Z28 Bacon Evader

Hey guys, I'm kinda new here, long time lurker, but never really had much money to mod my car, but I'm doing a little better now and want to make my car sweet, and hopefully hit 11s in the 1/4.

I have my smog check in September for my 2001 Z28 M6, after that it's time to do the headers/cam/heads.

Current stuff: SLP Dual/Dual, Revalved Bilsteins, Eibach Pros, BMR Sway Bars, 17" Chrome ZR1s, powdercoated calipers, drilled powerstop rotors, limo tint......very light stuff....

What I have planned:

Good paint job-black, different from stock color, I know it will be big money
New Rear End-probably a 9", no clue what kind to get yet, with 4.10s
Headers-want something with good clearance, pacesetters maybe if they are cool
Clutch-not sure what to get, have stocker with 88K miles
Cam and Heads-dunno what to get but I want to make sure it will be able to pass smog in a couple years, and yes I'll just put stock exhaust manifolds back on for the test (unless I find a smog guy by then....)
Suspension-konis, strano springs, strano swaybars, LCAs, maybe a K-member
Rollcage

I have ideas on what I want, but I'm still researching and havn't decided on anything except the color of my car, and the suspension stuff.


So I dunno what to do first, I'd love to have a clean paint job, but not sure if it would be wise to do all the mechanical stuff first? Would it be wise to put the rollcage in before I paint the car?

BTW, I am also considering just saving up for a downpayment on a Corvette, but I really like the 4th gen F-body and I can see myself keeping my baby forever. If I go for the Corvette I'd probably just garage my Z28 and restore it down the road.


Thanks for any advice/input. Speak to me.

hlaalu

iTrader: (3)

what color is your car now?

Z28 Bacon Evader

Mystic Teal. I like the color okay, but I've always wanted a black Camaro.

tripblackls1

iTrader: (11)

2.5 stage ls6 heads and a cheater cam or 224 should still pass smog,or if you have the money go with tfs 215 heads

MrElectric03

iTrader: (71)

Posted above

Z28 Bacon Evader

Excellent, thank you. I will run a search on everything you posted, and also consider all of it.

It's late so I have to pass out, but I'll be back soon and post a better response tomorrow.

MrElectric03

iTrader: (71)

Lol, no prob, at least with all the money ive wasted on parts I should never have bought for this car I can help someone avoid the same mistake, now its the way I want it...almost...

cookba

iTrader: (10)

Midwest Chassis 9" with truetrac and 3:70 gear
TFS 215 or AFR 205 heads (budget vs. power has allot to do with the purchase of heads)
a good 224 cam (224 cams have passed smog) TR and AFR make a nice 224 cam
Pacesetter headers are good, Kooks and ARH are the best
LS7 clutches are a popular cheaper upgrade.
FAST 92mm intake manifold
Nick Williams 92mm TB
i have and like my Strano/Koni setup
why are you getting a rollcage?

krazy4

iTrader: (5)

If I were to build a head/cam camaro, I would port the stock 241s to flow around 300cfm.
Get a nice 232/234 cam with around .610 lift. Get some edelbrock stepped headers. Make a nice y-pipe with a flowmaster merge to a 4" magnaflow race muffler. Get a textralia, and a 9'' rear. I would keep the LS6 manifold. Get an FTP lid, port the stock throttle body, and do a speed density tune.

That's pretty much it! Plus people will think its only a cam only car.

Magilla Gorilla

i make 453 whp @ 6600 rpm in my H/C 346.it is forged bottom end and professional products 85mm intake with stock ported TB.
in my full weight m6 car with 4.10 gears i have bested a 11.43 @ 119 on motor. 1.61 60'
they are ported 243s with stock size valves and a custom speced camshaft.
i also run cats and pass smog without issue.

james562

iTrader: (35)

Most important thing is set a goal and have a plan for the car. Decide what you want out of it. Are you trying to build a full weight street car, stripped down drag car, something in between? Do you plan on going to the track often, Is this your only transportation, do you drive 40 miles to work everyday? Plan on sticking with the stock bottom end. Is boost or N20 in your future?

Buying parts twice sucks, establish what you want out of the car and what you'll be using it for then we can help you develop a plan of action and prioritize your mod list

lowerthanyou00

iTrader: (8)

u could always sell ur car buy my z28 and just mod it, it needs some paintwork but at least its black already. im just not into 4th gen camaros, now trans ams o yeah but never been a huge camaro fan

Z28 Bacon Evader

Interesting, so can the tfs 215 heads pass smog?

I was thinking LS6 heads would work good, I guess there must be a stage 3? 2.5 sounds lovely enough if it can pass smog.

For a cam I was thinking a 224, 114 lsa, like the thunder racing cam. Heard that was a great overall cam that can pass smog.



That 9" sounds good if it's light. I want my car to be light as possible, and may get some lightweight suspension stuff too, eventually. K-member, upper A-arms.

What kind of rear-suspension parts do I need? I forgot to say I already have an adjustable panhard rod but don't care if I need a new one. Probably need the lower control arms.

About the smog guy-I'm not even going to try asking anyone here yet, because that would seem shady. Maybe eventually I can meet some of you guys in real life. Check out your cars, go for a ride, see your cars feel....2 years+ should be enough time to find a 'smog guy'.

Z28 Bacon Evader

Another Midwest Chassis 9" vote. Looks like that's my final decision.
Gear ratio? Why do you suggest 3.70? I will consider that. My friend had 3.73s in his pretty much stock Formula and it felt A LOT better than my 3.42s.

So those 2 different heads you suggest- how much of a power difference with all other mods being the same for both setups? And the big question, will the big flower pass smog?

Headers- the most important thing to me is clearance. If the Kooks or AHR had the best clearance, I'd get them.

LS7 Clutch is one of my top considerations for clutch, because it would hopefully have good feel.

The intake manifold is something I wasn't planning on doing. Smog legal?

I want a roll cage because I am thinking it would stiffen the chassis up. And for safety reasons. When no one's around on the road, my car gets driven hard. I may do the 5-point seatbelt. But I'm not sure I'm doing the roll cage, just thinking about it.

Z28 Bacon Evader

I'll look into porting the stock heads, depends how cheap it is. I'm not really trying to have a sleeper look in the engine bay.

Another vote for textralia clutch. It's between that and the LS7 right now, that could change.

SUCK MY SS

iTrader: (14)

most companies that offer a stage 3 ls6 head, usually have larger seats installed with 2.05+ intake valves 1.58+ exhaust valves...coupled with an aftermarket camshaft, the engine is not going to be very smog friendly at low rpms...

a cam like the usual 224 style grinds will pass smog no problem... however if you are thinking about ls6 heads i would reccomend a stock valve size or evn a 2.02 valve... a cam of that size is going to peak somewhat early..an oversize valve is not necessary at that point...
even if you dont port the head, ls6s respond very well to a good valve job, bowl blend... you can easily get 270 cfm on the intake size with the valve job and stock valve...

Z28 Bacon Evader

That's pretty sweet. I am considering upgrading my bottom end, with almost 90K miles on my engine it might be a good time to rebuild it and make it stronger.



Yea thanks, as of now I want to do inbetween. I'm going to do a rear-seat delete, maybe put a rollcage in.

I want to go to the track once in a while- maybe a few times a year.

It's my only car, but will save some money to buy a beater if it becomes necessary.

I drive about 15 miles to work everyday, hit some light-moderate traffic for about 5-10 minutes on the freeway.

The guy above you reminded me that I may be upgrading the bottom end. I like the idea of nitrous, and understand the engine is going to need to be stronger. I don't ever plan on boost- but nitrous, yes.

I don't know if this post is clear enough for you or anyone to figure out what I want. Thanks for the help, and making me think about what kind of car I want it to be.

Z28 Bacon Evader

Haha, the problem is that my car needs so much work, that it is probably just best for me to not even try to sell it in it's current condition.

Why do you have a Camaro if you like the Trans Am?

MrElectric03

iTrader: (71)

You can use the panhard you have, but the Midwest will come with a new(awesome) torque arm, tranny mount, and you get a killer deal on chromoly adjustable lcas(which you will need with a 9") and great price on a 3" chromoly driveshaft.

The Midwest 9" weighs the same without oil as the 10 bolt with oil, so you are talking gaining a few lbs., its the best deal and its well built.

Come out to our meets sometime, GM Muscle meets every couple weeks in Corona, alot of the guys in the club have different setups, I have a H/C/I/9" T/A, Wicked Muscle has a Cam and intake car that moves pretty good, RZuff has a badass blown 62x+ rwhp C5 vette, 02NBMWS6 has a built 403ci SS, CamaroJunky has a bolt on SS with n20 that moves pretty good, Geovette has just about the only auto car that shows up all the time and runs pretty quick 10.70 on the bottle. Lots of setups and we are all willing to help out.

MrElectric03

iTrader: (71)