Team Honor Flight Camaro takes on the 2013 One Lap of America!

[CarlC]

As many of you may know my father fell suddenly ill while James Shipka and I were in the middle of the 2012 One Lap of America. The OLoA with James was something that I will always look back on with mixed emotions. There are the highs of winning the events, driving with James, and co-piloting one of the greatest cars ever on a bucket-list tour of America. Those are mixed with the lows of leaving James and my father’s passing. I don't just want to finish what I started, I need to, but not just for me.

In that light, a bit of history is in order. Please excuse me as I’m about to get very long-winded.

My Father
My father SSgt. Joe "Hook" Casanova served with the 3rd Infantry Division during WWII participating in every major landing and battle that the 3rd took on. North Africa, Sicily, Anzio, Southern France. Nasty places like Monte Casino, Tunisia, Battle of the Bulge, and concentration camps. It took its toll on my father and millions of other veterans, both physically and mentally. The physical part was easier to deal with than the mental, and was something he never was able to cope with well, especially in his later years. Here’s my dad after having the Silver Battle Star pinned on him by Gen. Patton. I have the watch displayed along with other items he saved in our living room.

http://imageshack.us/a/img42/4835/dadsbs2.png

Honor Flight
I wanted to visit the WWII Memorialhttp://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=home.asp with my my father after it was built. Like so many proud men of the depression era, the only way I could get him to agree to go was if I signed him up for a program called Honor Flight http://honorflight.org/ Honor Flight transports our veterans to visit THEIR memorials in Washington D.C. There are only two rules with Honor Flight: 1) The veteran must be accompanied by a Guardian, usually a family member to help with their needs, and 2) The veteran cannot pay for anything. The Guardian has to pay their own way. Honor Flight receives no goverment funding, it's all private donations.

We were fortunate to be chosen to go during the Memorial Day weekend of 2010. We travelled together on Southwest Airlines, each time being first on and off by the pilots’ request and announcement. We were greeted at the gate by the Honor Flight folks, the only organization that is allowed to do such things in this era of TSA-level security at the Baltimore airport.

We, along with a group of other WWII and Korean War veterans, stayed at the Hilton Baltimore hotel. The people there were some of the most gracious and generous hosts I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. They made our stay a great one.

The day of the tour started with a bus ride on a super nice coach driven by a volunteer Vietnam veteran. On the way there videos were shown about the building of the WWII memorial and what to expect. What we got was something none of us expected.

The first visit was the WWII memorial. Do we park the bus and take a shuttle? Walk? No way, not for these guests of honor. The bus pulls up and parks right in front of the Memorial. No other organization is allowed to do that.

We visit the Memorial with my sister and her husband. My dad is wearing his 3rd Division hat and is treated like a rock star by everyone. We have to pause several times during the visit to allow my dad (and us) time to reflect and collect our composure. It was a very emotional time for all of us, especially my dad, since he was finally letting go of a plethora of pent-up emotions after so many years.

http://imageshack.us/a/img844/9708/dadwwiimemorial.jpg

So, what do a bunch of 80-90-year old vets do after that? How about visiting......
1) The Lincoln Memorial
2) Korean Memorial
3) Vietnam Memorial.
4) Iwo Jima Memorial
5) The Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery
6) The Air Force Memorial
7) The Navy Memorial.

At the Changing of the Guard a special place is set aside for the Honor Flight tour to view the ceremony. It’s opposite the main seating area and very close to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. When it was time for the spectators to stand up each one of the veterans, even the severely handicapped, stood up. There was no keeping these guys down. The Relief Commander adds a small and hardly noticeable change to the highly regimented routine: He drags his heels the last few steps before leaving as a sign of respect to the veterans.

The only way this can happen with a group like this is that at every Memorial the bus gets to stop right in front to let the veterans off. No other organization is allowed to do this.

Here's a great video with Honor Flight Chairman Jim McLoughlin explaining how it works. His words are far better than my feeble prose.
http://www.10tv.com/content/sections/video/index.html?video=/videos/2012/04/13/jefferson-awards-james-mclaughlin.xml

The Team Honor Flight Camaro is born.
The One Lap of America is known for raising money for charities. For me, it is a simple choice. I believe it would make my father happy, and hopefully help bring a bit of peace to other deserving veterans as it did with my dad.

My friend Jon Mahn will be the Honor Flight Camaro co-driver. Jon and I have been friends for 26 years. He spent many evenings at my father's home sharing dinner and a place to sleep while we went to college together. He was there when my dad was alive, and helped me more than I could ever thank him for after his death.

So, with the help and expertise of Ben Hermance http://www.hermancedesign.com/, we came up with the concept of the Honor Flight Camaro. The best way I can describe Ben is “He gets it.” He knew exactly what I wanted and why. I wanted something simple so as to not make the theme a blur, but with just enough detail to make it known what the idea is. Ben also comes from a family with a military history so it came naturaly to him.

http://imageshack.us/a/img27/3725/carl68camconcept4c.jpg

Why the gold stars? During WWII if a family member was killed a gold star was hung in window of the home. As an honor to those killed or never found, the Freedom Wall in the WWII memorial has a Field of Stars. There are 4,048 gold stars, each representing 100 killed or missing. That’s 404,800 killed or missing. One can't help but be overwhelmed with emotion when standing in front of that wall and what it represents.

http://imageshack.us/a/img821/6051/fieldofstars.jpg

The Honor Flight Camaro Preparation for the One Lap of America
So, what’s planned for the Camaro in preparation for the OLoA? There are three main tasks that are in the works:
1) Reliability
2) Safety
3) Some aero and performance upgrades

For reliability several key systems will be addressed first: Brakes, rear differential, and electrical. Like most other things on the car they won’t be simple drop-in modifications, but certainly not top-flight either. The goal is to make reasonable changes that are cost effective and increase reliability. The changes will be posted here and on the new Honor Flight Camaro website http://www.honorflightcamaro.com

With so many different tracks that we’ve never driven before and 3500 miles of mostly night driving, upgrading the safety of the car makes sense. The entire lighting system of the car has already been upgraded. HANS devices and restraint systems are on the way.

The aero dabbling that James, David, and I have been doing is starting to bear fruit. It’s going to be needed since Daytona is on the list this year, and that place is FAST. More testing after modifications will be needed, and more drawings by Ben will help show where we are going with the build. This build will be a bit different for me in that most everything is being based around a tire choice. Choosing a tire leads to a rim size choice leads to brake performance needs leads to spindle and suspension changes leads to …… All for a tire.

Over the next four months I’ll be outlining the changes and the why behind them in this thread. Preparing for the OLoA is a daunting task and it's going to be tight to get everything done. Breaking down 1500 miles from the start/finish line, and 2500 miles from home, is serious motivation to get everything as reliable and sound as possible.

If you would like to place a tax deductible donation to the Honor Flight organization, please do so my going here:
http://honorflight.org/donate/donation.cfm
In the “Comment or Tribute” section, PLEASE add “Honor Flight Camaro” This allows us to track how sucessful our efforts are. Without the generosity of others organizations like Honor Flight cannot exist.

Team Honor Flight Camaro is also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/HonorFlightCamaro?fref=ts Please "Like" us on Facebook so the Honor Flight word can be spread far and wide.

Thank you for reading my tale, but I really hope that you will thank a veteran. Stay tuned......

[Musclerodz]

Very cool story Carl and good luck.

[FETorino]

That's a great story Carl and a good cause for the veterans. Unfortunately for me my father passed in 84 when I was a kid and before I realized what he and other veterans of WWII went through. Now I wish I could have taken him on a trip like that.

I've got a bunch of friends at the local coffee house that served in Korea and VN and there is one WWII vet there. I'm passing the honor flight info on to the Colonel (a retired Marine and unofficial commander of the post(coffee shop)) to see if we can get our WWII vet signed up.

