1981 Camaro - C-Prepared Build

DeadSkunk said:

Without ballast, what will this weigh?

Taking a bit of an educated guess, I'd say around 2600lbs.  Race weight will be 3000 with ballast.

When I "dry" assembled the car before paint (and wiring) it was just over 2100lbs.

So brake lines are all done.  Just waiting on pads to arrive so I can bleed the system.

All the lines are -3AN fittings

I found these cool plastic clamps for the lines on the rear (as well as making my own mount)

Larry suggested that in addition to the bias adjuster inside the cabin, I add a prop valve to the rear line should I need to fine tune things down the line

I also got the first bit of ballast in the car.  These two bricks together are about 100lbs.  I Plastidipped the lead to protect people when working on the car

I also started wrapping up the interior panels while I was at it.  Here is the trans tunnel installed

A few more little things to knock out, and then it's dyno time.

I love how sanitary it looks now vs when it was in brown primer

The last local race of the year is exactly one month away, and I'm really hoping to make it.

Worked on getting the seat mounted:

I'm not going to bother with a passenger seat for this time around.

The seating still feels a bit high to me, which is odd since we've modified the sliders to be even lower, and the seat is near touching them.  I think it's possible I just don't have a frame of reference anymore.  Worst case, I'll bolt it directly to the floor in the off season.

I also (temporarily) mounted the rear shock reservoirs.  The zip ties will be replaced soon.

A white board is in the mail to me so I can lay out what I have left to do.  Still waiting on replacement brake pads before I can bleed that system.  I should be finishing up the rear firewall soon, and then I can look into scheduling dyno time ahead of the event.

Fingers crossed!

Are those 5/8" heim joints and aluminum rods holding the rear suspension in place?

loosecannon said:

Are those 5/8" heim joints and aluminum rods holding the rear suspension in place?

I think you're looking at the sway bar end links.  The suspension in that last photo is at full droop and limited by shock travel.  The angle of the photo is hiding the lower links.

In the picture of your ballast, what size are the heim joints and what is the gold bar made of? 

loosecannon said:

In the picture of your ballast, what size are the heim joints and what is the gold bar made of? 

The tubes are Titan  3/4" steel tubes (https://www.lefthanderchassis.com/v2a/16_viewproduct_group.asp?idgroup=2512077) and the rod ends are 3/4 Pro-1 Chromoly units.

Those are the same size bars and rod ends I used with my Camaro. Held up fine for 5+ years.

Looking good, can't wait to see it in action.

In reply to Gimp :

Ok good, because they look identical to the 5/8" heims and aluminum tubes I use on my steering and pushrods and I had my doubts they would be strong enough for a rear end

loosecannon said:

In reply to Gimp :

Ok good, because they look identical to the 5/8" heims and aluminum tubes I use on my steering and pushrods and I had my doubts they would be strong enough for a rear end

“Dynamic Rear Suspension “

Trying to make steady progress.  Plenty of little stuff to do, so I put together a whiteboard with my action items.

Since taking this picture yesterday I've already added a few items, like another nut and bolt check before the dyno and setting the pinion angle, but that's what the board is for - remembering so I don't have to.

While there are quite a few things left, if I had my brakes pads (still in shipping) I could have actually driven the car yesterday.  Fingers crossed that I"ll get to do that for the first time in 15 years this Saturday.

Here are a few more shots of work being buttoned up.

Interior panels are in.  Verticals are bolted in at the bottom now because it was easier and faster to finish, but they will get quarter turn fasteners over the winter.

Every evening this week is taken up with other stuff, so wish me luck for Saturday!

In reply to Gimp :

This is so incredible!

Be safe ......make a bunch of noise .....and enjoy......well done

So this happened...

Had a great weekend messing with the car.  The goal was to get the minimal systems together to do a quick "road test" of the car.  Due to a mixup in getting spare brake fluid shipped (Wilwood EXP 600 Plus), I thought I was boned, but Larry came through again and had 5 bottles on the shelf.

Kate and I were able to get the brakes bled (they still need some work), and I was able to get enough of the checklist done that I felt good enough about a drive, so we pushed it out of the garage.

Within the first five minutes of being out of the garage, a bird E36 M3 on it.  Quite the omen.

At first I could not get the car started, and it was getting pretty discouraging.  After messing around we finally got the car fired up, and after some leak checks and system tests, this happened.

ROAD TEST VIDEO!
(Kate could see the look on the driver of the white car's face, and described it as "confused and terrified.")

So yes, I probably should have installed the new throwout bearing instead of using the old one, but that's not the point.  For the first time in 15 years, the car moved under its own power! And man, does it ever want to move.  I barely got into the RPM range, but toward the end of that video, a little first gear blip of the throttle was instant sideways.  I've watched that video more times than I can count, and I'm absolutely stoked.  Also, I love the sound of that dog box.

Still a lot of work to do to be ready for the race on Nov 3rd, but yesterday was a big win.
 

Dang that's exciting! Really looks like it wants to do things. 

In reply to Gimp :

Yes!!!

i nominate for understatement of the year "...but yesterday was a big win."

Spent much of last night taking apart the Wilwood master cylinders, changing out the provided clamps for hose clamps, and a few other things so I stop waking up to brake fluid ont the floor of the car.

Wilwood makes some nice stuff, but these plastic remote masters are junk.  You did warn me, Randy.

Yea, I did. It does make the floor slippery as hell. Next time I use them, I'm mounting the reservoir directly to the master cylinder. That seems to be the way to stop the leaks. Or use the Tilton reservoir with an fittings Here.

81cpcamaro said:

Yea, I did. It does make the floor slippery as hell. Next time I use them, I'm mounting the reservoir directly to the master cylinder. That seems to be the way to stop the leaks. Or use the Tilton reservoir with an fittings Here.

I just used regular hose clamps and a thin coating of Seal All on the rings (as I read it can hold up to brake fluid).  So far so good, but if it starts leaking again I'll probably be looking at the Tiltons.

"First Drive in 15 Years" is a surprisingly inspirational statement. In the last week I pulled my camaro out of its grave and taught my 2 year old to say "righty tighty". Now to find time to work on it.
 

Congrats.

I wanna be your neighbor...........so bad!!!! 

Well... slightly accelerated timeline.  The event I was planning on debuting at had to cancel yesterday, so the last event of the season is this weekend.  I've knocked a lot off the list, but I'm going to be pulling a few late nights now.  Wish me luck!

GOOD LUCK!