|
My 69 Camaro - Going back together again
I've had my Camaro for over 34 years - Purchased in '89 when I was 16. Two years ago I tried autocross and got hooked. Made a bunch of changes to the car to have more fun. I took the car back apart last fall to make more updates. I'll post about them as I make them.
In this first post - Fuel tank modifications. I bought a stock stainless tank and I'm adding baffles. The engine is an old school 383 SBC. The plan is to run one more year with the carb and next winter switch to injection (thinking Holley Sniper 2). Looking to see what you think of what I came up with for baffles. The sender has been modified to accept a 2.5" x 8" Holley Hydramat. I'm also going to have the front corners cut and angled to clear 3 inch exhaust pipes. https://i.postimg.cc/yD6TVWBF/IMG-1898.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/rzWjjvQt/IMG-2196.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/yJdnTxbV/IMG-2200.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/N5B64LKW/IMG-2203.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/75LSFcM9/IMG-2204.jpg |
Very clean car, thanks for posting!
|
Awesome, I'm looking forward to seeing what you have planned.
|
:popcorn2: This should be good
|
Some back story first - In the summer of 2022 I tried autocross for the first time. A friend since high school has been running his 914-6 with the local PCA. They invite non-members to get larger car counts - average about 30-35 cars at one of their events. I took my 97 Camaro SS and had a great time. I decided that to autocross in my '69 I had to fix/upgrade a few things. The lower rear frame rails and torque boxes were in OK shape but not what I considered good enough to autocross. I replaced them and added DSE leaf spring pocket kit. I had stock disc/drum brakes - these were replaced with Wilwood 12.19 discs, Front with 6 piston and rear with 4 piston - I went with this size brakes so I could still run my 15" wheels if I wanted. The stock front control arms were replaced with QA1's pro touring arms. I also replaced the shocks with adjustable QA1 F&R.
The engine is an old school 383 SBC... it's a ZZ4 block with eagle crank & rods, holley systmax heads, RPM intake, edelbrock 750 carb and MSD ignition - was built in 2004. Since new, car has always been an automatic, a TH350. I had one built with ATI's 2.75 first gear and their rebuild kit. This combo worked great on the street going to car shows but not so much autocrossing. This was the car/engine/transmission combo I ran for all of 2023. The more events I attended, the more comfortable I got with driving and went from averaging in the bottom 10% in time to about the middle. Upgrades for 2024: Engine - Trick Flow's new DHC 200 heads - full CNC ported, Comp 1.6 ratio gold roller rockers, ATI Super Damper, melling shark tooth oil pump & Canton road racing oil pan. All new fuel system - Stainless tank with self made baffles, Edelbrock electric fuel pump, Cupro/NI hard lines and Fragola PTFE braided soft lines. Getting rid of the water pump mounted fan and going to dual Spal 11" fans with a PWM controller. Transmission - Tremec TKX 5-speed - bought a full change over kit from Silver State. Car - Complete all new wiring - American Auto Wire kit. Replace the stock 5 leaf rear springs with DSE 2" drop springs. DES 4 point roll bar so I can run 6 point harness belts... and a bunch of other small stuff. I'm making these changes to be a little faster, safer and have a lot more fun. My plan is to run with the local PCA club again, try to get to about 1/2 of the Akron Sports Car club events and the local DriveAutoX event. The fuel tank in my first post - I dropped off today at my Tig welder's place to be put back together. I'll post more pictures as he puts it together. |
What wheel / tire combo do you plan on running? I'm running 255/40-18 & 325/30-19 Michelin PS 4 S
|
Quote:
I based my front tire size on what I'll call a street alignment - just a small amount of negative camber. Lesson learned, this was a mistake. When I had the car re-aligned with something that would work better at autocross (-1.5 degrees of camber) a 245/255 should fit now on the front. Have not decided on a tire brand for this year. Out back, 295 should fit now. I pushed the wheelwells in an inch (cut them out and recessed) and had the rearend narrowed to center the tire. My rear shocks are still in the factory location. The rearend is a GM 8.5 out of a 73 Z28, factory posi with 3.42 gears. When it was narrowed, the axle tubes were welded to the center section and I upgraded to a Yukon posi with moser 30 spline axles. |
Good luck with it, Todd. The 383 will be good for the autox course.
