Z28_Demon

Well folks...I figured that I might as well make a build thread for my 2000 Chevy Camaro Z28. I'll do my best to make it exciting and even try and throw in some updates even if I'm not doing much with the car due to money. As with most things in life, I will be able to do the updates whenever I get the spare money to do so. So, that is why this build will have some times when it has a bunch of posts frequently and probably some times that it lulls a bit until I get the money to do the next upgrade. But I'm going to do my best.

The nitty gritty -
I bought the 2000 Chevy Camaro Z28 in early May of 2019. It is my first 4th Gen Camaro, but my 7th Camaro overall. I specifically bought it as a "project car", even though it runs and drives fine. But I knew that I wanted to build the engine and take it to the strip and car shows now and again. It's finally the first time I could buy a "project car" without having to worry about making sure it is fixed and running by Monday to get to work. LOL

This Z28 is a factory LS1 (5.7L/346CI) V8 engine car with an A4 auto trans option (4L60E). I'm sure all of you already know this, but eh...just thought I'd post it for posterity anyway. LOL The last owner actually did some work to this car that I didn't notice until I looked it over the past few weeks. They put on a factory SS hood, along with the factory SS ram-air intake setup. They also put on the factory SS rear spoiler. About the only thing this doesn't have to make it into an SS is the steering wheel cooler and the original 325HP factory engine (vs. the 305 HP Z28 engine).

I also found out that the car has, what appears to be, Speed Engineering headers (I don't know the size as of yet, but probably at least 1 3/4" headers with a 3" collector), MSD blue and gray boot wires, a Speed Engineering 3" X-pipe that they dumped into standard oval mufflers at the rear axle. Again, nothing fancy, but it works and at least it is some upgrades. A also just found out from my video (attached below), that apparently they also replaced the rear lower control arms with tubular ones. This was one mod I was planning on doing, but I might not have to now, depending on the type of bushings they used. It also looks like they used rear sway bar upgraded bushings as well. I'm guessing this since the rear control arms are red, along with the bushings for the rear endlinks. I haven't checked the front or really jacked it up at all to get under it to find out truly what has been done under the car.

Goals -
My goals are to make a fairly streetable car, with some decent chop that will have 500-550HP at the crank/flywheel. I don't have the kind of money to make it 500HP to the rear tires, but I'm sure I'll be very happy with 500-550 at the crank. Torque will be unknown until I put it on a dyno when I'm done. My goal is hopefully mid-11's in the quarter mile. I believe my plans below should accomplish this with huge help from several members here on suggestions in another thread I originally started when I got the car. Thank you to you guys very much!

Build Sheet -
Below is my basic build sheet by "car section". If you have any suggestions regarding this info, I'm all ears. Again, most of this was flushed out in my other thread in the LS1 Gen III Internal section, but again, it never hurts to hear other opinions.

Engine:
* Bottom End: Leaving stock for now unless something looks weird when I take the heads off to replace them
* Heads: Looking at the TrickFlow 220 "fast as cast" heads
* Valve springs: Waiting to see if the springs that come with the heads will work with my cam choice, if not, then I'll get the TSP .660" double spring set that comes in the cam kit
* Rocker arms: Planning on reusing the stockers but with a TSP trunion upgrade kit
* Trunions: TSP Retro-Fit Rocker Arm Trunion Kit for the stock roller rocker arms
* Cam: TSP Hydraulic Cam Kit (228/232 - 112 LSA - .600"/.600" lift) w/.660" dual valve springs and hardened pushrods (my choice of length)
* Lifters: Considering the Johnson 2110 "drop in" lifter set (other thoughts/options?)
* Pushrods: Coming in the cam kit from Texas Speed - Hardened pushrods with my choice of length
* Intake: If I can afford it, looking into the FAST LSXR 102 intake; if not, then an LS6 intake
* Throttle Body: Nick Williams cable drive 102 TB on the FAST intake listed above (it uses the factory TPS/IAC, so I don't have to buy that extra)
* Injectors: FAST 36-38# injectors have been recommended to me, as well as the Bosch GTP injectors.
* Oil Pump: Melling high-pressure (not volume) oil pump - Part 10295
* Timing Chain: New GM LS2 heavy duty timing chain set
* Fuel rails: I don't know if I can use my stock fuel rails with the FAST intake, but I'm guessing they will work with the LS6 intake?
* Engine gasket set: Heard Fel-Pro gasket kit will work just fine
* Spark Plugs: NGK TR55's were recommended, but other than that, I haven't looked further into this selection

