Shammoo update

Here's quick photo of Shammoo after the drive home from hibernation. New headlights should improve the appearance of the front end.

05/18/2014  Today I start the  complete rebuild of the interior, hopefully to finish by Wagonfest time. in July.

I've never liked the seats as for as comfort goes. the bottom bolsters are too long and interfere with leg movement, poor back (lumbar) support.. In the rear , they make the leg room non-existent as well. They are stained, torn, faded and in need of replacement.So I'm tearing out the old seats and putting in Corbeau GTS2 seats instead. Will check the fit with the first two, before ordering the second set.




I've just ordered a bunch of Kicker Audio gear, KX700.5 multi-channel amp  12" L7 sub woofer, new 6x9 for the gate and new components for the front foot wells, 8" mid-bass, new mids and tweeters with crossovers and controlled via a KQ9 (9 band) equalizer in the dash. I've had the EQ, but nothing to control.












I'll also be adding more interior lights , hooking the wide band O2 sensor into the ECM  and replacing the carpets as well..



OFF TO THE GARAGE!

AWESOME MODS!

Glad to see this one is still alive and kicking!

Looking forward to updates and pics!

-Mike

New headlights have been installed although  even with ultra bright bilbs, it's still not very bright with high beams on. I will likely add additional driving lights in the spoiler  air vents under the bumper.




New seats have arrived, as of yet unpacked.  Getting an electric seat base from a fellow member. I have a question though. did the passenger side also have electric controls on the upper level models or just the drivers side? I have the Driver's side controls, but no harness or connector to the controls as of yet.

New Kicker audio components have also arrived. I've been rebuilding the cargo side pod to accept the 12" Square woofer, and new 6x9's . Camera died though.   You'll have to come to Wagonfest to see the results.

Peace, and better mileage,

Dave

lakeffect wrote:

New headlights have been installed although  even with ultra bright bilbs, it's still not very bright with high beams on. I will likely add additional driving lights in the spoiler  air vents under the bumper.




New seats have arrived, as of yet unpacked.  Getting an electric seat base from a fellow member. I have a question though. did the passenger side also have electric controls on the upper level models or just the drivers side? I have the Driver's side controls, but no harness or connector to the controls as of yet.

New Kicker audio components have also arrived. I've been rebuilding the cargo side pod to accept the 12" Square woofer, and new 6x9's . Camera died though.   You'll have to come to Wagonfest to see the results.

Peace, and better mileage,

Dave

Maybe you should have installed the clear lenses instead of the smoked ones!  

You mean like, in the door panel itself like on your DS power seat?

Yes, the harness from  within the driver's side door, from the  multi-pin connector to the connector under the seat..

Additionally,I got the armrest mounted control from my son's old '93. It was driver's side only that was a power seat. Did later years of B-bodies have the passenger side as a power seat as well, or was it strictly the driver's side?  My guess is that if want both seats to be powered, I'd need an additional controller and  harness for that side as well, since I have none at present.


Dave

Dave,my OCC has the same set of controls for both sides if that helps.

Yes, my 92 OCC had power seats on both sides. Have seen it on Caprice's too. Should not be too hard to locate.

-Mike

Ok to be safe, I'll need the passenger side seat controller that is in the armrest, and a matching harness. Fellow members are already hooking me up for bases and the driver's harness.
Thanks to Sherlock and 95bmrw for those.

Getting some progress.Spend most of the past few days re-working on the cargo area walls for support of the 12" Kicker Solo-Baric Sub, and the new three way 6x9s. Layers of fibrrtglass cloth, chopped glass in Bondo and top cot of bondo are being worked with. Since I'll be carpeting the walls, they don't need to be paint perfect. Just smooth enough for adhesive to work.

The new 6x9's wuill be sitting in sculpted pods just above where "stock" 6x9's usually are. There is already a set of two way 6x9s in the rear gate. Since they are currently wired as part of the primary system, I decided not to mess with their location or wiring.

Also started re-working the original footwell pods up front. It looks like if I had gone with 4" stuff it would have bolted right in, but I went with 5.5' tuff so that required a new set of mounting plates. All the grill plates will match as well. so it should look nice when it's done.

The Corbeau GTS2 seats have arrived as well. so that will be another wiring project to add to the task list.  
I'll need a few parts for that so I'll post on the parts wanted section.

Spend some green on a new camera, Canon T3, so I can finally addd some new photos of what's going onwith the interior.

Here's a sequence of the rebuild with the Woofer mpounting plate inthe side wall, and the pods for the 6x9's There are already 6x9's in the rear door, but the new ones are an upgrade. You'll note the first photo shows the reason for the nation's Dynamat shortage of 1993. Hopefully things will be back together for Wagonfest





Left side pod for L7 Sub and new 6x9's


Amp shelf visible under new floor




Right side  

Interesting idea having the rear speakers in the tail gate.   I hate the side pocket-style speakers the longroofs came with. They sound terrible in the back.  

