Rise of the Phenix

[pincushin3819]

Ok guys & gals here's the history of the car, bought new in 2011 & went right in to the shop for the SLP ZL1 package GM offered with full warranty. Fast forward 11 months later, 10K in performance parts & I was bit by the hp bug. My 490 rwhp L99 wasn't enough anymore, time to lose the warranty forged & stroke the motor so TSP was called for all parts needed including DOD delete & LS3 convertion. Also opted for a yank 2800 FI stall with a stage 2 blower cam & bigger injectors with Aeromotive pump. The original plan was to make 800-900 rwhp but after much research I was learning the little tvs2300 wasn't going to be enough to reach my goals. So I started searching for a new FI set up, I always wanted turbos but at the time there was no turbo kits available other than Granatelli which I heard to many bad things about to even consider for the money & IPS that was way to rich for my blood. If you have been on the forum long enough you can remember when the devil came to GA & opened up a shop called HPS, well the devil's name was Chris Hunter. He offered a single turbo kit that looked so promising & I bit, I jumped on the bandwagon & even paying extra $900 for a bigger turbo upgrade to meet my power level. Chris promised with his tuning skills he could have my 6L80E trans surviving the 900 rwhp abuse it was about to receive from the turbo kit. Well day of the dyno tuning turned into a circus real quick, the turbo maxed out at 620 rwhp but at the time Chris was blaming the transmission. So I called Jakes Performance for a black Friday sale & got a killer deal on a 4L80E & stall also picked up a drive shaft from the Drive Shaft Shop. Time for the trans swap that was suppose to take 2 weeks turned in to 3 months with a bunch of bs excuses, well the trans never made it in & I went & got my car only to learn a few days later Chris went belly up on a few C5 members & some local guys. Found another shop to do the work PCM of NC which got right to work with what mess Chris had made of the car, come to find out there were a few cars there Chris had messed up that they were working on. Kelly & the crew at PCM were very professional they got the trans in & started tuning on the car to find out that the turbo was maxed out & not only are the turbo maxed out but the upgraded turbo I paid $900 was also taken off the car to be replaced by a much smaller one. To add insult to injury the Jakes trans is a junk build, So I started emailing Jake with him offering in return to rebuild the trans if I payed for shipping out of pocket which was $250+ one way for trans that had a few dyno pulls on it. That was a negative needless to say I won't be doing business with Jakes Performance again. So at this point I'm passed fed up with the car & really wanted to watch it burn, I was out of time with PCM because they are scheduled driven & already way past budget as is. Picked the car up from PCM for the 2hr drive home & half way the transmission crapped out, yeah FML! Had a good friend tow me home were the car sat for over a year, of the course of the year the car sat I slowly sold the turbo kit & fuel system pc by pc. After a year of looking at my yard ornament I had enough, every spare hr I had from work & family I started spending on the car. I started with the transmission took it to a local race shop called Cooks in SC & they began the tare down. All they could tell me is the parts that Jakes remembered to put in were topnotch & they just barely put it together enough to run, there was a whole list of things that they did not do to complete the build but Cooks cleaned up Jakes mess & got me going in the right direction again. So now I set out to find what I started searching for over a year ago "more power" & who came to the rescue no other than AGP. I read & research about turbo kits & the AGP kit was by far the most complete setup I had came across. The quality is 2nd to none & the cast pc's would revel an OEM turbo car on roids. Kevin at AGP was very helpful the customer service is the best I ever had even after I bought the kit theservice did not change. So now I had to figure out a fuel supply that would be reliable & able to support 1000rwhp & after more research everything was pointing me towards the Sqaush fuel system. Andy at Squash was also more than helpful he talked to me about the benefits of E85 & going with a flex fuel set up & even what injectors that were best suited for the job. After a few days I had all my parts in it was the best xmas I ever had, I really felt like a kid again. I decided to do this build myself with the help of a good friend that owns a shop. Well I'll let the pictures do most of the talking now!

