IROCgiraffe

iTrader: (3)

Looking good!

Mitch91Z28

Good Job!

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

So.....



X 4

STREETDEMON

now that's making use of your back seat!

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

All mounted and ready to be abused!

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

So...I finally got another full day to work on the car. The list was short, and I was pretty determined to get the majority of it done.

I got the car put back into service with my insurance company, and I registered it for the first time in years. Just in case...

Good thing I did, because I DROVE IT SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!

First, it was 34 degrees when I got to the car. And it was windy all stinking day. Really made for a pretty miserable working environment, even though it was technically nice out. I got my fuel pump access door finished up, and got the carpet back into place, as best I could without removing plastics.

Then I insalled the rest of the front brakes. Rebuilt the back brakes. I didnt paint them...because it was too cold and I didnt feel like messing with it. I can do it another time. Bled everything real good. After that, I did a final bolt and wire check before putting the wheels and tires on.

I also installed a fuel rail mounted fuel pressure gauge to verify my pressure. I was having issues with my Autometer electric gauge, so I ordered a "Marshall" online. Im not sure if its a knock off, or what, but I like it.



Key on gives me a solid 50 psi. And when running its showing 68 I think... I kind of forgot to check it.



Had to put the front wheels on ramps to load up the front suspension, and got everything tightened up.





After that I fired it up with the rear wheels off the ground to make sure my clutch was working. Then...dropped it on the ground. I forgot how low the car was!



Did one last check to make sure brake lights worked, turn signals, etc. Climbed in, fired it up, and moved it under its own power for the first time in what felt like forever!!!

I got video of the first drive, and Ill post the link after youtube is done processing it. But...just for proof... Look at that HORRIBLE paint...ugh.



It ran pretty nice! I forgot what poly mounts, and long tubes and stiff suspension felt like. Im pretty sure thats all I felt in the way of vibes. But I gotta drive it some more to be sure my motor or driveline isnt vibing for any reason. Just sort of putz around a little. I did get on it some, tried to run it up in RPMs a bit.

The ONLY issues I have, are one of my brake fittings is leaking a tiny bit. But I think I got it stopped. And, after my first drive, I shut it off, and took my dad for a drive. It didnt want to start. Like, it cranked like crap. Then when it fired off, it was hunting for idle, then smoothed out and was fine.

Im guessing either the battery is crap, or the tune needs tweaked, which I know it does. Im going to contact Frost over on tech about a mail order tune I think. But the battery is an old optima red top, and on the charger, never reaches "charged". So, hopefully thats it. Sunday I put the battery back in and it cranked over and fired perfect. Thats the other thing, my LTFT's are turned off, and I keep disconnecting the battery for days on end. So maybe that has something to do with it. Ill have Frost turn those back on since my fueling problem is fixed since my last tune.

She's just sitting and waiting! Gonna head over at lunch time today and take it for a quick drive. Probably do that a few times this week, then bring it home, get it inspected...just in time for it to be crappy weather haha.



Anyone have input on how I should drive it in the mean time? Am I ok to get on it a little more now that the initial drives are done? Obviously keeping an eye on my Wideband to make sure its not washing cylinders down or something haha.

J.

IROCgiraffe

iTrader: (3)

Lookin' Good!

STREETDEMON

that's always a good feeling to put some miles on it!

i think you should be OK as long as your not overdoing it. just keep on eye on the fueling.

Flip 2

iTrader: (1)

Don't it feel good!

khulsebus

iTrader: (2)

J, I got excited reading about you driving it.

drduster

iTrader: (2)

Way to go!! It's a great feeling after doing that much work!!!

STREETDEMON

j., i picked up an intune on the cheap to use in my pickup. i've only got about 100 miles since i flashed in a tune, so i'm not sure about it yet. i ran their canned 87 octane tune and put a firm shift kit in....so i'll keep you updated as i learn more about it.

from the reading i've done, it's not a very good option for internal mods.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Yeah...thats what Im gathering too. I REALLY want to buy HP Tuners Pro and learn. I would love to. But I can NOT shell out $650 right now. And still probably need/want a dyno tune on top of that. Just too rich for my blood at the moment.

I got a few feelers out to local guys that street tune by the hour and will also dyno tune. Not LS specific shops, but they've tuned LS motors before. One guys is running 9's. So, Im guessing he could get my car running halfway decent haha.

Planning to run home at lunch since the car is only about 15 mins away from me right now and take it on a little joy ride. Hopefully nothing breaks hahaha. I want to try restarting it while hot again and see if it gives me the same issues. If it doesnt want to crank, I might try to jump it, to see if its a battery issue or if its in fact a tune problem.

