canadiancarguy

OK, I am in the middle of a full on build turning a 91 Z28 T-top camaro into my own freaky creation. Basically I wanted it to look like the DUB grand national die cast toy with big wheel tucked up into the fenders, kinda like a pro street car with fat tires on the rear and skinnies on the front, but big wheel style. I couldn't come with the wheel and tire combo I wanted, but I guess I got a good compromise in the end.

The project started off with no intention of being one at all, I lent my buddy $1000 to help him out with some bills, long story short, he got addicted to pain killers after his injury and couldn't pay me back so he gave me his camaro as payment. Little did I know what I got myself into, this "Strong running 350" turned into a rod knocking 305 camaro that was so rotten I couldn't believe it! I came into a strong 4 bolt main 454 for $2000, bought my headers and small hei distributor and thought that was it.

Well let me tell you, things get outta hand pretty darn quick with me, I can't just slap stuff together, it has to be the best all the time. So I started stripping it down, torn seats into the garbage, rotten moldy carpet into the dump, oh crap rusted through floor pans, cut em out, rotten trunk gone, rear impact beam rotten had to use a torch to cut it off!! Transmission and rear end, caput yoink. Front fenders rotten, doors and trunk lid rotten, bought a parts car.

canadiancarguy

Then I sandblasted the whole thing and ripped the dash out, cut the drivetrain tunnel out....

canadiancarguy

Built a rotisserie......

canadiancarguy

Then I though why not dress up the engine, that power steering pump is leaking anyways and the motor had no alternator... So I got a black anodized Billet Specialties surpentine setup....

canadiancarguy

The front subframe looked weak, so why not plate it with 1/4" steel?

canadiancarguy

Couple months ago when I asked for recommendations on what to do to stiffen up a T-top 3rd gen for a big block everyone recommended spohn performance torque with subrame connectors, so naturally I ordered every part spohn made that fit....

Tubulars k member
A arms
Coil over conversion
Moser 9 inch rear end complete
panhard bar
lower control arm with relocation brackets
Cross member mounted torque arm
solid motor mounts
poly bushing kit
subframe connectors
drag racing rear sway bar
and it goes on....

canadiancarguy

So the spohn stuff arrives, and gee those subframe connectors look chinsy and the wheel and tire I want to run doesn't fit, so now the decision was made to turn the car from a unibody into a full framed car to take the abuse of drag racing with a big block.

canadiancarguy

First made the frame with wood and then welded it up with metal

canadiancarguy

That is some of the rotten areas that need to be addressed

canadiancarguy

Picture of the wheels and tires I wanna run for the street are in the staggered tires for my 91 camaro thread in the wheels and tires section

canadiancarguy

Well now since I am going through all this trouble, I am not making enough power to justify all this fabrication, so the light bulb comes on, why not put a blower on? So I phoned up Dyers blowers and asked if their 8-71 kit would fit a billet specialties surpentine setup. No it doesn't, so I think crap so much for that. Then by fluke I notice that billet specialties and dyers are in the same town!! So I phone back and asked if they can modify the blower pulleys to work with a long water pump! Not a problem they did it for free and even went to billet specialties and picked up my surpentine pulleys to make sure everything fit perfect when I got it

canadiancarguy

blower carbs are 2 750cfm quick fuel carbs already tuned just have to adjust idle and I am good to go. Also intake manifold pictured

The setup just sitting on top each other

canadiancarguy

Some more pretty pictures....

canadiancarguy

Well as of now I am successfully broke and this is as far as the project has come to date. I will add to the thread as it unfolds....

BillyTheGoat

iTrader: (2)

wow, you really went all out. I bet its gonna be a mean drag car when its done

gta324

That became a big f....ing snowball!

Nice work!

jeff_blake

iTrader: (1)

nice!! I like it

toxik IROC

iTrader: (12)

wow man good job wish i had more money to throw into my project....

the solitaire

Perfect oppertunity to weld a rollcage in and connect it to the subframe?

Nice project and the parts look really shiny

canadiancarguy

Yes the cage is going to be connected directly to the frame and the floor pans will be built around it and thinking of making them bolt in instead of welded in (the floor pans, the cage will be welded in of course!) The main hoop is already in.

bluegrassz

iTrader: (3)

Looks like a nice setup so far.

canadiancarguy

I will try and get some pictures today up close to see some of the detail of the plating of the front subframe and how it is connected to the frame rails. Also gonna get some more pics of some of the other parts going in.

canadiancarguy

Here are some of the rust areas that need addressing. These will be cut out tonight hopefully. I am planning on running 2x2 square stock along the inside of the rocker to add strength and give me something to put the floor pan on.

canadiancarguy

Closer pictures of how the frame is routed and how it is attached to the front subframe. I hope that this will cure any flex that the blown big block could potentially cause. On the pic on the far right, I am planning on adding some more material from the subrame to the frame following the same angle as the subrame, that should stiffen things up more than just butt welding the two frames together, also it will look nicer

canadiancarguy

The pic in the middle shows the rocker and frame.

