Third time's the charm - 40*50*12 build

[wisconsin hillrod]

Thank you for the reply. I'm looking to do something similar. I need a space to put 2 cars so the kids don't hit them with their toys/bike handlebars, that kinda thing. I'm thinking 16'x16', using 2"x12" as the joists, setting them on top of a double plate.
Thank you for the information.

Am I understanding correctly? You are wanting to park two cars in a 16x16 space? I don't think I'd want to go less than 20x20 for that.

Yeah, mine too.

I like that interior shed/room. A very nice space to have.

Thanks!

 

[TurboMustang370]

Am I understanding correctly? You are wanting to park two cars in a 16x16 space? I don't think I'd want to go less than 20x20 for that.

Looks like I’m going to go 18’x16’. It’ll be long term housing for 2 vehicles, similar to an enclosed trailer. Shoehorn them in and they’ll stay there for years.

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

Looks like I’m going to go 18’x16’. It’ll be long term housing for 2 vehicles, similar to an enclosed trailer. Shoehorn them in and they’ll stay there for years.

Ahh, yeah that would work.




Keeping things rolling with a few before and after shots:


Gravel parking pad for trailers:

Attic insulation:

Finally, I’m not too big on cosmetic mods on cars but there were a few small things on the C7 that bugged me so I changed them:

-Hillrod

 

[jbmatth]

Do we get to play the "What is the difference in these photos?" game? I spot the chrome strip in the grill, chrome to black for the emblem, stingray on the fender, and the window is down in the second, what else did I miss?

Very sharp looking car by the way. Out of curiosity what are your feelings on the C8 going mid-engine?

JB

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

Do we get to play the "What is the difference in these photos?" game? I spot the chrome strip in the grill, chrome to black for the emblem, stingray on the fender, and the window is down in the second, what else did I miss?

Very sharp looking car by the way. Out of curiosity what are your feelings on the C8 going mid-engine?

JB

Haha you spotted everything you can realistically see in the pic: Z06 grill and carbon flash emblems. The center caps are different but you'd only see it after you know.

Thanks! I think I've got it how I want it except for a supercharger. Not sure on timing on that. As someone that works on all his own cars the thought of a mid engine Vette is worrisome.... What I've always liked about Vettes is they were exotic-ish but still fairly simple (easy) and inexpensive to work on. I've also heard rumors they will be locking down the ECUs to try to prevent people from modifying the tunes. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

What do you think?

-Hillrod

 

[Finallygotit]

OK, now that the building is sealed and the insulation is blown in, how much of a difference are you seeing?

 

[jbmatth]

Haha you spotted everything you can realistically see in the pic: Z06 grill and carbon flash emblems. The center caps are different but you'd only see it after you know.

Thanks! I think I've got it how I want it except for a supercharger. Not sure on timing on that. As someone that works on all his own cars the thought of a mid engine Vette is worrisome.... What I've always liked about Vettes is they were exotic-ish but still fairly simple (easy) and inexpensive to work on. I've also heard rumors they will be locking down the ECUs to try to prevent people from modifying the tunes. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

What do you think?

-Hillrod

Having never owned a driveable Vette I don't have much of a leg to stand on but have high hopes for it. I don't think overall it'll be that much tougher to work on, GM has to design it for their average GM Tech to do the work, I could see some things being tougher but will have to see how it is all put together when it is released. As far as the ECU's, give it time, the L5P duramax ECU was supposed to be uncrackable too but HP Tuners cracked it and is able to tune them now, it just takes a few very pretty pennies to do it.

JB

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

OK, now that the building is sealed and the insulation is blown in, how much of a difference are you seeing?

It hasn't even gotten hot here yet and the difference is amazing. Stays nice and cool throughout the day as long as I keep the doors closed.

Having never owned a driveable Vette I don't have much of a leg to stand on but have high hopes for it. I don't think overall it'll be that much tougher to work on, GM has to design it for their average GM Tech to do the work, I could see some things being tougher but will have to see how it is all put together when it is released. As far as the ECU's, give it time, the L5P duramax ECU was supposed to be uncrackable too but HP Tuners cracked it and is able to tune them now, it just takes a few very pretty pennies to do it.

JB

One of the reasons I’ve been driving trucks with a warranty for the past 5 years is I find them difficult to work on since I’m only 5’7”. My concern is the c8 will present similar challenges for us vertically challenged folks. Hopefully I am wrong.

