Thanks again for all the positive feedback guys!
Picking up where I last left off….
Test #1 with the new suspension, wheels, tires, and brakes went incredibly well. The JCG crew have done their fair share of first gen camaros with DSE suspension and have considerable development on the Blu Balz ‘68. Utilizing this wealth of knowledge our car was pretty set up right off the bat, which was good because USCA Laguna Seca was less than a month from this first shakedown.
We tested at the Camarillo airport where you will see a lot of the California USCA crew practicing and that weekend I also met Danny Popp who gave me a few pointers. He also confirmed that I wasn’t a half bad driver. Phew!
While the test went well what became painfully apparent was what the car was lacking most, motor. While the small block in the car made ample power, (540 HP/505 Lb/Ft) it was tired and was blowing smoke after thoroughly wringing its neck all weekend. It was obvious that an upgrade was going to be needed to get us through the season. With two weeks before our first event, USCA Laguna Seca, the decision was made to rip out the small block and replace it with a GM performance parts LS7.
With input from Mr. Stielow, Cris decided to mount the stock Z06 dry sump tank from GMPP in between the radiator and the motor, very similar to a new Z/28. To do so the radiator had to move forward a little over an inch requiring modification to the core support. While this caused a little more work, it seemed to be the best option with our impending deadline and allowed us to keep our functional RS front end.
We also chose to mount the computer on the passenger fender well for ease of access until we got the car sorted.
JCG fabbed up a new fuel tank, fitted with Vaporworks goodies, and air intake.
and just like that it was time for Laguna Seca! Cris finished the swap the night before the deadline and we picked it up on our way to Monterey the next morning, I can’t say enough about how the JCG crew has been able to crank out our projects under a time crunch.
Also, photo credit goes to Casey C. and Cris from JCG for most of the pics in this batch, thanks guys!