DirtyBird222

iTrader: (7)

So my dad and I built a turbo single cam 95 Civic EX. Took it from a 18 second car to a 14.2 second car @ 100mph. We built this for under $2000 includign the cost of the car though. It was for the grassroots motorsports $2008 challenge. Def could be a 13 second car with better axles and tires.

Anyways after driving a boosted car for the first time ever, I want to do this to my Trans Am. I am about to buy a daily driver so this will be feasible to do over the next year. I read the guide on here, and I realize it will cost money. I have Comp 7.4 pushrods already, comp 921 dual springs, ls2 timing chain, ported and blueprinted ls6 oil pump, katech rod bolts, and a sixspeedsinc state 2 tranny already.

Either way I go; turbo or SC, what else do you think would be necessary? My engine right now has over 100k on it with a G5X3 cam in it over the last 5k miles. I'm thinking:
-New block
-6.0 heads
-6.0 valves
-Def a different cam
-Forged internals? Crank, rods, & pistons?
-Injectors and fuelpump
-Then a turbo or s/c kit.
-CLUTCH!

I am thinking of a "reliable" and "budget" build to have around 500+hp. I learned a lot about turbos and installing them and so on from building the civic. Of course the T3/T4 was way to big for that 1.5L engine. I may steal that from the car and throw a smaller one on there and use that for my build .

I'm just toying aroudn with the idea!

TurboZ28408

iTrader: (18)

a single t3t4 is super small for a 5.7 V8 setup

the smallest i'd go is a 60-1 or a T67 or MP T70 turbo

itll max out around 500-600 wheel with a T70


boosting and F-body is not as easy as a honda.. lack of space.. lotta wires .. its very compacted


i build turbo kits for hondas .. it aint the same ball game haha

98transguy

iTrader: (7)

keep block , get some forged rods and pistons,keep stock crank.60lb injectors will do for 500 hp.Find some used truck heads.Then i personally would just do a procharger setup with a d1 head unit.There are probably a few of those kits for sale in the classifieds area also.

I_Need_Land

iTrader: (12)

i have a mpt-70 for sale. 500 its yours! its brand new.

Reject

iTrader: (24)

Dirty, you still do the autoX stuff? or are you getting away from thta now? what you use the car could help make your mind up with with 'charger to go with

thumpstick

I right there with you! I work at a speed shop in charleston SC and we just took one of our shop cars (a 4-door civic with an turbocharged stock h22) to the 8th mile and ran a 8.06. would have made it into the 7s if we had some more time to set up the car.

Now I want to turbocharge my ls1 RX7....

-John Folley
AV-engineering (www.av-engineered.com)

DirtyBird222

iTrader: (7)

Yea I still do the autox stuff when I can. This $2008 challenge was to build a car for under that amount of money that can autox and drag race. I would have finished close to first in the autox but the tranny kept on popping out of gear!!! The Civic might be our new autoxer though, it's freakin awesome.

I want the T/A to be a weekend car/kinda show car/take it to a few track days and autoxs a year kinda car. I am tired of driving it everyday, too many tards on the road, to many bad things have happened to me on highways in Trans Ams too lol. I figure if I just have it as a "weekender" it greatly reduces the risks of something bad happening to it or me, especially if it is on a closed course.

Examples of bad luck in Trans Ams with me:
huge ****** rocks on high ways


Dumb people stopping in middle of highway + semi hauling ***:

DirtyBird222

iTrader: (7)

I know that H22 ain't stock in a 4-door civic lol. I'm sure that is a fun car, a guy I work with is building a 2-door with the same setup. We used a crappy D15 for our Civic, thing handled 10lbs of boost on the last run just spun all over the place though.

LS1 + RX7 + Turbo =

thumpstick

haha, yeah we did the h22 swap, it put down 318 to the wheels on race gas. not to shabby.

also, if your buddy needs anything for his swap tell him to check out our website. We have done quite a few. (sorry to advertise)

good luck on your projects

-John
AV-engineering (www.av-engineered.com)

98Z28MASS

iTrader: (6)

If on a budget and you dont have a machine shop for your engine then id buy a budged forged shortblock consisting of a stock crank (has shown it can hold in excess of 700 rwhp), forged rods, forged pistons, rod bolts, etc. If you have a good machine shop you could utilize your stock shortblock and re-build it with forged components. For the power levels your looking at you could use eagle or scat forged rods, mahle or wiseco forged pistons, re-use your arp rod bolts, pushrods, and dual springs(or get new ones if on the older/worn side, up to you). That would certainly handle 500 rwhp+. Also, as mentioned above your going to need a bigger turbo than the one you currently have as it wont be big enough for an LS1. Id say go with the MP T70 as that will give great spool time and leave room for growth (plus its relitively inexpensive). Good luck with the build though and let us know how it goes!

