🔧 BUILD LAME Turbo V6 Camaro

[v6buicks]

Safe travels man if she gives you trouble id imagine you'll at least find your issue [emoji23] im waitin on parts yet but I'm probably gonna get after her this weekend. Shops been slammed this week so I haven't got much done with her but gotta support my habits somehow

Thanks! Yeah, I've been plugging away on the 240, so the Camaro is covered in salt and getting work out. I'm more motivated than ever to change all that though. The 240 will be back on the street soon, and the Camaro will go down for some lovins.

 

[v6buicks]

I always said that I wish I was living the Roadkill life like Frieburger and Finnegan. As it turns out, I am. I just don't get paid for it.

The trip started at 6:30 AM. Here's me stopped for gas after just 50 miles of filling up previously. I wanted to use this trip as an excuse to map out more E85 stations in my brain.

She made it to Oswego! Why is the car on the lift though?

Ope

Well I failed to get any pictures of why.... but I guess you'll see soon. I then traveled from Oswego to Lisle to have lunch with my parents. After that, I made the long trip home to Indy. I broke my MPG record on the way by a long shot! Not bad for the amount of junk I had inside. I guess the Camaro is geared for optimal efficiency at interstate speeds.

I got off the interstate with only a few miles left until I kit the driveway. And then...


That's right. Another T5 bites the dust! Third gear has once again left the building. I'm done screwing with T5s though. I'm still proud of the car for making that long trip, but it's going to have to sit and think a while as I come up with the funds to buy a TKX. At least shes going to look cool in the mean time.

The point of the trip was to trade my stock wheels straight up for this set of ZR1 reps. I think it's a crazy steal especially since I was able to keep my sub 10k mile tires! It's too bad that I won't get to feel the added benefits of 17s and much wider tires for a while. ?

I can't call today an overall win, but I still have a smile on my face. The important part is that I made it without a tow truck. lol If this wasn't a real life Roadkill experience then I don't know what is.

 

[v6buicks]

Now.... here's the kicker. I am down to one fully operational vehicle. Both Allie and I need to get to work on Monday. If push comes to shove we can car pool because we only work a mile apart. It just won't be fun because our schedules are not the same. I better hit the garage and get that dang wagon sealed up!

 

[Rdrnnr]

I always said that I wish I was living the Roadkill life like Frieburger and Finnegan. As it turns out, I am. I just don't get paid for it.

The trip started at 6:30 AM. Here's me stopped for gas after just 50 miles of filling up previously. I wanted to use this trip as an excuse to map out more E85 stations in my brain.
View attachment 75534

She made it to Oswego! Why is the car on the lift though?
View attachment 75538

Ope
View attachment 75537

View attachment 75536

Well I failed to get any pictures of why.... but I guess you'll see soon. I then traveled from Oswego to Lisle to have lunch with my parents. After that, I made the long trip home to Indy. I broke my MPG record on the way by a long shot! Not bad for the amount of junk I had inside. I guess the Camaro is geared for optimal efficiency at interstate speeds.
View attachment 75540

I got off the interstate with only a few miles left until I kit the driveway. And then...


That's right. Another T5 bites the dust! Third gear has once again left the building. I'm done screwing with T5s though. I'm still proud of the car for making that long trip, but it's going to have to sit and think a while as I come up with the funds to buy a TKX. At least shes going to look cool in the mean time.
View attachment 75543

View attachment 75544
The point of the trip was to trade my stock wheels straight up for this set of ZR1 reps. I think it's a crazy steal especially since I was able to keep my sub 10k mile tires! It's too bad that I won't get to feel the added benefits of 17s and much wider tires for a while. [emoji22]

I can't call today an overall win, but I still have a smile on my face. The important part is that I made it without a tow truck. lol If this wasn't a real life Roadkill experience then I don't know what is.

Love the wheels man went 17" c5 zo6 replicas myself. Id say that alone was worth the trip she looks pretty dang good

 

[v6buicks]

Love the wheels man went 17" c5 zo6 replicas myself. Id say that alone was worth the trip she looks pretty dang good

Thanks man. I really wanted to wash it and start enjoying it as a decent looking car, but I guess things were just going way too well. lol

 

[Rdrnnr]

Thanks man. I really wanted to wash it and start enjoying it as a decent looking car, but I guess things were just going way too well. lol

Thats my usual predicament anyway. I spose runnin a farm tire shop has its perks ive got two sets of wheels and three sets of tires layin around to melt off the back [emoji1787]

 

[v6buicks]

The car back in its natural state. She's broke and on jack stands!

