"f-body"

[f-body]

Not really new here but I dont think I have ever done this.

My first love is the 1974 Camaro. I love them all but its my pick. I use this name "f-body" on here and on nastz28.com and all other message boards I am on. I was really suprised that no one ever used the name since it is the GM platform for the camaro/firebird cars. Just for the record the real name is David.

It all started back in 1987 when I was looking for my first camaro. I wanted a 69 but came across an add in the local paper for a 79 model, it turned out to be a missprint. The car was a 74 model and I was in love.
Back in 1987 when I was looking for 69 Camaro they were pricey. I came across my 74 and that has been my year ever since. Unfortunately that car met with and accident and was totalled. I did save the engine and still have it today. I have since owned a few Camaros: a 74, 76, 81, 74Z28(-1), 74 Z28 shell(-2), 74(-3), another 1974 Z28 body, and a 74 Z28 LT shell.

I test drove an IROC in 1988 and almost bought it but 18 years old and insurance was going to be $250 a month. They had a demo model on the lot for $10,500 car payment would have been just over $200 a month the insurance price ruined the deal. So i stuck with my 74. In 1989 I got my first 1974 Z28. When doing research I found that the 74 Camaro was the first year they used for the original IROC series after switching from Porches. So ironically I never got my 1988 IROC but I actually have a car that the series used back in the day. Funny how that worked out.

I currently have three 1974 camaros. Two of them are Z28 models. All are refered to as Dash 1(-1), 2(-2) and 3(-3). There were 13,802 1974 Z28's made, I got two of them.

-1 is the first 74 Z28 I bought about 1989. I am the third owner and even got the original loan paperwork from the original buyer when I bought it. I have started a ground up restoration many years ago but have not finished. I built my own rotisserie then I media blasted the entire underside, firewall and subframe with black beauty and coated with POR15. I also coated the a-arms with POR15 and installed Global West bushings in the a-arms and subframe, Global West 850 lb. front coil springs, and Moog ball joints and did a b-body front spindle upgrade so I could use 12 inch front rotors. I have yet to finish this car yet. I still have the original 350 engine. Originally a standard car it will be one day again. Its gonna be a more powerful car but look stock.

-2 is a 1974 Z28 body or rolling shell. Its really ugly and it rought shape but the quarters are almost rust free along with the rest of the car. Its going to be a perfect IROC replica with a touch more streetability and will be little more user friendly. Well it will be useable to me. Its going to be a steering wheel and a cage not much interior, sheetmetal dash, standard trans and just enought to be legal. Ok so its goanna be a brutal street car. Have not decided if its going to be a small or big block yet but it going to be powerful and fast. It will be heavily influenced from the original 74 IROC series and Nascar. The major parts of the body are very useable so I might not make this the racer version but its just waiting to be built so who knows.

-3 is the 74 Camaro. I have since rebuilt the brake system using all stock stuff new rubber hoses in the brake system. Global West aluminum and delalum bushing in the front upper and lower a-arms, Global West subframe interlocking bushings, and Competition Products subframe connectors. I reused the Z28 front coil springs rated at 365 lbs. I installed Afco 175lb. rear leaf springs with the rubber bushing in front and poly in the rear shackles. I also run Moog components for the streering linkage and Moog ball joints. This car uses an old Rancho front sway bar 1 1/4 in diameter and has rod ends to hook it into the front a-arms.
The drive train for this car is my original 350 from my very first 74 back in 1987. I used the heads from the 74 Z28, 882 casting that I have heavily ported. I use a Comp Cam 274 Xtreme hydraulic grind, Hedman Hustler headers with 2 1/2 inch pipe into some old turbo mufflers all the way back. My intake is a edelbrock Smokey Ram SY1 cross ram, I even use the correct cab for this and 830 cfm Holley. Full MSD ignition system distributor, blaster 3 coil and 6AL box. Th350 trans with a 3500 stall and posi with 3.73 gears. The car was set up to 74 Z28 alignemtn specs and just goes where its pointed. It can dive into a corner and scare me. If I had better tires it would be unreal. The car is very neutral and does whatever its told to do and very predictable. The well setup stock suspension and big Ranch front sway bar really works well.
The body on this car needs work but its a driver, or it was. I broke the trans in 6 places one night getting on a service ramp at a great rate of speed. And the 350 has developed a rod knock. So the 3.73 gears were swapped for a 2.56 posi, a full manual th350 was built and it will get a mild 454 very soon. I am also going to install some heavier springs for the weight of the big block and do the b-body spindle upgrade on this one to.

