It is a pain. If you could find someone that could figure out how to vacuum bag it, it wouldn't be so much "body work" to do.

I can't say I will be in a rush to do this on any other parts

After 2 hours of sanding and the final coat of epoxy it’s 95% complete!

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...7abf43d18.jpeg

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...d3ebf10f1.jpeg

Last steps will be to dremel out the excess that’s in the vent and defroster holes.

I know a few people that can vacuum bag and that's exactly how I was going to attempt it.

If I were to attempt this ever again in life there are a few things my amateur self would do differently.

Use filler over the entire dash and not glazing putty

Reinstall the dash after the body work to confirm dry fitment of the rest of the interior

Do a black basecoat, tape off all the vent trim pieces and reinstall them before doing any resin

Do not use the flakes without a vacuum. Matter of fact figure out a way to use regular carbon cloth but again with a vacuum. With just a wet lay up and sanding you still end up with areas that are too thick for other trim pieces to fit properly.

Later on this year I will get another dashboard but for now this will do.

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...8b231f804d.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...8f122f8c50.jpg

Swapped out the rear brakes last night to the 350z base model brakes.

Used the Powerstop kit KC17926 from rock auto. Red calipers, pads and drilled/slotted rotors. So far driving it this morning there is no noticeable difference in the brakes. Will be taking the slicks to get mounted today and then confirm fitment and clearance.

The 26th is the "test and tune" day so I'm scheduling some time with Husam to finish the ethanol tune.

Only goals I have are:
A) 1.4x 60ft
B) 6.9x second pass (1/8th mile)

Excellent build thread dude!

Eventually, I'll do the built engine + cams route.

I'm concentrating on suspension, drivetrain and aero now.

Thanks man. It's been a long journey. Good luck with your build!

The front of the car got jealous that I swapped the rear brakes. I noticed it was getting lazy to start and then it blew the main starter fuse for some reason. I have the fuse bypassed temporarily as there are none of the OEM style battery terminal fuse block things on island. I also swapped back to regular battery for the interim.

Yesterday the slicks got mounted on the 15s, will test fit them tomorrow and post a pic.

Yeah if you fall for the VQ37 high power meme then you deserve it LOL
Suspected blown head gasket, happened randomly traveling between stores at work.

Officially at the end of my rope so it will sit again until I can put something that isn’t a steaming pile of **** between the frame rails.

You lost the headgasket? What did you do to help keep it sealed up?

It’s a pretty basic build, oem head gaskets and ARP L19s.

Your compression ratio 9:1. You should have been good to about 17psi of boost. Hard to say, so many different variables.
Junkyard VR38's are expensive right now.

Finally decided the way forward after hashing out the options with a few close car friends.

Got my hands on a full Camaro drive train with 84k on it, has an unknown cam and valve train upgrade. Will be getting all the swap hard parts from Sikky and a harness from Wiring specialties to go with Haltech 2500. Plug and play and most importantly I keep AC!

Plan is to get the swap running and driving for a bit then upgrade the cam(if necessary), Holley high ram and some progressive nitrous for the 1/8 mile.

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...7b1313d2d.jpeg

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...c2e859f41.jpeg

Seems pretty clean from the eBay auction pics. Wonder how different the tq delivery will be in comparison.

Nice! LS3? The more horror stories I read about FI on this platform, the more and more I start to drift towards swapping to an LS.

FI is awesome if you aren't greedy. 550-600whp and 450wtq on the stock long block is dead reliable. The problem is after that, if you know you're going to want more power than that then the VQ is not for you.

On the street when I had the stock GTR turbos and stock long block it was awesome at that power level, I wanted more for the 1/8 and got greedy.

Yeah it's an LS3, pretty hopeful to get in the 500whp range with it and then get the extra 150-200 hit at the track.

All of the sikky stuff is ordered. That’s gonna be it for a while, once I can recoupe some from selling the z stuff I’ll get started on the haltech stuff

Wiring Specialties harness?

Yep! Emailing back and forth, explaining what I need, they have been super responsive and upfront about the timeline.

