1969 Firebird LSx

[pjku79]

Well...I have been asking a lot of questions on here at LS1tech, so I figured it was my duty to start a build thread. I bought this car from GA and shipped it to TX. When I purchased it, it already had a LSx motor in it, but the previous owner paid a shop to put it in and they did a half ass job. When I bought the car I already knew something was wrong with the engine, so i had planned on replacing it. The prev owner told me it was smoking but he was not a car guy so had no clue what to do. When the truck drive picked it up for me it started then seized up and wouldn't turn over. This is how it arrived to me.

5.3L Gen III, TH400, no a/c or heat, crumbling weatherstripping, stock gauge cluster (I was told worked)

MY GOALS: I live in TX, so I am planning on using this car as a daily driver on non-rainy days. I want to tone down the cam, get an overdrive transmission, and clean it up a bit. I am not looking for a show piece, but something I can have a blast driving. I may take it to the occasional auto-x as well.

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[pjku79]

After receiving the car I started taking the engine apart. The prev owner didn't even know what engine it was. It is a 5.3L gen III engine. There were several things wrong with the car when it arrived a side from the major one (broken engine).

Lets start with the engine. I found the problem pretty quickly. The #3 cylinder had a broken valve spring. From there the valve dropped in and was bent. My guess is this is was initially caused the smoking. Then after running it for a while the tulip broke off. When i got the engine the tulip was turned sideways between the head and the piston causing the engine to not be able to turn over. I was pretty happy with this result. Since it stopped early, the cylinder walls didn't get damaged. I found a piston, rod, and head from a guy at work.

The other problems were more annoying than anything. First, they didn't by headers that were made for a gen 1 fbody, so they got them to fit using every caveman's favorite tool, a big hammer. There were dents so large, I am not sure how air would flow through them. I also found to finger nail sized holes. To top it off, since the header was hitting the subframe and vibrating they decided to just tack weld it...lol. They also hard mounted the engine to the sub frame. Can you say vibration?

From this point I started shelling out cash. I bought DSE mounts, dynatech headers, autometer gauges, vintage air, weather stripping, just to name a few.

[pjku79]

The cam that came with it was much larger than what I was looking for, so I started my search for the right cam. I was looking for something around a comp 212/218. At that point the cam was the only thing holding me up from getting the engine back into the car. I bought a used 212/218 cam right before xmas from a guy in MI. Six days later the package arrived. I picked it up from my porch and knew something was wrong. It felt like and empty box. Then I realized there was a hole in the side. I called the shipper and they said they would file a claim. I wasn't sure if FedEx would replace it or refund, so I had to wait for their decision. After 4 weeks, FedEx finally refunded my money. So, my search continued. Another week later I found a TSP220R. I received the cam 2 weeks ago and installed it. The engine is back together now. I figured while I had it out of the car i might as well get rid of that ugly yellow paint. I painted it black last weekend.

So to wrap things up, I have a stock bottom end 5.3 Gen III engine with stock heads, PAC1218 valve springs, and a TSP220R cam. I recently bought a TCS 2600 converter for a 4L60. I just need to find a 4L60e now.

Unfortunately pretty much every weekend this month I am already busy, so now I just need to find time to work on it again.

[pjku79]

Can anyone tell me how hard it is to install a transmission separately from the engine? I hope to get the engine in so i can start with wiring and get the trans when i find a decent deal.

I purchased a wiring harness (99-02 LS1 Stand Alone Cable Engine Wiring Harness Camaro LS6 5.3 6.0 With 4L60E) from my-efi off of ebay because the harness that came with it didn't have the transmission connections. I figure I can use that harness for my Wrangler when that engine finally gives up. I am concerned I will have to extend some of the wires though because the factory harness is made to have the ECM on the driver side front and I want to put it inside. So, I need to get it on the engine to see how I can make it work.

Anyone have any experience with this?

[bonecrrusher]

Please paint the engine some other color other then yellow...

