Whats up guys and girls, I got a question. I have a 2002 Camaro with the 3800 and 5 spd. Does anyone know who makes a tubular k-member for this engine? Basically, I would like to make the entire suspension tubular. Any suggestions? I also plan on finding a way to take out the old engine and run a Grand National engine in it or something similar to that. I havent seen much talk about anyone doing this so maybe im issing something. Any complications that I should be aware of besides the obvious? Im not worried about going with the LS1 or any of the LS series because that would be too easy and common, so any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks everyone.

 

I do believe Spohn or UMI make a tubular K member for them. And don't even try to swap in a GN 3.8. It's not even gonna come close to working. Gonna have to do it custom if you want a turbo and I know just who you should talk to.

 

Alright thanks for the info about the K members. Now what about the 4.3? Would that fit or should I just stick to the 3.8 in the car and just build it up. Either way the engine is going to be built to support around 21psi or so depending on how crazy I get. This project is going to take a while because im taking my time and spending as much as I can on it.

 

Stick with the 3.8L. The 4.3 will NOT fit. Period lol. And the stock 3800 pistons and rods won't hold 21 PSI no matter how good of a tuner you are. You will snap your rods in half and blow your piston rings to pieces.

How much do you plan on spending? Do you know what all goes into a turbo build? It's not like you just slap on a turbo and go...

 

Alright, the 3.8 it is. I'm just toying with ideas right now and making a build layout on paper. Just getting all prices and all that stuff together before I start. I'm not worried too much about money. I guess my budget would be however much I decide to put in it lol. I plan on makin it budget build with a little bit larger budget so ATM money don't matter. It's not going to be a race budget lol. Yes I'm very well aware of what goes into a turbo build or any other kind of build. I have had 2 turbo cars that I built. 87 SVO Mustang and a 05 Mustang GT twin turbo. So I've been around the block. Now I'm into chevy I had planned on the entire engine being built to handle 21+ psi. Just need to find right parts and info. This isn't my first rodeo with blowing stuff up and making things work lol but it is my first 3800 build.

 

Also in ur earlier post u said u know just the person to talk to. Is that for the custom turbo setup or what?

 

Custom is the only option. You realize that many of the parts you are going to need will need to be made custom or semi custom. This type of build can run over 10K if done right. Going off the beaten path is cool but there is a good reason why everyone GM goes the V8 route. Its the most common motor on the planet and easy to modify so you can find everything cheap. Well "Cheap" compaired to custom made. I can not even imagine what a one off billet crank made from 4140 would cost. 2-3K?

 

That's tru. There is however a company that's makes a ton of performance parts for the 3400 and the 3800 fwd including all the internals. I would assume that slot of there stuff isn't compatible with the red 3400s and the 3800s right? I was "told" that some parts will work like pistons, rods, and even the cranks that this company makes would work but then again who knows.

 

Tons of parts? If you find internals that will handle 21 pound of boost reliably please post some links. I think the 3800 block will handle 500+hp but that would be the only part that would be from GM.

 

Yeah tons of parts. I talked to the guys at ZZ Performance. If you go to their website Zzperformance.com it will have a picture link to the grand am, grand prix, the G6 and a Saturn Ion/Cobalt for the Ecotec motors. This company specializes in all GM 3400 and the 3800s. I was on the phone with one of the parts people and they said they have about 600 parts for the camaro 3.4 and 3.8s. They even have crate motors. Their motors WILL work in RWD applications. All you need from what they said was the intake and throttle body and so on. They even said u could use the LT1 or LS1 TB wit the adapter if it's not an electronic piece. All the valve train, and rotating assemblies they said will work. But to order parts for our camaros u would have to call them with the part numbers ur interested in and then go from there. I plan on getting a crate motor from them with a bunch of goodies and since I work at dealership I get a pretty good discount so let's see what $7200 gets me lol. Check them out.