Hi all,

I am brand new to the world of F-bodies and racing them, I have only owned one other Camaro (1991 RS) when I was a teenager, but nothing was done to it performance wise. I recently acquired a free Camaro from one of those storage places. They told me that the people had not paid the rent on it for some time and that if I could haul the car off that I could have it, well I snatched this deal up (as I have a Vortec 350 and TH-350 looking for a home). Anyway, I have not been able to read the VIN on this car as it is very rusty and I can't make out the numbers (will continue to try) but I believe it to be a 1984 or 1985 Camaro Berlinetta Sport Coupe (has a badge on the front attesting to this). Anyway, I am planning on turning this car into a track only 1/4 mile racer, and am going to start by building up the chassis and suspension and I am looking for whatever suggestions you more F-body knowledgeable guys may have to offer. I have the interior of the car completely gutted and will be fixing the rusty spots in the floor pan, but from there I am not sure where to go. I am thinking about either an 8 or 10 point roll cage. First question with a roll cage are subframe connectors still necessary? Also I am going to remove the front swaybar as it won't be needed. Now from here is where I am at a loss, I would like suggestions on what to do, and where to get it.

 

Welcome to TGO

Finding a rust free car is a must but if you're willing to do all the rust repair then it's not so bad.

First of all, yes, you should install SFC into any third gen. The roll bar/cage, although it offers some rigidity, it doesn't tie the front and rear subframe together along the floor like SFC do.

How much to do for suspension depends on how far you want to go. A track only car can be set up a lot different than a car that sees street time.

Typically you start with SFC. Next an adjustable torque arm followed by tubular LCA and relocation brackets. Lastly an adjustable panhard bar.

Shocks and springs can stay stock for now but upgrading to some drag front struts doesn't hurt. Cheap ones are Lakewood 90/10. If you have the money, Koni SPA1.

The TH350 isn't a bad transmission to use. At least it's better than a 700R4 for the dragstrip. The weak link is the intermediate sprag. Anticipate it breaking at some time. Although the factory 10 bolt should survive for a little while, start looking at investing in a 12 bolt or 9". The direct bolt in ones are around $2500

If you want to go all out, you can go a complete back half on the car like I did.

Remove everything not needed for speed and safety. Search through the forums on weight reduction.

Click on the banner links for suspension and other stuff for third gens. Spohn makes many good suspension products.

 

Thanks for responding to my post and for providing a link to your website - I found it very informative, oh and your car is Freakin' Bad by the way. While I do not currently have something quite that radical in mind, but knowing me it will only be a matter of time. I will follow your suggestions and start with the SFC's, torque arm, tubular LCA's, and relocation brackets after I complete all of the rust repair (luckily the majority of the rust is in the floor pan, and there are only a few small spots on the body. I think that I am going to paint the car as well before I begin the build (like so many others I am on a budget, and this will be a project that will span at least a few years so the paint I think will go a long way to helping protect the car, not to mention keep me interested, I find it much easier to work on a car that looks good) and I feel that this is a good place to start.

You say that the TH-350 isn't a bad transmission for the drag strip, what would you say is a good one (my dad is has collected many Chevy parts over the years and I have access to them all, as we are building this car together) In addition to the TH-350, I also have the 700r4 that came with the car when I got it, and a powerglide. I chose the TH-350 because we have more than one and I figured it would be best to use the one I have the most spare parts for. I have been told though that the Powerglide is really only a good transmission for big blocks and/or high horsepower output motors. My plans for the motor so far are to build up the 350 I have to put up with a very large amount of nitrous oxide and my goal for the car is low 11's or high 10's on spray.

Once again thanks for responding and providing information!

 

A TH400 is stronger with basic factory parts than a beefed up TH350. It's bigger and eats a little more HP that a TH350 but it makes up for it in it's strength.

There's nothing wrong with using a powerglide. They were never installed behind a big block from the factory. There are many different changes to them over the years so you need to know what to look for. First of all the V8 version with the 1.76 first gear is stronger than the L6 version with the 1.82 first gear. A few aftermarket upgrades and it becomes a very strong transmission. The only real disadvantage to using a PG is the high first gear. The 3 speed transmissions have a low first gear which will help get a heavy or low HP vehicle moving faster.

 

Ok, thanks for explaining that - now I know why people don't recommend using them in low horsepower applications, but that makes me think that having this high of a first gear would allow for a fairly hefty hole shot, which should help to overcome this tall gear, right? Also I am not sure which version of Powerglide I have. The PG that I have came from a 1969 4-door Impala with a two barrel 327.

 

I agree with Stephen -

For your goals you would be fine with bolt-in suspension pieces. There are plenty of factory suspension cars running much faster than you're looking to go. Personally, I'm not a 'glide person. We've broke far too many high dollar store bought units. The higher 1st gear of the glide will lessen the hole shot of a lower powered car. For your goals, you should be fine with a decent built T350 and a good converter. Again, there are plenty of people running much faster on them than you are looking to go.

Do some searching on this board and talk to the site sponsor's(links at top). Spohn makes great suspension pieces for our cars, I also reccomend BMR(usually a little cheaper, still great quality). Don't get hooked into any of the "gimic" parts available that alter what you have. The factory lay-out is a very stout platform, it just needs upgraded pieces to handle the power/abuse.

 

if you are over 350-400hp,dont put in a th350 unless its got an aftermarket drum and sprag assembly.