Dave's 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS

[SSninja]

Most of the other G-body Monte guys have already seen this car on MonteCarloSS.com, but I wanted to share it with you fellow pro-touring nuts as well :)


My upcoming project is going to be a complete suspension overhaul as I'm determined to make this car handle better than my beater (Subaru WRX).




Semi-current pictures (As of summer 2011):




Exterior


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




Interior


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

(Old steering wheel)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif



Engine bay


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



Some history on the car






I bought the Monte back in 2003, a year after I graduated High School. My '94 F150 was in a bodyshop being fixed (Long story involving an icy parking lot and my friend hitting my car while doing donuts ) when I spotted my future moneypit sitting in one of the bays.


Even knowing absolutely nothing about Montes (Or cars for that matter) at that point, I still knew that it looked mean as hell sitting under that lift and that I wanted it...bad. Turns out that it was the shop "beater" and was for sale. In hindsight, this should have been something to think long and hard about before I pulled the trigger, but I was 19 and way too smart to worry about such things...A month or so later, I sold my truck and used that money towards buying the Monte.


It was slow, burned oil, had terrible exhaust work (True duals with one of the exhaust pipes routed below the crossmember...ground clearance of maybe 4"), a dirty grey split-bench interior, the works.


I loved it, my parents hated it.




I performed my first oil change on this car (After having to ask the guy at the parts store where to add oil), and from there dove in headfirst and by this point have completed 3 engine swaps, converted from a carb to fuel injection (And changed to three different FI intake setups), created a custom interior, rebuilt the suspension, swapped in a new tranny/rear, etc. Pretty much the only thing I haven't touched is the body of the car itself, although a new paint job is in the works.




More details on the various projects through the years in the next few posts.

[SSninja]

2004/2005/2006 OR "Two engine swaps and dreams of fuel injection"


2004

Only a year after I purchased my car, I decided that it wasn't fast enough, and seeing that I was now fully competent doing oil changes (I only spilled a little bit of oil now!) and brake jobs, it was now time to do an engine swap. Yup. Really.


I picked up a late 60's 350 that was supposedly rebuilt and already broken in from a friend of a friend for a few hundred bucks. Completely in over my head but with a few good friends who actually knew about cars, I swapped in the "new to me" engine for the 305 that was in the car (A "305" that turned out to be a tired 350 with a really nice set of heads on it, which I only found out after I gave it away for free...but I digress).

I also had a set of Hooker Competition full-length headers, the Pypes exhaust kit, and the "Iceman" heavy-duty crossmember (The one that is a copy of the G-force crossmember) installed.

After we finally got the engine running, it burned oil...bad. Still, it pulled like a freight train compared to the old motor and I really didn't drive the car too far anyways since I was living at school in Boston, so it would do for the next year.


Here's a picture of that motor. Not pretty, but it was good enough to do burn outs:

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



Didn't do too much else to the car in 2004 besides drive it...and replace oil that had smoked out the tailpipes.



2005

Finally got sick of replacing oil all the time and the tranny started to have issues, so I had my friend and his dad help me install a GMPP 350 "HO" crate motor and the 2004R which I had rebuilt locally.

Here's the engine in all its carbureted glory:

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

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Definitely an improvement over the old motor!



I picked up a low-mileage (About 60,000 miles) all-original grey on grey '88 SS as a daily driver that year as well. Absolutely awesome car, but it had some serious rust issues on the driver's door and rear quarters from spending its life in upstate New York.

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


I also picked up two parts cars off ebay, one I ended up selling whole and the other I stripped for parts.

Here's all four at my garage (The '87 is parked in the garage):


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


Yup, I'm a Monte addict.

Only picture I could find of the exterior of the car from 2005:

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




2006


I ended up having to sell my grey '88 in 2006 because I couldn't afford the gas driving 60+ miles a day for my internship, so I sold it on Ebay to a guy in Florida who claimed he was going to restore it. Roughly a year later, I get a letter from the state of Florida claiming that "my" car had been in impound for over 6 months, and they were going to crush it if I didn't come to collect it and pay the storage fees...

Turns out that the guy who bought the car never registered it and somehow got it impounded. I contemplated getting it back, but it would have cost me $2000 in fees alone, let alone getting it home, so I had to let it go.

Yup, I miss that car.


Anyways, since I started to learn more about cars and was a computer science major in college, I decided that converting the car to fuel injection would be a cool project for the Monte.

After doing a ton of research, I decided that TPI would be the way to go, as TBI would still be a nice upgrade, but was still a "wet" manifold design, and didn't have the "wow" factor of TPI.


