🔧 BUILD LAME Turbo V6 Camaro

v6buicks · Dec 20, 2019

Hmm That last picture was supposed to be a video, but I can't seem to make it work on here. Sorry!

v6buicks · Dec 21, 2019

Here's another little project I did. Apparently I didn't do a very good job covering everything that needed to be covered while I was grinding on the floors. The cluster lens ended up getting pretty messed up and the spots were super annoying.

After 3000 grit wet sanding, rubbing compound, and polish the dots are gone! I'm sure I could get the little scratches seen in the last picture, but once the cluster is back in it's home behind the bezel nobody will ever notice them. They are only visible from this angle with light shining directly on it. I'm calling this good!

v6buicks · Dec 30, 2019

I finally got back to work on the Camaro today. It's fiberglass time! Bear with me though. I've never attempted anything like this before.

First, I scuffed the surrounding area with 80 grit sandpaper. Then I cleaned it with soap and water, let it dry, and built my "base" out of tape.

Then from here on out I was way to dirty to take pictures. Sorry for that. I just painted on some resin, laid down some fiber cloth, and painted more resin on with a dabbing motion. I repeated this once.

Although I was thoroughly convinced that I had done this wrong, I was antsy to see how badly. After breaking out my heat gun to speed up the catalyst, I patiently waited an hour for everything to harden. After sanding I think it turned out pretty darn well!

I decided that I'm going to cut some more material (the red outline) out of the box. I initially thought I was going to want this lip to make fiberglassing easier, but it actually got in my way. Taking it out should also allow a pretty significant increase in airflow from the blower. I may be overestimating how much space is needed, but I figured that this little bit can't hurt.

In other news, I cut the hole for the heater core passthrough. I'll try to pretty that up more once I'm done with this fiber mess.

v6buicks · Dec 30, 2019

Round two! I cut that lip off. I wish I did that to start because Now I have to fill a gap that kinda resembles a crack. Oh well. There's definitely going to be a round three as well because I found a couple spots that could use some reinforcement.

v6buicks · Dec 31, 2019

Round 3!

This side needed to be stiffened up a bit. Some of the tape wouldn't come off so I just glassed over it.

Sanding the rough edges!

This little pool at the bottom was a PITA to fill. There's not a lot of fibers in there, but I think it'll be fine. It's not like this box sees a ton of stress.

Then the less fun part came. I had to start test fitting all the other pieces of the box. A lot of the gasket channels got resin in them, so I put the router bit in my Dremel and took care of that. There were also a couple of plugged screw holes and hilly mating surfaces that needed to be dealt with. One thing that I had to keep in mind was that this mold wasn't even that flat when it was original. The factory used a very thick foam gasket, so perfection is not a must here.

Paint time!

Now I'm on to (partial) reassembly. I have to give a hand to GM here. I guess they knew that people were going to be servicing these units for evaporator and heater core R&Rs. They also realized that the tiny 7mm screws exposed to outside air were destined to be seized when that time came. No worries. They provided extra screw holes right next to the old ones! Just get some new screws. Don't even try to extract the old ones.

I found this window seal stuff at Lowe's I'm using this to seal the heater box to the firewall plate.

It's kinda crazy to think that all this work will go virtually unnoticed.

When my new heater core comes in, I'm planning to chop the barbs down a little bit so that the fittings are a little closer to flush with the firewall plate. I will then probably try another new-to-me process for attaching them. Anybody ever had experience with Alumiweld? That stuff looks really cool! Normally, I'd just go ahead and TIG them, but the heater core pipes are pretty thin. I'm worried that the arc would just blow right through.

On another note, I was pretty impressed with how well my passthrough for the heater core turned out. It's the prefect size which actually kinda sucks. In order to get the new heater core through with fittings I'll have to enlarge that hole. Hopefully I can figure something else out. I'll run into sealing issues if I make it much bigger.

v6buicks · Jan 3, 2020

Some of you may have seen my other thread in the general automotive section regarding plastic welding. I ended up finding this plastic epoxy in my stash of stuff, so I decided to give it a shot in my quest to delete the center vent duct. It worked really well!

Why am I deleting the center duct? First of all, I don't have AC. This would be arguably the most important vent if I did, but who likes having the heat blasted on their face? Not me! Second of all, my vents are already gone because I put gauges there. This makes installation of the gauge pod a major PITA. All the wires get pinched in that duct, and for some reason the Aeroforce doesn't have a locking connector on it. It's about a 25% chance that I have a working scan gauge after I reinstall it.

I thought about just cutting some of it off with a dremel wheel while it was still in the car, but I didn't want molten plastic landing inside the ducts or the radio. Therefore, I just dealt with it until now.

Ground smooth

This AC delete is already paying for itself. I got the perfect donor for a patch panel.

Who would have thought that I would find racecar grade epoxies at the grocery store's clearance bin?

This stuff is STINKY.

Applying some weight while it dries.

