🔧 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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I took a break from the Camaro to pay attention to the GN. That car made it to and from the nats without issue, and I was pretty happy with it. I then brought the Oldsmobile home to flip it which also went well (quick). That meant the Camaro was back on deck.

I'm very happy and relieved to say that my first night of progress was very successful. The dowels are out, and the block is relatively unharmed. My plan to drill a Mickey Mouse into the pins worked flawlessly.
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There's one!
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And the bore looks flawless
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I couldn't get the drill bit straight so the second bore got hit pretty good. It's no biggie though.
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I am now back to square one. The bell slides on like butter. The real test will be if my measurements are the same now as they were before all this mess. If so, I'm going to have custom dowel pins made. If not, I'm going to reevaluate this whole operation.
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v6buicks

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One of my buddies was trying to convince me to be done with the dowels and leave the ones I have in there. He doesn't think it's going to hurt anything by having the bore off-center by such a small amount. I have no idea, but I wouldn't that that Tremec would stress it so hard if it wasn't critical.

What do you think?
 

v6buicks

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I'm just really glad that somebody else in here has been through this process. That small of a tolerance seems ridiculous. My understanding was that you wouldn't necessarily even feel anything wrong with the transmission. You would just prematurely wear the tapered input shaft bearings.

I don't know. I can't justify calling it good enough when there isn't much else for me to do on this thing for at least a month. I think the machinist here at work can make some dowels on his 4 axis lathe if I ask him nice enough.
 

v6buicks

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I would think you'd probably be better off making new sleeves that have the ID of the off-the-shelf adjustable dolls
That was did before and somehow screwed up. The biggest problem I have with that is that I lose the 5th bolt hole. The other issues being that off the shelf stuff is too long. If I grind it down, I lose the flat head or or hex to move it how I need. Of course the custom ones won't have it either, but they should move a lot easier.
 

v6buicks

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As mentioned in the transmission conversion thread, my custom dowel pins worked! This means that there is only one thing left that I can do in terms of the conversion until the transmission arrives. To be honest though, I'd rather just get some of the dumb stuff out of the way, because I am more anxious about the forgetting to tighten bolts, fill the engine with oil, or some other silly mistake than I am about making progress. Besides, the garage is a mess, and putting a couple parts back on the car will help with that issue as well.

To start, I removed the bell AGAIN. Then I removed all the flywheel bolts, sprayed everything down with brake cleaner, and reinstalled with new lube, loctite, and full torque. No crank stripping this time. :bigthumb: I THINK I can finally say that the flywheel is staying on the engine until it's back on the road. ?

Then I installed a new starter from my stash. I broke one of the studs last time I removed the old starter. :( I put the heat shield on as well which is now missing a bolt because the block to transmission bracket will no longer be used on that side. This reminded me about the issue I found on the other side. I can't just remove the passenger side bracket because it also spaces the motor mount bracket. I can't tell you how many times I've bonked my head on that SOB, so it's for sure not staying in stock form. I might just cut it down so that the mount bracket can't be over torqued and ditch the rest. I just want to be sure that I won't need it before I start slicing!

I then decided to take one small thing the other direction before calling it quits. The turbo drain hose needed to come off again. I had a feeling that the supplied o-ring was not going to do a damn thing when I installed it, but I tried it anyway.
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I'll dig through the supply at work and see if I can dig up a thicker one. Thanks China. Great job! Since I'm already back in here and able to see how badly it puddles just before heading down the tube, I'm going to smooth the transition a bit as well. There's a bunch of material to work with, so I'm not worried about breaking through.
 

v6buicks

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Here's a better picture to show the worthlessness of the supplied oring.
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After sifting through the work stash, I found exactly what I needed. I have no idea how I'd spec orings without having a ton of them labeled right in front of me.
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\\

