White.Lightning's Build Journal

[White.Lightning]

Hey guys. I figured I'd start some sort of build journal to add to occasionally as I modify my car from here forward. As some of you know, I used to have a 99' Camaro that I modified some but then sold in 2006 due to some circumstances in life. That Camaro was insanely clean and well taken care of. In hindsight, I wish I never sold it.

Fast foward to August of 2007 and I purchased my current vehicle- a 1998 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am M6. The previous owner did some mods like long tube headers, true duals, poly motor mounts, and some other misc things. The car was in decent shape for being as old as it was and with the mileage it had. It certainly wasn't as clean as my 99' Camaro, but in overall good shape. The Trans Am was more appealing to me at this stage of my life with the different interior and timeless body lines. As soon as I got it home, I began to think "how can I modify this thing?". That's common among all gear heads I suppose. The car was 4x4 status, slow and had ugly OEM wheels.





Let the modding begin......

The first mod was my favorite to the car- the infamous "hump delete". Most question it's intent and purpose. Every 4th gen f-body I've ever been in had that horrendous hump in the passenger floor. You had to have your legs fully extended, and it was just awkward for me (or anyone for that matter) to sit there. So I took some initiative and enlisted a good friend of mine to help me modify the floor.

We cut out floor area and unibody assembly taking extra care into where and how much to cut. We retained as much of the unibody bracing as possible, welding it all back. Then the floor was patched before painting and putting the carpet back. Search for my thread on this for more info/pics.




You can see in this pic how much lower the floor is- similar to the driver side:


No more hump!


After we did this, I began the quest for more power. Thankfully a local LS1Tech'er by the name of Chris (nhra_crazy) was kind enough to let me use his home workshop/tools/time/etc and help me through the heads/cam swap. This was my first attempt at internal engine work on a vehicle of my own, so this was all new to me. Not to mention my experience in other engines was with friends' old school Buick 455's and Chevy 350's.

I went with some PRC 5.3L Stage 2.5 heads through Texas Speed, pushrods, Cometic gaskets, a custom cam by Predator-Z (230/234 613/598 111+0 as ground), ARP head studs, and any other supplemental "heads/cam" type stuff. I think I even had some 42# injectors on there that were a PITA to tune- see the 30# red SVO injector swap later. Haha.





Some time after that, I had a crazy ticking noise. I thought I blew the engine or something. Turns out it was the Harland Sharp stock rockers that were on the vehicle. HS had a bad batch of bearings that they had used for some production pieces. Long story short, they repaired the set I had free of charge! Search for my thread on this for more info/pics.




Then I was in for another surprise. I went to a local bar/restaurant in the car to watch an 8pm football game. I head home and wake up early since I had the following day off. I decided I wanted to detail the car that day. I start getting the car washed and as I come to the passenger side I see a long ass mark from someone "keying" my car. The mark went from the mirror to the quarter panel where the bumper starts. It had to be at the bar/restaurant I was at the night before. I quickly call the police station from that area and meet and officer on site to file a report. He was kind in that he was a gear head himself, and understood my frustration. I then went right to a body shop for an estimate. They quoted repairs at like $1400.00 or something. Another call into my insurance company led to an agent coming to look at the damage and issue me a check for the repairs. Their estimate was only like $700.00. I was floored. Needless to say, I didn't have the cash to cover the difference so I tried repairing it myself with touch up paint, wet sanding, and buffing. It took "most" of the mark away. But it still is visible and needs painting to this day.

Before repair:



After my repair attempt:



Needless to say I was really, really, really mad!

[White.Lightning]

Having some tuning issues, I concluded it must have been the fuel injectors I was using. So I switched to an injector with PLENTY of injector data out there- Ford 30# red injectors. While doing the swap I also had the stock fuel rail powder coated.





Next up was a better wide band 02 gauge. I was using an AEM UEGO unit for quite some time, but it was very "jumpy" with its readings and I read several people question its accuracy. I then purchased an NGK AFX wide band 02 gauge with the infamous NTK 02 sensor. Supposedly it's the most accurate "street" version of a wide band that you can install. Of course dyno's and other "pro" grade 02's will read better/more accurately. I am very satisfied with the NGK and it's operation.






