Multi-Year build to 30 Day Hillclimber Challenge

I think you left one off the very top of your list:

• Get the car running

Can't wait to see this finished. Great project!

Waiting on the brown truck to arrive . . .

Ups and a down . . .

Still not too bad.

I feel your pain on HOAs and old ladies who walk the neighborhood with nothing better to do. Couple of weeks ago I got a call from our property manager telling us the owner got a HOA letter about grass growing through cracks in our driveway.

We make it a point to only live in neighborhoods that have no HOA or covenants like that....tired of playing that game. Carport's a good idea anyhow - saves wear/tear on the vehicles. How would a fence solve the problem? I didn't see anything about that in the language.

Much more importantly -- CONGRATS on getting the beast running!!!! Why don't you drive that bad-boy up to Greer for the Euro Auto Festival Oct. 18? I'll have the Volvo there and buddy will have his Explorer powered 245 there....would be good to see you again. Oh - and there'll be 433 other European cars there that are danged nice as well. Porsche the featured marque - but I'm leavin' the Cayman at home as it's SO MUCH MORE FUN to talk to folks about the 'hybrid'. There's a nice LS1-powered E36 that has shown up the last few years.

A fence is in plans well. The carport is the easy button at this point It will give me nice place to work when summer comes back around.

I have get a tune and exhaust on it before I drive it far. 24lbs + Cobra MAF + Cali ECM = unknown results!

I'll probably attend anyway. I'ven't attended Euro in about 6-7 years.

I'll be at the auto festival. (I live 2 miles from it.) I'd LOVE to see your car there.

If I'm not at the car when ya'll are around, leave a note under the wiper with your cell number and I'll ring you.

The Cobra meter transfer function is not a match for the stock HO maf. It will go about 20% lean the more throttle you give it. Besides that, the adjustment for the 24 # injectors is made in the ECU, not the factory meter. So you'll either need a tune OR a Cobra ECU. Any reason you didn't buy the Cobra ECU and then skip the tune, as long as you had to buy an ECU anyway?

BTW, the SN95 70mm meter (94/95 HO) is pretty close in transfer function to what the fox body ECU is expecting. You could trade the Cobra maf for an SN95 -- and then your tune would only need to adjust for the 24 lb/hr injectors and anything else you wanted (turn off egr, air injection, etc. - if all that stuff went bye-bye during the build). In any event, if you're going to use the Cobra meter, you'll need the transfer function for your tuner. You can probably download it online if you search around. The 80mm and 90mm Lightning meter x-fer functions are out there.

The MAF, TB, injectors, GT40P heads, and Explorer upper + lower intake was a package deal.

Finding ANY remanufactured and warrantied ECM was an exercise. The one Cobra ECM I found at RockAuto was pulled from my cart as I was ordering other parts . . . Gutted!!

The local tuner as well as one up in Rock Hill/Ft. Mill area said they can tune it without an issue.

Found a Cobra ECU!! Since these things are getting like hens teeth, I'm going hoard them

Wow!! It's been a while since I updated this thread or eeven touched the car . . . Stuff like that when work and life happens . . .

Anyway, when we last left, I scored a Cobra ECU. I installed it and the car sprang to life without issues.

I had hopes of attending the TT school last year, but thanks to HOA police, I spent all the fun money clearing some trees and putting up small fence to keep eyes off my stuff.

Over the last few days, I've been working on odds and end for the car.

I could engage odd number gears without issues, but struggle a bit on even number gears. I think that 7/8" slave cylinder is a bit too big. I tried adding some preload to the release arm, but that didn't completely solve the issue. I bought a 280zx slave cylinder and will try it out.

I drew up a cardboard template for an undertray (lost the stock on years ago on the interstate). I'm trying to decide if I'm going to move the rad down an inch.

Finally, I did some interior work on the wiring harness. I'm just tie wrapping unused portions out of the way (until get unlazy to pair the harness down).

Glad to see this one back. Looking forward to seeing regular updates again.

Ditto - good to see you back on the project. Looks like you'll get the motor up and running in this one about the time I pull the 5.0L out of mine and put an LS3 in it....

