Update pics of my '77 Camaro

[jerhofer]

I snapped some new pics of my car recently after installing the EZ-EFI fuel injection. Next project is installing power windows, door locks and mirrors. I have been spoiled and miss those goodies. Plus, the Camaro is so wide, that it is very hard to reach across to do anything, especially while driving. Safety, don't you know!!


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/1231101977Camarolf34sm-1.jpg


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/1231101977CamaroLR34sm-1.jpg


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/1231101977Camarorearsm-1.jpg


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/1231101977Camarodashfromleftsm-1.jpg


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/1231101977Camarodashfromrightsm-1.jpg


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/1231101977Camarodashfromright2sm-1.jpg


www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[67CamNKC]

Car looks great!

[srh3trinity]

I would say that is my favorite big bumper Camaro, but it is pretty high on my list of nicest Camaro's of all years too.

[MikeDVC]

Looks fantastic, one of my favorite's also.

[Conrad283]

Looks awesome :)

[SLO_Z28]

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/1231101977Camarodashfromright2sm-1.jpg


www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

Looks like it passes the lick test. Nice car from a fellow big bumper guy.

[seventy8]

Fantastic big bumper second gen! Ive got a 78 and I was looking at those procar seats. How do you like them? Do you sit too high? That was the problem with the last aftermarket set I got and I had to return them.

[zbugger]

Makes me wish I had a garage so I could start cleaning up my '77. So jealous. You got a beautiful car, bro.

[68400BIRD]

Looks great. I loved my 77 when I still had it.

[lower90xcab]

killer looking big bumper camaro....the street lites really set it off....

[protour73]

I am not a big(ger) bumper car fan, but I have to say, your car breaks that personal barrier for me. WOW, awesome car, great stance, and all the right parts!!

[jerhofer]

Fantastic big bumper second gen! Ive got a 78 and I was looking at those procar seats. How do you like them? Do you sit too high? That was the problem with the last aftermarket set I got and I had to return them.

Thanks for all of the nice compliments from everyone.

As for the seats, I have them mounted as low as possible. The driver's seat is fine, but the passenger seat sits higher than the driver's seat. Have to recline that seat if I ride there. I think it is because of the hump for the catalytic converter on that side. I did see one link where someone used angle iron to make seat mounts to lower the seat. I haven't really looked at that to see if that might help.

Last fall at the Food Lion Autofair car show at the Charlotte Speedway, I talked with a fellow 2nd gen owner who also was considering these seats. He also had heard that they sit high. I had him sit in the car and he was fine with the seat height. He was somewhere around 6' tall. I am 5'10" but have a long torso and short legs!!

On the plus side, they are very comfortable, hold you in well during cornering, recline and have map pockets on the back of the seat. For the money they are hard to beat. Plus, the stitching is close enough to the stock rear seat stitching that I saw no reason to re-do the rear seats.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/111409seatsfromrightsm-1.jpg


www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[cdoggy81]

Your car looks very nice.
What size are your rear tires?

[jerhofer]

Your car looks very nice.
What size are your rear tires?

285/40-17's on 11" rims-5 3/4" backspacing

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[jerhofer]

Thanks for all of the nice compliments from everyone.

As for the seats, I have them mounted as low as possible. The driver's seat is fine, but the passenger seat sits higher than the driver's seat. Have to recline that seat if I ride there. I think it is because of the hump for the catalytic converter on that side. I did see one link where someone used angle iron to make seat mounts to lower the seat. I haven't really looked at that to see if that might help.

Last fall at the Food Lion Autofair car show at the Charlotte Speedway, I talked with a fellow 2nd gen owner who also was considering these seats. He also had heard that they sit high. I had him sit in the car and he was fine with the seat height. He was somewhere around 6' tall. I am 5'10" but have a long torso and short legs!!

On the plus side, they are very comfortable, hold you in well during cornering, recline and have map pockets on the back of the seat. For the money they are hard to beat. Plus, the stitching is close enough to the stock rear seat stitching that I saw no reason to re-do the rear seats.



www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

Here's the link to the guy who made the seat brackets from angle iron.

http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204468

[Kenova]

Nice!! It makes me miss my '75 even more (big bumpers and all).

Ken

[seventy8]

Thanks for the info about the seats and the nastyz28 link, I'm on there all the time, I'm surprised i didn't find that myself.

[cdoggy81]

Thank you for the tire info. I always thought 275 was the biggest you could run without any problems/rubbing & no mods to the rear. Are you having any rubbing problems with yours? What brand are they? The Tuckers (both Kyle & Stacy) & a few others said some 285's with a more rounded radius work (I forget what specific brands) but will rub in certain situations. As for 295's, well you better get the B.F.H..... :)

[jerhofer]

Thank you for the tire info. I always thought 275 was the biggest you could run without any problems/rubbing & no mods to the rear. Are you having any rubbing problems with yours? What brand are they? The Tuckers (both Kyle & Stacy) & a few others said some 285's with a more rounded radius work (I forget what specific brands) but will rub in certain situations. As for 295's, well you better get the B.F.H..... :)

Billet Specialties 17×8 Street Lites w/ Nitto NT555 255/45/17 tires/4 ¾” backspacing
Billet Specialties 17×11 Street Lites w/ Nitto NT555 285/40/17 tires/5 ¾” backspacing

No tubs.

No they do not rub but they are a tight fit. I had 295/45-17 MT drag radials on prior to putting these tires on. These 285's are actually wider than the MT 295's.

[jhallracing]

That is one sweet Big Bumper Camaro! I like the way the seats look,might have to buy a set for my 80!

[sr73bu]

Thanks for all of the nice compliments from everyone.

As for the seats, I have them mounted as low as possible. The driver's seat is fine, but the passenger seat sits higher than the driver's seat. Have to recline that seat if I ride there. I think it is because of the hump for the catalytic converter on that side. I did see one link where someone used angle iron to make seat mounts to lower the seat. I haven't really looked at that to see if that might help.

Last fall at the Food Lion Autofair car show at the Charlotte Speedway, I talked with a fellow 2nd gen owner who also was considering these seats. He also had heard that they sit high. I had him sit in the car and he was fine with the seat height. He was somewhere around 6' tall. I am 5'10" but have a long torso and short legs!!

On the plus side, they are very comfortable, hold you in well during cornering, recline and have map pockets on the back of the seat. For the money they are hard to beat. Plus, the stitching is close enough to the stock rear seat stitching that I saw no reason to re-do the rear seats.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/111409seatsfromrightsm-1.jpg




www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com


Love your Camaro!... its funny you should mention how high the seats mount... i'm 6' 215, long torso, short legs (like you, haha), I have the same seats in my 73 chevelle... my head was actually 1/4" from the roof and my thighs rubbed the steering wheel (i'm by no means fat). I actually had to cut about 1 3/4" out of the brackets (procar sent me) and re-weld them... I still feel it sits high, but not as bad as before. Not sure who is fabing them up for Procar, but the dude has to be 5 5' or under...lol

- Sean

[rtwind02]

One of the best I have seen of this year of camaro. It has a great stance!

[jerhofer]

That is one sweet Big Bumper Camaro! I like the way the seats look,might have to buy a set for my 80!

Thanks. You will like the seats.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[green 1977]

Very very nice!!!
Gotta love them big bumpers!

[monteboy84]

Gorgeous car, nice work!

-matt

[jerhofer]

Well I will be posting some more "update" pics in about six weeks. I had either a lifter or the camshaft fail in my motor. I heard a clinking noise. Didn't see anything when I pulled the valve covers and all the plugs looked great. However, when I drained the oil, I found shavings. It was time to pull the motor to see what was going on.

On cylinder 7, we could not remove the lifters. One side worked freely but the other one would not come out of the hole. We could see wear on the cam lobe. After checking the other lifters, I saw quite a bit of wear on many of them. So, a rebuild at least would be required.

I have been telling everyone since I owned the car that, if the SB had to come out, a LS motor was going back in. I found a LS1 from a '99 Firebird with 32K miles. The good thing about using this motor is that I do not have to change the oil pan. I am rounding up the required parts. I plan on using my Richmond 6 speed.

I really like the Billet Specialties front runner that was on my SB. In looking at the pictures of their front runner for the LS motors, I saw that the AC compressor and the PS pump were in basically the same location as on my SB. I gave them a call and the measurements are very close. It looks like I will be able to use my AC lines for sure. I might get lucky on the PS lines as well.

I found some adjustable motor mount plates. I will be able to move the motor back and forth about an inch or so. If I get lucky, I will be able to use my existing transmission crossmember and driveshaft.

I am getting a Keisler aluminum bellhousing and they are still three weeks away on delivery. So, it will probably be June before I have it running again.

Oh, the joys of hot rodding!!!

[68400BIRD]

Good Luck on the LS motor. To bad you could not enjoy the small block for at least the summer. Car is looking great. I love the stance and the window crank medalions. LOL

[RobertGP]

Awesome Maro!!!

[jerhofer]

Good Luck on the LS motor. To bad you could not enjoy the small block for at least the summer. Car is looking great. I love the stance and the window crank medalions. LOL

Thanks.

I have been busy stripping the old motor, cleaning everything up and selling parts. The guy who painted my car bought the small block, the heads, the flywheel and the bellhousing. Craigslist helped me sell the headers and the intake. I have also sold some other items on Ebay and have a number of auctions going on there now, including the EZ-EFI fuel injection. I am trying to take some of the hurt out of this project by piecing out the old motor. So far, so good.

I am taking the car to the painter to have him clean up the engine bay. We are discussing installing a plain panel on the firewall to clean up that area and also a panel to cover the plumbing for the AC and heater hoses. I should have the car there sometime next week.

Now that the old motor is gone, I am ready to get the LS motor on the motor stand and get it ready. I see a little seepage around the rear cover on the motor and have a new gasket for it as well as a new rear main seal. My son has the tool for installing the rear main seal so I should be able to do it correctly.

Since I am going with a Billet Specialties front runner kit, I can take off the original pulleys, the alternator, the water pump, and the power steering pump. More goodies to sell!!!

While it is always interesting to do a project like this, it sure would have been nice to take in some cruise-ins while the weather is more moderate. Guess that's why one of the first things I did to this car was install AC.

[redwing]

That is one of the baddest Camaros I've seen. Great year choice 1st gens are getting old for me.

[jerhofer]

That is one of the baddest Camaros I've seen. Great year choice 1st gens are getting old for me.

Thanks.

The Billet Specialties front runner kit arrived yesterday. It will look fantastic on the engine. However, a few challenges also arose in reading the instructions. The crank bolt needs to be torqued to 240 ft/lbs which should give me a real workout. I am trying to see how I am going to keep from tipping the engine stand over when I apply than much torque. I may place two of the arms on my lift over the base of the engine stand to steady it. That should work.

Also, in doing some reading on the LS1 motors, it appears you should have some special tools to change the rear cover gasket and rear main seal. I also will need some tools to remove the harmonic balancer. And, since it will be apart, I may as well change the front seal as well. I found a LS tool set on Ebay that has all of the tools I will need. While it isn't cheap, my son has a LS motor in his '79 El Camino and may put one in his '69 Camaro some day. Between the two of us, we should get some good use from this set of tools.

I ordered a set of billet coil covers from Taylor Industries to fit the '99 Firebird since that is where my engine came from. As most of you probably know, in the Gen 4 Camaro's, the engine sits under the cowl. Because of that and interference at the rear of the motor on the passenger side, that coil cover is about 1 1/2" shorter than the driver's side which keeps the last coil exposed. I talked with them today and they are considering making me a new passenger side cover which would be the same length as the driver's side. As I told them, there are many, many people doing the same conversion as mine and that none of use would want to use their existing coil cover. I suggested they should simply call them "Engine Swap Coil Covers". I hope to hear back from them soon as to whether they will make the cover I need.

