The official drivetrain discussion thread for "the beast"

[Leonidae]

what about hunting down E39 M5? if I recall right, it had 400bhp 5l NA V8..

 

[Rotary Junkie]

And we're going to find that motor for under $4k. Right.

 

[TheCracker]

Just put a 302 in it and call it a day... And to piss people off

Or put a Lexus V8 in it and really piss people off

 

[Leonidae]

yeah! then you'd be making 280-300bhp with 4l instead of 5l or more..

 

[RedTransAm]

Actually I would expect it to last longer than you think. 305's are known for reliability--I know I have/had one. Two small PSI turbos, ECU tune, crank, pistons, cam, exhaust and heads would easily get 400bhp while not overextending the engine. You don't think I would just simply put two turbos and do nothing else do you? Not a chance, I'm not stupid. 👍

I never implied that you were stupid 👍 But do all that and you'd likely be overextending that $4,000 budget.

You said your trans is good, but how about the rest of your drivetrain? What rear do you have in your Camaro? I'm guessing it's the 10 bolt with an open 2.73? 10 bolts don't take too kindly to 400 hp. You can beef them up pretty good though... And you're not still riding around on your original suspension and brakes setup, are you?

 

[zed300]

I am thinking about converting my car to a manual but it would have to be done by a serious professional who's done it before. Last thing I need is my precious car to be hacked to death with no way to restore/fix it.

If you are capable of doing the work ,do it. In the factory they don't make auto/manual bodies different ,all mounting holes and welded on nuts are on for both. So no matter what the gearbox,(factory auto/man) it will all fit..............(Thought)....Unless ,you need to modify for putting in later model parts,which will be costly,modified gearbox cross members and mounts, driveshaft splicing, potentially sump and oil pickup depending on cross member the list goes on and to do all this, as well as buying a motor and box ,will surely blow your budget.

 

[Tornado]

I don't have an intricate knowledge of 3rd gen Camaro interiors, but I do know that the essentially-same-time-period C4 Vette had literally no difference in interior between the slushbox or manual cars.

 

[JCE]

I never implied that you were stupid 👍 But do all that and you'd likely be overextending that $4,000 budget.

You said your trans is good, but how about the rest of your drivetrain? What rear do you have in your Camaro? I'm guessing it's the 10 bolt with an open 2.73? 10 bolts don't take too kindly to 400 hp. You can beef them up pretty good though... And you're not still riding around on your original suspension and brakes setup, are you?

Brakes and suspension will be swapped off of a salvage 4th gen. And since I'll be doing the 4th gen brakes it makes sense to get either a good 4th gen rearend or snag an aftermarket one. My rearend is still factory...lol

If you are capable of doing the work ,do it. In the factory they don't make auto/manual bodies different ,all mounting holes and welded on nuts are on for both. So no matter what the gearbox,(factory auto/man) it will all fit..............(Thought)....Unless ,you need to modify for putting in later model parts,which will be costly,modified gearbox cross members and mounts, driveshaft splicing, potentially sump and oil pickup depending on cross member the list goes on and to do all this, as well as buying a motor and box ,will surely blow your budget.

If I choose an LSx the T-56 mounting is slightly different.

I don't have an intricate knowledge of 3rd gen Camaro interiors, but I do know that the essentially-same-time-period C4 Vette had literally no difference in interior between the slushbox or manual cars.

You are correct. Just cut the holes and swap the shifter plate on the console if swapping a 700R4 for a T-5. 👍

 

[Jim Prower]

Brakes and suspension will be swapped off of a salvage 4th gen. And since I'll be doing the 4th gen brakes it makes sense to get either a good 4th gen rearend or snag an aftermarket one. My rearend is still factory...lol

I dunno. my buddy has a late-model 4th-gen Firebird, and keeps eating diffs. It's probably the same rear end. He's running around 400HP.

 

[RedTransAm]

I dunno. my buddy has a late-model 4th-gen Firebird, and keeps eating diffs. It's probably the same rear end. He's running around 400HP.

They basically are the same rear end. 4th gen rears' axle tubes are a bit longer than a 3rd gen's but the center section is the same.

 

[JCE]

One of my local car club members has offered me a sweet deal. A rebuilt 305 with some performance stuff put on+wiring+accessories (that I need)+computer+whatever-else-I-need+INSTALLATION for $600. SCORE! This changes everything. And I get a '91 Convertable RS body in the deal (slight frame damage in the rear).

This means...

• I can get my Camaro completed sooner and cheaper.
• I can concentrate on buying another project car.
• I can drive my Camaro sooner than expected! (mega yay!)
• I can possibly "save" another 3rd gen from a salvage yard.

Here is the deal on the convertable... If the frame damage isn't that bad and it can be fixed for less than $2,000 I might keep that car and turn it into my speed demon/autocrosser. And I've wanted a convertable so I can remove the top and weld in some steel support beems and a rollbar (ala '03/04 SVT Cobra) to provide enough strength. That means I can do the drivetrain that I wanted to do now on that one later and have 2 Camaros. Otherwise if the damage is too bad sell the car off to someone who can do something with what's left and let it go away and get another project car. I really want to buy an R170 SLK 320 and turn it into a track car (as in corners). The 230 Kompressor had a 5spd manual option from 1999+ and the 320 had a 6spd manual option in 2001+. I'd do what I just mentioned on the Camaro here, remove the top and weld in some strengthening stuff and a rollbar. Plus gut the entire car and remove all that luxury stuff to save weight.

Otherwise who knows what project car I'll end up with. I'd like to take a German car and completely gut it and turn it into a mean machine around the track. Sacriledge to gut a "luxury car" but that's part of the loonacy!

 

[mustangGT90210]

 

[JCE]

Thanks.

 

[Jim Prower]

Heh...You got a 'vert out of the deal, too? awesome!

I say, if you're gonna 'cage it, find a way to turn the thing into a drift car. For some reason, 'caged convertibles of that size just say "Drift"...

 

[JCE]

Nah, autocross would be more fun! I still need to come up with the $600...shouldn't take more than about 1 or 2 months.

 

[JCE]

As soon as I get my tax return I am buying that '91 RS 'vert. Then the engine swap begins. No idea what the time table is for the us goverment to deposit my return into my bank account. I hope its within 1 month.

My new job is probably going to pay me quite alot of money by the end of the year. I hope to have the cash or credit rating by this time next year to grab myself my second project car. Which will probably be a Merc SLK or BMW Z3 unless I find something that tickles me fancy more.