Well since we dont have a build board Ill just post everything here since its mostly fabrication work... Heres a little back history on the car. Its a 91 Z28 Ive had forever! it started as a 305TPI 5 speed,10 bolt car that I swapped out to an LT1 6speed 9". also added LS1 rear brakes and C5 Fronts. for the most part I left the interior stock and added a few aluminum pieces. heres a link to pics and specs of the car before it went under the knife for the latest build... http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2108104 Now on to the build. My goal for the car was to be able to Drive down to Atlanta and hit up road atlanta for the weekend and then take it out to memphis the following weekend and blst down the 1/4 mile. I want it as realiable as possible at these power levels.. The engine is splayed 4 bolt billet main, cola forged crank, eagle H-beams and forged Mahle 2618 pistons with LE3 heads and a 236/236 .624/.624 on a 114+4 LSA. The cam should work perfect with the Turbonetics TC78 Turbo. heres some pics of the engine. Now on to the fabrication. I decided to go with a tubular log style hot side which has been proven to support way more than my modest goal of 700hp. Im running 1-5/8" primaries with 2.5" pipping from the passenger side over to a 3" pipe on the driver side and then into the inlet on the turbo. Im planning on running around 18-20 lbs on Kill mode and about 14 on low, it should be enough to keep me around 500-550 all the time and 700 when I need it. Heres some pics of the mock up, I still need some finish welding and then Im still debating on wether to wrap them or coat them.. OK that should get ya started. Ive got ALOT more work to post up later including the 12 point cage, complete 99 Transam dash, center console, door panels and A pillars.....

That's a great project! Love seeing fabrication, there's too little of that here.

very nice!!! That things gunna scream.. Have any hp numbers in mind?

Thanks. I plan on boosting it till I make 700! The turbo is easily capable of 1000+ Im running dual intake Walbros which has been proven to go over 1000 and the tranny is a Built T56 with carbo syncros, Brass pads, a Viper output shaft, which can easily handle 800, the rear is a 9" nuff said. I also am increasing the cooling capability with a radiator straight from Joe Gibbs racing that measures 30X22.5X3.5... heres some pictures of the radiator,




To fit it, ive cut main radiator cross support in order to move the radiator forward a bout 2" and I also have to cut the bottom support out to lower the radiator about 4". I only have the top bar cut out, im in the process of smoothing the engine bay and finishing up the fabricaiton work, you can see my A2A Intercooler bracket in these pics.

Heres some pics on the progress ive made on the cage and engine bay. I went back and forth about wether to use chromoly or mild steel. I dont have a tig welder and stupid NHRA regs say you can only weld chromoly with a TIG welder, I could of had it welded by a friend but I figured to keep it all in house and just off set the extra 30-40lbs elsewere. so MIld steel it is, all tubing is .95 1-3/4" DOM, I could of went 1-5/8" on the front half but again to save some cost and only have to buy one tube bending die I kept it 1-3/4"

this is going to be really neat to see it progress. i remember seeing your car at G12, but dont remember G11. i know it looked good then, but cant wait to see it again this coming year

Thanks man, Up to this point the car has been down about a year due to planning, and sourcing parts.... Itll be atleast halfway through the new year before its back to a running state... Ive also got a T6 S480 all out almost 25.2 99 TransAm that Im building... that car is going to be running 9.50's ALL day long with a possible low 9.0-.9.1 on a good day and 8.99 when the stars align. Soo needless to say time is the enemy!

Even with the aluminum rad, I hope you're going to have some shielding around the turbo. It'll put out a lot of heat.

If you were worried about MIG welding CM because of the NHRA regulations then you might as well rip out that roll cage because it won't pass a chassis certification.

Minimum thickness for mild steel is .118". The metal thins out in the mandrel bends so typically .134" thickness is used. Your .095" is too thin to pass a chassis certification. They'll sonic check it to see how thick it is especially around the bends.

Making a full cage out of 1-3/4" tubing is overkill. You've added a lot of unneeded weight. You've built a heavy full cage that can't be certified.