[jerhofer]

I found this LS6 intake on Craigslist to replace my LS1 intake. I like the carbon fiber look. Plus, from what I have read, the LS6 intake and throttle body flows better.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/carbonfiberintake2-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/carbonfiberintake-1.jpg

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[bonecrrusher]

Looks like hyrdocarbon paint setup... thats cool.

[jerhofer]

So many of the LS motors I see look so plain in comparison to the SB I had in the car. I am trying to give it some pizzaz.

[Taman]

Nice Camaro. Do you run leaf springs? If you remove the retractable rear seat belts and replace with a set that you pull to adjust,you can cut the hump inside the rear wheel well. Weld a piece in the part cutoff. You will gain an inch plus of inside clearance. That is my next mod this fall. I will get 305's to fit without mini tubbing.I love 2nd gen F-bodies.
I run 285/40/18 and 245/40/18.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/DSC_6920-1.jpg

[jerhofer]

Nice Camaro. Do you run leaf springs? If you remove the retractable rear seat belts and replace with a set that you pull to adjust,you can cut the hump inside the rear wheel well. Weld a piece in the part cutoff. You will gain an inch plus of inside clearance. That is my next mod this fall. I will get 305's to fit without mini tubbing.I love 2nd gen F-bodies.
I run 285/40/18 and 245/40/18.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/08/DSC_6920-1.jpg

I am running 285's as well and I do have leaf springs. Thanks for the hint.

[Taman]

How do you like that EZ EFI? I was worried with a big cam and narrow lsa the pc would hunt for an idle. Mine is .618" and 256 intake and 258 exhaust @.050" with 108 lsa. I was looking at that kit.

[jerhofer]

It worked great. My cam was a Lunati VooDoo Solid Roller Cam…249/255 @ .050, .585/.600″ lift, 110lsa*.

No problems with the idle.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[Procharmo]

Jerry you have a great car. It has always been a big influence for my build. I have one question though. I too run 17 x 11 wheels with 5.75" BS. I also have 315/35 17 tyres.
With no anti roll bar and soft shocks rubbing occurred. ........

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

With a Hotchkis anti roll bar, rolled lips and adjustable strange shocks no rubbing....

They are not under the lip but are comfortably inside the lip.

Do you think my diff may have been narrowed before I got the car?

[jerhofer]

Jerry you have a great car. It has always been a big influence for my build. I have one question though. I too run 17 x 11 wheels with 5.75" BS. I also have 315/35 17 tyres.
With no anti roll bar and soft shocks rubbing occurred. ........

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

With a Hotchkis anti roll bar, rolled lips and adjustable strange shocks no rubbing....

They are not under the lip but are comfortably inside the lip.

Do you think my diff may have been narrowed before I got the car?

Thanks for the compliment.

I am running 285 rear tires. 315's would rub on my car too.

[78 Type-LT]

that is beauty

[jerhofer]

We hauled the car to the body shop this morning to have the engine bay cleaned up. I am also having him smooth out the firewall. Should look much better.

I have been talking with Kooks headers about using my car as a guinea pig to design a header/exhaust system for LS swaps. Earlier this week, I talked with the sales manager who said he would get back with me. I had not heard back from him. Today my buddy and I were planning a bike ride. We are always looking for a destination, so I told him let's drive the 30 miles to Statesville and visit Kooks. The salesman (owns a '72 Camaro) took us on a tour of their two year old building. I was not very familiar with Kooks, but they have been in business since 1962 in Long Island, NY and only moved to Statesville two years ago. I was impressed with the quality of their stainless headers and it was an interesting tour.

Once we got back into the office, he hooked us up with the sales manager who drags a 2nd gen which does low 8's in the quarter at around 170!! He asked me why I thought there would be a market for this header and I asked him if he ever visited NastyZ28 or Pro-Touring.com. I told him if he went there and did a search about LS swaps, he would be surprised at how many threads there were. Plus, I told him, on Pro-Touring, he would see not only Camaros, but GTO's, Chevelles, Buicks, Olds, etc.

He then started asking me questions about my car and I showed him my blog. He liked what he saw there and said he need to talk with his boss. About ten minutes later he came back and offered me a sweet deal if I would get both the headers and the full stainless exhaust. I immediately said yes and we are scheduled to take the car there towards the end of June.

They have a digitizer so they will map the all the hard points on my car and feed that into the computer. Once they have done that, they can generate the entire system. Then they will actually make it to make sure the computer is accurate. Once they have all the dimensions nailed, they would make a jig for the production line. They said they would have my car for two or three weeks. Once they have everything done, the system will be available in their product line.

I am really pleased as I have a guaranteed system that will fit, plus it will look so good. I have been considering a hydraulic clutch, but he said he would prefer I do that after they are finished with my car as they want as many obstructions as posssible, which would include the Z-bar for the clutch. Doing it this way will insure that their system will work for a majority of situations.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[Hotchkis]

Thanks for the compliment.

I am running 285 rear tires. 315's would rub on my car too.

Procharmo – That’s a great picture! Nicely tucked 315! What’s the rest of the car look like? Thanks for choosing our rear sway bar for your Camaro. We’re glad it helped control lateral drivetrain movement.

[Tucks69]

Nice looking Camaro! I used to have a 77 that I drag raced. Keep us updated on your build.

[Trevon]

I have those seats as well with the stock rears. So comfortable and your right, they match great! Now I just have to do the door panels to match and re-do the headliner.

[jerhofer]

I got the Billet Specialties front runner installed this week. I used some of the Kent-Moore tools from their LS tool kit to remove the harmonic balancer. Sure makes it easier when you have the correct tools. The bolt for the harmonic balancer must be torqued to 240 ft lb. I was concerned about tipping over the engine stand so I raised my lift, slid the engine stand under two of the arms and then lowered the arms over the engine stand legs. It worked.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/52411LS1toolkitsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/52511LS1harmonicbalancerpullersm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/52611enginestandclampsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/52611BSfrontrunnersm-1.jpg

I will be getting the car back from the body shop Monday or Tuesday. Stopped in there today and the engine bay is looking great. I'll post some pics of it next week.

I am waiting for some parts to install the LS6 manifold on the motor. The coolant lines must change and the correct ones are on the way. I also found at Speedway Motors the adapters I need for my oil pressure and water temp senders. These adapters will screw into the block in the factory locations and convert to 1/8NPT so my senders from my old motor will work.

I also replaced the rear main seal and am getting ready to install the rear cover and the oil pan. I found a thread showing how to use one of the tools in the Kent-Moore LS tool kit for aligning the covers with the oil pan.

I also bought a 11' piece of 2" x 6" box steel section and a chain hoist. I am going to place it in my attic across five joists and then drop a chain through the ceiling so I can use a chain hoist to lift the engine among other things. The cherry picker I have was too short to reach the engine and we had to lift the engine out from the side. By having the chain hoist, I can lift the engine up, move the car under the engine and then lower it into place directly from above. My buddy seems to think this will work great. We will see

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[jerhofer]

Got the car back today from the body shop. He smoothed out my firewall with four separate, removable panels. There are two main panels on the firewall, a large one that goes to the wiper motor area and a smaller one behind the brake booster. There is also a cover for the wiper motor and a cover for the heater and AC hookups at the firewall. He also cleaned up the crossmember and the frame rails. The trick is going to be getting the motor installed without scratching anything!!! I have a number of moving blankets and am going to cut one of them up to make covers for the firewall and inner fender liners.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6211firewallsmoothedsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6211plumbingcoversm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6211wipermotorcoversm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6211crossmember3sm-1.jpg

Next up is cleaning up the bottom of the car from the firewall back. I lined my walls and floor with plastic and plan on using engine degreaser and my pressure washer to clean it up. A dirty job!!!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6211plasticonwall2sm-1.jpg

[jerhofer]

I am glad this job is done!! Very messy cleaning up the bottom of the car. I spent Friday using engine degreaser and my pressure washer to get the bottom of the car at least respectable. As most of you know, when you do this type of cleaning, you are really only transferring the dirt. Part of it went onto the plastic and the rest went on me!! I don't have a mirror in my garage. If I had, I would not have gone out to get the mail as my face was pretty black. It took me nearly as long to clean up the mess as it did to clean the car.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6311Carbottomcleanupsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6311Carbottomcleanup4sm-1.jpg



Today I masked everything off and used three rattle cans to at least make it all the same color. While it won't pass a white glove inspection, it sure looks better than when I began this project.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6411BottomPaint2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6411BottomPaint9sm-1.jpg


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6411BottomPaint5sm-1.jpg

Now I can concentrate on getting the motor ready for installation. Should happen this week.

[Tucks69]

Looks good Jerry! I have to to do the same thing before long!

[LeighP]

Hey, thats come up real nice...good job!

[jerhofer]

I got a lot done on the motor today. First I installed the rear coolant line plugs and the front LS6 coolant line so I could mount the intake. Got the intake mounted and then decided I did not like the army green color of the fuel rails. Painted them satin black.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6611rearwaterlinefrontsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6611fuelrainpaintsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6611intakeonmotor4sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6611intakeonmotorsm-1.jpg

Next I mounted the Dirty Dingo slider motor mounts. First a plate is attached to the motor, then the factory elephant ear collar is attached to the other plate. The second plate is then loosely attached to the plate on the motor. There are slots and you can slide the motor back and forth 2 1/2".

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6611motormountsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6611motormount2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6611motormount3sm-1.jpg

I am getting close to putting the motor in. I need to align the bellhousing and can't decide whether it would be best to do it out of the car or in the car. Not sure how I can stabilize the engine and turn the crank outside the car.


www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[jerhofer]

Had to mow the lawn today but still had some time to work on the motor. I removed the plate above the oil filter, drilled the hole through, tapped it for 1/8 NPT 27, and mounted my oil pressure sender for my gauges there.
After doing a search for places to put the water temp sender for my gauges, some people recommended removing the drain plug above the starter and mounting it there. After removing the plug, I found an adapter to go to 1/8 NPT 27 thread. I talked to Autometer and they have a 1/8NPT sender that will work with my gauges. It is on the way from Summit and appears to be compact enough to clear the starter.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6711oilfilterpartsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6711oilfilterpart2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6711oilfilterpart3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6711Autometeroilpressuresender2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6711Autometeroilpressuresendersm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6711drainplugsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6711drainplugadaptersm-1.jpg

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com (http://www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com)

[Scarelane]

Nice! I've had a few Camaros back in the day!

[jerhofer]

The Edelbrock polished coil covers arrived late yesterday. The coil packs install directly to the rear of the covers which allows them to sit lower. I am not wild about the Edelbrock script, but, overall, it was the look I was going for. I had to cut the support for the fuel line so I can bend it up to clear the coil covers.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6811fuelrailsupportcutsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6811edelbrockcoilcovers6sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6811edelbrockcoilcovers4sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6811edelbrockcoilcovers3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6811edelbrockcoilcovers2sm-1.jpg

My water temp sender with 1/8 NPT threads arrived today and if fit perfectly with plenty of clearance with the starter.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6811watertempsendersm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6811watertempsender2sm-1.jpg


I also installed the correct pilot bearing for my transmission. I also mounted the flywheel and the bellhousing and used my son's gauge to begin the alignment procedure. I did not finish this as time ran out but will sort this out tomorrow. Once I have the bellhousing aligned, I am ready to put the motor in the car.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[67speedfreak]

Nice Camaro ! Motor is looking great !

[CruizinKev]

very nice! I like the edelbrock covers!

[jerhofer]

very nice! I like the edelbrock covers!

Thanks.

Had to satisfy motorcycle withdrawal with a ride today with my best friend. Because of the heat, we left early this morning and were back home by noon. One of our neighbors is a partner in a high end dealership in Denver, NC so we checked out his business today.

