Just saying HI. Been out of the f-bodies for awhile. Working at getting an LS1 Trans Am project going. Good to be back.

Great to see you back. It's about time you get away from those pesky Caddy's and back into the right cars...

(Zepplin is one of the local F-body club guys...from when there was a local F-body club).

Thanks Kevin. I think I had one of your first original panhard rods on the LT1 Formula. That goes back awhile.

That's been a loooong time.

Here's a pic and vid of the last project.



http://www.zeppelinsreef.com/images/Zeppelinsformula.mpg
(dialup beware)

That car was NASTY. So was the clutch explosion (as I remember).

Uh, ya. Here's a pic I ran across of the big 'boom'. You can see mega parts behind the car as well as parts over in the other lane around the guy walking over. That was before they had blow proof bellhousings for the LT1 f-bodies too. I still have a piece of the clutch that wedged itself up in the tunnel area, but didn't break through, thankfully. Where it was wedged, if it had come though, it would have seriously torn up my right leg.

It ended up taking out the clutch, pressure plate, bellhousing, transmission case, O2 sensor, oil pressure sensor on top of the motor, put holes in both headers, sliced the y-pipe in a couple places, and dented up the tunnel pretty good. Quite the bomb when it went off.

Wow, that's a lot of parts! I'll take the right lane, please!!

I remember back in the bad old days, when you had bigblocks and smallblocks in Pro Stock, a friend was driving a small-block Camaro. IIRC, he'd leave the line somewhere around 9500-10,500 RPM. At one event, the Clutch didn't like it, and let go at clutch release. The explosion was so strong, it bent the bottom of the scattershield down, threw shrapnel that bounced off the tarmac through the floor panels (luckily, nothing hit the driver, or anyone in attendance), and force of the imbalance completely hollowed out the block. I mean, the block looked like someone took a cutting torch and cut of each of the crankshaft webs up to the cam journals, including 1/2 to 2/3 of each of the cyllinders. I think the front 1/4 of the cam was jammed in the block, and couldn't be removed. No biggie, as they probably weren't going to reuse the block anyway.

I think all that was reusable from that explosion was the carbs and intake, and motor plates. That was about it. The scattershield piece that was bent down cut a groove in the track almost alway the way down the track.

So yeah, they can store up a lot of energy, and cause spectacular events when they let loose.

Picked up a 2002 Trans Am WS6 as a starter. One of the things on the top of my list was low miles and preferrably a stick. This 2002 has 23,000 miles and is a 6 speed. Already done are LS6 intake, AFR 205 heads with spring kit, Thunder Racing 'split pattern' cam, Kooks longtubes, Moser 12 bolt w/33 spline axles and 4.30 gears, line lock, NX spray kit with purge, window switch, etc. BMR suspension goodies underneath as well as QA1 adjustable front suspension. Setup as a drag car right now, but I want to make it more of an all around car. Here are a few pics.

Congrats Larry! Sounds like a nice toy (pics won't come up behind this firewall).

You got the right color! I also see this one does not have traction control, good find.

First thing I am looking at doing is new rims (leaning toward the Vette ZR1 wheels-reproductions in an 18 x 9.5 version) and C6 Z06 brake upgrade. I think I have the fronts figured out, but has anyone used the C6 Z06 rears on an f-body?

Just an update.

I got the c6 z06 front brakes in. Here's a pic.


Ended up going with some 2009 C6 Z06 Spider wheel reproductions in comp grey. 19 x 10s in the rear and 18 x 9.5s in the front.

Went with Nitto Invo tires. The reviews I read on the web really like the tire, so I went ahead and ordered a set. 305/30/19s for the rear and 295/35/18s for the front. Should be here this week.

Getting the brake caliper brackets and brake lines from trackbird, and I should be able to get started on the conversion. Tires should be here this week, rims the week after, or so. Coming from Cali and the rears have to be painted to match the fronts since the 19 x 10s don't come in comp grey normally.

Hey Larry, I missed this question the first time through.

Here's (as close as I have to) the info you seek:

http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/index.php?showtopic=4105

I don't know what it might take to get the C6 Z06 rears in place. You might use the C5 rears to get them to mostly match.

And if Kroger is now selling C6 parts, I'm going to be shopping a lot more often.

Thanks for the link. Good read. I need to look into it further After I get the fronts on.

Ya, those rotors/calipers were at Krogers. 10 for 10 sale.

BTW, my rims are coming from one of your sponsors, 6 Litereater Designs.