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This will actually seal something!
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I may talk shit about Chinese parts as if I'm not expecting it to be garbage, but I know what I'm walking into. I realize that I'll have to be crafty and resourceful to make it work as well as an expensive part. Sometimes it's a gamble whether it'll work at all. You just need to do some research and make sure the ad doesn't use stock photos. It's still frustrating to see such blatent negligence like this, but I still enjoy having my hands on every little piece of the puzzle.... except for the transmission. Tremec just needs to go ahead and build that for me. :LOL: By the time I finish smoothing the inside with the dremel, I won't be considering this a junk ebay part anymore. It will be a MADE IN USA with international parts kinda deal. :ROFLMAO:
 

v6buicks

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This should drain a little nicer. It's back on the car now. I think I'll finally cut the oil pressure sensor connector off tomorrow so that I can replace the pigtail. Then I'll replace the driver side motor mount, change the oil, and hope this thing doesn't sling parts all over the garage when I try to start it.
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v6buicks

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Well I'm a dumbass and forgot to bring my GN pet project/Camaro distraction project home from work. I took that as a sign. ?
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The old sensor pigtail was hard and kinked but tested good. While I doubt putting the new one on is going to make an ounce of difference in the oil pressure display, moving the sensor made the wiring embarrassingly tight. The wires needed to be longer, so why not? Let's do some overhead soldering with no space to work.

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That wasn't nearly as difficult as expected, and getting rid of the cracked split loom and raggedy tape made this worth the effort. Hopefully, my good tape holds up a while.

One more stupid item crossed off the list! For reference, here is what the pigtail looked like four years ago before the split loom completely disintegrated. Ratchet!
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v6buicks

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In case you missed it, the TKX conversion is getting very real. It's also to the point where updating this and the conversion thread without overlap is getting weird. I do plan to ditch the conversion thread as soon as I get the job fully finished and write something in the articles section. For now, here's the latest!

For once, I'm actually losing by having the car garaged. Stepping out to the driveway just to feel a light breeze was a huge relief in this nasty heat. I still managed to get some dirty work done though because the other cars are mint, and I'm motivated as hell.

While I really wanted to continue transmission progress, I also knew that getting some of the unrelated stuff knocked off the list would only get harder to make myself do before the test drive. The most difficult one being the driver side engine mount. I knew it was going to be a bitch which is why I did the passenger mount and quit. I figured that getting a transmission in there is only going to make things more difficult to maneuver. News flash: its a bitch to do anyway. It might have been even worse becasue the transmission probably would have helped with the alignment. Oh well. Live and learn I guess.

Here it is in paint after going to town with the wire wheel. The poly mounts need a clean surface, and the terribly corroded rubber leaves a lot of residue. By the way, the movement I was able to put into this engine by hand was excessive. Before, I was chalking it up as being normal for an engine without a transmission mounted, but the amount of play in the bolt alone made me glad that I didn't skip today's work.
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An embarrassing amount of time later I finished it.
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Yes, it's red. No, I didn't want red. No, I didn't bother returning it because there's no way to see it from the top anyway. This engine is rock solid now! I hope I don't regret poly.

Here's the driver side since I never posted a pic. It was a lot more accessible and easier to align.
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Also here's some proof that it was dirty work. The tub shroom was completely clogged. I guess you'll have that when you decide to work under a shitty car with no shirt when it's 90 and humid. I was wreck. I emptied about a cup of dish soap on myself.
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v6buicks

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I'm going to post the remainder of the TKX conversion in here since just about everything else depends on the car itself.

I cut a small notch in the shifter hole and reinstalled the trans. As it would turn out, no cutting of the body brace is needed. This sucker is fully seated on the 3800 dowel pins, clutch, pilot bearing! ???

Now for the work ahead. I need 3" of offset in the shifter to get roughly centered in the console. No biggie. American Powertrain makes one.
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I also need to weld a box onto the end of this cross-member.
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For now it's going to rest dominantly on the severed head of a T5. My new slip yoke should arrive soon. Let's hope the driveshaft will still work!
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v6buicks

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I'm going to be honest. I haven't been loving TCG lately. I don't plan to leave because the helpful 3800 peeps makes sifting through the garbage worthwhile. The Camaro updates might just be a bit slower and more concise for a while. Sorry for those who actually follow and enjoy my blog style format.

