Update on the 69!

[will69camaro]

I took a weekend off and drove 400 miles home from College Station to try and get a little done on my car. The injectors were changed in about 20 minutes and fired the car up. The side we had checked all the plug wires on has all cylinders firing. On the otherside was another story! So I pulled out my dad's multimeter and started checking the plug wires...I'm still unsure how but i had 3 or the 4 wires on the wrong cylinders! I changed that and started the car again and it didn't want to idle?! (This after it ran for 5 minutes on 5 cylinders). We had to help the computer hold an idle until the computer could find something it liked. We then ran it for codes and found a few codes and ended up replacing the map sensor. One code is now gone and need to chase down a few more. The last major problem was the waterpump is bad. I changed the thermostat hopeing that that was the reason it wasn't flowing water into the radiator but it wasn't. Radiator hoses aren't even warm, they remain cool while the engine climbs over 240 degrees!!. The car has now been driven and all gears work (1-6 and Reverse) and we're ready for spring break to roll around so we can wrap this project up for now! I have a video of the second drive we took in it (me and my dad cruising up the street) and i'll post it as soon as it's off the camera and hosted.

Thanks for reading my rambling.

William

[will69camaro]

Hopefully people will come in here and check this out. I have a video of my car's second trip out with the LT1/T56 and it's coming along nicely. Almost have everything lined up so i'll be driving it back to College Station from Midland in a few weeks.

Let me know what you guys think!

http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~rackl...9camaroLT1.wmv

William

[69MyWay]

William,

I have had some experience transplanting LT1 engines. You mentioned two things I have had experience with.

1. Overheating: Are you running a sealed surge tank that T's off the heater hose line and is higher than the engine for purging the air out? Did you air bleed the air off the engine through the T-stat housing?

2. Missfire/idle: You mentioned the water pump blew. Please tell me NO water of any kind got on your opti-spark. You might want to go ahead and pull the opti and at least remove the cap portion and make sure it is clean, dry, and corrosion free inside. If it is not a new unit, at least a cap and rotor kit would be a good idea.

I enjoyed watching the video. You are going to have a blast.

[will69camaro]

Originally Posted by 69MyWay

William,

I have had some experience transplanting LT1 engines. You mentioned two things I have had experience with.

1. Overheating: Are you running a sealed surge tank that T's off the heater hose line and is higher than the engine for purging the air out? Did you air bleed the air off the engine through the T-stat housing?

2. Missfire/idle: You mentioned the water pump blew. Please tell me NO water of any kind got on your opti-spark. You might want to go ahead and pull the opti and at least remove the cap portion and make sure it is clean, dry, and corrosion free inside. If it is not a new unit, at least a cap and rotor kit would be a good idea.

I enjoyed watching the video. You are going to have a blast.

I'm not sure i understand that first question. I'm kinda clueless about the cooling system so far. We havn't bled the system yet but that is first thing i'm gonna try when i'm back in town for spring break. Then i'm going to make sure the little shaft that spins the water pump isn't damaged and is still there. I'm running the factory 69 radiator (hoses routed to the right side for pickup and return), i plugged the oil cooler port in the water pump, coolant line from the back of the heads t's into a heater hose.

As for the misfire at idle. It's pretty well solved for now. It runs actually pretty well, kinda hard to drive with no backpressure and afraid to make it to loud in my parents neighborhood. No water from the waterpump as far as i know has hit the opti, but i might open it up and check for corrosion. When it comes time to replace that i will be going with the coilpack Delteq system.

William

[69MyWay]

William,

I am sure you can make your system work, but you MUST make sure all the air is purged out. That is the most likely reason it is running hot. It is steaming in the head because the reverse flow system and the way the t-stat works in that will trap air in. Thus the need for the air bleeder on the upper goose neck.

I would really prefer to see you install a radiator from a 1993-97 F body and use the pressure tank. I have a spare surge tank if you can't find one. These systems are closed, meaning they don't blow excess build up into a overflow tank, then syphon it back it as it cools overnight. So, the radiator cap is sealed where you 69 camaro cap is vented.

[will69camaro]

Originally Posted by 69MyWay

William,

I am sure you can make your system work, but you MUST make sure all the air is purged out. That is the most likely reason it is running hot. It is steaming in the head because the reverse flow system and the way the t-stat works in that will trap air in. Thus the need for the air bleeder on the upper goose neck.

I would really prefer to see you install a radiator from a 1993-97 F body and use the pressure tank. I have a spare surge tank if you can't find one. These systems are closed, meaning they don't blow excess build up into a overflow tank, then syphon it back it as it cools overnight. So, the radiator cap is sealed where you 69 camaro cap is vented.

I'm going to try and get this setup working and if i cant get it working i'll put a radiator in it out of my friends GS that is a LT1 style 4th gen radiator, brand new.

I'm just trying to keep costs down as much as possible until i'm done with school!
Thanks for the tips and i'll give it a shot...How do i purge all the air out? Open the bleeder when it's running and let the air comeout and shut when fluid appears?

William