Where do I begin..my dad's been a mechanic his whole life, and always told me stories of some of the cars he had that I could only dream of. A '68 Nova with a 327, 4 barrel carb, four on the floor, and a bench seat, a '68 Firebird that ran 10.40s..but in the late 70's, early 80's you built cars for pennies compared to what it takes now. My whole life, he always tried to explain to me how everything worked, but I only cared about how fast you could go. At around 15, I wanted to understand cause I knew I'd have my license soon. (17 in NJ) After talking to my dad for a while, he finally said, alright, if you get the money together, we'll build you a 3rd gen that'll **** on every Civic that crowd the streets where I live. I'm going to have a job within the next 2-3 weeks, just need to finish training and get some other stuff done.

In the end, the setup will be:

-Charcoal Grey 3rd Gen Camaro

-454 BBC
-EDIT: BSing with my dad today..may resurrect the 402 (396 bored .030) he had in the bird it needs a COMPLETE rebuild, but hey, it'd be cool as hell taking a motor from father to son, 1st Gen Bird to 3rd Gen Camaro

-Heads that were on his Firebird, no clue what they were, but he said even now, their worth a lot of money

-Intake manifold that was on his Firebird, again, no clue, but it's a good one to get for free lol

-Sub frame connectors

-6-8 pt roll cage

-TCI StreetFighter Trans

-3.73 Gears

-Hotchkiss Suspension

-Tubo (suggestions?)

-No a/c

-No power steering

-On and off about power brakes or not..advice?

-On and off about backseat or not..advice?

-Racing Seats w/ 5 pt harness

-Electric Cutouts (love them, it's a must have)

-Upgraded Sound..already have the amps, speakers, etc, just need a good head unit. No, I'm not putting in a sub.

I know you're all asking yourselves in your head, why a big block? The reason is, I already have the big block. It doesn't need a lot of work, I just plan to put in a new cam. Any advice? WE want to do this right the first time. My dad and I have a real good relationship and have talked about building a car since I could speak. It's going to be MY car, but OUR build.

EDIT: Sorry if this was supposed to be in Member's Camaro section.

 

Sounds good!
tell me how the engine fits, i have been planning putting the largest engine i can find in a third gen body (and even putting a 403 in a datsun )

as for the backseats, it depends if you want some less weight, you might want to ditch'em.

either way, i wish you good luck, if you can post pictures as the build progresses that would be good.

 

Third gen with a turbo rat motor is a great idea. Since it's got a radio, I assume is a steet car, not a race car. This might not be the best starting point for a 17 year old.

 

Thanks T/A, and for sure I'll post pics.

Eseibel, I understand your point completely. I thought it over last night about the backseat. It's not going to be STRICTLY a race car. And there's going to be times when I'll have more than 2 people in the car. I'm going to leave it in. The reason I was asking if I should take it out or not is because I still want it to run good 1/4 times. I know a backseat won't DRASTICALLY increase it, but I guess every little bit hepls. Thanks guys

 

To be honest about the back seat, I think its more comfy with it removed. Just thro a towel down 4 padding! you have quite a bit more room !

 

Is your car strictly a drag car?

 

Just curious as to what your plans are for getting a 454 to pass emissions in NJ?

 

Honestly, not sure yet but it will. I know it's not impossible. I'd rather have a pain in the *** passing emissions then buy a whole new motor for 4-5k.

 

Subscribed!!! would love to put a 454 in my IROC, but might go to a 427. Yea emissions in NJ is bad. My iroc still hasnt passed and ive had the car for 2 years haha.

 

What do you ahve in it nowW?

 

stock 305. HAHA.

 

Hey dude, better than hopes & dreams..that's what I'm running right now. !

 

I dont understand . Oh I get it ,a joke ????

 

I think its in reference to the stock 305 comment.

 

Sounds like a good build! Few words of advice as I am also 17 and my first car was a third gen I've built with my dad. Started out with a stock 305tpi to 350ptpi. Was fun but got boring. Nowits its sporting a ls1! One of the best parts about the build was doing it with my dad. Spending time working on the car to checking out the junkyard to find the littliest parts. Were still not done as I also would like to get some sfc and need to finish up the interior. Its a dd for me and I love showing it off so I kept the backseats and rest of interior to. Also if your going to drive it alot cherish want some of the luxuries such as power steering, brakes, a/c ect. Right now I don't have my a/c finish and I wish I did! But this does sound like a badass build reguardless! My advice would be that unless its a dedicated strip car keep the seats and some power options and make this a fun build as im sure you'll change your mind many times like me! and not trying to change your mind but giving you some of my experiances. To each his own

 

I was replying to aqua, implying anything is better than nothing.

And thanks blackiroc. I've driven cars without power steering and I was fine. I've ALSO driven cars that were SUPPOSED to have power steering..that sucked lol, Parking was impossible haha. Have a good dayguys.

 

driving a car without power steering... and driving a car without power steering DAILY is a big difference... eventually you will get frustrated with out the p/s... and as for the power brakes... i would def go with em... come in handy wen u spot a cop haha!!

 

Manual brakes work fine. Ran them in a ~5000lb. car for years, just gotta man up and use your leg.

Ditch the backseats. Have never had backseats in a thirdgen, they're a silly waste of space.

What trans are you planning on running? 400? If so I'd ditch the 3.73 idea. Run higher gears and make more torque.

 

Very handy , I'm sure .

Yeah..one of my friends suggest 4.80s..but listening to an engine screaming at 5k for more than 20 minutes will drive me to insanity..thinking 4.10s. As for the trans, TCI StreetFighter. Can handle up to 400 HP. It's cheap, it's a manual-auto valve body, so no clutch. But for a grand..how could you pass that up?

 

You misunderstand my recommendation on gearing: Higher gears are numerically lower. Without overdrive you will not want to go far above mid 3.xx unless you will be trailering it to the track.

'Streetfighter' is just a brand name, it is not a type of transmission. If you are only paying a grand for a new trans I am betting you are buying a 350.

I would pass up any product made by TCI with a smile on my face, but I like my transmissions to not be pieces of crap, and that's just me.

Just my two cents.

 

Yea..when I replied, I wasn't sure if you meant higher as in a higher gear, or higher ratio..Thanks for clearing that up.

Here's the TCI, yes itd a 350. Have you heard bad things about them from others? Or you've had personal experience.
http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CGcQ8wIwAw

Should I look for a 400? Suggestions?

 

I agree...stay away from TCI (heard more bad than good) and look at what PRO BUILT AUTOMATICS has for your options.

 

Thanks, I'll be sure to check them out