Trans:
* Transmission: Planning on rebuilding the original 4L60E auto transmission with a kit from somewhere (suggestions?).
* Transmission Rebuild Kit: I'm guessing a Stage 2 or better? I saw one street/strip kit online and it was like $760 for a "complete" rebuild (minus converter). Ouch!!! But if that is what it takes...
* Stall Converter: Yank or CircleD 3800 stall (somewhere between 3600-4000 suggested)
* Trans cooler: B&M 70266 11" x 8" x 1 1/2" stacked plate oil cooler with braided lines and AN fittings

Rear end:
* Rear end: Keeping the stock 7.5" 10 bolt rear end for now.
* Gears: Looking at Motive or Richmond Gear 3.73 rear end gears
* Posi Unit: Already stock in the rear end, unless it is bad, but seems fine now

Exhaust:
* Headers: Already have Speed Engineering full length long tube headers on the car when I got it (not positive of the size, but probably at least 1 3/4" and 3" collectors)
* X-Pipe: Already have a Speed Engineering 3" X-pipe on the car when I got it
* Cat-back True Duals: Looking into the Speed Engineering cat-back true duals and removing the axle dumps that are on the car now due to smell in the interior from exhaust.
* Panhard bar: Founders Performance panhard bar relocation kit to make clearance for the 3" "over the axle" exhaust kit.

Suspension:
* Front end alignment: Due to the prior owner putting on 17 x 9.5" Corvette rims, it needs a front end alignment. I can feel it "sway" or "swish" while driving it (especially in the rain) and can tell it doesn't feel right. May indicate other suspension parts need to be replaced
* Bushings: Looking at a Hyper Flex complete bushing set from Energy Suspension to replace all of the suspension bushings front and rear
* Torque Arm: Considering a new Founders Performance torque arm bar
* Lower Panhard Bar: Going to replace the lower panhard bar when I replace the upper one with the relocation kit to stiffen up the rear end
* Rear lower control arms: I just found out when I was making my video, that my car came with aftermarket rear lower control arms already. I don't know the brand/type, but it looks like I may not need to do this mod.
* Subframe Connectors: Looking into the weld-in Founders Performance subframe connectors

Tires/Wheels:
* Wheels: Probably leaving the 17 x 9.5" Corvette wheels for now
* Tires: I need to replace the rear tires with the "stock" P275/40ZR17 tires (fronts are already that size)

Body:
* Body Work: Need to find a shop to eventually do body work to clean up the body before paint
* New SS hood: I like the factory SS hood, but someone has torn it up in the front (see video) and on the driver's side rear hit the top fender and cracked the corner before I got it. So, I'm considering replacing it with another factory SS hood just before the body work/paint.
* Paint: Need to find a shop that will paint the entire car metallic Plum Crazy Purple (factory 2013 Dodge Challenger/Charger color). Hence where the title of the car "Purple Reign" comes into play

(see continuation on part II of post)

Z28_Demon

(continuation of above thread that wouldn't fit. LOL!)