Well, the rims and tires came in. 19 x 10 rear rims were good. Front rims.......they sent 18 x 8.5 instead of 18 x 9.5, so I have to get that corrected. Had the rear Nittos mounted for now. Hope to get them on in the next week or so. Here's a few pics of the rears. They are a slight bit shorter than the drag radials, and a little wider. They should tuck under the fenders better too. I'm digging the tread pattern.

Larry,

I like 'em!!!

Got the rears on today. Here are a few pics.

Before and After comparison. Drag Radials and Convo Pro rims Before, Nitto Invos and C6 Z06 rims After. This pic also shows how nice and tight the Kooks headers fit on these cars. No hanging down whatsoever. Us f-body owners with headers can appreciate all that clearance. And thats with this thing sitting as low as it is with the skinnys on the front.


A couple side by side comparisons





And the new look. Hopefully when the 18s get on the front it will shift the geometry a bit and sit the rear down a little. Might still need to lower it a bit.


Working on getting the front spacer/stud kit from Jegs, and I'll be about ready to start the fronts.

Got the fronts in and on today. Still need to lower the front a little and definitely lower the rear. Got some black chrome lugnuts coming next week from Jegs to finish the rims/tires off. Waiting on the adapter brackets to get the Z06 brakes on.

Lowered the rear today. My first attempt was to see what the heater hose mod would accomplish. This entails replacing the spring perches with a 1 1/2' length of heater hose. I used 5/8" heater hose for the project.

Here is my starting height from the ground to the top of the fender wells. About 28 1/2"


Got the car up on jackstands, removed the lower shock bolts, and let the rearend down all the way. Pulled the springs out. Here is the spring with the spring perch.


Next I removed the spring perch and replaced it with the length of heater hose.


Reinstalled the springs, re-attached the shocks, and let the car down. That got me here. About a 1/2" drop.



While allot better, I still wanted to go a bit further. So back up on jackstands the car went. I pulled the springs back out, removed the heater hose mod, and proceeded to cut a coil out of the rear springs with a Dremel and diamond wheel. Once cut, I re-installed the heater hose mod. I got another 1" drop cutting the coil out.




So, with a total of about a 1 1/2" drop this is what I got. I'll leave the car settle a bit, and after driving it will take another measurement. Total cost: $3.79 Currently the passenger side sits about 1/4" higher than the driver. After settling I will re-measure and may end up taking a little more coil out of the passenger side. Here's the car after the drop.

The wheels look good

If the two sides are uneven, Try re-indexing the coils before you cut it again. Rotating the coils on the perches can change the ride height slightly. If you get the right combination on each side, you may be able to level the car without ending up with different spring rates on each side. Maybe even try swaping sides to see what the result is. Cutting coils will change the rate of the spring.

BTW, the car looks great and seems to be coming along well.

Took a few pics of the stance with the springs cut. Re-measured and both sides are the same after settling. I think I need to lower the front a little now though. Need to wait until I see if the new front brakes clear the rims without spacers first. If I have to space the rims out much, lowering it allot will lead to tire/fender contact on bumpy roads I am afraid. We'll see. The caliper adapter brackets finally shipped. Due here Friday, so I may get the brakes on this weekend. Ordered a set of Hellwig swaybars too. 35mm hollow front and 22mm hollow rear. Car currently has NO rear swaybar at all and the stock WS6 front bar.







Also got some nice black lugnuts in from Jegs. They are Gorilla brand. Nice heavy coating. Wrench didn't scratch them a bit. I grabbed a set of matching locks also.

Did the previous owner take off the rear bar, or did he have a drag race rear bar on there that you deleted??
The 'spider' wheels look GREAT in the comp grey. I really never liked them that much until I spied them on your ride in that color!!
Now Gorilla makes the black chrome lugs as well? (I have them on my ride, but they are McGards, all that was available two years ago.)

Previous owner drag raced the car and took the swaybar off. I ran across the Gorilla lugnuts just doing a web search. Called Jegs to see if they could get them and they had them to me in under a week. Thanks for the compliments.

Lookin good! That car is certainly a great find with miles that low..

What's the offset on your wheels?

The low mileage is a definite bonus. Offsets are 58 front, 79 rear(with a spacer).

Just a few more pics I took today in the sun. Trackbracket caliper adapters came yesterday, so I should be able to get on the brakes as soon as it warms up a little. It is a very nice, heavy duty piece. I'll get some pics when I start the brake install.

Got the swaybars in yesterday. Very nice looking product from Hellwig. 35 mm hollow front(thing is huge) and 22 mm adjustable hollow rear.

I dig that wild hammertone finish!!