Then I decided I wanted to swap heads on the car. The car didn't feel like it was making the power it should. I sold the PRC 5.3L Stage 2.5 heads online and purchased a set of LS6 243 heads w/ sodium valves. They also had the PAC beehive springs and were recently cut/decked by LME. It was basically an even trade cash wise- selling and buying. I also grabbed some new lifter trays while I was in there. Brien (The Alchemist) helped me throughout this process.




The next stop on the parade was a clutch upgrade. I was running an LS7 clutch that the previous owner had installed. It was performing well, but once removed you could see signs of heat transfer and lack of clutch material. After a quick scramble I sourced a used, low mile, Spec3 clutch/PP/flywheel from a friend of mine. It had very little miles on it and was basically brand new. Brien (The Alchemist) helped me throughout this process as well!!!

Old flywheel:







I then did some reading and after I scored a set of cheap "truck coils" I swapped those over. I sold my stockers for almost the same price as the truck coils. Worth it to me!






Now that the car was mechanically sound I turned towards some appearance mods. I started with re-doing the flat CETA mod the previous owner did. I ended up going with a gloss black to match the trim on the car.






Much better. Still looks like the car has 4x4 status though??!?!

[White.Lightning]

In an effort to fix that 4x4 status I enlisted Sam Strano to sell me some of his infamous lowering springs. I had already installed the Koni 4/3 combo in the car earlier due to stock shock failure. This was the best mod I have done to the car. I believe every car needs to be stanced, have wheels, and some window tint.








Then I wanted to address the lack of lighting performance. Brien sold me his BLS projector lighting brackets and thermoformed covers. I sourced the HID kit and projector housings on my own. I went with 5,000K HID kit.






The most recent thing I've done to the car is added smoked turn signals to the car. The stock red/yellow ones were annoying looking. These went with the overall 'theme' of the car and looked nice! I also used VHT Nite Shades spray 'tint' on the 3rd brake light. There is an eBay LED replacement, but it was crazy expensive. I chose the $7 spray can route.








To date, here is the most current list of "mods":

Exterior Modifications:
CETA rear bumper
Tint 35% doors 20% hatch
18x8.5/18x9.5 Ruff Racing 278 wheels
255/40-18; 295/35-18 BFGoodrich KDW2 tires
Gorilla locks
Smoked turn signals

Interior Modifications:
Hurst leather shift knob
Wheelskins charcoal leather shift boot
Raptor shift light
Passenger HUMP delete
Lloyd Mats embroidered floor mats

Performance:
LS6 243 heads w/ sodium filled valves, PAC beehives
Comp 230/234 613/598 111+0
Comp 7.400" pushrods
Cometic 0.040" gasket
ARP head studs
LS6 oil pump
LS2 timing chain
FRPP 30# injectors
LS7 lifters
D585 truck coil packs
LS2 red spark plug wires
LS6 Intake
QTP long tube headers w/ high velocity merge collectors
Kook's ORY
Magnaflow catback exhaust
SLP lid
SLP smooth bellows
"Edster" tensioner

Suspension/Chassis:
Strano Performance lowering springs
Koni SA 4/3 shocks
Polyurethane motor mounts
Edelbrock torque arm w/ poly mount
Stock rear LCA's w/ 1LE bushings
UMI rear LCA relocation brackets
BMR adjustable panhard rod
BMR rear sway bar
Polyurethane front sway bar end links
ATE Rotors (F&R)
Hawk HPS pads
Energy Suspension poly bump stops
UMI boxed subframe connectors

Drivetrain:
Spec 3 clutch and billet flywheel
Tick Performance adjustable clutch master cylinder
Pro 5.0 shifter
UMI short stick
TA girdle w/ stud kit
CAGS delete

Electronics:
Kenwood Excelon KDC-X679 head unit
eDi 6000s v.2 Component speakers
JL10W6 V2 in a Subthump enclosure
eDi Nine1 1,000 watt mono amp
!Wire mod
AutoTrix passenger window fix
NGK AFX Wideband gauge
Autometer fuel pressure sending unit
BLS low beam projector lights
VVME 35w 5,000K HID kit

I plan to continue to add to this thread as I do things to the car. At least now I can look back and see how much hard work I did with the help of some good friends. Thanks Paul, Chris, Brien, Rick, Jon, and anyone else who had a part in the evolution of my pride and joy. Thanks for reading!

