OKW 91 RS Build Thread (Photo Heavy)

[Third-Gen]

Ok guys, this car is a few years in the making so far. I bought this car all original about 5 years ago. 305 TBI, 700R4, peg-leg, rear drums. I have the build sheet from the factory somewhere, Ill scan it when I find it. Well, after 150k miles the head gaskets threw in the towel. Time for some upgrades. Ill spare you the long story of how all the parts were aquired, but just know it involved a lot of long nights, selling stuff I didnt need, and eating Top Ramen for dinner waaaay too often. I am also using this car to do promotional work for my garage based shop (for now), Olson Kustom Works.

A few years ago, I updated the brakes to Corvette C5 Z06 disc/disc. Please ignore the rims, they were all we had at the shop that would fit the new brakes (16's wouldnt clear). The stock master was actually very well sized for the system, and under very hard braking, the rears locked up right after the fronts, and did nice controlled slides when needed. Im very happy with this brake setup, but after you see my engine/trans combo, I might be upgrading to 2010 CTS-V brakes.





heres a pic after the brakes, before all the big work started.



OK now to the most current stuff. First thing, pulled the 305 and trans out. what an ugly outdated mess!!


aww such a sad little 305


Next, I made a call to BMR, who helped me out and I got basically every part they make for the Third-Gen F-bodies. Heres a quick list:
Tubular K-Member
Tubular Control Arms
Front Coilover Conversion
Trans Crossmember
Front and Rear Sway bars
Torque Arm
Trailing Arms
Rear Coils
Panhard Rod and Relocater

Also, ProForge hooked me up with an all new steering setup.

Heres just a few of the pics (im going to go easy on your internet service)



I did this rear frame mods way before the suspension, but its still in progress, so in order of completion, its after the suspension. I never liked the way the rear area of the Camaros were, plus I wanted center exhaust, and to run a fuel cell. The new floor will have a heat shield under it, with 2 mufflers transverse, like a Vette. Fuel cell will go on the top side, with a blast cover over it, and blast venting downward out of the floor. Now I know most of you guys might oppose to the fuel cell in the inside of the car, but its not something im just throwing in the trunk of a Civic and going driving. I wanted to get the fuel away from the rear axle and exhaust heat, and run a remote filler to the b-pillar as well. I also did the mod to get directly to the subframe for the rollcage, which will come later. there is a piece of sheet metal on top of the bracing now, just dont have a pic of it yet.

Just a few pics::





Next, I think Ill show you the cage. I had a nice Mittler Bros bender and notcher at my old work, but now I have a JD2 and a Bridgeport at home to do more cage work. I went a little nuts on the cage. 1.75" Mild Steel, .125" wall. 1-piece main hoop and front hoop. All TIG welded. All frame plates are welded directly to subframes and suspension points on the car, not just the floor sheet metal. See pics for details. I wanted to make sure this car is suuuuper rigid.







Next up is engine. I bought a blown up LS3 from a company I worked for. EVAP lines were hooked up wrong, and dumped raw gas into manifold, which made the engine run rich during tuning, then after tuning it was done, it ran lean 1/2 the time. Ka-Boom. So a nice complete, blown up LS3 is waiting for a rebuild. I also bought a Harrop TVS2300 off a GTO. Its for the cathedral port heads, but I plan on using a set of LS6 heads to make it all work.


Just ordered my trans from a guy on the forum. Excited!!!!!! I bought a TR6060, ACT Twin Disc, and all the parts to make it work.

I build custom headers and stainless exhaust in the home shop, so once I get started on that I will post up some pics. Lemme know what you guys think!! Try not to be too harsh :-)

Oh, BTW, Im putting a 5th Gen dash in it :-) Just needs some trimming.

[25thanniversary]

Nice build keep us updated I can't wait till my 305 engine to blow up so I can mod my car. But so far I need a lot of miles to go. I have 71,000 miles on the car and she still runs strong.

[Third-Gen]

Thanks! ya you have a few more miles to go before you catch up haha. Wish I had a Vert to drive on sunny days, I love how those look. Ill just have to settle for t-tops.

An FYI on the 3rd gens, after about 110k if it starts to run rough, have no power, or start and stall, the fuel pump pickup tube has turned to mush. Had 3 different 3rd gens, all did it between 110k and 120k. Once i replaced the pump and the tube, they all ran strong up into the 150's. Great cars, just time to modernize this one (and show off some skills too)

[mikepage0007]

looks like a lot of work, good start

[TCAT]

Bitchin Jesse!! I'm definitely subscribing to this. The build is coming along great, and that ca will be a monster when you're done.

[Third-Gen]

ya i cant wait to drive it again. its been down over 2 years, almost 3. transmission should be here next week sometime, then i just have to find an axle.

