1992 Camaro project - Halfway there

[InfernalVortex]

I got this car in january of '07. It's JUST like the car Jeremy drove in the America Special... only slightly less crappy.



170hp, 240 ft/lbs of torque. Has a torque curve like a diesel but got great mileage for an old 5.0 liter V8. (around 22 mpg in the city)

First things first, I put some really nice, really good racing shocks/struts on it - Koni Sport Adjustables. I also put some much stiffer springs from a Z28 in it.


If I wanted the car to actually handle realy well, instead of just "okay for its weight", I needed to get some subframe connectors to keep the frame from twisting. The steel bracing here are the connectors, and you can see my 3 inch custom fabricated dual exhaust system here.


You can see my header collectors here:


This exhaust is getting a nice coat of high temperature paint this week, it'll look much prettier after that.

So here is the 305 cubic inch (5.0 Liter) V8 that came out of the car yesterday.


191,000 miles of service. Pulled HARD... until 2000 RPM. Like I said, the thing had a torque curve like a diesel. I lovedh ow in the USA special they said "how can they get so little power out of such a large engine?" But it's true...


This is my car without an engine.


And another picture of my car with no hood or engine for good measure.


The old engine is feeling a little dejected in the background I think. The 350 (5.7 liters normally. THis motor is actually bored .060 inches over, so it's 360 cubic inches, or 5.9 liters.) is almost ready to go here. Still needed a few things bolted to it.

And here the 350 cubic inch V8 is in the car!


Naturally, the wiper motor didn't like its space getting invaded, but I think it survived the ordeal after all. It got banged up pretty good actually. It's the big black plastic thing above the driver's side valvecover.


We thought we were homefree until the ECM threw up. The ECM is now removed and completely irrelevant. Im going to a carburetor - hippies will certainly love me after this. Jeremy would be proud... maybe.


I always loved how rocker arms looked, especially nice, clean, full roller rockers... yummy.

I know not many of you guys are into american sports cars, but I think a few of you are and might want to know. The rest of you I think might just be interested and like pretty pictures. Thanks for reading!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Looks great! Did you rebuild the 350 or is it a running pull?

[InfernalVortex]

The block itself is an old motor that's been remachined. The cylinder heads are also freshened up, ported, polished Vortec heads from the 96-98 chevy trucks, arguably the best factory heads GM ever made for first generation smallblocks.

So to answer your question, it's a fresh new build. All the major engine parts aside from the heads and the block are brand new and never been run before. I'm a little nervous, hopefully the initial startup next weekend will go smoothly. We still have to get fuel lines run to the carburetor and we have to get all the electrical wiring done. After that it's just a matter of filling it with fluids and seeing what happens.

[Crazyjeeper]

Nice Car

[tigger]

That's quite a nice Camaro, vortex. What kind of power are you expecting to get out of that wonderful Vortec headed 350?

[Wizegui]

Where do those 350s come from? Are they related to the Vortec engines in the GMT900 trucks, or are they a completely different engines?

[Crazyjeeper]

The Vortec headed 350 was used up until 98 in chevy pickup trucks, suburbans and tahoes. I don't recall what year they started. They are related to the Vortec engines in the new trucks.

[avanti]

Lovely! Two thumbs up!
I really like the 3rd gen Camaro!

[InfernalVortex]

Originally Posted by Wizegui

Where do those 350s come from? Are they related to the Vortec engines in the GMT900 trucks, or are they a completely different engines?

The "Vortec" heads didnt come out until 96. They phased them out for the trucks after 98 but they kept using them for some other lines for a few years. They were heavily based on what GM learned from designing heads for the LT1 motor, and they designed these heads for the Gen I smallblock. Their flowrates rival a lot of really expensive aftermarket heads actually. They're the cat's pajamas!

