Relatively unproductive weekend.

• I did some cleanup in the garage so I can work more efficiently.
• Decided to order new battery cables and looms.
• Got the heat shield on that protects the brake and fuel lines down the driver side of the engine bay past the headers, with the clutch hydraulic line tucked behind it too.
• Worked on figuring out how I'm going to mount the parking brake cable guides to the diff. I have it figured -- I'm grinding down the spacers so they're not so thick, but otherwise plan to use them normally.
• Started trying to fit the right-front brake line. Not sure I have the precise path figured out yet. Going to need to seek some photos to really figure it out. I didn't take enough during disassembly.

Todo before I start the engine:

• Assemble the lid-MAF-throttle airway.
• Get the RF brake line into position.
• Assemble, route, and connect the new battery cables; install battery
• Connect a couple grounds
• Connect Y-pipe
• Install O2 sensors, route extensions, and plug them in
• Turn key to ON and do a quick run-through of all the electric circuits -- lights, horn, wipers, washers, blower, radio, dash, etc.
• Fill and bleed all fluids (except brakes)
• Check fuel pressure
• Crank it with fuel pump fuse pulled to distribute some oil

One or two more solid days of working on it should do the trick. Getting excited!

 

Getting close…

 

Done:

• Installed front brake lines
• Acquired, re-loomed and taped, and installed new battery/starter/alternator cables (4awg upgrade!)
• Mounted the fuse holder for the fuel pump hotwire kit
• Rerouted the clutch hydraulic line and remote bleeder line behind a heat shield where the should be
• Reconnected the last of the grounds
• Installed a pressure-balancing vent on the axle
• Ordered some POR-15 so I can keep the rear axle housing looking nice and rust-free
  • I am still waiting for the tone rings I ordered, I don't want to install the axle until those get here and I have them pressed in, so this isn't really slowing me down.
• Installed the battery

Remaining:

• I didn't hook up the battery positive post yet, but that's the next thing to do before I can turn the key (to ON, not START) and check all the electrical circuits.
  • If I discover any bugs here, I may have some rework or troubleshooting to do.
• Hook up the steering shaft (forgot to do this as the engine was going in -- thankfully, I inverted the driver side PS rack bolt, so I can remove and reinstall the rack without difficulty).
• Install the Y pipe
• Fill and bleed all fluids
• Crank the engine w/ fuel pump fuse disconnected to distribute some oil
• Read the stock tune from the PCM
• Spend some time in HPTuners putting together a baseline tune
• Flash the PCM with the updated tune
• Start the engine!

Still plenty after that (front and rear, brakes & suspension, rear axle, driveshaft, button up the trap door, put the interior back together), but I'm getting into the really exciting parts!

 

Done:

• steering shaft
• y-pipe installed
• filled clutch, oil, coolant, PS fluid. Bled PS and clutch.
• hooked up battery positive; tested most circuits
• almost everything worked on the first try. The starter bound up with the flywheel and had to be shimmed.
• shimmed starter
• fastened my fuel pump hotwire relay to its mount with loctite.
• tested fuel pressure
  • it showed only ten PSI, but I think this was due to air in the lines.
• installed the fuel pump fuse
• cranked engine with fuel for the first time. Fuel pressure jumped to 58 in a few seconds, and:

You Tube

• it actually started and idled pretty well on the stock LS1 tune! It’s driving injectors that are nearly twice the size (24lb -> 42lb) and doesn’t know it — but one of the first things I will need to do with the tune is supply the correct injector data, and then I’ll have to dial in a bunch more fuel throughout the tables.
• Then I tried to read the tune from the PCM using HPTuners. My laptop isn’t seeing the MPVI3. Need to try some other cables and do some googling.

 

Success ! ! !

Well done. Get the injector data updated before the excess fuel causes damage.

Posting on CamaroZ28.com brings to mind a version of the old adage - Posting your build thread on CZ28.com is like peeing your pants while wearing a dark suit. You get a warm feeling, but nobody else notices.

Keep the faith brother! And keep the info flowing.

 

 

I have the updated tune on my laptop waiting to be reflashed. I’ll do that before the next time I turn the key. I have updated tables for the injectors, MAF, tires, and gearing, plus some tweaks to the knock tables in hopes of preventing the SES I always used to get if I cruised below 1500rpm after installing the lightweight flywheel. Haven’t touched fueling or idle yet; planning on doing those real time with the engine running for direct feedback.

🤣 perhaps more true today than it was twenty years ago…

Of course!

 

Progress update:
Got my *** kicked last week by a root canal and an infection that followed. I was out of commission almost the whole week! 😭

Anyway: I’ve got the catback hooked up now, and I finally got around to re-tightening the bolts we loosened a couple months ago in order to drop the fuel tank an inch or so to get the hotwire kit routed through there. Now that the engine has started and shown good pressure, I felt reasonably safe doing that.

