I finally got pics of my car, not the best ones, but they'll work. They don't look as good as some of the other I see here, but hey, not bad for a 15 year old kid funding the project himself.


No, the car isn't different colors, for some reason the picture appears that way......




Doesn't it make you safe to be riding in a car that could catch fire any second?:P


Another interior shot.


Underhood shot.


Another underhood shot.
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Blurry, but oh well.


Rear end- I don't care if you can read the plate #.....


Wheel/tire I guess... yes, I know it looks like crap with stock brakes, I've got a 4th gen rear and hopefully LS1 fronts going on there this summer.




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I'm a 15 year old kid, been saving up forever to buy a muscle car, at first I was looking at A-body Mopars, but I then realised I didn't have the $$$ so I moved to something cheaper and found this car locally for only $1,500. I welded up a new exhaust and then I had to finish up the engine swap on it (although the 355 was already in, well part way at least) and a few other things, and I got it running great, I tore it down to the short-block and changed/fixed a few things and then threw it back together again. I go to a vo-tech school right now, taking a 4 year auto course (I'm in my 3rd year) then off to OTC for another 1.5 years and ASE certification.

If your wondering about the car, it's an '86 Camaro. Originally a 2.8 V6/4 speed auto, that was later swapped for a SBC 355/Doug Nash 5 speed. It's gonna get dyno-tuned sometime next month and then I should have some #'s for it. The rear end is the stock 10 bolt out of all 3rd generation f-bodies (yeah, I'm waiting for it to go) but with 3.42 Richmond gears and an Auburn Posi that is slowly going, do too worn clutches. Other then that it's pretty stock with the exception of some sub-frame connectors and a few other small things like wheels/tires etc.

Every thing in or on this car I payed for it all myself with paperroute money/lawn money I've saved over the years and I do take good care of the car. I honestly can't stand the red, so when I get some more $$$ it'll be sanded/prepped by me and a friend of mine and then it'll go off to a body shop to get painted a nice, deep black (not sure exaclty what yet, maybe a black cherry or something???).

It's mainly used as an auto-x car which my dad raced this season (I didn't have my lisence yet) and I'll race next season. Besides poly bushings in some places, SFC's and The suspension is stock right now, The springs/struts are getting swapped for some stock IROC springs and Koni adjustable Yellows come spring. That and some IROC sway bars, poly bushings (most of the car already is), and then onto brake work. I'm thinking LS1 brakes all around will do quite nicely.

Anyways, if your interested in anymore info on the car let me know. I'm gonna try to snap some better pics in the next few days too, I'm waiting for the sun to come out. Anyways, let me know what you think of it!

-Thanks, Brandon

 

looks pretty good. i know what its like to be funding a project at 14-16 yeras old, been there done that. and i just finished mine for now in september. its great to fund it and pay for everythin, and slave on a car and watch it develop. looks great man.

 

that camaro is nice , I'm 16 and bought mine Iroc eary June of 2005 and trying to get it started but helping my dad with his Nova and after that start on mine.

 

nice, looks like one helluva sleeper.

 

Sweet! I too know what it's like being a young kid trying to build your dream car. I worked on mine for 4 years from ages 14-18. Just wait until the day when you can stand back and truly be proud of what you made. Keep up the good work!

 

frickin' sweet starting point for only a 15y/o. i wished i could get my little bro to start saving up for his camaro. he's got one that's out in Texas that a friend is giving to him but has no motor or tranny and no rearend. he still hasn't figured out how to get it the 1000miles from texas to georgia, but he's still pretty excited.

i'm a HUGE fan of sportcoupes and really hope you keep it a sportcoupe. any idea on the specs of that motor?

 

That's a nice solid looking car.

One bit of advice though... don't EVER do black on a car you're learning how to do body work on. Even half of the "show quality" restorations you see at car shows aren't good enough for black. Stick with a nice light color until you're a lot more skilled with body prep. That car would look great with a silver or platinum color.

 

I like the wheels. And it looks like you have a nice base to start with. Still not a fan of that style of camaro but you look like you are headed in the right direction. Keep up the good work.

