Chevy Camaro -Turbo Charger - F-Body with Afterburner Part One

The turbo requires that an oil feed be routed to the rear of the car. Right beside the oil filter is a small housing bolted to the side of the block. This small adapter will need to be drilled and tapped to accommodate a fitting that will send oil back to the turbo. STS supplies the fittings and hose.

The small adapter already has a partial hole, which just needs to be drilled the rest of the way. The instructions specify the required bit size.

Address the hole with a pipe tap, being careful not to tap the fitting so deep that it will not tighten and result in an oil leak. Tap the threads a little at a time and keep checking the fitting for engagement. The fitting must be oriented slightly toward the rear to clear surrounding components.

First, remove the existing air cleaner assembly and put it aside. Then install the throttle-body elbow and the lead pipe.

Since the work area is very tight, lightly construct the next few pipe sections and hose before installing them. You will need to put couplers on either side of the MAF sensor, followed by an adapter that necks it down to the smaller pipe and another coupler. Once the pipes are pieced together, install the assembly from the underside of the car. Do not tighten any clamps until all the pipes have been loosely fit.

Here you can see just how tight the installation really is. With everything loosely fitted, we are up against the power-steering pump pulley. Everything can be adjusted once the other pipes are hooked up.

Since the work area is very tight, lightly construct the next few pipe sections and hose before installing them. You will need to put couplers on either side of the MAF sensor, followed by an adapter that necks it down to the smaller pipe and another coupler. Once the pipes are pieced together, install the assembly from the underside of the car. Do not tighten any clamps until all the pipes have been loosely fit.

If you have subframe connectors, the one on the driver side will have to be removed to accommodate the STS charge pipe, as it bolts in just like the connector. This is the front of the pipe, where it bolts to the subframe.

The oil pump came preassembled and ready for installation. Using the self-tapping screws, mount the pump just behind the rear seat cushion. Before installing the pump, test-fit the pipe that goes over the axle to make sure the two have no interference.

A pressure switch on the oil pump activates to pull the oil from the turbo and push it back up to the engine. If this pressure switch doesn't recognize a sufficient amount of oil volume, it sounds a small buzzer installed in the passenger compartment. It could easily prevent engine or turbo damage in the event of oil pump failure.

Although the STS was designed around a stock exhaust system, it will work with any type. The SS Camaro has Hooker headers and an after-cat exhaust, so the supplied hot side pipe had to be modified. We welded a 3-inch collector ring on the pipe that allowed us to bolt the turbo to the Hooker after-cat system.

Since the Camaro suspension was lowered, we had to modify the pipe that goes over the axle. We could have installed it the way it was, but ground clearance would have been an issue. We simply cut a small section out of the pipe and re-welded it.

Finally, the turbo and air filter assembly are installed.

All concerns about ground clearance vanish once the kit is installed. You can see that the after-cat system hangs just as low as the turbo system pipes.

The air filter assembly wears a sock to repel water. Although not waterproof, it does help in a rainstorm.