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The Sparks are Flying!
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Our Camaro project begins to take shape
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By Brian Wood |
After months of planning, assembling components, and not a few headaches, the CompetitionPlus.com Project Muscle Camaro is at last undergoing the first of many modifications. Ultimately, we hope to drive off in a true 12-second American street machine which is the equal of anything bolted together during the heyday of the factory muscle car. The car now sits in the expansive workshop of Annette and Vernon Summer at their United Automotive and Performance Center in Aiken, South Carolina. Stripped of its stock engine, transmission and rear-end, the nearly naked F-body has begun to receive the performance transplants that will eventually breath a whole lot of new competitive life into our 25-year-old classic.
In addition to our street aspirations, the re-born Camaro has some drag racing in its future as well, and one of the avenues we may take, so to speak, is to partake of some National Street Car Association competition in their BFGoodrich Tires American Muscle class. According to the NSCA rule book, the American Muscle class is defined as: “A handicap-style eliminator based on class indexes. This eliminator is reserved for various cars manufactured in the 50s, 60s 70s and 80s that define the classic as well as the more modern “Muscle Car.” Allowable body styles and models include: 1960 - 1978 American Motors Family V8, 1955 - 1989 Pontiac Family V8, 1955 - 1987 Buick Family V8, 1954 - 1989 Ford Family V8, 1955 - 1989 Chevrolet Family V8, 1954 - 1985 Mercury Family V8, 1955 - 1987 Oldsmobile Family V8, 1955 - 1979 Mopar Family V8.” Sounds like it was tailor-made for us, right?
So, with an added incentive to get this hot rod out into the light of day, we're pushing ahead with the planned changes so that we can hopefully demonstrate how worthy these great cars are of being returned to true competitive form. As stated before, our mission is to transform a basic 350-powered '79 Camaro from stocker to rocker through the use of readily available off-the-shelf, bolt-in performance components. Not everyone has the time or the talent to rebuild an engine, transmission or rear-end on their own, and buying the parts and hiring someone to do the work can quickly run into a whole lot of money. These days, however, thanks to some innovative engineering and production on behalf of a number of performance industry leaders, crate engines and numerous other bolt-in components make upgrading a vehicle for hot street and strip use a relatively painless, and very effective, way to go.
A perfect example of this is the powerhouse ZZ383/425 small block crate engine that GM Performance Parts is supplying for the project. Equipped with GM's legendary aluminum Fast Burn cylinder heads, the factory “stroker” motor's 383 cubic inches delivers big block-like numbers of 425-horsepower at 5400 RPM and 460 ft-lb of torque at 4500 RPM. In addition, engine scavenging will be provided by a slick set of headers from Hedman Hedders, which have been ceramic coated inside and out by Performance Coatings, Inc. A complete 2 1/2” exhaust system from Flowmaster will insure that the exhaust efficiently escapes out the pipes while making some sweet V-8 music in the process.
Moroso Performance Products, of Guilford, Connecticut, are providing most of the other associated engine components required, including performance plug wires, oil pan, fabricated valve covers, water pump, billet pulleys, chrome dress-up parts, and much, much more. Another great piece of bolt-in technology for the project has been provided by the folks at Moser Engineering, of Portland, Indiana. They have shipped us one of their complete 12-bolt housings, with custom alloy axles, wheel bearings, wheel studs, retainer plates, 30-spline Eaton Posi, 3:73 Pro Street gears, 1350 series pinion yoke, chrome cover and assembly. Racers and builders who have used these bolt-in units in the past are very enthusiastic about their ease of installation, not to mention their toughness and durability, so this will be a great addition to our street and strip brawler.
Getting all that power from the front to the back will be taken care of thanks to J.W. Performance Transmissions, of Rockledge, Florida, who have provided us with one tough TH 350 transmission and a new competition torque converter.
In the suspension department, we'll be calling on Moroso once again, this time through their Competition Engineering division. We'll be utilizing many of the components from their Stage One chassis package, which is designed for “street performance and mild bracket cars.” Plans call for the use of their frame stiffeners and adjustable drag shocks, as well as solid engine and tranny mounts. In addition, we will be installing a pair of their revolutionary new Slide-A-Link traction devices. These bolt-on units offer the adjustability of a 4-link system and are a vast improvement over traditional “slapper bars.”
The last link in the power chain is where “the rubber meets the road,” as they say, and we've got that covered, too. A set of sticky Mickey Thompson Sportsman Pro tires will more than handle our traction requirements, and they will be securely mounted to a set of aluminum Weld Pro Star wheels.
In the cockpit, a Sport-Comp Playback tachometer and a trio of Ultra-Lite gauges from Auto Meter will monitor all critical operations. Also, already installed between the buckets, thanks to Hurst and the Mr. Gasket Company, is a V-matic 2 shifter. This super-tough unit offers two modes of operation – in-line for daily driving and ratchet action for trips down the ‘strip. The trigger-operated reverse lock-out is approved for competition by both the NHRA and IHRA. It features the look of a manual shifter with its black rubber boot and great hand-filling brushed aluminum t-handle. Another great addition to the project is an outstanding steel cowl induction hood, courtesy of Goodmark Industries in Lawrenceville, Georgia. These folks make the finest steel aftermarket hoods in the game, bar none, and we're thrilled to add one to our Camaro, both for its great looks and to gain required clearance for the high-rise intake, carb and air cleaner.
To top everything off, the crew at Illusions Custom Paint and Airbrush, in Bristol, Tennessee, has agreed to shoot the new Hugger Orange paint on the car, which is an exciting prospect all on its own, based on the outstanding work that Allen and Mark Adkins, along with artist Mark brown, have turned out over the years. They have painted some of the best-looking hot rods and motorcycles ever seen, including a number of IHRA and NHRA Pro Stock, Top Sportsman, Pro Mod and Pro Stock Bike entries.
As of this writing, the new rear-end unit from Moser has been installed, as have the Slide-A-Link traction bars, adjustable shocks and sub-frame connectors from Competition Engineering. In the next few weeks, we expect to receive the engine from GMPP, and the project should pick up considerable momentum. From a dream and some wishful thinking a few months back, the “Project Muscle” Camaro project has really taken off, thanks to the generosity, hard work and support of a number of outstanding individuals and companies. Remember, it's our goal to show how the average performance enthusiast can buy and install the kind of tough, top quality components that were only available to those willing to tackle the building on their own in years gone by.
Once everything is done, we should have a hot rod worthy of cruising big city boulevards or taking on the competition in NSCA American Muscle competition. Stay tuned – hopefully we'll be able to show you the best way to return that faded classic reposing in your garage or backyard to its former glory, and get it back out on the pavement where it belongs.
For details on all components included in Project Muscle, check out the ads in CompetitionPlus, or log on to the following websites: GM Performance Parts – www.gmgoodwrench.com Moser Engineering – www.moserengineering.com J.W. Performance Transmissions - www.auto2000.com/jw Auto Meter – www.autometer.com Flowmaster – www.flowmastermufflers.com Precision Coatings – www.headercoatings.com Moroso – www.moroso.com Competition Engineering – www.competitionengineering.com Pro-Systems – www.pro-system.com Mickey Thompson – www.mickeythompsontires.com Hurst/Mr. Gasket – www.mrgasket.com Goodmark Industries – www.goodmarkindustries.com Illusions Custom Paint and Airbrush – www.koolpaint.com
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