Pro Street to Pro Touring

[kel]

What do you guys think of converting a Pro Street car to a Pro Touring car?

I have a car I'm looking at that is currently a '69 RS Camaro Pro Street with full tubs and a fully adjustable 4 link rear (Pro Street back half in fact) with Ford 9". The car is a show piece with a LS6 454 and Tremec alrady there to provide the power. Paint is immaculate. It also has a 6 point roll cage but the rest of the interior is in it (headliner, normal dash, radio, etc). It has a 16 gallon fuel cell in the trucnk and dual Optima batteries.

I really would like to hear comments on this (both positive and negatives)?

Some of the negatives are:
I would be out a back seat.
Little to no room in the trunk.
Tubs makes it loud in the interior.

Positives:
Needs no paint or body work.
I am assuming the 4-link could work for Pro street too.
Could fit any size tire I want to in the rear. :unibrow:
Needs nothing on the interior although I would add the Detroit Speed dash. :cool:

Let's hear it? :willy:

Thanks,
Kel

[XcYZ]

Kel, I think that's a pretty common conversion these days. I'd guess some of the items that would need to be changed would be the springs and shocks and the addition of sway bar(s). What does it have for front suspension components? (subframe, control arms, springs, etc)

As for the noisy, sheetmetal wheel tubs, you could always use dynamat or something along those lines. The back seat is optional; Joe Rogan's Cuda doesn't have one.

[Steve1968LS2]

What do you guys think of converting a Pro Street car to a Pro Touring car?

I have a car I'm looking at that is currently a '69 RS Camaro Pro Street with full tubs and a fully adjustable 4 link rear (Pro Street back half in fact) with Ford 9". The car is a show piece with a LS6 454 and Tremec alrady there to provide the power. Paint is immaculate. It also has a 6 point roll cage but the rest of the interior is in it (headliner, normal dash, radio, etc). It has a 16 gallon fuel cell in the trucnk and dual Optima batteries.

I really would like to hear comments on this (both positive and negatives)?

Some of the negatives are:
I would be out a back seat.
Little to no room in the trunk.
Tubs makes it loud in the interior.

Positives:
Needs no paint or body work.
I am assuming the 4-link could work for Pro street too.
Could fit any size tire I want to in the rear. :unibrow:
Needs nothing on the interior although I would add the Detroit Speed dash. :cool:

Let's hear it? :willy:

Thanks,
Kel

Wow.. a subject near and dear to my heart.. :)

Well, to address your negatives..

1. Who needs a damn back seat? lol.. seriously, I never used mine when I had one. If you tried REAL hard you could custom fab a single seat between the tubs.. a 3 seater..

2. How much stuff do you need in the trunk? A six pack and a california duster and I am set..

3. Dynomat on the inside + lizard skin on the underside = quiter car

As for the rest.. is the car a full tub or mini tub? My PS car was a mini-tub and as such the rearend was not shortened much if at all. If the rearend on your car was too short then you might have problems getting it to handle around corners. My four link bars were parralel and pretty good but the PHR was way too short and at an angle sutible for drag racing. All I have to do is substitute a longer more parralel bar and I should be good. Oh and you will need new shock and spring (since I bet the shocks are pretty soft.)

Pics of the rear set-up would help.. what is it running up front? What kind of brakes? (drag brakes or street stuff)

The nice part for me is that the paint, body, roll cage and what-not are done and I don't have to spend forever in paint hell. That is 6mths+ of my life saved.

As for your motor.. you can just rework that mill and have a great PT powerplant. Changing the cam, intake, carb and such can really change the soul of the engine.

I would say that if you get a good deal on the PS car and like the stuff you will keep then go for it.. but pics would be nice! :)

[jannes_z-28]

You might also need to streghten the chassi in the rear for twisting, a dragracecar is only built for one purpose. The chassiloads will be different in a Pro Touring car if you intend to drive it like one.

As Steve said you will need to rearrange the geometry in the fourlink for a more suitable street setup. A PT-car is also lower in the rear than a dragracer so it will probably need some rearrangement in the rear allover.

Shocks and springs has to be changed and maybe your mounts on the axle has to come out towards the wheels. 20-30 degree angle is what you should try to find.

Send us pics so we can see how it is built now.


Jan

[kel]

Great info!

Just what I'm looking for as I try to make this decision.

Please keep the comments and questions coming!

Here are some more specs on the car:

Brink Racecraft back half with a 4-link suspension utilizing Koni coil-over shocks
Full steel wheel tubs
Powder coated front sub-frame, front-end components, rear suspension and inner fenders
15 gallon Harwood fuel cell
Mallory comp 140 fuel pump
4 wheel disc brakes
850 Holley and Chevy dual plane manifold with
The engine has a 10.2 compression ratio, square port heads, 292 Comp cam and MSD ignition
Jet Hot coated Hooker headers, 2-1/2 inch pipes and Flo-Tech mufflers
Brassworks water pump and Griffin aluminum radiator
Hays clutch and flywheel
Lakewood bellhousing
Tremec 5-speed
Nine inch with an Auburn limited slip unit, an HRW nodular iron case, and 31 spline Mark Williams axles
Mickey Thompson tires (to be removed)
15x6 (front) and 15x14 (rear) Cragar Super Lite wheels (to be removed)

I'll post a pic or two when I get home tonight.