I don’t doubt the ECU will get cracked but could take a while.

-Hillrod

 

[jbmatth]

One of the reasons I’ve been driving trucks with a warranty for the past 5 years is I find them difficult to work on since I’m only 5’7”. My concern is the c8 will present similar challenges for us vertically challenged folks. Hopefully I am wrong.

I don’t doubt the ECU will get cracked but could take a while.

-Hillrod

Hillrod,
I know the vertically challenged part very well, I claim 5'-7" when I can. I have been able to work around the height of trucks for the most part but that typically means I climb on the core support or I remove the front wheels and rest the lower ball joint on 2x6's. I would love to have the opportunity to find out how easy it is to work on a C8 but time will tell.

I figure just like the L5P ECU it will take almost 2 years but maybe not if they use the same encryption as on that one. No clue I'm not a computer savvy guy by any means.

JB

 

[rixtrix1]

Hillrod,
I know the vertically challenged part very well, I claim 5'-7" when I can. I have been able to work around the height of trucks for the most part but that typically means I climb on the core support or I remove the front wheels and rest the lower ball joint on 2x6's. I would love to have the opportunity to find out how easy it is to work on a C8 but time will tell.

I figure just like the L5P ECU it will take almost 2 years but maybe not if they use the same encryption as on that one. No clue I'm not a computer savvy guy by any means.

JB[/QUOTE

According to the latest news I've seen from Mark Reuss at GM, the encryption package is the most robust they've ever used. They want to leave it proprietary to allow for all the things the self driving cars use and are learning. BUT, they did mention they may want to grant access to a few deserving people in the aftermarket!

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

Hillrod,
I know the vertically challenged part very well, I claim 5'-7" when I can. I have been able to work around the height of trucks for the most part but that typically means I climb on the core support or I remove the front wheels and rest the lower ball joint on 2x6's. I would love to have the opportunity to find out how easy it is to work on a C8 but time will tell.

I figure just like the L5P ECU it will take almost 2 years but maybe not if they use the same encryption as on that one. No clue I'm not a computer savvy guy by any means.

JB

It was certainly easy in my 95 Silverado just climb in standing on frame rails. The newer they get the more cramped the engine bay seems to be. I’m not sure I can see the frame rails in my current truck.

That’s a good plan taking the wheels off so you can lower it down to work on it. I guess I’ll be trying that. Thanks for the idea!

According to the latest news I've seen from Mark Reuss at GM, the encryption package is the most robust they've ever used. They want to leave it proprietary to allow for all the things the self driving cars use and are learning. BUT, they did mention they may want to grant access to a few deserving people in the aftermarket!

We shall see what our options are going forward. I just wish standalone ECUs could interface with the BCMs so you could get all your gauges etc working easily.

-Hillrod

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

After nearly 2 years I finally got the last hoist up! Did everything myself sans some help from a few friends standing the frame up and an occasionally 3rd and 4th hand from wife. The columns have been sitting on the furniture dollies since August 2017.

We rolled them into position and were able to just stand them up with 3 guys lifting and me catching. No drama at all just tipped up slowly. We then used the 2*6s they were resting on and a hammer to knock them into the exact spot. Next we dead lifted the top plate onto the top of my scaffold then dead lifted it up and set it in position. Turns out we did a good job measuring as it set right in place! With the frame bolted together we checked plumb, hogged out some holes, pounded the wedge anchors in and bolted them down. I cared for the remainder of the work (electrical, hydraulic lines, locks, equalizer cables) and I was in business!

(Apologies for the awkward blurred orbs but I try to remain anonymous to those that don’t already know me and I didn’t seek permission to post friend’s pics.)

Still to do:
-Attic Scuttle Door (just Styrofoam right now)
-Window/Door Trim
-90 amp electric feed


-Hillrod

 

[jbmatth]

Always nice to lift a lift.

JB

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

Wow almost 10 months since I posted an update. I’ve been getting a ton of stuff done IN the shop but no real progress on the shop itself until this past weekend. My plan was to (finally) upgrade the electrical in the fall but I was working on supercharging my truck, messing with some tuning on my C5 and was best man in a wedding which kept me fairly busy! Just as the wedding wrapped up we were surprised by snow in late October and the electrical upgrade was pushed off once again. I’ve only wanted to do the upgrade in spring or fall because the pool pump runs off of the shop panel and I didn’t want to risk not being able to run it if anything went wrong.