[Z06vet]

I remember this car on ebay. Glad to see you are going to make it right. I was seriously considering it, but we decided to keep our 68 firebird conv & finish it. Have an LS1/4l60 going in it as we speak. That should be a great setup for a daily driver. I have never heard of the ebay harness you spoke of. I had Travis (daytonayellaz on here) modify 3 stock harness for me just recently. Very nice work & fair pricing. You can email me for more info. He can work with the partial harness you got with the car, and also add length so you can put it inside. Keep up the pics! I have never done a build thread, but may do one on my 68. I took a bunch of pics so far. Scott

[pjku79]

Please paint the engine some other color other then yellow...

I concur. I painted the engine black a week ago. I will take some pictures ones I get the heads and intake back on. I had a rough weekend of drinking at my friend bachelor party this weekend, so I need a few days to recover.

[LeighP]

Thanks goodness....I looked at the yellow and thought "what were they thinking?" lol.

[pjku79]

Yea, I went back and forth a few times. I initially thought yellow was horrible, but when the car got here I changed my mind. It looked better in person. Still, some day I will likely sell this car to start another project so black was the way to go.

[BulldawgMusclecars]

Just curious, do you know what shop did the installation? I have seen some really bad swaps, but that takes the cake.

[pjku79]

Just curious, do you know what shop did the installation? I have seen some really bad swaps, but that takes the cake.

Yea I was quite impressed with their work...lol. No unfortunately the prev owner did not disclose it. He did say that he sued and won, so he was actually making money by selling the car cheap.

Oh well, at least it had new floors in it.

[BulldawgMusclecars]

Can anyone tell me how hard it is to install a transmission separately from the engine? I hope to get the engine in so i can start with wiring and get the trans when i find a decent deal.

I purchased a wiring harness (99-02 LS1 Stand Alone Cable Engine Wiring Harness Camaro LS6 5.3 6.0 With 4L60E) from my-efi off of ebay because the harness that came with it didn't have the transmission connections. I figure I can use that harness for my Wrangler when that engine finally gives up. I am concerned I will have to extend some of the wires though because the factory harness is made to have the ECM on the driver side front and I want to put it inside. So, I need to get it on the engine to see how I can make it work.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Depending on how the engine is mounted (distance from the firewall, height, etc) transmission installation can be a breeze, or a nightmare. I'd mock it up with the TH400 just to be safe, or if you're going with a 4L60/65/70E later, just get a core TH700R4 from a salvage yard or off Craigslist.

[pjku79]

I will be going with a 4l60e. I think I am going to pick one up pretty soon. I will probably put the engine in place and see how hard it will be. :fingersx:

Anyways now that I have had my 3 day recovery from the weekend mess of drinking, hopefully I will be motivated to work on the car tonight.

[reedld]

Nice project....glad to see someone rescued that poor bird. Please post up more pics as you go. I'd love to get a first gen someday.

Leon

[pjku79]

OK, I got back into the grove today although I didn't have a lot of time. I started putting the engine back together. Here are some updated pictures. I had planned on putting the intake and fuel rails in place today, but noticed a cut in one of the injector o-rings, so delayed to tomorrow. Here is where it sits right now as well as my favorite bedroom in the house (my wifes least fav)

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[pjku79]

Can anyone tell me what oil pan I have? I think it is a H3 oil. I was just dry fitting the harness I have to see what mods I will need to make and didn't find an oil level sensor to plug the connector in. Do the trucks not come with an oil level sensor?

[L92Firebird]

Nice project. Does anyone recognize the dash insert?

[pjku79]

Nice project. Does anyone recognize the dash insert?

The dash is covan's I bought it from Matt's bow tie.

[baddrides]

all ways liked the Fire chicken's,.......I'm running LS3 drive by cable set up with 200 4R overdrive transmission in a 65 nova,..... Solid set up for under 500 horse, no extra wiring needsd.

[pjku79]

Sorry it has been a few weeks since I have updated. I got the engine dry fitted it to the car over the weekend to make sure I could rewire the harness the way I wanted and also to see if i could move the engine 1" further forward without hitting the oil pan (new DSE mounts will move it). Below are pics of my mock up.

