Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharger.

Tech discussions on the L77 6.0L V8.
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loopy127
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:46 pm

Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharger.

Post by loopy127 »

I know that I'm not doing anything that hasn't been done to a caprice before, but just in case anyone can benefit from my experience as they endeavor to mod their own car, here is my build thread. I did not take very many pictures, but hopefully the information is useful anyway.
First off, I needed to address the exhaust. It's much too quiet and much too restrictive. Here is what I pulled off of my car.
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I have to apologize for the crumby cell phone pics, but it's the only way that I have to upload things right now. The new exhaust (which I neglected to photograph) is a magnaflow 3 inch catback with an X pipe. If anyone would like photos of the exhaust, let me know and I'll go out and get some for you. Here is what she looks like from the back now that the exhaust is installed.
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Next on the agenda was the 2.92 rear end. Nice, but a little too high geared to let the car do what it's capable of. I bought a low mileage 3.27 unit from a 2015 Camaro SS, It's a direct bolt in swap. Here is The car having the rear axles removed from the differential for removal.
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Here are the new and old differentials sitting side by side. I found this unit for about $300 before shipping.
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And here she is in her new home.
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Okay, there is phase 1 of the build. If I get some time later today, I'll post up my adventures in DOD deletion.
Silversled
Posts: 270
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2016 7:13 am
Location: Tampa, FL

Re: Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharge

Post by Silversled »

Awesome and nicely done. Keep them coming.
2014 Chevrolet Caprice PPV
2014 Chevrolet Stingray Z51
2016 AMG C63
2015 BMW X5 iDrive 50i
s/c'd cav
Posts: 1382
Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 3:12 am
Location: PHOENIX AZ

Re: Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharge

Post by s/c'd cav »

i like the 2.92's over the 3.27's , but the camaro diff is bigger and stronger , and there is aftermarket LSD's for them

looks like a good start !!
loopy127
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:46 pm

Re: Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharge

Post by loopy127 »

I forgot to mention that I switched my stock manifolds over to Camaro ZL1 manifolds and catted midpipes. If they work for the ZL1, I suppose they'll work for my car too. They bolt on nicely without interfering with anything. Also, I'm sure that everyone knows about the major choke point in the flex joint after the manifold, but here is one more pic just in case you aren't convinced yet. It does do a good job of helping to get rid of the 8-4-8 drone, but my car is cammed (details on that coming soon) so I don't have to worry about that.
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loopy127
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:46 pm

Re: Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharge

Post by loopy127 »

Well, I got some extra time, so here are a few pics detailing the dod delete process and cam swap. This process pretty much requires that you take Everything off of your engine but the oil pan (actually, you may find that dropping the oil pan as far as you can is helpful for removing the oil pump). I also had the radiator out, I left the a/c condenser in, but separated the power steering cooler from it, gently pulled it up and swung it toward the driver's side. This required no bending of the a/c lines as there are soft lines placed just right to be able to swing it out of the way. Anyway, on to the pics.
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Look at all of this room that we have in front of the engine.
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And one more, just because it's good looking.
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Here is the cam that I swapped in. It's a stock ls9 cam that should complement the supercharger and provide nice daily drivability.
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Here is the overly complicated valley cover that came off of the engine.
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Looks like I can't upload more than five pics per post, so I'll leave it at that for tonight.
loopy127
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:46 pm

Re: Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharge

Post by loopy127 »

s/c'd cav wrote:i like the 2.92's over the 3.27's , but the camaro diff is bigger and stronger , and there is aftermarket LSD's for them

looks like a good start !!
Thanks for the comment. Agreed, the 2.92 is a very nice unit, but I have to say that my car feels "lighter" and more energetic when I get on it with the 3.27. Driving on the freeway is still a pleasant experience as the RPM's are still pretty relaxed at speed. And, like you said, the beefier 3.27 diff also provides some peace of mind when considering that I'll be putting down over 500 hp to the wheels...Hopefully :D . I'll be dyno tuning it as soon as I can schedule it with my tuner. I'll post up the results when I have them.
CrashTestDummy
Posts: 2300
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 2:31 pm
Location: Pearland, Texas