Good luck with your efforts :cheers:

[Vegas69]

Your Dad is a hero and we all know you will make him proud. :cheers:

[Ron in SoCal]

Carl - a very well written intro and a worthy cause my friend. I'm sure your Dad would be proud of you. I was able to do somthing similar w my Dad in 06 and hang out w a bunch of Vets. :cheers:

Now get busy on that aero so you can teach me a thing or two...:D

[intocarss]

Very nice Carl!! My dad Is a nazi concentration camp survivor, It's heros like your father, that I give thanks to that my dad and others are around today.

Thank you for your service & our freedom and God bless you SSgt. Joe :cheers:

[67zo6Camaro]

Great back story and what a great way to honor your Father and Veterans. Good luck and keep use posted with the progress story and pictures.

Brett

[Cris@JCG]

Carl- I have heard the story in person.. I know what this tribute build means to you in honor of your dad.. Looking forward to seeing it come together..

[Greg from Aus]

A great inspiration for you Carl and everybody else, can't wait to see it come together.


Greg

[ccracin]

Carl,

That is a great story and show's what a good job your father did raising his son. I would do anything for my Dad and I know your Dad can be nothing but proud. Good luck with the project, I will be following very closely!
:patriot:

[Flash68]

Very inspirational, Carl. Good luck with the build and your pops would be so proud. :thumbsup:

[camcojb]

Great story and build. I made it a sticky. :thumbsup:

[66SuperSport]

Donation made. Sounds like a great organization.

Good luck to you Carl.

[Rick D]

Wow Carl what great way to honor your father and ALL WWII vets. Good luck and Gods Bless SStg Joe and thanks to him and all the other vets from all wars for our freedom!! :cheers:

Going to make a dontantion right now! Also is there any way we can help you directly with the upgrades to you car!! Wish I was closer so I could lend a hand!

[XLexusTech]

Like the idea ... not such a fan of all the decals.. but the rest I like.

[Track Junky]

That was a great story Carl. My grandfather also served in WWII and told me stories of his time in North Africa. Sorry to hear of your fathers passing and wish you the best moving forward.

[Nessumsar]

You know I will be rooting for you! If you ever need a hand don't hesitate to give me a call, I'm less than an hour away.

:cheers:

[KPC67]

Great story Carl.
I will be showing this to my grandfather who is a 92 year old wwII vet.

[CarlC]

Gentlemen, thank you. To say that this project has been an inspiration is an understatement.

Jody, thank you for making this a sticky.

Chris, you are the first of what I hope are many donations. I have a stretch goal in mind and every little bit helps. Spreading the word and liking Honor Flight Camaro on Facebook will help a bunch.

Rick, get him signed up. Also, Honor Flight is open to ALL veterans, but WWII vets are the focus due to time. Younger veterans are given priority if the need arises (note from doctor/terminally ill.) It's a very noble and compasionate organization.

Jon, I may take you up on that. I have a Dodge MC that needs to go in soon!

[Roberts68]

Gave me goosebumps Carl. Words can't express the feelings once we are old enough to understand what these Veterans really endure for all of us. The debt owed is insurmountable.

God Bless you and guide your journey.

Thank you for sharing. I will spread the word, in fact with your permission I would like to speak of it at our upcoming Camaro club annual banquet Jan 5th.

If you have anything I could use, permission, objections or suggestions please email me. I will print copies of what you might send to make donations easier for folks to make. Membership expected exceeds 200 annually.

I have to ask, Is this your same red/black 68 you will be running or a different car?

[CarlC]

Gave me goosebumps Carl. Words can't express the feelings once we are old enough to understand what these Veterans really endure for all of us. The debt owed is insurmountable.

God Bless you and guide your journey.

Thank you for sharing. I will spread the word, in fact with your permission I would like to speak of it at our upcoming Camaro club annual banquet Jan 5th.

If you have anything I could use, permission, objections or suggestions please email me. I will print copies of what you might send to make donations easier for folks to make. Membership expected exceeds 200 annually.

I have to ask, Is this your same red/black 68 you will be running or a different car?

Thank you Robert.

That would be great! Please feel free to use any and all of it. That's what it's for. Most people don't know Honor Flight or their purpose. Thank you for your help. If your group decides to to donate to Honor Flight I may be able to do something a bit special on the car for them :unibrow:

It is the same car. It has been in my family since 1977. My father traded a 1953 Ford pickup for it, then my sister drove it for five years. I traded my el Camino for the Camaro since she needed a truck. It's appropriate that the car makes the journey as well.

[Sieg]

Carl,

Great mission you've embarked on and I wish you and your team the best. :thumbsup:

"We can't all be hero's. Some of us have to stand on the curb and clap as they go by." ~Will Rogers

[Roberts68]

Like the idea ... not such a fan of all the decals.. but the rest I like.

My initial reaction to the appearance wasn't one of appreciation but now understanding the symbolism of the gold stars, seeing Joe on the trunk stripe giving the "proverbial push" to the Camaro while raising awareness so other Veterans can experience the honorable experience they so richly deserve I have to commend Ben Hermance on the layout. I can also see that perhaps Carl wants to retain aspects of the Camaro I have always been something of a fan of because it has stayed largely true to it's original appearance externally.:bow: It looks to be done in a fashion that can be easily returned to it's original appearance as well.:thumbsup:

... I will spread the word, in fact with your permission I would like to speak of it at our upcoming Camaro club annual banquet Jan 5th.

If you have anything I could use, permission, objections or suggestions please email me. I will print copies of what you might send to make donations easier for folks to make. Membership expected exceeds 200 annually.


Thank you Robert.

That would be great! Please feel free to use any and all of it. That's what it's for. Most people don't know Honor Flight or their purpose. Thank you for your help. If your group decides to to donate to Honor Flight I may be able to do something a bit special on the car for them :unibrow:

It is the same car. It has been in my family since 1977. My father traded a 1953 Ford pickup for it, then my sister drove it for five years. I traded my el Camino for the Camaro since she needed a truck. It's appropriate that the car makes the journey as well.

As I read the history in your response I remembered it...[ insert memory related post-40 excuse of your choice here;) ]

Anyway Carl, thought I would share this post I made (http://www.northstarcamaroclub.com/Forum/tabid/2058/g/posts/m/7196/Honor-Flight-Camaro.aspx#post7196) with you using your info pasted from here. Please feel welcome to monitor it, join our tiny little forum if you like.:thumbsup:

[CarlC]

The modifications to the outside of the car are all, mostly, reversible. There may be a few holes on the front valence that will remain due to the splitter supports. Over the years every single photo of the car at high-speed on a track shows front end lift. Recent aero work confirms what needs to be done to reduce this, but the real solution(s) would better done on a whole new build. There's little enough time to get what's in Ben'sdrawing done, especially since there is much more going on than what can be seen from this one view.

The plan is to get the car in livery ASAP and get it out to the bigger events. Without the decals it would not garner nearly the attention needed to support Honor Flight and the companies that support the fundraising efforts.

My initial reaction to the appearance wasn't one of appreciation but now understanding the symbolism of the gold stars, seeing Joe on the trunk stripe giving the "proverbial push" to the Camaro while raising awareness so other Veterans can experience the honorable experience they so richly deserve I have to commend Ben Hermance on the layout. I can also see that perhaps Carl wants to retain aspects of the Camaro I have always been something of a fan of because it has stayed largely true to it's original appearance externally.:bow: It looks to be done in a fashion that can be easily returned to it's original appearance as well.:thumbsup:





As I read the history in your response I remembered it...[ insert memory related post-40 excuse of your choice here;) ]

Anyway Carl, thought I would share this post I made (http://www.northstarcamaroclub.com/Forum/tabid/2058/g/posts/m/7196/Honor-Flight-Camaro.aspx#post7196) with you using your info pasted from here. Please feel welcome to monitor it, join our tiny little forum if you like.:thumbsup:

[CarlC]

Lots of work going on with the car. Updates coming shortly. It's a battle against time to get everything done and keep the news coming.

There should be some great news coming shortly. In the meantime, here's a great trailer for a newdocumentary featuring Honor Flight and four veterans. The movie opened at Miller Park in Milwaukee on December 7 to a world record movie crowd of almost 29,000 people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM_XBIWCfNg&feature=player_embedded

See here on how to have the movie come to a theater near you. I'm going to be making the request as well.

http://www.honorflightthemovie.com/see-the-film/

[CarlC]

Sorry for the long lag time between the announcement and now but work on the car has been progressing at a feverish pace. But, to get to today there was a series of upgrades and systems test performed in the Autumn of last year for validation.