[kyjohn]

That car is going to be awesome.

[demonspeed]

Best of luck with the build. Happy to see 3rd gens get the love they finally deserve.

[Chito]

When your done I'm sure the car will be amazing, this brought memories of when I used to own a 91 iroc Z. Keep up the good work.

[leonardo]

very nice build bro ! you do some great work

[Third-Gen]

had a few hours to kill before a bonfire tonight, so i decided to get some exhaust done. Now, before I begin, I have to mention that I have 2 different mufflers. one is a 2.5" in/out, and one is a 3" in/out. The funny thing is, both of them use the same size baffle tube inside (2.5), its just the end caps are a different size. So even if I was using all 3" tubing for the system, the bottleneck would be the mufflers at 2.5". Now, I could do a dual 3" and different mufflers, but trying to run dual 3" under a car that originally ran a single 2.25" and a torque arm suspension would be insanely tough, unless it hung down a bit. I figure for a street driven car making around 700hp, with 2" headers, dual 2.5", no cats, all stainless, heat wrapped should suffice.

Heres some pics:
Converting the 3" Muffler down to 2.5" (sorry for the crappy welds, all my #6 TIG cups are broken i had to use a #4.



As you can see, the 2.5" and 3" inner tube is the same size.


I made a set of tips out of some 304 sheet i had laying around, and some random bends and stuff. I have a small amount laying around (like 400lbs of 1-6"). hehe.



Gotta finish cleaning up and welding the tips, and polishing the inside soon.

heres the whole package tacked up and ready for test fitting, and making the mounts.






And heres the cutout where the tips are gonna come through. not quite sure how im gonna finish it off, maybe some sort of stainless trim with button head hex bolts? who knows. I gotta get a pic of the system mounted and see how it looks.

[Third-Gen]

just for reference, this is usually how i weld stainless :-) and thats a 1" diameter tube.

[25thanniversary]

that's a nice exhaust set up can't wait to hear it

[Third-Gen]

Chito, too bad HT5 is only 5th gens!! I dont know of any 3rd gen, or generic Camaro clubs in so cal. And im sure as hell not joining a "generic" club, unless its all muscle cars lol.

Leo thanks man, I do my best. Even though on my own cars I cut a corner here and there. I guess the saying "the shoemakers kids go barefoot" still has a place in my life.

25th, thanks! I cant wait to hear it either! Ive missed driving this car for almost 3 years. Its sad to walk out of the house every day and see it sitting in the driveway waiting for me to work on it. I just need to win the lotto and I would be all set! haha.

[leonardo]

Originally Posted by Third-Gen

Chito, too bad HT5 is only 5th gens!! I dont know of any 3rd gen, or generic Camaro clubs in so cal. And im sure as hell not joining a "generic" club, unless its all muscle cars lol.

Leo thanks man, I do my best. Even though on my own cars I cut a corner here and there. I guess the saying "the shoemakers kids go barefoot" still has a place in my life.

Well after you're all done with your car we might have to rethink that 5th gens only clause and I am glad to see people like yourself still hold true to good old fashion values in today's crazy age and time

[Third-Gen]

Just realized how messy the shop was!!! haha. Thanks Leo, Id be proud to be part of the HT crowd. Im working on moving to a bigger house with a 3-car garage and RV storage on the side, hopefully I can fit a 2-post in and start doing more diverse work!!

[Third-Gen]

I think these are going on my Christmas list, to myself :-)

[Dznts]

[Third-Gen]

Ok got a looooottttt of parts in today. TR6060, ACT Twin Disc, Clutch Pedal, Throttle Body, and a set of valve springs. Just need motor and trans mounts and I can start engine bay mockup :-)

Id like to say thanks for Mike Page (mikepage0007) for the sweet deal on all the transmission stuff, and Turbo_J89 for the valve springs and throttle body. Gotta love the classifieds on C5!!

[b4z]

Awesome build! You have some skills.

[Third-Gen]

finally got the 5.3l mockup block out of storage, and bolted up the trans. motor mounts should be in tomorrow, so I can finally start doing engine bay mock up!! just have to figure out how to modify the BMR trans x-member from a T56 single bolt mount to a Tr6060 2 bolt mount. Shouldnt be too hard :-)

[Mishimoto]

Very cool! I like how you fabbed up the rear exhaust. What kind of headlights are in it though?

[Third-Gen]

thanks. the headlights are some cheap halo fog lights that were put in before I bought the car. Im going to use different ones when the car gets closer to completion.

[garcmol]

Love seein' some 3rd Gen builds! Beautiful welds and taking notes for my '91. Subscribed.

[TCAT]

You're a beast man. Keep that car coming!! I can't wait to see the end product.