2000 Camaro SS-10.99 Project

[NJ346]

Figured I'd start a thread on my current f-body that I bought last year. When I bought the car, it had a pretty large cam, BBK 85mm intake and TB, 3500 rpm stall, and 3.73 gears. I got the car for a pretty good deal, but that is because there were a lot of small issues with it including the tune.

At the same time I bought the car, I picked up HP tuners and figured I'd learn along the way. A little background on myself- I'm a 2014 Mechanical Engineer graduate and took a job with one of the big 3 as a calibration engineer so I was pretty confident I could handle the task of trying to figure out a proper tune for the car. I took the car to the track for a baseline with the previous owners tune, the result was a 12.1 in the 1/4. I was pretty unimpressed since the car has a rather large cam and the 60' times were in the 1.6x range. By the end of the season, the car ran a best of 11.68 with the only change being the tune. I was still picking up things here and there and the tune still had improvements to be made. If the tune was really dialed in, I think the car could have gone 11.4x.

The whole time I've owned the car, I was never happy with the oil pressure(it was 20psi hot idle), and the rear main seal was leaking. Since I wanted to fix those issues over the winter, I figured I should just pull the motor and go through all of it. As we got deeper into the winter, I decided that I wanted to shoot for 10's.

To help get me to the goal of 10.99, I am ditching the BBK setup for a ported Fast90, changing out the no-name 3500 stall for a Circle D 5C(4-4200 stall), replacing the stock 241 heads for a set of 243's, and possibly doing a custom ram air setup or Chris1313 ram air.

Since the car is stored at my buddies uninsulated garage, its been hard to get work done with the weather we have here in Michigan. This weekend I decided to finally tear into the car.

Here are some pictures of this weekend's progress:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t31.0-8/p720x720/10989525_10205063368855128_8569313840730509581_o.j pghttps://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t31.0-8/p720x720/10989525_10205063368855128_8569313840730509581_o.j pg

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/p720x720/10830684_10205063369935155_8289503785689097731_o.j pg

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/p720x720/11058674_10205063370735175_1252883792517129719_o.j pg

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/p720x720/1957894_10205063370815177_7988492597966405259_o.jp g

The weather isn't looking good for the upcoming week, so progress may be slow. The plan is to build up a short block I picked up during the week or spend one of the weekend days doing that, and then trying to get the k-member bolted back up by the end of next weekend. The goal is to have the car back together and running by the end of April, spend a couple of weeks street tuning the car, and then shoot for 10's by the end of May. Stay tuned for more posts of pictures and progress as it's made.

[MyFirstZ]

Very nice, keeping the same cam or you going to freshen up the valvetrain to?

[NJ346]

Staying with the same cam. It's a TSP MS3 which many people have gotten into the 10s. I will be using new valve springs and lifters, as well as using a ported and polished LS6 oil pump. The short block I'm building came from a 98 corvette with 30k on it so I am doing ARP rod bolts too.

[MyFirstZ]

Should work nicely. I'm sure you know already, make sure you lube up that oring nicely on the pump. Even knowing it and taking care putting mine together it still managed to get nicked and caused the oil to aerate.

What springs tooley or PRC ? What lifters also? Keep hearing people staying away from LS7 but they work great with my MS4.

[NJ346]

I went with the LS7's even after hearing the rumors. I ran the LS7s in my old setup so I'm not too worried. For springs I actually went with a sponsor on LS1tech. They are very similar to patriot extreme springs and the price was right.

[MyFirstZ]

Yeah I'm still running them with no issues shifting at 7k

[elle]

Surprised how easy it looks getting the engine out with just jack stands. Def picked a tough Winter for auto work with no heat! Good luck with the build.

[NJ346]

Surprised how easy it looks getting the engine out with just jack stands. Def picked a tough Winter for auto work with no heat! Good luck with the build.

This is the second time I've taking the engine out of an F-body this way, it really is pretty easy. There is a good guide on tech that I used both times just to make sure I don't forget any small things. You just need to make sure you have enough jack stands.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/general-maintenance-repairs/857641-how-remove-engine-bottom-ls1-fbody.html

[MyFirstZ]

Yeah the worst is the exhaust, suspension and trans connections work on your back

[NJSPEEDER]

Very cool project. If the weather cooperates how long do you think it will take to get everything back together?

[NJ346]

It took me about 7 hours from the car being on the ground to having the whole powertrain out of it. I think I can get the shortblock built in a day since it's really just bolting things together. The goal is to have the k-member back under the car by the end of next weekend and then spend a couple of nights buttoning everything up for first start. I am going to NJ for easter weekend, so after this weekend, the next shot I have at getting any real work done is going to be April 11-12. I think the car should be able to start under it's own power by then.