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From there I pulled the engine back out and cut off the hard mount engine mounts. I was hoping the holes for the factory mounts would still be there for the DSE mounts, but the previous owner drilled them out for some stupid reason. So, it look like I will either have to tap with larger bolts or just weld the frame side mounts in.

I also spent the weekend reconfiguring the harness so I can relocated it in the passenger compartment under the console.

[seancarole]

Sweet love the birds. maybe some day I'll start a thread on my 68 for me it's one step forward and then 20 steps back.

[Z06vet]

The holes in the subframe for the frame stands are not threaded. There is a nut & bolt that goes thru the frame to mount them. Kind of pain to get a socket in from the bottom to hold the nut on 2 out of the 3, but its not that bad with motor out. I used some grade 8 hardware on mine. Scott

[rohrt]

I don't know what would be worse, starting from scratch or fixing someone elses mess. Looks like you know what your doing and making it right.

It must be an iron block 5.3? I'm curious as to how well it runs after you get it running.

[bimmen325]

The car looks great, hopefully you get everything sorted, for the harness you really need to call Travis (daytonayellaz), not only will he get you the right parts but he is very willing to talk things out and explain pro's and con's of certain items. My cars a 68 and it is currently at his shop (so I my be just a bit bias).

[STROKED]

Seeing this makes me feel like starting a project thread for my 69 Bird. Your bird looks much further along than mine def, keep those pic's coming.

[ehummelman]

Sweet, another 69 Bird. Damn, I hate the temptation to go with an LS! Will be watching your build for sure.

[pjku79]

Thanks for all the sympathy guys. I have spent the last few days trying to get the right size drill tap so I can tap the holes for the engine mounts. I think I finally got it sorted and should do it tonight. Too bad I am going out of town for the next week weeks on Sunday.

As for the harness, I finished it up and think it should be in good shape. [knock on wood] I still need to barrow a hole saw to drill out the firewall for the harness. I think I am going to use the location where the stock speed cable came through. The controller should sit nicely under my center console. I will take more pictures as I progress.

[pjku79]

Finally after 3 different size taps I found the right one. Now I just need to drill out the holes on the mounts and I will be able to get them on. Well...after I repaint. I will take some pictures tonight.

[pjku79]

Alright just got back from EU. I was busy with work for that last two weeks. I hope to get the engine harness and new mounts installed this weekend. Time could be an issue though because I am going to take my son to an easter thing at work all day saturday.

[pjku79]

Got some good work done this weekend. Got the harness fed through the firewall and got the mounts in and ready to go.

Question for you guys out there. My car originally came with a turbo 400 and the driveshaft had a slip yoke built into it. When I swap to the 4l60e, the slip yoke will be part of the trans. What is the best way to address this? Should I buy the yoke for the 4L60 somewhere and buy a new driveshaft or go a different route? Trying to save $$$.

[Z06vet]

When you say built-in yoke- is it a custom universal joint shaft? If not the yoke can be removed from the shaft. If the 4L60 comes with the yoke, just use it along with your current driveshaft. Bring the driveshaft shop the 4L60 yoke and your current shaft. Ask them where they would like you to take measurements from. They can shorten the shaft, remove the 400 yoke, install the 4L60 yoke, and balance everything. You can sell the T400 and the T400 yoke to re-coupe the money. It cost me $120 to do just what I described above. The old T400 trans + the yoke should be worth quite a bit more than that if its still good. Got a pic of the driveshaft? Scott

[IrvJr]

Nice work. Good job resurrecting the ol Bird.

[pjku79]

OK, its been about six months, but i am finally getting back into the swing of things. I bought a trans, actually two. The first one turned out to be too early of a 4L60e, that was an expensive mistake. Now I have the trans bolted to the engine with my TCS 2600 mashed in between. I also bought a camaro shifter. I did notice the shifter cable does not fit the ball on the transmission lever. I am trying to find a camaro lever for cheap. Hoping to finally find sometime next week or weekend to drop the engine in and make a little room in my garage.

As always, thanks for all of the support.