CONGRATS! cant wait to see pics and vid!

Sounds like a good day in the garage. All that hard work is about to pay off. :thumbsup:

Congrats :thumbsup: NOW where's the video :guns:

Nothing like hearing a new engine run for the first time… congrats! :thumbsup:

I have a 4 barrel TB also and you can hear the air rushing through the IAC valve at idle. I’ll be curious to see what adjustments you make to quiet it down.

Congratulations! Can't wait to hear the new engine fire up and idle. Happy to hear you will be driving during this beautiful So. Cal weather:lol:

Awesome news Chris, glad it's coming together for you.

You're the man Chris! Looks immaculate and potent under that hood. :thumbsup:

Finally some pics of the completed engine and engine bay. Still have a bracket I need to make for the heater hoses and breather hose to attach to the fender, but other than that and a cold air setup that will enclose the air filter to the cowl hood, it's pretty much done. This is as clean as I could get it considering all the new extra wiring for the Holley EFI, AutoRad electric fans, and the few extra hoses for the fuel line return and breather.

Should be able to post a video of it running this weekend.

A little bit of old school with a little bit of new. :thumbsup:

http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...EnginePic1.jpg

http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...EnginePic2.jpg

http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...EnginePic3.jpg

http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...EnginePic4.jpg

http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...EnginePic5.jpg

http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...EnginePic6.jpg

http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...EnginePic7.jpg

http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...EnginePic8.jpg

http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...EnginePic9.jpg

http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...nginePic10.jpg

That just looks so sanitary :flag2:

Hey Bro - been off the map and didn't get a chance to comment earlier. YOU R the Man!! Car looks awesome. Can't wait to see it in person :cheers:

I don't care what anybody says, you can't beat that! Eat your heart out all you limp wristed ls guys. :D :trophy-1302: Looks fantastic!!

I'll have you know my wrist works fine. :mock:

LS what? :snapout:

LOL I love this!!! :lol:


WOW simply awesome!!!! Great JOB!

Looks great Chris. Congratulations on a Job well done!

Thanks for the regulator pic. :thumbsup:

A lot of thought went into that bay. Great job. Nice to see another guy with an engine not littered with coil packs.

Still Zee (L) One....exclusivity is your friend.

Of course it does, you have a bad ass big block chevrolet. :D

Wow Chris, that looks awesome!

Todd, don't you now own a C6 powered by a limp wristed LS motor? Automatic trans to boot? ;) :D

You let me off easy on that one :D

Notice no one picks on the SB2 :peepwall:

Pay attention gentlemen this is what the underside of a Camaro hood should look like. :underchair:


Close to perfect Chris :thumbsup:


http://www.69camaroproject.com/Share...EnginePic1.jpg

Matter of fact...so should a Ford!!:ohsnap: :popcorn2:

:lol:

Zinger or not, I wish my Ford looked that good.:underchair:

I think the R07 might. :D

http://image.superchevy.com/f/techni...mall_block.jpg

Oh yeah.

Thanks a million for all the kind words fellas. I REALLY do appreciate it. :cheers: I've gotten a lot of inspiration from other photos and ideas I've seen here on this site over the years and hopefully these latest photos will properly pay it forward.

I may take the day off today just to finally enjoy the weather and pretend I've got a life outside of the garage, but I'll try to get crackin' on the video as soon as I can and get this mutha on the road so I can meet up with many of you and share some stories and lay down some rubber.

Hey Todd....thank you for showing us how sick a ZL-1 build can be. I really appreciate your input and all the ideas you and everyone has shared. :cheers:

Your welcome, there is no doubt still today, that you have the ultimate between your fenders. What really belongs and just fits in a 1969 Camaro.

While I understand and like the LS line and will likely utilize one in my next build due to cost, it's just not the same.

Looking forward to hearing how she runs out.:thumbsup:

Looks Amazing and must perform even better, Great Job Chris, You the man!!!!

Quick update. Took some time off due to a road trip, a nasty stomach flu(got a call from the local water treatment plant asking me to back off), and some much needed R&R.

So, my initial declaration of 'no leaks' was a bit premature. Had a few coolant drips from some of the stainless pipe fittings, no big deal to fix those. Then found a rear intake-to-block seal oil drip that required me to pull the intake back off and get that sealed properly. That sucked having to do that, but it's done and sealed properly now. Then one of the rear oil pan bolts was dripping oil which had me nervous but fortunately it was only because there was no sealant on that particular bolt(hole goes straight through to the crank case). Thank god that was an easy fix.

Did a lot of research and finally determined the problem with the IAC motor being wide open and sucking way too much air. My initial guess about somebody's wiring diagram being wrong was correct. Edelbrock's IAC wiring diagram they provide with their throttle body(3878) is just wrong. They have the B high/low wires backwards. Had to find some additional resources on the net to figure that one out. Once I switched those 2 wires on the harness, it works normally. Initially it makes a bit of noise on a cold start as it opens to nearly 50% to control the cold idle, but then as the engine warms up it slowly steps its way down, eventually all the way to about 3% open. At the point it's nice and quiet. Dale, if yours is still making a lot of noise even after it's warmed up, you might check how much it's open. One of the Holley guru's on another site mentioned that a 2-3% target was ideal for smooth idle when warm. It shouldn't make much noise at all if it's only open that much.

So today I'm adjusting the accelerator linkage to give me better gas pedal control. Right now it's too quick and with 600HP+ and 275 rear tires I need as much gas pedal control as I can get.

