89 Firebird Turbo 3500 Build

[caffeine]

Been gathering parts for a while and still am but I figured I'd start posting my build.
I'm starting with an '89 Firebird Formula with 175,000 kms, 99% rust-free hardtop. I've almost had this car for 3 years and it originally had an L98 with rod-knock when I bought it (which I was actually able to sell for $400). Goal is to be fast and be ok at cornering too. It currently has decently stiff front coilovers with drag shocks in the rear haha. I only bought the drag shocks because they were cheap and I broke one of my stock ones trying to remove it when I pulled my rear-end.



And currently (engine bay is very dirty):


I picked up an 06 G6 3500 with either 50,000 kms or miles:



I decided to paint the intakes wrinkle black and the valve covers wrinkle blue


This is where I've gotten so far


For the throttle body I decided to try making my own. My first attempt was OK but I'm going to do another one to fix my mistakes.



For tuning I'm going to wire in a 9396 which leaves me a few tuning options.
Turbo is going to be a Borg-Warner 85-74 with a .91 A/R twin-scroll T4 exhaust housing. I've also ordered a meth kit, a clutch, and various other parts. I'm gasket-matching the intakes and going with either a 65mm or 75mm throttle.

[Superdave]

Nice!


and you even have a tubular K member to start with, no oil pan cutting for you!

[caffeine]

Ya I went crazy with suspension upgrades a couple years ago. I think the only suspension arm on the car that isn't tubular is the torque arm. Front has coilovers with tokico struts and all of the suspension arms have solid bushings except for polyurethane for the rear LCAs. I plan on stitch welding the strut towers this year and installing different coilovers to hopefully get some camber adjustment back (car under steers pretty easily the way it is).

[ericjon262]

I love 3rd gen Formulas! Keep up the good work!

[pocket-rocket]

I love 3rd gen Formulas! Keep up the good work!

Ditto. Especially the later ones with the subtle ground effects.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[caffeine]

I actually have a set of 85-90 Trans Am ground effects and when I install them ill probably plasti-dip the car black. I hate how high the car looks even when it's lowered haha.

[ericjon262]

I actually have a set of 85-90 Trans Am ground effects and when I install them ill probably plasti-dip the car black. I hate how high the car looks even when it's lowered haha.

please don't! keep it a formula!

[caffeine]

2nd attempt at a TB adapter was a success. I used a $2.50 piece of aluminum and $1.25 worth of bolts. I just ground a bit of the plenum so I could access the countersink bolt heads from the rear part of the adapter. Not the nicest piece but should work fine.
On the plenum side I used a 3" hole saw to make a groove for an o-ring.



Edit: Can anyone verify that the 75mm LS1 throttle body uses the same bolt pattern? In pictures it looks similar.

[Superdave]

what TB is that?

I know the LS1 and N* are the same, they both fit my adapter

[caffeine]

65mm LX5

[ericjon262]

65mm LX5

it doesn't, I tried it.

[caffeine]

Good to know, thanks

[Superdave]

the upper hole is centered (or at least very close to that) on the N* and LS..




What trans are you going with?

If it's a 700R4 get ready for some fun trying to get a TV cable set up to work with the 3500 UIM, i'm on revision 3 now. Hoping this one works, we'll see tomorrow morning.

[caffeine]

See http://60degreev6.com/forum/showthre...-T-56-to-60*V6
My clutch should be here within a week and I ordered a new flywheel from rockauto that should arrive in a little over a week. Tomorrow I'm going to get a custom pilot bushing made. I was quoted $45 for it. Not cheap but not outrageous I guess. I bought a $3 bushing from Lordco for them to copy (just need a longer one made).

Clutch I ordered is a stage 4 6-puck from Clutchnet. Hopefully it will hold the power I make.

[caffeine]

For a fuel pump a friend recommended a Supra 2jzgte Denso fuel pump. Supposed to flow a bit more than a Walbro 255 and is super quiet. Walbros just seem to have a bad reputation lately.