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Slowly but Surely
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The major work is done as our project Camaro continues to take shape
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By Brian Wood |
There have been some setbacks, delays and problems, and going in we expected nothing less, but after several months of work, the CompetitionPlus.com Project Muscle Camaro is at long last starting to look like the monster street and strip prowler we envisioned those many, many weeks ago. Thanks to Annette and Vernon Summer, and mechanic Adam Harman at their United Automotive and Performance Center in Aiken, South Carolina, our hot rod is slowly being transformed from a stock snoozer to the true 12-second American street machine of our dreams, a car which will be the equal of anything bolted together during the heyday of the factory muscle car.
Of course, none of this could have been possible without the staunch support of our many advertisers and performance industry backers, and we're grateful for their generous participation in this project. As of this writing, the heavy work has mostly been completed, the stock 350, transmission and rear-end having been replaced by a great little 425-horsepower ZZ383 small block crate engine from GM Performance Parts, a heavy duty torque converter and turbo 350 transmission from J.W. Performance Transmissions and 12-bolt rear-end with posi from Moser Engineering. It wasn't the easiest job in the world, because after removing the non-functional air conditioning equipment, we discovered that the heater box on the firewall was in the way of the headers. Opting to worry about getting the car back on the road and not on creature comfort, the box was also removed and the hole will be covered for the time being.
As in most every build-up, however, the devil is in the details, as the old saying goes, and never has this been truer than in the case of our Camaro project. It seems that one thing leads to two others, but we're persevering, and the work is progressing. Supporting the new powerplant and tranny are solid engine and transmission mounts from Competition Engineering's Stage One chassis package, as are most of the components found in the suspension set-up, including adjustable shocks, frame stiffeners and Slide-A-Link traction bars. All of these pieces are bolted in and ready to rock. Moving up to the engine bay, the new “stroker” is well appointed with an oil pump and seven quart oil pan, fabricated aluminum valve covers, distributor, water pump, gaskets, fan, plug wires and dozens of brackets, springs, bits and pieces, all from the great folks at Moroso Performance. On top of that, they have also provided some tasty chrome goodies for us to dress up the engine compartment with.
Also under the hood are the aforementioned headers, a great-looking set of street and strip pipes provided by Hedman Hedders, which were given a durable and showy chrome-like ceramic coating inside and out by Performance Coatings, Inc. Waiting to be installed is a complete 2-1/2” exhaust system from Flowmaster, which will insure that the exhaust efficiently escapes out the back while making some throaty V-8 music in the process.
 Also waiting to be bolted on is a choice all-steel 2” cowl-induction hood from Goodmark Industries, the manufacturer of some of the finest restoration parts in the business. In addition to its good looks, the increased clearance will be needed in order to clear the GM aluminum Eliminator Vortec high-rise intake and trick Pro-Series XE 830-CFM carburetor from the “World's Fastest Carburetor Shop,” Pro-Systems, of Spring Lake, Michigan.
Naturally, there are a bunch of other jobs to be completed, including the wiring of the Sport-Comp Playback tachometer and Ultra-Lite gauges from Auto Meter, which will monitor all critical operations. The cockpit area is in pretty good shape otherwise, as 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. In addition, the trigger-operated reverse lock-out is approved for competition by both the NHRA and IHRA. We still have to find a few parts, including a power steering pump from a 1990 Chevy Cavalier, which is required to work with the mounting bracket we have. Since a new one is mucho expensive, we're on the hunt for a used or rebuilt unit at the present time. There's also a lot of other wiring to be completed, as well as the installation of new front inner fenders. The car just had a front-end re-build, but the new springs installed are now too stiff for the gutted engine compartment and lighter aluminum-headed engine, so plans are to cut a half coil off each side in order to give the car a better stance.
Speaking of stance, the car is now off the jack stands it sat on for the last few months and sitting on the ground, its Mickey Thompson Sportsman Pro tires now mounted on bright Weld Racing aluminum Pro Star Wheels. The 8” Welds on the rear support a pair of 28x10.5-15s, while the 6” fronts are wrapped in 26x7.5-15s. They look great, and should give us some super ground-grabbing bite. As mentioned in a previous installment of the project story, it seems the re-born Camaro has some organized 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. Wherever the little classic ends up, we hopefully will have fulfilled our mission of transforming a basic 350-powered second-generation Camaro from stocker to rocker through the use of readily available off-the-shelf, bolt-in performance components. We decided to do this build-up in the first place because we realized that 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. Again, as mentioned previously, once we get back under power 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.
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 Weld Racing Wheels – www.weldracing.com |
