The OneLapCamaro complete build thread

[James OLC]

This is our 1967 Camaro RS project - The OneLapCamaro. As the name suggests we are building to compete in open highway competitions like the Silver State Challenge and eventually the Cannonball One Lap of America.



McBride is the best!

General specs for the entire project:

ENGINE

• TYPE - Katech “Street Attack” Chevrolet LS7, 427 cid
• BLOCK - Factory LS7, torque plate bore checked/honed
• OILING - Dry sump, ATS fabricated road race oil pan
• ROTATING ASSEMBLY - Stock crank, Ti connecting rods, bronze bushings, 11:1 Katech forged Pistons, hardcoat anodized
• CYLINDER HEADS - Factory LS7
• CAMSHAFT - Katech
• VALVE TRAIN - High lift beehive valve springs, Titanium valve spring retainers
• INDUCTION - Currently in development
• IGNITION - UMI harness with custom programmed MEFI4 ECU
• FUEL SYSTEM - Rick’s Stainless Stealth fuel tank, internal Kinsler spec pump
• EXHAUST - 3” custom behind ATS stainless steel Tri-Y road race headers
• COOLING - Ron Davis radiator, remote oil, steering, diff, and trans coolers

DRIVETRAIN

• TRANSMISSION - ATS/Rockland Standard Gear road racing T-56 6-speed
• REAR AXLE - 3.89:1 gears, Black Gold differential, Mark Williams axles
• TRACTION CONTROL - Cockpit adjustable electronic traction control

CHASSIS

• FRONT SUSPENSION - ATS Chicane Suspension - AFX tall spindles with sealed C5 hubs, tubular control arms with Del-a-lum bushings, ATS Spline-Tune rate adjustable front sway bar, ATS 670 power steering box, Penske double adjustable coil over shocks, Hypercoil springs
• REAR SUSPENSION - Lateral Dynamics 3-Link – Custom Ford 9” rear housing, Road Race 3-link with Watts link, Penske double adjustable coil over shocks with Hypercoil springs.
• BRAKES - Front - AP Racing 6-piston caliper, 14” slotted two piece rotor
• BRAKES - Rear - AP Racing 4 piston caliper, 13” slotted two piece rotor
• SAFETY - 12-point roll cage, Willans 6-point restraints, Safecraft fire suppression system

WHEELS and TIRES

• FRONT - HRE Performance Comp20 Wheels, 18 x 8.5” with Toyo Proxes R888 255/35ZR18
• REAR - HRE Performance Comp20 Wheels, 18 x 11” with Toyo Proxes R888 315/30ZR18

The car started as an Ebay special – one of those cars that’s too cheap to pass up but you know has to be worse than you anticipate



Which of course it was



But then three months go by…



And then three more months…

[James OLC]

Finally had a chance Friday to finish up the installation of the Lateral Dynamics 3-Link. I can't say enough about Mark and Matt and their product. It is simply top notch.

All told the installation took two days and was very straight forward although it helps to be starting with a 'clean slate'.

Matt’s fabrication skills, as seen in the quality of the narrowed 9”, is top notch. A lot of thought went into the kit, with details like the jacking plate, large filling hole, and -6 AN fitting for the remote reservoir/vent.



It is a really complete kit with all of the parts and pieces that you need included. The only thing that I would like to have seen included in the kit would have been safety washers for a couple of the rod ends and shocks.



We did the install with a plasma cutter and cleaned it up with cutting disks and die grinder. You could easily do it with a 3” cutting wheel as well.



The front cross member ties across the front of the rear frame and is the support for the upper and lower 3-link arms.



It doesn’t take much to get a nice tight fit.

[James OLC]

Once the front and rear crossmembers have been installed the actual assembly of the three link is quite simple. It’s amazing how easily adjustable it is and how minor changes with the links can adjust the rear end in a variety of ways.

No shocks yet so we have the 1” x 1” square stock cut to length to simulate their position compressed at ride height.





