Plug wires, harness and seats

Instead of ordering longer plug wires to address the problem I was having with clearing the headers, I did some research and found that MSD makes a set of plug wires for people with just my dilemma. The boots on the plug ends are bendable to fit. I bought a set and they worked perfectly.

There were no clearance problems on the passenger side but I'm including a picture of it because it looks nice. You'll also notice that I installed the engine wiring harness. It is a custom harness built specifically for this conversion. I bought it back in 2013. The factory harness in a late model Camaro is about twice the size as what you see in the picture because of emissions. The custom harness has all of the emissions wiring deleted. Everything is correct in length to reach each sensor and is labeled. It was like assembling a plastic model. Easy-peasy.

 You'll see a big gaping hole in the firewall behind the engine. That's where the factory heater used to be. I'll be installing a modern retrofit system that eliminates all of that. It will include a really nice a/c system that the car did not have originally. That's a must in southern Nevada. I have a block off plate that will completely cover that hole.

I also got around to removing the seats out of the Camaro that donated its engine to this build. That was fun! It has been sitting outside with a busted windshield for several years now. My first discovery in it was the remains of a rabbit. My guess is an owl took it in there and had a feast. The only things left behind were some bones and ears. Fortunately, the seats had seat covers to mostly protect them. I wasn't sure if I was going to use the seats or not. This is just a mock setup to see if I would like them in the car. I actually think they might work. They are much more comfortable than the original low back seats. If I do end up using them, I'll have them recovered and the back seat done to match.

It's only 4 years later...progress has picked up again

I started this project about 7 years ago. I've asked myself a million times why it is taking so long. You know why? Because i built a race car and raced for 5 years. That'll do it. Although I will not say I am done racing, I will say that it is not dominating ALL of my spare time like it used to.

I'm glad to be back to working on the Camaro. It has been good for me. It's therapeutic.

The engine is in. Hopefully for good.

I reinstalled the power steering pump & alternator. I was happy to see the alternator fit without having to notch the engine girdle like others have had to do. I also had a custom power steering hose made to mate the LS1 power steering pump to the 1968 gear box. I built the pressure hose using the original LS1 hose and adding a 3/8" inverted flare on the box side.

I installed the new stainless steel "LS Swap" headers. The passenger side fit perfectly with plenty of room to spare. The driver's side? Not so much. It was a lot tighter space with the steering box so close. The headers require some strange routing to clear the box. It created a new problem. Clearance to the rear 2 spark plugs. The stock configuration for the plug wire to plug would not work. I had to find longer plug wires with 90 degree boots to avoid touching the header.

A couple of months ago I began the chassis wiring process. I used an American Autowire update kit that uses all factory colors and connectors and it updates the fuse box to more modern blade style fuses. A much needed improvement over the nearly 50 year old factory wiring. The back half of the car is done. The dash is partially complete and nothing has been done yet to the front half of the car.

I purchased the Camaro rally sport headlights and grill that is something I've always loved about this car. Its the difference between exposed headlights like this:

and concealed headlights like this:

Quick update

Not much has happened lately.  Everyone in the house has been sick and I only recently got back outside to do things.  I'm in the process of installing a concrete slab so I can relocate my air compressor outside the shop so I don't have to listen to it anymore.  I'll also be installing a double oven right next to it that I got for free.  The purpose of the oven is so that I can do some of my own powder coating.

The oil pan has to be modified on the LS engine in order to clear the drag link on the old Camaro.  You can either have the factory one modified or purchase a new one from a handful of vendors.  The stinkin oil pans are $400+.  Ouch!  So I decided that before I fork out that kinda dough, I'm going to attempt to modify my own pan first.  Luckily I have a friend who has a tig welder and mad skills at welding aluminum.

I already cut the oil pan where it needs the mod.

I'm hoping it works.  If it doesn't, I'll ultimately just have to spend the money on the replacement pan.  Pretty much nothing to lose if this doesn't work.  I woulda had to buy it anyway.

Another nibble

Finally got the front suspension reassembled.

I placed orders for the engine wiring harness, computer and Vintage Air (heating and air conditioning system) this week.  

There's a 4-6 week lead time on the harness because it is custom built.  I still need to assemble the steering.  I have new tie rod ends, sleeves, idler arm and pitman arm.  I need to clean up and paint the centerlink and steering box.  I'm also debating on getting a larger sway bar since the factory one is about the diameter of a pencil.  It actually looks funny since it's so small.  I will have time now to spend on rewiring the chassis.

Powder Coat

I sent out all the front parts for powder coating.  Got those back this week and I'm excited to get it all back together.

Powder coated subframe

Powder coated front suspension

I had the suspension parts done in silver to break up the boring of all black parts.

Now I'm waiting for delivery of bushings, ball joints and tie rod ends.  Then I can start reassembling.

In the meantime, I've started on rewiring the entire car.

Looks a little daunting

How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.

Front Clip

I removed the front clip today.  It isn't a difficult thing to do but it does takes time.  In this case probably about 2 hours.  I hope I can remember where everything goes when I put it back together.  Having the front end of the car off will make it a lot easier when preparing the engine compartment for the new engine.

Before

After

Now I'm stripping all the suspension off the sub frame.  I will be sending it and a bunch of smaller parts off to get sandblasted and powder coated.

And here is it ready for powder coat.

Since the next step is chassis wiring, I had to gut the dash board...

...and firewall.

Oh, I said I'd show a picture of the engine once it was cleaned off.

AAW

I was a little excited to hear the UPS guy pull up today.  He delivered my American Autowire rewiring kit.

Yes, rewiring.  I will be replacing every electrical wire on the Camaro from the tail lights to the horn to the dimmer switch.  They make a really nice kit that updates several aspects of it for modern upgrades like power windows & locks, modern stereos and better air conditioning systems.

Here's a snap of the current electrical system and here's a news flash.  Wire technology back in the 60's wasn't like it is now.  What they used for insulation back then was technically not water proof.  It especially broke down over time and would allow moisture to weep in and make contact with the copper wire.  That caused deterioration and corrosion which can lead to fire.  This car is 45 years old and so is the wiring. Back then a wiring harness was only really designed to last 10 years.

I also hit the LS engine with the pressure washer yesterday.  It looks so much better.  Almost like brand new.  I'll touch it up a little bit more and will have some pics of that in my next post.