2nd Chance Camaro - Let the Project Begin

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Bring the Shell Home
2012 01-10 Update - Bringing the shell home
Posted: Jan 24, 2012 www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Good Afternoon all,

Mario and the guys at US Collision did a great job on the shell and now it's my turn to get back to work on the car.









Once again I can't thank Mario enough for letting me borrow is rotisserie.

Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - A Little Touch Up

2012 01-10 Update - A Little Touch Up
Posted: Jan 25, 2012 www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Good Evening all,

Now that the car is home and my little helpers are ready and willing to help. A few area's needed a little more primer so my oldest
volunteered to spray a little more primer on the car. It's important to keep your kids involved in every thing that is how they learn.



Daddy -- Not to worry Kenny can sand it out.



While the car is on the rotisserie I sprayed all of the hidden area's of the frame rails with Eastwoods Rust Convertor.



Final parting shot.

[E.rodz]

Marty I hope everything is going well for you! I am glad you are deep into another project.maybe you should start getting your daughters advice as how they will want it done. because I am putting money on they will be old enough to drive when you finish it.LOL this time you might have to keep it long enough to enjoy the driving part of it!. keep up the good work but if the kids decide they want to build a custom bike do it! you will never regret it.

[syborg tt]

Marty I hope everything is going well for you! I am glad you are deep into another project.maybe you should start getting your daughters advice as how they will want it done. because I am putting money on they will be old enough to drive when you finish it.LOL this time you might have to keep it long enough to enjoy the driving part of it!. keep up the good work but if the kids decide they want to build a custom bike do it! you will never regret it.

okay I deserved that. Kenny & I both agree it's more fun to build them then it is to clean them.

[syborg tt]

Good Evening All,

Now that the shell is ready for construction it's time to post up the build outline. The main purpose of this car is to be a Mountain Bike Hauler since Mountain Biking is my first love with Car shows being a close second. The goal is to combine my the two and have the ability to drive to all of the nearby Good Guys Show and then on the way home hit the nearby trails. With that being said the car has to be dual purpose built. It needs to have a good set of street tire and then have an extra set of tires for the Good Guys Events.

Last year at Good Guys Columbus I fell in love with a very understated Mustang built by Pinkee's Hot Rods. If you pick up the last months issue of Popular Hot Rodding you can see the feature they did on the car. After reading that article I new I was heading in the right direction.

We are going to try to stick with the Vintage Race Car Theme without being overstated since I want to be able to street drive the car and not get pulled over every time I drive the car. And then there is that Mountain Bike issue where are we going to put the bike. Let's just say that this is going to freak some of you out and others are going to think it's awesome.



There are a couple other cars that has truly inspired me and this build. When the car heads to a track event I will print up some removable decals that will instantly make it look more like a Vintage TA race car. Kinda like this beast.



I have looked at this car for at the last couple years and I just love the look. So this car will also lend some idea's to the build.



another very clean build.



As for modification - most of them will be simple. The car will be mostly bolt together with very reliable part and most importantly something that if I break down they won't leave me Stranded.

Wheels & Tires
18 x 10 Rear - Billet Specialties MagG Wheels www.billetspecialties.com
BFG KDW2 - 295 40 18 www.bfgoodrichtires.com
18 x 8 Front - Billet Specialties MagG Wheels
BFG KDW2 - 255 40 18

Chassis
Ride Tech Coil Ride Suspension www.ridetech.com
MuscleBar Swaybar
Tie Rod Adjuster

G-Brace w/Cowl Brace www.pro-touringf-body.com
DSE Aluminum Body Bushings www.detroitspeed.com
DSE Subframe Connectors

Flaming River Steering Shaft www.flamingriver.com
Flaming Rivers Steering Box

Eaton Differential
TA Cover www.summitracing.com

Brakes
DSE Brake Booster with reduced angle brackets
Kore 3 C5/C6 Brakes www.kore3.com

SS Brake Lines
SS Braided Brake Hoses
Quick Clips Line Clamps www.quickclips.org

Engine & Transmission
LS1 Short Block
Wegner Serpentine Alt P-Side www.wegnerautomotive.com
Edelbrock Motor Plates
Energy Suspension Motor Plates

