I have a friend who autocrosses a C4, and has been a couple of rounds with lightweight clutch issues. He has a friend who has a shop and many of the right tools to do that work, so when he has issues with his clutch, he says it goes on the trailer to the shop, and a new clutch magically appears. He won't mess with it at all.

It was tough getting the bellhousing off of the old clutch. If it's worn too thin you can't remove the bellhousing without taking out the pivot ball (they hadn't figured out the removable slave cylinder spacer like the LT1 cars have). The pivot balls always crack at the corners of the allen head socket inside and that makes the pivot stud "lock" into the bellhousing. That job kinda sucked. We found a way around it, but I'm not going to be upset if I never do another one.

Well....we went out to enjoy one of the last few convertible friendly nights in Ohio tonight. Unfortunately the car had other ideas. It started with the clutch pedal engaging in various places. And at first I decided it was just in my head. The more we drove, the more I noticed that it felt different and it was engaging closer to the floor (at times). I finally told my wife that we better head back towards the house and try to get home before it acts up for good. A few minutes later I made a shift and felt the clutch pedal stick and then hit my foot. That was a sign that I was smart to head home. I just started to explain to my wife that you can drive these cars without the clutch if needed and I made a 1-2 shift without the clutch so she could see. The next shift the clutch pedal stuck to the floor. I managed to pull it up with my toe and baby it around the corner and down the street. I got it in 4th gear and left it there (all backroads) and managed to time most of the lights so I didn't have to stop. Two lights from home I had to stop. I wasn't sure it was going to let me put it in first, but the clutch was there and engaged right off the floor. I timed the last light to the house and made it into the neighborhood. It let me start one more time and get it in the garage.

So, it's home. I'm assuming the master cylinder is the issue, but I've actually never had hydraulic issues with any of my 3rd or 4th gen cars.

Any thoughts?

Edit:

I walked out and opened the clutch reservoir and found it had about 1/4" of "fluid" in it. And by "fluid", I mean it was a layer of crap that looks like coffee grounds. I guess I'll flush it first and go from there.

So I decided to just start over. I'm currently waiting for a Ram adjustable master cylinder, Ram slave cylinder with T/O bearing, pilot bearing, Fidanza flywheel and Centerforce Dual Friction clutch to arrive from Sam Strano. That should about take care of that.

http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetails.php...9&ModelID=7

http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetails.php...9&ModelID=7

http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetails.php...9&ModelID=7

http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetails.php...9&ModelID=7

However, 2nd gear is a bit notchy and 4th might be a little bit as well. I'm not totally convinced that 4th needs attention, but my wife missed 4th one night and complained about it being a bit funny. Then I ground 3rd and 4th once each when babying it home with no clutch. Since it's going to be out on the floor, now is a good time to do a Stage 2 upgrade and freshen it up (see, making cheap projects expensive...just like it says).

I started to order the Stage 2 kit from thegearbox.org and they ran out before I could get my order in. So at this time I have pieces on the way from a few places and I need to order the Stage 2 kit from Hawks (not quite the same as the kit from thegearbox.org guys).

This stuff is on the way:

http://www.tickperformance.com/tremec-30-1...dy-cobra-viper/

http://www.tickperformance.com/tremec-14-3...dy-cobra-viper/

http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/tremec-bor...or-cup-bushing/

http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/tremec-t56...ds-set-upgrade/

http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/tremec-t56...ds-set-upgrade/

http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/tremec-6-s...ings-c7-3-c7-4/

http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/tremec-ful...g-kit-t56-only/


Once I verify that I'm not missing other parts, I need to order this kit to finish it out:

http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/t56-transm...lt1-ls1-f-body/


That should about do it. Unfortunately I'm smelling a little bit of coolant and I was going to see if it needs a radiator (GM plastic tanks are known to leak) and/or water pump. And I was planning to rebuild the front suspension this winter (I have the parts) but I need the SKF X-tracker bearings and I wanted to put an upgraded brake package on the front. I had decided to let the transmission go until next winter (and do the cooling stuff and front end this year). Now I may be delaying some of that work for a while (I was going to just put a Dewitt's radiator in it and be done with radiator issues or potential ones). Too many expensive projects are attacking at the same time.

I told my wife she could teach her sister to drive a manual transmission on the Camaro because I was going to change the clutch and flywheel anyway. Sadly it had other plans. In good news, I have a 19k mile Z06 clutch and an LS1 flywheel that will be for sale soon. The clutch was changed when the new engine was installed. If anybody needs budget take out parts, look me up.

