Looking to buy 60's camaro project

[onewhippedpuppy]

Cool sounding project, too bad Camaro prices are so inflated by the muscle car boom and auctions on tv. Now everybody with a rusty heap thinks he has a $20k car.

I plan on doing something similar with my Mustang, hopefully starting this fall. Modernize the suspension and brakes, add an aftermarket A/C system, modern wheels and tires, and mild mods to the 302 and C4. The goal is to have a classic car that drives far better than new while still preserving the original look. I'd like to pull the original and unrebuilt 302 (with 40k on it) and replace it with a Coyote 5.0 and 6-speed manual, but the wifey might not approve that budget.

[Jim Bremner]

onewhipped,

Why a new Coyote 5.0? More weight, more cooling issues, more polar momenteum


I want to do a '67 fastback shell car with a real frame, A Cosworth DFX mounted behind the front wheel centerline. Corvette Transaxle screw production engines!

[VincentVega]

Love these threads, get me thinking about things I dont need

1968 Camaro

[rouxroux]

Camaros? Nah, Corvairs are MUCH more fun....Oh wait....damn....BUSTED!!!!!!

No, the Corvairs ARE much more fun, cheaper to build, get more looks....Just find you a clapped-out Camaro and buy a new body. (saves all of the madness pictured below)

[Jim Bremner]

[MMARSH]

Big Red.....that was the ultimate 69 back in the day.

[Joe Bob]

Saw a clone of that car today on Katella near DisneyHell. Had WA plates.

[Jim Richards]

I prefer the '68 Z/28.

[RoninLB]

these old muscle cars are light to light street runners. They handle like crap otherwise unless you get exotic in suspension

Chevy parts are more available, inexpensive and flex to deal with even though i like the 67 firebird.

Me and buds in the middle 1960s and late 1960s had many big block street machines. Good running small blocks had to be so dialed in that they would be fouling plugs by Sunday night after weekend battles. Though the big blocks were no prize either at least they could be made more drivable.

For some reason the 396 didn't blow up as fast over time as the 427s. 454s blew up routinely. My 427 had worn main bearings after 50k miles.

I also have an issue with today's world of crap gas which is probably getting worse in the future. I don't even believe in today's high test for something you can build a good ignition curve around. Low compression and a mild camshafts seems like castrating these machines?

When FM radios first came out my work buddy had my ideal machine that we tooled around for hours in during our extended work breaks after midnight all week. This went on for years.

1967 Camaro, 396/375 factory rated bs listed hp. 3" raised suspension, some head work, and 4:56 rear gears. A good driver made this a consistant winning car. Relatively cheap to build, easy finding parts, and didn't blow engines, trannies, or rears as fast as 427s & 454s.

Chryslers needed 426 hemi with head work & Fords needed big engine work and still weren't serious contenders for long as they had a short street life.

Pontiacs, Buicks, and Old's street machines weren't considered serious although a 1967 442 coupe dialed in with a stick and rear gears was sweet.

For the most part except for some Chevy's the beginning of the end was in 1970. 1969 was the last of the respected machines overall.

If you're going to build a serious small bock Chevy pay attention to the block you start with. Many different casings. All 4 bold main bearing engines were not the same.

party hearty

all above only a rant

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

onewhipped,

Why a new Coyote 5.0? More weight, more cooling issues, more polar momenteum


I want to do a '67 fastback shell car with a real frame, A Cosworth DFX mounted behind the front wheel centerline. Corvette Transaxle screw production engines!

I've never looked at the weights but I suspect they are similar, the Coyote is aluminum block and head vs cast iron on the 302. I think it's cool to retrofit a modern drivetrain into an old car, but I doubt I'll ever do it.

Jim's article below is an inspiration for what I want to do, in fact I'll probably use some of the same upgrade parts based on his advice.

[johnsjmc]

Cayman Interseries: Fast practice at Atlanta - YouTube
The new coyote engine is a work of art,but I am making do with a 347 (stroked 302) AFR alloy heads making 479 hp at the flywheel. the car has added torque boxes, frame ties, big brakes,koni ,close ratio 5 speed 9 inch rear etc. in a 1966 Shelby clone .