I had originally reused the old 40 amp feed that went to the 2 car garage I took down to build the shop. My intention at the time was to install a 90amp feed but without access to the crawl space it ran into I threw in the towel and reused the old wires with a plan to fix it later. I took Friday off to dig up the existing trench and dug a new one. The plan was to intercept where my new conduit met the old conduit and then reroute it along a new path coming up next to the gas and data lines where it would then run through flexible conduit in the crawlspace where it met the elbow that went through the rim joist to go down into the main panel in the basement.

I used old pictures to do my best to estimate where I needed to dig:

Then got to work:

There we go! That is 3’ down by the way.

At this point it occurred to me that I might be able to pull out the old wire and reuse the original path. I had always assumed that I would not be able to fish the larger wires through the 1.25” conduit. The more I thought about it my original plan was flawed…Menards only carried flexible conduit up to 1” and I needed at least 1.25 if not 1.5 or larger and all of the original stuff was glued together tight and it would be really difficult to take apart and repurpose.

Down the conduit leads to the shop, through the rim joist leads to the house panel. We were originally going to pull 3 of 4 wires out and use the 4th to pull the new wires through. This ended up not being possible because the previous owner had ziptied the wires together every couple feet. Out they came and we ran a fish tape through. Stripped back 6-8” of the wires, twisted the ends all together and to the tape and wrapped it all with about ¼ roll of electrical tape.

We then fought against friction for probably an hour literally pushing/pulling as hard as we could but finally the wires came out of the shop panel. Had another small fight getting it down the last 8’ into the basement but got that sorted out too.

Took an hour break for lunch and then got the trench filled back in and pavers reset within a couple hours.

Coincidentally this happened 6 years to the day that I dug the trench at my old house ha!

That just leaves window trim and an attic scuttle door! (And maybe some AC now that I have enough power…)

-Hillrod

 

[jbmatth]

Congrats on being able to reuse the existing conduit, that I'm sure saved a ton of extra trouble. Hope you enjoy the AC, I'm not the least jealous.

JB

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

Congrats on being able to reuse the existing conduit, that I'm sure saved a ton of extra trouble. Hope you enjoy the AC, I'm not the least jealous.

JB

Thanks! My only regret is digging a trench I ended up not needing haha.



I had my first issue with the shop in late March. On a Friday night I got notification e-mail from Honeywell that the shop heater was not reachable. I’m pretty used to getting these when we have a power or internet outage but I was home the whole time and know there were no issues. When I woke up Saturday morning I checked my phone and it was still unreachable. Heated out to investigate and the thermostat had no power. I hoped flipping the breaker would magically bring it back but no luck.

There is just enough room to stand on the 4 post lift that is under it:

I verified power going into the unit and to the logic board but noted the status LED was not on at all. No blinks, nothing. Their basic troubleshooting guide says to check the 3amp fuse which was blown and I replaced it but predictably it blew the replacement too. There was no further info than that but I figured there was a short on the board that was popping the fuse.

I poked around a bit and found a replacement on Amazon for ~$65 that I had in my hands 3 days later.

Swapped out the boards, climbed down and turned the breaker back on. It didn’t seem promising for about a minute, but then it started coming alive and another minute later it was making up for lost time!

I was without heat for about 4 days but the weather was mild at the time so it didn’t drop below 50 degrees. Disappointing to have the heater break within a year and a half but it was an inexpensive and fairly simple fix. I ordered another logic board to keep on hand since I figure this will probably happen again.

-Hillrod

 

[C_F]

Wow almost 10 months since I posted an update. <snip>

I figured you got hit by a large truck & died...and that your wife doesn't have the password to GJ to tell us all of your unexpected demise.















J/K!

That's great that you now have MORE power to the garage. ***** that you dug an unnecessary trench, but if it helps, I probably would have done the same thing...then gone D'OH!

Looking at your garage heater photos, I'm surprised to see the logic board mounted to the back side of the burners! Maybe it's the burner's heat that took out the old one? I would think they would mount that board (and all other electrics) on the colder side of the heater.

Glad to see you back, I've missed seeing the goings-on in your shop. And yes, glad you aren't dead.

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

I figured you got hit by a large truck & died...and that your wife doesn't have the password to GJ to tell us all of your unexpected demise.















J/K!

