Roadster Shop SPEC Camaro
 

A brief introduction and background on the SPEC Series chassis line up:
With our previous focus being building high end, very detailed chassis and suspension components, we realized that there was a very large market that we were missing. With our extremely labor intensive method of building chassis, we simply could not compete with many of our competitors building square tube chassis that required a fraction of the time and cost. In order to be more competitive, we could have resorted to cheaper, overseas components but had a hard time sleeping at night knowing that we would be delivering an inferior product simply to get the price down. So, our decision was made to engineer a a new chassis line up that was targeted at an under $10,000 price point and would still use the same high quality components, detailed fabrication, strength, and ride quality of our Fast Track and REVO chassis lines. The SPEC Series was born. The SPEC Series is a budget minded chassis that still retains the Roadster Shop's principles of quality, craftsmanship, and performance. Through engineering, production based designs, and an array of modern technology the goal was accomplished.

The car:
To begin the process we wanted to start with the cars that we felt had the largest potential market and could benefit the most from a complete chassis. The 1st gen Camaro, C10 truck, 55-57 Chevy, 59-64 Impala, and 64-72 Chevelle were selected as the initial offerings. The Camaro and the C10 would be the first into development.
We set out to find the best, cleanest original cars to design off of, which proved to be more involved than we planned. The first “all original, untouched original paint, survivor” 67 Camaro from California arrived and turned out to be a complete bondo bucket. The only thing it had survived was a trip to sub-par body shop for a fast paint job and make over to look “all original” . We located another all original 69 Camaro from the south west and had it shipped in. Well, that one was all original except for the 2 quarters that were put on and the patches in the floor. Neither would do for the start of a chassis design. After a little more looking, I found an incredible 68 Camaro with killer patina hiding all the way at the back of the Good Guys show in Indianapolis. I went back to the car 15+ times trying to find the owner to make an offer on the car, but no one was ever with it. Finally as we were finishing tearing down after the show, I saw the car again with someone standing next to it. I flew out of the truck and ran to the car to discuss it with the owner. After some talking and prying, I was able to get him interested in selling the car. A few weeks later and a few phone calls back and forth, we agreed upon a price that we were both happy with and made the deal. This turned out to be the cleanest Camaro that we have ever seen. All original panels, zero rust, perfect faded satin patina and a really cool look with the nose and rocker stripes.

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The car was then disassembled in order to begin 3D scanning.
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The entire floor, underside, and sides of the car were scanned with our Faro Arm to generate a complete 3D model of the car.

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Some of the initial point cloud raw data directly off the scanner
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Very cool. I like the scanner. :)

Very cool that you're showing the process involved in designing the SPEC chassis. We demo'd a FARO arm with the laser scanning capability at work a couple weeks ago, but the laser is overkill for what we do. Very nice piece, though.

In for the ride.

they are but cant hold accuracy under .007 it seems. for cars they are overkill

Using the Faro Arm, followed by many hours of 3D modeling, we produced an exact 3D model of the underside of the car. Having this model we could then plug in our suspension, engine, and trans models and start designing the frame to contour around the factory floor. There was an extensive list of goals that we set out to accomplish on this chassis design. In addition to our internal suspension geometry and performance goals the big points that we aimed for were:

• An affordable price point under $10,000 for a complete chassis with suspension. (Brakes and 3rd member are additional)
• A true, simple bolt-on chassis with out any floor modifications.
• Much need strength upgrade that structurly ties the entire car together
• Low, aggressive ride height
• Keeping the frame rails tight to the body so nothing was hanging below the car.
• Ability to work with all of the different LS engine and transmission combinations
• Ample clearance for exhaust
• Accommodate a 345 rear tire (when mini-tubbed)

There are currently 9 other 1st Gen Camaros in the shop which gave us plenty of data to compare across all cars. We were able to design a complete chassis that was 100% bolt on with zero body modifications. We added additional body mounts that bolt into existing holes and/or mounting points on the stock Camaro body for added strength and support.

Here are some screen shots of the completed chassis design under the Camaro floor model.

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Wow, that's amazing..!

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What's the weight of the Spec Frame/Suspension compared to a stock sub, leafs and maybe subframe connectors?

Does it add much weight?

Dave

Love the concept. The 1st gen Camaro's really leave a lot to be desired in the chassis department.

Great looking drawing. What size exhaust will it alow ?

That frame looks great!! Do you need to do any tunnel modification to mount a T-56 magnum? By the way I love the 68 you used for this swap looks perfect!

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This /\ !

The chassis is designed to accommodate 3" exshaust

With the larger transmissions like the T-56 or 4L80 you will need to modify the tunnel. No modifications are needed with smaller transmissions.

1st Gen Camaro's are probably the easiest cars to modify the tunnel on since they are relatively square and you do not need to deal with compound curves. I believe Bowler Performance Transmissions sells a raised trans tunnel top for the 1st Gen's that is a pretty simple install.

Hows that Square Body coming along?

That is crazy technology! Love it

Very nice!

It was back burner'ed for the past few months while we worked on this Camaro and other customer projects. We will be back on that truck again shortly and hope to have it on the road this summer. The chassis for the square bodies and all earlier C10's are available.

A little bit more about the chassis process before getting back into the car build. The biggest difference in the SPEC chassis vs our previous offerings is the frame rail designs. Our Fast Track and REVO chassis both utilize a frame rail constructed from 4 sides of 10 gauge steel that is fixtured, fully welded on all 4 sides, then ground smooth. This is an incredibly labor intensive process. The SPEC chassis is designed with our RS Laser rails which crafted from various sizes of square tubing. These are painstakingly programmed, and then CNC tube laser cut to produce a high quality frame rail design that eliminates a majority of the labor. This design and manufacturing process has allowed us to lower prices with our sacrificing quality.


On this particular section, the CNC tube laser cuts a pie sections of the frame rail out.
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It can then be easily bent by hand to meet the otehr side. We have added locators in every bend to easily align the pieces as they com together.
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Once together, the the seam can be welded. This produces a contoured frame rail that can not be accomplished with mandrel bending. We are able to make much tighter and more intricate bends than a mandrel bender is capable of. This process also eliminates a lot of the down falls like buckled and weak areas from bending.
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When completed, the seam can then be fully welded. (This is done in chassis fixtures to guarantee fitment and prevent movement while welding. The pics above were shown on a bench for demonstrations purposes.)
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Our process also allows us to create compound, multi-point overlapping joints and transitions that will disperse load and add significant strength over a traditional miter cut and welded section
http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/s...psd7m4krqy.jpg

Quick video explaining the SPEC chassis and process more in depth.

FANTASTIC work!!!! :thumbsup:

I'm really interested in upgrading the ride more than the handling of my Camaro. Something akin to a newish BMW would be my preference.

I missed the opportunity to install sub-frame connectors during my build and other than totally regretting it :bang:- I was considering adding them now but the option of installing a full continuous frame is much more appealing.

If all I was looking for was a modern day ride, flex-resistant chassis, and suspension compliance with your average roads, would the SPEC or Fast Track be my best option? I don't necessarily need the FT but I would consider it if it provided the best ride.

Is RS going to release any camber gain or bumpsteer data for either the SPEC or the FT?

What's the widest front tire you can run on a 1969 Camaro with both subframes?

I really like the mitering technique for making the frame rails. Having the laser cut in such a way that the outside of the joint ends up radiused is really clever, and really adds something when compared to pie cutting and welding it back up.

I look forward to the next installment!

Thanks for sharing the process with us. This is fantastic work.

Wow amazing work! That is some extremely cutting-edge technology you are using.

Your shop is located in Illinois?

Very cool...in for the updates!!

The SPEC and Fast Track are going to be pretty similiar in the ride quality department. I would definitely give the performance edge to the Fast Track chassis, but the SPEC is still now slouch. This car ran the Cars and Cones event a few weeks back and had several top 10 finishes in a field of 70+ cars. this was also its maiden voyage with absolutely zero autocross testing/tuning before hand.

The camber gain and bumpsteer numbers have been published on our Fast Track IFS for several years on our web site. I will have our engineers put together some numbers and graphs tomorrow and post them for those interested.

The simple, bolt-on full chassis strength and great ride quality are the focus of the SPEC Series chassis. If these are your main goals, I would definitely steer you in this direction. It is aimed at the guy that wants to jump in their car, enjoy the cruising aspects and the excitement of sports car handling while hitting an off ramp or a banked turn on a highway at 60 MPH. It will definitely hold its own in any autocross event where you are looking to have fun and be competitive. In most cases, the suspension will be more capable than the driver!

We have 2 68's with the SPEC chassis under them in the shop. Both will be running a 9" wheel with a 255 and 265 tire that allows for full lock to lock turning. I am thinking a 275 should fit, but have not tested one yet to be sure. We normally run 265 or 275 tires on the front of the Fast Track Camaros.

Thanks for all the support and following along! Just trying to give a glimpse under the hood of the how's and why's of this new chassis line up as well as show the build process.

Thanks, and yes, we are located just north of Chicago

One more quick question....given similar car set ups, how does the SPEC chasis compare to a car running the more traditional front clip (Detroit Speed, Heidts, etc. ) and rear 4 link? Im assuming it results in an overall stiffer car (in a good way) and theoretically, performs better?

Thanks

I'm still very interested in getting those numbers when you have a chance

Maximum front tire size would help too.

:lmao: Always leave a little extra room for growth, but that's awesome!