Damnit your right I just went back and looked and I miss read... I thought on the MS 10 point you needed a min .083wall but that was for CM... My mistake... oh well whats done is done, I was never going to get it certified, it should pass all the visual inspections.. Im a casual racer If I hit the strip 8-10times a year thats alot.. Also on the weight issue, we are talking about 40lbs at the most over a CM cage.. if it was .120 wall then it would be more. sooo I really dont see it being that big of a deal. yes I know if I was building a all out drag car then yes 40lbs is alot, Im taking the Lightweight metality to the TransAm build since that car is being built for drag duty.

Dont beat me up to bad, It may not be ideal but it is alot better/safer than the yahoos around here that are running high 10's and low 11's with nothing...

As for the cooling, the radiator is 3 times the stock size and is a dual pass. I plan on wraping the headers and Ive got a blanket for the turbo. it should be more that sufficient to keep under hood temps to a managable level.

It might be off topic but ha have you thought about puuting a traction control system on your third gen i thought about because i get a lot of wheel spin and i have performance tires but i can only put slicks on for the track if you have any idea on how to make it happen let me know

No I have no intention of using anything for "traction" control. The boost controller will allow me to specify boost levels for each gear and my right foot is pretty good to . For the strip ive got two option, either a 26" slick or a 28" DR so ill see which one sticks, as for the track, Ill proabably just run the Nitto 555RII's since I dont have a trailer to bring a full set of 710's out..

And if you are doing 10 point+ the whole thing could have been 1 5/8

i just installed a 8pt competition engineering cage but i left the door bars out since its a daily driver so its a 6pt with the tranny tunnel bars. mine was .134" mild steel at 1 3/4" and the kit weighed in at 100lbs without the 6x6 plates, i figured i knocked off about 20-30lbs maybe so your kit musta added over 100lbs easy. doesnt look bad, i love the bent bars in the engine bay. still tho i dont think the small DIA bars at the joints of the cage in the inside are legal... if thats the case i dnt think they'll pass u at all, no way to hide them. why didnt u just use GUSSETS???! i also think the door bars are suppose to meet at the cross bar on the hoop? suppose to be welded at the same point for stiffness and so all the forces are at the same point? i hope it works out well for u. i TIGd mine in with a 130amp shoe box TIG welder also.

also if u think ur gona hit the track with nitto 555s ur wrong. i had the 350tpi in my sig with 245/45/r17s nitto 555s on my SLPs and i couldnt get trackion for CR@P!!! i could only cut a 2.23 60' time with wheel spin all over the place.i have almost every suspension mog but course my 9 bolt is peg leggin it

here my cage

I have no idea what all the bars in my full cage weigh. When I first installed a 6 point roll bar many years ago, I weighed all the bars after they were cut. The 6 point roll bar added 70 pounds to the car.

Those small gusset bars are perfectly legal although they could have been shorter. The back bar can be just about anywhere in the main hoop. The best position depends on where the seat is positioned to give a proper pull point for the shoulder belts. The door bars don't have to meet at the same point. The door bars just have to pass between the shoulder and the elbow of the driver.

Your 6 point bar without the door bars isn't track legal. You'll still have a 12.0 restriction the same as if you didn't have the bar.

i thought the 6pt is required 11.5 to 10.5 in the 1/4. thats what was said for the track i went to in NY

Umm I dont know where to start... lets see, one thing I forgot to mention is that the main hoop is from my old S&W 6 point cage (look at the old pics in my cardomain page) which is the .120 or .134 wall. the rest of the cage is .095 1-3/4" the "gussets" are perfectly fine like stephen said, ive seen them on hundreds of road race cars.. I like the way they look and I think they add more strength to the system. I wanted a 10 point but I couldnt do it in chromoly, which left mild steel there no way I was going to put a 250+lb .134 wall mild steel cage in. The car will never go faster than 10.50, I feel what Ive done is the safest I could make it...

As for the tires you need to read the thread a little better, The strip ive got two tires a slick and a DR. The "track' I was reffering to was the road course, and the 555RII's are NOT a drag radial tire. they are specifically designed as a DOT road race slick.

