COMP Cams 40th Anniversary Camaro at V8 Speed & Resto Shop

[V8TV]

Originally Posted by Neil B

I loved this car when it was introduced. The SB2 sort of defined it's character so I hate to see that go. It's cool to see it being updated and freshened up.

That engine was definitely part of the cars character. Back then, you never saw SB2 is in streetcars. This time, comp wants to showcase their newer technology offerings in the car, but it's cool that the SB2 will always be part of its history.

[V8TV]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Congrats on getting the build. This'll be a fun one to watch.

Thank you, it has been a fun car to build!

[V8TV]

Overall, the car is in really good shape. It is not rusty, the floors are solid, and the body is pretty straight.



The COMP team does not want a show car that requires special care and attention, rather, they want a nice and clean Camaro that looks and performs well to showcase their latest products as they cruise on road-going events all over the US. This car might also be used for some R&D for new COMP product offerings.



The fit is basically original, and the car has a few dings and dents. They wish to keep the overall scheme of the car, with the white exterior, black stripes, black top, and RS package.

[V8TV]

Or strategy to restore this Camaro is a little different considering our timeframe is short. The body appears to be in very good condition, so we began by disassembling the interior and some of the exterior items on the car. Kelle removed the lights, wiring, bumpers, trim, etc.





Typically, we would disassemble the car all the way to a bare shell on a complete restoration. In this case, however, we intend to leave the body shell assembled so that it can go into the bodywork process faster. The other consideration is that COMP isn’t looking for an over-the-top show car with this one. They want a very clean, detailed, COMPetent car that will make for a great platform to showcase their family of products. This means we can approach the car differently than a show car.

Original A/C car



RS vacuum cannister and the “cocktail shakers”, convertible only dampers designed to minimize vibration and chassis oscillation.

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We want to keep this thing as a roller so that our body shop can mechanically strip the paint with D. A. sanders, perform any metalwork needed, adjust panels for fit, and begin the bodywork process.

The glass was removed, but we noted the rich history of events in which this car has participated!

[V8TV]

The car came in riding on a brand-new Heidt’s front subframe. The hard brake lines have been run, the suspension is in-place save for the coil-over shock and spring assemblies, and the brakes are assembled.





However, the rear suspension left something to be desired. It was a scratch built 4-link design installed long before any “kit” type 4-link suspension systems were available for these cars. In addition, the MIG welder must have been out of shielding gas, as we discovered that the welds were very porous on the brackets.

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The existing rear suspension is not something you’d want behind 600+ horsepower!

The control arm mounting tabs were also scratch-built, and were made from thin steel that did not inspire confidence to drive this car hard. The car does have a Currie 9-inch rear axle assembly, which we will re-use with the new rear suspension.




With the Camaro on the lift, our team disassembled the rear 4-link removed the welded on mounts from the frame.




We will be replacing the rear suspension with a new 4-link kit from Heidt’s.. The kit is very complete and claims to be a mostly bolt-in installation. It uses brackets that attach to the frame rails to mount the 4-links, a bolt-in crossmember for the shock mounts, and weld-on control arm brackets on the rear axle housing. It also uses a panhard bar to locate the rear axle laterally. Rear suspension control is handled by a set of adjustable coil over shocks absorbers and a splined stabilizer bar.

[V8TV]

The Heidt’s rear suspension bolts to the stock Camaro frame rails. In this pc, the upper control arm and upper shock mount brackets are set in place, loosely held by the rear axle bump-stop bracket. Holes will be drilled in the rail and the floor to secure these in place.



Here, the driver side bracketry is bolted in place. Note how the upper control arm bracket bolts through the floor.



[img]http://v8tvshow.com/V8TV_2/images/CPG_Camaro_5/1969_Camaro_CPG_09-17-15_012.jpg/img]

The bolts protruding through the floor appear a little long, we’ll install shorter bolts when we complete the final assembly of the car.

The upper control arm bracket features a little “kick-out” bend to allow for the nut to be installed on the upper arm bolt.



The rear sway bar crossmember is bolted to the upper rear brackets.

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Over in the metal shop, we attacked the old 4-link mounts on the Currie 9-inch rear end. One of the first things we noticed is the seal on the center section… if you’ve used this much silicone sealer, you’ve used too much.



The existing mounts needed to come off so we could install the new brackets from Heidt’s, A stock 1969 Camaro uses leaf springs, so these brackets would not be present.



Note that the brake line is held in place with hose clamps, which is a common way to run them with add-on disc brakes. However, we’ll weld the tabs on with the new brake lines.



The lower brackets need to go also.



A quick start with the HTP Microcut plasma cutter knocks off the big parts…



And the rest is ground smooth with an air grinder and 3M Rolloc discs.

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Heidt’s rear sway bar tabs welded in place with the HTP MIG 200 welder. We chose to MIG these in place to match the MIG welding on the rest of the housing, as well as to expedite the process.



New lower bracket installed on axle housing, which will allow the upper and lower control arms to attach to the rear axle housing:



Panhard bar bracket welded in place: