79 Camaro build update

[silver63c10]

2014 UPDATE - Autocross/track mode begins page 8 (http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=15395&page=8) - let's kill some cones!

A lot of the pics no longer work in here, so here's the general idea:

Start here
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/beginning/images/camaroweb1.jpg

Move to here
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/beginning/images/camaroweb35.jpg

Then here
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/beginning/images/camaroweb141.jpg

Stop off here
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3769.jpg

Do a happy dance here
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4851B.jpg

Spend a few years doing this
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5420.jpg

And now we're here!
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7643/16822942189_82fc72d789_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rCzYBp)


Original Post

Not sure how many of you saw my original thread a while back in the intro forum, but I thought I'd post some updated pics from the last several months. Full specs and a bit of background can be found at http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/

Hopefully we'll be dropping the motor in and it will be heading to the painter's in the not so distant future. Anyway, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/camaroweb107.jpg

More pics will be added shortly..

[silver63c10]

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_DSC00296.JPG

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/l_c768fe5bc832e6c165aedeb29a448644.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/l_8c52dd2ed513cf8e3a90095039fd833c.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/l_018cc605d3e0cb2e7fb2c4ffcd474a40.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/l_8a55a109510041834bfc0dfc380458b7.jpg

Couple videos of it on the stand -
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5SjBPpYD2ts
http://youtube.com/watch?v=brRvqOAIL1o

[silver63c10]

...and finally, where we're at now.

http://a992.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/22/l_ae725df0bbfecaabec6d958cffd085d7.jpg

http://a274.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/67/l_26dde26ca1ce6ae436494317a7e89dd9.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3454.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3475.jpg

So close..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3476.jpg

[brownz]

looks bad a$$, great work and keep the pics coming :thumbsup:

[badmatt]

Nice!

[tony byram]

Looking good, great stance too. Should be a super nice car when you get it finished, keep us posted. :thumbsup:

[silver63c10]

Thanks guys, made some more progress this weekend - should be heading to the painters' in the next couple weeks.

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3492.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3497.jpg

It fits!
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3501.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3512.jpg

They'll be shooting the trim, dash and areas around the glass Tuesday night, it should be getting glass and then heading heading to the painters' in the next 2 weeks or so..

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3529.jpg

[XcYZ]

Bad ass.

[kagtech]

I like the approach you have taken with this project...Sweet :thumbsup:

[WILWAXU]

Awesome project!

[customcam]

tuff looking :cool:

[silver63c10]

Thanks for the comments guys, we're getting more and more determined as we make more progress.

Got some more done the past few weekends - glass is in, brakes and clutch are ready to bleed, exhaust and headers are ready to be final welded and painted, and it should be going to the painters' weekend after next, pending the completion of the Volkswagen they were shooting this weekend. Inching forward ever so slowly :lol:

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3536.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3537.jpg

Knocked 6 pounds off this beast..not nearly as much as I was hoping for, but every bit counts
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3549.jpg

continued next post..

[silver63c10]

We'll be adding an aluminum skirt off the rocker that will clean up the look of all this..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3555.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3565.jpg

[waynieZ]

I went back and read your orriginal thread, looks like a nice project . Looking forward to seeing more.
Wayne

[hellrace]

Looks great :thumbsup:

[tones2SS]

Looks awesome now, I can image how it it's going to look when it is done.
KEEP US UPDATED!!!:thumbsup: :cheers:

[c.schulz]

Nice work. Keep me up to date.:thumbsup:

Chris

[silver63c10]

Thanks again for the compliments..slight update..

We hauled it away Thursday night..should be getting some shininess laid down in the next few weeks. They've already worked over the doors, decklid, and one fender. Same guys/shop that did our 63.

The shop feels really empty with it gone..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3675.JPG

It's new home for the next month or so..the land of much Mopar-ness
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3681.JPG

Ready for some paint -
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3682.JPG

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3685.JPG

The last vehicle we took out there..I think the car's in good hands..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/images/63C10-1.jpg

[silver63c10]

Looks a bit different now, it's been a very productive few weeks.

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3735.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3765.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3769.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3776.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3781.jpg

[silver63c10]

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3787.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3790.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3796.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3799.jpg

[boonedog]

looks good:thumbsup:

[brownz]

SWEET cant wait to see it done :woot:

[Orbit]

Update? I just sold my '79 Z...

[silver63c10]

I'll get some new pics this weekend, getting pretty close to running, though. Here's a few from a couple weeks, well, I guess a month ago now. I forgot I never updated my post here.

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4486.jpg

Trying to keep everything clean under the dash, all the wiring disconnects for dash removal
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4488.jpg

Lokar style throttle cable on our vintage Holley
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4503.jpg

Fuel line is actually done now, valve covers and air cleaner are flat black and on as well
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4500.jpg

[silverz28]

You said you were adding aluminium skirts? aren't you painting them body colour?

We'll be adding an aluminum skirt off the rocker that will clean up the look of all this..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3555.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_3565.jpg

[silver63c10]

They'll actually just be the gloss black finish of the aluminum, same material the dash is made from. With the exhaust painted I don't know that it really needs them though.

Got the drivers side belts put in tonight and dad made some more progress on the wiring, I'll get some pics uploaded Sunday night.

[lil427z]

not bad keep up the good work.
rick k:thumbsup:

[silver63c10]

As promised, new pics and a video. Looonnng weekend. We worked till around 11 Friday night, 7 Saturday night, and 8 tonight, and finally got to fire it. Still have to wire the alternator, fan, and RacePak, but we're getting really close to laying down some rubber.

Didn't have my good camera with me so I've only got a crappy cell phone vid, it's not quite as loud as it makes it seem. I was pretty surprised at how quiet (relatively) it is inside the car.

Audio level is through the roof on here, so adjust your speakers before you hit play :_paranoid

V9O-OLAQGZU

Getting everything buttoned up under the hood
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4539.jpg

Power steering reservoir and hoses - return line is a temporary, it will run down along the frame like the others
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4541.jpg

Cables, cables, cables
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4544.jpg

Got all the switches on the dash labeled
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4547.jpg

And now it's time to catch up on some sleep, I believe..

[syborg tt]

Really cool Build - thank you for sharing the pictures

[Blue70]

That color is sexy!! :hail:

[jmax]

car looks good

[formula98]

Very nice! I'm glad to see a 79 build. Keep the posts coming.....

[Vegas69]

Digging you build man.:thumbsup:

[silver63c10]

Thanks again for the comments guys.

More progress this weekend, got the dash sorted out, everything is functioning on it; all the rear lights are functional, just have to get the front lights hooked up and the nose on. Then a bit of front end set up and and squaring up the rear and it will be ready to hit the road... (!!!!!) :mrgreen:

Racepak, I'm liking it a lot already..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4557.jpg

Belts are in, just have to do the mount for the crotch belt on the passenger side
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4566.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4567.jpg

A few artsy shots, haven't had any in a while
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4579.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4581.jpg

[silver63c10]

Some more pics...

Back off the stands for a bit, gotta raise the front springs..again..but god I love this look..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4588.jpg

Taillights! Didn't think to turn them on..d'oh
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4595.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4596.jpg

Invisihood
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4606.jpg

This might present a problem..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4611.jpg

Hoping to take it up the road and back next weekend...that would make for an extremely happy thanksgiving.

[silver63c10]

Couple new videos with much better audio -

A look at the dash with it running

9EXYjg7raHA

Running, taken outside the car

A67f8ncgjaw

[Lemons]

This is a great looking Camaro. I love the look of the soft 8's. That car just looks plain wicked. Can't wait to see how she performs. Great job on the build.

Lemons

[silver63c10]

Well, I'm a happy boy after today...

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4653.jpg

Still got a few things to hang on the front and carpet to put in, but it's right where we were hoping, with 53/47 distribution. With the frame we built for the nose it shouldn't add much more than 20 or 30 pounds to the front. Also made some stands for our dollies to make aligning everything easier.

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4658.jpg

Would have gotten started on hanging the nose, but we had to take off to look at an enclosed trailer. Not bad for a few hours work.

[G-Body]

Looks like a way fun build!
That car is a wheel change away from Absolute Beauty!

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

LOVE it

glad to see one of those done up.

[GvEman]

That looks incredible beautifull! Collor is amazing! Actualy one of the first '74-'80 camaros that i realy like! But then its only the body that are stock ;)

[silver63c10]

T'was a good Sunday..got the nose on and pulled it outside, pretty good feeling. After we pulled it back in we decided to turn it around so it actually got to touch the road (and I fought off the temptation to take it down the street since we still haven't aligned everything..).

New video..I think it's getting louder as it gets broken in...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq7qZq5VGf8

It Fits!
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4662.jpg

Well, almost...damn aftermarket fenders. I managed to get it lined up, after an hour or so of work. Not overly happy with the gaps on everything but it's not bad for a glass hood and a mismatched set of fenders.
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4663.jpg

Raised it up a bit more in the front, needs a shorter spring to bring the rear down a touch and I'll be happy
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4674.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4686.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4692.jpg

[silver63c10]

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4696.jpg

A bit lighter than the original bumper..just don't lean on it..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4704.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4712.jpg

[Speedjunkie]

What are you going to use the car for, weekend? scca? autocross?

Looks great!:thumbsup:

[rlplive]

looks great, you can't beat the steelie cragers for price

[rich-allen]

I really like that color :thumbsup:

It's amazing how much the body changed from 69.



Rich

[silver63c10]

What are you going to use the car for, weekend? scca? autocross?

It will see the drag strip the most, but autocross, track days, and the Texas Mile are in the plans.


Well, Christmas was fun, 4 straight 6+ hour days in the shop, got it insulated, windowed, headlighted and blinkered, and front and rear aligned, and finally took it down the road Sunday afternoon (before the first of the year, I knew we could do it!!)

Video (that I'm too lazy to edit) - couple hard hits of the throttle in there, just stick with it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9eFJx9Q0oc

We had ordered Hushmat for it..then decided against it due to both the price and the weight..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4781.jpg

Went to Lowe's and got this, $16 for a big roll, weighs next to nothing
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4782.jpg

And used velcro to lay it down so we can pull it out if needed
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4797.jpg

Continued..

[silver63c10]

Also did a little resto work on the original door panels.

Started with this..here's why we don't smoke, kids
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4800.jpg

Cleaned..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4801.jpg

And dyed..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4796.jpg

Gave it eyes..gotta do a little more work on the headlight trim rings before they can go on
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4787.jpg

And tackled the window hurdle (luckily they will only go back in one way)
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4815.jpg

Registration, insurance, and some carpet and we're ready to go. Now to get everything broken in..

[ScotI]

I was just out @ a local drag strip here in N.Tx last night (Redline Raceway, Greenville Tx) & saw this car @ the track.

I thought it was super clean & went to get a closer look. The more I looked... the more I liked. I got to meet & chat w/the owners & bench-race a little while learning their plans for the car. Very nice group to say the least.

It wasn't until I was driving home that I kept running the car thru my brain thinking...... "man, it seems like I've seen that car before somewhere". Sure enough, I started looking back through here @ a Camaro I remembered that I thought was a pretty neat build & it was indeed the same car.

Again, nice car & even nicer people. Good luck @ Drag Week!
Scot

[MaxHarvard]

Good looking car! :yes:

[silver63c10]

Again, nice car & even nicer people. Good luck @ Drag Week!
Scot

Wow, just now found this, I presume you're the one we talked trucks with for a while? Thanks for the kind words, I guess I could update this once in a while :lol:

We've been focused on Drag Week since we got the car rolling, so it hasn't seen much time in the twisties yet. I'm thinking it'll find a set of Hoosier or Kumho slicks soon after September, I'm itching to get it a little sideways.

It's all together, interior is pretty much finished up, here's a few pics and videos to sum up the last 7 months or so -

Got it all legal, put some street miles on it
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4851B.jpg

Recall is fun, I love the Racepak
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5093A.JPG

Pulled the motor to look over everything and change out the clutch
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5337.jpg

Took it back to the track, GRENADED said new clutch
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/clutch2.JPG

Threw some carpet in it a few weeks ago
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5497.jpg

After a few months of frustration, it finally earned a name
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/spawn.JPG

And, got our Drag Week trailer setup all sorted out last weekend
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5610.jpg

Everything's pretty much set, just gotta get as many passes on it between now and then as we can to get it dialed in and get our routine down. Best so far was back in March, 7.26 in the 1/8th. We'll be going to Ennis in a few weeks to see what it's got in the 1/4.

And, finally, a few videos...

TqF1huy41fc

vE2X7nQ6nPU

[frankenstang]

Looks like that scatter shield was the BEST money spent. I read thru the posts and saw the DFX clutch, said to myself 'that wont last long' which one was the one that shattered?

[silver63c10]

I can definitely thank Lakewood for at least my right foot..and probably my left too. The DFX is actually back in it now, and seems to be holding up pretty well. We pulled it, thinking it was cooked, but figured out it had some preload on the throwout bearing. We tossed it back in after the second one let go just to see if it would hold up and it's going like a champ so far. It's going to get a lot more testing before we haul off to Indiana, though.

The one that blew up was from a local shop we were recommended to. It was a stock style Borg & Beck pressure plate, and lasted 2 and a half passes, launched it at about 6k in 2nd gear :lol: Got our money back on it, but it ruined the Fidanza aluminum flywheel in the process. Live and learn..

[ScotI]

Wow, just now found this, I presume you're the one we talked trucks with for a while? Thanks for the kind words, I guess I could update this once in a while :lol:


Yep... It was me that spoke w/you, your dad & grand-father @ RedLine. Ouch on that clutch.... Did you need a new suit after that lil' bang? :lol:

[silver63c10]

Yep... It was me that spoke w/you, your dad & grand-father @ RedLine. Ouch on that clutch.... Did you need a new suit after that lil' bang? :lol:

It actually didn't even really phase me, it just made a little pop and sounded like a bunch of gravel rattling around under the floor. I was more confused than anything else, then when I pushed in the clutch and the pedal stayed on the floor I put two and two together :lol:

[silver63c10]

Had a good Friday night, it likes 4.86's a LOT :cool:

Awesome pics from texpic.net
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs199.snc1/6731_692317897460_23902038_40034556_6263629_n.jpg

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs199.snc1/6731_692317907440_23902038_40034557_1582100_n.jpg

And some videos..
97NiqgFrVWE

cusnJIVcPoI

Best so far, would have been a 6 with decent air, I think
xPkoLJMU5E8

Carried the wheels a bit on this one, launched at 5800. Giddy laughter followed for the next hour or so..
lAoCDXJ5eUY

It went 7.33, 7.86, 7.33, 7.23, 7.35, and 7.31..the thing's a bracket car when I have all my crap together :D

[ScotI]

Schweet!

[silver63c10]

Got some 1/4 mile passes with it back a few weeks ago, drove it to Texas Motorplex (~130 miles, trailer in tow), made 5 passes, and drove back home, trouble free.

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5606.jpg

Best launch of the night
A1a4-LHnAPs

And best ET - 11.36 at 121
QtzuiJY6ECE

I decided I'd work on a few little projects this weekend, then we got it tucked away and ready for the haul to Indiana Friday (ahhhhhh, finally almost time..)

I'll be posting updates to our website each day during Drag Week - http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/blog

One thing that's bugged me the last few months is not having the lower grill, and not wanting to spend the money on a repro one that I'm not sure would fit in there with the way things are kind of deflected down there. So begins the cheap ass kinda hokey lower grill project..

Step one, hack it down to the appropriate height with the bandsaw..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5619b.jpg

Scotch Brite, Trim Black..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5619c.jpg

Shoot a few screws in the top and it's..well, better than it was..
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5614.jpg

Gave it a quick wash and a blast down the road to make sure everything's still kosher, and it's time to put it to bed..

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5616.jpg

The little trailer fits like a glove behind it
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5619a.jpg

[silver63c10]

Well, we survived, finally made it back to Texas in one piece Sunday afternoon.

Final count, 1750 miles pulling the car with the truck, 1200 miles driving the car track to track, 21 passes on the car shifting at 7,400 every gear, and no major problems except changing the water pump in Michigan after it started pushing grease out of the front bearing. Not a bad week, I don't think.

We ended up finishing with the 5th quickest average in Daily Driver, 11.20. Got our 10 on the second pass Friday, and managed to make it to the third round of the daily driver bracket race before the brain took over and I red lit against the guy who won overall, so I was pretty pleased with that too.

Some pretty cool shots from 1320video (http://www.1320video.com) -

Our mongoloid mismatched wheel setup on the street
http://www.1320video.com/img/DW09Friday/DSC00557.sized.jpg

http://www.1320video.com/img/DW09Friday/IMG_1818.sized.jpg

Function > Form
http://www.1320video.com/img/DW09Friday/IMG_1819.sized.jpg

http://www.1320video.com/img/DW09Friday/IMG_1820.sized.jpg

http://www.1320video.com/img/DW09Friday/DSC00796.sized.jpg

And my favorites..
http://www.1320video.com/img/DW09Tuesday/DSC00165.sized.jpg

Took care of our first 6 and first 10 in one shot. I was on the tree fairly well by Friday, too.
http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/p_2048_1536_3D6CFC6D-5E41-459B-B3AF-B2EFE11A7BB7.jpeg

Two of the better passes -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFTs3sFz4bo - Day 3 at Norwalk, wheels up launch, still on 93 and plugs loaded up from the 180 mile drive that morning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ltYV74tVhk - Day 5 at Muncie, 10.99 at 124 on 100 octane

[syborg tt]

that is awesome - Kudo's to you guy's

[1964_442]

nice car!!!!!

[gearheads78]

kick ass car ....nice job making it through drag week.

any changes made getting it to 6.99/10.9 range or just better air

[silver63c10]

I keep forgetting to update my thread here. We made one last trip to the track back in November, ran a best of 11.08 (twice..) and then headed home to ponder autocross setup.

orb2jN118M4

The car's had a moderate oil leak off the back of the motor for some time, and it gradually increased to a pour the last few months so we decided to pull it to look everything over, since we've put nearly 3,000 miles on it along with close to 100 passes.

C0hEOi7UwIw

Meanwhile, I've been thrashing on my Scion getting into the corner carving mood..one track day and an autocross already down for the year.

PUUKTNqc-Uk

And, we got the motor torn down last weekend. Had a few intake valves leaking by, and one hole had some blow by on the rings, so we decided to tear it all the way down and freshen it up. I'm hooked on this timelapse thing :)

z7ZPzxhlBts

We've got a posi center section for the 9" to go in place of the spool, and we'll most likely throw some Schoenfeld header mufflers on and leave the rest of the exhaust off so we can sit it down on the ground. Now the fun part-sorting out our Frankenstein suspension :willy:

[silver63c10]

kick ass car ....nice job making it through drag week.

any changes made getting it to 6.99/10.9 range or just better air

Thanks, sorry I just now saw this. About all we changed after getting up there was the launch RPM, moved up from 5400 the last time we ran down here up to 6000 the last day. Also ran it a little deeper each shift as the week went, 7500 compared to about 7300 before. The air was definitely the biggest factor.

[MSchu]

I was gonna ask whats new, any updates but then saw the website and blog...:thumbsup:

[silver63c10]

Wow, life gets in the way a lot here lately, been forever since I updated this. We've pushed the autocross/g-machine phase back somewhat indefinitely, after bringing the car out to the track in the spring we figured out the synchros in the TREMEC are pretty much trashed. Turns out they mean it when they say not to shift it past 7k, who knew?

So, instead of rebuilding it, and my dad still not being able to drive the car, we elected to build a TH350 and so he could go bracket racing. It still launches all crazy, and we've finally cracked 6's in Texas. After flirting with 7.0's all summer, we finally got into the 6's a few weekends ago. Hopefully that translates to mid 10.80s in the 1/4, too, we'll find out before we put it to bed for winter.

Car still looks the same, except we put big yellow numbers on the windows :lol:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs422.snc4/46547_843566878290_23902038_44874295_2673733_n.jpg

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/p_2048_1536_EA8140E2-6112-474C-963C-7A7D5B0E32AF.jpeg

[ScotI]

1.53 60'..... And guys claim those dang truck arms can't hook :) . Big converter for the t350?

[silver63c10]

1.53 60'..... And guys claim those dang truck arms can't hook :) . Big converter for the t350?

Yep, I like our old farm truck suspension :cool: It's actually a tenth off from what it was with the stick, we saw consistent mid 1.40's before, as low as 1.43. The converter is a leftover from the old days, little 8" set up for a 468 with a trans-brake in a dragster. It only stalls to about 2200.

With 5.14s and a looser converter it would pick up some more, but using what we have laying around is more our style :lol:

[silver63c10]

Holy thread resurrection Batman - time for a little update and some new plans!

The little Hellspawn Camaro is still kicking. After two and a half seasons of bracket racing, along with a total drivetrain overhaul finally done in my truck (http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=30856), we've finally gotten back to talk of the second phase of the project (and the relevant part to this site, oddly enough): Autocross and track days.

We'll be heading to the bracket finals with it in a few weeks, then serious discussions of the plan for next year will begin. Already have a posi going together to replace the spool, and a six speed from American Powertrain is likely next on the list.

So, the real question is: how crazy would it be to run an Optima qualifier and Drag Week in the same year? :willy:

And, what would an update be without a few pics?

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6104/6349798358_82a36d53c0_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6093/6349049571_17f2cd6e5d_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6222/6349049603_3fc19be484_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6044/6349798482_3e979d6ac7_z.jpg

[WSSix]

Nice pictures. I really like the burn out photo :thumbsup:

[silver63c10]

Let's bring this back from the dead one more time - it's finally time to start hanging corners with this thing!

...

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2805/12645944943_aa6b555015_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/kgtLRv)

..well, it will be this summer sometime. Hopefully..you know how that goes.

So we made the decision going into winter last year that it was time to do something besides go in a straight line. We originally built the car to drag race, standing mile, and road race/autocross, with as much of the original build equipment as possible.

A few detours have come in along the way, but we're heading toward the autocross stage now (which will conveniently set us up for some mile racing as well).

So, what's on the list of things to do?

Engine refresh (check)
Ditch the TH350 trans (check)
Gear swap from 5.83s/spool to 4.86s/Torsen diff (check)
Brake flush/bleed (check)
Get a new manual trans since we sold the old one (check)
Faattt wheels and tires (partial check - 265/285 RS-3s to start)
Exhaust hangdownectomy to facilitate way lower ride height (soon)
Up the front spring rate
Handling alignment
Install brake bias adjuster
...
..and much more that I'm sure I'm forgetting

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5541/12645945023_f922b359c6_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/kgtLST)

We opted to go with an American Powertrain TKO600 Extreme. We put a stock TKO in the car during the initial build, but found after 130 or so passes at the drag strip and a few thousand street miles, it wouldn't stand up to 7k+ shifts (as they said it wouldn't in the first place).