Within the the same group of friends, one has an LS3/T56 swapped RX7 and the other has an LMG/6L80E swapped Colorado. We ditched the stock ecu in the RX7 in favor of a Holley Terminator X after not being able to get it remote tuned reliably and it's taken 2 years to find someone to get the Colorado to shift at WOT without shutting down in limp mode (MPH shift points, who knew).

I say all of that to say, I could go the stock ECU route and save some money but both myself and definitely Husam @ BTWtuning are familiar with tuning on Haltech.

Also with its 2022 and I want a CAN keypad vs regular switches, I can hit a button for say a clutch slipper and I can have it only activate when that switch is depressed and under 10mph, so it will slip for the launch only.

With everything wired through the Haltech and the host of sensors it will have access to the various failsafe modes you can assign to them are worth the extra cost involved to me.

I was back and forth with the radiator/ac condenser setup, the CSF radiator wasn't an option and the Koyo would require some custom work for the AC condenser so I decided to just bite the bullet and complicate things further.

I'll be running a Griffin 22.5x15.5 core radiator (27.5x15.5 over all dimensions) and a universal 20x14 AC condenser with the same Derale 12" 2000cfm fans I used on the Frontier one being a puller and the other a pusher.

Ok so here's the part's list/plan

Engine
Camaro LS3 84k miles with unknown spec/brand valvetrain upgrades
Sikky engine mounts MK013
Sikky engine mount bushings UMA1
Sikky long tube headers HDR022SS
Sikky oil pan OP008
Sikky oil pickup tube PT4
Sikky oil filter adapter OPB-02
Sikky power steering line PS102A
Sikky SD intake INTAKE-02

Transmission
Camaro TR6060 84k miles
Ebay/FX stage 2 clutch & flywheel kit that came with the engine/transmission, I will be changing this at some point to a Mcleod RST twin plate clutch
Sikky drive shaft SKNISH29-A
Sikky transmission cross member CM47
Sikky transmission mount bracket TM02
Sikky shifter relocation kit SH6060-12
Sikky straight 8" shifter rod SRRT04
Sikky CAGS & Reverse lockout delete kit TDK-TR6060

Cooling
Griffin 27.5x15.5" radiator 1-25241-X
Derale 12" 2000cfm fans 16924
24x14 AC condenser & universal drier kit CNFO1420KT
Trickflow steam line 4an fittings 30600611
Custom expansion tank
Some summit 1.5" & 1.75" silicone bends and aluminum pipe for radiator hoses

The radiator cannot fit both of the fans I want to use on one side so I will be making a shroud for one as a puller offset to one side with some flaps on the other so I can mount the second fan as a pusher on the flap side.

I will be making an expansion tank that will sit behind the passenger headlight that will have a 10an line running from the bottom of it to the top of the radiator end tank, the existing radiator cap fitting will be cut off and a 10an fitting welded in it's place.

Fuel
Keep existing CJM twin pump with the walbro 525/485 combo, 6AN feed and Fuelab regulator but convert the regulator to a dead head setup since the LS3 fuel rail is a return-less style.

Eventually upgrade to GM LSA fuel injectors 217-3350

Electronics/control
Wiring Specialties custom harness
Mako Motorsports i-C7 dash mount
Haltech Elite 2500
Haltech iC-7 dash
Haltech 15 button CAN keypad
Haltech 12 channel input/output expander box
Haltech 4 channel CAN hub
Haltech dual wideband CAN controller
Haltech IAT, coolant temp, oil temp, oil pressure, fuel pressure & nitrous pressure sensors
Eaton ssVEC relay/fuse box to interface the Haltech with the line lock, nitrous and clutch slipper

Eventual power adder
Holley High ram intake manifold 92mm throttle body flange
Nitrous Express High ram plate kit
Nitrous Express GENX2 accessory kit
Holley solid state relays to have the Haltech progressively control the nitrous

Not throwing shade on anyone, but why did you choose Sikky over LOJ? Genuinely curious.

Oh that's easy and no shade throwing at all, I have access to Sikky wholesale through the company I work for.

I've had positive interactions with both companies, I contacted LOJ about their flex plate, wondered if it would fit the VK56DE (it doesn't), shipped them a stock flex plate to compare and they took the time to do so.