Kevin

Make sure you check the heater hoses on the firewall, especially that the motor has been out of the car.

Specifically "how"? Are they known to be loose or not attached right? Or do they drop the engine and stretch them? It came with receipts from a GM dealer for a re-manufactured LS1 that was installed in 2011 at 43k miles. It has 62k on it now.

Edit:

Ahh, for coolant leaks. Now I'm with you.

I wonder why Centerforce LS1 clutches are $300 cheaper everywhere than LT1 versions. I realize that in a lot of cases LT1 stuff has become "rare" all of a sudden but $300...

The LS1 clutch is "normal" the LT1 clutch works "backwards". The LT1 uses a "weird" "pull style" linkage and the pressure plate is "inside out". That seems to be the source of the price difference. The C4 Corvette uses the same style clutch (my 1991 did) and it was $650 or so. It's limited to a few applications and can't be used as "common parts" with other platforms or other 11" clutches, etc.

At this point I think I'm in for about $2,100 in parts...give or take. I won't be paying anybody for labor, so that will be a savings. I'm not sure what a GTO trans costs, but you might have been on the right track, though I'll have the stage 2 upgrade parts in mine when I'm done (not that I really needed them...at least not at the current power levels). And that includes a new flywheel, clutch and hydraulics that I would have needed anyway. I guess trans parts are about $900 of it.



Instead I went with some parts from the gearbox. I ordered this:

http://www.thegearbox.org/catalog/item/3838217/3503769.htm

http://www.thegearbox.org/catalog/item/3838217/3508384.htm

http://www.thegearbox.org/catalog/item/3838217/3511686.htm

http://www.thegearbox.org/catalog/item/3838217/5740219.htm

http://www.thegearbox.org/catalog/item/3838217/3508296.htm (1-2 and 3-4, I had the others already)

I forget what else. It was cheaper than the kit from Hawks and I wound up with a few additional upgrades that were going to be extra cost in their kit. And the tax Hawks was going to charge me more than covered the freight, plus I got a black Friday discount.

Now I'm waiting for the craziness of Christmas to calm down before I take it apart. I'll likely pull the trans the first week in Jan and get moving on it sometime after that.

The cost of T56 parts is getting getting nuts. Mine needs so many parts I'm just going to buy the drop in magnum from D&D and recover some cost by selling mine as a core. Luckily cores are worth good money and people seem to want them.

The other thing that worries me is some parts seem hard to come by these days. I'm at a point where I'm tired of fooling around, I'll pay a little extra for the newer stuff.

True. Since over half of my budget was flywheel, clutch and hydraulics I feel "less bad" about the total cost and that I'd only have about $1k of "transmission money" in this. And this was someones daily driver and seems to have avoided being abused. I'm just touching up and upgrading some things while I have it out (and 2nd is a little notchy, but it's not bad enough to have to do something yet).

I thought the Magnum was pretty pricey and it wasn't a direct drop in? Am I incorrect?

Yeah, if I could get away with 1k in transmission parts, I would go the rebuild route. Mine is trashed though, and I haven't even pulled it apart. Among other things, it has a bad 5/6 rattle, which means it broke the press fit on those gears and is mostly likely thrashing what is left of the splines. I was looking at $1600+ in parts, it could be even more. At that point, I personally don't think it's worth it. Even worse, some of the parts I think I may need have very sketchy availability.

D&D performance makes a true drop in magnum for the f-body and GTO. They do the converion for you, but it hits you hard at $3700. Still cheaper than any other magnum option, and in the end you get a stronger, better shifting transmission. Another plus for me is the f-body 1-4 with the close ratio 5/6. In the end, I love my car and I want to build it my way. I already spend too much money on this thing, what the hell. Plus I figure it should last a long time. Factory trans lasted almost 80k (pretty much all track and ax miles), the magnum so do better. I really want to bullet-proof the car, so between the magnum and the speedway 9in I bought from Randy I should be where I want to be. I also do an amazing job of making rediculous justifications to buy car parts. I'm an idiot.

Based on the statement above, it's too bad you're not in Columbus, OH. I'm sure we'd get along just fine. We'd be broke, but we'd have fun cars... I think you'd fit in just fine around here.