AP claims their upgrades to the TKO facilitate a higher power rating (not of concern to us just yet), and more importantly, much improved high RPM shifting (definitely of concern to us).

After several delays, phone calls, and other mishaps, it's finally in our possession and ready to be bled and tossed in with a new Lakewood bellhousing.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5501/14039644867_7195e18ccd_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/noCRhx)

We plan on hitting the local autocrosses that I've been running in my 350Z daily driver, as well as at least the Texas USCA event in 2015. With homebuilt suspension, the high-winding, torque peaky 377 and all that gear, it should be an unholy terror.. and I can't wait to get a taste of it :)

[WSSix]

Good luck! sounds like a cool plan.

[silver63c10]

Quick update, after several slight roadblocks we are on the way to killing some cones.

Got to do a quick test drive yesterday and everything seems to be functioning normally. Need to do some alignment and corner balance work, get an oil cooler plumbed up, and a few other odds and ends and we'll be ready to disturb the peace.

Here's a quick video from yesterday's fun -

o_FFVEDPuy0

[CamaroMike]

Do you like the RS3's as much as I do? Car looks fun!

[silver63c10]

Thanks, it's an absolute blast to row it through the gears again.

The RS3s work exceptionally well on my 350Z, I love them. Sadly, they only go up to 285 though, so we'll have to switch once we step up to wider wheels on the Camaro.

Looking at the Rivals, Kumho XS, or Falkens, but haven't done much serious research yet.

[WSSix]

Congrats on getting it back on the road again. Have fun dialing it in.

[silver63c10]

Well, 5 years and change after getting it on the road for the first time, we're officially registered for its first autocross this Sunday.

Consequently, last weekend involved a pretty good thrash to get ready. Items on the list included buttoning down the updated shifter boot, toning down the exhaust, and getting it aligned.

Exhaust silencing was pretty simple. I took some 2.5" tubing, split it and offset the pieces, then clearanced the edges to more or less cover the the full inside diameter of the pipe as a sort of whoopity-doo baffle as it exits.

Since the car has an X-pipe, Spintechs, and 3.5" oval dumps in front of the tire, there was plenty of room to improve. This relatively simple solution seems to have toned it down substantially, but the proof will be in us not getting kicked out Sunday. There's no hard decibel limit at this site, but flat-out obnoxious cars are up for a slap on the wrist. No more bleeding ears: success.

Next up, the Racequip shift boot and custom floor panel (because nothing bolts on, of course). This will get a coat of SEM trim black and some nice button head fasteners down the road, but this will do for now. No more hot air blowing in my face on the road: success.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3895/14798642172_bc6c12518b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oxGUJY)

Removing the dust caps to attach our Longacre alignment tool revealed that the drivers side spindle had started to contact the cap ever so slightly, leading to shimmering grease outside the outer bearing. Nothing throwing a few sparks can't cure.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5558/14796640004_589f8474a5_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oxwDyQ)

With that out of the way, it was on to the fun part - finally dialing some camber into those fancy control arms we installed way back when. Base setup will be -3 deg camber, just under 4 deg caster, and a 1/16th toe in. Adjustments at the track this time around will be limited to shock adjustments on the single adjustable QA1s and brake bias changes using the newly installed Wilwood magic knob.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3886/14612339549_337f51d38b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ogf4sM)

And, finally, how she sits (well, this was before the alignment, but you get the gist). The Enkei 18x9.5/10.5 wheels, admittedly, look much more at home on my 350Z, but I can get used to the look if they'll stick and go.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3907/14612481247_fe6c0b0b4d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ogfMzR)

Here goes nothin'..

[WSSix]

Give it hell! Just don't break anything, lol. Good luck!

[silver63c10]

Thanks! I gave it hell, and didn't break anything, so we'll call this trip a success.

All in all, for the first runs this day couldn't have gone any better. Eased through the first run - well, first half of the first run, and picked up from there (see the video below for how quickly things escalated). The car feels great overall. Pretty docile, really, compared to what I was expecting, both in terms of handling and getting the power down.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5570/14830908124_d3bff6a5f9_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oAyhhu)

We had a great turnout of old iron at this event, with 6 entries in the CAM class. It was cool to have several reference points, and we ended up 4th in class. Not bad for a starting point, but there's loads of room for improvement in both the car and my comfort level with it.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3881/14830186611_a1f47d6792_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oAuzNB)

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the feel. Naturally, though, there's already a list of changes to be made. Here's a rundown of the issues to be rectified -

- the rear brakes just flat aren't biting. Not sure if it's master cylinder sizing, bias bar adjustment, or other issue, but it's contributing to a ton of front dive and subsequent bottom out under braking, leading us to -

- front spring rate. Specifically, lack thereof right now. We went with 450# springs on the QA1 drop-in coilovers originally, and I pretty much knew they weren't going to be enough. 650s (the highest they have in this configuration) are on the way as of today, with eyes toward replacing them with outboard mounted units tied to the cage downbars this winter

- the rear end is quite skittish. It's controllable, and fairly predictable, but there's just not much grip. The rear sway bar will be disconnected for the next event as a starting point for correcting this

- the 4.86 gears might be a bit too tall, as this course probably could have used a shift to 3rd in a couple of spots. This was a big course, but was pretty standard for the clubs we run with

- stock 9" axle bearings don't like autocross - Strange o-ringed replacements are on the way to correct a bit of leakage on both sides

- oil cooler was already on the list, and proved to be needed. Temps were in the high 240s by the last runs

- MEAT - we'll be investigating how much rubber we can squeeze under the front in the next few weeks (rear is wide open inside and out). The plan right now is for Forgestar F14s, most likely in 10 and 12 inch widths.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3882/14646609799_7456c5b928_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ojgGPa)

The day was pretty much like operating an amusement park ride, with different passengers hopping in for 4 of the 6 runs - all leaving with a big silly grin on their face. By the end we were getting better at explaining the 5-points to the uninitiated.

It might not be the quickest (my Z would have pretty easily been 3+ seconds quicker), but touching 7500 rpm multiple times, and constant wiggle through all the corners makes for a hell of an exciting ride.

Here's video of the second and last runs of the day - turn up the speakers for full effect.

CP9ah5PK2pg

And finally, a quick shot of my (thankfully) helmeted mug on the way to the line. The grin may be covered, but I assure you it's ear to ear :lol:

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3891/14646730207_036192f17d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ojhjBa)

[WSSix]

Glad you had fun. Good luck getting it sorted out. There's plenty of info here and from the site sponsors that can help.

[silver63c10]

Update time - two successful trips in the books!

Got back out weekend before last for the North Texas Camaro Club's autocross, had an absolute blast and got a ton of seat time, which is exactly what I needed at this point with the car.

The majority of our changes made for positive results. Brakes are much improved thanks to both bias adjustment and a change to Polymatrix B pads, as you can tell by a few lockups in the video. Rear grip was much better with the rear sway bar disconnected, as well.

Moving to the stiffer springs up front reduced a lot of the dive, but the car is still way loose all over both in corners and lateral acceleration.

We have some plans on the drawing board for both issues, including building some adjustment into the front sway bar and eventually moving to an outboard mounted coilover vs. the QA1 ProCoils as we're at the max spring rate already.

On to the video..

buXw9TN9AWU

And a few pictures that illustrate the roll/dive/squat issues reasonably well..

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2941/15222771710_f4d7a3d91c_z.jpg

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3930/15222678880_0c8bff3e50_z.jpg

[silver63c10]

Offseason update time!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7457/16205527089_9cf61358d7_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qG2yBt)
So, the 3DTuning app is a pretty sweet way to pass the time..anyway.

After a pretty unsuccessful trip to finish the year due to some (hopefully since resolved) steering issues, we went into winter with a few goals.

- Rolling flat - getting adjustability in the front sway bar, whether that meant buying a Speedway setup or modifying our current conventional bar

- Rolling fat - get the new wheels and tires sorted out

- Stopping reliably - new Wilwood 6-piston binders up front will take the heat of track work much better than the current 4-pistons, which will move to the back in place of the uber-budget stock metric front calipers

Swaybar Mod

So, swaybar adjustability. In the interest of cost, modifying the existing bar was the best option. One of the more interesting setups I've seen was on an IROC race car that Legendary Motorcar restored several years ago, which used a sleeve that slid back and forth at the end of the bar, and we set about replicating this in our own way.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8657/16204317900_cf821708b2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qFVnao)

Using some chrome round stock that was leftover from our hydraulic business, a sleeve was machined to the proper inside diameter, split, and drilled for a crossbolt. A heim attaches to tabs at the bottom, which attaches to the lower control arm.

5 positions are available, and even the first one should be substantially stiffer than the original. This will hopefully bring the rear bar back into play, as we disconnected it early on to help rear grip.

Rolling Fat

On to the rolling stock situation. Our original plan, thinking that space was limited more than it ended up being in front, was for 10/275 up front, and 12/315 or 335 out back. After some test fitting and measuring, a much, much cheaper set of 18x11s were sourced from XXR. We'll be rocking 315s all the way around, and there's room in the budget for brake upgrades.

Since we initially got it on the road, the wheels we've had have never been what I had in mind, but what we could work with at the time. I'm..in love with these already.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7338/15771689993_f13e1e43fe_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/q2G2Xx)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7331/16390781612_f52b20755b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qYp3jY)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7378/16390781672_ff66891544_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qYp3m1)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7400/16204305710_35f6138978_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qFVixd)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7313/16390781662_7f3384b857_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qYp3kQ)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7367/16390160931_4677e10069_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qYkRPz)

The plan for the year is hitting several autocrosses before late March, when we'll head to TMS for the Ultimate Street Car Association event. New brakes will be worked out before then (I'd feel much better with more caliper all the way around for the road course and speed stop).

Our season is supposed to start this weekend, and the plan was to test out new datalogging equipment in my daily driver Z. It's not looking like the weather is going to cooperate despite the fact it was 80 degrees here today, though (sorry, Northerners :confused18:). Ready to get going..

[syborg tt]

I really like this car and can't wait to see it with the 315's all the way around.

[silver63c10]

I really like this car and can't wait to see it with the 315's all the way around.

Thanks Marty - that means a lot coming from you. Both of your builds have been outstanding!

[WSSix]

Love the new look, Duston. Good luck with the coming season.

[silver63c10]

Love the new luck, Duston. Good luck with the coming season.

Thanks Trey! I'm even more pumped after yesterday.

Was supposed to be autocrossing Saturday, but Mother Nature had other plans. So, I did the next best thing and headed up to the shop and got busy.

Put the last touch on the exhaust - turnouts to help it not pump the car full of hydrocarbons. These are clamped and spot welded for now, when we have a free day the system will come off for full welding and paint. Seems even quieter now than before - still sings nicely at 7 grand, though.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7384/16231580258_9752322d3e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qJk6j3)

And then the carnage began. The tires cleared pretty well at ride height - but the pesky suspension insists on having down travel, which created a problem at the back when turned.

So, took a deep breath, made peace with various deities, and got to work..

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7390/16417509721_bc3d65be9a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/r1L2Er)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7456/16393310586_b0ab92a887_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qYC16Y)

And, a few minutes later..clearance, Clarence.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7283/16418301462_af18b8fc6a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/r1Q629)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7384/16419236865_7c05052113_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/r1UT5M)

We did a matching cut on the drivers side, which is a reproduction fender that is made completely different at the back, but still lacked a bit to be desired for clearance. We'll paint these exposed edges with POR-15 to protect against rust, and maybe add an aluminum trim piece to tidy it up later.

Then, it was time for road testing - and gratuitous amounts of pictures, just because. It actually drives great on the highway, way better than I expected with a bit a toe out and that much rubber up front.

It also feels like the swaybar adjustability made a good deal of difference too. Much flatter in a bit of unoccupied highway slalom testing. The rear bar is now hooked back up, and hopefully we'll have solved a lot of the boat-ishness in transition.

Anyway, on to the picture binge..

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7432/16393267606_32221f2bdc_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qYBMjW)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8620/16233329647_6ca6e12e0c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qJu4kV)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7312/16233329287_a745e078c9_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qJu4eH)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8596/16231579918_f213010469_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qJk6db)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7327/16417471541_8fef301904_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/r1KQja)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7393/16231832950_5f57cbb11b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qJmoqN)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8679/16233328487_e945788f42_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qJu3ZV)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8653/16233328287_084e5ce732_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qJu3Wt)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7456/16418299742_7020fd8191_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/r1Q5vu)

Still on the to-do list:
- Wilwood 6-pistons for the front are on the way
- Finishing mounting our datalogger Android tablet on the dash
- OUSCI-legal rear spoiler, and possibly a bit of flat black attitude if it works out like I'm thinking

[Zedzag]

Could you post up the full specs of the wheels? Backspacing, width, cost etc?

Looks badass!

[silver63c10]

Could you post up the full specs of the wheels? Backspacing, width, cost etc?

Looks badass!

Thanks, and sure thing. The one catch on them is they're Ford car pattern, which worked for us since we've had that on the rear from the start with the 9" and were able to switch the pattern on the Wilwood hubs.

Here's the info from NLMotoring (http://www.nlmotoring.com/XXR-531-Wheels-18x11-Flat-Black-p/53181542n1.htm), where we ordered them:

Wheel Size
18x11

Color
Flat Black

Bolt Pattern
5-100/5-114.3

Offset
+20

Backspacing
6.79

Lip Specs
3.5" Flat Black Lip

Centerbore
73.1

Load Rating (LBS)
1580

TPMS Compatible
Yes

Approx. Weight
27.3

JWL/VIA Certified
Yes

Required Lug Nuts
Tuner Style

[silver63c10]

So the plan for this weekend is to hit the first event of the year with it..but I'm not sure if mother nature is going to cooperate. Rain chances have been up and down the past few days, and taking it in the rain won't really tell us anything.

It was 80 and sunny last weekend..sorry, Northerners. Got to spend two days at the incredible Texas World Speedway beating the crap out of my daily driver.

This place is an absolute treasure, and sadly, the property will become a master planned community filled with cookie cutter homes and generic retail in the next few years.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7407/16539815406_374c4ac592_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rcyST9)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7388/16379530939_a6974cef98_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qXpnTR)

Best lap -

COpqaLeKqb4

Think dry thoughts for us..

[LS7 Z/28]

I really like the direction you are going and those new wheels are perfect. You should fab up a front splitter to compliment the spoiler you're planning. Good luck in the upcoming events you're planning on attending.

[syborg tt]

Hey Duston,

I love the fact that you cut the fenders. Now go back and cut them a few more inches.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7283/16418301462_af18b8fc6a_z.jpg

Here is the rendering that Bob Thrash did for me on the front fender modification. Which I think would work perfectly on your car.

http://garagescene.net/gallery3/var/resizes/Builders/Sportmachines/SM70Camaro/70%20Camaro%20012.jpg

[silver63c10]

I really like the direction you are going and those new wheels are perfect. You should fab up a front splitter to compliment the spoiler you're planning. Good luck in the upcoming events you're planning on attending.

Thanks! Splitter has been on my mind, but I don't know that we can legally do anything besides a stock Z/28 style and still be USCA-legal. It's going to be a stretch to get anything aero-wise done in time for the Texas event either way, but I need to dig up some clarification on it.


http://garagescene.net/gallery3/var/resizes/Builders/Sportmachines/SM70Camaro/70%20Camaro%20012.jpg

That sectioning idea is crazy cool! It would take some planning to make the grill work right on a rubber nose, but it could be done.

The cut we did could definitely be opened up and brought all the way up to the crease and look better straight on from the side, but it's so low and tucked under it's hardly noticeable as is. Combined with the fact that we're just touching up the paint on the edge down there vs. getting them re-sprayed (our paint guy doesn't need any tradeouts right now, sadly), it has to stay like this for a while.

Eventually I'd like to build some custom lower arms and bring the lower ball joint forward a bit - with the caster we're running the wheel sits farther back in the opening than it should. But that's a ways off..

[LS7 Z/28]

Thanks! Splitter has been on my mind, but I don't know that we can legally do anything besides a stock Z/28 style and still be USCA-legal. It's going to be a stretch to get anything aero-wise done in time for the Texas event either way, but I need to dig up some clarification on it..

The way they worded their rulebook confused a lot of people. You can run a custom splitter, side skirts, diffuser etc. Anything you want. They are just limiting the size and dimensions of the rear spoilers or wings. I talked with an official about it because I am doing similar things with my '69. I think a satin black front splitter and NASCAR blade style rear spoiler would look great on this car.

[silver63c10]

The way they worded their rulebook confused a lot of people. You can run a custom splitter, side skirts, diffuser etc. Anything you want. They are just limiting the size and dimensions of the rear spoilers or wings. I talked with an official about it because I am doing similar things with my '69. I think a satin black front splitter and NASCAR blade style rear spoiler would look great on this car.

Interesting. Yeah, the way it's worded it sounds like if it's not factory it's out. I think I'm too used to SCCA rules that are overly specific..

A blade type deal is pretty much what we have in mind on the spoiler, just a matter of finding the cleanest/simplest way to do it. We've got a second decklid and factory Z/28 spoiler that will probably be the base for everything, but still thinking on it.

[bsharpe]

Car looks good. I have planned on running the 315/30/18 Falkens on all 4 corners of my TA. They look taller and better than I thought they would.

[BigJoe]

awesome build, love to see another guy rocking a c10 and a camaro

[silver63c10]

Car looks good. I have planned on running the 315/30/18 Falkens on all 4 corners of my TA. They look taller and better than I thought they would.

Thanks! Purely for looks it should really be a little bit lower, but we would run into massive rub issues.

awesome build, love to see another guy rocking a c10 and a camaro

Thanks! We can't all have such good taste, haha.


Soo, trip 1 for the season didn't go to plan. The forecast was hit or miss all week, and as we got closer it was apparent that we would need some luck on the run order to get a dry session (as we all know, the best way to ensure perfect weather is to leave the car at home). Sure enough, our luck held true to form and we drew last group, running during the heaviest rain of the day.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8564/16495206998_845785426f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/r8CfmE)

With no wipers, and the goal being to learn a bit about the changes to our setup, it just wasn't possible or logical to try to run it, so we hopped into the Z and splish-splashed some of the slowest, driftiest runs of the day.

Next up is an event with a different club at the same venue next weekend, hopefully Mother Nature will play ball this time.

In other news, I went ahead and took the plunge and registered for the USCA event at TMS. The car is a giant question mark, but if worse comes to worse I'll stuff the 315s under the Z and just drive it :headspin:

Was pretty bummed to miss out on this last year, especially after hearing how much track time everyone got, so I'm pretty excited. Hopefully the beast will cooperate..

[silver63c10]

Success! Outing two was much better, thanks to fancy modern conveniences like: Windshield wipers!

On to the play in a second, first up was some shop time Saturday. The fiberglass hood has a lip all the way around that prevented the wipers from moving, so that was the first item on the list. To the bodysaw, again..


https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8583/16142585334_64a2ed4fd2_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qAsYdN)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7591/16764890215_b56e649395_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rxsrMi)


After a few times on and off and some extra trimming, things were motivating properly. Seeing in the rain: check.

On to issues of slightly less pressing importance: aero. A spoiler has always been a part of the plan, and getting it on before Optima would be lovely, so we nabbed some posterboard and started the mockup process.

This measures 8" high in the center, and will be mounted on piano hinge with adjustable struts running forward about the way the tape is done for support.


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7605/16557617167_a770ef4590_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/re97J4)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7624/16577308098_428a4d83f3_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rfT39S)


So we registered for outing 2 a while back, and of course the weather forecast deteriorated all week, leading up to morning showers the day of the event. I was hopeful of getting some dry runs in, and thankfully the rain moved out and provided a mostly dry session in the afternoon.

The only minor issue was some tire rub on the drivers side front under load, but some, ahem, finessing, with a small crescent wrench and a big hammer between sessions seems to have solved the problem.


https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8730/16577497000_45ce563379_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rfU1iN)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8561/16578751849_48b2c96329_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rg1rk8)
Don't throw away your inner fenders, kids!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7595/16577498180_144a061cd7_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rfU1E9)
One of the best reactions the underhood scene has received - guy who tech'd us asks 'Where's all the rest of the stuff that's supposed to be under here??'


And finally, video of the fastest run, which was good for 3rd in class behind a Z06 and an M3 (I'll take that!).

I've got a lot of work to do on my driving. I'm still overcompensating for the differences from my 350Z, which results in a lot of overdriving and anticipating some of the more evil things that it thankfully doesn't do anymore.

The drastic increase in swaybar stiffness, combined with adjusting the uppers in the front has calmed the car down drastically. There's very, very little roll side to side, and it seems to have cured the front dive/rear end hike under braking as well. Much more responsive turning, and way more predictable through the corner.


IF4kp0aQmTQ


Super excited to get some warm dry pavement under it - I think it's going to be a ton of fun once I get caught up to it.

[flatoutz]

Love the car.It's cool that you pretty much do everything with it.My question is with front wheel & tire combo.How much clearance do you have near the control arms, sway bar & frame etc. at full lock?

Mike,

[Panteracer]

Just wondering what offsets you
have on the 18" wheels

Thanks. Bob

[silver63c10]

Love the car.It's cool that you pretty much do everything with it.My question is with front wheel & tire combo.How much clearance do you have near the control arms, sway bar & frame etc. at full lock?

Thanks! We had to do a little bit of clearancing on the swaybar, which is a 1.25" Suspension Techniques piece. We also welded a small piece of metal (1/8" or so) on the steering stops to gain a little more clearance there. Doesn't appear to have hurt the travel much.

I feel like they would probably hit on the stock inner fenders in the rear, but I don't know for sure.

Just wondering what offsets you
have on the 18" wheels

They are 18x11, +20 all the way around.

[Panteracer]

Thanks for the info on the wheel sizes and offsets

Bob

[silver63c10]

More progress! We took the weekend off from playing to get the spoiler built and wrap up some other miscellaneous things. Of course, the SCCA event on Sunday had lovely dry, warm weather, but so it goes.

Little items included chasing down a leak in the front which turned out to be accumulated rain water, swapping rear brake pads to Wilwood Polymatrix Bs from a stock compound, and doing some interior cleaning.

The big ticket item was out back, and I'm extremely happy with the results.