Interior:
* Seats: I replaced all the torn up factory seats with 2001 Firebird gray cloth seat set. Factory seats were originally the ebony cloth option (still gray)
* Driver front seat back: Found out my "new" front driver seat back is bent and twisted rearward. Didn't notice when I got the seat set for $50. Probably why so cheap. Anyway, I'm pulling out the old/original seat back frame and replacing it with a new GM one.
* Console: Probably will have the console replaced at some point due to a broken down console door and missing ashtray cover
* Dash: There is a split in the upper dash, so I may consider replacing the entire dash
* Speakers: The speakers suck. I don't know if the person blew out the system or what. I haven't had time to test. It should have had the factory Monsoon system, but I don't know if it still has the amp (and where it is located) or the speakers. Have to keep the radio fairly low (hard to do with exhaust dumping at the axle) to hear/understand it.
* Radio: Going to leave the aftermarket Pioneer stereo in there for now. It works fine except for the crappy speakers. LOL

Tuning:
* ECM/PCM Tune: If I could afford the tuning software myself, I would tune the car (or at least have fun trying), but I've heard the tuning software is super expensive (thousands), so I'm going to take it to Lucas Motorsports to have them tune it when I'm ready.
* Dyno: Since there is no dyno at Lucas Motorsports, after he is done with the tune, I'm going to take it to a place in Louisville (forgot the name of it) to run it on the dyno to verify what kind of power the setup makes and what needs to be done for final tweaking.
* Dragstrip: Going to try and find a local dragstrip, once everything is done, and lay down some numbers to verify everything is working right and how the build came out. The ultimate goal is mid-11's, but I'll take faster for sure!


Video: My walk through video I made of the car yesterday. Only thing that has changed since I originally picked up the car in May is that I put the gray 2001 Pontiac Firebird seats into the car. Otherwise, the car is exactly as I purchased it in May of 2019.

YouTube Video on my Channel:

And yes, I probably sound like a gump explaining things. It was more for non-car friends I shared it with then car savvy people such as yourselves. LOL!

Sorry so long in the post, but I wanted to fully present my build. I will tweak stuff as I go along and do the build and I'll do my best to include video and/or pictures with the updates and such as I do stuff. I'm sure most won't really care about "how-to" videos or anything, but I will try and take some videos of each part of the project I finish and what the outcome is.

Thanks for reading/watching/listening!
Mat

JohnnyBs98WS6Rag

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like a nice project. Curious though, have you considered the '98 Bright Purple Metallic color over the Plum Crazy? I think it "pops" alot more w/ the metallic in it. Plus, it's a GM color.

Z28_Demon

Johnny B - Thank you soooo much for the info on the 97/98 Bright Purple Metallic color. I've never heard of it or have seen it before, so I never knew about it. I looked up some pictures and it is GORGEOUS!!!! I love that color! Thank you so much for the info. I've officially changed my paint color to that color. Not just because it is a GM paint color (that doesn't hurt either. LOL), but I truly do like how deep and rich it looks. Here are a couple of pics I found online and I do like it much better than my original MOPAR PCP choice. So, thank you a ton!

Also, thank you for the comment on the build. I know there are a ton of builds on here and I'm sure mine won't really be anything special, but I do appreciate it.

(Credit goes to whomever car's this is online. - It is not mine. I grabbed it from Google Images. I just copied it for the color. Heck, it is probably a car from someone here. LOL)



(Again, this is a picture from Google Images - I wanted a "close up" of the paint)

Nathan C

I subscribed. Keep working!

Kingc8r

iTrader: (21)

That was DrEvyl's car...he has sold it though.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/what-wort...-metallic.html

JohnnyBs98WS6Rag

iTrader: (1)

I had a feeling you'd like it. BPM was the rarest color on Firebirds '98, which probably explains why you rarely see it (I think I've seen like 2 BPM cars in "the wild" since '98).

I think DrEvyl had 2 BPM cars at one time, that Formula and a WS6 T/A. 88U BPM was also available on Camaros in '97 & '98, only 1 SS coupe in '97 was built in that color.