There's a GTO transmission for sale in the LSX group on facebook for $1750 ($17-something) in Columbus, OH (Blacklick, it's about 20 minutes from me). I don't know where you're located or how I'd get it to you, but I can pick it up.

T56 anything is rising in cost quickly. The Pro Touring guys love the transmission and they know how to escalate costs if anyone does. Scarcity of the transmission in F-Body/GTO form is getting out of hand due to such a large portion of the cars being sold with automatics. In my business (vintage gaming) items can shoot up in value with little warning. Car stuff (besides high-end auctions) often changes hands with no record, unlike the video games which have several websites that track value. I'm more conscious of supply and demand issues than the average person, so when E30 M3s and Lamborghini Countaches skyrocketed out of nowhere it wasn't as shocking to me.

Kevin, appreciate the offer but I have my mind made up on what I want. Plus, I dislike the GTO 1-4 wide ratios, especially the 3-4 shift. Drops a lot of rpm, and those are the two gears I'm most often in on track. For the reasons GCrites said, I'm hoping I can get a decent amount of money if I sell my T56 as a core.

My original winter plans were to rebuild the front suspension (balljoints, tie rods, lower control arm bushings, new aftermarket upper control arms, etc, the rubber bits are 14 years old and seem to be in fine shape, but "while I'm in there"). The other plan was to deal with a faint coolant smell. The radiator is old (and we know what happens to GM plastic tank radiators as they age) and it seemed like a good time to refresh the cooling system. The engine was installed in 2011, so it's due for fresh coolant anyway. The clutch issues are going to keep me from being able to drive it onto an alignment rack until I break the clutch in, so the front end rebuild is off for now (though I have all the parts).

As for the coolant issues (I'm smelling a faint coolant smell at times, so it's not really leaking but I think it's weeping somewhere and I'm into "industrial strength deterrence", so I'll overdo it as usual), Jegs just put their Be Cool direct fit radiators on sale for less than the Dewitts that I was going to order (it was cheaper from Dewitts than from Jegs, though they might match the price...the Be Cool is now cheaper than that). Be Cool makes a good product and a solid radiator. So, I ordered one. I guess I'm a sucker for a sale. And that should be a good start on fixing any cooling system issues. I'm going to change all the radiator hoses and heater hoses and just start fresh. I think I'm going to do a fresh water pump. I wanted to upgrade to something like an Edelbrock water pump (I've used them on many project cars). However, the LS1 version is almost $400 and takes a special $98 pulley. Ouch. Maybe I'll save that until I build more motor some day... I'm guessing I'll just pick up an AC Delco from Rock Auto or somewhere.

Here's the one I have on order:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Be-Cool-Radiators/134/60028/10002/-1

Between suspension, transmission parts and now cooling system parts. It shouldn't take me long to have as much in the car in parts as I paid for the car. Seems about like my style (I'm working to live up to my signature...one project at a time). Oh well, as long as it's fun....right?

Sounds "FUN" ... How many miles are on the car ? I'm surprised the front suspension needs so much love ?

What clutch are you going with ? I think an LS7 clutch would work in my combo, BUT I also like to "over clutch" things because I seem to like to abuse them

~DaVe

The car has 62k on it. Things aren't worn out. It's actually just fine. I did the front suspension and coil overs. Then the alignment rack showed what appears to be a bent spindle. I bought spindles and aftermarket upper control arms. Now I have to swap out the spindles and change the upper control arms. It seemed reasonable to just replace the other pieces while I'm here. Nothing is worn out or "dead", but I'm going to have most of it apart and the rest of the parts are fairly cheap (at this point), so I ordered the parts. I could have just thrown a spindle on it and the upper arms and called it a day but I was going to have most of it blown apart again so..... Overkill is what I do best.

I also have the adapters for the SKF X-tracker race hubs. I just need the hubs. My plan was to do a big brake kit when I did the front end. The transmission and cooling system updates are cutting into the brake kit and hub budget for now (and we're looking to build a house...so that's killing off the rest).

I have a Fidanza aluminum flywheel and a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch laying in the garage (with new Ram hydraulics). I've run that combo in my original 2002 Camaro, my 1992 Z28, my 1991 Corvette and now this car is getting the same setup. It's been a great package each time I've used it so I'm sticking with the devil I know.

