1968 Camaro - Project "BLUE HOUR"
 

In a sense of vanity that a car is never truly done, I have decided to blow apart my 1968 Camaro and completely upgrade just about everything on the car. Here's the plans for the car that I will keep everyone updated on.

Chassis

- Speedtech front clip - powder coated
- Speedtech upper and lower control arms
- Rack and Pinion
- AFX spindles
- Solid body bushings
- Mini-tub

Rear

- Speedtech torque arm
- Coil overs

Transmission and gears

- T56 (possibly a TREMEC magnum, we'll see how it goes)
- Not sure on clutch yet
- ATS clutch master cylinder/bracket
- 9" narrowed rear-end, most likely with 3.89 gears

Engine

- LSx (LS something, haven't worked out yet)
- Shooting for 550-600hp
- Speedtech LS swap stainless headers
- Holley LS Swap headers for hp and tq comparisons
- Autokraft oil pan
- Holley LS Swap pan
- Speedtech and Holley LS swap engine mounts

Fuel

- Rick's tank's - Stainless tank for mini-tubbed cars
- Rick's Tank's fuel pump mod with in-tank fuel pump
- Holley fuel pump, filter and regulator

Brakes

- Baer Pro-Plus - 6 piston calipers and 14" rotors.
- Wheels unknown at this time. Definitely trying for 18" (not keeping the TTII's)

I'm sure there's things I'm missing, I'll do my best to keep this as up to date as possible.


http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...8-_emm4543.jpg

Those changes will make it an entirely different car! You will love the way it drives! When does it go under the knife?

As soon as I can sell the motor!! :D

Just got off the phone with Autometer...

... Best line from the entire phone call.

"... oh you want the Stack gauges just like Rupp's Bad Penny?"

:lol:

I like it!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I could not have picked a better list of goodies! Keep us updated

Love that color!:yes:

I look forward to seeing this come together.

Thats going to be a pretty bad ride. How about an ERL 454?

I'll look into that, I still haven't decided on what my plan is yet.

In other news.


Parts have started arriving!!

Got this is the mail this morning, Autokraft's LS swap oil pan.

Just from the sheer bulk of this thing I can tell it's a quality piece.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5068/...ceb12c52_z.jpg

Very nice.
That car will be killer after all those updates, although it looks great now. Keep us posted.:thumbsup:

More stuff in the mail!

Can you guess what's coming next??? :D

http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...7-_em21130.jpg

Welp, now that the motor is sold I suppose it's time to actually get down to business and make this thing happen.

The Quicktime LS bellhousing came along with the LT to LS T56 swap kit also came. I'll get pics in a bit.

Trying to maximize the room in my garage and still keep the Mrs. happy so she can park in the garage :lol:
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...9-_em21135.jpg


Yours truly, removing the hood. It had been raining pretty badly that day.
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...0-_em21137.jpg


Let's call this the "Before" picture :)
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...1-_em21139.jpg


Trying to remove the entire front sheetmetal in one giant swoop.
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...3-_em21145.jpg


As you can tell by this photo, I was quite pissed. I doubt this bolt has ever been removed since it left the factory. My brand new 750ft-lb impact gun sheared this bolt clean off right in my hands.

Angry doesn't not quite accurately describe how I felt.

The bolt itself was loose, it spun every time I tried to loosen it, making things very difficult. Also, you can tell by the body mount that this hasn't been touched in a long time.
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...4-_em21148.jpg


So, i'm keeping with "man" tradition, I used it as a great excuse to buy a new tool :lol:

Just for the record, that red "Diablo" blade is totally killer! Made short work of the bolt and was still very sharp, it's thick too which meant it didn't bend and contort all stupid kinds of directions when I cut off the bolt.

http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...5-_em21151.jpg


Annnnndd... Done. The body is loose now. Who wants to come over and help me move it?? :lol:

I have to give credit to the wife, she came out and held the crescent wrench while I gave it hell. Both of our hands hurt like hell after that.

http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...6-_em21152.jpg

That's all for now! :)

All that work and pictures and you got one bolt out??



JK.

LOL, nah. I did all the work to get the motor out, so it's just a matter of getting the sheet metal out of the way and the motor will slide right out. :)

I'm working on the engine as we speak, talking to a few different companies right now.

Couple guys came over last night and took the front clip off with me, that was a massive amount of help!