I'm not shy about saying I learned a lot from James last year riding in OLC. Safety and reliability are paramount. Both of us agreed that the front lighting on OLC needed some help, and that's a safety issue. I'll double-down on and say that the stock rear lighting on my car is also wanting in comparison to modern cars.

Those thoughts led to two products. The first was one posted by Roger at Ironworks on the new LED headlights that he offers. After a few conversations with him about fitment and light capability a nice package with a new set of modern LED lights showed up and made their way into the car. Here's a photo before with the Hella 90/100 bulbs (100-hour life rating.)

http://imageshack.us/a/img593/570/dsc02637f.jpg

Don't mind all the rock chips in the grillwork :-)

The headlight bucket had to be removed and the back enlarged to fit the back of the new housing. A scroll saw worked very well to open the back to 5-1/4" dia.

The old and the new:

http://imageshack.us/a/img690/3347/dsc02642lu.jpg

The rest of the assembly went without a hitch. The preload spring has to be stretched a bit to fit but other than that the overall swap took just a few hours total.

After installation:

http://imageshack.us/a/img577/120/dsc02646r.jpg

Here's a side-by-side against a wall comparison. Note how there is a definitive horizon line and better width saturation with the LED on the right vs. the Hella on the left.

http://imageshack.us/a/img4/189/img2012090300007.jpg

Night driving is far better than the Hella's or the lights that were on OLC. On a very dark night on roads with no lighting it was significantly easier to see.

Here's where the triple bonus comes in. Not only are these lights likely to outlast the car vs. the 100-hour rated life of the others, but they required just a tad over six amps to operate. The Hella's are seven amps each. That's less electrical load on the alternator, no special relays are needed, and smaller connectors can be used.

Thanks to Roger who convinced me that I would not be disappointed.

The other lighting upgrade to the car was the replacement of the front turn signals and rear taillights to the modern Digitails LED panel lights. There's no comparing the original vs. the Digitails. The LED's are shockingly bright at night. No so much with the originals.

With the addition of some Ebay red and white LED side marker bulbs, the entire outside electrical lighting takes a grand total of 8.5 amps to run. The electrical power requirement for lighting has been cut by almost 70%. Better safety + better reliability = winner.

[CarlC]

Farther back than I care to remember I took the Tick-Tock-Tachometer in the Camaro to be repaired. At the time Shannon Hudson, now the owner of Redline Gaugeworks, performed one of the first modern Tick-Tock-Tach gauge transformations as well as a clock repair. Fast forward twenty+ years and it was time for Shannon to work his magic again on the instruments.

The OLoA seems to have at least one high-speed track on the docket each year. For 2013 it's another bucket-list track, Daytona Motor Speedway. With a possible top-speed of 150+mph, the original 120mph speedometer was in need of an upgrade, along with a re-calibration and change in the warning and redline of the tachometer.

In keeping with the retro-theme of the car, Shannon re-worked the speedometer to house an Autometer 160mph meter movement. He also re-tick'ed the face of the gauge with new numbers but without the smaller hash marks. Trying to fit four hash marks between each major number would have made the gauge far too busy. Here's Shannon's handiwork.

http://imageshack.us/a/img12/9075/dsc02670sy.jpg

The speedometer includes a digital odometer and tripmeter located just under gauge-center. They are controlled by the red button located just below the left-hand instrument housing. The button also controls the speedometer calibration settings.

The tachometer originally had the 5200rpm warning line. We decided not to change that since covering the yellow with black would likely not look good. With the supercharger, up-shifting anywhere in the warning range yeilds good results.

There is a small yellow LED located just under the left hand turn signal indicator. This is for the engine control module Malfunction Indicator Lamp. It's hardly noticeable except when it lights up. It's a subtle touch that blends well.

The back of the cluster has a new circuit board where all of the standard fuctions are still used through the stock wiring plug. The MIL and speedometer feeds from the ECM are fed into the cluster via the wiring just under the center of the right-hand gauge (speedometer) along with the odometer/tripmeter control wiring. The clock still uses the original brass terminal connector for power.


http://imageshack.us/a/img90/7310/dsc02705h.jpg
From a functional and appearance standpoint, it's great. Unlike other cable-driven speedometer options, there is zero needle bounce and it can be re-calibrated in seconds when gearing or tire changes are made. I can count on one hand the number of companies that I have paid to work on parts for the Camaro, and Redline is one of them. Each time the work is perfect and the modifications performed as I would have wanted them done. Thank you to the team at Redline Gaugeworks for a job well done!

[Nessumsar]

Good stuff, Carl!

On your old Hella setup did you have them run off of a relay, or were they on the original harness? I'm thinking about ditching my "HID" bulbs if I can't get a better pattern out of them.

[CarlC]

Relays. At that power level it's mandatory.

[KPC67]

Coming along nicely:thumbsup:

[CarlC]

Coming along nicely:thumbsup:

Thanks Kevin. I have lot's more to post, I just need to find the time to properly write it all up. I really wish there was another six months to prepare. There's a nasty "Tick-tock, tick-tock, ......" in my head.

[CarlC]

Hotchkis Sport Suspension has joined Team Honor Flight in our pursuit of the 2013 One Lap of America!

Since 2002 I have had the pleasure of knowing John Hotchkis and the entire team at Hotchkis Sport Suspension. They are gentlemen and gearheads to the core and I am very happy to have them in our corner for this adventure.

The latest suspension changes to the car were tested back in October at Buttonwillow Raceway Park when we ran the newest version of the Hotchkis-tuned Fox shocks. There was a noticeable change for the better when swapping from the Bilsteins to the new shocks when driving on the street, but they really came alive on the track. My OLoA co-driver Jon has a C5 Z06 that he drives and we regularly dice it out on-track being very evenly matched.

With the new shocks it was a whole new race. The new valving is fantastic. After Jon too her on-track with the new shocks his reaction was that the car is "Un-natural", "Don't change a thing in the steering or suspension", "It's more fun to drive than the Corvette." It works very well for such a simple recipie.

So there are a few new Hotchkis parts that need to go on the car. New swaybar main brackets and end links are on the list. There are also a few ideas I want to run by Aaron Ogawa, the Hotchkis Chief Engineer, to do after OLoA, but until then I'm heeding Jon's advice about leaving it alone.

http://imageshack.us/a/img542/8301/dsc02752g.jpg

[CarlC]

Wiring. Let’s start my diatribe about wiring….

Much of wiring in the Camaro has been replaced over the years. The front lighting harness was upgraded and relays used when the Hella headlamps were put it, but the wire used was not the really good stuff. Did it function well? Absolutely. Did the rear wiring harness still work well. Yup. Dash. That too. But OLoA has a nasty way of slapping you upside the head, making you think about how awful it would be to have the car break because of something that was very apparent. My day job is basically making machinery reliable, so my reliability-centric brain did not like the old electron tubing, so off I went on what could have been a simple upgrade, but noooooooo…….

At SEMA 2011 I had a long talk with Michael Manning, President of American Autowire. My delay in replacing the wiring in the Camaro boiled down to that I wanted to run all the engine bay to cabin wiring through the factory bulkhead connector. However, with all of the additional functionality the car has, there was no way to get it all through the 1st-gen Classic Update bulkhead connector. Lights, DSE wiper, ECM serial buss, tachometer, speedometer, backup light feed and return, oil and fuel pressure, intercooler, DSE headlight controls, MIL feed, horn, etc. overfilled the available cavities in the as-supplied bulkhead. Well, Michael had a solution to my needs:

http://imageshack.us/a/img805/2888/dsc02674v.jpg

That’s the as supplied Classic Update connector on the right, and the new one on the left. The new part has 12 additional cavities including two higher power. Using this bulkhead means re-pinning both sides of the bulkhead connector, meaning all of the front and engine wiring harnesses also needed to be reworked. There are no circuit diagrams for this, nor suggested layout for the connector. However, it all fits into the stock, unmodified firewall bulkhead hole.