Re: Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharge

Post by CrashTestDummy »

loopy127 wrote:I know that I'm not doing anything that hasn't been done to a caprice before, but just in case anyone can benefit from my experience as they endeavor to mod their own car, here is my build thread. I did not take very many pictures, but hopefully the information is useful anyway.
First off, I needed to address the exhaust. It's much too quiet and much too restrictive. Here is what I pulled off of my car.
20170623_164705.jpg
I have to apologize for the crumby cell phone pics, but it's the only way that I have to upload things right now. The new exhaust (which I neglected to photograph) is a magnaflow 3 inch catback with an X pipe. If anyone would like photos of the exhaust, let me know and I'll go out and get some for you. Here is what she looks like from the back now that the exhaust is installed.
20170628_205210.jpg
Next on the agenda was the 2.92 rear end. Nice, but a little too high geared to let the car do what it's capable of. I bought a low mileage 3.27 unit from a 2015 Camaro SS, It's a direct bolt in swap. Here is The car having the rear axles removed from the differential for removal.
20170623_174808.jpg

Here are the new and old differentials sitting side by side. I found this unit for about $300 before shipping.
20170623_184522.jpg
And here she is in her new home.
20170623_190105.jpg
Okay, there is phase 1 of the build. If I get some time later today, I'll post up my adventures in DOD deletion.
Nice! I have a 3.27 in a bag in our shop, just waiting for time to check it out and install. It doesn't look anywhere near as nice as the one you have looks, though. I'll have to fix that. :D
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
2012 Caprice 9C1
1992 B4C 1LE Camaro
2018 Tahoe PPV (her car)
1995 DGGM Impala SS
1985 Firebird - 310 LS1 C Prepared autocross car.
1980 Bluebird Wanderlodge
And some others
Do YOU have my SPID?
loopy127
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:46 pm

Re: Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharge

Post by loopy127 »

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I've read about people swapping in the 3.45 from the Camaros and if they're making too much power, they regret gearing it that low, but the 3.27 seems to be a nice happy medium.
loopy127
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:46 pm

Re: Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharge

Post by loopy127 »

Here is the valley without the cover. The theory is that the non-DOD camshaft will stop most of the oil flow through the posts in the valley. The non-DOD valley cover is supposed to seal off the rest. This is just what I've read though, I hope that someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
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loopy127
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:46 pm

Re: Exhaust, rear diff swap, DOD delete, and LSA Supercharge

Post by loopy127 »

And now for the climax to this story. The supercharger build. I didn't take enough pictures of this stage either, but I'll post what I have. Here is the engine with the heads reinstalled (LS9 head gaskets and ARP head bolts torqued to spec) LSA base and ZL1 lid installed without the supercharger snout. As of right now, everything consists of Stock GM parts with nothing fancy thrown in. I should mention that I've got 65# injectors (750cc), which are the only parts that are not stock. I'm hoping that the stock fuel pump can handle the extra load. I've read that we have the same fuel pump as the ZL1.
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Here is the ZL1 heat exchanger in its mock-up phase.
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And here's a shot with the snout in place. Just a note; when removing the snout, don't go easy on it. Remove all six bolts, get a good size crow-bar, and give it a good nudge and it will pop right off once the sealant breaks loose. If you go at it with screwdrivers, you'll end up with a marked up s/c base and a bunch of bent screwdrivers.
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Here is the heat exchanger installed in place. I had to cut the lines going into the transmission oil cooler, move it over about 4 inches toward the passenger side, and then add new hard lines in order to make the oil cooler and the heat exchanger fit behind the windshield washer reservoir. Not having to relocate the reservoir left plenty of room on the driver's side for the cold air intake and the intercooler pump.
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And one more of the heat exchanger. Making everything fit in front of the radiator was arguably the most time consuming part of this project.
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Just a final note. There is a locator pin in the mating surface of the supercharger base that will fit right into the recessed point on LSA heads, but our heads have no provision for it. Be sure to remove this pin. It is in there pretty good. It is very hard and, luckily, very brittle. I ended up carefully hammering a tap down into it with the hopes of getting it to spin, but I ended up splitting it in half, which worked just as well. At that point, I was able to get it out.
Last edited by loopy127 on Mon Jul 17, 2017 1:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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