I bought a partial TPI setup online and mated it to a Vortec base as my crate motor has Vortec heads. The base is $400+, which really set me back for awhile as I was still working on a college budget, but it was a necessary cost.


The TPI intake was originally grey with a rough cast finish, but after literally weeks in sanding and polishing by hand (Spent a couple of hours each night until my hands ached) and a can of black high-temp spray paint, I finally had the color scheme that I've kept ever since.


Here's one of the runners originally:

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

After sanding (Still needed to buff):

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


The final product:

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

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While piecing together the TPI setup, I also bought a set of 15" Firebird wheels that looked like GTAs for a fraction of the price, so I installed those.

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


I also purchased a new crack-free dash and painted it SEM Warm Grey, along with the rest of the interior plastics. I replaced the split bench with bucket seats and painted the seat backs black, along with a black carpet:

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


After the driving season was over, I pulled the carb and intake off, and started diving into the TPI project...which I wouldn't finish until 2008...

Stay tuned...

[SSninja]

2008 "Things are finally starting to come together"



2008 was a big year for the car. The end of 2006 through 2007, I collected a ton of parts for the TPI swap, as well as bugged everyone that had converted to TPI on a Monte forum with a million and one questions about everything from vacuum lines to "Where can I find xx part?".

While this was going on, I found a killer deal on an open 8.5" rear from a friend, and had it rebuilt with all new internals (Eaton posi, new gears, Moser axles, etc).

I swapped that in along with the UMI control arms (Which had to be modified to fit. Turns out that I bought the first iteration of the upper arms which didn't work with an 8.5"), Bilstein shocks at all four corners, and new OEM rear springs.

The new rear:

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

Old versus new shocks:

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It's in!

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Ended up getting the majority of the work to the car done during this time as well, including:

- Tranny cooler
- Stainless brake lines
- Megashifter
- B-body brake swap
- Replaced my Firebird wheels with GTAs
- Front end rebuild
- Ramcharger electric fans



All of this work, and I still had to finish up the TPI swap. I had the car running in late 2007/early 2008, but I couldn't get the car to idle properly and never actually drove it.

Around this time, a new member joined the aformentioned Monte forum (My buddy Ron):

He posted up pictures of a beautiful TPI swap that a shop had just finished up for him, and I ended up chatting with him about my issues. He recommended that I have the car brought to the shop that worked on his car, as the owner was a specialist in swapping TPI motors in Monte Carlos.

I had my car towed to the shop, where it was diagnosed that I had some serious issues with my Ebay-special TPI harness, and I had the shop install a new Howell harness for me, as well as giving my car a once over since I was planning on driving my car to a show in PA after doing a ton of shade-tree mechanical work on it.


A short while later my car came back running better than ever (Gotta love TPI low-end torque!) and ready to go:


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I had the car dyno'd late that year and found out that (untuned) while it was a blast to drive around, it wasn't making power past ~4200 RPMs due to the long tube runner design (One of the drawbacks of TPI).

Wanting more power, I tore into the motor that winter with the intent of replacing the TPI with a FIRST injection system.

[SSninja]

.....

[SSninja]

2009 "Car's down again for the count"


Due to this dyno plot:

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

I was on the hunt for more power and at a higher RPM; My crate motor was rated at peak power at a little over 5000 RPMs, so I knew that I was leaving some on the table with an intake that flat-lined a little over 4000 RPMs.

I initially was planning on going with a Holley Stealth Ram (HSR) as it would pretty much be a bolt-on replacement for the stock TPI, but fate has a funny sense of humor sometimes...

Back when I first started researching TPI, I stumbled across FIRST fuel injection, who manufactured a pretty awesome-looking long tube runner intake. They had a sale on their intake which made them very competitive with the pricing of the Stealth Ram; That, combined with what I felt was a more visually appealing intake design lead me to purchase this over the winter:

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


I then had it powdercoated to match the TPI intake that I sold to finance this purchase:

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


The engine bay:

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


The rest of the saga can be read here:

http://www.montecarloss.com/community/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=70728&Number=652411#Post652411

To make a long story short, I ended up having a TON of issues with that intake and sold it to another member of that Monte forum in order to purchase a Stealth Ram after a year of trying to get it to work.

I'm a little bummed out that I couldn't get it to work for me, but such is life.



I didn't get to drive the car at all that year, and contemplated selling it before deciding to give the Stealth Ram a try.

While it was sleeping in the garage that Fall/Winter, I began to have an idea for the interior...

[SSninja]

2010 "Big changes for the interior and back on the road"


The winter of 2010, I took on a pretty intense overhaul of the interior in the hopes of reducing some of the NVH (Various t-top rattles, exhaust noise, etc) and making it look a little more modern.