I'm not tackling THE fix though. The original idea was to continue rolling the tiny bit of momentum I acquired from the Volvo wheel arch project into the Camaro. However, that didn't happen. I needed a break! Anyway, remember how I spent a bunch of time repairing the floors in this car and eventually reaching full fuck it mode? Yeah, I didn't have the patience to tackle the sub-frame extensions. By the time I had gotten the floors done, my motivation to continue metal work had long since run dry. I wanted to get on with de-bugging the tune problems and cruising the streets! Even now, I can't say I regret that decision. As unmotivated as I am to revisit these atrocious looking band-aids, I can't think of a better time to do so. I'm sick of those sub-frame connectors being in my way, and I need to save up for a transmission.

This will be a cheap but laborious project. The only part that I'm cursing my past self about is that I'll need to peel the carpet out again to do this nicely and safely. I refuse to MIG overhead while laying under this thing. It doesn't work, I burn myself every time, and it's the wrong way to do it anyway. Let's just hope it doesn't blow up into a massive undertaking.

I'll be extremely happy to be done thinking about this mess. My ugly flat stock and angle repairs were not acceptable jack points, so having nice and sturdy sub-frame connectors will be super handy on top of the chassis rigidity benefits. Nevertheless,



On another note, I tend to be bothered by cheap aftermarket wheels with the brand name on their center caps. BBS, Enkei, Ect. would be fine, but these replica C4 GS wheels have a knock-off badge on them which bothers the hell out of me. It's kind of a badge of shame IMO. Replacing them with real C4 caps would not only be pricey, but still look stupid. I don't have a Corvette, so I'm not going that far out of my way for that badge.

After several hours of research, I think I finally found the perfect replacement. Initially, I was thinking I could peel the sticker off and put a new one it's place. Unfortunately, the sticker fits inside it's own recession in the mold. I'd have to sand the circle down, fill the big dip with filler, repaint with black, and then put a sticker on... times four. No thanks.

These flat versions are supposed to be junk replacements for a 93-99 SS. I'll have to paint them black on my own, but they should fit like a glove and give me a nice surface to apply a sticker. Let's hope they fit nicely, and that I can design a cool decal.

 

[Rdrnnr]

The car back in its natural state. She's broke and on jack stands!
View attachment 76839

I'm not tackling THE fix though. The original idea was to continue rolling the tiny bit of momentum I acquired from the Volvo wheel arch project into the Camaro. However, that didn't happen. I needed a break! Anyway, remember how I spent a bunch of time repairing the floors in this car and eventually reaching full fuck it mode? Yeah, I didn't have the patience to tackle the sub-frame extensions. By the time I had gotten the floors done, my motivation to continue metal work had long since run dry. I wanted to get on with de-bugging the tune problems and cruising the streets! Even now, I can't say I regret that decision. As unmotivated as I am to revisit these atrocious looking band-aids, I can't think of a better time to do so. I'm sick of those sub-frame connectors being in my way, and I need to save up for a transmission.

This will be a cheap but laborious project. The only part that I'm cursing my past self about is that I'll need to peel the carpet out again to do this nicely and safely. I refuse to MIG overhead while laying under this thing. It doesn't work, I burn myself every time, and it's the wrong way to do it anyway. Let's just hope it doesn't blow up into a massive undertaking.
View attachment 76840

View attachment 76841
I'll be extremely happy to be done thinking about this mess. My ugly flat stock and angle repairs were not acceptable jack points, so having nice and sturdy sub-frame connectors will be super handy on top of the chassis rigidity benefits. Nevertheless,



On another note, I tend to be bothered by cheap aftermarket wheels with the brand name on their center caps. BBS, Enkei, Ect. would be fine, but these replica C4 GS wheels have a knock-off badge on them which bothers the hell out of me. It's kind of a badge of shame IMO. Replacing them with real C4 caps would not only be pricey, but still look stupid. I don't have a Corvette, so I'm not going that far out of my way for that badge.
View attachment 76846
After several hours of research, I think I finally found the perfect replacement. Initially, I was thinking I could peel the sticker off and put a new one it's place. Unfortunately, the sticker fits inside it's own recession in the mold. I'd have to sand the circle down, fill the big dip with filler, repaint with black, and then put a sticker on... times four. No thanks.

