I figured since Barney will be picked up ( or dropped off ) on Friday, I would update the ownership thread. I will start with this, if anyone wants to talk about the issues that led up to the repairs or wants to mention speed inc in a GOOD, BAD OR INDIFFERENT WAY, please use the following thread. I don't want it in here. If you have a problem with that, then kindly leave.
On to the update... Photobucket had a meltdown within the last 2 weeks and their site is only partially working. So I used imgur to host the pictures. I'm using the embedded link for "forums" so how it displays on your device is hopefully large enough without having to expand the image to larger than life. Additionally, the pictures were sent to me by the shop, so some are not 100% crystal clear but you get the point. I plan to take pictures and video when the car is home.
I decided to take the car to Blackdog Speed Shop in Lincolnshire. Several members here reached out via PM to suggest shops to correct the sins of the previous shop. I appreciate everyone's support and help. That is what a car community is all about. How did I decide on this shop ? Few things: #1 the owner took his car to Chicago Auto Pros to have an insane detail done to it. CAP made a 2-3 video series on the car, one that included an interview with the owner. He spoke of the shop and the race team. I thought about contacting them initially but it looked like they did alot of resto mod cars and modern drivetrain conversions. Why wouldn't they be able to do my swap ? Good question, I just thought they may specialize in certain things ( ignorant of me not to reach out ). Secondly, when the 1st transmission was MIA and I put the kabosh on the swap... I did reach out to Sound performance because they are close to where I work and figured it would be easy to drop the car off. They responded, honestly and said their LS tuner went to Blackdog and maybe I should ask them about it. I can't thank them enough for being upfront and honest with their answer. At this point, I should have contacted them...but we all know I didn't.
After I picked up the car and sent Speed the email... I reached out to Paul @ Martin who has worked on my car a couple times. I explained my concerns and if he had any inside info about Blackdog. He said his friend works in the marketing dept there and the tuner is said to be pretty good. He contacted his friend and relayed back to me to reach out to a gentleman by the name of Paul ( go figure ). I spoke with Paul, instantly felt at ease with the quality of communication. He said to forward him the email, pictures and video and he would contact me the following week. He followed through on his promise and suggested I visit the shop before making a decision. They have a fab shop within the mechanical shop area.... I mean they have a winning race team, which always helps. Paul assured me the car would be inside from the time it was dropped off until it was picked up. Plenty of room, so no door bangers happening there.
I took an extended lunch and took a ride. I met several people who work there, was given the tour of the shop ( which was HUGE AND SUPER CLEAN ), shown some of their current builds, walked through their mini showroom of cars for sale and was introduced to one of the techs. Dick has 30 years experience working on cars and building race cars ( sounds like
HILROD ). He was currently working on a custom intercooler for a restomod 69 Camaro. The beads on the welds ( aluminum mind you ) were something out of a computer image. Unreal. And he explained how he repaired and modified a firewall for another pro touring Camaro that had some brake upgrades done. The tuner, Tim, also introduced himself. After about an hour of talking to the team there, I was comfortable making the decision for them to repair the items. Paul suggested fixing the car in stages. He wanted to be sure I was informed of the price / bill after each stage.
The list of items for them to look at:
1. Reinforce the firewall
2. While the pedal assembly was apart, fix the gas pedal ( or swap the original pedal over )
3. Reverse lock out
4. Tuning issues
5. Trunk release and cap stock radiator fittings for cooler lines ( yes, auto trans fluid puked on my garage floor twice while being home )
As the pictures will show, there was an almost 4" tall oblong "hole" cut out for the clutch master cylinder ( not to mention the lower section where the inward facing bolt was removed ). On the footwell side, you can see black plastic sections under the dash hastily cut for clearance. A plate was fabricated and welded. You can see it's notched out around the steering shaft and wraps up and over the area where the brake booster is located. You will also notice, 1 strategically drilled hole for the master cylinder to be installed. While the pedal assembly was out, Dick modified and welded the gas pedal for a "sure" feel under your right foot. Engine side was primed and painted ( yes with rattle cans ) to prevent rust.
Please note, Paul was in contact several times each week to update me on what was going on, as well as sent me pictures of the progress.
Once the firewall was complete, a test drive was in order. They did notice the car would idle high, even after warming up. Paul contacted me, let me know the current cost for the firewall repair and asked if I wanted to proceed with other repairs. I guesstimated how much this would cost and since the firewall repair was pretty close to my number, I said yes. To be honest unless it was some outrageous price, I was going to ask for everything to be fixed. I did not want to bounce the car around to try and save a buck. It's the off season and I just want the car to be 100% right when done. Anyways, Paul suggested having the tuner look at the car next. They had a couple cars hitting the dyno, so Barney was 3rd in line. I asked Paul to have one of the other guys check the reverse lock out in the meantime.
After a conversation, an email including a youtube video that shows the spring being modified and a couple parts estimates.... It was determined to order a new solenoid assembly ( luckily it's only $80 ) and the pig tail / module / wiring for the reverse lock out. A couple weeks had passed so it was getting close to Xmas. The shop would work until 11am on the 23rd and be closed Dec 24th through Thursday Jan 2nd. ?
I knew Barney would be spending the holidays away from home... Bummer but it is what it is.
So Tim, plugged in to the computer to check things out. Not only was the idle high, but Paul called me to inform me that the V.E.T.s were "all over the place." VET = Volumetric efficiency tables. So I said if Tim feels the car will benefit from a whole new tune, including a few dyno runs, then do it. Again, I just wanted the car to be running as best as possible. The car hit the dyno, unfortunately it didnt really make any more power, still around 350 @ the wheels...but THE OVERALL IDLE AND DRIVEABILITY WAS HEAD AND SHOULDERS BETTER THAN WHEN IT WAS DROPPED OFF. Side note, the car was tuned for the cam install in May of 2009 ( same Schaumburg shop )...so for 10 years the tables have been off ? Great.
While waiting for lockout parts and for the dyno runs.... They looked into the hatch release. Apparently there were some ground wires for the A4 that were not grounded. So, ground the wires and guess what ? The relay was able to talk to the switch and it worked. 20 minutes to diagnose and repair. No charge ! hey thanks !
They also noticed the shifter was loose. After inspection, the lower bolt for the shifter "Stick" was loose. Loctite was not used nor locking washers.
The shop replaced the screws, added loctite and locking washers to ensure the stick would not work it's way loose.
The lock out parts were received Friday Dec 20th and on Monday the 23rd Paul called to confirm everything was complete. Due to the shop being closed for the holidays, Friday Jan 3rd was scheduled for pick up. Barney will receive another enclosed trailer ride home. The marketing dept would like to talk to me for a customer testimonial and they should be using dyno footage for their website and YT channel.
I think that about covers it... they ordered a barb fitting for the lower inlet section of the radiator and capped off both fittings to prevent any residual trans fluid from leaking. Luckily none leaked while at the shop and/ or on the dyno.
I will post pictures of the modified spring in the reverse solenoid housing after I pick up the car. I'm very happy with everything to this point. The weather was looking good for Fri / Sat but has since been changed to include snow. WTF. I really can't wait to get in the car and be confident driving it.
I will make a video talking about the process and will include their dyno footage.
December third, Barney goes for a ride:
Pulling back the carpet and pad in the footwell, shows more of the previous install:
Pedal assembly removed:
Brake Booster removed:
Preparing for repair:
Patched and Primed:
Painted:
Master Reinstalled:
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