Hey guys!

I've been a bit out of touch with all of my online accounts, figured you guys might be interested in an update...

where to begin, I've had my 04 for a couple years now, and I LOVE it.

I have been using it as my daily driver since i bought it, and because of this, i have racked up a few miles... As it sits right now, i'm at 197,432 miles.

I have had to replace the fuel pump, and the starter (due to driving it for too long on a failing pump). I had been having issues with the fuel system, and not getting to use the full 18 gallon capacity, and the pump was the problem. After the pump swap, all the fuel issues went away!

I bought a Vara-Ram B2 cold air system for it, and have not yet gotten around to putting it on. I know, shame on me. Also bought and installed an MGW shifter, and couldn't be happier with it. love the feel, and the fact that it takes effort to miss the 2-3 shift.

On the topic of shifting, I was having the typical high rpm = sticky pedal issue for a long time. replacing the fluid in the system only seemed to work for a couple weeks, then it was back to the same crap, which didnt really bother me because i wasnt running it hard all the time anyway. as i edged closer to 190k miles, the clutch itself was starting to show signs of fatigue at higher rpm runs on the highway. It really started to show after making a couple of kills on the highway in the form of a modded 10 Mustang GT, and a 2009 Charger RT... encountered some really bad slippage above 4500 rpm. one time it jumped from about 4600 to the rev limiter in about a half second. So, I decided it was time, and bought a Tick Master cylinder and a new stage 2 clutch kit from Texas Drivetrain...

I put the clutch in myself a couple weeks ago, which actually was scarier sounding before i did it. I was amazed at how much of the car is all tied together by just a few parts. with the new clutch installed, the car felt great, and i thought i was going to be ready to head down to San Antonio Raceway for some fun. I have only ran it at the strip once, and it was a crappy day shortly after i bought it. I launched from idle, and let out too soon, running a time of a 13.9X, but trapped at 114 mph.

Well, go figure that spending the money to get the new clutch, and then the 15 hours i spent doing the install and cleaning up some stuff under the car while i was in there, would lead to the car deciding it needed more money thrown at it...

2 days after finishing the clutch install, it decided to backfire and blew the valve cover gaskets out of it when I tried to fire it up to leave work. still havent had the chance to fully diagnose the root of the problem, but after putting it all back together, it will idle at 350 rpm, and knocks at anything above 700... Time to build.

I got to go for a ride in my buddys 02 Z28, and i fell in love with his setup. a little over 480 to the wheels from a stock LS6 bottom end, lightly ported 243s, kooks long tubes, and a T-Rex cam...

I found one online dealer that still had the T-Rex V2 cam in stock, and bought one. (PM me for the shop if anyone is interested. they still have 2 or 3 left on the shelf). Cam arrived today, and has not helped quench the fire inside...

I am going to be sending the 243 heads i have out to BTR for some port work and a dual spring kit. I'm picking up an LS6 short block from a buddy of mine. Will be swapping to a set of forged Wiseco flat top pistons with 2.2cc valve reliefs, and putting in ARP rod bolts. Going to go with .040" Cometic MLS Gaskets to help bump the compression even more.

Hoping that, with the right tweaks to my buddy's Z28 tune, I can get the 04 to about 500 to the wheels, and consistently run low to mid 11s after i get used to the setup.

I am also looking at upgrading to C6Z brakes, and possibly a C6 steering wheel now that i've seen a write-up about getting the controls to work properly.

 

Welcome back and best of luck getting your car back in top shape.

 

Good luck with your build brother, let us all know how it turns out! Best wishes!

 

 

Welcome back and best of luck with the car

 

So, I picked up a low mileage LS6 shortblock from a friend and talked to a highly recommended machine shop today. Going to have the block bored and honed to 3.905, and then i'll be getting the rest of the parts together for the lower assembly... wishing i had more cash to get it rolling sooner.

 

So i think i finally have a more sound theory as to what happened to my engine... I have been working every day on my lunch breaks on taking stuff off the Vette to prep for the engine removal... pulled the intake the other night, and put it in the trunk of my daily.

I pulled the intake out of the trunk this afternoon to take it in the house to clean it, and i heard something rattling around inside it... after dumping the contents, i found these little fragments...

Unless I am mistaken, these are fragments from the intake valve seat. I'll know for sure the extent of the damage in the next couple days as i get the heads off, but I'm guessing that there's a small chunk of head missing from the driver side head... A hole in the head (assuming it broke through one of the runners) would explain how explosive crank case pressure popped the valve cover gaskets out of the heads...

The bad news from this is that there could have been shrapnel dropped into a cylinder, and that could have caused fatal internal damage...

To an even worse end, i put it back together after this happened and tried starting it up again. It fired up and was idling at 350 rpm, and above 500 would start to knock very loudly.

Hoping that the block isn't completely trashed, but we shall see as i get deeper into it.

 

My hopes of the block being salvageable are dwindling quickly... Cylinder #1's chamber is messed up pretty bad, and there's a chunk missing from the piston. will post pics tomorrow when after i get them...

 

Welcome back & good luck with your project

 

As promised... here are the pictures of the carnage...

piston is obviously junk, sleeve is cracked in 2 spots, and the head is chewed up pretty bad, probably beyond repair... looks like I've got a new coffee table...

 

Damn... You tore that up proper...

Time to pick up an LS3 crate motor and drop it in and go..


I wonder what failed first in yours? (chicken or the egg scenario)

Hopefully you can get it back together fairly quick.

 

I'd love to drop an ls3 in it, but that is waaay out of my budget, so i'm doing an LS6/243 build.

I already picked up a 58k mile short block from my buddy, came out of his 01 Z06. he was running boost and ran into some blow-by issues. picked it up for 600 bucks expecting it to need pistons and rings and a hone.

After pulling it apart, I discovered it only needed rings, but i have decided to go with a set of Wiseco forged flat tops with valve reliefs and a 1.2mm steel top ring / 1.2mm napier second ring / 3.0mm oil ring set, and will use the factory LS6 rods and crank.

Figured since i'm going with a T-Rex cam that has been known to make valves and pistons exist in the same space, I'd be better off running pistons with reliefs to accommodate the monster cam... (plus this may let me swap to 1.8 rockers later down the line)

the LS6 243 heads i have will be getting some port work done, and a set of BTR dual valve springs, possibly milled if i decide i need the compression bump...
i could take .015 off the heads to compensate for the reliefs to maintain the 10.5 scr... more if i feel the need to bump it higher...

 

Just out of curiosity, what solved your shifting issue at high RPM? The clutch or the Tick master cyl?

 

i never got around to the Tick master install (ran out of time at the shop, so i decided i would wait a week and do it the next weekend), so i would have to say the new clutch, and a proper bleed on the slave cylinder... The remote bleeder line was the best purchase choice i've made for the maintenance aspect of the car...

 

Pistons have been ordered. Everything will be going to the machine shop this weekend!

still have a long list of things I'm gonna need, but its starting to come together.

 

A little agitated with with UPS and my neighbors... UPS claims my package was delivered today, but since no one was home, appartently a neighbor signed for it.

now, if it had been me, I would have taken said package and set it on the front porch of the neighbor that it belonged to, or at least left them a note saying that I had it and it was safe...

now i have to go door to door and see if any of my neighbors have my pistons, or if i need to get ahold of UPS and start complaining...

 

walked out the door getting ready to go to the gun range, and behold my eyes did fall upon a box from UPS...
turns out the neighbors aren't so bad after all... lol

now to get it all up to the machine shop and get this project rolling...

 

dude that is so messed up... good luck and best wishes

 

I suck at keeping up with stuff... so heres the most recent update...

 

Sounds good