Turbo V6 swap. 1986 camaro

[neilb]

Hey everyone, a just discovered this forum the other day. The Turbo Trans am is what inspired me to do this swap and I thought I'd share with you my progress so far. let me know what you think, and any suggestions! thanks.

The car started out as a 2.8L sports coupe. I started with a bare 3.8L 109 block pulled from a olds cutlass. I purchased all the parts i needed and had Klots performance machine in Cambridge Ontario do the machine work, block is bored 30 over with speed pro hyperutectic pistons and has a compression ratio of 7.1:1. The heads are stock GN units that have been cleaned up. Cam is a comp cams set up spec'd at 215/215. Headers are cheap offshore knock offs from ebay. I'll get nicer ones when I can afford better. The turbo is a Turbonetics TE63 with a oil filter reloctation kit. The downpipe is a stock GN pipe that I modified to fit. The rest of the exhaust is a 2,3/4" dynomax cat back system. I used A 700R4 tranny with an adaptor plate from Jegs.
I still have a few things to get installed like some 42# injectors, ESC module, the proper MAF (thinking about the LS1 with translator), and some other minor things.

 

[Rodimus_Prime]

hrmm interesting project car

 

[PhillyTurboSix]

Looking good! Should be a nice sleeper! What are your goals for the car? What boost are you going to run? What trans and rear? Just be careful with those hyper pistons! You might want to bump up your injectors a touch. Hypers are not happy when you zap them with any denotation! Looking forward to see how it turns out!

 

[Mike Arrigo]

Hey, looks like you are trying to build my old car that I had. Mine had as much stuff from the TTA as we could put on it, even the dash, steering wheel, rear end and front brakes. I will have to try and see what that VIN number was for the doner car, I have it in my files some where.

 

[tta299]

I think u need more injector man and a real TTA woul have been cheaper. sorry to be the barron of bad news but i thought it over

 

[Quiky One]

Great project man!!

Are you sure the compression is 7:1? That seems awfully low!

What fuel system are you going to run?

BTW, it looks like your MAF pipe os 3". In that case, run the LT1 maf. LT1=3" LS1=3.5". FYI.

Keep us updated!

Jason

 

[TTA976]

Neat project. Good luck!

 

[RatFink]

Gotta love the turbo swap cars! Keep us updated.:thumbup:

 

[92conv]

Cool project!!

 

[echostatic]

Who cares if a TTA would be cheaper, his project is cool. I'm curious though, why didn't you go with forged pistons?

 

[neilb]

Thanks everyone, I'm not really sure whay boost I'm gonna run, This is my first experience with a turbo setup, What boost is good to start at? I'm going with the 42# injectors because that's what the company who did the computer chip told me to use. If I use larger injectors will it still work with the chip? And whats the difference between high and low impedance? Yes, the intake is 3" tubing, I'm leaning towards the LS1 with the translator. The factory MAF are getting harder to find everyday. I bought a complete engine rebuild kit from Summit racing.com that came with the hyper pistons. I was poorly informed about te strength of those pistons until after the engine was assembled. I'll use them til something gives up. The trans is a 700R4, and the rear is a the stock camaro unit with 3.42s. I will be upgrading to a 9inch or a 4thGen rear when the money is there. I'm sure a real TTA would have been cheaper, but 'm having a great time building this, learned alot, and looking forward to driving something other than a 350 camaro. Not too much progress on the car lately, I've done some more body work, and cleaned up the engine bay a bit more. My fiance says I have to save my money for the wedding or something, haha. I just discovered a speed shop in my area (Modfathers in Orillia Ontario) so saving money might be harder for me now, haha.

 

[Quiky One]

Thanks everyone, I'm not really sure whay boost I'm gonna run, This is my first experience with a turbo setup, What boost is good to start at? I'm going with the 42# injectors because that's what the company who did the computer chip told me to use. If I use larger injectors will it still work with the chip? And whats the difference between high and low impedance? Yes, the intake is 3" tubing, I'm leaning towards the LS1 with the translator. The factory MAF are getting harder to find everyday. I bought a complete engine rebuild kit from Summit racing.com that came with the hyper pistons. I was poorly informed about te strength of those pistons until after the engine was assembled. I'll use them til something gives up. The trans is a 700R4, and the rear is a the stock camaro unit with 3.42s. I will be upgrading to a 9inch or a 4thGen rear when the money is there. I'm sure a real TTA would have been cheaper, but 'm having a great time building this, learned alot, and looking forward to driving something other than a 350 camaro. Not too much progress on the car lately, I've done some more body work, and cleaned up the engine bay a bit more. My fiance says I have to save my money for the wedding or something, haha. I just discovered a speed shop in my area (Modfathers in Orillia Ontario) so saving money might be harder for me now, haha.

Who did your chip? And no, a 42lb chip will not work with any other injectors. I would strongly recommend looking at a TurboTweak Home chip. You might have used him and he is the best...

Stick with the high impedance injectors. Low impedance (AKA low Z) injectors require a modified ECM. With todays technology, the high impedance injectors work just fine. They make 80 lb. high injectors.

If your intake tube is 3" use the LT1 MAF. If your intake tube is 3.5" use the LS1 MAF.

Otherwise, looks like you have your bases covered!

 

[tta299]

if you have enuff to need low impedence they work just fine too ... My car idles fine with 84# inj and a 212/212 roller

 

[tta299]

Who cares if a TTA would be cheaper, his project is cool. I'm curious though, why didn't you go with forged pistons?

cheaper means alot to me right now ... im building a house ... time is money .... i didnt say his project wasnt cool. Id love to have a regal front end grafted on an elcamino with a GN interior an engine but it takes alot of time and money.

 

[Street Lethal]

I used A 700R4 tranny with an adaptor plate from Jegs....

:explosion:

.... was this the 700R4 that came with the stock 2.8????

 

[neilb]

Thanks for the compliments. The chip is from Turbo tweak, I will prob end up upgrading the injectors and chip at a later date. We'll see if tuning will be an issue. The 700R4 is from a 5.7L camaro. The 2.8L trans bellhousing is a different bolt pattern. Not sure what torque converter to run with my set up, so at the moment it's the stock V8 camaro converter. Unfortunately there hasn't been much progress lately. I've just been too busy and too poor.:thumbdwn: I'm hoping things will get back into gear here this winter. I've got a few parts ordered now, and will start wrenching when thay arrive.

 

[neilb]

updated pics

 

[tta299]

looking good body looks straight also