Z28_Demon

Thanks Nathan. I'll definitely do my best. The rain has been hammering us here all weekend and week, so I haven't been able to do anything with the car. :-/ Hopefully I'll be able to get a couple of things done this weekend and post up the videos. Even if they aren't all that thrilling, at least it will be some progress, I hope. LOL!

Z28_Demon

LOL...told ya that I figured it would have been (or is) someone's car on here. Thanks for the link though, gave me even more views of the color at different angles. Absolutely gorgeous. I know purple isn't everyone's thing, but I think it looks awesome. I just wish my car was already ready to have it sprayed that color right now. However, I'm afraid of having it sprayed and then doing all of the engine work and such and accidentally scraping something up when putting the engine/trans back and such. That's why I'm leaving the body work and paint until the very last thing...even thought it's going to kill me. LOL

Z28_Demon

Definitely rare. I've never seen one and even then, I haven't seen one even in a picture until you mentioned it and I went online searching. LOL Since then I have found a few pics of the 98 Camaro's with the color on it, but most of them have been taken in overcast or dark situations so they color doesn't pop like I'm sure it does in the sun. DrEvyl's car pics are awesome because they are taken in a bright area, so the color jumps off the screen. I can only imagine in person.

So, thank you again for the info and suggestion. Much appreciated. I've already changed by build sheet and included the color information.

Any chance does anyone know what paint manufacturer that GM used for the 97/98 Bright Purple Metallic paint? I'd really like to use the factory paint manufacturer if I can. I'm always afraid of using a different manufacturer's paint and having it come out not exactly right or the way I expected because they use a different mixture, even though it is supposed to be the same. :-/

Nathan C

FYI the factory amp is located in the hatch by the spare tire on the passenger side. You have to pull up the plastic cover to see it.

Kingc8r

iTrader: (21)

I figured you'd like to see more of the car. If I repainted my car I'd reinstall the engine from the bottom with the K Member and trans attached. I'm usually not into purple but it just looks right on the TA/Formula WS6 cars.

Z28_Demon

Nathan - Thanks for the info. I'll check to see if it is still there. Sometimes people do weird things. Like I think I posted somewhere (this or my other post here), it looks like the previous owner removed the "cruise" cable from the TB. Not sure why. If he/she was planning to save weight, there are better options. LOL! So, I don't know if I'll just say screw it and leave it or try and diagnose it to see if I only need to replace the cable to make it work or what.

I looked over the fuse box last week sometime and checked every single fuse to ensure none were blown and the only thing I noticed is the big fuse for the "Air Pump" was missing. I have no clue why. I don't even know what the air pump does. I took the same size fuse from the fog lights and put it into the air pump spot and went for a drive and nothing was different, but it didn't blow or anything....soooooo, I'm not sure what to make of it. I ended up putting the fuse back into the fog light spot, but I haven't purchased a new fuse to put in the air pump spot. There is obviously a reason they removed that fuse. Plus, no codes or anything got thrown up when I went for my drive with the fuse replaced.

Anyway, I'll ahve to check to see if the amp is still there. Maybe they removed it and the speakers to keep for something else and just threw in crappy/blown speakers...I don't know. If it ever frickin' stops raining here I'll be able to sit inside and remove the radio and verify all of the connections, as well as trying to single out any blown speaker(s).

Z28_Demon

King - It's definitely not everyone's color. I painted my 2006 Yamaha R1 Plum Crazy Purple and some people see it and really like it (like me) and some people didn't. It's all good; everyone has their color choices.

