Beast Mode '69 Camaro

[tmadden]

great looking car. Keep the pics coming!!

[rose jackets67]

Inspiring. Only a fool would hate on someone taking a shell and putting it on the road, regardless of the parts used.

[LS7 Z/28]

If I were you I'd paint it a dark green similar to the green grenade that Brian finch built.it would look great with those wheels.and I'd leave all of the fiber bare except for fenders. Really good looking car so far

Thanks man, I like that Finch car also. Not sure what I'm doing yet it's a tough decision

Nice looking chassis.. And nice work.

Thank you

WOW looking good.

Thanks

Unique build, full frame! I cant wait to hear the final weight figure....
Go with an LS motor, all the cool kids are doing it!

Nothing is set in stone yet but maybe. If it's around 3000# I will be happy.

Oh great. Another Camaro build...

Awesome start. I'm partial to black, leave some hints of carbon fiber.

LS3? LS7? What's your budget?

Thanks, yeah I love black also. I'm not sure yet with paint or engine choice.

Yes, I would just clear some rallye stripes out of the carbon fiber and paint the rest a charcoal/gunmetal. Wish I had the resources to build a car in this fashion.

I've been saving for a long time and I'm living with relatives in order to save money. Having no house payment helps a lot.

Who can hate another Camaro??? anyone who does is just jealous!

You car looks awesome so far!

Thanks, It seems like quite a few people.

great looking car. Keep the pics coming!!

Thanks I'll try

Inspiring. Only a fool would hate on someone taking a shell and putting it on the road, regardless of the parts used.

Thanks, I think so too.

[LS7 Z/28]

We recently took the car back apart after doing a rough mock up with the Carbon parts. It's now on a jig so that we have a perfectly square starting point for doing metal work. Quite a bit of metal has been cut out of the car with more yet to go...

[LS7 Z/28]

We recently added a frame extension to the back half of the chassis and cut out the trunk floor along with the old frame rails. We made a fuel cell frame/guard that will be removable with four bolts. Later we will make the upper straps for the cell when the new floor is in place. One of the next things we are planning is doing metal work in the trunk area. We will also be starting on the full rollcage soon, along with seat and pedal mock up.

Here are some before and after photos of the fuel cell guard and new chassis back half/tail section.

[jlcustomz]

There are so many 1st gen Camaros out there I don't bother walking up to many of them at shows. But the really cool ones always stand out in a way you can't help but look. This is one of those.

Starting out with a Schwartz chassis is kinda the modern day equal of the way Big Red was built up years ago. You just can't get that same final look without the good foundation. Be following this build for sure.

[Typhoon1015]

looks like a nice build! I look forward to checking it out once its done.

[LS7 Z/28]

Quite a few things have changed over the last few months. A lot of the metal work has been completed and I have acquired a lot of important pieces. Here are some of the photos of the metal work. I Made the decision to go with an LS Engine and a Tremec T-56 Magnum so I bought a mock up block and ordered a new transmission with a Quick Time bellhousing so we could work on the firewall and floor. The new floor was fabricated with a raised tunnel, mounts for the seats were fabricated along with that. The firewall has been recessed and completely redone because we pulled the engine back a few inches. I bought Detroit speed deep tubs and we added around 3" to them so now I can fit 17" wide tires in the rear if I ever decided I wanted to. The trunk area was totally redone to accommodate the fuel cell and to get rid of extra weight. The stock rear subframe is gone because it's not needed with the full frame chassis. The full roll cage is in place, and we are currently working on installing the new Dash to fit around the cage.

[LS7 Z/28]

I decided to have a Naturally aspirated LS7 427 built by Thomson Automotive and my dad and I drove up there to pick it up about a month ago. I didn't trust my truck to make it on a 20 hour round trip so I borrowed my Mom's new Chevy Equinox. The engine just barely fit and she was not very happy about the whole deal but we made it.

The engine ended up at 665 Horsepower and 571 Lb/ft on 93 Octane. It has a Callies Dragon Slayer crank, Oliver Rods, Diamond Pistons, Trend Pushrods, Custom ground Comp Cam, etc... It should be a pretty solid engine.

