SUNNY Z Posted December 20, 2010 Author Share Posted December 20, 2010 Well I have the engine mounted, however, it's not permanent. I still have several things to torque on the internals, and some other stuff. I'm in the process of planning a transmission cross member to build, and working on the horendous cracks in the dash. A new set of Autometer gauges is on the list to be purchased in the NEAR future. Thats all I have for now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSflyer Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 A suggestion......before you weld up the spare tire hole and mount the gas tank, cut youself an access panel in the new sheetmetal so you can remove/replace in in-tank fuel pump. Dropping the tank later to do any work on the pump is a giant pain. Ask me how I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted December 21, 2010 Author Share Posted December 21, 2010 A suggestion......before you weld up the spare tire hole and mount the gas tank, cut youself an access panel in the new sheetmetal so you can remove/replace in in-tank fuel pump. Dropping the tank later to do any work on the pump is a giant pain. Ask me how I know. Believe me, it's going to have an access hole. I own an F-body, which doesn't have an access hole. FACEPALM GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Transmission cross member is built! I'll be removing the engine / trans today hopefully, so I can finish a few more things, and pretty it up some more. No real huge updates, with the holidays, and me being back with my parents to help around the farm, I don't have very much time to drive the 3 hours here to work on her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 (edited) I've been crazy busy working for my dad over the holidays, so there hasn't been much progress on the Z. And with school starting back up today (gheyy/lame) Its going to be slow I have a feeling. I'm still sourcing parts for my accessory drive system, as I decided to use F-body accessories. So I'm looking for: -LS1 alternator (low mount) bracket -LS1 alternator I have for sale: -2 Truck Water Pumps -1 Truck balancer -1 Truck alternator -1 Truck power steering pump. Other than that, I've still been waffling on what gauges to order. I've really been contemplating this decision too much, but if I'm gonna spend the money for autometers, I wanna be sure I'll be happy with them In other news, I have all the stuff to do my dash repair. I did a search on google, and came up with this: http://gtam.silvahalo.com/dashrepair/ So I called up my local Carquest, and they had everything to do it. As of right now, I'm into materials about $70. This includes: 1 can great stuff foam razor blades scuff pads oil and wax remover Evercoat Maxim Fast Urethane adhesive spreader for said adhesive I'll try to take a few pictures while I'm doing it and share Edited January 18, 2011 by SUNNY Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 UPDATE! I have had the tranny mount built for quite a while. I'd say total time it took me about 4 hours, largely in part due to the fact that I was working by myself and also had to take the tranny out and clearance the tunnel before starting to build it. Picked up a set of ebay shorties from a friend, and this is how it looks now. (see ebay header thread for more pics) There is a large possibility that I'll be going turbo in the not so distant future. Since I don't like to buy parts twice, I thought this would be a good opportunity to make a header purchase. I have decided that I'm not gonna use the truck accessories (in the pic). I picked up an ls1 water pump, alternator and bracket, and I had the crank pulley, so I'm just impatiently awaiting their arrival. Being that there has been like 10" of snow the last couple days, I've been severely un-motivated to leave the house. I did go get my dash, and I'll probably be working on that this afternoon. Also, made the executive decision that I'll be using White Autometer gauges. Well I think.......... lol. I'm gonna order those today also, hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) Started work on the dash last night. It was ROUGH. Had at least 3 cracks the entire way through, all the way from the windshield to the gauge cups. Here it is after filling the cracks with Great Stuff foam, and trimming them, then prepping and smearing on some 2 part epoxy. Its a work in progress. Edited January 22, 2011 by SUNNY Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zphilly Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Sunny, do you have the alternator/ alt. bracket for the truck setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 looking good mr. wales! looks like the dash will be nice & pretty and...an inexpensive fit to boot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Sunny, do you have the alternator/ alt. bracket for the truck setup? I sure do. I'll sent you a PM looking good mr. wales! looks like the dash will be nice & pretty and...an inexpensive fit to boot! Thanks Dave! I plan on using a "plasti-dip" spray on, and then paint. Should have south of $100 in the whole setup, with materials included Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zphilly Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 That dash repair is so cool, beats the hell out of a cover, cheaper, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 (edited) That dash repair is so cool, beats the hell out of a cover, cheaper, too! Thanks! Spending a bit more time on the dash today. Here is the progress. 