I deleted my vapor canister in anticipation for a CAI system. However, I am not sure that I can get the piping to go over the upper radiator hose and still have room to close the hood.

If I were to re-locate the battery to the driver side battery tray, could I get away with some longer length cables or would I have to relocate the alternator as well? If the battery is on the driver side, what is the wisest way to route a cable down to the starter which is still on the passenger side of the block?

 

You'd basically just be setting it up like the Firebirds so it is a "stock" setup, Stock, just not for a Camaro so it should be simple.

 

That's what I'm asking though. What is "Stock"? How are the cables routed? Can this be done without relocating the alternator?

 

If you found a firebird in the junkyard, you could get the correct battery cables to move the battery to the driver's side. Yes, the firebird positive battery cable is considerably longer.
You won't have to move the alternator. Good Luck

 

Be it a V-belt or Serpentine belt Firebird, the battery was in the same spot & the alternator switched sides, so you won't hafta move your alternator, just get the correct cables & wires.

I've never paid attention to how my Firebird cables are routed, so I'm no help there on the routing of them.

 

If I remember correctly, the third gen V8 Firebirds Ive worked on had the positive batt cable routed across the front of the oil pan, behind the harmonic balancer. GM used brackets and cable stays to hold the cable in place in front of the oil pan. From there the cable runs along the same route as on the V8 Camaro.

 

Alright, now here's a really noob question. I've never tried removing a battery tray before. Are they simply bolted in or are they spot welded?

Whichever tray I end up going with, my plans are to cut the bottom out of the tray, install a sort of steel mesh and build a box that seals the air filter against the tray. This way, the filter will actually be a true CAI setup but the air intake will not be routed through the tray to the underside of the car so I won't have a huge hydrolock risk if/when I ever hit a puddle.

 

The battery tray is part of the body. If you had the body completely stripped, you wou;ld see that the flat area on either side of the radiator opening could serve as a battery tray. One side was used as such while the other was used to mount the EVAP canister. I think that your idea to use this portion of the body as part of an air filter box would be fine. Just be sure to seal the housing well so you don't draw dirt around the filter.

I just realized your car is a Z28. Check out my cold air/ram air intake, which I built from the original air filter lid and housing. It's a precision job and took some time. Building the ram air boxes, that route air from the original fog light openings to the air filter housing, was a real trick. You need to have some skill with sheet metal. The plastic work on the filter lid, which involved opening it up about 5/8" in the narrow area over the radiator support and expanding it to accept a 4" hose instead of the original 3" billow, required alot of measuring and two trips to a specialty plastics shop to purchase materials and pricy two part cement. The result is fantastic. It outflows any aftermarket cold air intake and fits the car perfectly. Plus it makes the two ports at the front of the car function as ram air inlets(which Ive always thought was the original intent of the designers). At 100mph, my freind 1badZ has measured 1psi of positive pressure at his throttle body inlet with a similar system on his car. This system really helps my extreme TPI 355 get the air it wants.

My profile doesn't show alot of detail. But if you're interested, I can take some photos and PM them to you.