[sweetbmxrider]

I like how you waited till spring for your winter build :lol: So you are just doing arp throughout the short block?

[NJ346]

Only doing ARP rod bolts. Using GM headbolts and balancer bolt. The other reason for holding off on the build was my buddy has been building a 89 Mustang with a 408SBF with a S475 turbo in the space where the K-member is sitting right now.

[Blackbirdws6]

Looks like a good project. Hope you hit your goal.

[NJSPEEDER]

The drive to NJ would be a good break in....just sayin.

[NJ346]

The drive to NJ would be a good break in....just sayin.

Already have plane tickets purchased...and the exhaust consists of the LT's, into a ORY, and SLP LM1....I'd be def before I even got into Pennsylvania. Also, the 1 hour plane ride>10 hours driving is pretty convenient too.

[NJ346]

Made some good progress tonight. I got the harness off of the engine. The trans was separated from the engine. I took the torque converter and flex plate off. I also took the engine off of the k-member. Tomorrow I plan on tearing down the rest of the engine that was in the car and taking what I need off of it for the short block I'm building. I plan on building the shortblock on Friday and then putting the k-member back into the car on Saturday or Sunday.

https://scontent-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10676135_10205086090863164_3414825463862647737_n.j pg?oh=05b2863f58171c44102cad7cefd4d553&oe=55B560AB

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xta1/t31.0-8/p720x720/11062380_10205086091183172_6203860703620887441_o.j pg

[KirkEvil]

Nice build and reasonable goals. Sending you a PM, I have a few things left over you may be interested in. You should swap in that spare trans along with the new 5C stall :shifty:

[NJ346]

Status Update:

My ported and polished oil pump didn't show up by the weekend like I had planned so the car ended up not going back together this weekend. I did spend the weekend prepping things to make everything go back together easier.

Here's what I did:

-Stripped down the old motor and took all of the parts I needed for the new short block.
-Cleaned all of the parts and bolts I planned on re-using.(The PO used ARP everything internally)
-Installed the new valve springs in the 243s, also lapped all of the exhaust valves.
-Installed the cam in the new short block.
-Installed the LS2 timing chain and LS7 lifters.
-Fixed a bent header collector.
-Painted the Valve covers and headers.


I have to give my buddy back the engine hoist for a few days. I don't plan on getting the car back together until sometime next week at the earliest now with the Holiday coming up. I'm thinking first drive will be the weekend of April 25th.

[NJ346]

I've been making progress here and there since the past update. The motor found its home back underneath the car this afternoon. I still need to finish some harness connections, the exhaust, torque arm, driveshaft, fill fluids, and bring the laptop with me for first start. I think the first start will be later this week, and first drive could be this weekend.

Some pictures:

https://scontent-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/11065612_10205217729474047_675505135376269466_n.jp g?oh=52134d1760041f733c97e7e17d52673f&oe=559C5C37

https://scontent-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t1.0-9/11140753_10205217727914008_3368771306627877169_n.j pg?oh=60e01c8e486ad4641dd35c2d3ba32509&oe=55AFD8D6

Finally some more room in the garage:
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[greenformula92]

Looks like good progress

[KirkEvil]

When does that car get its first wash?

[NJ346]

When does that car get its first wash?

First start will be followed by first wash. I'm hoping to get it started tonight. I bought an ebay TB and ran into issues with the iac motor mounting last night. I just need to get the TB mounted and some final battery connections and it's ready to fire.

[NJ346]

First start happened tonight. There are a lot of loose ends to tie up but shes back up and running. This video is of the first attempt to start the engine...was really surprised how quickly it started.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM4U1aqplE0

[NJSPEEDER]

Congrats. Looks like it is coming back together just in time for good racing weather. Looking forward to the video of the first pass.

[3.4 grape of wrath]

Did you actually lift the front of the car by just the radiator support or is that chain wrapped around something else?

[LTb1ow]

Did you actually lift the front of the car by just the radiator support or is that chain wrapped around something else?

Thats how I did mine the first engine removal and then switched to bolting chain to frame horns since !crashbar.

[FlyingDutchman]

Did you actually lift the front of the car by just the radiator support or is that chain wrapped around something else?

I used a tow strap and a small piece of wood to help not bend the front lip it wraps around. No bends or kinks.

[NJ346]

Did you actually lift the front of the car by just the radiator support or is that chain wrapped around something else?

Yep, and with the LS1 airbox, even if the rad support gets pinched in any way, the airbox covers it up. But it's never really been an issue the both times I've done it. There really isn't much weight on the rad support other than maybe the 750 lbs of the body work of the front end.