What did you do with your Trans Am today?

**fbodyNATION** · 08-20-2012, 09:09 PM

cleaned it up and took it for a spin,i dont get much time to spend with it,and here are the pics of the wheels with the clear coat stripped off

**fbodyNATION** · 08-20-2012, 09:11 PM

the wheels without the clearcoat

**pajeff02** · 08-21-2012, 03:08 AM

Dropped out about 1/2 gallon of coolant and removed the throttle body and hoses this morning. Going to complete the bump stop and bypass mods... finally.

**cpop98ws6** · 08-21-2012, 06:12 AM

Jeff, I did the bump stop mod on my stock throttle body and it messed with my shift points. I don't know if I went to far or what, but it wouldn't shift at WOT. Just a heads up.

**79TransAm** · 08-21-2012, 06:19 AM

Finished putting my alternator in and everything works. Then I drank 2 beers and went to bed

**99WS6Indy** · 08-21-2012, 06:26 AM

Originally Posted by fbodyNATION

the wheels without the clearcoat

Nice...what did you use to strip the clear coat? One of my wheels has issues with the clear coat and I think stripping might be the answer for me as well.

**pajeff02** · 08-21-2012, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by cpop98ws6

Jeff, I did the bump stop mod on my stock throttle body and it messed with my shift points. I don't know if I went to far or what, but it wouldn't shift at WOT. Just a heads up.

I am going to check it with my scanner to see what % it reads in its current state at WOT. The blade is definitely not opening all the way -- kind of surprised me how far off it actually is. I'll check my manual too before I mess with anything.

**SuperSSguy** · 08-21-2012, 10:45 PM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

I am going to check it with my scanner to see what % it reads in its current state at WOT. The blade is definitely not opening all the way -- kind of surprised me how far off it actually is. I'll check my manual too before I mess with anything.

Whats involved in a bump stop mod? and why?....also are you man or auto ?

**fbodyNATION** · 08-21-2012, 11:40 PM

Originally Posted by Classic Liberal

Nice...what did you use to strip the clear coat? One of my wheels has issues with the clear coat and I think stripping might be the answer for me as well.

Rust Oleum Aircraft Remover in the spray can,you can buy it from auto zone

**pajeff02** · 08-22-2012, 03:12 AM

Originally Posted by SuperSSguy

Whats involved in a bump stop mod? and why?....also are you man or auto ?

For whatever reason, the throttle blade on our cars is often not fully open when the tab contacts the stop. By grinding off a bit of the stop you can achieve true WOT. I can take a picture to show it later tonight.

**Knight** · 08-22-2012, 03:20 AM

Originally Posted by SuperSSguy

Whats involved in a bump stop mod? and why?....also are you man or auto ?

It involves shaving down the small stop on the throttlebody that limits how far open it will go. Many times the throttlebody will not open 100% in stock form. Shaving the bumpstop allows it to.

Jeff is also an auto.

**99WS6Indy** · 08-22-2012, 07:46 PM

Originally Posted by fbodyNATION

Rust Oleum Aircraft Remover in the spray can,you can buy it from auto zone

I stopped by there this evening and purchased a quart of it, instead of the spray can.
Before I apply it, I'll get some before shots and then some after shots.
Really hoping this will resolve the cloudy appearance.

**SuperSSguy** · 08-22-2012, 11:48 PM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

For whatever reason, the throttle blade on our cars is often not fully open when the tab contacts the stop. By grinding off a bit of the stop you can achieve true WOT. I can take a picture to show it later tonight.

Thanks got it!....

**fbodyNATION** · 08-23-2012, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by 99WS6Indy

I stopped by there this evening and purchased a quart of it, instead of the spray can.
Before I apply it, I'll get some before shots and then some after shots.
Really hoping this will resolve the cloudy appearance.

make sure you take the wheels off the car you dont want to get that stuff on your paint

**99WS6Indy** · 08-25-2012, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by fbodyNATION

make sure you take the wheels off the car you dont want to get that stuff on your paint

Well....