Edelbrock Camshaft www.edelbrock.com
Edelbrock Heads
Edelbrock Intake
Edelbrock Carb

Edelbrock Shorty Headers
Floor Heat Shields
Edelbrock Stainless Exhaust Polished www.highspeedwelding.com

Bowler 4L60e Transmission www.bowlertransmissions.com
Bowler Billet Torque Convertor

Cooling
Afco Aluminum Radiator www.afcoracing.com
Afco Fan closeout
Vintage Air A/C Condensor www.vintageair.com

fuel delivery
Edelbrock fuel pump
Edelbrock fuel pressure regulator
Black Push lock Earls fittings

Stock Fuel Tank www.goodmarkindustries.com
SS Tank Straps

SS Fuel Lines
Quick Clips Line Clamps

Electrical
AAW Custom wire harness www.americanautowire.com
Tech Flex Wire Wrap www.techflex.com
Phantom Keyless Entry www.phantom-products.com

No Frills Billet battery Front Mount Battery Tray www.hoodpins.net
optima red top Battery

DSE Wiper Motor
DSE 7" High Density Lights

Interior
Autometer Guages www.autometer.com
Anvil Carbon Fiber Dash www.anvilauto.com

Vintage Air Factory Fit A/C www.vintageair.com

GM Tilt Column www.gmtiltcolumn.com

Precision Billet Brake Arm
Precision Billet Brake Pedal
Precision Billet Gas Pedals

Ride Tech Cage Tiger Cage www.ridetech.com
4 Point Restraints www.seatbeltplanet.com
4 Point Restraints - Rear Seat

Stock Door Panels
Rear Kick Panel Widened

Kenwood Head Unit
Kicker 5 Channel Amplifier www.kicker.com
Kicker 5 1/4" Round Speaker
Kicker 6 x 9 Speaker
Kicker 10" Subwoofer

Stock Buckets Seats Re-Foamed by Recovery Room Interiors www.recoveryroomrodinteriors.com
Stock Rear Seat Narrowed

Paint & Body Details www.kdhotrods.com
Anvil Closeout Panel www.anvil.com
Custom Works Radiator Cover www.customworksproducts.com
Ride Tech Fender Braces

DSE A/C Closeout Panel

Billet Kruzer Hood pins - black finish www.hoodpins.net
Stock Hinges filled, drilled & plated
No Frills Prop Rod

No Frills Custom Bike Rack www.highspeedwelding.com

Rocky Mounts www.rockymounts.com

Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Installing the Ride Tech Air Bar

2012 02-21 Update - Installing the Ride Tech Air Bar www.2ndchancecamaro.com


Good Morning,

Now the fun begins.

The goal with this project is to teach people what I've learned from the last build. The main purpose is to keep people from losing there project because of poor planning. Planning isn't just writing down what you want the end product to look like it's actually being honest with yourself and making sure you have the time, money and the resources to actually build your dream car.

The plan is to show the option/cost you can do just for the rear suspension.
1. Leaf Springs Similar to Hotchkis
a. Benefits of keeping your leaf springs is cost is minimal and the car isn't going to be out of service.
b. Most backyard mechanics can do this swap in there garage or even a driveway.
c. Easy exhaust routing ( keeps your costs down when running exhaust )
d. There is a good chance you are going to be able to find an aftermarket exhaust or even use your existing exhaust

2. Diagonal 4-Bar Similar to Ride Tech
a. Benefit of this set up is cost isn't much more then leaf springs and is very adjustable.
b. There is minimal welding that can be done by any experienced welder.
c. Custom exhaust is a necessity

3. Weld in 4-Link Similar to DSE
a. Cost is more then a Diagonal 4-Bar
b. Your going to need a shop or have a good deal of Fabrication skills
c. Very adjustable
d. Custom exhaust is a necessity

So for this project I choose to go with the Ride Tech Air-Bar Set up using the single Adjustable Coilovers. I can do most of the preliminary work in my garage and haul it over the High Speed Welding and have Jr. set the Pinion angle and weld the brackets on the Axle.

Here is the Ride-Tech Bracket mocked up on the car the drivers side was a perfect fit. The passenger side needs a little adjusting to make it work.




After I located the bracket on the frame rails I held it in place with a good set of clamps. After that all I had to do was drill a few holes in the floor and the upper bracket was in place.



