Steve's Camaro is sick.

It's sad news, but news we wanted to share anyways.

Check the project update for the whole story.

Our guy Steve C. is hungry for feedback on his next step. Fix or replace?

I already commented: more compression, more cam, and for god's sake get rid of the iron heads!

boosted 5.3 for sure. the gen 1 sbc is great, but it's been covered enough already.

go all out with a LS7...7 liters plus turbos...

I vote for keeping the old motor. If you want to boost something boost the motor you have. And dont be a wuss and change the compression, either. Plenty of people are running 10:1+ compression and boosting, although i admit you might need to get rid of the iron heads!

Sorry it's not sick in the good way.

How quickly do you want it back on the road? Soon = SBC. How much is it a rolling test bed/science experiment? Experimental vehicle = LS

Keeping it SBC should be cheaper in the long run since you can keep the supporting hardware and accessories. If you want to make 550 HP, please talk with Mr. Nelson on the weekend of October 1-3...

More than one SBC has had forced induction. If boost is the goal, that can be done with a freshening of the 400.

If you do go with the LS, please do not put those stupid plastic covers on top of the motor. This is a vintage Camaro, not a Little Tykes car. You should be able to see the motor.

I'd say boosted 5.3L. You should be able to hit your horsepower goals with just a small amount of boost which should mean relatively cheap, reliable horsepower. Plus if you grenade a 5.3 there are tons of replacements in every 'yard.

Blowthrough P1sc/S-trim. Sounds like FT's and 64cc heads currently. I would swap out for some 76cc alum jobs and let it fly.

OR.... freshen what is there and mill the heads a bit more to make it at least 11.5:1 and get rid of the kittykat cam and run something that will make some power. And that is with the hydraulic roller still, pump gas too.

Brian

Yup 5.3 with two turbos off of Volvo T5s.

Should be fun.

Everyone and their brother has some piece milled SBC in an old Camaro.

Boosted 5.3 in an old camaro, that can be driven as well as tracked, respectively easy at both is a rare thing. Especially in an old Camaro. Not to mention I bet the fuel economy would increase.

Sorry to hear it Steve, get well soon

(BTW 406 FTW see mine at the challenge)

I'd say 406, only because a 5.3 with twin turbos will likely require a re-do of the cooling system.

I'd fix it. This way the car is back to being usable again for the best driving months down here. If you get involved in swapping in new technology without planning ahead and collecting the pieces needed, the car won't be driveable for months. If you fix the engine thats in it, you can use the car while getting ready for an upgrade if thats what you really want. Then you can sell the repaired engine and get back the money invested in the repair. Trying to sell a busted engine would be tough and you probably wouldn't get much for it because there's too many "what ifs" the potential buyer would assume.

Okay well, the weekend is over. Here is the Plan du Jour: We're fixing it. AND we're rounding up parts for an LSx swap. Either a budget turbo setup or GM's new CT525 LS3 crate engine as I feel this "product" is better served to our road race market than to the roundy round crowd. Getting circle track promoters to agree on anything -- especially use of modern engines is unlikely. The road race market is far more embracing. /Steve