Fairmont 3.0

first setup

1999 4.8, stock paper headgaskets, tty bolts, china springs, 2 inch hotside, on3 76mm, 4l80e, circle D converter, 80lb injectors, bosch 044, pumpgas/meth 3.55 gears, 26 inch slicks

11.0 @ 126mph on 18psi, added isky cam, went 10.72 @ 136mph, 18psi,

second setup

2003 5.3, china studs, stock head gaskets never removed, pac1218 springs, 2 inch reiners forward facing hotside, truck manifolds, S476r Billet V3 wheel turbo from forced inductions, swapped rear gears to 3.15s, ran 235 radial tire, same 80e, circle d converter, etc

car went 9.68@145mph foot brake 1.58 60ft on the launch, 19psi, pumpgas and meth

car has been running and driving on stock 2000 silverado 2500 pcm and a PSI conversion harness, 3bar OLSD operating system tuned by myself, and a EFI source 3 bar map.

Backstory

Purchased this gem! in maryland, decided to do a mild build at first, then changed it up a little at the end for fun

installed a 8.8 rear, with moser axles, 31 spline explorer center section, 3.55 gears, and summit upper and lower cheapest control arms, not fogetting to install twin softballs in the right rear spring for roll control.

for the engine i figured the "wrong" one would be the best one to do a nice project on this car with, the 99 4.8 with paper headgaskets from a scrap yard that no one wanted.

i left the paper headgaskets and TTY alum bolts on the engine, installed some clearance 50 dollar chinese valvesprings and a ISKY triple 12 cut by JFR motorsports.

i then picked a on3 76mm turbo since i heard good and bad about them and honestly everthing ive ever tried that was "bad" has worked out, so i figured what the hell.

Installed the 4.8 and ls1 intake and started to build a hotside, so i just slammed a 2 inch hotside together in minutes for this car, since most of my builds are cobbled together out of left over exhaust parts haha this is no different, also i like proving pretty is not always fast, disgusting is also fast sometimes

friend of mine sumped the stock tank also!

i used a bosch 044 fuel pump by itself, and ran -6 (3/8ths) hose front to back feed and return, and hit a regulator (budget aeromotive) and then hit the returnless rail stock ls1

installed 80lb siemens deka injectors, and a PSI engine/trans harness. this car has a 2.5 inch cold side on the turbo and a 3 inch china intercooler, cooling mist base methanol kit set to 10psi

i never dyno'd the car but i tuned it on pumpgas for 18psi and 12deg timing, raced it on stock camshaft and it went 11.0 @ 126 on its first pass

after installing the isky cam to see the difference the bottom end and top end picked up huge, car ended up going an easy 10.72@135mph big time mph gain even if its only 3 tenths faster, the 60ft is to blame there, but i really only wanted to see what kind of extra power it would make with the cam swap, and 10mph when you are already going 126 is pretty incredible

so after all this i had some offers on the car and another one came up for sale locally for cheap, so i ended up buying that (black and grey car) fairmont 4.

after not selling the yellow/gold fairmont 3 i decided to do a different engine and turbo setup just for fun to see how it would perform.

I talked iwth Jose @ forcedinductions.com and he said he would love to have me try a name brand turbo (borg warner) to see how i would like it and test its performance, vs the china units.

ended up having both fairmonts in my garage and doing a complete engine, turbo etc swap back and forth

so we retired the yellow car running, and i went with a studded 5.3 that had 270k on it when i pulled it.

decided i would put the turbo 4.8 and spare 60e as cheap as possible into the black car and just get it running and then race the yellow car for fun with the new combo, since it has the built rear and excellent trans and converter.

So, i pulled one head stud at a time, and installed china studs, and pac1218 springs in the new powerplant 2003 5.3L

then installed the Isky camshaft in there too, contracted a friend of mine to build a hotside (since he is an artist) and bought a Billet V3 S476r from Jose@forcedinductions

i had told my friend Tony Reiners that i wanted a 2 inch, twin wastegate, fully divided hotside that was forward facing in the front grill, and boy did he deliver! haha

he also made me motor mounts. and a turbo brace.

decided to keep it conventional for testing and ease, to use the same ebay 3 inch Air to air intercooler on this setup, i put in a ebay 65mustang radiator alongside the turbo and it all fit great.

threw it on the dyno and i hate to say this but it threw down an easy 721whp on 17psi 12deg and pumpgas/meth i was very pleased haha

next order of business was to do some burnouts

after a quick vacation in texas, and waiting for the snow to melt and tracks to open, i drove 100+miles to Cecil county, belted out a foot brake 9.68@145mph

and then left, driving to york, harrisburg and then home, approx 300 miles, also averaged 22mpg for the whole trip if that isnt insane enough.

super super happy with this build.

Entire Video playlist for this car

First and Last pass for the 76mm/5.3 combo

9.68 @145 from the launch

9.68 @ 145 from half track stands view