Project V6 Firebird

This is a little cross posting from some of the other forums I'm on. I've owned the car since Dec. 2002, rebuilt/modded at 135K I'm over 150K miles now. I like to get the information out there and documented because too many people in our community just do their stuff without a whole lot of info on what went on. It goes like:

"Picture of my car before."

"Magic happens!" *Virgin sacrifice not included*

"Picture of my car after with 500 hp more!"

So here's a good look at what I went through to get where I am today.

What the car has now:

Factory Options:
GU6 & G80, AKA 3.42's and a posi. Something not commonly found in V6's outside the W68/Y87 packaged cars.

Exterior Modifications:
Speedline MIstral 6's 17" x 9.5"
Kumho Ecsta 275 x 40 x 17
8000K HID low beams.
8000K HID fog lights.
60LED Switchback DRL/Turn Signals.
Debadged, trim delete and rear filler panel is now devoid of the firebird name and logo.

Interior Modifications:
Corbeau CR1 race seats
PLX Wideband gauge in central AC vent
Weight Reduction

Performance:
Whisper Lid
Intense S1X NA Cam: 212º/216º .556"/.546" 113º LSA (With 1.7 ratio rockers)
Yella Terra 1.7 Platinum series roller rockers
PAC 130# springs
60°Inclusive ported heads and intake
10:1 Compression
LS6 Fuel Injectors w/ FAST spacers
Manton Pushrods
LS7 lifters
Fabricated Valve Covers
Force Fed Fabs Longtube Headers
3" Spun Metallic Cat
3" Electric cutout
3" dual out turbo muffler (Dynomax)

Suspension/Chassis:
Front:
BMR 32mm Solid swaybar + Poly endlinks/bushings
PARacing Tubular K-member RR
HAL QA1 12-way coilovers
Rear:
LS1 19mm swaybar + Poly endlinks/bushings
UMI Performance LCA's
UMI Performance Adjustable Torque Arm
HAL QA1 12-way shocks w/ WS6 rear springs

Drivetrain:
Aluminum Driveshaft
Yank Torque Arm Relocation Cross member
TCI Super Street Fighter 3800 stall w/ 2.1 str
4L60E built by Richard at Precision Transmissions in Amarillo, TX
Hayden 1405 trans cooler

Electronics:
HPTuners
PLX Wideband
CDT Door Speakers: CL-61CV.2
CDT Sail Panel Subwoofers: HD-6M DVC

To-Do List:
Install ram air hood, build air box.
Break into 13's NA.
Collect parts pile for T-56 build. *Clutch kit is all that remains*
Afterwards, build parts pile for boost build.

Before:

The Teardown.

I decided to pull the car out of service in June of 2009. That's when things got ugly in a hurry.

I pulled the valve covers on a 135,000 mile motor to find this:









This perfectly explained the lifter tick and all the other issues. I had changed the oil on a regular basis, used synthetic etc. etc. I think it comes down to high miles and the previous owner probably skimped on changes while it was in their hands. 65K miles in two years is a lot.



Nasty stuff in coolant line:



I found broken brackets and stuff galore on this engine. I never could track down why my AC made a rattling noise until half the bracket fell off while unbolting it. Broken clean in half, and the engine mount on that side had one broken bolt, one missing and the other was loose.

AC compressor bracket:


Engine mount bolt broken off:

No matter how beautiful they are, somebody, somewhere is tired of dealing with their crap:



So I embarked on a quest to find somebody to fab taller covers for me, but a guy on CV6 was parting out a build. They had taller covers, and so I bought them. I still had to use the spacers because of my gargantuan elephantiasis diseased rockers.

Now you see me...



Now you don't!

Wheels!

Bought them off of racingjunk.com for $500 shipped, recoated them and mounted them with some 275s. These were campaigned on an SCCA world challenge touring Camaro. Not sure how rare they are, but they're rare enough I guess.

Before:


After:

Just some shots of the car as it sits, still need to update on the interior stuff as I just installed the Corbeaus this morning.










Wife doesn't really understand the license plate, but quite a few people I know get a kick out of it.

Soundclip of the car with a quieter setup. Went from a TSP Rumbler which was a race bullet out the back to the Dynomax super turbo muffler. Much better, no more complaints from my wife lol!

[video=youtube;Ho4hMFh8pRM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho4hMFh8pRM[/video]

Congratulations on a unique build...loved the pics! Thanks for sharing on TB.com!

How on earth did you do the semi-transparent looking hood? Obviously some type of photoshop mastery. Car is beautiful, rims look killer on there. Truly original. Very nice work.

Where did you get the valve covers? Those are sexy. Nice Build.

Thanks for the compliments!

Squid4life, the transparent hood is photoshop sorcery. I bought a cheapo tripod that makes it a lot easier to take good shots with my cheapo point and shoot kodak easyshare. One shot with hood open, one shot with hood closed. Process both images in photoshop and voila!

Quickt, the valve covers were bought off a member on a small V6 f-body forum, and I think they were one offs. I believe PRJ makes similar valve covers for the 3800 Series II LINK
As an additional note, I love your avatar image. It seems the black intake with polished letters is a sign of good and discerning taste in the 3800 world. I am of course biased lol!

Nice doesnt sound like a V6 Been to the track yet??

Sadly our local tracks have dried up. I wanted to get 1/4 mile times but driving over 2 hours to the closest one is a bit beyond what I'd care to do. We had some within 15-30 minute drive here and they're all pretty much gone...

Ya We used to be over 1 hour from ours and we moved closer to it. Wife keeps trying to get me to move farther away from it but I say no. lol

Did they kick you off LS1tech.com?

Seriously nice build, but that 3800 needs boost in the worst way.

Nah, they haven't kicked me off yet:tongue:

And I agree, it needs boost. I couldn't afford to get it done right the first time, so I didn't do it lol! I have plans on building a boost block at some point soon. Low compression JE forged pistons, fully balanced, ported, etc. etc. Not sure on the turbo(s) sizing, but that'll come about after I get the heads worked and have a cam spec'd out appropriately.

Just a shot at what just went in the car:

I have been thinking about race seat for the T. What model are those? (LG) Are they comfortable?

Corbeau CR1's. They are way more comfy than the stock F-body seats. Much more snug. Took the car through some roundabouts that would usually require you to hold on to the wheel for support at 30mph. Took them at 45mph with no need to support myself on the wheel.

Picked up shipment of my CClones (3" inlet 3.5" dual outlet) and my Holden intake manifold. Sumbuck is NASTY!

I've got plans for this one that'll come along after the manual trans swap is done.

Got these off ssclones (just google that). 3" inlet 3.5" dual outlet.

Really like the way it finishes off the catback. The guys at the exhaust shop were pretty impressed with the tips along with the low cost. They tuck up there pretty well. Not a quantifiable difference in sound, so I'm not gonna say if it helps in that area or not.

Nice and easy to clean too