Some of the parts I've bought: Kirkey Road Race Seats, MOMO Nascar steering wheel, Schroth Nascar harnesses, Joes Racing Carbon X Shifter boot, Fesler Trunk hinges, Wilwood pedals and masters, Borla Mufflers, RAINGEAR hidden wiper kit, Flaming River Steering Column and a few other parts. I have a lot of stuff to buy yet but things are progressing.

[LS7 Z/28]

There are so many 1st gen Camaros out there I don't bother walking up to many of them at shows. But the really cool ones always stand out in a way you can't help but look. This is one of those.

Starting out with a Schwartz chassis is kinda the modern day equal of the way Big Red was built up years ago. You just can't get that same final look without the good foundation. Be following this build for sure.

Thank you, I definitely hope it stands out. I'm a fan of Big Red also.

looks like a nice build! I look forward to checking it out once its done.

Thanks, I'm planning on having it at quite a few events next year if everything goes to plan.

[Schwartz Performance]

Damn Casey, that's a lot of work!
Glad to see it progressing. Looks like the majority of the fab is done.
Did you build the cage yourself? Looks pretty good. I like the firewall bars too.



Great work.. As always, let us know if you need anything. Glad to have you as a customer.

-Dale

[Build-It-Break-It]

This car just keeps getting better and better. Very nice work.

[Peter Mc Mahon]

Awesome work, great looking foundation with that full frame.

[LS7 Z/28]

Damn Casey, that's a lot of work!
Glad to see it progressing. Looks like the majority of the fab is done.
Did you build the cage yourself? Looks pretty good. I like the firewall bars too.

Great work.. As always, let us know if you need anything. Glad to have you as a customer.

-Dale

Thanks Dale! It has been a ton of work but it's getting there. The cage was built from scratch, my dad has a pretty decent tubing bender. Definitely not easy to make some of the compound bends. I'll definitely let you know if I need more parts. Your customer service has always been fantastic and I appreciate your help.

This car just keeps getting better and better. Very nice work.

Thank you!

Awesome work, great looking foundation with that full frame.

Thanks, yes it's definitely a good starting point.

[bergers59]

what hub setup is that?

[Schwartz Performance]

what hub setup is that?

Front is Baer rear is Moser circle track floater.

-Dale

[LS7 Z/28]

A few more things have been done recently with quite a bit more planned for the next couple of months. The engine and transmission have been mocked up, along with all of the steering components. Gussets were added between the firewall down bars and the chassis for added stiffness. The new dash is in place and the Anvil dash insert is mocked up. I bought a Vintage Air Gen II heater and it has been mocked up as well. The Fesler trunk hinges are on and they are very high quality and fit great. I am very happy with how the cockpit turned out. The position of the seats, steering wheel, pedals and shifter are all right where I want them.
Within the next few weeks I'm planning on taking the car to have custom headers made, also one of the next things my dad and I plan on doing is fabricating a rear spoiler and rear diffuser. After a few more things get fabricated I plan on buying a rotisserie so we can finish all the welding on the car and send it to be media blasted. If all goes well it should be painted before winter and assembly will begin. I have a bunch of parts on back-order from Anvil so that is a big factor in the timing of the bodywork and paint.

[Noahf]

seeing this build for the first time and wow!

[LS7 Z/28]

Things are starting to pick up a little with my project and quite a bit should be happening in the next few months. I recently had custom headers made for the car and I'm very happy with the way they turned out. I'm planning on getting them and the rest of the exhaust system ceramic coated black when I send some of my other parts to be powder-coated.

I purchased a rotisserie to make the final metal work, blasting, priming and body work a little easier. My dad and I are finishing up the final metal work right now. The body and the chassis should both be going to get blasted very soon and then we plan on starting the body work and paint. I am really looking forward to assembling the car. I also ordered a Billet Specialties Tru Trac serpentine setup in black. You can see it mocked up in some of the photos.

[LS7 Z/28]

seeing this build for the first time and wow!

Thanks!