Here is a close up of how the bracket hit the floor on the passenger side. Since all of these cars are slightly different you can't expect them to fit perfectly. It's funny I was talking with Ron and his passenger side fit perfect and the drivers side was just a little off.




Once the car arrives at High Speed Welding they will flattened the bracket so it would line up with the floor. Very simple fix.

So be honest with yourself if the car your working is you only car then you should go the leaf spring route. If you don't have to worry about the car being down for a couple days then step up to the Ride Tech suspension.

More to come later this week.

Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Mocking up the Subframe
2012 03-04 Update - Mocking up the Subframe
www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Good Evening,

Since the goal with this car is to use as many bolt-on's as possible and limit the custom fabrication which can drive the build cost up and sometimes spirals projects out of control. If you have an unlimited budget and money is no object then you don't have to worry about it. However, most projects are built on a very strict budget these days, this one included. I learned a lot building Syborg and let me tell you there are plenty of places I could have and should have saved money. One of the reason I picked a Camaro is there are plenty of parts available and also a very wise man that will only go by the name "Bob" once said to me when you build something make sure there will be plenty of buyers when it's complete. Remember, you may not have any intentions of selling your project but no one knows what the future holds. So when you looking to build something stay true to your goals which should include a realistic budget of time, money and skill.

With the sub-frame back in the garage it was time to assemble all of these bolt-on parts. I also felt that it is important to involve my daughters and some of our friends kids.



Installing the custom G-Force crossmember was fairly easy with the subframe out of the car.



You can see my little helper putting the bolts in for the engine stands. I think she was having more fun then me.



and this picture proves it.



I think she did a great job



Our neighbors son happened to be over so I figured I would let him bolt in the G-Force Crossmember.



He did such a great job installing the crossmember I figured I would let him install the Edelbrock headers. In a previous post I think I mentioned that these are for a 2010 Camaro. With a little modification they will work perfect and we will be able to tuck them up nice and high so they are not visible when you look under the car. This part is another example of an off the shelf header that will require minor modification which will keep the overall build cost down.




More to come later this week.

Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Rear Axle Prep

2012 03-22 Update - Rear Axle Prep
www.2ndchancecamaro.com


Good Morning all,

It's time to get the rear suspension on the car so I can get it off Mario's Rotissorie. The Rear suspension is a pretty straight forward install.



My oldest daughter figured I was hungry so she made me lunch. Now that is a good kid!



Since the upper link bar brackets needs to be welded to the axle I wanted to make sure the Powder Coating wouldn't get damaged on the
upper bars. Time to take stock in the 3m Blue Painters Tape.



Lower Bar installed



I just like this picture.



I needed to get the rear differential in the trailer so my daughter Kenzie and I installed the rear tires so she could roll the rear differential into the trailer.




and yes she did it all by herself. Man is this little girl strong.



In the trailer and heading over to High Speed Welding so they can weld on the rear differential brackets.



Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Installing the Ride Tech Rear Brackets

2012 03-26 Update - Installing the Ride Tech Rear Brackets
www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Good Evening all,

While the car was at High Speed Welding the guy's flattened the passenger side bracket to match this cars
floor pan. Very simple tweak that had to be done. Even though these parts are meant to be bolt-on some-times
they require a little work to fit better.



After some discussion Dennis at High Speed Welding felt it was important to retain the hardware supplied
by Ride-Tech and to weld the brackets to the stock subframe to help distribute the load on the stock frame rails.










More to come later this week.

Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - BBT Fab New Front Spoiler & Rocker Extensions

2012 03-28 Update - BBT Fab New Front Spoiler & Rocker Extensions
www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Good Morning all,

I dropped the car off on Friday the 16th at BBT Fab in Champaign, IL www.bbtfab.com with Troy for a couple modifications. After seeing the work that he has been doing on the 69 Firebird I wanted him to make similar rocker extensions for my car.

Yesterday Troy posted a few pictures of the Camaro. It's starting to take shape and once the car is back on the ground I am sure it will look even "more better" <--- my daughters favorite two words.

Firewall Modification
The guys removed some of the unnecessary holes and put blind nuts in the firewall for the DSE Close Out Panel.