My new (purchased a couple years ago) PS rack from Rack Doctor has a huge leak. After I ran the engine, there was a big puddle under the rack. It appears to be coming from the seal where the input shaft comes in from the column. Super disappointing! I could repair or rebuild it, but I’ve now become aware of Detroit Speed’s quick-ratio rack, and really want to nab one of those! It's a little pricey; we'll see what the budget looks like.

 

Catback is not only connected but properly hung now. (It was just sitting on jack stands.)

ABS tone rings for the rear axles should be here today. Got the axles pulled from the Moser in prep for that; need to figure out what shop I'm having press things off/on for me. I kinda love that the Moser doesn't use C-clips and that I can remove axles without cracking open the housing.

The Moser is roughly in position under the car. Trying to get everything lined up w/ control arms, shocks, panhard, and torque arm. It's a bit of a PITA with just one person and no lift, but I was getting close last night when it came time to call it quits. I believe the thing currently holding me up is that the front end of the torque arm is slid too far through the rubber mount sleeve and needs to be slid rearward a couple inches to properly interface with the axle. Shouldn't be a big deal. (I'm probably not going to tie everything up just yet; want to coat the axle housing with POR15 first. But meanwhile, I want to test-fit my driveshaft and make sure the UMI torque arm is fully compatible with the Moser. (It seemed to be when I tried fitting them together with neither on the car.)

Looks like I have an oil leak near the filter -- even when the car is not running. Haven't investigated yet; just put down some oil dry and a cup to catch the drips. I'm guessing it's the little cover plate above the filter; I was planning on installing an oil cooler, and left the factory cover on just to keep dust out until the time comes to add that. I probably installed it without its gasket. Kinda annoying, as I'll have to drain all the oil I added already and try to catch it so I can pour it back in after everything is fixed. (Or just buy six more quarts of Mobil1, but that's just wasteful!)

 

Rear shocks and LCAs have been removed. Tone rings are here, and I totally forgot that my neighbor down the street has a full machine shop. I'm guessing there's a press in there.

That's all I had time for yesterday.

 

Kinda all over the place this week.

Got the oil leak sealed up, and removed the old leaky PS rack.

No press at the neighbor's, but my father-in-law has a friend with one. We brought the axles over to his shop and were told that the bearings are going to be destroyed by pressing them off (hardened retaining rings that will need to be cut), so now I have to source new bearings and retaining rings. Moser is being a bit obtuse about telling me what to buy; I need to call them today.

I got the rear assembled onto the car and test-fit the busted driveshaft (there's a big gouge around the shaft, and a one of the U-joint caps is missing a bunch of needles in its bearing). Length was good, so I had the info I needed to order a replacement. Called PST; new 3.5" aluminum shaft with billet yoke should be here early next week. I believe the driveshaft will be the strongest part of my drivetrain (should be strong enough for 1200hp -- most of the rest is good for 7-800), and I like the sound of that.

Then I took the rear end back out of the car and started stripping it down. I'm going to shine it all down to bare metal (mostly using a flap disc on my grinder), then paint it with POR-15. I have maybe almost half of the grinding done. I probably should have just stripped it down to just the housing and taken it somewhere for sandblasting, but that's honestly a lot more work, and using the flap disc and revealing all that shiny metal is really satisfying!

The Detroit Speed quick-ratio steering rack came yesterday; I'm hoping to get it installed tonight. Once that's in, we should be ready to install the front suspension! Control arms, brakes, spindles, shocks, and springs can all go in. Pretty exciting. I have new SKF X-Tracker hubs to install as part of this, and I also acquired a set of Blaine Fab brake cooling duct shrouds a while back, and plan to see if I can integrate those as well.

While I was ordering from Detroit Speed, I also ordered a set of their fender flange protectors -- didn't know this was a thing, but my fender flanges got crushed years ago and it's always bugged me. Now there's a nice robust chunk of metal there to protect them (and it should be nice for lifting the car, too!). Those came yesterday as well, and in the little bit of garage time I had yesterday, I got one of them installed. It's a reasonably straightforward process, complicated a bit by the fact that my flanges are already crushed.

Waiting on some parts from UMI -- I ordered a driveshaft loop, a new on-car-adjustable panhard bar, their tubular panhard brace and lowering adapter, and new hardware for all of that. Also a pair of new LCA relocation brackets, as mine seem to have been crushed somehow. I could heat them up and hammer them flat, but new ones will be better.

I am interested in a FTRA/SSRA, or some other means of getting more air to the airbox. The little slots at the front of the box just don't make me feel like they'll provide enough flow. But with the 3" Dewitts radiator, there's pretty much zero room for those products, so I have to figure out something else. I'm still in the ideas phase here.