I did a good amount of research into sound deadening, and ended up doing the entire passenger compartment, along with the trunk.

In addition, I swapped in a dash from a Grand Prix and some new aftermarket gauges, along with new seats and door panels, and dyed all of the interior plastics black.

Here's the thread from the beginning with a TON more info:

http://www.montecarloss.com/community/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=78597&Number=738787#Post738787


A bunch of thanks owed to Jon from GSI interiors for making the door panels, rear inserts, visors, and custom rear seat for me. Definitely couldn't have pulled it off without him.


Pictures of the "finished" interior (At this point Still needed to install the sill plates, buy floor mats, and fab up a heater blockoff plate)

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I also replaced the FIRST with a Holley Stealth Ram (Looks like black and grey is becoming my new theme)

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In the spring of 2011 I had the car tuned at SDCE in RI, which made a HUGE difference in the drivability of the car.

I had some timing issues that Scott resolved for me along with the tune itself. No more random stalls, power is up all across the board, and the car now idles like stock, which is exactly what I was looking for.


While the numbers aren't anything amazing (262 HP, 271 TQ at the wheels), it makes for a nice driver.

Here's a dyno plot of before and after tuning. What you can't see on the graph is how much better the car idles and drives.

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


I'd eventually like to look into that dip in power at around 5200 RPMs, but I'm not sure if it's ignition-related or due to my motor not being meant to be spun up past 5000 RPMs.

[SSninja]

So, now on to the current plans for the suspension.

I'd LOVE to have all top shelf components, but I'm also realistic in what's reasonable to do with the car at this point given my abilities as a driver.

Without further ado, here is Stage 1 of the build, which I’m calling the “Bang for the buck” stage.

Front suspension and brakes
- Stock Monte spindles
- Power Performance “tall” upper and lower ball joints
- “LS1” (98-02 F-body) calipers and brackets
- FlyNBye caliper adapter bracket
- Kore3 hubs
- Braided stainless lines
- Centric rotors
- Stoptech pads
- Good brake fluid
- Spohn “tall spindle swap” front upper control arms
- UMI or Spohn front lower control arms
- Triangulating braces for frame and engine bay
- Replace front body bushings with delrin or poly
- Performance rebuild of steering box
- Eibach springs (Debating sellings these for either OPGI or DSE 2" drop springs)
- Bilstein shocks
- 36mm F-body sway bar and stock F41 Monte SS bar (Own both and will be trying both)
- GTA wheels with 245/50/16 tires, brand still undetermined

Rear suspension and brakes
- “LS1” (98-02 F-body) rear disc brakes
- Centric rotors and Stoptech pads
- Adjustable proportioning valve
- UMI adjustable upper and lower control arms with Rotojoints
- New rubber bushings in upper ears of axle (Already done)
- Fays2 Watts link
- Eibach springs
- Bilstein shocks
- Stock F41 rear sway bar and thirdgen F-body rear bar (Will try both)
- GTA wheels with 245/50/16 tires, thinking BFG Sport Comp 2 or similar

[SSninja]

No real progress updates on the suspension as of late other than research.


Weighed my GTA wheels and they come in at a whopping 17 pounds each! Tire options in 245/50/16 and 255/50/16 are slim, but for the price ($200 for the set of wheels) they can't be beat, especially considering how light they are.


Hoping to have my neutral safety switch wired up this weekend so I can run the car at the track again (Haven't been yet with the Stealth Ram). G-bodies comes with a mechanical interlock in the column to prevent the car from starting in gear, however this is now useless as I have an aftermarket floor shifter.

To fix this, I cut the purple starter wire that goes through the ignition and have it wired up through a relay that is activated via a power wire that is interrupted by the microswitch on the shifter. I've read of people putting the microswitch directly in-line of the starter wire, but I didn't trust the microswitch to be able to handle the amps.



I'm also looking for opinions on front springs as well. I currently have Eibach springs front and rear that lower the car about an inch all around, however I'd like to lower the car an additional 1 1/2" or so in the front. The tall lower ball joints should lower a 1/2", but I'll still need to swap springs to get the full 2 1/2" drop that I'm looking for.

Both OPGI and DSE offer 2" front lower springs, although I'm having a hard time finding the exact rates for the OPGI springs. Some digging has turned up numbers of 30% stiffer than the stock F41 springs, which would put them in the low 500# range, which is a little less stiff than the DSE springs.

That said, DSE provides actual spring rates and not percentages, which probably makes them a better buy for the additional $40 or so.

[howehot]

I talk to Jon today about my copy of your interior only in white. Should be shipped next week. Glad I saw your build on MCSS.