Look guys, I wanted something as light as I could make it yet still be as safe as possible, Im not looking to get it certified just pass our local friday night street car tech and ill be much safer running some hot laps around the road courses...
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What you have would not be considered a "6 point" yours would be a 4 point, you need the front door bars.

Heres a cetified EZ Street cage with Gussets just like mine. You guys cant tell me they dont look BADASS!

man this is sweet!! my next project is ditching the n20 and going with a s480.

dunno why everyone is busting your balls about the cage tho, here it would pass visual inspection easy, some of the **** that gets on the track is pretty funny (ie leaking fluids, panels loose) those i think are far more dangerous. anyways i think you covered that, keep up the exelent work!!


a true 6 point has the door bars, they just axe the main hoop gussets to the floor. they are good to 10.0s i believe.

i agree that the cage would be fine. i have yet to see any of them sonix check anyones cage. they just look at the welds from what ive seen. just saying wat stephen had said and what the rules are. still tho it looks good. i do like the gussets as u have them.... i hate the regular gussets which is why i didnt stick them on mine as well. if i ever plan for a 10pt i will prob do those types as well.

sry i mis read bout the nittos, still there are softer thread compounds than the nittos out there. but i do like the nittos and how long they last, they are a good tire.

now get the CAGE painted... and all sexy.

Been slow progress with all the work in the shop... ive got no less that 5 full on builds and my car always gets second billing.. Almost ready for paint on the engine bay!

That engine bay looks phenominal! That's the best smoothing job I've seen on a 3rd gen

your firewall looks very similar to mine; no wipers, no heater, etc. any reason why you left the rectangle shaped hole? i think it was for a heating duct or something...its been so long since I did mine that I don't remember. I do remember that when I welded that particular hole up that it took all flex out my firewall...pretty amazing what a little section of sheet metal can do.

I'd guess that he's planning on having at least a heater box, thus left the airbox pass through.


Awesome build man. As Stephen pointed out, .095 wall MS will not certify, but will very likely meet your needs for a t-n-t/street night visual check. The gussets are definitely legal, infact they're a written in spec for when you can't weld fully around at the a-pillar/halo joint. - For note; for any actual certification you can bet money on the inspector sonic testing at least one bend. They tend to test 3-4 places unless they are confident in the shop that performed the work. I'm not talking about the tech at the track, I'm talking about the paid-for actual certification you will need to run faster than 9.90 at most tracks.

I'm not a hug fan of logs, although they have been proven to support solid power they jut don't look as good. That said, your's is probably the cleanest log set-up I have seen; very good work. I see you v-banded the dp, I'm guessing you will be doing the same for the crossover pipe?

Awesome build. Subscribe ftw!

Looking great Subscribing as well.

very nice . keep up the work.

when i say fabrication i mean a little hole and door to change out a fuel pump.
when you say fabrication YOU REALLY MEAN FABRICATION!
great work - good detail - and dont you just love working on a clean engine out of the engine compartment?

Thanks guys! Its a long process for sure but Im starting to see the final product! I traded in the TC78 for a PT-88 This is the third turbo that ive had on the car and its never even been fired! The 88mm should def reach my goal of 700hp.

The large hole on the fire wall was originally kept there for a large pass through for the wiring and computer BUT Im not really liking it so I think im going to fill it and smooth it out.... still not 100% sure what im doing there. it may even be a machined piece of aluminum with dzues and our shop logo machined into the plate. idk. what do you guys think? smooth the large hole or make a nice machined plate to cover it and put our logo on it?

The cross over pipe is band clamped right now. since I dont have a flex joint in it I wanted something that would flex jsut a little bit more than V-bands. if the Band clamps dont work, im V-banding and putting a flex coupler in there.

nice build man, gonna add you to badassiroc.com keep us posted.

Id say just fill it in and smooth it out wit the rest of the firewall... a plate there with a logo on it or something will get lost being that its close to being behind the engine. a cleaner firewall would look better in my opinon.

I love this build man.There is some quality fabrication on that car. can't wait to see it done.

suscribe

Not to much of an Update but a few things have been purchased and im working on the Motor plate, it should be pretty Fin pimp when Im done!