These flat versions are supposed to be junk replacements for a 93-99 SS. I'll have to paint them black on my own, but they should fit like a glove and give me a nice surface to apply a sticker. Let's hope they fit nicely, and that I can design a cool decal.
View attachment 76847

Oooh man. I hate to see what im gettin into with that donor firebird I drug home now. I had plans for it but this scares me the way the rockers look on it. Being a tire guy I despise cheap looking wheels. I think the route your goin would look best although I've looked at some of the camaro sticker caps for my c5 zo6 replicas. I'm also runnin rainbow spike lugnuts tho so don't take me too seriously [emoji23] get any farther on the tranny situation yet?

 

[v6buicks]

Oooh man. I hate to see what im gettin into with that donor firebird I drug home now. I had plans for it but this scares me the way the rockers look on it. Being a tire guy I despise cheap looking wheels. I think the route your goin would look best although I've looked at some of the camaro sticker caps for my c5 zo6 replicas. I'm also runnin rainbow spike lugnuts tho so don't take me too seriously [emoji23] get any farther on the tranny situation yet?

I am not really an F-body guy, so I wasn't easily swooned when I went to pic this car up. For those who love these things and have little impulse control, they are dangerous! They can look great inside and out until you actually get the car off the ground. This is my car to a T. It's 100% a POS, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. There's a lot of sentimental value here, and the whole point of the build was to have something I wasn't scared of "ruining" by driving it on a regular basis. That being said, my rockers had no issues. ? Good luck!

The only way I'm progressing on the transmission situation is by saving my pennies. lol I'm getting married in less than a year, and my most reliable car is 10 years old with 186k miles on the clock. I'm probably not waiting until either one of those situations change like a normal person would, but I'm going to wait a few months before pulling the trigger. I'm thinking spring time, but I might accelerate the process by bringing the GN home, ripping her apart and selling the performance parts. I already sold the T5 Pro5.0 shifter on Facebook, so there's an extra $120!

 

[Rdrnnr]

I am not really an F-body guy, so I wasn't easily swooned when I went to pic this car up. For those who love these things and have little impulse control, they are dangerous! They can look great inside and out until you actually get the car off the ground. This is my car to a T. It's 100% a POS, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. There's a lot of sentimental value here, and the whole point of the build was to have something I wasn't scared of "ruining" by driving it on a regular basis. That being said, my rockers had no issues. [emoji51] Good luck!

The only way I'm progressing on the transmission situation is by saving my pennies. lol I'm getting married in less than a year, and my most reliable car is 10 years old with 186k miles on the clock. I'm probably not waiting until either one of those situations change like a normal person would, but I'm going to wait a few months before pulling the trigger. I'm thinking spring time, but I might accelerate the process by bringing the GN home, ripping her apart and selling the performance parts. I already sold the T5 Pro5.0 shifter on Facebook, so there's an extra $120!

Fbody guy or not we definitely have the same love for these things, apparently I get really lucky with mine not having the rust and only broken fiberglass. I really shouldn't have bought my donor car but I couldn't pass it up knowing what I had planned for down the road. And to be completely honest im just about to call the banker about getting rid of my lifted 19 and terrain and downsizing to one nice reasonable truck (either a decent lower trim level or an older one that I can get into the ecm in thats got some goodies) I could probably make things work and keep em all but I get tired of balancing heavy payments when I've got a ridiculous car parts habit and would rather drive and play with my old stuff anyway, its like my neighbor told me last night "who cares what they put in em these days short of the heated and cooled seats I can get it all off ebay anyway" [emoji2937]

 

[v6buicks]

It's gross, but it's working. It turned out that the body was way too thick to make plug welds so I ran bolts through, tightened, and welded those. Again, it's ugly, but whatever.

Then I made this bad boy to finish it up. Not bad for only having a hammer, vise, and cutting tools. It fits like a glove too. I just need to get more motivation because I'm already done for the day. I'm enjoying my carcation post Volvo wheel arch replacement. lol Then again, what I REALLY need is a better stuff to work on than rust repair.

 

[Rdrnnr]

Took a look under my bird after I toasted the clutch launching the red one and bottoms solid. Got some rocker panels and 4l60e probs comin my way. Good to see your makin progress tho

 

[v6buicks]

Took a look under my bird after I toasted the clutch launching the red one and bottoms solid. Got some rocker panels and 4l60e probs comin my way. Good to see your makin progress tho

I saw saw that you're choosing to do the body swap. Good luck.

I'm getting to the point in ALL of my projects where I'm losing a lot of steam. I think I just need something to go right with noticeable performance gains. Body work, frame repairs, and seat rebuilds are all necessary evils, but I took on a lot of that unfun stuff at once. I'm very much considering the idea of just finishing the frame extension on the passenger side and calling it quits for a bit. I have not taken the time to fully clean my garage since early spring, and I think that's badly hurting my motivation. I spend more time stepping over shit and pushing things out of the way than working. After that, I'll decide what's best for me. It would certainly be nice to finish the metal work on this car and never have to touch it again. On the other hand, the TKX swap may not be super smooth sailing either. With its longer gears, I actually expect to lose performance. Then I get to the point where I need new gears which could be even more expensive than the trans. I think waiting around for those funds with an even slower car is going to suuuuuck. Then again, I could always throw my springs in there and turn up the boost.

These ideas bring up a couple questions. I don't know much about these rear ends, but I think I've seen more people swap them out than build them up. Keep in mind I'm already making 400 ft/lbs at the wheels. Is a 10 bolt going to hold 5-600 with a TA girdle, 3.73s, and a LSD? I haven't bothered to look, but I have doubts. I'm thinking the money would be best used on an 8.8 swap or similar.

Then I have a question for the 3800 guys. I started looking into springs. I was leaning toward the LS6 springs instead of the 105s. I like that I'd have better timing chain damper life with the 105s, but I really want the ability to shift later. I already have a new chain and damper ready to go in for extra piece of mind. Since the springs will allow me to turn up the boost, I want my head gaskets to be ready. I'm going to throw in some ARP studs and MLS gaskets. Since I'm that deep, should I upgrade the lifters? If so, does LS7 sound like a good choice? I'm sure the RPM abilities will match the springs well, but I'm worried about height. I see that their pre-load tolerance is a lot tighter than the stock lifters. Combined with MLS gaskets and such, I may need new push rods too. I have a checker, but I'm starting to think that I might as well have gotten a cam which is exactly what I refuse to do on the L36. Do you think I should stick with the 105s, stock shift points, and stock lifters? Maybe the benefits of lower boost with the 1.9s will be enough despite lower shift points? Maybe I just answered my own question... Thanks for listening anyway! ?

 

[Rdrnnr]

I saw saw that you're choosing to do the body swap. Good luck.

I'm getting to the point in ALL of my projects where I'm losing a lot of steam. I think I just need something to go right with noticeable performance gains. Body work, frame repairs, and seat rebuilds are all necessary evils, but I took on a lot of that unfun stuff at once. I'm very much considering the idea of just finishing the frame extension on the passenger side and calling it quits for a bit. I have not taken the time to fully clean my garage since early spring, and I think that's badly hurting my motivation. I spend more time stepping over shit and pushing things out of the way than working. After that, I'll decide what's best for me. It would certainly be nice to finish the metal work on this car and never have to touch it again. On the other hand, the TKX swap may not be super smooth sailing either. With its longer gears, I actually expect to lose performance. Then I get to the point where I need new gears which could be even more expensive than the trans. I think waiting around for those funds with an even slower car is going to suuuuuck. Then again, I could always throw my springs in there and turn up the boost.

These ideas bring up a couple questions. I don't know much about these rear ends, but I think I've seen more people swap them out than build them up. Keep in mind I'm already making 400 ft/lbs at the wheels. Is a 10 bolt going to hold 5-600 with a TA girdle, 3.73s, and a LSD? I haven't bothered to look, but I have doubts. I'm thinking the money would be best used on an 8.8 swap or similar.

