79 Camaro build update

[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.