[Schlok]

You're a machine, good work on getting this done as quickly as you are. Also, kudos on getting your son involved when working on the car he now owns. He'll have 1) a new level of appreciation for it and 2) be very knowledgeable on his hot rod. This is a good example of when enabling a young driver to have a car like this is a 'good idea.' Earned, not given!

[AZ_1LE]

Thanks for buying my wheels, and it was cool meeting you It's going to be fun watching this rebuild!

[Sephx1]

Originally Posted by AZ_1LE

Thanks for buying my wheels, and it was cool meeting you It's going to be fun watching this rebuild!

Thanks, I enjoyed meeting you as well! I took the wheels and had 3 new Michelin PS4’s mounted on them, only got to keep 1 front tire that was in almost new condition. The previous owner had put all season Michelins on the rear, of which only 1 was good. I didn’t want those so both were discarded.

Look at the condition of the old right front wheel. I was wondering what was keeping it from rolling off the trailer.

FWIW, here is several thousand dollars going into the rebuild that is hard to estimate based upon pictures when bidding. All 4 wheels had damage and 2 are repairable at a cost of $250 each and should come out looking like new. I can either sell those and recoup part of my costs or buy 2 additional wheels and have a track set. Only 1 good tire salvaged.

[Sephx1]

Ran into another big problem. When the motor mount broke it also cracked one of the 3 mounting bosses. The bolt was missing and one of the other bolts was bent. This was probably the icing on the cake when the decision was made to total the car. The boss can be welded by an experienced welder, but the fix that would be appropriate to get the car owner back to pre-loss condition would be to replace the engine ��

This is something that wouldn’t be cool not to disclose to a buyer, and will likely affect the resale value of the car. Since I don’t plan on selling for a while and will probably lose less when I do than if I bought a new one, I’m ok with it. Since it will be tracked a lot there’s a chance that day may never come anyhow. Or build another killer LT4 down the road. Anyhow, I canceled the order for solid mounts as I think the stock mounts will be less stress on the block. Before and after pics of the weld. It’s not that pretty as it’s difficult to get to but should be strong enough. I drilled and re-tapped the threads and it felt really solid.

[Sephx1]

Another big surprise, this one not as a result of the accident but most likely caused during the header install. I removed the PCV line to get better access to weld the motor mount boss and found that someone had tried to repair a broken PCV oil separator tank fitting with gasket sealer. To replace the tank requires removal of the water pump. Bummer. At around $250 I think I’m going to replace the pump as well because the car has been started and run without coolant by me and probably others before me and who knows if the seals were damaged. Don’t want to do that job twice.

[Sephx1]

Made great progress today. Picked up the new motor mount and bracket, water pump and PCV oil separator at the dealer. Also picked up a pair of seats which included a driver side seat with no airbag deployed. It was cheaper to buy the two seats from a lower mileage car than to buy the airbag and cover for my drivers seat, and the cover is on National back order! I should be able to sell the pair I have with air bags deployed for a few hundred dollars to someone doing a resto mod Camaro or other vehicle that doesn’t have airbags. Also picked up left and right auxiliary radiator assemblies from low mileage parted out Z’s.

The motor mount and bracket install was a breeze, and the bolt with the repaired boss on the motor torqued to spec without any problems. Motor now sits nice and level. I installed the steering rack and right side suspension and tires so I can load it and take it to the frame shop. While I had the brace off underneath I steam cleaned the bottom of the engine and frame and everything looks nice and new again.

[Strange Flavor]

Looking good, bummer about the mount.

[Sephx1]

Originally Posted by Strange Flavor

Looking good, bummer about the mount.

Thanks, I’m over it and I think it’s going to be fine with the repair. I was just as bummed about the PCV separator as it’s difficult to replace. No wonder whoever put the headers on tried to short cut the repair. The idle was kind of rough when I started it, could have been the vacuum leak from this broken fitting.

[Sephx1]

Here’s one of those decisions to be made when rebuilding a car. Both headlights had mounting tabs that were cracked or broken. Replacements are around $1,000 each. Given the cost of replacement and that the headlights are in otherwise perfect condition I decided to look for the appropriate glue to see if it would hold. After curing overnight the epoxy I used is almost like a weld and I can’t get it to crack or break with a good amount of force. What do I have to lose? After all I don’t want to go to the track and worry about wasting $2k on headlights that weren’t necessary if I have an accident.

[george]

I understand the compromises made from a salvage vehicle. If the epoxy holds, its a good alternative.

[SammYyYyY]

What a thread! Awesome progress in such a short time frame, I'm looking forward to watching the journey carry on.

[Sephx1]

Originally Posted by SammYyYyY

What a thread! Awesome progress in such a short time frame, I'm looking forward to watching the journey carry on.

Thanks!

[Sephx1]

My biggest challenge yet. The car is suddenly having electrical issues that weren’t present before I started. None of the gauges will show any values and when I try to start it the dash reads “push clutch in” which I am doing but it won’t respond. I went over all of the ground wires up front and made sure they were reconnected to the frame and then checked the fuses. I found a 5 amp fuse for the fuel prime in the engine compartment that was blown and it just blows again when a new fuse is put in. I checked the back and the ECM/BATT 10A fuse was blown and blows immediately when changed. I think the ECM might have gone out. The only explanation would be the welding on the engine block but I disconnected both battery cables and all cables to the fuse block and the ground to the engine block before welding. I’m hoping I’m wrong and open to suggestions at this point. Hard to believe I rebuilt a Camaro with all the harnesses burned at the fuse box with no issues last year and yet this car is giving me fits…

[Sephx1]

Still looking into the fuse issue, after disconnecting the 2 leads coming out of the ECM I’m not too sure I don’t just have a short somewhere. The 10A ECU/Batt circuit is not shorted going into the ECM at J1, but it is shorted once I connect the wires going out at J2 and J3. If anyone has a service manual that shows this circuit and the 5A fuel prime circuit I would love to know where to look. My manuals are 2016 and don’t cover the LT4.

Installed the new water pump and PCV separator, all new parts there even came with all new bolts.

Also removed the condenser after squeezing the rubber line and realizing there was no pressure in it. Some yellow oil spilled out on the floor that shows up fluorescent under black light. I would think this car was too new to have refrigerant leaks and have dye in it. Also A/C belt is missing, could have been from the accident as I did find some belt remnants in the engine compartment earlier.

Going to the frame shop at 9AM tomorrow.