In the end the engine and lighting wiring harnesses were done such that each can be removed from the bulkhead and not interfere with the other. This sounded pretty easy to do, but it was a bit more than challenging to make sure it was all correctly laid out. It took way longer than anticipated, but in the end everything disconnects easily, can be simply serviced with a test light and ohm meter, and all power functions except for a few in the trunk can be run through the main fuse box. Remember the reduction in power due to the lighting change? Now there is zero concern about overtaxing the fuse panel while running higher power items like the intercooler pump. Everything in one place makes diagnostics easier.

http://imageshack.us/a/img5/1013/dsc02707w.jpg

In the trunk a whole new batch of upgrades and changes were made. From a safety standpoint I very much wanted to move the battery away from the aft-corner of the car. If the car ever got hit, or went butt-first into the wall/tires during OLoA, there was a serious chance that the battery could be damaged and/or short out, possibly creating a fire. So, I’m plagiarizing James’ work and moving the battery to just under the right-rear package tray. But, of course, it ended up being a bit more than a simple battery re-location.

During the wiring changes I inspected every electrical connection on the car, even those not being changed. I’m glad I did. The car has had a Lincoln Mark VIII fan installed since, I believe, around 2004. During that time the fan had been controlled by either temperature switches or ECM outputs that triggered a 70A relay. The relay had failed back in 2010, and a simple replacement made things all better. But, after inspecting the fan plug is became apparent that there were more troubles brewing:

http://imageshack.us/a/img651/3505/dsc02761ph.jpg

The terminals in the plug were never intended to take the heavy amperage hit during initial fan-on. They are black and corroded, so a new plug was in order. Fortunately the terminals in the fan were only slightly damaged, and no internal damage occurred, so the fan can be re-used. Not so much with the relay system. Since the Ford OE fan system was PWM controlled it was time to go that route. A DC Controls PWM fan speed controller is being used with a few modifications (of course I can’t leave it alone.) The temperature sensor, normally inserted in to the radiator fan fins near the outlet hose, was epoxied into a gutted brass fan switch housing. This in turn was screwed into a bung that was already on the return tank. I liked this option best from a reliability standpoint since who knows what kind of junk might come up and try to push things around.

http://imageshack.us/a/img59/4536/dsc02719j.jpg

The fan and VaporWorx controllers were mounted next to each other on a panel that will mount above the battery. This keeps the wire runs short but additional circuit protection is needed since the power does not run through the fuse panel. A new power panel with circuit breakers was made that allows for very fast disassembly and battery replacement. Battery connections are quickly accessible through the fold-down rear seat divider.

http://imageshack.us/a/img546/8523/dsc02709x.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img41/421/dsc02721le.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img692/7157/dsc02722z.jpg

In order to cut down on the chances of shorting something out the battery hold-down crossbar was covered in dual wall adhesive lined heat shrink tubing.

http://imageshack.us/a/img543/4494/dsc02718k.jpg

Another thing learned from OLC was the need for additional power taps. There is plenty of time to charge phones, IPads, flashlights, etc. while driving, but there’s not nearly enough cigarette lighters in a 1st-gen to accommodate them all, and I hate having a bunch of splitter spaghetti wires hang all over the dash for eight hours at a time. So, new auxiliary power wiring was run from the dash, under the console, and a GT280 plug pigtail run out the ashtray on the aft console. When it’s not needed it just coils up and the door shuts. This plugs into a dual plug cigarette lighter that has two USB charging plugs as well. There is another similar plug that is available near the battery with a three-foot pigtail that can be used for other needs such as cameras, high-power lighting, etc.

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/6668/dsc02755ew.jpg

The center console ended up being one of the most challenging wiring jobs. With all of the additional functionality that is needed now, and some that is coming in the future (my VaporWorx brain has been at work since March of last year on something), there are 22 circuits that are now run from the dash area to the console, and most are routed through a 20-cavity Delphi GT150 connector mounted just forward of the console. This allows for quick removal of the console wiring if needed, plus diagnostics are a lot easier too.

There are a ton of other details as well. Lots of B+, ACCY+, and ground drops to make adding new power devices easier. All speaker wiring is integrated into the main harnesses. Everything is either tape wrapped or loomed. LED interior lighting was added. And on, and on, and on…. In all it took almost 10 weeks of work to get it the way I wanted it. Fortunately, since each circuit was checked for continuity and function earlier, there were zero problems on startup.

Finally for this evening, I’ll leave you with a little teaser shot of another test that was done in October. Coming soon, KORE3.

http://imageshack.us/a/img17/6123/dsc02664t.jpg

[GregWeld]

Carl.... as you know I like to help out on these types of events/participants... but this time I just visited the Honor Flight Donation site. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Sieg]

Carl.... as you know I like to help out on these types of events/participants... but this time I just visited the Honor Flight Donation site. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Good on ya GW. :thumbsup:

[Sieg]

Carl - I know you're buried but.......I'm in the process of figuring out seat belt options, it looks like you have a 5 point system with a single tail strap on the shoulder harness.

http://imageshack.us/a/img41/421/dsc02721le.jpg

Is that a tensioner mounted below the package tray and anchored to the wheel well?

How is the webbing guided and anchored through the tray on over the rear seat back? Possibly a retractable shoulder belt guide?

You're also using a traditional lap/shoulder belt?

Interested to see what you and Tobin have planned!

Thanks

[CarlC]

Greg,

Thank you sir. I'm on a mission concerning Honor Flight and the good things they do for our veterans.

Sieg,

Those are three-point rear seat retracts so my young boys can be strapped in. In order to secure them extra reinforcement plates were added to the package tray. Coming soon will be some information on the new Schroth 6-point belts and off-the-shelf, easy to install floor brackets for the lap and sub belts. Shoulder belts still need a crossbar to be correct.

The 5-point sub "ball-buster" belt needs to go through the seat bottom.

The drivers seat has both a 6-point harness and 3-point retracts (for street driving.) I'll get some photos of them and the package tray seat belt guide when I get home from travelling.

[DaleTx]

Carl- I will be making a donation to support your efforts in helping the veterans... Thanks.

Also... that is interesting to read about your impressions of the Hotchkis-tuned Fox shocks. I might have to upgrade from the Bilsteins to the Fox Shocks after reading... sounds like a nice improvement.

[CarlC]

LSXTV.com did a really nice feature article on the Team Honor Flight Camaro. Thanks to Sean Haggai for hitting the nail on the head.

http://www.lsxtv.com/news/paying-back-team-honor-flight-builds-camaro-for-one-lap-of-america-race/?fb_comment_id=fbc_424393984319374_2686576_4249193 64266836#f3ec2d08f432cba

[GregWeld]

Sean is one of the good guys!


Nice write up Carl... Good for you! And let's hope it's good for Honor Flight as well... dig deep boys!

[Jr]

Carl,

Did you upgrade the magna charger?

[CarlC]

The TVS1900 has been on since October 2010.

[MisterD]

Carl, very good write up! I am subscribed also. If you need any help with this project feel free to give me a holler, I am in Whittier CA, not too far:-) Best of luck, great story, and a much belated thank you to your father for his service:thumbsup:

[CarlC]

Brakes. Someone once told me "You have to stop before you can go." The One Lap makes for many different needs in a car, and brakes are no different. They need to function reliably on big, high-speed road courses like Daytona and VIR, but still be able to stop the car on the highway while stone cold.

Over the years I've had reasonably good luck with the basic performance of the braking system. At times the pedal was too touchy or too hard, but the stopping capability had been well suited for most events and street driving. One Lap is a different deal, so a phone call to Tobin at Kore3 was in order. Tobin had given good advice in the past as to proper parts selection and setup, and he has real-world experience with using the parts he sells.

Like much of the Camaro build many of the parts are budget friendly. The front calipers are C5 that were purchased new from a member advertising in the For Sale section, supported by Kore3 mounting brackets and hardware. The rears are all early 4th-gen Z28. Though not what I would really like to have, they have served well, but my reliability-centric brain has been going over everything in the car, so the front hubs, bearings, spindles, calipers, and pads are all up for inspection, rebuilding, and upgrading.