I was thinking of doing that and saw that in a few threads here (removing it from the bottom), but first off, I don't have a lift, so that would probably make it really difficult to move the body up and over the engine/trans without a lift? Secondly, I read that you have to remove the front brake lines from the electronic brake block and then you can't "bleed" the brakes when you put them back in because GM has to do it or it throws a code or something? I saw some issue about it if you have ABS (which I thought all of them did on the fourth gen?) or it was about the traction control or some crap. I can't exactly remember. I'd have to find the thread on here again. I have it saved, I think. Then others were complaining about bleeding the steering rack. To me, if you pulled everything down with the engine, why do you need to remove the steering rack lines? (and thus have to bleed them later)

So, in a sense, I would really like to drop it down from the bottom and remove it so that I could get to the trans and engine together instead of crawling around to separate them (I need both out to rebuild both). Plus, I'm considering buying a tubular K frame, so it would be easier to do once I dropped the engine out the bottom and then just pulled it up on a cherry picker, replaced the K frame and then set it back down. But I don't want to create a problem where I have to take it to a dealer or shop just to bleed the brake lines because of something stupid that GM designed. :-/

Z28_Demon

As for an update...in between rain/thunderstorms two days ago I was finally able to pull the new driver's seat (the 2001 Firebird ebony cloth set that I put into the Camaro weeks prior) to see what the deal was and why it felt messed up. I felt the upper back frame was bent, so I finally found one at a GM Parts dealer online and ordered it.

I took the seat out and then proceeded to separate the upper back from the bottom seat to replace the frame

Seat ripped apart and the old frame removed:


Seat parts on the table while I was doing this repair:


It was kinda fun trying to take the upper headrest off. LOL I had to try and "open up" the plastic holders that are down in the seat foam to try and slide the metal headrest posts up and out to take it off. I then had to squeeze in the plastic holders (much easier to do after the headrest posts are out, obviously), so that they could slide out of the pipes that hold the headrest on the frame.

Here is the new frame that I went to put in:


Another view of the new frame:



Now you see what was going back into the seat....

Z28_Demon

Now...this is what the old upper back seat frame looked like:

No wonders why the seat felt weird and leaned back. It looks like a damn gorilla sat in the back seat, grabbed the front driver's seat and yanked it back a few times!!!!

Old seat frame:


Second view of the old seat frame:


The only time I've ever seen a seat this twisted and messed up is on cars that have been totaled on accident scenes. I don't know what the hell happened to this seat.

Another view of it on top of the seat after the new frame has been put in


Different angle of the old frame after the new frame was installed.

Z28_Demon

Now the final product after I put the new frame into the seat. It feels MUCH better now and "normal" to me. I was able to adjust the seat after putting it in and it feels great. So, not too bad of a deal...it was $50 for the seat set itself and then I paid $43 for the new upper seat frame and the labor was free. LOL! I still have to have the interior/seats detailed and cleaned, but again, it has been raining so much here that I haven't had a chance to be able to do that and keep the windows down to air out the car after I clean the interior. :-/

New seat upper frame in place and ready to be put back into the car:


Close up of the seat after the new "straight" seat frame was installed.


The side adjusters and power seat options. Ya, I should have cleaned the rust and tried to paint it to look nice, but again, I was working against another thunderstorm that was coming



The car ready to have the newly corrected seat put into place. It started raining just as I finished tightening the two rear nuts.


The "new" new seat put in place. Now it feels good and feels right. No weird lean or twist. Awesome! Looks like the passenger seat now.


So at least I got something done on the car this week and now I can drive it without feeling like I'm sitting in the back passenger seat driving the car! LOL!!!

I just need to clean all the seats and interior now. I'll eventually have to replace the carpet because a pretty big hole is worn out in the middle of the front driver's floorboard (not through the floorboard, just through the carpet). So, I'm not so worried about cleaning that as much. I'll just order a new carpet set for it, pull everything out again and lay the new carpet down, but that will be a little while off.

Z28_Demon

Well...just posting an update. It's been in the 90's here with high humidity and me, heat and high humidity don't get along too well. :-/ So, I haven't done anything to the car. However, that doesn't mean I've been idle. I have been setting up some more ideas of what to do.

Originally I was going to paint my brake calipers a satin black with satin clear coat (all high-temp, of course), but now I'm considering waiting and doing powder coating instead. It seems as though if I can paint, I should be able to powder coat. So, I might be giving it a go.

