The OneLapCamaro complete build thread

[James OLC]

This is our 1967 Camaro RS project - The OneLapCamaro. As the name suggests we are building to compete in open highway competitions like the Silver State Challenge and eventually the Cannonball One Lap of America.



McBride is the best!

General specs for the entire project:

ENGINE

• TYPE - Katech “Street Attack” Chevrolet LS7, 427 cid
• BLOCK - Factory LS7, torque plate bore checked/honed
• OILING - Dry sump, ATS fabricated road race oil pan
• ROTATING ASSEMBLY - Stock crank, Ti connecting rods, bronze bushings, 11:1 Katech forged Pistons, hardcoat anodized
• CYLINDER HEADS - Factory LS7
• CAMSHAFT - Katech
• VALVE TRAIN - High lift beehive valve springs, Titanium valve spring retainers
• INDUCTION - Currently in development
• IGNITION - UMI harness with custom programmed MEFI4 ECU
• FUEL SYSTEM - Rick’s Stainless Stealth fuel tank, internal Kinsler spec pump
• EXHAUST - 3” custom behind ATS stainless steel Tri-Y road race headers
• COOLING - Ron Davis radiator, remote oil, steering, diff, and trans coolers

DRIVETRAIN

• TRANSMISSION - ATS/Rockland Standard Gear road racing T-56 6-speed
• REAR AXLE - 3.89:1 gears, Black Gold differential, Mark Williams axles
• TRACTION CONTROL - Cockpit adjustable electronic traction control

CHASSIS

• FRONT SUSPENSION - ATS Chicane Suspension - AFX tall spindles with sealed C5 hubs, tubular control arms with Del-a-lum bushings, ATS Spline-Tune rate adjustable front sway bar, ATS 670 power steering box, Penske double adjustable coil over shocks, Hypercoil springs
• REAR SUSPENSION - Lateral Dynamics 3-Link – Custom Ford 9” rear housing, Road Race 3-link with Watts link, Penske double adjustable coil over shocks with Hypercoil springs.
• BRAKES - Front - AP Racing 6-piston caliper, 14” slotted two piece rotor
• BRAKES - Rear - AP Racing 4 piston caliper, 13” slotted two piece rotor
• SAFETY - 12-point roll cage, Willans 6-point restraints, Safecraft fire suppression system

WHEELS and TIRES

• FRONT - HRE Performance Comp20 Wheels, 18 x 8.5” with Toyo Proxes R888 255/35ZR18
• REAR - HRE Performance Comp20 Wheels, 18 x 11” with Toyo Proxes R888 315/30ZR18

The car started as an Ebay special – one of those cars that’s too cheap to pass up but you know has to be worse than you anticipate



Which of course it was



But then three months go by…



And then three more months…

[James OLC]

Finally had a chance Friday to finish up the installation of the Lateral Dynamics 3-Link. I can't say enough about Mark and Matt and their product. It is simply top notch.

All told the installation took two days and was very straight forward although it helps to be starting with a 'clean slate'.

Matt’s fabrication skills, as seen in the quality of the narrowed 9”, is top notch. A lot of thought went into the kit, with details like the jacking plate, large filling hole, and -6 AN fitting for the remote reservoir/vent.



It is a really complete kit with all of the parts and pieces that you need included. The only thing that I would like to have seen included in the kit would have been safety washers for a couple of the rod ends and shocks.



We did the install with a plasma cutter and cleaned it up with cutting disks and die grinder. You could easily do it with a 3” cutting wheel as well.



The front cross member ties across the front of the rear frame and is the support for the upper and lower 3-link arms.



It doesn’t take much to get a nice tight fit.

[James OLC]

Once the front and rear crossmembers have been installed the actual assembly of the three link is quite simple. It’s amazing how easily adjustable it is and how minor changes with the links can adjust the rear end in a variety of ways.

No shocks yet so we have the 1” x 1” square stock cut to length to simulate their position compressed at ride height.





The DSE mini-tubs look bigger from this perspective.


The string was used to center the housing in the wheelwell.



It’s too bad that there has to be a gas tank (or something else) that will block the view.

[James OLC]

The reproduction floor included a brace that I assume was for convertibles that we had to remove (that is the unprimered section) – there are enough double panels back there without one more that we don’t need.



We’ll expand the clearance around the center link and try to make it as stock looking as possible when it’s done.



There is still room for a back seat if desired (we played with some 3rd gen rear seats and they fit perfectly) but the rear cage will eliminate that possibility in our case.



We need to add clearance for the shocks and exhaust and will do something to clean up the transition at the top from the cross member to the trunk floor.

[customcam]

looks awsome keep us posted

[Speedster]

That is a sweet looking ride you have going there. Post some pics as it progresses.

[James OLC]

Well I have lost track of the time that the metalwork has taken on the OLC Camaro (well, I wish I had lost track of the time - the actual number is just shy of 700 hours over the last 10 months) but we are finally done with the metal work on the tub. The Lateral Dynamics 3-Link is in and the ATS front subframe is ... we'll have to wait for SEMA for that. I'll do more of an update after the show but for now:

November 2005 – The starting point:



February 2006 – Rear Quarters going on:



April 2006 – Cleaning up the metalwork before moving on to the fabrication:



June 2006 – coming together:



October 2006 – home for the holidays and getting ready to layout the cage:

[XcYZ]

James, looks great, as does the large print hanging on the wall.

[907rs]

Looks good! It's all down hill from here.

[Teetoe_Jones]

You are going to love your frame, I promise you.

4 more days!!
Car is looking great, quite a long way you've come since the start.

Tyler