Stress Relief
After hours of welding,
bending, and shaping the car
makes it to the body shop.
After hours of welding,
bending, and shaping the car
makes it to the body shop.
 |  |  |  |
All Primed Up
After hours of sanding and
priming the car is ready for
paint.
After hours of sanding and
priming the car is ready for
paint.
Tease Me
The car makes it back from
the body shop sporting it's
new color.
The car makes it back from
the body shop sporting it's
new color.
Hangin' Low
The new front sub frame
mates to the car.
The new front sub frame
mates to the car.
All Revved Up..
The LS1 finds it home along
with the new A/C and radiator.
The LS1 finds it home along
with the new A/C and radiator.
So the car finally makes it to the paint shop.
The crew at Bob Thomas Automotive Group
Body SHop couldn't have been more
committed to a project. The hours they spent
straightening out the sheet metal was
incredible. We had spent hours making the
bottom IROC trim out of heavy gage steel, but
these guys made it look like it was factory. We
will talk about them a lot more later on.
It's hard to even think where to start on the
LS1 engine. Well I guess being that it was a
low miles used one, we decided to tear it down
and see what made it tick. I found 2 broken
rockers, this meant the push rods had been
damaged so a call was made to Smith Brothers
Pushrods and we installed new hardened rods.
Just to make sure everything was clean we
sent out all the sheet metal to Commercial
Powder Coating to have it Ceramic Coated.
Looking at it further that plastic factory intake a
small throttle body had to go. The guys at
Professional Products supplied a Typhoon
Intake and massive 85mm throttle body along
with fuel rails and coil covers. Now the engine
has to go back together. New gaskets, oil
pump and timing set provided by Tony's Head
Works. Great now we have a long block
assembled, but some thing was missing. Oh
yeah accessory drive. You need A/C, P/S and
Alternator functions. I have only found one
serpentine system that lives up to its name. So
a call was made to Concept One Pulley
Systems for their machine finish set up. To
finish the front drive we needed a high output
water pump. Tuff Stuff supplied the best they
had. Now you have to start and charge the car
so who better to turn to than PowerMaster for
their high output alternator and gear reduction
starter. So the engine looks like a runner but
you have to get the gasses out so American
Racing Headers provided a huge set of
Stainless Steel 3" headers. The fit and finish is
superior.
Well you have to keep an eye on that LS1
under the hood so who else would you turn to
but AutoMeter Competition Instruments . The
sleek look, form and function can't be beat.
With the quality of engineering they match
right up with the factory computer outputs. No
additional parts to buy. That being said you
still have the fun job of wiring it all. Yes there is
a lot of wiring to be run. I chose to use GM
weather tight connectors for many reasons,
but the ease of plugging things together
between the car and dash was key. Speaking
of the car and computer wiring I used the one
company I have used for years. Painless Wiring
has always delivered exactly what I wanted for
my wiring needs, and this project was no
different. The LS1 engine management system
was spot on with no install problems at all. I
used the Universal 18 circuit with GM column
kit for the rest of the car and it fits like a glove.
There is enough color coded/labeled wire to
make it through the entire car without taking
dangerous short cuts to make things work.
The crew at Bob Thomas Automotive Group
Body SHop couldn't have been more
committed to a project. The hours they spent
straightening out the sheet metal was
incredible. We had spent hours making the
bottom IROC trim out of heavy gage steel, but
these guys made it look like it was factory. We
will talk about them a lot more later on.
It's hard to even think where to start on the
LS1 engine. Well I guess being that it was a
low miles used one, we decided to tear it down
and see what made it tick. I found 2 broken
rockers, this meant the push rods had been
damaged so a call was made to Smith Brothers
Pushrods and we installed new hardened rods.
Just to make sure everything was clean we
sent out all the sheet metal to Commercial
Powder Coating to have it Ceramic Coated.
Looking at it further that plastic factory intake a
small throttle body had to go. The guys at
Professional Products supplied a Typhoon
Intake and massive 85mm throttle body along
with fuel rails and coil covers. Now the engine
has to go back together. New gaskets, oil
pump and timing set provided by Tony's Head
Works. Great now we have a long block
assembled, but some thing was missing. Oh
yeah accessory drive. You need A/C, P/S and
Alternator functions. I have only found one
serpentine system that lives up to its name. So
a call was made to Concept One Pulley
Systems for their machine finish set up. To
finish the front drive we needed a high output
water pump. Tuff Stuff supplied the best they
had. Now you have to start and charge the car
so who better to turn to than PowerMaster for
their high output alternator and gear reduction
starter. So the engine looks like a runner but
you have to get the gasses out so American
Racing Headers provided a huge set of
Stainless Steel 3" headers. The fit and finish is
superior.
Well you have to keep an eye on that LS1
under the hood so who else would you turn to
but AutoMeter Competition Instruments . The
sleek look, form and function can't be beat.
With the quality of engineering they match
right up with the factory computer outputs. No
additional parts to buy. That being said you
still have the fun job of wiring it all. Yes there is
a lot of wiring to be run. I chose to use GM
weather tight connectors for many reasons,
but the ease of plugging things together
between the car and dash was key. Speaking
of the car and computer wiring I used the one
company I have used for years. Painless Wiring
has always delivered exactly what I wanted for
my wiring needs, and this project was no
different. The LS1 engine management system
was spot on with no install problems at all. I
used the Universal 18 circuit with GM column
kit for the rest of the car and it fits like a glove.
There is enough color coded/labeled wire to
make it through the entire car without taking
dangerous short cuts to make things work.
Gaugey Business
AutoMeter Sport Comp II
gauges find their way into the
Covans Dash. Center gauge
is GearDash gear selector
readout.
AutoMeter Sport Comp II
gauges find their way into the
Covans Dash. Center gauge
is GearDash gear selector
readout.
Red, White, & Blue etc.
You still have to wire it all.
You still have to wire it all.
Relay for Life
I decided that it would best to
run all lights on Relays
including the B&M HiTech
Trans Cooler fan.
I decided that it would best to
run all lights on Relays
including the B&M HiTech
Trans Cooler fan.