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9/30/2007
Road test went well this weekend. The things left on the to do list are:
-Finish fitting the hood/bumper
-install the fender liner, cowl trim, hood pad, wipers
-adjust one of the bows for the top
-finish some dash wiring
-install d/s airbag/trim
-make custom air intake
-shorten heater hoses and clean up under the hood
Video taken before the first test drive, just warming up.
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9/12/2007
Over the last two weekends I've made some progress but haven't driven the car yet. Bought a used painted rim and some tires so I had something to get it going while I try to find a reasonable price on a chrome rim (not an entire set). Also, put most of the dash/interior back into it. The rest of the parts are ordered and most have arrived (airbags, seatbelts, fin, rear valence, etc.). Repaired and painted the doors, fender, and the new rear fin. Swapped rear valences to get dual exhaust outlets. I think I may have a way to convert the Solstice pedal to work with the throttle-by-wire now, I've had some trouble, but with any luck it'll work this weekend. Also, found a power steering line for the pressure side that will work.
The doors/fenders were primed/blocked twice, then I put on two coast of base, blocked the base, put on a third coat of base and two coats of clear. There is a little orange peel to it but the rest of the car has the same look from the factory. I may wetsand/wheel the whole thing when I'm done.
Temp. wheel
New fin, primer over repaired areas and entire fenders:
Final results
Interior
Rear valence
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8/27/2007
I disabled the vehicle ratings as it seems there are quite a few people that have no appreciation for this project. Putting a V8 into a roadster should elicit a better response than what I was getting. Thanks to all those that are legitmately interested in this project, I hope all this info is helpful or at least interesting.
-Adam
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8/26/2007
I guess it's been a while since I've updated this. I have been making progress. Only working on the weekends makes this difficult as few parts stores are open and if you have to order anything you lose an entire week.
Over the past few weeks I've gotten the following done:
-exhaust is done (except for the tailpipes, need to get the valence yet)
-radiator hoses are in, temporary heater lines are in
-one of the power steering lines is done, waiting to have the other one made
-custom clutch line and adapter is done and installed
-bumper is on for good, started assembling other things in the front end (brackets, liners, etc.)
-electronic throttle control module (throttle-by-wire) is in and works!
-PCM was reprogrammed to elminate VATS, emissions, lower fan temps, add throttle-by-wire, and raise the rev limiter
-wiring in engine bay is done, just need to neatly tie things up out of the way, and permanently mount the PCM.
-front alignment is done
-reverse switch was replaced with one from SSR, the stock F-body switch comes straight out and would hit the tunnel, the SSR one has a built in 90 deg. turn.
-shifter offset is made and installed
-custom driveshaft is done and installed
I think that's about it, it's hard to remember everything though. Here are the video/pics of the progress:
Video of the first startup with reprogrammed PCM, throttle-by-wire, and exhaust. There was an exhaust leak at the manifold, the bolts weren't torqued all the way.
Throttle-by-wire, radiator hoses, custom clutch line, reverse switch.
Taking the car off the frame machine.
Car just off the rack sitting outside
The car is now on the other side of the shop awaiting body work, paint work, putting the interior back in, etc.
Ecotec vs. LS1
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8/5/2007
I didn't end up getting the exhaust finished this weekend. The downpipes are done, and one of the sides is run to the back with the muffler. I still need to run the other side back, put the hangers in, install the h-pipe, and put the tailpipes on. I did get all the suspension back on with the wheels. The passenger wheel/tire will be replaced but I'm using it for now until I find one.
Downpipes w/ flex couplers
Suspension/wheels finally back on.
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7/29/2007
Well, it's been quite a while since I updated, so here goes. I took 3 weeks off of the project as work was extremely busy, but I made up some ground this week.
Video of the first startup, I promised this weeks ago, but just got it from the camera. The audio is a bit crappy as it was just a regular digital camera.
The motor is in for good now. Ended up milling the LS2 motor mounts down 0.25" and milling down the throttle body (it has a rib on the top that isn't necessary). Custom mounts were not needed, although I didn't realize this until I had made some out of wood on a CNC machine (for mock up). Anyways, it's in for good now with plenty of clearance. Moved the lower access plates for the motor mount nuts.
The new oil pan is on and gave the necessary room for the rear crossmember. Installed the oil pressure sender. Finished 90% of the wiring for the motor and got most of it in loom. Started assembling the front end (stabilizer bar, steering rack, misc. brackets, bumper reenforcement, etc.).
