedal plate is a very tight fit with the master. This is good though.. it's very solid. I drilled all the necessary holes and bolted the pedal up.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7FDrhAHyxnI/USnEed1kKlI/AAAAAAAASrE/nBOSajfVROM/s800/IMG_2916.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-IZxPx6DTVkc/USnEIFf0PYI/AAAAAAAASn4/AsxHBtr3Fdo/s800/IMG_2920.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-CK4Ew7H27w8/USnEgfMPldI/AAAAAAAASrU/GymE19PvFGk/s800/IMG_2947.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WsKfRbuwHgc/USnEg1UjYyI/AAAAAAAASrc/7aSIq-vzCzU/s800/IMG_2948.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ab3wkPgWdgk/USnEhCwOkHI/AAAAAAAASrk/GpSYhRnmEI4/s800/IMG_2949.JPG

The front trans mount is tacked together. It's going to be a puck style mount but with 80A polyurethane I picked up from McMaster. There's about 2" between the bottom of the trans side and the subframe plate. I might be getting a band saw. So, I'm waiting to cut the poly down. At that point I just have to drill a hole through it for the bolt. The corners will get grinded down too for aesthetics.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XEwCWgugF5s/USnEHmQTY0I/AAAAAAAASnM/n2AjLSBQ94w/s800/IMG_2918.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-pvH-yJjsmn0/USnEI0lgcHI/AAAAAAAASno/z08UJgR8fLY/s800/IMG_2922.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ko8QcNmh5Kg/USnEJHrxNhI/AAAAAAAASnw/S6Di7HZOglM/s800/IMG_2923.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t3y8gPAnE-0/USnEKPzggRI/AAAAAAAASoE/-8cJSyjX-L8/s800/IMG_2925.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BIGxJDRdj0M/USnEO6m3tQI/AAAAAAAASo0/bP2naEAzaC4/s800/IMG_2931.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9Z-anZYRIaA/USnEYw1vEzI/AAAAAAAASqk/fgUePHAM9UI/s800/IMG_2945.JPG
The washers are just there as a reference for where to drill the bolt hole trans side.

The rear trans mount is started. It still needs to be boxed in a bit more. Originally I wanted to move the stock mount inboard more but since I'm using 1/4" steel for the plate bolting to the trans, I'm not really worried about bending it.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oOuNp-8AB8E/USnEG_drqDI/AAAAAAAASnE/iI39wZb2_Tw/s800/IMG_2917.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DD3EG1sppDs/USnEQDgsr2I/AAAAAAAASpM/rykzpLKwHyU/s800/IMG_2934.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DHvS0thnX9U/USnEScRi7FI/AAAAAAAASpk/lAjJNdbQyws/s800/IMG_2937.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-tCdJdYqzbSc/USnEYQf6PVI/AAAAAAAASqU/AZ_vmKDzfvc/s800/IMG_2943.JPG
The extension of metal that meets the bottom of the mount isn't straight due to me dropping it. It'll line up better with the mount when finished. The mount extension will be boxed in with right triangles coming off the top and bottom of the trans plate.

[95naSTA]

Today, well.. yesterday was a good day.

The rear trans mount is finished and the front is 90% complete.

Here's a different view of the rear mount to show it's function;
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CsA1T646ORw/UTKcwIrapcI/AAAAAAAASsQ/e4cDaHoHGF0/s800/IMG_2951.JPG

and complete:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ewGTkOQHTaQ/UTKcyVPyBEI/AAAAAAAAStA/uF8hoPNnJ3k/s800/IMG_2959.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-C-eoGlydij8/UTKcyq0dXOI/AAAAAAAAStI/AL1v9O7BYzY/s800/IMG_2960.JPG

The front mount is only missing a stand off spacer for the lower bolt hole on the trans side of the mount..

For the front, I got clever with my drill press and managed to create a polygon shape for a bolt head..

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ic3PjirHbNY/UTKcztNplwI/AAAAAAAAStY/lIJ81_91HY0/s800/IMG_2962.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-REjbvbO1lbk/UTKczEfyrSI/AAAAAAAAStQ/z78gOdYOtig/s800/IMG_2961.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-29frbQ2CGqg/UTKc1IG89-I/AAAAAAAASt4/hZpYX2Xrlzs/s800/IMG_2967.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q_imRuvzn5Y/UTKc0y6JoLI/AAAAAAAAStw/6wEEewjmKnY/s800/IMG_2965.JPG

And a pic of where I spend my free time..
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2tF_PdB2VCI/UTMDumZ_JCI/AAAAAAAASuI/t0EZYEVgl7M/s800/IMG_20130302_134711_521.jpg

I am beyond pumped that I own a bandsaw now.

[95naSTA]

I got a couple more things in over the weekend and today.

Boring stuff:
Checked that the new clutch pedal plate mounts up good and welded 1 out of 2 spacers on it for the pedal bracket
Wrapped up the birds nest of wiring that comes through the firewall and added one large wire for the starter signal since it comes off the auto trans selector switch that;ll be in the car.
Ordered 20mm x 1' rod so I can made two stand off spacers with the band saw. One for the clutch pedal plate, the other for the front trans mount. The lower bolt hole on that mount is set back from the top two.
Ordered seam sealer epoxy for the firewall plate.
Ordered 1 '07 Cobalt SS axle (they're the same D/P) to see if I'll need one or both custom length axles.

Since the trans has to stay in the car till I check axle length I couldn't work on notching the unibody or mock up the jack shaft mount to the block.

Not so boring:
So, I worked on the from header.
Chopped the Cyl 1 primary and collector off, clocked the collector, and figured out the new routing for a 33" long primary.
The section after the collector still needs to be chopped off and re-routed but it looks like I'll have no problem leaving the crossover alone.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1A17tO6tkNY/UT5mjDRPEvI/AAAAAAAASuo/rQfF9inB9IE/s800/IMG_2973.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NFT9_uq6OFQ/UT5mlShpnRI/AAAAAAAASvQ/0GelbQ-jJ9M/s800/IMG_2968.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YY4R0tfWpHY/UT5mkBWY07I/AAAAAAAASu4/06HFvPLIyJg/s800/IMG_2971.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-LJdrDSwpZpI/UT5mi-eUUJI/AAAAAAAASug/UDw9iTva8Qw/s800/IMG_2974.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yv1ooBMI7I8/UT5micxFzYI/AAAAAAAASuY/_7GaKElz9Vk/s800/IMG_2975.JPG

I also hooked up the shift linkage and rowed through the gears for S&G. Pretty cool feeling. :)

[rocknrace03]

man this thing is awesome! i love different. tons of respect for choosing the hard way out

[jesse096]

Coming along pretty good man! I love this build!

-Jesse

[PhillyLS1]

This is possibly the best build thread on the internet right now. I check in on this all the time.

[95naSTA]

I appreciate it guys!

[dugganzx3]

Your build is half the reason I check tst every few months lol. Still awesome man, can't wait to see it finished.

[tristatesentra]

just looked through this thread man I gotta say u did work with this car its amazing :)

[95naSTA]

Here's the drivers side, G6 drivers axle, and Malibu hub assembly with the suspension loaded:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ywbMVsTQR88/UWotdG-uKXI/AAAAAAAAS2w/z6XYXqzQtvs/s800/IMG_2978.JPG

At first glance, it's good to go.. but, the axle is completely compressed:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-sHyFSCa4rWU/UWotcNOd_DI/AAAAAAAAS2k/vQgAr-Y2T8k/s800/IMG_2980.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pNAA8tCLoLE/UWotb9yirdI/AAAAAAAAS2c/X--MJ21ew_4/s800/IMG_2981.JPG

So, custom axle no. 1 needs to be 1.25" shorter.

Here's the passenger side, Cobalt SS jack shaft, G6 drivers axle, and Malibu hub assembly with the suspension loaded:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-JORmOiY0xbs/UWotZP6NjPI/AAAAAAAAS1I/8X1HJyShY4g/s800/IMG_2991.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iLEi-lkZWyY/UWotYxXR1MI/AAAAAAAAS1E/53Kl-YpCfik/s800/IMG_2992.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XdU7gYZSWso/UWotbhQtjGI/AAAAAAAAS2U/eI2T1g52vSo/s800/IMG_2982.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FTSrXMj4oEY/UWotYqUJt5I/AAAAAAAAS08/IJ92Ous1-ws/s800/IMG_2993.JPG

Custom axle no. 2 needs to be 2.5" longer.

I found out the the Reatta 3.8 oil filter adapter won't work since it would interfere with the mounting of the p/s pump.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8El4EuzDagE/UWotYWGzI6I/AAAAAAAAS00/ZmPyHNkN8sA/s800/IMG_2994.JPG

And I finalized the clutch pedal mount and the front trans mount by adding stand off spacers cut from 20mm bar stock.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AEMEkvj_7nA/UWotX14y0LI/AAAAAAAAS0g/-Xz_GgyL6Qc/s800/IMG_2996.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XQvauDhpIJU/UWotWfGTHxI/AAAAAAAAS0Q/fcaLFtH-hec/s800/IMG_2998.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-n230xFkR5mM/UWotVYVwNyI/AAAAAAAASz4/sskxiHS5K4Y/s800/IMG_3001.JPG

[2g Talon]

That is ****ing awesome lol. This is the reason I still have hope in humanity :)

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[95naSTA]

^^Thanks man!!

I potentially have one axle on it's way to the Driveshaft shop.. this would be try no. 3 due to sites saying they have availability but not. And I'll have the axle I bought to test in the mail on Monday.

I pulled the subframe and trans back out so I can get the jack shaft mount mocked up on my spare block. I used a dial indicator with a snake plus vise grip extension on my VQ35/HR i30 swap project to measure cam centerline and loved thehell out of it. When it came time to measure the play in the jack shaft (from bearings in the diff) I knew I needed one of these.. I found one for $50 IIRC. The goal here is to find the neutral position of the play at the end of the jack shaft so that it doesn't load the bearings or seals. I bottomed out the play the end of the shaft by pressing down, set the dial indicator to zero, raised the end of the shaft with a scissor jack to isolate to only vertical motion, find the bottomed out vertical play, lower to the midpoint, and measured to design the bearing cup side of the mount.

Indicator set:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ENMsDQYv6PY/UXs7KSnmoKI/AAAAAAAAS98/KgGy2fqb8ks/s800/IMG_3039.JPG
Set to midpoint and measured: (horizontal distance also taken)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GLXxZEnlu9U/UXs7J87rv3I/AAAAAAAAS90/2NvXVK6IJmg/s800/IMG_3040.JPG
Basic part mock up:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-02Lik43lAF8/UXs7ImsqjoI/AAAAAAAAS9k/Z-I1oQSGipg/s800/IMG_3042.JPG

The other function of this part will be to serve as a bracket for trans mount no. 3. This mount only limits torsion and the poly dogbone mount I was using before is adjustable.. which is convenient. After some measurements I found that I can run the dogbone mount in more or less it's stock location just by adding a couple ears to the bottom of the jack shaft mount. Below is a pic of how the final water-jetted part will look.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_sLtNiTYO4U/UXs7ErQnoNI/AAAAAAAAS8k/yR8urBcCGtc/s800/IMG_3050.JPG

Here is the somewhat stock function..
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wJ4LnFgMBYs/TjQ9J9xdG4I/AAAAAAAAPE4/ktDndtcr3kI/s800/IMG_1431.JPG

Here's that space without the auto trans tunnel in the way but from the other direction:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CfmRNQTKgA0/UXs7F0uomDI/AAAAAAAAS80/PFtQNp5VMvI/s800/IMG_3048.JPG

And a reference from the spare block:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-68nYEzv4RsA/UXs7FEFrQnI/AAAAAAAAS8s/91pavbQzOAw/s800/IMG_3049.JPG

So those ears will bolt to another simple bracket that will be the engine side of the dogbone mount and the subframe side will be left alone. I'm just going to cut the stock trans side dogbone mount and add my own ears to it. It's more work than it's worth to try and awkwardly use the stock trans side dogbone bracket as a whole.