Video of first drive...ah screw it. Here it is. Quality is CRAP. But I would hate myself for not posting it. I might snag some windows up video today.


J.

No4Play

lookin good man!

STREETDEMON

glad to see it out on the road.

haha, enjoyed your comment after lighting the tires up in your driveway.

my kids love when i pick them up in the camaro. we live down a gravel road, and there is a cement bridge right before our driveway....it's my own personal burnout box.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Im almost embarrassed to post the walk around...car looks terrible on the top surfaces haha. But here's a little vid, and a clip of me driving with the windows up so you can hear it a little better. Still going easy on it because my wideband was making me nervous haha. Its kind of all over the place.


I cant WAIT to pick my son up from daycare/school in it! haha. I have to drive all the way around the building to get out because its all one way, and the car is gonna sound awesome thumping off the building and property fence. Probably scare half the kids

I need a good burn out spot. There is actually a part of four lane road near me that seems abandoned. Like, they were working on it, and just quit. So it dead ends with jersey barriers, and goes under an overpass. SO it'd be a cool spot to play around. But I think Ill stick the good ol back roads for the burn outs.

Who am I kidding...after what I paid for the new tires I probably wont even spin em

J.

One thing I noticed while driving...and I cant remember if it was always like this, or if I just got used to other cars over the last few years. But my brake pedal seems SUPER high. Like...twice as high as the gas pedal. Zero chance of heel-toe. My clutch pedal is low, because of the Tick master cylinder. I can probably bring that up some, but Ide have to build a stop to avoid maxing out the travel Ide think. Can my brake pedal be adjusted somehow?? Or is there any way it could have changed?

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

I looked at old pictures. I guess my brake pedal was always higher than the gas pedal. Just felt really weird...probably due to not being in the car for so long. I might try to figure out if I can change this, because its a HUGE jump from the gas pedal to the brake. Probably a fault that I hadnt noticed or cared about in the past.

This is during the TICK install. The clutch pedal is actually a little lower now I think.





We'll see. Im gonna take a pic/check it out later this week to see if it was just my imagination. Also going to make sure my gas pedal isnt LOW for some reason.

Flip 2

iTrader: (1)

Sounds nice.
Be patient, you will get things ironed out. Just takes some time.
When your LTFTs are back on, you drivability will improve. Getting them dialed in- as mentioned- will do wonders.
Starting is never an issue for me, even when the rest of the tune was not too good. Funny thing, though, the other day. Thought I was in neutral, let the clutch and stalled. Hard to start right after that. ?????? Only time there was a hint of an issue.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Hahah Ive BEEN patient!!! Now its sitting there almost ready to go and I want to haha

Nah Im in check. I would like to get it tuned this year, and drive it some before putting it away for the winter. But other than that, the little issues will wait.

It never gives me a problem starting up initially. Like, if it sits for 3 weeks, and I walk out and turn it over it will fire right up. Its after it has some temperature in it, that it doesnt like to crank/fire up. So its either something happening with the battery/starter, or the tune is dumping fuel due to a temperature/tune issue. We'll see!

Like I siad, I left the battery hooked up this last time. When I stop over this week and crank it up, Im expecting it to NOT dump fuel out of the exhaust while it figures itself out haha.

J.

WTR388

I read a post on another guy's swap that his starter motor was basically getting too hot from his headers and had difficulty starting after driving the car around but was fine when it was cold.

On my stock pedals, the gas pedal is in further than my brake as well... It's enough that it bothers me when trying to "heal -toe". My 5 spd Canyon was set up better pedal wise lol.

camaro1185

What pedals do you use? T5 or T56? I will agree its tough to heel toe in my car too....ok more like impossible and that needs to be fixed pronto.

As for my clutch pedal its the highest of all of my pedals, the brake being second highest and brake obviously lowest.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

I guess my starter could be going...but it doesnt have that many miles, and when the car went down, it was fine. Then again..it did get pretty wet on that fateful day... I gotta see what the battery is doing during cranking when hot. New starters are $$$$.

There is also the issue of it stumbling and hunting for idle on restart too though. So it might be fueling.

Im running thirdgen pedals. So T5. When I was using a 100% stock 4th gen master, the clutch pedal was a tad lower than the brake. When I was using the RAM adjustable, I had the pedal just about level with the brake.

With the Tick and its bigger bore Tilton cylinder, it doesnt need that much travel. So I set it like the instructions say. And, Im pretty sure Im getting full disengagement, but its very low. It almost feels like a dead pedal compared to other clutches, yet its probably pushing more fluid haha.

