🔧 BUILD LAME Turbo V6 Camaro

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Hello! Welcome to the shit show! I am updating this post in 2021 to explain what new readers are about to witness. If I knew that this thread and build were going to explode into what it is today, I would have started it out a lot different.

This car was (and still is) a basket case. The whole inspiration for starting this project was to start learning how to modify engines in a car that I didn't like. That way, if and when I screwed up, I wouldn't be ruining a nice car. It spiraled out of control from the first moment that I felt boost. I loved what I had created, but it took a ton of work to get to where I was. As soon as I got the car running nicely I was always saying "I'm going to fix______, and THEN I'll just enjoy driving it." You know the drill. Drive, break, fix, repeat! Before I knew it, I enjoyed driving and working on this turd more than the nice car I was trying to preserve!

The point is that the focus of this thread shifts A LOT. To complicate matters, I never have just one ongoing project open at a time. I listed some thread contents with links below. I will update this as new milestones or big updates happen. Just know that even if you click on the shortcut, you may have to scroll past other project posts to reveal the outcome. There are also some mini-projects and very helpful advice from other members in between, so read the whole dang thing if you want!

2018-2019
1. A late introduction
2. Discovering how a PCV works (and plugging it)
3. Custom grill for intercooler
4. Fuel pump trap door
5. Learning that I'll never learn anything from my goofy wide band gauge
6. Deleting AC completely, but retaining heat
2020
7. Low profile heater hose fittings
8. Deleting an air bag without setting a light on the dash
9. Starting a second round of floor repairs
10. ABS delete and line lock installation
- A separate thread for the electrons
11. Installing catch cans with nice brackets (Way overkill)
12. Figuring out the "blow by" problem once and for all (F-body intake plug)
13. Second clutch job, first rear cover job, and preliminary transmission swap research
14. Floors are "done", and Interior is installed.
15. I don't know how to tune, but this wide band might help.
16. Poly trans mount. Yeah, it actually deserves a link.
17. I waved the tuning white flag. Dyno Brian sets me straight!
18. T5 Pro5.0 shifter
19. New shifter was too much fun. OG T5 explodes, and my transmission conversion ideas start to get serious.
-TKX conversion
-TKX swap official write-up
20. Reconfiguring my exhaust for a quieter and less leaky future
21. I'm not done enjoying this car for the year, so I install a $100 T5 instead of a bulletproof conversion. SPOILER ALERT: It only lasts two months.
22. Minor repairs/updates that make the car livable (lighting, stereo, speedometer re-zero, and a clutch master cylinder that actually does it's job!)
23. Wheels and addressing rust again since I got time!
2021
24. Custom center caps
25. 1.9 roller rockers and LS6 springs
26. CAI V2.0
27. TKX is delayed so it's time to address the little annoyances.
-OE pan is junk. Dorman pan gets hot rodded
28. TKX is still delayed, so I install just one poly engine mount and beef up my flimsy turbo drain plumbing
29. TKX does NOT ship the following Monday. Flywheel bolts upgraded to ARP M10 x 1.0
30. When you're on a Chinese garbage budget, you better be ready to work harder. (Oil drain fitting hot rodding)
31. Finally repairing the oil sender pig tail, replacing the other engine mount, and test fitting the TKX.
32. Finally addressing rear brake lines while I wait for more transmission parts.
33. Modifying an ICM for a WOT box
34. Dash gets re-instrumented so that diagnostics become possible.
35. N2MB WOT box
36. Porked crank key. PSA: Be careful installing your balancer!
37. Car runs great after plug change, but the rear main seal needs to be changed again.
38. BURNOUT! Also, I kinda bought a cam.
39. Turbo drain finale (better be) and full exhaust commenced
2022
40. Downpipe V3 and BMR strut tower brace
41. Panhard bar and relocation for bro truck exhaust
42. Muffler, driveshaft, torque arm, and giving up smoking.
43. First trip to the GS Nationals (feat. time slip)
44. The very custom AC project is born
45. New dyno results (up 50 hp!)
46. Exhaust hanger repair before Michigan/S.S. Badger/Wisconsin trip
47. Sizing a better turbo
48. Painting but still not installing the IS3 heads and Monster clutch unboxing
49. Firewall brace
50. New ECM
2023
51. Out of storage and SC engine buy failure #3
52. Modified double roller and spitballing crankcase evac ideas
53. Completing the rear suspension. UMI rear control arms.
54. Cracked headers and L32 swap begins
55. My newest L32 was trash. I'm upgrading the L36 instead
56. Side project: The ultimate-ish intake manifold takes shape


