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Camaro 3800/t5 On Road


twalton

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Well, I finally got the car on the road and am quite pleased with the results at this point. My goal was to have a very mild mannered daily driver with a significant power upgrade over stock(74 260) with good fuel economy. The t5 works great with the stock differential ratio and is very quiet at cruise with the dynomax superturbo muffler/ 2.5" mandrel exhaust I fabricated. I used a 1st gen. RX7 fuel tank with a "modified" FI maxima fuel pump assembly.(in tank, very quiet) I used a tilton clutch master which required some minor hydraulic adapting to the stock camaro hydraulic TOB.

I "modified" some 3.8 camaro pacesetter headers to clear the frame rails. I am guessing the car is around 150 pounds lighter on the front end than stock....definitely livened up the steering. With the mods from stock I am guessing around 225 horse. I know, pretty anemic compared to some swaps but it moves pretty good for a lightweight DD. BTW, I picked up the COMPLETE motor/trans/pcm/FI harness for about $300 at pickapart. I have prob. $1500 in the swap since I completely went thru the motor.Anyway, take a look at the pics and feel free to post questions...

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Thanks for the comments... The engine sits real close to the firewall(w/in an inch) in order for the shifter to exit close to the stock position...I had to modify the shifter some due to the stock tilt of the camaro bellhousing. I havent hooked up the speedo yet but I feel the MPG will be much better than I was getting with the stock L6/SU combo. As far as performance enhancement,the aftermarket is much more limited than what is available for the Ford/Chevy V8s. A supercharger is offered by a couple of companies and forged rods/pistons, etc. are available for forced induction reliability.I may look into a few add'l mods in the future.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Zya, that NA RB engine will make a great DD Z. Even NA should be plenty peppy. I am actually surprised how strong this 3.8 series 2 is in the Z. I would like to find a scale that could accurately weigh the car cause it feels lighter than stock. I drove it to work this a.m. and kinda chuckled as I backed out of the garage cause w/the stock l6/su combo I would had to let her warm up a while before taking off in the 25 degree weather. Also, I dont miss the smelly fumes from the 'ol inline.

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  • 1 month later...

KRAYZ, I welded up a custom crossmember which spanned the frame rails and also tied into the original mount pedestals. I modded the original datsun motor mount brackets(basically shortened them and adapted them to camaro block) and retained the stock Datsun rubber mounts. A custom trans bracket was also required. Anyway, I have been real happy with the conversion as it yields good power/fuel economy. Also plenty of room up front for possible forced induction mods. Good luck with that 3.8 ford swap. Should be a good driver.

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  • 1 year later...

Twalton, whats goin on man? We spoke awile ago when you were building this. I was interested in this swap as well but i want to see some pics of the steering colom vs header, and fender clearences. I was thinking of using the GTP long block with l36 fbody heads and intake manifolds. The is also a tubo kit for the v6 fbodys that i would like to use if their isnt any real clearrence issues. http://www.force-fed-fabrications.com/index2.htm, http://www.force-fed-fabrications.com/images/Projects/38turbo/pipe9.html, there is also a guy named scott, search ur50slo, who sells v6 fbody kits for about about 4-500 for a complete hot side for a F-body that uses any 3bolt GN turbo. http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/general-turbo-buick-tech/257876-series-ii-l67-grand-national-6.html

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  • 3 weeks later...

Very nice, I just came across this thread.

 

I had thought at one time that a 3800 Supercharged motor with RWD Camaro 60 Degree accessories etc. motor would be a great swap candidate. What does your hood clearance look like with the Camaro motor?

 

How do you like the Engine Management?

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  • 6 months later...

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