The first was to inspect the spindles for damage and wear, and fortunately they were in good condition. The hubs however were OE GM hubs purchased years ago used. Though they appeared to be in good condition there was no way to tell without additional inspection methods to determine if there were any other concerns. It was time to upgrade to a set of aluminum hubs with new bearings and hardware. The Kore3 hubs come black anodized to resist corrosion, tapped for ARP studs, have the bearing races installed, and include a sealed dust cap. All that made installation prep very easy.

http://imageshack.us/a/img27/8922/dsc02660gp.jpg

Another item discussed with Tobin was the use of a solid spacer to set the bearing preload. By using the spacer spacer kit, which includes a variety of shims, the preload of the hub can be set to a target endplay.

http://imageshack.us/a/img842/7476/dsc02658bw.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img27/4884/dsc02663hp.jpg

In this case Tobin suggested 0.0015" based on real-world experience. This is very important since the thermal expansion rate of the aluminum hub and the steel spindle shaft are different. Plus, the hub is outer ring rotation, so the bearing cups and hub will be hotter than the spindle shaft as well. Setting the preload takes a bit more work than just turning the nut and setting a cotter pin, but the result is a much more controlled. There is very little wheel movement when completed. Below is how the endplay was measured using a dial indicator set on the caliper bracket.

http://imageshack.us/a/img17/6123/dsc02664t.jpg



With that done attention was then set on the calipers. Brake fluid heating occurs from the transfer of heat from the brake pad backing into the caliper piston. There are various ways to help reduce the heat transfer, and one of them is to change the caliper piston material that does not transfer heat as quickly as the OE aluminum piston. Doug Rippie Motorsports sells stainless pistons that fit the bill and requires no other changes. Add in a new set of $8 caliper piston and dust seals and the calipers are good to go.

http://imageshack.us/a/img51/7233/dsc02650sa.jpg

The pads proved to be more difficult to deal with. During October testing at Buttonwillow we used on the advice of Tobin a Hawk DTC30 pad. Tobin warned that the DTC30 needs heat to work well, so when cold they take additional pedal effort. On the track and warmed up they were great, but when cold they did not work well. We're going to go back to the Hawk HP+, which have worked well on the street and track. We won't be doing 20-minute sessions on any of the tracks were going to so there's no big concern, but there will be more testing before we hit the road for South Bend. Though some might consider the DTC30 testing a failure, I consider it a success. Tobin's words rung true, the cold stopping capability is not acceptable for me, so we move back to what we know.

The front rotors are C5, but they are a super-beefy DBA part that Tobin recommended. They are serious pieces. If I hurt these things the rest of the car will likely be on fire.

http://imageshack.us/a/img820/4323/dsc02665u.jpg

The master cylinder now on the car is a manual 7/8" standard from a 1995 Dodge Spirit (Thanks JR.) Though the pedal travel is a bit longer than what I would like the effort and feedback are good.

The brake fluid will be the NAPA heavy-duty fluid that I've always used. The fluid has only boiled at one event that was really hard on the brakes. Since that time the front caliper and caliper piston material have changed. Add in some brake ducting and fluid boiling should not be a factor.

During testing in October Jon and I did six 20-minute sessions on the big course at Buttonwillow. The only thing we did to the car was put in fuel. The brakes worked well without ducting, so that should help to offset the change to the HP+ pad.

Up next, safety harnesses, hardware, and HANS

[CarlC]

The Deist harnesses that were in the Camaro were the traditional five-point type with a "Ball Buster" submarine belt. There were several problems with them that needed to be addressed. First, the submarine belt was not attached properly, hence making it more of a liability instead of a safety device. Second, they were awful to adjust, being almost impossible to make some adjustments. Third, they were not set up for a HANS device.

Since the car is both a street and fun track day car it would be nice to have twin restraint systems, a simple three-point inertia-reel retractable for street and a multi-point harness for track. Fitting both at the same time is a bit difficult since there's not a lot of room to put multiple mounting points for harness systems. Like many things having two brains work on something is better than one, and Jon came up with an idea that worked out great.

The first thing to choose was what type of harness is desired. In Jon's C5 he uses an aftermarket kit that mounts a six-point harness mounted in a Formula style where the sub belts wrap around the legs and clip to the same area as the lap belt. The advantage to the Formula mount is that no hole is needed in the seat. If a racing seat was used, where the seat bottom is thinner and better suited for bottom mount, then the mount would have been under the seat. So, a Schroth six-point HANS type harness was ordered. The harness is nice for multiple drivers since not only do they adjust easily, but there is also a handle on the adjusters.

http://imageshack.us/a/img832/7638/dsc02742qh.jpg

Jon and I are close enough in size to allow sharing of a HANS device. In the C5 the shoulder belt does not seat well into the HANS belt channels. The channels are intended to be used with a 2" wide belt. The Schroth shoulder belts are a hybrid design where the belt on the chest is 3", then reduces to a 2" belt for the HANS. I'm surprised there are not more designs like this because it makes so much sense. I really wanted to buy a harness from one of the OLoA sponsors but they did not offer this design.



Mounting the belts to the floor was where two brains worked better than one. The bracket kit in the C5 is from Brey-Krause. It includes a driver and passenger side bracket kit. Jon did not use the passenger brackets, and to my good fortune they almost fell into the Camaro. Both brackets needed the floor bolt holes opened up by 0.062" to fit the OE shoulder bolt, and the outboard bracket needed just a bit of non-structural relief to allow it to properly rotate. Even the three-point retractable went over the top of these brackets with no fuss. It clears the door and the outboard side and aligns just right to the seat bottom/back hinge point for both. For the transit stages we'll just unclip or lay the harness off to the side and use the retracts. If I was starting a completely new build a different direction would likely be used, but this was an easier than expected modification. Now I have to buy Jon a new set of belt anchors......

Inboard bracket
http://imageshack.us/a/img716/5651/dsc02743cj.jpg

Outboard bracket
http://imageshack.us/a/img28/4558/dsc02745sq.jpg

Inside clip between console and seat
http://imageshack.us/a/img152/2471/dsc02746ot.jpg

We'll have to sit on the sub belt adjusters while on-track but they are not uncomfortable. We're using a piece of carpet anti-slip foam to lay on seat before getting in. This also helps hold us in the seat as well.

One of the rules of One Lap is that one must carry everything in the car or a trailer. The Three Amigos (James, Jimi, and I) are going to do a bit of parts and tools sharing, but there’s still not a lot of room in a 1st-gen. So, out came the rear seat to make more luggage space. The carpet was replaced when the electrical was installed, so to keep costs down we re-used the the aft-half from the old carpet set to cover the exposed floor. Besides the seat belt holes, it fits pretty darn well. A bit of heat to remold and it’s good to go.

http://imageshack.us/a/img577/7985/dsc02740z.jpg

Jon and I also devised a way to store the removable harness bar so that the seats can be reclined during the transit stages. By Day 4 Mary will be wanting to swap transit seats.

http://imageshack.us/a/img27/9408/dsc02737wf.jpg

Jon has used up a bunch of his nine lives, several of them while I was around, so he must use a HANS device to protect his neck. Since I want to stick around too, and the chances of an off-track encounter are higher during One Lap than on typical track days, we are going to share a HANS for this trip. I’ll get one after One Lap, but we both fit in the same size and it will require less space than to back them both.

http://imageshack.us/a/img405/7715/hansu.jpg

[CarlC]

"It fits, no problem!" Yeah right.

There are some constants in life. It seems like aftermarket parts are one of them. It's expected that aftermarket parts don't fit right. Maybe it's just me and an over sensitivity to wanting things reasonably correct.

