1996 Camaro, 6 cylinder with a lot of electrical problems, removed the computer and installed an air asperated 8 cylinder; 268 Comp Cams flat tappet Cam, 1 5/8" shorty headers with a 2" cat-back X exhaust, Edelbrock Performer intake with 600 cfm Edelbrock 4-barrel Carburetor, 1.5 roller rockers, opened the cylinders .030 over, high flow 55psi oil pump, double width radiator. Used the normal pistons, crank, rods and 193 heads on the donor motor. Got machined and checked out, put in some new springs, all new lifters. There are a lot of lessons learned from the build: -The computer missing make getting all the gauges on the dash to work difficult -The top of the carburetor is very close to the fire wall, a lot of you-tubers just cut the sheet metal and loose a windshield wiper... we did better than that with a Spectre snorkel and cold air intake. -Change the fuel pump -Change the brake system because could not find an ABS computer -Added new, MSD ignition, new power steering pump, new Alternator, new serpentine belt, all new hoses, new tachometer with motor temperature and voltage, added direct tube and oil pressure gage later (things you loose when you get rid of the computer) -Changed out the 3-speed automatic for a 700r with 2200 stall converter and shift kit -Changed the entire rear end and got rear disc brakes and 4:10 rear end. It Ran for 3 months, but always had a ticking sound, then got hard to start. Opened the heads and a piece of metal was left in one cylinder. Out with the motor, changed to 4-bolt main, changed rods, put in flat top eye brow pistons, new chrome AC compressor, put it all back together, it ran for a while and started smoking. -Opened the heads and they tried welding the damaged head from the piece of metal, it cracked there again. Out with the both heads, replaced the passenger side heads at a different shop. Added a new chrome alternator and polished tensioner. Along the way a lot of upgrades, new interior, new blue-tooth stereo, back-up camera, parking sensors, interior lights, sequencing LED turn signals, re-designed the entire rear inside of the car and installed space and clips for the t-tops, two amplifiers, new interior speakers and two 10" woofers. Then added custom engine covers, the new Camaros have them so I figured "Why not!!" If any 4th generation guys want them with whatever design we can do this hahaha. The car is a lot of fun and gets a lot of Looks. -The 193 heads give a lot of low end torque and it will burn the tires off the rims, but they run out of air at about 4,500rpms, so the car isn´t real fast, but it´s loud ....Now 3 month later the motor has a rod knock. I´m buying a 383 kit complete. My question for you guys is, Will the 268 flat tappet cam hold up or do I spend a bunch of money on new heads and a roller cam? I´m thinking about porting the heads myself and leaving the flat tappet cam, due to the budget.Your comments?
Took a bit to get use to how to move around the page, now I got comment alerts being sent to my e-mail, Thanks everyone for your comments!
NOTE: A few things about a 6 to 8 swap: The radiator fan package for a 6 cylinder runs at a slower speed than the 8 cylinders, I purchased the 8 cylinder fans and installed them along with the double capacity radiator. I also removed the windshield washer reservoir and cut a large through-hole so air comes in the front grill directly to the radiator, I also cut the back wall out of the hood scoop and the air running by creates a siphon that pulls the hot air off the motor. The new double radiator doesn´t have a built in transmission cooler, we added an external transmission fluid cooler. All this may not have been needed, but the temperature runs about 82°C, I figure the cooler, the better. I bought a smaller wind shield wiper fluid reservoir kit with pump I have to install yet. I use a "heads-up" display that projects the speed on the windshield uses GPS to detect speed. I set it up right next to the tack/temp/volt cluster and oil pressure gauge mounted on the column with a small oil tube running to the motor. The 700r has magnets and a pick-up, but without the computer, its another thing you have to figure out; I´m sure there´s a converter somewhere to get the dash speedometer to work and the tachometer, I just haven´t got that far yet The dash fuel gage, and temperature gage work OK with the original wires connected to the original sensors. The headers on the driver´s side need cut and modified to get around the steering column The motor mounts are completely different, we were able to get an LS1 mount to work on the passenger side, but had to fabricate the driver´s side motor mount completely. The low-profile "Crab" distributor was needed, with a normal height distributor you have to cut an access hole above the distributor, then make a plate to cover the hole back up to keep water out when it rains. I turned the AC over to the AC guys, without the computer they had to add an external thermostat to prevent freezing and what ever else they did I´m not sure, but it works excellent
