Yet another 2nd Gen Camaro - Project/update

[gerno]

I've been on the board for a while now and met a few of the guys on the board, even some with cars that actually work , but never really posted too much about my ride. I've got a 72 Camaro that I use as a driver and have been learning on the Autocross and Road courses. I'm not an idiot with cars but I am not a pro fabricator, welders, or body man. I'm just a normal guy teaching myself as I go along. The car has a 377 SBC I built with a forged bottom end, some 195cc heads, a nice solid flat tappet and a TB fuel injection. Trans is a T56 Mag with a mechanical linkage and Quicktime bell. Brakes are C5 front and LS rear. Hotchkis rear leafs, QA1 rear shocks, QA1 front coil overs, tubular UCA, boxed factory LCA with delrin bushings and DSE subframe connectors. Most of the car was build from used parts where possible because I can't afford all the crazy billet stuff I would love. I'm a bit more into function over beauty but try to balance as best I can. It makes decent power but nothing too crazy. It has run a 12.6 @ 113 at the strip with a miserable 2.3 sec 60 ft. I have also passed some BMW's and Vettes on occasion at T- hill and TWS. All in all a good street car that is fun because most of the time it's actually running.

An issue has come around that I baked the rear axle at texas World Speedway the other week and decided I needed to change the suspension setup. It was 106 outside which along with the large front stretch and a gear setup that was not spot on I ended up with the axle howling at me @ ~110mph. I limped it around for the day and concentrated on hitting lines on the turns more and did learn alot. When I got home I decided it was time to order some new parts because the factory 10 bolt was really starting to scare me anyways.....

I called but Speedtech and talked with Roger for a while to formulate a plan. I decided to get the TA rear kit with Ridetech Single Adj. I also picked up Ridetech coil overs for the front with their Chicane kit so the car would be more balanced. For an axle I decided a full floater from Speedway was not much more than a standard 9". Speedway was also able to install all the Speedtech mounts and any brake mounts I needed so it was a 1 stop shop. Mike at Wilwood helped my with the new rear brakes based on a lot of feedback using Brian's Camaro as an example. I ended up with some 4 piston dynapros, 12.19" rotors and their new MC4 parking brake setup. Later I'll update the front brakes but for now I have to focus on installing all of this stuff.

I'll work to detail out the install in the coming days/weeks. It should be an interesting install. I used to have a nice 2 car garage but earlier this year I relocated from Sacramento to Austin. I now share a garage with some nice guys who play with some Harleys. I no longer have my roller box at the house. All I have are normal hand tools, a 4.5" grinder, drill, sawzall, jacks and jack stand and a 220v mig welder. I think this will be a real test on how a normal guy can do the install. I'm excited to see how it comes together and how different the car will be with the new setup.


He's a pic of the car I'll work to post pics of the parts a bit later tonight.

[WSSix]

Nice! I'm anxious to see how this works out for you as I'm considering something similar for suspension on my car. I'd liek to also end up doing track days one day. I'm in the same boat as you budget wise so buying all the high dollar stuff just won't be possible. We are lucky that our factory subframes and front suspensions are pretty good to begin with.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[coolwelder62]

Sound's like a great project.Will be tuning in to see more.

[Flash68]

Steve! Glad to see you post your project... about time!

I see you took some shots at Rob in your intro. Nice work on that.

Originally Posted by gerno

I'm not an idiot with cars

Well some of us are...

[Track Junky]

Awesome Steve!! Love to see the low budget builds making it to the track!! Keep up the good work !!

[gerno]

Thanks for all the positive responses

Originally Posted by WSSix

I'm in the same boat as you budget wise so buying all the high dollar stuff just won't be possible. We are lucky that our factory subframes and front suspensions are pretty good to begin with.

The car current does work pretty well and I know it already exceeds my driving. All the new parts were far from "cheap" but hopefully I'm building a reliable foundation to help improve my driving skills.

Originally Posted by coolwelder62

Sound's like a great project.Will be tuning in to see more.

Thanks it's been a very fun car so far. I've learned a lot from it and the advice on the board. Hoping I can start to give back a little.

Originally Posted by Flash68

Steve! Glad to see you post your project... about time!

I see you took some shots at Rob in your intro. Nice work on that.

Well some of us are...

My goal is to have the new updates to the car complete well before you get your engine installed.... If I take a day off work I think I could even get it done before dyno day....

Originally Posted by Track Junky

Awesome Steve!! Love to see the low budget builds making it to the track!! Keep up the good work !!

Thanks. I'm still bummed I didn't get to meet up with you to get a little driving advice and see your car before I left town for Texas.


Here are some pics of the parts.

TA kit


Ridetech Coilovers



Speedway housing




Brakes - I'll work on a better pic tonight

[gerno]

Started a little bit of work this weekend. Pulled out the fuel tank as well as the old suspension.









I started to work on the installation of the rear crossmember for the panhard bar and coil overs. There were some random shock mounts I had welded to the frame when I was working to relocate the old shocks to clear the LS brakes and keep staggered setup. These were cut off and cleaned up the frame a bit.

Due to the grinding and cleanup there are some thinner parts on the frame. I'm pretty sure I'll be adding some 1/8" plate to the bottom and inner portion of the rail to assure there is plenty of strength. Speedtech makes the x-member with 1/4" clearance already to allow for factory tolerances so this should be no issue.

During the fitment I became very confused and frustrated. I used the Speedtech measurements based off the leaf shackles but the crossmember was clearly not straight. There was ~1 3/4 difference in the measurement from the x-member to the floor pan. The mounts were also not straight with the frame.Unfortunately the picture in the instructions is impossible to see so I could not figure out the issue. Rather than cause an issue with the install I decided to quit halfway through the day. It was also 102 here so it was probably best for my health too. I called Speedtech today and spoke to Blake. He clarified I was measuring to the wrong part of the x-member. He also admitted the picture was horrible and needed to be corrected. Later this week I'll adjust the mock up to see how the revised measurement looks.

[ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[gerno]

Got a little more work done this weekend but overall I'm slacking a bit. First, I talked to Blake and he confirmed I was measuring from the wrong location on the x-member. Checked it again from the correct spot and it was dead on. I also talked to him about adding metal to the frame just in case. I want to add 1/8 plate to the bottom and inside of the frame rail. The rails have been welded and ground on prior so I'd feel more comfortable with a little reinforcement added. Blake confirmed it's not a bad idea.

I cleaned up most of the rails and have the general pieces aligned to box the rails. I just need to spend a little more time prepping for welding and it should be done.


Mocked up the housing ends




Cleaned Frame rails




High tech tools to bend plate





Don't look too close at the welds. They need a little cleanup but a least have good penetration...

[Flash68]

Steve, lookin good man..... what's that black bike in the garage there?

[coolwelder62]

Lookin good.I've thinking of using a SpeedTech Torque arm in our next Project.I like their stuff.