This is my first post in this forum, but i am very familiar with the forum concept. (although not in cars) Ok, i'm very new to camaros. I just bought a 96 3.8L 2 days ago. Although the 200 hoarses are very nice, i want more. I have several questions about my car.

First and foremost, the intake looks very restrictive (there is this one part coming out of the airbox that is 'pinched' between components. I was wondering what modifications can be made to this. I was thinking of routing an intake down and around it. ( i will be custom fabricating most mods).

Second would be about the stereo system. The deck seems to be the stock am/fm cassette unit. There are 5 speaker locations that I know of. front dorrs, rear panels and one rear 6" (approx) speaker (non functionsl) was this ment to be a sub? The speaker is obviously blown, but what drives this speaker. Is it driven off the head unit or does it have its own amp? I have a 400w amp and 10" subs i wish to incorporate and was wondering if this speaker is a good tap point for subs.

Third, where can I get a CHEAP factory service manual. Is there any where i can download it or is there a place reccommended for it.

Fourth - i plan on eventually building a custom turbo setup aimed at making 350-450hp. I'm still toying with ideas but is twin turbo or single better, and how many cfm does this engine need? Also, where is a good place to get cylinder heads that have a lower compression ration and a matching rings connecting rods ect. I plan on building the exhaust system myself and also am looking for suggestions on a dual exhaust. I will do all my own piping. I was wondering what diameters are reccomended for the power i want to make. If i go the single turbo route i'll go single exhaust, dual turbo, dual exhaust all the way. I know the complications involved in a turbo setup and power is much easier to come by in an engine swap but i really like turbos.

Fifth - will my stock 5sp transmission handle the power i want to make, and if not what 5sp cars would i want to look at for a donor tranny. Also what clutch would be compatible that can handle above said power for street/track use.

Sixth (damn this is turning into a long post) what turbos are reccomended for both dual and single turbo setups on the 3.8. I would prefer turbos off cars that i can find in the junkyard cause all modifications to my car will be low budget untill i'm out of college. Also what cars would have exhaust manifolds compatible to my car that i can mod into headers.

Thank you for reading my post

Sincerely

Chris aka camarogeek

Any and all suggestions are welome

 

You should do a search on the homemade CAI (cold air intake). Most likely you don't have an amp. Only the cars with the monsoon came with amps. If you do have an amp it would be seen in the spare tire area. I would check ebay for the manual. I can't help you much on the turbo and we are only supposed to talk about engine mods in the sticky threads (top two threads that are in bold). But I do know adding trual duals isn't legal, but adding turbo probably isn't either...
When major modifications are done it is usually brought up that it would be cheaper to buy a LT1 (93-97 models) or LS1 (98-02 models) Camaro. 350-450 would be really hard to do out of the 3.8l. I don't know if the 3.8l could take that. LS1s are really comming down in price. On average the LS1 cars put down 300RWHP That's actual hp getting to the ground not hp at the flywheel.

I think you should get a V8.

 

Just as a reminder this is my daily driver. I don't have the time to do an engine/ecu swap. I forgot to as in my first post, whats a good engine managment system for the proposed mods i have listed. Also if you know of good resources for stainless tubing (2.5 - 3" diameter) that woudl be helpful.

Also i don't care how 'hard' it is to get power out of the block i have. Its the block thats staying in my car untill i deem it dead. Then comes the LS1 swap. When i'm in a better financial position and the LS1's are cheaper.

 

I was talking about buying a LT1 or LS1 car, not a swap. If money is a factor, you'd be a lot better off buying a LT1 powered car and spraying it.

 

I don't have the money for another car either. Selling this car is not an option. I'm looking for the do-it-yourself kind of mods and build your own everything. I am very technically able although my strong knowledge does not lie in cars.

 

I f you can wel, shane jsut built a turbo setup for 3.8Ls and his car ran a 12.8 on 7 psi.


as for the intake, definitely do something kits are like $100-200, I made a cheap setup, helped my car alot, 3in. all the way through, from stuff at home depot, I can do pics if you want.

also forgot to mention tiago does soem turbo setups from forced fed fabircations.

but overall, a motor swap ain't that bad, maybe $3k total, several have done it for less.

 

I would love pics anyone has of their custom intake setup. I do plan on welding my own exhaust setup. I will be buying a welder shortly. Suggestions on what kind of welder to get would also be appreciated.

Chris

ps - what is shane's forum name

 

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...threadid=36605

 

The "sub" in the back has a little miny amp thing in it but its super sh*ty. You would probly want to upgrade the wires to a higher gauge to run more power to your amp. If u go to circuit city you can buy all the necessary adaptors for a new head unit for like $30. It would be a good idea to replace the bad stock speakers with a good name like Polk or Alpine and a 4-channel speaker amp.
As for the intakes it's not all that hard to make one yourself. Just do a search for some other peoples homemade ones. Just some pvc pipe and a KN cone filter will do the trick.
The V8 is really a better choice than a turbo. They are very close in price, and u would get pretty similar perfomance, but the 8 would give u a much bigger platfrom for future mods. You said u couldnt afford an engine, but a turbo is usually like $2000.

 

watch putting to much bump in the back, mine rattles like a mad man, and i have even spread the rockford crap in her to help stop it.