Gen 1 Camaro/ASA Stock Car Build

#1.  For sure, #1 if I get a vote!

I walked my wife through the options yesterday (she is science based) and she agrees. I think #1 is the path. I am hoping to tie up some details on the car today and start making cardboard templates for the rad. 

I do need to make sure my height calculations are correct before 100% commitment. I am shooting for a 3" height for the splitter to start.  More soon. 

It's been a month.  We demand updates!!  ;)

I pretty well failed on this thread for a couple of months.  A lot has happened. I did a poor job of documenting it all...CrookedRacer....you can mock me soundly for never documenting as you do!  But....here we go..buckle up.

I needed to cut through the trunk for the wing.  I measured it out carefully and was pretty happy with the results.

I decided to get aftermarket steel bumpers.  Its a little more weight but actually provides a little protection from the inevitable.  That, along with solid mounting brackets welded to the frame.

I decdied

I decided to go with LED tail lights.  They look fairly authentic and they don't draw much power...and they are very birght. 

Here I have the lights in (yes, they are wrapped in aluminum tape, not real trim), the bumper on and a piece of aluminum covering the fuel cell...and the beginnings of a wrap.

The boys and I started wrapping the body.  It was tedious but at times we had 4 of out there...more hands really helps.

I took the gauges from the Late Model and made a new pod and dash, after making the filler pieces for the firewall.  

I

Getting closer to the June Joust NASA MA test day, it started looking like I wasn't going to make it in time.  So a phone call to a few friends put me back on track.  Thanks to Kevin, Rob, Geoff and Jamie!  Not pictured are sons Edward and James (James did all the hard welding), and daughters Merry and Chloe who were always there when i was about to get crushed.

After several sleepless nights, the car was ready to put on the trailer.

There are a ton of things that I don't have images of.  Installing the Five Star Lexan windows (their install kit is killer), mounting the seat, harnesses...wiring the dash.  Re-wiring many motors/pumps.  
Door latches..yes, the doors do open now, but can be easily removed also for access.

The front clip is pretty quick to remove as well.

The dzus fasteners on the hood/trunk and front clip work great.  I am a fan.

Oh...and radiator cooling...I did route that under the spoiler.  I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot, but...we did get to test.

At the track, I wasn't really ready to run, but again, friends showed up.  A very long list was completed on Saturday including seat install, cutting of body that rubbed on tires and mounting mirrors.  We also cut in brake cooling ducts behind the RS headlight covers which was a nice solution.  
I was able to make a Sunday session.  The dog gears were not at all difficult to catch on to.  That was a big "shew".  Get this thing rolling is a challenge, but I got the hang of that as well.  The locker rear was really banging but a call to Deren Ardenger calmed me down on that one.

I got on track and was surprised about:

1. How easy it was to shift
2. How stable and predictable it felt
3. How quickly it accelerated

I did a couple of very careful warm up laps and then took it to maybe 60%.  Going down the straight, the hood sucked down and pinched the throttle wide open, so that was a "moment"...i got it slowed down and the hood popped back up and all was well.  I went into the pits and dried off.

It is a simple solution of bracing across the top, and I now have a list of about 20 things that I want to do before the next shakedown.  But...I love this thing.  It feels very solid and very predictable.  I think this is a platform that I will enjoy playing with for a while.

Loading up a Summit Point to head home.  It was a good weekend.

I'm going to keep on working my list, hopefully making an event between now and Hyperfest in October.  Thanks again to everyone who encouraged me on this forum and came to the shop/track to get me going.  You all are awesome.

oh hell yeah!

In reply to jh36 :

(Right click; set as wallpaper)

Awesome update and the car looks killer.  Super cool.

That is awesome. It really looks good and it sounds like a hoot to drive as well.

Here's something I left out...the intake.  I ended up making a simple box, putting in a K&N, and hiding it behind the grill.  The radiator is picking up air under the air dam.