Devo Project: Turbo 5.3L Belair

Mike@Devo2ning

Mike Da Mechanic
Jan 26, 2012
378
2
IL
Devo Project: Turbo 5.3L Tri Five Shoebox

For a while now I’ve wanted to show people what we can do with turbos and V8’s being that they’ve seen what we can do with turbo four cylinders. I originally had really wanted to do a low and laid out rusty rat rod for this project but after seeing all of the available bolt on parts for the Tri-Fives, I had changed my mind. We may do a rat rod as our next project, you’ll have to wait and see. So, I picked up the 5.3L from a flex fuel 2004 Chevy Tahoe from LKQ for a steal a couple months back.
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It’s just waiting for the right transplant vehicle to come along.

So the story begins about finding the car….

Looking at old 50’s Chevy’s can get quite expensive depending on condition, etc. which is why it has taken some time to finally pull the trigger on a good candidate for this project. I found the ad on Craigslist for a ’55 Chevy Belair 4dr, and though I first was originally looking at two doors I started considering doing a 4dr since the car is going to be kept a cruiser. It may end up with a lot of power but I plan to make it totally reliable for 2-4 people to hit the cruise spots come the nice weather. The ad said 80% restored and interior needing to be done, which was about all I had to go off of since the owner didn’t have more pictures to send me besides these that were in the ad.

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It was obvious that the car had recently been painted and needed all the trim put back together but that isn’t an overwhelming task. So a friend and I set off to Indiana where the car was located with truck and trailer. After pulling up to the owner’s house and seeing the car I had good feeling it was the one. Definitely needed more than just the interior put back together but after short inspection of how solid the under carriage was I was pretty much sold on it, and yes it did come with the sweet confederate flag covering the pretty much gone back seat. Here it is on the trailer.
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Pretty cool pic of it on the trailer with the glow of the brake lights.
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The car has a 350sbc from a mid 70’s K5 and a turbo 350 in it already, which is coming out sooner than later, but it’s completely drivable now. As I clean it up it seems to show better every time I stop and look at the progress.
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We even took it to lunch in it’s current state.
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So after sitting down and discussing the project collectively with everyone involved we’ve decided that it definitely needs a Borg Warner T6 S400 80mm turbo and keeping the vintage look and reliability we’ve decided to go with the Edelbrock carb manifold kit and msd box to run the coils topped off with a CSU blow thru carb with Turbo bonnet. We are more than familiar with Borg Warner’s S400 turbo line being that it’s the same turbo we’re running on Reichen’s Mile Evo II.
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I’ve decided for now while I’m getting everything together for the 5.3 and deciding what transmission we’re going to run the SBC that’s in it should get a big dose of nitrous and start with trunk mounting the battery. We’ve already got in the power brake conversion as well that comes with drilled and slotted rotors and 2” spindle drop. The rear is getting a 2” leaf drop and new shocks all the way around.

Stay tuned for the updates… :bigthumb:
 

Mike@Devo2ning

Mike Da Mechanic
Jan 26, 2012
378
2
IL
Thanks for the heads up, but no offense Zack but that's all ebay crap. I am using a XS power gate and bov's but that's it. As of right now we're going to see what we can do non intercooled and with a T6 Borg Warner S480. Something that will handle the abuse and last. I dont know that we'll need a intercooler if we go to E98 for higher power levels.
 

Mike@Devo2ning

Mike Da Mechanic
Jan 26, 2012
378
2
IL
Can't wait to see the progress and finished product :bigthumb:

Please keep the moon dish wheels and widen them to 12 inches or something ridiculous.

I've been told to change the wheels though I don't mind them. I was thinking a widened steelies with some moon discs may look good, or a pro touring bigger wheel. Wheels are going to be a item that gets addressed down the road, but not a bad thing to keep ideas in mind.

Some parts have arrived faster than expected:

  • Disc Brake conversion with 2" spindle drop and slotted/drilled rotors and power brake master conversion with new front lines and proportioning valve.
  • Headliner and insulation/sound deadener for behind it.
  • All new interior door handles, and all new window cranks (vent windows too)
  • Front Upper/Lower control arm poly bushings.

So now we wait for the front KYB shocks in order to only take the front end apart once. Once that comes in, it's game on. We also are on hold on the 5.3 tear-down till the goodies for that come in. So updates to follow of course.
 

Mike@Devo2ning

Mike Da Mechanic
Jan 26, 2012
378
2
IL
Here's a couple more pics Frank took both on the trailer and in the shop:
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Well the KYB's came in which kicked off the teardown and rebuild process. The Power disc brake kit with 2" drop spindles finally saw the light of day:
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Here's one with the drum assembly and knuckle off. Ready for control arms to come off and spring/shock.
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Lower control arms were in good shape just shown age, which I planned on addressing as well.
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After sandblasting:
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And finally after paint:
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I also got bug to clean up the wheel well and frame and paint & undercoat.
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More pics to come of re-assembly..
 

Mike@Devo2ning

Mike Da Mechanic
Jan 26, 2012
378
2
IL
Finishing the disc brake conversion has me wanting to start drawing up how this turbo kit is going to run. Passenger side mounted turbo is looking to be the best position for the 4" down pipe & exhaust routing. moving the radiator to behind the rad. support looks like the best bet for clearance. It's only a 67mm turbo I'm using for mockup but it's the same basic size of the 80mm.
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Mike@Devo2ning

Mike Da Mechanic
Jan 26, 2012
378
2
IL
Ok it's been a little while since the last update. Things have been moving along quite well. I've had a chance to gather some more of the engine bits. With the input of a few friends I've decided to go with the LS9 camshaft which is very affordable even directly from the dealer I come to find out. I also picked up Valve springs, chromoly push rods, trunnion upgrade, double roller timing set, and arp head/main studs, and arp rod bolts. I spent some time and tore down the engine and cleaned up the pistons etc getting it ready for reassembly soon. Here's a pic of the short block cleaned up.

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I've also gone through a roll of sound deadener for the interior. I am not overly concerned with making the car a little heavier for a more enjoyable car to drive. I still have half of the floor to do and doors. Here's a picture one full roll into the sound deadener. I decided to use all the small scraps behind the back seat, I figured why waste the clippings which is working well.

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Finally got around to unbolting the front seat and finishing the floor POR15 process. I had already done the foot well area around the pedals etc. but hadn't unbolted the seat before.

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So, next is trans. I picked up a Turbo 400, which should be the most cost effective solution for the power. Ordered a master rebuild kit with all the goodies to go along with it to supposably withstand right around 1000hp so that should suffice.
 

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