After lunch, I finished up the alignment of the bellhousing. Based on the readings, I had to use a "14 adjustable dowel. I set it in place with my best guess of where it should be to get the bellhousing within spec and it worked. I was within 4 thousandths vertically and less than 2 thousandths horizontally.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6911bellhousingalignmentsm-1.jpg

After removing the bellhousing, I installed the clutch. The LS1 flywheels have two dowel pins that must be lined up on the pressure plate for balance purposes.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6911clutchinstalledsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6911clutchinstalled2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6911flywheeldowelsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6911bellhousinginstalledsm-1.jpg

I installed the clutch pivot ball in the bellhousing and have to adjust the height. Based on my late in the day measurements, I think I need a taller ball.

I also turned the car around in the garage to get the nose facing my ceiling hoist. My driveway is uphill outside the garage so turning it around there is not an option. I bought these dollies from Northern Tool some years ago and they have come in handy. I was able to easily turn the car around by myself. Once I get the pivot ball adjusted correctly, I am ready to put the motor in the car.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6911carondolliessm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/6911carondollies2sm-1.jpg

Getting close.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[jerhofer]

The motor will go in tomorrow!!! I got the pivot ball adjusted and prepared the engine bay with lots of padding. Hopefully, everything fits tomorrow. My buddy and I decided to keep the car on the dollies. Since the hoist cannot be moved, this will make it easier to move the car to line up the engine mounts.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61011enginebaypadding3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61011enginebaypaddingsm-1.jpg

[CruizinKev]

car looks great!! good luck :twothumbs

[jerhofer]

car looks great!! good luck :twothumbs

Thanks.

The motor is in but it took about four hours of finagling to get it to line up with the engine mounts. For awhile, we thought that there was an alignment issue. However, time and patience eventually got everything to line up. We did have to take the driver's side mount off the motor and spread it apart a bit as it was too narrow to fit over the mount. We got a piece of threaded 1/2" rod and, using placing bolts in the middle as well as on the outside, we were able to spread it about 1/4" which was enough.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61111enginedrop2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61111enginedrop3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61111enginedrop8sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61111enginedrop9sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61111enginedrop13sm-1.jpg

After getting it mounted on the mounts, if you let the motor hang, it wanted to rest against the brake line on the rear of the front crossmember. So I tied the front of the motor down to the front swaybar to keep it up until we install the tranny.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61111enginedrop10sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61111enginedrop11sm-1.jpg


As you can see in some of the photos, I do have some adjustment on the mounting plates and can move the motor an inch or so to the rear. It cannot go any further forward of the oil pan will hit the crossmember.

Big job done!! Should get the tranny installed next week and then it is a matter of hooking everything up.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[jerhofer]

After Sunday off and a funeral yesterday, I was back at it today. The transmission is in!!! My buddy has a very nice transmission jack that I have used nearly as many times as he has. Nevertheless, it was the usual fight getting it to mate with the motor. All's well that ends well.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61411transmissionin11sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61411transmissionin6sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61411transmissionin9sm-1.jpg

After getting it bolted up, the bolt on the rear crossmember was a little over an inch forward of the bolt hole. The adjustable motor mounts helped out here. I wasn't quite able to get all of it, but I did get within less than 1/2".

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61411transmissionin2sm-1.jpg

When I installed the driveshaft, I still had plenty of spline left so it should work fine. After putting the car down, I hooked up the shifter and that part was done.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61411transmissionin13sm-1.jpg

While the car was apart, I had the radiator cleaned and tested for leaks. I cleaned up my fan and installed both the radiator and fan.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61411faninsm-1.jpg

Because of needing to use a bolt hole on the front of the head to lift the motor, I had not been able to install the alternator. Got it installed and then installed the belt and tensioner.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61411beltonsm-1.jpg

Now that I had all of that in place, I could work on the air intake. Problems here!! I tried a connector from the throttle body to the MAF in a straight line. Now I did not have enough room for the twin snorkel. It was nearing the end of the day, but I did try installing the snorkel directly to the throttle body with the MAF at one end of the snorkel. Once I add the filter to both ends, I will have an unbalanced look. I plan on working on this tomorrow to see if I can come up with a solution that both looks good and will work. Any suggestions?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61411airintakesm-1.jpg

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[Biodds]

Don't you need to run all of the air to the engine through the MAF? If half the air doesn't go through the MAF in should run very lean.

[jerhofer]

Don't you need to run all of the air to the engine through the MAF? If half the air doesn't go through the MAF in should run very lean.

I found out that yes, you do need to do that.

Had a bunch of running around to do today so not much accomplished. I did get the coil covers mounted and installed one of the air cleaners so I could get a feel for how the motor will look.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61511enginewithcoilcoversandairintake3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61511enginewithcoilcoversandairintakesm-1.jpg

As you can see in the photo below, the passenger side of the snorkel is very close to the compressor. To move the snorkel out, I have a 1" throttle body spacer on the way. I found a used MAF for little money and I am planning on installing both of them with only one hooked up for symmetrical reasons. Now I have to figure out the best way to block one side of the snorkel.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61511airintakeclosetocompressorsm-1.jpg

The Edelbrock water pump that came with the front runner kit takes the late model LS thermostat housing from 2004 up. I test fitted it today and it angles away from the motor which would make for a very weird hose to get it to the radiator. I have a housing that is straight out from the front of the motor on the way. Since the water pump works in the reverse of one on a small block, the hose from the thermostat housing goes to the bottom of the radiator while the return is at the top. I may have to custom make that hose as it must wind around the air intake and the front runner kit.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[tazzz25906112]

I'm liking this build,, very nice indeed....

[jerhofer]

I'm liking this build,, very nice indeed....

Thanks.

Had a good day today!! I had a Billet Specialties front runner kit on my old motor. When I looked at their front runner kit for the LS motor, I noticed that the compressor and the power steering pump were in basically the same locations as on my small block. With any luck, my existing lines would work.

They did!! Based on a discussion with Billet Specialties, I was pretty sure my AC lines would fit. The PS lines were more of a question mark. The reality was that they fit perfectly. Major victory here. The remote reservoir and the lines fit exactly as they did on the old motor.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61611PSlinessm-1.jpg

One of the key features I really like on the Billet Specialties front runner is the AC manifold that places the hookup for the lines near the bottom of the compressor. Because of this, you do not have the lines conspicuously placed on the top of the motor. This allowed me to run my AC and heater hose lines above the inner fender liner under the fender to keep the engine bay clear. The lines fit as I guessed they would.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61611ACmanifoldsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61611ACheaterhoses3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61611ACheaterhoses2sm-1.jpg

Because the heater hose hookup location is quite a bit different, I had to cut off about 6" of each line to make them work. Even cleaner installation here than on the old motor where the hookups were on top of the water pump.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61611heaterhoseconnectionssm-1.jpg

I also re-installed the radiator overflow tank and line.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/61611radiatoroverflowsm-1.jpg

Some research showed that to make my existing fuel lines work, I would need to change the fuel rail. One is on the way.

I got a lot done today.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

[bonecrrusher]

You taking this car to RTTH's?

I highly recommend it - went last year and had a blast!

[jerhofer]

You taking this car to RTTH's?

I highly recommend it - went last year and had a blast!

Hadn't thought about it. Should have the car finished by then and that would be a good drive from here. I will put it on my calendar.

[jerhofer]

Since there seemed to be interest in the install, I started another thread expressly for the install.

https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?80711-Installing-a-LS1-in-my-1977-Camaro&highlight=

[jerhofer]

I did get the spacer for the throttle body, but, while it did solve the clearance problem with the compressor, on the other end the filter sat exactly where I needed to put the radiator hose. In searching for an answer to this problem, I discovered that I will need a different radiator. The LS radiator hose sizes are different from the SBC. I have a Griffin radiator coming that has both of the hose hookups on the passenger side. It also has provisions hooking up the steam release hose.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/GRI800019LS-2.jpg

The downside is that all of these hookups preclude any intake going to the passenger side. I have had to give up on the twin snorkel. I was at Autozone and found a very small filter. I did mount it, but I am afraid it will not flow enough air.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62211enginewithsmallaircleanersm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62211enginewithsmallaircleaner2sm-1.jpg

Plus, according to my son, the MAF works best when the air has some distance to flow into the throttle body after the MAF. I have a K & N intake designed for late model GTO's on the way.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/kNairintakecopy-2.jpg

The car is going to Kooks Custom Headers in Statesville, NC on June 27th. So I have been getting the car ready to be transported by securing the wires and installing the Z-bar. I am still waiting for the Z-Bar ball adapter that mounts to the bellhousing. It has been over 8 weeks. The guy says he has 12 people waiting for them. Their supplier keeps telling them they will be shipped but, as of today, still no adapter.

I sold my old clutch to a guy in south Charlotte. He asked if I had anything else and I mentioned that I had removed the Competition Engineering Slide-a-Link traction bars. He is a drag racer and was interested in them. I told him that the rear mounts that doubled as the lower spring plate and shock mount were still on the car. He said he had a set of stock plates which he sent to me.

The traction bar plates had the left rear shock mounted inside the spring. It was in kind of a strange position and rubbed on the exhaust. The stock plates place both shocks outside the spring. I mounted the right plate first and everything bolted in place as it should.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62411springplateanchorright2sm-1.jpg

When I tried to mount the left plate, I had interference problems with the brake caliper. I assume this was because the car did not originally have rear disc brakes. I had to do some custom work on that piece to make it work. I am glad I did this before they fit the exhaust as the location of that left shock was strange.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62411springplateanchorleft4sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62411springplateanchorleft5sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62411springplateanchorleft6sm-1.jpg

I also installed a set of Koni shocks. I have used Koni's for years and prefer them to other shocks. One advantage to these shocks compared the Bilsteins that I removed is that they are not as big around. I needed that extra clearance on the left side to clear the brake line. It will be interesting to see if there is any difference in the shocks as well as having the shock back in its stock location.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62411wheelwell2sm-1.jpg

I cleaned up the car today and it is ready to get some headers and exhaust next week. They will have the car for 2-3 weeks so I will have some time to do some other projects around the house.

[jerhofer]

Took the car to Kooks Custom Headers on 6/27. They had me meet with some of the techs to go over how the exhaust system was to be installed. Very nice people. They had a number of interesting cars in their work bay. Everything from drag cars to street rods to SCCA race cars. Clint Boyer's '69 Camaro was there for an exhaust.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62711Kookssm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62711Kooks3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62711Kooks2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/62711Kooks4sm-1.jpg

They asked if I had brought a car cover. Hadn't thought of that so, after driving home and helping my buddy unhook his trailer, I drove back with the car cover. I ended up in the sales manager's office talking about the car. We were discussing the exit for the exhaust and I told him I wanted it like my old exhaust where it exited straight down inside the rear fender areas. We went to my blog so he could see what the rear end looked like with my old exhaust.

I was also telling him about my thread on Nasty Z28 about the LS1 install. As he was scrolling down the photos, he came to the picture of the K & N intake in one of the posts above. "That's ugly" he said and I told him I felt the same but was having a difficult time coming up with something that will work. "Hell, let's build one for you!!" was his next comment. We then went out to the car, he grabbed some 3 1/2" pipe and we talked about how it should fit. He had one of his fabricators come over, talked to him a bit, and we had a plan. I am riding my motorcycle over there in the morning to take him the cone filter and the connectors. It will be polished stainless steel!! Should be pretty cool!!


By the way, this is George's, the sales manager, car.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/georgerumorescar-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/GeorgeRumore2-1.jpg

[jerhofer]

My buddy and I took another motorcycle ride to Kooks today. We saw the guy welding my headers on the bench. They also still had the reference point attached to the front crossmember for the digitizer. I also took a photo of their mailbox!! Pretty slick!!

