69 Camaro v2.0 - Project "Major Havoc"

[chr2002ca]

Was a bit burnt out and took a break. Doing these things yourself takes dedication, and after 5 years of dedicating myself to this car(version 1.0 and now this 2.0) in my garage, my "get up and go" has just about "got up and went". These things are very consuming. It's much different for folks who have the money to have someone work on it for them. I envy them, persistently. I really do. No way I could afford this car if I had to pay for labor too, so I had to do it myself. First few years was fun, but now I'm ready for it to be done so I can get the f_ck out of the garage. I'm a car guy, but I'm also a fishing guy, surfing guy, golf, tennis, travel, weekend road trips, and whole lot of other sh_t, and I'd like to get back to some of those which I'll be able to do shortly.

These past few weeks I've just been wrapping up some finishing touches and trying to dial things in to my liking by taking her for short drives around the neighborhood and then back to the garage for checking and tinkering and getting her just right. Lots of little things as most of you all know about. Some of the things thing knocked out since the last update:

Front wheels widened to 18x9 with new Dunlop Direzza ZII's(265s). Will replace rear tires also as soon as I've burned through(quickly) the Nitto 555s that are on there now.
Removable transmission tunnel panels completed and installed(took a lot of time due to me already having a full interior with sound deadener)
Center console re-installed with short stick and custom carbon fiber and chrome trim plate and leather boot
Front carpet and driver's side kick plate reinstalled
Center arm rest modified(lower)
Pedals changed to preferred height
Continue to bleed brakes to reduce spongy feel as much as possible
Parking brake modified to avoid suspension travel issues
Pre-load increased on lifters to decrease noisy valvetrain as instructed by Comp Cams but it didn't help much. Steep ramp on this cam's lobes makes it noisy, like a solid cam. Popular complaint from Comp Cams XE cam owners with large lift. Great power over a large range but a bit "clacky". Oh well.
Alignment and camber work
Increasing bump stops slightly on turning radius to avoid tie rods hitting oil pan
Toggle button installed on console for reverse lockout on T56
Trying to solve slight oil drip from rear of oil pan near rear 2 passenger side oil pan bolts. I'll get it figured out eventually.
Accusump oil accumulator pre-charged and hooked back up after initial oil change

Next week I'll be doing some longer drives to break everything in and get those 500 miles under her belt so I can put the hammer down and create some smoke and skid marks. Also gets her ready for the chassis dyno.

Then I'm going fishing. Permanently.