BlackbirdWS6's Blown 1997 Firebird TA WS6 Convertible 6spd

[Blackbirdws6]

The Bird is all buttoned up and I got her home yesterday.

For those that aren't aware, I had Larry at 2nd Gen Engineering in Hackettstown handle the install. Larry was meticulous with his work while providing great communication along the way. The communication goes a long was as I'm all about knowing what's going on, when it will happen and setting of expectations. Unlike other shop experiences, I honestly didn't sit and wonder, "Hey, what's going on with my car???". I knew Larry was plugging away and coddled me with texts/emails with images while letting me know what was worked on and the next hurdle. Simply put, if you need fbody work done give him a call.

Like most things aftermarket, the time it takes to install is never quite as planned unless it's been done before. I'm likely one of only a few idiots spending the money and opting to use a LS-style T56 with an old LTx engine combo. But aren't all T56's pretty similar? Sure but with this combo, the trans essentially ends up being about 1.5" longer.

This required all the following modifications:

- Shorten driveshaft
- Modifications to trans tunnel opening (trimming rear section and adding metal up front)
- Cross member modification/fabrication since holes wouldn't line up with under-body threads
- Revised trans pump fitting setup to fit within the tunnel
- New hard-line for clutch slave with quick disconnect
- Clearance Quicktime bellhousing a little to clear starter housing
- Modify motor plate to clear starter housing and oil pan flange
- Run new slave bleed line
- New driveshaft slip yoke - Also bought new 1350 joints as well

Larry indicated nothing was particularly hard but it's all the little details that will make it work properly.

The only real issue was receiving the wrong clutch from Monster. Despite all attempts to make certain the clutch was ordered properly, the clutch arrived with a flywheel meant for a LS but with a LTx bolt pattern..... I didn't bother checking although it crossed my mind to do so but it happens. Monster handled the situation and sent Larry a FedEx overnight label to get it back to them. Unfortunately the new clutch took longer to receive than expected but Larry used the wait time to work on the other items needed to get everything ready for the final install. I'm sure I tied up his lift for a few days more than it should but again, Larry was accommodating.

On to some pics.

Well crap....



Dat hardline - Larry did this as he wasn't liking how the soft line was getting a bit sideloaded. The remote bleeder was run nicely and "snaps" into the plastic slave reservoir. Almost like it belongs there.



That's better - Larry was also kind enough to plan for the future if I decide to embrace the LSx life. There are bolt holes in the crossmember so if things move forward, it will still work. The metal plate added to the shifter area uses the original bolt holes so again, if things change and move forward down the road, I'm halfway there...



Motorplate - Post clearance (Seems familiar ehh Brandon and Adam??)


Old pilot bearing didn't want to cooperate - Larry indicated after two pullers and saw blades, he resorted to a carbide burr. Before I got concerned, he provided me with pictures of the clean crank bore after pilot bearing removal.


Clutch time!







Trans pump wiring had seen some heat but just the outside loom was crispy - Larry heat wrapped everything and tucked it out of the way.


New fitting for trans pump (added a 90)



Now the trans







I took the car for a ride with Larry before taking delivery and everything drove nicely. The clutch pedal is actually a little lighter than my old McLeod Street Twin which was already pretty good for its power handling capabilities. The clutch engagement is a bit lower but very progressive. It will take a little getting used to as I've been driving high engagement clutches most of my life. The trans shifted very smoothly and it definitely likes RPM. My old trans was typically notchy but I learned to think that was kind of normal after a while. It was oddly refreshing to have a trans that would just act "normal". It was exciting but uneventful if that makes any sense. The shorter 5th gear ratio was also nice to keep some rpm at non-highway speed but not feeling like you are lugging anything.

I couldn't give Larry a proper ride as any WOT boost would light up the all season 275 tires. The CCWs with the R888s will go back on so she can hook up better on the street.

So that ends this chapter, hopefully for a long time as my wallet is having a funeral service this weekend. It will be a closed casket affair. I'm going to get her cleaned up, toss on the pretty wheels and after everything is confirmed to still cooperate after some miles, she will get her ass kicked at the track rental in the fall. I'm guessing I'm running out of excuses for this car not running a number eh??

[Blackbirdws6]

Oh and yes, obligatory trailer queen shot.

[ThoR294]

TIL manual transmissions need a pump. Coming a long way looks great.