The brakes are 4 wheel disc. I believe they are Wildwood and not special drag type. This car was a street car that was set up to look like a Pro Street car. I don't think it ever went down the strip.

The axle has been narrowed. I don't know how much and neither did the owner. He said the guy who put the Brinks back half in cut it to fit once the tires were provided.

The 4-link had a lot of adjustment points in it (lots of holes to put the ends into).

It has a sway bar up front.

Engine put out about 350 hp to the rear wheels.

[Ricochet]

Sounds to me like a fairly easy & painless transformation.

The motor IMO doesn't need much if anything at all. I know that combo very well, I had it in my Camaro. Although I used a 780 Vacuum Sec, ran very hard & extremely streetable. You didn't mention the gears, but with the 5 speed, probably shouldn't be a problem.

The suspension is where you will have to stiffen things up. Shocks, spring rates, sway bars, etc will make a huge difference. It will handle night & day compared to most typical Pro Street cars. As Steve mentioned depending on how much they narrowed the rearend can have alot of impact on what wheel/tire combo you can run. You would hate to run an 10" or 11" wide wheel with a 2" or 3" offset. Wouldn't look right IMO. But then again...It's just my opinion. Have the wheel wells been stretched?
Keep us posted. Sounds like a nice car!!

[kel]

Ok, here is some more info...

Stock front subframe with urthane bushings.

3.70 rear gear,
2,000 in 5th gear is 70 mph - 3,000 in fifth is 105 mph. It loves 2000 rpm and up according to the seller.

This car has been around the DFW area for at least 6 years. Those of you from DFW may recognize it. It is known around here as Copperhead (built and named long before the Copperhead on Trucks TV)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42/KellyLG/ProStreet1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42/KellyLG/ProStreet2.jpg

He says the current tire int here is 14" wide.

I think the back already sits low. I think the front needs to be a tad lower for the right stance.



More thoughts?

[Derek69SS]

1. Who needs a damn back seat? lol.. seriously, I never used mine when I had one.
Married, Eh? :D :rolleyes:

[Mikael A]

Boyd Coddington makes a 20x15 wide wheel
called junk yard dog and available in costom offset :unibrow:

nice car :thumbsup:


MBA

[USAZR1]

Kel,I reconfigured my 69 El Camino from a back-halved Prostreeter to a daily driver Protourer. Just click on the link in my sig to see its transformation.
If you buy the car,I have just the tires for you. :D

[TwinSting]

If you want a cross between prostreet and protouring I offer the M/T SR radial tire that offers the width of the old prostreet tires but now have a radial construction and wheel diameters of 18 and 20 and a speed rating H with DOT approval.
Check www.evodindustries.com

[Steve Chryssos]

If you want a cross between prostreet and protouring I offer the M/T SR radial tire that offers the width of the old prostreet tires but now have a radial construction and wheel diameters of 18 and 20 and a speed rating H with DOT approval.
Check www.evodindustries.com

That's a smart man. Spend some time looking at pix of his car, TwinSting. In my opinion, it defines a modern pro street car. The biggest problem with traditional pro street cars are the goofy old school wheels & tires. Those big rear tires bounce the car around. (Ever seen a farm tractor drive on pavement? Same thing) The front wheels and tires are only good for going straight. And the traditional 15" wheel diameters do not allow for fitment of big brakes..

So....
-Let TwinSting advise modern wheels and tires.
-Add real brakes.
-Add modern front suspension from DSE, ATS, etc. (a-arms, spindles, springs, stocks, etc)
-And dial in your rear suspension settings for the street.

Will it handle as well as a true pro-touring car? No. But you will have a Modern Pro Street car that handles, stops, rides and steers better than any traditional pro streeter--all for minimal additional investment.

The rest is open to your interpretation: Fuel injection, seats, modified (smaller) tubs, etc. I'd love to follow along if you go the modern pro street route. If you choose a full pro-touring conversion, just follow Steve Rupp's lead.
/Steevo

Edit: Here's another good example of a modern pro street car.

http://www.popularhotroddingweb.com/features/0407phr_chevelle/

http://popularhotrodding.com/features/0407phr_chevelle_02_z.jpg

[ProdigyCustoms]

I agree with Steve, I think TwinSting is a excellent example or ProStreetTour. One of out next in house projects will be ProStreetTour. Basically a Pro tour car with obscenely big rear tires. Without telling what it is, I think Steve will really like it.

[syborg tt]

I agree it would be a fairly easy conversion with the new tires that are available.

I am currently building a tt sonoma gt and the tire that i choose to run is 30.5 tall & 11.6 wide. I needed a tire that would fill the wheel well and not look kiddy sized.

In the end to get the correct stance took a complete re-do of the chassis. But the good news is the car your looking at already has had everything done to it. So in my book if the price is right - go for it.

http://www.sportmachines.com/albums/sogt0334rs/IMG_4951.jpg

[trapin]

What do you guys think of converting a Pro Street car to a Pro Touring car?
The same way I feel about someone who donates a kidney to a dying kid or the people who are fighting to save the Rain Forest's in South America. I think you're a great man and should be commended for this extraordinary act of humanity. :D