1968 DSTRYR Camaro

[ADiCarlo]

So it's a been awhile since I've updated the thread but I haven't been sitting still.

To start (as seen in the post above) I pulled the trigger on a single 335/30/18 Rival for test fitting (and of course there now back ordered again).

The car is a 1968 Camaro and the recommended tire rim combo for a DSE mini tub car is 11 inches with a 315/30/18. Reading online and talking with people they say that if your spot on with your fitment a 335 can fit so thus the test tire was needed.

Final results on our fitment under a factory unrolled fender is that you can shove it in there but there is no room for movement. Even with a rolled fender it just doesn't feel safe let alone give enough room for articulation to be suitable for track duty.

That leaves two options:

1. Switch to 315's which will definitely fit as recommended.
2. Bulge and widen the rear fender line similar to Blu Ballz or Tim Allen's car (though i'm not a fan of the method they did the Tim Allen car - just personal opinion)

Number 1 seems the most logical choice if the fenders were 100% perfect but there not. There is minor rot on the edging of the lips as they approach the rockers and seeing this car was saved from being cut up as a drag car it looks like some idiot baseball bat rolled one of the fenders and did a **** job at it. So after a long discussion with my welder Rick and seeing we were already going to repair the rot were going to widen the line of the fender to accommodate a 335 and bulge in the inner fender line to handle any form of travel the suspension may go thru.

Also I already have rear quarter skins from AMD and have an allergic reaction to bondo lol (let’s see how far forward I can push this build timeline )

And with that begins stage 3 and the final stage of welding (starting with the fenders):
1. Fender widening
2. Subframe connectors
3. Roll cage
4. Tunnel clearance for T56 Magnum
5. Shave drip rails
6. Subframe connectors
7. AC mounting (Restomod Air)
8. Dash modification (patch and drill new vents, set up center console mounting)

To start this all off we needed a test wheel with a tire mounted so Rick could widen with exact fitment. That meant widening the Forglines that I had picked up a few posts back – the rears were 10 and needed to go to 12 so I loaded up the wheels and took them to Wheel Flip in Whittier Ca. They have a really great rep with doing crazy things with all sorts of wheels and are definitely experienced.

As you can see they are a bit busy:


After discussing what I needed with Alex at Wheelflip we decided on polishing the lips and moving away from the standard black you see on many pro touring cars with GA3R Forgelines. This kind of threw off the image I had in my head of the car. But I always felt something was missing and I think it was how minimal the wheels were in comparison to build – dark black with no real shine they didn’t have the pop I wanted when I saw them in person. I think the polished lips with a black face/spokes will really fix this.

Alex says they should be done in a week so I’ll update with pictures once I get a tire mounted.

Also while all this has been going on I’ve been pack ratting small parts at my desk at work including a speedtech crossmember for my dse subframe Odyssey Batteries and small things I buy during lunch lol

Slowly and surely I’ll finish this car – hopefully before my next birthday.

[ADiCarlo]

Does anyone have a spare 335 Rival they want to sell in new condition. Tire Rack is back ordered. Ugh - I want to get this car on the ground already!

Thanks guys!

[ADiCarlo]

So it's definitely been awhile since I've updated this thread so i'll try and spend tonight doing that.

To start the company widening the wheels took 3 weeks instead of a couple days. Finally getting my wheels back we ended up with doing a chrome lip instead of the all black outer lips. I thought this looked nice and really accented the wheels. The all black kind of hid them.

While the wheels were getting widened we had received a 335/30/18 BF Goodrich Rival tire to try and test fitment seeing the DSE mini tubs were installed.

I'll tell you right now I don't know how anyone has stuck a 335 under a factory 68 camaro fender and had enough room for the tire to move during racing.

Trying to stuff the tire in there (I will admit unmounted) did not give us the required clearance.

After some discussion and late night working with Rick O'Dell we came to the conclusion that widening the rear fenders would be the best option for the car seeing I really wanted to stick with the 335/30/18.

Calling tire rack I placed an order for another Rival tire seeing I only purchased one for fitment to find out that.

1. The Rival was discontinued
2. The Rival S (different compound) was it's replacement.
3. They were two months out.

Fast forward 2 months and the tire arrive and were mounted.

[ADiCarlo]

With the rear axle mounted, the DSE mini tubs in place, and the final spec wheels (with mounted Rival S tires) we finally got to test and figure out how much fitment we needed.



From there Rick was able to form the quarters around the 335 tires.

My main concern during this process was not ending up with some outrageous fenders that were too over the top. They had to flow with the lines and stick close to the factory shape. And stay away from the bolt on fender look seeing this was permanent deal.

^I will admit that I do love the look over over fenders but I just don't know for how long.

Also just an important they had to give enough clearance for a true track run and provide enough room for whatever I throw at it including surviving a dirt drop or crazy cornering. Clearance is key.

[ADiCarlo]

While the metal work for the fenders was happening the crazy Mark Stielow garage sale classified post went up and I was able to score one of the T56 transmissions he had for sale.

From my understanding the trans is an F-body case Magnum that's been gone thru by D&D Performance and beefed up even further. This is to behind my 6.0 LS motor that picked up in the early weeks of have the project.

And of course Stielow delivered:

[Vince@Meanstreets]

looking good. I know you have a side shot!

[ADiCarlo]

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

looking good. I know you have a side shot!

Haha hey Vince! Yeah I do but there in my camera. I'll load them up tomorrow and get them posted.

That shot was texted to me while he was working on it. Kind of a teaser shot.

[ArisESQ]

Can you post a pic of clearance with the 335 against the stock fenders? How much do you need to widen the fenders to get them to fit without rubbing?

Wheels and tires look outstanding

[ADiCarlo]

Originally Posted by ArisESQ

Can you post a pic of clearance with the 335 against the stock fenders? How much do you need to widen the fenders to get them to fit without rubbing?

Wheels and tires look outstanding

Thanks!

If I remember correctly we gained an 1 inch and 1/2 of clearance? I'll have to double check. We have 1 inch clearance inside the wheel.

Had to dig thru my phone for the before shots.

Inside wheel clearance (with mini tubs):



Outer wheel clearance (stock fender):

[ADiCarlo]

With the trans in house and metal work being done on the fenders we decided to also start on fitting the motor and getting the tunnel work done.

With all the different engine mount kits out there we decided to stick with the DSE set back engine stands and their plate kit.

In total the fitment you see below consists of:

• LS 6.0 Block
• Lakewood Quicktime SFI Bellhousing RM-8020
• D&D Magnum F-Body
• DSE Set Back Engine Stands
• DSE Engine Plates
• DSE Subframe
• Custom Firewall (Deep cove)
• Custom Firewall
• Speedtech Engineering Trans crossmember