[95naSTA]

I got pretty close to getting the front header complete last week.

There was a lot of prep work getting the old coating and pipes unstuck from inside the collector.

I opted to weld this myself so I can get a weld 360* around all 3 primaries where they enter the collector. When they were welded before, this wasn't done. I don't think it's even really possible without going the route I did, described below. I had an audible exhaust tick in the engine bay and I'm betting that was it. I welded the inside of 2 primaries, then cut a window out of the 3rd, grinded in a slot so that I can weld the inner part of the 3rd primary from inside that primary, then welded the window back on. This gives a full 360* of weld on the last primary.

2 original primaries tacked to collector and checked for trans clearance
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3ciNXQxa7O8/UYMSB0P3DYI/AAAAAAAATBo/IVfekAo5F0o/s800/IMG_3052.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P-YX-QvroP0/UYMSCcMWu7I/AAAAAAAATBw/efXuPCyRy9g/s800/IMG_3051.JPG

2 original primaries welded to inner collector
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tckkMhKJ3sI/UYMSA1_DLAI/AAAAAAAATBY/mqB79sHXeRE/s800/IMG_3054.JPG

Modified primary welded up, window and slot cut, slot lined up with inner top of remaining primary
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kYTmwfV4u7E/UYMR-zgEptI/AAAAAAAATA4/VttNHXMP1X0/s800/IMG_3058.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jiZnpHdzbL8/UYMSAGBJZhI/AAAAAAAATB4/R_cPtgZYyXw/s800/IMG_3056.JPG

Inner slot welded and smoothed
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nWAGUJsEzoU/UYMR944oYxI/AAAAAAAATAo/u45V3tM_kIg/s800/IMG_3060.JPG

Window back on and everything welded
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-e4pDBSW413w/UYMR7n1EFiI/AAAAAAAATAI/9RpXd8vEw1U/s800/IMG_3064.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-B0xfis9Zv9Y/UYMR8OtaKTI/AAAAAAAATCA/9stq_VhdpwU/s800/IMG_3063.JPG

Attempt to get the crossover tacked
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wtvOloMqzTU/UYMR54jXFCI/AAAAAAAAS_w/_iXdyw9Odxs/s800/IMG_3067.JPG

And it hits the shifter counter weight.. time to call it a day.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5LT4SiWRZRQ/UYMR4rQGAmI/AAAAAAAAS_g/NrgWqTC_2Jc/s800/IMG_3069.JPG

I might be able to still get it to work without modifying the crossover. We'll see next time.

And the last part came back from S&W.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qyUCJixrYlk/UYsAKLK5iZI/AAAAAAAATCo/4WKrRo5hlYY/s800/IMG_3073.JPG

I just need to get it all square and weld it together now.. but carefully so it doesn't warp. It shouldn't be too bad due to the metal thickness.

[rocknrace03]

wow! amazing work!! keep it up! how long until you think you're "finished" with the 6speed swap?

[95naSTA]

Thanks!

I hope I'll be driving it by the end of the year. I know theoretically it could be finished sooner but we all know how that goes.

[95naSTA]

More progress!

The first kill list was the jack shaft mount. I tried tapping it first with a cheap tap/die kit and it didn't work out. I need to order a good tap. It doesn't seem like there's any warping at all. I took my time with it and added gussets like I mentioned earlier. Once I tap the two holes, it's going to the powder coater.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PtYUJKb9VUA/UZLck99X7rI/AAAAAAAATMs/ZiqhoVfVBwo/s800/IMG_3089.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ul3PXokI-TM/UZLcjhOWBPI/AAAAAAAATMc/8oaAnib8MfM/s800/IMG_3091.JPG

Next up was the front header. All I needed to do was clock the crossover that meets up with the rear primary, clock the s bend that interfered before and add a small section of pipe. It clears no problem and I don't have to modify the crossover. Now all I have to do is box it up and send it to Jet Hot.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zCO5WIEnLjo/UZLcjD3h5gI/AAAAAAAATMU/B7M2d15iqtg/s800/IMG_3092.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VBlhPutXgBY/UZLcg7FWX6I/AAAAAAAATL4/T2Y7vMKm4do/s800/IMG_3096.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3_W3XfYn5MM/UZLcfyOlTRI/AAAAAAAATLs/neCryBvB5cA/s800/IMG_3097.JPG

Then I decided to start the dogbone mount that will bolt to the new jack shaft mount. I used the stock auto trans mount's ears and added metal to it..It's almost complete. I just want to add something that goes from the outside of the dogbone bracket to the unused bolt hole at the bottom of the oil pan. The moment arm that the offset mounting creates would be eliminated by this. I'll also have to wait till those two jack shaft mount holes are tapped so the bolt holes will all line up together. Disregard oil filter clearance. I need to remote mount it.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_Z7z8duipwc/UZLcbJqsiII/AAAAAAAATKw/yrLEYUhoEOk/s800/IMG_3111.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xK8VIQt6-4M/UZLcatlnpHI/AAAAAAAATKk/KKAnTgdq3sw/s800/IMG_3112.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gDdzO6aIw_w/UZLceFb8xyI/AAAAAAAATLU/T8VWoLEe_Mk/s800/IMG_3104.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-U569G0VYnYY/UZLccy1PrlI/AAAAAAAATLE/66I7IkdlSAQ/s800/IMG_3108.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-34IJ67h-sds/UZLcb4ybiKI/AAAAAAAATK4/RXg-cOalSvg/s800/IMG_3110.JPG

That last pic has the unused bolt hole in the oil pan I referred to.

And during the day I primed and rattle caned the pedal mount plate. There are a couple small ripples in it and I had to battle OCD and convince myself not to have it powder coated. Once it's up under the dash, I'll never see it. So, it's ready to be installed.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-IxgXxGlbUPA/UZLcXSaYYRI/AAAAAAAATKU/FelweaFmvjo/s800/IMG_3114.JPG

And it's been a while since I did a list. There's more than what's on here but it'll help keep me somewhat organized.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GzU-nLbQ5RY/UZLf2qesCeI/AAAAAAAATNQ/UBRAn2dUPEY/s800/6SpdSwapList05_13.jpg

[95naSTA]

So, I picked up the square stock and I was about to start boxing in the unibody in the engine bay.. and.. I just couldn't do it.. No matter what bodywork I do to smooth it in, I just don't think I'll be happy with it. So, I broke out the cardboard, ruler, and drafted a connector in CAD. I'll run 2 of these, one inner, one outer, and close it all in with sheet metal. More cutting will happen also.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NGL8VbJdZ1k/UaVLhhnRMtI/AAAAAAAATe8/8N9-QgcxMeY/s800/IMG_3219.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C30K7b0rq4g/UaVLgc_YPDI/AAAAAAAATek/zHBmxqDleyg/s800/IMG_3222.JPG

And for the rear dogbone mount, I'm going to tie it into both W-body passenger side oil pan engine mount bolt holes. It'll definitely need stand off spacers. Once the angle iron goes past the rear oil pan bolt hole, It only needs to slope down slightly to make contact with the engine side of the dogbone bracket. I'm confident this final tie in will make the mount structurally sound.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NGUBm5UWcSk/UaVLgB5-0DI/AAAAAAAATec/TF5WzRu9ddg/s800/IMG_3223.JPG

Andd I got a good m10x1.5 tap and tapped the holes in the jack shaft mount for the dogbone bracket.

[c7scayman]

It kind of looks like an Acura Legend in the front.

[95naSTA]

^^ yeah I can see it.

Nothing too exciting but I got the pedal plate and pedal bolted in for good. I used Hv-350 sealant between it and the firewall and around the wiring grommet. I still have to fill in between the wiring and the grommet but that'll come when everything else is in place.

Before:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-penJM7XIepc/UEU9unlBVfI/AAAAAAAARqs/mqEsIXPwO7M/s800/IMG_2487.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_k4a2L8aF4M/UEU9bHWdisI/AAAAAAAARps/S-Wq5vMgWLM/s800/IMG_2505.JPG

After:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-IXdBd5CUIWQ/Uav2BpvYOnI/AAAAAAAATgw/DJ8QKOD7cG4/s800/IMG_3228.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5xmttsbeP-M/Uav2BMNRZUI/AAAAAAAATgo/8wW5Va4jZbw/s800/IMG_3229.JPG

So, the dash is ready to go back in.

One thing I never checked was the tie rod length between the 00+ and the 92-99. When I was eying the toe the 00+ tie rod ends, I seemed to be running out of thread quicker than I would with the 92-99. I think I chucked the old ones and never checked till now. Sure enough, the 00s are shorter. I had a feeling, so I ordered 2 new moog tie rods for 92-99.

The 92-99 is on the left.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BqKJd4PY3nc/Uav1-JuM6sI/AAAAAAAATf4/HpMxx9R7aZ0/s800/IMG_3236.JPG

Otherwise, the axles are being worked on and might be done in the next couple weeks. The front header is on it's way back from jet hot. And some bar stock is in the mail to finish up the rear trans dog bone mount bracket.

[95naSTA]

The front header came back. :)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qD4QnAdlbew/Ua6fWbR7lxI/AAAAAAAATiM/zxdKAoPMSt8/s800/IMG_3241.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2lVCsyI4tSY/Ua6fXEHo_mI/AAAAAAAATic/GymPqgZ4vE8/s800/IMG_3239.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BE9CXBFWUHc/Ua6fXwKmBFI/AAAAAAAATis/rjXAj5JzQE0/s800/IMG_3237.JPG

[JerseyTuscani]

i've been reading this thread from the beginning and the amount of work you invested in this car is amazing. this is one of the few build threads where I look for daily updates..lol. keep up the great work bro.

[Shipman]

Agreed^ the updates arent as often but outdo almost all others, this is one build that I am super impressed with. The amount of work and time put into this is incredible.

[95naSTA]

I appreciate it guys.

I'm glad people still dig it and/or the work going into it even though it's a 95 Bonneville.

[95naSTA]

I was able to get the dash back in today.. I was glad I took a bunch of pics when the dash came out in September.. That took all the guess work out of which screw/bolt goes where, the order, and any connections. I need another radio which is why that's missing and water leaks need to be addressed before the carpet goes back in. I'm also going to worry about the center console shifter area after the car is up and running.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rFtcmJzi1eA/UbU57AtFZ9I/AAAAAAAATnE/UaVcLCtobfs/s800/IMG_3275.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cXQpSu2p11Q/UbU58cSp2WI/AAAAAAAATnM/YZRWd55upRE/s800/IMG_3273.JPG

The unibody rails I drafted came in. I'm happy I went this route. It'll look a lot nicer than bar stock.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DQCtB5nMa8o/UbU55LbDgnI/AAAAAAAATm4/aMaHabFA5JY/s800/IMG_3279.JPG

[95naSTA]

Did a bit more cutting and mocking of the new unibody rails.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Q5GtX-WrH8k/Ub5sl6g3Z1I/AAAAAAAATtw/YJ-0-YF8M90/s800/IMG_3280.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-piZwxrR_C2E/Ub5slUykFjI/AAAAAAAATto/H4vsqq7gC5s/s800/IMG_3281.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RoLOY9Teuq0/Ub5skZJ3DCI/AAAAAAAATtc/9xwKNCwRrPI/s800/IMG_3283.JPG

Still a little more cutting to do but this is how the new water jetted pieces will sit. I know how I'm going to weld the inner piece and closing it all up with sheet metal shouldn't be too bad.

[95naSTA]

Axles came in.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-tEfjd9opXHg/UcErUuU9GlI/AAAAAAAATuo/F_-v0ubEE8E/s800/IMG_3285.JPG

They match up good with the original measurement I took relative to a stock G6 axle. These are actually Cobalt SS inners, G6 outers, and custom length 300m centers.

I still have to get them a test fitted but so far so good.

[95naSTA]

I tacked together the rear trans dogbone tie in to the lower oil pan. It's a bit different from the angle iron stuff I've been doing.

