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Updating my '69 Camaro

Well this has been in the works for a while. I've been wanting to mini-tub and update my Camaro for quite some time. And get rid of my beloved TTII's which everyone online hates :lol: As you all know one thing leads to another. :lol: I've learned from the best on this site :D

I'm an oldschool, tried tested and true kind of person. I had been wanting a set of Fikse's for years. And when the company closed shop about a year ago I was crushed. :lol: Don't get me wrong, I love alot of the Forgeline, Rushforth, Boze, Newgen etc wheels. But when Frank from Prodigy posted some killer deals on some classic Fikse wheels I had to jump on it. I originally wanted the Profil 5s. But after I kept looking (many, many hours :lol: ) at Jay's (JamesS113) Killer '69 Project, I decided that the FM5's were such a classic killer look and just fit the '69 Camaro so perfectly. I've always liked them since I saw them on the Mule and SW's '69 many moons ago.

So, on with the updates. I ended up ordering 18 x 8.5 fronts and 18 x 12 rears in Technipolish from Frank. I like polished wheels with the paint colour of my car the best. Again, a little oldschool but I think it works the best. Black and and dark centers look good, but more of an undertstated race theme. Not what I want for my car.

With the re-org of the company the wheels ended up taking about 6 months to get. I was patient to wait for what I always wanted. Frank helped stay on top of them to get them completed and delivered.

In the meantime I sent Frank and a few other suppliers like Speedtech about a million emails about rear suspensions and rear end options. I really liked the Speedtech Torque Arm and DSE Quadra link, but when Frank told me that the Alston G-Link could be installed under a stock trunk floor that kind of sold it for me. The other main things were packaging. I could re-use my stock width Ricks tank, could get my rear exit tail pipes to work (the G-link seems to have the best taipipe clearance which was very important for me) and I would re-use my current sway bar and subframe connectors.

Now if the car were in the shell, builder stage I would have probably went with DSE but my car is currently complete, driving etc. I wanted a kit with the least invasive install and best exhaust clearance. And I liked the fact that the triangulated 4-link design is good for road course and drag racing applications vs the other styles.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...suspension.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...01-main-pp.jpg

I also went with the Moser 12-bolt 33 spline axles, Tru-Trak posi with 3.73's. I have not recieved this yet, just waiting to send Frank the measurements. I considered the wave-trac with 35 spline but Franks says it's overkill.

These are pics of the wheels when I first got them. I originally ordered 6.375" BS on the rears. And when I got them I just wasn't happy, I wanted a deeper lip. So I contacted the Rep Danny Gol and we made a deal to re-hoop the rears to 5.375" BS. This took a few months as well. Fikse is a little slow, but they were very good to deal with and they are local to me now under new ownership.

Anyways, onto some pics.

18 x 12 6.375" BS
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...ub/18x12-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1.../18x12lip2.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...b/18x12lip.jpg

18 x 8.5's
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-Tub/18x85.jpg

With Toyo R888 Rubber.
245-40-18 fronts

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...00916-1536.jpg

335-30-18 Rears

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...i-Tub/335s.jpg

Those should look real good and add a bit more muscle to your car

Gonna be sweet! Love the combo w your car color and wheel finish...:thumbsup:

She's gonna look awesome man!! You know I love the wheel choice:unibrow:

re-hoop was a great decision...:thumbsup:

So the other updates I have going on are some on-going minor problems. The car has been making a rattling noise under acceleration for a little while. I had a buddy go through the car trying to figure it out. He ended up doing the following:

- Installed solid motor mounts. (for some reason my car has trashed 2 sets of poly mounts)
- New poly trans mount
- Fixed some wiring and gauges
- checked the entire exhaust for leaks and tightened everything up
- new header gaskets
- installed a new GM t-stat and did a coolant flush.

While he had the car, he had a tranny shop listen to the noise, well the owner convinced him it was the tranny for sure. So he ended up pulling the Tranny and we had it rebuilt with the Stage II kit from The Gearbox Co: 600-650 hp capacity

http://www.thegearbox.org/catalog/it...17/7824166.htm

http://www.thegearbox.org/i//T56_Stage_2_kit.jpg

Once the Tranny was pulled apart it ended up needed new 5th, 6th and reverse gears and sychros. :_paranoid

I also ended up going with a brand new Spec Stage 3+ Clutch. 900+ ft lbs capacity

All in all, cost me about $2k to rebuild the tranny and clutch. But it now feels very solid, the new clutch engages really nice but the damn noise still persists. :willy: :willy: :willy:

I considering doing almost the same mods as you. Still deciding on the G-link (gonna take a better look at my frame rails first), but definitely Mini Tubs, and Fikses.

Those are my alll time favorite wheels! They will look sweet. How does the tranny shift now

Quote:

Originally Posted by waynieZ (Post 318318)

Those are my alll time favorite wheels! They will look sweet. How does the tranny shift now

Thanks guys, Tranny shifts alot firmer and notchier. But feels very solid and strong. It's still in the break-in stage so I'll know better once I go WOT.