If all goes well, I should have the car back this week.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8111Kooksweldingheadersm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8111Kooksreferencepointsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8111Kooksmailboxsm-1.jpg

[devwil68]

best looking 77' ive seen!

[bonecrrusher]

Nice... I need to head up there and checkout there shop.

[jerhofer]

Nice... I need to head up there and checkout there shop.

It's a family run business and it shows. Very nice people. The receptionist is the sister of the owner and she is a character. They moved the business to Statesville about two years ago from New York and they are still adjusting to living in the south. They are finding that everything happens at about 3/4 speed compared to what they were used to in Long Island.

The sales manager told me that he and his wife went to downtown Charlotte over the weekend for the first time. The locals were warning them about going to the "big" city. It didn't appear big to them at all. As he said, if I can be out of downtown in 10 minutes, how big can it be??

[jerhofer]

Well, I will be picking up the car Friday afternoon. I went over to Kook's today to see the exhaust while the car is still on the hoist. It looked great!! I found it interesting that the mufflers are installed at an angle. Evidently it makes it easier to line things up where the exhaust goes over the axle.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8311Kooksexhaust3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8311Kooksexhaust4sm-1.jpg

On my small block, the right header hung down about 2" lower than the left header and would drag on the road. They have both the headers tucked up close to the motor so I will not have the issue this time.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8311Kooksexhaust2sm-1.jpg

The exhaust will dump out next the leaf spring in each rear fender area. In this photo, they have marked the angle cut to be made which will result in about an inch of the exhaust showing.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8311Kooksexhaust5sm-1.jpg

This is a header I saw at the shop today. Pretty impressive piece of work.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8311Kooksheadersm-1.jpg

I had posted photos of the sales manager's drag car earlier in this thread. Today he had the hood off and I could get a pic of the motor. Only 1600 horsepower!!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8311Kooksgeorgesmotorsm-1.jpg

It sure will be good to have the car back in the garage so I can finish it up. Still have to install the radiator and hoses, install the wiring, charge the AC, and complete over miscellaneous items. I have three week before the Autofair car show at the speedway. It will be close.

[jerhofer]

My friend Reese and I picked up the Camaro today. It has not rained in the morning for at least a month, but, of course, it did today. To protect the fenders while they are working on the car, Kooks uses this 3M plastic that has an adhesive on one side. It comes in 3' x 100' rolls. They had it on the fenders and, to protect the motor, we also stuck some on the entire front end of the car. It worked. NASCAR teams use it. I will have to get some of this.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8510plasticcoveringenginesm-1.jpg

Both Reese and I were very pleased with how the exhaust turned out. It is a full 3" stainless steel from front to rear and it fits perfectly.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511exhaustfrombottomsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511exhaustfrombottom4sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511headersfromsidesm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511headersrightside2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511headerstartersm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511exhaustoveraxlerightsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511Exhausttipsm-1.jpg

[jerhofer]

Since the pivot ball adapter for LS motors arrived late, Kooks installed it so they could design the headers. To mount the adapter, you remove two bolts on the bellhousing. However, once the adapter was mounted, there was interference from a square block of aluminum on the side of the block. It was about 1" square and deep. Part of this block would need to be removed before the adapter would fit. The sales manager at Kooks has a friend at GM with much knowledge of the LS motors. He called him to see if there were any issues with removing part of this block. The GM guy assured him that he could cut away. You can see the results in one of the photos below.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511pivotball3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511pivotball2sm-1.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z76/jerhofer/1977%20Camaro%20Small/8-5-11pivotball2sm.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511pivotball6sm-1.jpg

Kooks also fabricated the air intake from 5" aluminum pipe.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511airintakesm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511airintakefromleftsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8511airintake2sm-1.jpg

[jerhofer]

Kooks always takes photos of their projects. They put all 67 of them on a disc for me. If you are interested, you can see them at:

http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z76/jerhofer/Kooks%20Custom%20Headers%20Photos%20of%201977%20Ca maro/

I cannot say enough about how they treated me on this whole project. They had a Camaro convertible for Travis Kvapil along with a Mustang "R" race car driven by Jack Roush, Jr sitting in their shop area today. They commonly have cars there that are owned by big hitters.

In spite of dealing with these types of people, they treated me like a long lost friend every time I visited. And that treatment began with the receptionist, Kerrie. Both George, the sales manager, and Mark, the salesman who I initiated this project with, were always helpful. Everyone always had very kind words about the car which are always appreciated.

Today, I was told a very personal story that I cannot share. The story showed that the people who run Kooks are great family people who take care of people where there is a crisis. After hearing the story, I came away with even more respect for the organization.

[jerhofer]

I didn't get as much done today as I had hoped. I discovered the new radiator was slightly thicker than the old one.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8611Radiatorsm-1.jpg

This meant I had to hog out the holes on the chrome radiator support cover. I got carried away and had to get a new one. Fortunately, NPD has a store in Charlotte and they had one in stock. But I wasted an hour and a half getting it. And then my buddy called and needed help with his motorcycle.

I finally got the holes enlarged and the cover fitted.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8611Radiator4sm-1.jpg

Next up was installing the fan.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8611Radiator5sm-1.jpg

Now it was time to figure out the hose sizes. I got a couple coat hangers and cut and shaped them to simulate the hose sizes.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8611Radiator10sm-1.jpg

I then spent about an hour at the local AutoZone looking at radiator hoses. I found one that I was sure would work for the upper hose and two prospects for the lower hose.

After cutting a couple inches off the upper hose, it fit perfectly.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8611Radiator6sm-1.jpg

The bottom hose was a bit more of a challenge. I ruled out the one hose and then had to cut out a section of the second hose. After some cutting and trimming, it worked well.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8611Radiator8sm-1.jpg

They look factory which was the intention. The lower hose was a Dayco #72088 and the upper hose was a Dayco #71951.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8611Radiator9sm-1.jpg

Next up is installing the new fuel rails. It will probably be Monday as Sunday is usually 'wifey" day. We try to do something together even if it is only going out to eat. It looks like it will be too warm to hike, an activity we enjoy.

[jerhofer]

I had a few hours available this morning and got the fuel rails installed. I was able to use my existing fuel lines as the return line is mounted to the right rear and the feed line on the left rear.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8711returnlinesm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8711fuellinessm-1.jpg

The crossover line on the front is the one that came with the kit but it is too long making it loop way too high. I will have to take one end apart and shorten it by about 1 1/2".

The kit came with phillips screws for the mounting brackets. I replaced them with stainless socket head bolts.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8711fuelrailmountsm-1.jpg

Before I go to all the trouble to paint it, I would like to hear what everyone thinks about leaving it red. I have mixed emotions. I does add some color but I am not sure I want the color. Feedback would be helpful.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8711Fuelrails4sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8711Fuelrails3sm-1.jpg

[Ron.in.SoCal]

First of all, great job on this swap JH! Second, keep the red (rails and fittings), kill the blue fittings. With all that bling maybe go polished instead of blue? Just my .02...

[jerhofer]

First of all, great job on this swap JH! Second, keep the red (rails and fittings), kill the blue fittings. With all that bling maybe go polished instead of blue? Just my .02...

Thanks.

Since I have the black & chrome thing going, I am having the fuel rails chromed. They are also chroming the cold air intake tube and the Edelbrock coil covers. My valve covers on my small block were polished and they were a pain to keep up. Chrome is easier. I found some guys in Concord, NC who had some reasonable prices.

After mowing the lawn early to beat the heat, I was able to get some basic things done today. I installed the Lokar throttle cable. I had to bring the cable down the length of the intake and I tied it off to a couple of the intake mounting bolts. As I add the wiring, the engine is going to become a little messier. My goal is to hide what I can, but it is pretty hard to run a computer controlled car without wiring. When my wife arrived home, she discovered that she was needed to push down on the gas pedal so I could adjust the cable. She is now a contributor!!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911throttlecablesm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911throttlecable2sm-1.jpg

Now that I had throttle, it was time to hook up the clutch components. Kooks only allowed about a 1/4" clearance from the lower arm of the Z-Bar to the header. As long as it did not hit, everything was cool. I had to bend the arm on the Z-Bar where the clutch rod attaches as the pivot ball adapter evidently moved the Z-Rod out a bit. After getting it all back together, the rod is rubbing on the side of the hole in the firewall. It was near the end of the day, so I will address that tomorrow.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911clutchlinkagesm-1.jpg

While I was under the car, I installed the O2 sensors and the speedometer sender.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911o2sensorsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911o2sensor2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911speedometersendersm-1.jpg

I also finished up installing the steam line to the throttle body and then to the radiator.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911steamhosesm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911steamhose2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911steamhose3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911steamhose4sm-1.jpg

The power steering needed to be bled. I did the part where you turn the front wheels from lock to lock at least 20 times with the motor off. Once I get it running, I can complete the bleeding procedure.

May be time to begin the wiring tomorrow after I fix the clutch issue. It was a bear geting the Z-Bar in place so I really do not want to remove it. I'll have to see if there are any other possiblities.

[Frankenstine]

Just read the whole post,Nice Camaro, I noticed that you have a lift, Is that in your home garadge, or a shop, also may i ask what brand it is, and where you got it? also if you have had any problem with it ect, Im thinking about getting one for myself when I start working on my 69 Camaro. Thanks Keith

[jerhofer]

Just read the whole post,Nice Camaro, I noticed that you have a lift, Is that in your home garadge, or a shop, also may i ask what brand it is, and where you got it? also if you have had any problem with it ect, Im thinking about getting one for myself when I start working on my 69 Camaro. Thanks Keith

The lift is in my garage. It is made by Rotary. No problems with it. Mine needs a 12'2" clearance. They do make two post lifts that require less clearance. Depending on your ceiling height, you may not be able to raise the car to the maximum lift height. Well worth the investment because of safety and convenience issues. This project would be much more difficult with it. I have already had the car up and down five or six times today.

[jerhofer]

It took me an hour to feed the harness through a two inch hole from the inside of the car to the engine bay. Very tedious work on your hands and knees trying to get each of those little plugs through without damaging them. I did have to cut one off as it was too big to fit through the hole alongside the harness. Not a big deal as it was the plug for the passenger side o2 sensor. I have to extend the wiring anyway to reach my sensors.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81011wiringsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81011wiring2sm-1.jpg

When I was younger, getting under the dash to do something wasn't easy. At my age, it is more of a problem, especially when I try to stand up. My wife says I remind her of the old guy in "Laugh-In" (some of you may be old enough to remember the show) who takes forever to straighten up and walks with baby steps. Makes her laugh, so it cannot be all bad. For those that don't remember, check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcHffTlD8wY

After trimming my glove box, I had placed the computer there as a possible location. I could get it in there barely and close the glove box door. However, today when I installed the two huge plugs, it did not work. I tried placing it on the hump under the dash but it stuck out like a sore thumb.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81011computer2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81011computersm-1.jpg

Then I pulled up the carpet in the passenger footwell, placed it on the padding on the angled area and placed the carpet over it. Unless you get down on your hands and knees, you would never know it was there. I checked online and it appears others have done this as well. My concern is heat buildup, but, considering it is normally placed in the engine bay, I cannot see how it could possible be hotter inside the car. If anyone has some feedback, I would appreciate it.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81011computer4sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81011computer3sm-1.jpg

Earlier I had replaced the urethane mount on my transmisssion. When I put the engine in recently, I could not tighten up the center bolt as the threads were stripped. I had to remove all the bolts on the crossmember so I took the opportunity to replace the crappy ones with shiny stainless steel ones. No one will see them but me, but I am happier.

Now on to completing the wiring.