The one on right shows the main hoop of the roll cage

The one on the left is the rear wheel well

canadiancarguy

The pic on the left is how the car is mounted on the rotisserie from the rear

The one in the middle is the dash or where the dash was....

The one on right is rear of the frame. I plated the back where the two frames end on one peice of steel

canadiancarguy

Couple more shots of the frame

canadiancarguy

The moser 9" with all the brackets cut off, I am going beefier...

canadiancarguy

My big block conversion long tube headers.

The parts that need to be painted

The k member (that is the colour that I am painting the parts)

canadiancarguy

The new front fenders

The fibreglass front bumper and cowl induction hood

The seat (I have a red and black seat cover for it)

canadiancarguy

Be Cool aluminum rad with dual electric fans on the other side

various wheel spacers I might need

steering wheel

There's lots more, I am tired of boxes of parts falling on me, I'll take pics as the project goes on....

Mr. IROC-Z

iTrader: (1)

Wholly crap! This is going to be one awesome build! I love how you stripped it down and started over with how GM should have built these cars!

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Wow.... That is a LOT of work!

One of the few threads where "frame" can be used properly with an f-body!!

Looks fantastic so far. My only complaint is that you arent further along so we can see some payoff

Looking forward to seeing it finished and seeing that thing go down the road!

J.

Project 3.4 Camaro

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procamaro85

How is the quality on that fiberglass front bumper? I've been looking into getting one. What do you think of it?

canadiancarguy

I think that the quality of the front bumper is really good, a heck of a lot better than my ebay cowl induction hood!!! Definately one of the better fibreglass parts I've seen in awhile, but I haven't tried to fit it as of yet!! Watch out for sharp edges though, the slivers are hard to get out.

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

As much as your putting into the car, I'm surprised to see spacer adapters & not wheels that are built to fit right with only 20 lug nuts. Instead of 40 lug nuts + extra parts.

Money is obviously not an issue for you, so why not get wheels that are not a direct fit?

Project 3.4 Camaro

Curious, why did you get a glass bumper? I'm only guessing since I've not really handled any of the polyurethane parts, but I would think the stock nose wouldn't be all that heavy.

procamaro85

Thanks for the info and good luck with your build!

toxik IROC

iTrader: (12)

Since your putting a cage in and the back seats won't be able to used,you might want to think about making the rear seat buckets like the floor pan flat or something like that? so their is no back seat and it doesn't look like you are missing anything. that is what I would do if I cut the floor out already. Great job so far!

canadiancarguy

I got the spacers and went with the fibreglass bumper becuase I simply couldn't come up with the right parts. I tried for months to get wheels made in the size and offset that fit, try phoning wheel manufacturers and getting 1 off wheels made, not an easy thing to accomplish. As for the bumper, I couldn't find the lower piece that bolted onto the bumper, so I jumped at the chance when I come across the stinger 1 piece unit. Most of the companies that had the parts I needed weren't willing to ship to Canada either.

The backseat is in the garbage dump! A huge fibreglass sub box might be going in there to take up the extra space down the road.

I was thinking of adding a third seat in the middle and raised slightly so the person could look out the windshield.

1bad91Z

iTrader: (1)

A back-halfed car doesn't need a back seat! Plus the wheel tubs and cage are going to take up most of that area anyway.

the solitaire

Having someone sit on the trans tunnel could be trickz.
There is not a lot of space there. I think I measured less then 75cm between trans tunnel and roof.

Adding a plexiglas bowl to fit in the roof might allow the person seated there to have a panoramic view though

http://www.modelingmadness.com/revie...sonjetsonb.jpg

Only joking. But as said, I doubt it would work having anyone but a small child sit there given the limited amount of space.

canadiancarguy

That is my idea, to put a kids car seat in the middle for my daughter (2 months old now)

DarthBubba

iTrader: (1)

So all this started with a $1000 loan that went bad?!? LOL

Looking great! Good luck with the build.

midias

WOW you are the man I wish I had 1/10th of your skill

Seven_MPG

Awesome build..Keep up the good work.I can't wait to see it finished,and hear it!

1ADan

iTrader: (4)

wow, that is a crazy build and you've got some great fabbing skills. good luck and waiting for more photos!

canadiancarguy

I am not the one doing the fab work, it is my friend and his brothers doing the welding and most of the fabrication, I am only helping out, this is a little beyond my skill level I am more into mechanics than fabbing. My buddy wanted to do the car up as a door slammer pro street style, and I wanted to do a grand touring build, so we put the 2 ideas together and came up with this. If the car wasn't so rotten we would not have gone this far with it. We literally HAD to cut the floor out. Not really much getting done, where the subframe meets with the frame got cleaned up a blended more, The rot has been cut from the rockers, hopefully the square tubing gets welded to the rockers and and frame. Other than that things are going quite slow, might be using a spohn lower control arm as a torque arm rather than cutting their nice long piece.

dannyboyemt

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