Turbo 3800 blazer

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

well, I got the exhaust cut apart and the flex pipe welded onto one side, although I couldn't get the truck in the garage to mock it up and weld the other side on.

I also decided I am going to run the camaro throttle body, and a LT-1 style MAF sensor. The camaro TB had the MAF right inside of it, but it has a big housing that kinda really blocks the flow, and because I wasn't using it anymore, I cut it out (it went alot better than I thought it would).

I need to go to a yard and get the MAF, and I'd like to take a look at the doghouses out of astrovans, I'm not sure if they're made out of fiberglass, or some metal I can work with. It would be nice to not have to fab the whole thing, but I may have to. it needs something that can be somewhat structural.

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

I got the transfercase installed last night. Was a real bitch due the motor being so far back int eh chassis, but it does seem to fit. I don't have to mess with the floor, because its sitting so far back its actually behind the driver seat slightly where there is a rise in the floor, which is a nice tradeoff. The only problem I have is that I am going to have to cut a small v into the torsion bar crossmember for safe clearance, its in there and bolted in right now, but its really tight, and I just don't like it.

Tomorrow night I'm going to pull it back out and seal it up, as well as cut the V into the crossmember. I need to get some measurements in so that I can get my drive axles made up. A 4x4 style axel actually fits pretty well, just because they can telescope out so far, but the the actual awd one is about 5 inches short. I'll have to contact a few machine shops and see what they can do.

 

[warmpancakes]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

so what does it say on the door? i can make out shit, this truck needs a brush guard and yosemite sam mud flaps

 

[Static]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

so what does it say on the door? i can make out shit, this truck needs a brush guard and yosemite sam mud flaps

I think it says Hot Shit

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

the mud flaps I think I could do for you, but the brush gaurd would add to much weight, although perhaps I could make one up out of some thin wall aluminum pipe and plate for just the looks...

EDIT: Yea, HOT SHIT on the doors, on the front lip of the hood it says TIHS TOH (backwords s)

 

[warmpancakes]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

the mud flaps I think I could do for you, but the brush gaurd would add to much weight, although perhaps I could make one up out of some thin wall aluminum pipe and plate for just the looks...

)

gun rack?

 

[Jonny]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

I dd a 97 Grand Prix with a intercooled cartuning kit on it. This has been awesome read and I'm looking forward to seeing it getting finished. That turbo is rather large but I'm curious what power you make with it. Most GP guys won't go bigger than a 72 or a 67 for that matter, but it sounds like your setup is going to make some hellacious power. Can't wait to see a video of its first pass. Happy building.

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

thanks jonny,

Last night and today I managed to get a few things done. First thing was to hack the shit out of the interior harness to get rid of all of the things I don't need, those being radio, HVAC, interior lights, gauges, and basically anything that isn't the wipers, washers, lights, or blinkers. After about 4 hours of going through it, I put power to it and managed to

1. not set it on fire
2. not have any power drain
3. roll up the rear window with the switch (an amazing thing after the amount of wire that came out of it)
4. use one of the blinkers that was still grounded.

sadly, I don't see much reason to change this, other than to secure it better, and maybe put some conduit on it. Other than that, its prolly gonna look like that forever.

all that's left of the engine harness


I also managed to fab up a pulley so that I can run a belt, the stock system placed the AC right about where my engine mount now is, so that was out. I used the factory location where the supercharger idler pulley sat, but it was an inch too long (being that the supercharger is a seporite belt system) I made my own with a piece of plate, and some of the tubing left over form the engine mounts.

I also managed to get this mocked back up and get my flex pipe mocked in. looks good IMO

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

I'll get some pics posted tonight but I did some work over the weekend.

With the use of my handy dandy plasma cutter I manged to cut out quite a bit of weight considering I havn't started in on the doors or frame yet. I weighed it all on a bathroom scale and it showed total of 115 lbs between the abs, rear bumper, and steel that came out of the hood, and a few other parts.

I managed to install the rear drop blocks (2 inch with a 2 degree wedge), and I uninstalled the 2 inch shackle lift. Unfortunelty my plan of unwinding the torsion bars didn't goo so well. I started with the driver side and basically unwound it as far as it would go and with the truck being so light it was still about 2 inches taller than the back was. When I went to do the pass side I noticed that the cross member was actually broken where it meets the frame and that the torsion bar was wedged up in the top of the bracket (explaining the clunk noise coming from right there when I would go over bumps). also, the adjustment bolt snapped off with little effort. My only solution is to go with a coil over setup on the front end. I'll save that for last though I think...I wanna get it running before I start spending money on stuff like that.

