Welll i figured id hop on the bandwagon and post pics on my slowly progressing build.... Dont have too much done, so I guess theres not really much to say at this point, so ill just post pics of what i have now.... Enjoy.... Heres what i started off with....

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Some of the steering/suspension parts i have..... Spohn k-member, a-arms, swaybar, wonderbar, and Pinto rack with bumpsteer kit.....

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Pic of the J & M caster/camber plates....

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Some pics of the Moser 9"..... (31 spline axles)(with Spohn rear sway bar)

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Thats about it for now... Next ill probably pick up some new or used LS1 brakes for the rear, shocks and struts (most likely adjustable koni yellows). Gonna temporarily reuse the Hotchkis springs that were on the car until i actually get some weight on the suspension, so then i know what rates/height i want. Depending what money i have left over, once i actually get my refund, maybe some LCA's for the rear or panhard bar... Guess ill know once i cross that bridge... Thats it for now... PEACE.

 

some pretty serious parts there man. looks like a interesting build. What do you plan to do with the car?

 

Ill say this 1MeanZ, it wont be as SIC as the build you have goin... I wish i could fabricate, ive got a lot of ideas in my head, just no experience or skills to back it up... At least not yet. Most of the parts will be bolt up, bout 85 - 90% new... Gotta take care of our third gens...

Now for plans....Well, its kinda hard to say. I dont know for sure. I have an idea of what i want to do but seeing as im in school and learning new info everyday, things tend to change... Its goin to be a street/strip car mostly street driven, in moderation... NO snow/rain. Maybe 2 - 3 times a week depending on weather (most likely summer/weekend cruiser) Probably shoot for running 10.5 or less.... Ill say what i would like to do.

1) Engine : Either a SBC 350 bored (383) or an LS engine, just depends whether i decide i want it simple and carb'd or electronics and fuel injection... Either way... Minimum of 500hp at the rear wheels.

2) Trans : Thats a toss up, not sure if i should stick with an auto, which the camaro was to begin with, or go the manual route... Havent got too in depth as far as trans's go yet.

3) Drivetrain : Undecided...Either 3.5, 3.7 or 3.89 gears with trac lock or detroit locker... ArticwhiteZ suggested i look at a No Spin/Detroit Locker. Im still researching and trying to figure out what gears will best suit the build.

4) Brakes : LS1 brakes all the way around.

5) Wheels/tires : Wheels i dont know, except that i want more of a negative offset. Id like a deeper/dish look of the rims on the rear with more positive but not flush on the fronts. As for tires i was looking at 315 x 17's rear and 275 x 17's front. Probably gonna have to roll the rear fenders, or most likely mini tub.

6) Power adders : Toss up as well. Possibly twin turbo or supercharger/turbo... Havent researched too much yet... Seeing as builds take a while i got time to decide... Plus my wallet will let me know what ill be able to afford.

Im up for any constructive criticism or ideas/ advice... Let me know as im progressing through my build on thoughts you guys might have... Ive learned a lot on this forum in a short time. Thanks..... ROB

 

Cool, cant wait to see this at the chicago area cruise nights!

 

youre going the rack and pinion steering? i know its cool. but why? the rear fin is cool, but it gives off mixed signals, looks like a t/a in the rear. id like to see the t-tops matched to body paint. I like the 9inch rear end that is sweet. ditch the carb for an LSX built up with a a belt driven supercharger, a t56 gear box, bimmer retro fitted head light, and l.e.d. rear lights the have the sequential turning signal lights . AND if you wanted to get down maybe an under carriage liner to protect the engine. and stuff, bmw come stock with under car liners.

 

It looks like you are taking your time and it really shows. Good work! Is your car a z28 clone?

 

Yeah, i hear that. If it turns out the way i have it visualized it should turn a few heads... So your from around here? Where at?

I know that its an RS... That is actually one of the things that i dont understand... The badge on the dash and all the decals are Z28, the spoiler is as well, had a 305 in it... Maybe someone can enlighten me... What mods will make it a Z28 vs an RS???