I also found that Rock Auto has a Doorman brand replacement hydraulic line for the clutch master cylinder. $49 (Jegs has the same one for $149). I figured I may as well get rid of the one that's full of all the "gunk" that was in the master cylinder in the first place. I'll keep the old stuff and maybe I can clean it out and use it as a spare, but what's $50 more at this point? lol.

Hopefully the coolant smell is coming from the engine bay, and not interior, which would point to a bad heater core.

Heh, something similar is keeping me from tearing into our SVO. The radiator is leaking. I have new, polished, stainless cooling lines for the rest of the engine bay, as well as a header, ported intake and powder-coated valve cover. Since the cooling system would be open to replace the radiator, I might as well replace the cooling lines. Because the intercooler has to come off to replace the lines, I might as well replace the manifolds and valve cover. While everything is out, I might as well roll the car out and thoroughly clean the area where the radiator sits.

One thing just leads to another!!

On my original 2002 Z28, the water pump gaskets went bad about 44k miles and it was weeping coolant down the front of the block. I saw it during an oil change and fixed it. That took care of the smell. It's not strong enough to be inside and I'm not losing any real amount of water (the radiator had 1/4-1/2" "missing" when I took the cap off. It's not overheating, there's no "problem", but I'm fairly certain there is a very minor "weep" (I can't even call it a "leak" at this point). The car is really nice and I'd like to take care of it and keep driving it, so I'm fixing little irritating things while doing my best to be able to return the whole thing to stock if I should have to do so (the value suddenly goes nuts and I decide to put it all back stock and take a lot of money for it, etc).

If any year of 4th gen goes nuts in value it will probably be 2002. It's not like 3rd gen where people are like "Hmmm... '87? (first 350) '89? (best 350 cam, Turbo TA) '90? (labor dispute) '92? (last) '82 Pace Car? (slow but sweet)." 2002 Trans Ams seem to be working their way to legend status for sure due to rarity and their aggressive looks.

I don't know if the plastic radiator problem is a GM thing. Seems like they all seem to hate getting old. Ask a BMW owner!

Kevin, what you are experiencing is very similar to anyone else picking up a relatively low mileage car that has sat. The 4th generation has weaknesses such as the T56 transmission and the hydraulics for the clutch. Then there are smaller item such as window motors and turn signals and the cooling system. I am glad to see you have a budget and you are sticking to it, so many times we see builds that are astronomical and the car isn't even paid off yet. Get one problem behind you and move on.

I've built a few somewhat silly expensive cars over the years, many have been documented right here. Most of them have eventually become boring and I dumped them for one reason or another.....I'm learning from my mistakes, or I hope I am. There really wasn't a budget for this one, I tend to buy cars and start throwing money into them. I rarely say "I have $1,800 to spend", I'm not that smart. A budget would be smarter.

I expected some issues. I bought a 2002 new, and then I had that 2001 SS for a year or so. In 2011 when this got a new engine it had 43k miles. I bought it in May of 2016 at 58k. So it didn't completely sit, but it certainly wasn't a daily driver. I'd rather see a few thousand miles a year, that doesn't scare me as bad as a 2002 with 1,000 miles on it (or similar).

The T56 is only the slightest bit notchy into 2nd gear. I'm not sure that it's even worth a rebuild. But, I'm going to have it out on the floor and that tells me I should do blocker rings and such, so I'll just do the stage II upgrade and that should be the last time I'm inside it (unless I accidentally build a motor later or something unexpected happens to the gearbox). It's overkill, but I'd rather spend my time driving it and not towing it home. If the trans comes out, new clutch and flywheel should go in and the flywheel may as well be aluminum. lol. And since I'm already pulling the trans to replace the hydraulics....(see the rest of this paragraph).

This one had new window motors, but they are getting "slow" so it may be time to do them again. I've never put window motors in any of my 4th gen cars. I've actually never had hydraulic issues either...so this is a few "firsts".

As I said, I've smelled a faint coolant smell and it's due to be changed (engine went in back in 2011), so I may as well pull it apart, drain it all, change hoses, upgrade the radiator (in case the tanks are leaking...or they eventually will be). And to avoid PS cooler issues, I'll just do that too.

It's "project creep", but I'm keeping it as sane as I can. I'm just trying to make sure next summer is problem free and we can enjoy the car. Part of me wants 500 hp, the other part of me wants to keep this "returnable to stock"...just in case. It is a "survivor" car and it's in nice shape. I'm trying to follow my wife's instructions and avoid "spoiling" it. I think we're going to own this one for quite a few years. As long as we have a place to keep it, it's likely to stay in our possession (I'll build something else "stupid" at a later date).

