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New Guy Here


jft69z

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Getting ready to start figuring out the rear crossmember situation. A few quick measurements looks like the 4L85E may just barely work with the stock crossmember with just a minor cut/paste of the mount tab. Will know more when I get it in place. That big orange ugly machine in the background is why it wasn't going to happen tonight. Snowed a bunch today and supposed to go all night. I'll be up at 3:30 AM plowing snow before work (good thing I got the plow blade out of the shed last week). 7-11 inches of snow....why did I not move out west when I got out of the USAF years ago....

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Popped the body on the frame real quick to see how the actual transmission is going to fit in the car.  Did a lot of research, seems the popular answer to putting one in an A-body is to use the G-Force RCAE-4 crossmember, plus a 'short' urethane trans mount, compared to a taller/stock height one. Kept looking at the pics of their part and it just seemed like it drops the trans down a lot. Took a bunch of measurements with an angle gauge the other night & it really would have made for a poor pinion angle I think (I pulled the rear springs out so I could manipulate the rear diff thru its full range of motion too).

So I called them up, turns out their member drops the back of the trans approx. 11/16" compared to a stock crossmember. Add to that the difference between a T400 vs 4L85E trans mount to centerline of output shaft of approx. 3/8" (4L85 distance is shorter, dropping the trans down even more). That drops the trans over an inch, plus the shorter trans mount they suggest, no way that would work & still have an acceptable drive angle for the U-joints.

I think I'm going to use the stock crossmember, add a little metal to slot the mounting grooves a bit more towards the back, and use the stock sized rear mount plus shim it up to make up the difference between the mount pads. So far, with it in the car mocked up like that, it clears the floor & puts the driveline angles where they're supposed to be. Just something to consider if someone is thinking about this swap. I'll take pics of the crossmember down the road after I modify it (you can see where I already cut the pad a little to add a square piece so I can elongate the bolt slots).

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Spent a little time after work adjusting the crossmember mount to fit properly. Cut about an inch out of it just behind the slots. This also provided just enough clearance to allow removal of the crossmember when needed. It's a tight fit otherwise, and would hit the trans oil pan and not let you remove it easily.

Also added a couple of tabs on the ends because with this trans, the crossmember needs to go to the furthest rear holes on the frame. Didn't want to use just 1 bolt on each side, so the added tabs will let me use 4 bolts total with the existing frame holes.

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So, the "replacement' tank came from Aeromotive today. The first one that came last week had a hole in the box & it rattled when holding the filler neck, like a broken spot weld or something. Sent the borescope down it but couldn't see anything. They agreed to send a new one out, but they say ,"they all rattle". Hmmmm…. so I'll have a rattle trap over every bump? They say when it has gas in it, it will be better. Not buying that excuse. The guy said it wasn't packed properly if I could see the neck though, and he'd see to it the new one got packed better.

 

So anyways, the new tank comes today, the hole in this box is even bigger. Pretty obvious the neck is still unprotected. Can't wait to get home from work to see how this one rattles. I'm sure getting whacked that hard on the neck to destroy the box to that degree won't have any negative effect on the inner structure.... :angry:. Called them to give a heads-up and send pics that my GF sent me, we'll see how this plays out.

Ironic that the damage is at the tape that says don't accept if damaged. Unfortunately, the delivery guy dropped it off and left. Looks like he kicked it out of the truck at 30 mph.

So far they've been great to deal with, so hopefully we can get this ironed out so I can run the fuel lines and keep moving towards the other mountains of stuff to do.

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  • 1 month later...

Been working a bunch, only a few hours every now and again to get stuff done. Managed to get the fuel lines made up. Had to run 3/8" for both supply & return so made them from scratch, plus put the 10 micron filter in the supply line per Holley recommendations. Also made a bracket to mount the Holley fuel pressure regulator (with 100 psi pressure sensor) & a stainless line up to the throttle body/FI with -AN connections.

Spent a lot of time trying to find a place to put the Holley ECM. It's larger than the usual ones they have because this one also includes the transmission controller. Was going to mount it on a plate right on the bottom of the inside HVAC box, but didn't like that location. Probably would have always been kicked by the passenger. Eventually made a couple of bracket so it tucks in under the cowl, above the HVAC unit. Out of the way, protected, and away from engine heat as well.

Have a pretty good idea where I'm going to mount the Dakota Digital module & also their Holley FI interface module. It'll be under the dash as well and pretty accessible if needed. There's not a whole lot of room under there if the car has AC.

Body is temporarily back on the frame for now, to finalize the rear fuel line fitment to the gas tank. Plenty more to do....

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Looking good Joe, enjoying the pic's of the progress. I forgot how much room you had and the helpers you have around, should've sent mine up to you for the frame off engine swap 🤣

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5 minutes ago, DragCat said:

Looking good Joe, enjoying the pic's of the progress. I forgot how much room you had and the helpers you have around, should've sent mine up to you for the frame off engine swap 🤣

Thanks Mark. You've got it wrong though...I'm supposed to come down there where it's sunny & warm! Supposed to be 50 here this weekend though, just with the accompanying buckets of rain forecasted. Goofy weather, it was 19 degrees this morning.

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  • 1 month later...

