[teeraven]

With all the fuss about trying to get more Pontiac owners on here and more late model owners specifically, I figured I'd contribute by posting some progress on my later model Pontiacs.

I had a 89 GTA in high school. It was black with tan leather. I loved that car but sold it because I knew I'd eventually get a 4th gen. Well after owning a 4th gen I decided I liked the GTA more lol. I always wanted a black one with black leather, but I've seen very few with black leather. In '09 this one popped up on ebay while I was in Iraq. I bought it and had my dad pick it up in Montana.



The interior isn't bad other than the bottoms of the seats



When I was working in Iraq, the only thing I had to drive when I was home on vacation was my truck. I wanted something to drive during my trips home so I bought the GTA. Well the first trip home it developed a rod knock lol. So back in Iraq I bought a cheap 4th gen WS6 TA, went home again and that thing had all sorts of issues so I still didn't have anything but my truck to drive lol.

Anyway once I was back home for good I pulled the engine out of the GTA and sold that.



I picked up this wrecked 00 TA for a steal when I was in California. T56 car with 55k miles for less than the value of the engine and trans. I've used some of the parts for my 01 TA, some of the interior is going into my 69, and I've got plenty left over to sell. So it was a heck of a deal for the projects I've got going on.



Dropped the engine and trans out




I eliminated the emissions equipment and cleaned up the engine bay. I decided to upgrade the whole clutch set up. If you're familiar with 4th gens, then you probably know about Tick Performance's master cylinders and Monster clutches. I bought the kit from Tick with a stage 2 clutch and their master and speed bleeder.



I put the low mileage trans in my 01 TA because that one had some issues. I had another t56 laying around to put in my 67 later. That one was in better shape than what I pulled out of the 01, so I rebuilt it with a stage 2 kit from Tick



To keep the AC compressor in the stock spot on the engine you have to notch the k-member



And then I was able to put the engine in

[teeraven]

Most people hate or are afraid of wiring but I love it lol. It's fun and easy when you understand it. I used both engine harnesses, eliminated what I didn't need and spliced the rest together.



I wanted the PCM under the dash so I drilled a hole here



There are cross members out there for this swap, but they are expensive and most don't have the best exhaust clearance. Plus I like to make stuff, so I made my own





I wanted to keep this swap cheap to start with just to show it can be done cheaper than people think. Ignoring the clutch and trans rebuild since I didn't need those things, I spent very little on this swap other than the cost of the donor car. I did get a better deal than most do on a donor, but even just buying a pull out engine and a few other stock parts doesn't put this swap into the high dollar price range people seem to think it's in. I kept the stock manifolds for now. The driver's side O2 sensor won't fit, so I plugged that hole and added a bung in the y pipe just below the manifold



I fabbed a cheap y pipe with a couple bends I got from a local snow mobile performance shop. They are only 2 1/4 but they were cheap and the stock exhaust was no bigger anyway. The over all exhaust isn't beautiful or the best for power but it does the job for now and was cheap. Part of the reason I went this way is because I don't know yet if I want to keep it NA and install headers, or turbo it and keep the manifold.







Other than that there were just a few details like hoses, throttle cable, etc. I used the 4th gen fuel tank. The sending unit is different and some people have replaced the resistor in it, but I tried the route of changing the resistors in the gauge. I used the recommended resistors but full is still off so I'll have to fix that later on. For now I at least know where empty is.

There are a few part numbers floating around for a lower radiator hose. I tried one or two of those and didn't like the fit so I went back to the store and looked at hoses until I found one I liked.



I traced the inner boot and cut a hole for the shifter



And the fitting on the LS1 PS pump fits in the 3rd gen steering gear. I just had to bend the line a little to get it to fit.

[teeraven]

I used the 4th gen AC line and had new ends crimped on it. A local hose shop was nice enough to crimp them on for free.



And here they are installed. You can see my temporary over flow bottle lol. I want to make a nice aluminum one later.



I had bought a 5 speed plate for the console but decided I liked the 4th gen console better.


That's about it for the swap. I didn't cover all the details but for now it's a nice driver with a stock LS1. Later on I'll upgrade some things to get some more power out of it, but it's fun to drive.

I don't like the stock stance, and while I like the GTA wheels, they aren't my favorite. I bought a used set of Koni shocks and Eibach springs. I bought some C6 wheels a while back so I painted them, got some adapters, installed the shocks, springs, and wheels and tinted the windows.



One of these days when I've got some other projects done, I'll take this thing completely apart, repaint it and build it how I want it.

[Scarebird]

That is getting it done.