However, a new Holley water pump was delivered yesterday. So I'm not sure how sane I really am....

Kevin, this might help.

When you are looking for a car, you have to know what your intentions are for the car. If it is to preserve a future collectible, then buy quality. If you plan to modify it for performance and drive it a lot, don't waste your money on buying a low mileage stock vehicle.

Well, I was planning to "clone" my old 2002 Z28 autocross car (and these things "suck" to drive in stock form with the factory springs/shocks/swaybars). When I was looking, I kept finding "junk" cars for too much money. This car popped up and it looked super clean (and it was) and I really didn't want a convertible (but my wife did since I had her hooked on T tops/Targa top cars). So, we bought it "anyway". Now I'm somewhat blindly trying to figure out what to do with it. lol. I've never been one to buy collectables or "preserve" them. I'm not even good at taking the time to wash cars. I'd make a terrible "waxer". This car turned out to accidentally be nice enough that I don't want to ruin it.

I suspect I'll add a second Camaro/Firebird to the stable at some point in the future and I can do "dumb" things with it. Though I may take this to a few autocross events. It's set up for it now.

So, I'm now collecting transmission coolers. Both options have arrived. The larger one is the design Alan uses and it's rated at 7,500 BTU. The smaller is a Setrab that's rated at 5,000 BTU. Since this thing isn't going CMC racing, I think it will be enough...if I can get it to fit. I'll know more when I get the radiator and shroud out of the car.

My radiator hoses have arrived from Rock Auto and the heater hoses should be here soon. I'm just about done gathering up parts, I'm going to need time to get to the garage and get working.

And I realized that new clutch reservoirs aren't too expensive and I'm already replacing everything else. So I ordered two. I couldn't decide if I wanted to use the billet version or just stick to the OEM. I'm still not sure, but they arrived today along with the tool that's supposed to depress the release to pull the hydraulic line out of the transmission (I've always used a couple flat blade screwdrivers in the past). Guess we'll see how this works out.

They make a tool for that? You mean I don't have to jam a flat blade screwdriver into my palm when it slips?

Who knew?

http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/slave-disc...04-corvette-c5/

I bought new heater hoses from Rockauto. They weren't particularly cheap, but that was ok if they did the trick. However, the factory heater hoses are crimped (like AC lines) and these are one piece rubber lines that are likely to melt from the exhaust. I don't see a reasonable way to cut the old hoses off and reuse the aluminum pipe. I'm also not sure the heater hose assembly will come out with the engine in place. So, does anybody know if it's possible to buy the stock designed heater hoses? Or, how do they want you to cut the old stuff off and make it fit?

I guess I can buy it from Hawks for a small fortune.

http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/98-02-cama...r-hoses-new-gm/

I'm guessing I can find it elsewhere too, but I'll have to look.

Damn! Cut the old hose off, flare the aluminum lines for AN, and replace with braided steel, or Teflon hose. It's only money.

Seriously. That's the solution the B-body guys use to fix the leaking oil cooler lines that the aftermarket replacements don't fix.

I've seen that approach mentioned. I think I'm just going to order the new line "kit" and replace the whole assembly. It's only money, right? lol. I really don't want to half-ass anything on this car. Speaking of which, I sent the Setrab oil cooler back and ordered a C&R Racing oil to water power steering cooler to replace the factory cooler. It appears that it should fit. I hope to see it in the next couple days and then I'll know for sure. It wasn't cheap, but I don't have to cut anything and I can keep the old unit and hoses if someone ever wanted the car returned to stock.

New cooler arrived today. This is the power steering cooler I ultimately plan to use. I'm pretty impressed with it and it looks like it will fit perfectly. It's a bit smaller than the stock cooler in the upper hose so I'm going to use the standard "non-cooler" radiator hose and trim a section out to fit. This should be the easy way to do this.

The drawing is for the 1.5" inlet model, I'm using the 1.25" inlet model. Just thought I should clarify that.

What make and model is this unit ?!

~DaVe

https://www.crracing.com/inline_power_steer...er_1_14_outlets

Kevin search the part number that Hawks has listed for the hose assembly. Found some other less expensive options but not $100 less though.

