Like Steve said, You certainly aren't alone. And if you didn't enjoy the build, there'd be a heap of parts on your local Craigslist to regret selling later. I am at 9 years, I think Zig is at TEN. Nice thing is if you DO get discouraged (believe me, it happens), you can walk away from it for awhile, and come back refreshed. What fun would it be if the project only took a few months? You certainly wouldn't have the "ownership" that you gain over years of working on something. And as far as intakes... Hot Rod Magazine did an LS "Intake Shootout", 20 different pieces, both OEM and aftermarket. LS1 Intake: least powerful of all the factory intakes. LS6 Intake: more power than the LS1 Truck Intake: Though the most affordable of all the factory offerings, the truck intake easily outperformed the LS1... and excelled at torque production, nearly matching the performance-oriented LS6. The average horsepower and torque production for the truck intake bested the LS1 and matched the high-powered LS6, making the truck intake a good choice for many applications. They are just butt-ugly (I have 3 of them- and they are ALL ugly!) TrailBlazer SS Intake: offered more power and torque everywhere... more torque than the truck intake and more power than the LS6, the TBSS offered the best of both worlds. 20 LS1 Intake Manifolds: Tested!
I wasn't thinking of going to a full shine polish on the cover, just clean the oxidation off to make it look mostly new. I'm going to run a new waterpump but it will be just plain aluminum. Chrome is cool but too expencive for under hood stuff. As for the pan, I actually already moceked it up with the truck pan on it and it hangs about as low as my cross memeber so it won't cause any problems. I don't have drop spindles or air ride so it won't be that low. The kit I have has a 2 inch drop built in and the tires are shorter than stock but there is still a ton of room. I don't think I have a picture of the pan when the motor was in last time but I'll get one next time. I was going to get the cab blasted but the cost is too high so I am going to put in the elbow grease and sand blast it myself. It will take alot more time but the cost savings is huge. I'll just have to take my time and move around so not to warp the metal. The cab is pretty nice but it needs the usual floors and cab corners plus it has a dent in the passenger cowl so I'll replace that. I am happy with it compared to some I have seen. Oh that old rag top. Yeah its an old Pontiac GTO thats been in my dad's garage for 30 years. Complete car munus the engine and trans. He gave $100 for it in 1984 and its sat since. We hauled it off to the scrap heap to make some room in the garage.
Yeah I really like building the truck. I get discouraged by things out of my control like the machine shop or bad weather that keep me from working on it. I remember reading that intake shootout a while back I think. To be honest I only went with the LS6 intake over the truck intake for cosmetics. I just like the way it looks and I want to be as happy when i open the hood as when I look at the outside. Its only of those thing that not alot of people will see but I'll know its there.
So I was just joking about hauling the GTO to the scrap heap. It has sat since the engine fire it had around 1979 and my dad bought it in 1984. We stripped it down to the shell and started the body work that weekend my engine work fell through due to the missing main cap bolt. It is missing the motor and transmission so the current plan is to as a 6.0 LS. Otherwise the car will stay stock so it looks 1967. The only reason for the LS is that my dad wants to drive it and the newer motor with fuel injection will get better fuel economy compared to an old big block and it will have good power. The car is really far from perfect so its just going to be a summer cruiser and not a show car. He has dreamed about this car since he bought it but something always came up. This time its happening.
That's funny, Greg... When I read that in your post, I was thinking, NO WAY!!! Glad your dad is going to fix it up. When I was a kid, in 1968, the neighbor across the road from us bought a new GTO. All of us boys thought it was the coolest thing around. My parents and that neighbor still live in the same place. My brother just told me last weekend, the guy STILL HAS THE GTO! It's been in his garage, covered up, all these years! He said it's a survivor in need of some work. And, the guy won't sell it, for any price. Steve.
I too was thinking "SCRAP HEAP?!?! NO WAY" especially a Goat! AND a ragtop at that! A 6.0 with 4L80E will be a nice cruiser.
Well I work slowly but I am working. I got that fuel pump installed. There are a ton of videos online of how to do it but here are a few pictures. I started by figuring out where I wanted the pump. I picked a good spot because the Brother's tank is internally baffled and a misplaced hole would have sucked. The instructions were really clear. I drilled the large hole and used the template ring to drill the bolt holes. You see the green tape lines... those mark where the bed cross member goes. Then the instructions told me how to trim the pump bracket to fit the depth of my tank. Then the set up just dropped in and bolted up. Then I started making my AN lines. This is the first time I have ever made lines and the Russel AN fittings and line is so easy to use. I went with the Proclassic line in the black nylon weave instead of the traditional stainless. The nylon cuts easyer, flexes easyer, and looks better. I have my engine in and started putting on the accessories that I have. It will be a while before first fire up but I am happy. This picture has some ugly spray painted covers on it but I just got some nice new ones and it look so much better.
Thanks, for the clear pictures, Greg. Very nice work. Looks like your making some headway. When you do get it running, we will need some video. Steve.
I will definitely make a video. Things will stall out for a bit again. I need about $1000 worth of parts to get to where I can make it run. I still need the Fbody oil pan, exhaust, waterpump, a few pulleys, and to figure out the radiator. I am still shooting for by the end of 2016 to hear it run. In the mean time I am doing body work on my Roadrunner since I have the supplies and there will be little cost going out. Unfortunately the rear end went out of the Roadrunner too and I will have to get that fixed before August 27th because I am registered to race with it. PS. The GTO is coming along nicely. Its got new floors, one new quarter, new trunk floor, and a new tail panel. The body shell should be painted this summer. My dad seems to be leaning away from the LS now and more towards an old school big block Pontiac like the car should have had. I'll keep you guys posted.