The DSE mini-tubs look bigger from this perspective.


The string was used to center the housing in the wheelwell.



It’s too bad that there has to be a gas tank (or something else) that will block the view.

[James OLC]

The reproduction floor included a brace that I assume was for convertibles that we had to remove (that is the unprimered section) – there are enough double panels back there without one more that we don’t need.



We’ll expand the clearance around the center link and try to make it as stock looking as possible when it’s done.



There is still room for a back seat if desired (we played with some 3rd gen rear seats and they fit perfectly) but the rear cage will eliminate that possibility in our case.



We need to add clearance for the shocks and exhaust and will do something to clean up the transition at the top from the cross member to the trunk floor.

[customcam]

looks awsome keep us posted

[Speedster]

That is a sweet looking ride you have going there. Post some pics as it progresses.

[XTRMEASURES]

thats awesome

[BThibodeaux]

That is so nice! Being in Alberta, I am guessing you installed it yourself as opposed to sending it to So Cal for the install. How do you rate the install from a difficulty and technical perspective?

Thanks,
BT

[James OLC]

Looking back at the installation, I would have to say that it was actually easier than I had anticipated. The problems that we did encounter were more due to reproduction panels and components than the Lateral Dynamics 3-link.

The hardest part of the installation are the front and rear crossmembers and they are really no harder than installing subframe connectors. It took us an easy day to get them in; the installation is more time consuming than difficult. The front crossmember is fit relative to guide holes in the factory frame and is a gradual process that is ultimately cut, fit, cut, fit, and so on until it is in position. No special tools were required and it can easily be done with or without a lift (we did use a lift but that was more about making it easier for us than being neccessary). The only place that we encountered any 'difficulties' with the front was due to the repro floor - the rear third of the tunnel is actually 1/2" - 3/4" shorter than a stock tunnel which made some additional work making the floor transition into the crossmember. Also, the repro floor has additional bracing for convertibles which we had to remove for convenience if nothing else.

The rear cross member is installed relative to the rear axle centerline - which we placed to be precisely centered within the wheelwell. The cut into the trunk is very simple and although the installation is actually easier than the front we took a lot of time measuring and remeasuring to ensure that it was placed correctly - both front to back and side to side. We did encounter some difficulties with the rear cross member installation but that was due to the reproduction frame rails which seemed to just a touch different than the stock ones. Not enough to be really noticable until you have to fit a precision piece of steel that has no give.

Once the time came to install the actual 3-link and rear end it was exceptionally straight forward. We took almost as much time screwing around with the different adjustment points after it was in than we did putting it in place. I am amazed at the range of adjustability (compared to the ladder bar and four link setups I have used in the past) and the simplicity once you can see how the different points interact.

The best part of the installation was Mark and Matt themselves. Even though we were thousands of miles apart, both of them made themselves available by phone and 'net throughout the installation and were extremely helpful with even the simplest questions. I can not remember the last time that a vendor was this accessible and helpful - regardless of time or day. My hat is off to Lateral Dynamics - its a great product and the team there is genuinly enthusiastic about cars and their product.

Ultimately, in my opinion, if you are comfortable enough with your building and fabrication skills to be considering a project of this kind, you are probably going to be capable of doing the installation.

A couple of pictures of the crossmember installation with the sheetmetal cleaned up:

It seemed easiest to start with an actual tunnel. Fortunately we have a “willing” donor out back.



Which eventually started to take the right shape for us.



With only a little bit of convincing.



In the end it came out fairly well. We finished it to look better from underneath than on top because ultimately this will be covered.



I think that more material will have to come out for the exhaust but it’s a start.

[BThibodeaux]

Thanks for the feedback and additional pics! Everyone seems to have great things to say about the product and the guys at Lateral Dynamics. I am going with quite a bit simpler setup in my current project, but this is definitely something I would like to eventually go to, or incorporate into the next build.


Thanks again!