Also, I've been looking into changing out my instrument cluster lights with LED's. Same with the rest of the interior. I have to check on a few things because I looked in my driver's door panel and didn't see the light that is supposed to be in the hole there to light the switches/lever. I don't know if it feel into the panel or the previous person remove it or what. People do stupid things to cars at times. Like instead of just removing the bulb, they cut the wire and remove the entire bulb assy. Sigh. I don't know if that happened in this case, but I have a bad feeling. Plus, I can BARELY see my dash lights as it is. I'm guessing that the majority of them are burned out. The roller switch is turned all the way up and it doesn't make a difference whether I turn it up or down, you almost can't see the lights either way. That's one reason I'm going to LED's.

I've seen a couple of threads on here regarding the LED's used and how many and such. The post was originally from 2009, but it still seems like the info is good. Bad thing is, the LED's alone are going to be $100. Dang. But they do last way longer than standard bulbs, so....

Also, in a couple of days I should be receiving a new driver's window motor and door lock actuator. My door lock unlocks, but doesn't lock with the key fob on the driver's side. It kind of just bobs there when you press the lock button or use the key fob. I have to lock it manually before using the fob. So, I'm guessing it's toast. Same with the window motor. It worked VERY slowly when I first got the car, but now it is pretty much toast. I don't roll it down anymore because I don't want it to be stuck down where rain will soak the interior. (no garage) So, those should, I'm hoping, come in by next weekend so I can work on that.

I still have to adjust the e-brake/parking brake and check the rear end to see what gears are in it. All stuff is planned, but I need a fairly decent day to do it and lay out on the rocky asphalt that is my driveway. Sigh.

Anyway, I should hopefully have some pictures or video soon of me ripping apart the driver's door panel to replace the window motor and door lock actuator and hopefully some of me working on the e-brake and checking out the rear gears.

JD_AMG

Welcome to the LS1 world!

FYI there is no "325hp engine", you have the same exact engine an SS has and the same exact engine the Corvette has. They all make ~350hp/375lbs.ft regardless of what they are rated at - you have a 350hp LS1. GM purposely underrated the fbodies to make the Corvette look that much better. You put them both on a dyno back to back and you will see they both put down the same numbers, with the fbody having the advantage because the solid rear axle has a little less drive train loss than the Corvette's IRS.

FYI the SS also got some suspension and wheels the Z28 didnt.

Also the power steering cooler is ****, do not bother looking into converting. Buy an aftermarket cooler if you want one.

Double check you still have the front swaybar. Some people take it off for more weight transfer when launching.

Z28_Demon

JD, thanks for the welcome. Much appreciated.

Also good info on the engine specs. I was just going with what I saw online. Not that I'm keeping it stock anyway. LOL! But I do appreciate the heads up and info. Always good to learn new stuff.

Ya, I did forget about the suspension and wheels that the SS gets that the Z28 doesn't. Ooops! I knew about the wheels, but figured since someone swapped mine out for Vette rims it didn't really matter. But I did forget about the suspension. That will be something I work on in due time. Seems like most people (not all, of course) lower their cars and I really don't want to do that. I'd like to keep mine at the normal height, but put in better replacements for the suspension.

Ahhhh, I didn't even think to check on the front swaybar. Thanks! I haven't lifted the car yet to see what's truly underneath. I've only gotten down on my hands and knees and looked under the car. That's how I knew it had the full headers, the X-pipe and the dumps at the rear axle. I also noticed red (although totally dirty so you can't really tell) tubular rear lower control arms, so there may be other suspension parts that have been done that I don't know. I'm hoping this weekend I'll have some sort of break in the darn heat so I can jack up the car and take a look and some video under it and then go over everything later.

But I appreciate the tip. I'll probably look under the front of the car after work today to see if the front swaybar is still there or not.