[Jim Bremner]

Onewhipped


The HP that you might get from the new 5.0 isn;t worth it. The bennifit for the new 5.0 is that it's street manners are there.

My 302 stroked to 331 was a slightly cranky engine. I spent some time with Comp Cams cam grinder on the phone with him and he gave me what I asked for.

Design your cam around your rear tires. rear gears, transmission, weight of the car, purpose of the car, gasoline octane, heads,carb or fuel injection, and you'll have a runner.

Early cars and narrow tires don't take torque well. I had the cam set around narrow 245 width tires (Michelin Pilot sports?) at the time it was the stickiest street tire I could find. The engine was pretty normal till 3,000 rpm and then would come on strong till 6,400. This kept the tires from roasting away.

A old school small block ford BLOCK only is 120 pounds and they;re known for NOT liking to make more 500hp prior to splitting down the center of the V Race blocks weight in around 135-140 pounds and start out around $2,000 Alloy blocks are $3000.


Here's the image that tells me everything I need about why a 5.0 SBF motor makes more sense to me than a MOD Motor


As for the engine in a 67-69 CAMERO I would want to have a LS7. Left alone it makes 500 hp and will run 24/7/365. GM made a killer engine that just works.

[mb911]

Well I was suppose to pick up a 68 RS this morning with no engine or trans (seems like that is common in my searches ) and after hearing how the guy could not meet yesterday for a family reunion he call last night around 8 and says he just sold it to a guy from ohio that drove up yesterday .. hmm no class I guess.

my plan is still a 60's camaro with a LQ4 6.0 fuel injected with possibly a 6 speed or maybe a th 400 undecided on tranny as of right yet the big issue is how to drive speedometer if I go six speed.

[mb911]

Originally Posted by rouxroux

Camaros? Nah, Corvairs are MUCH more fun....Oh wait....damn....BUSTED!!!!!!

No, the Corvairs ARE much more fun, cheaper to build, get more looks....Just find you a clapped-out Camaro and buy a new body. (saves all of the madness pictured below)

got any extra camaro projects down there?

[Jim Bremner]

Originally Posted by mb911

Well I was suppose to pick up a 68 RS this morning with no engine or trans (seems like that is common in my searches ) and after hearing how the guy could not meet yesterday for a family reunion he call last night around 8 and says he just sold it to a guy from ohio that drove up yesterday .. hmm no class I guess.

my plan is still a 60's camaro with a LQ4 6.0 fuel injected with possibly a 6 speed or maybe a th 400 undecided on tranny as of right yet the big issue is how to drive speedometer if I go six speed.

Don't worry. The speedo problem has been done before.You can't go wrong with the newer Chevy small blocks

The 5.3 in my truck has 198k miles on it and it's been ran hard.

[MMARSH]

Check out this 1969. He builds the best and can drive his ass off.


2012 Chevy Camaro ZL1 vs. Mark Stielow's Red Devil '69 Camaro - HOT ROD Unlimited Episode 13 - YouTube

[Jandrews]

What a great video, Mike....thanks for that!!!

JA

[Jim Bremner]

Bad Penny Camaro - Sandhills ORC Standing Mile Run - 172.4 MPH - YouTube

[onewhippedpuppy]

Jim, the Coyote 5.0 is just bench racing dreaming. No way I'm spending that much for the swap, it doesn't make sense in my vision of a fun to drive weekend cruiser. I'll do a compression check on the original 302, and if it's healthy I'll do the usual upgrades of 4 barrel carb, intake, heads, headers, and full exhaust. That should be plenty for what I need, and gets me away from using lead additive as I currently will have to do.

[Adam]

Engine swaps are cool - but budget for a lot of other issues that will pop up, that the extra hp will unearth. Even my '62 Impala with the crate motor needed upgraded cooling, brakes, suspension... $igh.