probably gonna keep it a bit longer. its getting sorta famous online and at local shows.

went and took some new pics eventhough i hate the color of this thing. some instagram page wanted to share it.

 

 

The Car looks Amazing!
...and the Photos came out Great!!!


Please remind me what you are using for Front and Rear Coil-Springs, Struts, and Shocks...
Are you using Weight-Jacks?

 

Car looks great. I too bough those ebay strut mounts but I don't want to use the funky lift bushings. I wonder if you run it flush, without the spacers, if it will drastically hurt the strut life. My UMI ones are too tall and interfere with my Baer brake cylinder.

 

thanx,
i have suspension techniques lowering springs, kyb gr2s (for the moment).and tubular everything

 

thanx.

yeah i only bought them cause when i bought the car the stock ones were blown out and i just needed something cheap to move the car around with. they make soo much noise. i actually had to add some tack welds to the one side cause the spacer they put was machined slightly too small so it rattled. gonna do the founders ones when i get the extra cash. right now i realized i really need weather stripping.

 

Very cool build! Lots of Goodies- it has to be an absolute blast to drive! Great work.

 

thanx. yeah its crazy when its fully spooled up.

 

well ive been battling a cooling issue. thought it was just my cheap ebay radiator and maybe a air pocket but this thing just keeps pushing coolant under boost. never got hot while cruising. dunno why since i got ls9 head gaskets, arp head studs, etc... maybe timing but tuner said it wasnt too crazy. 22 degrees at full boost. anyways got a new champion radiator, burped it with 50/50 coolant and did a few pulls and this time after a coule minutes of just cruising after the pulls it finally started to get hot. so think im gonna do another set of ls9 head gaskets, copper spray them this time and i read quite a few post on ls1tech about torquing the studs like another 5-10 ft lbs (ill have to look agint what they suggested). im just not looking forward to doing the work since i spent all that money in the first place to not have this crap happen but i guess thats the name of the game.

 

After building many, many (Gen-3/ Gen-4 SBCs under boost) Engines for my Customers...
I have found both an elevated-pressure (19-22Psi) Radiator-Cap, and an Engine Cooling-System Pressure-Sensor to be worth their weight in GOLD!

Unfortunately, with these engines... when Boost-Pressure climes high enough, some of that pressure will indeed enter the Cooling-System.
A small amount of increased Cooling-System pressure is to be expected... and a Radiator-Cap of 19Psi or higher can work nicely.

However, when the Cooling-System pressures start to climb... there is a problem!
An Engine Cooling-System Pressure-Sensor will help to keep an eye on things.

While often not needed for Engine tuning purposes...
Holley EFI (Dominator) opens up an entire world of possibilities for Instrumentation!
I absolutely LOVE it!!! Temperature and Pressure Sensors for EVERYTHING!!!

Good luck to you!

 

yeah ive been thinking about adding the pressure sensor just havent got around to it. i tried a 20lb cap on the old radiator but not on this one. vintage air says not to run anything higher than 19lb or it might damage their heater core.

 

Ah yes...
The Heater-Core may not be happy about it.

I have had very few Builds that end up with a Heater-Core leak...
But it does happen.
I have replaced those Heater-Cores that leaked with full Aluminum replacements...
as well as Pressure-Test them, and reinforce them in any areas that require it.

 

i dont think vintage air has a aluminum heater core option. maybe i can have one made. i dunno

 

I have almost always had to go to a Intercooler Business or a Radiator Business...
In order to replace the Heater-Cores with a stronger Aluminum Unit (custom dimensions if they do not have something close already designed).

 

ill probably see if i can have my buddy who built my turbo kit make me one. hes always building intercoolers and stuff.

 

pulled the heads. didnt really find anything. ordered OEM GM 5.3l head gaskets and copper spray this time. also ordered a spring for the lower radiator hose. took the heads to work to clean them off a bit. waiting for parts to get here. hopefully this stuff fixes the issues. but wont know until its back together.