Sikky walked me through all the individual part numbers I needed since the kits don't carry one, since I was ordering from one of their re-suppliers they even worked with them to get a few items added to their online inventory.

Ah! I don't blame you for using that connection then. Both companies sell their solutions as complete drop in and bolt/go. No removal of the secondary firewall, with the LS sitting as far back and low (without hanging below the subframe) as possible in order to allow room for potential FI solutions along with cooling. I'm still up in the air on which company I'm gonna go with, but LS swap is in my future. I'll be following along for your feedback on Sikkys kit.

Adding some oiling parts from Improved Racing, something they call a barbell plug (doesn't allow any oil to bypass the filter), crank scraper & windage tray and an oil pick up brace.

I also found out the TR6060 transmission has an internal pump and can support a cooler, looking at the auction pictures mine has the factory cooler lines, since they already look bent to **** I got some fittings from ICT billet to convert over to 6an. A 10 row cooler should be just fine for that.

Just got back in last night after my trip to Michigan to meet up with Husam @ BTWTuning and see my truck in person. Was an awesome couple of days and I think it's going to be almost as fast as my Z :icon17:


http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...a3edb63af1.jpg
The LS3 drivetrain is in the warehouse, I have to dig through some boxes to see if the majority of the Sikky stuff has also arrived.

Dang, you know I'm in Michigan right? You were more than welcome to check out all the stuff on my build in person. Also, bad *** you are jumping on the swap! LS3 gonna make some MONSTER tq.

Until you pointed it out, I did not realize that. I was only there for like 4 days and on a mission so I didn't even really see much of the state. If I make the trip again though I'll swing by for damned sure :tup:

It's too expensive for me to return to stock and get another car, I love the Z styling and the handling so it made the most sense to keep it and junk the power plant.

Will have most of it home by weekend so I can get the car on the lift again and at least cut the transmission tunnel for the shifter.

The majority of the parts are here! I'm still waiting on a few key pieces like the shifter relocation & drive shaft but I have quite a bit to do before I will need those.

First plan of action is to separate the engine and transmission so I can install the following:
Improved Racing crank scraper/windage tray
Improved Racing oil gallery barbell
Sikky oil pan, pick up tube & oil filter adapter
Melling high volume oil pump
Summit Pro LS cam shaft
Replace all relevant gaskets and seals
Sikky CAGS & reverse lock out delete
ICT Billet 6AN transmission cooler fittings

The powder coater is out of Cerakote so the headers can't get coated for another 3 weeks which is fine. I refuse to use header wrap ever again in life so here we are.

The aim is to be ready to drop the engine in once the shifter relocation assembly arrives, from the few pictures available it appears I will need to cut a slot in the top of the tunnel to clear that.

Transmission is separated, the clutch was a Spec Kevlar disc unit. There’s a few hotspots on the flywheel and pressure plate so I think I might replace it on principle.

All of the front accessories and stock oil pan are off so I pulled the stock windage tray and installed the New crank scraper and windage tray from Improved racing.

I don’t have the right crank pulley puller so tomorrow I’ll grab one and get the cam swapped out so I can reassemble everything with the new Sikky oil pan and pick up tube.

Unfortunately I have to wait a few weeks on the fitting to block off the oil coolers water port on the block.

I swear if it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any. The auction pictures had the drivers side valve cover pulled to show the valve spring & trunnion upgrade. They did not pull the passenger cover which would have showed both number 4 rocker arm trunnions worn through and both push rods out past the rocker arms. One of the rocker arm bolts pulled right out of its mounting boss in the cylinder head.

I pulled the head fully expecting to see bent valves and fly cut guide marks in the pistons but by some miracle the valves did not hit the pistons so all appears well on that side. Tonight I'll be pouring some gas in the combustion chamber to see if any leaks past the valves as a precaution.

They are doing a partial refund to cover parts and labor. I'll be placing an order for new rocker arms, lifters, push rods, head gaskets and head bolts.