[jerhofer]

I got a lot done today but the motor looks messier than ever. First up I installed a new set of spark plugs before I added any other obstructions. I have had the plugs for awhile, but did not want to take a chance that one would be broken during the header installation. This is a relatively painless job on this motor in this car.

There are two vacuum line outlets on the rear of the intake manifold. The large one is for the brake booster. This outlet took a much larger hose than the inlet on the brake booster. There was such a difference that I was able to use a smaller hose as a sleeve and fit the larger hose over the sleeve. I ran the small vacuum line from my fuel regulator to the other outlet.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81111vacuumlinesm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81111vacuumline2sm-1.jpg

Then I routed the the main wiring harness behind the fuel regulator and along the firewall so I could lay everything out on the motor. Once I had everything in place, I began plugging in the factory plugs.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81111wiringharness10sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81111wiringharnesssm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81111wiringharness8sm-1.jpg

I had the harness modified by by Wait4Me Perfomance out of Warsaw, In. They marked all of the factory plugs and then added the necessary wiring that I will need to hook the car up to power, to the fuel pump, gauges, etc.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81111wiringharness4sm-1.jpg

I began on the driver's side and basically took the harness apart so I could extend the MAF sensor wiring to the front corner of the car. I am running the wire in the tubing with the other wires that will be run between the outer and inner fenders. I found some appropriate color wires and began the soldering process.

Everyone has their way of doing wiring and I am a firm believer in soldering every connection. Over the years, any time I have had a wiring issue, I could trace it to the time I got lazy and crimped a connection. I have never had a soldered connection fail. My job in the Army many years ago was aviation electronic equipment repair (funny how one remembers arcane wording from nearly 50 years ago but forgets so many other recent things). Probably explains why I feel I have to install something electronic in every car I have had over the years.

One good thing about the factory wiring harness is that it gives you very good hints as to where various connections are located due to the length of the wires. After having located all the upper connections, I raised the car on the lift to do work there.

I plugged in the low oil sensor in the block and the next plug said "Crank Trigger". Since the lead was only about 8" long, I should have easily found the receptacle. After looking for a bit, I called my son to ask him where it was located. Above the starter he says.

I get out the trusty flashlight and eventually catch a small glimpse of it tucked in above the starter on the rear of the motor. This is not good. Kooks had tucked in the headers very close to keep them at least level with the bottom of the oil pan. On the other hand, this meant that you could not remove the starter unless you first removed the header! I had further complicated things by placing the water temp sensor for my dash gauge in this same area!!

I could barely get the very tips of the fingers back in this small area. After nearly two hours, trying various techniques, removing the inner starter bolt, loosening the outer bolt as far is it would go, tilting the starter away from the motor, I finally aligned the plug with the receptacle, gave it a slight push, and, voila, it locked in place!! Time for a beer!!!!!!

[jerhofer]

As I sorted through all of the remaining wires, I discovered the one for the tach has a 4 cylinder signal. The information for my tach showed that there are dip switches that would have to be changed to accept a 4 cylinder signal. This meant I had to remove the gauge panel. It is easier to remove if I lower the steering column. Had to crawl under the dash to get to the necessary two nuts. Always great fun!!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81311guagepod2sm-1.jpg

There is a plastic cover on the rear of the tach that covers the dip switches. The switches are very small so I had to use a small pick to move them.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81311tachometer2sm-1.jpg

Prior to having my body man, Tim, smooth out my firewall, my son and my buddy talked me into buying Detroit Speed's Selecta Speed wiper motor. On the firewall the primary attraction is a much smaller unit. This kit gives you five intermittent and two full time speeds with a billet knob. I had removed the old wiper and Tim had installed the motor so he could design a cover for it.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81311DSEwiperswitch6sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81311DSEwiperswitch10sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81311DSEwiperswitch7sm1-1.jpg

I was going to finish up the installation after I had the motor running. Since I had to remove the gauge panel, it only made sense to finish up the installation today.

First you remove the old switch. DSE provides a mounting plate for the new switch that bolts into the existing mounting holes. The knob is held on with a set screw.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81311DSEwiperswitch3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81311DSEwiperswitch4sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81311DSEwiperswitch11sm-1.jpg

For the wiring, I had an existing hole that happened to be the right size and in the right location. After passing the wires through the hole, I had to insert the ends of the wires in the plug.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81311DSEwiperswitch8sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81311DSEwiperswitch9sm-1.jpg

Under the dash, I only had to hook up a ground wire and a wire to 12V ignition. I had an opening on a recently added junction box that worked nicely. More lying on my back under the dash!!!

DSE's instructions ask you to check the motor for any clearance issues before hooking up the wiper arm. Since I have so many wires still not connected, I will have to wait on that until I am ready to hook up the battery.

About the time I got the dash back together, it was time for my buddy and I to ride our bikes to the local Harley dealer. They were having a charity benefit for our guys in service overseas where you donated canned goods, wipes, etc. We filled up our bags and did our part to help.

It was a good day.

[jerhofer]

Been working on wiring lately. Not a lot of sexy photos. However, I will try my best to get you all excited!!!

Stuff is everywhere in my garage as I am trying to get this project done.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711garagesm-1.jpg

I got my parts back from the chromer. I had to drill a hole in my newly chromed cold air intake tube for the air temp sensor. I should have done this before, but until I had the harness laid out on the motor, I wasn't sure where it would need to be placed.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711airtempsensorsm-1.jpg

I had previously extended the MAF wiring so it would reach the front corner of the car. I didn't want to run it under the air intake tube as I would have had to install it with tie wraps. So I ran it back to the rear of the motor, along the firewall and then up to the left front corner. At the same time, I also wanted to clean up the wiring on the firewall. To do that, I basically ripped everything apart and re-routed everything under the brake booster rather than over the top of it. This was very time consuming as it was very difficult to get the wires into the convoluted tubing in that area. I had to put the car in the air and do part of it from the bottom. However, the end result was worth it. Here are before and after photos.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/111409enginefromleftcropped-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711firewallsm-1.jpg

I also placed the wiring for the left o2 sensor and the oil pressure sender for my gauge in the tubing. I branched off the wire for the sender through the pivot ball adapter to the sender. Next I hooked up the o2 sensor and tie wrapped everything in place.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711oilpressuresenderwiringsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711oilpressurewiring2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711O2sensorwiringleftsm-1.jpg

Now it is time to install the fuel rails, air intake tube and the coil covers.

[jerhofer]

Time to install some of the chrome goodies. First up was to replace the O-rings on the injectors. Then it was simply a matter of pushing them into the fuel rails and then into the intake.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711Oringssm-1.jpg

After I installed the plugs on the injectors, I wrapped all of the wiring on the left side. I used the braided mesh covering here for the wiring. I then test fitted the coil cover. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the coil cover covered most of the wiring. After removing the coil cover to make some final adjustments, I re-installed the coil cover. From the photos below you get an idea of what the finished motor will look like. In the fourth photo below, you can see some convoluted tubing running along the top of the inner fender. Once I am sure everything works, I will be loosening the inner fender and placing the tubing behind it under the outer fender.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711wiringleftsidesm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711wiring2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711engineleftsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711engineleft5sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711engineleft2sm-1.jpg

The photo below shows what is waiting for me tomorrow morning. At least there are less obstructions on this side. Still lots of wires to hook up.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81711enginewiringrightsm-1.jpg

[jerhofer]

I got some more wiring done. No pics today but did make some progress. If I wanted to do this quick and dirty, I would have had it running by now. Takes longer to try to hide everything. Plus I am still gathering information.

Yesterday I was cruising through the High Tech Retrofits area and came across mwhizard's twin turbo thread. What a fabricator. I read the entire thread. One of the posts caught my attention. Mwhizard had a vacuum line running from his fuel regulator to the manifold. Someone who noticed this mentioned that this would not work well.

The instructions for installing the EZ-EFI injection on my old small block called for a vacuum line from the regulator to the throttle body. Not knowing any better, I had hooked up the same vacuum line to the intake manifold.

After reading about a potential issue, I forwarded it to my son who is the simulation engineer for the Red Bull NASCAR team. He and I also installed a LS1 in his '79 Camino and he has a 406 small block in his '69 Camaro with a fuel injection system he built from scratch. He knows a little about fuel injection. Because he is in the middle of the season and is traveling so much, he has not seen the car since I got it back from Kooks.

He confirmed that the car would run lean with the vacuum hose hooked up. This is the wording from the post on mwhizard's thread.

Quote:Originally Posted by mrvedit

I notice that you have exactly the same fuel rails, regulator and fuel feed/return layout that I have on my LS2. I was advised not to connect the manifold vacuum line to the regulator, which reduces fuel pressure under high-vacuum cruising and idling. The reason is that the stock ECU is programmed for constant fuel pressure of about 58 lbs at Idle and perhaps 55 lbs at WOT. The vacuum line to the regulator will drop the pressure to about 45 lbs which would run the engine too lean. The ECU can be programmed to compensate for that, but IMO constant fuel pressure is easier to program. Of course, Turbo Charging adds a lot of complexity to the ECU programming.


Reading that post probably saved me a bunch of grief!!!

I also was unsure of how to hook up the computer to my AC system. I had three leads relating to AC on my harness. The harness guy said I needed to talk to Vintage Air. They didn't know which wires were key and were afraid to make a guess because they might be held liable if there was a problem.

Google was the next step. I found www.lt1swap.com. He has been doing computers for quite awhile on both LT1's and LS motors. Lots of good information here.

I sent him an e-mail to ask if he knew which leads were important. He responded with the two that would do the trick. They are "a/c request" and "a/c clutch status". He said the computer was looking for 12V when the compressor is on. This is the same signal the EZ-EFI looked for so I had already run the wiring. I tapped these two leads into that harness and, hopefully, I should be good to go. I really appreciated this info.

I found a couple of terminal blocks today that I will be using for all of the 12V battery leads I have to hook up. My buddy Reese was over today to check on my progress. We put the car in the air and discussed possiblities for installing the terminal blocks. It looks like I will be putting them on the inside of the frame connectors where they attach to the front subframe. This seemed like a good location to avoid as much exhaust heat as possible. Which means I need longer wires. More soldering to do.

[jerhofer]

Spent most of the day wiring. Got the relays installed for the fuel pump and for the ECM. To make my wiring for the 12V constant reach to my terminal block, most of my day was taken with soldering on extensions to the wiring so they would reach. This is the harness of wires that will go under the car to various hookups.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82011wiringharnesssm-1.jpg

I also hooked up my AC wire for the compressor.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82011wireoncompressorsm-1.jpg

The factory dipstick was pretty ugly so I purchased one from Milodon. To install it I needed to remove one of the header bolts to use as a mounting point. When I removed the bolt, I could see that no anti-seize had been applied. So a little time was spent removing all of the bolts, one by one, applying anti-seize and the re-installing them. I was very surprised to find this situation.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82011dipsticksm-1.jpg

I had also noticed in some of the photos that the paint on the rear part of my master cylinder had been eaten away by brake fluid. I prepped the master cylinder for painting and made it look much better.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8911throttlecable2cropped-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82011mastercylinderpaintedsm-1.jpg

Completing the wiring under the car is the next task. Slowly, but surely, I am getting there. Maybe one day I can remove the hood from my wife's bedroom where it has been safely stashed since April!!!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/8711hoodinbedroomsm-1.jpg

[jerhofer]

I am getting tired of looking at wiring!!! I finished up everything on the bottom and in the engine compartment today. Since I had so many leads to go to 12V battery and my battery is in my trunk, I decided to come up with a place to mount all of them. The inner side of the frame extenders looked like good place.

Now all I had to do was come up with a terminal block. I looked at the auto parts stores, but they did not have anything that would work. I had to go to Concord to get something and passed a stereo place. A light bulb went on. Sure enough, they had exactly what I was looking for. I bought two of them for about $20 each.