You better have a build thread for that

Prolly not....just some pics when done.

Did some work on the Hillclimber in late may.

I pulled a T-5 from a 96 V6 SN-95 while I was stumbling around PAP.

I decided to swap out the 2002 trans since the 96 has VSS.

Fast forward to today, I wandered around the garage after doing an oil change and fixing various crap on the CTS-V. I guess I should work on it today .

I swapped out the small 12" pusher fan for a 16" and installed a fresh battery. I grabbed the keys to set the timing on it. Turned the key, lights on the dash, fuel pump spun up and stopped . . . Everything was looking good!!

Started the car and waited for the Cobra ECM for attempt to find an idle. After about 7-10 mins, the idle settled and grabbed the timing light, then she shut off . . . daBerk?

No lights on the dash . . . Great!! Please don't tell me I fried another ECM. In a wild panic, I grabbed the test light and multimeter and began troubleshooting. After an hour of scratching my head, I remembered some advice from Curmudgeon . . . Please check your grounds . . . Sure enough, the ground wire going to the front driver side was iffy.

Clipped it off, added a ring terminal and attached it to the strut bolt. Tried again and was rewarded with melodious unmuffled 302 noises!! Proceeded to set the timing (10° without the spout) after she warmed up . . . Everything else checked out as good . . . So I moved to the newly installed PAP sourced gearbox. All the gears could be selected without any issues!!!

I wanted to drive this thing so badly in the cul de sac, but I couldn't since the crossover exhaust pipe (made for another 302 E36) began rubbing on the crank and lower idler pulley making this hideous screech.

Once I free up some $$$ and time, I'll take it to the exhaust shop to get it corrected.

The noise . . . holy crap the noise of the uncorked 302 is pure heaven!!

Anyone know a good priest that performs exorcisms?

I'm almost convinced this car is possessed!!

I took care of the pulley rubbing on the crossover exhaust today with a temporary flex pipe. Fired her up and squeeking is still there . . . Dafaq???

I grabbed the stethoscope and found no noise around the front of the engine . . . It's coming from around the bellhousing area . . . Great, now I have to drop the trans again . . . . Berk!!

Well now that life has slowed (and the Challenge Roach thoroughly kicking my hind quarters), I dropped the T5 last night and the throwout bearing is toast

Easy and cheap fix that is semi labor intensive . . .

Welp . . . I'm just batting zero.

It appears I was incorrect about the TOB . . . Sounds like thrust bearing failure . . . Sigh

Looks like it all has to come out YAY!

Some current pics? Have you driven it yet?

Mine's been up and running since Sept. In the process of installing a drive-by-wire Dakota Digital (Rostra) cruise control and then it will be back as it was, except 6.2L instead of 5.0L.

[URL=http://s937.photobucket.com/user/MichaelYount/media/LS3%20Engine%20swap/engine3_zpswggbiyff.jpg.html][/URL]

Oh that looks like factory!!! I'm jealous!!

No current pics and it still dirty as hell! It drove all of 100 feet before the before the bottom-end noise started. I'm absolutely gutted. However, even on the stock, untuned ECU, it had stupid tq; I only took it to 3k rpm.

Before I tear out the motor, I'm finalizing the radiator position (it's a bit too high and needs to move forward about 1/2"), rerouting coolant hoses, building a fan shroud, front undertray, and air box. Then I'll pull the noisy lump and see how bad the damage is.

I'm leaving the interior wiring for dead last.

Here ya go - more inspiration...

[URL=http://s937.photobucket.com/user/MichaelYount/media/LS3%20Engine%20swap/engine1_zpsfzety8sl.jpg.html][/URL]

[URL=http://s937.photobucket.com/user/MichaelYount/media/LS3%20Engine%20swap/engine2_zpss8uda4sd.jpg.html][/URL]

4 years later this car is literally back from the dead!

She has "new" junkyard heart after the last one spun bearings on 3 and 7.

I have a few odds and ends to clean up before road & track worthy.

• Clutch slave cylinder
• Front undertray
• Exhaust
• Tune
• Interior wiring clean-up
• Alignment
• Tires (current set aged out)

For real this time . . . LOL!