2010 Camaro with a Duramax V8
Nathan Mueller enjoys diesel engines and really enjoys putting them into vehicles no one would suspect. His previous wild creations included a 1960 Cadillac de Ville and a 2006 Dodge Charger both powered by a Cummins 5.9 L 6BT diesel inline-six. For his next creation Nathan wanted to really raise the bar.
Nathan decided his next diesel swap project would use a fifth-generation Camaro. He found the perfect recipient in a 2010 Camaro SS located in Texas which was a theft recovery. The engine, transmission and some other powertrain components were stolen. Besides a broken quarter window the car was in good shape. After purchasing the Camaro Nathan took the car back to his company One to Won Customs in Waite Park, Minnesota to work on.
The original plan was to use a 6.6 L Duramax LLY diesel V8 and Allison 2400HS five-speed automatic transmission pulled from a medium-duty shuttle bus. Unfortunately the team realized very quickly the huge Allison transmission would never fit under the car without heavy modification to the tunnel. Since Nathan prides himself on keeping the factory hood, firewall and transmission tunnel he knew they would need to find another solution.
Until a solution could be found for the transmission the team got started installing the engine. A pair of custom heavy duty mounts were built and installed allowing the 850 lb V8 sit nicely in the engine bay. To get the factory hood to shut a pair of spacers were used to separate the subframe three inches from the unibody chassis. Then to achieve enough ground clearance and a level stance the team installed some custom strut spacers.
After the team took a break from the project to visit SEMA 2015 they came back with a renewed interest to find a better swap combination. After removing the Duramax LLY and putting it in storage Nathan found a 2010 Chevy Express van with a Duramax LMM and 6L90E six-speed automatic transmission. The beauty of this combo is the 6L90E will easily fit within the factory Camaro transmission tunnel.
Nathan has been daily driving the Camaro since it was completed. The Duramax is making 516 horsepower and 896 lb-ft of torque but that will change when Nathan changes the factory turbo to a Rychener Speed & Fab 65 mm Stage 2 RATED R turbo.
Nathan is currently looking for sponsors for SEMA 2016 with the Duramax Camaro. He is also working on his next diesel project. I wonder what he will follow this project up with?
Source: One of Won Customs, Duramax Forum (build thread) and TruckTrend (more details and finished photos)