Well, that's the root of the argument, and the bet. Can I make an American Muscle car become a sports car for 12 grand? The M3 is a sports sedan, it's fast in the corners, but he can maybe hit 160 with a tail wind. But he's 500+/- lbs lighter than the Camaro. ~3200 vs ~3700. Doesn't seem like a big difference, but it's actually 16% heavier! Plus, it's ancient in terms of handling, and not weight balanced. There are a lot of things that I need to compensate for with an American muscle car. There's no way in hell his M3 would hang with a 6.0L Camaro in a Drag race. He knows this as well as I do. I'd destroy him in the straights with a 350 any day of the week. and he'll make up all that time in the corners, which is what we are trying to stop.

I brought the Big Block home today. I'm tempted to use it again. It's....imposing, to say the least. :D

Imho, stick with the Ls engine... there are alot of things that get easier with that 6.0, clutch and flywheel are oem GM... and are cheap.. a 5-600 Hp clutch for a BBC costs real money.. i mean if you are going to race it anything less than a mcleod street twin or tilton for that BBC is waisting cash, a stock LS7 corvette clutch will get you home in first go... a bbc to t56 bellhousing is spendy! a Junkyard LS/t56 isnt.... heads for a BBC is upwards of 3 grand, for that money you can get L92 heads, a big cam, single plane intake, MSD ignition box and gaskets to perform the swap... throw in alittle extra and you can get an LQ9 longblock...

but i sure understand where you are comming from with that BBC, its what am running in my 32 roadster... and just because it looks cool

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...4/IMG_0008.jpg

I have the T56 and a McLeod street twin 1200 Hp holding clutch to go with it!

But I'm going with the LQ4 for the Camaro. I just need a new project for the Caddy Big Block at somet point! It's just too cool for words.

Very cool project, always good to see a late 2nd gen getting built.

My dad and I are building a 79 with much the same goals, less emphasis on street manners, though. Like nearly everyone else, I would turn the BBC for some cash and go either LS or small block. We're going with an aluminum headed 377, and will be moving to a LQ4 after we find the breaking point with it.

A lot of progress can be made on a tight budget with the stock subframe, the suspension forum at www.nastyz28.com is a great resource for info.

I've got tons of pictures and all the specs for our build at http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro. Can't wait to see the progress on yours, and it tearing up some German meat!

I think it's awesome what you are doing! It looks pretty good to me!

Do you have the truck arms in yet?

Yeah, all the suspension fab is done. We're working on getting the rest of the minor sheet metal work (trunk, dash, etc.) done, then it will be on to paint. Here's a shot of it all together..

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/g...maroweb124.jpg

It's about like stuffing 23 pounds of potatoes in a 5 pound sack. We'll find out how good of an idea doing all that work was eventually :lol:

That truck arm setup really looks like the ticket! i doubt there is a cheaper full race solution for your car... it does however require a fair bit of cutting and welding....

Hmm... The cutting and welding doesn't bother me. Hot Rods to Hell has a full truck arm setup available for the 2nd Gen, I think they come in at $1900 for everything.

You guys really like the truck arm for track duty, then? Even over a 4-link?