To make the long transit stages a bit more comfortable, and to upgrade the on-track ergonomics, some drivers compartment changes were made. The first was the steering wheel. The Grant wheel was the right size, both in diameter and grip, but it was too slippery and the wrong color. I really like the OLC Momo wheel with the Alcantara covering, so off to the Google search I went and found http://www.leatherwheels.com/. Though Alcantara is not his normal gig, Chris Scow assured he could do the job. When the wheel was done Chris called and said he was a bit disappointed in the work since there was a wrinkle on the back of one of the spokes. It seems that Alcantara stretches more in one direction than another (single vs. dual bias), hence making it more difficult to fit the complex curves. After getting it back I could hardly find a flaw. The workmanship is fantastic and the price reasonable. Now that it is the right color, is much easier to grip, and has the alignment stripe, it's like a whole new wheel. It’s one of those things that made me think, “Why did I wait so long to do this?”

http://imageshack.us/a/img713/769/steeringwheelt.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img845/4789/dsc02667xu.jpg

Next up was to replace the aging stock steering column with a tilt version. A new Ididit column was ordered along with a new Ididit rag joint. Cris at JCG painted the column red to better match the interior.

So it would seem that installing the new rag joint and column hardware should be all that's needed to finish this up, right? It’s a 1st-gen Camaro, unmolested, and the stock steering column fit fine. Not for me. While installing the new column with the rag joint in the only position it could go, the underdash mouting bracket would not line up. Everything was too long. Do I have the right rag joint? According to the catalog and Ididit's customer service, yes. It must be something with the car. Ummm, then why does the stock column, and a second stock column, fit fine? Ugh....

So, out comes the saw to cut down the exposed spline length to shorten the column length, then make a new set screw landing zone. OK, should be good to go, it's late and I want this thing in. Great, it goes in and fits lengthwise! Now, let's tighten the rag joint bolts. Uhhh, why does the flexible rag squeeze out so much? Why are there not compression stops like the stock and DSE rag joint that were on the car? Where are the safety pins that allow steering control even if both fasteners fall out? Ugh.....

After dissecting the Ididit and DSE parts it was found that a marriage of the two could be easily done. By using the side that fits the DSE steering box along with the side that fits the Ididit column, a hybrid joint could be made that has all of the proper installation and safety features. Even the DSE heavy duty flexible rag (far better than the Ididit part) could be used.

http://imageshack.us/a/img26/355/dsc02727gh.jpg

All right, we're ready to go, put the column in, it fits and the rag joint bolts up correctly. Now let's install the firewall seal. Hummm, how come there is so much space around the seal. Uhhh, is it because the column diameter is smaller than stock. What, not even the same diameter? No additional seal or spacer to make up the difference? Nothing. In talking with others this is a normal thing for this column. Ugh....

So here's the new spacer that was needed to make the column the same diameter as the other 500,000 or so 67-8 Camaros that were built. A saw split was used to make installation easier. A dab of silicone will seal up any leaks.

http://imageshack.us/a/img826/5696/dsc02724fk.jpg

Finally, it fits! Maybe as I get older I'm willing to deal with less, but it's tasks like these that make enthusiasts not to enthusiastic about products. Is it really that hard?

Rant off.

The other part added to the car is the new dead pedal. It's big but non-intrusive. The high-beam switch had to be moved to under the clutch pedal but it's still reasonably easy to get to. A guard will be added to keep from kicking the flasher module. The skidtape came from an ebay skateboard shop. A clutch pedal stop is also in there. The accelerator pedal was modified with a piece of aluminum so that some rev-matching can be done.

http://imageshack.us/a/img839/7514/dsc02764t.jpg

In all it's a nicer place to sit, especially with the reworked gauges and steering wheel.

[GrabberGT]

One question... With all the detail your putting into this... How can you possibly stand to have floor mats that far off in color??!?!:hairpullout:


http://imageshack.us/a/img839/7514/dsc02764t.jpg

[CarlC]

Factory reproduction! It looks a lot worse in the photos than real life.

[Sieg]

Factory reproduction! It looks a lot worse in the photos than real life.

I hope so! Cuz it looks like it would match the orange houndstooth quite nicely in the photo. :D

[Flash68]

Carl, this is such a cool project on many levels. Many reasonably budget friendly items here too.

The steering wheel, reclining seat, pedal mods .... :trophy-1302:

[Vegas69]

One question... With all the detail your putting into this... How can you possibly stand to have floor mats that far off in color??!?!:hairpullout:



After all the great ideas he shared with you and everybody else, this is the best you could come up with?:headscratch:

Carl, you always find a unique way to make the best of things, economically. Kudos to you. I've learned my lesson......:lol:

[GrabberGT]

After all the great ideas he shared with you and everybody else, this is the best you could come up with?:headscratch:

Carl, you always find a unique way to make the best of things, economically. Kudos to you. I've learned my lesson......:lol:

Hopefully you are the only one that missed the humor I attempted to portray in my post... If not. please append an LOL to it.

I was not trying to take anything away from the incredible message and journey this project represents nor was I trying to discount the really cool tech being shared with the group. Thanks and keep up the great work.

[CarlC]

Sorry for taking so long to come back in here. Furiously working to get things done is an understatement.

For about the past three weeks the car has been mechanically completed. There are some things that need to get done before we go but none of them are deal killers. There's no stopping now.

Given that we might have to fix just about anything on the road I've taken as many specialized tools and parts that I can reasonably fit in the car. That means having the packing done, lists made, and working out of that load and add to it. Here's how much stuff can be fitted into a 1st-gen trunk even when there's a battery in the way. That's a full-size spare rim and tire that Jimi can share if needed.

http://imageshack.us/a/img577/581/imagekor.jpg

All 248lbs of it fits, and there's a small hydraulic jack that Jon brought over that we crammed in there as well. That makes 300lbs in the trunk. The back seat will be for our clothes, driving gear, electronics, food/drinks, etc. We trial packed that on Thursday at Buttonwillow and we're good to go.

Testing is also complete on the new 275/35/18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports. We were fortunate that during the testing late last month with James at Buttonwillow that we could do do skidpad and track tire temperature testing. The fronts were super easy and took about 20 minutes to dial in, including a small camber change. Final temperatures were within 5* across the face of the tire. The rears are different story. Even after dropping to 22psi hot both sides were 20* hot in the middle. Jon Hotchkis made a dash over to the TRD trailer that was there (setting up cars for the Long Beach Gran Prix) and discussed this dilemma with them. Seems many of the modern tires are built and intended for independant suspension cars that have camber gain. When they are put on a stick axle they get confused. We ended up selecting a pressure 5psi lower for the rear vs. the front.

http://imageshack.us/a/img515/6895/imagetnx.jpg

The guys from Fox came out and did some tuning on the Hotchkis shocks at Buttonwillow as well. These guys are magicians. They watched the car on-track and described that same things I felt. After a few R&R's for each end of the car the shock package is much better and the car much more composed. Here's a few of the parts they worked on.

http://imageshack.us/a/img834/6403/imagebkt.jpg

Thanks a ton to the guys at Fox. They worked on James' car as well to get the RideTech shock and spring package on OLC dialed in.

On Thursday one of the biggest changes on the car went on. Cris at JCG worked overtime to get this work of art done in time for the OLoA. We're securing it with Hotchkis hood pins as well for a second measure of security. Nobody wants it to come off at speed during our run at Daytona or VIR. The stripes will be taken care of tomorrow.

http://imageshack.us/a/img24/9039/imageloy.jpg

All of yesterday was spent on refurbishing the brakes. New pads front and rear, and new Kore3 DBA rotors up front. The rear calipers were rebuilt (three years and a boatload of track days = it's time) and the entire system flushed. Here's my frugal (meaning I'm too cheap to buy a real bleeder) vacuum brake bleeder. It's a small pump and a Tostitos salsa jar. It's not pretty, but it works well.

http://imageshack.us/a/img6/6484/imagedkst.jpg

And finally, human preparation. All of us have been studying the tracks we are going to. There are nine different tracks/configurations we will be running. To say it's difficult and intimidating to learn them is an understatement. Fortunately for Daytona and VIR, iRacing has those tracks in all of the configurations we'll be running. Jon bought a Logitech G27 for practice, I liked it, and bought one as well. The day after is showed up the OLoA teamed up with IRacing to offer competitors a free three-month subscription to iRacing for free! Timing is everything. It may not be the real thing but it sure is a lot easier to learn the corners and car placement than by just studying a track map.

