NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

I've been on the board a long time, mostly for research and I have sold some parts off of some of my older 3rd Gens, but now I have basically "inherited" a 1988 GTA that belonged to the old man. He's had it since 1996 and the LB9 finally gave up the ghost so he gave it up to work on other projects. Rather then see it go outside the family I decided to scoop it up. Now for the record, I am pretty much set on the direction this car is going so any advice/help toward what I am doing will be appreciated, but don't waste your time trying to talk me into big HP, just did that with my 2002 and wish I hadn't. My goal for this car is a roughly 400HP driver, lighten it up a little and improve the handling. So having said that, any other advice will be welcomed, but do not get offended if it isn't taken (please ).
Basic rundown:
2002 LQ4
Cam (undecided on which one yet)
T56
LS1 fuel system/fuel tank
Lots of suspension/brake mods (ask questions if you want specifics)
Headers/Y-pipe, I will be running CATS also
GMMG cat back
Dual MAP PCM for gas/E85

And obviously there are a million details in between, but I have nothing but time so I'm in no rush.

as of now it is still in the teardown phase, emptying out the engine bay so i can re-paint it, once that is done I will do the front suspension and K-member. And now onto the pics so far
Here it is, as it sat when I got it, engine is the stock 305 with what appears to be a broken ring land so it is coming out!


As you can see the interior is pretty much completely restored to original.



And here is the Original TPI engine, take a good luck because it is going into storage!


Teardown: few pics of the engine teardown progress. This was after the first day, removed alot of the electronics, some of the intake etc..

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

More teardown completed, LB9 and 700R4 are tucked away in the garage. Few more parts and pieces and I can start working on cleaning and painting the engine bay!




finished the shift plate today. managed to cut the mirror switch hole without cracking it. I may re-do the vinyl wrap at some point, there are 2 small creases in it that will drive me nuts but for now it is done except for the 6 Spd shift patter sticker to cover up the indentation from the factory emblem. Overall I think it came out pretty good, below is a before and after shot!

Before:


After:

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Got the fuel tank together , haven't attempted the wiring as of yet, figure I'll do that once I actually install it






More teardown, A/C and wiring harness come out next

1badeagle

iTrader: (2)

Looks like a good clean car.

dprest68

iTrader: (1)

You're going to have a sweet ride there when you finish it. It looks to be in real nice shape!

86White_T/A305

Cam wise if you arent looking for big hp but decent lope and nice curve Id say in the 224-228 range on a 112lsa would be great.228R was my choice and love it to death.

You have a very clean base to work off of..this will turnout to be a great driver.Good luck on the build

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

I was thinking the same thing for the cam, maybe something like the TR 224/224 on a 112, or even the GMPP hot cam would be fine for what I want. I had the latter for a few years in my 02 and liked it, even though alot of people like to give some flak about it for some reason.

Mkos1980

iTrader: (8)

I absoluletly love my Trick Flow Cam. It seems nobody gives these cams a chance. Mines the Level 3 228/230 585/585 112 It idles smooth, drives perfect and I feel its a great all around cam. + It put down 423/399 with a stock 70K Lq4 shortblock, 243 heads and an LS6 intake. My headers also have 2.5 collectors also . Not like 3 most people run. and an automatic to boot with a low 2600 stall.

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Too much lift for what I want to do, but I don't doubt it is a runner. I am planning on staying at or below .550 on the lift

tvc 15

What are the black fittings you're using on the tank to convert to inverted flare?

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Are you talking about the quick connects? they are not inverted flare, they are -6AN. I am going to use tube nuts/sleeves to convert from -6 to hard lines
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RUS-640853
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RUS-640863
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FRA-581806
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FRA-581906

tvc 15

I couldn't tell on the type of flare. But those are cool, I didn't know about them. Thanks for the link.

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

had some time to do some more teardown, getting there. Cleaning off 24 years of road grime is a royal PITA.





Started getting some of the interior out also, probably won't pull the seats or carpet until the weather gets better.

