79 Cutlass Wagon G-machine build
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A little more progress-
The rear suspension is mostly in, still waiting on shocks and springs. I did a quick clean and spray on the rear axle. Up close it doesn't look as nice as the frame, but when I swap the 9" in there I'll take a little more time to make it look nice. To save time I also left the Spohn control arms red for now. I'm a bit worried about the VHT orange paint not being very durable. I noticed that Eastwood has a burnt orange powder coat paint, so I figure if they have it, it should be available commercially as well. Once I get to GA I plan on looking into having all the orange parts powder coated, including the Spohn arms. Still havta fabricate a way to attach the rear Camaro sway bar...
I also got a shipment from Summit. Drag Bags for easy spring rate adjustments at the track and to help with keeping things level after packing my car for my move, Energy Suspension Body mount, front lower control arm, and 36mm sway bar mount bushings, some all black sway bar end links, and gaskets to put my 406 back together. To get the car together on the cheap I bought Moog springs for now. I've heard both positive and negative about these, but Summit sells them for $54 for the pair and I needed something cheap for now. They're #5660, rated at 598 lbs. A lot of guys run the 5662 which are 748 lbs, but that sounds a bit stiff and Marc from SC&C suggested something around 550 lbs is a decent rate for what I'm after. Once I get the fiberglass hood and swap in the lighter LS based motor they should be just about right.
The rear suspension is mostly in, still waiting on shocks and springs. I did a quick clean and spray on the rear axle. Up close it doesn't look as nice as the frame, but when I swap the 9" in there I'll take a little more time to make it look nice. To save time I also left the Spohn control arms red for now. I'm a bit worried about the VHT orange paint not being very durable. I noticed that Eastwood has a burnt orange powder coat paint, so I figure if they have it, it should be available commercially as well. Once I get to GA I plan on looking into having all the orange parts powder coated, including the Spohn arms. Still havta fabricate a way to attach the rear Camaro sway bar...
I also got a shipment from Summit. Drag Bags for easy spring rate adjustments at the track and to help with keeping things level after packing my car for my move, Energy Suspension Body mount, front lower control arm, and 36mm sway bar mount bushings, some all black sway bar end links, and gaskets to put my 406 back together. To get the car together on the cheap I bought Moog springs for now. I've heard both positive and negative about these, but Summit sells them for $54 for the pair and I needed something cheap for now. They're #5660, rated at 598 lbs. A lot of guys run the 5662 which are 748 lbs, but that sounds a bit stiff and Marc from SC&C suggested something around 550 lbs is a decent rate for what I'm after. Once I get the fiberglass hood and swap in the lighter LS based motor they should be just about right.
liquidh8 said:
Did they just not meet the hole at the fuel door very well? I haven't gotten to it yet but I will very soon and just wanted a heads up for what to look for. Thanks!
It's coming along nicely, Ben.
Before long, it will be back on it's wheels and rolling. Will you be doing the journey with the 406 engine?
Keep up the good work..as usual.
Before long, it will be back on it's wheels and rolling. Will you be doing the journey with the 406 engine?
Keep up the good work..as usual.
Thanks Jack. Yep, the 406 will be going back in for the trip. The 5.3 needs a bunch of parts and time to slip in, so I'll do it in GA instead. Bulldawg specializes in LS swaps so I'll have some great coaching too.
If you remember early in the thread my 406 cracked a valve spring on the road course and it's been sitting since. It's got about 60 or 65K miles since I rebuilt it back in '97, and up to the point of losing the spring has been incredibly reliable. I have an extra set of 400 heads that I did some mild port work on that I was saving for a rainy day and so they'll be going on this motor. It has a Comp XE268 cam, and with stock heads put down 222 hp and 280 lbs running pretty rich on a chassis dyno up here in the 4500 ft altitude. I'm hoping the pocket ported heads will boost the numbers a bit. Comp Cams has a dyno calculator on their website and after punching in all my specs it said flywheel 321 hp @ 4500 and 426 ft lbs @ 2500. I know that has to be taken with a grain of salt but safely I should be close to flywheel 400+ ft lbs at highway cruising rpm so it should do well for the trip.
