79 Camaro build update

[silver63c10]

Been a crazy long time since I updated this. Kind of a lot happened. Installed EFI. Gave it a makeover. Had a kid. Got into a little fight with a tire wall a while back. Formulating the plan for what's next, and in the meantime putting together kind of a wild little update on our old farm truck.

Camaro time coming up again soon.


COTA 2019, we dropped 10 seconds from going there with Optima in 2016 - running a 2:30 in the dead of summer.


Added a black two tone and gold lettering, inspired by the R30 Skylines


Upgraded to Holley Dominator EFI with race throttle body, also added cylinder EGT probes for monitoring


Optima Invitational road course, 2019


In 2020, we got a little bored like a lot of people did, and added some aero. Nine Lives wing paired with a splitter.


Tried out some new tires in 2021. It didn't go to plan.. ended up going off track in the worst possible spot at Heartland Park during Gridlife.


Cars are dumb. But we wouldn't have it any other way.

Keep up with the latest on everything we're doing on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silverc10/

[WSSix]

Glad to see the update. I actually came across your Instagram while hunting out pictures of C10s. I don't really use Instagram but the C10 looked great. Good luck with it all, Duston.

[CHJNCSU]

Thanks for the updates and great pictures!

[silver63c10]

Originally Posted by WSSix

Glad to see the update. I actually came across your Instagram while hunting out pictures of C10s. I don't really use Instagram but the C10 looked great. Good luck with it all, Duston.

Thanks Trey! I'm so geeked to get the truck back together, I need to make a thread for the saga of it someday. We've had it for 25 years this year somehow..

Originally Posted by CHJNCSU

Thanks for the updates and great pictures!

Thanks! We're lucky to have some great photographers around. Most of the great action ones in here are from Kaleb Kelley - he shoots all the Optima events and does fantastic work!

[SSLance]

Those valve cover stickers almost make me wish I didn't have centerbolt heads!

Love them!!

Thanks for the update...

[syborg tt]

Man this car is so bad ass and the fact that you drive the crud out of it. I hope to do the same with mine when I finish it.

[silver63c10]

Lil update on things..

Remember that time the car needed a quarter, door skin, and a fender so we took it down to the tub and started all over again? I sure do

Quick summary of the plan:

Lighter, quicker, faster, and (hopefully) nicer. When you re-evaluate a full build after 15 years, there's always a number of things you'd do different. Turns out, we decided that was most of the things..

Drivetrain
427 LS with a Dailey dry sump. Probably keeping the T-56 but may find a G-Force or other dogbox along the way.

Front Suspension
Still using stock frame rails but everything else is new, and was designed in Fusion 360. Following sort of an asphalt late model design idea, but our own weird way of doing things. Joes racing uppers, custom built lowers, Sweet Mfg rack, ATS spindles, big ol Wilwood brakes.

Rear suspension
All-new 3-link. The truck arms were cool, but had some warts that it was hard to solve. We've learned a good amount with the 3-link in the truck, and I'm pumped for it in the car.

Roll cage
The old cage was less than ideal. We can build better, lighter, stronger, and safer in version 3. Will also be moving drivers position back a good amount.

Wheel & Tire
Big ol wheels - we'll step up to 18x12s all around (or bigger) to deal with the current crop of absurdly chunky 200tw tires.

Aero
Planning a lot of tricks like a laydown, ducted radiator, possibly flat floor, wing, etc., but the overarching goal is to keep it looking Camaro.

What are we going to do with it? That's a great question. We still love the Optima format, but the series has changed a lot and the locations are not ideal for us being in Texas. Gridlife Track Mod's ruleset is a good place for the car with their Pro Touring exemption, but the car will never realistically be competitive there. And again, locations are all 2-days drive from us.

So for now, it's a fun engineering exercise, and a chance to say "How can we make this better?" ..like, over and over again.

Currently working on the front suspension. Geometry seems good. One bite at a time..

[ScotI]

Keep those updates coming. This car has always been a favorite of mine so it's good to see the changes as things progress.

[WSSix]

Yeah, it's a favorite of mine too. Glad to see you're still out there having fun with the car, Duston. Best of luck on V3 of the beast.

[syborg tt]

Originally Posted by ScotI

Keep those updates coming. This car has always been a favorite of mine so it's good to see the changes as things progress.

Yaa, What Scott said

This thread is full of so much info and I look forward to seeing more updates.