Tomorrow is an exciting day for Team HFC. The next set of photos should have her in livery, minus the OLoA specific decals.

[GregWeld]

Looking good Carl!!!


Plan your work and work your plan! :D :thumbsup:

[Roberts68]

Looking good Carl!
We wish all of the Vintage American teams the best of luck and safe travel.
The hood looks great! Great blend of form and function that should serve you well.
I might have to copy that vacuum pump setup for work and home. I have a few decommisioned 120v prime assist vacuum pumps that ran fine but lacked reliable suction to stay in their intended service.

[CarlC]

Plan your work and work your plan! :D :thumbsup:

True that Greg. I've made laminated cards, attached with a permanent lanyard, for each of the bags. There's also a master laminated card that has the content of each bag and an alphabetical listing. My wife thinks I'm nuts (she's right more often than me) but if something breaks at night in the middle of nowhere I don't want to add to the stress of the situation by scrambling to find tools, parts, cleaners, etc.

Thanks Robert!

[camcojb]

Good luck Carl. :thumbsup:

[Roberts68]

Somewhere along the way that list/tag system is going to save time and yes, stress both of which are precious luxuries in an event like this... I can only imagine.

I would hope there is different colored tags or items are organized together for purpose when possible? I have to admit I saw those matching Craftsman bags and immediately thought of my spastic searching of the two I have when that tool I need and know I brought eludes me to the bottom... only to find it was in the other bag in an external pocket. Right where I wisely put it so I wouldn't have to dig.

Odds are the act of making the lists and sorting it all to the Nth degree has engrained much familiarity to memory along the way as well, another great idea!

Disclaimer, as evidenced by the 2nd paragraph avoid taking packing advice from me.:innocent:

[CarlC]

That's part of the reason for working out of the packed kit for all work done on the car for the past month or so. Familiarity and additions. And yes, parts are grouped, but I may not be the one working on the car, or I may not be around for some reason, or Jimi or James might need something.

I likely have 10X more stuff than what's needed. It's like an insurance policy, you hope you don't ever need it. If you don't have it, it will be needed.

[CarlC]

Thank you Jody!

[CarlC]

It's been a pretty emotional few days. Engines, brakes, wiring, etc. are not what makes a car. What it stirs in us emotionally does. The graphics going on the car did that for me. It's the culmination of almost a year of planning, preparation, and a sense of trying to give back.

Without further ado, the 2013 Honor Flight Camaro.

http://imageshack.us/a/img841/2112/honorflightcamaroside.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img825/7677/honorflightcamarologo.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img42/4140/honorflightcamarorlogo.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img811/5625/honorflightcamarotrunkl.jpg

Larry Callahan came over with his camera gear and ladder. We made our way over to a local parking lot and did our best magazine photo dude impression. We'll keep our day jobs. Muchas Gracias amigo (those last three words will be very ironic in a short time..... ;-)))

We're as ready as can be, just a few small things to attend to this weekend and she ships via L.A. Prep on Monday.

[camcojb]

Car looks great Carl. Wish all you guys luck, should be a great adventure.

[bulldog19]

Graphics look great Carl. Good Luck!

[GregWeld]

How sweet is that!


You're going to have a hoot Carl.... just remember to savor the moments. I'm sure on a trip like this it will be too easy to get caught up in the competitive aspects... so try to just suck it all in. Killer tracks - great friends, new and old, and all the scenery along the way. It'll be epic!

[Sieg]

Carl - The car looks awesome, best of luck and good times. :thumbsup:

[DaleTx]

The graphics, mods to the front end, new hood, and 18” wheels. It all really came together… the car looks great Carl :thumbsup:

Now all the hard work is done… enjoy the experience and goodluck!

[chr2002ca]

Looks awesome Carl. A great tribute indeed. Hope you enjoy the heck out of the upcoming experience and kick some butt along the way.

[Roberts68]

Fresh Wallpaper pics!

Keeping you and the cause in mind, she really looks great! Very tastefully done to say the least.

Robert

[WicKeD_SS]

WOW looking great!

[Rickerbucks]

I really look forward to seeing this car "in the tin" Carl.

Going through some last minute hassles myself but am optimistic that once I hit the road for OLOA .... the stresses, disappointments and delays will be forgotten.

C ya soon.

[Ron in SoCal]

Have a great trip my friend! Look forward to hearing all about it when you return :thumbsup:

[CarlC]

I really look forward to seeing this car "in the tin" Carl.

Going through some last minute hassles myself but am optimistic that once I hit the road for OLOA .... the stresses, disappointments and delays will be forgotten.

C ya soon.

Looking forward to meeting you and your dad in South Bend. Don't sweat the cosmetics. OLoA ain't no car show.

[sik68]

Car looks great Carl! Have fun out there! :flag2:

[89 RS]

Camaro looks great with the new mods, good luck Carl!

[syborg tt]

My wife and I traveled to the Memorials a few years back and it was one of the touching places I have ever been. When my children get older we plan to go back as a family.

Carl Everything about this car is Awesome from the dedication to the actual build.

And please tell your Father thank you very much.

[CarlC]

Thank you Marty. I'm planning the same trip for my family as well. Everyone should go to D.C. and visit at least once in their lives.

So it's almost go-time for Team HFC, but first the car has to get to South Bend, IN from Southern California. With the help of Jon Barrett at Kahn Media, we were fortunate to secure a place for the Honor Flight Camaro and the One Lap Camaro with LA Prep, one of the premier automotive transport companies in the world. http://www.laprepinc.com With their headquarters only an hour from home, it made the choice easy.

When I pulled up on Monday to drop off the car there were some unexpected surprises waiting. The Patron Tequilla ALMS teams were there performing a post-race teardown/reassembly on their cars which finished first and second at the Long Beach Gran Prix last weekend. These cars are phenomenal pieces of engineering, and super reliable. It's pretty cool seeing some very high tech carbon lays right next to a stock-block engine from a Honda Pilot that provides the motivation. The mechanics got a kick out of OLC and HFC as well.

The owner of LA Prep, Jim, is an ex Cannonballer. He last did it in 1979 and made it from Connecticut to Los Angeles in 36 hours. He was in first place until they heard over the CB radio that the road through Flagstaff was closed, and that changed their route. It was a setup by one of their competitors by which the truckers made the CB call on the road closure. Heck, they hired an Italian chef to ride in the back seat and make sandwiches!

Here's the car going on the trailer just over the OLC.


http://imageshack.us/a/img29/7996/laprepload.jpg

Though the car is gone preparations continue. YouTube is my friend for all of the tracks and IRacing does help some for Daytona and VIR, but it's still not the same. My co-driver Jon is pretty nervous as it's his first time having to deal with something like the OLoA. Though we would likely fare better points/position wise if only one of us drove each track, hence learning from the morning sessions and doing better in the afternoon, if Jon want to drive then he's in. It's a long trip to just ride shotgun when the blood is boiling to drive.

Another thing that has been on my mind is the personal side of the story. Last year James brought a stuffed toy that made the whole journey that he gave to his daughter Eve. For the HFC we're going to reach back in time and borrow some good fortune.

I vivdly remember my Dad telling me that if I ever joined the army he would kill me (figure of speach.) He may not have liked the army, but he was fiercely proud of the 3rd Infantry Division in which he served. He was also the sentimental and superstitious type, and carried around something for good luck every day of his life. So for the HFC these two momentos of his will joining us on the OLoA.

http://www.lateral-g.net/temp/imageyec.jpg

The patch is one of two that he had in a box along with all of his ribbons, pins, stripes, etc. from his time in the army. The rabbits foot he talked about with me only once, but he carried that overseas the whole time he was there. I'm hoping that there some luck still waiting to get out.

On Thursday Jon and I fly to Midway in Chicago to meet with Mary and James and pick up the cars. HFC is in pretty good shape from a graphics standpoint so it should be easier for us. Sticking up a whole car and getting it right takes more time than one would think.

[WicKeD_SS]

Best of luck!!!

[camcojb]

They made it! Good luck guys and stay safe.


http://www.lateral-g.net/temp/onelap.jpg

[pokey64]

That pic get's my heart pumping!

