neilb

Some pics I snapped today! Looking pretty good! Pardon all the dirt and fingerprints all over the aluminum... really needs a good polishing/shampoo I'll do that when it's not -40* outside!!!! My garage heater ran out of propane while I was working out there today.... brrrrrr!!

neilb

The washer and coolant bottles will be replaced as soon as the new ones arrive from Hawks. The rad support cover I made from some aluminum I had around, took about 2 hours to cut out, bend and mount. I actually found that a piece of house shelving bracket hooked over the edge of the rad very well, so that was used to secure the rad support cover to the rad. The small screws along the edge go into the shelving brackets, not the rad, lol.

The pics also show how well the Alero fans fit the Camaro rad. They are about 2" shorter than the rad, but it allows plenty of clearance for the power steering cooler.

neilb

My coolant bottle, washer bottle, and plastic panel around the hood latch arrived today! I'll snap some pics once I get a chance to get out the garage.

neilb

I ordered a new K+N filter on Friday, should be in tomorrow. Its a 14" long tapered cone, 6" dia down to 4", with a 3" inlet. This will allow me to shorten the intake tubing by about 3" also eliminating the extra piece of tubing and silicone coupler near the MAF. I'm now searching for some sealed relays suitable to run the new cooling fans. I found one at work, but I need two more. I also scored a small fuse block from a Chrysler intrepid that we sent to the scrap yard at work, This will work well to house the fuses for the fan setup.

neilb

Update:

I fired the old girl up and pulled her out of the garage, then went to back her back in..... and had no reverse!! I guess I messed up on the shift kit install.

I had it towed to my work and put it up on the hoist. I managed to get lots of little things buttoned up like installing my fuelpump hotwire kit, replaced the plugs and fuel filter, and reinstalled various brackets and braces. I also installed my old trans back in, and I'll send the new one to a tranny shop to get it straightened out.

I was able to drive her home the other night, and was really impressed with the improvement of throttle response with the 4.11:1 gears and the converter. My concern is the 4.11's may be too much gear for the car, not to mention they are quite noisey. I need to double the check the pinion bearing and backlash specs.

neilb

A small update:

I had the new tranny gone over at a tranny shop, and turns out I had not gotten a c clip fully seated in the reverse boost valve, and as a result when I put it in reverse, it blew the valve out of the valve body into the pan. So all it cost to fix was a case of beer. Not a bad deal at all. I haven't re-installed it yet because of time. My wife has started back to work full time and works all weekends, so my off work time is spent one on one with my daughter.

I just ordered Founders Performance single adjustable rear lower control arms, single adjustable panhard bar, and their adjustable torque arm. I found the price hard to beat, and have heard many positive comments about the quality. I found the rear feels loose and "soft". The stock stamped control arms and rubber bushings need to go. I also want to lower the rear of the car to get rid of the "stink bug" stance, and wanted to be able to re-centre the rear.

I have noticed a vibration at certain speeds that are there no matter which set of tires/rims are mounted. I'm thinking that it may be improper pinion angles causing it. I haven't taken any measurements yet, but it's a hunch.

The plan of attack will be to wait until the suspension parts arrive, and maybe book a day off work to solely focus on swapping over the trans, and installing the new rear suspension.

My next big decision will be: Bigger exhaust or repair the floor (rotten in a couple of spots) and dynomat the interior... all the rattles and road noise is driving me up the wall!! What do you all think? Do I go for more performance, or comfort?

MintWS6FORMULA

You still working on this conversion 6 years later? Personally, if I had a GN engine, I'd find an engineless GN or late 80's Regal to put it in. I think it would be more collectable and valuable in the future and get a V8 for your Camaro.

neilb

when is a project car ever done? This car has been on the road, and driven daily during the summer for 4 years. The work you see being done is during the winter seasons. I am always working to improve the car and make more power. That is what makes me a true hot rodder, not just a guy who owns some other generic V8 car that's a "custom" because some cheap chrome valve covers. The actual v6 swap took a few years due to the fact for the first 3 years I had no garage to work in, and I was in school full time plus working. I work with what I can with what I can get when I can get it. Its called being responsible and creative.

34blazer

I don't know why you respond to that. It's your car and you can take as long as you want to build the damn thing.

Fallen2603

Amen to both! I'm already four years into the EcoteCamaro, and it will take longer. Don't regret it one bit. Drive on neilb!

neilb

Enough of that silliness,

I got a chance to spend a full day working on the car (which doesn't happen very often anymore), and I got the trans with the shift kit installed, and I swapped the posi unit from the 4:11 rear into my stock 3:42 rear. I actually feel like the car is happier with the 3:42 gear. It would blow through 1st gear with the 4:11, and the highway rpm were pretty high. The shift kit is awesome! it will break the tires loose under hard throttle on the 1-2 shift and has a nice firm 2-3 shift. Very impressive. I also removed the rear spring isolators to drop it a bit, which made the stance look so much better. Another 1/2" - 3/4" drop would make it perfect, but I think the tires would rub on the fender lips.