 

I got some of the specs on the motor, I know the whole top-end, but not much on the bottom. I was told the rods were Eagle H-beam units, but there's no recipts to prove brand or that they actually are, just the previous owners word who didn't finish the project and I took over for. I was told the pistons were JE forged, and I ended up writing down the part # when I tore it down the the short blcck, but I can't remember where I put it so I'm not sure on thsoe right now. The cam is a a Comp cams hydraulic flat tappet unit, with .507int/.525exh lift and 284/305 duration. The heads are 2.02 Camel Hump heads that have been ported according to the owner, but there's still a little material I could grind away. The intake is Edelbrock performer RPM and the Carb is a Edelbrock Performer 600cfm carb (I might change that soon).

It'll stay a SportCoupe. I like the look without GFX, (actually I really don't like them at all except on a few cars, but maybe I'm just wierd) so that'll stay.


Thanks. There honestly isn't much body work that needs to be done, although I am reconsidering black simply because of the point you made, plus having 3 little brothers that sometimes "wander" near the car doesn't help either since it'll show up on black incredibly easily. I wouldn't mind something like a pearl white or a deep, deep blue (unless that'll be the same thing as black) and a silver (like Gunny's car) would be cool too. I haven't quite decided yet. ONe color I would LOVE to have is the orange/red/whatever on "Digital Monarch0's" Heritage edition Camaro. That colr looks freekin amazing.

Thanks to everyone else for the comments.

 

Very nice. I'd say I can relate to you. I joined TGO at 14 and soaked up as much knowledge as possible since then. I got my '91 Z28 last year and I'm 16 now. Recently scored a job and will have my car in fresh paint by mid-summer along with many, many big plans soon to follow. Don't give up on your dream and you will achieve what you're striving for, mabe even sooner than you think.

 

I must say that is definitley one beautiful car. I'm supremely impressed! Not a whole lot of 15 yr old guys would be willing to do all the wrk themselves. Alot of ppl, not just guys but chicks, too, expect their folks to pay for everything! Keep up the good work... It's amazing! Besides, I"m diggin' them rims. PM should you ever decide to get rid of them. HeHe!

<3

 

wow, that's quite the motor there...what kinda gears it got in it? could very well possibly be a low 12 high 11 second ride with tuning and driving it like a bat out of hell...and traction.

i would suggest though with a manual transmission to go to a double pumper carb instead of that vacuum secondary if you really want to see any kind of performance.

 

Thanks, I'm just shooting for high 12's/low 13's when we go to Lebanon this summer. 3.42 gears, I wanna toss some 3.73's in there soon or even some 4.11's. I was wrong on the cam though, I have 2 cams in my shopping cart at Summit racing, the one that I want, and the one I have, just for reference. The one I actually have is a Comp Cams .490/.490 and 286/286 duration.

 

My posi is shot too, I'm pulling peg leg launches half the time, I need a new one, or at least to re-build this one. So once I get traction, then yes, I will probably be getting High 12's/low 13's.

Thanks to everyone else for the comments.

 

I have 3:23 gears in my Iroc, its not posi though so I too have a peg leg launches, later I like to get maybe a posi 3:23 or maybe 3:42 being that I have a tpi setup, I can see you getting low 12s or 11s.

 

Very nice lookin car, makes me miss my old sport coupe. What class do you run in with that in autocross?

 

Street Modified. Mainly because of the engine swap.

 

I just got a rear for my car. Posi/disc rear out of an '88 TA from a memeber on this board. Bad thing is though it's 3.23 gears. Oh well, I'll swap over my 3.42's. I had a question though, does anyone know when the changeover year was for 26 to 28 spline? I wanna swap my gears, but I don't know if they'll work.

 

Street modified isnt bad, depending on the club you race with it might work out better for you. Like the club im a member of, my old car i was in modified but they combined that with the ST class ( a few classes lower).

Im building my Z28 to run in the street prepared class. If you got any questions on the classes and rules and regulations let me know, i have the SCCA book and ive been racing for a couple years.

