The time my car spent up at college with me was during my first semester of Junior year. When I got home after the semester for winter break, The engine/transmission combo went up for sale. I loved the car how it was, but I had stumbled upon the "Sloppy Mechanics" youtube page, and obviously had no choice but to do a turbo LS powered build. I had no money to build a LS Turbo and my only source of funding that project would be selling my small block setup, so I wanted to get it sold quick so I could start the new project while I had time off from school. I held off taking my car apart until I had a buyer lined up. I knew a buyer would be more confident (and willing to pay more money) if they were able to hear the engine run, feel the transmission go through the gears, and even test drive everything.
The first guy to show up to check everything out planned on putting the setup in his El Camino. I met him one late afternoon, he visually inspected everything, I explained the full history on the setup, and it was time for a test drive. I let him drive while I sat shotgun. I guided him to the nearby road where I knew we would have a little freedom to get on it a bit to show what its capable of. I could tell he wasn't very comfortable driving the car, and the engine wasn't extremely happy with the way he was driving it. It had a double pumper carb and a pretty big camshaft that didn't wake up until about 3,700 rpm. So fter watching him shift the car at 4k rpm a few times while trying to get on it, I offered to take over. Once I had it loaded up around 4k and whacked it, I looked over as he got thrown back in the seat smiling ear to ear and knew it was a done deal.
We got back from the test drive and he agreed to paying my asking price. He asked how long it would take for me to pull the engine and have everything ready for him to pick up. I told him I'd take a small deposit now, pull the engine and trans tonight, and he could pick it up the next morning. The shock in his face was a sight to remember. He was so impressed, he actually asked if Brett and I would be willing to help him get things moving on his project as well. Of course, we agreed.
We started getting to work removing the old engine as soon as we got home. We were probably done around 5 am that night, slept for two hours and were back up and ready to load up at 8 am. Brett and I followed him to his house after he picked up the drivetrain and got to work. We had the engine and transmission in his car just about ready to run by the end of the day. The photos above were all taken within 24 hours of each other.
Everyone always saw these experiences as a dumb, money wasting hobby. Meanwhile, we were doing it smart and consistently learning along the way. I sold that engine and transmission for over $6,000. Personally, I had no more than $3,000 into the combo and got years of use out of it. From the buyer's perspective, it was also a great deal. It was a drive train that he was able to test drive, and came complete from carb to oil pan with an MSD ignition system and a complete transmission package from flywheel to shifter.
Now, with an empty engine bay and a pocket full of cash, it was time to start ordering parts. Before the parts started rolling in, I wanted to paint the engine compartment and undercoat the car with truck bed-liner. I used Por-15 in some areas that were forming surface rust, but actually did use a gun to spray base and clear in the engine compartment.
Moving into the turbo world, we once again had no idea what we were doing. This was all different than what we had done and definitely a lot more complex. Matt's posts on Sloppy Mechanics did an amazing job really breaking down complex things. He also made purchasing parts easy by offering kits. I ended up getting the Billet 78/75 Denmah package from VS Racing.
I was able to source an iron 6.0 that unfortunately ended up having a 2-piece connecting rod. The broken rod also cracked the block which made that engine nothing more than a mock up tool. I knew I would need a fourth gen F-Body oil pan, intake, serpentine accessories, and LS style T56. So, I was once again on the hunt for a parts car. And here she is, another front-end damage fourth gen. I don't remember exact figures on what I paid, but I know I ended up in the green parting out the rest of the car after taking everything on my shopping list noted above.
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