Hopefully you get to put some miles on it this year. Keep up the good work

[CruizinKev]

looks great so far! cool build! :cheers:

[woody80z28]

I need to stop looking at these Monte threads...it makes me want to build one so bad!

[ryeguy2006a]

Great looking project. I had an 87 MCSS when I was in college too, and it wasn't very good on fuel, which lead me to trade it for something better on fuel.

[85GPLEf41]

Makes me want to go hunt down a SS Monte and build one up!! But i'm stuck building my 85 GP... What guages did you go with on your GP dash? I likey!!

[SickSpeedMonte]

Lookin good Dave! I like the direction you are heading with this car.

[SSninja]

Thanks guys!

I finally wired up a neutral safety switch to my Megashifter using a relay that interupts the purple wire going to the starter, so the car is now officially "track legal".

Time to get some 1/4 mile numbers up at Epping in NH. Expecting mid to high 13s given the estimated weight of the car (I'm think 3600 pounds or so) and power at the wheels.

[sr73bu]

Nice car Dave!!!!

I ran 16" rims for a while... take a look at these:

Toyo 275/45/16

http://www.tiresdirect.net/TOYO_Proxes_TQ_P275_45R16_LL_P5126C916.cfm

there are a few websites that still have some in stock, you'll just have to look...

Good luck with the car!

-Sean

[SSninja]

Makes me want to go hunt down a SS Monte and build one up!! But i'm stuck building my 85 GP... What guages did you go with on your GP dash? I likey!!

Sorry, didn't see this question until now.

The gauges are from Glowshift. They're...alright. Have some issues with the accuracy of the speedo and gas gauge, but other than that I'm ok with them.

Planning on stepping up to "big boy" guages once I have some money to spend on Autometers.

[SSninja]

Just ordered a TON of parts for the Monte today:


- Spohn tall spindle front upper control arms with Delrin bushings
- Spohn front lower control arms with Delrin bushings
- Proforged tall upper and lower ball joints
- UMI adjustable upper and lower control arms with Rotojoints
- Kore3 billet hubs
- Centric 98+ F-body premium brake rotors
- Stoptech 98+ F-body brake pads
- Kore3 braided stainless brake lines
- Energy Suspension core support bushings
- New Intrepid electric fans as the current fans are starting to squeak


Should be able to install the rear control arms, core support bushings, and fans as soon as they come in; Waiting on the front suspension and LS1 brake swap until I get a response back from the guy making my adapter brackets for me.


I'll get install pics once everything comes in, which should be sometime next week with the exception of the hubs, brake lines, and adapter brackets.


Anyone interested in a 12" B-body brake setup? :)

[outragis]

Very nice car, nice "Lifelong" project

[85GPLEf41]

Sorry, didn't see this question until now.

The gauges are from Glowshift. They're...alright. Have some issues with the accuracy of the speedo and gas gauge, but other than that I'm ok with them.

Planning on stepping up to "big boy" guages once I have some money to spend on Autometers.


I originally wanted to keep my original gauges and for the most part i can make them work on my LS1 swap except the speedo and tach... I' thinking of doing aftermarket gauges instead now... just looking for options. I want to keep my original dash bezel set up on my GP.

[Sneke_Eyez]

I am a Mopar man, but I have always liked the G-Body Montes. Yours is no exception, gorgeous looking car with a nice looking interior to match!

Now, being from MA, I have to ask you, where are you located in MA? Your "Summer 2011" picture appears to show your car parked next to a good friend of mine's 05 Hemi Ram which is regularly at the Spencer, MA Lions Club Car Show at Klems on Wednesday nights...
I have been to that show many times with my 74 Dart and seem to remember ogling a couple of different Montes at the show over the years... was yours one of them?

[SSninja]

I am a Mopar man, but I have always liked the G-Body Montes. Yours is no exception, gorgeous looking car with a nice looking interior to match!

Now, being from MA, I have to ask you, where are you located in MA? Your "Summer 2011" picture appears to show your car parked next to a good friend of mine's 05 Hemi Ram which is regularly at the Spencer, MA Lions Club Car Show at Klems on Wednesday nights...
I have been to that show many times with my 74 Dart and seem to remember ogling a couple of different Montes at the show over the years... was yours one of them?


Thanks!

No, that picture was taken at an annual show that my friend Ron runs, "Houlie's Heroes":
http://davenutting.smugmug.com/Cars/Houlies-Heroes/


I'm on the South Shore, so Spencer is a bit of a hike for me.

[Sneke_Eyez]

Thanks!

No, that picture was taken at an annual show that my friend Ron runs, "Houlie's Heroes":
http://davenutting.smugmug.com/Cars/Houlies-Heroes/


I'm on the South Shore, so Spencer is a bit of a hike for me.

