Gen 1 Camaro/ASA Stock Car Build

Gimp (Forum Supporter) said:

Actual real question. I'm pretty sure Optima had a rule in place like this, but is there a no "race car" rule in CAM?

Technically, no, there isn't. But, as I've said before, CAM is not so much ruled by a set of rules as it is a social contract, and in that regard they've done a pretty good job of not breaking the class. Yes, there are a few cars out there that are well outside the spirit of the rules, like that Ford Roadster which is basically a kart, but he finished like 29th at Solo Nats. And you're saying "Well didn't David Whitener do the same thing when he built the "Jeep" that was basically a Vette kart, and they threw him out?" And the answer is "Yes, he did. But he's multi-time National Champ Divid Whitener and he should know better than to build a car for a class that people are having fun in just to prove a point." If the Ford Roadster was challenging for a win, the same thing would likely happen. 

I have ZERO doubt that I could make a tube-frame car street licenseable in Florida, because there are like three laws in Florida and at least two of them reference Lynyrd Skynyrd, but ultimately that would kind of be a douche move in a class that has an agreed-upon identity, even if the rules don't completely define that identity.

JG Pasterjak said:

In reply to Gimp (Forum Supporter) :

Well, four cylinders get a HUGE weight break, though. And I thought Rob's car had enough stock floor pan that it was still legal as a "tub" car (even though none of the tub actually supports anything)?

No stock floor pan. It's a narrowed ASA chassis with a fox body draped on top. 
I think he built his own front and rear clips, but the car is a work of art.

To your other point, I think it also has Florida tags now.

JG Pasterjak said:

Okay, looks like GT-1 has a max track width of 70" with a max body width of 80", so I'm thinking GT-1 bodywork could possibly be adapted without much more trouble than your '68.

Ok, given you have a connection/direction with bodies /molds and have an affinity for this style...why not?
Based on your numbers, a body might just slip on there with no snipping of the cage which would save a lot of time and calculating. If you read back through my thread, I spent a lot of time at that stage. 
When I get down to my son's shop to do inventory, I will measure across the door bars...I don't recall what that figure was, but if it is 80" or under, you might just be good!

JG Pasterjak said:

I guess I could do a Somerset, but then I'd never get any work done because I'd just be out in the garage whackin' it all day.

The cool thing about the GT-1/T-A bodywork is the molds are all still out there. Tommy Riggins i think has some Firebird or Camaro stuff, and he's just up the road in Jacksonville. Les Cannaday has al the old Rocketsports Olds Cutlass GTO/T-A molds. And ACP and Derhaag still have all their molds. Certainly someone from that list would be excited to work with a plucky car mag on a cool project...

It sure is good to know people!  That's impressive. 

Plan....Saturday morning I am heading to my son's shop to do a full inventory for JG/GRM. I will hopefully find a box of clutch disks as well and get 36 buttoned up for final testing at SP end of this month. My son is very excited that he might gain back some space I am taking up in his place. His water cooled Porsche side hustle is blowing up and he can use the space for paying customers. Win win win. 

In reply to jh36 :

Not sure whether to be excited or terrified. Maybe I'll just distract myself by looking for good chicken wing places between Florida and Maryland.

Well Jack made good on his promise to fill my email inbox with photos and lists of parts.

Gonna be some interesting editorial meetings in the next few weeks...

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

Ha ha!  
JG, I am hoping this collection goes to a good home.  I'd love to see your version of my saga!  It was a great project and I hope you take the plunge. 
 Let me know any questions you might have. 
In the meantime, I found the clutch disks to hopefully solve my connectivity issue. 
I am hosting a Cars And Cocktails after work on Wednesday. The bus and the Camaro are going to be in attendance...after that, #36 is on the lift and hopefully we get one last test in before the 2022 season. Summit Point is the end of October. 
 

While doing inventory, I found stuff I am in need of. Clutch stuff. 

I also found fun stuff...final drive gear sets. 

jh36 said:

I also found fun stuff...final drive gear sets. 

Quick change rears have always fascinated me, and that's no small part of my attraction to this ppotential project. Although the downside of a QC is that each one of those magical gears steals about 3% of your power going to the rear wheels. So I guess to make sure we're not giving anything up we'll have to turbo it.

Looks like all the clutch parts in your photos are trash. There is a specified minimum thickness for the discs which I have forgotten, but it is only about .025 less than full thickness new. The heat checked pressure plate rings will eat new discs rapidly too. Even the basket looks beat up, which I have not seen if all the legs are still standing! Buy everything new (ouch$$) and do not slip it. Spin the wheels on start up, even in the paddock.

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Agreed...after I posted the pic I found QM's specs and...yeah, everything is trash. The only good thing is I probably now know what is inside so I've spent some time getting an education on setup. 
 

JG Pasterjak said:

jh36 said:

I also found fun stuff...final drive gear sets. 

Quick change rears have always fascinated me, and that's no small part of my attraction to this ppotential project. Although the downside of a QC is that each one of those magical gears steals about 3% of your power going to the rear wheels. So I guess to make sure we're not giving anything up we'll have to turbo it.

I like your tone!  This is going to be good. 

Friday night I pulled the driveshaft and dropped the transmission.  Another nice thing about working on this car...everything is light and there is plenty of room for activities...it is luxurious.

It was pretty simple to get the bellhousing and clutch assembly out.  I tore down the clutch out of curiosity...I'm buying a new unit for peace of mind, but I wanted to see how this measured.  Quartermaster calls out .094" min on the disks...i measured .092", .092" and .090" so these were at the end of life.  Also, the pressure plate and flywheel had a lot of discoloration, so I feel good about placing the order.  I went ahead and ordered a new 5.5" V-Drive QM clutch with a new button flywheel, bearing, lube, bolts and alignment tool.  The release bearing (Quartermaster Tri-Lite) looks to be new and in good shape so I did not spring for that.

It's a rainy night in Maryland and the temperature is perfect so I am off to the shop with a flashlight to "piddle" as my father used to say.  Check for random bolt tightness, double check my rear end assembly and listen to some music.  

Jack and I are at the "So theoretically how big of a trailer would someone hypothetically need for the spare chassis and all the stuff" stage of negotiations, in case anyone was wondering.

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

I read it this way:"so theoretically how much space will I gain for my next project ". 
It's the circle of GRM life.  Although JG has not 100% committed to signing my dance card, I live in hope. 

SPECIAL REPORT

It's a good thing I unboxed the clutch and checked it out.  I have the wrong flywheel.  I called JEGS...they are out of stock on LS1 button flywheels.

YIKES.

The incredible customer service lady puts me on hold and calls Quarter Master...and they are also out of stock, BUT THEY ARE GOING TO MACHINE ME ONE TOMORROW!  Assuming this all works out, I will have it to assemble on Saturday and we are back on track for testing.

I like a little drama every now and then.

Shout out and thumbs up to both JEGS and Quarter Master for providing a level of customer service that is unusal these days.  They rocked my world this afternoon.

Which sort of leads me to a question...I have the former V-Drive Quarter Master basket and disks.  The friction disks are obviously wasted, but the pressure plate and the spacers look "ok".  When I have a calm moment, I am going to measure deflection on all the plates and make sure they are within the .006" tolerence.  

The face of the tiny flywheel has some gold spots which is no bueno.  

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge with doing a light resurfacing on a 5.5" flywheel, or am i saving a nickel to spend a dime?

We have had to have fw and pp machined before and just tossed in thicker floaters. Not great but it works.