After scrounging our scrap pile, we didn't have a suitable piece of aluminum, so we hit up OnlineMetals for a piece cut to our specs. This provided us with a square, straight-edged piece, and eliminated a ton of work - all for around $60. The material itself is .100" thick 6061-T6.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7611/16211108514_4acfe0b16e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qGwaLW)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7286/16832340882_3297dcbc6a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rDq9vQ)


We sourced two pairs of Wehr's struts from Performance Bodies to provide the strength for the setup, along with some piano hinge from the Lowe's cabinetry department for lower mounts.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7621/16213512853_4a018091a4_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qGJuv4)

Our secondary decklid was swapped on (the tail-less look is still cool for drag racing and the street, so drilling into the painted one wasn't an attractive option), and the marks we made previously for the template were recreated.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8650/16213512943_23f344f110_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qGJuwB)

Each mounting screw required a hole all the way through both layers, which was then opened to 5/8" on the inside to accommodate a washer - 4 separate drilling tasks per screw.

Placement was determined in part by how the inner structure is made - we lucked out with the holes falling outside the weatherstrip for the most part.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8667/16647343289_9a43dd305f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rn4Zba)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8584/16833452185_8922c3156b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rDvQSe)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7621/16832381111_fbd4ac7c4d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rDqmtr)


With the hinges in place, the blade was sat in position and marked for some additional clearancing. We added a relief cut at each hinge, allowing the aluminum to sit down over each and flush with the deck.

Once everything was happy there, we marked and drilled holes for the hinges, starting from the center and working out.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7606/16833452345_e8956ce775_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rDvQUZ)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8661/16211106234_93738de5b6_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qGwa6C)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7603/16646094850_a745167684_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rmXA4m)
Sometimes a bit of improvisation is required - this bungee-traption made life much easier


Finally, we placed the outside struts in about the spot that felt right and attached them to the blade, then moved to the bottom side of the decklid to evaluate our options. This ended up being our one 'oops', as they were a bit too short to make it where they needed to be on the deck. The secondary holes will be useful if we ever want to stand it up higher, at least.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8638/16832385021_95b67bc0fe_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rDqnCR)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8752/16646092450_d8923337d2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rmXzkY)


Our original plan was to use 4 struts, but looking at the beefy hardware included and how busy things got with all 4 of them up there, we settled on 3. There is some give in the blade thanks to the tolerances of the rod ends, but nothing too bad.

With 16 #10 screws on the bottom, and the 3 rod ends having 1/4" screws in them, I don't think we have anything to worry about strength-wise. Nights this week will be about getting it painted along with getting some of the interior pieces (shifter boot cover, dead pedal, and gas pedal cover) that never got finished out properly coated in black as well.

Last item of business was safety-related - I've had a HANS for a while, but never had gotten my non-drilled Impact helmet prepped for it. Turned out to be pretty easy. Along with a firesuit and some schweet Alpinestars gloves, we are officially ready for the road course.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8709/16211105884_9726263d2b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qGw9ZA)

Next weekend will serve as final assembly, then it's on to a mid-week Optima test and tune set up by the local Camaro club on the 24th.

Optima and the 28th of March coming up fast!

[silver63c10]

Pre-test-n-tune / Optima Week update time!

So, the plan for the second decklid was to add a matte black stripe down the hood using vinyl wrap to match the width of the black decklid and filler panel under the back glass.

A low cost (red flag) eBay (red flag) listing for wrap material was found, and ordered. After many days in limbo, the material arrived on Friday – a WEEK and 2 days from Florida, on 2-day priority. Thanks USPS!

Once the material was unrolled and the first section peeled back, problems were immediately apparent. Modern wrap material has a whole host of features that make it possible to, you know, actually wrap a car. This had none of those, as it was regular old sign vinyl (live and learn). Time is of the essence, so the spoiler will be permanent on the painted decklid.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7644/16693609447_bc1e0eb37a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rra7ux)

Still came out pretty cool (we think, at least).

It's off to Lone Star Park bright and early in the morning for a load of seat time and some fine tuning - and DRY PAVEMENT! To missapproriate a phrase from Roadkill - Best week not at work ever.

A couple bonus images, just because.


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7600/16900938165_4742194598_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rKtJ6B)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7630/16693608847_f2573f6c40_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rra7jc)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7623/16280936713_37bea30246_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qNG4gp)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7591/16713292368_b34d393f73_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rsTZxf)


We'll eventually build a splitter/air dam/chin spoiler thing to balance everything out (both aero-wise and visually), but there's no time left for this time. Can't wait to wring it's neck this week!

[WSSix]

spoiler looks good I think. Hope it works well for you, Duston.

[silver63c10]

Wow, what an incredible two days of absolute awesomeness! That's a lot of adjectives, but still not enough. From the running of the event, great people, and a cooperative and capable car, this weekend will be a tough one to top.

I'll do a full writeup of our experience with more pictures and video later this week, but I wanted to get something in here while it's fresh.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7607/16792781930_8819b8122a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rzVp1W)
Waiting to hit the autocross - ended up 4th in GTV

This car just continues to amaze. For something that is mostly unchanged from a foundation standpoint from what we took on Drag Week, it's an absolute monster around the cones and on the road course. I can't wait to see what we can do with it with more tuning, there's still so much left in it.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8705/16772854307_5c2943572a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ryagee)
Speed Stop - the first and weakest event for us. Finished 7th in GTV

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8725/16360137843_ed82f353e3_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qVFZ18)
Talking things over during judging - Mike from Lingenfelter remembered the car and talking to us on Drag Week

Before I finish this, we have to give a HUGE shout out to Mike from Wilwood. He took a ton of time to discuss our setup, some upgrades and tuning ideas, and even pitched in and got dirty when we were reassembling the shifter after it unceremoniously ended our first road course session.

Excited to get some changes made to make the brakes even better, and I'll cover that as we go.

It was absolutely amazing to step up to the podium twice. Just mind-blowing. We ended up 2nd on the hot lap, between the Ridetech cars, and 3rd overall in GTV - far and away better than even my wildest hopes for the event. Not enough words to express how happy we are with the little red Camaro.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7619/16792781910_39dcdd470e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rzVp1A)

More later this week..

[LS7 Z/28]

Congrats dude, nice job. I bet it was a lot of fun.

[silver63c10]

I promised more, so here we go!

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8726/17007753312_d43c13dcab_z.jpg

This is all also on our website, with links to high res versions of all the images and such -

Day 1 Recap: http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/blog/optima-ultimate-street-car-2015-tms-day-1-recap/

Day 2 Recap: http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/blog/optima-ultimate-street-car-2015-tms-day-2-recap/

So, let's dive in. Where to even start? First of all, if there’s an Optima USCA event in your area, and you’re on the fence about going – GET OFF THE FENCE! Everything about this weekend was just fantastic, from the operation to the attitude and helpfulness of all involved both within USCA and the participants, it’s one of the most fun experiences we’ve ever had with the car.

Ok, with that out of the way, how did things go? We couldn’t be happier with the results. Let’s start with Saturday today, and wrap up Sunday in a second post (there’s kind of a lot to cover).

Saturday: Tech Inspection, Autocross, Speed Stop, & Judging

We arrived at the crack of dawn. Well, before the crack. Way before. The schedule to said to arrive no later than 7, and that turned out to mean that gates would open at 7 (live and learn, better early than late, etc.) Once in the gates, we scrambled to get the truck parked, the car unloaded and into the garage, and soon we were off to tech inspection.

The process was fairly thorough, and no major hiccups were found so we were on our way to getting the various decals put on. This was one part I was kind of dreading, but everything went smoothly and we had plenty of time to stand around and BS a bit before the drivers meeting.

The meeting started promptly at the time prescribed, and Jimi welcomed everyone and explained how the weekend would go. Saturday, everyone would split up based on car number, with odds heading to speed stop and evens to the autocross in the morning. Being #51 this really worked to our favor. I was able to get the feel for everything in the speed stop, which I assumed going in would be our weaker event given that I hadn’t done it before.

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v137/p1088341024-3.jpg

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v39/p1088340674-3.jpg

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v113/p1088340911-3.jpg

This ended up being the case, and we managed a 10.991 on the 4th of 8 runs. While this event started as a pure test of acceleration and braking, it’s morphed into a very simple autocross over the years. This was one was a run out that had us tickling the rev limited in first before a hard braking zone, then a right turn back almost 180 degrees, hard acceleration into an offset, and finally the 40×20 stop box. It’s much more a handling and braking test rather than pure braking now, but still fun.

Seeing a short line for judging, we decided to hop over there and get that taken care of. The hope was to get back and get a few more shots at it afterward, but we weren’t able to get back in time.

Speed Stop final: 10.991 – 7th in GTV


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7643/16822942189_82fc72d789_z.jpg


Design & Engineering Judging:

You get funny looks when you mention that the car you’re autocrossing also did the distance on Drag Week. You get even funnier looks when you say basically the only things that are different are the front springs and the differential in the back. These looks can be good or bad, but in the case of Mike Copeland from Lingenfelter and Bangshift Chad, the host of the MAV TV series that covers the events, I think it worked in our favor. Each remembered the car, and in the case of Chad at least, it paid dividends before the weekend was over (more on that later).

Judging went smoothly after we got our turn, with the admission that it’s no Rolls, but I’d drive it pretty much anywhere with a great big sweaty/shivering smile on my face.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8727/16823007329_3c20852c1d_z.jpg


Autocross

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v173/p1088344612-3.jpg

After a brief lunch, and a quick walk through the (by Texas autocross standards) pretty tight course, it was time to take on the cones. The first several runs were really frustrating, as it’s been forever since I’ve run a really tight course, and on top of that, I’ve never had to negotiate elements anywhere near as tight as the 180s and offsets along the back were.

After a few runs, several cones, and some head scratching, things started to fall into place. Five runs in, a 45.559 was the best we had, and we decided to head to the garage to investigate some unusual sounds coming from the rear end. No major issues were found, so it was back to the course to get a few more laps before time was up. This paid off, as the next to last run we picked up nearly 2 tenths.


http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v184/p1088344303-3.jpg

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v113/p1088345468-3.jpg

Autocross final: 45.361 – 4th in GTV

Video from the Autocross and Speed Stop

g53P5_F2HN8


Road Rally

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8690/16822942199_16f37ef256_z.jpg

This was one of the best parts of the event for me, as it’s been forever since we’ve just driven the car. As hard as it is to get in and out of, and as loud as it is going down the road (though, not nearly as loud as it used to be), it’s still an absolute joy to just cruise in. The seats are incredibly comfortable, it trucks along at 70 around 2,600 RPM, and it’s just fun in general to ride around in a full caged car with 5 points on if I’m honest.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7646/16823196809_347b84ffc8_z.jpg

The route took us to Pole Position indoor karting, where Holley had sponsored discounted karting and Rudy’s BBQ for everyone. Since none of us had had enough driving that day, the karting was on shortly after the group arrived. Lots of good racing, both of the kart and bench varieties. A great end to a fantastic day (even if I didn’t manage to take home a first place time in any of the 3 races).

After the short drive back up the road, it was time to call it a day and get some sleep – the big track and a bit of uncertainty was up next. More on that in the next post!

[silver63c10]

...and, part 2!

And Sunday's Hot Lap Challenge:

Now, on to day 2: the Falken Tire hot lap challenge, on the 1.1 mile, 7-turn road course.

Sunday may have been our most anticipated and unsure part of the weekend. I was anxious to get some track time in the car, but also a bit leery of how well the relatively puny 12-inch Wilwood brakes would hold up. I was also unsure of what the relatively small road course in the infield of TMS would be like, particularly after running at the most epic 2.9 mile Texas World Speedway last month.

In the drivers meeting (started promptly according to the schedule again – these guys are good), rules were set forth for each run group, flags were explained, pretty much the standard track day fare. We were running intermediate, or blue, which meant point-by passing on the straight, and each group would get a total of 5 15-minute sessions. Expert and novice were split into two groups each, while intermediate would be a somewhat crowded 18-car single group.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8684/16389027803_d2008b1da1_z.jpg

The first part of the day started a little rocky, with cars going off or breaking down in each of the first two groups and leading to some delays. Big time credit to the USCA, as this could have set the whole day askew and led to a late finish or lost sessions, but they kept the grind going and still ended the day ahead of schedule.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8710/16387207054_85a2d8662e_z.jpg

Things started with a 3 lap orientation at around 50 mph, led by Jimi in a big bad..Dodge 200 rental fleet special! We had found oil in the engine bay that morning, so this brief trip out allowed us to be reassured that it was just from the high-G, high-rev autocross tossing the breather reservoir around and dumping a little out the day before.

Intermediate Group to Pre-grid

Before long it was our turn to head out. Session 1 was a bit of a mess, with the blue group being 18 cars deep and no times to go on for grid procedure. The bigger mess, however, came on lap 6 as I reached for 4th gear on the front straight and was greeted by a shifter that was attached to – nothing.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7592/17014913051_fdf655ccbd_z.jpg

All 4 bolts had managed to back out of the top section, allowing the stalk, two pieces of aluminum, the bolts, and the two steel pieces that locate the stalk and their respective springs to all come undone on track. Something was on our side, as the pieces that fell out did so in the hot pit and not at 90+ mph going into turn 1.

The missing bits were returned by two different people (thanks to Lance and the other gentleman whose name I didn’t get!).

While we were in the process of putting the puzzle back together, Mike from Wilwood came up to chat with us and ended up getting his hands dirty helping us keep all the pieces together and back in the car. He would end up sharing a wealth of knowledge with us, and I’m looking forward to putting it to good use – big time thanks!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7612/16828358880_6508a5ccdf_z.jpg

We ended up with a fairly unrepresentative 47.5 in that session, which would haunt me for the next two as it was used to grid us in both 2nd and 3rd sessions. Going into the 4th, we were sitting on a 43.588, which was reasonably competitive in GTV – but I knew there was a lot more to be had with some luck on traffic.

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https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7644/16395742333_ed8f65df68_z.jpg

In the 4th, through a bit of work creating space, I was able to get a mostly clean lap and a 43.001 (video below). By this time, the car was getting exceedingly warm about lap 5 or 6. I actually pulled off to let it cool this time, but couldn’t better the 43 after going back out and catching traffic again.

Finally, the last session of the day arrived, and after some thoughts of skipping it the temptation of open track was too much to bear. This paid big dividends, as only 7 or so cars went out, and we were gridded 2nd behind Jay in his 2015 Vette.

Jay and I had been pretty close in time on open track, so I knew this would be a fun one. It proved to be just that, as we both turned in our best times of the day, mine being a 42.982.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8692/16994605222_ecd189cf01_z.jpg

Unfortunately, the GoPro wasn’t cooperating during that session, so here’s the 43.001 from the third.

t_bmpvFVMlM

Awards Ceremony and Thoughts

Un-freakin-believable. Throughout the awards ceremony we were hearing the names we’ve heard on the shows and read on the website posts and blogs. Then, on to the Hot Lap challenge in GTV – 3rd place goes to Bret Voelkel with a 43.9. Dad and I looked at each other, knowing our time of 42.9, and exchanged dumfounded looks – SECOND. We got freakin second in something!

The biggest surprise came later, though, when the results for each class were announced. Car number 51, 3rd overall in GTV. No words.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7619/16792781910_39dcdd470e_z.jpg

Going into the weekend, I had two goals: finish somewhere in the top half of the 19-entry class, and roll the car back into the trailer in one piece Sunday afternoon. For all that our little Camaro has done, this has to be the hardest it’s been run in the 6 years it’s been together, and it took every bit of it like a champ.

The exciting thing is, there’s still a ton of work to be done. The suspension, the brakes, and the driver all have a lot of development work left to be done, and it’s going to be an absolute blast every step of the way.

Thanks for reading, and a huge thanks to everyone who offered kind words and helping hands this weekend – is it time to do it again yet?!?

[SSLance]

I somehow completely missed this build thread... Nice work on all of it. I love this car and the work you all are putting into it.

Great job on the great showing at the Texas USCA event. And fantastic write up...thanks for sharing.

I'll watch the videos when I get home on a better connections, but I can't wait to see them. Congrats...

[chichirone]

Awesome write up Duston. CONGRATS ON YOUR 2nd place finish in GTV!!!!

It was an absolute blast running together in the intermediate class. Even though its been a week since the event, reading through your thread put me right back in the drivers seat on the road course with your high winding Camaro, Meekers Mustang, and Tony's Viper. We were all having a great run during the final session. All within tenths of one another or even hundredths. Man you are right...if you are on the fence for one of these events...GET OFF THE FENCE!!!!

Hope to see you and your dad out an event soon.

[GrabberGT]

Nice recap. Thanks for letting me relive it through your experience.

Nice build thread. Im now subscribed. Let us know if/when you have another event to do. Maybe we can join you.

[silver63c10]

Great job on the great showing at the Texas USCA event. And fantastic write up...thanks for sharing.

Thanks Lance - I've gotten into your thread a few times but never managed to get more than a few pages before something comes up - very cool build. Always loved those Montes, and seeing one going around corners is even better!

Hope to see you and your dad out an event soon.

Thanks Jay, my plan is to run the wheels off of it this season. Brake work and some other smaller things are already on the to-do list!

Nice build thread. Im now subscribed. Let us know if/when you have another event to do. Maybe we can join you.

Thanks, Chris. April is kind of screwed thanks to a sparse calendar and a busy schedule outside the car, but my plan is to at least make the Equipe Rapide and probably several NTAXS events from May on with it.

I'll definitely post in here as we go - love having more old iron out with the Miatas!

[DavidBoren]

Congrats on the podium finish. Your car has come along ways from being a drag queen. I love a corner carver. Great build.

[WSSix]

Awesome! Congrats, Duston.

[bergers59]

Do you have any more pictures of the cage? it looks nicely made

[silver63c10]

Congrats on the podium finish. Your car has come along ways from being a drag queen. I love a corner carver. Great build.

Thanks! We set out to be able to do both - I'm pretty pleased with how adaptable and tuneable it's been.

Awesome! Congrats, Duston.

Thanks, Trey!

Do you have any more pictures of the cage? it looks nicely made

It's got some compromises in some places, as we didn't have a bender and were working with a kit originally intended for an S-10 that we had on hand.

We've learned a lot since the original build - there's several places it could be pushed out closer to the body to free up passenger space, and it could stand to have gussets in many of the joints. To the best of our ability and knowledge it's structurally sound.

Here's a few more pics.

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4566.jpg
Main hoop/rear downbars which terminate on the rear coilover mounts in the trunk

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/beginning/images/camaroweb106.jpg
Bottom of the main hoop and reinforcement bar - tied to subframe connector

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4776.jpg
Front downbar/floor boxes - a piece of square tubing under the floor ties these to the subframe

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_4798.jpg
Dash and front downbars

http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/images/IMG_5100.jpg
Upper bars with SFI padding


There's quite a few more in the old photo galleries on our site -

Early build - http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/beginning/

Finishing up - http://www.acmeautopartsonline.com/camaro/slideshow.html

[silver63c10]

Kind of last minute, but it appears we'll be getting back at it this weekend at the second Texas SCCA autocross of the year at TMS. We've done literally nothing to the car since Optima, but it will hopefully get at least a wash before Sunday.

First time getting back around the cones, and first time back in the car at all in over a month - should be interesting!

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8877/16702121384_2e52121902.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rrUJN5)

Should be fun - come join us!

Also, since I'm here, a few more pics from Optima that have surfaced since my last post.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7723/17322652952_6e8c5c71da_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/soK8dd)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7701/17136718738_d64eee39d0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/s7jarU)

In other track-related but less Camaro-related news, got one more trip to Texas World Speedway in the Z this past weekend with NASA. Still sick to think about it going away..support your local racetrack!

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v138/p1142508713-3.jpg (http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/p595232790/e44194ca9)

[Panteracer]

Dustin,
heading out form Cali the week after next 16/17th to run TWS with the
Pantera group... I guess it will be one of the last weekends
for that track... hate to see any track go away.
It will be my first time on the high banks

Bob

[silver63c10]

Dustin,
heading out form Cali the week after next 16/17th to run TWS with the
Pantera group... I guess it will be one of the last weekends
for that track... hate to see any track go away.
It will be my first time on the high banks

Bob

Very cool - you will definitely enjoy it. Dropping off of the front straight banking into 1, banked uphill 7, and really fast sweeper 11 are the highlights for me. Managed to do 7 without braking (still lifted a long way out) a few times this time, it is terrifying and awesome.

Have a safe trip!

[GrabberGT]

I plan to be there this weekend running in CAM-S (stupid wheelbase rule). I've been driving mine a couple times a week since the Optima Event. I need to check it over tomorrow and put on a new O2 sensor and it should be ready to race.

[Panteracer]

Duston,
looking forward to running there.. might give me a little
practice for Fontana later this year. Texas Pantera boys
have posted videos before... There is a full race Pantera
that runs there and hits 182 in fourth gear (5 speed car)
at 8800 rpm... most of the other Panteras that have run
there hit 175... should be fun

Bob

[silver63c10]

I plan to be there this weekend running in CAM-S (stupid wheelbase rule). I've been driving mine a couple times a week since the Optima Event. I need to check it over tomorrow and put on a new O2 sensor and it should be ready to race.

Corvette, Cobra, Maverick - makes sense? Gotta love SCCA sometimes..see you Sunday!

182 in fourth gear

Big boy stuff! I'll have to look up some video of that - 126ish is terrifying enough.

[GrabberGT]

Congrats on posting the fastest American Muscle time. I watched a couple of your runs and the car looked great. Being in the first heat sucks. I picked up a lot of ideas watching you guys in the later sessions.

[Gscherer78ta]

Seth said you did great in the autoX Dustin! The car running as good as ever? I haven't done anything with mine since USCA- how said is that! I'm signed up with the BMW club this weekend and then for the mirror cross at the end of the month with ER.

Chris - How are the Nittos doing?

Greg

[silver63c10]

Congrats on posting the fastest American Muscle time. I watched a couple of your runs and the car looked great. Being in the first heat sucks. I picked up a lot of ideas watching you guys in the later sessions.

Thanks Chris, it was good seeing you out there. The Maverick was looking and sounding good, too - congrats on the win in S! Sorry I didn't get to talk much, running two cars keeps both mine and my dad's heads spinning pretty much all day long.

The early run group definitely has disadvantages, but once it's hot I don't mind it because I'm normally zapped by the time the last group is up.

I haven't done anything with mine since USCA- how said is that!

Other than replacing a few exhaust bolts that vibrated out Sunday of Optima, ours hadn't been touched either, so you're not alone! Still got a list of things to do on the suspension, but it's just getting more fun every time we take it out.

http://openpaddock.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/CleanSCCAlogo8-03.jpg

Texas SCCA Pro-touring Challenge

I was the only car entered in CAM-T, and I ended up taking it on the chin from the C guys during trophies for not getting more pro-touring cars out. So I'm putting the call out now for the June 21st event - come out and have some fun with the largest autocross series in the area!

(If you stick around for trophies, they even have free beer - who can turn that down?!)

Texas SCCA info: http://www.texasscca.org/soloautocross

Sunday stuff

Only managed to get one pic and one video during the day, and of course the video was the run after the quickest one. It was the one with the hellacious spin at least:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8796/17183515519_bdf2209c97_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/sbs1uX)

MwJLDah2NiU


This is what happens when you try to find a second where you should be looking for a tenth.

Brake changes

http://www.northernperformance.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Wilwood-Logo.jpg

We'll be making some changes on the brakes in the near future, too, stepping down the size of the master cylinder for the fronts in search of a bit more pedal travel and easier modulation. Right now the fronts are kind of an on/off switch, with a very, very fine line between too little and lockup. I'll post updates on the new setup and how everything works out as we go along.

Big thanks again to Mike from Wilwood for his help and knowledge both during and since the Optima event!

[Gscherer78ta]

I heard there were 150 cars there on Sunday, How many runs did you get and how much time did you spend there? That's the trouble I have with the SCCA events - the number of cars! I am interested in the Pro Solo event the SCCA is putting on in Mineral Wells on June 5-7. There will surely be a lot of cars there as well but, the format sounds really fun.

[silver63c10]

That's the trouble I have with the SCCA events - the number of cars!

I've kind of always thought the same thing on their events, but there are some advantages.

Total was 162 cars. We got 5 runs each, and I was out of there around 5:30 after trophies. If you run and work in earlier groups you can get out much earlier than that. Their events are very well run, hardly any downtime during the day for issues.

One cool thing is you have two of the four heats off, which gives a lot of time to hop in with people and also opens them up to be able to ride with you and share tips.

It's definitely a different deal than the smaller clubs like ER and NTAXS where you'll get 6-8 runs, but it's also cool to run with that many people - a lot of them nationally competitive and former champions - and see where you stack up in the PAX times at the end of the day.

Still on the fence about the Pro, depending on if the weather dries up the next few weeks we may (hopefully) be in the middle of finishing up building a shop by then.

[GrabberGT]

I've jumped ship on the Pro-Solo event. Instead, Im going to do the ER Auto-x School. Camp out that night and then do the Mirrored Cross on Sunday. I should get lots of practice runs that way so hopefully I can get a little closer to you guys' times at the 6/21 event.

When you were taking it on the chin from the C guys for winning CAM-T did you happen to throw it back at them when the announcement came out that your time beat all of theres? LOL

Im not a fan of the length of time spent at the SCCA events either. Basically you are there from 730 - 530 being active for 3 hrs and hanging out the rest. I do however like the larger run groups. It gives plenty of time for the car to cool down and to make changes to the setup. Im not a fan of hot lapping the car and always having to keep the line moving like at some other events.

[Gscherer78ta]

I would like to run in all the races! I would also like a faster car with better brakes to keep up with you guys.... I just don't have the money to fund all these races.

I get your point about riding with other talented drivers and riding in different cars, I wonder if a better use of time would be to go to an event without driving and just ride- no worker duties and no driving responsibilities, just pick cars to ride in and have fun. I know Seth really enjoys that.

I'm signed up to run with the BMW club this Sat- 10 laps and they will be done around 3....

[silver63c10]

When you were taking it on the chin from the C guys for winning CAM-T did you happen to throw it back at them when the announcement came out that your time beat all of theres? LOL

I mentioned something about maybe running with them (C is technically 78-on, but ours gets pushed back with the early second gens into T). Jon, who won C, said he wouldn't allow it for that express reason, haha. They have a big, pretty closely matched group of cars in that class right now, it's pretty cool.

I'm signed up to run with the BMW club

You'll enjoy their event - lots of seat time. 10 runs at Mineral Wells is a lot of miles - hopefully the weather forecast takes a turn for the better before the weekend.

As for just going and riding, it could be beneficial to get out without worrying about the car and driving and everything. To me, though, being able to see something from the passenger seat then go out and try it the same day would be the ideal situation, though.

[silver63c10]

Sound level logs from the SCCA event were posted - guess it's a good thing we ditched the side dumped 3" SpinTechs in favor of Magnaflows that dump under the car, huh?!

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5336/17563568212_955601b1cb_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/sL2SVA)

Luckily, none of the sites we run at regularly are sound restricted.

[no go nova]

Just read this whole thread, all I can say is WOW. At first I was like this thing is just a drag car but You made it work. And coming from a 350Z and learning how to drive and make this car impressive is a accomplishment.

[GrabberGT]

Sound level logs from the SCCA event were posted - guess it's a good thing we ditched the side dumped 3" SpinTechs in favor of Magnaflows that dump under the car, huh?!

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5336/17563568212_955601b1cb_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/sL2SVA)

Luckily, none of the sites we run at regularly are sound restricted.

I remember running at Pennington Field the first time wondering if I was going to get flagged. I was just under the 99db limit. At this event I was running I think it was 96.3.

[silver63c10]

It's Monday, and it feels like a good time for an update, so here we go!

So, what's new? In our bid to never take the car to an event the same way twice, we've made another gear change!

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3689/18649821099_5cfb0a2ccd_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uq2d4D)

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3841/18215334423_23dba53f03_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/tKCmj4)

Leading up to, and during the Optima event, we had a ridiculously loud gear whine coming from somewhere in the drivetrain (you can hear it in the road course video from Optima (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_bmpvFVMlM)). We had assumed it was coming from the transmission based on the nature of it - really only started in 3rd gear, didn't come in and out with loading and unloading while driving.

It turned out to be the rear end. The 4.11s we had installed last are over 20 years old, and have been installed in at least 4 different rear ends, including the car one other time, and my truck, and had been setup/torn down countless times.

Long story short, they were beyond their useful life, and had begun the gradual process of self-digestion. Lash had opened up substantially, and gear marking compound barely produced a pattern on either side of the tooth. The housing was also filled with glitter. Close call..

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3832/18648279290_49fb9bb548_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/upTiJJ)

New Richmond 3.70s are in now, opening up a bit more top-end in 1st and 2nd gear (from 46 up to 51 in first, and 70 up to 78 mph in 2nd). This should make things better both on tight Optima/Goodguys type courses and our usual free-flowing Texas region layouts.

And, you no longer need earplugs going down the road. Win-win.

While that was going on, I also addressed an unfinished item from the original thrash earlier this year - getting some paint on the non-stainless bits of the exhaust. The tips were finish welded, and VHT flat black went on all the mild steel parts. Minor issue, but one that had been bugging me nonetheless.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5582/18648277830_07268dd513_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/upTiiy)
Love that discolored stainless..

Our other project for the year has been a new shop, as we outgrew our current setup a while ago. Rocked right along on it the past few weekends since it finally quit raining, and should be able to start doing finish work inside over the next few weeks. Super excited to get going in there.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3756/18649814979_67068743d0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uq2bf8)

Finally, this past weekend we got ready for the SCCA Texas Region event this weekend (happy Father's Day dad!).

It was fun running the car with the full Optima decal pack on it for an event or two, but the time had come for it to go. Can't just throw it away, though, so we cut down some scrap splash board and made two garage art pieces.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3823/18648287200_afe27096c0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/upTm67)

Back rolling low-key. Well, as low-key as you can be in such a car...

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3850/18215338163_3f790aaf63_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/tKCnqx)

After a quick wash, we're all set to go get it dirty again. Anxious to see how the new gears work - still feels plenty frisky running down the road, hopefully that will translate on track.

[WSSix]

The car screams "all business". I like that.

[GrabberGT]

Nice work. See you Sunday.

[silver63c10]

The car screams "all business". I like that.

Thanks, Trey!

Nice work. See you Sunday.

Good to see you again, Chris - hopefully the weather will cooperate better next time..

---

Sunday was fun, but kind of a mixed bag. We had some competition in CAM-T this time, which was cool. 4 car field consisting of us, a 68 Camaro prepped by Dusold Designs and packed to the gills with go-fast parts, a Falcon, and a Model T (this class really makes no sense when you break it down :confused18: )

I also managed a lucky draw on my run group, and got pretty much a fully dry session between showers.

Managed to get the win by a little over a second, and took fastest CAM time of the day with the big caveat that the C guys got rained/lightninged out after their 1st or 2nd runs.

Not as good news: the 3.70s made for several awkward spots speed-wise, as you'll see in the video. With an overly fat carburetor that still had a cool weather tune in it, there were multiple spots that were too fast for 1st, but way down low out of the 'happy range' in 2nd.

My driving in it is still pretty sloppy, but forgoing smooth and steady for the dive bomb/stab and pray method seems to be the way to go with the current combo. Here's video of the quickest run..

Go5jgtXA4qc

[silver63c10]

Here's the outside view of the run above courtesy of the crew chief/girlfriend. Found it on my phone last night and couldn't stop giggling at it :P

TtHAdVSVczA

And a couple pics, because why not?

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3754/18581456114_755f97edd4_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uiYPx1)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/559/18583392073_f5b3285799_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uj9K2B)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/519/19016402998_7c7123ffd1_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uYq36d)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/321/19198129472_97f9159341_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/vftr3h)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/477/18581459614_237b7398a0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uiYQzm)

And, I got to do a little daily driving with it this week. Nothing like wearing khakis and five points at the same time..

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3793/19017834479_7662ac8a42_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uYxnBV)

[Evan Iroc-Z]

Nice job! You were really moving!

[silver63c10]

Time for a little bit of an update, I guess. The car has been pretty well static aside from the gear change back in June, which leaves the work to be done on my end.

We're a year in to running the car, and I've been sneaking up on finding the limits while mostly leaving all the settings alone.

This event was also notable because it was the first one I've driven the car too, which felt pretty good aside from forgetting to back the shocks down for the trip over.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/393/20185077700_40552973a2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wKFNn3)
Ran into Chris (GrabberGT) on the way - I call this one "Meanwhile, in Texas"

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/524/20346971106_1d2a5def81_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wZZxCE)

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3675/20185118638_5bab5b88f9_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wKG1wS)
My dad drove the Z again, made for a good photo op while waiting for trophies

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/436/20364581232_8b15d73848_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/x2xNvw)
My first cone!

The last couple trips I wanted to focus on reigning everything in a bit. In the last videos I posted, it was a spray and pray, dive bomb everything and figure it out later approach. This time the focus was to keep speeds in check and be tighter on the cones.

kf4U6jSAVTw

I managed to be much more controlled in most areas, and way tighter on the cones - to the point of only having one clean run out of 5 :knock: This one, incidentally the first, was thankfully enough for the class win and top CAM time, but 28th overall PAX (class (http://texasscca.org/2015_solo_results/tr15_4_final.htm) and PAX (http://texasscca.org/2015_solo_results/tr15_4_pax.htm) results). Progress, but I was still pretty frustrated with the cones.

A brief intermission..

Fast forward to two weeks ago, and a back to back weekend between two different clubs, NTAXS and Equipe Rapide. In late July. In Texas.

NTAXS runs a slightly different format, with each car taking all their runs of the session back to back. This leaves only a couple of minutes between each, which isn't very Camaro friendly even in moderate weather. Enter the Z!

This paid off in two ways, giving me a chance to drive it in anger again for the first time in months, and to instruct my dad in back to back sessions with us co-driving. He's coming along great over the last few events, and really having a blast. It's been good fun watching him progress, and has helped my driving as well.

His best run:

bRhm-0erjdA

And mine (where's my 200 extra horsepower, 50mm more tire, and 3.5 degrees of camber up front?!)

yjm3FRy-0R8

Even on worn out tires and bone stock suspension, it's such a fun car to throw around. We ended up the day 3rd (I coned away a time good enough for 2nd, ugh) and 11th in a pretty big class of 24.

Back to regularly scheduled programming

The next day it was back to the big lot at Lone Star Park for some wide open, gravel slinging, hill climbing fun. Already a little beat from the heat the day before, I trudged out bright and early Sunday morning (this time I remembered to back the shocks off 3 clicks all around, at least).

I was sweating before I even got to the track, and things just got hotter from there.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/433/20186566259_7bd9f6a487_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wKPqRR)
Falken - tires so fast you have to tape the numbers on!

The course was big, and fast, with an optional crossover that you could really fly into and out of.

The first run cost me a 6 and a CAM class magnet off the driver's side, both of which were returned, thankfully. I brought a new run log sheet to keep track of tire and brake temps, but there just wasn't enough time between runs to keep this up after the first since I was by myself.

What I did see was pretty promising, with only a few degrees difference from the outside to the inside of the fronts, and brake temps being pretty close front to rear as well. Not bad for a complete shot in the dark on alignment, and word of mouth from Mike at Wilwood on tire pressure settings.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3798/20185220798_afc2561c01_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wKGwUf)
With no support car, packing got a little creative. Here's the number carriage system - worked out well

Due to some confusion during the event on classing, I ended up with the win in CAM-C, rather than CAM-T, over Aaron Sockwell in the DuSold 6G Mustang, with the only clean run I had in the morning.

lyEk4aYWPcc

While the grip isn't great, and the gravel is wreaking total havoc on our paint, I LOVE this place. Nothing like topping the hill at nearly 70 mph then jamming the brakes into a deeply downhill off-camber turn. Not your typical autocross, for sure.

This was a fun trip, but man was I beat by the time I got home. The car did great, handling the heat like a champ (it was 114 in the driver's seat when I climbed in to drive home).

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/451/20346871596_7be2cccb4d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wZZ33Y)

Maintenance and other miscellany

After 2/3rds of a season, I'm extremely happy with the Falkens. We've run a lot, including USCA, and a decent amount of street driving, and they still look good and fat all around.

That being said, the, uh, rears are showing a bit more wear than the fronts (go figure?).

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/540/20365232452_9475fe0102_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/x2B96s)

Got them rotated front to rear, and did a general once-over to make sure nothing looks like it's going to fall off. Only found one issue, which has plagued us since we started all this last year.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/487/20373198075_d1ea1055f3_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/x3iXZM)

It looks like our plans for the winter are going to include building a floater 9-inch for it. It has eaten regular Timken bearings (literally spit the inside out of one), and is now leaking around a Moser o-ring'd bearing. Frustrating, but nothing we can't fix.

If anyone has an idea of what we're missing that is simpler than building a new rear end, I'm all ears.

Finally, two of our local clubs have a contingency program with Discount Tire. I got signed up last weekend, and hastily threw on the stickers before running, so they needed to be redone. Looking more racey now, but.. I like a chance at free tires, and we love Discount either way, so I'm happy to run them.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/474/20346974606_a98bb64fb7_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wZZyF1)

Up next

Boy, this got long again. Next up for us is another trip to Lone Star Park, at an event originally billed as the North Texas Camaro Club autocross, but is now a come one, come all and have fun type deal. Excited to fly the Camaro flag and try and get after some very fast drivers in a range of cars.

Big time thanks to Greg (Gscherer78ta) for putting everything together! Should be a lot of runs, a lot of friends, and a great opportunity for testing and tuning.

And drinking water. Lots, and lots of water.

[Gscherer78ta]

Boy, this got long again. Next up for us is another trip to Lone Star Park, at an event originally billed as the North Texas Camaro Club autocross, but is now a come one, come all and have fun type deal. Excited to fly the Camaro flag and try and get after some very fast drivers in a range of cars.

Big time thanks to Greg (Gscherer78ta) for putting everything together! Should be a lot of runs, a lot of friends, and a great opportunity for testing and tuning.

And drinking water. Lots, and lots of water.

Great write up Dusty! I hope the event tomorrow is a lot of fun and that we all learn some things- I did my best to ensure we could have a lot of seat time- I think there will be some that get ~20 laps!

I would really like to know how you go those big meats under your fenders? I think we should swap our wheels tomorrow to give me at least a snowballs chance in TX of catching your times- sound like a plan?
You've been driving great and it's very apparent that you've been getting some good seat time and it's paying off. I really like running in the same group as you but, I also like riding with you to see what you're doing so I can get some tips.

Drink lots of water tonight and rest up for tomorrow!

Greg

[WSSix]

That first picture with you and Chris with his Maverick is great.

As for the bearings, are you running the Set20 tapered bearings? They are the big 3.150 diameter bearings. They are supposed to hold up to cornering abuse versus the normal roller bearing. At least I really hope they do. I have them on the ten bolt that's waiting to go in the car.

Glad to hear of your continued success Duston. Keep it up!

[silver63c10]

Drink lots of water tonight and rest up for tomorrow!

Greg

Man, Saturday was a blast! Thanks again for putting everything together - my dad got 17 runs, there was brake dust literally falling out of all the wheels on the Z when I swapped them back out, haha.

As for the bearings, are you running the Set20 tapered bearings?

Thanks, Trey! We're just running the standard bearings right now, not tapered, and after doing some reading that is definitely the problem. I think we're going to look at changing the ends on our current housing and try those before we go all in on a floater..

August autocross in Texas, and other signs you may be a masochist

A little update from the weekend. I've been fighting with a little hesitation coming off the corners since it's been hot. Coming into the year, the carburetor still had the same basic setup from our drag racing stuff, and from much cooler weather at that. About a month ago, I stepped down a bit on the jets front and rear, and it was happier but still not all the way there.

The biggest problem was a little hesitation out of corners, particularly when just hammering it at lower RPM. The first thing on the list was squirter size, as we were pretty sure it was still rich and just loading it up at the hit. Stepped down from a 42 to a 35 up front, and things came ALIVE.

dqFQ96h4pX0

It was obvious from the first hit of the throttle that we were much, much happier.

Since putting the 315s on, it's never wanted to really just lay waste to the tires, but it was doing it. Hazing them at 60+ mph in 2nd gear? No problem at all. All this, combined with a lack of food and sleep, and it being unmercifully hot (driver excuse generator ACTIVATE!), made for an interesting first session, as shown above.

At least it puts on a show? :lol:

All in all, we were able to get what we needed to accomplished. The bearing leak on the rear end has gotten bad again, so the planning will have to start on that soon. It's always something..

[SSLance]

Looking great out on the course!! Love that you get to beat on your car so many times a season.

You don't have to switch axle ends to upgrade to the tapered bearing setup, but you will need new axles as the ID of the A20 bearings is a bit larger than the radial bearings. I did this upgrade last winter and so far **knocking on wood** my rear axle bearings have held up good.

Several times this weekend past, I'd stand up from checking tire air pressures or something and get woozy a bit...then head directly to the cooler and get another water to chug. Have no idea how many bottles of water I downed this weekend, but it was a lot. Keeping hydrated is very important at events like this as well as sunscreen.

[silver63c10]

You don't have to switch axle ends to upgrade to the tapered bearing setup, but you will need new axles as the ID of the A20 bearings is a bit larger than the radial bearings.

Thanks, Lance, we are very lucky around here - between 4 different clubs, we can run nearly every weekend Mar-Nov with events that are an hour or less away. Not that we really want to right now..it was 108 here yesterday.

After some more investigation, you're right on the bearings. I was thinking we had the smaller diameter bearings, but they are the 3.150s. After everything our axles have been through, a fresh set probably wouldn't be a bad thing, anyway.

EDIT: Just found all of your trials with this in your thread - it's like reading the same book we've been living since last fall :headspin:

Looks like the Challenge was a blast, we may have to try to make it up for that next year.

[silver63c10]

Think we found the problem :lol:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5734/20546990099_bb2a1c955b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xiEGiZ)

I noticed a bit of a leak before the Camaro Club event (mentioned in my post on the 7th). Before what I was planning to be my last run anyway, I noticed the barrel of the wheel was shiny. Climbed under and noticed a drip of oil on the bottom of the rotor, and a pretty moist housing end.

The last time we rode this merry-go-round, it had just shucked the inner seal piece on the bearing. We're never ones to let up, though, and I think we got all of it this time. New Moser axles with tapered rollers came in yesterday, and dad got them swapped out last night.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/615/20111162464_9c848480fc_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wD9XWq)

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5646/20545756828_31ea73f949_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xiynGG)

We'll put them to the test Sunday, as we're heading right back to Lone Star Park, where I assume the last one got broken.

I've also noticed some pretty significant brake pad kickback the last few trips out, I'm hoping this will help in that area, too. Nothing like having a manual pedal that requires a ton of pressure, but not being sure if the free travel is going to be nothing or an inch or two as you're approaching a turn..

Thanks again for the tips, Lance, that simplified this process greatly.

---

As the end of summer approaches, I've started a winter 'to-do' list. This year was always a "work on me, get on the level of the car" campaign in my mind, and I'd like to travel a bit and hit it hard with some improvements next year. Right now it includes:

Needs:
- Adapters to use a standard coilover spring up front so we can bump the rates; possible bump in rear rate as well, need to put pen to paper to see
- Install the new brake and clutch master cylinders we already received from Wilwood. This includes a size change for the fronts to get a little more travel and lighter pressure requirement at the pedal, and hopefully a much better feel overall
- Bigger, dual-pass radiator to help with summertime and road course running; ducting to the grill openings and blockoffs around the rad to clean up airflow up there
- Airbox that fits to the cowl to keep the heat off the carburetor

Wants:
- Stiffer front swaybar (likely a splined Speedway unit or something similar of our own design)
- Adjustability for the rear bar - right now it's fixed and way too stiff for everything else in our current combo. Either way, being able to tune it is a must in my book
- Fuel injection (big ? at this point)
- Air dam/splitter
- Stock look fiberglass dash and some more interior pieces including an insulated headliner to (a) chase a few more points at Optima events and (b) not roast quite so bad in the summer

And I'm sure there will be more..

[flatoutz]

Dustin,

Now that you have track time on your wheel & tire setup.Do you think you can lower it a bit more or do you think its going to rub.

[silver63c10]

Now that you have track time on your wheel & tire setup.Do you think you can lower it a bit more or do you think its going to rub.

Since the initial trip out, where we had to hammer the fender lips some more, we haven't had any rubbing issues other than on the swaybar at full lock, even in full compression.

I intend to drop it another 1/2" or so once we get our front spring situation sorted out - it's bottomed out on the adjustment right now. With the QA1 ProCoils, we're limited to using a big block spring to get up to a 650 lb rate, and it's way too tall for our setup.

[flatoutz]

Dustin,

Keith at customworks.com has coilover conversion you might be interested in.I'm interested to see how the 315s work up front because I want to do the same thing on my Camaro.If its not too much trouble since you have the inner wheel wells out.Can you snap some pics with the wheels at full lock to see how close wheels are coming to everything?It will be greatly appreciated.

Mike,

[silver63c10]

Sure thing, I'll grab a few pics under the hood this weekend. The only thing that's really close is the swaybar, from what I remember.