|
Here are a few pictures of the tank going back together. The baffles are now welded together and to the top of the tank. I also added a flap to limit fuel going up the fuel inlet pipe. The middle baffle between the side baffles has a some space above and below so fuel can still flow into what I'll call the pickup chamber.
https://i.postimg.cc/zXTG2M0M/IMG-2218.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/sgyDkcL2/IMG-2219.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/9fgmqjQ4/IMG-2221.jpg |
I got the tank back all welded up. Click on the pictures to see them better.
https://i.postimg.cc/YqQrc8Py/IMG-2228.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/fWtWCMfs/IMG-2229.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/c1px5PFn/IMG-2230.jpg Don't have any pictures yet to share - Worked on the engine yesterday. Got the deck surfaces cleaned and ARP studs installed, ready for the new Trick Flow heads. These: https://www.trickflow.com/parts/tfs-30210007-c00 |
More progress. Had a fan shroud fabricated to fit my existing radiator - a local metal shop cut and bent the overall shape. I did the final welding and assembly. I had been running a water pump mounted fan until now. Switching to electric with a PWM controller. Fans are 12" Spal's that I got from Summit - they were mounted to a Derale shroud on the demo sale rack. Just need to add the mounting holes and paint it black.
https://i.postimg.cc/hPhPYgJt/IMG-2270.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/KzZmDySF/IMG-2271.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/bvfydtmZ/IMG-2272.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/KY7ZT8WJ/IMG-2273.jpg |
Nice work. That should provide plenty of cooling. Be sure to seal the radiator to the shroud or get it really close anyway.
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
The top and bottom will be attached flush to the radiator. On the sides, I'm going to use a pinchweld seal gasket on the shroud to close off the tanks. The fans I'm using are rated at 2000 CFM each at full speed. This is what I started with: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/d...SABEgKWnvD_BwE |
Engine is almost back together. Still an old school small block 383.
Upgrades for 2024: Trick Flow DHS 200 CNC heads Melling shark tooth oil pump Canton road race oil pan ATI Super Damper LS7 roller lifters Comp Gold roller rockers The headers are 1-3/4" Stainless Works. They need to re-polished - steel wool and WD40 is what I use. I run my spark plug wires under the headers for a cleaner look. The short block was built by Ohio Crankshaft back in 2003. I started with a used ZZ4 block and bought the rest. https://i.postimg.cc/qBnf6YzH/IMG-2305r.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/Yqw563WG/IMG-2306r.jpg Here's the TKX that's replacing TH350 auto my car had since I bought it in '89: https://i.postimg.cc/9M1rVMZC/IMG-2237.jpg |
Nice! :thumbsup:
|
Got the headers cleaned up last night. Here is a before and after:
https://i.postimg.cc/DztcgwGh/IMG-2311.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/PJMzTbRf/IMG-2318.jpg Also, took the motor off the engine stand and put it on these brackets I made. I know you can buy these - I just like making stuff. I'm using them vs working under the car to get the flywheel and clutch mounted. Also need to measure the alignment of the bell housing. https://i.postimg.cc/x8QywpgF/IMG-2314.jpg |
how did you clean up the headers? - Never mind - I see you said steel wool and WD40.
|
A lot more of the re-assembly is done. Motor and new transmission are in. The new/used tilt steering column has been taken apart, cleaned, repainted and installed. It's from an 86 Camaro - I just had to shorten the shaft at the steering box to fit. The rag joint is a custom one that Summit stocks that makes column and steering box work together. The new AAW harness is going in - all of the wiring is being replaced. And, the DSE 4 point roll bar is almost done, just have to weld in the shoulder harness cross bar.
https://i.postimg.cc/WzYTt9jC/IMG-2338.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/3w289CC0/IMG-2341.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/j5Ks1wZg/IMG-2336.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/3xsrgbpH/IMG-2337.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/wvV6Yqr6/IMG-2339.jpg |
Nice work!
|
Nicely done!