I'm looking forward to when my rear suspension arrives from Founders. I sometimes feel around corners, that the rear feels "soft" (best word to describe it). I'm really hoping that the torque arm, panhard bar, and control arms tighten things up. I think that once the rust in the floors is patched a set of subframe connectors will be on the short list.

t-top89

iTrader: (3)

When you start upping boost, you'll want a bigger tire for that 4.11 gearing. The motor will easily overpower the small tires with boost in the 20's and a good tune. If your not running alky, use a rev limiter.

34blazer

He already switched back to the 3.42 gears

project89

iTrader: (1)

what rear swaybar do u have on it ?

best ever upgrades i ive done on mine were wonderbar+ hollow 1le sway bars front and rear

fasteddi

iTrader: (2)

Im glad to hear that the 3.42s are better. Ive got 3.73s and to be honest unless i go into the trans and mess with that, the 3.73s are on that fine line of being too steep of a gear for my application.

What suspension mods do you already have on it in the rear? Shocks, lca, exc...

neilb

Currently, the suspension is stock with kyb gas adjust shocks and struts and poly bushings all around. I have a homemade wonder bar, and the stock v6 sway bars. I've ordered founders single adjustable rear control arms, panhard bar, and torque arm all using spherical rod ends on one end, poly on the other. I will eventually upgrade the sway bars, but they aren't high on the list.

project89

iTrader: (1)

sway bars and shocks will make the biggest difference , the v6 bars are friggen tiny

project89

iTrader: (1)

dont fall into that
3:73's are perfect for ya, i have 4:10's in mine and yes those are a lil to much

3:42's + 26 inch tire
3:73's for 28 inch tire

neilb

Well, I got my rear suspension parts from founders the other day, and stayed late after work on Thursday to install them. I am very impressed with the quality of the pieces and the price! I paid $597 including shipping to Canada for control arms, panhard bar, torque arm, and hardware. Not bad at all. The only problem I ran into was the bushing for the clamshell mount. It is for the '85 and newer mounts, which I should have had. But... I guess my car had an earlier mount installed, so I had to modify the new bushing to fit. (I would have preferred to get the proper mount but couldn't locate one in my area). The bushing still fits nice and tight, and seems to be working just fine. I'll keep and eye on it and replace it later if I need to.

Anyway, I can really feel a difference in the handling of the rear, and I'm very pleased. I still need to measure and set the pinion angle, but need to buy an angle gauge first. I meant to take my camera to show shots of the install, but I forgot it, so I'll take some installed shots a little later on.

neilb

Well, as promised, here's some pics after a fresh wash and detail. Still no pics of the new suspension, but soon I hope to get it onto a hoist at work and snap some pics.

I picked up a real nice small digital angle gauge from Princess Auto (A really awesome tool, fabrication, and hardware store here in Canada), and set my pinion angle. I'd be lying if I said I felt a difference with the change, but at least I have some peace of mind knowing that it's set properly.

After driving the car rather aggressively, it developed a misfire which I had to address. I did some quick checks and discovered that cylinder one spark plug was fouled, where the others had a very nice light gray/tan colour. I ended up finding that the plug wire had rubbed on the crimped edge of the brake booster and was arcing through the insulation. A new set of plug wires (not in these pics) fixed that problem. I also thought I'd double check the cam position sensor adjustment, and found that I had it set about 2* retarded. The cam sensor sets the fuel injector timing on these engines, so I set it back to the proper 25* ATDC. The car is running much smoother again, and I'm very happy.

neilb

more,

neilb

last one,

Obviously the car desperately needs a complete repaint. That red hood just looks terrible, but paint is just not in the cards right now. I'm trying to slowly save my coin, but it's taking some time.

Six_Shooter

iTrader: (2)

I just noticed that we aren't too far apart. I'm in Brantford, just the other side of Hamilton from you.

neilb

Very cool! There are a few Ontario members on thirdgen. Maybe someday we will all meet.