I'll be redoing some of the welding.. I pulled something in my neck and it was screaming at me the whole time.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xTZAFOyt09U/UdDdma9uSrI/AAAAAAAATwc/DdgkBSn1mVg/s800/IMG_3303.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6bMo9v4wqn0/UdDdm-2fbJI/AAAAAAAATwk/9-FLU3dbgd4/s800/IMG_3304.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MtIz8ok25Bo/UdDdoBDSGlI/AAAAAAAATws/GzXiQEPHrvY/s800/IMG_3305.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Kle6Ey42-fo/UdDdpRzODhI/AAAAAAAATw8/KY5j6jeK1kQ/s800/IMG_3307.JPG

This will take the moment arm off the jack shaft mount and add the rigidity I was looking for.

The oil filter needs to be relocated and I wanted to wait till the jack shaft mount and axles were complete to try and figure out what to do with it. A few posts back I found out that the old Reatta oil filter housing interfered with the p/s pump. The H-body housing hits the axle (see the one on top) but the W-body style (one bolted on in pics) looks like it'll work with a relocation adapter bolted to the filter location. Other people have used the W-body oil filter housing like this with 3.8/F40 swap but I had to verify it. It'll have to be ground down a little to clear the CV band clamp too.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-eZp9FSjavrE/UdDdp_4OqKI/AAAAAAAATxE/02qjKef2s08/s800/IMG_3308.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TA5O4caymg0/UdDdqqSuS0I/AAAAAAAATxM/HwamQSEF23g/s800/IMG_3309.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KSk9EUYnpHA/UdDdrk90r1I/AAAAAAAATxc/JnWdw6BTaMQ/s800/IMG_3311.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-43bBclR-Vzk/UdDdsFYKT-I/AAAAAAAATxk/LRhwFq7UaTY/s800/IMG_3312.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-BukgPuy_5mM/UdDdsipPRAI/AAAAAAAATxw/kUzfMNLvgqI/s800/IMG_3313.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hlQHFffiAoM/UdDdtAvrLVI/AAAAAAAATx0/Uj-rhnXAhvA/s800/IMG_3314.JPG

[95naSTA]

Anddd. The mounts are done.

The passenger rear dogbone mount is all welded up. I also clearanced the rear drivers side mount from the p/s rack mounting on the subframe so I have full right to left adjustability.. if I need it. When I grinded it down, I made sure I broke through, welded it back up, then ground it down again.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bhVpSFyDN2o/UeBYQ1IaPDI/AAAAAAAATy4/THPbyXBZ0TE/s800/IMG_20130712_150556_426.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RhTAOcxwAW4/UeBYUfQVvaI/AAAAAAAATzI/xHksPYQqEME/s800/IMG_20130712_150634_751.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ndy7H2qZb6k/UeBYXmUGjdI/AAAAAAAATzQ/hkToC3p7spo/s800/IMG_20130712_150711_150.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Yijs84xakbM/UeBYO9jxB9I/AAAAAAAATyw/_Qd84eKYO1o/s800/IMG_20130712_150753_126.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-adeqi6H4U54/UeBYcklDr9I/AAAAAAAATzo/qcqimtG_k8k/s800/IMG_20130712_151027_017.jpg

Off to Bonehead..

[95naSTA]

Literally right as I was about to start the unibody work, I got a phone call from Bonehead Performance saying my parts were ready.. lol. I picked those up yesterday and got a big chunk of the unibody work in. Both rails are fully welded in. Most of the work was in the prep.. and all the copper coloring is the weld through primer. I put this on before and as much as I can after to coat the exposed metal. Next step is boxing it all in with sheet metal.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-FKyCOBMlX8o/UfQfdNjALfI/AAAAAAAAT3M/RrovkoZnjZw/s800/IMG_3352.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dmxW-tbiKtc/UfQfd2J_FLI/AAAAAAAAT3U/99SicRngrPM/s800/IMG_3351.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VerZbn5X70I/UfQfg5zYybI/AAAAAAAAT4E/ueb8hUOJ16s/s800/IMG_3345.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-JQ9telxS7-U/UfQfgSIadUI/AAAAAAAAT38/6-OKjbNBTTQ/s800/IMG_3346.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AGqsCp5p6XM/UfQffasWMiI/AAAAAAAAT3s/WebVLD7zi9c/s800/IMG_3348.JPG

^^ I didn't get a good pic of it but where the rail goes through the top of the unibody in the back, I had holes drilled so I could weld through the rail onto the unibody between the rail and the strut tower. I also cut a slit in the rail so I could weld through it inside the unibody by the strut tower.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6oykJtBvU0s/UfQfe52gDEI/AAAAAAAAT3g/d2tO9yVNuMY/s800/IMG_3349.JPG

[95naSTA]

I've been busy the past few weeks..

I finished boxing in the unibody work with 1/4" steel and added another rail in the wheel well area. The bottom of the vertical sheet metal that I left was curved inward and closest to the trans when mocking things up. I opted to cut that out and add that wheel well rail right above it. This gave plenty of clearance when installing the trans. I underbodied in the void where the trans sits and I primed and rattle canned the top. I'll revisit the top with some more smoothing and real paint later.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LwoX210rfDo/UlDfd6Wnk7I/AAAAAAAAUjE/ZVEcv8fGrQU/s800/IMG_3392.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1xJOz8ZqsCc/UlDfezZtXdI/AAAAAAAAUjM/hmXV5tIDdls/s800/IMG_3393.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-t_3C20Ubohw/UlDfgyto4oI/AAAAAAAAUjg/8oqrcUpWN4g/s800/IMG_3395.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PLPi4UK5lJo/UlDfja5fD-I/AAAAAAAAUj0/Tj7rUc6yZIU/s800/IMG_3398.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-BQvjG2bOnpc/UlDfljZKxmI/AAAAAAAAUkI/dkXuxyMEyfU/s800/IMG_3406.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uuhmlBu0KQ0/UlDfoPFU_8I/AAAAAAAAUkc/DKTKmCsfkWI/s800/IMG_3409.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0p3LDfCpBdI/UlDfy1oXQAI/AAAAAAAAUl4/NMM3ppf6eVk/s800/IMG_3420.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HH2BRV96Owo/UlDf2yNxKoI/AAAAAAAAUmU/TISOZl0ly9Y/s800/IMG_3424.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-e49IZuU_9l8/UlDf-z8ZW4I/AAAAAAAAUnY/sP_QTzpy30c/s800/IMG_3432.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Ck8wnN7YEK0/UlDgCU4WCbI/AAAAAAAAUn0/dW6jMntEk_4/s800/IMG_3436.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mEOl8tbScSk/UlDfu5V-cNI/AAAAAAAAUlU/JUjq1vfkLH0/s800/IMG_3416.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yTIJHGxgxTM/UlDfydlNSWI/AAAAAAAAUlw/DTMq4MqZWyQ/s800/IMG_3419.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iZFZ8s0ySMA/UlDgBulAHuI/AAAAAAAAUns/5mcdUEquCH4/s800/IMG_3435.JPG

Clearancing the oil Jegs universal oil adapter and stock filter housing for the axle.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Pheadl63ULM/UlDf581udWI/AAAAAAAAUmw/2fGjdxx9nW0/s800/IMG_3427.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-29QRFGkaceA/UlDf72wblfI/AAAAAAAAUm8/9zDqo2prt6M/s800/IMG_3429.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2ZSvhwqnz_w/UlDf5JJYWyI/AAAAAAAAUmk/NjrO72i-oGM/s800/IMG_3426.JPG

For the custom length clutch line, I called up Rogue Engineering (http://www.rogueengineering.com/rogue/CLU/SS-CLU.html) in NJ. They sell a DOT approved SS braided line for BMWs that have the same quick connect fitting on one end. The G6 has this fitting on both sides.. I was thinking I may have to run 2 of their lines with a double male adapter connecting the 2. I asked them if they can make a custom length line and they said 'We can do anything you want'. I LOVE hearing that.. 2 days later I had a custom line in my hand for $85 plus shipping.

The only thing I was a little weary about was the size of the O-rings vs. larger stock G6, so I just swapped those over.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-bsp-ud7VCTA/UlDgAIYYJBI/AAAAAAAAUnk/q7zhunp4Hmc/s800/IMG_3434.JPG

Spec clutch kit for a S2 3800 and F40:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V4vIpzjTBeo/UlDgEVfXtII/AAAAAAAAUoE/9TxZEDKRHtQ/s800/IMG_3444.JPG

The Hydraulic Throw Out Bearing spacer in the kit came on another HTOB that isn't the same as the G6. So, I just swapped the spacer on the one that came on my trans. The point of the spacer is to keep the HTOB from over extending when pressing into the pressure plate. The stock dual mass G6 setup has a higher stack height.

G6 on left
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1hMQGsAOFcs/UlDgFP6i2qI/AAAAAAAAUoM/-oGeVbmfBgU/s800/IMG_3445.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ShnWlaBC14c/UlDgGdVKtjI/AAAAAAAAUoU/Y0n8oIEg9R4/s800/IMG_3446.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W558pY6QPqk/UlDgHQl4wmI/AAAAAAAAUog/9ikRB9Kxcgo/s800/IMG_3447.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-YBVNGXa_l44/UlDgJCbUgOI/AAAAAAAAUos/bHOvNMRyPNQ/s800/IMG_3449.JPG

Clutch installed:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-784vh_O1zr0/UlDgKBzuSBI/AAAAAAAAUo4/Df8a04KEzCE/s800/IMG_3450.JPG

Bracket for the relocated oil housing and re worked -10AN oil cooler routing:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zIl3QmyCb5Y/UlDgNZL5JEI/AAAAAAAAUpU/K0Wkp4DB-FE/s800/IMG_3454.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DEbxLrcxM2A/UlDgXJ-uGlI/AAAAAAAAUqc/2LX30DQrVdk/s800/IMG_3466.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-maGCvnfNWcs/UlDgVx8IGeI/AAAAAAAAUqY/TKXXrE6bI1Q/s800/IMG_3465.JPG
Bracket holds oil housing on the left.

G6 brake pedal:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T43xeL4oi94/UlGc_N6xQ3I/AAAAAAAAUvA/CgaSr-yx5lI/s800/IMG_20131006_130734_020.jpg

More or less together:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Ha9pCuofyWY/UlDgOQYOX9I/AAAAAAAAUpY/rm723dKuWro/s800/IMG_3455.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nvz8_CKuAsE/UlDgRy9e9iI/AAAAAAAAUp0/NxJ8PWRSMBY/s800/IMG_3458.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9_9PoRRW5cc/UlDgSp4aikI/AAAAAAAAUp8/dI-Jc4Vr4OA/s800/IMG_3459.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Af2grvNsnLQ/UlDgQ1oj_8I/AAAAAAAAUps/qJlBt1IdeYs/s800/IMG_3457.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7QOemBZkpus/UlDgTxpo2KI/AAAAAAAAUqE/HQTqzWfCE1U/s800/IMG_3460.JPG

The electrical side of things was made easier by Ryan at Sinister Performance and Micky Moose on Fiero.nl:
http://www.gmtuners.com/fiero/transbypass.htm
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/20130314-2-116755.html

And when I figured out that the Malibu hubs are 5-6mm shallower than 00+ H body:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-97SHH7uJYZo/UlDfXQoRqiI/AAAAAAAAUiU/aAxZ6oI_8fw/s800/IMG_20131005_171330_093.jpg
^^ that kinda sucked and required a 5mm spacer behind the brake rotor to space it correctly in the caliper bracket.

I drove it around the block last night and back and fourth down my street.. damn that felt good.

My front alignment is way off and my tune needs some work but it runs and drives good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IBlsPoaJbw

[rocknrace03]

AWESOME! congrats man! looking forward to seeing it all buttoned up!

[95naSTA]

^^ Thanks!

