Well kiddies, my motor took it's first breath today, after being down for nearly 8 weeks. What took so long? Well, TOG re-coated my headers, and it took a bit longer than I was expecting. Nevertheless, aside from the battery being slightly discharged, it fired right up and settled into a 900rpm idle. No leaks aside from a overflowing coolant surge tank (my mistake), and the usual putrid smell and a bit of smoke that came from the virgin coating on the headers.
It sounds strong, and the annoying lifter tick that plagues most 3400's is all but gone. I'm not sure if it's the LS1 valve springs, or the fact that I meticulously torqued the rockers to spec, but it sounds better than it ever did. Once it warmed up enough that the thermostat opened up and the motor went into closed loop, the idle returned to a more normal 700rpm. I can't wait to drive it again (I had the insurance taken off while the car was on jackstands). I still have a few things to hook up (my FPR gauge and my STB), and I'm still waiting on a black powdercoated 160amp alternator.......but, without further adeiu:







Hope ya'll like it.

Looking good.

haha carbon fiber grand am ram air. I like it tho!


Thats cool its up and runnin strong. I love that feeling when u first fire up the motor after uve had it completley in peices and back again. I did that to my old tauras.

Good job

looking great! nice job

off topic, but Fuller do u know the model/size of your red top battery?? I need a red top and want one that fits nice, etc.

yeah at least yo udidnt go through what i did, where you put it all back together and for got one worthless looking o ring, that the engine could not run without. (the fuel return line o ring)............god that sucked....

Lemme see here......I ordered mine online from BatteryWeb.com, and the item # was 75/35-925.

CLICK HERE

^^^Thank you!!!! :)

looks great man!

what kind of gains are you looking at?

looks good

where'd u get that ram air thing.. did u get it custom or does someone sell that.. cuz damn dude thats awesome

thats hot!!

:wub:

looks good matt. now start driving that thing.

Drove it some yesterday, and the trans hates me.
I took it to WOT a few times, and threw a P0131 code, for low O2 sensor voltage. I took a look at my scan and found that the upstream O2 was only registering 20-25mV at WOT (normal is about 920mV...eek!).....so I have some tuning to do. Even though my fueling is WAY off, still saw less than half a degree of KR. :)

Okay, that's better. My fuel pressure at WOT was only 30psi (should be 60), so I just cranked up the AFPR - such a cool little do-dad. Anyway, O2 voltages are back in check, and still less than 1 degree of KR...which is astounding, considering I've gone to a hotter plug (AC Delco Rapidfire plats from NGK TR-6 coppers).

It's basically a stock intake setup from a Grand Am GT, of which PFYC had the CF hydro-immersion thing done. It was done as a prototype, and was never sold to the public.

Hey Matt,

OT, but have you had any issues with the CF dip stuff coming off? I just bought one of the pieces off of Jeremy and there are a few spots where the "CF" is coming off or gone.

Damn, Sik....great to hear from you again. You've been laying awfully low lately.

Honestly, they've only been on the car for a few days, so I don't know how they'll handle the heat of the engine bay or any other elements. Naturally, I have a bit of cracking around the screw that hold the airbox lid on (I wasn't very careful), but everything else looks OK.

I'm always around lurking...here at least. I'm off posting from the GA boards at least until the car gets done this summer. Lots of surprises...at least I hope so.

But thanks for the 411...hopefully they'll recoat the areas for me for free or at a discounted price. That would suck if I had to recoat the whole thing. Might as well have bought one brand new...ah well.