Greetings,
My name is Joe Andrews, I've been a Tool and Die Maker most of my life. I have my own line of Metal Shaping Tooling that I sell around the world. I came here because I've done a lot of Searching on a V8 Platform for a Lumina Body. Everything out there either cost an arm and a leg, or it's a junk cadillac engine that Bolt to the small corporate Bolt Pattern.
I opted to go another route. I'm taking a Salvage Title 98 WS6 Formula Trans Am that I removed the Body from and Installing the Z34 Lumina Body on the WS6 Chassis. This will net a car around 2400 lbs, with 325+ ponies to Play with. This Thread is on another Forum,
www.metalmeet.com
You need to Create a username and pw to be able to view all my photos in the Build Thread there, so Please Register to see them.
Here is a Link to the Thread:
http://www.metalmeet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9750
Here is the Z34 Body Removal:
#66 11-24-2007, 08:57 PM
Joe Andrews Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Indiana
Posts: 909
Z34 WS6 Build ~~BODY REMOVAL~~
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Yesterday my son and I started the Body Removal on the 1992 Chevy Lumina Z34, today we completed the front half. The reason for the Build? Who knows, but it's what tripped my trigger. I've owned the Z34 since it was 1 year old, and I've always thought it was underpowered. After doing lots of research on V8 conversions to the Lumina I felt there was nothing to be offered. A Cadilac small V8 is the only thing that would bolt to the Factory Bolt pattern on the Bell Housing, but that still would leave you with a FWD vehicle. A few months ago a Buddy of mine bought a Salvage title WS6 Trans Am. The Quarters were Flat, the front fenders were shattered, but the nose and Rear were very nice. My Buddy bought the car for parts, mainly to repair his 1999 WS6 T/A from Deer Damage. After he took all the parts he needed we worked a good deal on what was left. That's where this build became a thought.
Problems.....
1) I'm not Qualified but I'm willing to learn what's needed to complete the Job.
2) Space is limited to my two car Garage.
3) Wheel Bases don't match
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and probably a bunch more will come up along the way....
First I stripped the Lumina of all Interior, Dog House, Doors, Deck Lid, Front and side Glass, Fuel Tank and Lines, wiring, and all Foam and Insulation packed in where cuts were to be made, next pushed it into the Garage.
So Here is the Car I started with:
Here is the Trans Am after I removed a bunch of stuff:
Here is the Trans Am Chassis:
On to the Body Removal.....
Here we started by Cutting the Front Cage loose from the Strut Towers:
Next we Cut the Inner Fenders loose from the Firewall:
(Saws-Alls' are Great for har to reach spots, and straight sheetmetal cuts)
Next we cut the Top of the Firewall just below the Lower windshield Seat:
(Picture was taken after we started lifting the Body)
Next we cut the Inside of the car just below the windshield:
Next we cut the Front Passenger Frame Rail:
(we took more than we needed for trimming later)
Next we cut the Front Drivers Frame Rail:
(we took more than we needed for trimming later)
Next we cut the Strut Tower Loose on the Passenger side:
Oops forgot to mention the Interior Bracing. This Shot Shows the Braces offset because we were lifting the Body. The Two Upper Braces were sitting in the Rear Windows. I Machined three Spacers all 6.400 long from big chunks of Aluminum. I Clamped the Spacers Between the 1 Inch Angle Iron, next my son welded them to the Body. We removed the Clamps and the Spacers, my hope is that theses flat surfaces will Aid me when Reassembling the Body.
This Picture shows the Cuts through the Roof and Quarters, what I don't show is the cuts down through the Foorboards next to the Doors:
Like the Curtains hanging from my Garage Doors? My Doors are my weak point, but I can live with them after rebuilding and Insulating the rest of the Gargage.
Here is my High Tech Rigging System:
We did a pretty good job keeping in mind the Body was going straight Up in the Air but there's always that one spot that jumps up and bites you. Here's my son firing up the Henrob to take a small area out that was keeping us from removing the Body:
And here it is up in the Rafters:
As of 7-10-07
Here is the Front Clip on the WS6 Chassis:
Please Check the Thread at Metal Meet, if I notice an Interest here I will also list the Thread here.
Joe Andrews
www.hoosierpattern.com
Affordable High Quality MetalShaping Tooling.
I have my 91 here that I wanted to RWD at some point in my life (10-20 years). I had thought about doing what you are doing but had no idea how hard that would be vs modifying the w body platform. I certainly couldn't do it myself so it is awesome to see the process you are going through.
1992
Linear Mode
