Project: 1994 Trans Am

[harner]

I got the el cheapo 2.75" lap joint band clamp in from Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073ZBJGVW

It mated the 3" catback/cutout piping to the 2.75 OD TSP Y Pipe perfectly. I went a little crazy with copper RTV, but such is life haha. I have a customer car in the shop for a detail this week so I haven't had much time to work on the car, but I did move the car ON the lift to the back of the shop since I'm sick of unloading and loading the car off the lift. Mark my words, the next time the car leaves the lift, it will be under it's OWN POWER!

Last night after a few hours of detail work, I had a few minutes before the wife and kid came home so I grabbed a pair of matching brackets off another project that I am repurposing as radiator mounts. I'm pretty sure they were for foglights and jesus, not sure if they are made out of diamonds or just hardened stainless but I couldn't drill into them with any of my drill bits. I had to drill holes so they mount in the welded-on plates where the radiator now sits (basically a vertical mount). Broke out the dremel with new quick disconnect metal wheel (where the hell have these QDs been all my life?) and cut a groove then hogged it out with a step drill bit. Anyway, eventually I will weld a nut to the bottom side, but for now a trip to the HW store is needed for some stainless nuts and bolts to make that look presentable.

I reached out to a buddy of mine who owns PSR Performance to see if he is interested in hooking me up with a remote tune to make it safe for a quick street voyage. After the tune is freshened up and I have the other dozens of mini projects sorted out, it will be going for a dyno tune. But for now, the radiator and trans cooler need installed, the driver seat is going back in and I want to see if the car will essentially move around my driveway (I have a private driveway about 1/4 mile long or so, but calm down, it's up hill and curves). I guess I should probably put the dash and cluster back in temporarily as well. Minor lol.

[harner]

Even though I love the sound of the car, the volume is pretty intense haha. Like I told @SSlowBoat, it sounds like a LM1 with LT/ORY at WOT, except at idle lol. Maybe it's just obnoxious because it's in the shop as well. It makes my Corvette sound like it has a catback and that's full exhaust, hci, etc.

Anyway, as promised, I DROVE the car off the lift last night after throwing another 5gals of 93 in it. No rad yet and trans cooler lines are looped, but I had to see if it moved under it's own power especially after the trans was removed for the rear main recently. No videos of me sitting on a milk crate in the car, sorry. I figured I'd save the next video for something more interesting than starting and idling, not moving it 8 feet.

A quick shop update, though. I really should take more pictures. I'm friends with a realtor who sold a house and was responsible for cleaning out a garage at a house he sold for some reason. Anyway, he had a bunch of handmade wooden cabinets to remove and a couple work benches that I have acquired. I spent most of the day yesterday shuffling everything around the shop to make room for them. If only I spent that time on the T/A, it would be mobile lol.

[harner]

Interesting cam nerd update, here. I have had a hard time reaching out to Lunati. I left a voicemail, several email submissions and even emailed their sales team. For some reason, someone was sitting in their chat today so I took advantage of it. I snapped a few pics of the back of the cam when the rear main plate was off. None of the numbers on the back of the cam could be cross referenced online. They confirmed the specs are 239/243 @ .050, .651/.651 lift, 115lsa and it was a custom grind. Not to name names, you can click back a few pages and figure it out, but the shop that last worked on the car spec'd the cam and I was under the impression it was a shelf grind. The 115lsa is wider than I have thought, but the rest of the specs are close to what I thought. Just a quick Google revealed that Comp sells a very similar cam that they call a "roots blower cam" for the LS.

I also told them that I'm sure more efficient cams exist for a power adder down the road, but would it be okay to run with a turbo setup in the 7-10psi realm, and they said absolutely. It would be a bit lazy down low but an absolute ripper once it's in the power range.

Also, for the record, I asked for a cam card and did not receive it from the shop. I asked them for the specs and was given wishy washy information "I *think* it's like a 24x/24x with really high lift." I narrowed down possibilities of specs based off the cams in their catalog, but was never really sure what it was, exactly. Now I know, and now you know. And knowing is half the battle. *queue GI Joe theme song*

[harner]

I've been slacking on spending time on the car and taking pictures when I do. On Father's Day, I spent a few hours putting the radiator in. A few days prior, I went to Tractor Supply and got some hardware for those brackets that hold the rad in. I routed lines to the trans cooler and am not thrilled with the rad cooler lines at all. I have a bunch of new lines laying around that never fit right. I cut two in half for the upper and used a coupler, but the lower rad did not fit right no matter what I did. So, I decided to man up and buy stainless flex hoses and they are on the way.


So these are the LS front clip brackets needed to swap and LS front clip on an LT car. I *think* only 4 are needed but this is what I found on ebay. I wiped them with a tar remover and painted them red.

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I also started pulling the fenders, bumper support, and hood in preparation of the swap.

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While that was going on, I was eyeballing the old can setup. Not digging it.

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Bam, new stuff inbound!

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The jack on the lift is amazing. Figured I would include a shot of it.

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I used the gantry lift as an extra set of hands to align the hood. Nothing else is really bolted in yet, but I had to mock everything up once I got home with it today. Now I just need a T/A bumper cover!

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[Stormyweather]

Awesome stuff man

[Fastbird]

But but but.........that's not a T/A front bumper. Blasphemy!

[harner]

But but but.........that's not a T/A front bumper. Blasphemy!

Haha I know - the car won't see the light of day without a T/A bumper. I'm surprised there are no OE-looking aftermarket options. It seemed like the WS6 partout market dropped off majorly in the last 2-3 years, so now even finding parts is rare let alone paying the premium for them.

[harner]

Haha I know - the car won't see the light of day without a T/A bumper. I'm surprised there are no OE-looking aftermarket options. It seemed like the WS6 partout market dropped off majorly in the last 2-3 years, so now even finding parts is rare let alone paying the premium for them.

Eating-words moment of the day...

Classic Industries has this guy, but it's been coming soon for like 2 years: https://www.classicindustries.com/pr...rts/g4864.html

The cost is a bit salty. I *think* Hawks has some NOS bumpers around the same price. If I can't find a bumper in the next few months, I'll be buying new unfortunately. Surprisingly the NOS bumpers are still in circulation last I checked. Ridiculous to spend that much on a bumper cover!

[Fastbird]

I was looking at the images thinking "there's a whole lot wrong with that bumper" until I realized it's upside down in the pics.

That's salty though, like you said. NOS would be optimal, some patience should give you a less costly OEM option.

[harner]

I pulled the trigger on a bumper cover in Texas. The WTB ad on LS1Tech paid off lol.

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Also, I picked up a new work car/kid and dog hauler. 2012 Escalade ESV Platinum AWD. The body has some small damage on the bumpers (they all do, I assure you, but no Carfax damage reports), but so far it got brow tint, new "tesla style" stereo/Alpine amp and sub, and new tie rod ends, balljoints, tires, and alignment. It should be good for a while lol.

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