91 Droptop

This was an awesome build, I hope mine comes out as well as yours, really nice work

porkenstein

iTrader: (1)

What a gorgeous car. I am headed in you direction but with the cost of everything I have to do it's going to be slow. I am a retired guy so fixed income. Will definitely keep up with what you are doing. great job and lots of information for the rest of us who want to do the same. Thanks so much for sharing.

alan91z28

thanks guys for the nice comments... the nice thing is you can just keep on improving / changing stuff so it never gets boring and it keeps you out of trouble, right!

anyways lately i have been doing a lot with tuning and ECM configuration.

I have gotten the new GMPP load to work correctly which eliminates the need for scaling airflow and fuel as you run more boost. i have changed my pulley one size smaller 3.0" vs 3.2" but now have maxed out the injectors above ~6000 rpm so i will be replacing those before spring

i am also working on changing my ECM to the ZR1 E67. The GMPP works fine but i am really into tuning the ECMs right now and have wanted to prove i can make that one work with my set-up as well

DooSPX

updates?

RubberDucky

iTrader: (4)

Loving those seats. Should make a write-up on how you did it.

micktroup2

That is a beautiful build. I did not think I would like the seats, but they WORK. Personally,
I think you have to drop that thing at least an 1" and 1/2, but HAY, I ain't driving it, you are! The way you inlayed the stock louvers into the hood was a stroke of genius. To take a stock look and say 'what if' is what makes it work, instead of doing something like bolting on a 12 inch cowl hood you can't see around! Well done! The steering wheel and wheels I would change too... we are never done tinkering with these things, are we?

92ZZ3RS

iTrader: (2)

freakin awesome car!!!!!!!

92ZZ3RS

iTrader: (2)

would your stock hood have cleared? im interested in adding the tvs2300 to my set up too. who did you order it from and what was the cost? message me

itsMikey

build is greaattt love everything about the iroc..plans to lower it tho?? :P

alan91z28

tvs2300 will not clear the stock hood. here is a pic that gives some perspective back when i was just starting the install. (the intercooler resevoir is just sitting on the car in this photo unmounted so ignore that, but this gives you an idea on the tvs2300 itself). i ordered the LS3 vette kit, it gave the best mounting option, the air cleaner, etc of course would not work that came with the kit and i had a custom intercooler radiator made, but everything else pretty much i used in the kit. i got the kit from hawks.

one of the things i am working on this winter is to modify the torque arm mounting bar that scoops down under the exhaust. this is the lowest point on the car. after i do that i will lower the car down a little bit.

thanks for all the comments... this has been a fun project, with still more to do...

alan91z28

here is an example of why i am needing new fuel injectors...

7.4 lbs of boost, look at injector duty cycle... i pass 100% by 5800 rpm now... ie no more gas just getting leaner... you can see at 6648 rpm i am 115.6% at 12.95 afr getting dangerous

you don't want to be past 90% injector duty which for me is back at 5200 rpm...

these are the stock zr1 injectors i am running currently, so to resolve this problem i will be going bigger injector this winter as part of the upgrade plan

this also could be resolved if i would raise rail pressure potentially, but with my set-up using the internal 4th gen F body type in tank setup this isn't an option.

on the zr1 when it goes into boost GM changes the rail pressure. boost of course is opposing fuel flow so more boost = more injector need or rail pressure vs a naturally aspirated type set-up



also look at those nice cool IATs... that big custom intercooler with the high eff dual fan is keeping that air inlet really cool!

alan91z28

well i have been working on my updates over the past few weeks and have been picking up steam to get them done as spring is pretty much here

my focus is to get the work done before mid April as i am going to take my car back over to the Rod Shop where i got my hood / paint done last year for a final couple of things on the hood latches, etc so i am all ready for summer

