Brakes are finally completely done and bled.

plug wires are done. The flowmaster headers fit great, but a couple of the tubes could have been a little farther from the block. We used summit kit and made custom wires that run to the front in top and back under.

Finally found some wheels I like. Got tires also. Back is 18x10 295/40 fronts are 28x8 245/45.

Next up patching the jacked up holes in the fender liners and paint them.

 

Looks great!
Now that you have all the fun stuff done, now comes the hard part, the paint and body work.
Or , are you just going to farm that out?

 

Thank you.

That part I am going to have to have someone else do. We don't have the experience to do that.

 

I found that out myself.
I tried my own body work, but it wasn't good enough to satisfy me.
So I took it to a body shop.

 

We've been getting some things done, but we have some things going on that take away most of our car time. We go the ecm/tcm modules mounted. Go the battery and cables and grounds done. Yeah, the cables are big. I was planning on putting the battery in the trunk, so I scavenged some cable from a 7 series BMW. When we decided to keep the battery in the front we just used those cables. She'' use all the electrons. Yes, I know the battery is on the wrong side.

I need to get some info on how to make the AC work and get a condenser in so we can mount the trans cooler. We started sorting out the factory wiring and what we need to keep for the swap.

I still have hopes that we will be able to start it before fall and possibly drive it.

 

It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated this.

we decided to hold off on the cruise control since it would require an adapter as it’s handled by the BCM with this ecu.

I ordered this AC condenser 560-1760PFOLDS form https://autoacsolutions.com. It fits like a glove. That let us install the trans cooler. The fittings on the 4L80 were tight.

My son got a small fuse/relay box that was on a box truck or something similar and he was nice enough to wire it all up. On it we have head lights, fuel pump, fans and I think something else. This thing works great.

We wired the fans in series for low and in parallel for high.

We used the factory gauge for the engine light and the brake light is tied to brake fluid level. I think we used the gen light for check engine.

We wrapped all the wires going to the trunk/tank/lights in wire loom. We are using TechFlex T6 loom as it matches the BP harness. It looks amazing. All the splices are done with crimps and weatherproof heat shrink.

98% of the mechanical work is done. 80-90% of the wiring is done. Going with a BP harness was pricey, but it simplified things greatly and saved a ton of time. It’s very well made, looks great and every wire is labeled. I would have liked to have more wire going to the ecu/tcu, but that would have been a custom order and quite a bit more money.

We had someone setup the E38 ecu and the trans controller and we couldn’t get it to work. My son put out some feelers and a friend sent us a programmed ecu based on our configuration. It wouldn’t start either. I said screw it and I ordered HP Tuners. My son found out VATS was not completely disabled. Apparently there are about a half dozen places it needs to be turned off. Flex fuel is reading, so that’s encouraging.

Finally we were turned the key and it immediately started. What a day! It’s loud, of course with open headers, but it sounds really nice.

We discovered we had the front port on the brake proportioning valve going to the back wheels and vice versa. We made two new short lines to fix that.

We had issues getting all the radiator so we borrowed a pressurized tool for this and it worked great.

I ordered exhaust for the car. I am still undecided on mufflers. My son has a couple flowmax or something, but I’m thinking about getting a couple spintech 3000s. I’m afraid the 6000s would be to loud, especially in a convertible.

Next is build the exhaust, re-bleed the brakes. I need to order new hardware to mount the bumpers so we can finish wiring the lights. Pretty soon I need to order new seat upholstery.

 

We had to move it down the street from his house to mine temporarily. Short video of it moving under its own power for the first time in about 40 years!

 

Just found this thread, will have to read it through when I have some time.

Question - did you ever put that 200-4R trans and accessories to use that you purchased from me a long long time ago?

 

I have never bought a 200-4r transmission. You must be thinking of someone else.

 

Hmm.. could have sworn it was you. I think my for sale post was way back on ROP so it's long gone and no way I can find out who bought it.

Anyway, nice build!

 

Thank you.

I was on ROP way back.

 

The driver side valve covers on ls motors are known to have oil blow-by issues. GM issued a TSB about this and there have been several versions. I replaced mine with a newer generation I picked up off a suburban at the junk yard. I have seen different part numbers, but these have the rectangular opening as in the photo.

These cleaned up amazingly well with a soak in some purple power. Painted to match the rest of my setup.

 

The exhaust is on up to the over the axel tube. The tailpipes are going to need some work. I went with spintech 3000. I’m a little concerned they might be to loud. We’ll see once the rest is on.



The original bumpers are on for now. The tail lights are done. The fronts will be done soon. Waiting on the metal tabs for the connectors. We’re replacing those rather than splice wires. Once that’s done we will loom the headlight harness.

We had the brake lines from the master cylinder to proportioning valve backwards so those are replaced and the brake re-bled.

I have new seat covers on order. The foam and plastic pieces are here.

Trunk lid is on and the latch lined up on the first try.

We were beginning to put the doors on, but we need to rebuild the hinges first. Also, the top, under the door weatherstripping on the front of the passenger door is rusted and part is completely gone. My son is fabricating replacement metal. One of the screw holes is still the so we will be able to get the weatherstripping lined up to mark for a hole for the other screw.

Still need to make a mount for the coolant overflow tank, finish headlight wiring, torque some of the suspension, mount the rear sway bar, but we are making progress.

Its kinda loud.

 

Wow, I just read back thru entire thread- great job. Your car and mine could be twins but different interiors. I really love the wooden frame rotisserie you made. That is going to be a great cruiser. I understand going to LS (sorta) but not for me.. I like the "feel" of a 50 year old car, I guess. You have done a great job and I love the way you went to the boneyard and gotten cheap used parts instead of ordering everything online. Keep it up, almost done!

 

thank you, I appreciate it. It’s been a process, but it will be on the road soon.