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Thread: Pioneer Stage 3 Camaro RS SS LSA
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09-01-2011 #1Registered User
- Join Date
- Aug 2011
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- Huntington Beach,Ca.
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- 16
Pioneer Stage 3 Camaro RS SS LSA
After some discussions on the build of another 69 Camaro with an LSA motor many have asked for me to write my own thread on the build. The project all started a year ago in a meeting with Pioneer Electronics and they wanted to have 3 identical 69 Camaros for the 2011 CES in Vegas. We had one vehicle already so I had to go out and find two more for the project. The first car I found was an abandoned project gone sour in a garage in Redding Calif. After some discussion with the seller (John Holmes, that was his real name!) anyways I bought the car sight unseen hoping that it would not be a total rust bucket. The seller said he took care of the rust, actually he just covered it up. The car / body looked decent and once we looked over the car I decided that it had to have a complete strip down to the bare metal. I prepped the body and off to the blasters. The car came back and I said where’s the car? just kidding the body had the typical issues of rust in the rear deck and along the fender wells not to bad just cut it out and weld in new pc. The front floor pan had already been cut out along with the trunk. Easy fix. Since we were cutting and welding I got a hold of mini tubs and installed them into the back for some added room for the tires. Here are some images of the first stages of the build and a few of the finished car. I will add more detail on the build in the next thread.
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09-04-2011 #2Registered User- Join Date
- Aug 2011
- Location
- Huntington Beach,Ca.
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- 16
We only had a few months to complete this car and the sister vehicle for the CES show. Parts started to flow in starting with the Heidts Pro G front subframe assembly this was an important part because to surface the vehicle for paint you need the subframe in place. We coated the frame with paint from "Deft" this is a single stage urethane that is very easy to apply and is very durable; in fact Disney uses this paint on all its rides! I picked out a metallic dark gunmetal color and looks right at home in the engine bay. You may ask why the Heidts frame and not the others? Well in my opinion all the replacement subframes are good, it is all about preference and cost and what level are you going to be driving the car? The Heidts set up is cost effective, offers good performance, and works with their IRS which is in the back of the vehicle a solid choice for the level of this vehicle. I know people will argue all day long on which is the best, I am not racing this vehicle so to me this is a mute subject. When you see the end results it is hard to argue that it doesn’t work and besides I have been using the Heidts front suspension setups on the concept vehicles we build and it has always worked for our builds. Next in line was the motor with a little help from my friends at Mothers Polish I was able to able to obtain the LSA crate motor from GMP! It was a great day to see that motor come rolling in to our shop. Some of the body modification consist of: removed the side marker lamps, remove the gills on the qtr panels, chopped and channeled the bumpers to fit tighter to the body, remove the rear spoiler and made sure the RS grill which was added to fit tight up against the sheet metal. These subtle details make for a very clean look to the car. I also came across a pair of custom exhaust tips that we making their way to the scrap bin and added them to the build of the car. Here are some of the build images during this period.
09-04-2011 #3Registered User- Join Date
- Aug 2011
- Location
- Huntington Beach,Ca.
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- 16
With the car in process to get the necessary paint applied we chose a color to match the Pioneer logo which just happen to be a GM color know as Torch Red. The other accent colors is a bronze matt finish that is applied to the front grill, wheels and the back of the vehicle. For all the suspension arms and bits I took a different route instead of powder coating or plating. Again we used the “Deft” paint in a titanium color that provided a unique finish on all the components which took on an industrial type look and a nice accent to the gunmetal color. From here I had the challenge to do something different in the interior, but was limited with time. One thing I hate about the 69 Camaro is the dash, 67 and 68 look so much better I wonder what the designer was thinking when they changed. The first step was to change the gauges, I gathered my Autometer components and started to sketch a new design while keeping in mind that I could not go to modern in a vehicle like this, I wanted to keep the feel of the same era. After some research on the internet I was disappointed to see what was out there. I hate to say that getting a pc of sheet metal and drilling holes to fit the gauges just did not work for me and this is the majority of what I saw. It just did not look finished. I took some design cues from the 60’s Mustangs and came up with a unique way to build a dash that looked like it was meant to be there. Here is the result.
I also had to build a unique center console for the Pioneer AVIC-X930BT Stage 3 head unit. This unit has all the modern features, nav, blue tooth, Pandora, Satellite radio, backup camera and is able to play DVD of course not while driving! Once again I did some research on what was out there and saw that most people build a console and completely cover it with leather, looks like the parts is in leather sock. Components like this need material breaks and offsets to make the part look like it was meant to be there. So with a few little tricks of the trade I was able to construct the unit you see.
09-04-2011 #4dont stop now we need more pictures please.
Scott Shanks
70 Challenger 6.1 Hemi 6-Speed
09-04-2011 #5