Well I havent been doing much since the RS kit and tail lamp mod. But I have a couple new things today. First off, I cut out the center portion of the front bumper so I would have a functional grill. But I didnt have anything to stick there. So I bought a billet grill. While browsing, I also found a mini-me and cant wait to bring that to shows to place on the intake manifold when I open the hood.

 

I haven't updated in a while since I haven't really done much. I was busy just cleaning the heck out of every square inch of her getting ready for a couple car shows and events that came up. I have some free time now, so I thought I would share what to look for in the near future.

z28 Thermostat housing with bleeder valve and gasket
z28 180 Thermostat and gasket
aftermarket bleeder valve and hose
(hurray, the 3.4l gets a bleeder for the system finally! no more guess and check and burping for 5 days)
new custom coolant reservoir (that you can actually see into and moderate) and lines (removal of old reservoir)
timing chain sprockets
timing chain
timing cover gasket
front main seal and hardware including crank bolt
water pump gasket ...again

one piece drive shaft (why oh why was the 2 piece even made..)

1" rear sway bar
sway bar links, all 4
drilled and slotted pro rotors
hawk antifade hp plus brake pads
brake flush

Those are pretty much what is on the immediate list, and listed in order of importance.

 

So its been a little bit since I have updated last. Ive done quite a bit of work since.
I found out that Sydney has a little tapping every now and again, but its just a worn lifter. It rarely makes a sound anymore unless she sits for more than a few days in a row. Instead of replacing the lifter and running the risk of something else going bad shortly after, I am getting another 3.4l engine and building it up while its outside of the car so look for that build to show up here soon.

As for what I have done since.
First I completely removed the A/C system. Although Im probably putting it back in when I put the new engine in. Even with T-Tops, it gets a little too hot out here. Luckily when removing the A/C system, I found out that it should be working just fine and just needed to be recharged.


Next, which you can also see in the above picture, I took out the stock metal coolant lines and ran new heater hose from and to the heater core, as well as from the coolant tank. Here is the old stuff.


Next, I did something that seriously needed to be done. The radiator was just horrible, and the cooling fan started to die on me. So I ordered a brand new radiator, and 2 high performance cooling fans that work amazingly!





I also replaced the bosche 4 plus spark plugs which horribly disagreed with this car, with bosche copper plugs. Only because I didnt have $50 for the iridiums at the time. But she still has taken to these plugs a lot better. At least right now, but I doubt there will be any problems, since my last camaro took well to the same plugs. No pictures of that, but the 4 plus plugs were already burnt out horribly. Luckily the engine is still dry, no oiled up plugs.
After that, I quickly replaced the brake master cylinder and bled out the old fluid, so it has all new fluid, clean and adjusted all the brakes, so she stops a little better than before. Tthis heavy girl still needs the antifade pads with slotted rotors, but this is the best Im getting for right now.

So thats what I am up to. I cant wait for the new engine and to build it up. Im not doing anything crazy, but since its out of the car, this is what I have planned.

3800 series upper and lower intake manifold with a custom throttle body and dual CAI (and im going to sand blast and paint the upper manifold)
26lb fuel injectors, might get larger, Im not sure yet.
Mild cam (not sure what size, Im going to talk to a friend at a speed shop that will take my tire size, base horsepower, estimated rwhp after the list of upgrades, weight, all the specs, and he will let me know which cam fits the bill so I dont get too small of a cam, but I dont get something too big for it either.)
Shorty headers (maybe, im not sure whats on it right now since it comes with headers.)
I might get a dry stage set up, but unless I can figure out how to do that myself, Im not about to drop $1200 on this modification.
New valve covers
A new flowmaster exhaust system will be going on when the engine gets swapped in as well as a one piece driveshaft and possibly a 10 bolt posi rear and the c4 sawblade rims with 285/50 thick sidewall tires.

So like I said, nothing crazy, Im certainly not about to rip the engine apart when it was already freshly rebuilt. That would be a stupid move on my part. But I basically want to open up the breathing restrictions these engines have, and I am going to need to upgrade the fuel injectors when I do that. Then its just some flashy additives to make it clean and new looking. Some gloss black, some chrome, keep it simple and fresh.

 

The 3.8 intake won't work on your 3.4.

If it's the stock cast iron manifolds, ditch them. Shorty's will sound much better.[/QUOTE]

Also, stock injectors should be fine for the minor upgrades you plan on doing. Unless, you spray it, then maybe. But I wouldn't trust a 3.4 on the bottle.

 

I refuse to use nos, especially since I dont run straight lines. And I remember reading a few threads about people that have swapped the intake manifolds. The upper manifold doesnt fit right, but apparently the bottom manifold lines right up and therefore you are able to put the upper manifold on then.

 

oops, its the 34/500 series. sorry, i got it mixed up.

 

This what made me think your looking at putting nitrous on the car. I'm guessing you meant something else?

 

Oh that makes sense. But my girlfriends father who used to run his own stock car told me about a little mod that i never thought of. Apparently they relocate the oil pan and run custom oil lines wherever the oil needs to go. This way the crank isnt constantly slapping the oil in the pan slowing it down. He said it was expensive and not exactly easy to do. They mostly just do it for the stock car races apparently.

 

Aw. I get what you mean. A dry sump oil system. The Z06 Corvettes use them. They're meant for road racing and keeping the oil actually pumping through tight turns instead of sloshing around. Nice systems but expensive and overkill in my opinion.

 

Well considering what I'm doing comes down to tight turns at high speeds, would it still be overkill in my specific situation? Or just overkill in general no matter what the application unless its a car you invest like 100k into?