Yup, that's what I did. Ordered one this morning from one of the online GM parts places. I think it was $142 to my door ($21 in freight). So I should have that on my doorstep soon.

Now I'm going to actually have to start working on the damn thing....lol.

This is a great thread.

I would like to see a list of the parts you are putting on your car.

Thanks. I often feel like these threads are a way for me to keep track of things but I'm not always sure how much interest there is in some of my automotive ministrations. lol. I'm having fun and if someone can learn something or avoid a mistake based on my mistakes....even better.

It's kind of scattered throughout the thread, but I can try to make a concise parts list.

Basically a bad clutch master/slave (no clutch disengagement) prompted:

Ram adjustable master cylinder
Ram slave and throw out bearing
Fidanza flywheel
Centerforce dual friction clutch
Stage 2 transmission upgrade
Doorman hydraulic line (master cylinder to quick disconnect)
Ram remote slave bleeder
Hawks clutch reservoir (likely the billet one)

And a faint coolant smell convinced me it was time to add:

BeCool 2 core aluminum radiator
Power Steering cooler listed above
OEM heater hoses
heater hose to throttle body
radiator hoses
Holley Water pump

And while the coolant is out of it, I'll send the throttle body to Lingenfelter to be ported...why not?


But I got ahead of myself. I found a bent spindle when I did the alignment so I have Global West upper front control arms and all new bushings and balljoints, outer tie rod ends, used spindles, Rocketman C5 (SKF Xtracker) front hub adapters and other bits to rebuild the front. However, I can't drive it onto an alignment rack on a new clutch and that needs fixed first. So, the transmission is first, then cooling system, then I'll rebuild the front end (just a general freshening since I'm going to be in there anyway) and see where else this project goes.

I was planning to install a big brake kit and the hubs and front end stuff this winter. But the clutch took over and I've reshuffled the priorities. I hope to be at the UMI cruise in this year and maybe some power tour? Who knows where this car may pop up. I'd like to get out to enjoy it this summer.

The rest of the parts list (some already installed):

Yea, the mod list is:

UMI STB (already installed)
UMI SFC (already installed)
UMI Coil over shocks/springs (already installed)
UMI Rotojoint PHB (already installed)
UMI Sway bars (already installed)
UMI billet sway bar brackets with poly bushings (these things are artwork) (already installed)
UMI Poly/Rotojoint LCA's
Custom refinished charcoal SS wheels (already installed)
B&M Ripper (sport shifter) shifter (already installed)
Hurst Shift Knob (already installed)
SLP TCS disable module (already installed)
SLP "lid" (already installed)
Hooker cat back (possibly, my wife thinks it's a bit too loud)
Fresh fluids
Jegs Skip shift delete (already installed)
SLP front license plate bracket (needed in this state) (already installed)
Stop Tech pads (front and rear) (already installed)
Centric rotors front and rear (already installed)
TA performance rear end girdle (already installed)
iPod adapter (hooked up instead of the CD changer) (already installed)
ATI 10% underdrive balancer
Paintless dent removal for a few small spots and a little paint touch up

I've also been debating the SLP "free cold air mod" kit (that isn't free, but does the same thing while likely avoiding getting so much muck in the filter). It's worth power, but the last car I had with the free cold air mod had a filter that was caked with "mud" from the road spray. And I have to cut up the stuff under the airbox.

This is also a great time to thank Ryan and the UMI crew again for all of their help and involvement with this project. You won't meet a better bunch of gearheads anywhere. And I've had fun getting to help test the coil over kit and offering feedback on it (I think this was the first "non-UMI shop car" to see a set of these). There are a lot of choices out there but I've been extremely impressed with the parts and the crew from UMI.

Once the above list is complete, I'm considering a 212/218 .550/.550 lift cam for it *(or something similar...just say a "small", streetable cam). I don't want a high RPM monster, but 20-40 more hp would be nice. I don't want a cam that needs headers either, just a street driver with more oomph. I was talking to Jeff Creech (the Milkman) last night and we were discussing a cam package. I'm considering dragging it to the east coast this summer and dropping it at Carolina Auto Masters for a bit more power. I could do the cam and I have a dyno shop 1000 yards from my house (no joke), but I'm overdue for a trip to see Jeff and Julie (CMC#37 here) and it sounds like a great adventure to drag it south, tune it up and drive it around the east coast for a bit.