After locating them and making sure everything would fit, I drilled a hole in the end of my frame extender for my main 12V line from the battery to the starter. Next I installed a grommet there.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82211grommetformainpowersm-1.jpg

Then I mounted the two terminal blocks. They were designed to have the main power come in on the ends and were made so that you could connect two them. I then cut my main power line and installed it on the rearmost block. I then cut a small piece of the power wire to connect the two blocks together. After that it was simply a matter of inserting the wire in the hole I had drilled to hook it up to the front block.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82211powerblockssm-1.jpg

Now it was time to hook up the individual wires. It was pretty simple as the mounting area is open from top to bottom. I simply placed the wires in the holes and cut off whatever extended down. After snugging all the wires, I then ran my wire covers to clean this area up. The blocks also came with covers. They snap on and, to make sure they stay on, I tie wrapped them.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82211powerblocks2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82211powerblocks4sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82211powerblocks5sm-1.jpg

Other wires that were hooked up on the bottom included the speedometer sender wires, the water temp sender for my gauge, the alternator wire, and the fuel pump. I also ran the grounds to a common location on the lower right side of the block.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82211groundssm-1.jpg

All I have to hook up now are some wires on the inside for igniton 12V and the wiring to complete my speedometer hookup for the computer and my gauge. Not too much to go. With any luck, I should be able to fire it up tomorrow. Hope that goes well.

I also installed the passenger side coil cover.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82211engine2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82211engine3sm-1.jpg

[surnufz]

Hey Jerry, do you ever go to the cruise in on Thursdays in Rockwell? I live in Salisbury.
Bobby Jones

[jerhofer]

Hey Jerry, do you ever go to the cruise in on Thursdays in Rockwell? I live in Salisbury.
Bobby Jones

I am usually there most every Thursday, even since the car has been down. I normally ride there with my buddy Reese in his '38 Chevy. With any luck, I will drive the car there this Thursday!!!

[jerhofer]

Have to wait another day!!

The good news is I have fuel pressure and fuel. The bad news is that I have a serious fuel leak on one of the fuel rails. I had been warned on LS1Tech by a couple guys that every time they used the Professional Products fuel rails, they leaked. I should have listened to them.

The problem is that the threads are stripped on one of the fuel rails. The chromer had put the fittings in on this end of the fuel rail so he could chrome them in place. It might be his issue. One of the guys who mentioned the potential problem was Nate at Nasty Performance. I called him and he said that is the common problem with their fuel rails. They use thin material and either the threads strip or the fuel rail cracks. So, hard to tell if the chromer did anything wrong.

Nate makes his own and I ordered a set of polished ones. He uses an O-ring fitting at the fuel rails which seals better and does away with the tightening issues. They will be here tomorrow. He said he has been doing LS motors for 12 years. I am not sure how I missed finding him earlier on.

The good news is that the fuel pump was working. The fuel pressure for the EZ-EFI injection was 42lbs while I need 58lbs for the LS motor. We did run the fuel pump long enough for me to set the fuel pressure. The other good thing about the fuel pump working is that the computer has to tell it to work. So the computer is online doing something!!

I finished up the rest of the wiring earlier today. I also installed Dakota Digital's SGI-5 interface. My speedometer needs an 8K pulse which is what my sender puts out. However, the computer needs a 4K pulse. To get both a 8K and 4K signal, I had to wire this device. As you can see, a lot of wires went into this small piece. Since there are some adjustments that can be done with this device, I decided to run the wiring to my glove box so it would be handy.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82311SGI5sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82311SGI53sm-1.jpg

I also installed some heat shield material on some of the wiring that is directly above the exhaust.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82311heatshieldsm-1.jpg

While I am waiting for the new fuel rails to arrive, I will remove the old ones and be ready to install everything. I also have some other things that I can do to tidy up the installation. My son also mentioned that I might want to waterproof those terminal blocks somehow. He is coming over Thursday morning to charge the AC and I am sure he will have some suggestions once he looks everything over.

I am still hopeful I can make the car show this weekend at the speedway. The weather is not looking good though. We may have some rain as remnants of the hurricane. Have to play that by ear.

[jerhofer]

Nate's fuel rails came late yesterday. Got them on, turned on the ignition and no fuel leaks. Hurrah!!! I really like his fuel rails. Quality pieces and the mounting hardware is much better. I also like the O-ring fittings.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82511enginefuelrailssm-1.jpg

After making sure there were no fuel leaks, my friend Reese turned the key to start the car. Nothing!! Then stupidity reared it's ugly head. It seems your trusty writer did not hook up the wire to the solenoid!!! What a dufus. And, on top of that, I wasn't sure which wire was the correct one. I had run all of the wires back to my terminal block. By now it was 6:00PM and I was done for the day.

Today was a travel day for my son with the Red Bull NASCAR team so he had the day off until they left for Bristol at 4:00PM. By the way, this is the only time he has off all week! Not as glamourous job as you may think, but he enjoys it. Since he was about 12 years old, he could figure out things better than me so I was glad to have him there.

By the time he arrived, based on some photos I had taken of the engine bay after removing the engine, I had hooked up what I thought was the solenoid wire. So we lowered the car, hooked up the battery and had no power whatsoever. We were thinking we had blown a major fuse or whatever so we spent some time troubleshooting the problem. During this time, he was checking out the fuse block and I noticed he had knocked out my ignition wire connector. I put it back in. More about this later.

Finally, after checking voltage everywhere, I told him the only thing that had changed from yesterday was my cutting this one wire and hooking it up to the solenoid. Up in the air the car went, we temporarily connected the severed wire, hooked up the battery and we were back in business. We decided that this was a very important wire!!

This left only one other choice for the solenoid. I hooked up the tester to that wire, son Matt advanced the key to the start position and I had voltage showing on the gauge. We hooked it up to the upper large terminal on the solenoid, hooked up the battery, turned the key to start and could hear the starter motor running, but no cranking.

Fortunately, Matt had driven his 1979 El Camino with a LS1 we had installed nearly two years ago. The trusty flashlight revealed that the solenoid wire went to a small terminal in between the two larger terminal. Re-wired it, turned the key to start and it cranked but did not fire.

I called Jesse at Wait4Me Performance to get advice. He said the pink wire on the injectors should have 12V both with the ignition on and while cranking. We had 12V with ignition on, but no voltage upon cranking. I knew the computer was hooked up to the 12V ignition fuse block under the dash, so I told Matt that maybe that wire had been knocked off the connector again. Crawled under the dash to see it was plugged in. However, after getting a light so I could see better, I saw that I had plugged it into the ACC slot rather than the ignition slot. Moved the wire, cranked the motor and it immediately fired. Sighs of relief from yours truly.

We shut it off right away as I had wires precariously hanging from the harness under the car while searching for the correct solenoid wire. Made everything safe and sound and then fired it up again to check for leaks. None were found.

By this time it is nearly 1:00PM and we were both hungry. Matt has all the equipment necessary to charge the AC system, so we hooked up the vacuum pump and let it run while we were at lunch. Came back to find the that all was well on the vacuum side. Matt suggested we now drive the car to make sure everything was operating correctlly before we charged the AC system. We took a short drive and all seemed well. He drove the car out and I drove it back and got on it a bit. We both were impressed with the power.

Checked the vacuum and it had held which meant no leaks in the AC system. I had watched Matt charge the sytem previously, but this time I told him I wanted to do it and he could show me how. Which is what I did. It was nearly 3:00 when we finished and Matt had to leave to catch his ride to Bristol. Couldn't thank him enough. I am very lucky to have a great son!!!

I still had a nest of wires to hide in the lower right corner of the engine bay near the firewall and I needed to clean up some other areas. However, everything was too hot for me to do that now. I did notice one thing though. While we were trying to figure out the solenoid hookup, Matt was trying to see the lugs on the solenoid. To get a better view, he removed the rearmost plug wire on the passenger side. In the rush to get it running, we forgot to hook it up. So, when we thought it was running pretty strong, it was actually running on seven cylinders.

So, I washed the car, took a shower and drove it to our cruise-in at the local Sonic sans hood. The guys there knew I had been working on it for four months and gathered around to check it out. Had some very positive comments and I got to talk about the whole process many times over. Some people mentioned that they needed sunglasses because of the glare from the motor!! Great fun.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/825111977CamaroatSonicsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/825111977CamaroatSonic4sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/825111977CamaroatSonic3sm-1.jpg


Tomorrow, I will clean up the wiring, install a heat shield on the wiring in a couple places, and get it ready for the big car show at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday and Sunday. For some reason, neither my tach nor my speedometer are working so I will try to address them as well.

I am showing with the Camaro club in the infield grass. Earlier in the week, the weather looked iffy because of hurricane Irene, but it is now projected to be further out to the east and we aren't even supposed to get any rain. And we could use some.

Impressions:

Much smoother running that my old motor.

Can now hear the gear whine from the Richmond 6 speed where before the motor drowned it out.

Love the sound of the exhaust!!! Check out the video. My buddy Reese is behind the wheel while I filmed it.

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

Glad it is running!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ripped]

I enjoyed reading through your thread, and agree; the engine bay looks very good.

I have a question, though, what are you going to put in place of the hood, in your wife's bedroom, when you install it?

I wonder what she would say, if you suddenly placed a hood from another car, in there? :machine:

[jerhofer]

I enjoyed reading through your thread, and agree; the engine bay looks very good.

I have a question, though, what are you going to put in place of the hood, in your wife's bedroom, when you install it?

I wonder what she would say, if you suddenly placed a hood from another car, in there? :machine:

I've got some old rusty rotors that would probably do. That might piss her off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[John Wright]

Yeah!...she's running...now go enjoy it!

[PoundinPoncho]

Very nice! Just read the whole thread and your attention to detail and cleaniness is second to none. I have picked up a late second gen for an upcoming build. Thanks for motivation and ideas.

[surnufz]

Jerry, sorry I didn't make it to the cruise in to see your car. I'm actually in Morehead City "ridin the storm out!"

[Motown 454]

The car looks and sounds great. Congratulation's on getting it running. What is that fan from that your using ?
Thanks.

[jerhofer]

Jerry, sorry I didn't make it to the cruise in to see your car. I'm actually in Morehead City "ridin the storm out!"

Weather permitting, I will probably be there next week as well.

[jerhofer]

The car looks and sounds great. Congratulation's on getting it running. What is that fan from that your using ?
Thanks.

Thanks for the compliment. That fan was in the car when I bought it. I have no idea who made it and there are no markings on it.

Today was tidying up day. I had a nest of wires in the lower right side next to the firewall that had to be dealt with. After tie wrapping the wires into a bundle, I was then able to use the mesh wire covers. Also, as you can see in the second photo, the cover my body man made to cover my AC and heater hoses works very well.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82611wiringnestsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82611AClinescoversm-1.jpg

When my son and I were fooling around with the solenoid wire, we had initially hooked it up to one of the larger terminals. Once we discovered that it should go to the smaller terminal, I already had a fairly large connector on it. I was concerned that it might hit the other connections. So it disconnected everything, installed a small connector and then placed all the wires in covers. I also tied things away from the headers the best I could. There was still some wires that were uncomfortably close so I installed some heat shielding.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82611heatwrapsm-1.jpg

Normally during the Autofair at the speedway, my friend Reese and I usually go all four days as we cruise the vendors on Thursday and Friday and show our cars on Saturday and Sunday. Hot as it was today, Reese came back early and called to see if I was ready to put the hood on. I was and we soon had it in place.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82611LFhoodopensm-1.jpg

In my last post, I mentioned the Nate's fuel rails from Nasty Performance but I neglected to give you a good closeup. I was really impressed with the mounting system and the robustness of the rails.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82611fuelrailsm-1.jpg

I also had not taken a really good photo of the cold air intake.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82611coldairintakesm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82611enginefromlefthoodon3sm-1.jpg

I then spent the rest of the day cleaning up the car for tomorrow's show. For the last couple weeks, I felt like I was on one of those automotive reality shows with a deadline fast approaching. Well, I made it. Look me up at Autofair tomorrow or Sunday if you are there. Looks like it will be warm, but we will miss the really bad weather from the hurricane.