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Just about done doing the teardown on the backhalf, just have to pull the tank tomorrow and I can start cleaning/painting. I do like finding just about no rust . rear axle is torn down and ready for cleaning and paint. All the suspension is off for cleaning/paint.

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

cprmn14

iTrader: (3)

looks good man, thanks for the evap pics on the plastic tank

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

FINALLY done taking the GTA apart (well behind the engine bay anyway). Got off all the old steel lines today, pulled the fuel tank and I will start cleaning and paint prep tomorrow, maybe even get the rust encapsulator on depending on how long it takes to clean, sand (where necessary) and mask the car. Unbelievably the 25 year old steel fuel and brake lines came out in 1 piece, I did find a pin hole in a fuel line though which solves the mystery of why the car smelled like gas when you first shut it off. Also found the car has def been hit on the right front at least once as the subframe is all wrinkled. However I still have not been able to find ANY rust under this car :thumb .I don't think I have ever seen an F-body torn down this far before, kinda cool. Just hoping it goes back together as easy as it came apart (Riiiight!)

Stock tank alongside modified 4th Gen tank


Fuel and Brake lines removed


gas tank area


Rear underfloor


Wrinkle on passenger side subframe


Passenger side engine bay


front underfloor

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Got the bottom painted today, took a total of 8 hours to degrease it, 2 hours to sand and mask and another 3 to actually paint.

Here is what it looked like when I got to it.


After 8 hours of de-greasing, back down to the paint...or sealed primer...or whatever the hell it was.


Masked off for paint and sanded


And finally painted, have to check once it dries and make sure there is no touching up to do.

cprmn14

iTrader: (3)

looks awesome! def something ive wanted to do for awhile.

LHernandezJr

Great-looking car. Thanks for taking the time to document your progress and share it with the rest of us.

Subscribed!

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Thanks guys, coming along slowly but surely

Jersey89GTA

iTrader: (1)

Very cool - you are living a dream for most of us.

I'd love to do this to a POS rat car and bring it back to life.

I want a IROC Vert to restore next.

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Put the 4th gen fuel tank in today, fit perfectly but there are a couple small problems that will have to be addressed at a later date. First the custom made adapter harness from racetronix was about 10 inches too short to reach from the fuel pump to the car side, so I will need to get an extension made for that. Other is the filler neck will need to be modified a bit. Other than that it popped right in. Also rust proofed the rear axle, still waiting on more paint to get here so I am stuck on that for now. So I guess I will while away my time cleaning some of the old parts and doing some more painting. Hopefully the paint shows by Thursday otherwise the axle is going back in and will need to be pulled again later on :/

Tank wired up with the too short adapter harness


Tank installed shots




Rear axle with the rust proof coating

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Another 3 hours spent de-greasing, sand blasting and painting the exhaust heat shields today. Then I rummaged through some boxes and found 2 1/2 cans of the paint I needed for the rear axle so I got the bottom half of that and the rear sway bar painted today. Painting is getting old, thankfully tomorrow morning will be the end of the painting for awhile.

Heat shields hanging up to dry


Rear heat shields installed


T56 Torque arm mount


Rear Axle and sway bar painted.

cprmn14

iTrader: (3)

lookin good!

Myfirstconvert

Looks good so far. Have anymore pics of the exterior of the car? It looks great!

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Well rear axle and suspension is installed and the car is back on it's wheels. A little pissed that quite a few parts didn't show up on time, sway bar links and bushings, rear springs, rear LCA's, forged axles, and some other small stuff so i will be doing some disassembling again but it is all in car stuff so shouldn't be too bad. Decided to wait and do the carrier studs when i do the axles so that is still on the list also. Also still need a new torque arm and the Watts link but that can wait for awhile. Also may have found a lead on a fairly priced T56, so keep your fingers crossed! This will be it for awhile, going to work for Uncle Sam for the next 6 months or so but I will start posting again once the car is out of hock.

