BUILD THREAD '88 Monte Carlo SS w/ LY6 6.0 swap

[Injectedcutty]

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!

Decent, some old school Ludacris jamming in the background!!! The Monte looks great man, hoping to start tackling interior in my Cutlass and get it to the same point soon.

 

[SStavin]

Decent, some old school Ludacris jamming in the background!!! The Monte looks great man, hoping to start tackling interior in my Cutlass and get it to the same point soon.

Good ear!

 

[Texas82GP]

Been a long time since you updated the build thread. Care to share with us the status of the car?

 

[SStavin]

Life really throws a lot at you all at once sometimes but Iv'e been able to squeeze in some garage time here and there. Here's a few updates!
Possible catastrophic engine failure!! or no problem at all, we'll see. I took the car out for a jaunt/ test drive and it drove great! Got it home and topped off some fluids before another quick test drive. Started running a little rough and noticed it was running REALLY rich. Got it back into the driveway and shut it down to inspect for any leaks and didn't find any. Tried to start it back up and it ran even worse along with the starter starting to spin freely without any load. Continued to troubleshoot and discovered I couldn't turn the motor all the way over by hand (cue sinking stomach feeling). It was at this point I noticed fuel leaking from the header collector. I started to make the connection and pulled the plugs, bingo! fuel came pouring out of the #4 cylinder. Hydro-lock caused by a stuck cheap-*ss Amazon fuel injector. I was then able to turn the motor over again. Ordered some new fuel injectors and a starter and hopefully I won't be ordering a bottom-end soon after. I'll be crossing my fingers super-hard until I can get everything installed. Lesson learned I guess. DO NOT BUY CHEAP INJECTORS, not even for troubleshooting!

Here's the starter.

As for the brighter side of updates:

I was able to get most of the interior back together. New carpet from ACC p/n 875 Claret/Oxblood. Wish the color was a little better aligned with the rest of the interior but it's decent quality and much better than the old piece. Rolled the carpet out and let it settle during a hot spell in Chicago then cut out sections for the shifter, seat mounts, seat belts, etc.

Ordered a cowl hood due to clearance issues with the truck intake. Went with a Goodmark 2". First one showed up with a sizable dent but the second one came in blemish-free.

Other updates:
- I bumped up the suspension a bit to allow some more clearance for the oil and trans pans as they hang a bit low. definitely going to need to pay a visit to an alignment shop.
- I inherited another project I'll need to find room for: 1996 Impala SS that's basically barn-find condition

 

[Texas82GP]

Thanks for the update. The car is looking great! I hope the 6.0 is ok.

Congratulations on the 96 SS. I bought a 96 Roadmaster at the very end of last year that I love. The Impala SS is much sportier of course. I would have loved to buy one of them had the right one come along.

I put the Borla cat-back on my Roadmaster and love it. Very mellow but not silent. I think my converters were partially plugged. The combination of replacing them and the cat-back really uncorked the LT1. I hope you enjoy yours. If you ever are really bored, I have a build thread on my Roadmaster linked in my sig. All the mechanical work I've done translates directly to your car.

Keep up the good work on the Monte and let us know how it's going every once in awile. I've enjoyed following your build.

 

[SStavin]

Thanks for the update. The car is looking great! I hope the 6.0 is ok.

Congratulations on the 96 SS. I bought a 96 Roadmaster at the very end of last year that I love. The Impala SS is much sportier of course. I would have loved to buy one of them had the right one come along.

I put the Borla cat-back on my Roadmaster and love it. Very mellow but not silent. I think my converters were partially plugged. The combination of replacing them and the cat-back really uncorked the LT1. I hope you enjoy yours. If you ever are really bored, I have a build thread on my Roadmaster linked in my sig. All the mechanical work I've done translates directly to your car.

Keep up the good work on the Monte and let us know how it's going every once in awile. I've enjoyed following your build.

Thanks for asking for an update! This community is great in that it helps keep my procrastination to a minimum. Definitely going to check out the Roadmaster thread! ****Update I checked out the Roadmaster, Man is that thing clean!!!!

 

[Tony1968]

Like what I'm seeing!

 

[SStavin]

Picked up a decent set of injectors (Deatshwerks 72# with a new tune to match), replaced the starter, and changed the oil. Crossed my fingers real hard and.... looks like she's gonna pull-through! 👨‍⚕️ Took it for a test drive down the street to celebrate. Definitely going to have to keeping playing with the tune but I'm happy it's running and driving.

 

[SStavin]

Been a couple years. Time for some updates! Thanks to the mods for unlocking the thread after I neglected it 🕸️

Last summer I paid a visit to Speed Inc. for a dyno-tune. Pulled 347 HP/357 TQ and the street manners are much better. The injector saga continues for me. For compatibility and tuning the shop switched over to Delphi 30.5# Truck injectors (56010-275-8-D) and swapped out a bad MAF (maxed out IAT values) that had come with the harness when I ordered it.

Further pampered; put the Torque Thrust II's back on, got a fresh alignment, and a did a 2-step paint correction to hold it over until eventual paint/bodywork and got the exhaust tweaked by a professional

Getting out on street to settle the suspension, make sure she's running cool, and generally happy. Usually I'm pretty glass-half-full but I was waiting for something to break. So far nothing but get-in. turn the key, and go! Had to stop for some hammy shots

Engine bay is pretty buttoned-up

 

[SStavin]

Interior update coming soon!