The clutch doesnt bug me. The brake being so high does all of a sudden. I have to lift my leg to hit it, and I dont remember it being that bad. But...Im wondering if I can adjust the brake push rod. The brake switch has some room to adjust. Even a little bit would help. Even if I cant heel/toe. Moving from the gas to the brake my foot almost goes under the pedal haha.

J.

STREETDEMON

j. for what it's worth my pedals are the same way. clutch is lower than the brake, and the brake is higher than the loud pedal. i'm also using a 3rd gen setup.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

I figured I just lost touch with the car. I never remember it bothering me. Oh well. Maybe I can figure something out later if I can't get used to it. For now I gotta focus on loose ends. Namely a brake line leak. Its not an end that I flared, so I'm not sure why its leaking. Might be the female side. I just hate brake fluid. And bleeding brakes haha.

Tomorrow at lunch I'm going back to see what's what again. Maybe more driving.

Flip 2

iTrader: (1)

For what it's worth, heel and toe is not the necessity it used to be. The T-56 seems quite jolly about downshifts, at least with the synthetic (Valvoline-$10.00 a bottle) in mine. I have got 2nd from 3rd a couple of times- when 4th was what I wanted. No problem, as long I realized it before dumping the clutch all the way…zing go the strings of my tach…LOL

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

True. I dont NEED to heel/toe. But, I plan to possibly track the car. Maybe do some auto crossing. MAYBE. Ill settle for being able to move from gas to brake without having to lift my whole leg though.

Like I said, I might just need to get used to it again. I might have been imagining things last time I drove it haha. Im focusing on all the noises and issues and looking for problems. So it could be in my head.

J.

Flip 2

iTrader: (1)

It's amazing how far brake pedals go down, when you really get on them.
Sliding that heel over will suddenly be much easier.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

So I went over on Friday and fired the car up. It started up great...but wideband was showing 11.2-12.0 for a while. During that time, it huffs some pretty foul smelling exhaust...way rich smelling. Eventually it settles out at stoich when idling.

I decided to throw a couple revs through it with the cut out open. When I did that, it wouldnt idle for a bit. Like it was stumbling and hunting. Something isnt right...and im not sure if I should even drive it more without having someone tweak the PCM.

The local guy I found wants $300 for a street tune. While that doesnt seem too bad, its still a little rich for what I can do this year. Frost Tuning costs $200 for a mail order tune for an internal mod car. I can probably swing $200, but I feel like with my mods, the mail order tune would require some real in person tuning shortly after anyway.

So Im kinda stuck hahaha. I still want to get HP Tuners and do it my darn self. Just an update. Gonna really look into my options some more, email Frost to see what he thinks and go from there.

J.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

So this happened....



And soon after that...this...





Decided to bring the car home!! Now she's right outside my door!! I kind of decided on a spur of the moment type deal. I got my brake line to stop seeping, it was running well, and said screw it. Its now or not until next spring haha.

I had it out with my wife and we were leaning on it pretty good. Keeping a watchful eye on the wideband and gauges. Everything below 50% throttle is great. Anything more than that and she goes pig rich so I back out. I also kept an eye on my short term fuel trims and I was noticing a bigger difference than Ide seen before. Almost like it was acting when the injectors were clogged. But with the LTFT's turned off, and the need for a tune, Im not going to worry about that yet. I have new fuel rails, and will grab new injectors if needed. Or have mine serviced.

So, the drive home is about 40 minutes. Probably 75% highway and 25% stop and go stuff. Through King of Prussia and Norristown if you are familiar with the area. Car performed great. It is...FAST. So much stronger down low than before. Im guessing a combo of the 6.0 and the better cam. I had no heat issues, no idle issues, nothing. The only thing was when I stopped for gas, which I wasnt gonna do but got nervous, it didnt want to start back up. It was cranking slow and then fired. Like Ive described before. I think its a timing thing.

Anyway...Im sort of thinking I might end this thread here. Its getting long, and most of the swap related stuff is done. I have lots more projects like recovering the headliner, and doing some other odds and ends, that would probably be better suited to their own threads in different sections.

Ill still post up if I do anything swap related in here. And will certainly respond if there are any questions/comments.

Here's a fun video to top it off!!


J.

IROCgiraffe

iTrader: (3)

Sounds healthy!

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Thanks! Feels healthy! I really want to stomp on it and let it rip but I gotta wait haha. Hopefully if I get some street tuning, I can at least make sure WOT is safe. But even then Ill probably wait til the break in oil is gone. I also have to remember how to drive stick. Im a bit rusty haha.