[JipJopJones]

Two nice Camaros on this board! Nice! I really love Gen3 Camaros

[InfernalVortex]

Originally Posted by tigger

That's quite a nice Camaro, vortex. What kind of power are you expecting to get out of that wonderful Vortec headed 350?

Sorry I somehow missed your post, I have a lot of other things holding me back right now. I've got an automatic with th stock stall converter that engages at just a notch above idle and really, really tall 2.73 rear end gears. So I had to pick a camshaft that worked well at low RPMs, therefore it's not exactly a monster monster as far as outright horsepower. But my aim for the motor was to put down 300hp to the wheels. So that's around 375 or so at the crankshaft depending on how you look at the math from there.

It may not quite hit 300, but I've got a nice big double pumper carburetor on top (mechanical secondaries) and a nice free-flowing exhaust and nice free-flowing heads. A cam swap could make that motor into an absolute BEAST. But I've got to fix the problems between the motor and the rear tires before I can think about a bigger camshaft.

[Crazyjeeper]

Manual swap?

[InfernalVortex]

Originally Posted by Crazyjeeper

Manual swap?

Eventually. T56 is money, and the T5 slave cylinder wont clear my headers. T5 cant handle the weight of these cars plus the torque these motors make either. I'd be replacing the T5 before I ever replaced the clutch, but they're so cheap they're almost disposable. The T56 requires a lot of work to convert everything too.

It will probably stay automatic for quite a while.

+ YouTube Video

At wide open throttle from a 5mph roll last weekend with the 305. The green light(s) is the Air Fuel Ratio gauge you cant really see in the dark.

[MattD1zzl3]

Your camaro is so much nicer then mine


We'll have to meet up in northern florida somewhere (good halfway point) and race when i get mine fixed up!

[InfernalVortex]

Screw that, you come to Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds where the Georgia F Body Association has their track day. 100+ Camaros all in one place. It may not be worth the drive from friggin Miami though... jeez... that's gotta be like 10 hours.

[deltableh]

Nice rockers...

[JCE]

Originally Posted by InfernalVortex

170hp, 240 ft/lbs of torque. Has a torque curve like a diesel but got great mileage for an old 5.0 liter V8. (around 22 mpg in the city)

FYI the 1990-1992 LO3 305ci TBI engines produced 170bhp and 255lb.ft. of torque.

But, anyway that's one nice 3rd gen you've got there. Lets get some videos!

Originally Posted by JipJopJones

Two nice Camaros on this board! Nice! I really love Gen3 Camaros

No love for my 3rd gen? Its not a looker but my god its probably more reliable than planet earth! Oh, and it makes one hell of a good noise.

Originally Posted by InfernalVortex

At wide open throttle from a 5mph roll last weekend with the 305. The green light(s) is the Air Fuel Ratio gauge you cant really see in the dark.

Definately got a good noise there. Need more videos!

Here's my Camaro and his videos: http://forums.finalgear.com/post-you...project-25119/

[InfernalVortex]

More vids you say?

+ YouTube Video

With my new exhaust system

+ YouTube Video

The morning after I drove it home from Virginia.





By the way, thanks for all the support guys. I've always wanted one of these 3rd gen Camaros since I was a little kid in the 80s! It's kind of a dream come true!

[Scott]

Any plans to rustproof that exhaust? It is looking a bit on the ragged side... POR-15 or something? Just tossing it out there... I would hate to see you have to re-fab another one because you didn't spend the extra $75 to give it some longevity!

[InfernalVortex]

Originally Posted by Scott

Any plans to rustproof that exhaust? It is looking a bit on the ragged side... POR-15 or something? Just tossing it out there... I would hate to see you have to re-fab another one because you didn't spend the extra $75 to give it some longevity!

Eh, I'll be painting it soon. And this is Georgia, exhausts will rust through but it takes quite while. It'll last at least a few years if not 5 or 10. My buddy has the same un-coated headers that have been rusting for 7 years now, and they're still fine. It NEVER snows here so that helps a lot.