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It's Alive!
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Our super-healthy GM Performance Parts ZZ 383 crate engine roars to life as Project Muscle hits the home stretch
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By Brian Wood |
Tuesday, May 18, was a red letter day in the ongoing saga of the CompetitionPlus.com Project Muscle build-up, and none of us was there to enjoy it in person! Since the United Automotive and Performance Center shop where all the work is being done is 125 miles from our base in the Greenville-Spartanburg area of South Carolina, trips back and forth are understandably kept to a minimum as we travel to racing events and so forth this time of year.
But it was an exciting event nevertheless, as our nearly re-born '79 Camaro roared to life at the first turn of the key, and the throaty response emanating from the ZZ 383 small block through the Hedman headers and the Flowmaster exhaust system made the hair stand up on the back of my neck, even over the telephone! The only thing I could say was Oh-my-God' as Annette Summer laughed rather maniacally in the background. As her husband Vernon bumped the throttle a couple of times, I swear the thing sounded like a very belligerent caged beast threatening to break loose at any second. This is, of course, exactly what it is, and after nearly six months of hard work and anticipation, the sound of that 425-horsepower powerhouse actually living and breathing on its own means that we'll soon be taking to the streets with one unbelievable hot rod - a true re-embodiment of the classic V8 muscle car.
As with any project of this scope, there have been some setbacks, delays and problems, and going in we expected nothing less, but thanks to Annette and Vernon, and mechanic Adam Harman at United Automotive and Performance Center in Aiken, South Carolina, our formerly plain vanilla Camaro has now been 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. In last month's issue of CompetitionPlus we reported that most of the heavy work had been completed, with the stock 350, TH 350 transmission and 2:73 rear-end having been replaced by the great little ZZ383 small block crate engine from GM Performance Parts, a heavy duty 3,500 RPM stall torque converter and performance TH 350 transmission from J.W. Performance Transmissions and 12-bolt rear-end with posi from Moser Engineering.
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. As reported, 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. Neatly tucked up underneath the car is the 2-1/2 exhaust system from Flowmaster, through which the signature exhaust note sang out as I listened excitedly over the phone the other day. It sounds like nothing else in the world, believe me. As we got tantalizingly close to having most everything done, however, we found out that getting over the last seemingly small obstacles turned out to be tougher than planned. Putting a belt drive system together, for example, proved to be quite a chore, as we had to come up with the correct brackets and pulleys for the alternator, power steering pump and so on. After a considerable amount of experimenting without much success, a call to CV Products in Thomasville , North Carolina proved to be the right move to make. They cut us a real good deal on a custom belt drive system, complete with alternator and power steering pump, all necessary pulleys, belts and brackets. It worked like a charm, and really put the finishing touches on the engine. Since we're using a high stall torque converter and the car will be mainly street driven, there was a concern over the transmission overheating. Fortunately, another of CompetitionPlus.com's generous advertisers stepped up to the plate and brought us yet another step closer to wrapping the project up. After a quick call to TCI Automotive, of Ashland , Mississippi , a transmission cooler and auxiliary electric fan for the radiator soon showed up at the United Automotive shop door.
Finally, the things to do last is getting really short. Remaining to be completed is some minor wiring under the hood and in the cockpit, as well as the installation of a new sending unit for the Auto Meter fuel gauge. In addition, since the new engine with its aluminum heads is lighter than the stock 350 and the fact that we have removed the air conditioning equipment, we'll be modifying the front springs in order to lower the nose and provide a better overall stance on the car. Speaking of stance, the car is now finally 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.
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.
On the inside, with the exception of the fuel gauge, as noted, most everything is done, including the wiring of the Sport-Comp Playback tachometer and Ultra-Lite oil pressure and temperature gauges from Auto Meter. 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. 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 paint 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. Early on we considered having an orange with black rally stripes paint scheme, but that has now changed. With the car's saddle tan interior, it has been decided that a glossy black would best do it justice. Of course, we'll let Mr. Brown do his thing with the airbrush just a little to make this truly a one-of-a-kind machine. 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 TCI Automotive www.tciauto.com |