Image Missing - Add

Rocker Extensions
The goal was to hide the pinch weld with little to no cost. In the past most builders spend hours extending the rockers
and it doesn't always look right. BBT Fab solution is very simple and clean and it's something that you will be able to buy
very soon for the 69 Camaro, 69 Firebird and Early 2nd Gen Camaro. The benefit of these rocker extension is that it will
make the car look much lower then it actually is and that is a good thing since the roads in the Chicagoland Area are treacherous









Moving on to the front Spoiler
I gave Troy a very crude picture of what I was looking for and told him to have at it and here is what he came up with. With
the spoiler split in the front I will still be able to get a floor jack under the nose of the car and I won't have to worry about
every curb that I encounter.







If there is enough interest I will look into getting molds made of the Front Spoiler so Troy can sell them.

Since we have a couple more weeks before Kenny picks up the car the guys at BBT Fab are going to start repairing
some of the original sheet metal. Less for Kenny to do



Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[MoonMan]

If there is enough interest I will look into getting molds made of the Front Spoiler so Troy can sell them.

I would be interested. I too have been toying with ideas but like this option.

Tim

[syborg tt]

I would be interested. I too have been toying with ideas but like this option.

Tim

Hi Tim,

I saw the car in person on Saturday and the front end looks great. When it comes home in two week I will taking the spoiler to the Fiberglass shop to have molds made.

At this point it looks like we will be making at least 5 sets

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Ride Tech Coil Over Rear Suspension Part II


2012 04-16 Update - Ride Tech Coil Over Rear Suspension Part II
www.2ndchancecamaro.com



Here is what the bracket looks like when it is removed.



I need to thank a couple people here.

Mario from US Collision for letting me borrow his 345 Michelin tire and Chris at JCG Customs www.jcgcustoms.com for letting me borrow his 3 finger wheel tool. The 345 fit perfectly after this very simple modification.





The new Ride Tech lower bracket installed. Much cleaner look and no more ugly u-bolts.



Joe has also been working on the Edelbrock modified exhaust. He made a couple modifications to the floor pan to get the exhaust above the site line under the car. I am very happy with the progress of the exhaust so far.





All done and ready to roll.



pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Rocky Mounts

2012 04-30 Update - Rocky Mounts www.rockymounts.com
www.2ndchancecamaro.com


This post is all about my first love (other then my family of course). I am a die-hard mountain biker it is very hard for
me to miss a ride in the summer due to a show schedule. The only way to solve this was either to buy a Lotus and
order a rack from Unique Racks http://uniquerack.com so I could have a cool car with a bike rack on it. But it didn't
solve the problem. I wouldn't be able to do any of the Good-Guys shows (www.good-guys.com ) since the Lotus would
be was newer then 1972.




Warning: the following pictures may not be suitable for immature audiences. author: David Chooey

So here is my dream bike and I am trying to figure out a way to mount the bike on the side of the car and wondering how it would
look. I know most people would put it on the back but that is way to boring for me.

Now that I determined the location all I have to do is find the best looking tray on the market. When I was in Colorado at
Cankworx ( www.crankworx.com ) I walked by the Rocky Mounts Display ( www.rockymounts.com ) and saw the perfect
tray. I wanted to buy one at the show but I figured Southwest wouldn't let me carry it on the plane home.

I ordered up the tray the day I got home and started mocking it up on the car.




You can see that the tray's has a very thin profile and looks very clean on the side of the car. I can't wait to order a set
for my daily driver.






Warning: the following pictures may be offensive and not suitable for automotive purists. author: David Chooey

I hauled the car back to High Speed Welding ( www.highspeedwelding.com ) and showed Dennis and Joe my idea.
Good thing for me both of them thought it was a cool idea.

We have two goals make it removable so I can run the car through a car wash and to try not to disturb the original lines
of the car.



When the tray is removed all that will be left is two stainless steel bungs on the quarter. Kenny will be making a cap to
cover them up when the Rocky Mount tray is removed.





Since this hole was already on the side of the car we choose to use it for the rear mount.





Here is the finished product.