Well that's definitely his truck, so he must have headed out there!
There are some beautiful cars in that album... including a 69 Super Bee which I have ogled in person before.

South shore, eh? I moved to Dedham last year...

I'll be keeping up with this thread, my next door neighbor has a black Monte that is similar to yours that I keep wondering when he is going to haul out of the garage and actually drive.

[SSninja]

Parts are rolling in for the Monte.

Spohn upper and lower front arms are in, along with tall ball joints, 98-02 F-body rotors and pads, and UMI rear arms.

Still waiting on the hubs and brake lines from Kore3, along with caliper adapter brackets. Unfortunately, I’m having a hard time getting ahold of either Ed Miller from FlyNBye or another guy I found from the S10 board. Anyone else that sells these brackets that I can get in contact with?


Anyways, on to a few pics of the new parts:

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The front end install is still on hold, but last Thursday I attempted to install the UMI rear control arms as I had the whole day off in preparation for the GM Nationals. THAT was a mistake. :)


I started off by washing, clay barring, and waxing the car:

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Following that, Brian Lohnes from Bangshift was awesome enough to come help me swap out the old control arms for new.

Proof that Brian isn’t afraid of getting his hands dirty or of risking tetanus from working on a rusty G-body:

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


Old versus new:

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Notice with the upper control arms that the bolt hole is centered as opposed to staggered towards the bottom of the arm. These arms are the original UMI design from ’03 or ’04 before they were redesigned to fit the 8.5” rear. I had to grind them down a bit for them to clear the pumpkin.


These new double-adjustable arms are pretty neat, and I can already tell that the rotojoints are going to be much better than the poly in regards to preventing binding of the rear axle based on what I saw when loading/unloading the rear while on jackstands.


Aside from some difficult access holes to work with, everything went well up until it was time to torque the hardware. I was reusing old bolts (Originally purchased with the old UMI arms) and one of the upper control arm bolts on the frame side decided to spin instead of torqueing. We didn’t realize this until 10 PM, at which point it was too late to get new hardware in time to fix the problem…I ended up driving another car to the Nationals, and while I was there I stopped by the UMI booth to say “Hi” to Ramey and Ryan, along with picking up a new set of bolts. Those guys have some cool stuff up their sleeves that I’m dying to see released.


This coming weekend I’m hoping to removing the offending bolt and get the car back on the road so I can report back with my impressions of the new rear arms.

[SSninja]

Not a ton of progress recently as I was busy getting ready for my wedding on August 11th.

So far I'm loving the UMI rear control arms, and I think the next step for the rear suspension is to buy and install a Watts link.


The LS1 brake swap is slow going, although I finally have all of the parts I need. Last week I chopped the "ears" off of the spindles with help from yourownself on here. Next up is to enlarge and tap the holes for the mounting brackets.

Here's a few pics of the brackets and Kore3 hubs:

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[SSninja]

On a slightly different note, two weeks ago I replaced my seat belts with belts from http://www.seatbeltplanet.com/

The belts that I had were from a third gen Monte and were a little long in the tooth, so I decided to replace them.
(I also hated how those stupid covers would ALWAYS fly off at random times and hide themselves under the seats. Anyone else have this problem?)

The install itself took about an hour and a half, and everything fit like a glove.

Here's the exact belts that I ordered: http://www.seatbeltplanet.com/shopping-cart/m.products/25/view/62

I ordered them in the 140" length with the 12" sleeve receiver end.

There's a discount code that you can use as well to save a few bucks: SEMA09CONS


On to the install pics...

Old versus new receiver end (The old were from a bench seat car):

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Old versus new "male" end:

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Original belts in place:

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Removed the driver's seat:

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Back seat removed:

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New retractor bolted in the stock location (I removed that red piece after taking this pic):

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Hole where the low part of the male end bolts:

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Third mounting point:

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Driver's side is installed:

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[SSninja]

Final install pics:

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[sebtarta]

Awesome!

[SSninja]

Took the Monte to an autocross session yesterday. (Not so subtle with the lettering, I know! :) )

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

Had a great time, although now I have a stalling issue to diagnose:

https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?92971-Stalling-issue-at-autocross&highlight=

One of the guys working the course mentioned that it seemed to happen when turning left. Thinking that I may need to rename the car "Zoolander" :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_EacLppMW0


The car didn't feel as out of control as I thought it would, but I also wasn't able to really get on it as I was always mindful of the chance of it stalling out while at speed. :(

Definitely need to get on installing the new upper and lower control arms, along with the tall ball joints and LS1 brakes.

[SSninja]

Ordered a new Spectre GN tank and a new fuel filter yesterday.

While looking at tanks, I saw this note on Gbodyparts:

http://www.gbodyparts.com/product_info.php?cPath=46_21_49&products_id=726&osCsid=67788d7bc5cb152e542331bd2e785e43

"The steel baffles are welded in to replace the plastic units from GM. They can break free & starve your pump by blocking the pick up."


Given that I'm currently running an OEM tank with the plastic bowl, I wonder if I'm running into this problem when cornering?

[Sneke_Eyez]

Where are there autocross sessions in MA? I don't really have anything to autocross right now (I don't think my Concorde is the ideal AutoX vehicle), but I'd love to find out where there are autoX days in the MA area.

[SSninja]

There may be more than just these, but http://www.ne-svt.org/ and http://www.ner.org are the two that I know of.

The event that I went to was at Devens in Ayer.

[Sneke_Eyez]

That's awesome, thanks for the links!

[68firebird]

Dave the Monte looks great! How are those belts holding up? I need some new belts for my firebird in a real bad way. also, you said you had your car tuned at scde in RI, was that in West Warwick by chance? My car has this terrible hesitation off idol that I can't seem to pinpoint, I'd love to have someone besides my normal mechanic take a look at it. How difficult was it to switch from carburated to TPI?

[SSninja]

Thanks!

Yup, SDCE is in West Warwick: http://www.sd-concepts.com/

Scott and Wendy are great people and really did a fantastic job fixingmy idling issue and tuning my car for drivability. If you have a particular problem, Scott can help you track it down.

Swapping from a carb to TPI had a decently steep learning curve the first time through, but after doing it once and working out all of the bugs, it's pretty straight forward.

The key is to use a good wiring harness to rule out any electrical gremlins, and to make sure you have all of the parts you need (Gaskets, sensors, etc).

I used to have a website detailing my swap, but it's long gone as I had it hosted on my college's web server.

Here's an archived copy of one of the pages: http://web.archive.org/web/20080405173240/http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/dnut/TPI_Project/Parts_List.html


Long story short, the stock TPI motor is awesome for low-end torque, but it hits a wall pretty quickly.

The Stealth Ram definitely pulls through the entire RPM range and is a better fit for my motor, but you notice the lack of torque below 3000
RPMs.

[68firebird]

Thanks!

Yup, SDCE is in West Warwick: http://www.sd-concepts.com/

Scott and Wendy are great people and really did a fantastic job fixingmy idling issue and tuning my car for drivability. If you have a particular problem, Scott can help you track it down.

Swapping from a carb to TPI had a decently steep learning curve the first time through, but after doing it once and working out all of the bugs, it's pretty straight forward.

The key is to use a good wiring harness to rule out any electrical gremlins, and to make sure you have all of the parts you need (Gaskets, sensors, etc).

I used to have a website detailing my swap, but it's long gone as I had it hosted on my college's web server.

Here's an archived copy of one of the pages: http://web.archive.org/web/20080405173240/http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/dnut/TPI_Project/Parts_List.html


Long story short, the stock TPI motor is awesome for low-end torque, but it hits a wall pretty quickly.

The Stealth Ram definitely pulls through the entire RPM range and is a better fit for my motor, but you notice the lack of torque below 3000
RPMs.


awesome, thanks for the info. I live in west warwick and didn't even know of that place, LOL.

[Trans]

Final install pics:

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

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

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

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

Interior is looking good son!

[SSninja]

Beautiful Fall day:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://davenutting.smugmug.com/Cars/My-Monte/19166508_tmzhGk#!i=2164485537&k=bMpQJSk&lb=1&s=A)


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://davenutting.smugmug.com/Cars/My-Monte/19166508_tmzhGk#!i=2164487320&k=4mWg77w&lb=1&s=A)


Probably should have washed the car first... :)

[SSninja]

Nothing new yet in terms of progress for you guys, but Bangshift will be following my progress (Or lack thereof) this winter:

http://bangshift.com/blog/project-car-introduction-el-monte-carvo-a-1987-g-body-with-a-literal-and-figurative-twist.html

http://bangshift.com/blog/project-el-monte-carvo-an-in-depth-look-at-exactly-what-were-starting-with.html



Brian Lohnes from BangShift picked out the name... :bicycle:

[pmgm]

Looking good... I like what you have done so far.....

[SSninja]

Picked up a new frame last night with the help of some good friends.

It's in mint shape. All of the body mount holes are perfect and it's already been painted! :)

Supposedly it was in Jack Cotton's possession for awhile, which is a neat story.


Here's a few pics of the frame.

Looks like a few of the rear mounts were repaired, but they're all in mint shape.