Kinda bad news.. The trans has to come back out. The hydraulic throw out bearing is leaking.. The HTOB spacer SPEC includes with the kit might not be thick enough to keep it from over extending. Background info - The G6 has a thicker dual mass flywheel. This means the HTOB had less distance to travel stock to hit the pressure plate. The spacer should have solved that problem but it looks like it didn't. Not really a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. Especially since I can drive to my buddy's shop and work on a lift there.

For now though, I'm going to drive it, dial in the tune, and work on a few misc. things.

I was able to get over to my buddy's shop last week to get on a lift and the alignment rack.

On the lift I installed real 5mm wheel spacers behind the rotors to space them correctly, did an oil change, clearanced a p/s line from the header, tied up the aft O2s, and bled the p/s a bit more.

On the alignment rack I added a little more camber than I had before up front and got the toe in check. I'm about -1.6* camber all around. When they're not slammed with jobs they let me have free reign over their alignment rack. So I can go back and tweak whenever.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KuEkW3tFLPE/Um3N734q9HI/AAAAAAAAUzs/ecnGkwMQnRE/s800/IMG_20131024_165937_435.jpg

Yesterday I got the dual widebands hooked back up (1 front bank, 1 both banks) and today I installed and unlocked a factory CD player with a new display bulb from corvette radios. An aux input is on the to-do list.. I like the radio to match so it's staying for a while.

I've been trying to get the speedometer dialed in but haven't had much luck. The PPM function in my software doesn't change the cluster output. I played with the instrument panel divisor setting to get it lower at least but after I adjust past a certain point, the speed gets worse. I'm probably going to hit up Ryan at Sinister Performance for guidance on that. (tons of experience with these pcms)

The car also wanted to stall out a lot when coming to a stop. I played with the IAC follower and commanded airflow per gear but ultimately fixed the problem by adjusting the idle set screw.

Here's the car going through the first few gears (cluster speed is 1.7 times real speed):
http://youtu.be/zPfwJ1ZJyLQ

[95naSTA]

I emailed Ryan at Sinister after my last post and I got a detailed response 9 hours later. (can't say enough about that guy)

Paraphrasing he said: The 97-99 3800 pcms calculate the speed differently from the 94-95s. In my pcm there’s a VSS calculation for the pcm and a separate instrument panel calculation which is manipulated by a divisor. The PPM value I can change does calibrate the speed for the internal pcm calculations but none of the options for the IP divisor will generate the needed 4k ppm output needed.

The stock trans has a 30 tooth reluctor with 24k ppm. The F40 has a 72 tooth reluctor with 60k ppm. The stock ppm is divided by 6 to get a 4k output but there's nothing to divide the F40 ppm by to get 4k.

0 = Divide by 1 (for a 4000 ppm VSS)
32 = Divide by 9 (for a 36000 ppm VSS)
64 = Divide by 7 (for a 28000 ppm VSS)
96 = Divide by 11 (for a 44000 ppm VSS)
128 = Divide by 6 (for a 24000 ppm VSS)
160 = Divide by 10 (for a 40000 ppm VSS)
192 = Divide by 8 (for a 32000 ppm VSS)
224 = unknown/invalid
256 = Divisor disabled, no output


Ryan suggested a Dakota Digital SGI-5. And since I know the internal ppm is correct, I decided to just manipulate the signal going to the cluster.

While waiting for the SGI-5 I fried the power cable from the alt to the fuse box.. at the fuse box. The wire cover melted and the copper turned black.. My alternator also had a humming noise coming from it..

So, I made a new alt to fuse box wire, cleaned up the the fuse box contacts and cleaned up all my grounds. All while re-dielectric greasing everything.

A strange problem I also had with the previous alt was I couldn't get it to charge without adding a 99+ H-body +12v ref sense wire. (common pre-99 3800 crowd mod)

I installed a new alt without the sense wire and got it to charge fine. So that's good news.

The SGI-5 came in so I got that installed. I took the Bonnie grocery shopping today.. lol.. but speedometer wasn't working.. Luckily it comes with diagnostic blinking lights to narrow down the problem. Wrong output type. I had it hooked up as 4k square wave out but it needed to be 4k AC. Simple fix. When verifying via GPS, the speedo seems spot on up to 50. I`ll verify further when I take it back on the highway.

I routed the wiring into the glove box through a hole the PO had for a kill switch.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_ZVJiIWkgMw/Unb0h-ezueI/AAAAAAAAU00/dlm3qIaVmjg/s800/IMG_20131103_194810_601.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LH2FC4wXDsY/Unb0kE5k23I/AAAAAAAAU08/MUWFJTbw3sk/s800/IMG_20131103_194825_504.jpg

[Bdub215]

Well i just read through all 9 pages of this and i wanna say i'm impressed with what you've done so far. keep up the good work.

[95naSTA]

Thanks^^

The weather has been crappy and the HTOB finally bled down enough for it to have trouble getting into gear. This hasn’t given much incentive to take the car out. And I've got a couple other things going on I'm trying to sort out before I rip the trans back out..

So, I decided to restore both headlight lenses and remount the projectors and highs. The clear on the outside was pealing and the mounts for the projectors and high beams were broke.. It's been something I've been putting off for a while..

I used a headlight restoration without tools (http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/forum/general-chat/topic37117.html) method on the lenses.

Before:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ObSnKyrQUfw/UsDHAZtww2I/AAAAAAAAU-4/xvliVlKXdts/s800/IMG_3508.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-L4jI6N8jaxM/UsDHA_UFpSI/AAAAAAAAU-4/igiPaQUyaWE/s800/IMG_3509.JPG

Took them down to 400 grit:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4Fok5W_CAF4/UsDHAZ_SLZI/AAAAAAAAU-4/DRmiC0s-gQE/s800/IMG_3510.JPG

After 500, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 dry and 1500 and 2000 wet. Top is pre 50/50 urethane and mineral spirits and bottom after.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pdUmS6IkB0s/UsDHKSIqGpI/AAAAAAAAU-4/Ykq9N8707KM/s800/IMG_3524.JPG

Stock, the E39 headlights are mounted and adjusted from the rear of the headlight assembly. Both the projector and high beam lens are mounted together on one metal bracket and adjusted simultaneously. The assembly didn't fit so I had to figure out a way to mount the projector and high to the rear of the headlight lens. There were hollow shafts sticking out of the back of the lens around each of the two light holes. Four on the projector side and 3 on the high side. Originally, I epoxied threaded shafts into these holes and mounted the stock metal bracket on these. Over time the threaded shafts got loose and oxidized.. There were some clearancing issues since resolved that also contributed.. The assembly was never sealed either. The back was opened to the elements and dirt often made it's way in there.

Stock:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-P7ebi3YNZ0A/UsDQwtJH45I/AAAAAAAAU_Y/d9ElBZ0ZHAA/s800/9217804187_5bded3a1a3_b.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zSCyWoXumtY/UsDQwlpjd-I/AAAAAAAAU_Y/KwUspJe50I4/s800/9222163275_2397d9549c_b.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u27TduMcx0w/UsDUu8s3OvI/AAAAAAAAU_4/2eDoKTJjVRg/s800/IMG_0050.jpg

This time around I used slightly larger threaded shafts, tapped the holes and installed them with epoxy. They're also secured with a nut at the base. I separated the high and projector and made individual mounting brackets for each. The projectors are adjustable against 8lb springs and all hardware is stainless. I never use the high beams so I didn't make those adjustable. The highs are at least sealed against the lens except for the rear top hole. The projector shroud still needs to be sealed against the back of the lens.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1-id1Gz0BSY/UrzrkCMlzeI/AAAAAAAAVAE/EDrrw7MXiA4/s800/Snapchat-20131225075147.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-61HyaIQsev0/UsDAGgCzj3I/AAAAAAAAU74/avSQGFZYO00/s800/IMG_20131227_164518_386.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iWZIDLxYZ5I/UsDADqMsOwI/AAAAAAAAU7k/nTgDW_aTWhs/s800/IMG_20131227_172707_601.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-FE0IdG0MTIA/UsDAAWMW-qI/AAAAAAAAU7U/H7aOPYB31YA/s800/IMG_20131228_195907_102.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wvz8n1gZIeU/UsDAH2kUcGI/AAAAAAAAU78/U0tyzySfQAI/s800/IMG_20131228_204810_531.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZyWkahsMgkQ/UsC_-kR8z1I/AAAAAAAAU7M/EO8eQUtxCog/s800/IMG_20131229_130727_819.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5qHcPpR60Ao/UsDACcNhmsI/AAAAAAAAU7c/oRunWo8EAzw/s800/IMG_20131229_191202_494.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9BUkBS6Mi3E/UsDAFY5SD9I/AAAAAAAAU7s/noHGZDn-uSQ/s800/IMG_20131229_191005_276.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YzplmM7rTAU/UsDAKtc_6iI/AAAAAAAAU8M/MOhU6nAt8bE/s800/IMG_20131229_192643_226.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UCj8RxTancs/UsDa9K49p7I/AAAAAAAAVA4/4q-dxnYo8O8/s800/IMG_3525.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g5pDmIRJTSg/UsDBWPRRw2I/AAAAAAAAU8Y/GfFD0yMR-Ps/s800/IMG_20131229_194044_554.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-53J3hziw_wg/UsDBX5FVhZI/AAAAAAAAU8g/5JytOzRc0dk/s800/IMG_20131229_193955_532.jpg

[Ej6Mike]

EPIC!


Now this is craftsmanship and a build!

[95naSTA]

Thanks! ^^

The headlights are finally finished.

I picked up the BMW style corner bulbs and sockets to replace the stock Bonneville ones that I had been just jamming into the headlight. They didn't clear the rear mount I made I chopped them down, soldered them in through the bottom, and filled the plugs with potting epoxy to seal them.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-doIKaFWYTiM/UtxHeOG7-0I/AAAAAAAAVJw/OP_i2s5ZpI4/s800/IMG_20140112_172357_868.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-HEZZ4M1g9MY/Utw9kci8VoI/AAAAAAAAVJQ/Bxd6GXz0d4U/s800/IMG_20140119_142744_399.jpg

For sealing the projectors, I searched for a while and eventually came across roof flashing seals. I picked up the right size, cut them up accordingly, and it seals well.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uLNZlt7Nkdg/Utw9hMTudEI/AAAAAAAAVJA/Z8MWVbHBQi4/s800/IMG_20140119_142929_999.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aAecyHo92b8/Utw9jGoGB1I/AAAAAAAAVJI/z95DEVJaP7g/s800/IMG_20140119_142727_692.jpg

[Bane]

continued pimpsauceness, well done sir

[Ej6Mike]

The very fact that so many things are custom made and crafted to fit this vehicle properly makes it such a genuine and awesome build. I cannot stress that enough.

[95naSTA]

^^Thanks!

Slowly but surely.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2hk-PaseiE0/U7DC5NUBfFI/AAAAAAAAXCc/m-dszvSNSAc/s800/IMG_3554.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o3YjkcdeYZE/U7DC5Fp0oqI/AAAAAAAAXCY/iH1OEFfzDIM/s800/IMG_3552.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zFLduClGt_o/U7DC6wdvPOI/AAAAAAAAXCo/D1kZO9D9nXo/s800/IMG_3555.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wf9LXOBydlw/U7DC8uVBvfI/AAAAAAAAXC0/PqBWfVLEjhw/s800/IMG_3557.JPG

I had to replace the hydraulic throw out bearing so I decided to paint the trans when it was out. It's back in by 2 bolts currently but I hope to have it all buttoned up soon.

[95naSTA]

Today went better than I thought and it's back on the road!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lhJMUjKDpj4/U7XH7TdwIzI/AAAAAAAAXWE/MSF4RtyCMGs/s800/IMG_3664.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--YbPCIAhldE/U7XH_3eZowI/AAAAAAAAXWg/6Vj3zsufuxc/s800/IMG_3667.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rU8Gf6C673Y/U7XH1oA6-yI/AAAAAAAAXVo/S9nThKiYZ_Y/s800/IMG_3660.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_XdM2B_HWlo/U7XH3tEQOYI/AAAAAAAAXVw/uBJoPajcOLo/s800/IMG_3661.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Gyhyg7T3BFs/U7XIBURdJzI/AAAAAAAAXWo/0kiqfetXFpA/s800/IMG_3668.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OEdA_wfJkfc/U7XIFW8whcI/AAAAAAAAXW4/kXAjbt3C588/s800/IMG_3670.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0V6F_j5m5C4/U7XIJ6k1ecI/AAAAAAAAXXA/CZcx8NCdWP8/s800/IMG_3671.JPG

The car is pretty dirty in the last couple pics.. I was in a bit of a rush to get the test ride in before the thunderstorms hit.
I still have some minor electrical stuff to sort out but the drive went well otherwise.

[rocknrace03]

I'm always impressed, love this thing! we need to find you a pink/purple air filter

[camopaint0707]

looks like a sweet build coming

[BlueEyedSuicide4]

Absolutely beautiful!

[95naSTA]

Thanks!

On the filter, the intake shoud actually have another 45* on it with the filter in the bumper. (see the hole below the filter) So that might clean it u pa bit.

[Ej6Mike]

It lives!

[95naSTA]

Today was a good day.

I've been trying to trace down a very strange electrical issue I've been having for a while..

Upon start up the voltage would pulse every second or two on the dash, the lights would dim at each pulse, and the voltage would never reach the full 14ish. But, when I plug my scantool in and begin to datalog, the problem goes away.

I ended up repairing a few other things in the process of diagnosing.

before this started I repurposed the following pins at the PCM firewall connector for convince:
White C6 (EGR and IAT ground) I didn't see the IAT ground initially. -fixed that
White C10 (EGR +5v)
Blue E10 (boost control) since this was originally a supercharged car
Blue F12 (EGR position)
Blue F14 (trans temp)

All those checked out ok with the exception of the IAT ground.

I checked the main fuse block - all fuses ok
Passenger side relay center fuses - ok
Driver's side I/P fuese block:
1C blown - Airbag - Replaced airbag module under the passenger seat what had water damage - fixed
5D A/C - missing - Replaced - fixed

I tried grounding out the data line on the DLC to reproduce the datalog fix - no go.

And while doing all this I noticed my fans weren't working properly.
Everything forward of the firewall worked properly. If I grounded the wire on the relay running to the PCM the fans would turn on.
I was getting +12v at the low speed pcm pin but not at the high. So, I rewired the high and all is good.

With all the misc stuff out of the way I just started pulling fuses on the driver's I/P fuse block to see if I could isolate the problem. Sure enough when I pulled 6A, the interior light/sunroof/trunk light fuse, the problem went away. I disconnected the connector going to the headliner, trunk light, all interior lights, and still nothing. Then I finally disconnected the puddle lights I hooked up to go on with the interior lights..

That was it. Problem solved. It feels great to move on from this. It's been over a year I think with this issue.

I drove the car around a bit, did an oil change and washed it up before I lost sun light.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nYHd0_Kc3TE/U92e1tpGTBI/AAAAAAAAXkI/cW4FVhHgynI/s800/IMG_20140802_195953_490a.jpg

[95naSTA]

Not too long after my last post my electrical issue returned on the way to my buddy's shop. Pulling the fuse that isolated the problem before didn't help, nor did datalogging. When I got there, I tried pulling every fuse in the I/P fuse block and relay center that I could with the engine running with no change. I tried a new alternator, and it does a slightly better job of charging but the problem is still there.

Other stuff I disconnected without change:
The +12v reference sense wire to the alternator that I added
The auto trans rewiring. (shift solenoid dummy bulbs, reverse light, wiring to make it think it's in drive)
NB O2
All the aforementioned fuses with the new alt

Disconnecting the PCM alternator signal wire stops the pulsing but also the charging (makes sense) and connecting only the voltage sense wire doesn't make it charge.
Adding an extra engine ground didn't help.
I got a intermittent cam sensor signal code that went away and manipulating the wires running to it didn't change it.

I think there's a couple other things we tried.. but my head is kinda fried.

While there, I was able to weld in a resonator I bought last year. I needed to center the exhaust better in the rear tunnel to gain clearance for the the resonator. The tips also needed some clearancing and work to get them lined up perfect in the bumper cut outs. The tone is a bit tamer but there's still rasp at high load/rpm. At this point, I think I can live with it. lol..

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7vhX2bOSUE8/U-bbAXdYKFI/AAAAAAAAXts/L0QhfWJ98dA/s800/IMG_3722.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ypapwefMop8/U-bbB_FmXUI/AAAAAAAAXts/5w3gL6aBxQA/s800/IMG_3723.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hyMLepa_ATw/U-bbFpFDzpI/AAAAAAAAXts/f_3IM841jkk/s800/IMG_3724f.JPG

At least there were quite a few tuning heads while driving it.

I haven't done as much as I would like the past few months but I was able to get a set of euro folding mirrors (RPO DD9) painted, wired, and installed.

A while back on another forum I saw an overseas member had bought a donor 92' Bonneville SSE/i with the euro export package and was going to junk the car once the drivetrain was pulled. I immediately pm'd asking to buy the mirrors. I made an offer without any detailed pics of the condition figuring anything cosmetic could be fixed. The deal took a while to materialize but the mirrors arrived a few months ago.

The connectors were cut, 3/4 studs were missing, there were dremel grinding marks, and the paint was faded past the clear. So, they weren't in the best shape but I was more concerned with seizing the opportunity vs. condition at time for purchase.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-tNJdBoEZ7FY/VJuXh8Ju4OI/AAAAAAAAbvM/I0Yt_9djv3s/s800/IMG_20141101_195216_219.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-byRm3jogeKA/VJuXemi5WRI/AAAAAAAAbvE/MI49JJO9mlY/s800/IMG_20141101_195159_209.jpg

I had my painter buddy repair the dremel marks with plastic filler and paint them with the same Black Onyx 202 paint code as the body. Since they were off a SSE/i, I knew they were going to have a heater circuit but didn't know about the memory function. My non-heated, non-memory, power SLE mirrors have a 3 wire connector and the new DD9's come with a 6 wire connector. For whatever reason the wiring diagram for the power function was missing from my FSM.. Three of the 6 wires matched the colors on the SLE mirror (grey, dark blue, light blue), and there was continuity between 2 of the remaining wires (heater circuit).This only left one wire remaining (green). Next I used a 12v power supply to verify the heater circuit worked. Both did. Then I compared the power vs function of the 3 similarly colored wires between the DD9 and SLE mirrors. Some of the fuctions were the same between the two but not all worked on the DD9. I figured since theere was only one wire remaining on the DD9, it needed to be grounded/powered by at least 2 of the other 3. Turns out if I coupled the grey and the green wire, the DD9 functioned the same as the SLE's. I also decided to extended the heater wires down to the connector so I can add this function later without removing the mirrors. All wires were soldered and epoxy lined shrink tubed.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E3ky09K46IE/VJuZgxbHJPI/AAAAAAAAbwc/Az_esdcOfGo/s800/DSC00383.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dBqQBOPe5xE/VJuZiyV4EwI/AAAAAAAAbwc/xpbMjqsDIGA/s800/DSC00384.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2VPopcgftPU/VJuZc8QmnII/AAAAAAAAbwc/iOGPjon6qHY/s800/DSC00381.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--SIXeXn-kgI/VJuZe_QzRAI/AAAAAAAAbwc/BQA6kTG9xWc/s800/DSC00382.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-t_0s_Os13tU/VJuj5UqAKMI/AAAAAAAAbw4/idQvnbBjuWc/s800/DSC00386s.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zcBtDPhuVK8/VJuZmRGYyHI/AAAAAAAAbwc/MXNtaGakcAQ/s800/DSC00387.JPG

And here's the folding action:
http://youtu.be/L2Auzc7rojU

As far as I know I'm the only one in North America with a set of these.

[95naSTA]

I got my 22mm solid Addco rear sway and brackets back from Bonehead a couple weeks back.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UMrETZwuV6I/VQOYVhSFAVI/AAAAAAAAdi8/wGThYtKu1FA/s800/DSC00715.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ai2d_UpYcBY/VQOYXizY93I/AAAAAAAAdjI/Xu7rzUe6fOs/s800/DSC00718.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-h-D7BdtNm5M/VQOYaHxdUhI/AAAAAAAAdjY/2qirD5X-s4g/s800/DSC00720.JPG

It only took 5 years but it'll match the 32mm front now.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kQLRS8aMtyo/TXQ21Y8xI_I/AAAAAAAARuQ/ubQ31K96-84/s800/IMG_0303.JPG

Here's the lasted mini project almost wrapped up for the Bonneville.

I wanted a new shifter trim that looked OEM. I searched for what I thought would be close and ended up with a Camaro 6-speed shifter trim. It was close enough to fitting within the Bonneville center console but obviously needed a ton of work..

I used an airless plastic welder to join the parts, wire mesh backing on all joints, and a heat gun to convince a couple of the lines to come together. The goal was not to use any filler or epoxy and have it look as stock as possible. A couple other Bonnie guys have done some interior plastics work before so finding the right SEM products was easy:

Plastic Adhesion Promoter: 39863
Texture Coating: 39853
Color Coat: 15303

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GptLSHKKC8Q/VNbgsJguWzI/AAAAAAAAc8Q/Y4rTKJCYcQo/s800/DSC00610.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8ieCt8uUH64/VNbgsAE8v0I/AAAAAAAAc8U/b16XL9p-Uwc/s800/DSC00612.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FOPl12MDAEU/VNbgx7SU-TI/AAAAAAAAc8s/NIc40gmbXOc/s800/DSC00614.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZVgYdrahRkQ/VNbgzjYjsyI/AAAAAAAAc80/C7_VbX8hpj0/s800/DSC00615.JPG

In the pic above, you can see the 6-speed trim not wanting to cooperate. I used a heat gun here to bring that section down to the Bonneville base.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qDDrBlzAMwA/VNgw9iCkz1I/AAAAAAAAdA4/irTnOsecy4c/s800/DSC00619.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CRRDMrHk3IU/VNgxC_l15QI/AAAAAAAAdBI/xZDqWQhcRv8/s800/DSC00622.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-L_L3nGn-NBI/VNgxLE7XAVI/AAAAAAAAdBY/QP15v3kHX18/s800/DSC00624.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GkglNdEANO8/VOPngulwydI/AAAAAAAAdME/fjjzKZRan_I/s800/DSC00628.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EdBKMn0dA7Y/VRic3PJgc2I/AAAAAAAAeAs/qJF3InJ3g00/s800/DSC00756.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-KFOswzgHoGc/VRic0lZ2E2I/AAAAAAAAeAg/cKw82165T4U/s800/DSC00755.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VSUMnbWfwCY/VRic4feJGnI/AAAAAAAAeA0/eqM1iDGddDw/s800/DSC00758.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MwAdhPcBEBw/VRic1HwatrI/AAAAAAAAeAk/X76kGWJUSxY/s800/DSC00757.JPG

That's everything right up until paint and install. I hope to have it finished up soon.

One nice thing about going with such a common car for the shifter trim is I can replace the boot with a stock or aftermarket part readily available.

[Intercooled T]

Great work! Quality craftsmanship right there!

[1gmfanatik]

Nice Build!!

[rocknrace03]

boy oh boy! seeing updates on this build makes me happy. keep up the good work dude!

also, what plastic welder is that? i've always wanted to try the HF one for 15$ lol

[95naSTA]

Thanks guys!

The plastic welder is a more expensive one.. http://www.urethanesupply.com/Airless-Welders-1/5600HT/
The HF one probably works well enough and I can't say the kit I have justifies the +$150. But it is a far more complete kit.

The pot has the different settings noted by the melting points of plastics so it's easy to figure out what material you're dealing with. Plastics you can't weld, you can still bond with the supplied filler rod.