My daily driver is a 1992 Chevy Silverado shortbed. Originally a v6 5 speed truck, two v6's later its finally a 350. The original 4.3 V6 let go at 337,000 miles. The 350 is a Stock shortblock with a Vortec hydraulic roller cam, and some 1990 Iroc 350 heads, exhaust manifolds 3 inch magnaflow cat, and a flowster 3 inch inlet two 2 2/2 pipes out infront of the rear wheel. I run Basset Nascar Inertia 15 x 8 wheels and some wide 275 60r15 tires. The truck is all black with red interior and looks like a 454SS. I did a small mod to remove the side gas tank and intalled a 1995 rear mounted fuel tank in between the frame rails. So my stock 26 gallon tank is gone and now its a 31 gallon tank. I really want a daily driver Nascar race truck thats the influence on this one.

I guess some info on me now. I was born in New York, lived in New Brunswich Canada, Florida and stationed in California and then Texas. Spend just over 4 years in the United States Marine Coprs working on Bell AH-1W and UH-1N helicopters got out in 1997. I have been working on aircraft right up until 2011.


Back in 1987 I could not understand a car that was not useable. My first camaro had to be a daily driver but I wanted it fast. I could never understand a car that could not do it all well including drive you to work every day. It had to handle stop and deal with traffic jams. Well many years later pro-touring came along and car enthusists have finally evolved to building car that is built to drive and enjoy.

I like doing all my own work on my vehicles. I taught myself how to arc weld in a day after reading all I could. I taught myself how to tig weld and am learning to mig. My welding needs work but the welds are strong just not very pretty. I try to read all I can and then jump in a project and just do it. I have since rebuilt all my engines and done all my mechanic work. I still leave the tranny rebuilding to friends who know how to do it. I do some side work in a shop a friend and I have. We build our own stuff and if we make some money on the side thats great.

I like older cars, Mopar, Ford and GM but you can tell i am pretty much all Chevy. I can appreciate all forms of hot rods, rat rods, show cars drag cars and protouring cars. I even like Ferrari's and Lamborghinis and European cars. Not a big fan of Japanese and similiar imports. I have owned 2 motorcycles both kawasakis a 1995 ZX6 and a 2007 ZX14. So I love speed, the ZX14 was scary fast and we wont discuss how fast it was. I never really found out or hit the rev limiter but it was unreal how they move. Mom and dad had Volvos back in the 70's and I got to appreciate how a car should handle. I grew up watching Smokey and the Bandit, Magnum PI, Dukes of Hazzard, and Knight Rider. I guess there was some influence there to. Then somehow I just fell in love with Camaros. I like to watch Nascar dont know all the drivers but I like to see it. Wish I could got to Texas Motorspeedway all the time to watch them run. I can be very opinionated, my goals for all my vehicles are to go fast, some of us just have different ways to get there. One thing I have learned even on this board, Im going to built it my way cause its my vehicle and I'm the one who wants to enjoy it. But feel free to give me some constructive critizism if you want.

I love my Country, not necesarily my Government. I try to buy made in the USA products allways. Sometimes I slip I did have a couple of import bikes, but Harleys were to expensive and not fast enough for the driving I wanted to do.

I just enjoy reading all about everyones buildups. I read Hot Rod, Popular Hot Rodding, Car craft, Super Chevy, and Chevy High Performance. Been reading car magazines for as long as I can remember. I finally sold about half my collection from 1985-1995. I have several issues of the builds on this board. Its funny how I read the articles and then get on here and find the cars I read about.

Anyway I cannot remember when I got started on here but its been a long time. I dissappear for a while but allways come back. I hope to enjoy all the members and bring some good points and what knowledge I can offer while learning all I can from others on how to build a better hot rod while I am here.

Glad to be here,
David aka "f-body"

[BulldawgMusclecars]

Welcome back!