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  • 2001 camaro turbo build thread

    Hello everybody. Just thought I should post a build thread on my Turbocharged 2001 Camaro V6 , since I couldn't manage to find any help along the way for myself.

    So for starters the car started off as the Tom Henry Rs. The top end was completely gone through. Custom heads , cam , ported heads ect. The list goes on. All said and done whilst NA it produced 230hp to the tires. Not to shabby considering. The suspension has been completely gone through aswell. Global west torque arm and pan hard bar. Qa1 coil overs (two way adjustable) solid bushings front to back , and some lightweight Fikse wheels.

    When I bought the car it was decent. Not great , just decent. The tune was a little on the soft side , and the suspension setup was far from where it should be. So I daily drove the car 100 miles a day. On my free time I would hit the canyons and get a feel for it. I eventually got irritated enough with the back end coming out on me , I decided to make s ok me changes.

    The issue I was having is exiting a corner. It was on ice! It hated coming out of a turn. God help me if I hit a bump mid turn. So with my basic knowledge I concluded a few things. The car has no give in the rear what so ever. So I adjusted the shocks accordingly. It got better .... but still was a handful. When I bought the car , the gentleman gave me a room full of spare parts. Great guy I must say. After doing some digging I found the extra set of rear springs. What was on the car were a set of custom made global west springs. I have no idea what the spring rates were. Anyways, I put the ebiachs I had on the car. Not only are they a softer spring , they lowered the car about 20mm. Double bonus ! So I lowered the front coilovers and nosed it down slightly. Now that I have a softer spring I'm able to let the shocks do their job. I went on a spirited drive and thought eureka!! Its so much better .... but it can be better . So after some trial and error and a few hours I dialed in the shocks. One good run up mullholand with the final setting and I couldn't belive it. I went from hating this car to ... omg this thing handles better than my M3. Who would have thought?!!

    After I finally dialed in the suspension I was thrilled. I started hurting some Miata feelings. It was fantastic, I really must say. I love it when a car exceeds my expectations. And then I found the week link. Any other apponent with a decent level of power meant I was pushing the camaro to the absolute limit. One hard run and my oil temps would be knocking on the door of 300. Wayyyyy to high. So it got HOT! coolant wasnt an issue , intake air temps are damn near ambient. So I have to fix that. What els..... it's under powered. Even with the many upgrades it just cant hold a candle. So what now??? Engine swap , no.... it's to much fun winning with a v6 , so maybe supercharger ??? No that wont fix the heat issue ,itll just make it worse. So while I was surfing through ebay , I came across a trubo kit. CLICK , I bought it. Just a basic kit. China turbo and wastegate , with some decent looking headers and up pipe.

    A few days later the kit arrived. I was skeptical from the moment the money left my account. But I have to say ,I was very pleased. The china turbo is a weak link for sure . It will break. But that's okay. I'll just upgrade it later. The headers are worth every penny of the kit. Welds are nice. Clean finish. Good flanges. Itll work.

    I got into tearing the car down asap. Started with a mock up to check fittment. No major cutting or modifications needed. So I installed the turbo. Next was the intercooler. After much trail and error. I removed the front bumper support and put the intercooler in place of it. It fit perfectly. Just another $40 ebay intercooler. Buy hey, itll work. I know the flow behind the grill isnt optimal. But I really like the slp grill and the fact it hides the intercooler. Mostly. I'm going to out some fans on it anyways. Next was the Oil cooler. Locating a spot was a challenge. I didnt want to block flow to the radiator or the intercooler. Also o was running out of space with the turbo kit. So I got creative. I cut out the under panel in front of the right front wheel just behind the diffuser , and faced it down. With the fog lights removed it allows for plenty of airflow. Especially with the massive fan on it. I used a sandwitch plate adapter from summit at the oil filter and ran lines along the frame. A nice clean fittment. I was very proud once it was all done :-D. Next was the down pipe. The clarence from the turbo to the throttle body is very tight. So I managed to create a drastic enough bend to clear it , without disrupting flow. Installed a slender muffler and a turn down. The exit comes out in front of the left front wheel. I tried every way possible to get the exhaust out the back. Theres no way to get a 3 inch pipe around the engine with this setup. Some heat wrap finished it up. I clearenced the throttle body a little just to avoid any contact heat transfer.

    As of right now the car is 99% complete. I need to finish the oil feed and return for the turbo. The vacuum block. And the battery relocation.