-Mike

Since you got the passenger's side switch panel, I thought I would take a look at your progress. The only thing I see that would enhance the build is a set of lateral supports for the floor of the cargo bay at the seams of the panels. It appears that you are using particle board for the floor, and if you span that much gap with no support, it will sag unacceptably in the near future, even if you are not carrying any load. Better to build it right than to have to fix it. You may even have sag between supports with particle board. My best guess would be to have a support every 8 inches. 2X2 steel angle would be the best, second choice is 2X4s in wood. Notch them into the side rails.

Impressive!

Thanks Fred. Funny you should mention lateral supports, As that's my plan for this morning, to add some bracing across the gap. I'd agree any kind of load would buckle , if not snap the MDF board otherwise.

Here's a few more update shots, modifying the seat bases, and some gains on the sidewalls including the speaker mountings.

I was working on the right side carpeting and foot well Sub and speakers today. Also added a courtesy light to the passenger door. Tomorrow I finish the wiring and pt the passenger seat in.

Impressive interior mods Dave,can hardly recognize it as a B body wagon!






And you cant see those sidepipes in this pic either!  

As of this weekend, the new  bucket seats are fully installed, all four.
Fully funtional  front power seats with the arm rest controls.

My thanks to those fellow mwmbers who helped make it possible withr parts  from their collections.

Thanks Dave.

And the photos are...?

I will forget to ask at WF so I'll ask now. Did you machine the TPI manifold to fit the b-body distributor?

Gotta update the progess in. the morning

MalibuSSwagon wrote:

I will forget to ask at WF so I'll ask now. Did you machine the TPI manifold to fit the b-body distributor?

NO , I bought the proper distributor to go with the manifold. I have an Accel TPI Distributor

So here's some comparison shots of interiors,Stock vs Shammoo's current interior.

Stock interior views





The interior in 2011, which had the purple console. It was removed soon afterward.




The current interior 90% complete at this point

Nice work.

Very nice Dave!!

I like the stock interior,...

but the custom one does look better,..

Now paint the car,...or at least plasti-dip it a nice lime green or something,..

Thanks Nick. Yes it badly needs a repaint. I was talking to your painter at Wagonfest. we were discussing some modding ideas to rework the outside a bit before it gets painted.

Well, it's been a few since my last update on Shammoo. Time has been limited. In the spring , My son opened an Auto repair shop about 25 miles away. most of my free time has been spend helping him out, and working on other people's cars and trucks, not mine.

But with Wagonfest Mid- Atlantic coming up in two weeks, I've turned my attention homeward.

I solved a few problems over the weekend. The Kenwood head unit has been cutting out, giving me a mis-wiring message. I finally narrowed it down to a bad voice coil in one speaker, shorted out internally. It was in the drivers door. So I two new Kicker KS 625's and put them in. Of course I broke a few door panel Christmas trees' I have about 10 handy for just such emergencies.

Awhile back I'd gotten some window rollers from Tim Swink to fix my left rear window. Got a little worried when I opened it up, as the original slider was oblong, not round. But the round one snapped right into the track, and I was able to press the metal ball on the moving arm into the roller with a few twists of a clamp.

Last issue was the right rear window has never gone up or down since I've owned it (almost eight years)
I tested the motor separately. it worked. I swapped the switch to the other window, the switch worked. I traced the wires back to the driver's window controller, and found no continuity.

I found a point in the wire from the right side switch to the driver's controller than had been cut and rerouted for some unknown reason during previous ownership. In recreating the original circuit, it now works again.

I'm happy with the progress, but no exterior work yet... hopefully this winter.

Dave

Sounds like Shammoo is ready for migration to VA. Make sure your heater is working Dave.

Tom

Thanks, I tested it last week. I got heat!
The climate controls are hidden behind the console panel.

I've read through this entire thread at least twice and am shocked that I have yet to subscribe to this.

Happy yo hear it Stwzer.

I had trouble yesterday with Shammoo on my way to my son'e auto repair shop. Check the compression, off in cylinder #8, down by 25%, plug oil coated, trail of oil down the block on the outside of #8, and along that side of the tranny housing. Looks like a major head gasket burn through/blow out. Was going to pull the motor anyway due to leaking main seals. and a previously suspected gasket leak. Now it's certain to happen as an over the winter project.

I guess the exhaust system  changes can wait for awhile.

Well, never got to the "major" gasket blow out yet. I had a blow out of the exhaust gasket after whacking a dead racooon on a back road. Funny thing is when I road over the top of it, it whacked the transmission linkage and the shifted down into second gear.

Of late, had some major issues with the tune going bad, nothing seemed to correct it. Had hard starts, terrible idle, wouldn't stay running, AFR so lean it would die when in open loop. Once closed loop was obtained it would be pig rich.