J.

Oops... See what I mean about more low end grunt? haha. I wasnt even really trying to spin em. This is gonna be fun...

STREETDEMON

haha, bye bye nittos........

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Yeah... tell me about it. I want to do a nice big smokey burnout. But the broke side of me says NO SAVE THE TIRES!!!

Maybe the key is, to do one big all out burn out, but get it on video from several angles, so if I feel the urge to see my car smoke em, I can just review hahahhaa. Thank that will work?

J.

STREETDEMON

according to my sources, i say yes.

i already have a smokey sendoff planned for my cooper zeon's next spring when i put my dr's on, i'll have to use your idea!

IROCgiraffe

iTrader: (3)

Used tires on a spare set of wheels...

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

I was bummed about my old tires. They were so bad I didnt even want to risk going across the street. Let alone heating them up any. I had high hopes for doing a really huge burn out after my tune was done and everythign checked out. But the deal for my Nitto's came up way sooner than i thought, and it didnt work out that way.

Oh well...hopefully next summer Im not putting any money into the car. If I need to spend $200 to replace the rear tires at the end of the year so be it

Hoping to hit the track at least once. Im determined... And even though they dont NEED a burnout I guess...they're getting a BURNOUT lol.

J.

cam-

Nice! Wise man to keep out of it untuned. If your happy with the mods and power level where it is? I say save the money on the tuning suite, buy some fresh injectors for piece of mind and certainty to have no glitches during the tune and following few years, drive it to wherever the best tuner you can find is, and pony the dough up to him and call it a day it should be MINT after that.

If you think your going to get the mod bug again well then i can see investing in the tuning suite, but be prepared its a long, frustrating, and steep curve to "master" tuning digitally. You can expedite this process by attending the tuning school but again $$$ and if your not using it often? Your going to lose it, Im shocked how quick that stuff leaves me when im not buried neck deep in histograms daily its just not laid out in a manner that fits the normal path of logic so you need to wrestle with it mentally a bit before you know what to do.

I think i have at least 200 hours with HP so far and im still a total hack and I mean HACK compared to the pros. So much so I still need my local tuning guru to dial my junk in after I take it as far as I can. Not trying to derail your tuning agenda by going it on your own, just giving you my experience with it to help you make the best choices with your dollars.

Anyways all said and done it sure is nice to see it laying some rubber again. It always makes me cringe a bit when I see a nice car go downhill and/or neglected. Representing third gen LSx awesomesauce award of the day gos to you man, thanks for the smiles

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Thanks cam. Trust me, your advice isnt de-railing anything. I certainly take what you say to heart. At this point, I think Im going to get with the local guy for a street tune. Im guessing he can dial in my WOT so at least its safe. And then a dyno tune later to squeeze whatever I can out of it. But right now, I just want to get it where it'll run/start well, and where I dont need to worry about it self destructing.

I cant say if Im happy with the power level, since I cant even mat it yet. BUT...its pretty obviuos that its fairly strong. Maybe its from driving slow cars for the last three years. But man it feels strong. Still ticks like a SOB though. Im starting to think its an exhaust leak. Since the ticking from inside the car sounds exactly as it did before. Or...its just how it is.

Friday Im getting the car inspected, and aligned. Im gonna be searching for good alignment specs. I used to have some written down, and the black 87 was aligned to those specs and was great. Right now it handles like crap. Tracks straight, but its touchy in both directions, and the steering wheel is crooked.

Couple projects that are on my docket next. Im gonna decide on injectors. Whether I get mine serviced, or get new ones. I have a new fuel rail to go with them. Then its tune.

Next is some little things. Re-cover the headliner. Clean up some wiring. Maybe do some cheap sound deadner.

Either way, friday will be a 30 minute road trip one way. Some back roads, some turnpike. So Ill get some more break in time.

J.

cam-

I wouldnt worry much re the ticking, mine ticks like a sumbitch now too. First couple years it was super quiet. I think its a combo of oil pump wear and lifter bore wear over time. Not to mention the light valve lash we run for safety.

Anyways re the tune as one more option if you buy HP you can "rape" the PE tables at WOT and use your wb to set wot af where it wont hurt your engine any. Our first set ups including my third gen LS1 swap was tuned this way, worked mint. Its not "proper" tuning.... but it is easy and you have verified that under 50% throttle your af is good so? Might be the best option yet.

As for road tuning? I think it works better than dyno tuning after doing both a few times now but be careful of the man out there while your romping about dialing it in LOL.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Hahah yeah..thats why I wanted to get inspected first. One less thing for the man to complain about in case he doesnt like what Im up to.