1st coat sanded After the 2nd coat of epoxy Second coat sanded Third coat Backside Finished the 3rd and final coat. It's sanded and ready for the plasti-dip. Stores were closed by the time I thought to go get some, so its gonna have to wait till tomorrow! Edited January 24, 2011 by SUNNY Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 Little tip for all you DIY'ers out there. :Plastidip does not even out differences in texture, and absorbs into foam dash material. I'll be doing the bed coating way, as i've seen elsewhere. stay posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 Well i still have yet to find my camera. So I used the ol blackberry. The camera was kinda dirty in the first couple pics, so please excuse that. Here's the dash after I topcoated the problem areas with some good ol bondo. and again Then after two coats of Duplicolor Bedliner (400 scuff between coats) As you can imagine, I was VERY happy with the results. Labor intensive as it was, it was definitely worth it. note: not for those who don't like sanding, and don't have patience I then took it upon myself to mock up the Autometer Pro Comp Ultra Lites I also got bored with my LS1 intake. It was kinda dingy, and I wanted it to look fresh. SO, I sanded off the casting marks with 80 grit, then 220. 3 coats primer, wet sanded with 400 in between, 2 coats base (gunmetal metallic), wet sanded 400 in between, and here it is after 1 coat of clear. (gonna do at least 2 more) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 both dash and intake look awesome! how much do you think you have in the dash? i'm thinking about the same with the project z dash... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 both dash and intake look awesome! how much do you think you have in the dash? i'm thinking about the same with the project z dash... Thanks! Evercoat Maxim Urethane adhesive ~$40 Wax and grease remover ~15 Sandpaper~ 10 Duplicolor Bed Coating - 2 @ $10 each = ~20 Bondo - ~ 10 Misc supplies ~ 5 I'd say a Benjamin would get you there. I don't wanna know how many hours of sanding, etc. I have though. My guess is 12-15? I'm a bit of a perfectionist though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgeezer Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 I've been crazy busy working for my dad over the holidays, so there hasn't been much progress on the Z. And with school starting back up today (gheyy/lame) Its going to be slow I have a feeling. I'm still sourcing parts for my accessory drive system, as I decided to use F-body accessories. So I'm looking for: -LS1 alternator (low mount) bracket -LS1 alternator I have for sale: -2 Truck Water Pumps -1 Truck balancer -1 Truck alternator -1 Truck power steering pump. Other than that, I've still been waffling on what gauges to order. I've really been contemplating this decision too much, but if I'm gonna spend the money for autometers, I wanna be sure I'll be happy with them In other news, I have all the stuff to do my dash repair. I did a search on google, and came up with this: http://gtam.silvahalo.com/dashrepair/ So I called up my local Carquest, and they had everything to do it. As of right now, I'm into materials about $70. This includes: 1 can great stuff foam razor blades scuff pads oil and wax remover Evercoat Maxim Fast Urethane adhesive spreader for said adhesive I'll try to take a few pictures while I'm doing it and share e I think I can save you some money: use the truck water pump, alternator, and crank pulley. Cut some .75 inch plate aluminum to use as a spacer for the LS1 low mount alternator bracket. Most trucks have higher output alternators than the LS1...mine is a 135 amp Delphi. It is a deeper and larger diameter piece, but it fits right in with minor.... really minor .... work to touch up the alternator case and the rack and pinion lock not (adjusting nut for pinion) with an angle grinder. With the low mount alternator bracket, the belt is routed differently... so as to pretty much clear an LS1 intake.... if that is where you are going. Search for "CABLE" who posted a great writeup. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share Posted February 15, 2011 Yeah, I decided I didn't wanna mess with that setup, as i already had a car pulley, and found a deal on a car water pump. I now have all LS1 accessories. Thanks though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sq_creations Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 (edited) I love the intake manifold. I totally went the lazy route on mine and did a dashcap. Your dash came out nice! Edited February 16, 2011 by sq_creations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Alright, Update time! Had a pretty good weekend. Here's a pic of my fuel rail mods, with fittings to meet my needs. Don't mind the valve covers, they're off for paint right now. Fuel line is still waiting to be fit for a couple reasons I then had a couple buddies over, and within about 20 minutes, we had the engine and tranny back out, and the engine on a stand. I was torquing the cam gear and the rest of the valvetrain, along with some other stuff. While it was apart, I took the liberty of taking the oil pump off for some cleaning, and to shim it. Here is the exploded view Pic of the bulky autometer oil pressure sender installed THIS LITTLE BASTARD. It was one of the manifold bolts that was snapped off when I got the engine. I drilled it out, (broke a drill bit doing it) then, luckily had another bit the same size, and went ahead and heated the head, and finally got it broken loose. Here's a shot of the final install of the gauges. Turned out nice if I do say so myself. and the backside.... Here's the valvecovers as of now Front cover cleaned and ready for paint Aaaaaand I trimmed the tunnel a touch to clear the shifter Thats all for today! Hopefully gonna be making a couple key purchases this week, and start wrapping this thing up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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