Purchased
LS1 wiring harness
LSx Delphi Truck ignition coils.
New 44MM Waste gate
95lb/hr TFX injectors
Another 255 Walbro (twins baby!)

Mock up pics to get an idea. You guys like the colors?




Took all that info as well as alternator and PS pump info and drop it into autocad this morning to get a better idea on Fitment... Its a REAL quick cad drawing so its not that detailed but it takes care of all the big fitment issues..

Looks good

I would suggest using atleast one cyl head bolt per side of the front plate. Most likely you'll have to notch out for the alt which will further reduce the strength of the plates

Nice build!

You should post the turboset up over at the power adder board!

/N.

Actually since the motor is plated, Im mounting the alt to the pass side frame rail to keep the alternator and PS pump down low. Im really not comfortable using the heads as a mounting point since I plan on over 25lbs of boost and with it plated, the forces "could" leave one side fo the engine more prone to lifting a head... ive got three points on the block wich should be plenty and if I run into problems ill add a mid plate. Im hoping the plate witll be back from the machinist today! im dying to get it back together!

looks good so far
awesome!

why is it that i see this "log style" header fabing for more turbo systems then regular collector turbo headers? is their some kind of benefit of the log type header than a 4 primary into a collector turbo header?

The benefit is really just the ease and cleanliness of fabricating it. Its also real easy to work in plug access. Log manifolds have made WELL over 1200 hp so for anything less than 1K HP the only real reason to go with a tubular header style is for looks...

So log manifolds can produce good power hu? What about exaust note? Heard its diff with a log style.

Some really great progress, Tony!!!! I've been enjoying the updates on your build since the first day I signed on here!!! Heck, yours could well be the motivation for me to step up to some turbos on one of my own builds someday!!!! What are you going to build for a lateral travel limiter on the LS engine???

The exhaust note doesnt change at all since the turbo itself is what changes the sound and actually acts like a muffler. and yes PLENTY of power can and has been made with logs. Im also going to redo my down pipe from 3" to 4" and run out the driver side thorough a set of boom tubes.

As for a travel limiter Im making my own similar to the one on the LSx drag radial car Ive been building. Heres of pic of that one, Im probably going to do a different "pedestal" and have it located on the pass side instead of the driver side.

That should do the job, Tony, good lookin' bar... Still have to figure out what I'm going to do on mine for a travel limiter....with all the engine setback on mine, things are getting a bit crowded.

Did you get your front plates done yet??? Got the template done for my front, got to order a piece of aluminum for it then commence whittling away everything that doesn't look like a front plate. Went one piece on this car, but I've used the two piece similar to your design in the past and never had any problems....6061 T-6 aluminum is some stout stuff!!!!

Anyway, anxious to see more progress on yours!!! Good motivation for me to spend a bit more time on my own...Too bad a guy has to do so much customer stuff to pay the bills, huh?

Oh ok... Kinda a newb when it comes to turbos.. Another guy on a diff forum said he switched his log out for lsx manifolds to change exhaust note and more power..??? The only thing I can see with a reduction of HP is that each pipe just dumps into a chamber... Not a merge into exhaust flow. Get what i'm saying? But love your thread! Good work! Good read!

UPDATE! Ive been busy ordering more parts and I recieved the Motor plate from AEI on wends so Ive been mocking that up!

Parts ordered

12 curcuit EZ wiring harness (completely ditched ALL the factory wiring)

ACR Flat touch digital switch panel (google videos of it! its friggin badass!)

ALL AN fittings and hose for the fuel system.

Super sweet carbon fiber valve covers!

AN Fittings and hose for the breather tank and coolant over flow.

CSR Electric LT1 Water pump.

Acura Legend Alternator, (its much smaller than factory GM alternators and should fit perfectly down low on the pass side of the motor plate)



Heres the mock up pics and one of the valve covers I know the aluminum look isnt as good as the blue and pink but its the best they could do....

Very nice!!!!! The anticipation is going to kill me. Subscribing.

Good luck.

Mark.

niceee.... why not just get a mini starter lol... my summit one is tiny as hell.