Digging the updates man.:thumbsup: Those wheels are one of my favorites. Did you notice a difference with the solid mounts?

Shifter might need a rebuild?

If you are using a billet short throw shifter, they need to be rebuilt sooner or later. If your trans needed a rebuild, I'd look at rebuilding the shifter (or just buying a new one). My Steeda Triax shifter was loose shifting, and rattling under acceleration, on my TR3650, but I just sent the shifter to Steeda and they rebuilt it and the loose shifting and rattle are all gone now. Shifter might have had only 20k (hard) miles. HTH

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegas69 (Post 318323)

Digging the updates man.:thumbsup: Those wheels are one of my favorites. Did you notice a difference with the solid mounts?

Thanks Todd, I haven't driven the car that much but I honestly didn't notice a massive difference in feel.

Great work:thumbsup: who re-hooped them for you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by KPC67 (Post 318334)

Great work:thumbsup: who re-hooped them for you?

Fikse direct

Very tasty upgrades. Gonna be even better. :thumbsup:

Your car looked good as it was, It is going to look killer when it is done. Can't wait to see it done. I like the centers better on the FM5. Good choise on parts.

Those wheels are going to look great on your car, Ryan. The machine work on these wheels is exceptional....I also joined "Club Fikse" not long ago (Profil 5S), now I just have to finish the rest of my car, LOL.

Hey Thanks everyone, once this is done I'm most likely going with a Speedtech front subframe.

Very nice Ryan. That is going to make the car so much nicer. (Not that it wasn't nice to begin with.) Car should look very lean and mean with that wheel setup and rear suspension.:yes:
Keep us posted bud!:thumbsup: :cheers: :cheers:

Who's doing the tub and G-Link install for you?

I love those wheels!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ItDoRun (Post 319212)

Who's doing the tub and G-Link install for you?

I love those wheels!

Not me :lol: , I'll post some photos once I have them

Hey Ryan, awesome car and I love the upgrades :yes: Did you ever figure out that noise from the tranny under acceleration? My old T56 used to rattle from the shifter itself and certain knobs I used. That shifter was fantastic though, just noisy. What shifter/knob are you running?

Regards,
Ryan

Quote:

Originally Posted by '02ta (Post 319227)

It's a Hurst Billet Plus, and no I never had a chance to check it before I sent the car out to get done. They are going to help me diagnose and fix the problem whatever it may be it drives me nuts hearing it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rybar (Post 319231)

That's the same shifter I had, along with the white Hurst ball. I bet that's where your noise is coming from. If your using a ball knob try putting a generous amount of teflon tape on the threads to quiet it down. I also heard of a couple guys cutting tennis balls in half and sticking them down below the boot, trough the shifter to create a sound barrier. I never tried it but some guys on the corvette forum said they had good results from it.

Regards,
Ryan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamess113 (Post 319235)

Looks like your well on your way Ryan. I'm looking forward to seeing it all come together. :cheers:

Jay, you gotta tell me what you think of the rear wheels and BS I killed myself over :lol:

Quote:

Originally Posted by '02ta (Post 319236)

I hope you are right, that would be so easy and would have saved me a $2k in tranny rebuild costs :lol: If the shop doesn't figure it out, I'll ask them to look into it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamess113 (Post 319244)

They look killer, but I'm a little confused, The picture you posted of your rear wheel shows a 4" lip. The pictures you sent me a while back ( I just looked at them ) have a 5" lip. I thought you were running the 5" lip?

Read and view post #1

THEN.....

Read and view Post #2 :_paranoid :lol:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamess113 (Post 319258)

I guess I missed that second post.:rolleyes: I should probably learn how to read. They look Awesome!

Thanks Jay, your car made me decide on the FM5's. Now hurry up with the sick fabrication posts and get it into paint!

Those wheels take that car to the next level man. Sweet.

Good taste in wheels, the car is going to be more awesome than it already is.

Rybar The wheels and tires look great on there. Those are my all time favorite wheels.

Wow great update Ryan!:thumbsup:

Looking great Ryan!! Will we see it in July this year? You can't cancel on us again!! ;) :cheers: :thumbsup:

Quote:

Originally Posted by awr68 (Post 319895)

Looking great Ryan!! Will we see it in July this year? You can't cancel on us again!! ;) :cheers: :thumbsup:

Tony, we had twin girls this past July and they'll be turning one. Not sure how the wife would feel about it. I'll have to see closer to the date.

Everyone else, thanks for the comments :cheers:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rybar (Post 319902)

Tony, we had twin girls this past July and they'll be turning one. Not sure how the wife would feel about it. I'll have to see closer to the date.

Everyone else, thanks for the comments :cheers:

I understand! Family first...and keep the wife happy! :yes: :cheers: