Chevrolet garage! DIY workshop build

[woody2136]

Well, the trans in the truck died (I knew it was on its way out), so I'm gonna swap in a decent roller cam with some added compression and build a heavy 4L60E for it. Doing a full exhaust with headers too so it should be able to haul a little better.

 

[bad_idea]

hey woody,
i found your thread looking for air dryers of all things... i like the second gen camaro. i had a 79 as a teen and recently sold it to buy an 02 z28. love cruise control, fuel injection and a/c!

anywho, i was wondering about that c-man butcher block top you installed on your workbench. how much did it cost you, where did you get it (website or store?), and how has it held up to fluids and such? thanks.

 

[woody2136]

hey woody,
i found your thread looking for air dryers of all things... i like the second gen camaro. i had a 79 as a teen and recently sold it to buy an 02 z28. love cruise control, fuel injection and a/c!

anywho, i was wondering about that c-man butcher block top you installed on your workbench. how much did it cost you, where did you get it (website or store?), and how has it held up to fluids and such? thanks.

It's held up pretty well so far. It cleans very easily thanks to the clear coating. I'm not sure what it is, but nothing really sticks to it. I did put a burn mark in it this week though welding something in the vice...my bad.

On a related subject, I'm not impressed with the CH dryer. There is routinely water that gets past the water trap and dryer into the second water trap.

 

[woody2136]

What started out as a cam swap & gasket job turned in to a full engine build when I found out the remanufacturer used 305 heads and ash tray pistons for an 8.7:1 357 with tiny valves. No wonder it had no power! So I decided to go with Vortec heads, LT1 roller cam, KB 12cc pistons and Edelbrock intake. Now it's 9.72:1 with nice & tight .037 quench and about 10deg more duration and .060" more lift. I'm guessing it should be just about 300hp/400tq with all the power right down low where a truck needs it.

I also abandoned the stupid auto when I found a 1-ton parts truck with a NV4500 5spd. I'm using the HD tcase, hydroboost and big calipers as well. I kept the running 350 too, because it's a 4-bolt roller-ready 1-pc rear main block that I can build for the Camaro in the future. I also bought a Vortec donor engine to pirate the heads & roller lifters, etc...but the heads turned out to be cracked and the lifters were very grungy so I just bought new.

Surprise, surprise...it's more expensive than I was planning! haha

 

[n2ocamaro]

Nice work on the garage. I have a similar size garage I have started work on. Beretta owner (95') for 7 years. My daughter just started driving so it will be her car now. I rebuilt the 3.1L at 143k and it has 210k now and still going strong. I sold my 95 Z28 with a 383 stroker LT1 and getting ready to buy a 80' Camaro rolling chassis from a friend to put a 6.0L LSx with a 6 speed trans.

 

[cyamaha2007]

good job on the undercoating this happens if no one cares. It was my first truck i loved that thing. rebuilt the motor new clutch ect. Then i got a big boy job and needed some reliable transit so she sat around. Then my brother need a vehicle so i figured id do what my parents couldnt and give him my truck... that i bought. She needed some repair... real rusty so i got a rear frame section off another truck for 25 bucks. Then i tore into the project i put off for years. It went great. Then a few weeks later my brother crashed red rover. It was quite sad.

 

[woody2136]

I know all too well about rust.

I had a 95 Z26 Beretta that was my driver for 7 years through the salt & snow. I dropped a 3400 engine in it, upgraded the suspension, wheels, etc. I dont even know how much time I spent modding it.

I knew it was starting to get rusty but I was occupied with my Camaro projects. One spring the gas tank leaked through and when I got under to replace it I saw how bad the unibody was. That was when I decided to buy a rust-free Beretta and salvage what I could from the Z...and that is where the 91 "SS" came from.

Sometimes I still miss my old baby, just for the fact it was the first car I ever did serious work to. It doesn't even compare to the current Beretta, but it was a fun ride when I had it.

 

[woody2136]

Been slammed at work, so progress has been slow...but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

And my fav pic from the build so far:

 

[woody2136]

Wow, been a while! haha

Got the truck done. And then I swapped the 10-bolt for a 14-bolt rear and 3/4 ton leafs. Put 1-ton calipers up front, too. It's a workhorse.

Also pulled the 355 out of the Camaro and sold it complete. Got a steal on an Accel DFI setup so I'm going forged 383 with AFR heads, roller cam and 1000cfm EFI. Upgraded the manifold and got a low-pro throttle body to keep my hood clearance. Desktop Dyno tells me 578hp, which is a wee bit optimistic, but it should be an easy 500+.

Got some stuff done on the garage too, but no pics yet. I'll shoot some soon and put them up. Added a sink, hose reel and enclosed my storage under the work bench.

 

[woody2136]

A few pics as promised.

http://sphotos-b.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/430924_523175561034688_1950979054_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/425551_523175587701352_904122177_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/60902_523175591034685_977373453_n.jpg

 

[woody2136]

Well I see most of the facebook pictures crapped out. Here's a link to the album.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.648135501872026&type=1&l=ccfa3c1dd2

I got a deal on an old shelving unit I couldn't pass up. Pretty much fills up the attached wall but keeps things organized a little better. I also got a tire rack for the wifes snow tires on the far wall, but will probably relocate it to the attached wall above the entry door in the dead space there.

Oh...and got the wife a new car. 2013 Cruze Eco 1.4L turbo 6spd manual. Killer gas mileage and is fun to listen to the turbo with the K&N intake kit. Blacked it out too...I hate chrome.

 

[Bib Overalls]

What size AFR runners are you using on your 383?

 

[woody2136]

195 Eliminators. Should still have good torque...gonna need some for 6th gear cruising.

 

[woody2136]

Doing the roof on the house & garage and finally installing a heater. Picked up a 45k radiant tube...should be plenty and will be nice & clean while I do body work on the Camaro. No dust blowing around or solvents to blow up. haha Doubling the insulation on the house to R60 too...hoping to keep the heat bill about the same. All this while the new 383 is waiting patiently in the corner. haha

 

[ARCTIC_RAGTOP]

Great space, awesome heater!

 

[oilslick]

What cam did you go with on your 383 ? Also what rotating parts did you go with? Thanks, I am gonna build one for a buddy this winter and could use a good receipe! I hear good things about the afr eliminators but haven't priced them out set up for a big roller cam.

 

[kenburkholz]

All these shots are what dreams are made of, Keep on building! Ken.

 

[woody2136]

Skip White forged bottom end kit and a roller 234/238 .575/.584 cam.

 

[woody2136]

Got all the roofing done. Replaced all the plywood on the house too because it was pretty bad due to poor ventilation. Ran CSST gas pipes and got the heater going too. I'm loving it already. Very happy.