Finished routing wire on motor. Added wiring for the electronic throttle body, updated TPS sensor, oil pressure sender, and water temp sender. Removed wiring for secondary o2 sensors.
Lower clearances, note the moved lower plates for the motor mount nuts, they were cut off, rotated 90 degrees and lined up with the new mount locations. This is the only cutting I've done to the car, very minor. Extra clearance at the rear cross member is thanks to the Corvette LS2 oil pan that I put on (needed the corresponding pick up tube as well.).
Motor wiring, notice there are very few bare wires left, just connectors that are ready to be hooked up.
Tranny mount plate from the Solstice was slightly modified to use the Trans Am tranny mount.
Oil pressure sending unit. Had to drill and tap the bracket that bolts to the oil filter mount.
Shortened motor mount brackets.
Bought a new two row aluminum radiator, painted it, installed a high flow fan, made custom radiator mounts and got it in the car. Need to trim the rubber mounts yet. (Bumper is just sitting on the car, as is the top plate for the radiator, so if they don't look straight, that is why).
Power steering cooler (if that's what you want to call it) from the Solstice will attach to the new radiator.
Had to relocate the horn to the bumper reenforcement.
Electronic throttle body (from Z06) with center rib milled down. I have the gas pedal from the Corvette on its way and need to pick up a TAC (Throttle Actuator Controller) for the whole trottle-by-wire to work.
Gauges are mounted, but I still need to finish the wiring. These went in very quickly and look awesome.
Next weekend will hopefully be spent building the custom exhaust with my brother. A big thanks to my friend Rob for all his help machining parts this week.
Also, I have the full Service Manuals for both the '06 Solstice and the '01 Corvette, so if anyone needs any info from those, let me know.
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7/2/2007
Trip to Ireland was postponed until next week. Unfortunately, I didn't get to work on the car at all this weekend. I'm having some custom motor mount stands made to lower the motor, and I ordered a new oil pan for clearance. Also, ordered some of the gauges. I think I've got a pretty good layout for them, I'll post pics when they're in the dash. All of the gauges are Autometer Ultralite ProComp's. Werks uses these gauges in some of their Solstice conversions, that's were I saw them first and they look right at home.
5" Speedometer/Tach
2 5/8" Oil Pressure/Water Temp
2 1/16" Fuel Level/Battery Voltage
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6/25/2007
Pictures from this weekend. Still waiting for the video to be emailed to me.
Corvette Z06 throttle body. I'm still trying to decide whether or not it's worth getting this to work, or if I should just run a throttle cable. I'm sure I can get it hooked up, so I'll probably just do it.
Cleaned up most of the existing motor wiring. Still have some to do at the back of the motor.
Pictures of the wiring (exciting, I know). Anywho, there really are only 5 connectors from the V8 that need to be wired to the Solstice harness. I have most of them hooked up but still have to organize and trim things up a bit, as well as mount the new ECM. I'm using all GM/Delphi connectors and pins as well as the correct crimper. In the end, the wiring should be very clean and will have no splices or anything else questionable.
Other thoughts:
-I'm considering moving my ac and heater controls to allow for 3 perfect spots for new gauges (oil pressure, water temp, volts).
-Might keep the VATS enabled on the ECM and run my own VATS bypass with a hidden shutoff switch.
-Going to get custom gauges as the original Solstice ones are difficult to get to work with the LS1.
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6/24/2007
It runs! Started working on the wiring Friday night around 8pm, got a few of the problems solved by 1am. Saturday by 10:30am I had the rest of the issues figured out and got it to run. There is still a lot of wiring to finish (gauges and overall organization). I decided from the start that I was going to make my own wiring harness, as having one done would be very expensive. I have most it figured out and now I just have to do it. If anyone's interested in seeing the way I wired everything go ahead and vote, I don't want to post it if no one's interested. Unfortunately, I won't be able to do much work to the car for the next few weeks as I'll be in Ireland for work. Still planning on driving the car by September. I'll have video (pretty much just sound) of the first start as well as pictures of some of the wiring tomorrow. If anyone knows how to post video on here, let me know, otherwise I'll put it on youtube and link to it.