Raymond Bunch

Very nice build! Way cool!

neilb

Thanks, its been a long slow process, but its coming along.

neilb

a very small update,

My baby is tucked away all cozy for the winter, with some plans of maybe replacing the floor pans rattling around in my brain. I have been saving my coins, and with any cash I may get for my Birthday, Christmas and my Christmas bonus at work, I should (I hope) have enough to finally get it painted! I've been dropping hints to family that its all I want for my Birthday/Christmas this year... we'll see if they listened.

neilb

VERY SAD UPDATE:

The car has been sitting in a sad state for the winter. I pulled the interior out in preparation for repairing the floor, which I thought was just a small hole on the driver's side. What I found was extensive rot throughout the floor and into the torque box area in the rear. The rear seat belts are barely attached anymore, and the rot has travelled up into the rear tubs. I abandoned my plans for paint and took it to a body shop to get a quote on the floor. They said the chassis was so far gone, it would cost thousands to repair, and still wouldn't be a solid car. It kills me as this was my first car, and had no idea it was so soft. I have had the car on a hoist numerous times and saw little to no signs of the rust. The car is unsafe, and will not risk my life or my family's attempting to repair it. So as of this posting, I am parting out my turbo 6 setup and the bare shell will be crushed. I have thought about swapping it all over to my newly purchased '84, but honestly the thought of doing everything all over again just doesn't appeal to me. I'm moving on to a new project, and hopefully the sale of the turbo 6 will fund some of my v8 build. I will be swapping the founders performance rear suspension, posi rear end, aluminum rad and the mild built 700 R4 into the '84, but will sell the engine, intercooler, wiring, and other accessories. If anyone is interested shoot me an offer, but you must be able to pick it up, I will not ship, and I will not part out the engine, must be sold assembled.

Six_Shooter

iTrader: (2)

The claim about "still being unsafe" seems a little far fetched, especially if the repairs are done correctly. I've seen some real rot boxes brought back to solid and safe conditions with enough time and effort.

If it's mostly the floor that is gone, new pans can be purchased and the torque boxes rebuilt, along with any other issues you may or may not find.

neilb

The body shop did say it could all be fixed, however at a price that was beyond what the car (excluding the engine) is worth, and at the risk that more rust will be exposed. The fact is I spent lots of time and money on a body that wasn't worth it. In my opinion the repairs that would be required will likely not match the structural integrity of an all original solid body, which is what I now have in my '84. I had to step back and look at what I have, what I would need and what would it all be worth in the end, and I just couldn't get it all to work. Unfortunately this was my decision. What scared me was I drove around last summer with my daughter's car seat held in with seat belts that were barely attached to the car. The thought of what could have happened is sickening.

Gumby

If your paying someone, everything will cost more then the car is "worth" by some book, but what is it worth to you?

And thye propbably just don't want to do it. Never let anyone talk you out of crap like that. youll regret it later in life.

Had a shop do that to me when young, to lazy to weld 2 3ft straight sections of metal to fix the shackles sticking through the trunk floor of my 72 Charger, its not worth the cost of fixing bla bla bla would take me about 2hrs in drive way today now that I know better.


buy a welder, n get creative.


https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/v6/1...-p-my-car.html

neilb

The car needs (from what is currently visible) complete floor pans, left and right rear torque box repairs, firewall repairs, both A pillars, rear lower quarter panel patches (just ahead of the rear tires), inner and outer rocker panels, rear bumper support, rear tubs, and who knows what else would showup. While the car is worth much more to me than a shop would charge, I can't afford to spend that kind of money. I started to patch some areas, but it is far beyond my skill level. Like the song syas, "you've got to know when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em". I have had 11 years of fun with this car, but it's time to say goodbye.

88_KaMaRo_KiDD

Hey i know this is a few months old but give me a hollar i may be of some help jdburge7@gmail.com and the older memeber is right you dont let no body take your joy away u put to many year in this project. To just give up 11 years......11 YEARS MY @$$....ILL SIT ON MY CAR UNTIL (A) ILL FIND ANOTHER BODY VERY CHEAP N SWAP EVERYTHING OVER OR B FIND A NICE SHELL AND SWAP EVERYTHING OVER DONT LET ANY ONE DISCOURAGE U PERIOD IM ROOTING FOR U BUDDY FOR IM DOING THE SAME PROJECT.....EXCEPT MINES A 84-85 SET UP N IM GETTING 86-89 PARTS TO SWAP IT ALL OVER, hit me up jdburge17@gmail.com

neilb

Thanks for the words of wisdom! I actually do still have the 86 in all its turbo glory. The 84 is sitting in the garage with the plans of an all aluminum 5.3l swap. I do keep finding myself looking at the 86 and contemplating swapping over the turbo 6. I just cant seem to make up my mind. Time will tell what happens.

88_KaMaRo_KiDD

Mod def add me on facebook :
Jeremy evolution burge
i realize that the 84-85 swap wasnt what i wanted it was alot more challenges .....so now im looking for a 86-87 complete setup but....i got two other challenges lol i got a 81z28 that needs a motor n trans i found a tpi383/700r4 for 1200 for it(not sure if its a 383 or not) and my 88 base coupe is the car i would like to swap the 3.8 turbo setup i wanna drop in it

neilb

Update! Im swapping the turbo 6 into the '84. Check it out here: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...ml#post5956407

I havent made too much progress yet, but I'm on my way!

Don88l03