1968 Camaro that I bought to build up and display at the 2009 SEMA show. It was a display car to show off Holley / Hookers LS1 swap headers and motor mounts. We replaced the floors pans, quarter panels, inner and outer wheels wells, fenders, rocker panels all with DynaCorn sheet metal. The Fuel tank was replace with a Spectra Premium fuel tank with an in tank pump. The stainless fuel lines were made up by Tube Tech which is all pre bent and has all of the fitting to hook right up. Classic tubing was used for the stainless brake lines they offer all the sizes and fitting you need to hook up front to rear on the brakes. Next the MBM brake booster and master cylinder was installed and hooked up to the Lokar Black series pedals, we also used the Lokar shifter and boot with digital read out for the shift indicator and the Lokar camaro gas pedal and cables. The Professional products 85mm throttle body bolted up to the Weiand intake which we used to get rid of the stock LQ9 intake as it is too tall to fit under the hood and it is a direct bolt on. A 100 shot of NOS into the throttle body plate will help with those close calls. We added MSD coil Blaster coils and used Professional Products coil covers to dress up the engine bay. A set of Ring Brothers hood hinges and Undercover innovations latch cover and fender braces help add more detail under the hood. We sprayed the inner fender firewall and core support charcoal with a satin clear to let the motor have more pop. Kwik Performance brackets were used and a corvette water pump to pull the pulleys close to the motor giving us plenty of room for the Air Aid Intake and the Mark 7 Custom radiator with Spal fans. These brackets are also designed to work with the Classic Auto Air conditioning unit we installed and it uses a GM style power steering pump. The Hooker headers were designed for the LS1 swap so using them and there motor mount adaptors with Energy Suspension motor mounts, it make the LQ9 motor drop right in place looking like a factory placement. We hooked them up to a Magna Flow stainless exhaust system. The LQ9 motor is the same as a LS2 other than it has an iron block. We used a H3 hummer oil pan and pickup to help clear the cross member and raise up the sump to get some ground clearance. A Painless performance wiring harness was used as it has the complete car harness and the engine fuel injection harness integrated together so everything is plug and play. Spare ECM Company had the computer I needed and programmed it with all of the spec I gave them so I plugged it in and the first turn of the key she fired right up. 4L80E transmission was by Bowler Performance and we built a custom cross member to mount it up. Precision drive shaft built me a shaft to bolt up and handle my horse power no problem. Using a 27,000 mile motor and trans from a 2005 Escalade helped up keep this project fuel injected with a LS series motor but still on a budget.
I wanted the pro touring stance so we turned to Heidts for a 4 link rear suspension with coilovers and added a set of Firestone Industrial air bags to the front. Using the stock control arms we fabbed up some brackets to get it to sit low. Firestone tanks and compressors We built a small console to house the air controls under the dash. Above that is the SONY in dash dvd player that powers a set of SONY dash speakers and SONY amplifier and 2 10" subs in the trunk. The rear deck houses a set of SONY separated 6 1/2" and tweeters. The deck is covered in a carbon fiber vinyl material for a racing look. The dash pad and door pulls are also covered with that material. I added a Spal rear view camera for the rear view mirror that will also play the DVD picture from the head unit. Carpet is from Auto Custom Carpets with a crazy green floor mat to match the Beam Seat Belts. Headliner, door panels, and rear seat got rewrapped using PUI interior kit, and the front seats are APC racing buckets. We added a front and rear mounted Kinetik battery to keep the power up at shows. Digital Dakota gauge cluster fills in the stock dash panel with a complete array of 8 displays and a Grant steering wheel finishes it all off.
Exterior finish work was done using PPG Lamborghini green and I added a little twist with a tricoat pearl overlay. Using Sata Spray guns and Badger Airbrushes, I painted a front fender vent and clear coated the car for a nice Show Finish.
After everything was painted and buffed we installed all new windows and glass with Steel rubber products seals to keep it tight. Last a set of TSW Petrol Throttle 18" and 19" wheels with BFGoodrich KDW2 tires fit nicely inside the fender wells. I used a set of blacked out headlights and changed the front stock marker light to a driving light up front to give it a blacked out look. Also tinted windows help complete this effect.
$39,900
Please call me at 815-796-2772 with any questions or to set up an appointment to view the car.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
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1968 camaro Show car LQ9 4l80e $39,900
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