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6/18/2007
Well, this weekend was supposed to be the weekend that we fired up the motor. However, it didn't quite work out that way. I took the dash out of the car to help remove the windshield, replace the airbag, make the shifter offset, and possibly to install custom gauges. Also, I hooked up what should've been enough of the wiring to start the car, but apparently I missed something. So, next weekend I'll be troubleshooting the wiring and trying to fire it up. In preparation for starting the motor I put on some temporary exhaust, changed the manifold gaskets, put in new plugs, hooked up the fuel lines, and made the tranny mount. Late Sunday I didn't feel like working on the wiring, so I decided to testfit some of the sheetmetal (hood/bumper).
Dash removed
Started wiring
Modified tranny mount
Sheetmetal testfit
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6/11/2007
This weekend we managed to get the frame painted and the motor in. The motor is sitting in place, but I need to modify the tranny mount and finish the shifter offset before it is bolted down for good. In the pictures it may look like the motor is sitting high in the front, and it is. I left the tranny low in the back so I could get to the shifter.
Painting the frame
Pro 5.0 Shifter
New motor mount locations
Motor in place
Tranny tunnel (note: tranny will go up once the mount is in place)
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6/4/2007
Got the motor sitting in the car for a few hours this weekend. Checked everything for clearances, made notes on a few changes that need to be made. Overall it fits very well and looks like it should be there. Lost power on Saturday and I was sick all weekend, so I didn't get as much done as I wanted. The frame didn't get painted, but all the new brackets are welded on and it should be painted next weekend, the motor may even be in for good then as well. During this week I'm going to start on some of the wiring and some other odds and ends (i.e. fuel lines/regulator/rails, new multi-core radiator, etc.).
Motor test fit:
New brackets for radiator/hood/bumper/lift points:
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5/31/2007
Motor/tranny is here. Hoping to trial fit it this weekend provided the new motor mounts show up. Had to get Corvette mounts to replace the T/A mounts. Also, bought my keyless remote, service manual, some wiring tools, and an electronic throttle body from a C5 vette.
Here's the motor/tranny as it sits now:
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5/29/07
Got back from England later than expected. I did, however, manage to still work on the car. The motor/tranny didn't arrive as of Monday, but looks like it's ready to be picked up today. Finished removing brackets and parts from the donor front clip. Need to finish some grinding and sanding to get the frame ready for paint. Planning on fitting the V8 this weekend, once that's done I need to weld in some new brackets for the hood, radiator, lift points, and bumper reinforcement. When that welding is done I'll be priming/painting the frame.
Frame ready for trial fit of the V8:
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5/21/07
Pictures from this weekend.
Front clip BEFORE and AFTER disassembly:
Engine wiring harness:
Frame rail after pull:
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5/20/07
Managed to get back from the hiking trip a few days early and worked on the car. Got the frame all straightened and back where it should be. Still need to prep it and move a few of the brackets for the radiator before painting it. Disassembled the front clip to get all the parts I need for my car, as well as measurements needed while working on the frame. Bought an LS1 last week, should be here this week or early next week. I'm going to try to fit it to the car next weekend, if possible, so any modifications can be made before the frame is painted. Also, started tearing into the wiring. New Pictures may not be up until I get back from England, sometime next week or so.
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5/7/07
Picked up the car this weekend. Left Saturday at 5am, got back at 7:30pm, and worked on it until 11pm. Then worked on it most of Sunday. Got the front end all tore down, the motor/tranny are out, car is on the frame machine, and my dad picked up the front clip and suspension. Unfortunately, I won't be able to do anymore work on it for the next 3 weeks as I'll be going to Colorado for a hiking trip and then to England for work. But as soon as I get back I'll be working on the frame as well as fitting the LS1.
Donor front end.
LS1's new home.
Pulled the car up on the frame machine where we'll get everything back in shape.
Pulled the motor and tranny out on Sunday.
Worked late the same night and tore the front end apart.
Finally got it home after driving 1000 miles roundtrip.
Stopped for lunch and had to park at Lowe's. This car gets a lot of attention, even though it's wrecked.
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5/3/07
Here's my new project car. I'm selling my '04 Grand Prix GTP that my dad and I repaired over two years ago. Now, I'm working on this Solstice. The plan is to repair the damage from the wreck as well as replace the Ecotec with an LS-1 V8. The following pictures are of the car as it is right now, I just bought it this week 5/2/07:
PAGE 1: 2009 pics/videos
PAGE 2: 2008 pics/videos
PAGE 3: 2007 pics/videos