That's great that you now have MORE power to the garage. ***** that you dug an unnecessary trench, but if it helps, I probably would have done the same thing...then gone D'OH!

Looking at your garage heater photos, I'm surprised to see the logic board mounted to the back side of the burners! Maybe it's the burner's heat that took out the old one? I would think they would mount that board (and all other electrics) on the colder side of the heater.

Glad to see you back, I've missed seeing the goings-on in your shop. And yes, glad you aren't dead.

Haha she says she'd leave it exactly the way it is and not let any of my friends use the lifts. I think she'd turn it into a rescue animal sanctuary or something ha.

Its been 6 weeks now but if I remember correctly the flames are actually away from the board just had to see the depth. If anything there is some cooling from fresh air being drawn in. I think the board itself is just poorly made...the replacement board didn't inspire confidence but it is working for now.

I've worked on a number of car projects here since my last postings maybe I can post some highlights.

-Hillrod

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

There are a couple more small shop projects now that I think about it. I had been thinking about ditching the shop laptop and hanging a TV on the wall for a monitor run by a desktop but never wanted it bad enough to go out and buy both. My Grandma moved to a furnished assisted living facility so all of her furniture had to be sold or given away. She had a 46” Samsung LED TV and a HP desktop that needed a place to go so it worked out nicely given the situation.

Part of my reasoning for doing this was to free up space on the workbench. I was happy with the location of it but wanted it to be a bit larger so I extended it to the wall but did not extend the shelf below as I wanted to keep trash cans under there.

Next I built a shelf behind the TV to keep the computer and receiver on. Something pretty neat is the receiver and speakers are from my other Grandma who passed 13 years ago. They have moved with me from garage to garage.

Got the TV up on the wall and the speakers up top. (The speakers are positioned apart from each other now I just don’t have a pic without the workbench covered in ****.)

-Hillrod

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

In the winter I don’t drive anything but my truck except for when my wife lets me occasionally drive her car. It is comfortable, does everything just fine but it is big and heavy (slow!) with a transmission that never does what I want it to. One of the things that makes Wisconsin winters feel so long to me is a lack of driving something fun. Don’t get me wrong it was always a very nice vehicle…just not fun. With the warranty now expired it was time to modify the truck to be what I wanted it to be. The last time I modified a truck for performance I put a ported intake and throttle body on my 1995 Silverado. It didn’t help at all ha.

I decided bolting on some form of forced induction was going to be the best plan. Being a truck I wanted to go with a positive displacement blower for low end torque. As a bonus I have never had a PD blower before. I was shopping options in that space and decided on the new Edelbrock EForce TVS2650 based kit. It uses the new 2.65L Eaton rotors used in the C7 ZR1. They had a sale on them on Summit in September so I jumped on that knowing I wanted to supercharger the truck before winter. My wife and I took the truck on vacation to Tennessee and about half way through started filling up with 93 octane to get all the 87 out of the fuel system. Once we got home I got to work.

Thank you to jbmatth in post 249 for the suggestion to remove the front wheels to drop the truck down lower! I can’t believe I never thought of that! I also made a step stool out of an engine crate ha.

I couldn’t work out a way to lift the supercharger into place by hand even with a friend or two helping but fortunately there was *just* enough room to get it in with the engine crane. The fuel line feeding the high pressure fuel pump under the valley cover is really in the way since it also has to slide under the cowl but eventually got it squeezed in there.

The instructions were 110% useless for this step. They were clearly for a different (probably older) kit that is very different and they make no sense at all for this step. The rest of them were fairly coherent (wiring, intercooler, lines etc). I even took the time to e-mail them corrected instructions and they ignored me. I just checked now and it looks like they finally updated the instructions in December.

Even the new instructions skip over how you are supposed to tighten the bolts. I’ve got a lot of tools and the only way I was able to tighten the bolts was to remove the coil covers, coils, and valve covers which gave me just enough room for a wrench.

Next up is intercooler:

Done!

This kit came with a tune which I didn’t have high expectations for. The engine ran fairly well but was straight up dangerous at wide open throttle (not nearly rich enough to be safe in a heavy vehicle under boost in my opinion). Put a wideband on it and as you can see in the pic it is commanding a ~11.1:1 AFR ratio but delivering closer to a 12.5:1 AFR. You can see 7 degrees of knock retard which occurred lower in the RPMs and 1 degree in this screenshot.

I switched to tuning with Lambda instead of AFR but the idea is the same. You want your actual EQ ratio to be as close as possible to commanded. You’ll see this cleared up the knock retard since the extra fuel helps keeps cylinder temps down. If you've got a real keen eye you'll see the truck is commanding 0.789 λ in both screenshots. A before and after if you will.

The Edelbrock tune made no changes to the transmission tune and it shifted like absolute garbage…much worse than it ever was before. I put in an aggression transmission tune and it actually made it shift significantly smoother. Go figure.

Am I happy with it? Hell yes! My mileage dropped from ~16mpg to ~13mpg and I have to run premium now but hey that's how it goes. With boost it is like a switch from every other truck to something special. It will never be as fast as summer toys but it puts a smile on my face and launching it in 4wd is absolutely amazing! The transmission actually behaves itself now. 8 months later I’m still tweaking the tune here and there but should have that sorted out soon. Then I can get it on a dyno to see if it manages the ~480whp they claim.

-Hillrod

 

[jbmatth]

I'm glad my tip helped you out with the wheels. I just picked up a 5.3 1500 LTZ and really struggle just to reach the dip stick to check the oil.

Is your truck a 5.3 or 6.2? I've considered getting a supercharger for mine as well but it is on the other end of the scale for me as it is more fair weather for me, no rain or snow.

JB

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

I'm glad my tip helped you out with the wheels. I just picked up a 5.3 1500 LTZ and really struggle just to reach the dip stick to check the oil.

Is your truck a 5.3 or 6.2? I've considered getting a supercharger for mine as well but it is on the other end of the scale for me as it is more fair weather for me, no rain or snow.

JB

I have this precarious way I add the oil back in when I do an oil change haha. Kinda just hope the funnel stays in place...no disasters yet. I actually put long tube headers and full true dual exhaust on it too but didn't really care for how it sounded and smelled so went back to stock even tho I'm giving up a fair amount of power. It is nice to have one quiet not stinky vehicle. Anyway popping the steering shaft out and pulling the oil dipstick and exhaust manifold bolts out was a treat ha. A combo of laying on top of the engine and reaching through the wheel well.

It is a 5.3. It was a weird option truck they had in stock that had everything I was looking for except the 6.2. Even with my 3:73s (max towing package) the tires don't seem to slip much in 2wd as long as I don't mash from a dig. I'm running the original tires yet with 36k on them.

 

[C_F]

The supercharger fits nicely in there, the truck even looks like it was born with it. That ***** about the lame instructions, but I'm glad they finally listened to you & updated things on their end, for other buyers down the road.

 

[jbmatth]

I have this precarious way I add the oil back in when I do an oil change haha. Kinda just hope the funnel stays in place...no disasters yet. I actually put long tube headers and full true dual exhaust on it too but didn't really care for how it sounded and smelled so went back to stock even tho I'm giving up a fair amount of power. It is nice to have one quiet not stinky vehicle. Anyway popping the steering shaft out and pulling the oil dipstick and exhaust manifold bolts out was a treat ha. A combo of laying on top of the engine and reaching through the wheel well.

It is a 5.3. It was a weird option truck they had in stock that had everything I was looking for except the 6.2. Even with my 3:73s (max towing package) the tires don't seem to slip much in 2wd as long as I don't mash from a dig. I'm running the original tires yet with 36k on them.

I haven't done the first oil change on mine yet, but should have a full LOF for all fluids in the coming weeks, I'm sure I'll really enjoy the high fender height. I was thrilled to find mine with the options it had including the max towing package and "long" bed, but as you the only downside was 5.3 rather than 6.2. I guess I'll just have to buy a new one next time to get exactly what I want. The P.O. took great care of it so I really don't have any complaints about condition.

I've considered an exhaust on this one but have plenty of loud vehicles, nice and quite is a treat sometimes. I guess that means I'm getting old.

JB

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

The supercharger fits nicely in there, the truck even looks like it was born with it. That ***** about the lame instructions, but I'm glad they finally listened to you & updated things on their end, for other buyers down the road.

Thanks, the fit and finish is quite good on the kit. The only thing I had to supply was a section of heater hose to replace the PCV hose they provided that was too short. It would look more oem if I bothered to put the plastic covers back on the valvecovers but I can't be bothered to ha. I've noticed I tend to get much better support from small companies like A&A Corvette so going forward I'm going to try to give those places my business instead.