[jerhofer]

Drove it both Saturday and Sunday to the Autofair at the speedway. It ran great, the water temps and oil pressure were fine and no leaks. Very pleased so far. It seems to be fairly strong. This morning, as I entered the interstate, I got on it but not full throttle. I was running 83MPH by the GPS as I was merging onto the highway. I could easily have hit 100 or better.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82711autofair1977camarosm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82711autofairfallcardescriptionsm-1.jpg

There was lots of interest in the engine. I happened to have parked my car in the grass along the pit lane so it was easy to see the car. There were lots of questions about the install and some of the other things I have done to the car. It is amazing how many guys and gals had big bumper cars at some point in their lives. We forget that there were lots of these cars sold in the 70's.

One fellow came through with two of his sons. He has a '76 he bought new. In 1989, he had a motor issue and parked the car. Raising his family became the priority. However, the car has been garaged and covered and is still in good shape. His sons have been urging him to get it running. They asked tons of questions about the motor installation. When the subject got around to money, I told them they could save some money by going with a 5.3 truck motor. The father's and son's eyes widened. Seems they have a wrecked 2007 truck with a 5.3!! He said my car had inspired him to get to work on his car. He lives about 10 miles from me so I may get to see the results someday.

Our local Camaro club did trophies this morning and I won best engine!! I was very pleased and somewhat surprised as there was a 1969 Camaro with a very nice engine bay. He won best of show for our club so the whole car is very nice. I was very pleased to win after all the time spent the past four months. It was a good day!!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82811autofairfall1977Camarobestenginetro-1.jpg

Here's the other guy's engine and and a sweet engine I saw in a truck with an Inglese induction system.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82811autofairfall1969Camarobestofshowsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82711autofairfallinglesegoldinductionsm-1.jpg

My wife, the keeper of the hood, was with me today. Here she is on the banking!!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82811autofairfallsharononbankingsm-1.jpg

Lots of interesting cars there. Even though it is a Ford, the front end caught my attention.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/82811autofairfall1949fordeyeballsm-1.jpg

We had fun!!

[irregal83]

Awesome car. i love the engine! awesome work!

[jerhofer]

Awesome car. i love the engine! awesome work!

Thanks. Got my speedometer working but still trying to figure out why the tach won't work. Going to talk with the people who did my harness when I get back from vacation. We are checking out hurricane Irene damage on the Outer Banks. My wife brought along her painting supplies and plans to do some onsite coastal scenes. I brought plenty of car magazines, books and my computer to keep me busy while she paints.

[jerhofer]

Been busy chasing down some small glitches. Turns out the reason my tach did not work was that I hooked it up to the wrong white wire. I was told it had a 4 cylinder signal so I changed the DIP switches accordingly. Once I had it hooked up, it read 2000RPM at idle. Since the engine wasn't idling that fast, I changed the DIP switches back to 8 cylinder mode and the tach now reads correctly. Not sure what the issue is here but glad it works.

As for my speedometer, I was trying to wire in the speedo sender to the computer with the Dakota Digital device. Since that wasn't working, I decided to hook it up the same way I had it hooked up before the swap. It works perfectly and the car runs fine. I am going to call Wait4Me to see if there are any complications with not hooking up a speedo signal to the computer.

For the vacuum line to the brake booster, I had used a piece of hose from my collection that fit. However, I had reservations about it as the hose wasn't very stiff. After looking up the OE vacuum hose and seeing a photo, I was pretty sure I could make it work. I had to cut off about a inch and a half at the booster end. Unsurprisingly, it looks very factory.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/81111vacuumline2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/09/91711brakeboostervacuumlinesm-1.jpg

Today I drove it about forty miles to the south side of Charlotte not too far from the SC border. PJ O'Reilly's, an Irish pub, was having their first cruise-in. My wife was busy painting so I decided to check it out. They had a little over 20 cars, which isn't too bad for their first event. When you arrived, you got a wrist band which entitled you to a 20% discount on food and drink. The pub is located in a very nice area and was packed with football fans watching the many screens.

The car ran great. No problems at all. It sure is nice to have the speedo and tach working. It pulls strong and the exhaust sounds great.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/09/91811PJoreilly1977CamaroBlacksm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/09/91811PJoreilly2sm-1.jpg

[jerhofer]

Just a little update. I finally got around to wiring up my OBDII plug. My son brought his tuner and computer over so we could see what was happening with the motor. Everything looked fine on the readouts.

Some had questioned whether I would get an accurate water temp reading by mounting the temp sender in the block above the starter as opposed to in the head. We found that as the motor was warming up, the gauge in my car initially read about 30 degrees cooler than the head reading of the factory sender. However, as the engine warmed up, this difference diminished. Once the car was fully warmed up, there was only a couple degrees difference between my dash gauge reading the the factory sender reading. Close enough that it was within the sender error margin of either sender.

While at the local Sonic for our weekly cruise, I couldn't help noticing someone looking at my car for the longest time. I finally decided to check him out. As I approached, he asked if I was Jerry. Turns out he is Surnufz, aka Bobby Jones. He is in the process of moving back to Salisbury, NC from Morehead City, NC and had offered a helping hand via a private message when I finalizing putting the motor in the car. By the time I saw his message, I had completed the install.

He has three Camaros...68, 72 and 73. We talked for quite awhile and he even came over to the house for a brief look at my garage. I had my '99 S10 PU on the lift where I was replacing the failed water pump. Turns out he is very active in pro-touring events and is doing track events at VIR. It was a pleasure meeting him and I am sure we will be getting together again, especially once he has his cars here.

[jerhofer]

My Procar/Scat Rally seats are very comfortable but I did sit a little high in them. A few weeks ago, I came across a set of nearly new Corbeau sport seats on Craigslist. They place me an inch or so lower which makes all the difference. They have an optional suede finish which looks very rich. They will definitely hold me in place.


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/123011dashfromleftsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/123011corbeauseats4sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/123011dashfromrightsm-1.jpg

[sr73bu]

The seats look great!.... I've been thinking about selling my procars for a set of these, Did you use Corbeau mounting brackets or your procar ones from the previous seats?

-Sean

[jerhofer]

The seats look great!.... I've been thinking about selling my procars for a set of these, Did you use Corbeau mounting brackets or your procar ones from the previous seats?

-Sean

I used Corbeau mounting brackets.

Since I installed the LS1, I have mostly been driving it around town on short trips. When I have checked the mileage, I have been disappointed. It was down around 11MPG. I was thinking that something was wrong with the tune on my computer. Since today was a beautiful sunny day in the mid 60's here, I decided to take an interstate trip so I could check the mileage at speed. I filled it up at the beginning and the end of the trip at the same gas station. From Salisbury, I took I85 north to US52 to Winston Salem. There I got on I40 east to I73 back to I85 and back to Salisbury. 110 miles and I got nearly 34MPG!!! And that mileage was by my GPS. Pretty sure I filled it up the same both times. When full, the needle went past full a bit and barely got back to full by the time I completed the trip. I ran about 10 over for the entire trip so I was running between 75 and 80 most of the way. Evidently I do not have a problem with the tune.

By the way, the Corbeau seats were extremely comfortable on the little over 1 1/2 hour trip.

[jerhofer]

Well, I have done it. I put my car in EBay this evening. Time to see if it brings enough for me to part with it and move on to another project. If not, it's not all bad.

[surnufz]

Jerry, I'm shocked to say the least! Anyway, as much detail and craftsmanship as you put into that car, somebody is going to get a very nice classic they can be proud of. I can't wait to see what the next project is. Good luck!

Bobby

[mikes70]

Jerry, good luck with sale!!! I guess sometimes building them is just as fun as driving...I just checked EBAy and I hope you have a great reserve.....cause this car is worth it...

[jerhofer]

Sold!!!

[jerhofer]

The buyer picked up the car today. Didn't even drive it so he must have felt pretty confident about the car. Besides the quality of the car, the one thing that attracted him to the car was the LS1. Pretty hard for me to turn down $29K for a big bumper Camaro when I had the opportunity. On the other hand, he got a really great car. I am sure he will enjoy it.

Still on the prowl for another car. I am sure something will turn up.

[jerhofer]

1964 Corvette Coupe. 327/365HP, 4 spd, PS, PB, PW, Knock off wheels, numbers matching. I have had two '67 roadsters in my past and have always had a sweet spot in my heart for these cars. Since I am not really a convertible guy, I was only looking for a coupe. This car promises to be a very nice car but not a Bloomington gold type car. In other words, I can drive it.

Also, I graduated from high school in 1964. Perfect car to drive to the 50th class reunion.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/02/EBayPic-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/02/EBayPic9-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/02/EBayPic8-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/02/EBayPic4-1.jpg

Unfortunately, it is in Seattle, WA. If all goes according to plan, it should be picked up next week and I should see it the first part of March. I bought in on EBay from a guy who says he has owned 360 cars. Great guy and very knowledgeable.

It does not have air so that will be the first project. I looked at both Vintage and Classic air and like the Classic setup better. Either one of them do not require major surgery to install so the car could easily go back to stock. I will be saving any pieces I take off the car and storing them in a dry place.

My son has already discovered a fuel injection system that looks like the system available as an option in '64.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/02/fuelinjection-1.jpg

[rocketrod]

Congrats on the sale of your previous ride and and purchase of the vette!!!! I look forward to seeing what your plans are for the new ride.

[Ron.in.SoCal]

C'mon Jerr...put an LS in it! :D

[jerhofer]

C'mon Jerr...put an LS in it! :D

It promises to be a very nice car so I probably wouldn't do that until I had a problem with the motor.

Besides, based on what I have been hearing, these old 327's were really sweet motors. The fuel injected motor was only rated at 10HP more than this 365HP and internally it appears they were very similar. Have to keep in mind these HP ratings are under the old system. By today's ratings, it would probably be 275HP, which still is not bad for a 327

One of the old road tests that has been reproduced in a Corvette book I have shows one magazine had 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. That's pretty damn quick, especially for the early 60's!!! It weighs at least 800lbs less than the Camaro which helps a lot.

[FirebirdSteve]

Sweet!!! The second gen. Corvette is one of my all time favorites. Looks like you got a good one too. Good luck on the project. Time to update the sig.....:dunno:

[jerhofer]

The past two months or so have been really busy on the car front. Besides buying the Corvette, I also purchased a 1995 Porsche 968 with a '94 Corvette LT1 motor. I actually got the 968 before the Corvette and have been working on it steadily ever since. I did not pay much for it, fortunately. There have been a myriad of issues with the car. On the way home, when you hit 4000RPM, it was like hitting a rev limiter. Below that it ran fine. Also, there were three time when a severe vibration shook the entire car. The only way to stop it was to come to a complete stop and take of slowly. Once I learned that, I drove like I had an egg on the gas pedal.

The first thing I did was pull the plugs. All of the left side were extremely fouled and we suspected a defective O2 sensor. And we were right. Put in the new sensor and plugs and it ran right up to redline like it should. Very strong but this revealed the next issue...a slipping clutch. Turns out it was a worn out throw out bearing which was not allowing the clutch to fully engage. As many of you may or may not know, the 968 has the tranny in the rear connected by a torque tube containing the solid, one piece driveshaft. First the tranny had to come out so you can pull the torque tube back far enough to get to the bellhousing and clutch.

