Project LS1Bandit finally hits the road!

[LS1_78Bandit]

It's been 9 long years since my baby last cruised the highways. Today was her triumphant return.

Sorry I haven't posted in a really long time. Mostly things have just been progressing glacially slow. But we're almost at the finish line! The only 2 things left to be done are:

1) Get the speedometer working. I've been waiting for a part that's supposed to convert the electronic to mechanical from Terf for over 2 years now !?! He keeps telling me it'll be done in about 2 weeks. For 2 freaking years he's been telling me this. At this point I'm going to have to try and find another solution. I need a working speedo to get it passed by the CA ref. Right now it's still under PA registration.

2) Get a leather boot made for the shifter. That should be done on monday.

Anyway. I took her out on a stunning 90 mile drive today, through the mountains and up the coast. Here are a couple photos.

[oestek]

Congrats! Looks awesome!

[Swiftandswank]

do you have more info on the build? Are those forgeline wheels?

[cdoggy81]

I like!!!

[brownz]

CONGRATS must be nice to drive her again. looks great. iam going on 6 years not driving my camaro so iam glad your having a good time. enjoy

[LS1_78Bandit]

do you have more info on the build? Are those forgeline wheels?

I have some info on my website:

http://www.ls1bandit.com/

However it's missing a lot of information. I really fell behind on updating it. I'm hoping to catch up on it sometime soon.

As for the wheels ... no, they're Work VS-XX.

[silverz28]

Cool! What's holding up the shaker??

[LS1_78Bandit]

Cool! What's holding up the shaker??

It's a little custom mount. Basically just a couple pieces of metal welded together and then bolted to the engine. You can see it a little better here:

[LMDGUY]

congrats on getting her back on the road! that look like it was a great drive

[cdoggy81]

Cool shaker but ya gotta build one of these for it......

[Steve1968LS2]

One of my dream cars... sigh...

To just cruise the highway with "East Bound and Down" blasting on the stereo...

Very cool ride!

[nitrovette]

very nice, i miss my 70 formula 400

[LS1_78Bandit]

Cool shaker but ya gotta build one of these for it....

Yeah, that was on the list of options I was considering. But it seemed like a lot of effort for very little gain, as well as causing the destruction of one of the few remaining original shakers, and having to deal with the "water issue".

I'm not ruling out doing it some time down the road. But for now I'm happy with the existing solution. It shakes like the original (actually, not quite - the LS1 doesn't seem to shake anywhere near as much as the old Pontiac 400 did).

[shortrack]

very cool.....but you left out a comment on the most important thing...the performance of the car through those mountain roads!

[maldo]

very nice like it

[LS1_78Bandit]

very cool.....but you left out a comment on the most important thing...the performance of the car through those mountain roads!

Well, on the first run through the mountains, I really couldn't get a good feel for the performance due to the traffic. But monday morning the roads were clear.

It cornered like it was on rails, and held a very flat attitude in the corners. An incredible improvement over the original.

It's a pretty harsh ride now, though I pretty much expected that given the modifications I was making. My focus was definitely more towards performance than comfort.

I think I need to do some more sorting out in the suspension though. The most obvious problem is that with certain types of bumps, the front wheels hit the inside of the fender. It looks like if I roll the fender I might be able to avoid that. Also, with the right speed and a series of undulations in the road, I get a little bit of pogo'ing/rocking front to back.

I think some of it I can solve by dialing in the shocks properly (Global West QA1 shocks).

[Payton King]

Must be because I wanted one so badly in High School. Congrats on getting it on the road.

Not sure if they are still around, but there was a company called Jags that Run that had a conversion box. I think the site is
www.jtr.com

[CarlC]

That car is sweet! I too would love to have one of these.

You can have your speedo converted to an electronic type that will use either the ECM or transmission output feed yet retain the stock face. Redline Gauge Works in Saugus, CA can do it, as can North Hollywood Speedometer and Clock. I'm currently doing this using an Ebay VDO gauge as a donor.

[FirstGenZq8]

wow that's a real nice job. heartfelt congrats man!

where did you buy the work wheels from? what are their sizes F/R? also, did you happen to weigh them before you mounted tires?

[LS1_78Bandit]

That car is sweet! I too would love to have one of these.

You can have your speedo converted to an electronic type that will use either the ECM or transmission output feed yet retain the stock face. Redline Gauge Works in Saugus, CA can do it, as can North Hollywood Speedometer and Clock. I'm currently doing this using an Ebay VDO gauge as a donor.

Hmmm..that's very interesting. I was just about to buy the Cable X box:

http://www.abbott-tach.com/cablex.htm