Boom! It's as solid and sealed as if the whole unit was molded this way. I'm so excited about how all of this is turning out. The car is going to be so much more serviceable.

Yaj Yak · Jan 3, 2020

nice work

v6buicks · Jan 3, 2020

Yaj Yak said:
nice work

Thanks man!

I'm a firm believer that low-budget does not have to mean junky. You just have to work harder and get crafty.

v6buicks · Jan 3, 2020

I'm kind of just now realizing that this thread is probably more fitting in the member rides section now? Should it be moved?

v6buicks · Jan 5, 2020

More plastic repair.

Anybody else ever removed the blend door housing from a 4th gen F-body? I got a little frustrated trying to figure that out and ended up tearing the thing out with that goofy bolt that GM put dead center of the firewall still in. Oops...
Seems like a strange place for a bolt...

The bolt head goes where my screwdriver is poking out. I would never have noticed it with the engine still in place. Kinda odd, but oh well. I know now.

Look at that! It looks almost seamless. I can also yank on it in any direction without any indication of an issue.

Moving on.

I bought those 90 degree heater hose adapters that Mattstrike used. For once, I'm actually pretty impressed with Dorman's quality here. These things are beefy and should be easy to re-weld when I cut the tabs off. I'm so excited about how much room this will free up too!

The difference is that Mattstrike only used one on his car. I assume it was PN 47212. I was going to use that as well as 47214 as well because although I was unable to confirm, I ASSumed that it had a 5/8" hose barb as opposed to the 3/4" that's on 47212.

I was wrong. They have all the same external dimensions. The only difference I'm seeing is one less oring and something going on inside.

What do you guys think this is about? Is it a just a flow restriction? Is it necessary? I was trying to find out if the original Camaro system had anything like this, and I'm guessing it did.

I'm fine with using the restricted adapter, but I'm scared that I might make a mess out of it due to having plastic inside and the heat that I'll put into it while welding. Any ideas of what to do? At this point, I'm not using any of the original hoses, so if I need an orifice the adapter seems like the best place to have one.

v6buicks · Jan 5, 2020

I did a little bit of learning on my own. I guess the purpose of the innards is not necessarily to restrict flow, but to drop the pressure before going to the heater core. I kinda like the idea of that, so I'm going to keep this fitting and hope I don't melt all the plastic out of it while welding. Afterall, a couple little tacks will be plenty to hold that tab on.

v6buicks · Jan 12, 2020

I don't have a lot to report. The heater hose adapters are done, and the firewall pate is black. I screwed up, and accidentally made a Summit order for store pick-up. Since my parts have been delayed I've been forced to do lame stuff like assembling a book shelf and moving the outlet for my oven. The lady is happy though.

I ended up using both adapters so that I had the orifice and what I assume to be a pressure spike suppressor. Since I took my time welding, the plastic did not melt out. I made a tack, blew the inside and outside with compressed air, brushed off the outside, and repeated. Doing this kept the part cool enough to handle with bare hands.

I'm in a pickle and not sure how to proceed. I'm thinking that I'm going to mock up the whole HVAC unit with the firewall plate, route the hose the way way I want them, and then pull the unit out again. The way I picture the hoses being routed is by having them attached to the cowl with P-clamps. I think it will be much easier to work on the underside of the cowl with the hole in the firewall than without.

v6buicks · Jan 13, 2020

I'm feeling a little discouraged this morning. I decided to move my engine ground cable from the passenger side to the driver side to help keep neatness under the hood. While I was under there, I noticed that my front brake lines and power steering hoses are leaking.

The brake lines aren't a huge by themselves. However, the master plan involved removing the ABS module and installing a line lock. I would then use the bracket for the module as a bracket for my catch can. I was hoping to finish the HVAC project and enjoy the car a little more before tearing more stuff apart. Oh well. Gotta love old rusty junk.

As for the power steering... I don't know if those fittings are going to come out of the rack. It's pretty jacked. Hopefully I don't end up screwing the rack up trying to extract the lines. Again, gotta love old rusty junk!

10sec · Jan 13, 2020

It's best to cut the lines and use a socket on the fittings that go into the rack. They should come out because the rack itself doesn't rust, but it'll still suck to do :rofl:

v6buicks · Jan 13, 2020

Good idea. No need to be nice to lines that I'm not keeping.

v6buicks · Jan 14, 2020

Today I finally started going the other direction.

A little silicone around the outside

Installed!

And with the heater core installed. Don't worry, the missing bolts were installed as well! It sure would be easy to turn the hose adapters 90 degrees and run the hoses straight to the heater core. Wouldn't it? I'm worried that my attempt to bend aluminum tubes along the frame rail is going to take a long time and not give me the clean results I'm looking for. I'd hate to cover up my valve cover and heat up the fuel rail either. We'll see. Maybe I'll surprise myself. I'm hoping to tuck the big wire harness up to the cowl as well. I think small self tappers and P-clamps will be the answer there.

v6buicks · Jan 15, 2020

I keep thinking about my self-tapper comment and how that probably isn't going to be as easy as I thought. How will I even get a drill in there? I think the wiper arms are coming off along with the cowl grill. If I have access from the top I can drill holes, send a bolt through and tack them in place as a permanent stud. I'll even plan ahead and put a second one up there for when I need to tuck my crankcase vent hoses. I like sound of that a lot better mainly out of serviceability. Self-tappers seem to be tight once and that's about it. Anybody else have ideas?