As for the work, yeah, quite a bit of time... Thanks for the comment.... Spent months just wire brushing every nook and cranny... Car was originally from California, then the guy who i bought it from lived in Wisconsin.... Now its mine... FOREVER!... The only areas i needed to address were the floor pan (underside) by the pinchweld on the drivers side (Had rust pits forming), firewall on Passenger side (some rust i cut out) and the T-Top/ drivers side area that the seal goes on.... Other than that, no major issues.

Cleaner looking i guess, less linkages to have to deal with too. Plus, its not going to be a daily driver.

I assume your referring to the spoiler... It was on the car when i got it. I have mixed feelings about it. Im probably going to put the small RS spoiler that should be there instead. Or figure out a way to change between both, depending on the mood im in.

Way ahead of you on that one... The blue on the car (in the pics) was already on it when i purchased the car... Ive got a paint scheme in mind... I wont paint the T-Tops, instead ill probably get glass ones (that have the really dark black tint), not the ones i have on there now... From the inside looking out it looks like a kaleidoscope/ all glittery... Dont like it, im picky. They will actually work like you had stated, it will tie into the paint color... Most likely black and either a midnight blue or the 2010 camaro blue... Imperial blue or the aqua blue metallic... Gotta look at the 10' camaro up close and see the different blues during the day/night.

Its crossed my mind... the LSx route i mean. Only reason i was thinking 383 SBC was because its simpler.. In my opinion. This is my first build, its just kind of intimidating to get too technical... Might not be that hard, but ive never done it before.... But it might go that route... Just depends what i learn between now and the time i start working out what engine i actually get. As for T56 gear box... Whats that???? Is that basically just a T56 by a company called gear box, or something else?... Not to familiar with trans's yet. Why do you suggest a 6-speed???

 

T-56 gear box is just another way of saying 6 speed. Because you have the higher gears to make for better fuel mileage at highway speeds. Plus you will need a better transmission behind that 383 that will hold up. The T-5 is OK for stock but will snap when you add a lot more power to the car.

 

Im out in McHenry, the car is out in Mount Prospect though. (keep it at work)

 

Thats cool, im out in Palatine. Im taking the autos classes at MCC... Maybe ill see you around...

 

Z28's came with either a 305 or a 350. The 305's in the Z's, however, are TPI, whereas the 305's in the RS's are TBI.

 

Small update... Finally got some money and was looking at a few things... I stumbled upon Racing geek's 25% off KONI shocks and struts!! post and jumped all over that... I ordered Koni yellows (adjustable front n rear) and ended up saving $250 over every other place i've checked... Wont get them till sometime in May, but sweet deal none the less.... Next im gonna hit up the junkyard i was at a while back and get the LS1 brakes off a 2000 Camaro, hopefully it hasnt been gutted too much yet... Plus i was thinking about getting the UMI package deal on the Single Adjustable Lower Control Arms and Panhard Bar Kit... Talked with a guy from UMI to hear what he'd suggest and was told i'd be good with the poly/rod combo (Panhard and LCA's). I asked about running 315's on the rear and he said that i shouldn't have a problem with clearance (tire to LCA) pending what backspacing i run... Finally getting some nice weather so no more excuses for being lazy...Thats about it for now....

 

You'll love those shocks, they'll make that car handle like it's on damn rails. Trust me, I know.

But why all the suspension work and Koni struts/shocks if you're gonna put a manual rack and a locking rear in it? It's gonna really get in the way during cornering with it randomly locking and unlocking like that. At best it will get in the way, and at worst it will seriously, dangerously upset the car as you transition from straight lines to corners. You'd be a lot better off with some sort of clutch or torsen style posi, not a locker.

The manual rack is cool for weight, but as far as I know none of them for our cars are powered yet, so the amount of turns lock to lock is too much for autocrossing but I guess for open-track stuff it would be fine. But then why the locking rear diff?

If it's a drag car then Konis arent really the ideal solution, but I suppose they'll work.