I guess the goal with this car is becoming more clear. I want "more" of everything, without ruining the cars street manners. If I could keep the stock idle and gain 50 hp some other way, I'd be fine with that. I'm not looking to do a cam for the sound (it's a bonus, but I don't care really), I just want more power and civilized street manners. I want a car I can hop in today and drive clear across country without taking a toolbox with me and spare valve springs, etc. More grip, better handling, more power...but on the mild end of things. Building a better street car (and not spoiling it or making it so I can't return it to stock or so that it sucks to drive or becomes unreliable). I think the motto is "Make it better".

Thanks for sharing. .. subscribed

I'm not sure we are reading the same thread.

Kevin, let me know if you make it to a local autocross. I want to feel better about how much I've spent on mine.

I was kinda thinking the same thing. I suspect you'll know the car if/when you see it. lol.

This build is not the cheapest thing, but it's nothing "wild". That's likely the weird disconnect. No cam, heads, headers, stroker kit and a blower on this one....but quality parts aren't cheap. And my signature is still the unfortunate truth.

At one point I gave the cost breakdown to that point. I guess I'll try to update it here (I probably don't want to know).

I was trying to keep this sane and stay accountable, so I'll update the totals for those who are following along (it's worse than I realized...but it always is):

$11,500 - Car
$199 - UMI PHB
$499 - UMI SFC
$389 - UMI Swaybars
$249 - UMI Aluminum sway bar mounts
$1849 - UMI Shocks/springs (coil overs)
$200 - B&M Ripper shifter
$40 - Hurst Shift knob
$150 - 10 bolt girdle
$550 - 10 spoke wheels
$650 - wheel refinishing
$450 - new tires
$99 - iPod adapter
$99 - SLP "lid"
$79 - UMI STB
$200 - Stoptech pads (F&R) and new front rotors
$20 - SLP license plate bracket
$39 - SLP TCS disable module
$20 - Jegs skip shift delete
$199 - UMI Poly/Rotojoint LCA's
$180 - Ram adjustable master cylinder
$150 - Ram slave and throw out bearing
$389 - Fidanza flywheel
$460 - Centerforce dual friction clutch
$700 - Stage 2 transmission upgrade (parts only)
$50 - Doorman hydraulic line (master cylinder to quick disconnect)
$40 - Ram remote slave bleeder
$100 - Hawks billet clutch reservoir
$475 - BeCool 2 core aluminum radiator
$375 - C&R Power Steering cooler
$140 - OEM heater hoses
$18 - heater hose to throttle body
$25 - radiator hoses
$150 - Holley Water pump
$450 - Rocketman hub adapters
$130 - used spindles
$175 - Moog front end rebuilt parts
$225 - Global West upper control arms

$21,712 (yea, I really didn't want to know)

I haven't made a complete total for my build, but I am 95% certain that is more money than I have in all of the parts that are on my ESP build. I didn't spare expenses either.

I could have had an ESP car $5k ago...but I'm not that smart.

I'm now registered for the UMI cruise in:

http://umiperformance.com/umicruisein/

I haven't been around an autocross course in nearly 10 years. I think I last ran in 2007 or 2008. But this seems like a good excuse to dust things off, buy a fresh helmet and drag the car out to play.

Who's coming along?

New heater hoses arrived yesterday. I did manage to order the factory assembly with the aluminum pipes and rubber hoses on the ends. It came from GMpartsdirect...with a made in China decal on it. I don't know if it's OEM or a reproduction? Oh well.

I'm seeing a LOT of parts coming out of original GM boxes with 'Made in China' stamp on them, so you probably have the real McCoy there. Hopefully, the QC on those parts are a little better than run-of-the-mill Chinese products. Most of the parts for our Holden (Caprice) come from China. I'm sure that's how the Aussies do it.

One of the few recalls on our '02 GMC was the tailgate straps. It seems the OEM ones could suddenly break under a load. I was quite disappointed when I had a look at the replaced straps that proudly-displayed the 'Made In China' stamp. Luckily, though, they've held just fine, so far (knocking on wood sound now), and we've had pretty good loads on them.

The tailgate straps on my 2015 are already split and showing signs of rust. I need to go see the dealer about getting those replaced under warranty. It's not like I use the tailgate every day, it's not a landscaping truck. I have no idea why they have already split the plastic covers and started to rust.

So they STILL haven't learned how to do them right!?!

They do. They just don't want to spend the money.