Then I have a question for the 3800 guys. I started looking into springs. I was leaning toward the LS6 springs instead of the 105s. I like that I'd have better timing chain damper life with the 105s, but I really want the ability to shift later. I already have a new chain and damper ready to go in for extra piece of mind. Since the springs will allow me to turn up the boost, I want my head gaskets to be ready. I'm going to throw in some ARP studs and MLS gaskets. Since I'm that deep, should I upgrade the lifters? If so, does LS7 sound like a good choice? I'm sure the RPM abilities will match the springs well, but I'm worried about height. I see that their pre-load tolerance is a lot tighter than the stock lifters. Combined with MLS gaskets and such, I may need new push rods too. I have a checker, but I'm starting to think that I might as well have gotten a cam which is exactly what I refuse to do on the L36. Do you think I should stick with the 105s, stock shift points, and stock lifters? Maybe the benefits of lower boost with the 1.9s will be enough despite lower shift points? Maybe I just answered my own question... Thanks for listening anyway! [emoji16]

I feel the messy shop thing man I spend more time lookin for stuff than actually gettin anything done. I've gotta get the ambition to get my truck back together before I even think of pullin either of the camarobirds back in. As far as your 105s vs ls springs, if your going far enough to pull the heads and get into the timing chain then just sell the 1.9s and go with a cam and 136s and get more back out of your effort

 

[v6buicks]

I feel the messy shop thing man I spend more time lookin for stuff than actually gettin anything done. I've gotta get the ambition to get my truck back together before I even think of pullin either of the camarobirds back in. As far as your 105s vs ls springs, if your going far enough to pull the heads and get into the timing chain then just sell the 1.9s and go with a cam and 136s and get more back out of your effort

I feel that, but what about the bottom end? It still has the skinny rods afterall. I have a hard time believing that I'll get the full benefits from a cam with this short block. Better yet, what if I just skip the head gaskets? Will does anybody know how much cylinder pressure these Felpro L36 gaskets and bolts can withstand?

The plan was to pull this engine out of the Camaro to swap in to the Volvo at some point. In that car it will have to run on 93 with a 4l60e, AC, and quiet street manners. That's why I hesitate. Although I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to that project.

Every day I'm getting closer to saying F allllll of this shit. GN, 240, Camaro, and C30 all get for sale signs, Allie and I buy nicer/newer dailies, and we all live happily ever after.

 

[Rdrnnr]

I haven't really seen much if anything about heads lifting from boost and they say stock block is good for 600. I've seen some pretty nasty cammed cars but decided to go rockers only to keep stock idle characteristics for drivability and save some extra work. If your worried about cylinder pressure pull some timing back I've seen guys run as little as 5⁰ and 20 some psi not that it probably lasts long. One thing I can tell you is theres a huge difference between 8 to 10 psi on my car and you'll run out of mass air flow well before you get to the limits of a stock 3800. Then your lookin at one of zzps mini afcs, an lq4 maf or going with like a microsquirt to control fuel and timing since the stock ecm for our cars has such a small window when it comes to reading manifold pressure and airflow

 

[Rdrnnr]

Also don't sell your proje to for nice dailys. I've been down that road and it sounds nice but if your anything like me you'll just end up buyin more expensive parts or getting bored and wishing you had somethin to tear into. Be a shame to waste your knowledge on the TV

 

[GTPpower]

Even with springs, we started to nosedive a little over 5200 rpms on my buddy's turbo car. I can't remember what he was running for springs. The stock cam just kind of sucks for higher rpms.

I wouldn't be afraid of cranking boost on a l36. The l36 is still pretty strong. There is a guy in canada making over 700whp on a much weaker l26.

I wouldn't worry too much about arp studs, and I personally wouldn't run anything other than stock for gaskets unless you are trying to increase compression. Mls gaskets can be a pain to seal and haven't shown to be any stronger. Keep it from knocking, and you'll likely never have a problem. The guy with the twin engine gtp ran 30 psi on the factory gaskets and bolts without issue.

 

[v6buicks]

Even with springs, we started to nosedive a little over 5200 rpms on my buddy's turbo car. I can't remember what he was running for springs. The stock cam just kind of sucks for higher rpms.