First thing i have been working on is to get the back wheel studs in good shape to handle my wider wheels... i needed to lengthen the studs vs the ones from Moser due to the need for a wheel spacer, etc... i got three inch studs from Summit and these now fit real good

instead of removing the axles to press out the studs i made my own press out tool that i could use with the axles mounted out of a steel c-clamp... note that these knurled studs take a lot of force to press in and out and you don't want to use an iron clamp as iron shatters...

i also fixed my parking brake cable on the passenger side that needed addressed from initially running it improperly

also with the new glass, weatherseals, etc from last year's body work my side windows were in need of some new window motors so i changed both of them with the technique described in the "interior" board section on doing the small 3 hole drill mod... it worked great and now they are in good shape

alan91z28

Yesterday i focused on updating my Fuel Injectors as from an earlier post you can see i am way out of room with the ZR1 60 lb injectors at WOT

Injector dynamics make a number of different injector sizes and styles that fit the bill... the great thing is they are flow matched and all the required programming information is posted on their web site.

several high end tuning shops are now exclusively using these due to the factors above.

hutter performance is one such shop in my area and is where i got my set.

i went with the ID850's as they are direct physical size replacement for the zr1's

http://www.injectordynamics.com/

while i have the fuel rail torn down i am going to also add a pressure gauge

alan91z28

been doing quite a bit of updates over the past couple weeks as yesterday i took my IROC back over to the Rod shop to do some final work on the hood and paint that was left from last year

anyways one of the things i really wanted to improve was ground clearance and the ability to lower it a little bit

i have been running the BMR track pac torque arm and while it works well it also bottoms out on a crowned road if you hit a bump driving reasonable fast.

i looked at a lot of options and in the end decided to go with the jegster torque arm. it mounts up in the transmission tunnel and is shorter than even the bmr. it gives a lot of room and so far it also seems to put more downforce on the rear as i noticed i was getting better tire lock up the couple of times i have driven it since install...

it installed easily, i used my bmr connection on the moser 9" and then the jegster TA and tunnel mount. i drilled pilot holes from underneath and then the full 3/8" holes from inside so i got them nice and square with the mount and it went in easily

alan91z28

here is some more on how the new jegster TA installed, you can see the bolt pattern on the shot with the carpet pulled back

also a couple more on how much it cleaned up the bottom

i am going to work in the future to pull up the back 4" exhaust right before the rear axle

alan91z28

i took my car back over yesterday to the Rod shop to have some additional work done on the hood latching, a good polish, etc... should have it back in about a week

however i took some shots last weekend, it is looking pretty good and should be ready to roll for summer

alan91z28

by getting the BMR trac pac TA out and using the jegster TA i got back some needed ground clearance so i could drop the IROC down a little back to where i like it. you also want to make sure you have an adjustable panhard with these types of set-ups so you can get everything centered on the rear axle / car where it should be

i used the hotchkiss rear drop springs. since i am running a wider rear tire (widened iroc rims to 9.5" with 275 tire, i needed to cut out the bump stops to give enough clearance

also with the moser 9" and the PBR type BAER rear discs this also means i had to take the parking brake cable off the passenger side and only use the one on the driver. the pbr locks the caliper up well so just the one should be fine

alan91z28

here is a little more info on the new Injector Dynamics ID850's that i installed

the first pic gives you a look at the new flow characteristics... these things have massive flow compared to the ZR1 injectors i was using. At the standard fuel pressure of 4 bar you can see that these flow about 12.5 g/s (99 lb/hr) of fuel... the ZR1's by comparison were 6.6 g/s (52 lb/hr)

This has really helped at the high end as when you add boost to a constant pressure system like i am running of course the boost takes away from the actual effective fuel pressure.

in the second pic is a quick log, you can see at the point of my cursor at 6161 rpm i am now still only at 57.5 injector duty so i will be in good shape now all the way up to 7000 rpm... i am running ~7 lbs of boost

the nice thing is with injector dynamics you get good info right from them on the injector characteristics... i changed the tables and the IROC started just like before, however now it has plenty of fuel delivery at the higher end

after i get my IROC back i am going to schedule another dyno session

alan91z28

Been a little slow on getting some updates in, but have been doing some things over the past couple months...