I hadn't seen that Customworks kit before. It looks pretty much like what I have in mind, but since we cut off the stock control arm mounts it would still require a lot of work for us to make it work..nothing off the shelf just works on this car :lol:

Ideally, we'd go to an outboard mounted shock and spring tied to the cage downbar, like what Hobaugh and many of the other CP guys run, but with stock length control arms it's extremely tight in there and would need a pretty hefty chunk removed out of the frame.

[flatoutz]

Dustin,

Thanks!That will awesome.

Mike,

[silver63c10]

Thanks!That will awesome.

D'oh, I completely spaced on this Sunday for reasons apparent below - still on my list, I should be able to get some this weekend.

-------

SCCA Event #6

Sunday was the first trip out with the new axles and bearings, and I was looking forward to getting back in the car with my head screwed on straight after the debacle that was the last trip.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/594/20259171433_1076ee67cc.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wSexRc)

The course was fairly technical this time as opposed to the wide open flowing elements we typically have at LSP, which was actually a nice change. Got things started off on a weird note, as it was pointed in tech out that the Z had lost a screw in the undertray on the trip over, and it was nearly dragging the ground.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5817/20875482845_4bca84663c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xNGiL2)
Bring the racecar to the track, work on the daily driver..as you do.

A few zipties got everything back in order, and we set back to the regular morning routine.

I noticed the night before that the CP Camaro of Jeff Stroh and Todd Farris (of http://www.oversteergarage.com) was entered, and we ended up parked right next to them. Regular routine: derailed.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/610/20252884794_8817f6f13a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wRFk3S)

We talked for a bit, they had a look at our car, and soon it was off for drivers meeting and first heat. Things worked out perfectly, as I was off this heat and they were running, so I begged a couple rides, tried to help where I could (provided a little muscle helping to push it), and mostly tried to stay out of the way while they did their thing.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/742/20865829832_0db1b797ae_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xMQQfL)

What. A. Ride. They had to fight a pretty dirty course going out first, and a setup that was geared for the grippy concrete of Lincoln rather than the course asphalt, and it was still a MONSTER. Hopefully we cross paths again, it's a joy to watch, listen to, and ride in.

Back to the normal program, running last heat gives you plenty of time to roam around, catch rides with friends, stare at the sky and ponder life, etc. The temps were moderate, in the mid-90s, but the Houston-esque humidity made it just about as tough as the last few 100+ degree events.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5748/20688739619_3936b6c2e1_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xwccve)
88 mph! 88 miillleesss per hoouurr!

I took the 3rd heat to make a sandwich and cool off in the truck before heading out in an effort to not repeat the sins of the Camaro club event. Grabbed rides with my dad and Jon in his CAM-C Mustang to re-remember the course, and it was time to saddle up.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5820/20687416400_6ea03be581_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xw5qa7)
After my morning ride-alongs, it's HILARIOUS that we call this the 'racecar'!

Things went much better this time, with a reasonable calm, controlled 52.8 right off the bat. Right around what I was expecting, but with a couple cones. A 52.211 followed, which was good for the top overall CAM time and would be my best of the day thanks to a rash of cones that wiped out a 51.678 on the fourth run - class results (http://texasscca.org/2015_solo_results/tr15_6_final.htm).

Speaking of that fourth run, about a 1/3rd of the way into that one I noticed a fairly loud whine from somewhere in the driveline after letting off the throttle into a turn. The first section out of the start felt pretty messy, and the noise sealed the deal on a slow 52.5. Looking back at it on the logger, it was actually quicker until letting it push wide about 2/3rds of the way through.

The second, fully charged GoPro battery eluded both of us, so we didn't get video of my session. I was able to use the tablet between runs to compare lines, which proved to be pretty helpful.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5669/20691846490_33659517c9_m.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xwt84Y) https://farm1.staticflickr.com/589/20693174689_c67cd9f38a_m.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xwzVTX) https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5712/20853643786_16976ce317_m.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xLLnLw)
Runs 2 and 4 charted - click to enlarge

We pretty much always say distance is king, and that was the case. This corner, the tightest on the course, seemed like a good opportunity to drive in deep and go for a late apex, getting back to the throttle quicker for the next fairly straight section.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/572/20693174059_1d461a3044_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xwzVH6)

In the session before, I actually discussed this with Jon as he 'pinched' it, and we both agreed that the late apex option should be better. It even felt better in the car..but the numbers don't lie. I entered the section with a .162 lead, and left it basically dead even. The exit speed was nearly 2 mph higher, but this didn't translate into any gain through the next section, either.

Distance. Is. King. Good stuff, and I can't recommend SoloStorm from Petrel Data Systems (http://www.petreldata.com) enough.

We haven't gotten to investigate the noise yet (hopefully it's just in my head?), but it was a great day overall.

On to the next one!

[Gscherer78ta]

Looks fun and looks like you did well Dustin! Good job! I was out at LSP on Sat with the BMW club and had a blast, they laid out a really fast course! I was getting 75+mph in several places.

Keep up the great work!

[silver63c10]

Looks fun and looks like you did well Dustin! Good job! I was out at LSP on Sat with the BMW club and had a blast, they laid out a really fast course! I was getting 75+mph in several places.

Thanks Greg - I really need to get out for one of their events, they always look like wide-open fun.

----

One more bit of Optima Wrap-up

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5713/20621094944_fae1885653_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xqdv6J)
'As seen on TV'

Friday night was about as much fun as I've had sitting in front of the TV in forever. It was Optima Texas night on MAVTV, and it didn't disappoint.

Bangshift Chad, Kevin Mooney, and their entire team work their butts off at these events, and we spent a good chunk of time with cameras strapped on the car throughout the weekend. The show featured great coverage of many of our local guys and shops that contribute to the scene here, and it was great going "Hey, there's X" as they each got their respective segments.

Fairly early on, during a short montage of newcomers to the event, BAM there we are! Complete with a buzz up past 7,000 audible in the background. Ok, I'm good now, anything else from here is gravy :lol:

Backstory: Drag Week 09

A little bit of background with us on doing these events with media coverage - when we did Drag Week, we had two main goals, and a third slightly less important goal. The two main ones were to (1) finish the week, and (2) get a 10 second timeslip. Done, and done. The third was to appear in Hot Rod Magazine, even if it was just in the background of a picture. We 'Long Hauled' two Power Tours in 03 and 04 and never made it in, so we had to have better odds with a lower car count, right?

A few months after the event, the mag came in the mail and the event coverage consisted of around 30 cars from the week, and that was it. Long story short, we were a little bummed, but we knew running 11s in a car like ours it was a long shot anyway.

Back to Optima

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/689/21251781081_1b0cdb2806_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ynWW7D)
Hey, I recognize those gloves..and HANS..and car..

My big long wrapup posts intentionally overlooked a fairly big part of the weekend for us: shooting a segment with Mike from Wilwood. We felt pretty sure it would make the show, but didn't want to look like jackasses if we talked it up and it ended up on the cutting room floor. About 45 minutes into the show, I saw the image above coming out of the break and let out an "OH S..."

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/725/21055673520_8066863343_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/y5BQaN)
'I don't know what to do with my hands..I feel like I'm in a spaceship'

Early in the day Sunday, we found ourselves in the garage during a fairly quiet time, and caught Chad walking through. After some pleasantries, I told him we had talked to him on Drag Week in 09, and he lit up and remembered the car. We bench raced for a bit, and he brought up the idea of shooting a feature for Wilwood highlighting the multi-purpose nature of the car and the different braking demands of an event like this vs the drag strip.

A bit later, Mike from Wilwood came back over and went through the plan with us, which was to shoot the car going into the braking zone at turn 1 from both on-board and outside, then shoot a segment in the garage discussing the braking performance and potential upgrades after coming in.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/702/21055675430_cc68a26028_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/y5BQJJ)
First wheelstand on an Optima show?

I may be biased, but I felt like it turned out great. So many shows put sponsor copy in the host's hands and just shoehorn these types of things in there, but this felt much more natural. In our case, we went with Wilwood from the start and recommend them to our customers, so there wasn't a need for a prompt for me to speak well of them.

The cherry on top of the whole deal was wrapping up the segment showing Smitty going back out for an extra session to improve his road course time in response to our best lap. We had no idea we were anywhere close to him until after things wrapped - I was just having a blast flogging the car on the road course for the first time.

All in all, a very cool way to wrap up one of the most fun events we've ever done and set the hook hard for us to get back at it next year. Huge, huge thanks again to Chad and Mike - my dad and I were still giggling about it hanging out at the lake this weekend.

And I'll say it one more time - if you have the capability at all, get your car out to one of these events!

Bring on 2016!

[Gscherer78ta]

Here Here to Friday night being the best time I've had in front of a TV in FOREVER! It was great to see all the guys I race with on the weekends, that I know work on their own stuff and swap ideas with during the down time at races! It was awesome to see Dustin, Mike, Chris, Amy and Gary and brought back really fond memories of the most fun event I've entered- I'm a little biased because I got some air time too!

I think my rear drum brakes scarred the Willwood guys away!

I thought you were great Dustin and I too look forward to making minor changes going into 2016!!!!

[silver63c10]

Little update time - we got back on the road course!

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5698/22319519490_7dc9bc5489_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/A1inxy)

..they just stuck a bunch of cones on it first :headspin:

Every year Texas SCCA does one autocross event on the infield road course. It's a lot more open than their typical courses, and stretched 2nd gear pretty good.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5628/22319491560_ca0d4ce6d7_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/A1ief1)
Your CAM-T class for the day

Looking at the video, I'm thinking I could have shifted 3rd and probably gained a little time, but the downshift into that hard braking zone would have made things interesting. As it was, I 'backed into' that section a few times, with the rear getting very antsy under braking.

OhngbSSL4zA

Didn't get video of my fastest two runs, but this one was pretty close. I was able to clean up the last group of offsets a decent amount to find some time.

We've probably got a few events left this year, then we'll start evaluating the to-do list and the calendar (this time of year always gets crazy), and getting to work.

ALSO..I started a new job a few weeks ago, and I'm loving it already. Exhibit A: if you're going to SEMA, come see me at the Traxxas booth!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/753/22320084788_ced96fdef5_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/A1mgA5)

[BBC71Nova]

That's awesome. So you are the guy jumping the remote control truck in the half-pipe all day? haha Always have to stop by that booth and checkout the trucks. For my son of course... :)

[WSSix]

Congrats on the new gig, Duston. What are you doing for Traxxas now?

[Gscherer78ta]

Seth told me you recently changed jobs- Congrats! I hope you like what you are doing!

I might be down for the year - tires are shot! have to wait for the funds to build back up to put some Bridgestones or Rivals on it.

You had a great season Dusty, man you tightened down the loose nut behind the wheel a bunch! That's a lot of work. It's always fun seeing you at events and trying to come close to your times. I recall not that long ago I could keep up with you, not a chance now.

Greg

[silver63c10]

John - they probably won't trust me with the controller, haha. There is a net around it to protect the masses, at least? We'll be happy to help find the right car for your "kids", though.

Trey - I'm in the marketing department, doing graphics and some project/traffic management. It's been a blast so far.

Greg - thanks! We've missed you guys the last few events. We've got a tough decision coming on tires for next year, I like the Falkens but the Rival S seems to have surpassed it pretty handily as far as the big tires go. Luckily there's still a good amount of meat on ours, so we've got some time.

It's surprised me how much more comfortable I've gotten in it this year, even with a few stretches of downtime. Excited to get some more spring and swaybar under it this winter.

[GrabberGT]

I was surprised to see the TMS event still going on with all the rain we had that weekend. Looks like you had fun though. Who's the new guy with the Nova? Havent seen him running yet.

I might get in 1 or 2 more events this next month before tearing down the car. Dont know which ones though.

[silver63c10]

He's cool. The car was a drag car before, he's put a Ridetech(?) 4-link under it and some front suspension work too. Spent a few events working out bugs but he's coming along pretty quick with it.

I think we're going to make the one on the 15th then start eyeing the to-do list. Two month offseasons are a blessing and a curse..

[GrabberGT]

Two month offseasons are a blessing and a curse..

Yup. 6 weeks of planning and tear down and then "Oh Crap!" :willy:

[silver63c10]

Yup. 6 weeks of planning and tear down and then "Oh Crap!" :willy:

Been there! Sounds like our prep going into last season, which led to us not getting the car out til like August.

-------

Stumbled across a pretty cool pic on facebook by Brad Maxcy of Vorshlag and Texas SCCA - this looks way more composed than any other pic I have of it. This was on, I believe, the first slalom in the runs above. Very open and very fast.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/684/22075022504_f12c3ea98f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/zCGg7h)

Can't wait to get it stiffer and lower.

[silver63c10]

End of season update! Last event of the year for the car was last weekend. Tricky course, I was a bit tired, driver excuse bingo.

Still a fun day, but I never got a handle on the course. At all. Even on my last run, there were 4 or 5 spots I just couldn't get the car feeling right on.

YdNCFqB3Y1Q

My trusty crew chief was also on hand wielding the big camera. Can't wait to get started on the suspension work and tame this thing..

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s7/v154/p1622154769-4.jpg

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s5/v117/p1780551782-4.jpg

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s5/v118/p1619159146-4.jpg

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s7/v155/p1856050299-4.jpg

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v170/p1808160416-4.jpg

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v3/p1764170912-4.jpg


Now, to prioritize that winter to-do list..

[syborg tt]

Duston,

I love this thread and the fact that you are out actually using the car you built.

Keep posting pics and Updates as I am watching them all.

[awr68]

Duston,

I love this thread and the fact that you are out actually using the car you built.

Keep posting pics and Updates as I am watching them all.

Couldn't agree more! And personally, I like the later 2nd gens. Nice to see one getting some love!

[silver63c10]

Thanks guys! We have definitely had a blast running the snot out of it this year.

Minor update - I was hoping to run the car one last time this weekend, but I ended up with a decent size cut in the passenger rear tire sidewall on a run and I'm not comfortable street driving with it.

Enter the Z! ..and its 3 year old RS-3s. High for the day was 50, strong north breeze, it was amusing all the way around. Good way to end the year, and remind me what it's like to feel totally confident and comfortable in a car.

First run of the PM session - cold tires was hilarious. HILARIOUS.

PdWm_HqPAyY

Best raw time of the day (had a cone somewhere)

SO5u-UE6sNM

In hindsight, I do a lot of tiptoeing in the Camaro, where in the Z I'm more gun it and figure it out later. What gives the confidence to do this even on worn out tires?


4+ years of seat time in the Z
Neutral handling:
Will push a bit if you overcook it driving into corners, but easily correctable with a quick brake tap
Rotates predictably through corners with controlled throttle
Hard initial brake bite (thanks Carbotech!) and solid, predictable ABS performance allow for stupid heavy braking


Compared to the Camaro -


One season and some change dodging cones in it
Handling is a mixed bag:
Turn in is quick, but it gets into an unrecoverable push if you get in too hot
Rotates freely (like, really freely) with the throttle, making corner exit a delicate process and delaying getting back to the power
Hard braking (I supposed it's trail braking) into corners brings the rear around, often rather abruptly
Manual brakes and sub-optimal master cylinder sizes are difficult to modulate (new masters that are still sitting on the bench..), initial bite is fairly soft and walking the line between no brakes and lockup is tricky


Soooooo, now we just have to figure out how to make the bottom more like the top? Season starts March 6th..

[SSLance]

Have you ever put a infrared temp sensor on your brakes rotors directly after a run on the Camaro? I had a symptom somewhat like your braking issue and turns out I had way too much rear brake which was upsetting the car on corner entry. What made mine hard to diagnose was it wouldn't happen on the early parts of runs, just later on in the runs as once the EBC yellow pads heated up they gripped way harder.

My rear rotors were about 100 degrees hotter than the fronts right after a run. Once I swapped in some parts store rear pads, it fixed it right up and gave me WAY more confidence on corner entry.

[silver63c10]

Have you ever put a infrared temp sensor on your brakes rotors directly after a run on the Camaro?

I put together a log sheet loosely based on the one you posted and managed to use it at one event. I think I checked the front vs. rear temp and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but it's been a while. We fought to get any rear bias into it for a long time, and I think we could probably stand to pull a little back or go to a slightly less aggressive pad to fine tune it.

Once we get the new masters in it will have to be re-tuned all over again either way - the plan is to plumb in some pressure gauges to aid in this.

I'm thinking the lack of front spring rate also has a lot to do with it. I'm hoping an increase in that department combined with some tuning on a double adjustable shock will help us tame the weight transfer to the front tires under braking.

[silver63c10]

Exciting developments for the new year..

Last year, I was able to check one item off the bucket list: driving at Texas World Speedway. This year, we get to do another massive one!

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1458/23477924774_471a4a916c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/BLEv5s)

We'll be heading to COTA in August (cool suit, anyone?) and seeing what she'll do against the best of the best in the Optima series. There is a LOT of work to do between now and then to get it ready for the biggest of Big Boy tracks.

Speaking of work, the new shop is pretty much up and running, and featuring a sweet new toy that should make getting those things done a lot easier.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1489/23810503880_09c2154350_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Ch44fY)

We've got a few weekends of work to do on the Z, then it will be the Camaro's turn. Suspension, brakes, safety upgrades, interior work and a lot more on the docket. Bring on 2016!

[WSSix]

Good luck Duston!

[GrabberGT]

Good luck and enjoy the new shop. I'll be living vicariously through you this year. COTA just isnt in the budget for me. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you get it ready. Im sure I'll be seinge you at plenty of the 79 at the autocross this season.

[silver63c10]

How about a little update time?

When we last left off, the new shop was up and running and there was a pile of parts beginning to grow. After some fits and starts, we've been plugging away and making steady progress on making this into a car worthy of running on a man-sized race track.

Fuel Cell

Up first was fire safety. Our $129 Summit special cell has had a rough life, and was never meant for road course duty in the first place, so we called in the help of Fuel Safe. This is an FIA-cert'd Enduro cell that should be much happier should things get hairy.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1604/26325138582_8999f52cdf_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G7gdxG)
the new and improved 'natural state of the racecar' picture

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1626/26417486385_3c7f77bb59_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gfqwkc)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1570/26351312901_9f1fda9b1a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G9zng4)
somehow haven't grabbed a pic of it since the install, but here's the top of it

Side note, does anyone know if it's normal for the bladder to bang around inside the can on these? Ours has the hard plastic one, and even with 6-7 gallons of fuel in it you can rattle it back and forth. Their tech line was not the most helpful when we called to ask..

Big Boy Brakes

We knew going into the Texas Optima event last year that we were pushing the limits of the braking setup we had. We discussed our setup and options at length with Mike from Wilwood during that event, and a few emails picked up the conversation where it had left off and got us on the right track.

The rears were up first, with their 12" rotor and integrated parking brake setup making use of our existing 4-piston Dynalites that were originally up front (my how things change!)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1446/26391549996_a5436dc96b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gd8Am5)
buttoned up and ready to go

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1647/26144785560_e23aeeb23f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FQjRSQ)
a Lokar parking brake lever finished off the install - it's since been liberated through the carpet

Up front, we needed two things - diameter, and better cooling capacity. We landed on the 14" kit with radial mount Superlite calipers, upgrading to the GT curved vane slotted rotors.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1689/25814732113_60179038f6_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Fkafua)
these things make me giggle like a fat kid with 14 inches of cake

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1473/26391573546_b1fbf81bb7_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gd8Hm7)
mocked up to make sure all is well

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1506/26144785550_1a9b9ac553_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FQjRSE)
one side ready to go, one side to go

A Real Race Seat

Along the same lines of our Summit special fuel cell, our APC (remember that company?!) 'race' seats brought about visions of those YouTube videos of people flopping around their cars after their seats broke apart in a minor wreck.

After a few fit tests (sitting in other people's seats at their open house), Jon and Terry at Vorshlag hooked us up with real deal FIA-certified Cobra Suzukas. Then came the matter of, you know, actually fitting them in the car.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1715/26351315551_4808ebb56d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G9zo3K)
remember that time something just bolted right into the racecar?

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1561/26145063220_23503a012d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FQmhq5)
the Cobra mounts presented a bit of a height issue..

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1486/26144640730_984a292c57_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FQj7PL)
we got to work with the tubing bender, band saw, welder, etc.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1473/25812671744_97af01c9f5_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FjYG1y)
and a few weekends later had ourselves a seat, along with new up-to-date belts


We bought a matching one for the passenger side, but it's going to either wait until we can stomach another 10+ hour build to put it in or end up in the Z. This car most likely won't see a whole lot of track time with an instructor, but if it does the Cobra will go in.

Gears that don't scream

One ancillary issue that was left over from last season was the rear end gears. The new 3.70s we set up early in the year had chewed themselves into oblivion in short order, which was a good excuse to break out the aluminum housing we had sitting on the shelf from the drag racing setup.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1648/26351336621_621922fce8_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G9zuj2)


A new set of 3.70s went in, hopefully for good this time, and aluminum center offsets a bit of the weight gained in the new fuel cell.

Aero

The final piece of the puzzle involves aero and cooling. We had massive cooling issues on the tiny road course at TMS in early spring last year, making the prospect of running a 3 mile course in Austin in August an uphill proposition (turn 1 puns).

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1625/26351314231_f63106453b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G9znDZ)
step 1: direct the air to the radiator..with aluminum instead of posterboard

Since we gutted the front bumper and grill area and never put anything to direct the air in there, we're operating on the assumption that turbulence is robbing us of a lot of cooling efficiency. Block off plates on each side, along with a pan top and bottom will help control the flow at speed.

The second half of this equation is converting our single pass Northern aluminum radiator into a triple with a little creativity, some scrap aluminum, and a TIG. There's also room for another inch or so of width and a bit more height should we need to add more capacity to get the results we're looking for.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1646/26391551166_31d8dbd19d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gd8AGf)


The final piece of the puzzle is a little front aero to work with the rear spoiler. To put it plainly, there's just not a good way to do a splitter/air dam/etc. on these cars in my mind. The smart thing to do would be to find a stock Z28 setup, mount it up and run, but I've never cared for them.

I think this setup will be both within our metal fab skillset and fit the look of the car, along with helping the nasty front aero profile a bit.

We're hoping to get the brakes finished up and get to a track in the not too distant future. Motorsport Ranch in Cresson offers a good stepping stone, and I have a little familiarity with it in the Z, so it seems like the ideal place to start. Onward and upward.

[SSLance]

Great update Dustin! Looks like you have been busy this off season. You will appreciate that seat being lower for sure, it was worth all the work it took. My Recaros seats are 2" lower than the ones they replaced, not only does my helmet not bang off the roof anymore, but I'm certain it lowered my CG a bit as well.