DirtyBird222

iTrader: (7)

Thanks for the info man, that really helps! I'm one step away from getting a DD and giving the Trans Am a much needed break. It will get paint first, replacing weather seals on t-tops/doors, and new brake lines. Then I'll start diving into the engine. It's got interior and suspension already done as well!

-I'm debating on a Saturn Astra vs. Honda Fit.
-I work at Honda so I get a discount on the Fit, get paid to do any warranty work on it, all the service bulletins, plenty of oil and filters (lots of stuff gets double charged you wouldn't believe how bad our parts department is), it's a pretty versatile car, sport and fun to drive as well even tho it doesn't know what torque is, but has Honda reliability.
-The Astra is a GM product, proven itself in Europe, ECOTEC powerplant, the 3-door looks way better, interior lacks the flavor of the exterior, they have instant $2000 off right now on 08s along with a GM College Grad discount I have, won't get the Honda fagboy **** for it lol.

It's a tough decision. If I ever need a truck for something I just gotta call dad lol.

Schantin

iTrader: (6)

For 500RWHP, you could live with a stock shortblock. I ran my STS with low compression (317 heads) and a conservative cam at 5PSI and made 453RWHP. At 7PSI I would have hit the 500 mark and still been well within the surivability limit of the LS1 shortblock.

For DD duties I usually drive my "economy car" , a 2008 Hyundai Accent. Cheapest thing you can buy new for the $$ and has decent acceleration for a 4-cyl POS Cost me $10K new out the door after all tax, etc. Gets 31mpg mixed city/highway driving. That's driving it like I stole it too.

Also have a Jeep Rubicon when I don't want to drive an econobox or need to haul the family (not to mention 4-wheeling is a sport in itself......and pretty darn fun I might add ).

The Camaro is a 1x a week drive to work + a weekend cruiser.

If you can turbo a Civic, you can turbo a F-body. Space is tighter, and the turbo needs to be bigger (see above post on min size, as a T4 won't cut it), but since you have the basic understanding, you're a step ahead.

Good luck.

DirtyBird222

iTrader: (7)

Yea I might go with the fit, it rides a bit smoother and i have like 10 cases of 5w-20 sitting in the garage from all the synthetic oil changes I've done. They always give me six quarts for a car that takes 3.7-4.5 quarts (depending on model) so I always have excess, not to mention all the extra oil filters they charge out for no reason lol. I'm set as far as maintenance goes on the Fit. I hated Hondas until I started working on them lol. I'm about to graduate from UCF, have a woman, don't plan on kids, so I don't really need much else ya know? Cobalt SS would be nice but just a tad bit out of my range!

I know doing it on a F-body will be waaaayyy different, but I understand the basics of a turbo which makes it that much easier when it comes to vacuum lines, plumbing, etc. Nothing on F-bodies is easy except for rotating tires or changing oil. I've also looked into STS systems, but I would rather build my own setup to keep the costs down, involves more fab, but at least I won't sit there and say "WHY THE **** DID THEY BUILD IT LIKE THIS, WTF?" When I can't figure something out.....LGM lower control arms for example...won't fit in stock location without beating the **** out of some **** or welding LCA brackets in.

ModularTurbo

iTrader: (14)

Did someone say custom turbo kit....

TurboZ28408

iTrader: (18)

hey john !!

its philip @ spoolinPerformance.com

glad to see import guys goin domestic and expanding our reaches




anyways.


here is my built 346 on 91 octane with meth, 228/232 cam 115 LSA ( under .600 lift) patriot heads with larger valves, LS6 intake manifold with MP T70 turbo and tubular turbo manifolds

98Z28MASS

iTrader: (6)

Glad I could help out a little and if you have more technical questions once your build gets underway this is def the place to be as both sponsors and members whom have built custom turbo kits are more than willing to point you in the right direction. As for a DD, I dont know what you think about volvo's but you can get a 1.9T S40 used for really cheap nowadays. My mom got one new in 2001 and it was just retired for a new G35X but she put over 200K on the damn thing and it still ran really good, it was just time for a new car. I dont think we put a penny into it other than breaks, oil changes, and other general maintainence.

DirtyBird222

iTrader: (7)

I want new lol, never had anything new, except for my HDTV and Xbox360 and clothes haha. I know Volvos will last forever, my brother has a S40 as well with like 179 on the clock and still kicking.

Def wanting custom, not gonna pay 5k for something that can be done for way cheaper.

67Firebird455

iTrader: (27)

Pick up a master power T70 from Rob @ Modular Turbo, good guy, can't beat the price.

BTW - Rob, been meaning to call you, had finals and a project for school, now onto the next class, will give you a call Sunday if you're around!

Tony

I_Need_Land

iTrader: (12)

+1 for buying my master power t-70 turbo. 500 bucks its brand new.