I ordered an intercooler, racetronix harness, 2 deatschwerks 330 lpr pumps, and stainless line last week and I'm hoping it will be here soon. Id like to start getting the intake side mocked up and get the fuel tank back together and into the truck. I also need to order the shocks for the rear end, I'm planning on using the monroe LL shocks, seems to work very well on my other truck...

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

well I got a few things done tonight

I got the intercooler installed that came in the mail today. its a godspeed 31x12x4 and with some work, I got it to fit behind the grill and still leave plenty of room for the radiator. To mount it I used some thick washers that I flattened on one side for the top mount, and for the bottom I used a piece of 14 gauge steel bent into a 90, and welded to the bottom on the core support. I like it...

believe it or not, this is the final product mostly. Keep in mind the daylighters will fit into where those holes are (its why they are there, although I had to shave some plastic from,, right there to get it to fit)

also the stance as of now, The front bars are lowered all the way and there simply is no longer enough weight on the front to bring them down any more, I am going to have to go with a coilover setup in the frotn to make it work...

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

last few nights I managed to get some work done.

I got the rear doors cut out and the rear tailgate gutted. the rear doors still work with the factory hinges and everything, but all the glass is out, as is the rear glass. I replaced it all with tinted lexan. Doing that dropped enough weight to where the 2 inch drop was basically for nothing at this point, as the truck is riding about as high as it was. I talked to a good friend who does this stuff for a living and he told me what I can still take out and what I need to keep to keep the structure of the truck in tact, so after I get some new parts for this plasma cutter I'll take his advice and finish it up. each door had nearly 28 lbs of metal, glass, and steel in it, and the rear gate was closer to 35. with the rest of the glass out thats good for about another 100 lbs that came out.

last night I cut the torsion bars and crossmember out, just to get them out of the way. I decided I'm going to use a coilover front setup and should have it in after the 1st of the month. cross member, torsion bars and all was close to 60lbs taken out. I gota couple tires off craigslist that I mounted at work today. I'll get those on and maybe post a pic up. I am hoping my lease on this cutter lasts until saturday...I need to finish up a few things on the frame and in the cab.

 

[Quickstop [UK]]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

Cool project! How long before it drives?

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

thats a good question, I am hoping to get it on the road before homecoming at the latest, and shooting for the begining of june, it still needs alot, but its mostly easily do-able things, and the heavy fab work has been done in my mind. The only thing left will be the cage, but being that its a prefabbed deal, it shouldn't take more than a day for me to get it in and welded. A list might be a good thing for both of us to see, let me see here...

install pre-fabbed cage
get dravshafts 'adjusted' to fit
short brake line to go from metering valve to rear line
rebuild drums (have parts)
install c-clip eliminators
fab dog house
fab throttle / cable
lower the ass another inch
gut remaining inside steel
remove excess frame
install gauges (likly a roll bar mount)
go to junk yard, grab alternator, coil pack bracket, power steering pump
find 2 more tires (255/60/15)
install hood pins/head lights
install torque converter
purchase and install trans cooler, plumbing, and cooling ((scoop in pic feeds trans cooler)don't make fun of me, it wouldn't fit anywhere else with the motor being so far back)
assemble and install twin fuel pumps, and line
install fuel injectors and rail
purchase and install pipe for the intercooler
get exhaust welded together
install seats
purchase and install floor shifter
fab radiator mount and flex hoses, as well as electric fans (have all of this)
finish wiring (mostly done)
purchase and install front coilovers

I think thats it, although its still a very long list.

Most of that is pretty small stuff, but getting it all done within 6 weeks is pushing it...

heres a pic taken today with my 'new' back tires installed.

 

[Black Knight]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

Maybe I missed it, but whats up with the scoop on the rear window?