10sec · Jan 15, 2020

I like the permanent stud idea because as you've said, the self tappers aren't going to be a long term solution.

TurboTJ · Jan 15, 2020

On the subject of the f body cowl area and wipers i think if i ever own an fbody that shit is getting cut no matter what! Ive tried to find pictures of people cutting them and wonder if theres a way to cut the cowl and retain the wipers somehow. But ya fuck the cowl area in general.

v6buicks · Jan 15, 2020

TurboTJ said:
On the subject of the f body cowl area and wipers i think if i ever own an fbody that shit is getting cut no matter what! Ive tried to find pictures of people cutting them and wonder if theres a way to cut the cowl and retain the wipers somehow. But ya fuck the cowl area in general.

It's not nearly as bad as it looks for the 3800 cars, but I can't speak for the V8s or 3.4. The only huge benefit that I can think of is the possibility of easily pulling engines from the top and not needing to slide your hand between it and the engine anymore. I call that area the cheese grater.

Otherwise, that's a whole lot of body work to make it look nice which I'm not good at. I'm getting better, but I still hate it!

I'm sure you could make the wipers work without the cowl, but it would require some ugly brackets to hold it all. It seems like the consensus is that waxing the windshield is the best solution.

v6buicks · Jan 16, 2020

Ever torn a dash completely out of a 4th gen F-body? Do yourself a favor, and just leave it in there! What a PITA. I'm already having nightmares about dash rattles.

It took three tries to get the whole thing back in with the wire harness routed the way it's supposed to be. It's like a juggling act except I'm juggling knives and I don't know how to juggle. My hands are pretty beat up after slicing them on every sharp edge in the way of getting the harness back in its home while holding the dash up with my knees.

Even still, I got it! I also removed the passenger air bag to fill the entire shit box bingo card. In it's place I'll plug in a resistor to turn the light off. I had no idea how heavy air bags were! I don't feel entirely "right" about doing it without good seats and harnesses, but I really don't want to pull this dash out again.

v6buicks · Jan 17, 2020

Since I am an irresponsible degenerate, I had to come up with a way to keep my air bag module happy despite having the passenger air bag removed. This should do it according to some of the F-body forums. The whole think is covered in shrink tube now. As stated above, I'm not proud to have done this without also installing a rollbar and harnesses, but my girlfriend hates riding in this car anyway. Therefore, it's pretty rare that I have a passenger.

I THINK the dash is finally back in its permanant home. I just need to get the radio, aftermarket gauges (so excited to see how much better they fit!), and the top panel installed. I have my fingers crossed that it doesn't shatter during installation. It's going to get an Armorall bath before I even attempt it. lol Once all that is done, I will make the custom heater lines and make sure everything is still working like it's supposed to. I'm nervous.

Pewter-Camaro · Jan 17, 2020

Man I feel your pain. I pulled the dash on an LT1 4th gen and fuck ever doing that again. I’ll keep the fingers crossed everything works for you!

v6buicks · Jan 17, 2020

I hooked up the battery and noticed right off the bat that my dome light did not come on. When I rolled the key to "On" and started playing around, I noticed that I have a lot more problems than that. The turn signals were not flashing because the fronts weren't working at all. Also, none of the interior lights nor the blower motor work.

I INSIST on figuring out where two unplugged connections are supposed to go before throwing a fit though. They look like they should be going somewhere fairly important due to having locks, but I can't find their mates. If it turns out that they're for equipment I don't have then I'll accept being up shit creek.

v6buicks · Jan 19, 2020

GM pulled some dumb stuff on me, but I figured out at least part of my issues. Factory service manuals are wonderful thing for a hobbyist. If you don't have access to an online database and your car is old enough to have printed manuals then I highly suggest buying a complete set. Ebay usually has them. You just need to make sure that it includes all the books as well as updates if there are any. They're expensive, but Haynes and Chilton manuals can't touch what the OEM provides.

Anyway, there's a black six pin connector behind the glove box that has the possibility of plugging into two different places. It's supposed to go into the BCM, but I had it plugged into another section of the harness. I hope I didn't fry anything by doing this. All I know is that the battery is completely dead, so I've got it on the old sketchy but trusty charger. I did notice the dome light come on after the battery had a few volts zapped into it, but I'm not going to try anything else until later. My lady might blow a gasket if I don't finish building our closet organizer today. lol

🔧 BUILD LAME Turbo V6 Camaro

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I haz dat teddy bear smile.

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I haz dat teddy bear smile.

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