BUILD THREAD '88 Monte Carlo SS w/ LY6 6.0 swap
- Thread starter SStavin
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I'm sure it's pretty expensive getting parts out by you! Nice project yourself!
Got the Radiator secured as well as the Ramcharger electric dual speed fans. Still deciding on wiring the fans to ECM control or leaving them switched power?
I was going to continue to modify the factory crossmember to work with my 6L90 trans but I came across the Holley Blackheart crossmember and decided it looked like a nice piece. Ordered it up along with the suggested adapter for the 4L80/90. Received it and promptly test fit the crossmember. The pre-drilled holes that meet the frame on either side were considerably short so I did have to elongate them. Other than that it fits pretty well. I didn't end up needing the adapter plate as the crossmember lined right up with the Energy Suspension mount.
I was going to continue to modify the factory crossmember to work with my 6L90 trans but I came across the Holley Blackheart crossmember and decided it looked like a nice piece. Ordered it up along with the suggested adapter for the 4L80/90. Received it and promptly test fit the crossmember. The pre-drilled holes that meet the frame on either side were considerably short so I did have to elongate them. Other than that it fits pretty well. I didn't end up needing the adapter plate as the crossmember lined right up with the Energy Suspension mount.
Been bogged down a bit with odds n' ends the last few months. I have the harness integrated, Getting the gauges sorted-out, got the air intake situated, went back through the fuel tank setup, installed the drip tray, and installed the trans cooler. Currently troubleshooting the fuel pump as it isn't priming when I turn the key on. Hopefully getting close to firing it up!
Fuel setup
Trans Cooler
Drip tray
Air Intake
Gauges
Fuel setup
Trans Cooler
Drip tray
Air Intake
Gauges
Finally got the LY6 to the point where I could fire it up. At first I was able to crank it but couldn't get it to fire. After some troubleshooting we narrowed it down to the injectors. Replaced them and it fired right up! First time in about 10 years.
Late Summer update!
Changed course on a couple things. Decided to consolidate and simplify some wiring and picked up the Dakota Digital RTX series gauges. I went with the RTX-86C-MC-X. I really dig the original/retro feel. Wiring was straight forward. Ended up troubleshooting the fuel gauge through all this and realized how gnarly the fuel sender setup was. Decided piece of mind can be expensive but worth it in the end so I ordered the Aeromotive Gen II stealth fuel tank (18449). Got some Dynamat down while everything is still torn apart. Then the slope became slippery and I ordered up the Lokar sport shifter (ESS66L90FM) in place of The B&M Megashifter. Though the Megashifter was nice, it was not to be. It was a little too tall and I couldn't get it to shift smoothly with the 6L90. Installed the Lokar on the same shifter baseplate I fabbed up earlier. Wired the Ramcharger fans up to the PSI harness so the ECM can conrol them instead of the manual switch they came with. I did however retain the switch as an override since it's already integrated.
Quickie Video if the Dakota gauges (I'll get a better one up at some point)
Rudimentary wiring diagram I drew up for the Ramchargers to the PSI harness
Somewhere in between all this I decided to put it to the pavement to see how she sat. Probably a little low for the combination of a low trans pan and nasty Illinois roads. I'll have to scoot up the suspension a bit. Stance sure does look pretty though.
Next to my daily driver Legacy GT for reference
More to come!
Changed course on a couple things. Decided to consolidate and simplify some wiring and picked up the Dakota Digital RTX series gauges. I went with the RTX-86C-MC-X. I really dig the original/retro feel. Wiring was straight forward. Ended up troubleshooting the fuel gauge through all this and realized how gnarly the fuel sender setup was. Decided piece of mind can be expensive but worth it in the end so I ordered the Aeromotive Gen II stealth fuel tank (18449). Got some Dynamat down while everything is still torn apart. Then the slope became slippery and I ordered up the Lokar sport shifter (ESS66L90FM) in place of The B&M Megashifter. Though the Megashifter was nice, it was not to be. It was a little too tall and I couldn't get it to shift smoothly with the 6L90. Installed the Lokar on the same shifter baseplate I fabbed up earlier. Wired the Ramcharger fans up to the PSI harness so the ECM can conrol them instead of the manual switch they came with. I did however retain the switch as an override since it's already integrated.
Quickie Video if the Dakota gauges (I'll get a better one up at some point)
Rudimentary wiring diagram I drew up for the Ramchargers to the PSI harness
Somewhere in between all this I decided to put it to the pavement to see how she sat. Probably a little low for the combination of a low trans pan and nasty Illinois roads. I'll have to scoot up the suspension a bit. Stance sure does look pretty though.
Next to my daily driver Legacy GT for reference
More to come!
Good work, nice stance to it as well. Glad to see you went Dakota and I agree it does have a really nice almost stock look
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