BUILD THREAD Midlife Crisis Monte Carlo Build

[gnvair]

I had those UMI control arm mount reinforcements. The bottom would not clear my mufflers on either of my cars. The only way they would work is with some kind of bullet muffler or straight pipes. The QA1 reinforcements look like they would be a better fit as they don't have that tube that protrudes out.

 

[tokarz1]

I had those UMI control arm mount reinforcements. The bottom would not clear my mufflers on either of my cars. The only way they would work is with some kind of bullet muffler or straight pipes. The QA1 reinforcements look like they would be a better fit as they don't have that tube that protrudes out.

I do see what your saying by looking at pics on the web. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[scoti]

The chassis & rear end portion turned out super nice.

 

[64nailhead]

I want to try a set of those a-arm forward supports, they look great, look like a PITA to get on and off with the body on the car, but .....are they really beneficial?

Not scared of the price or install, but do they offer real bang for the buck? I probably shouldn't question UMI as I've never purchased anything from them that wasn't perfect quality.

One thing for sure, make sure you install the upper bolt in the ther direction before you put the body on 😉

 

[tokarz1]

I want to try a set of those a-arm forward supports, they look great, look like a PITA to get on and off with the body on the car, but .....are they really beneficial?

Not scared of the price or install, but do they offer real bang for the buck? I probably shouldn't question UMI as I've never purchased anything from them that wasn't perfect quality.

One thing for sure, make sure you install the upper bolt in the ther direction before you put the body on 😉

They do look like a good product but I have never used them before so I can't attest to their benefit but I have read they do prevent the lower trailing arm frame mounts from being pulled from the frame on higher HP/TQ motors. Oh, yeah for sure on the bolts. Just for mock up 🙂

 

[tokarz1]

The chassis & rear end portion turned out super nice.

Thanks! 👍

 

[tokarz1]

Hi all,
I try to keep things in order but that's kind of impossible so lets go back a bit. This is what started things. I found a deal on a super low mileage 1999 Gen VI 454 L29 at my local yard before I even had a vehicle to put it in. It was pulled and ready to go so I jumped on it. It came from a 1999 P30 Motorhome. Our garage was not up yet so I had to store it in the driveway under a crate I built. It worked well even being in the middle of winter but it did rust a bit.

I cleaned it up a little and put some paint on it for now after the garage was done. The EFI was sold off if favor for a GM Performance intake. The Gen VI valve covers do not have the oil fill cap so those were sold off for a set of Gen V ones that did.

 

[tokarz1]

I decided to go with stock motor mounts so I picked up the US made Anchor brand. To my surprise they were not painted so that had to happen, I hate rust! Also grabbed some bolts and nuts.

The block side mounts on the big block are the tall ones and would cause problems from my research so I had to locate the small block type. I found a set of OER ones on eBay for a good price.

I don't know if this has been posted before but I thought I would pass it on. I picked up one of those retractable magnets from the dollar store a while ago and use it all the time. It works fantastic for getting the motor mount bolts installed.

 

[tokarz1]

I moved on to finding a transmission. After quite a while searching I finally found a low mileage TH400 out of a 1986 2wd Suburban. Just coincidence its the same year as the car.

It was quite oily from leaking valve covers so I gave it a once over for now. Those $5 swimming pools are great!

From what I can see and smell, it looks good so far.

 

[Supercharged111]

So this, fuel lines, brake lines, and the body goes back on?