I was hoping to get the 5.3 in for the better fuel mileage, but when I had the 406 in the car before, best I got was 21 highway mpg. Over time with a crappy carb it got down to about 18. Hopefully I'll be upwards of 20+ again after getting things back up to par. I think the 5.3 would be in the 22-24 range so I'm not losing that much overall. Those 2.41 factory gears really help a lot. 🙂
If you remember early in the thread my 406 cracked a valve spring on the road course and it's been sitting since. It's got about 60 or 65K miles since I rebuilt it back in '97, and up to the point of losing the spring has been incredibly reliable. I have an extra set of 400 heads that I did some mild port work on that I was saving for a rainy day and so they'll be going on this motor. It has a Comp XE268 cam, and with stock heads put down 222 hp and 280 lbs running pretty rich on a chassis dyno up here in the 4500 ft altitude. I'm hoping the pocket ported heads will boost the numbers a bit. Comp Cams has a dyno calculator on their website and after punching in all my specs it said flywheel 321 hp @ 4500 and 426 ft lbs @ 2500. I know that has to be taken with a grain of salt but safely I should be close to flywheel 400+ ft lbs at highway cruising rpm so it should do well for the trip.
I was hoping to get the 5.3 in for the better fuel mileage, but when I had the 406 in the car before, best I got was 21 highway mpg. Over time with a crappy carb it got down to about 18. Hopefully I'll be upwards of 20+ again after getting things back up to par. I think the 5.3 would be in the 22-24 range so I'm not losing that much overall. Those 2.41 factory gears really help a lot. 🙂
Ben,
I remember when you broke the valve spring earlier. It was running and sounding pretty nice up until that point. That's good gas mileage considering no overdrive. The 406 should provide good torque loaded down plus towing another vehicle. I'm sure the Comp Cams XE268 will handle that well.
What trans will you be using on the trip..TH400?
The 5.3 would've been nice on the trip, but the fact that there's much more involved to get it road worthy than your 406.
Also make sure you have your cooling system up to snuff.
Bulldawg did a nice job on the Malibu wagon build and LS motor installation. I guess it would make sense doing the swap at the shop, especially when they have vast experience doing LS swaps.
I love all the bracing that you've done on the frame...it looks awesome.
How does the housing and amenities look in the area?
I remember when you broke the valve spring earlier. It was running and sounding pretty nice up until that point. That's good gas mileage considering no overdrive. The 406 should provide good torque loaded down plus towing another vehicle. I'm sure the Comp Cams XE268 will handle that well.
What trans will you be using on the trip..TH400?
The 5.3 would've been nice on the trip, but the fact that there's much more involved to get it road worthy than your 406.
Also make sure you have your cooling system up to snuff.
Bulldawg did a nice job on the Malibu wagon build and LS motor installation. I guess it would make sense doing the swap at the shop, especially when they have vast experience doing LS swaps.
I love all the bracing that you've done on the frame...it looks awesome.
How does the housing and amenities look in the area?
Torque is good. I have a TH350 going in. Yep, that wagon they did was awesome. Unfortunately the fellow that owned it was terminally ill and this was his last yahoo. He passed a couple months after it was completed. A short time later as requested his wife put it up for sale.
Housing market is wide open in the area. Lots of communities with club houses and pools, these houses are going for low prices right now. Apparently the county where the shop is has the best schooling in the state so that'll be nice for the kids.
BTW, so far in all my junk I haven't come across the '79 wiper motor, I wonder if I chucked it. I may still need some insight in swapping it to the 84 unit. I'm sure I'll run into rain along the way. The shorter route is to go up through Wyoming but I got trapped in a blizzard driving through there early May one year, and I will never drive through Wyoming again. I may hit some snow in Denver area but not likely. Probably lots of rain though...
Housing market is wide open in the area. Lots of communities with club houses and pools, these houses are going for low prices right now. Apparently the county where the shop is has the best schooling in the state so that'll be nice for the kids.
BTW, so far in all my junk I haven't come across the '79 wiper motor, I wonder if I chucked it. I may still need some insight in swapping it to the 84 unit. I'm sure I'll run into rain along the way. The shorter route is to go up through Wyoming but I got trapped in a blizzard driving through there early May one year, and I will never drive through Wyoming again. I may hit some snow in Denver area but not likely. Probably lots of rain though...
SRD art said:
The TH350 should be adequate to make the trip. What's the rear end ratio currently? Certainly you'll have to explore a good "driver friendly" route east. That's where AAA maps and advice come in real handy.
I'm sorry to hear about the passing of the guy with the super nice LS powered wagon. Hopefully he was able to enjoy it for as long as he was able. Sad story for sure.
As for the housing situation, I'm sure you'll probably rent a place in the meantime until things become more stable. Just be wary about deed restricted communities. Glad to hear that the school district is a good one for your kids. That's certainly a plus. I hope their reaclimation/transition will be favorable for them.
I'd offer you my '79 wiper motor, but it's junk. When you're ready to install it. we'll work together to get it up and running.
Make sure to bring the Rain X aboard... :lol: I love that stuff.
We'll discuss that further.
liquidh8
Comic Book Super Hero
SRD art said:
Ben, it was WAY off the hole for the door. I took one and bought silver solder to move it, a piece of fuel filler hose would have been easier I think.
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