2nd Chance Camaro - Let the Project Begin

[BBC71Nova]

That's a whole lot of Mustang influence for one Camaro HA!

Should be an awesome project.

[syborg tt]

Originally Posted by BBC71Nova

That's a whole lot of Mustang influence for one Camaro HA!

Should be an awesome project.

Can you tell what I am going to build next

[syborg tt]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Some day I'd like to have a Shelby clone like that yellow one... what a kool car!

I agree it would look nice in your Garage

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Installing the Ride Tech Air Bar
2012 02-21 Update - Installing the Ride Tech Air Bar www.2ndchancecamaro.com


Good Morning,

Now the fun begins.

The goal with this project is to teach people what I've learned from the last build. The main purpose is to keep people from losing there project because of poor planning. Planning isn't just writing down what you want the end product to look like it's actually being honest with yourself and making sure you have the time, money and the resources to actually build your dream car.

The plan is to show the option/cost you can do just for the rear suspension.
1. Leaf Springs Similar to Hotchkis
a. Benefits of keeping your leaf springs is cost is minimal and the car isn't going to be out of service.
b. Most backyard mechanics can do this swap in there garage or even a driveway.
c. Easy exhaust routing ( keeps your costs down when running exhaust )
d. There is a good chance you are going to be able to find an aftermarket exhaust or even use your existing exhaust

2. Diagonal 4-Bar Similar to Ride Tech
a. Benefit of this set up is cost isn't much more then leaf springs and is very adjustable.
b. There is minimal welding that can be done by any experienced welder.
c. Custom exhaust is a necessity

3. Weld in 4-Link Similar to DSE
a. Cost is more then a Diagonal 4-Bar
b. Your going to need a shop or have a good deal of Fabrication skills
c. Very adjustable
d. Custom exhaust is a necessity

So for this project I choose to go with the Ride Tech Air-Bar Set up using the single Adjustable Coilovers. I can do most of the preliminary work in my garage and haul it over the High Speed Welding and have Jr. set the Pinion angle and weld the brackets on the Axle.

Here is the Ride-Tech Bracket mocked up on the car the drivers side was a perfect fit. The passenger side needs a little adjusting to make it work.




After I located the bracket on the frame rails I held it in place with a good set of clamps. After that all I had to do was drill a few holes in the floor and the upper bracket was in place.



Here is a close up of how the bracket hit the floor on the passenger side. Since all of these cars are slightly different you can't expect them to fit perfectly. It's funny I was talking with Ron and his passenger side fit perfect and the drivers side was just a little off.




Once the car arrives at High Speed Welding they will flattened the bracket so it would line up with the floor. Very simple fix.

So be honest with yourself if the car your working is you only car then you should go the leaf spring route. If you don't have to worry about the car being down for a couple days then step up to the Ride Tech suspension.

More to come later this week.

Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[coolwelder62]

Marty,Good choice.

[syborg tt]

Originally Posted by coolwelder62

Marty,Good choice.

Thanks

The goal with this project is not to break the bank before the project even starts. I am fairly certain that this car will handle far greater then my driving ability and I will even have money to buy dinner afterwards.

[waynieZ]

Like you say they all need tweaking. But its definitely worth it in the end. The cars coming along great Marty. I enjoy your updates.

[GHOSTDANCER]

Originally Posted by waynieZ

The cars coming al;ong great Marty. I enjoy your updates.

x2

[coolwelder62]

Originally Posted by syborg tt

Thanks

The goal with this project is not to break the bank before the project even starts. I am fairly certain that this car will handle far greater then my driving ability and I will even have money to buy dinner afterwards.

Marty,You are right about the suspension working far better than a person's driving ability's.Just about everybody that's building a protouring car today does not have the ability to out drive their car.Mary Pozzi proved that.A camaro w/good after market stock style componet's can be fast as He77 if your are a great driver.Great Thread.

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Mocking up the Subframe
2012 03-04 Update - Mocking up the Subframe
www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Good Evening,

Since the goal with this car is to use as many bolt-on's as possible and limit the custom fabrication which can drive the build cost up and sometimes spirals projects out of control. If you have an unlimited budget and money is no object then you don't have to worry about it. However, most projects are built on a very strict budget these days, this one included. I learned a lot building Syborg and let me tell you there are plenty of places I could have and should have saved money. One of the reason I picked a Camaro is there are plenty of parts available and also a very wise man that will only go by the name "Bob" once said to me when you build something make sure there will be plenty of buyers when it's complete. Remember, you may not have any intentions of selling your project but no one knows what the future holds. So when you looking to build something stay true to your goals which should include a realistic budget of time, money and skill.

With the sub-frame back in the garage it was time to assemble all of these bolt-on parts. I also felt that it is important to involve my daughters and some of our friends kids.



Installing the custom G-Force crossmember was fairly easy with the subframe out of the car.



You can see my little helper putting the bolts in for the engine stands. I think she was having more fun then me.



and this picture proves it.



I think she did a great job



Our neighbors son happened to be over so I figured I would let him bolt in the G-Force Crossmember.



He did such a great job installing the crossmember I figured I would let him install the Edelbrock headers. In a previous post I think I mentioned that these are for a 2010 Camaro. With a little modification they will work perfect and we will be able to tuck them up nice and high so they are not visible when you look under the car. This part is another example of an off the shelf header that will require minor modification which will keep the overall build cost down.




More to come later this week.

Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net