Introducing "TRACKDAY", 1968 Camaro

[Beegs]

Originally Posted by sik68

Thanks Beegs for the heads-up. The cinderblock is actually only supporting the axle (there's no spring on the car). There's a jackstand right next to it that's holding up the car

[sik68]

Alright I have updates!

I completely gutted the front and rear suspension and braking system. Replacing with stuff from Global West and Kore3. Pardon the overwhelming amount of dust and grime that these photos show. I don't have a garage, but I make due.

Here's a shot of everything removed.



When I have time I will weigh these components for other's reference.

Parts have been trickeling in...here's a shot of the upper and lower control arms, front springs, rear Bilstein shocks, and (stock height) solid body mounts:



Here's a shot of the rear-most body bushing being installed into the car. It really freaked me out when I was detaching the subframe from the body.




And back together (Black widow got WD-40 to the face when I realized she was there):



More to come...

[awr68]

Thanks for the update! I remember the first time I installed my solid mounts...yeah it can be a little un-nerving at times!!

[Lessk]

Good luck young friend!

I'm 25 and I've had my car since I was 20. I'd have done a lot more to it by now but I got married.

What can I say? She's perfect!

[sik68]

Awesome guys! Thanks for the support! Here's another update...

[sik68]

Tobin @ Kore3 has been awesome throughout this whole process. He informed me that the brake rotor hub requires that the axle flange be <=6". The flange of the original axles is much larger, requiring a turn-down or a replacment. I chose the latter, going with Superior Axles from Summit (SAG-EV10-1). The flange is 5.8" in diameter, so these axles work. They accept the standard 7/16" press in studs (included in box), as well as 1/2"-20 screw-studs (not included). I chose Moser 2" studs from Summit (MSR-8002). Here's a shot of the studs on the axle, along side the original axle.



I have the pictures of the axle overhaul on a different computer, so I will post a complete write-up on that soon.

Here's a picture of the driver's side axle installed, with the caliper bracket from Kore3. This bracket may look atypical to those who have seen the C5 brackets... that's because this bracket also accepts the in-rotor parking brake setup. Notice how the Global West 5 leaf springs aren't even captured by the monoleaf spring perches and a 1/2" lowering block? That's why I am going to order the DSE multileaf conversion kit.




Staggered Shocks: Notice the bracket is oriented at 9 o'clock. This is the correct position to avoid the shock on the driver's side, which goes behind the axle. On the passenger side of the vehicle, the bracket is also installed at 9 o'clock, to avoid the shock which goes in front of the axle. You must use 2 Left-Hand calipers with these staggered-shock cars so that the brakes can be bled properly.

I love tools. Installing the rear axles gave me an excuse to purchase a dial indicator. Here I am checking the runout



Results:
Driver's side: .003" total
Passenger side: .002" total

I'll do this once again with the rotors on the car...I will expect to see those runout numbers roughly multiplied by 2.

[sik68]

I am converting over to power steering with Unisteer's Gen II kit and the ATS/Lee 670 box. So I needed a solution for my pulley setup.

Here's my current setup, short water pump driving only the alternator


(BTW the Ron Davis Radiator you see is awesome)

What I needed was a alternator bracket that met several criteria:

1. Run everything from 1 belt
2. Keep the alternator on the driver side
3. NOT a header mount bracket, which I despise
4. Give enough room to allow clearance for the Gen II pump
5. Allow enough "bite" on the PS pump pulley

After much research, I was left with very few options. As I mentioned in my first post, I don't really go for the "bling parts." But I have to admit that I am pretty darn impressed with this alternator bracket I bought. It's a March product that I bought from Summit (MCH-20131). $160 dollars for a bracket isn't exactly my idea of a deal, but I really got what I paid for:



Note the longest bolt in the picture above, used to bolt the alternator up to the bracket. This is the 1/4" bolt that was included in the box, But it is is completely wrong...It should be 3/8" with an allen wrench head (Hex cap) just like every other bolt you see. I don't know how it got in there, but I had to run down to the hardware store to get the correct one.



Also, the shortest bolt you see wasn't correct for my application either! This is the bolt that is supposed to thread into the top hole of the alternator, holding the piece that the turnbuckle mounts to. The thread on the bolt is coarse, while the thread of the alternator is fine (or vice versa, I can't recall). I just simply reused the bolt I already had. These are the type of hangups that I have learned to accept very early in this project.

Here it is on the car:



As you can see, it makes use of the 3/8" drilled accesory holes in the Pro-Topline heads, and provides awesome adjustability with the turnbuckle. It took several hours to install this bracket because I wanted to be sure that the bolts wouldn't bottom out when threading into the aluminum head. I actually bought a bolt that was a smidge shorter and touched it with a grinder, just to be sure. You can see the replacements (in black) HCS that I used to properly install the bracket and alternator. Mismatched bolts build character!

Whether it meets criteria 4 & 5 remains to be seen...I sure hope so.

[sik68]

Quick Update:

I spent some time preparing my C5 brake kit from Kore3. Here's a mock-up shot of the caliper on the ATS tall spindle:



I wanted the caliper abutment brackets to be a bit darker than stock, so I sprayed them with Dupont hi-temperature paint in matte black. The difference is subtle but it makes the red caliper "pop" quite a bit more. As shipped on left, painted on right:



Just for kicks, here is a mock-up I did a while back showing the rear abutment bracket:

[Steve Firebird]

Good to see a few young guys really stepping up on these car builds. Looks like you have a good start on a wicked Camaro. I will be watching this thread. Steve

[GHOSTDANCER]

Looking good