I did a data log and discovered that there was an intermittent reading from the narrow band O2 sensor in the data stream Replaced it and instantly the starts were better than ever.  Open loop was manageable, no stalls and the closed loop driving AFR were back to normal again. Still have some minor issues to deal with, Acceleration Enrichment (AE) is a little too soon and too long, but it's manageable.

I've mentioned in that past since I converted to TPI, that I use a Corvette/Camaro 7730 ECM, not the standard TBI ecm. It also has a programmable daughter board from Dynamic EFI in it, known as the EBL system, specifically the EBL-P4 daughter board. There is a TBI board from them for those of you that want to reprogram the 91-93 system.

At this point Shammoo is only being driven after it rains and the salt on the road has been washed off. Should be fully off the road in about a week. I'm keeping it alive to get back and forth to my son's auto repair business in Caledonia. It's about a thirty minute drive from home.


Dave

First report of 2015

I actually went out and started the beast up today. temps above freezing for a change.

After a recharge on the battery it fired right up.

Hopefully in about two weeks we'll be pulling off the sidepipes and going a little more traditional for the exhaust system. I picked up the needed crossmember from Clear Image back in November, and have been collecting afew parts since them. I will likely dump them out just in front of the wheel wells to avoid the over axle pipes. I t will gain some much needed ground clearance and quiet things down somewhat

 WHAT?

I said it will quiet it down somewhat!

Acually it likely needs some motor work first, leaking main seals and head gasket at #8 cylinder. Time to pull the motor.

you really should have over the axle pipes,..

you 100% sure its head gasket?

No I'm not really sure at all Nick, any input is gratefully received.

I have been getting smoke out of the right side for a few years. It was pointed outat Watkins Glen. When I let off the gas in the carousel and the boot portion of the track, it was puffing fairly heavy out of the right side, the same side where #8 cyl is low on pressure as well. Might be rings?

phantom 309 wrote:

you really should have over the axle pipes,..

Why?

Stingroo wrote:

phantom 309 wrote:

you really should have over the axle pipes,..

Why?

Keep the stink out of the back doors,.you know,. where the vents are,..keeps the noise behind you too,..

Fair point.

I was thinking of just dumping ahead of the axle. lol

Stingroo wrote:

Fair point.

I was thinking of just dumping ahead of the axle. lol

I dumped mine at the rear doors... its loud. fumes make the rear passengers nice and quiet though.

Good point Benn.

So Nick, what about the smoke and #8 compression issue?  What's your take on it?

lakeffect wrote:

Good point Benn.

So Nick, what about the smoke and  #8 compression issue?  What's your take on it?

Back it up to the screen,. i'll take a look,.


didn't we already cover this??

Not that I can recall.

lakeffect wrote:

Not that I can recall.

Recall Help:

https://gmlongroof.4umer.com/t10167-wagonfest-mid-atlantic

lakeffect - Sun 19 Oct 2014, 7:40 pm wrote:

I had trouble yesterday with Shammoo on my way to my son's auto repair shop. Check the compression, off in cylinder #8, down by 25%, plug oil coated, trail of oil down the block on the outside of #8, and along that side of the tranny housing. Looks like a major head gasket burn through/blow out. Was going to pull the motor anyway due to leaking main seals. and a previously suspected gasket leak. Now it's certain to happen as an over the winter project.

As a result, the only way to get there would be to take the HHR SS. On the fence at the moment about it. Doesn't seem right in my conscience to show up a Wagonfest without Shammoo in tow (figuratively or literally) Will need to decide within 24 hours for the sack of peace and sanity around here.

Open to opinions before the door of opportunity slams shut on this.

Dave

phantom 309 - Sun 19 Oct 2014, 8:28 pm wrote:

sounds like a valve cover leak,..

not enough fire and squeeze to come out the side, has to crossover waterjackets, would be pressuring the rad,.

25% down will still fire,.. I'd guess the plug has quit,..

My best internet guess.

Oil drain back plugged up inside valve cover,. Oil drowning the last two valves, valve seals submerged,..

Just a guess,.

Thanks for the memories.

It wouldn't hurt to pull the valve cover and check to see if it's leaking due to the drain back being plugged up. Before you pull the head off you need to pull the valve cover anyway. I would think it better to check for this while the engine is in the car; especially if it is the problem and that means you don't have to pull the engine to fix the issue. But if you're going to pull it to fix the main seals I guess it's coming out either way.

AS of last night,04/03/15, the engine has been in the process of being stripped down in preparation of being pulled. The radiator and fans are out, all the serpentine related stuff us off and out, alt,P?S, A?C compressor, water pump, pulleys and both serpentine brackets removed. The throttle body, fuel lines, plenum, runners, fuel rail are gone headers and plugs removed.

Last but not least, THE SIDE PIPES ARE OFF!

still gotta pull a few grounds, other wires and the starter, and all that will be left is the engine mounts, then pop goes the weasel.