Looks like the rest of your mods are well designed, can't wait to hear how they work out on the track.

[Zspoiler]

How about a little update time?

When we last left off, the new shop was up and running and there was a pile of parts beginning to grow. After some fits and starts, we've been plugging away and making steady progress on making this into a car worthy of running on a man-sized race track.

Fuel Cell

Up first was fire safety. Our $129 Summit special cell has had a rough life, and was never meant for road course duty in the first place, so we called in the help of Fuel Safe. This is an FIA-cert'd Enduro cell that should be much happier should things get hairy.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1604/26325138582_8999f52cdf_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G7gdxG)
the new and improved 'natural state of the racecar' picture

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1626/26417486385_3c7f77bb59_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gfqwkc)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1570/26351312901_9f1fda9b1a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G9zng4)
somehow haven't grabbed a pic of it since the install, but here's the top of it

Side note, does anyone know if it's normal for the bladder to bang around inside the can on these? Ours has the hard plastic one, and even with 6-7 gallons of fuel in it you can rattle it back and forth. Their tech line was not the most helpful when we called to ask..

Big Boy Brakes

We knew going into the Texas Optima event last year that we were pushing the limits of the braking setup we had. We discussed our setup and options at length with Mike from Wilwood during that event, and a few emails picked up the conversation where it had left off and got us on the right track.

The rears were up first, with their 12" rotor and integrated parking brake setup making use of our existing 4-piston Dynalites that were originally up front (my how things change!)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1446/26391549996_a5436dc96b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gd8Am5)
buttoned up and ready to go

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1647/26144785560_e23aeeb23f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FQjRSQ)
a Lokar parking brake lever finished off the install - it's since been liberated through the carpet

Up front, we needed two things - diameter, and better cooling capacity. We landed on the 14" kit with radial mount Superlite calipers, upgrading to the GT curved vane slotted rotors.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1689/25814732113_60179038f6_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Fkafua)
these things make me giggle like a fat kid with 14 inches of cake

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1473/26391573546_b1fbf81bb7_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gd8Hm7)
mocked up to make sure all is well

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1506/26144785550_1a9b9ac553_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FQjRSE)
one side ready to go, one side to go

A Real Race Seat

Along the same lines of our Summit special fuel cell, our APC (remember that company?!) 'race' seats brought about visions of those YouTube videos of people flopping around their cars after their seats broke apart in a minor wreck.

After a few fit tests (sitting in other people's seats at their open house), Jon and Terry at Vorshlag hooked us up with real deal FIA-certified Cobra Suzukas. Then came the matter of, you know, actually fitting them in the car.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1715/26351315551_4808ebb56d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G9zo3K)
remember that time something just bolted right into the racecar?

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1561/26145063220_23503a012d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FQmhq5)
the Cobra mounts presented a bit of a height issue..

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1486/26144640730_984a292c57_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FQj7PL)
we got to work with the tubing bender, band saw, welder, etc.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1473/25812671744_97af01c9f5_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FjYG1y)
and a few weekends later had ourselves a seat, along with new up-to-date belts


We bought a matching one for the passenger side, but it's going to either wait until we can stomach another 10+ hour build to put it in or end up in the Z. This car most likely won't see a whole lot of track time with an instructor, but if it does the Cobra will go in.

Gears that don't scream

One ancillary issue that was left over from last season was the rear end gears. The new 3.70s we set up early in the year had chewed themselves into oblivion in short order, which was a good excuse to break out the aluminum housing we had sitting on the shelf from the drag racing setup.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1648/26351336621_621922fce8_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G9zuj2)


A new set of 3.70s went in, hopefully for good this time, and aluminum center offsets a bit of the weight gained in the new fuel cell.

Aero

The final piece of the puzzle involves aero and cooling. We had massive cooling issues on the tiny road course at TMS in early spring last year, making the prospect of running a 3 mile course in Austin in August an uphill proposition (turn 1 puns).

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1625/26351314231_f63106453b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G9znDZ)
step 1: direct the air to the radiator..with aluminum instead of posterboard

Since we gutted the front bumper and grill area and never put anything to direct the air in there, we're operating on the assumption that turbulence is robbing us of a lot of cooling efficiency. Block off plates on each side, along with a pan top and bottom will help control the flow at speed.

The second half of this equation is converting our single pass Northern aluminum radiator into a triple with a little creativity, some scrap aluminum, and a TIG. There's also room for another inch or so of width and a bit more height should we need to add more capacity to get the results we're looking for.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1646/26391551166_31d8dbd19d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gd8AGf)


The final piece of the puzzle is a little front aero to work with the rear spoiler. To put it plainly, there's just not a good way to do a splitter/air dam/etc. on these cars in my mind. The smart thing to do would be to find a stock Z28 setup, mount it up and run, but I've never cared for them.

I think this setup will be both within our metal fab skillset and fit the look of the car, along with helping the nasty front aero profile a bit.

We're hoping to get the brakes finished up and get to a track in the not too distant future. Motorsport Ranch in Cresson offers a good stepping stone, and I have a little familiarity with it in the Z, so it seems like the ideal place to start. Onward and upward.

Have you looked at the IMSA /SCCA Camaro race cars of the 1977-81 era ,for ideas on the front spoiler? Some were pretty wild.

[Gscherer78ta]

Hey Dustin, do you have any pictures of your seat mounts? I'd be very interested in seeing those.

I fabbed the seat mounts in my 78 but it still sits 1" high. With the T tops in my helmet contacts the glass.

[glassman]

Very nice update indeed!!!

good luck at COTA this year! You and car car should do well....nicely prepped.

[silver63c10]

Looks like the rest of your mods are well designed, can't wait to hear how they work out on the track.

Thanks, Lance. I would have loved to get the seat even lower, but the floor mods and giant cowl pretty much I'm excited to test everything out.

Have you looked at the IMSA /SCCA Camaro race cars of the 1977-81 era ,for ideas on the front spoiler? Some were pretty wild.

I've looked at a ton of them over the past few years while plotting this. I feel like the nose on these cars is huge to start with, so adding anything to the front profile just exaggerates that even more.

Hey Dustin, do you have any pictures of your seat mounts?

Hey Greg - saw your email, sorry I haven't had a chance to reply.

I don't have a pic of the finished mount, but here's one of it in progress.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1486/26144640730_984a292c57_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FQj7PL)

This is a perimeter frame that runs around it, and we used some cold rolled flat stock to make legs that run down to the holes from the previous seats in the floor. Our cars are so short inside any off the shelf brackets are going to be tough.

good luck at COTA this year! You and car car should do well....nicely prepped.

Thanks! If it doesn't do well it won't be for lack of effort, at least :lol:

[silver63c10]

Back to it.

So, it's been an interesting month or so. The car has taken every opportunity to remind us who is boss (hint: it's not us), but last weekend we got back to it on the autocross course.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7466/27009170972_2ddbb0c6d4_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/H9H4xA)

We had registered for an event with the car on the 7th, and thought everything was in place. New brakes were all in, alignment checked out, and corner weights set.

A trip down the road to bed the brakes quickly revealed that all was not well, and we soon discovered that our new front master cylinder (purchased last summer, based on our old calipers) wasn't jiving with our new setup, which has 1" less piston area in the caliper. This translated to a frightening lack of braking power.

So we went from "Let's get it loaded tonight" to..this.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7586/27070301416_2ba112d7e4_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hf7nuL)

Well, the event registration was done, and after a strange series of events I still can't fathom, we ended up with the chance to run my mom's 2016 SS that Saturday.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/27009172262_52a49bb315_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/H9H4VQ)
When you borrow mom's car, you run lots of tape and a WIDE line

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7623/26829443090_ed5a8c9006_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GSPUH1)

k1PUJFlBPNw

Absolutely blown away by this car. Even on stock Goodyear F1s, it was a blast to drive. We weren't able to fully defeat the traction and stability controls which led to some frustration, but overall it is one mean machine. Those CAM-C guys are definitely smarter than us..

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/26498001534_15e12bb8eb_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GnxbFq)
PROTIP: Running a horizontal strip of tape at the top lets you pull it off in one piece

Converting from Digital back to Analog

Back to the red Spawn.. The new 7/8" master cylinder came in, and we were able to get the brakes bled and bedded in time to hit last weekend's Texas SCCA event.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7502/26498003614_e5d4938f74_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gnxcih)
I guess you could say the..pressure..was on

With the new master, my scrawny self can hit 1000+ psi consistently, with peaks over 1300 - much happier.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7545/27009173282_be50045833_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/H9H5eq)

All that was left was to hit the track and see how it worked. After 3 runs to convert myself back over after multiple events in the newly tuned Z and the 2016, I finally settled back in.

Adjustments to the new double adjustable QA1s along with brake bias changes were made every run, and by the 4th things were starting to feel like home again. True to form from last year, we still proved to have an appetite for cones...

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/27035461601_e74338c965_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hc2NQi)
Jon's 'F-150' is actually the same LS-swapped Nova as Feras'

Including one each on two runs that would have taken the class for the day. Almost worth it for that close of a margin, but I could have stood for it to be reversed :confused18:

All in all, a very good day, and we are super pumped for this weekend's adventure..

2016 Texas CAM Challenge

Been looking forward to this since it was announced, and relieved and excited that we're going to make it. Can't wait to battle it out for two days with a great group of people and cars!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7168/27035540401_5de7bebb69_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hc3dfV)

[Gscherer78ta]

Good Progress Dusty! We'll see ya at the CAM Challenge!

[Juicypop]

Great build man love the color of the car.

[WSSix]

Nice job with mom's car. I've heard they feel like pigs but man can those new cars move.

Whose Nova?

[silver63c10]

Nice job with mom's car. I've heard they feel like pigs but man can those new cars move.

Whose Nova?

Yeah, I expected it to feel like a BIG car, but it controls it incredibly well. The shocks are just insane. The LT-1 is mind-bogglingly good. If we were smart we'd just sell out and get one of our own but that wouldn't be nearly as fun.

We keep telling ourselves that at least.

[Gscherer78ta]

Yeah, I expected it to feel like a BIG car, but it controls it incredibly well. The shocks are just insane. The LT-1 is mind-bogglingly good. If we were smart we'd just sell out and get one of our own but that wouldn't be nearly as fun.

We keep telling ourselves that at least.

I just can't see you in a new car Dustin! The way your car sounds and the way you wheel that car is really fun to watch- sideways through the timing light with smoke blowing from the rear wheels!!!! Looks like all your effort paid off last weekend and you represented very well during the challenge.

[syborg tt]

Looking for the Like Button for this Thread !!!

http://www.garagescene.net/_data/i/upload/2016/05/23/20160523081328-c5992591-th.png

[silver63c10]

2016 SCCA CAM Challenge Texas

Well, that was an absolute blast just as I expected.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7736/26578149494_3b31b2bf4c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GuBXSN)
A place for every thing, and every thing has its place

Got to the track late Friday, around 7:30. The beer had been flowing, bets were being discussed, I think a good time was had by all.

Fortunately, dad was able to get out there before me and get the car tech'd. I got to walk the -huge- course once and marvel at the wide gates and lack of Miata-centric elements, and we called it a night after swapping tires on the Z which he was driving in the worker index.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/26909498600_7a72d405e7_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GZUdqq)
Been doing this since 09 - my first national-level helmet sticker

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7786/26909495350_72da537f68_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GZUcso)
A good look at what the course entailed - a lot of big wide open asphalt

When everyone started heading to grid, it started to dawn on me how cool this event was.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7467/26578149404_b68f10aa2b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GuBXRf)
It's.. everything I always knew an autocross event could be..

Spent the entirety of Saturday chasing the car and beating myself up. Our Falkens are pretty much at end of life after a long hot Texas summer last season, and it really wasn't sitting well in the heat of battle.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7118/26578145924_a98fc17076_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GuBWPf)
Representing the Texas chapter of the Second Gen Mafia with Greg

Finished the day 6th (they gave out 5 trophies, of course), but I did at least win a Speedway hat in the giveaway during trophy ceremony. We finished the afternoon super early, providing plenty of time for the beer to flow again before dinner arrived courtesy of Dusold Designs.

Much bench racing was had, world problems and suspension issues were put to bed, the empty bottles were disposed of and we hit the hotel before sundown.

Sunday brought a clean slate, and three more morning runs and the Challenge rounds for which the CAM Challenge is named.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/26909495440_5d86b49e32_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GZUctW)
Not a bad lineup..

I managed to scrounge some time together on my final run of the morning, putting me in 4th heading into the 8-car challenge. This, naturally, matched me up with Feras in the Nemesis Nova.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7643/26578153434_af61d72ac0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GuBZ3J)
Everywhere I go, this black car is just ahead, just behind, or BOTH

The second round matchup pitted us against the eventual winner of CAM-T Mark Madarash. Mark has won more national championships in ESP with this car than I can count, and was deep in the trophies at last year's nationals after switching to CP by putting wider tires and flares on.

Mark was holding two seconds on my best time, so I knew I would need to pull some magic and get a little help from him to advance. I managed 64.6, .4 better than my best time of the weekend, but picked up a cone in the process. Mark was on his game, quick and clean like he'd been all weekend, with a 63.5.

uxcEQVdpRws

https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7585/27207231246_c61bb31fdb_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HsdaXU)

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7385/27172206401_723077a128_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hp7Eig)

What's next?

So pushing old tires around for two days was the catalyst we needed to make a few decisions:

- We now have one set of Rival S's that will be used for Optima in Austin, and a second set that will go on as soon as they arrive so we can begin suspension tuning.

- A set of Afco 850 lb standard springs are on the way. We'll use spacers to tune ride height if needed, but this pig has got to have some spring rate up front, like yesterday.

- Hopefully new springs will allow us to hook the rear swaybar back up and get things calmed way down.

Lots more work to do before August, but the last few runs Sunday got me super pumped to get this thing kicking some ass again.

[silver63c10]

I just can't see you in a new car Dustin! The way your car sounds and the way you wheel that car is really fun to watch- sideways through the timing light with smoke blowing from the rear wheels!!!! Looks like all your effort paid off last weekend and you represented very well during the challenge.

Thanks Greg! Looking back at the videos the finish cracks me up every time. As exciting as it is, it wasn't helping the time much - excited to get our new springs and hopefully tame it a bit.


Looking for the Like Button for this Thread !!!

http://www.garagescene.net/_data/i/upload/2016/05/23/20160523081328-c5992591-th.png

Haha, thanks Marty!

[pro66tour]

Love the vid - thanks for sharing bud:cheers:

[SSLance]

The CAM Challenges are a fun event, aren't they? Looks like you got the most out of your time there.

That course was wicked long and very fun looking!

[silver63c10]

Love the vid - thanks for sharing bud:cheers:

Happy to spread the word on how to not be overly fast but have a ton of fun in the process :lol:

The CAM Challenges are a fun event, aren't they? Looks like you got the most out of your time there.

That course was wicked long and very fun looking!

Understatements on both fronts. I determined that a normal run is caffeine compared to the heroin of a challenge round. Lining up knowing it's win or go home is unlike anything else. Wish we would have had enough to make a 16-car class!

And yes, Mineral Wells courses are usually not for the timid. We're extremely fortunate to have it.

[silver63c10]

Ups and Downs.

Peaks and Valleys.

A class win, a few fast laps, and then boom.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/8/7364/27194998943_4405c64562_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hr8tJ8)

Been a bit of a roller coaster month. After the Texas CAM Challenge, we decided to throw the kitchen sink at the car in an effort to get back on the same page as the other guys around here and hopefully have a prayer of being competitive at Optima in August.

Suspension Updates

Eibach 850 lb springs came in, along with 3.5" spacers to get things up on the right level. Dropped the front nearly an inch, requiring a full redo of the alignment and confirming that the camber curve of our front uppers is SILLY.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7294/27730972041_f35f174623_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JfutRB)

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7309/27195003603_2d7136064f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hr8v7t)
OH BABY that's what I'm talkin about

Lowering the car jacked the camber through the roof, allowing us to crank some more caster in while getting it back to our desired camber number. Look good, feel good: Check.

More Sticky!

Next up, our tired set of Falkens. We knew we were at a disadvantage last year once the Rival S arrived, and the time finally came to see what it was all about.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7357/27705945572_94de1e4b6a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JdhdmL)

Night and day. Just unbelievable. Changing so many other things at the same time wasn't ideal, but time is running short and you do what you have to do.

The increased spring rate calmed down the front substantially under acceleration, braking, and in transition, combining with the stickier tires to take a car that was knife-edge loose at all times to give us a nice neutral happy car.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/8/7293/27730966911_f549ecab49_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jfuska)

I did the long haul to Mineral Wells to test things out, and was happy to pull of a class win over a stock Z06 and Viper.

BQqvLZlt410

Next up: road course testing

With everything happy, our schedule was perfect (for once) to catch June's Open Track Day at Eagles Canyon Raceway last weekend. I've run there twice before in the Z, and knew it would be an excellent test of our new brake setup.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7432/27195002683_e983799909.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hr8uQB)

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7522/27806334705_494b07734b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jn9JxT)

Fellow CAM-T'er and Optima COTA registrant Feras came out in the Nova as well, and we drew a good amount of attention as the only two cars besides a couple of Porsche 944s that were more than 5 years old.

Spent the morning feeling things out, consistently taking off chunks of time through each session and managing cool down laps to keep the water temp under 220 (our other concern for the day).

https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7432/27194239334_0e2048fc56_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hr4zVq)

After the lunch break, the 3rd session went swimmingly, and I was even able to make the whole thing with the temp gauge sitting at 220-224, cooling on the straights consistently for 4 hot laps.

Then it came time for the last session..

(continued next post)

[silver63c10]

Open Track Day Session 4

zcSGfxlljq8

It felt like our dog died. It still does. We put this motor together in 2007-2008, and have run the living snot out of it ever since. It's been freshened up a few times, but other than the valve springs it's all the same assembly we put together then. And just like that..

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7429/27806333635_ba632a72ae_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jn9Jer)

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7401/27806337105_b7e39698f8_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jn9Kgg)
None of that paint is gloss..fortunately it didn't catch on fire

About a second and 3 mph away from my braking point on the big back straight, a rod reached what is commonly referred to as 'End of Life'.

Got towed back in (it hit me when the truck pulled up that we never put a tow hook on the front). Fortunately no oil was down on the track. We loaded up and headed home scratching our heads at what had happened, but knowing pretty well that the little 377 had screamed its last scream.

Happy Father's Day

Sunday brought Father's Day lunch, but Dad and I both were itching to get back home and tear into it. Pulling the spark plugs had us encouraged, as none showed damage. Pulling the drain plug was a different story, when around a gallon of water ran out before any oil did.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/8/7393/27730973351_be2550000b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jfuufc)

With the timeline until August on our minds, we started pulling parts off and within a few hours had the engine and trans out (a bit slower than our record time, but not a bad thing to get out of the habit of). Gotta love racecars.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7424/27194238424_9a4fe3bd61_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hr4zDJ)
Probably a bad sign..

With some persuasion from a hammer and chisel, we were able to get the pan bolts out and see what had taken place. All tolled, 3 broken rods, but 3 in tact pistons that protected the heads from the chaos below.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/8/7467/27195000503_9dc0665d04_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hr8uc2)
Note the angle of the piston..

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https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7370/27194996043_41ca30d3fe_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hr8sS8)

This thing has always been exceptionally good to us. It's given us warning signs when things have been a little off, and taken good care of us through way more than it's share of abuse. Between 450 and 500 passes at the drag strip, and more time above 6000 rpm in the last two years at autocrosses and track events than should be legal.

Its final act of kindness was blowing up now instead of day 1 in Austin, and sparing the heads which are the one thing we were missing for the new build.

The Thrash Begins

Good news is that we were already assembling the pieces for a bigger, meatier small block. The plan was to pull the 377 and mothball it as a spare..best laid plans.

And yes, I said small block. We've weighed the LS swap over and over, but for us it just makes more sense to stick with what we know. We have built too many of them to count, plus it's fun being 'those guys' still playing with the oddball junk nobody wants anymore.

This one will come out to 420 ci and hopefully provide a good amount more torque through the middle, while still screaming like a banshee at 7,000+.

But more on that later. I'll leave this post with the fast lap of the day from the 3rd session. Godspeed, little mouse motor.

N7i-0NuiR3k

[SSLance]

Oh man!!! RIP mouse... That oil pan though!! Looks like it did a great job containing all of the flying pieces.

Good luck with the new build. Hope you get it in with plenty of time to shake it down before the big event in August. And I hear ya on staying with the SBC!!

[WSSix]

Well, that stinks, Duston. You got a lot of life out of that motor though. I hope the 420 motor does just as well for you. Good luck getting it back in and ready for Austin.

[flatoutz]

Dustin,

That sucks!Starting to get the car dialed in and this happens.After lowering it have you experience any tire rub and brake pad knock back with the bigger brakes?

Mike,

[glassman]

Thats way cool not cool!!!, The pics are awesome and how much you beat that thing is even more awesome!!!! Wasn't gonna last forever at that....

Nothing wrong with a mouse motor, in my opinion, the 2nd best engine ever build, with the LS being #1 imo. Pound for pound dollar for dollar, you'll get the best outa the mouse....one helluva an airpump...

Hopefully, what, couple of weeks, back and running? nothing else hurt? future fire retardant upgrades?

[Big_dime85]

Well that just sucks. But the plans for a big cube hi rpm sbc sounds awesome. Plenty of engine build picks please!

[silver63c10]

Thanks for the encouraging words, guys. Been a frantic few weeks, but we're hoping to have it back up and running this weekend.

After lowering it have you experience any tire rub and brake pad knock back with the bigger brakes?

We ended up pulling the front fenders a little more but everything was pretty good already overall.

It is getting a little bit of knockback in certain situations when there's successive left and right corners without braking. I'm afraid the amount of tire and the increased diameter of the rotor is exposing some weakness in the stock spindles at this point.

Well that just sucks. But the plans for a big cube hi rpm sbc sounds awesome. Plenty of engine build picks please!

Unfortunately we didn't manage many pics of the build, it went together in a marathon session on the 4th.

Update incoming shortly..

[silver63c10]

The Comeback.

Phew, what a crazy few weeks. After our initial teardown from the last post, the full teardown revealed where things started to go wrong.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8783/28232320722_e6b13c2162_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/K1N2mo)

#6 broke a rod bolt, which was the splayed rod cap that was in the bottom of the pan. 5 and 1 followed suit as things wound down, so we have 3 mangled souvenirs for garage art. Our suspicion that the heads were spared proved to be correct, but they did need some work to get back into shape.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8880/27720062673_1dee5dd294_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JewyT4)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8821/28302118576_2b8d31cb88_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/K7XKPE)

Lots of bent valves, and about .004" warpage around #6 from the piston hitting it (!). Everything cleaned up well, saving us a LOT of time and headache.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8847/28302124136_f461fc28d5_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/K7XMtw)

All ready to go back together.