 

Will do. Thanks man.

 

sport coupes oohrah!! color sorta looks like mine. my buddies white 85 sc right beside mine.

 

in 90 they went to the 28 spline axles, some late 89's got them also.

the gears will swap, but you'll have to change carriers, assuming your 4th gen rear has 28 splines...

 

Why would I have to swap carriers? They're both 26 spline 3rd gen. axles..... wouldn't they bolt right up? I thought all the carriers from 3.08 gears and up were 3 series????

 

Def nice car man!

Let me know if you need any help!

Im just getting into my 88 IROC now that its spring, hopefully she'll be on the road in the next few weeks.

Bump for a local guy!

 

Awesome, cool to see someone local. I'd like to check out your car someime if your ever at a meet or something. I love seeing local f-bodies. Thanks for the compliments too!

 

Do I see some marks in the driveway from a brunout? , in the first picture? I am 16 and I am restoring my car and I know how hard it is to pay for everything too.

 

Actually those are from the Camry in that backround, but it's not burnout, just wet tires. Although there are some farther down the driveway.

 

Where did you get that radiator support at?

 

No idea honestly, the 355 swap was only part way finished when I got the car, but the radiator was already in and mounted. So I don't know, sorry.

 

how are you attending a 4 year vocational school at 15 years old? by the way sweet car.

 

It's a 4 year vocational high school. Instead of a complete school year of classes, 90 days of the year is auto lab/auto shop and the other 90 is noraml academic high school classes. It's not 9 days striaght though, for us it's 25 days shop/15 days academics/15 days shop/15 days academics, etc.

Thanks for the compliment.

 

Man , congratulations . This is a really sweet , rockin' camaro ...

Burn on ...

 

I've got a cardomain I recently made too. It's no where near done, but I'll post it anyways. Here: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2299755

 

Man i wish my high school was like that. I just have two full periods of auto everyother day.

 

Thats sounds cool, my high school is the same way, last year we had autotech every other day & this year we would have it everyday.

 

awesome car! Its great beginning in a V8 car and you can learn alot working on them. I have alot of memories in my firebird. It was my first car and I have owned it since age 13. lol

 

Just curious, why is this? Why do manuals work better with DP's and why don't vacuum secondary's work well on them? Would it be good enough just to jet-up my Edelbrock or would I really benefit from a nice 650 DP or something? How much power would I really be losing through the Vaccuum secondary carb?

 

I am in the same situation. The pride from knowing you did it all yourself is amazing.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2267805 Keep up the good work.

 

Thanks man. It is indeed pretty awesome knowing what you've done by yourself and how the car has come along. Thanks for all the compliments to everyone, I've actually had this car since last May (or maybe it was early June), but never had a chance to post pics, so I was about 14 when I picked the car up, now I'm almost 16 (will be in July).

Well it should be dyno tuned any day now. I just recently did a little work around the house in order to afford a 1 hour dyno session, however my freekin distributor just crapped out on my too (actually it didn't, the advance isn't working though, if you know what might be wrong check out my thread or PM me). So I gotta fix that. Plus I've got a SERIOUS oil leak coming from somewhere right now. I've pretty much 100% determined it's coming from the back of the intake, it's all over everything though, the oil pan, starter, back of tranny, even on one of the spark plug wires as well as the shift fork. It ain't the rear main seal either. Once I get these things taken care of it'll be off to the dyno for some #'s as long as I don't have to shell out too much to fix the distributor. I'm expecting maybe high 200's, low 300's for RWHP. Although that may not be a ton, I don't wanna sound cocky and say a ridicuously high number and then be totally off. So we will see in due time, hopefully within the next week or so.....

Anyone wanna make any predictions?

 

WOW Lower that Camaro!!!!!!!! Nice but needs a drop for sure.

Nice *** camaro for a 15 year old....sleeper for sure with that paint and nice motor set up.

Jay

 

That is a very nice looking car! You really got a good start on that thing. You will like the ls1 brakes, they make a night and day difference!

 

Thanks for the compliments guys. I can't wait to get any dyno #'s either!