This build starts back on 12/18/2009. Michael dropped off his car to TexasGT’s shop. The first build thread can be seen here.
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/078836.htmlWe tried to do another build thread when we first took this project on, but the opinions created too much tension and I really didn’t need the build going in a new direction, so we had Cliff close the thread down. I wanted to be left alone to do my thing.
Now keep in mind that I own a German only repair shop. The Fieros are a part time gig for us. Sometimes we are too busy and we don’t touch them for months at a time. This will be my last build for the public for a while. We are going to focus on the German cars for a bit.
I insisted that Michael could tell me his goals and he give me Carte Blanche on the build. Basically, I do what I felt needed to be done to complete the task. I believe he will be very happy.
When we took this project on, I discussed in great detail with Michael about his end goal.
The end goal is this:
400-420whp
Very little to no turbo lag
F40 6 speed
Setup to be driven daily in Houston
User friendly
Air conditioning is a must!
Michael really liked the look of the Camaro intake with turbo above the trans. He insisted we go that route.
Reinstall the missing trunk to fit both the exhaust and the t-topsThe end goal is not to have the fastest Fiero, but to have a fun to drive car, well balanced, with a manual transmission that is done cleanly and can take home some trophies on occasion while blowing the doors off most street cars.
If I remember correctly, we sold or scrapped everything. Not much was usable for our goals. We kept the fuel pump, injectors and ZZP fuel rails.
I found a series III with 15,000 miles on it and I bought it. Michael picked up the F40 six speed and we had it sent out for the torsional LSD and cyro treatment.
At the present time, no one has completed a 3800/F40 combo, so there would be a lot of trial and error to overcome. We also were the third shop to get our hands in this setup, so we essentially had to put the car back together and then build the new swap. We did a lot more than just a motor swap, the suspension and brakes were redone amongst other things.
To get the ball rolling, here is a completed pic from a few months ago. We have since updated a few minor things.
Our build list consists of this:
Series III 3800
F40 six speed. Cyro treated internals and LSD
Spec stage 3+ clutch, aluminum flywheel and custom spacer for the HTOB. (it only took three times for them to get the measurement right, but in the end it works)
Driveshaft shop axles and V8 Archie jackshaft.
255LPH fuel pump…..unknown brand…..already was in the tank and tested good. This is our weak link.
Double roller timing chain/130lb valve springs
Stattama ST-4 camshaft (we were originally planning on cylinder heads upgrade, but we didn’t due to personal reasons. The cam was already installed at the time we made this decision. Regardless, I am happy with the camshaft choice.
Custom handmade headers and exhaust with Magnaflow muffler.
1997 Camaro intake manifolds
Air to air intercooler
60lb injectors
LS1 MAF sensor
Devil’s own methanol injection
Turbonetics GTK-500 turbocharger (I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with Turbonetics discussing our goals and this is the turbo they recommended. I am very pleased with this setup)
Tial 38m wastegate
ZZP’s 50mm blow off valve
Guru wiring harness and low mount alternator kit
Here are a bunch of pics:
Porting and polishing the intake manifolds.
ST-4 camshaft install
POR 15 engine bay
Test fit of drive train
The oil filter and axle interfered and the first solution was to heat and bend the aluminum, pressure test it and it did work, but I wasn’t happy with it. I wanted to do a better job…
The solution was a remote oil filter.
Our handmade headers. All 304 stainless steel and TIG welded.
More test fitting
I also was soooooo anal about the turbo oil feeds and return lines. Not just that, but also the wastegate flow. It had to be perfect.
Here is the return drain. I located it higher in the pan because the oil level sender was an inch lower than I wanted to use it for a return.
The flow of the wastegate should be in the flow of the exhaust. Not on a 90 degree angle.
Cold air intake
BOV location
Not pictured, but I took apart ZZP’s fuel logs and made a returnless fuel system to keep the engine bay cleaner. The pressure regulator was relocated to the fuel filter area.
Intercooler setup with oil filter. It is hard to tell from the pic, but the heat exchanger is on a decent angle, but still has more than adequate flow. I was worried I would have to build a shield around it, but it seems to get enough air for what we are building.
Whodeanie’s modded taillights……I do love them.
I emailed Ryan from Sinister Performance and asked for some assistance getting the turbo base tune worked out. He was beyond helpful and it got the car streetable. My base tune was ok, but something wasn’t right with it and I wanted a second opinion. I wound up mixing and matching both of our tunes into one tune for the car.
I have been driving the car almost everyday to run errands and get some test miles on it. I couldn’t get a proper tune by street driving. The car would lose traction after 4500rpms due to the cool temperatures.
I rented a dyno for a full day yesterday and had to spend some time getting the fueling in spec before we could make any real runs.
The very first run, we ran on only the 8.5psi wastegate and had to pull at 4,500rpms because it went too lean. We made a measly 303whp. I wasn’t concerned with numbers yet though. I wanted to get the tune right.
After a bit of playing, we got the baseline dialed in. The car has ZERO turbo lag due to the smaller size turbo, but on 8.5psi we generated 334whp. That in my opinion was very good because I knew where this was headed.
Next step, I turned the boost up to 12psi and took a few runs and fine tuned the fueling. 385whp/410ft lbs torque.
Next we went to 14.8psi. 419whp/442ft lbs of torque.
I was happy. We hit our goal. But, we haven’t turned the methanol injection on yet. First run with the meth, we lost 50whp and the fueling was way too rich. Made some adjustments and got it back to where I wanted it. Now that we had the meth on and the tuning set, we added 4 degrees of timing and raised the boost to 16.5psi. We had zero KR, running 18 degrees of timing at full throttle and we got 457.9whp/476ft lbs in 4th gear and 460.8whp/457ft lbs in 3rd gear.
There is still room to go more, but we did 17 pulls yesterday and got it 100% in my opinion. I don’t need to push it any further, and I don’t think the fuel pump can keep up for anything more. The car leaned out at redline on 16.5psi, but not anywhere dangerous.
So, any comments or questions?
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www.hausofguru.com[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 01-19-2013).]
Next year I might go with some ZZP heads, and if I do I'll have the fuel pump changed out then. Dave said the injectors are only at 80% of their duty cycle, so I should be good with just those changes and a tweak to the tune IF I go that route.
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