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

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

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

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

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

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



Planning on boxing the areas in red below and getting creative with some frame braces.

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

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

[SSninja]

Had a few hours of free time on Monday, so I started taking apart my front suspension. Balmy 30 degrees! :)

Installing the new tall upper ball joints:

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


Removing the old suspension from the passenger side:

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


Old versus new upper control arm:

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


Old versus new lower control arm:

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


New upper installed:

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



The new lower was an absolute $#)@) to get in, as the Delrin bushings were a little too big. Ended up having to shave them down a hair to install them, but I finally got the lower installed:

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


So here's the interesting thing: With the stock lower control arm, the coil spring (Eibach 1" lowering) wasn't under much tension with the suspension at full droop. The install of the spring was a cinch (Put the spring in the lower arm and jack up the arm until the ball joint met the spindle).

With the new lower control arm, there's absolutely no way that this spring is going in without a spring compressor, and it looks like I'm going to have to get aggressive with the compressor.

Any thoughts on this?

I'm wondering if/how this will affect the ride height compared to the springs installed with stock lower arms.


I'm also debating buying a set of the DSE 2" lowering spring while the old springs are out, although they're not cheap and I'm not sure if I would be lowering the car too much for my Bilstein shocks (I should be at 1 1/2" inches with the Eibachs and tall ball joints versus 2 1/2" with the DSE springs).

[SSninja]

Oh, and one thing I forgot to note before: The Spohn lower control arms don't have a spot for a lower bump stop (I have one installed in the photos but then realized that I need that hole for the sway bar endlink), so it looks like I'll need to buy these: http://www.spohn.net/shop/1978-1987-GM-G-Body/Suspension/Tubular-Front-A-Arms-Accessories/Progressive-Rate-Shock-and-Strut-Shaft-Mounted-Bump-Stops-Pair.html

Those bumpstops are for an 18mm shaft. That sound like it's the right size for G-body front shocks?

::edit::

Received some good advice on MCSS.com and it seems like I'll be better off running a bumpstop on the frame instead of the bump stop linked to above.

[SSninja]

Man, I haven't updated this in a while!

Here's an older photo of the passenger side going together:

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

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


The car's all back together and aligned:

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



Here are the alignment settings I decided to go with:
Camber: -1 degree
Caster: +5 degrees
Toe: 0



Also, check out how much room I have now with the new arms:

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

With the Hotchkis arms and B-body spindles, I couldn't get close to -1 degree without the control arm practically touching the header.

I don't have any photos of the steering linkage pre-alignment, but the steering arms for the B-body spindle really are in a completely different location than the Monte spindle. After swapping back to a Monte spindle and the tall balljoint setup with lowering springs, my car had about -3 degrees of camber and the tires were toed out in completely opposite directions.


Unfortunately this is the only photo I could find of the old control arm setup, as I was focusing on the header to frame clearance (Or lack thereof).

Little hard to see as the focus wasn't on that point, but notice how many shims were present to get close to -1 degree of camber (And that the header was touching the bushing).

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

Now see how much clearance there is now with the same amount of negative camber. I also dimpled in the header tube slightly to clear the frame; looks like the paint that I used to cover the damage to the ceramic coating is already burning off...

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

[Number1]

What size spacers do have on your gta wheels and where did you get them from.

[instro84]

nice looking car, i'd lower the rear a bit ti fill in the gap thou.

[SSninja]

What size spacers do have on your gta wheels and where did you get them from.

1 inch spacers in the front as I am using front fitment in the rear and rear fitment in the front. I'll have to try and find the link. American made and good to deal with.

[SSninja]

nice looking car, i'd lower the rear a bit ti fill in the gap thou.

I agree, definitely could be lowered another inch or so. I am using DSE springs up front but I am hesitant to buy the rear springs from them due to the wait time for the fronts (About two months).

[Number1]

Cool thanks what size tires and brand are you running. Find that link quickly!!! Please.

[SSninja]

Cool thanks what size tires and brand are you running. Find that link quickly!!! Please.

http://www.motorsport-tech.com/

Give them a call and they can make custom ones as well. Tires aren't anything special: sumitomos in 245/50/16

[CruizinKev]

looks awesome! nice pics!!!

[Zspoiler]

Very nicely done !GM G-body cars you can always do something with them .Good luck on your build.

[carguykeith]

I'm pretty happy with my rear springs, just get some f-body isolaters and moog springs, then cut them to the height you want. Not much more than $100 total.

[SSninja]

Couple of photos of the NRG quick disconnect and the Momo Quake wheel installed.