Now back to 2018!
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Now that this car is running and driving, I figured I would start a thread dedicated to all the questions I’m about to pummel this group with. This is the first time I've really built anything to move quicker than stock, so I'm hoping to learn a lot from you guys before I make unnecessary mistakes. I also have a thread in the Turbobuick.com 3800 section, but I'm not getting as much input there due to a lack of audience. Here goes nothing...

The car I have is a 2002 Camaro with only ONE factory option (rear window defogger). The story supposedly goes that my buddy's dad was looking forever for a new Camaro because he never buys anything for a penny more than the best deal. He almost ran out of time as this was the final model year for the F-body, and '03s were already on the market. The dealer from which he found this car bought it for the sole purpose of being able to advertise "Brand new Camaros for under $10k", so this was the one he took home.

Fast forward to 2018. The car was structurally a wreck from living in the rust belt, but has a great interior, okay black paint, a third pedal, a 3800 (which is a plus in my book), and a lot of sentimental value since I remember riding in it when it was brand new. My buddy’s dad handed me the keys in hopes that I would enjoy it and make it a race car. To be honest, I don’t care for F-bodies, but I couldn't resist this one for the reasons above despite knowing that the floors were in desperate need of existing again.

I already had my dream car which is a 1986 Buick Regal Grand National. As much as I love that car, I like it the way it is in fairly stock form and modifying Buicks has gotten terribly expensive anyway. I figured a black 3800 Camaro could easily fulfill my childhood dreams of racing a badass turbo Buick V6 car while being on a budget, so here I am.

The car is now equipped with:
-6765 ebay turbo
-Precision PW40 wastegate
-Custom turbo exhaust utilizing a stock Camaro and FWD manifolds
-Air to air ebay intercooler
-AEM 50-1200 fuel pump
-Siemens Deka 80# fuel injectors
-Open 3” downpipe
-Custom 3” charge pipes
-Intense mail order tune
-Very ugly but functional upright radiator conversion (the core support was all just rust anyway) :dunno:
-Custom space saving AC delete without bypass pulley
-Midwest Chassis bumper support modified to mount my intercooler
-Spec Stage 1 clutch kit

The car is far from refined and has a lot of little issues to sort out, but I will leave the first post as sort of an introduction to that. I hope you enjoy hearing about it. It’s been fun to build!

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v6buicks

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Ha, that's why I stopped tuning local cars. I was doing it for fun but so many trolls in the community I just stopped doing it.
Yeah I don't blame you. It's always the tuner's fault. I got so tired of hearing "I dropped my pulley down to a 3.0 and bought a copy/paste tune. I did half a cannon ball run and now I only have 4 cylinders. That tuner sucks"
 

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I haz dat teddy bear smile.
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Being a full time tuner has to suck. MFs bring you their halfway put together shit all the time and expect you to make magic out of it and then get all pissed off when you tell them all the shit they have to fix before they'll tune it.

"what do you mean it's not safe, I've been driving it like this for 3 weeks and have had ZERO problems" - All people
 

v6buicks

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Can you be without the car for a couple weeks? There are a few people that do remote tuning of you can mail them your pcm.
Yeah, but I tried that already. It went very poorly, and the ECM ended up being sent to someone else after waiting a couple months to get it back. Then when I opened the file it was still garbage.

Plus, I'm too salty about spending $650 on tuning equipment just to not get the car tuned.
 

GTPpower

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Yeah, but I tried that already. It went very poorly, and the ECM ended up being sent to someone else after waiting a couple months to get it back. Then when I opened the file it was still garbage.

Plus, I'm too salty about spending $650 on tuning equipment just to not get the car tuned.

You just sent it to intense though, right? He doesn't know what he is doing.
 
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GTPpower

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He was the second guy I sent it to. I don't want to trash the name of the first guy. I'm pretty sure he used to be a member here, but my car barely ran on his tune.

You would need to find someone that can tune it with dhp. All the Dyno shops probably use hpt, so they won't be able to help you any.