I took the wheels off and used a paint brush to apply the aircraft cleaner. That stuff works amazingly fast. Other than the few spots that had physical damage, it really brought out the shine and looked amazing. Yes, I said looked, as in past tense.
Being that this was a last minute project before coming over to the Trans Am Grand Nationals, I took the car to a car wash last night and couldn't find any tire shine/cleaner, so I used Wesley's Bleach White, which also said it could be used for black walls as well.
So, I pour about 12 ounces into a bucket and didn't thin it down any. I applied it to the tires with a scrub brush, moving on to the next wheel after applying it on each. By the time I had finished up on the last wheel, the first had Wesely's dripping all down across the bare chrome...ohhh nooo...
I quickly fired up the spray washer and sprayed it thoroughly as I could. I realized what a terrible thing I had done, but it was too late. All four wheels had been affected. The wheels all had runny dripping, spotty etchings...all over them.
When I got it back home, I spent a good hour working on just one wheel, trying various cleaners and home remedies to correct my bad decision. Coke and aluminum foil didn't work for crap...actually looked like it was scratching the wheel. Also tried vinegar with no luck.
Next, I tried Nevr Dull, which actually did clean up a decent amount, but just couldn't get the hard drip lines and bubbles that had set in. Then, I tried Brasso, to which actually seems to do a good job. It just takes a bunch of elbow grease repeatedly in the same area. It was late when I was convinced that Brasso would do a fairly acceptable job for the show today.
So, I drove it over to the show with the wheels all messed up. After we got the car entered, found our appropriate parking spot, I proceeded to spend over an hour working on the wheels. I'm not completely happy with the results, but at least they are clean and the chrome is shiny without too many imperfections still showing. My arms got tired and the sun started baking down pretty good. I definitely need to spend more time in the corners where it is more difficult to clean. After I get these back to a happy standard, I plan on waxing them real good and plan to keep up on the maintenance of cleaning them on a regular basis.
I'm throwing that damn bleach white in the trash

Anyhow, am at the show and getting some awesome pics. When I find time tomorrow, I'll post up some pics of my adventure.

**Furious1** · 08-25-2012, 02:21 PM

The wheels are polished aluminum underneath the clear, so just get yourself some good aluminum polish and you should be able to get those polished up no problem. White Diamond is good stuff, you can get it from Advance Auto Parts.

**pajeff02** · 08-25-2012, 05:56 PM

Coolant bypass -- completed utilizing two (2) different sizes of coated brake line in order to match the crossover tube and the radiator inlet:

Bump stop -- not yet completed, but here is a pic of the throttle body being held at WOT. I did my best to ensure that the pic was taken from straight on, but may be off just a bit:

**Too Fast** · 08-26-2012, 12:27 PM

Drove the snot out of Too Fast today, met with another LS1er:

We did a drag race, I think the guy from Illinois needs a driver mod LOL! No video, but if his radio was off (and the antenna down), that was the excuse for his loss since there was more aero drag.

**pajeff02** · 08-26-2012, 02:30 PM

Hand filed the bumpstop down on the throttle body. I didn't feel comfortable going at it with a die grinder as there isn't a whole lot of room to work. Placing it flat on my workbench, with the PCV source line hanging over the edge, allowed for good control and a firm hold. I measured the thickness of the bumpstop before I started and it was right around 0.325" (measurements in the pics are off just a touch -- I only have two hands!):

I worked it down a little at a time and kept checking the angle of the throttle blade relative to the housing. It isn't exactly 90 degrees now, but sure is a whole lot closer. Chris warned me that he had issues after shaving down his bumpstop and I felt it best to keep it on the safe side to see what happens. Final thickness of the bumpstop was 0.262", so I removed a total of 0.063" of material.

This pic shows the step that resulted in the bump stop from my modification (circled in red):

**bhunter0830** · 08-26-2012, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

Hand filed the bumpstop down on the throttle body. I didn't feel comfortable going at it with a die grinder as there isn't a whole lot of room to work. Placing it flat on my workbench, with the PCV source line hanging over the edge, allowed for good control and a firm hold. I measured the thickness of the bumpstop before I started and it was right around 0.325" (measurements in the pics are off just a touch -- I only have two hands!):

I worked it down a little at a time and kept checking the angle of the throttle blade relative to the housing. It isn't exactly 90 degrees now, but sure is a whole lot closer. Chris warned me that he had issues after shaving down his bumpstop and I felt it best to keep it on the safe side to see what happens. Final thickness of the bumpstop was 0.262", so I removed a total of 0.063" of material.

Jeff, let me know the results. I am wanting to do the same thing.