I’ve just finished my latest project, an LS9-powered 69 Camaro. It’s my most ambitious project to date, though the original II Much (my 67 Nova) might disagree.

The car has all the very best stuff from Detroit Speed: mini-tubs, Quadralink, subframe, subframe connectors, etc. Forgeline center lock wheels, Wilwood 14.25″ brakes, InfinityBox wiring and harness, VaporWorx fuel system, C&R Racing radiator and intercooler, and Vintage Air heating and air conditioning.

Some of the unique features of the car include a custom exhaust (2″ primaries, 4″ collector, oval tubes, x-pipe, and 3″ tail pipes), a complete custom dash and matching interior, Cobra Misano carbon fiber seats, 9 speaker stereo/navigation system, constant velocity driveshaft, automatic headlights, LED interior lighting, self-draining catch cans, and more.

Here’s a few pictures:

The shop Z06 is on the mend from recent piston surgery, and I bought some Mobil1 0W-40 motor oil to fill up the dry sump tank for its initial fire. GM recommends 5W-30 Mobil1 and every LS7 leaves the factory filled with it, and I like the 0W-40 only because it has more zinc, and it is preferred oil in my crowd at the local tracks. I mentioned all that to Dave Crume (of Crume Racing Engines), who built the short-block, and he cringed. He told me to use Joe Gibbs break-in oil for a couple of hours, then switch to a quality non-synthetic oil, and then to a synthetic oil at 500-1000 miles. He said the engine wouldn’t break in properly unless I did that.

Call me skeptical. Continue reading →

More and more safety and convenience systems are making their way from late-model vehicles to our hot rods. Some high end builds are using anti-lock braking systems and traction control. Other examples are cruise control, three point seatbelts, thermostatically controlled environment controls, interior and exterior lighting, and navigation systems, to name a few.

The latest in this long list is TPMS: a tire pressure monitoring system. When we built the Tommy Camaro, the owner wanted to go without a spare, and use run-flat tires with a TPMS. After some research, and a walk-through at the PRI show, we found this amazing system from Stack. Stack specializes in data recording for race cars, and recently added a TPMS to their catalogue. Continue reading →

We’re in the process of sealing up the cooling system of the Tommy Camaro  with a variety of clamps —  none of which are the typical hardware store worm drive type. The most obvious and interesting clamp is the Gates heat shrink product which holds the upper radiator hose together. Given the multi part nature of the upper hose, traditional clamps would have been an unattractive bristled mess of stainless steel. The Gates clamps look way cleaner and outperform the old school alternative.
Continue reading →

We’ve made more progress on the 69 Camaro getting a high-end Pro-Touring upgrade here in the Fab Shop. We’ve just finished installing the DSE Quadra-Link rear suspension along with welding in the Speedtech Chicane front coil over adapter. Both systems are supposed to be installed by using the coilover shock to guide where the upper mount is supposed to go.

But we had a better idea… Continue reading →

We’ve got a sweet 69 Camaro SS here in the shop getting the full pro-touring upgrade. It’s got an LS3, T56, DSE QuadraLink, and a bunch of other upgrades. Continue reading →

Here’s a FabBoss trimmed and angled to fit along the rear firewall of our Project Unfair. I cut it and used a belt sander to give it the proper angle. Continue reading →

I’ve moved my blog to my own website now.  Thanks for all the help from WordPress.