Want me to mail you my powrtuner to use?
 

v6buicks

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You would need to find someone that can tune it with dhp. All the Dyno shops probably use hpt, so they won't be able to help you any.

Want me to mail you my powrtuner to use?
I mean, if you're willing to do that I'd be super grateful! I just don't know how quickly I could finish everything I need to do. I'm still pretty clueless. It produces standard file types though right? That way everyone here could open and see what's going on?
 

GTPpower

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I mean, if you're willing to do that I'd be super grateful! I just don't know how quickly I could finish everything I need to do. I'm still pretty clueless. It produces standard file types though right? That way everyone here could open and see what's going on?

It creates .bin files. You need the powrtuner software to open the files, which anyone can get.

It's kind of a pain to get it all to work properly though. And it's super slow and not the most stable software in the world.
 
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v6buicks

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I used dyno Brian before. He is a good dude. Works hard and makes sure things are right.
For remote tunes? How does it work? Do I have to send him my ECM every time I need a change or can I just send logs and he tells me what I need to do?

Sorry, I know I could ask him all the same stuff, but I'd feel weird emailing him "Hi, I'm Jon. Some friends online said I should talk to you." Lol
 

v6buicks

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Yeeeaaahhhhh.... I've been waiting for someone to say something like this because these sort of thoughts have been through my head already. I'm not piggy backing shit though. If HP and DHP can't get me where I need to be with this ECM I'm ditching all of it and going with a Holly EFI. It looks like a fairly simple conversion from my understanding.

But damn does it piss me off to no end that my car is listed as a "supported vehicle" by HPT when in reality I'm still tuck in mud until I get another tuner to complete the job. To me that's unacceptable not only on HPs part, but my part as somebody who just wasted $650. I'm willing to fork some extra money for DHP because shame on me. However, I'm too stubborn to let somebody else tune the car at this point. I've done just about everything else myself and there was no point in spending money on the software if I'm just going to send the car out anyway.

Not to mention that I'm 2 for 2 on garbage tunes from other people. That makes my grand total of wasted money on tuning about $850. That's too hard of a pill to swallow right now. There's nothing I can sell to recoup and nothing to show for my troubles, so the car will collect dust until I either get over it or find different plans.

I'm not quitting, but I mentioned once before that I need a break from this pile. It's been too small of a reward for too much money and effort.
 

SleeperLS

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For remote tunes? How does it work? Do I have to send him my ECM every time I need a change or can I just send logs and he tells me what I need to do?

Sorry, I know I could ask him all the same stuff, but I'd feel weird emailing him "Hi, I'm Jon. Some friends online said I should talk to you." Lol
Unfortunately not for a remote tune. He tuned my car in person. He is a helpful guy though, reach out to him and he will be able to answer all your questions.
 

v6buicks

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He might be able to see if you can get the proper pe tables via dhp or tiny tuner.

You also could email hpt. Sometimes they will add parameters for people.
I've heard that getting HP to anything for oddball V6 stuff is a lost cause now days. It's supposedly not worth their time since the amount of people to benefit from it it too small which I understand.

If I have the PE tables changed by someone else will I ever have to tweak them again down the road? Do GTPs have the same issues I have or are their PE tables just good as-is? I kinda wanted this car to progress. It's not "done" once it's tuned. You know what I mean?

I have more and more questions every time I revisit this car, and it's really starting to get overwhelming. I'll stop bugging you guys with them and email this Brian guy tomorrow.
 

GTPpower

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They do sometimes make changes for the v6 guys though. I read about it from time to time.

The gtp's had access to the or tables, but it kind of looks like they went through a software update that got rid of them. I'm not sure though....my laptop fried, so I'm still trying to complete my new setup.

Let me know what Brian says. I can send you my dhp, but it's so hard to setup, it may just end up being another headache for you.
 
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v6buicks

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They do sometimes make changes for the v6 guys though. I read about it from time to time.

The gtp's had access to the or tables, but it kind of looks like they went through a software update that got rid of them. I'm not sure though....my laptop fried, so I'm still trying to complete my new setup.

Let me know what Brian says. I can send you my dhp, but it's so hard to setup, it may just end up being another headache for you.

Ahhh do you mean the ECM or HP? Is there any way to revert back?

I appreciate that. I'll let you know.
 

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