So it's been awhile since I updated here, just been real busy at work and only a few hours here & there to get things done. Last place I left off was the arrival of the ARH headers that were mentioned in Mark's post here: (plus a couple of posts down with starter pics). (I also added this link mainly for me to find related info quickly.)

Since then it's been small stuff, but things I wanted to do before wiring the car. First was finishing the trans related stuff like making a plate for the torque converter. The cast piece GM makes for the 4L85 has no provision to cover the big hole up, basically leaving the flexplate very exposed, so I made a cover real quick with 1/8" aluminum plate.

- Next up was making a stainless manifold for oil pressure sensors. The Holley EFI and Dakota RTX dash both take a pressure sensor. In theory, the Dakota interface module for the Holley EFI is supposed to send its oil pressure signal to the ECM. Everything I've read on the Holley forum seems to suggest otherwise, so I figured pipe it up for both now & play around later. Plus, I didn't want to split the signal like some people were thinking. That's just not a good practice in my mind. There won't be any room after the headers are in to play around much, so now's a good time. Just a block of SS, drilled and tapped for sensors and TIG welded a short 3/8" SS pipe on the back to mate with the engine oil port. (Started out with fittings & tee's, but didn't like it, too much of a Frankenstein).

- Next was figuring out the fan belt situation for the Alt, WP & A/C. I have the mid-80's GM 454 pulleys that are a combination "V" and Ribbed (serpentine) belt. I have these pulleys on my Camaro and they stopped the tossed alternator belt problem dead in it's tracks. Also have the "Classic Auto Air" stage 3 A/C system so needed to figure that all out as far as belts. Went with the Dayco 'Top Cog' belts as they seemed to work good in the past to keep belts on, when others wouldn't stay put. The GM part numbers for the crank & WP pulleys are: 14087537 & 14087536 if anyone is interested. Hard to find though, ebay is the best bet.

- Put DynaMat on the interior, package tray underside and trunk floors for heat & sound proofing. Then spatter painted the trunk with Eastwood Aqua paint plus a few coats of satin clear over that.

- Also put the interior firewall mat & upper insulation in, and started to put the interior HVAC unit in place.

Lots of other little things here & there were done as well, but now I can at least finish the rest of the engine side HVAC box installation and get cracking on the wiring. Full harness from AAW, plus the Holley EFI/Transmission harnesses, Dakota RTX wiring, not to mention the stereo, alarm and power locks for the remote entry that'll be tied to the alarm. Plenty to do...

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks Dan! Been a little slow lately, but started a little wiring a few days ago. Adding an oil pressure & knock sensor input to the ECM harness, which means pulling the Holley harness all apart, bought pins for the ECM connector & then landed them in the correct cavity of the plug.

Sidetracked now though, converting the shop overhead lights to LED, giant difference. Still have a few more to convert in the main part of the shop (20 fixtures), then about 14 more in the spray booth area. Not sure about the office/parts storage/motorcycle parking area, they may be too bright.

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  • 1 month later...

Still plugging away at the wiring and multiple items at once this past month. Managed to get the dash & console assemblies apart, painted and put back together. Wanted to get that done before starting the wiring. Managed to find some 'Liquid Chrome' paint to do the trim outline around the dash (Molotow brand, got it all from Amazon). Used the 'pen' style for the gauge surrounds and airbrushed the main perimeter of the dash itself.Also got the Dakota Digital pod installed.

Also got the HVAC units back together and bolted to the firewall. Countless other details, parts to be made or modified along the way that just takes boatloads of time. Then it was on to the wiring. Using the AAW 50336 kit to get it done, but also modded that a bit here and there to suit my need to interface with the numerous other harness associated with the Holley Terminator FI, transmission control, Dakota Digital dash, and the D/D interface module that talks to the Holley FI.

It's a stupid thing, but with the D/D dash, you lose the ashtray light function. Originally they used a fiber optic cable to one of the old light sockets which is now gone. I decided to get light to it by tapping into the heat/AC control panel which still used an old incandescent light. Drilled a small hole in the bottom of it to get light, then it'll go to the top of the ashtray housing as usual. Stupid, but still something I wanted (and will never need...).

I'll post a few pics today, but after Friday all work will come to a standstill. I'll be locked onsite at the powerplant for at least 30 days. The first group started a few weeks ago & my turn is coming up. They brought trailers in for us to sleep, plus keeping us quarantined away from everyone that does happen to come onsite to repair something. They're goal is to try to keep us from getting sick. It sucks by all accounts from the guys there now, but we're still thankful to have good jobs thru all of this and hope everyone else makes out OK when/if this situation eases up. I'll post a lot more pictures in the coming weeks as I think I'll have plenty of free time...

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Dash really looks good Joe! Looks like you got the label maker for the wiring, interior side looks scary at the moment. Whats the remote on the passenger front tire control? 🤣I gotta remind myself your progress is in the "new guy" thread.  Be safe and take care of yourself when you go to onsite lockdown next week!

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Thanks Mark!

Right now that remote isn't controlling much, I already watched all the stuff on the DVR (had a lot of Johnny Carson shows), and there's not much new stuff lately either.

So many wires to keep track of, figured I better label stuff so it'll be easier down the road. All the different modules want a couple sources of power, multiple signals, etc. It's going to be hard enough to remember in a month, let alone a couple of years.

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