One other thing that I didn't mention is I put a ton of time over the winter into diag-ing an electrical problem I've had for at least a year and a half. The charging system wasn't maintaining a steady voltage.. Long story short it turned out to be the PCM. This issue is why I never finished wire tucking my engine bay. I still had my engine left to do. I have all the wires re-routed and hidden except for the ignition control module and spark plug wires. When I'm done, you'll be able to see the TPS/IAC/MAF wires for a very small run, a very small run of the alt charging wire, and that's it. No ICM/coils/wires/loom, nothing.

I almost have my bike back together, so that should free up some time I can put toward finishing up the wire tuck.

[MarcD]

That is an impressive Bonneville. Don't see them anymore

[95naSTA]

^^Thanks

Here's a part of my engine harness wire tuck. I'm relocating the coils to rear of the engine. From the top, you won't be able to see any spark plug wires. Front or rear. I'll actually be able to reach this from the passenger side too.

The ICM bracket is from an 3800 F-body. I used one threaded hole on the block and one on the trans to mount the assembly.

This location is similar to where GM mounted the 2.8/3.1 MPFI ICM, just on the other side of the engine. I'm not too worried about heat since my headers are ceramic coated. Water should be fine too. It's pretty far up there in relation to the subframe (especially with the engine and trans 1.5" taller than stock). The bracket will be powder coated wrinkle black to match the 6-speed swap brackets.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cG90CyoS8uM/VUQTie-wkFI/AAAAAAAAe8s/xKHKqhTa0lg/s800/DSC00814.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7etwnxSe9R0/VUQThqfIsUI/AAAAAAAAe8k/nP8Ll7TvjqM/s800/DSC00815.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dkZmk0_eE7A/VUQTnRLwPiI/AAAAAAAAe9k/md3cEX-hwFI/s800/DSC00822.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uJ7zCXpGrPY/VUQToAaFT8I/AAAAAAAAe9s/0jyhWwwYpOw/s800/DSC00823.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rbn6q8Cnq28/VUQTpEvf0KI/AAAAAAAAe90/uxOL7gf3mEY/s800/DSC00824.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BuJgmWsNdK0/VUQTp4BUrLI/AAAAAAAAe-A/qLfAyRtnFFc/s800/DSC00825.JPG

After I got done this and a couple other little things at my buddy's shop, I picked up the gf and had her get a vid of me rowing through the gears.
https://youtu.be/8EuLcKyuSdI

[95naSTA]

I cleaned up both of my cars today.. Might as well throw both in here.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SnaoSbnt_fo/VU1f4paNmAI/AAAAAAAAfFQ/zCPnjCVh-W4/s800/DSC00828f.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t8JCb1tlLGU/VU1Zu5ik-zI/AAAAAAAAfDY/EQDIfqz9nW0/s800/DSC00829.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iCIQNbA9kHw/VU1Zx7k4q4I/AAAAAAAAfDs/XviSsw4Hi6U/s800/DSC00832.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h_NyagjlrOQ/VU1ynPIV-mI/AAAAAAAAfHk/XzlH1JzAhZo/s800/DSC00834f.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DxNdCuRR0d8/VU1yzFDptfI/AAAAAAAAfH0/h79LNF5A6n0/s800/DSC00833f.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h4mjrQUZ8k4/VU1gDiOgcZI/AAAAAAAAfGc/ibucpuiy5uw/s800/DSC00841.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DoKvWav4LkU/VU1gHRQB_2I/AAAAAAAAfGs/AiUcfEUEtnY/s800/DSC00843f.jpg

The engine bay is filthy right now but if you look close you can see all wiring with the exception of the ICM and spark plug wires have been re-routed.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KnanA84Dxw0/VU1xnulOY6I/AAAAAAAAfHE/rxXKF-5FQis/s800/DSC00838f.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l4hNG524Oso/VU1xqSQi65I/AAAAAAAAfHM/aBA1BowRcZQ/s800/DSC00840.JPG

I got a new wheel bearing in to replace a noisy one but the ZZP oil volume kit I ordered didn't make it in time for my day off.

[rocknrace03]

nice work as always. this is certainly one of a kind

[95naSTA]

I made some marginal progress today after a small set back.

I had panned on finishing the ICM wire tuck today at my buddy's shop along with an a/c recharge - giving me more incentive to rack up the miles on the car.

On the way over my electric waterpump wires sagged into the crank pulley and cut/melted them. I saw the temp approaching 240 so I cut the wheel and pulled into a parking lot and keyed off. With it in accessory I couldn't hear my pump over the fans. So I tried jumping the relay with the key off and that's how I found the issue. I wired it up but it still wouldn't come on. w.t.f... It turns out the pin in the connector broke too. So I jumped that and I was on my way to my buddy's shop.

With that chunk of time lost I was only able to do a proper repair to the EWP wiring, charge my a/c, and reconnect the HVAC vac source. The good news is I got stuck in heavy heavy traffic for about an hour or so total and the car had zero issues keeping cool. That huge rad and oil cooler setup are keeping the 10.5:1 CR in check. My rad hoses ended up collapsing on cool down so I picked up another rad cap.

On the plus side, another couple problems from driving got fixed/repaired, the car did well in the heat, and my a/c blows cold.

I cleaned all the water spots in the engine bay and snapped a couple pics:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Pjb2qMLiDfM/VWkTKxXLYsI/AAAAAAAAfPw/294qqFraKAM/s800/IMG_6252s.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iYaj9KfEo94/VWkTRuxfScI/AAAAAAAAfP4/EoGhC5keSZc/s800/IMG_6242.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Oc_mU-VbzrM/VWkSpb_XL9I/AAAAAAAAfPo/p-cX4cDv7HM/s800/IMG_6245.JPG

I can't wait to get rid of the rest of those wires!

[Shipman]

Thats a damn good tuck

[95naSTA]

I'm a little closer to finishing the engine wire tuck. The ICM harness was rerouted and shortened to plug into the new location. I also loomed it how I plan to loom the rest of the engine harness. I made 3 new spark plug wires for the rear bank (MSD kit), so all that's left is the front bank. Once those are done, I'll loom the whole engine harness the same as the ICM harness and have the bracket I made powdercoated.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_jUej3hdDYQ/VXPVh8rQQTI/AAAAAAAAfVI/Al0e_d5iJWo/s800/IMG_6257.JPG

[95naSTA]

It took way too long but the engine harness is finally loomed. I've been wanting to loom the engine harness this way for probably 7 years or more. Feels good to get it done. It's a shame that only about 10% of it is visible but what else is new..

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JTnBO-p_SE8/VbRSGLWGvyI/AAAAAAAAgOU/ZtQyV-F3MdQ/s800-Ic42/IMG_6285.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-txzC_6gy_wg/VbRSFka2WuI/AAAAAAAAgOE/YqOI-VEZeO0/s800-Ic42/IMG_6279.JPG

The ICM bracket is back from BHP, also not visible unless your underneath the car.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ia_tctA0xrQ/VbRUVvrKhlI/AAAAAAAAgOk/P2Ik5_fNA1s/s800-Ic42/IMG_6288.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7a8j7EFRvvc/VbRUV7tPM3I/AAAAAAAAgOo/I98q2cNpo04/s800-Ic42/IMG_6287.JPG

I hope to have it running again either early next week or next weekend.

[rocknrace03]

It took way too long but the engine harness is finally loomed. I've been wanting to loom the engine harness this way for probably 7 years or more. Feels good to get it done. It's a shame that only about 10% of it is visible but what else is new..

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JTnBO-p_SE8/VbRSGLWGvyI/AAAAAAAAgOU/ZtQyV-F3MdQ/s800-Ic42/IMG_6285.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-txzC_6gy_wg/VbRSFka2WuI/AAAAAAAAgOE/YqOI-VEZeO0/s800-Ic42/IMG_6279.JPG

The ICM bracket is back from BHP, also not visible unless your underneath the car.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ia_tctA0xrQ/VbRUVvrKhlI/AAAAAAAAgOk/P2Ik5_fNA1s/s800-Ic42/IMG_6288.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7a8j7EFRvvc/VbRUV7tPM3I/AAAAAAAAgOo/I98q2cNpo04/s800-Ic42/IMG_6287.JPG

I hope to have it running again either early next week or next weekend.

always glad to see updates on this thing. You should bring it to cars and coffee lehigh valley on august 30th. Im shooting to have the bmw there

[erklep]

never thought a bonnie would be so rad!

[95naSTA]

^^Thanks!

always glad to see updates on this thing. You should bring it to cars and coffee lehigh valley on august 30th. Im shooting to have the bmw there

I would be down but I broke my right calcaneus (heel bone) about a month ago and I can't drive. Pretty lame. I think I'm off crutches sometime in September.

[95naSTA]

The engine wire tuck is complete.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5nUV4xvIp2I/VbfPWxE5NyI/AAAAAAAAgQQ/Fth0z22_4GY/s800-Ic42/IMG_6310o.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ybhF6nfW6uI/VbfPWWUgzUI/AAAAAAAAgQM/1KmXlWTzaY4/s800-Ic42/IMG_6301o.jpg

Sorry for the ****ty video quality:
https://youtu.be/9w13GzAIa9E

Here's a couple before pics

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zu36i_cgpf0/VbgHvbiCv-I/AAAAAAAAgSA/jU1Bl3fEta8/s800-Ic42/IMG_0914r.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ev4-hRec14I/VbgB4v9j8CI/AAAAAAAAgRw/XGdslLrOU-Q/s800-Ic42/IMG_0913.JPG

[Shipman]

Damn dude.

[95naSTA]

Finished up a cheap DIY short throw shifter today.

Researching I could a few different off the shelf options that might work
http://www.short-shifters.com/z-shift-short-shifter-kit.html <--Expensive and had concerns about hitting exhaust
http://shop.zzperformance.com/store/p/1352-Short-Shifter-Mod.aspx <-- could potentially work but irreversible
^^ Found another similar to the ZZP option that involved cutting off the bottom of the shifter.

Instead I ordered:
1 - Stainless 10mm ball RV Trailer Hood Strut mount with a 1" shank ~ $7.50 shipped
1 - 5/16-18 tap ~ $6 shipped
25 - Stainless lock nuts (smallest pack) ~ $5 shipped

So, a $18.50 STS that could have been cheaper without using stainless bits and if I didn't have crappy taps.

How it works - relocates the fwd/aft cables attachment pivot point lower to shorten the distance traveled at the top.

When adapting the shifter body to fit in my car I had to chop off the reverse lock out. This left the lock out pin below the cable attachment unused. I grinded off the short end of the pin and punched it through.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KccICodZ9yo/VcU4mGI8L_I/AAAAAAAAgZ4/quAj74ISdV8/s800-Ic42/IMG_6318.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GonT7MYDyFI/VcU4l3UqxiI/AAAAAAAAgZ0/5NqfXyPMyPI/s800-Ic42/IMG_6319.JPG

Then tapped it. The hole is a little large to get a good tap but the lock nut takes care of that.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cFKtB3OZnQM/VcU4zuk_zWI/AAAAAAAAgaI/cYxwvRR4NXE/s800-Ic42/IMG_6322.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YBB1-9rAkLE/VcU4zN9YGEI/AAAAAAAAgaE/FG8ZYgk_iHM/s800-Ic42/IMG_6325.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GY5cYhiU0_c/VcU48hJTHUI/AAAAAAAAgaQ/r1TH_a0F8cc/s800-Ic42/IMG_6327.JPG


Clearanced the shifter body so the lowered cable end had more room.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ejbV4yG8fII/VcU5LwnwHVI/AAAAAAAAgag/oDoyCAccsMs/s800-Ic42/IMG_6344.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dJqMkpYUrcA/VcU5MLkmGWI/AAAAAAAAgac/YTZiGap8Q2c/s800-Ic42/IMG_6349.JPG

Thats it.

Feels/works great. It feels more like the STS I have in my i30. No more rowing. The other cool part - I can go back to 'stock' in minutes.

[95naSTA]

I'm very close to finishing up the window frame rust repair. All rust was ground or cut out. Three spots needed a little MIG filling and one section needed a body patch. Any welding is complimented by cavity wax sprayed on the back side of the repair.