It takes at least 3 guys, 4 is best as we found out, but 3 is an absolute must.

http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...7-_em21222.jpg

Don't worry, i put some cardboard under the body so it won't scratch :)

http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...9-_em21224.jpg

Well, more stuff removed.

Still waiting on the rims to get here so I can measure for a rear-end. Got a really slick 9" coming from Bear's Performance as soon as I know the dimensions.

http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/..._em21229-2.jpg


Motor is out! Ignore the giant pools of kitty litter... I was impatient and didn't drain the T56. *ugh, never doing that again*

http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/..._em21237-2.jpg

Only 700 miles on these bad boys... looks like I should have given her more hell!! :lol:

These LT specific parts are for sale, btw.

http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/..._em21239-2.jpg

Motor on it's way to a new home.
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/..._em21241-2.jpg

Nice project man,keep us updated with lots of photos

Will do my best! :)

Yes, plenty of pics please. :D

Allright! Let the games begin!! :woot: :cheers:

Sweet project! Gonna be killer....:thumbsup:

Great project! liking all the pictures! Keep it up! :thumbsup:

Oh, I wouldn't worry about that too much :unibrow:

Scott Parkhurst won't let me fail! *hint hint* :cheers:

More fun parts just arrived! :D

The manual on this thing alone is damn near 100 pages! LOL

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2166/...0807f29c_z.jpg

The brake booster and MC came today.

9" booster to fit the LS series motor and a 1" MC to make sure there's enough line pressure for the 6P calipers! :D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2508/...152898cd_z.jpg

Oops!!!

Sorry, correction, this is a 8" dual booster. Kim from Matt's Classic Bowties set me straight! LOL

Looks like you're having a good time. Frustrating at times for sure, but so worth it! Keep at it!

:captain:

Just a quick update.

Did my first siphon today, 7ft of hose and an air compressor = no bad taste! Robert from MNGMP.com showed me how to do it right.

Quickly realized that I had more gas than my stupid misreading gauge told me. I almost ran out of places to stuff 93 octane! Apparently my law mower loves it! HAH!

The build just took a massive leap forward.

I took my LT T56 and converted it into an LS T56 with the help of Myron at TPIS and Rockland Gear.

The procedure wasn't all that hard honestly, it went better than I thought it would have.


Gotta clean it to look purdy!
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...8-_em21559.jpg

Main shaft and front cover.
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...9-_em21567.jpg

All done!
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...0-_em21602.jpg

You're Welcome. :thumbsup:

Hey! It worked! Got it all out! :):thumbsup:

Another day, another shipment from the UPS, USPS or FedEx man! :D

335/30r18's KDW's
These were kinda annoying to find, luckily I found that a guy was selling them and was willing to ship. So it worked out very well.
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...1811-tires.jpg


Ram Clutch and Aluminum Flywheel showed up as well.
http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...812-clutch.jpg

The car is looking good. Where are you from in Minnesota?

Just north of St. Paul in a smaller town called Hugo. :)

Wow, those tires are something like ludicrous wide!:faint:

Did you start carving those inner wheel tubs out yet?

Not yet, Speed Tech is working on compiling the kit for me as we speak. ANY DAY NOW!! :_paranoid

Quick fun update:

The wife got me this for Father's Day

http://www.plxkiwi.com/kiwibluetooth/

Allows me to run my Android phone and run diagnostics with a bunch of other parameters. A friggin' scan tool on my phone! What a world! LOL

She told me, "now I that I figured the Camaro will have a fancy new engine, you'll need this"

HAH!! Awesome!

Ok, first things first.

That bluetooth device that my wife bought me is FRIGGIN DANGEROUS!!

I couldn't keep my eyes off all the little doo-hickies and gauges and all the parameters while I was driving! LOL

Secondly, gas tank came out last night. I was amazed at how much gas was still left in the tank even after siphoning it all out! Maybe 4-5 gallons left. I filled up the wifes car and almost filled my catch can again... sheesh.

http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...3-_em21615.jpg


I remember that my wife bought me the tank and sending unit for Xmas one year... she got peeved when I told her it was for sale LOL!

http://www.impermanence.kungphu.com/...4-_em21628.jpg

Keep going Max! What tank are you planning on running?

I think it's a Vaporworx tank from Rick's :)