The engine is out ...

[LS1_78Bandit]

Not a huge step, but it's a step ... the old Poncho 400 is out. The car has much more ground clearance now!

It was really disappointing though after I pulled it. It looked pretty ugly in there. For what the restoration shop charged me, he should've sand-blasted and powder-coated all of that, or at least given it a good cleaning! And all the suspension parts look kinda shot (hence my thread in the suspension forum ). Now I'm left with the dilemma of whether or not to go ahead and have someone drop the subframe, blast it and paint it. I'd like to, but it's yet more money which could be put to functional/performance mods.

I know it's kinda tough to say from the pics, but I'm curious if any of you think anything else needs to be replaced besides: control arm bushings, ball joints, sway bar bushings, sway bar endlinks, springs, shocks and possibly upper control arm (and of course I'm adding SFC's and solid body mounts).

Here's a couple pics:






Poor old engine - we've had many good years together:




And the new:

[70bird]

IMO, One of the best things you can do to clean up the eng. compartment is to get rid of the stock heat and a/c, install a vintage air unit, really cleans up the firewall getting rid of the fact. "evap suitcase" definitely a lot of work making the gen 2 compact to fit, but worth it.

[helmet10]

Hey Bandit78, I would drop the Sub Frame, look how nice the above pics look.
I'm currently doing my 70 camaro. Pulled AC suitcase off and going to weld holes up.
Where did you get that awesome engine and tranny combo?

[Camaro_Dan]

I would drop the subframe and blast it, powdercoat it, all new bushings, blast the radiator support and paint it. but to save money, you could get rid of the AC unit, and buy a heater box from American Graffiti so you still have a blower motor and heat for the cold nights. vintage air is expensive :(

[srh3trinity]

Looks good, there is no time like the present to drop that subframe, maybe a little extra money now, but when you look at it in 1 year or 10 years from now and wish that you had done it. That being said, I am pretty utilitarian and it wouldn't bother me that much if my subframe wasn't nice and painted, depends on what kind of person you are.

[LS1_78Bandit]

Hey Bandit78, I would drop the Sub Frame, look how nice the above pics look.

Yeah, I know ... like I said I'm trying to figure out what to do given a constrained budget. I can make the subframe look really nice or I can use that money for functional/performance mods. And since someone else is doing the work, pulling off the fenders, dropping the subframe, blasting it, painting it and putting it all together is not going to be cheap. If I was doing it myself, that'd be a different thing.

Yet it really bugs me to have it like that .... Sigh.

I'm currently doing my 70 camaro. Pulled AC suitcase off and going to weld holes up.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I was likely ditching the AC. I was thinking of getting the american graffiti a/c delete box. That'll certainly clean things up a bit on that side.

Where did you get that awesome engine and tranny combo?

Cleveland pick-a-part. Unfortunately that meant a bit of $$ for shipping (to CA), but it was an '01 (LS6 intake, no EGR necessary and better exhaust manifolds) with only 15K miles on it. Donor car took a hit in the side door, so no issues whatsoever with the engine. Plus they do a pretty thorough test on the engine (compression, CO, vacuum, etc.) to make sure everything is good before they ship it out to you.

In terms of "more things to do" - one of the things I was concerned about was the steering linkage. I'm not sure if there's anything in there I should consider replacing.

[srh3trinity]

Sounds like a nice find on the LS1, I really miss having LS1 power under my foot. Plenty of power and dependable and efficient to boot.

[Jim Nilsen]

It is really amazing what a power washer and a spray can or 2 of paint will do Taking it all apart is a lot more money and time that it sounds like you might not have, but like has already been said " no time like right now" to do it nice.

Tough decision and over it later will let you know if you made the right one

Goodluck and get it going.

Jim Nilsen

[PonchoJohn]

So, what's the story w/ the Poncho mill?

[LS1_78Bandit]

So, what's the story w/ the Poncho mill?

Sorry - I'm not quite sure what you're asking? Are you asking what I'm going to do with the engine now, or why did I replace it?

[zman1969]

It is really amazing what a power washer and a spray can or 2 of paint will do Taking it all apart is a lot more money and time that it sounds like you might not have, but like has already been said " no time like right now" to do it nice.

Tough decision and over it later will let you know if you made the right one

Goodluck and get it going.