I haven't done the first oil change on mine yet, but should have a full LOF for all fluids in the coming weeks, I'm sure I'll really enjoy the high fender height. I was thrilled to find mine with the options it had including the max towing package and "long" bed, but as you the only downside was 5.3 rather than 6.2. I guess I'll just have to buy a new one next time to get exactly what I want. The P.O. took great care of it so I really don't have any complaints about condition.

I've considered an exhaust on this one but have plenty of loud vehicles, nice and quite is a treat sometimes. I guess that means I'm getting old.

JB

I believe all the max towing packages came with a integrated brake controller. Really slick when hauling my car trailer. Have you had a chance to try it?

Yeah, I prefer the stock exhaust on the truck. I must be old at heart haha.

 

[jbmatth]

I believe all the max towing packages came with a integrated brake controller. Really slick when hauling my car trailer. Have you had a chance to try it?

Yeah, I prefer the stock exhaust on the truck. I must be old at heart haha.

Mine does have the brake controller, my utility trailer doesn't have brakes and haven't gotten to use the controller but look forward to trying it. I think I need another car hauler, mine isn't really one now that I've used it to haul cars and trucks.

JB

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

If you don’t have a shop computer with a TV for a monitor…you need this in your life!

-Hillrod

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

If anyone is still subscribed I have some updates haha. I have no excuse other than I have tried to post an update a couple times in the past couple months and Flickr has been a big turd and made me give up. I'm dedicated now!

My only shop goal for fall of 2020 was to get the window and door trim installed. I eventually decided on vinyl for the jams as I thought it was a good hybrid to fit both the steel look from the outside and the painted look inside. The casework is primed poplar. Someday I may paint it...

This is all my buddy's handiwork. I was his unskilled helper.

Finally, we glued a couple 2" foam pieces together then onto a scrap of plywood and made a gasket to seal between the plywood and steel j channel. It works surprisingly well both in checking with a IR heat gun and how much rain noise it blocks out vs being cracked open a tiny bit.

-Hillrod

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks for the updates.

Looks great.

 

[Clemson13]

Glad for updates!

 

[Finallygotit]

Glad for updates!

What he said

 

[imiller1974]

I have a SLP TVS1900 supercharger on my 2015 Silverado 5.3. Luckily the supercharger bolts on the intake manifold separately, so it was pretty easy bolting it down. I have since added a slightly smaller pulley and a 6.2 throttle body and intake tube, with the largest AEM conical filter I could find. Also added a ZL1, 6L90 torque converter to the stock 6L80, along with a proper pan with drain plug and gutted/plugged the trans thermostat. SLP's tune was ****, BlackBear modified it slightly, still ****. I ended up buying HP tuners and a wideband and had Tyler Czipar at Czipar Performance Tuning remote tune it for me. Runs fantastic now, makes 10 psi, and gets 18 mpg on the highway, 16.5 mpg back and forth to work.

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

Thanks for the updates.

Looks great.

Glad for updates!

What he said

Thanks! More updates coming.

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

I have a SLP TVS1900 supercharger on my 2015 Silverado 5.3. Luckily the supercharger bolts on the intake manifold separately, so it was pretty easy bolting it down. I have since added a slightly smaller pulley and a 6.2 throttle body and intake tube, with the largest AEM conical filter I could find. Also added a ZL1, 6L90 torque converter to the stock 6L80, along with a proper pan with drain plug and gutted/plugged the trans thermostat. SLP's tune was ****, BlackBear modified it slightly, still ****. I ended up buying HP tuners and a wideband and had Tyler Czipar at Czipar Performance Tuning remote tune it for me. Runs fantastic now, makes 10 psi, and gets 18 mpg on the highway, 16.5 mpg back and forth to work.

Nice! I went with the E-Force TVS2650 unit because it was on sale for $5800 at the time. Looks like they are $7700 now...ouch. I've debated doing the L86/LT1 throttle body and a torque converter but I'm just biding my time for now.

Turns out I had a slight leak in the intercooler plumbing that over the course of a year lowered it to the point it could no longer function. I went WOT without the knowledge I no longer had a functional intercooler (as there is no idiot light for aftermarket equipment) which detonated bad enough it broke the ground ******** the spark plug on cylinder 4. I would have thought the super high IATs would have pulled timing and prevented it from happening... I also found it odd the ECU couldn't detect a dead miss...I had to pull plugs to find it.