 

got everything cleaned up, new stock gm 5.3l head gaskets with copper seal sprayed on them. torqued the heads down to 80ft lbs instead of the 70. arps last revision for these head studs was 2006 and after reading a few threads people say they spoke with arp recently and they said to go to 80ft lbs. i added a coil spring to the lower radiator hose so i did. painted up a coupe things, then got everything back together and running. talked to my buddy that tuned it and he had me pull some top end timing out. havent got to test it out yet. couldnt get the crossover pipe for the turbo lined up correctly so gonna take it to work and try to get it on the lift and align it better. im hoping its gonna be all good now.

 

also side note im thinking on some new wheels. i would love to paint the car white but im either goin to go back to the factory color or something a little darker blue cause i really dont like this color.

anyways heres the wheels i was thinking of going with. the ES CS12. i like my z06 wheels but since i have to run the spacers up front my turning radius sux. i get maybe a 1/4 turn before rubbing. so with the correct offset wheels i shouldnt have that issue.

 

I’ve never had to copper spray any of my 5.3s and I’ve been up to almost 16psi with ARP head bolts or china studs. I always run cheapo MLS 5.3 gaskets or the GM LS1 style. I don’t like the LS9 or 6.0 gaskets on the 5.3 because of the small bore and chambers.

if I remember correctly the reused stock TTY head bolts provide more clamping power than any other stud or bolt, the best being new quality TTY bolts of course. I just don’t like putting that much stress on the block threads.

were you getting any smoke out the exhaust in boost or just pressurizing the cooling system? I think your running a term x and it would take $50 for a new sensor and extension harness and you could easily repurpose the Holley oil or fuel pressure sensor preprogrammed output temporarily for cooling pressure check if you didn’t want to suck up another input and go through the whole wiring part. I’ve been boosted for 5+ years on my 5.3 and never had a cooling system issue and I wouldn’t waste an input on it once you get it fixed. Just saying…

edit: also get rid of those mls exhaust gaskets and put on a pair of remflex… perfection and basically a guaranteed leak free connection even with a warped flange.

 

ive never had to copper spray any of my other turbo builds. i re-used my arp head studs. never got any smoke or overheating issues just pushed coolant out the overflow after a couple pulls. im thinking it was a combo of the huge 4.10 bore headgaskets and possibly my lower radiator hose collapsing. i do have an extra sensor ive been wanting to wire in. i mounted on top of the waterpump but found out thats not a great place. guess itll still read a difference but wont be too accurate. also wasnt having any problems with my ehxaust gaskets. just replaced them cause 1 fell apart when i took everything apart.

but yeah been ripping on it since the head gaskets and no issues. pretty sure everything is good now. of course now my tuner wants to up the boost.

 

Since Head-Gaskets were brought up...
The Bore of the Gasket must most importantly be matched in size to the Cylinder-Head Combustion chamber.

Example: LS3/ L92 Heads on a 6.0L (4.000" Bore).
The Combustion Chamber fits roughly a 4.060" Bore Gasket, and the Gasket should have a good 0.030" larger Bore than the Chamber.
So on a 6.0L (4.000" Bore) with LS3/ L92 Heads, the Head Gasket should have a 4.090" Bore or slightly larger.

 

yup. when i originally ordered them i went off ls9 part number. the ones i bought came up on btrs site as a oem style replacement cause i couldnt find any oems at the time. (ive ran ls9 before on a 5.3l with no issues). what i didnt notice when i ordered them was there was a big bore and small bore gasket. i happen to order the big bore and didnt realize until this all happened. live and learn.

 

got sorta a deal on one of those hawks lip splitter things. came in today so i primered and painted it the same color as my buckets. came out pretty good. got a set of fancy turn signals coming soon.

also cars been running great with no cooling issues since the head gaskets and other stuff.

 

this weekend i got a couple things done. my starbuck innovation turn signal/ brake ducts showed up so i got those in (too bad i cant use the brake duct part since my intercooler piping is in the way). my buddy finally had some free time so he was able to weld up my hood. i had to go to a party so i didnt get to watch him (it warped a little but body shop should be able to do something with it). washed it up and took some pics. the last 2 pics are the same spot just many years apart. crazy to think my car probably sat in that parking lot waiting to be sold.

also debating on what color to repaint the car since i do not like this color. thinking either back to the Maui blue metallic or white (ive always wanted a white 3rd gen).