Edited: Added build sheet.
2011 CAMARO 2SS/RS
●Tinted Windows
* Windshield 30%
* Side & Rear Windows 5%
●418 Stroker Motor
* Aluminum LS3 Block (4 Bolt)
* 9:8:1 Compression
* Wisco Pistons & Rings
* Launatti Connection Rods
* Launatti Crank Shaft
* ETMC Stage ll Cam
* ARP Hardware
* ARP Main Studs
* ARP Head Studs
* Aluminum LS3 Heads (Stock)
* LS3 Head Gaskets (Stock)
* PRC Duel Springs
* PRC Harden Push Rods
* LS3 Valve Stems
* LS3 Lifters
* LS3 Rocker Arms (Trinion Upgrade)
* LS3 Throttle Body
* LS3 Intake Manifold
* LS3 Oil Pump (VVT)
* Double Roller Chain & Sprocket
●AGP Turbo Kit
* BW 56/61 Turbos
* Billet Wheels
* Big Racing FMIC
* Tial Loud BOV (50mm)
* Tial Wastegates
* 10+lb Boost Springs
●AEM Boost Controller
●AEM A/F Gauge
●Custom 3in Exhaust (Straight Pipe)
●MBRP Exhaust Tips
●Squash E85/93 Fuel Kit (Dual 400LPH)
●FIC 2150 Injectors
●Aeromotive Regulator
●DSX Flex Fuel Sensor & Harness
●Fuel Pressure @ 52lbs
●ZR1 Map Bar Sensor
●CSW Racing Radiator
●Kar House Custom Radiator Fans
●Cooks 4L80E Transmission
●FTI 2800 Triple Disk Billet Stall
●Opti Shift Trans Controller
●Derale Racing Pan
●B&M Pistol Grip Shifter
●B&M Trans Cooler
●ADM 4L80E Cross Member
●ZL1 Differential 323 Gears
●Hendrix Differential Bushings
●Hendrix Cradle Bushings
●Hendrix DSS 1400hp Half Shafts
●Hendrix DSS 1400hp Drive Shaft
●BMR Lower Control Arms*
●BMR Rear Trailing Arms
●BMR Toe Rods
●BMR 1.25 Inch Lowering Springs
●CarboTec Brake Pads
●Forgedstar F14 Wheels (Gloss Black)
* F:20x9.5 Deep Concave
* R:20x10.5 Super Deep Concave
●Mickey Thompson Street Comp
* F:275/40/20
* R:305/35/20
●Forgedstar F14 Wheels (Gloss Black)
* R:18X11 Deep Concave
●Mickey Thompson ET2
* R:305/45/18
●Custom Paint (Gloss Black)
* Front Spliter
* Upper Grill
* Lower Grill
* Fog Light Housing
* Head Light Opening
* Front Fender Flairs
* Hood Center Section & Vent
* Roof Center Section
* Roof Spoiler*
* Rear Spoiler (2Tone)
* Taillights Housing
* Rear Flasica Center Section
* Exhaust Bezel
* Exhaust Tips
●Custom Paint (Torch Red)
* Front Bumper
* Hood Side Sections
* Side Skirts
* Rear Diffuser
* Rear Spoiler (2Tone)
* Brake Calipers
●Custom Black Outs
* Front Headlight Turn Signal
* Front & Rear Side Markers
* Taillights
* Third Brake Light
* Reverse Lights
●Removed Emblems
* Bow Tie Front & Rear
* SS Emblems Front & Rear
* Side Camaro Lettering
●Gray's ZL1 Splitter
●ZL1 Front Bumper
●ZL1 Upper Grill
●ZL1 Lower Grill
●ZL1 Front Fender Flairs
●GM Ground Effects Side Skirts
●GM Ground Effects Rear Diffuser*
●Suncoast ZL1 Cowl Hood
●Anvil Spoiler
●Ebay Roof Spoiler*


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[pincushin3819]

We finally finished everything up last week after about 3 weeks of working on it. Now I'm trying to figure out who is going to tune this bird? I was thinking of PCM again but I've been also hearing very good things about Vengeance Racing down in GA, if anyone has experience with great shops and tuners for flex fuel I welcome the replys? Thanks!
Final numbers coming soon along with a build sheet of my motor & car.
If anyone has questions about cutting the turbo for the wastegate to fit the passenger side of the car feel free to ask, I also have detailed pictures if you need them. This is for the guys that have 4l80e's or TH400's transmission.

[Trackman]

Cool build. Best of luck finishing it up.

I came so close to getting caught up in the HPS nightmare. Somebody was watching over me that day. Interesting info about Jakes.

[Cool AirZ28]

Good luck with the numbers. Sounds like it's going to be a beast

[pincushin3819]

Originally Posted by Trackman

Cool build. Best of luck finishing it up.

I came so close to getting caught up in the HPS nightmare. Somebody was watching over me that day. Interesting info about Jakes.

Yeah, be glad you dodged that bullet it was not fun. There was so much more to it other than what I mentioned but I really don't want to waste anymore time on it lol. As far as Jakes I was surprised to & to be honest there was something going on there at the time of my purchase, I think he was looking for management for his shop & the guy he had at the time dropped the ball. But it still doesn't change the fact he could of helped a lot more when I delt with Jake personally, I just wanted him to cover shipping & a rebuild but he would only offer a rebuild.

[pincushin3819]

Sneak peak

[Reaper2012]

how does your wastegates fit with the 4l80?

[xiesteve]

just wanted him to cover shipping & a rebuild but he would only offer a rebuild.

[pincushin3819]

Originally Posted by Reaper2012

how does your wastegates fit with the 4l80?

Welded the the flange to the turbo housing in a location that would fit beside the 4L80E.

[pincushin3819]

Originally Posted by xiesteve

just wanted him to cover shipping & a rebuild but he would only offer a rebuild.

Not sure why you quoted this but the shipping was 250 there 250 back a total of 500. Not worth the rebuild when paying over 3k the first time it should of been done right to begin with.