I'm using Zero Rust (http://www.blulightning.com/product/ZEROQT/ZERO-RUST.html) and you're supposed to be able to use it as primer but I'm only going to be using it in the window recess for the most part. It lays on thicker than I'm comfortable with on the exterior panel and I don't want to distort the filler work. The rear will be all Zero Rust covered mostly by the seal around the window. On the front I decided I'll paint Zero Rust on the shelf of the window recess, shoot primer/filler over the filler work then a base coat starting just below the front lip of the window recess. I'll get the windshield back in but keep the top molding out until I clear/blend into the 1/4ers. That's the plan anyway.

I ordered new suede for the headliner since the current has watermarks and separation. A and C pillars will be wrapped too. Possibly the Bs.

Other than spraying the primer and base up front, I just need to finish up the passenger bottom corner of the rear window frame.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9E1OPmEP8nU/Voibh1bZkxI/AAAAAAAAkZw/aUdLlYQemMU/s800-Ic42/DSC00256.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9L0vwn1aFiw/VoibfJRZZ2I/AAAAAAAAkZw/by5Or8V5Ohs/s800-Ic42/DSC00257.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--mhIbfcznlM/VoiblEjH2BI/AAAAAAAAkZw/VfwNDNtKvYU/s800-Ic42/DSC00258.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Wc1HORpRlB0/VoiblRVCvJI/AAAAAAAAkZw/PJNuUixF2y0/s800-Ic42/DSC00259.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X-fj0AXIT7A/VoicJdYzQnI/AAAAAAAAkZw/cJNSBJQ21iw/s800-Ic42/DSC00268.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pmvorq7Cquk/VoicE9rEidI/AAAAAAAAkZw/ZHWeEYv8Ebw/s800-Ic42/DSC00267.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zeHCHJhrAmU/Voib86XzSQI/AAAAAAAAkZw/aeGZTIKBjgs/s800-Ic42/DSC00265.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5vgsNk4Xptc/Voibtu5fufI/AAAAAAAAkZw/1wzbUGS1NFM/s800-Ic42/DSC00262.JPG


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hWdDSNYtJBU/VtomEADx9-I/AAAAAAAAm8M/oA-3vv6XstUKOuy669br4Uu2riPOG4g9wCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sKeKdxbt6yk/VtomEx3_eNI/AAAAAAAAm8M/16Qci_UMce0soSCFfBmDMqc-FhmIAzacACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_rMVRK3HN1k/Vtol2V5ENQI/AAAAAAAAm8I/0mnlE6c6DTgmYaey6UY1zx2jFYH1TcQFACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OKhb1U7eoCg/Vtol5X0F9DI/AAAAAAAAm8M/LF9YlC5K-TgpOTGNYzo63mE47_H2WBkHgCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
^^^ That will be blocked and base coat shot over it.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KKUbFdwSOFg/VuY8VcScI8I/AAAAAAAAnjg/mhe3RVw4KT057hiDisGQD2n0Y0cKI3cpQCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h4Z8MED7IrA/VuY83RQjvJI/AAAAAAAAnkQ/WWx07alcpzM24iO-FpFOcGYDEnNqTlelQCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C2O9V3ZSaf8/VuWrcVQ0p9I/AAAAAAAAnT8/EDVaSx5qgjA3FD4DHMdf3JPZrlV2gZnGgCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jlakKXuec3k/VvdnWZhV2mI/AAAAAAAAn3g/qytBpIS6U70J5pT9iNTbrZhpnI9qdPIjQCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TbW0JeCwYVc/VuWrfeeATRI/AAAAAAAAnT8/MFiqfrL--VEMwcu8DrTSZ2tdkrTrhZ5tACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V1slg3xMjH8/VuWrgyJgHWI/AAAAAAAAnT8/syNT6wdDFTYPHO3ZgiIpBdWg7E4ap9TzACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cHMn9mAkCtI/Vui7AxNVJAI/AAAAAAAAnpM/IYoULY8Y5aMcO6SifdXGTrcUc_HnvS1cQCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TveWNK_PvT8/VvdBw4-KWVI/AAAAAAAAn28/_03qWxl5Xy8CGphojmRD_0i3UiijMDb9gCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lU5KCpJZ6Hc/VtozNWD1YdI/AAAAAAAAm8k/LmQhyetQGZ498o5n6hHqnqWRVIOJuQKYACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EYuXZFwPEE0/VvdByDT1hhI/AAAAAAAAn28/kwhXZIwudhEoItsVkBC4O0Qn3bbIs3IZwCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mccAPoii8GA/VvdBy7IEKFI/AAAAAAAAn28/2WurxkfsouwERX7pluIi5pJw0I5HXve8QCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oNuWdPh3h6s/VvdqwL_4PDI/AAAAAAAAn30/pGvZM-tZvvgYmwP6QvjZPps0Jjar7nliwCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b40LYmT1Qh0/VvdqvNzaboI/AAAAAAAAn3s/7iWO-8_142kjSQAt6Vk7UKyW-_wjyyyUACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1

[Intercooled T]

I love seeing someone put so much love into a car.

I'm sure it's been asked already, but any temptation to go L67 or L32? Now that you have a 6-speed, it would be so much fun.

[95naSTA]

Thanks.

Yeah, it's been asked a lot. I don't think I would ever go with an Eaton.. They're just too inefficient. If anything I would go turbo (I've already built a complete setup for a Regal) but the reality of that is breaking **** all the time because I would have to push it.

I like doing this the hard way and I'm honestly cool with the reality of it being a 14.xx second car.

Ultimate goal for the car n/a is a 13.9 with a sub 2.0 60'. I think I could get it based on what GP guys were pulling a decade ago.

[95naSTA]

I decided to start re-doing the headliner. Water leaks ruined the job I did 6 years ago. I also remember the last time I did it that I might need a new board if I were to ever do it again. The board was in pretty rough shape when I got the material off yesterday.. I spent a good chunk of the day today repairing the cracks and weakened areas with fiberglass. I've never messed with anything other than kitty hair before so this was a new one for me.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iDQUgwMY074/VwB4Bgq-qEI/AAAAAAAAn9E/zkvzwLdt2MgvlkSZhvJ7wjB8rZy7fehRACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PFUHJi1Nh48/VwBWF1j_5jI/AAAAAAAAn8s/YlWe81DgSdQ3n2Iko8prHgEmLv0qnybOACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ukc5f9lsQfk/VwBWH7qY6gI/AAAAAAAAn8s/xBTjF5327BUedSMklfmJtZqQKoNfzh_WACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qf6H9slWvnE/VwBWVVCHwiI/AAAAAAAAn8s/2HdW8Ak1kKk1EHEHVWgip7Ji28TDpZQYgCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iR6EMSN8zO0/VwBWTGiqX9I/AAAAAAAAn8s/VRj-bOi6dDMuMaxbHV8yBDDF6BzuZDL7wCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pR9-8mMXiqo/VwBWXagpQAI/AAAAAAAAn8s/K7KJt_1shTErTO1VmHKPi7MaQ8t4eX8HwCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-THKAv7uc5CA/VwBWWUl8fPI/AAAAAAAAn8s/tZYOGaDXT0AmIjbHEKakPPLUSGBbPDACACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1

All glass was laid from the rear. All cracks got 2 layers. All separated sections got resin in between and were clamped back together. On the material side I applied resin to all the cracks and damaged areas.

All in all the board is now in good shape and after a little more cleanup it'll be ready for new material.

[rocknrace03]

still love this car. cool to see you still working on it here and there!

[95naSTA]

Thanks man. Slowly but surely chipping away at it.

[95naSTA]

Finished up the headliner.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bbLzXcaTfwY/VwwxjwAsWNI/AAAAAAAAoJ0/-FLct3iSfFsQv9QhkpokchF3vnSb_TJPACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4PEGSxsULvk/VwwxjK9hCSI/AAAAAAAAoJs/9B7GnxMCEkMaaKTlL7H1cT5FsSfu0R85ACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1xz7oZvv1iA/VwwxmbWyWRI/AAAAAAAAoJ0/Fqcm2dlkiKABMdtnprnbeUSPgnkykcq5QCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-coRLvoZOHSQ/Vw2f2Inp22I/AAAAAAAAoK8/rsqpkZtULlgO3NdOkfoavk7UjRdrFMpTQCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1

[Big_Jim]

Thats probably the best use of PBR i've ever seen.

[95naSTA]

Lol. Those beers have been in my basement for like 4-5 months. There are far worse beers out there but I definitely won't be championing it.

Those smaller bottles are bitters for Moscow Mules.

[95naSTA]

The A and C pillar trim pieces are now wrapped in non-foam backed suede.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LTIJqzbBPmI/VxRIXr40jJI/AAAAAAAAoQs/Av6UX0IHSi0pSclaFYXkb-zC5DB4TGSGwCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y_-Ay7wEa_M/VxRIVE-FORI/AAAAAAAAoQo/BJLfyH3DRWwq4GTQJa1KNYfhHx12JLTrwCCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-78k_JEvMLDY/VxRIZoDZsUI/AAAAAAAAoQs/trm3r0egaOciJnExTZ66QDE0KUESxaCbACCo/s800-Ic42/upload_-1

[95naSTA]

I had a couple things left standing in the way of putting the glass back in but now I'm very close.

Today I fixed two small dents above the front doors and primed everything. I also put in an air drier in-line with my air hose setup so I can lay down a base coat on the roof. That base coat is really all that's left before the glass goes back in.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4xCVsBCm7rE/V2YFpqQblJI/AAAAAAAAok8/FFnA1yQnj9AqCG-tjx1XKVnh2UwcfdiDgCCo/s800/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4D4Nvw45hbs/V2YFpJq1fmI/AAAAAAAAolA/QA-bdeerGOMgf6a4dJD8Jkpn_kHY49gmQCCo/s800/upload_-1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1aWH3AlBqDs/V2YFniCgNRI/AAAAAAAAok8/R8ZZ1dnCp0YO3otQYSp7dNNXiNpOt-x7QCCo/s800/upload_-1

[Big_Jim]

Bump for updates

[95naSTA]

Blows the dust off.. I've been slacking with updates here.

So after many failed attempts at shooting 2k primer and therefore not being able to shoot the roof.. I've decided the car has sat too long and the glass is going back in. My contingency plan for getting good paint coverage is removing the windshield reveal moldings prior to paint and just taping up the rear like I did the 1st repaint.

I went to the junkyard today in hopes of scoring a rear glass reveal molding in good shape. That also didn't go very well. It looks like I'll have to use a universal one.

The good news is I found a 92 SSEi and scored the following for $25
-Rear speaker deck with tweeters
-Rear speakers
-Rear seat belts (mine are rusted and these looked different)
-Trunk lid carpet
-Factory air pump
-Trunk air compressor latch molding
-Sacrificial door seal (to re-space out all my door moldings)
-Drivers door bottom window trim (mine doesn't want to stay seated)
-Front fender to body spacers

I also took the build sheet stashed in the trunk for S&G. It was a blue 2 tone interior car. So a little different.

I've always planned on eventually incorporating a pump into my rear air assist shocks. That's why I picked up the pump. I tested it out and it looks like it's still good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC3umKkYGGQ

The front and rear glass is back in as of January. I didn't realize the front top reveal molding needed to be installed with the windshield since the oem one came out so easy. It unfortunately covers up the front lip of the hood where it's only primer at the moment. The good news is I was able to take the front reveal molding out without too much of a struggle. I might leave it out till I get that edge painted or sealed. Depending on how it goes back in, I might install it with some sealer or just have it re-done.

I took the opportunity with the glass out to put the headliner back in so I wouldn't have to taco it through the rear door. When I went to install I realized that when I fiberglassed the problem areas, I made it too thick for the grab handle push locks to properly reach the sheet metal. That, and it developed a couple creases. It's sort-of in for now but I'll need to re-do it.