A bit of cleanup..

While the pieces for the motor were being staged, I took the Saturday morning before the 4th to clean up the mess that evacuating the crankcase at 6000+ rpm left. Literally everything under the hood was bathed in a fine coating of Driven XP3 oil.

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8739/28257576741_b49659715f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/K42t5Z)

Misery is..crawling around under a car while oil and SuperClean drip in your face. At least it was early so it wasn't too hot yet.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8745/28302122446_fbda135245_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/K7XLYo)
All clean again.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7594/27720057873_fe178bf732_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jewxsi)
Work smarter..not harder. Plus I was by myself..

Better. Faster. Cooler.

While everything was out, it was the perfect time to finish up our cooling system upgrades. Step one: streamlining the airflow through the nose. Without the crash bumper, the nose has two big caverns for air to flow into and go nowhere.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8585/28302121756_e92d3abf18_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/K7XLLu)
This should help calm things down in there.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7684/28053983350_9e119646a5_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JK2ZS7)
Bead rolled, painted, and final mounted.

The second half of this equation is a bigger radiator. The old one had a few extra inches on each side. A new 31" fit the bill, maximizing the space and just fitting between the framerails, core support, and steering box. We transferred the Black Magic fan over to a new shroud, with a relief for the steering box, and got it mounted to a set of extended tabs.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7617/27720059683_2e9d53f41c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JewxZv)

421

Back to the motivation. Dad got everything assembled on the 4th, and we got it set up on the run stand for break-in time last week.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8878/28053980110_9e3997b4a2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JK2YUf)
If it ain't broke..we're not much for fancy, just clean

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First fire up

Had a couple little quirks to take care of on the valve seals (which have given us problems on these heads a couple times in the past), but this week we were able to get it dropped in.

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https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7647/27720059633_b46e5d8c36_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JewxYD)

Fortunately, our system works pretty well and has been made even easier in the new shop. The plan is to button up the rest of the details Sunday and take it down the road. I can't wait to see how 40+ cubic inches helps motivate things :D

Time is short for Austin, but we will hopefully get it to two autocrosses before then to help me get a handle on things. A lot of memories of thrashing to make it to Drag Week in 09 the last few weeks. That ended up working out pretty well, let's hope we're good for another.

[waynieZ]

The motor sounds sweet, Nice crisp throttle response.

[silver63c10]

The motor sounds sweet, Nice crisp throttle response.

Thanks, Wayne. The crazy thing is that's with a weak little HEI and headers that are way too small. It sounds a little, uh, different with the MSD and some pipe behind it.

Speaking of..

27 Days

It lives. Today we got everything buttoned up and took it down the road. Seems happy, other than a few odds and ends to work out. Dad has done a killer job with the motor, I'm super happy for him that it's doing what it should be.

SV7ExE9ZkTA

It's crazy, it sounds like a completely different car. We fired it open headers for a minute to make sure things were good before going back up and finishing the exhaust. It was immediately apparent that it's a whole new animal - it's got THUMP with the extra cubes.

With the mufflers on, it's super deep compared to the raspy scream that the 377 had. Still turns 6500 before you know it, though. Did a quick pull from 3000 in second during my short drive back and it's zero drama, it just gets down.

We have two events on the schedule the next two Sundays - just enough time to relearn the car and figure out what this whole low-end torque thing is all about.

[SSLance]

Sweet update! Nice turnaround getting it back on the road again. Good luck with the relearning of the car, torque is good... :D

[Gscherer78ta]

Glad to hear everything is going well Dusty! I don't know that you needed more power tho! Your mighty mouse power was more than the tires could handle, and most the rest of us around the area!

Can't wait to see/hear the new power. Good luck at COTA and please come back without things broken.

Greg

[glassman]

very nice indeed!! Good luck at COTA as well.....

[silver63c10]

Thanks, guys, looking forward to COTA even more after this weekend. Speaking of..

LET'S GET BACK TO IT!

Two events to get things sorted. First up was Equipe Rapide this past weekend, and the new combo didn't disappoint.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8708/28472386771_d7bd95916b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Ko1qCc)
This two racecars thing, man..oil change on the Z was up first

Before that, though, a full day in the shop was needed on Saturday. There is still much to be done, including front aero, CoolShirt mounting and wiring, and a whole list of other things I can't even think about right now.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8818/27934823083_635e57e236_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JyvgEK)

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8790/28550379755_854b44daa2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KuUadP)
When your template is too short..lengthen it.

Picked up where I left off before we went into crisis mode on the air dam/splitter. Finished up the driver's side half of the template and started shredding aluminum. Still finalizing the support structure for this, but it uses .040 aluminum and will have at least 3 steel struts tied to the bumper support frame.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8750/28550381215_1cf28bedf2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KuUaDZ)
Checking ground clearance and overall look

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8836/27934823143_1f6e56f3f9_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JyvgFM)
Piece 1 of 4 transferred to aluminum

Got the second piece started, but it was quickly time to get loaded up so this is where it sits currently.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8654/28443959922_ca566bb5bf_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KkuJj7)

Dad also got a shiny new red tow hook mounted up front (one of those things you remember you don't have when you're sitting stranded on the back side of the track..).

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8170/27933345014_1e151561e3_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JynGhN)
Let's goooooooooooooooooo

Continued next post..

[silver63c10]

Let's Do This Thing

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8650/27933350034_6faa3b119d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JynHMm)

Sunday's event saw us getting the lucky draw of running first before the temps climbed to the top of the gauge. The car was perfect through the whole session, with a slight 'run-on' event after killing it one run that was solved by pulling a touch of timing out with the MSD timing retard.

The 421 is a lot like the 377 amplified. It's still got runaway power at 5000+ (it would spin the tires at 60+ over crests on the course), but the fat buttery smooth torque curve getting to that point is downright addictive.

Pulling out of lower speed corners has never been as good as it is now. The newly neutral handling that the stiffer front springs gave it combined with down-low grunt is just awesome. Through 6 runs I was still finding time and pushing harder, and a little more tuning on the brakes will improve things even more.

The sound is pretty sweet, too (at least I think it is).

LBjHwLP67us

This was my last run of the day (thanks to not checking the fuel level - more on that shortly). A 58 was in the bag (GPS markers were off, this run was a 59.1), but I botched the last offset into the finish costing just shy of .4. Super fun course that rewarded some bravery through the middle..

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8660/28550377275_d2c736ca7b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KuU9u4)

FuelSafe Mysteries

Back to that fuel thing. As frequent readers will remember, we installed a rather pricey FuelSafe cell in the car in anticipation of running big boy tracks. It included a tube-type sending unit, which apparently only reads every inch. This means that the fuel level is either 0, 12, 26, or 54.

After run 6, I technically had two runs left due to a rerun and a timing error, but we were showing 0 on the gauge. Could have been 11, could have been 0. We don't know. Not overly happy with that aspect of that purchase, but we'll learn to work around it.

What's Left to Do

Feeling pretty good about things heading into Austin. We have an SCCA event next weekend to get a last bit of seat time in, but before then we'll do our best to finish up the air dam, get the CoolShirt cooling, and do our best to nut and bolt the whole car in short order. The fun's just getting started :headspin:

[silver63c10]

Quickie update. Drove up and spent a few hours on the air dam Tuesday night. Hoping to get the finish work done on the aluminum and the steel reinforcement frame and road test it Saturday.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8597/28513016852_b1a3232c24_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KrAEwQ)

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https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8648/28540921761_d71b4e8370_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Ku4FFX)

Tick tock! Closing in on a week..

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[WSSix]

Glad you were able to get back in the game so quickly, Duston. Good luck at COTA next week!

[silver63c10]

COTA Recap

Before we get started, let me down another of these just for good measure..

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/3150UXnGepL._SY355AA355_PIbundle-24,TopRight,0,0_AA355_SH20_.jpg

Wow, what a fun weekend yet again with Jimi Day and the Optima crew. Going to the big boy track at COTA loomed over us all last winter, and we knew the weekend would be a challenge happening in August. In the end, we got a break with the weather and had an absolute BLAST for two full days. Let’s recap it all..after a picture, just because.

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8605/29015322045_d35cc8678b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LcZ7nc)

Last Minute Prep

No good summertime thrash to get things put back together would be complete without a little last minute thrash to make it to the big event.

Going into the weekend before, we were able to get the air dam finalized, painted, and installed..and then figure out that it wouldn't go in the trailer anymore without some super sketchy wood stacking action.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8086/28939757161_697f23b288_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/L6iPyn)
Finalized the mounting and then blew it back off for some paint

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8498/28939756781_624b5d6e1b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/L6iPrP)
Light, and flimsy as hell until it's bolted up - racecar things.

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https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8388/28729602150_7c01931ce4_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KLJHN7)
Bottomed out once in 6 runs at our bumpiest local course, which I take to mean I made it just long enough.

The week of left us scrambling to clean it up and finalize little things, including my lifesaver for the weekend.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8435/28939751511_8efe9facb6_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/L6iMSX)
August? Austin? Yeah, better break out the heavy artillery

With all this done, and some RaceRamps procured (BIG thanks to Terry and Jon at Vorshlag (http://www.vorshlag.com) for their help getting them here in time), it was time to head south.

Friday - Registration, Tech, and General Prep

Friday was brutal. Just, outright awful. I pride myself on being pretty tough in the heat, and had tried to prep for it, but it was just oppressive that afternoon. We got settled in at our spot, tech'd, and started the decaling process.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8534/28939986891_a1a3a7db57_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/L6jZRe)

The canopy provided slight relief, but overall it was a draining couple of hours. We finished the day with grave doubts about how we were going to race a full weekend in it, and called it an early night back at the hotel.

Continued next post..

[silver63c10]

Optima at COTA Saturday - Design & Engineering, Speed Stop, Autocross, Road Rally

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Saturday started out bright and early, with a 7 am arrival at the track. Took time to walk both courses (which I totally missed last year dealing with tech and stickering the car) and had a generally normal pre-event prep. It was a huge help having tech on Friday, and made for a much more pleasant start to the event.

We realized early on that several other Texas locals from the Dusold Designs shop were lined up to be judged first thing, and decided that sounded like the right plan. Last year we had lost the last part of our speed stop session to waiting in line for this, so knocking it out early sounded like the ticket.

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8486/28398318333_f858739012_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KgsNEa)
Plus, how could you resist getting into this lineup?

Our car, I guess, is a little too much 'business' and not enough 'style' for this portion of these events, and last year we got absolutely destroyed in the judging. This year was much of the same, finishing 14th out of the 17 cars that showed up in GTV - the last car in the standings that wasn't missing road-worthiness items.

I don't get it. I won't pretend to. On to the racing..

Speed Stop

We drew run group A, and on a coin flip in the drivers meeting were selected to run speed stop first. This was ok, as we would rather give up time to be judged here than autocross which is definitely our stronger event.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8521/28931849682_ee2269f346_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/L5BhWw)
Photo credit to Jim McIlvaine from Optima

Much like last year, it took several runs to get in the groove in this event. There is so much emphasis on a clean start and pushing the final braking to the absolute last second there is zero room for error.

After playing with all 1st gear on the first few runs (including buzzing it to nearly 8,000 one run WHOOPS), a short shift to 2nd proved to be the ticket. The torque of the new motor yanked it out of both corners like a freight train.

VAhkPXypzTQ
Best speed stop run. Video embed isn't wanting to cooperate, so just links for now.

Best time was a 14.252, which ended up being good for 5th in class and 26th overall. During the session we had no idea if this was any good or not, as the four GTV cars that finished ahead of us were all in group B on the autocross course at the time.

Autocross

We called it a day on the speed stop a little early, and after a quick sandwich and some chilling in the shade made our way to the autocross course.

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The Texas Region tent city in the back corner of the paddock

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While you normally expect an autocross to be flat, the H lot turns steeply downhill as it runs north. Fortunately, our usual autocross haunt has several 'ups and downs', so we're no strangers to off-camber, downhill, and uphill elements. A super tight first half gave way to a very fast and flowing second half, and an extremely speedy finish.

We had made a quick rear bias adjustment during the speed stop searching for just a bit more whoa. This would have been a great point to remember heading into run number 1 of the day..

-Ok7cGo4drs
YOU nearly had ME? You never had your CAR!

After the second run, I still totally did not have it together. Quickly determined that some cold water, a cool towel, and a little snack were in order. Not drinking enough water that morning caught up real quick, and it was a little scary.

I proceeded to down a bottle of water after each of the next four runs, and things came back around.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8367/28939577591_91feb1ac81_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/L6hUbk)
I see you, cone.

We had the advantage of knowing what the time to beat was this time around - Jake Rozelle's other worldly 29.5 was looming in large in my mind as we progressed down to a 30.06 on run 5.

I tried to get a bit too much in the wrong places on both of the next two runs, falling back to 30.3 and 30.2. Hot, tired, and convinced there wasn't anything left in the 130 degree pavement, we decided the 8th run would be it. If we got a 29, great. If not, live to fight on Sunday.

68Rq9KrpEVs
The 30.06 run


And run 8 proved to be the charm. I crossed through the lights feeling fairly good about the run, then pounded the steering wheel after I read 29.942 on the display. The entire tone of the day changed, and we were both ecstatic to break that 30 mark and get up with the rest of the 'big guns'. This run was good for another 5th in class, 19th overall.

And of course, that's the one run we didn't get video of :headspin:

Road Rally

Just when you think the fun is over at an Optima event, it's just getting started. At 4:45 when the drivers meeting for the Road Rally started, I would confidently place the heat index at around 157 degrees. Everyone was hiding in whatever shade was available around the Optima trailer, waiting with breathless anticipation to find out where we were headed.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8542/28398317623_ee705b99a2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KgsNrV)

Jimi and the guys took pity on us, taking us around 12 miles each way to an Advance Auto Parts in south Austin. Of course, being Austin, this was around a 25 minute drive each direction with plenty of stop lights and uneven pavement, along with a Google detour down a closed road and the stoplight from hell on the return trip.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8149/28398328163_0019714017_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/KgsRzD)

It was great to get out in the car on the street, as it's fairly rare that we've gotten to do that lately. The new motor is definitely more 'racecar' in town, requiring a little more coaxing from stop lights and just generally being a little grumpier. A fat carburetor in the thin hot air didn't help matters.

The line of cars was getting thumbs up and pics from a huge percentage of passers-by. Really cool, despite literally baking in the car.

We finished the day packing up and moving into the 'Big House'

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8359/28939591411_c8288668d6_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/L6hYhB)
I've seen F1 teams in there. And WEC teams. And WE'RE going there!

Next time: Sunday, and the gut check of driving a nearly 40 year old car you built yourselves on a Formula 1 track!

[SBDave]

Great write up!

[silver63c10]

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8492/28939576271_42ab3aeedd_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/L6hTMz)

Sunday: The Real Reason We're Here

Let's be honest. We drove to Austin. To an FIA-spec Formula 1 track. Autocross and Speed Stop are great and all, but we came to put it on the line and run this 3.4 mile monster of a track.

We had told ourselves heading into the weekend that we would be fine without spending the extra scratch to get a garage space. That sounded great until we pulled into the paddock Saturday evening and Dad and I both thought "We can't very well be here and NOT get in there.."

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I mean, seriously, it was right there, and it was shady and breezey and I don't have to justify this to you.

We did some pre-run checks, moseyed around a little bit to check out some of the other cars, and soon it was time for the driver's meeting. "This track is big. It will bite you. If you screw up, it will be dangerous and expensive."

Understood.

Each Optima Hot Lap day starts with 'orientation laps'. Or, in the case of a 3.4 mile track, 'lap'. We got a chance to sight in the layout and see where we would be exiting should we make it to the end of the session, and check transponder functionality.

I entered again in the Intermediate group, having never been to the track and having not run the car on such a big track before. The first session, predictably, was a bit of a mess with no times to go off of. I lined up in the back with a few friends, including one who had run the track before, in hopes of getting a good look at the preferred line.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8416/28982788356_ed46781410_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/La7new)

After a bunched up first hot lap, I fell back in hopes of getting some clean track and soon noticed warning lights flashing. Our oil temp warning threshold was set at 240 (the oil is good to 300 we would determine later), and after a second lap with some holdup I headed in to investigate. Best lap 2:53.

After a little research, we bumped the temp threshold, and headed back out for session 2, gridded mid-pack. A slow outlap, and two passes toward the end (thankfully the green was given in the last half of the outlap) provided a full lap unobstructed. Clean track let us get down to a 2:47.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8683/28939597571_010dc96fb6_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/L6i17P)

This made some progress, bumping up to the 6th spot for session 3. A lap behind a GT350 led to a point by and some serious progress. 3 good clean laps, still being extremely conservative, saw the times fall each lap. 2:45, 2:43, and finally a 2:41.4. We knew we weren't even in the same zip code as Maier, Rozelle, and Woo, but it felt good to get a clean session and make some progress in that direction at least.

Session 4 brought one of the most fun moments of the weekend. We sat third on the grid, behind a McLaren and a Z06, with Chad Ryker's super cool first gen alongside. The grid workers looked at the list multiple times for both Chad and I, making sure they had things right.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8374/28982801506_5b4b1a7226_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/La7r9f)

The final session was by far the best of the day. The Z06 and I played chase for a few laps, and at times on the first hot lap I had the target in my sights. With a 2:41.4 as the best time from before, predictive was showing 1.4+ in the green during the lap. Unfortunately, a fat carburetor and a botched stadium section dropped it back down to a 2:40.9.

At this point, it was incredibly warm, and the tires were increasingly greasey. After a few slips in the first sector of the next lap, I decided to opt for discretion and pack it in (after blasting through 16-17-18 one last time, of course).

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x2WtE1jn8Go
Best lap from the final session - a real mess in hindsight, but still the fastest of the day

Final Tally

When the dust settled, we loaded back up and headed to the awards ceremony. We knew the deck was stacked coming into this event, and a repeat podium was pretty much going to be out of the question. In the end, we managed a 5th in GTV, when my expectation was that anything in the top 10 would be a success after seeing the entry list.

We again lost massive ground in the Design & Engineering portion, which leaves me with a moral dilemma. I like the car how it is. I feel like it is designed to be no-nonsense and easy to work on and drive fast, but can see the issues when viewing it in terms of a 'street car'.

Aside from all of that, Optima events are still amazingly fun. Sunday was a trying day with a few on-track and off-track incidents, and Jimi and the crew handled everything that was thrown at them better than most any group could have and with smiles on their faces throughout. We are definitely still hooked on these events, and can't wait to do our next one.

Post-event Wrap-up

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Back to its natural habitat

A few nagging problems (namely some leaky oil cooler lines) showed up during the weekend, so they have been addressed along with the usual post event checks. The Wilwood pads and brakes look excellent enough to let me know I wasn't using them nearly hard enough on the track.

What's next?

http://www.racingcircuits.info/assets/components/phpthumbof/cache/thetexasworldspeedwaybig.d91d631d6907f106e354a3e43 9303ad5.jpg

There's one other 'big boy' track in Texas. We're going to try to sample it one more time before it's gone..

[Gscherer78ta]

I love the car Dusty! I can't wait to see/hear and ride in the car with the new motor!

[SSLance]

Heck yeah! Thanks for the recap and especially thanks for the virtual ride along on that iconic track.

[flatoutz]

Dustin,

Awesome!You did good against the high tech guys.I liked the fact that your not high tech.Thats why your thead is one of my favorites to follow not to mention you have a second gen Camaro.
Mike,

[Panteracer]

Duston,
great to see the car is doing what you want
and I agree pretty is not really what all of us
want out of our cars.. making go is the important
thing... your next track was a great run for me
last year TWS... too bad they are tearing it down

Have fun

Bob

[silver63c10]

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v136/p734611179-4.jpg

In what was one of the crazier ideas of my adult life, buying a house, spending a week at SEMA, and going to College Station seemed like a grand way to spend 10 days.

I've almost recovered enough to tell the tale.

The Timeline

Friday
2:00pm - bolt out of the show and head to the airport
6:00pm - fly out
11:00pm central - land, get picked up by the wife
11:45pm - head south
Saturday
3:22am - pull up to the gates and get a 2 hour nap
6:00am - pull into the track and unload
7:00am - driver's meeting

https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5325/31043561475_d71872cd7a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Pidnhx)
I'd like to thank Red Bull, and the Love's Truck Stop in Hearne for this magical moment..

Not gonna lie, kind of proud of the insanity of this endeavor. This is also how I know for a fact I picked a GREAT one to call my wife.

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v177/p25344001-4.jpg

So, the car was an absolute blast on this track just like I thought it would be. Big flowing corners, high speed banked front straight, this place was made for cars with too much power and not enough handling.

In the first session Saturday, I was able to match my best of a 2:07 in the Z without pushing the car hard at all. We had a great group of drivers that allowed a ton of open track time which helped a lot.

Our sessions at COTA never allowed me to build up a whole lot of confidence in the car as all but one got cut short or had issues with traffic. This was just what the doctor ordered.

Second session I went out behind a club racer who knows the track like the back of his hand and was super helpful working out some of the issues I was having. Dropped to a 2:01 quickly in the session, and was super pumped for the rest of the weekend.

YGhoOp3Em48

We had a long break during the club racers race sessions, which provided ample time for a back of the truck nap, and the rain set in. Last session started damp and dried quickly, but I didn't put a decent time down before calling it a day.

http://shutterspeeddesign.zenfolio.com/img/s7/v163/p865352192-4.jpg
missing the gas pedal during a heel-toe is not ideal..

I had issues at COTA with pad knockback through the esses and other left-right sections. A quick check of the pedal normally solved it, and it was back to business as I was braking super early all day. This changed a bit at TWS as braking points got later and harder, and a couple times on Saturday it led to a missed downshift or a jerky un-rev-matched shift and slide.

Sunday's first session had ideal conditions and with a full night's sleep I was ready to go get my '59. 2 laps in, charged off the banking into 1 and 2 and the car felt amazing. Did the usual brake pedal check and got it back up then drove hard down the short chute to 3. That's when things got interesting..

JhWQBDRqvUs

The brake check had not produced the amount of pedal I was expecting, and the corner was coming rather quickly. Rushing the downshift and missing the gas pedal led to a horrendous rear lock up (you can hear it wheel hop in the video), kicking the car sideways to full opposite lock at somewhere around 85 mph.