After a thorough inspection of the rest of the top end of the engine I went ahead and swapped out the cam and oil pump. The unknown cam ended up being a Howard 190355-12 cam (232 int./236 exh. duration 0.625 int./0.625 exh. lift 112 LSA) The new Summit 8711R1 cam went in (234 int./248 exh. 0.625 int./0.605 exh. lift 113 +3.5 LSA) along with a Melling high volume oil pump.

Last night I got a few things done. Installed the oil pick up tube & brace, oil pan & filter adapter block, oil gallery barbell and lastly the LH engine mount.

The RH engine mount bracket requires a little grinding/cutting on the AC compressor bracket.

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...7-12-35-3-.jpg
Oil gallery barbell from Improved racing, it doesn't allow the oil to bypass the filter like the stock one does.

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...7-12-35-2-.jpg
Another small Improved Pacing part, oil pick up tube brace. Not sure why even the aftermarket tubes don't use both mounting bolts.

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...5_07-12-34.jpg
Pretty slick how they designed this adapter block, it bolts from the engine side with copper crush washers and there's no room for the bolts to back out. I still used some blue thread locker though.

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...5_07-12-35.jpg
The oil pan required one allen head bolt for clearance up front but the stock bolts went back in for the rest of the locations.

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...5_07-12-23.jpg
Highlighter green is now my favorite color

No more work for a while, I made the stupidest decision yesterday and cut most of the way through my left index finger tip.

Before that moment of infinite wisdom I did manage to trim the LS3 AC bracket to clear the Sikky engine mount.

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...ee67ececf4.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...18a2ccbcd0.jpg
The low profile AC fitting block is from Hawk Motorsports

Damn! Sorry to hear about the injury. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Yikes! Sucks about the finger!

Dude, I'm just gonna say it.... It looks like Sikky copied what I did for a rear sump oil pan. I'm not mad about it. I just wish they came out with the damn thing earlier so I could buy it. lmao.

Thanks guys.

I was surprised as hell when they said it was rear sump, must barely clear the rack.

I'm not entirely useless right now, it would seem.

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...8_07-32-52.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...8_07-32-57.jpg
Machine shop bent the edges of my "CAD" radiator shroud so all I have to do is bend up some 3/4" wide strips to weld onto the sides. The plan is to find some threaded aluminum bosses (or some 1/2" aluminum rod to drill and tap) to weld to the end tanks to mount the shroud to.

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...1_16-47-16.jpg
The shifter relocation from Sikky arrived yesterday as well. It's a pretty cool piece of engineering & machining. That was the last piece I needed to be able to install the drivetrain.

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...0_07-21-35.jpg
Sealed up the sides of the radiator shroud (not my best welding) and got the rivnuts in so the fans can be bolted in. Next step will be to weld some 2" strips to the end tanks to give me something to bolt the shroud to.

Once the mounting strips are on I'll take a DA to the shroud to neaten up the surface finish.

Man, I love seeing big builds! Keep the pictures coming!

I'm still taking little bites of the project every day until the finger starts throbbing at least :rofl2:

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...2_07-34-41.jpg

I think I mentioned before that the TR6060 has an internal pump like an automatic so you can use an external cooler. Turns out GM uses the same fittings/thread on their automatics so a pair of fittings from ICT went in to convert to 6AN. I also popped in the Earl's 4AN clutch line adapter fitting.

Finalized the fan shroud mounting for the most part, 4 more rivnuts and it's good to go. The new assembly is 6.5" thick where as the OEM radiator/fans were 10" deep, if I get them mounted in the same spot I should have ample clearance.


http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...2_18-11-35.jpg
Ordered up some 1/2" ID energy suspension bushings to use as radiator mount bushings. I need to weld some 1/2" rod to the bottom of the radiator and drill the required holes in the subframe (which I apparently have to straighten)

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...2_18-12-32.jpg
Expansion tank location, I will not be using the mock up tank in the picture as the sheet I used is too thin and I can only booger weld with 9 fingers it seems. I'll cut the rad cap fitting off the radiator, plug the hole and weld a 10AN bung on the back side right at the top as a fill point to be fed by the expansion tank. The steam vents are going to be plumbed straight to the tank with some 4AN hose.