Part IX

1989 RS Camaro

We have been off the last few weekends, not only taking a break from the car but trying to recharge our own batteries a bit. You have to learn to pace yourself on these projects as it's real easy to just burn out and getting the enthusiasm going again can be difficult. We have all seen the ads in the local trader for project cars and the bulk of the time the problem has been that the seller simply lost interest or the work was too overwhelming to deal with anymore.

We had a pretty good weekend of work this time around and are finally reaching the point where we are starting to wrap up some of the details. First off, we re-worked the fuel pump mounting for the car. The original mount that we made proved to be too flimsy and everytime we touched it, it would act like it was going to fall out of the car. A recent trip to the hardware store produced a much stiffer piece of metal that was actually intended to be part of a livestock gate. A couple of holes drilled in the piece and then welded to the inside of the rear frame and we had a fuel pump mount that's not going anywhere. At the same time we moved the fuel filter to connect directly to the input side of the pump and ran the -10 AN line between the filter and the tank. We also pulled in the -8 AN line for the feed to the engine, running it through the passenger side frame connector to protect it.

Next on our list was the mock-up of the engine and transmission. The transmission has been fitted with some nice pieces from ATI, including a transbrake, hardened input shaft and deep cast aluminum pan. We also use their stuff in our Powereglide transmission for the dragster. We bolted the bare engine block and transmission together then began to lower it into the car when we hit the first snap of the day - we had the motor mounts in the wrong place. So it was lift the engine/trans back out and unbolt the mounts and move them forward. Not too bad, but once again one step forward, two back - just like everything else we have done.

With the mounts in the right place, we worked the engine/trans into place and then leveled the engine by placing the intake manifold on it and checking at carburetor mounting plate. With that done, we started looking at what we would need to mount the rear of the transmision into place. We bolted on a stock type rubber mount for the trans, then a part that we had from Chassis Engineering that would allow us to weld a piece of 1.25 tubing to it to form the the main part of the mount. An assortment of chassis tabs were looked at and we finally came up with a combination that would work. All of this was welded together so that we ended up with a removable transmission mount. We do have to admit that even with just a bare block in place, it was nice to see something in that empty engine compartment. One of those "yep, it's coming together moments". But, at this point the engine/trans needed to come back out, one so that we could finish weld the transmission mounting tabs and two, so that we could start to assemble the engine itself.

This photo shows the transmission tabs mounted to the original framerails and bolted to those tabs is the rear transmission mount shown below. Surprisingly it's actually lighter than the stock mount and of course the stock mount would not have worked for our application now anyway. These cars never came with a TH350 transmission as an option.

Our next order of business was to mount the disk brake kit to the rear axle housing. Nothing really fantastic here, but you need to put everything together to get the alignment right, then tack weld it in place, disassemble everything and finish weld it. At that point, we allowed it to cool and shot a coat of paint on it before any rust could form. When it comes to the brakes, you don't want any problems. We then put the rear back under the car (did I forget to mention that we had removed it?) and attached the S&W lower control arms, rear track bar, aftermarket H-D shocks and stock springs. Next the housing seals were put in place and then the axles. We still need to purchase the retainers for the axles as for some reason they were not included in the kit we bought. Next to go on will be the disc and calipers, plus the brake lines to finish things out.

We have yet to purchase the rear tires and wheels, but know that we are going to be modifying the wheel housing to provide enough clearance for them. Once again, little to nothing just bolts into this car. Even if it's close, we can just about guarantee that you need to drill a hole, trim something or just completely re-do it again.

We now need to move on to mounting the torque arm assembly and the drive shaft loop. Each of which is going to be some major fun for us. Nothing like spending another day on your back underneath the car trying to figure out how something should go into place. We also found out that we tossed a few OEM bolts out that we need now. So off to the dealer to see if they have them and if not then I am sure we'll have some additional fun in locating the correct size bolts.

With the engine back on the stand, it was taken outside and given a thorough cleaning. Not too bad as the engine had been hot-tanked in the past and other than just normal shop debris that needed to be cleaned off, the engine was in good shape. I hosed it down with 409 cleaner, let it stand for a bit, then hit it with some brake cleaner to make sure any left over oils and such would wash away. A large dose of water and then some quick work with compressed air to dry things out, plus a wipe down of all of the machined areas on the engine with WD-40 to stop any rust from forming had us a clean block to start our build-up. This engine had been painted previously in the valley and front timing area to promote quicker oil return to the pan, and some of the painted areas had chipped or rubbed off. A one inch paint brush and a can of Rustoleum gloss black took care of that problem as I completely repainted the entire area. While that was drying, we masked off a few areas of the engine and gave it a nice coat of gloss gray on the outside. I prefer the gray color as it makes finding any leaks that come up a bit easier. Next was the installation of the studs for the lower end of the engine. Each stud was cleaned with brake cleaner and then a small amount of blue Loctite was applied. Studs are screwed in until they are just tight, you never go beyond that or torque them down. The idea is that you are forming a clamp around the main bearing saddle and if you over-tighten or torque the studs into place, you are twisting the main bearing saddles in the engine block before you even have the caps in place. Next we installed the camshaft with ample engine assembly lube on the bearing surfaces. I install the cam at this point as it is easier to handle it as you work it into the block and you do not want to nick up your cam bearings. The engine assembly lube that I use can be obtained from any shop that sells engine bearings or you can make you own from a 50/50 mix of straight 50 weight racing oil and a can STP oil treatment. Use plenty of it on everything you put into the engine as this will be it's initial lubrication when the engine fires up the first time.

One last piece of work that we did this weekend was back on the wiring for the car. We ran the additional wiring that we would need for the remote starter button, the coil, the water temperature sender and the alternator. The three relays that we would need for the water pump, radiator fan and headlights were also mounted. An additional 10 gauge wire was run up to where the alternator will mount and off of this we pulled the +12v that we would need for the three relays. Leads from the switches on the control panel will control these relays and in turn they will power up the pumps and headlights with a full +12 volts. The same arrangement will power the fuel pump at the back of the car. At this point we need to make a mount for the remote starter button and mount the coil, then remove them and paint the cowl area, mount everything again and do the final wiring. We also ran the 3/16" copper tubing for the oil pressure gauge as it needed to be be mounted in the same general area.

Now on to Part X of Project Camaro......