Well, I got a 2001 Monte Carlo SS, it has the non supercharged L36, and I'm looking at some sort of boost, preferably a turbo system. From what I read for the turbo, it appears that the L67 bottom end, with a L36 top end with a L26 uim, and a l67 t-body is the way to go.

--Question being, does that sound right?

-- Which cam would be better to run, the L36 cam or the L67?

It looks like the turbo kit alone I'll be about 43/4500 into it if I go that route. I don't have E85 available, so whatever I run has to run on pump gas. My power goal is as close to 300rwhp as possible. I figure as the transmission is bad, and the engine has over 180k miles, a replacement and upgrade build isn't necessarily a bad thing.

-- My other goal is it should be able to be daily driven as well, with a/c, cruise, etc...Is the turbo going the right direction, or should I go with just a straight L67 swap/build up?

 

As far as i know, if you buy a complete turbo kit, it should have everything you need to turbo your 3800. Can't help you on cams, i believe there are turbo specific ones. You're looking at front wheel horsepower, not rear and your goal is plenty reasonable of 300whp and still being pretty reliable. I'd suggest you do some more reading before you make any moves.

 

Lol, yeah, I have built up and modified a ton of rwd and awd cars, aside from some piddling around with a civic or two. I meant to say my goal is to get about 300ish hp to the wheels.

 

For 300 whp, that's way overkill. A stock l36 will get you there without issue.

If you're going through all the hassle to pull the cam out, don't bother putting a stock cam back in. There are plenty of turbo grind options from mild to crazy, and they're very cheap if you've already got the cam out anyways. With that said, you don't need a cam for 300 whp either.

Sounds a little high. A new Z3 is only about $3300 + injectors. Used kits come up often for 1/2 that. Good to budget on the high end just in case though.

Not that you'd need it for 300 whp, but meth injection is always an option for more octane. It won't be quite the octane as e85, but it'll give a significant boost over pump gas.

Either will work. A turbo will do all of that stuff just fine, and has a lot more room to grow when you get bored at 300 whp. The L67 setup with a m90 starts running out of steam the closer you get to 400 whp, especially on pump gas, but there are plenty of turbo setups well beyond that.

 

is there any other type of kill worth while? lol.

Well, my thought was, I've got 180k on my stock L36, and the L36 (as I understand) has higher compression than the L67, so figuring I would get an L67 shortblock with less miles, so it'd have less compression, and I would probably make sure it has the camshaft in it still, plus I'm pretty sure my stock L36 camshaft is still good. I don't know what the cam specs are and how much the LSA angles are on either camshaft... and as I have both sitting there, I'd like to have the one with the best cam profile for the turbo.

I was going off the Z7 kit prices, with the big FMIC and Catted down pipe... I was looking and posting off my phone and I didn't even see the Z3 kit... which should be plenty big for what I'm looking at...

I really, really, really, want to avoid having a setup that "requires" me to have a second tank to fill just to drive it. I don't care how cheap the additive is... if that was my only choice, then I'd just go with a nitrous system.

Basically I"m wanting something that's faster than a stock Buick Gran National, that is also faster than the Cobalt SS.

 

Compression is higher on the l36, but not by much, it's not even a full point difference. It's only 9.4:1 on an l36 which is very low in terms of modern NA engines. I'd be more concerned about the mileage than anything. You'll certainly be able to run more boost on an l67, and would be able to push it further in the long run, but for your goals, either will work.

As far as I know, the L36 and l67 cams are identical. I know it doesn't make much sense that they'd do that, but I couldn't find anything saying they're different. Below are some specs I found (take it with a grain of salt, it's from a Google search)

Stock L36/L26: 182/192 .413/.413 115 N/A

I still think for the $300 or so a cam would cost, id definitely put something else in there if you've got the engine out. You could also replace the chain and tension as preventative maintenance while you're in there. Even something relatively mild would help you towards your goal.


It's certainly not a necessity for 300 whp. I just mention it as another option since you don't have e85. I totally understand not wanting to have to fill something else up, but it really doesn't use a lot of fluid, and you can use your stock windshield washer reservoir. Just making sure you're aware of your options.