1991 Lumina Z34

[ejs262]

Almost everything we have here gets a name.
Event buildings on the property......
"Energy Weapon" has a good Catchy "Phrazer" to It ​​​​​​

I can't own the name entirely, it comes from a song line by the band "Clutch"

"Firebirds! Energy weapons! Both these things are interesting to me! I don't care how you get them I need them both and I need them urgently!"

https://youtu.be/FdWBDlagVQ4

That will be a fun one! Another 3rd gen is on my list too, I just keep buying other cars in my search. I'm trying to catch up with what I got before buying more but you know how that goes... If i took a few months off from work I could probably get mostly caught up.

yeah, I know the feeling, I probably shouldn't have bought this car yet, a 'bird had been on the list for too long, and now, a surprise bonus at work might get some parts to make this car truly nuts when I get around to it... lol!

[Skeptical]

#MeToo

Mine is a base Firebird, it's plenty ugly, but it's something I've wanted for a while. it'll get the special treatment before too long.

That will be a fun one! Another 3rd gen is on my list too, I just keep buying other cars in my search. I'm trying to catch up with what I got before buying more but you know how that goes... If i took a few months off from work I could probably get mostly caught up.

[Captain]

Almost everything we have here gets a name.
Event buildings on the property......
"Energy Weapon" has a good Catchy "Phrazer" to It

[ejs262]

those are on my bucket list... never owned one... lots of 3rd gen Camaros.. but no screaming chickens

I had been looking for a long time, and ideally, the "right" car would have been a five speed, but I was able to get most of the parts to 5 speed swap it for a song. I have a aluminum 5.3 for it too, but I haven't 100% committed to it yet. when i actually start doing something with it, there will be a build thread, I call it "Energy Weapon" and have really big plans for it.

[SuperBuickGuy]

#MeToo

Mine is a base Firebird, it's plenty ugly, but it's something I've wanted for a while. it'll get the special treatment before too long.

those are on my bucket list... never owned one... lots of 3rd gen Camaros.. but no screaming chickens

[Monster]

I've also been sidetracked by other engine builds and acquiring Trans Am parts.

Full time job.

[ejs262]

.......... and acquiring Trans Am parts.

#MeToo

Mine is a base Firebird, it's plenty ugly, but it's something I've wanted for a while. it'll get the special treatment before too long.

[Skeptical]

Decided to go ahead and build the starter mount myself. Found some crusty bar stock I'll turn on the lathe for the main mounting points. I'll build it similar to the FieroGuru mount. Ultimately I couldn't bring myself to spend that $$$ for a starter mount. I've also been sidetracked by other engine builds and acquiring Trans Am parts.

https://fieroguruperformance.com/?page_id=1558

[Skeptical]

So I think my idea of using the stock mount in the stock location is no good. The G6 F40 bracket bolts to the stock mount just fine but my quick and dirty measuring tells me it's too high and too far forward. Not a big deal as I was expecting some fabricating of the mounts. But I also noticed that I might also have to notch the bottom portion of the drivers side frame rail after rough measuring the dimensions of the engine and trans. The frame rails taper inwards as you get closer to the firewall. and the F40 is a little bit wider than the F23. Again, no biggy but I was hoping to not have to do that. We'll see what happens when I try to stuff it in there.





these are the Rear (Left) and front (right) G6 trans mounts. The Front mount wont work after the transmission is modified for the starter. The rear I might be able to use. Just have to wait and see once it's sitting in the car.

[Skeptical]

Decided to mock up the intercooler placement this past weekend. It fits in the car really well!









Shot from the drivers front showing what all is and isn't in the way.














Stock auxilary trans cooler. Seems like a waste to pull it but...Manual. Maybe I'll repurpose it or add it to the cooler pile I have going.



Hood latch support. I'll rework this and put it back .


This will get trimmed up and put back in to help with air management. My hand is on it in the picture above when I'm reaching down from the top.


Like a glove! Ignore the temporary brackets.... Although, I'll also give 5 fake internet points to whoever can tell me what the brackets are from.



Drivers side. Slight trimming of the closeout material is needed.


Passenger side. Same thing.


No need to modify the hood release. Good news! Fits almost like it was made for it.


Hard to get a good shot from the front since I'm right up against some workbenches.

[Skeptical]

Clutch and flywheel arrived. This thing is pretty. Thought I was going to be able to bolt the engine and trans together this weekend and stick it in the car but I forgot about the need to modify the transmission bellhousing for the starter. I'm torn between making my own bracket or just hitting up one of the Fiero people to get one of their prefabbed brackets. That also eliminates the stock mount on the front of the transmission that I was hoping to use.

[ejs262]

Those shifters are pretty hard to find, nice score.

[andy30thz]

NICE!!! Good to see some progress on this thing! I know you've got a ways to go...but your plan sounds solid!

[Skeptical]

Got the F40, Jack shaft, shifter cables and shifter. Just happened to find a local auto recycler that just got a manual G6 in. Paid more than I'm used to at the U-pull-it joints but I justified it since they did all the work to pull the stuff and they were awesome to do business with. Also talked to Spec on Friday. They are making the flywheel and clutch setup. Once those things show up, I can bolt this thing together and plop it in the car. I was thinking too that since I don't need the LS4 computer to run the auto anymore, one of those Holly Terminator setups might be the way to go. It's way cheaper to run a stock computer and use HP Tuners since I already have it but I've been kinda wanting to try the Holley setup.



Fixed picture I think.

[ejs262]

Keep it AND buy the 3rd gen Firebird. Those Grans Am GT's get harder and harder to find every time I look for one. Speaking of 3rd gens, there is an 86 Trans Am that I've been eyeballing not far from the house. It's been sitting on flat tires in this company's parking lot for who knows how long. At some point I'm going o go ask about it. Add it to my collection of fun.

they are, but this one also just doesn't do much for me, I'm not wild about FWD cars, if I keep it long term, and the drivetrain fails in any significant way, it will get converted to RWD, but I'm not sure that will happen.

Ideally, I'd like to find a 85-90 non T/A Firebird, I'm not wild about the GFX on them, I prefer the base and Formula versions. engine and trans don't matter, as they wouldn't stay for long... lol!