69 ALMS inspired Camaro

[Gordz32]

Hey Everyone! Well I guess I'll introduce my new project. Its in the very early stages, and I say that b/c I'm in CA and the car is still back in NJ sitting behind my buddies barn. They were going to junk the car b/c its so bad and I said keep it and I'll take it. FOR FREE! So b/c its so bad I'm going to do something totally different then most. The car will be build with a removable body from the chassis. Full tube chassis with either an engine that is set back about 12" or we were thinking of doing a mid mounted engine with a trans axle. This is the first rendering from my buddy Mike Castiglione. So tell me what ya think and share you likes and dislikes. Engine will be 650hp LS2 . I took a lot of cues from the C6R and Porsche GT3 RS/Cup

So I guess I'll elaborate on some ideas for the car. I want to make it as light as possible, Shooting for 2500lbs. My plan for the front suspension was to narrow the frame in the front and use either corvette control arms/ATS Spindles or build my own. By narrowing the front rails I can utilize a traditional style wheel without the positive offset common when using the corvette control arms. The car will be coke bottle drastically to make use of the largest tires available as well as widening the stance to help with the handling. Penske or Bilstein Coil overs, Full aluminum belly pans. Functional brake cooling ducts, Lexan windows except for front windshield, Rear diffuser, Gotta have leader lights( Just b/c I can)haha, The interior will prob. have an aluminum dash but will be styled after the Porsche gt cup cars, Halon Fire system, OMP seats and Wheel. ISIS wiring, Sweet column, Fiberglass doors, DPE LS-15 in matte black, I'll prob run a 6-spd dog box but would love a Quaife Sequential but money will be tight. Basically THINK No Frills, NO B/S Race car that will be street driven, and I want to make as parts as possible to save money

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Wow...sounds like an awesome project, and the rendering looks great! Definitely keep us updated during the build process with plenty of pics.

[LeighP]

Wow, heck of an ambitious project...my best wishes for it.
Guys I've seen here in Australia building GT40 replicas and similiar like to use ZF transaxles...nice and strong and get the engine back enough to clear your front seats etc.
Perhaps consider firewalling behind the seats right to the roof, with the firewall to include new rear glass....then use either part of the old back glass area to mount an induction scoop system for the engine...or if you didn't want to seal off right to the roof then perhaps the side rear glass areas could convert to NACA style intakes for the induction, fed down and under the engine cover.
Just a couple of thoughts that occured to me....
Have fun.

[The Stickman]

Welcome, this could be a wocked project. You say you are goin to make it a removable body car. Might I suggest using the steel body center section and then using fiberglass front and rear sections. Much like the old IMSA and Trans-Am cars. You would need a rear bulkhead. But that would make the center of the car much stronger. And it would separate you from the fuel cell and such.

[vp23271]

Chris,

Digging the rendering and ideas!

I have a set of DPE LS-15 in satin black with polished lip on my daily driver. I picked them up from John at DriverzInc and I am very happy with them and also the service from DriversInc! Great crew and would definitely buy from them again.

If your Camaro is going to be raced, you should look at ForgeLine maybe instead. The 2 piece DPE LS-15 is fine for the street, but might not be the best choice for the track. Forgeline has a similar wheel. DriverzInc carries both wheels, so maybe John can give you a side by side comparison.

On a side note, I like the color combo and rendering! I saw a factory white color earlier this year that blew me away. If I was doing my Camaro in white and was looking to do a street fighter look, I would definitely consider this color. The color was on the 2009 Mercedes Benz SL63 AMG IWC edition and it was called "Mango Cashmere". I have since seen pictures of the car online, but they don't come close to doing the color justice in real life. The color was nothing short of stunning IMO. Very understated, but it just looked mean. For the most part it was a metallic white with a matte/satin clear coat over top. The paint had depth and was a cool deviation from basic white. The AMG also had all of the carbon fiber treatment in satin also, the car just looked sick.

http://mbworld.org/forums/sl55-amg-sl63-amg-sl65-amg-r230/311542-sl63-amg-designo-magno-cashmere-white-aka-matte-white-hoi.html

[DriverzInc]

We can definitely lend you a hand with wheel selection, along with any other misc parts you may need. I'll send you a PM, and we can chat.

[TonyHuntimer]

Welcome, this could be a wocked project. You say you are goin to make it a removable body car. Might I suggest using the steel body center section and then using fiberglass front and rear sections. Much like the old IMSA and Trans-Am cars. You would need a rear bulkhead. But that would make the center of the car much stronger. And it would separate you from the fuel cell and such.

He's not trying to build a Fiero! J/K. :)

[TonyHuntimer]

mount an induction scoop system for the engine...or if you didn't want to seal off right to the roof then perhaps the side rear glass areas could convert to NACA style intakes for the induction, fed down and under the engine cover.
Just a couple of thoughts that occured to me....
Have fun.

I was thinking the same thing. The drip rail area in front of the sail panel (B-Pillar) is an area that catches a lot of air. If you could build some scoops right there...subtle or not...you could probably trap enough fresh air to force feed the engine. Or you can use the gills in front of the rear wheels to trap intake air and brake cooling air.

Nice project. I'm kind of in the same boat as you with a newly found rusty body that may turn into something really fun. It's too far gone and not a highly optioned car for me to consider a restoration.

[The Stickman]

He's not trying to build a Fiero! J/K. :)


Very funny, although a mid-engined Camaro would be cool.

[1968CamaroSS_Sam]

This is going to be an awesome project. Please keep us posted.

[MuscleRodz]

welcome, it looks like an awesome project

[79-TA]

Looks like an awesome project. The leader lights would be a cool touch for sure.

When choosing wheels, keep in mind that you can run the same BBS wheels (or design at least) that the actual GT cars do.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif



and many GT2 and P2 cars run them as well:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

including wall-hitting Porsches:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif


They're not all the exact same wheel design, but they're all mesh style wheels with a 7 split spoke pattern.

[rickk]

:1st:
rickk

[joemac]

Nice project, welcome.

[1971CHEVELLE]

Welcome to the site

[Gordz32]

Alright everyone, so here's the second rendering. Tell me ur likes or dislikes. We moved the vents into the hood and changed them up a little. We also exaggerated the coke bottle a little more. I'm not sure on this one. I also thought about doing a 2nd gen 3-pc spoiler on the car instead of whats there.

[sunkistcamaro]

I like it!!
Please post up pics of your progress!

[The Stickman]

I love it except for a few things. FIrst the vents on the lower front fenders. They shouldn't be there. If anything they should be behine the front wheels not in front. I would also make thefront spoiler flat like a splitter rather than the way it's shown.

[vp23271]

I am liking #2 just a little more. The thinner vents look better IMO and if you can get the fronts to vent the brakes, that would be a bonus! Plus the "coke bottle" body just looks killer and will give you a nice firm footprint on the track!

[PT64POLARA]

Love the second rendering. Not to sure about the color combo. Amazing design like that needs to strong colors. The front end looks tough. Second hood is much better too.