Good luck guys!

They made it! Good luck guys and stay safe.


http://www.lateral-g.net/temp/onelap.jpg

[CarlC]

Yup, we made it one piece but it is cold! It's 45* out now, and earlier when Robert McGaffin was shooting the cars with the wind blowing....BURRRRRR!

No major concerns with any of the cars. I think all three of us are going to dive under the cars for a few minutes tomorrow to make a few small adjustments. It's stickers, registration/tech inspection, etc. so it's an easy day. If everyone would please do their best no-rain La Bamba dance moves tonight it would be greatly appreciated.

Wherever we go the cars are like Rockstars out here. Jimi's going to have to get a can of anti-stalking spray for the AMX!

We'll be posting as we can but often comminications can be limited, and uploading photos for hosting/posting does not always work well.

Thank you all for your support. We are really looking forward to this coming week. There are some AWESOME cars here. Can you say a 0-100mph in 5.9 seconds GTR?

[Vegas69]

Go get em tiger. :thumbsup:

[cmraman]

Yup, we made it one piece but it is cold! It's 45* out now, and earlier when Robert McGaffin was shooting the cars with the wind blowing....BURRRRRR!

No major concerns with any of the cars. I think all three of us are going to dive under the cars for a few minutes tomorrow to make a few small adjustments. It's stickers, registration/tech inspection, etc. so it's an easy day. If everyone would please do their best no-rain La Bamba dance moves tonight it would be greatly appreciated.

Wherever we go the cars are like Rockstars out here. Jimi's going to have to get a can of anti-stalking spray for the AMX!

We'll be posting as we can but often comminications can be limited, and uploading photos for hosting/posting does not always work well.

Thank you all for your support. We are really looking forward to this coming week. There are some AWESOME cars here. Can you say a 0-100mph in 5.9 seconds GTR?


Good Luck guys. It was great to see you.

[GregWeld]

Okay -- So I know you three are on the One Lap.... so I didn't email any of you... but I think the T-shirt orders might have a problem...


I've gotten a couple emails from Three Pines Marketing (FM3) - One that said my order was shipped --- today I received another one saying that the "postage was destroyed" and would no longer be shipped.


Now --- I am ASSuming that this shipment is the three shirts you guys were selling...

It's not important NOW --- it's just something that might need looking into when you're back and settled.

Carry on!!!

[GregWeld]

Carl ----



I found an email address associated with the weird email notice and have sent email accordingly. Disregard the previous post.


What section have you won yet??? LOL



Carry on!!

[CarlC]

Carl ----
What section have you won yet??? LOL!

For sure....

1st Place - How much cra*p can be stuffed into the trunk of a 1st-gen.
1st Place - Finding out that someone sold me a bogus helmet 10 years ago award (bummer, need to buy new one along the route.)
1st Place - For the privledge of having that big sticker on the front of each fender.
Last Place - There is no looser. Just getting here is a win.

http://www.imageshack.us/a/img541/5595/imagewtn.jpg

[GregWeld]

Last Place - There is no looser. Just getting here is a win.





RIGHT ON!!!!

[DaleTx]

Pedal to the metal Carl... time for some fun!

[Flash68]

Good luck guys and gals.. and stay healthy.

[MisterD]

Yup, we made it one piece but it is cold! It's 45* out now, and earlier when Robert McGaffin was shooting the cars with the wind blowing....BURRRRRR!

No major concerns with any of the cars. I think all three of us are going to dive under the cars for a few minutes tomorrow to make a few small adjustments. It's stickers, registration/tech inspection, etc. so it's an easy day. If everyone would please do their best no-rain La Bamba dance moves tonight it would be greatly appreciated.

Wherever we go the cars are like Rockstars out here. Jimi's going to have to get a can of anti-stalking spray for the AMX!

We'll be posting as we can but often comminications can be limited, and uploading photos for hosting/posting does not always work well.

Thank you all for your support. We are really looking forward to this coming week. There are some AWESOME cars here. Can you say a 0-100mph in 5.9 seconds GTR?


Awesome! Glad you made it Carl! Best of luck and most of all HAVE FUN!!! Looking forward to any updates.

[CarlC]

Here's some video of our on-track adventures during OLoA. There's more to come but here was our favorite track, Virginia International Raceway (VIR). For all of the pomp and circumstance that Daytona has, VIR is a road coarse junkie's dream come true. I'd move there in a heartbeat just to be near this place. I "borrowed" the hotel room guest amenities notebook that lays out all of the things one can do. They have a day spa, skeet range, Ariel Atom instruction, for-sale garages, etc.

The camera did not turn on for the second run (North). For as nice as the features are, and the price, on the GoPro Black the wireless feature is totally unreliable. The video also includes the recon lap. For those that are considering doing OLoA in the future, this is what to expect for the on-track runs.

South Track Morning. My "Zen" run with the Camaro of all the events.
YfEcgdi_B04

Full Track Afternoon
QHZ6MI-hic8

[CarlC]

The Honor Flight Camaro is not quite done yet with the fun and adventures. This week it's stored in Michigan awaiting next Sunday's NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway. We have been able to arrange to have the car take a parade lap around the track just prior to the big race on Fathers Day to help promote Honor Flight. It's appropriate since NSK, my day job, supports a Families of the Military event during the MIS weekend.

My dad's 97-year old older brother, a WWII Navy veteran, lives in Warren, MI and will be able to ride shotgun. Though not the same as our high-speed runs at Daytona, it's a great way for both of us to remember my dad and all of those that have sacrificed so much.

If any of you are at the race let me know and we can try to meet. The car should be in the parade lot after the lap.

[MisterD]

Wow that is awesome! Glad to hear this worked out, sounds like a great fathers day gift! I am sure your father will be watching with great joy from above. Have fun and post pics...

[Rick D]

THAT'S FREAKIN AWESOME CARL!!! Be sure to post some pictures or in car video???

[89 RS]

That's awesome, great that you can share it with family like that.

[98ssnova]

Yes this is awesome congrats to you and you car.:flag2:

[Greg from Aus]

Very cool, Congratulations Carl.

[CarlC]

Here's how not to take turn 2 at Talladega Gran Prix. I will kick myself in the backside for years to come for this. The video includes the recon lap.


gC08mGCvBZI

[GregWeld]

My version of it is -- if you don't spin once in awhile -- you weren't driving hard enough....


Must be why I spin every track weekend... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Flash68]

Gotta agree with Greggers. :D

What a fun track.

[fleetus macmullitz]

Carl,

I enjoyed the vid, spin and all. :D

Must be a great feeling looking out over the hood and always seeing those stars.

:flag2:

[DaleTx]

Here's how not to take turn 2 at Talladega Gran Prix. I will kick myself in the backside for years to come for this.

Like Greg said... That stuff is bound to happen when your out there pushing it... the car is fine so that's good :thumbsup:

Since you've had some track time with the recent changes to the car... would your mind sharing your impressions of how your car handles now with the upgrades to the Fox Shocks and new 18" wheel tire combo as compared to the old set up?

[Vegas69]

Surprised you didn't have a set of super swampers in the trunk. :action-smiley-027: You were hauling ass....:thumbsup:

[CarlC]

The stars are a huge part of the inspiration for doing all of this. Someone around here posted up on his Facebook page a while back, "Happiness starts where selfishness ends." It's a priveledge for me to be a part of this.

Dale, it's not the same car anymore. The shock tuning was the biggest differenece. With no other significant changes we knocked two seconds a lap off our best time at Big Willow and the ride quality became better in all respects. That same someone around here nicknamed the car "Cupcake" because of the way it rides. Jon and I both agree that besides the wind noise it is more comfortable on the highway than his C5 Z06 and has more room to spread stuff out. Everyone who has gone for a ride can't believe it's so smooth.

Wait until the photos come out of the car fully crossed-up Todd. The outside front tire is 6" off the ground as the ass end of the car starts to plow the field. I have a feeling it's going to make the OLoA yearbook.

How about a little Daytona action. 154.5 mph on the data logger just before start/finish on lap 3.

Xiu-LYs_phs