I wouldn't be afraid of cranking boost on a l36. The l36 is still pretty strong. There is a guy in canada making over 700whp on a much weaker l26.

I wouldn't worry too much about arp studs, and I personally wouldn't run anything other than stock for gaskets unless you are trying to increase compression. Mls gaskets can be a pain to seal and haven't shown to be any stronger. Keep it from knocking, and you'll likely never have a problem. The guy with the twin engine gtp ran 30 psi on the factory gaskets and bolts without issue.

That's what I like to hear! Like... all of that. Lol

Given the way things are going around here, planning for an engine swap on a car that still runs, drives, and does everything it needs to do is a bit insane. Again, I'm looking to reduce the fleet maintenance if anything. It's just hard to pick which one to go when they're all so drastically different.

Since I can't decide, I'm going to wait it out. Selling any one of the three cars could easily turn into regret down the road if I don't give them a better chance. However, if an L26 and stock gaskets are known to be good to that much power and stock cams limit the usable RPM, I'm changing my mind. 1.9s, 105s, new chain damper, and send it should be a solid upgrade. I think that would at least stabilize the engine while I upgrade suspension.

 

[v6buicks]

I got a sweet new bluetooth adapter for the pre-usb era stereo in my garage. Since I had to use a 30 mile long aux cord and adapter, I could no longer charge the pitiful battery in my Pixel 2. Thanks Google. The stereo is at the ceiling to conserve space and keep the sound inside, so playing music out of this thing was always more work than it was worth to me.

But it's worth a whole lot more now! It's wild how much more you can get done with a little bit of background noise.

Could that possibly be a subframe connector welded to the car?? Say it isn't so! I've only been tripping over them since 2018.

Then I ran out of gas. TSC is open until 6, so I'm going to tr I'm so close that I can almost taste the start of doing the more difficult side... One connector is good enough right?

 

[Rdrnnr]

I got a sweet new bluetooth adapter for the pre-usb era stereo in my garage. Since I had to use a 30 mile long aux cord and adapter, I could no longer charge the pitiful battery in my Pixel 2. Thanks Google. The stereo is at the ceiling to conserve space and keep the sound inside, so playing music out of this thing was always more work than it was worth to me.
View attachment 77577
But it's worth a whole lot more now! It's wild how much more you can get done with a little bit of background noise.
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Could that possibly be a subframe connector welded to the car?? Say it isn't so! I've only been tripping over them since 2018.
View attachment 77579

View attachment 77580
Then I ran out of gas. TSC is open until 6, so I'm going to tr I'm so close that I can almost taste the start of doing the more difficult side... One connector is good enough right? [emoji23]

Good work man, there is somethin to havin some background noise. Kinda get lost in what your doin and sounds like a great plan for the rest of my day

 

[v6buicks]

Good work man, there is somethin to havin some background noise. Kinda get lost in what your doin and sounds like a great plan for the rest of my day

For sure. I was rocking to my glam metal playlist, and somehow it put me in the zone. If I hadn't ran out of shielding gas I would have for sure finished that side up and put paint on it. Oh well. I can hop to it tomorrow. Hopefully the momentum from finishing that up will carry over to the other side. I'm not excited to pull the brake line and fuel lines again.

 

[v6buicks]

As far as welding goes, I'm done. I should have thought of this before paint, but I still need to seam seal some areas to prevent dirt from getting into the cavities I created and spray an internal frame coating.

I think for now, I'm going to move on to the other side.

 

[Rdrnnr]

As far as welding goes, I'm done. I should have thought of this before paint, but I still need to seam seal some areas to prevent dirt from getting into the cavities I created and spray an internal frame coating.
View attachment 77753

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I think for now, I'm going to move on to the other side.

Lookin good!

 

[v6buicks]

Thanks. I'm really looking forward to being done. lol

I've been thinking... I'm still kinda bummed about not being able to tune the car initially, and I still want to learn. Then again, I was working with a nearly clean slate at the time with a lot of major mechanical changes. Does anybody think they could help me figure out the tuning via HP for a spring and rocker upgrade? Will that also require DHP? I figure that more valve lift and nothing else should be pretty simple to tune.