 

Less progress this weekend than I would have hoped.

• The Detroit Speed quick-ratio rack and fender flange protectors are installed.
• I pulled the wheels and tires out of the garage and gave them a nice blasting with the pressure washer to clean off all of the cobwebs, dust, etc that has collected on them since the car was parked in 2017. The inner hoops are still absolutely caked in brake dust.
• Made a bunch of progress stripping surface rust off the axle housing. I'd say it's 90% done. Most of what's left are the little nooks and corners I can't get to with the 5" flap disc. I spent a solid hour with a tiny flap wheel on the Dremel yesterday. Probably another hour of work left to finish it up, and then we can get started with the POR15.
• The replacement axle bearings should be here today; we'll finally be able to complete the press operations.
• After much analysis, I've decided there's a decent chance that an SSRA will fit after all. If it won't, it'll be close, and I think I can just cut it a bit to make it fit. If it comes to that, I'll cut the back side so that some of the airflow goes through the AC condenser. That'll hinder the ram air effect, but I'll still have a much better supply of cool, fresh air (and approximately zero chance of ever sucking up water all the way to the intake!). So, I ordered an SSRA Jaws. I really like how it opens up at speed.
• I spent a decent bit of time cleaning up the garage so I have more room to work and can more easily find my tools. I'm really bad about keeping things decluttered as I go, and I've found that it's most efficient for me to pause my work periodically and do a full cleanup. Probably an ADHD thing.
• Still waiting on parts from UMI. They said they have a 3-4 week lead time on most parts, and I only ordered last week.

 

Good to see it coming back together!

 

More progress:

• Re-mounted the PS pump. (Had to remove it to mess around with the length of the return line; it needs to be shortened because I removed the factory PS cooler.)
  • I'm using ICT Billet's billet aluminum mounting brackets. This was the first time I had installed the pump on the engine with the engine in the car, and holy CRAP is it difficult! I had struggled a little previously, but this was way worse. I ended up drilling out the three mounting holes on one of the parts in order to get all three bolts to thread in. I'm thinking one or more of the holes in the bracket were not quite where they're supposed to be -- which is weird, because I think it's a CNC part. If I ever have it off again, I think I might drill one of the holes one drill size bigger, and then maybe find somebody with a TIG and have the three parts of the bracket tacked together. That would make installation much easier! As-is, the round aluminum spacer that goes over the bottom bolt is always falling off as I manipulate the pump into position.
• Shortened the low-pressure PS line and attached it.
• Found that the O-ring is missing from my high-pressure PS line. This is probably where the leak was coming from on the other rack. Local dealership doesn't stock them (discontinued), so I have one coming from RockAuto.
• Removed the upper radiator support / lower airbox and the AC condenser shroud, in prep for the SSRA install.
• Started fabricating a new alternator splash shroud. Mine is torn, and I can't find new ones anywhere. I bought a pair of plain black polyurethane truck mudflaps from Amazon. Yesterday I traced my existing shroud onto one of the flaps, cut that shape out with my oscillating saw, and did some final shaping and smoothing with the belt sander. It came together really nicely, but the mudflap material is significantly stiffer than the factory stuff. I was hoping that once I had it cut out, it would be flexible enough to fit, but no such luck -- it's way too stiff. So now I've ordered a different sheet of material from McMaster-Carr. Will try again when that gets here!

Shipments:

• The axle bearings came yesterday as expected; I should have the shafts back from the friend-of-a-friend in the next couple days.
• Driveshaft should be here today.
• SSRA should be here tomorrow.
• I reached out to PLX Devices to find out about the wideband O2 sensor+controller I ordered. Apparently that won't be here until late next month. :/

 

Finished the custom alternator splash shroud in the new, softer material, and mounted it in place. I used 40A durometer urethane sheet, 1/4" thickness, which I purchased from McMaster-Carr. The material is a bit softer than I would have preferred, but I think it'll work. If anybody wants to follow in my footsteps, I'd recommend something in the 60A ballpark.




Next, I drilled a hole in my trans crossmember so that I could use it to mount the O2 sensor connector. It's pretty much the perfect spot. Will come back and treat the hole with paint when I'm doing the POR15 on the axle.



Also:

• Steering rack mount bolts have been loctited and torqued.
• Steering column bolts have been loctited and torqued.
• Started assembling front suspension.
• Driveshaft has arrived!
• SSRA didn't come yesterday after all; now expecting it today.
• I think I'll have the axles back with reluctors and brand new SKF bearings installed either today or tomorrow.

Up next:

• More front suspension assembly
• SSRA install
• Finish stripping the axle housing and start painting.

My goal had been to have the car ready for the local car show this Sunday. It's not looking like I'm going to make it, but there's still a small chance!