Who did you pick up the TKX from? I'm looking to do the same to my Camaro and I'm looking for a reputable vendor to work with. |
Quote:
|
Lots of Progress. Hope to have the car running again this week. DES roll bar is installed, just have to finish the harness bar. Functional test of the new AAW wiring harness completed last night - no issues. New 3" Exhaust (Rod builder kit from Stainless Works) fabricated, tacked up and had my neighbor Tig weld all the seams (same guy that welded my fuel tank). My battery cables now run down the passenger side rocker channel and under the front carpet. The positive cable goes into a distribution block that I sourced from a Cadillac SRX. It has 5 fused connections. The new fan shroud painted and installed.
https://i.postimg.cc/y8bLZHnN/IMG-2408.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/wMg2pTxw/IMG-2406.jpg Pictures show the exhaust just tacked up at this point: https://i.postimg.cc/mkydz16x/IMG-2382.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/gcVtB1cM/IMG-2383.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/j5N3TFHS/IMG-2392.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/KvQqmLMB/IMG-2396.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/zGXQhprx/IMG-2394.jpg |
Looks great Todd!! :thumbsup:
|
Nice work. Good luck with the start up!
|
Quote:
Got the car running last night. Had a few issues to work out before it ran well - timing and valve adjustments. Took it for about 2 mile drive. The Stainless Works mufflers are a little louder then I thought they would be at idle and under acceleration. The mufflers are their Turbo S-tube. At around 35 just driving, about the same noise level as my old Flowmaster setup. I'll try get a video of it running this weekend and post it. |
Congrats! Cats will help quite the mufflers down if you like the sound but want it quieter.
|
I got the car back together and took to a local test and tune last Wednesday to try autocross for the first time with all the new parts and changes. Akron Sports car club has Wednesday night events during the summer at Dragway 42. Had a few issues. More to come on those and what I used/made to solve them. The plan has been before I started making these changes was to have the car ready for a DriveAutoX event here in Cleveland that took place last weekend. Learned quickly that my car is way more street than race car. Of the 35 cars there - I would say 2/3's were close to race car. I was the near the bottom both days in overall speed which was not a surprise. With all my changes, my 69 drives completely different compared to last year. More seat time will help a lot.
Here are videos of my best runs from Saturday and Sunday. |
Before going to last Wednesday's autocross, I drove the car around my local area for about 150 miles. Didn't have any issues. At last Wednesday's event, found 2 issues with the fuel tank - the brand new cap O-ring split and started leaking - that was the minor issue. The other major issue was the vent was leaking during and after each run. I made changes to the vent line with the new tank and that didn't work causing a siphon effect. To fix this, I made a vent can similar to what you can buy (I would have bought one but there was no time for shipping and installation before Saturday morning).
Here is what I fabricated and had a local welding shop tig weld together. It's a 3" round piece of stainless exhaust pipe, 4 inches tall. One fitting is welded flush to the floor of the can and the tube goes up into the can about 1/4" from the top. https://i.postimg.cc/4NNvGVn7/Vent-can-1.jpg It's installed on the highest part of the truck floor above the rear end: https://i.postimg.cc/BbNxDQ7n/Vent-can-installed.jpg The vent line from the tank goes to the fitting flush to the floor of the can and the other one goes to vent - It's a 3/8 tube that runs between the tank and trunk floor to the vent that's behind the rear plate just above the fuel cap. I used this vent: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tnk-vvr This setup worked great and didn't leak a drop all weekend. Here is an image posted on the DriveAutoX FB page - headed to the finish line on Sunday: https://i.postimg.cc/HkFbbNzX/Sunday...inish-line.jpg |
Glad the changes are moving you in the right direction. Dialing in the combination will take time but is part of the fun.
|
I had the car weighted yesterday for the first time so I don't have a before/after. This was with 3/4 tank of fuel since that is where I run it during autocross. I just wanted to get an idea where I was at.
Here are the numbers: Total: 3386 LF: 877 RF: 905 LR: 792 RR: 812 I really thought I'd be over 3400 with all the stuff I added over the last 2 years. Had the fuel tank been full, I definitely would have been over 3400. https://i.postimg.cc/FHQKFspp/IMG-2492-R1.jpg |
Yesterday was a good and bad day - Good - 35 years ago on the 2nd Monday of August of 1989 I bought my 69. Bad - had a motor issue at the autocross on Sunday and last night trying to figure out what happened, my compression test showed the #5 cylinder has none.
Bought a borescope over lunch today and confirmed scratches in the #5 cylinder - looks like broken rings. So frustrated because I had finally got my suspension / tire combo figured out - Sunday was the most balanced my car had been in 2 years. It had been tight until last month when I added more camber and softer front tires - that made it really loose. Changed the rear tires to match the fronts - unreal the difference. I'm now running Falken RT660's - 245/40/18 front 275/35/18 rears. Trying to decide fix what I have or buy a new short block? |
Well, that's no good. Sorry to hear of the troubles. If you liked everything about the current engine, just repair or replace with like components. No sense in reinventing the wheel which will take longer and cause you more effort to dial it all in.
|
Took the motor out tonight and tore it down to get the #5 piston out. The 2 upper ring lands were broken. One piece fell off the piston. Thankfully the rings did not break so just some scratches in the cylinder wall. I believe I found the limit of Hypereutectic pistons. I'm thinking there are 7 more that might not have an issue now but soon will.
https://i.postimg.cc/QxvWS5TD/IMG-2575.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/y893GdmZ/IMG-2577.jpg |
Hopefully the scratches aren’t so deep that a quick hone and a set of forged pistons won’t get you back up and running.
|
Detonation?
Broken ring lands on a hyper piston are often due to detonation. Hyper pistons are notoriously sensitive to even mild detonation that you might not hear over a loud exhaust :-)
|
I had sealed-power Hypereutetic pistons in a motor I built in 2005, that had EXACTLY that failure mode... they looked identical to yours.
Tune conservatively with those hypereutectic pistons! |
Yes - found out the Hyper pistons have their limits. With the upgraded Trick Flow heads I added this spring - I think I pushed a little past the limit of what they can take. There were no marks on the any of the pistons or exhaust valves the would indicate detonation - but it is possible i had some? Timing wise, the motor always liked 36 total (no vacuum advance). My compression is 10.4 and I always run Shell 93 octane. The motor was built in 2003 but only autocrossed for last 2 years.
I bought a crate motor from Summit on Friday with all forged internals. The manufacture of this engine states to set the timing at 34 degrees. I'll fix my existing short block as some point with forged parts as a back-up. Still working on getting the car back together again. |
New motor is installed and running. It's a Blueprint 400 rated at 500HP. It's an all new engine with Blueprint's own aftermarket block. I have to say it's nice block with a lot of improvements over a GM casting - I really like that all of the head bolts are blind so no risk bolts/studs of leaking coolant. I had to buy a long block and switch the heads to my Trick Flow. The Blueprint heads have raised exhaust ports - 1/2" higher that stock. I didn't want any issues with my headers/exhaust fitting, that was the reason I made the switch.
I put about 60 miles on it now and it runs really good. Purchased from summit 8-16: https://i.postimg.cc/x1RJ6LG9/IMG-2579.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/RVwnnkN6/IMG-2581.jpg Prep'd and ready to install Tuesday afternoon. Motor and transmission went back in Tuesday night. https://i.postimg.cc/DwF4QxXC/IMG-2587.jpg Friday Afternoon 8-23 install complete and running: https://i.postimg.cc/HLkJRj3X/IMG-1340.jpg |
Looks very nice, congrats!!
|
| All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:56 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2026, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright Lateral-g.net