1968 Camaro Build - Third time's the charm

[CMillwheels]

Hi everyone - I've spent quite a bit of time over the years following the awesome build threads on Lateral-G. Now, I can hopefully contribute a little bit. I'm a rookie build thread writer so please bear with me!

I've owned this 1968 Camaro for 27 years. When I first bought it, we did a very low budget build to get it on the road. Drove it like that for 10 years, and then had finally saved enough money to repair all of the rust and do proper body work. Well, the car had way more rust than anticipated and I spent considerably more to get there body back in shape than I had wanted to spend, but I wanted it done right. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to make sacrifices on the performance side of things.

Finally, after it looking pretty for 17 years but not really being that fun to drive I get to Step up the performance a bit!!

I've decided to completly rework the suspension and drivetrain as follows:

complete Speed tech Extreme sub frame kit
Speed tech Torque arm rear suspension
Full floating 9" rear axle
GM performance parts LT4 crate motor
T56 manual transmission
Stainless steel headers for LT4
Stainless steel Ricks vapor works fuel tank
DSE mini tubs and speed tech fiberglass inner wells in front.
Forge line RBC3 wheels
Vintage air HVAC system
PRC radiator
Stop tech 6 piston 14" rotors all around
Ron Sutton valved coil overs with Draco springs

Here's how she started the day


Attachment 64006


By this evening I had the interior out and all the fluids drained.

Attachment 64005


My plan is to get everything dismantled this week before having to head back to work next week. Tons of parts are showing up to the house daily, and the engine/transmission is being delivered Thursday!

Roger and Ben over at Speedtech have been super helpful and great to work with while I was trying to figure out the direction to take this build. I'll be taking a road trip to their shop in Utah in the coming weeks to pick up the chassis.

And Ben will be drawing a rendering in the coming weeks so I can show you guys the vision for the car.

The Speedtech guys have been keeping my UPS guy super busy...

Attachment 64004

I'm going to need a lot of luck and help from my friends to get this car back on the road. Hope you guys enjoy!

Chris

[sd67]

Subscribed! Keep the updates and progress photos coming.

[Beechy]

Subscribed, great list of suppliers, looking fwd to progress ......links to attachments don't work for me.

[CMillwheels]

Thanks for the heads up on the attachments, I was struggling with that s bit. I'll learn how to correct it and get more pictures posted ASAP.

[214Chevy]

I'm in for the ride on this one too.

[DBasher]

SpeedTech+Hackster+Sutton...fugetaboutit!

Looking forward to watching this come together.

[bkswede]

Chris - looks like an awesome build. Those Speedtech Extreme frames allow for some insanely wide front tires! I know LT4s from the factory have electronic PS... are you running PS on yours? Don’t remember seeing a PS pump on the front end accessory drive in your picture, but maybe I missed it. I have a ZL1 with that motor and the low end torque is amazing... look forward to following your progress!

Brian


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[CMillwheels]

Originally Posted by bkswede

Chris - looks like an awesome build. Those Speedtech Extreme frames allow for some insanely wide front tires! I know LT4s from the factory have electronic PS... are you running PS on yours? Don’t remember seeing a PS pump on the front end accessory drive in your picture, but maybe I missed it. I have a ZL1 with that motor and the low end torque is amazing... look forward to following your progress!

Brian


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Thanks for the Props Brian! I am running hydraulic power steering. The pump is mounted low on the driver's side of the engine. It's a Jones pump with remote mounted reservoir. I"m running 315 tires up front and 335's in the rear. It's crazy how those tires look from the front of the car.

Chris

[bkswede]

Originally Posted by CMillwheels

Thanks for the Props Brian! I am running hydraulic power steering. The pump is mounted low on the driver's side of the engine. It's a Jones pump with remote mounted reservoir. I"m running 315 tires up front and 335's in the rear. It's crazy how those tires look from the front of the car.



Chris

Gotcha - I see it now... was looking for the reservoir. Is that a Drive Junky front end accessory drive? I briefly considered an LT4 for my build and, at that time, no one had an accessory drive that included power steering, but know a couple have since been released. Those front tires are wider than my rears! I’ll be running 305’s in back but only 255’s up front on my Chevy II...


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[CMillwheels]

Originally Posted by bkswede

Gotcha - I see it now... was looking for the reservoir. Is that a Drive Junky front end accessory drive? I briefly considered an LT4 for my build and, at that time, no one had an accessory drive that included power steering, but know a couple have since been released. Those front tires are wider than my rears! I’ll be running 305’s in back but only 255’s up front on my Chevy II...


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Yes sir, it is the Drive Junky drive set up. I will not hesitate to use the Drive Junky setup again on future builds. The quality of the machine work, finish, and fit is remarkable.

Chris