lunatic 69 camaro build thread

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

how we got here...  2008-today

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

SO.... those of you who remember this build, well its still going. i go in cycles on projects between gathering parts and working on stuff. I made it my mission to get more done on it this winter.

after doing a few LS swaps (my 72 c20 and my 57 chevy wagon) i decided this build would be better with an LS as opposed to the blower. SO the blower motor is currently out of the car stashed away for something else, and i picked up a 6.0 off facebook marketplace for $350. i'm currently finishing buttoning it back up after a cam (sloppy stage 2) and head (chucked the iron heads for aluminum ones) swap. it will be mated to the t-56 that i had in it. The rear end is a dana 36, but i found a stronger dana 44 for it and picked that up for $400, so that will get swapped out too. I have radius rods to replace all the rear suspension linkage. Brakes are Outlaw (wilwood) from stock cars, and i have a set of ViKing double adjustable coil overs to go in too... build cost right now is somewhere around $4000.

[CJaguar265Chevy 2.8L]

I'm looking for a pre86 style 350 or 400

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

This weekend worked on the bell housing.  I got this housing at a swap meet for $50.  Well the hole for the bearing retainer was some oddball size.  Might have been a conversion housing for a ford trans or something?

Anyway.  Checked the bell for run-out and it was within spec.  So bolted it down to the Bridgeport machine and bored the hole out to the correct gm large retainer size.  Now a $25 spacer from advance adapters fits the mcleod plate to bolt up the t56.  (That's my uncle working the bridgeport, I asked him for help so I didn't mess it up)

[RaGiN ZPontiac Turbo 301]

dude! Thats an insane build! Its looking good! I like the independent rear suspension. Is that all corvette suspension? How much of a body drop is going on there?

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

dude!  Thats an insane build!  Its looking good!  I like the independent rear suspension.  Is that all corvette suspension?  How much of a body drop is going on there?

yeah, its all vette suspension from an '84 that i bought for $600 and parted out. i upgraded the brakes with homemade brackets and Nascar Modified calipers and the fiberglass springs are gone in favor of coil overs.

it's hard to compare the body to stock height because i don't have anything to compare it to. right now the chassis is sitting at stock c-4 suspension height, and i put the body where i thought it looked good. i can mount the body about an inch lower than it is if i need/want to by taking out some spacers i have in there, and can lower the whole car more with the coil overs.

i need to see how high the intake sits. with the blower i didn't care because obviously it was going to stick out of the hood. the LS is a different story obviously. i have a 2" cowl hood i can use if i need it but i kinda like the flat one idk.

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

Yesterday I got the ls into the engine bay.

I have to shave a bit off the back of the intake for it to fit lol. The driveshaft I had no longer fits with the ls and Dana 44 rear in place, so that sucks. Next steps are making a new trans cross member and getting 3.90's installed into the rear. I should probably start working on building a firewall and stuff...

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

Slow going as I wait for parts. Stock exhaust manifolds don't really clear so I ordered some headers. Still waiting on gear install kit, I guess it's backordered...


Today I finished making the in tank fuel pump assembly.

[CJaguar265Chevy 2.8L]

Whats a good set of headers for a thirdgen sbc 305

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

Whats a good set of headers for a thirdgen  sbc 305

if its me it's "whatever i found at the swap meet for $20" lol

[lb9Pontiac Sprint OHC 6]

Wow! You have some serious skills..... Keep the pictures and updates coming!

[RaGiN ZPontiac Turbo 301]

What intake is that?

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

What intake is that?

just a stock truck intake with all the crap cleaned off of it. pics coming of it when i get it back from paint...

[RaGiN ZPontiac Turbo 301]

Seriously? I fell for that a second time???

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

Lack of updates, progress is slow. Ugh.

I finally got my dana 44 rear back with the new gears installed. 3.90s were cheap on Amazon so that's what I've got. Good enough
I'll start reassembling the rest suspension this week.

I still have the dana 36 with 2.xx gears in it to put in to do a track day at Pocono of I really want to cook.

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

this weekend i started reassembling the rear suspension. the ruber bushings are smoked so i figured i'd just upgrade to heim joints on everything. well, no good deed goes unpunished, because after 35 years the bolts for all the joints were seized into the knuckles.

normally i would hit up my uncle to give me a hand with this stuff, as he's a retired machinist and has the knowledge and tools to handle pain in the butt stuff like this. but he got so tired of helping me on all my crazy projects that he hooked me up with my own Bridgeport knee mill and a large lathe so i can do stuff myself haha. so this was my first real job on my own Bridgeport.

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

There have been questions about the intake, so here are some better pics.
I decided to shave it for appearance sake. Took me an evening to do. You can do it with a cutting wheel and a soldering iron.
Once I had it cleaned up, I decided I wanted to smooth out the egr area (since I eliminated that). I got a $1 multi pack of play-doh and shaped the area how I wanted it, and laid fiberglass over the top. I had to cut away a few inches at the back due to firewall clearance, so fiberglassed that up too. Some bondo and sanding, then gave it to a friend to paint for me and now it's finally back...

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

Finished!! Now that I have it back I can run fuel and do the harness wiring...

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

so, the rear suspension is now all assembled, we're back down on all fours. love how this looks.

[lunatic_magnetChevy 327]

announcing a new addition



this is obviously going to push back me getting this car on the road...

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