I AM RIGHT HERE


Just in case you didn't read the warning the first time.
Warning: the following pictures may be offensive and not suitable for automotive purists. author: David Chooey







I am well aware that most people think I am crazy and that is okay and here is my thoughts on that. I hear parents every
day telling me that all there kids do is play video games. Then I point out that most adults sit on the coach at watch Sports
and the latest TV Series. So as parents they are no better. So get out and do something active instead of telling your
kids when I was young we never watched TV we were out playing. Live life guys and gals as this may be the only one you get.

Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

I also need to thank my buddy Rick for showing me pictures of the Lotus Bike rack years ago. Without those pictures I may
have mounted on the back of the car and that would have just been boring.

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - DSE Subframe Connectors

2012 06-26 Update - DSE Subframe Connectors
www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Evening all,

Since the body and the subframe need to get put back together we figured now is a good time to install
the Sub-Frame connectors from DSE.
Once again the guys at High Speed welding handled the work. www.highspeedwelding.com







What I like the most about there connectors is how close they fit to the body.







pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Cleaning Up the DSE Subframe Connectors

2012 06-27 Update - Cleaning Up the DSE Subframe Connectors
www.2ndchancecamaro.com


Evening All,

Okay since I am home for at least one more week and I am not allowed to drive it's time to play catch up.
I enlisted the help of my oldest to help clean up the sub-fame connectors. It's amazing how fast they
flashed over with rust. Out came the wire wheel and some serious elbow grease.



Getting closer





Time to get out the cheap labor. Did I mention she works for Taco's



Looks much better.



Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Ride Tech Muscle Bar

2012 07-04 Update - Ride Tech Muscle Bar
www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Afternoon All,

People tend to think that they can handle a complete subframe swap. Then in the middle of the project they realize they have
either run out of money, time or skill to finish the project. As said in previous post the build of this car needs to be simple and
something that anyone can do. That is why Ride Tech is my first choice and always will be. Their product is proven and if you
can do simple remove and replace you are going to be unbelievable happy with all of the products offered by them.

Time to install the Ride Tech Muscle bar.



30 minutes later the bar is installed.





If your goal is to build you car in your garage or your driveway and not make it yard art then step up to Ride-Tech !!!!

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - Ride Rech Tiger Cage

2012 08-04 Update - 2nd Chance Camaro - Ride Rech Tiger Cage
www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Afternoon All,

More boxes from Ride-Tech



Good thing Scott was over he was able to open the box while I took pictures. It's to bad he's a cuB faN the good news is but he's
still a good guy.









It's going to look really nice once I get it installed.

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - BFG 295's on the Rear

2012 09-22 Update - BFG 295's on the Rear
www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Evening all,

Picking the right tires for your car is important, it can make or break the final look . As much as I like the big tire look out back it just doesn't fit with the plan for this car. The goal is to have something that looks very classy and timeless. So the ideal size for this project would be somewhere around 12" wide.

Remember timeless is the goal for this car.



What was funny is I asked everyday people what they thought of the tire combo on this car while it was sitting in my garage and everyone
said the same thing.

Looks Perfect !! Not to big, not to small just like the perfect bowl of porridge - Just Right



Some of the cool tools that I have laying around from the Syborg TT project is the Wheel Mate. It sure makes test fitting tires easy !!



You can see that there is plenty of clearance using the stock rear spring perches.



Quick look from the rear and you can there is plenty of tire out back.



Pictures hosted by www.garagescene.net

[syborg tt]

2nd Chance Camaro - High Speed Welding Edelbrock Exhaust Mod Post 1


2012 10-22 Update - High Speed Welding Edelbrock Exhaust Mod Post 1

www.2ndchancecamaro.com

Afternoon All,

The guys at High Speed Welding are finishing up the exhaust and it should be done by the end of the week.



The goal is to tuck the exhaust up tight to the stock floor pan.



Close up of the new downpipes on the shorty headers



You can see that nothing is hanging below the Stock Sub-Frame as the car will be 5 1/2" off the ground.



In order to tuck the muffler tight to the floor they had to raise a section of the stock floor pan.





It was very important to keep the factory rear seat for my girls to ride in.



Finished front half of the exhaust.

&

&



The G-Force cross member made tucking the exhaust up easy. This is a great piece !



Up and over the axle is going to be exciting as the car has been lowered 3" in the rear so it's going to be a tight squeeze.



I love how pictures make things look closer then they actually are.








More to come this week.

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