 

Looking great, I think either color choice would look killer, but I am partial to white on the irocs... would look great contrasting with your grille and black splitter

 

thats kinda where im at. the contrast with the black stuff. for me the blue doesnt pull it off as well. also thanx.

 

Could you tell us more about this? Where did you get it?

 

dont know if you have instagram but this guy @starbuck_innovative_designs or facebook https://www.facebook.com/starbuckinnovativedesigns/ makes them. theyre a little pricey but really nice quality and if you can run the brake duct part i think its worth it. hes making a new set that are switchbacks. mine are just amber. these were first batch.

 

Would you kindly Post some Images after dark, with the Signal-Lights operating?

 

lol ill try.

 

Thanks!


I love Third-Gens; and particularly have really enjoyed many of the design changes that you have made to your car.
Keep it up!

You have a good mind for design... It is always refreshing to see something that differs from the same old boring stuff.
People have made similar design changes to those that you have, But your execution is just superb!
Sometimes people like "Different", and sometimes they don't...
At least for myself; I really like the look of your Car!!!

 

thanx man i appreciate it. yeah ive done cowl hoods and all the same mods people usually do so this time i decided to go a little different.


I need to fix my headlight wiring. It's either headlights or no lights. I can't just turn the maker lights on. besides that theyre pretty bright. actually the first time ive seen them at night. lol

 

You are most welcome!

Keep making the great design changes that you have in your head...
And don't be surprised when people who like what you have done, follow along and modify their own Car.

In the Early 1990s I modified the Tail-Light Housings on my 1987 Camaro.
I painted the inside of the Housings with Candy-Red Paint, to change the Amber-Lights to Red.

People have been doing the same thing now, and replacing the Amber with Red, one way or another.
I do not know if I started the trend, but I had never seen another Third-Gen with the same modification, back then.
I never thought that anyone would like it enough to do the same thing... but it makes me happy to see other Third-Gens with it done.

Sorry for rambling on... anyway...
The Lights look great!!!

Do the Side-Marker Lights still function when the Signal and Hazard Lights are turned On?

How did you come across these lights in the first place?

 

i just find designs i like from other 3rd gens i see or hell even other cars. like the hood i dont know if you saw in a previous post, that was sorta a copy of a hood i saw on a japanese 3rd gen just with less vents. some of the ideas i get off the actual iroc race cars. like the spoiler and the big open front grille i originally thought of that form those cars but it works out well with my intercooler setup. i got a set of clear headlight covers that im gonna put on someday.

dang you started that red light thing? crazy.

the lights i was just following this ones guys 3rd gen on instagram and he built the set for his car, then he made a post a couple weeks ago saying that hes gonna start producing them and had a pre-order setup.

 

I have seen that Hood design before...
Just not on a Third-Gen.

I have seen the same Front-Grille design on a few Fourth-Gen Cars, but again not on a Third-Gen.

The Magazine Image that you Posted, looks like the IROC racing series that Third-Gen Camaros were named for.
I have not seen one of those Cars in a good 20 Years.

Again, the Car looks Great!

 

i actually did the same thing on my 4th gen to back in the day. that one was a bit harder. had to make 2 bumpers into 1.

this is one of the japaense cars i got the idea from.


heres the 4th gen:

 

Very nice!

 

cars been sitting for the past 2 weeks. dropped my hood off at my body shop for them to finish it up. taking longer than they said but i told him to take his time cause it needed quite a bit of work. so while its been sitting ive been deciding what im goin to do with it. i ordered a few parts for it like flush door handles, t-top weatherstripping and found some billet hatch hinges locally. went to a bbq and saw one of my buddies that builds cages and stuff so he offered to build me one for a decent price. with that said i pulled the back half of the interior apart. its only goin to be a 4 point with harness and cross bar. thinking about maybe doing really low door bars but i dunno. besides that i decided that im goin to paint the car white after all so i grabbed some cleaners, sand paper, primer, gloss white and clear coat and started with the engine bay since hood will be back soon. then ill do the door jambs and when i replace the hatch hinges ill paint in there. also going to be pulling all the flares, spoiler etc off for them to be painted off the body. yes engine bay is staying blue. i feel itll make it pop when the hood is open. also i can tie the blue color into other parts of the car.