Your car looks great man. I especially like the wheels you've got on there.

I like the 295's on the front too. More contact patch up there is a good thing. What are the weight of those wheels vs. the stock WS6 setup? Same? Heavier?

I didn't weigh the wheels, but they seemed pretty light when taking them out of the box. With the tires though, they definitely have some weight to them. Not sure how the combo stacks up to the stock setup.

With the nice weather, I thought I would get started on the brake swap. I took Sunday morning to dis-assemble the current brake system down to bare spindles. Off came the calipers, rotors, hubs, and the old brake lines. I then installed the new steel braided brake lines for the Z06 calipers.



Tonight I had to cut off the original caliper mounting ears to make room for the caliper adapter brackets.



Here is a pic of the caliper adapter bracket.



I then test fitted everything prior to painting the spindle. Here is the caliper adapter bracket test fitted with the hub.



Test fitted the rotor and caliper while I was at it.





When the brake parts shipped initially, they didn't send the pads. I didn't realize that until I opened the small box Sunday that should have had the retainer clips and pads inside and only found the clips. Called them Monday and the pads shipped that day. Should have them in the next day or so. I hope to have the brakes done and the new front swaybar installed by Saturday.

Brakes are done......finally. Took it on a maiden voyage to Jegs a little bit ago to take a set of the spacers back. Stops on a dime for sure. Here are a couple new pics.

Gotta send a big THANKS out to trackbird for putting up with all my calls and texts with questions. Thanks man.
Z06 brake pads(one side)


Brakes on

Larry, drop me a line anytime. If I'm busy, I'll get back to you ASAP.

The car is looking GOOD!

Got the Hellwig rear swaybar on this morning. A couple things I'd suggest with the instructions. First they have in big bold print that the framerails will have to be drilled. But then in the detailed instructions they don't mention at all where the drilling needs to be done, what size bit should be used, or anything. Wasn't hard for me to figure out, but it would have been nice to have better instruction there for someone that may not be as savy. Also, when talking about installing the bolt where you have to drill the framerail, it specifically tells you to install a washer between the adjustable endlink and the new bracket. It does not mention at all that there is a washer provided for the outside also, between the endlink and the bolt. Only looking at the pics real well do you kind of see there is a washer there also. Also in the pics of the swaybar mounting brackets, it shows 2 nuts on each side of the u-bolt(and they do not appear to be locknuts), but only 1 locknut is provide for each side of the u-bolt (4 locknuts total, 2 for each side of the car). Other than those few points, the instructions were pretty straight forward and the parts are stellar. Here are a few pics.

Original endlink mounting bracket


New bracket


Adjustable endlinks assembled(assembly tool pictured also)


Adjustable endlinks mounted


Overall, the Hellwig adjustable rear swaybar is a very stout, quality piece IMO.

I was also not happy with the rear wheel offset, even with the 3/4" spacer. The inside of the tire was very close to the rear inner fender, and the outer tire was tucked way too far inside the rear fender. So I picked up an additional 1" spacer. This new spacer actually bolts to the lugnuts coming off the axle, then has an additional set of lugnuts for the wheel. Its made from aircraft aluminum and IMO looks and feels like a nice quality product. Here is a pic of the spacers mounted.



Here is a pic of the rear with just the 3/4" spacer in place.


And with the new spacer added.


I'm much happier with the new rear spacing.

The top bolt on the end links (where you had to drill) needs locktite (preferably "red"). Not sure if it's in the instructions (my bar was a prototype and I had no instructions), but if you didn't do that, you might want to.

I'd also prefer to see a single spacer on the rear and not a pair. As long as the bolts are tight, it's probably fine, but I don't like more than the minimum number of parts stacked on the hub. Just my preference.

The car looks great Larry!

Yep, red locktight is included and mentioned in the instructions.

It would have required me to go to way too long of a stud to use a 1 3/4" spacer, and still have room for the tire and lugnuts. I thought that long of a stud would decrease the strength too much. Sticking to the stud I have(a longer heavy duty drag stud) and locking the spacers down to that stud, then using the new studs for the tire ends up with a much stronger setup IMO. Also, I couldn't find a spacer like the new one in 1 3/4" thickness, or I may have gone that route even though I already had $65 in the original 3/4" spacers. I'll also definitely be pulling the tires off in a week or so and checking the other lugnuts to make sure they are staying tight for sure.

Stud length should not affect strength, ARP sells some really longs ones that I know are stronger than the ones in that spacer/adapter. If the wheel is properly torque, the studs are only loaded in tension, not shear, so their length really doesn't come into play.