Tomorrow I can finally start on putting in the trans tunnel panels, shifter, center console, trans cooling air ducting, and trans wiring and finally take her around the neighborhood for some initial testing. Nearly everything on the car has changed so it'll take a while to get everything dialed back in, but I'm getting close. Should be able to start attending some events in about a month.

Sweet! I was just going to ask how things were coming along.

Hey Chris, glad your feeling better now... sounds like your working your way through all the little issues. I have been driving my car for about a month now and I'm still doing some fine tuning. You will be loving the T56 Magnum and hydraulic clutch set up... you will forget about all the hard work once you go for that first drive, it is so nice... short throw, and effortless shifting at any RPM :thumbsup:

The only thing new I have to pass along is that I found out the Tilton 3/4" bore x 1.1" stroke clutch master cylinder that came in my kit did not have quite enough volume to disengage the clutch at the right point. I ended up changing to a 7/8" bore master and it works perfect. The 3/4" bore took the full stroke to disengage and the clutch pedal was nearly on the floor by the time the clutch released. With the 7/8" master the clutch disengages about halfway to the floor and has a much better feel (quicker).

Look forward to more updates and an Idle video!

Thanks Dale. I think I will be okay with the clutch engagement. The DYAD clutch has an amazingly short release distance and I already ran some tests and it seems to release just fine long before then end of the pedal travel. I actually had to add a pedal stop to keep from over-extending the fingers. So with the short release distance and the clutch assembly's shallow depth, it's fairly easy to install this setup and doesn't require shims or the trans spacer that you unfortunately had to deal with(my bellhousing had that extra 1/2 inch of depth which helped too). I just went with a standard LS throwout bearing after measuring the travel that it had and comparing with your measurements you provided for your ZR-1 throwout bearing(thanks again for that data). That made dealing with lines and fittings a bit easier. The only thing I'm a little nervous about right now is the clutch pedal effort. It's a bit stiff and I don't think it should be given the feedback I've seen about this clutch. The pedal doesn't feel spongy, so I don't think it's an 'air in the lines' issue. It might be the fittings I used to connect the supply line to the MC. They might be creating some 'restriction'. I might swap those out just to see if that makes a difference. Or, it could be the lower hole I had to use on the pedal to connect the pushrod. I couldn't use the upper hole because the angle on the rod going into the MC would not have been parallel. Anyway, I'm sure I'll get it figured out soon enough. If it ends up being a little stiff, so be it.

I checked out your thread yesterday and your new pics of your ride in the outdoors look awesome. Congrats on getting it back on the road. I'm hopefully right behind you. :thumbsup:

Glad to see your making progress Chris. Soon you will screaming down the road.

Him or the car??

:lol: It'll be both, but you'll be able to clearly hear me over the car.

:drive:

Chris, you stud.

:_party:

Dude... what's up?

Was a bit burnt out and took a break. Doing these things yourself takes dedication, and after 5 years of dedicating myself to this car(version 1.0 and now this 2.0) in my garage, my "get up and go" has just about "got up and went". These things are very consuming. It's much different for folks who have the money to have someone work on it for them. I envy them, persistently. I really do. No way I could afford this car if I had to pay for labor too, so I had to do it myself. First few years was fun, but now I'm ready for it to be done so I can get the f_ck out of the garage. I'm a car guy, but I'm also a fishing guy, surfing guy, golf, tennis, travel, weekend road trips, and whole lot of other sh_t, and I'd like to get back to some of those which I'll be able to do shortly.

These past few weeks I've just been wrapping up some finishing touches and trying to dial things in to my liking by taking her for short drives around the neighborhood and then back to the garage for checking and tinkering and getting her just right. Lots of little things as most of you all know about. Some of the things thing knocked out since the last update:

Front wheels widened to 18x9 with new Dunlop Direzza ZII's(265s). Will replace rear tires also as soon as I've burned through(quickly) the Nitto 555s that are on there now.
Removable transmission tunnel panels completed and installed(took a lot of time due to me already having a full interior with sound deadener)
Center console re-installed with short stick and custom carbon fiber and chrome trim plate and leather boot
Front carpet and driver's side kick plate reinstalled
Center arm rest modified(lower)
Pedals changed to preferred height
Continue to bleed brakes to reduce spongy feel as much as possible
Parking brake modified to avoid suspension travel issues
Pre-load increased on lifters to decrease noisy valvetrain as instructed by Comp Cams but it didn't help much. Steep ramp on this cam's lobes makes it noisy, like a solid cam. Popular complaint from Comp Cams XE cam owners with large lift. Great power over a large range but a bit "clacky". Oh well.
Alignment and camber work
Increasing bump stops slightly on turning radius to avoid tie rods hitting oil pan
Toggle button installed on console for reverse lockout on T56
Trying to solve slight oil drip from rear of oil pan near rear 2 passenger side oil pan bolts. I'll get it figured out eventually.
Accusump oil accumulator pre-charged and hooked back up after initial oil change

Next week I'll be doing some longer drives to break everything in and get those 500 miles under her belt so I can put the hammer down and create some smoke and skid marks. Also gets her ready for the chassis dyno.

Then I'm going fishing. Permanently.

Hang in there buddy. I got to your point and well beyond. That's why I have no desire for another project at this stage in my life. I'm enjoying my simple hobbies. Your car is more refined and will be less maintenence, I hope. I'm sure there will be plenty of days where you'll forget all the pain and enjoy the hell out of it. Remember, it's supposed to be fun. :)

You changed the oil, time to lay the pedal to the metal. :snapout: :flag2: