new members $2016 Challenge build

Nice sound! I cannot wait to get my LT1 running too. What is your muffler/exhaust situation like? I'm still shopping around.

It's got PaceSetter long tube headers (came with the car) into 3" Summit brand glass packs ($19 each) and then use 3" pipe (also from Summit) and dump it out the sides. We know a guy at a local muffler shop who put 60* bends in the pipe for free. We also have some slip-in baffles in the ends of the pipe to keep the street noise down. They'll come out for the actual racing and it'll be LOUD (the video has the baffles in).

After washing the car, we used cutting compound on buffers and went over the car twice. The clear coat on the drivers door was pretty chalky and was flaking in a few spots, so we wet sanded the clear coat down and re-buffed. We then used black Color Magic wax to try to get some of the fade out of the black paint. It came out pretty good, but it look WAY better in the photos than it does in person.

Our shifter issue has been identified as a sticky cable. The tranny clicks into gear nicely, and the shifter mechanism seems to be working properly and feels smooth. The cable is soaking in gasoline right now, so hopefully after a few days of soaking and re-lubing it we'll be ready for our first test drive!!

Great platform selection for this project! Great work so far. Signed on!

As I'm sure you guys have noticed, we didn't make it to the challenge this year. Actually, we haven't even driven the car out of my driveway yet. A bunch of life stuff got in the way...

We're planning to get back into the car this winter and have it ready for the Challenge 2017.

Stay tuned for our weight loss plan, test drive, and rear end upgrades!

We're getting this project back on track and are going to hit it hard this weekend.

Could we get a moderator to change the thread title to something like "1994 Camaro Z28 Challenge build" ? Thanks.

In reply to jmk015:

Nahhh.... no changing thread names until you redeem yourself by actually making it in 2017. You must wear your badge of Shame for the whole year. LOL

I'm with him. Plus it'll make you work faster so that your 2018 build isn't a 2016 thread.

We fixed our shifter issue by properly installing (we may have put it back in wrong the first time we took it off...) and adjusting our cleaned up cable.

We scored a used rear end with 3.23 gears and torsen differential and a set of De Carbon shocks off of a low mileage firebird for $150. We're planning to sell our old rear end and recoup most of this cost. While these shocks aren't the best, our old ones were completely blown out so this is definitely an upgrade for us.

Here we are mid swap. Our used rear end didn't come with the caliper brackets, and you have to remove the axles to get the caliper brackets off. We also discovered that our rear brake line was severely rusted and had 2 pin holes in it! Luckily we got a much nicer looking line with our new rear end.

We also got a set of Founders Performance adjustable lower control arm relocation brackets for $69. These get rave reviews on the Camaro forums for reducing axle hop and improving traction.

We were hoping to take our first test drive, but the passenger side rear caliper was frozen up. We've had this issue before, and cleaning and lubing the slider bolts freed it up. After some persuading with a rubber hammer and WD-40, it loosened enough to move the car around, but it still wasn't drivable. since we've been here before, we're going to dissemble the calipers and rebuild them properly.

It's almost road test time!

I added the Camaro to my insurance policy today (so we can get tags, road test, and not have to trailer it to the local tracks) and was shocked to discover that it lowered my annual premium by $35!! Thanks multi-car discount.

My insurance company is actually sending me a check for $35! Can I add this into our challenge budget!?