Garage Built Autox/Track/Street Car Late 2nd Gen Camaro

[OutrunNAScaR14]

So this build is a couple years old now. But I will start from the beginning and use some infomation from another forum.


A little back ground
I'm 19 (now 21) currently attending college and a part time worker. My hobby is cars and racing, mostly circle track where I race asphalt trucks and dirt late models.

I've been around autox for a couple years now, competing in a few events with my 01 Trans Am and 04 corvette. It seems as though if your car isn't a 70 Camaro dressed out with an high hp LS engine and the latest Detroit speed stickers, then you may not be "competitive".

Now don't get me wrong, 70 Camaro's are my favorite, and the engineering in Detroit speed's products are next to none. Absolutely great. But do you really need all that fancy smancy, very expensive stuff to go just as fast?

Well, I'm going to try. Being only 19 (21) years old, it's my only choice. I am not rich by any means. I buy most my parts second hand and make anything I can.

The car is a 79 z28 I bought a few months back. It was just a shell with no suspension or anything. But, the car had been sand blasted on a rotisserie and almost all the body work was done. So after getting it rolling, (about three hours after I got it home) I started on my cage.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

I found the seat on Craig's list for 60$ and the fire extinguisher and quick release mount for 10$! I was pumped about that!

Now on to front brakes.
I bought a set of 5th gen Camaro Brembo's and rotors off a c6 race car at work. The calipers were welded up then drilled in tapped for a c5/c6 spindle (they were originally for my c5).

[OutrunNAScaR14]

She's finally painted. And very, very red. Paint turned out good. I have my front wheels on and just got my CPP c5 spindles, hubs, and and brakes ready to go on.
I just built the engine. 350, .040 over, custom grind cam, milled 041 heads, stock bottom end, victor jr intake. Mostly some of my old circle track parts.
My super T10 is being built currently so once its back it will be hooked to the engine and dropped in the car.
College just started back so progress will slow again.

BTW, the CPP spindles seem to be great quality. Really nice product for the money.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

Got my quick change rearend mocked up. It will be a 4 link rear suspension.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

It is hard to find time to balance everything but the car is coming along nicely.

Finally got some more done. I made a rear package tray out of plywood then wrapped it with carpet. Turned out good.

Made some brackets for the 4 link and quick change and made boxes where the 4 link will bolt to the car. Once upper links are here the 4 link will be finished thank god.

Got some wheel spacers but of course I had to make them work too. The 5/8 lug studs and 1 inch lug nuts on the rearend wouldn't fit in the spacers so I threw them in the mill at school and fixed that.

Firewall and core support is now painted black.

Now I'm waiting on my Super T-10 to be rebuilt then I can drop the engine and trans into place and start wiring.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

Also, got some autocross in in my c5 and little circle jerkin in my dirt car. So glad winter is over!

[OutrunNAScaR14]

Well, the car is getting really close to being able to move on its own power. The last 20% of this build has really started to drain my wallet.
But, engine is in and wired up, heads lights and blinkers wired, radiator I bought from Bill Elliot is in with brackets I made, and front suspension is done.

I went with a 650 LF and 600 RF spring with Afco 7/7 shocks and spring height adjusters.

I bought a Super T-10 from a local latemodel racer, and no I'm not running the quarter master clutch.

So all I need to drive this thing around is a fuel tank, finish fuel lines, power steering lines, and driveshaft. My goal is to have it dialed in for the Optima race at Charlotte.

And my girlfriend and I got some autocross in in my Corvette the other day.

Also, I couldn't have got all this done without the help from my baby niece.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

More Pictures

[OutrunNAScaR14]

Well, I have good news.

After 10 months of work and money spent, I finally drove the car under its own power.

Feels awesome to finally drive it. It still needs a lot but it's coming together.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

Went and did some autocross down the road at the Chevy High Performance Nationals for the 3rd year. Hotchkis put on a great show that was really a good time to be at.
I was hoping to have the Camaro here but she wasn't quite ready. But the Corvette took its place well.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

I've been putting some miles one the Camaro. Fixing things and working out the bugs along the way. The car has been down the pass couple weeks with the rearend getting rebuilt. I guess I know why I got the quick change so cheap. The ring and pinion were junk!

I also changed intakes from a single plane Victor Jr to a dual plane RPM Air Gap. Hoping for a little more bottom end since this engine only revs to around 7k.


Here is my new ride. I sold my 2004 c5 and got the 1971 c3. It's my daily driver too. I've always be a c3 fan! This is my 2nd one. My first car was a 78.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

I've been wanting some wheels for the car for a while. I don't have tons of money to throw at the car with school and such, but I pulled the trigger on a set of C7 Z06 reps from OE wheels. 18x10.5 all the way around. I think it will be different and stand out.


I also installed more insulation and finally put the carpet in.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

I bought a used c5 Corvette brake booster and mc for $60. Used the factory Camaro booster braket and with a little fanangling and a few washers, got it to line up almost like it was factory. Push rod was even the correct length to the brake pedal. The hardest part was figuring out the metric fittings as each port is different. But luckily a local fitting store had what i needed.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

So I raced my first LeMons race last weekend at CMP. An 8 hour on Saturday and 6 on Sunday. We lead all day Saturday finshing 2nd out of 118 cars with a slipping clutch. Pulled the trans, installed a brand new clutch that night, went out Sunday morning starting 2nd and the clutch came apart 30mins in. Car was fast, we had a good chance of winning but was super fun none the less.


I found a matching pair of these Sparco's on Criagslist for a deal. Made my own base mounts and mounted them up. They go with the car pretty well I think.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

The Camaro is starting to get a few events under her belt. Slowly dialing everything in. So far I'm impressed on how it's doing. I'm going to bump up the spring rates in the front and rear and keep tweaking on the suspension and it should get even better.

When I run slicks it is 315/35/17 Hossiers on all four corners. The car really likes the slicks.

I also traded my Corvette for this asphalt Latemodel that I'm converting over from oval track to road race. It has a monster dry sump sbc in it and dog ring four speed.

[OutrunNAScaR14]

Well, this puts us up to date. I will continue to update the thread with pictures and new parts as the car evolves. Next week I will in in Biloxi, Mississippi for Crusin the Coast and 3 day of autocross.

[syborg tt]

Great project


Marty-MJ

[WSSix]

Welcome! Good work on the Camaro. Where at in Georgia are you located?

[OutrunNAScaR14]

Welcome! Good work on the Camaro. Where at in Georgia are you located?

I live in Gainesville. But I work in Atlanta at Buyavette.net Corvette sales.

[WSSix]

Nice. That's a crappy commute but living outside of the city is worth it I bet. Good luck!