Jim Nilsen

i agree a can of Easy Off oven cleaner, pressure washer and a weekend - way too much work to drop and all - it is a driver not a trailer queen , you decide you will be happpy with the results but you gotta do it now while its out

[PonchoJohn]

Sorry, kinda vague... What are you going to do w/ the Pontiac engine?

[bretcopsey]

I'll second (or is it third?) the suggestion for oven cleaner and a power washer. Follow that with some John Deere Blitz Black spray bombs and you'll be set. Sure, it's not free, but it's pretty cheap. You'll regret it if you don't clean it up a little.

[JoshStratton]

Have you figured out if you will need to replace the motor mounts? I think you will, which would be another case for just tearing it out and doing it all now since you will have some cutting and welding to do.

EDIT: Nevermind. I think I remember they just bolt in.


What are you going to do about the shaker? I thought about doing the same thing you were but couldnt think of anything constructive to keep the stock hood look.

[JoshStratton]

Oh yeah, and are you replacing your steering box? I want one of those FlamingRiver ones for mine!

[LS1_78Bandit]

Thanks for all the advice guys! Hadn't thought of using EZ-off! I think the power-washing will have to be in the middle of the night to avoid calls to the EPA. At the moment the power-wash, ez-off and some quick paint sounds like a reasonable compromise. Now I just have to figure out how to do that! Since there's no engine, the only thing I can think of is trailering it to a car wash or something.

More responses below:

What are you going to do w/ the Pontiac engine?

Well - I have someone that's wants to buy it. I haven't heard from him in a while, but he sounded pretty adamant that he wanted it. But if anyone is interested, drop me a line and I'll keep you on the waiting list in case he bails ... The engine was well-maintained, though it's not pretty. Though likely with its age and the fact it sat for a while it's going to need a rebuild. Just curious - thoughts on how much it's worth?

Have you figured out if you will need to replace the motor mounts?

I do need engine mounts since the current ones are designed for the poncho, whereas I need SBC mounts for the LS1. So I need the "mounting plate" (adapter that lets you mount the LS1 to the SBC mounts) and the engine mounts. I'm getting both from Tyler @ ATS.

What are you going to do about the shaker?

Not 100% decided yet. The easy solution is to basically just bolt it to the hood. Unfortunately that means the shaker no longer shakes. :( I was also trying to see if I could find a way to mount it to the engine and even make it functional for CAI. But I think there's going to be too many bends/etc to get the CAI to come from the scoop - I'll lose any benefit of the cold air. So probably LWAI (luke-warm air intake ) from the fender is what I'll do.

Oh yeah, and are you replacing your steering box?

I don't think I'm going to do that just yet. I know now is the time to do it, but costs are adding up at an exponential rate. I need to stem the bleeding at least a little.

[JoshStratton]

I wonder if you can make a mount that attaches to the manifolds, then bolt it to the shaker...

Let me know how it goes. I would really be interested in how you do it.

[Zee]

Bandit, pretty nice tire fit. What size are your TT's, width and backspace? What size are the tires??

[BonzoHansen]

The general winter project parallel we are following is scary. I pulled my motor & trans, took one look around and now it’s all off. My frame is in the back yard on sawhorses. I’ve stripped ¾ of it with my 7” angle grinder with a wire wheel attachment. I’ll finish stripping it Saturday. Then it gets prepped, POR’d, etched & primed (I have no way to paint ‘for real’ right now). Firewall too. Show quality? Not really. Clean & functional? Oh sure.

I’m keeping my AC. I don’t see a good bolt in aftermarket AC system for second gens (at least not at hot rod air or vintage). I am going to clean the case & put it back on. I am putting a serp system from a 3rd gen in it, so I am changing to a pass side R4 compressor. I need lines & a new condensor. It won’t cost me much more that the AG box. Besides, everyone pulls the AC.

But I got no pretty LSx going in – that is out of budget (even though I just go outbid for one on eBay).

[LS1_78Bandit]

I'll answer Zee and Bonzo in a bit, I gotta run right now, but I do have a question on the power-wash and spray can. In addition to the dirt, there's also rust. Is it going to be an issue if I spray-paint over rust?

And the John Deer paint - where can I get that? Auto store, Home Depot .. ?