Originally Posted by Blackbirdws6

Simply put, if you need fbody work done give him a call.

maybe he will be my last call before I part my car out cause of vibration

[wretched73]

Originally Posted by ThoR294

TIL manual transmissions need a pump. Coming a long way looks great.
#BecauseRaceCar
:

Everything looks great, you've got a real talent for blowing cash

[LTb1ow]

Please hard mount that hard line piece.

[wretched73]

Also, when will we see burnouts? I expect the car doing a burnout on the trailer while the truck is doing a rolling burnout down the street.

[Blackbirdws6]

Originally Posted by ThoR294

TIL manual transmissions need a pump. Coming a long way looks great.



maybe he will be my last call before I part my car out cause of vibration

They don't need a pump until they do.

Originally Posted by wretched73

Everything looks great, you've got a real talent for blowing cash

I feel like I'm supporting this economy by myself!

Originally Posted by LTb1ow

Please hard mount that hard line piece.

Will discuss with Larry.

Originally Posted by wretched73

Also, when will we see burnouts? I expect the car doing a burnout on the trailer while the truck is doing a rolling burnout down the street.

But mah alooominium! Soon enough. I did leave tire marks from the truck in the driveway when I had the trailer hooked up and got a little aggressive with the throttle.

[Jersey Mike]

Loving the detail and substance in these updates. Thanks for the reading material BLS

[wretched73]

Originally Posted by Blackbirdws6

I feel like I'm supporting this economy by myself!


But mah alooominium! Soon enough. I did leave tire marks from the truck in the driveway when I had the trailer hooked up and got a little aggressive with the throttle.

When I lived at home and my parents saw me dumping gobs of money in my POS camaro my Dad would always tell me it wasn't up to me to kick start the economy

And the aluminum will buff out, its all about the IG likes bruh

[Blackbirdws6]

Originally Posted by wretched73

When I lived at home and my parents saw me dumping gobs of money in my POS camaro my Dad would always tell me it wasn't up to me to kick start the economy

And the aluminum will buff out, its all about the IG likes bruh

My Dad never provided me this level of guidance and no one on IG cares about a guy and his 4th gen Fbody.

[sweetbmxrider]

Love it

[IROCZman15]

i always enjoy detailed updates and lots of photos. good stuff. good work larry

[KirkEvil]

Looks good man. I approve of the tunnel weight reduction

[TaKid455]

It was a pleasure working with Brian and his TA. Since he is no stranger to things not going as planned, it makes communication easier when something arises. Don't think there was anything about this install that wasn't modified to some degree. Overall install really wasn't bad, just a lot of littles that needed attention before one could continue. The flywheel issue (purely Monster's fault) set the tone for the rest of the project. That was really unexpected but we worked around it. Just made me check things in greater detail throughout install.

Regarding the hardline mounting mentioned above, there is a secured mount just out of pictured frame. Debated on a few options and choose that one that secured the line yet allowed a small amount of float as we didn't want the floating TOB/ slave to be fixed by the line mount. Either option had ups and downsides and the flex line option sideloaded the slave fitting.

The end product is a success. With some cars I get, I don't know what to expect regarding street manners. Brian's car is not hard to drive all things considering. It drives like most hot steer cars...until the boooost builds. Then it shows its true colors yet still well mannered. I let Brian give me a ride to demonstrate that being my test drives focused on evaluating the trans and its behavior and not the point in which the rear end kicks out sideways. The trans feel like any triple carbon syncro trans and the clutch is rather normal. While heavier than stock, most would never know its a triple disc or that the trans is built to what it is. To me, that is a win.


Note: The owner of Monster did inform me during our conversation that due to the flywheel issue, they made a batch of them. SO if anyone wants to to a triple disc clutched LT engine to LS trans swap, they have the parts in stock ready to go.

[LS1ow]

Alll this time to post a nice detailed post on the build, but no time for 2 step launch video?

[Blackbirdws6]

Originally Posted by LS1ow

Alll this time to post a nice detailed post on the build, but no time for 2 step launch video?

I got paid to write this post and no, not by Larry.

[sweetbmxrider]

Paid post is best post

[V]

[TaKid455]

Post is 100% voluntary, however, I do support this message.





This posting may or may not have been paid for by one or more parties not limited to by including 'Larry', '2nd Gen Engineering', 'T56 trans guy', 'Monster', 'BLS', 'Bob Dole' and /or 'Brian' in conjunction with Keep Hope Alive Foundation.

[Blackbirdws6]

Originally Posted by V

Badass however points off for towing vehicle not blazing tires as well.

[Blackbirdws6]

The saga continues and it's an end to an era.

The "winter" projects original intent was to address some of the excess heat under the hood and get some weight off the nose. Those upgrades have snowballed...like all things do for me. My 5 pt belts also needed a recert too.

I originally wanted to just wrap the headers and y-pipe but after some deliberation, it wasn't an ideal solution for a couple reasons. 1) I was told if any oil gets on the wrap, it will stink forever. 2) Clearance around the headers is tight and so is access to the bolts to tighten everything down. Getting these to go into the car would likely have resulted in ripped wrap.

I recall hearing about Swaintech ceramic coating and folks who have used it, seem to rave about it touting its thermal insulation abilities and durable finish. The Swaintech owner was quick to let me know that it only comes in white and is a functional coating, not a pretty one. With some help from Pals as usual, Matt ripped out the headers in short order and Beggs helped get these shipped safely. They spent about 3-4 weeks at Swaintech before they made their way back to me.



Obviously the white and soon to be smugged look isn't going to work so I tried to brush them with POR15 Black Velvet. The brushing did OK but it wasn't even enough and looked liked it was a shade tree job. Not wanting to paint in the garage, I was able to use a professional spray booth to spray these properly. I headed down to All Time Auto Body and my dad knocked out the header and Y-pipe coating which came out great.








Now with that done, the headers can go back in. Before we get there, I will mention Adam had come by weeks prior and ran the new power cables for the battery relocation. The seats came out as well as the belts so they could get off to Stroud for recert. The FP hot wire kit was also ran to the rear and man, did this really start clearing space in the engine bay!

I wanted to get the headers back in as Taylor would be coming by this weekend to finalize the battery relocation. I wanted everything in place so we knew where to terminate wires and get the routing correct. What I thought would be a long but not bad day turned in a mess. I started with the passenger side as this seemed to be the most challenging coming out. I was able to get her in without too much trouble taking my time. New plugs went in as well. Now on to the drivers side.....and holy hell. Simply put, it just didn't fit and I have no idea how it came out easier than the other side. In my haste and ginger rage, I somehow got it wedged between the k, oil pan and block. I really though this thing would need to be cut out and contemplated burning the car down at this point. After a lot of wrestling around and loudly proclaimed expletives.....it went in. I got a few bolts in and need to do a few more plus the plugs but I was toast.

During the rage moments (plural), I bashed in the corner of my oil filter a little bit. Not wanting to run it damaged, I guess it was time I changed the oil. I swore to never use a K&N filter again but lied to myself as I stared at it hoping the 1" nut on the bottom would do its job. Sure enough, the nut stripped.....MUTHAF******. I could only laugh and maybe cry a bit. With the header in, room to work is slim so out came the oil filter wrenches. Two of them were useless and wouldn't tighten up before I ran out of room. I was forced to use a stubby ratchet and SOMEHOW freed the filter after a few attempts. My left arm and hand could be characterized as Thanos' after he used the infinity gauntlet.

So.....before the header debacle, I did do a few other things. I removed and wrapped the procharger elbow in gold foil. Yea I did a crappy job but it will work.




I also did some "port matching" of the new gaskets since the old ones showed some carbon outlining the area that need more room. I'm sure it picked up 0 HP.




The procharger oil was drained and man does that stink. If you think rear diff fluid smells, have a whiff of used procharger oil. Holy hell.

Oh and last but not least, I yanked the A/C.....I got a shiny block off plate too.





So she is still a mess and will surely need some cherry after all of this but the extra room is so far feeling fresh. The condenser didn't want to slide out nicely so I am waiting for a day where my patience (or a helpful Pal) are available.



I have a new fancy Speed Inc accessory relocation setup in hand which I'm sure won't fit or line up just like most aftermarket parts. Stay tuned boys and girls.

[LTb1ow]

Goooood, let the hate flow through you

[WildBillyT]

Just curious, why don't you like K&N oil filters?

[wretched73]

When is the Hi Ram intake and big throttle body going on?

[Blackbirdws6]

Originally Posted by LTb1ow

Goooood, let the hate flow through you

I was in rare form. Good no one was around.

Originally Posted by WildBillyT

Just curious, why don't you like K&N oil filters?

The damn nut strips out too easily. Where my oil filter sits relative to header and oil pan kick out, getting anything in there is a total PITA let alone getting leverage to do what needed to be done. The first time it happened I was using a 12 pt socket when I should have just found a 5 pt. This time around, it just didn't want to come off. I am always careful to not go ham on tightening these for that exact issue. I had a Wix in stock so that went in.

Originally Posted by wretched73

When is the Hi Ram intake and big throttle body going on?

When I go for the lexan windshield.