 

got the hood back from the body shop finally. i still need to figure out a grille situation if i wanna run one. kinda like the open look. started pull the car apart to get it ready for paint. need to pull all the front end stuff off. going to pull the t-top weatherstripping and outer window felts off so they can paint all in there.

 

since i have cool bosses who like my car i took 2 hours off today to pull apart the car at work and decided to go get another quote from maaco. apparently my work discount wasnt as much as the current 30% off promotion that they were running lol. but yeah got most the front end pulled apart, pulled t-top weatherstripping off (thats just dirt in the pic, this car has no rust), outer door felts and body side mouldings. took it to maaco and left it there. they said it should be done in about a week. freakin forgot to give them the flush door handle to paint body color and forgot to pull my tail lights off. so goin to try and stop by after work and see if i can do that.


side note: thought this notice was funny.

 

I do not have any images at the moment...

However, for Cars that use an Air to Air Inter-cooler...
I like to cut out the very center of the Grill and Bumper-Cover.
Just the flat, forward facing area that would have "CAMARO" on it.
The sides of the center section remain.

I then take a black very fine mesh and install it where the center section was cut out.
I also trim the original center section down to just the Letters of "CAMARO".
Then I bond the "CAMARO" to the mesh part of the grill.

From about 5 or 6 feet away, it looks like a stock Grill.
From closer the now open mesh center is visible... and increases air flow to the Inter-cooler as if no grill or bumper cover was there.

 

ah nice. i thought about putting a bowtie in the center. might still do it.

excited to see how the car is going to look after paint.

 

got my car back from paint and got it all back together. ive always wanted a white one so it went white and im loving the storm trooper look. soo much easier to pick a contrasting color over the blue. installed all new weather stripping (minus hatch cause i need to order one), switched out my badges for my new RS-Z badging. need to find vinyl guy to make me up some door stickers and possibly do something with the hood. it needs something to break it up a little. oh also weighed it. full tank of e85, subframe connectors, sub, tools and some other stuff it weighed in at 3590lbs. i wanna put it on my corner scales i have at work.

 

Just found this thread. Cool build man

 

thanx i appreciate it

 

First let me just say that the Car came out fantastic!
...and that means that your taste in design looks amazing!
...and the actual Body-Work looks quite nice in the Images.

We briefly discusses Grille/ Opening modifications for Air to Air Inter-Coolers (I think we did anyway)...
Do you have any Images of removing the section of the Bumper-Cover that the License-Plate and Grille would have covered.
What did you use to cut away that plastic area of the Bumper-Cover...
and how did you finish the edges (where cutting occurred) of the remaining Bumper-Cover?

The Plastic Material that you used as a Grille... is from what?
Looks similar to the Grille Material from some Silverados, and some Zeta/ Alpha-Body Camaros.

Beautiful Third-Gen!!!


OOO! I almost forgot!
Please post some images of the Digital/ Screen Instrument Panel Cluster... Thanks!

 

thanx and yeah we did discuss the grille opening. i used a air body saw to cut it out then a grinder to smooth down the edge. the grille is actually just from ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/32390524018...QAAOSwhN1dcM1Z

ill have to get you more pics of the dash.. i love the dang thing.

only older pic i have right when i cut it.

 

matte white vinyl stripe down the center for the hood opening and such. just for a bit of contrast, the white looks so clean. the base hoods always looked super long with just a solid color and no aggressive features. Not sure how the heat extractor is hidden so well but it doesnt give alot of depth. Love how its coming along though, glad you kept it.

 

hmm i didnt think of a matte white stripe.i was almost gonna theme the car with bronze and gunmetal because the wheels i might get. i was thinking like a gunmetal stripe with a bronze pin stripe around the front and along side of the cut out. wish i knew how to photoshop sometimes. was also thinking about using the same two colors for my door emblems i need to have someone make once i figure the font i want. thought about just a semi gloss stripe like the headlight bucket color. maybe ill get some vinyl or plasti dip and mess around with different ideas.

 

the bronze isnt a bad idea at all. just figured whit emight be cool to help it both blend without being too much color and looking busy but also bring a good depth to the cars features. Anyways carry on, love the progress!