    Here's a list of weight reduction. I'm expecting it to be at ,if not just below 3k lbs. It's a slick top car with cloth interior and factory rear defrost delete. Before touching the car it weighed in at 3200

    CAT BACK EXHAUST
    A/C AND HVAC
    FOG LIGHTS
    AIR BAGS
    CONDESOR
    MISC BRACKETS UP FRONT
    WINDSHIELD WASHER SYSTEM
    FRONT BUMPER SUPPORT
    Attached Files

  • #2
    Additional photos
    Attached Files

    Comment


    • #3
      Great read. Nice to see Tom's RS is still around. It was a California car. Tom couldn't do a whole lot with this car because of California epa rules. I still have the articles on his build.

      I love what you're doing to it. Looking forward to seeing you complete it.

      Comment


      • #4
        That’s a sweet build - I wonder since you mentioned an ebay turbo setup if you are building up the same type of setup as our other member Steve: https://www.camarov6.com/forum/techn...ebay-turbo-kit

        If you can get her down to 3,000lbs that thing is going to move!

        2002 SOM Z28 Camaro - 12.9 @ 104 mph
        1996 3800 Camaro - 13.43 @ 100.77 mph


        Project Cars | How To Guides | Scratch Repair | Synthetic Oil

        Comment


        • #5
          Looks good, only problems I see is your a manual, I wouldn't be shifting too hard, you'll blow some gears in your M5.
          08' L76 6.0L 4X4 Chevy EXT.Cab LTZ Vortec MAX with Snug top cover, Dynomax exhaust,Hptuners& K&N intake
          96' Camaro M5 to A4 conversion, alot of mods . GT35R Turbo full suspension. Built engine

          Comment


          • #6
            I ordered this one lets see how well it clears, but I guess I have a little more room since my tb is angled lolClick image for larger version

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            • #7
              Thats the one I have Alex, also one that doesn't have the flex too. I figure one will atleast work.
              08' L76 6.0L 4X4 Chevy EXT.Cab LTZ Vortec MAX with Snug top cover, Dynomax exhaust,Hptuners& K&N intake
              96' Camaro M5 to A4 conversion, alot of mods . GT35R Turbo full suspension. Built engine

              Comment


              • #8
                Yeah ssms5411 the t5 is for sure a weak link. Eventually I'll swap to a tko600.
                That down pipe looks decent. Not sure exactly how you could secure the complete exhaust...so it wont wabble around to much with that flexible segment?

                Comment


                • #9
                  The downpipe isn't that flexible, once the v-bands are on its pretty solid. Did you try and route the exhaust where the a/c compressor was? Thats where I plan on running it and back to the exhaust with a 3" electric cutout.
                  08' L76 6.0L 4X4 Chevy EXT.Cab LTZ Vortec MAX with Snug top cover, Dynomax exhaust,Hptuners& K&N intake
                  96' Camaro M5 to A4 conversion, alot of mods . GT35R Turbo full suspension. Built engine

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I had thought about it. But how are you going to route the belt?I ended up getting an idler in place of the A/C compressor. Still not eniugh room to get it past it ssms5411

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      You shorten the belt, rerouting it , takes a ribbed pulley in place of the smooth idler pulley, saw a video on YouTube. Basically routing it like it never had A/C.
                      08' L76 6.0L 4X4 Chevy EXT.Cab LTZ Vortec MAX with Snug top cover, Dynomax exhaust,Hptuners& K&N intake
                      96' Camaro M5 to A4 conversion, alot of mods . GT35R Turbo full suspension. Built engine

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I see.... Well something for me to think about when I upgrade the turbo

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Hey brudrey! Car looks great I love the intake setup but that filter seems a little small depending how much boost you plan on running. I am also doing this build and am almost ready to start as well.
                          Last edited by Turbovert01; 03-11-2019, 01:18 PM.

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                          • #14
                            Also there is a way to get three inch pipe past the engine and out the back on the driver side ! It was certainly tight but I did it, didn’t have to modify much either. Hard to tell from this picture but is not in contact with anything either. Piped wastegate back onto it as well.

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                            Last edited by Turbovert01; 03-11-2019, 01:39 PM. Reason: Add pictures

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                            • #15
                              Looks great, I have alittle more clearance since I have a tubular K so ill try the passenger side first.
                              08' L76 6.0L 4X4 Chevy EXT.Cab LTZ Vortec MAX with Snug top cover, Dynomax exhaust,Hptuners& K&N intake
                              96' Camaro M5 to A4 conversion, alot of mods . GT35R Turbo full suspension. Built engine

                              Comment

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