[White.Lightning]

There were more things on the list that I have done during my time of ownership, but what I posted were the "main highlights" of the build.

[Shipman]

Thats really clean, looks good

[biggard09]

Love those cars.. Clean car, good choice in mods.. Keep it up..

Ever run it down the track?

[HickRocket1258]

So clean and huge list of things done. Unless I missed it, has it seen track time?

[99corvette]

Car looks great man, wish I saw it in person at last weeks meet.

[White.Lightning]

The car hasn't seen track time for a few reasons. I am still running a stock T56 transmission that has ~ 100k miles on it. The trans should be rebuilt before trying to power shift the crap out of it on the drag strip. I am also running the stock 10-bolt rear end. That isn't terribly bad, until you put a good tire on it. With street tires it will just spin then in 1st and 2nd. I also don't want to take it there, without a trailer, and chance breaking at the track.

So I've never seen the point of going to the drag strip and running a 12-13 second time only to come back with 8 excuses why it ran what it did. It's a street car that looks good, sounds good, and gets up and goes if you get on it. That's really all I care about.

I've pondered a 4L80e automatic trans swap since the end goal is (twin?) turbo charging the car. An automatic V8 turbo car would be so much fun on the street. We'll see what comes of it.

[White.Lightning]

Originally Posted by 99corvette

Car looks great man, wish I saw it in person at last weeks meet.

Do you go to the Broomall meets? Obviously tonight is probably out, but we could meet up there next week.

[99corvette]

Originally Posted by White.Lightning

Do you go to the Broomall meets? Obviously tonight is probably out, but we could meet up there next week.

I'm going to start hitting it up now that the new spot is right down the street for me. Not sure if tonight is going to happen

[Mishimoto]

Nice build! I like the small readout for the wideband, very neat.

[empera]

usually dont dig the domestic builds but this is a great one.

[White.Lightning]

So the question of the year is........

Do I convert to a 4L80e automatic transmission, or do I keep the T56 and rebuild it?

End goal for the car, like I've said, is single or twin turbos. It would be a street/strip/show/cruiser car. I'd attend car shows, beat the car up on the street, hit the strip from time to time. I want more power and like what turbos offer. I also want to build my own turbo kit so I can say I did that as well.

Thoughts?

[Mishimoto]

I vote for a rebuild of the T56. Maybe swap in the Viper internals. Nothing like shifting your own gears!

[jesse096]

Always loved trans ams! Just wish I could fit into one comfortably.... Looks good man! How much power are you putting down?

-Jesse

[White.Lightning]

If I had to guess, it should be somewhere around 420rwhp and 400rwtq. I might throw the car on a dyno next time a local shop has a dyno day.

[99corvette]

If it was me and I planned on doing a turbo, I would throw a automatic in it. When my brother had his turbo 03 cobra that thing was a beast on the street with the t56, Thing would of been a monster with a stall and a built auto in it.

[White.Lightning]

I've been in a few cars that were making decent power.

Examples:
-03 Cobra, T56, KB blower, built engine, 650-ish rwhp. Car was almost "stupid" on the street. 600 ft-lbs of torque at like 3000 rpms and not much traction at all.
-87 Monte Carlo SS, 4L80e, 383sbc, Procharger D1sc, 650-ish rwhp. The car would hook with M/T ET Street Radials and pull like a freight train. A different kind of power than the Cobra above, but still rolled the F out.
-97 Supra, HKS twin turbo, 6 speed, supporting mods, 900-ish rwhp. Once again, car was stupid on the street. Turbo lag, boost, massive power, no traction.

I see a trend here that the manual transmission cars I've been in were a lot more hassle to deal with on the street. Constantly banging gears and losing traction.

[caldwell]

<3

this thing is nasty