'Streamline' 1968 camaro project

[slimjim]

I'm still alive but the progress has been slow, I've been bending brake lines and flaring like no tomorrow, I'd planned to try keep the whole car AN fittings but wilwood uses SAE so I've got ended up with a mess of fittings in my brake lines.
One good thing about running 5th gen brembos is that I can buy braided brake lines off the shelf. with the help of a flare to AN fitting
and the prop valve didn't fit well, not enough clearance to the inner wheel well, so it gave me an excuse to hide it a little better, some people hide them under the car but I didn't like anywhere underneath and this current location will allow wiring to be easy underneath the trans tunnel.
I'm still awaiting my fender braces to arrive in the mail before this location is 100% final.

[ryeguy2006a]

Looking great! How do you like working with the NiCopp lines?

[slimjim]

Looking great! How do you like working with the NiCopp lines?

the Nicopp is great, bending is a breeze.
flaring is hit or miss, I initially got a cheap AN flaring tool, and I guess it's designed for stainless, because it damages the Nicopp(teeth marks etc), however I couldn't imagine how difficult it must be to flare the stainless tube by hand.
I bought a better double flaring tool that is amazing, I'd say I'm 95% done with my brakes now.

[slimjim]

Alright NiCopp update! finished up my brake lines this afternoon. I'm pretty happy with the end result considering I've never done this before, feel free to critique what you see.
I tried to keep it pretty similarly routed to the speedtech brake lines with the exception of the right and left front brake lines being separated. Gutter guard in all necessary places and even polished up the visible lines.







Now for the next challenge, to attempt custom door panels.

[Motown 454]

The lines look nice and neat.

[JayinMI]

Now for the next challenge, to attempt custom door panels.

At first I thought that was 3/4" MDF, but the more I look at it, it looks like foam. Looking forward to the outcome.

Jay

[slimjim]

It's actually 1" Fibre Glast.. which is something I had never heard of, but its basically shaping foam, I honestly have no idea what I'm doing but taking it slow and researching as much as I can.

At first I thought that was 3/4" MDF, but the more I look at it, it looks like foam. Looking forward to the outcome.

Jay

[slimjim]

countless hours(days) later I have something resembling a door panel... It takes a similar design to the 5th gen but takes the dimensions of the 1st gen into consideration.
Still a long ways to go at this point. oh and then there's the driver door

[Motown 454]

Nice job it's looking good! Is that a hi density foam or rigid foam board. You did a nice job getting the opening edge straight.

[slimjim]

Nice job it's looking good! Is that a hi density foam or rigid foam board. You did a nice job getting the opening edge straight.

It's called Fibre Glast, came across it on eBay. I assume it's very similar to rigid foam.

[Gmc427]

hi,what make booster are you running and is it mounted straigth onto the firewall without the gm angled stand off?regards

[slimjim]

hi,what make booster are you running and is it mounted straigth onto the firewall without the gm angled stand off?regards

Currently it's mounted straight onto the firewall, however it's an aftermarket laser cut wall, it doesn't resemble the stock setup and I'll probably run Clayton pedals, hoping I can keep it this way. the Booster is from MP brakes.

[slimjim]

I've also been trying to come up with a new tail light design, something more compact that fits inside the 67-68 tail light mould as opposed to overhanging it. It has turned out to be quite challenging due to the poor stamping of reproduction panels, there are huge differences between left and right.

[slimjim]

Some nice deliveries arrived this week. I've been going back and forth on my engine decision for a while, couldn't decide which of the crate LS3's would suit me best, I was leaning towards the 430 and then planning to have a local builder upgrade it with my desired parts, but a very low mile dropout L99 popped up and basically I couldn't turn it down. I was always hesitant of putting a used motor in my car, but I'm trying to step back down to reality rather than continue to be sucked into the trends of top end builds that the internet keeps putting in my face. The savings I made on the dropout will allow a full rebuild at PCM of NC. They're a very reputable builder in Mooresville NC who specialize in 5th gens, backed up for months apparently, but my engine will head there in a few days. They're very confident of 500 RWHP without touching the bottom end, which is perfect for my build.




So my next big hesitation is something I've been considering for about 6 months, a friend of mine had this black mountain precision cog drive front accessory kit sitting in his garage, my speculation is huge since it's an incredibly rare unit with very little feedback online. However, He has given it to me to mock up(for getting him into SEMA) we'll set it up on my engine, It should clear my subframe, and then I'll decide if I want to purchase it from him.
He has a 64 C10 and thought it would stand out too much in his enormous engine bay, I think it will be a little more subtle in a first gen.
I like the quality of the kit and the fact that it's different, but It's a little old school, which is why I'll just wait to see it in the bay sandwiched between the radiator and engine and probably hidden by intake piping.
Unfortunately It won't fit until we replace the L99 front plate to the LS3.

[slimjim]

A couple days ago I had some time so I wanted to make sure the cog drive power steering pulley and Mast Motorsports oil pan would clear my subframe. Both of which fit easily with plenty of extra clearance, and the process of putting the block in and taking it out took about 10 minutes, I sure am loving the simplicity of the LS motor in comparison to all of the Japanese imports I've worked on in the past!




The engine has now been put into the shop for:-
-full inspection
-milling cylinder heads .020"-.030"
-Melling oil pump
-LS3 front timing cover
-hardened push rods
-texas speed .660" double valve springs
-titanium retainers
-LS7 lifters
-280cc head porting
-Comp trunnion upgrade
-some other minor things like ARP bolts, spark plugs, thermostat, general service parts
-and finally a Phoenix cam; It's a popular cam from PCM and at 231/246 it makes great power without sacrificing too much street ability,

they frequently break 500hp at the rear wheels on 5th gens with this above setup and basic bolt-ons which is perfect for build and comes at a great price!
I'll be overseas for the next 6 weeks so little progress will be made on my car but at least I'll have a sealed and rebuilt engine waiting for me when I get back.

[ryeguy2006a]

That cog setup is awesome! Can't wait to see a video of it running.

[slimjim]

That cog setup is awesome! Can't wait to see a video of it running.

Me TOO! I was hoping to dummy it up and see how it looked but I need to replace the front cover on the engine for the water pump to fit, oh well, we'll see it in 6 weeks when I get the engine back.

[Stealth 69]

Gangster build - I am loving your hands-on approach

[69Phoenix]

Awesome project. Just finished going through your build. Looks like you are on the home stretch James. I am sure you can't wait to get home and get back on it. Looks to me like you'll be driving it by years end, maybe end of the summer. How many hours do you figure you have in it so far?

Brad

[slimjim]

Awesome project. Just finished going through your build. Looks like you are on the home stretch James. I am sure you can't wait to get home and get back on it. Looks to me like you'll be driving it by years end, maybe end of the summer. How many hours do you figure you have in it so far?

Brad

Thanks Brad, Hours involved I have no idea, money involved I have no idea. I kind of stopped keeping track of it all when it started getting scary and the figure was too high to want to tell friends and family. lol only car guys will understand.
I could work out the paid labour hours going off of my receipts if anyone wanted to know, and then I've also put several hundred hours in myself.
Years end is very optimistic but would be awesome, I figure with remaining parts and paint I'm 30k out minimum. But with my wedding in march, and kind of a second wedding/ month long trip back to Australia in June the car is taking a step back...within reason