The week prior to picking up the 968, there was a local Porsche club swap meet which I attended. I was talking to one of the sellers about getting the 968 with the LT1. He then told me he had exactly what I needed. He had a brand new clutch, pressure plate, and a 12lb aluminum flywheel for a LT1 conversion in a 944/968. Plus he had an ECU and a complete wiring harness. I bought it all for $100 and told the guy I now would never have a clutch issue since I had these parts. WRONG!! But I was sure glad I bought them.

As we were pulling back the torque tube, we noticed the drive shaft was flopping around inside the tube. It is not supposed to flop around as it rides in four bearings. Those bearings were loose on the driveshaft and had separated from the carriers. Now I needed a torque tube with driveshaft!! I called the guy I got the clutch from who put me in touch with a guy in Columbia, SC who dismantles 924/944/968's. He had a 60K mile torqe tube that I bought for $150. It was in excellent condition, we put everything back together and the car is very, very fast. Those stock LT1's had 300HP but this one feels stronger than that.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/31012transmission2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/31012torquetubesm-1.jpg

The shifter also needed attention but after installing new bushings and washers, it was like new. The sunroof would not stay down on one corner and would pop up about an inch when you were at speed. We had stopped at a friend's house on the way back and I got a piece of wire from him and wired it to the seat belt mount below. Installed new gears and one other broken part and it now works like it should.

Another issue on these cars as they get older is that the glass on the rear hatch separates from the frame. The guy who sold me the torque tube knew a guy in Easley, SC who fixed these. He quoted me $150 over the phone with me taking the hatch to him. Surprise, surprise, he found there was more wrong than he had bargained for. However, he went way beyond the call and absolutely made the hatch look like new. Knowing he had spent more time than he had planned for, I asked him how much I owed him and he said he would live with the $150 estimate. I gave him an extra $30 buck because it was such a good job. Because of his detail work, I am going to take my Corvette to him to have him install a new windshield.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/22112hatchsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/5112hatch2sm-1.jpg

Next up was the interior. The dashes crack in these car and this one was one of the worst I have ever seen. On top of that, the previous owner had painted with what appeared to be textured bedliner paint. And he installed the 968 numbers on the passenger airbag...crooked.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/22112airbagsm-1.jpg

The power mirrors did not work, the passenger window would go down but not up. And, evidently because the lights were burned out in the instrument panel, he cut away the lens, installed a string of LED lights, cut a piece of plexiglas and used his favorite mounting agent...silicone. I call him the silicone man as anything that was remotely loose was dabbed with silicone including carpet seams. He also installed early 944 door panels and painted the door handles and the speaker grills red. Very attractive.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/22112doorpanelleftsm-1.jpg

This was one of his typical wiring connections. Some people should not be allowed to work on cars.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/41512typicalwiringskillsm-1.jpg

I found a used dash on EBay, ripped everything out and made it habitable. The torque tube guy had a used instrument panel. We drove home with no water temp or fuel gauge. As I was removing the instrument panel, I discovered that one of the three plugs was not attached, which just happened to be those two gauges. Plugged them in, started the motor and they worked.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/41512dashout2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/5112dashfromrightsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/5112doorpanelleftsm-1.jpg

I discovered a wired had broken off on the power mirror switch plug. A little solder and it was good to go. The passenger window switch was bad but EBay found me a used one for cheap. And on, and on and on. The more I dug into it, the more I found. There was a squeal from the front of the motor. My son thought it was the AC compressor. I installed a shorter serpentine belt to bypass the compressor and the squeal was gone. The pulley was not aligned correctly which burned out the clutch. I have a rebuilt compressor but have not had time to fix that yet. However, it is next on the list as summer has arrived here.

The good part is the car is simply a blast to drive. I ran a normally aspirated 944 as a track car for five years back in the early 90's and had forgotten how great these cars handle. And with the LT1 torque, it is a whole new ballgame. Wish I would have had this motor in my 944 track car.

Next time I will tell you about the Corvette.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRX9Q-f1Z-U

[jerhofer]

By the way, this is what the car looks like. It has some paint issues but would be perfect for a track car.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/22212968rf342sm1-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/22212968rr34sm1-1.jpg

[Ron.in.SoCal]

Thx for posting Jerry. I love these cars....even better as swap cadidates!

[jerhofer]

A drunk backed into the Corvette at a cruise-in which has prompted a full body off restoration on the '64 Corvette coupe. I have a thread on Corvette Forum.com if anyone is interested. It should be interesting.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-and-c2-corvettes/3077598-will-be-doing-a-body-off-on-my-64-coupe.html

[jerhofer]

I broke my wrist a couple months ago so the restoration has slowed on the Corvette. I did get the freshly rebuilt motor and the new TKO500 installed last weekend so there is progress.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-and-c2-corvettes/3077598-will-be-doing-a-body-off-on-my-64-coupe-3.html

[jerhofer]

I am nearly at the end of the restoration on the Corvette. If you are interested, the thread is at: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-and-c2-corvettes/3077598-will-be-doing-a-body-off-on-my-64-coupe.html

Here are some photos from a couple days ago.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/03/32213exteriorrr342sm_zps8974b6da-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/03/32213exteriorrightside2sm_zps771b57d7-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/03/32213engine7sm_zpsb72531f4-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/03/32013interiorfromrightsm_zps37d64796-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/03/31413exhaustsm_zps0e60c421-1.jpg

[77taguy]

Nice Paint job can you tell me the color and the process.

thanks

[jerhofer]

Nice Paint job can you tell me the color and the process.

thanks

Thanks. It is a PPG paint using a base with clearcoat. The color is the original 1964 Silver Blue.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/03/102412paint2sm1_zps247fead5-1.jpg

[Zspoiler]

That is a really clean ride.Have lots of fun with it.

[jerhofer]

The guy I sold the Camaro to has placed it on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331098939800?_trksid=p2055120.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[BMR Sales]

The past two months or so have been really busy on the car front. Besides buying the Corvette, I also purchased a 1995 Porsche 968 with a '94 Corvette LT1 motor. I actually got the 968 before the Corvette and have been working on it steadily ever since. I did not pay much for it, fortunately. There have been a myriad of issues with the car. On the way home, when you hit 4000RPM, it was like hitting a rev limiter. Below that it ran fine. Also, there were three time when a severe vibration shook the entire car. The only way to stop it was to come to a complete stop and take of slowly. Once I learned that, I drove like I had an egg on the gas pedal.

The first thing I did was pull the plugs. All of the left side were extremely fouled and we suspected a defective O2 sensor. And we were right. Put in the new sensor and plugs and it ran right up to redline like it should. Very strong but this revealed the next issue...a slipping clutch. Turns out it was a worn out throw out bearing which was not allowing the clutch to fully engage. As many of you may or may not know, the 968 has the tranny in the rear connected by a torque tube containing the solid, one piece driveshaft. First the tranny had to come out so you can pull the torque tube back far enough to get to the bellhousing and clutch.

The week prior to picking up the 968, there was a local Porsche club swap meet which I attended. I was talking to one of the sellers about getting the 968 with the LT1. He then told me he had exactly what I needed. He had a brand new clutch, pressure plate, and a 12lb aluminum flywheel for a LT1 conversion in a 944/968. Plus he had an ECU and a complete wiring harness. I bought it all for $100 and told the guy I now would never have a clutch issue since I had these parts. WRONG!! But I was sure glad I bought them.

As we were pulling back the torque tube, we noticed the drive shaft was flopping around inside the tube. It is not supposed to flop around as it rides in four bearings. Those bearings were loose on the driveshaft and had separated from the carriers. Now I needed a torque tube with driveshaft!! I called the guy I got the clutch from who put me in touch with a guy in Columbia, SC who dismantles 924/944/968's. He had a 60K mile torqe tube that I bought for $150. It was in excellent condition, we put everything back together and the car is very, very fast. Those stock LT1's had 300HP but this one feels stronger than that.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/31012transmission2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/31012torquetubesm-1.jpg

The shifter also needed attention but after installing new bushings and washers, it was like new. The sunroof would not stay down on one corner and would pop up about an inch when you were at speed. We had stopped at a friend's house on the way back and I got a piece of wire from him and wired it to the seat belt mount below. Installed new gears and one other broken part and it now works like it should.

Another issue on these cars as they get older is that the glass on the rear hatch separates from the frame. The guy who sold me the torque tube knew a guy in Easley, SC who fixed these. He quoted me $150 over the phone with me taking the hatch to him. Surprise, surprise, he found there was more wrong than he had bargained for. However, he went way beyond the call and absolutely made the hatch look like new. Knowing he had spent more time than he had planned for, I asked him how much I owed him and he said he would live with the $150 estimate. I gave him an extra $30 buck because it was such a good job. Because of his detail work, I am going to take my Corvette to him to have him install a new windshield.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/22112hatchsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/5112hatch2sm-1.jpg

Next up was the interior. The dashes crack in these car and this one was one of the worst I have ever seen. On top of that, the previous owner had painted with what appeared to be textured bedliner paint. And he installed the 968 numbers on the passenger airbag...crooked.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/22112airbagsm-1.jpg

The power mirrors did not work, the passenger window would go down but not up. And, evidently because the lights were burned out in the instrument panel, he cut away the lens, installed a string of LED lights, cut a piece of plexiglas and used his favorite mounting agent...silicone. I call him the silicone man as anything that was remotely loose was dabbed with silicone including carpet seams. He also installed early 944 door panels and painted the door handles and the speaker grills red. Very attractive.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/22112doorpanelleftsm-1.jpg

This was one of his typical wiring connections. Some people should not be allowed to work on cars.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/41512typicalwiringskillsm-1.jpg

I found a used dash on EBay, ripped everything out and made it habitable. The torque tube guy had a used instrument panel. We drove home with no water temp or fuel gauge. As I was removing the instrument panel, I discovered that one of the three plugs was not attached, which just happened to be those two gauges. Plugged them in, started the motor and they worked.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/41512dashout2sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/5112dashfromrightsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/5112doorpanelleftsm-1.jpg

I discovered a wired had broken off on the power mirror switch plug. A little solder and it was good to go. The passenger window switch was bad but EBay found me a used one for cheap. And on, and on and on. The more I dug into it, the more I found. There was a squeal from the front of the motor. My son thought it was the AC compressor. I installed a shorter serpentine belt to bypass the compressor and the squeal was gone. The pulley was not aligned correctly which burned out the clutch. I have a rebuilt compressor but have not had time to fix that yet. However, it is next on the list as summer has arrived here.

The good part is the car is simply a blast to drive. I ran a normally aspirated 944 as a track car for five years back in the early 90's and had forgotten how great these cars handle. And with the LT1 torque, it is a whole new ballgame. Wish I would have had this motor in my 944 track car.

Next time I will tell you about the Corvette.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRX9Q-f1Z-U

The 944/968 Platform is perfect for a LS Conversion - the Original Porsche motor was over-designed with Counter Rotating Balance Shafts to cure the Vibration, but they need to have a New Timing Belt every 30,000 Miles & then re-tensioned. A lot of people skip it and end up with Toasted Valves. The Clutch is also extremely expensive. The LS certainly cures the cars ills and adds Power.

I'll do one these someday!

T.C.

[jerhofer]

The 944/968 Platform is perfect for a LS Conversion - the Original Porsche motor was over-designed with Counter Rotating Balance Shafts to cure the Vibration, but they need to have a New Timing Belt every 30,000 Miles & then re-tensioned. A lot of people skip it and end up with Toasted Valves. The Clutch is also extremely expensive. The LS certainly cures the cars ills and adds Power.

I'll do one these someday!

T.C.

You can save some time with this car: http://greenville.craigslist.org/cto/4268558328.html