nocooler's firechicken thread

[Scoobum]

 

[nocooler]

I picked up a clean set of used "706" casting heads today. I'm starting to acquire parts to put the aluminum 5.3 together as I'd rather not hurt this LS1 and shove it in something else N/A. These are the smaller chamber LS heads and have a slightly smaller intake valve, but from what I've seen on a small bore (4.8/5.3) these are up 20-30hp/tq across the board over other style heads. It'll end up being 10.4/10.5:1 compression

[Steve Wood]

These LS engines seem to have a lot of versions of things that can be interchanged without going very far away from GM.  One of my favorite shows is Engine Masters and they had a show one night testing the various oil pumps and showing what power they could require.  I was shocked how many hp the big ones required and how much oil pressure they could maintain.

I had thought that the modern stuff would not need such serious stuff due to the ability to run tight clearances on light weight oils, but, I guess when one is pushing a 1000 hp, or more, that it takes a lot of effort to keep it from "rubbing".  Wish I could start over with the LS stuff.

[nocooler]

The modular nature of the Gen3/4 LS engine pretty much makes them adult legos!
While I'm much older and wiser, I'm a believer - I've had my firebird for nearly 15 years and have pounded on it relentlessly - It just refuses to die.

[nocooler]

Santa brought me this

[Steve Wood]

Nice!  I got a couple of bars of lava soap which still works like a charm!  Also a Milwaukee 3/8s impact on which works really well, also.

[daveismissing]

I have heard that some leds were polarity sensitive but all that I have used seemed to work both ways

Some brands put a diode bridge in front of the LEDs ,many don't.

[nocooler]

I decided to put the firebird on the lift and pull the trans. Took about 1 hour to pull. As expected the front pump bushing is trashed and took the seal out. I've got parts and a bushing driver set on the way!

[Steve Wood]

You need an android helper that pulls stuff for you and puts it back-all without the arguing feature.  Your life would be somewhat easier!

I like the Firebird just because they were discontinued and they were always the option for those that did not want to follow the crowd.  The WS6 was my favorite at the end.

[nocooler]

Well, I apparently was supposed to learn some life lessons working on this POS. I put it back together last weekend and went for a ride - it puked a trail of trans fluid when I pulled back in the driveway.
Upon inspection, I found a few issues: the vent had clogged, the bushing I replaced in the pump moved forward and took out the front seal, and the pump gasket wasn't installed 100% it twisted a tad.
So I ordered another pump gasket/bushing kit and it came in last night at 5 pm. At 9 pm I took it for a ride and while not without issues it's not leaking any transmission fluid for the first time I can remember! Of course, I made a pull on the test drive, and when I shifted into high - it just banged the limiter. Without engine braking, it felt like I broke something.  But when I went to downshift at the next stop, I realized I was just a moron and forgot to put the cotter pin in the shift linkage. Sure as shit the cotter pin was right where I left it on the bench.
Today I fixed the driver's headlight - as it wasn't popping up. Somehow the linkage got bound up on the limiters but after fighting to get it apart, I was able to figure it out and get it all sorted out.
I'm waiting on a patch from Holley as my dash isn't displaying the WBo2 data but other than that, the upgrade from v2 to v3 went flawless and I have some new features to test out.
I think it's ready for an oil change, fuel filter, injectors, and some more boost!

[Steve Wood]

Glad to see you are human at least in part of the time!

[motorhead]

Mistakes are often made in this hobby. Glad to hear its rocking and rolling.

[nocooler]

So I didn't update this thread last summer as I was pissed at the car. It seemed fine after I tested it but I came out to a puddle of atf under the car so I covered it and left it.
I got fed up trying to dig for this leak so I ordered some UV dye - worth every penny. AN fittings are leaking at the swivels. These are the fittings/lines I reused, every fitting they used was Jegs and they all leak. Funny they passed when I checked them with air last summer....
I guess a handful of fittings and line is way better than the case being cracked!

[Steve Wood]

From a distance, I agree with you.  Fittings are a pain in the neck but a cracked case is a lot bigger pain.

I guess those knock off fittings are a risk.  I think I went with Earls the last time when I was working on the Challenger and some stuff on the Green Mile wagon.

[nocooler]

I had enough hose fittings laying around to replace the main lines and test.
My floor is dry after 24 hours!
 The rest of my fittings will be here Tuesday hopefully I can put this saga behind me.