one of the things i have done is install a set of Drag Bags... these are supposed to help with launch off the line

the set-up was pretty straight forward and while i haven't yet been to the track since putting this in, on the street i can feel the difference, although to be far i have been making quite a few changes this year from jegster torque arm, to drag bag, and new tires

i set the drivers side drag bag to 5 psi and the passenger to around 15 psi

alan91z28

one of the other things i have been doing is considering wheels... i have always liked the stock iroc look, but i have gotten advice from several that some different wheels might be nice

anyways i ended up trying some Centerline Lazer II's in 18X8 with 4.5 BS in front and 18X9.5 with 5.5 BS in the rear, so no spacers needed. These are polished aluminum rims

For tires i went with Toyo's racing Proxes R888's in both front and rear

I like the updated look, i think i might now add some bigger brakes since i can go above 12" rotors... anyways i need to look at it some more, but i was surprised how quick i really liked them and how somewhat dated the 16" irocs now look...

i will take some more shots, but here is a before and after inside

One thing i am also very happy about is while driving today with the combination of the jegster TA, drag bag, and these new tires i had really great dry launch traction on the street compared to previous... haven't yet had it at the track, but looking very promising

khulsebus

iTrader: (2)

Me, personally, I prefer the look of the stock wheels for the sleeper look, however I would have the rears widened to run a better sized tire. Not a huge fan of the other set of wheels that you have in the second pic. On my last camaro, I had a set of American Racing wheels which most people seemed to like. But on the other hand, it's your car, build it how you like it and enjoy it.

RaverRacerX

mind posting up your log file?

alan91z28

Here are a couple more shots with the new wheels as well as one of my 91 z28 vert for good measure...

As you can see my wife and I put up a billboard in my new thirdgen garage yesterday that adds a little nostalgia, what do you think?

cam-

alan91z28

Hey guys, check out page 52 of the July '12 Camaro Performers Magazine!

I would have sent them a better pic if i knew they were printing it... but nice to get some third gens in that magazine... there is good coverage this month

dprest68

iTrader: (1)

Sweet! Congrats man! That's pretty cool.

mille_3

iTrader: (3)

Grats!

85_ZED28

Very nice! Where did you get the billboard?

khulsebus

iTrader: (2)

i'm highly digging the third-gen room. congrats on the mag feature.

alan91z28

I got the billboard from denny at Thirdgen Ranch

alan91z28

I just emptied the Catch Can i had installed last year with the supercharger install.

Here is a pic of the amount of oil that it prevented from going back into the intake. I have only driven it about 700 miles during this period, so i think this is definitely a good thing to add for long term engine condition.

A10Beav

iTrader: (1)

Nice work! I also want to get rid of the BMR trak pak, but did you notice a lot more noise in the car after installing the Jegster? I figured there would be more rear end noise going into the car, since it make contact with a larger portion of the body.

IrocZ'85

iTrader: (9)

nice build! what company made the catch can? got a link? I'm looking to cut down on my LS1 oil consumption on deceleration

alan91z28

the catch can i used is an RX, you can google for it as a number of speed shops carry it-
http://www.jdpmotorsports.com/rx-per...ss-rx-camss-s1

as far as the jegster TA i really like it, it performs well and has great ground clearance, etc and i have not noticed any additional noise... i am not super sensitive to noise though as my engine/exhaust is pretty loud and i like driving with the windows down / t-tops off and music up

coptzer

iTrader: (2)

I was just reading through your build, and wanted to say awesome job on everything so far, love the car and the nostalgia!

I also just built my Thirdgen Garage to do my swap in, but have to say, yours looks bigger! I've been collecting some nostalgia pieces as well, but I love that giant billboard. It is so awesome that our wives take an interest in what we do, keeps things amusing also.