7 years or so ago when I parked the car and decided to go nuts in the engine bay, the water leaks from the front and rear glass seals turned my car into a fishbowl without me realizing. Water pooled on the floor and rear seat area for long enough to soak through the paint and cause it to bubble a bit in a few areas. I got around to stripping it down and painting it with rust proofer. Ended up with Zero Rust from Blue Lighting. Yesterday I did the driver's side up to the rear seat and today I did the rest. The good news is there's only one small area I didn't know about or remember that needs new sheet metal. It's about the size of a quarter on the driver's side rear seat pan. There's another spot in the driver's front rocker and the e-brake pass through that will require some new metal as well.

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/2717/yb6NaT.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/1551/3HNNrM.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/1734/6t6iEJ.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/2046/4N9tf0.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/576/mFM0vY.jpg

I started cutting some of the rot out to see how much work I have ahead of me. That small spot in the rear seat pan was a bit rougher underneath so I cut it out. I started to cut out the front corner and while not great, it's not as bad as I thought going aft.

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/3554/1oKPtx.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/7964/uAnqb7.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/3249/4XhbPp.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/8467/XNTchI.jpg

I'lll have a bit more to cut out on the front but I ran out of daylight that day.. I made a couple templates to help make the sheet metal reconstruction a little easier.

In that 3rd pic the bottom mounting portion of my fender is broken and mashed up. I'm not sure how/when I screwed that up but I'll plastic weld it back together at some point.

OEM headliner fiberboard is ordered.. money down, time up.

Virgin headliner arrived.. Ted approved

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/8558/uHAjpM.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/8575/SR90YM.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/4166/K1r10k.jpg

Some more NOS action. It needs a little cleanup from sitting in a bag for 18-25 years but it's one less thing to fix. The driver's side is no longer available.

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/930/YHr1X8.jpg

Starting to rough out some home made patch panels.. I really wanted to get that front rocker corner close to stock.

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3569/7SwXJG.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/4474/Fymqx7.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/4822/H6HPXN.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/7599/6Htni1.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/9513/nr4ZV1.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/3247/O3nHWc.jpg

A little more..

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/5199/CyoN1x.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/536/qxHYZL.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/4526/FL7XYg.jpg

More..

I did some final tweaks to the patch corner and started buttoning up the area for it to go on. I wanted to get the area forward of the sheet metal near the e-brake isolated from the rocker before I welded in the patch. That's what that small section is for. I'm keeping the rest open to the cabin until I paint and seal from the inside. My MIG wire ran out and I was cut a little short unfortunately..

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/1949/i2lZjw.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/9035/PyKb1w.jpg

There was some more rust behind good metal that was bothering me. I wanted to get that out before it was all welded up. It as a PITA to get to without cutting out more exterior metal so I ended up using a dremel.

Aside from drilling some plug weld holes and some welding surface prep, the dog leg I made is ready to be welded on.

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/66/EwwZ9M.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/2610/HHBZcN.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/6791/3hqqlr.jpg

A little closer..

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/7642/jbSceC.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/6291/PgKuoT.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3549/hLmBYc.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/5424/czyKQR.jpg

Here's when I first started poking at it
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3569/7SwXJG.jpg

Still needs a little more grinder love, a little more welding, painting and seam sealing from the back..

Aside from drilling a couple holes the outside part of the patch is done. At this point I still needed to do a second coat of paint inside the rail, tack in the interior patch panel and seam seal it up. I'm kind of glad I stopped the metal work where I did. I wanted to smooth it out more but if I did the thickness of the blue lightning paint (rust proof) would have hid it.

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3991/sGe5wX.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/1705/8LE02X.jpg

Inner patch panel with OEM style access hole.
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/9316/Q2Kpzm.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/2246/JjscaZ.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/7201/gQV9Lk.jpg

I switched gears and plumbed in the ELC pump and replaced the SE/SLE truck latch trim with SSEi trim. The trim has the inflator valve and on/off buttons. I picked that stuff up at the yard in Nov as mentioned in this (http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/forum/your-ride-pics-and-videos/topic12270-280.html#p462545) post.

It's super slow but it seems to be working as it should. I wasn't expecting much with a 25 year old pump and 1/8" line. The main driver for doing this is to make it easier to keep from scraping my exhaust parking in the garage.
https://youtu.be/YnuymDYh1LY

I still need to wire it in permanently. You can hear me using the power probe to test it. I'll run key-on +12v to it and ground both the pump and deflate solenoid through a rocker switch. Probably a heated seat switch. I'm pretty OCD so it'll probably take me a while till I'm happy with a permanent switch placement.

Got some more in. I ground down the area behind the pinched seam at the repair area and did 2 coats of Zero Rust. Forgot to take pics of that.. I saw some minor surface rust down the rocker so that got stripped down and 2 coats also.
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/4490/bIkqem.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/7461/I7xHts.jpg

[95naSTA]

I did a second coat of paint inside the rocker, coated the patch panel and tacked it in. The only thing left is to seam seal it in.
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/5965/lb3jBE.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/4905/v55iIt.jpg

And finally I repaired the bottom of the fender where it mounts to the body.
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/6950/0rGHXp.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/4625/G3U4sO.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/46/Ra6psn.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/1164/JDXqVZ.jpg

The interior patch is seam sealed up, the B pillars are covered in suede, and I repaired a crack in the driver's side drip molding.

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/5277/Hji25q.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/5658/Uq5DJx.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/9748/b3g2gq.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/7708/DnWTNQ.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/5676/6avzz2.jpg
A B C pillars.

At this point there are only a few things left preventing me from putting the interior back in the car. I still need to:
Weld in the patch in the rear seat pan
Put a second coat of Zero Rust over the whole floor
Pull the windshield again (probably could get away with not but might as well)
Paint the upper windshield frame. Right now there's only primer behind the front reveal molding
Install new OEM headliner board redone in suede.. Still need to redo it
Install windshield

Ok.. More than a few. But that's the order of operations at least.

Since I can't do the same thing twice without figuring out a way to do it better, I found the windshield plastic locating supports to help reinstallation. p/n 25654094. My original ones were broken and window welded in place.

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/6541/7RXbgY.jpg

Not too long ago I picked up a NOS passenger drip molding (p/n 25649720) but the driver's side (p/n 25649721) is no longer available. The driver's side is of course in worse shape. It's mainly the rubber strip that attaches to the rear portion of the molding. It shrinks and pulls away. I decided to use a section of the old passenger side rubber to stitch in and repair the driver's.

Here you can see the shriveled part cut off here:
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/8168/RxK3Hf.jpg

Sacrificial part cut to length
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/8050/lWxoyj.jpg

Cut down to match the contour of the other side
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/9470/wsh0UQ.jpg

Epoxied and supported from the back. I ended up adding more epoxy over all this.
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/8168/BPFxXR.jpg

Passenger and Driver's
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3373/I9j0Hb.jpg

I got the hole in the seat pan welded up. It's Zero Rust coated from underneath but I still have to do a second coat. The frame rail actually had decent access to the underneath.
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/1688/lEzFPm.jpg
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While fixing the seat pan I saw more rust and I started to fix it.
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/7738/3RdNrf.jpg
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I need to clean that up a bit more before paint. I also need to drill a hole for the lower rubber screw and the plan is to cavity wax through that hole. I'll seam seal it from the back in the wheel well too.

I went to finish the small patch on the driver's rear door seal but the few spots of wheel well rust were staring me in the face.. that lead to more metalwork.

For the door seal metal, I actually ended up welding it from the back via mirror to get it sealed up instead of seam sealing it. When grinding down the rust spots in the wheel well, there were two spots that needed more than a grinder to fix. The one section needed new metal worked on both sides of a pinched seam. The other section near the shock turned out to have good metal behind it so I just welded the superficial metal to the good metal underneath. Eventually I'll have to go back and re-do the wheel wells with the proper coating but for now it has 2 coats of Zero Rust.

I did re-coat the areas I repaired earlier. All that's left to close out these repairs is cavity waxing the door seal repair through the mounting hole drilled in the fresh metal and seal sealing from inside.

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/918/locmw9.jpg
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I also started putting a second coat of Zero Rust on the interior. The rear seat pan is done. The rest of the floor is next.

There's not many pics but I actually spent a fair amount of time on the car over the past few days.

The breakdown:
-Threw a 2nd coat of Zero Rust over the interior floor
-Wired in the rear SSEi speakers I got at the yard
-Installed SSEi rear deck
-Saw one driver's side floor access panel pushed through the rubber/tar sealing mat. No corrosion luckily. So I removed the metal, painted it, and installed Hush Mat over it to seal. (You can see the hole on the one pic below)
-Hush Mat'd the hole in the front driver's patch panel
-Laid the new carpet out inside for a couple days to let it settle
-Started to install the carpet. Driver's seat is in.

I still need to cut the carpet for the passenger seat and down the sides yet. The last time I installed a carpet with the nose higher than the rear and it ended up with slack at the end of the exhaust tunnel. I also ended up trimmed the one side a little to far. So, I did the install this time with the nose lower and worked the carpet from the rear seat forward. I'll leave the sides long until it settles.

I haven't had carpet in the car for like 6 years because of water leaks.. It might not seem like a big thing but it's a nice milestone for me.

The rest of the interior will go in easy enough. The A/B/C pillars will stay out till I redo the NOS headliner board and pull the windshield.

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3633/B49FXY.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/6901/Dtd5hc.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/5343/VpkJCz.jpg

All the seats and the center console are back in. Pics of that will come.

I decided to tackle a small project I've been thinking of doing for a long time.. Belt wrap with the re-routed belt for my electric water pump has always been lackluster. High rpm shifts or low rpm dips always seem to make it slip a little. So, I decided to make another idler pulley in a similar location to a 00+ H body supercharger idler. I did a little cardboard mock up, drew the part in CAD, tested, tweaked and had S&W Race Cars waterjet the bracket for me. They're the same folks I used for waterjetting all the F40 associated mounts I designed. I also had them spin down some stand off spacers for it too. Once I got the parts back, I tapped the pulley spacer, did a little tweaking and found a belt that would work.

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/4757/mJ2Yv1.jpg
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Home Depot run.

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/8074/YAlJh9.jpg

I finally got the new headliner done.. Not without issue either..

Since this is the 3rd time doing this, I wanted to try something new. The soda can weight method works for a lot of the contours but not all of them. So, I figured, why not spend 20 bucks on Plaster of Paris and make molds.

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/1880/hxif19.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/6430/P7kaQO.jpg

It took me so long to strip the OEM fabric that my wife actually offered to help me. Complete PITA.

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/6097/D0hQZ2.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img924/645/wwl6ZB.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/8106/MXDNXK.jpg

I actually screwed up when I went to lay the suede down. There wasn't enough slack in between the front dome light bulge and the back of the sunroof. I cut open the sunroof hole to try and fix it but it ended up creasing the fabric beyond repair. I used an iron to separate the fabric but the board required some repair. The new suede came in over the past week so I went for round 2 with this attempt.

I decided I was going to glue down the fabric in sections, starting with the dome light first, just taking my time to avoid creases. It worked out pretty good.

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/1884/sOd8Ls.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/250/yYQxQ7.jpg

Hopefully this is the last time for this.

[Big_Jim]

Holy crap. I love your dedication, and this build. I've always had a weak spot for bonnies, my first car was an 88 bonneville base that I put ssei bits on from the junkyard.

[95naSTA]

Thanks man, I appreciate it. Those pre-92 Bonnies were bulletproof.

[Big_Jim]

Bump for updates!

[95naSTA]

No updates unfortunately.. I haven't been home much since August. When I was, most of my free time was spent getting this 2-stroke street bike from a $200 barn find to road worthy. It's now basically completely apart again with the frame and other bits at Bonehead. I am planning on getting some work in on the Bonnie this winter and spring though.
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/6067/Xe9geT.jpg
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'72 Yamaha DS7 with '74 RD250 engine, JL pipes from the UK. It'll soon to be 350cc with a basic port and higher compression.

[blue91lx]

bump for Bonnie

[rocknrace03]

bonnie bumps please <3