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'sub-optimal rear end alignment'

The combination of the wheel hop and nasty slide broke the main link of the panhard bar mount, letting the rear end shift around 3 inches to starboard. My initial thought after the car straightened out and the wheel was no longer straight was that something had bent in the front end. After I got out of the car and looked at the rear tire it became pretty apparent what had taken place.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5513/30929252211_f10d3c94b4_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/P87v8a)
Stressed components have a finite lifespan..

Needless to say, this ended the weekend early. It was disappointing, but I knew with the knockback and what I was pretty sure was the fluid going away, another session wasn't going to be very productive anyway.

The one upside to the early exit was getting to take in the midday session from the control tower at the track atop the hill - a place I've wanted to go both of my other trips but hadn't gotten to.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5664/31043429945_513bcd5eb9_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PicGbM)

https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5650/30929419951_78c1a52c0f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/P88mZe)

Now what..?

Now the question is, how do we build it back better? I've questioned the effect that the high position of the bar has on the handling for a while, but our mount design and packaging constraints didn't allow us to move it.

The first thing on the list is a floater housing to solve the pad knockback issues, and an adjustable stock car style panhard mount will allow us to adjust roll center. We've looked at watts links, but I don't know that the benefits are great enough to warrant the added complexity.

For now, though, life takes priority - almost time to move into our house!

[WSSix]

Congrats on the house, Duston. Glad to see the panhard breaking wasn't more catastrophic. That had to be a scary moment.

Might want to contact Ron and see if he has any recommendations concerning relocating the mount or if the height of the mount/bar is an issue. My limited understanding is that the rod just needs to be level at ride height.

Good luck!

[SSLance]

As we add more and more lateral grip to these cars, the more speed we can carry in corners which results in even more forces put on integral pieces trying to hold everything together. I'm just thankful that your parts breakage didn't result in any further damage Dustin. I'm certain you'll build it bigger better and badder than before and go after it once again after.

Thanks for the update and congrats on the rest of life as well. Wish I would have run into you out in Vegas...

[silver63c10]

When did it become January :headspin:

So, we decided it was time to get our butts in gear on this thing. Everyone else keeps getting faster, so there's no point going into this year with the same pile as we ran last year.

First up, though, there was the matter of a certain silver thing that had decided it didn't like having oil pressure after it got warm.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/259/32183876652_399a375e50_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/R2YMg3)
Shop full of broken toys..

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/340/32183877602_74dce914f9_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/R2YMxq)

With a refreshed bullet tucked safely away into the truck, the Camaro thrash is on. Several items on the to-do list in all areas of the car:

Stiffer, and slightly taller
An equal percentage bump in spring rate front and rear. Also going to bump the ride height back up a smidge and hopefully cure some clearance issues

Floater time
As we started pushing it harder, it became obvious that even the tapered bearings on the rear end weren't up to the loads 315 Rivals can deliver. Also a good time for revisions on our panhard bar

Engine checkup
After pushing it hard several events losing oil pressure in high-G corners, a checkup on the rotating assembly is in order

Trans Swap
We went with the American Powertrain TKO Extreme with hopes it would solve some of the problems we'd had with our first one.. Long story short, it's T56 time.

Let's get to work..again.

When it came time to get a floater, we explored several options. Ended up going with the Mod Lite from Speedway Engineering. Big thanks to Kenny there for his help getting us all the right stuff, and to Mike from Wilwood for giving us a great contact.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/308/32214028351_4abe2771c6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/R5DjiV)
This thing is gorgeous inside and out..

I still love working on this car, and it's even more apparent after working on the truck - race car simplicity is just hard to beat. In the span of a few hours on a Saturday morning I had the motor and trans basically ready to pull by myself, and we finished getting it out in short order in the afternoon.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/418/32183875502_5db7990501_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/R2YLVd)

By lunchtime Sunday things were starting to get a little crazy. Front springs out, rear end out, just chaos.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/553/32214029281_66de518c5a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/R5DjzX)

Before this shop, there is literally no way we would have tackled all this at once. It's been a complete game-changer being able to spread out and get the car off the ground. A year in, we're completely spoiled..

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/302/31523142813_536147eb96_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Q2Am7i)

By the end of the day, we had it mocked into position at ride height using some shock analogs fabbed up to hold everything at the current ride height.

Panhard bar

The panhard bar has been a question mark for a long time. After doing a bit more learning over the past several years, it became apparent that mounting the bar this high is less than ideal, so we set about getting it down and adding some adjustability.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/653/32295131776_7fd279497a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RcNZwQ)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/379/31523145193_709298d12b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Q2AmPk)

We now have 2" of up and down adjustment to play with, and will have the bar around 3.5" lower than it was before. The car has always been really twitchy, and from the research we've done I'm fairly optimistic that lowering the roll center will help with this. Having this as a tuning option will be a great new tool at the least.

About that fresh motor..

Replaying the videos from COTA alerted us to a bit of an oiling issue. Turns out, it's less than ideal dropping to 5 psi in high speed corners for multiple events. Spot checking a few bearings led to the decision to play it safe and go ahead and put a set of rod and main bearings (and a new oil pan) in.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/255/32337010265_90165ba1e3_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RgvCxK)

We'll be going back with the same Canton oil pan we had on before. That one had some sealing issues on the rear main, but hopefully that won't be an issue with this being a new block.

Some thoughts on Camaros and 'Camaros'

Been thinking a lot with some of the new builds coming out in the Optima and Cam Challenge events, and us pondering some more extreme modifications for the future.

Our car is a racecar. I don't make any effort to deny that. In the end, though, it's still a Camaro. And I'm pretty damn proud of that fact. We've tossed around the idea of cutting it up, building a full custom subframe, and hacking out all of that Camaro to make it even better and faster and more exotic..

.but I still keep coming back to the feeling of knowing that it's gotten to be pretty good..while still being a Camaro.

How many more months til the season starts? Oh, weeks? 2 weeks? Eep.

[silver63c10]

Thanks for the update and congrats on the rest of life as well. Wish I would have run into you out in Vegas...

Thanks, Lance. We have to cross paths soon - we're planning on doing some traveling this year with the car so hopefully we'll get to race!

Congrats on the house, Duston.

Thanks Trey! Been a crazy few months but it's starting to look like something finally.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/511/31957063550_ee213b2603_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/QFWiCj)

..I'm told progress is being made in the rest of the house too..

[Gscherer78ta]

Great update Dusty! You'll make it for the season opener I'm sure, you always seem to eek something out and show up.

Your garage looks a lot like mine only, a lot more race car'ish than street car'ish. I hear ya about everyone getting faster and faster, I too am adding a bunch of modifications this winter and I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun with them. I'm not sure how competitive the Gold TA will be though. Not only is your car becoming a lot faster but, you have learned a ton behind the seat and that helps when you get to the Optima events and our local events.

[silver63c10]

Update time! Been a crazy few months to say the least.

Shortly after the last update, we decided to go to the Optima event at NOLA. Those of you familiar with the calendar will note that meant having the car together and ready for battle in just a couple of months.

We got things wrapped back up in early March and hatched a plan for maximum seat time and testing ahead of NOLA. This included a few autocrosses and more importantly a load of track time with NASA and an open track day.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4161/34416510721_17bf3efa00_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/UrgBzT)
Ready to rock with an extra gear, a rock solid rear end, and a fresh bullet

We hit a local club's autocross, where Dad got to drive the car for the first time and officially became HOOKED. Everything went well there so it was off to Motorsport Ranch Cresson for a NASA HPDE.

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This proved to be an up and down weekend chasing some braking issues, but worked out well in breaking my fear of working on stuff at the track. I was also able to bump into HPDE4 and take a step closer to the crack of Time Trials.

We still had some time left before NOLA, and the stock spindle and bearing setup began the stick out as the last weak link in an otherwise strong chain. We sourced a set of C5 bearing spindles from CPP along with 5x4.5 pattern hubs from Detroit Speed and blew the front end apart again.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4193/34416510641_7acf9f33b0_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/UrgByv)

With a few weeks left, the schedule fell perfectly to get an open track day and two autocrosses in before leaving for Louisiana. This would be the perfect shakedown for all systems, as well as a significant amount of seat time.

We headed to Eagles Canyon Raceway with the goal of getting a few sessions in with no issues. It soon turned into 3 sessions, playing with shock settings and tire pressures and actually tuning the car for the first time in a while. We chased a push through the center of the corners, eventually stiffening compression on the rear shocks a few clicks and going up in tire pressure to get some rotation on throttle.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4173/34386004882_1536a7c0e9_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Uozgg9)
That thing where you're -that- guy at the track day

When all was said and done, we had dropped 4 seconds off the lap time from last year and felt fantastic about where things were sitting. There was an autocross that Sunday, and it was too good to pass up..

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4192/33704364174_2871d1d58f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/TmkFe9)

Hindsight being 20/20, we should have skipped it..

The event was being run at a lot known for being rough, and one section went across a ridge that fell smack in the middle of a braking zone. I had the unique experience of watching the car get broken, as Dad was driving it in a separate class during the heat I was working.

We loaded up and went home, and after a few days I had kinda sorta calmed down. Fortunately, I had the next Friday off and was able to rebuild the center section and get it buttoned back up for one last event before NOLA.

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Better. Faster. Stronger. Save your templates, kids.

Just for giggles, we decided to make one last spring change, bumping the rear rate even further in an attempt to get some of that tail happiness we had before back and cure some other issues we discovered at the first event of the year..

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4168/34161361780_9b762de4a4_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/U3HUGd)

The last autocross went without issue and provided some much needed tuning time for the new springs. With that, it was time for a quick wash and on to NOLA.

[flatoutz]

Dustin,
What do you think about the quality of the cpp c5 spindles?

Mike,

[silver63c10]

Dustin,
What do you think about the quality of the cpp c5 spindles?

Mike,

They looked good out of the box, and everything seems to be good with them through a few months of use. I'm not sure if it was the spindles themselves or the hubs, but we did have to add a 1/4" spacer to gain back some track width that we lost with them, but they are rock solid even on one of our home tracks that is really rough.

[silver63c10]

NOLA on my mind..


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With a quick wash, some fresh brake fluid, and a general once-over completed, we loaded up and headed south. Got to the track, got tech'd, fire drilled, and decaled, then headed out to find some gulf coast seafood.

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I'm not a 'take pictures of your food' kinda guy, but sometimes you just have to

Saturday we started out the day with design & engineering judging out of the gates, and finished in time to get our first autocross run in on the first trip through. I spent the whole morning tagging cones and being a general mess, finally gathering things up for a clean run as we went into lunch.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4183/34179217550_dd324ce617_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/U5iqAj)

The course was fun, and required pushing right out to the limit of several cones to be where you needed to be. In the afternoon, I found time early, then fought all afternoon to put all the sections together into one run. We sat on a fairly comfortable lead until the next to last run, when Cody Puckett in, of all things, another 79 Camaro, got within .03.

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He put together another clean run but wasn't able to improve on his last lap, and with the pressure off I let out a deep breath and finally stitched all the parts from earlier together into a 30.9.

ATS27nuIndQ

The new format has autocross going all day on Saturday, which ended up being fun because we got to run with all the cars in our class vs. being split up like previous years.

Saturday evening was the road rally, D&E points were posted (a bloodbath for us again), and then we did some general maintenance including a pretty substantial carburetor change for the incoming cold front.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4186/34179213300_e6b08f6f43_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/U5ipk3)

We knew coming in that to have any shot at winning, every single point in the timed events would be critical. Falling as much as 51 points behind other GTV cars, the hill got that much steeper Saturday night. We knew for Sunday every every last bit of time we could get would be critical.

Hot Laps and Speed Stop and Hot Laps and Speed Stop and..

In previous years, Sunday has been pretty typical of a standard track day. Go out for 20 minutes, come in and chill and look at the data, repeat. This year, the Speed Stop moves to Sunday and makes for a pretty hectic but fun affair.

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Timing issues in the morning caused some delays, so we spent time at the Speed Stop chasing time on both sides of the mirrored course.

The whole day was kind of a blur, and I never managed to get video of any of the Speed Stop runs. Through random draw, we kept getting the right side first which put us on the left with hot brakes and tires. A 9.46 came fairly early on the left, but I just couldn't find the pace on the right until the very end after road course session 4 with a 9.37. We weren't able to keep up with everyone in our class, but felt good about the times and called it a day with that.

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Road Course

Oddly, we came into this event with way more seat time at the track than on the autocross. I had studied up on video and track maps, and felt pretty good about the layout. The back side of the track has a similar flow to the front section of COTA, just without the hundreds of feet of elevation change.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4190/34416510471_88b196f66e_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/UrgBvz)
Thanks to Optima for the shot

Consistently found time throughout the day, and our move to the expert run group proved to work out well with tons of clean track in every session after the first.

The T56 really paid off, as the car now just keeps pulling hard in 5th gear, running up to 145 on the main straight. We are planning some aero work for the front end that will hopefully help it out in that area in the future.

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It once again came down to one final session. We had waited for the charge from Mills in the Beach Cruiser 68 all day, and went out for the last session to take one more shot at improving after sitting on 1:58s for three sessions. I was able to hook up with Feras in his Z06 through much of the lap and get some help with the line, and cracked the 57 mark with a 1:57.840.

oX0zyZ_ihz0

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4160/34403152372_a7186ddd7d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Uq69Bw)

The predictive timer on RaceChrono wasn't working, so I had no idea if the lap was good or not. It wasn't until I pulled into the hot pit after a cool down lap that I realized what the time was. It was an awesome feeling to finish up all three events with our best time of the day at the end.

When it was all tallied up, the road course was our best overall finish, which is huge.

Waiting for the Points

Optima awards ceremonies are fun, especially if you get to hear your name called. We were fairly confident we had the times, the question was were they enough to get it done for the class win and that invitation. Fortunately GTV gets called first, I don't know that we could have handled waiting through the other classes.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4159/33704069134_3f3d24638a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Tmjawf)

14 points ended up being the difference over Mills, with Ken Kelley in the former RideTech Chevelle close behind him. I'll say it again - holy crap.

Since these events started, we've watched them and thought about how cool it would be to get that invite to Vegas. As excited as I am to get to drive it in that event, it means a ton to get there for my dad who has treated this thing like a second job this year.

We also have to send a big thank you again to Mike at Wilwood for his help not only with the brakes, but also for putting us in contact with Speedway Engineering and recommending the new spindle and bearing setup. The braking has never been better, and has made a huge difference.

Now the to-do list begins again. Have to get ready for the show - see you guys at SEMA!

[rickpaw]

Congrats on the win Dustin. Good luck in Vegas.

Tu

[Gscherer78ta]

Well Done Dusty! That's really awesome for you and your dad, who have put a lot of work into your car but, also into your driving!

[GrabberGT]

Well done! Great write up. You and you Dad are living the dream.

[WSSix]

Fantastic work, Duston! Congrats to you and your dad!

[silver63c10]

Been a little while, and we've had a busy summer. SEMA is coming in hot, and our prep is almost complete..

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4397/37121103022_9e1b283a37_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YygmDC)

..I am not a fan of doing interior work, but I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Hopefully it will help us with D&E, but either way it's much more pleasant inside than it was before.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4424/37121166602_d336deb711_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YygFxQ)

We've snuck in some running, but mostly done a lot of detail work on the car. Resprayed under the hood and and did a little dress up.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4358/36456649504_ac10d04196_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/XxxRLu)

When you start out with a clean wheel, and 5 runs later have this, it's been a good autocross course.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4386/37103137146_0fa9ae256f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YwFh29)

Getting down to it, still some things to button up then the detail job of our lives before we head west.

[GrabberGT]

Looks good. Who or How did you do your custom interior carpet pieces?

[silver63c10]

Looks good. Who or How did you do your custom interior carpet pieces?

We ordered a couple sections of carpet and I made templates with paper before cutting all the pieces. We had a local upholstery shop sew up the edges with fabric to get a finished look.

It's all glued down using 3M Super 90 (I will be hating life if we decide to pull it out) but it works pretty well as sound deadening. The car is about 100 times more pleasant on the highway now along with actually looking finished for the first time ever.

[silver63c10]

When life gives you an autocross course that lets you run 88 mph, there's only one thing to do..

RiaA-amYFf8

SEMA prep is winding down, but what would it be without a little excitement? Ended up trashing a shift fork in the trans, necessitating a last minute thrash and a trip to Dederichs Motorsports for some expert rehab. He came through big, turning it around in a few days and greatly simplifying things for us.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4466/37488138790_77994e9d1e_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Z7GvAw)
Towed off course around 11. Stuck around for our 3rd heat work assignment..

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4501/37075863463_3afd70156e_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Yuguve)
..Annnd trans was out by 6 o'clock that night

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4482/37488136470_f6fb64d112_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Z7GuUw)
And as of Saturday, it's back together

All that's left is the cleaning the pig up and it will be ready to pack up and head west.

[syborg tt]

I just watched your other two video's.

Holy crap you can drive this bitch !!!!

[WSSix]

wow! I'm honestly surprised they allowed the course to get that fast. Very impressive run Duston. Good luck out at SEMA.

[silver63c10]

Holy crap you can drive this bitch !!!!

That put a big smile on my face, haha. We've become pretty decent dance partners the last few years. It's fun just grabbing it by the scruff of the neck and yelling LET'S GO!

wow! I'm honestly surprised they allowed the course to get that fast. Very impressive run Duston. Good luck out at SEMA.

It's a once a year event, we typically run outside the track in one of the parking lots but get to hit the road course every October. Silly fun, it's my favorite autocross of the year by far. And, thanks!

[silver63c10]

Quarterly update time! SEMA was a blur, OUSCI was a blast, and we ended up in a picture with the craziest group of cars I could possibly imagine.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4767/26501062598_c4d06ebaf4_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GnNSCo)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4764/39475388845_63cde807c6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/239iFNv)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4753/40326887632_5322c7425e_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24rxQJ5)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4707/40372610921_4a2493b79f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24vAbED)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4625/39661467534_650c4148e6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23qKovL)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4755/38561928310_57474e5926_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21KzXNW)


We managed a 5th in class in autocross, 9th in speed stop on one session, and 8th in road course with 2 and a half sessions.

A few laps into the 3rd road course session, the rear end side of the panhard bar broke loose and our weekend was over.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4658/38561956950_59da0dca2a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21KA7jJ)

We were able to get it patched back together for the photo at least (pictured at center..)

As a souvenir from the trip, I also broke my toe by dropping a jack on it during the drive home.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4604/38561919120_17fed223c5_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21KzV5u)

To finish the year off right, we even got a little time on the Vegas show thanks to a close battle down to the last run with Chad Ryker, who was nursing an ailing rear end in the afternoon runs.

Continued..

[silver63c10]

Onward and upward, 2018 was coming fast and we needed a way to close a pretty significant gap to the front of the GTV. We've scoured tons of build pictures and had some ideas for a while on how to revise the front suspension to fit a proper coilover and make it much more effective with a redesigned lower arm, along with redesigning the upper arm mounts to cure some issues with the base geometry.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4623/40372633391_bbfb6d1b05_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24vAim4)
Step 1: build a frame table

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4753/40326947732_9461268f3e_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24ry9Ah)
Step 2: disassemble car

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4619/38561981020_323665cf25_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21KAetJ)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4670/40326917372_38eb464724_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24rxZyQ)
Step 3: take a break to spot yourselves on Battle of the Builders

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4711/40326934802_cf6957d88d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24ry5Km)
Step 4: hack and slash

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4668/38561973420_2fc076481f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21KAcdG)
Step 5: we will rebuild

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4657/25500216317_724d5e81c3_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ERngU2)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4675/26501085368_f704010170_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GnNZoY)
The march of progress

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4700/39661479714_e86a41a00a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23qKs8L)
Step 6: redesign upper mounts for a less aggressive camber gain and significantly lower roll center

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4609/40372639391_e792a76542_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24vAk8v)
Step 7: mount coilovers (coilovers coming later..)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4711/26501084928_cca921f063_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GnNZgo)
Step 8: NASCAR swaybar!


For better or worse, we're changing damn near everything. The car should be significantly stiffer, with a more compliant camber curve, and a vastly improved shock package front and rear to keep it all under control.

I've also started making video updates on our progress -


Part 1
7cHANdW6MKg

Part 2
-ABgSczFj5U

Part 3
NpgTo6fqAZM

Just under 2 months til NOLA, we'll be ready - the question is, how much testing will we be able to do before then?

[Gscherer78ta]

Looking forward to seeing how this all works for you. I love the videos and what you are sharing- Keep it up!

[Goosesdad]

Appreciate the engineering behind that effort!!

[WSSix]

Very nice! Are you going lower ride height too, Duston? Good luck making NOLA

[70rsss396]

Duston, You have quit an impressive build going on. One of these days I would love to pick your brain on your setup. I’m building a 78 Camaro here in Houston but I’m only closing in on 50% complete. I’m covering the build on Pro-Touring.com under the thread 78 Camaro Type PT. Hoping to come out and play in the cones next year.

[flatoutz]

Dustin,
Nice.Is this setup going to narrow the wheel track for better tire fitment?

[Panteracer]

Really like what you are doing
I only have one question
When can I send mine over for the mods:)

Bob

[rickpaw]

Nice upgrade there. I'm in a similar boat, 2 months to NOLA and my car is completely apart.

[SSLance]

Nice update!!! Go get 'em!!

[silver63c10]

Looking forward to seeing how this all works for you. I love the videos and what you are sharing- Keep it up!

Thanks Greg!

Appreciate the engineering behind that effort!!

It's been done by the seat of our pants, hopefully it will work out, haha.

Very nice! Are you going lower ride height too, Duston? Good luck making NOLA

Planning to keep it the same. We're limited underneath by the bellhousing, and up top by the fenders with so much tire underneath them. It should be more composed, so it might open up the possibility to lower it a touch more, though.

Hoping to come out and play in the cones next year.

Thanks, looking forward to seeing it at an event soon! We've been plugging away at setup with a lot of compromises around the stock pieces that were left, so this was the next step - we're operating based on what we've seen on a lot of other builds and some intuition. We'll see how it works out.

Dustin,
Nice.Is this setup going to narrow the wheel track for better tire fitment?

Plan is to stay the same, but we are gaining clearance on the inside with the frame mods and new swaybar, so we'll have more freedom to move it around if needed. After going to the CPP spindles I've been pretty happy with the fitment with using a 1/4" spacer.

When can I send mine over for the mods:)


You might want to wait to see the results first, haha.

Nice upgrade there. I'm in a similar boat, 2 months to NOLA and my car is completely apart.

Plenty of time - see you there!

Nice update!!! Go get 'em!!

Thanks, Lance, that's the plan. Lotta ground to cover over the next month..