Great Job!

alan91z28

Thanks, having some nostalgia pieces in the garage is part of the fun of the whole 3rd gen theme... also there are a couple of good books one in particular is "Camaro The Third Generation" by Michael Lamm that was published in Dec 1981 just as 3rd gens were getting ready to role... the book goes into all the design / styling background etc that GM did to make the 3rd gens... it was quite an effort and expense

Here are a couple additional shots of my 3rd gen parking garage... with most everything covered up for winter...

my wife got me a custom 3 foot clock for Christmas with my '91 Vert on the face of it, pretty neat!

My son and I are now pretty much focused on rebuilding in my other garage my 1st 3rd gen that i just refound in a salvage yard this fall and is the subject of another thread in this forum (it is a look alike to the hardtop 3rd gen you see in this garage), but as for my '85 IROC it is in pretty good shape although this spring i do have some minor hood work to do and then i want to get it dyno'd again... i should be pushing 600 rwhp with the final mods i have made

mwfrels

Thanks for the pointer to that book. Ordered a copy from Amazon. Hopefully good background reading for a car model that I have now owned for thirty years.

M

bungy74

wow ! your car is beautiful ! And great job on your thread and the photos and info you share with us all. I am readying myself for my swap and a learned alot from your posts. thank you

Ed1LE

iTrader: (39)

Awesome, awesome, awesome build! Love the car, especially the hood, very clean.

The garage isn't too shabby either!

1bad91Z

iTrader: (1)

Alan... would you like to adopt a "slightly" older son? Also curious as to your profession... (I may switch my current major)

Nice cars by the way!

alan91z28

Thanks, it is incredible all the information that i have gotten from the posts in this whole forum... working on these are fun with my son and cruising around with my family...

sorry though that we already have 4 in our family so all the seats are full in the 3rd gens already

As to my line of work, i started as an electrical engr in a large company out of college and have progressed up through the management chain... the one thing i can tell you is having a high degree of initiative with a strong moral compass, the willingness to take on tough challenges, and understanding working as a team with others is always better than the "smarts" you have on your own will generally give you opportunities in whatever field you are in... and without doubt in my case i know God has Blessed me beyond what i deserve

STREETDEMON

alan, just went all the way through this thread, your attention to detail is awesome. i love what you do with your cars!

is the jegster torque arm still holding up pretty well? i think that is the route i'm going to go when my 8.8 hybrid rear is finished.

alan91z28

thanks... yes, so far the jegster torque arm i haven't had any trouble with and i am planning on using one in my '88 rebuild

alan91z28

so i have still been working on wheels... these are some new billet specialties that i just got... they are 18X8 in front with 4.75" back space and 18X10 in the rear with 5.875 backspacing...

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

any plans of lowering the car a bit?

jbenge

iTrader: (2)

Nice choice on the new wheels, looks great!

kmcn47

how have i missed this thread the whole time i was on this site, sub'd great build

alan91z28

As should be obvious from this thread, this 85 IROC is never going to be done.

I have a couple of items cooking

- I have a set of the new QA1 rear coil overs on order and will probably install them so i can adjust at will the suspension response and ride height
- I have some final work being done on the Sunoco style hood to clean up a little bit of the underside where it was rubbing on the supercharger

and hey since i was having a little bit of work done on the hood i got another bright idea for an alternative hood that might be cool... attached is a sneak peak of the work in progress ... if everything works out right you will only be able to see the black of the supercharger case peeking out of the louvers, but we will see!

lunati397

awsome work I cant wait to get started on mine right now im just gathering parts but it will be a turbo hybrid LS3 (LS2 block LS3 top)

your making it hard for me to keep my car white lol I love a good black car they are just mean

nathan44

omg, that is one awesome Camaro. I mean you took great pains to get it right and it shows.