I was 6 hours from home at the time and managed to limp the truck to a Napa. Bought tools to pull the plugs found the bad one in cylinder 4, replaced them all and made it home. However, my short drive to Napa with a dead miss was enough to destroy the cats and I think I cracked a ringland on cylinder 4 as it is down 50psi from the rest now.

Since then I've been driving the truck without issue, just a slightly rough idle when cold but it evens out. It still moves out great under boost. I've been keeping an eye out for a cheap L83 engine I can rebuild/build and then swap in. Probably do a torque converter and some other things at the time too. Not in a hurry as the truck seems to run fine still.

-Hillrod

 

[jbmatth]

Well Hillrod, it sounds like you need to look for a 6.2 to swap in if you are going that far. What was the Gen 3 you were working on above?

JB

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

Well Hillrod, it sounds like you need to look for a 6.2 to swap in if you are going that far. What was the Gen 3 you were working on above?

JB

I was thinking the same thing until I started shopping LT1/L86 prices...oof! I'll jump on one if I come upon a deal but for now I'm trying to find a $500 L83 that needs a rebuild since I plan to do cam (& DOD delete), and forged pistons.

I've been debating what to post about next but you made my mind up for me! That is a 2004 GTO LS1 in the background.

I wasn't looking for it but I happened to spot a running and driving 2004 6-speed GTO on Facebook Marketplace for $3,000! It was well used with 249k on it, but it ran and drove and I drove it 2 hours home, then parted it out. I more than made my money back while still keeping the engine, harness, ECU, BCM, pedals, seats, and a few other things.

I "rebuilt" it by tearing it all the way down and de greasing all the small parts in my parts washer. Confirmed my theory that it had the stronger gen iv connecting rods in it just like the later gen iii truck engines did. Had the block and heads jet washed at a machine shop along with new cam bearings. Tossed it back together with new crank/rod bearings, new oil pump, BTR rocker trunions, SS2 cam, pac1218 springs, new lifters, and new seals/gaskets throughout. Checked piston ring end gap, and with 249k on them they are ready for boost! About $1500 in it total.

Dropped it in the IROC along with a T56. Lots of $$$ and work still required before that car goes anywhere but got the engine/trans out of the way for now.

Finally, I bolted the GTO seats onto some furniture dollies so I have shop seats now

-Hillrod

 

[jbmatth]

I'm loving this, great job all around, keep it up and keep us in the loop. That IROC will be a blast.

JB

 

[wisconsin hillrod]

My intention was always to supercharge the C7. After driving my FRC supercharged for 2 whole summers I was addicted to the violence. The C7 felt quick but not violent. I went back and forth between a LT4 blower and another A&A Corvette centrifugal setup. TPS Motosports had a sale with a take off LT4 blower and all the ancillary parts needed to install it on a Z51 car for just over $4,000 so I jumped on it.

I received the take off parts right away but was was told there would be a delay for the rest of the parts due to covid supply chain issues. Feeling restless I decided I'd undertake another project while I waited.

The transmission I swapped into my FRC when I supercharged it had a slight 5th gear grind when cold. Once the car was driven enough to warm up the transmission it shifted into 5th without issue so I'd just skip 5th gear for the first 10 miles of each drive. I had recently disassembled and reassembled the old Saganaw 4 speed trans out of my Olds just to do it and felt confident about diving into the FRC's T56.

This picture shows the issue: Broken strut key on the 5/6 syncro assembly.

I ordered new keys,springs, and snap rings. While I was waiting for those I made a couple tools. Pretty simple, just drilled some holes in some flat steel to extend the reach of a Harbor Freight 3 jaw puller. This is to remove the 5/6 driven gear which had to be removed to reinstall the the other gears and syncros.

Replacement parts.

Assembled the 5/6 syncro assembly with the new keys and springs.

The other tool I made was to drive the 5/6 driven gear back onto the mainshaft. It is just a scrap of sch40 electrical conduit cut to length.

Then exactly one year ago today I went on an incredibly satisfying successful test drive with no grinds!

-Hillrod

 

[MrPink]

Love the shop, jealous of all the LS's just lounging about lol. i have one sourced for my project but i wont be able to get it for a few months as it is still in a running/driving vehicle that my friend is driving lol.

 

[bowtiguy]

Don’t forget those output/ input seals while your in there. They make the funkiest milkshake you’ve ever seen when they go bad on a C5.