 

I just wanted the rack because there's less parts and not as many friction points... I can always change up the rack for a power rack once someone comes out with one for our cars... I wanted to do rack cause that gets rid of the gearbox/powersteering pump, thats just less crap that could leak sooner or later. Seeing as i might go with a hydroboost for the brakes, i guess that i still need the PS Pump... So a power rack could be in the future, but ill make that call once she's all put together and i see how she drives...

Now as far as the No Spin/Detroit Locker goes, i didnt say that its what im getting, it was just a suggestion from one of the members here on TGO.. Im still undecided on the gears... Seeing as im not too familiar on how each center section works, I guess i need to break down the pros and cons of each once i learn how each one operates..

Its not going to be full blown drag, but will see the strip every so often...

 

If you want to make a corner carver a locker isnt going to be what you want.

A locker is going to be completely open in corners. In a sense, this will mean the car can rotate much easier on the rear axle. It will make hte car nervous on corner entry. If the posi is grabbing on corner entry, it will actually help hold the car straight.

I bet most of the people here (including me) Will never push their cars quite hard enough for that to be a factor, but using a locking diff in a car that's set up to handle isn't a great idea. It's great for a street strip car though.

 

Flaming River Steering makes a complete power unit.

 

DULY NOTED.

That's indeed what I want it to be... Never gonna be a corner carver.

 

Then why the Konis? There are much better shocks/struts out there for drag racing. Konis are much more for cornering. They dont transfer weight the way drag shocks/struts do.

 

Are you sure it's for our cars? There are some serious issues with why the aftermarket companies are having a hard time making powered racks for our cars. The tie rod arm on our spindles isnt the right length for it to work properly. I did a bit of research on this recently as I really wanted to cut down on weight, but unless something big has happened recently, there are no powered racks for our cars.

 

Then what would you suggest? I was told that a drag shock/strut wasnt ideal for street... So what would work for both drag racing and on street?

How so... Can you elaborate... What seems to be the issue?

 

Well thats the rub. You gotta pick which you care more about. Do you want handling or do you want a drag strip car?

I was trying to find the thread that talked about it. This is theo nly thing I can find, and I cant remember if this is what I read or not, but it slightly goes into detail:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...pinion/3313894

Its post #17 but I'd read the whole thread for the sake of the context.

 

Already said what i want it to be... in my #4 post and i quote... FYI... The link you posted is not working.

 

You got a nice car, just go with what you got.

 

So I picked up Some LS1 front and rear calipers/brackets and backing plates from the junkyard for like 100 bux but i couldnt take any pictures cause I didnt have a camera on hand. Gave the parts to my uncle so he could sandblast them for me... I get some pics when i get them back.. Also received the Koni's ahead of time and not in may like they had told me... Cant complain bout that... I do have a question for anyone that has or knows about the Koni's... Their instructions dont state what the purpose of the white spacer like parts are, nor do the illustrations explain anything either...So, what are the parts for exactly??? Heres a pic...

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Small update..... Got the sandblasted junkyard calipers and backing plates back from my uncle.. Decided buying parts for the backing plate assembly wasnt worth it so i bit the bullet and ordered the complete assemblies... Here are some pics...

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Now i gotta go buy the rebuild kits for the calipers...Got the Shocks/Struts mocked up on the car too.....

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Just a few more parts and i should be good suspension wise...Got a question though... Are the rear shocks supposed to be so close to the sway bar? Its been a while since i pulled the original parts off but i dont recall them being that close before.

 

Not much to update on. Just received my UMI adjustable control arms and Panhard bar... Thats about it...

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Small update.... Finally gathered enough cash and picked up a center section... Detroit Locker with 4.11's..... Slapped some paint on the finished 9", still have to touch it up a little. In a few days i should have it back under the car. Then its on to rebuilding the calipers,picking up some rotors, and installing those on the rear... Then i could start looking at rims/offsets and decide what i wanna run... Here are a few pics of the diff/complete 9".

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Well since i finally got the 9" put together, I'm broke.... So i have no money and I'm bored. I decided to polish my LS1 calipers before i rebuild them, once i get some cash... Here's a few pics of the front caliper in its current state...

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