The guy that Im thinking about going with seems like he knows his stuff. He tunes a lot of DSMs and other imports, as well as a couple 9 second LS1 cars. I think he'll at least be able to get my grocery getter into shape

J.

STREETDEMON

j. i bought a huge roll of fatmat rattletrap on amazon for cheap. i still have more than enough to do another car and a half probably. tough to tell if it made a difference or not, because i did a lot of suspension stuff at the same time, so i get some more clunks and solid road noise now.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Fatmat was a choice I was considering. I just want to remove the stuff under the dash, at least past where the pedals mount and my wires pass through. And insulate sound the tunnel where the exhaust is close to the floor. I dont really need to do every square inch,but will prob think about doing it anyway.

Well...I took the car for inspection yesterday. 40 minute drive using turnpike and back roads. It wasn't too happy when I hit stop and go in town. Stalled out on me after coming to a stop a couple times and needed throttle to fire back up. This only seems to happen after its hot. On the return trip I had zero problems and even popped the tops. Man I missed that. She's all legal!!!

I also noticed that my wideband is showing 14.7 on engine braking, and sometimes even shows more rich. Is that normal? I feel like its loading up after its hot and I'm coming to a stop. Only does it once in a while. Let it cool off for a bit, and it runs like a champ. Obviously I need some tuning hah.

The other little issue is, I'm watching my STFT's, and there is a bigger discrepancy than I'de like. Bank 1 is always pulling more fuel than bank 2. Had this same situation during my tune, and it was injectors clogged. So I'm going to swap injectors side to side and see if it flops sides. If so, I'm getting my inj serviced, or replacing.

That's the latest!

J.

Flip 2

iTrader: (1)

I bet your DFCO is turned off, as well as your LTFTs…. DFCO cuts fuel feed when you get off the throttle… saves LOTS of gasoline, plus it won't load up when the tunes a bit off.
I'm with Cam. Find a good tuner, and go with him. HP is so sweet, you have to pay a new license fee when you switch tuners… OUCH!

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Is that "Decel Fuel Cut Off"? Im thinking there is def something going on there.

I cant believe its off that far. It didnt do that with the old motor at all. I swear...people say the tune cant change, but Ive had some WEIRD experiences with these PCMs. Like tuning VATS out and then having it come back...then going away...then coming back again haha.

Im going to sort out my injector dilemma first. I checked a video I made of my STFT's for my tuner, and they were almost exactly the same B1 to B2. That was right before the car went down. Now they are wacked out again like they were when I brought it home from the tuner. So, I dont think the injectors are actually cleaned out. I knew it was a gamble to clean them myself and run them. I guess sitting for 3 years gave them fits. If I swap sides, and the discrepancy swaps sides, then Ill see what to do. Most injector cleaning services seem to run $200ish. I just need to decide if I want to stick with these big bodies and get them fixed, or just order a new set of the skinny Bosch III's or something for a little more. Supposedly the newer ones have a nicer spray pattern.

If I get new ones, I can load them into the new fuel rails that I have, and when I get to the tuner, just slap them on real fast, have him adjust for them, and go from there.

Also... I need to make sure my O2's and their wiring is good. On my scan gauge, its weird. Its almost like the B1 O2 reads fine, but the B2 one I have to skip to what I would think would be the "rear" sensor before I see it switching and reading. Going to try to double check wiring, and possibly just replace both before any tuning.

All I know is, with only half throttle, it'll lay lines on the road in second or third haha. I cant believe it runs as good as it does!

J.

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

Testing the o2 circuit is simple. Use a meter to test 12v and grd then unhook the PCM and test the two legs to the PCM

If you find a break or short, run a new wire vs trying to track down the fracture

mwfrels

J, are you using your old PCM and tune? If so was it calibrated for 5.7 or 6.0? Just a random thought in my head without going back and reading this thread from the start.

M

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Yeah I figured ide trace the o2 wires if I thought there was an issue. Gonna see if a buddy can do some logging for me soon.

mwfrels...its the same pcm and tune as the 5.7. But everything from the 5.7 is on the 6.0. Only difference is the cam. And the extra displacement. Same inj and all.

Figured it would be ok for some light driving. Hopefully I'm not destroying it! Lol. One eye glued to the road, the other to the wideband haha.

J.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Something I thought would never happen...



He loved it. Laughing and yelling for me to go fast haha. He's going to be trouble when he turns 16...

J.

cam-

Instant coolest Dad around town. Making that kids dreams light up bright. Nicely done sir

IROCgiraffe

iTrader: (3)

That's AWESOME!