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

feeds a trans cooler mounted in what was the tail gate. long story...but I was basically told it wouldn't work so I thought it would be a fun thing to try. plan is basically to have the cooler mounted in the gate, with slots cut into the skin of the gate on the back side. An 8 inch aluminum pipe will be mounted to the backside of that steel plate and run a short distance to an aluminum box around the cooler, and the air will exit out of the back of the truck. There really wasnt enough room under the truck to do what I did in my ty (mounted under the floor, behind the drver seat) also with the outlook of doing stage rally and rally x it would become quickly clogged with mud. Mounting a normal one in front of the radiator wouldn't have really worked with the addition of the 4 inch intercooler taking up what little space there was already up there. I had few option, and this seemed to be the funnest.

 

[Black Knight]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

Cool, be interesting to see if it works out.

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

that pretty much the feeling I have with every part of it

 

[Quickstop [UK]]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

What about the roof? That would be fun :lol:

Cool man - those little jobs are the worst but so necessary. Great work and good luck!

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

alright, I have no pics right now, but I thought it would be worth an update

I bought a cage from s&w cages, made from mild steel. I decided on mild instead of moly for the simple fact that I can weld mild without fear of it shattering in a roll over. also the 40 lbs differeance doesnt hurt my feelings too bad.

I also bought a set of impact racing 5111111 5 point harnesses to go along with the cage, and some compition engineering harness bracets to help me mount them to the cage.

I also purchased the torque converter I needed, which is a precision industries vig. converter with a 3400 stall.

I tried to buy a set of injectors but they're a bit harder to find than I thought they would be, the line I had on a set is gone, so i am trying to find another.

I got my headers welded up, they look pretty good. I installed them into the truck and it looks like the one tube that links them got slightly warped, but it still lines up and bolts up fine.

All of my fuel line came in, and I started putting some of it together last night, although i am going to wait for my filter to come in, so that I can actually have it all cut to the correct lenth. also waiting on my racetronix harness to come in, I talked to them today, they say it shoudl ship out friday or monday and be here next week.

I finished gutting the truck, and cut a few things off the frame that I didn't think were needed, and got rid of the cross member that held in the torsion bars. With the jackstands just behind the front wheels I could bench press the back of the truck off the back jacks...

I completly rebuilt the back brakes and replaced the lines back there, as well as the lines up front going from the metering valve to the flex hoses. I still need to get my hands on some new rotors and pads. and bleed them...

I lowered the back another 2 inches, and I decided against going with the LL coilover assist shocks. even without the shocks in there yet, its really stiff with the removed weight. I am going to try this set of bilstiens I have laying around and see how they do.

I went though and re-did the harness off of the original car. I got it down to what I need, and cleaned it up so its ready to go into the truck. I plan to run the whole thing off of a switch...other little things will include a relay for the fans, but thats really all i can think of, the original truck still has everything, and all i will need to do is run the fuel pump on wire from teh pcm into whats left of the wiring to the fuel pump on the truck. That will only be a signal wire at that point for the relays in the racetronix harness...


things I need to buy still

coil over setup for the front end
alternator
powersteering pump res.
belt...
rotors, pads,
prolly some foam for the cage...
oil pressure, volt, fuel, tach, and trans temp gauge (I have boost, and water)
misc hoses, goofy fittings for the turbo feed and drain lines
lexan to replace the back glass with
cone filter...
transcooler.
Floor shifter

I should be able to get most of those things here in the next week or so...

 

[BMFB]

Re: Turbo 3800 blazer

got some work done over the weekend. I managed to take my trans out, get it bolted together correctly and fully attached to my transfer case, seal the whole thing, and install it, with my torque converter into the truck. It was a pain in the ass to find my torque converter bolts and flex plate bolts, with which I had ignorantly thew them in with the rest of my collection of bolts. While I had to cross-member out that I had made I welded more steel to it so that it was stronger. I also welded in a set of hood pins for the hood finally, after a large windstorm blew the hood off of the truck, and mother nature dragged it mercilessly across my driveway and yard.

I replaced my alternator bracket with one that I found, and it comes complete with BOTH heater hose fittings...it looked new and clean, so I rubbed some dirt on it so that it would blend in with everything else.

tonight I ordered a set of QA1 shocks and eibach coils for the front end, as well as a pro-ratchet shifter, a push bottun starter, and some misc fittings. The cage should be here this week, and I cannot wait to install it next weekend. If I get lucky maybe I'll have time to install my wiring harness and fuel stuff too, as now I have all of that.