Disconnect and short hub installed on the column:

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

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


Wheel side of quick disconnect with the release pushed back to show the ball bearings:

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


Diameter of Momo wheel compared to the stock SS wheel (Smaller, but not too small at 350 mm /13.78 inches):


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


Wheel installed (And showing how much further away from the dash the wheel now is):

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


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


For me, I like sitting relatively close to the dash for my size (5' 9"), so the steering wheel being an inch or two closer to me isn't a negative thing. That said, the wheel does feel much smaller in my hands than the SS wheel. It's good, but it will definitely take some getting use to.

No slop at all in the quick disconnect either, which is very good.

[SSLance]

Hey Dave, can you take a picture of the inside of the hub on the wheel to show what locks into the holes on the steering column to tie the wheel and column together? I figured it would be splines but it doesn't really appear like that from looking at the column part.

[SSninja]

Sure, I can grab a pic later if you want.

It's the ball bearings that keep the two locked together.

To use a pic from my MCSS.com thread:

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

The ring that moves up and down on the wheel side of the quick disconnect pushes the ball bearings down when it is slid down (When connecting the wheel). The ball bearings then push into depressions on the column side disconnect piece (You can see the dimples in the pic above).

Pushing in the little safety button (That allows the ring to slide up all the way) and sliding up the ring allows the ball bearings to move back (Believe they are spring loaded) and the wheel can be removed.


Oh, and it self-centers, so it will only go on one way.

Hope that makes sense!

[SSLance]

Thanks, is there a key way or something that helps it self center? How secure does it feel once the wheel is locked onto the hub? Any loose play at all?

[SSninja]

It feels as secure as the stock wheel when it's locked in. No play at all, but it's still new.

I'll let you know if it develops any.

[SSninja]

Man it's been a while since I've updated this. Not much done to the SS since I've been busy with work, buying a new house, and the LS Monte, but I did have time to finally install the Auto Meter gauges that I picked up in the Spring.

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

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

The GPS speedo is neat stuff and overall much better than the Glowshift gauges that they replaced in regards to reliability (The Glowshift gauges were starting to act up after a few years).

Full write-up is here: http://bangshift.com/general-news/tech-stories/bangshift-tech-cure-gauge-woes-thanks-auto-meter/

[SSninja]

Speaking of the new house, here's a good a place as any to write about the SS's new home.

My wife and I bought a "new to us" house last month and I've been busy working on it ever since. :lmao:

I say "new to us" as it was built in 1856 with a porch and two bay garage added in 1910 when they moved the house. It's a really great space with a ton of character and ROOM (2500 square feet of living space plus a 1200 square foot basement).

While the garage isn't much bigger than the "chicken coop" (People that have seen the garage space I had prior to this will understand) the SS used to be housed in, this garage actually belongs to me and I can do what I want with it.

Not much has been done to it so far, so I'll post up photos taken earlier in the week.


Both bays have barn-style doors that swing out

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

Stepping inside, here's my lawn tractor (Need this now that I'm out of the suburbs and actually have a little bit of land) and all of the crap left behind by the previous owner, including that table full of scrap wood and pool supplies.

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


Yeah, I don't know what's up with this wiring job either. It's one of the first things that I need to work on.

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


Here's the other bay, which currently has a gravel floor. It's getting a bit cold to pour concrete (Or so I'm told) so I may wait until the Spring to do so.

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


This wall is also coming down to give me some extra room. I'm hoping to tear it down in the next few weeks if time permits.

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

There's also this cool old fuse box that isn't actually connected to the main wiring. I've since removed it as it's taking up a lot of space on the wall and isn't functional.

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


With an old house comes old windows, and with old windows comes window weights. I'm guessing these were removed from the kitchen as that is the only room in the house with modern windows. I've got a planned side project to restore all of the old windows, but with over 30 in total that's going to be a long-term side project...

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


Ok, but where are all of the tools and parts going to go? In the basement, of course. :)

The basement is a little over 1200 square feet and is on the same level as the garage (Which is awesome as I have a really short walk from one to the other), but unfortunately the majority of the basement is dirt floor.

Here's the section that is (rather old) concrete floor and will be used for storage space for my car stuff until I pour concrete in the rest of the basement.

The plan is to build some wooden shelving and stick it on this wall along with my tool box.

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


Here's the wall and door leading out to the back patio, garage, and driveway, along with the most feminine yet surprisingly sturdy workbench I have ever seen. Debating on painting this versus replacing it as it actually is well-built.

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


Oh, and here's a shelf for all of my random aerosol cans. I can't be the only one that has this, right?

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




So, there we have it in its current state. I'll (hopefully) keep this updated as I get it ready to house my SS, which is still being stored in my old garage. I could definitely use ideas and suggestions from you guys as I work on improving the space.