Finished rear axle assembly





Axle and suspension re-installed

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

FINALLY got my T56, I ended up getting an LT1 trans, for the price he was asking I can change the midplate and input shaft when I do the Viper upgrade and rebuild it. It's also an M28 (out of a 93) so it has the 3.36 first gear in it and no skip shift to deal with. HOPEFULLY the gears are OK because that first gear is hard as hell to find, but for $700 I'll take my chances. Now if I can just get back home so i can get back to work on it I will be a happy camper!

zacharyhorn

iTrader: (1)

Looks great. I'll be following this thread as I too want to eventually swap in an LQ4 / LQ9 w/ the LT1 T56 since I have the trans already in the car.

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Hoping to be home in late April so I'll get back to work on the car then. Right now the trans isn;t a high priority so it will get back up and stored till I get around to it.

Flip 2

iTrader: (1)

I have a LS style mid plate. My original T56 was going to be converted, until I found out it had the wrong gears... first gear ratio is the tell tale...
Sold my original tranny and the conversion input shaft, but still have the mid plate you need....

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

PM me with pics and a price shipped to 12531, maybe we can work a deal

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Got some work done today, put in the new springs, repainted the sway bar (again) and installed it with new hardware, put in new bump stops, new torque arm. Tomorrow if I can get some axle bearings I will do the diff and axles, have to see what happens.

Pile 'o' new parts

Hotchkis 1.25" drop progressive rate springs with the stock WS6 springs alongside

Springs installed with a view of the bump stops and some of the sway bar

View of the assembled pieces, just waiting on the Watts link and have to put the shocks in

Old/new torque arms together

New torque arm installed

Flip 2

iTrader: (1)

Looks good!

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

AHHH where is the interior??


Oh there it is....

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Completely finished with the rear axle and suspension except for the Watts link

dprest68

iTrader: (1)

Looks great!

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Got a little but more done today, ended up giving my rockers and pushrods to the old man for his Trans am for some repair work, so while the valve covers were off figured I would sand some of the blemishes and paint them. Most of the engine is going to be this metallic stainless steel color so I wanted to see how it looked. I didn't go nuts sanding off the casting marks since I really don't care all that much, but made it look a lot better then it was. Also painted the front panel for the engine compartment. No more red base coat with no clear, it is all going to be old school muscle car matte black under the hood. I think it will really show off the stainless parts well and will make for easy touch ups in the future.
Before sanding


After sanding

Primer

painted

Front frame rails and rest of floor painted

Nose panel in old red

Nose panel in final matte black

3GZJerry

iTrader: (2)

I just picked up the same motor so I am very interested how your build turns out. looking good

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Need a little more cash for the control arms and K-member then things should start to take off a bit. Right now I can't trial fit the engine and trans so i am just killing time painting stuff.

mmadden55

So far it looks great!

3GZJerry

iTrader: (2)

which T56 Torque arm mount is that? also which headers are you using?

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

That's a BMR mount, I love that kind because I can adjust pinion angle and use a full length torque arm, makes for a much better ride. I am most likely going to use stock F-Body Manifolds or shorty headers and fab a Y-pipe, I have no need for longtubes or their fitment issues on this car. Haven't decided yet, I'll know more when I get to trial fitting the engine. Leaning toward shorty headers so I can cut off the flanges and weld V-Band clamps on them if there is room, make getting it apart from the Y-pipe again in the future easier. In fact the plan is to place a few strategic V-bands on the whole exhaust and weld the rest so no dealing with this slip fit BS anymore.

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

11ellswray

iTrader: (1)

subscribed.

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Parts fairy came again yesterday, coil over kit, new front steering, bump steer kit, U-joints and struts (not pictured) showed up. All I need now is the K-Member and control Arms and I can get cracking on quite a few things.

pat929

Suscribed, very interesting post

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

Thanks, been sidetracked with a paid project, hoping to get some more work done on it soon.

NBrehm

iTrader: (4)

I know it's been awhile, but have had other priorities money wise that needed attention. However the missing pieces of the chassis (except the watts link) are now in my possession so work can recommence. Hopefully have some more progress while I am in town for the holidays!

Flip 2

iTrader: (1)

Gonna be nice.