I got the new 31 spline 1350 slip yoke. It's about an inch longer to make up for difference in length between the T5 and TKX. It also ditches the damper, but I think it will be smooth enough when I address the working angles.
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Grease fittings make me happy.
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It's crusty, but it'll get the car moving.
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Driveshaft test fit 2.jpg
 

v6buicks

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That factory slip yoke is frickin huge!
Watching that u joint come apart is like watching one of those pimple popping videos ??
And the new Dana Spicer unit is even bigger! What I find nuts is that I can burry the full 4.5" barrel into the transmission. I don't know if Tremec is allowing for a big error margin in yoke size or if there's a pretty long engagement spec. I better look into that. I don't want to twist or break an output shaft.

That was exactly my thought when I watched that shit ooze out like smashed custard donut.
 

v6buicks

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I had to go back to the TKX thread when I found out that the Tilton HTOB was not going to provide enough adjustment for the 3800 clutch. For details on that fun stuff, check out that thread starting at post #240.
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I was also running into serious Volvo trouble. I'm not even going to get into that. To make a long story short, I was delayed. I was even further delayed by garbage drill bits, so I spent two hours of this afternoon making them like new again.
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The Drill Doctor is an awesome tool and certainly saves me a bunch of money in new bits, but it's tedious work.

Since the bits were sharp, I could start making holes in some of the 1/4" steel plate I bent for a handle offset.
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I went with a Sikky handle from Summit because they're relatively cheap and simple. I don't get why knobs and handles cost so much. Once I can confirm that the handle sits where I want it, I'll paint it and consider it done.

Next up is the cross-member. A seven foot piece of box tubing showed up yesterday. I'll use a short piece of this and that 1/4" plate to make it one.
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v6buicks

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As much as I itch and ache to get this car back together, I have reached a point of no longer caring about my "deadline". I really wanted to meet up with the 3800 guys on Power Tour, but the stop in Indy is this Wednesday. Could I thrash this car together really quick and make the drive? Probably, but is it worth it? No. That's basically how the 240 went up in flames. I rushed which caused me to say "good enough". It's also why I've done the Camaro's clutch a few times. I rushed to get this thing on the road for PT '19 and ended up putting the clutch disc in backward. I'm not going to let arbitrary deadlines keep this car shitty.

Beyond potential mistakes, I know for a fact that I won't go back and sharpen all the corners I cut. Let's be real. It's going to be in the 90s all week anyway. I'm not going to enjoy slaving over this thing for the next couple days just to drive it without AC to a massive car show. I can always bring another car with AC and have stress free-fun instead.

Anyway, here's what I started working on. The bell came off again so that I could modify the original flywheel cover, and finish the bulkhead.
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The flywheel cover fits the bell close enough to at least get two bolts in by the starter. The uppermost bolt on the other side happens to land on a part of the bell that can be drill/tapped. I will also weld an extension to cover the 60 degree starter pocket and utilize that fourth bolt. I will not be able to use the last lower bolt hole without welding more aluminum to bell. That's not gonna happen. It'll be fine, and I think I'm already going above and beyond for making a cover at all. lol One nice thing about the third gen bell vs the 4th gen is that they actually have M6 x 1.0 threads tapped for the cover instead of just rough holes for self tappers. Me gusta.
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I also wanted to make a bulkhead for the hydraulic lines so that they don't get chafed. The clutch fork hole is also a rather large one for debris to enter if you don't have a boot. I will probably drill holes for the lines to pass through with grommets. Although I think that quick disconnect bulkheads would be trick AF, I don't know how I would pull it off.
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v6buicks

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I started thinking about that threaded sleeve for the release bearing last night, and how there's nothing stopping it from rotating on the bearing retainer and throwing my adjustment off. I think a little RTV on the shaft will be plenty to glue it in place though.

Before I got back to work, I made a boob out of cardboard.
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Then I made a steel boob.
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At least my boob won't be exposed in a way that everyone will see. It's small and kinda wonky looking.
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I missed these smaller parts of the conversion that make me feel like I actually accomplished something in a night. It's so much more satisfying. Flywheel cover can be crossed off the conversion checklist.
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Since the welder and grinder were already out, I decided to get going on the crossmember. The short side was ground flush,
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a piece of that tubing was cut off,
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and then it was buzzed on.
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I'm going to cut some of that 1/4" plate into a U which straddles the existing raised portion. I'm thinking I'll box in the ends of the new portion as well.
 

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