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Woodward Dream Cruz!

Destiny,
He would have had a GREAT time! They had everything from old to new! They even had the 'gospel_mobile' :angel: lol!

Michigan is like way cool because we don't have emissions. It's not uncommon to see fully blown, tubed out ridez just cruzen down the street. Except on Woodward, there are lots of em!

These cars were like really, really cool up close! I especially liked the first and last on the list :D

http://dreamcruisephotos.com/galleries/

1491t.jpg
1515t.jpg
1538t.jpg
1665t.jpg
1752t.jpg

1850t.jpg
 
What year camaro? What ya got on it? :)

I had a '95 Z28 (LT1 V8 powered) and a '00 Z28 (LS1 V8 powered, dynoed at 310 rear-wheel horsepower on a Dynojet when virtually stock... take THAT musclecar era, heh).

I really dig the '69 RS/SS and the '69 Z28 as well as the early 2nd generations (1970-73). I also really like the IROC 3rd generations and the late 3rd gen Z28's (91-92) and of course the 4th gens are my second favorite after the '69! Nothing like a reliable daily driver that gets 29mpg highway (tested, real-world I got 29.5mpg on one leg of a road trip, but never got below 26mpg on that 3,300 mile trip) AND runs low 13's bone stock AND has enough room to make trips to the Home Depot (hatchback, fold-down back seat).

Awesome cars.

-Michael
 
Hey ZeroTX,

Nice to meet you! I love the 4th gen camaro. Have you ever visited the ‘hideout’?

I’m a big Camaro fan and Woodward was full of them! I’ve got a 1968 SS wannabe, LOL. Hence, my name ‘Stovebolts’. Right now it’s still in my garage (but it’s off the jack stands).

The engine should dyno out above 470 hp, but I’ve got a guy I know that thinks he can squeeze 500 (just to be in the 500 club). Not sure what my RWHP will end up being.

I don’t want to bore you with the details, but she’s a rocket! Let me know and I’ll give you some drivetrain specs.

I’ve never had her at WOT because the stock linkage wouldn’t accommodate for the engine modifications. I welded an extention on the throw arm to make up for the extra height of the engine, but then the gas pedal broke due to the added pressure of the springs on the carb (gas pedal is almost 40 years old). Anyway, I just bought a billet aluminum gas pedal and the cables ($180) and after I’m done working on my boat, I’ll get back on the Camaro. It’s gonna be scary having WOT (wide open throttle) Yikes!!
 
Nice! I would love to have a vintage Camaro, but my favorite Chevy has grown to be a 1970 (or or 71 or 72 converted to look like a 1970) Chevelle coupe. I would take a Malibu or an SS, I really just love the shape of the car, and with nice wheels, suspension, paint, etc, you have one of the meanest looking cars ever made, plenty of interior room and you can fit ANY engine under that hood!

Unfortunately, the price of Chevelles has quadrupled in the past 5-8 years... You can't get anything but a rust bucket with no engine for under 5 grand anymore. It's disheartening, especially when you see what some of the... shall we say..... rapper-types are doing to them *sigh*....

I love the Camaro, though. I miss mine EVERY day... every day. Have you seen the concept '08 model? Wow.... if it competes with the Mustang in price, they have a major success on their hands... AGAIN!

I'm a tad jealous of your '68, though... nice power :) I would also love a pre-smog car, as Texas has regs now for cars under 25 years old.... though now I can buy 1980 and 1981 models and do whatever I want engine-wise... I have looked at '78-81 Malibu 2-doors, but they are getting pricey and they are very, very few of them still in good condition. My first car was a 2-door '79 Cutlass Supreme... wish I still had it. It would have a restoration-level paint job and probably a well-built 350 or 383 Chevy engine... I love the Olds engines, but it costs 2-3 times more to build the same level of power. I would be looking at a 450hp naturally aspirated smallbock, something that isn't possible on an Olds smallblock without a lot of custom work... on a Chevy that's just buying parts and bolting them together :)

Good luck w/ the project!

-Michael
 
Hey Destiny, Nice Flowers! I like!

Michael,

Yeah, I'm a big fan of the Chevelle too! I had a friend that had a nice, red 72 and we used to go out cruising with open headers on Friday and Saturday nite. what a blast!
I've got to chuckle though at the... rapper-types... LOL, geez, how in the world do they fit those 20? inch rims under the wheel wells? They look like big Hot Wheel's LOL and if you look at the front end alignment, every one of them has way to much <camber?> because the spindles won't accomodate that large of a rim! Ha, I've seen some old 70's style or so Impala's that have those big rims where one tire costs more than the whole rust bucket they're riding on! It's really big in Detroit and it's everything I can do to bite my tongue when one 'thumps' by. LOL

If I were you, I'd get your Chevelle while you can. If you think they are expensive now, it's not going to get any better. The days of dumping $15 grand into a car and selling it for $8 are long gone and it's about time if you ask me. I've got almost 17 or 18 cash into mine and by the looks of it, you'd think it's only worth 5. It's really deceptive.

Anyway, getting 450+ hp is spendy and takes matching the right parts together.... and there are so many different paths to get there. I spec'd out my own engine and built it accordingly. Funny, if you go with the Edelbrock 'package', you've got to run over .600 lift with a roller cam @ 7000 rpm to get close to what I should be getting with my solid lift cam at .540 / .520 lift @ 6800 rpm and with the price of parts, you kinda want to be right the first time.

Driving in this morning, I saw a third gen Z-28 that was just sweet! Man, I gotta finish my boat so I can get back on my car! I've got all the parts, it's just the time...

Jeff
 
Yeah, I know they're not gonna get any cheaper or more available... just the opposite :sad....

I am torn, though, as what I think I want is a fun daily driver that can also do occasional track nights. I had that... (my 2000 Z28). I am strongly considering another 98-02 Camaro or Trans Am. The engine design in the Gen III/IV engines is just incredibly efficient. Hemi what? Heh. A 98-02 5.7L LS1 can gain 100hp measured at the wheels from a cam & valve spring swap with NO other changes (assuming you have good breathing already in place, that is headers, exhaust, intake). The heads flow insanely well, even completely stock, and the stock cam is intentionally mild. The engine can actually pass smog sniffers with no catalytic converters and it gets 26-29mpg highway mileage (6-speed)... Of course you lose some of that when you swap the cam & springs, but the payoff is a boatload more power without ever taking the heads off the car... and in fact, the LS1 doesn't even require that you remove the intake manifold, heh. The lifters have keepers, so you spin the cam (with the pushrods out) and the lifters stick in place until you slide the new cam in and push them back down with the new pushrods (new hardened pushrods are also recommended). Basically you can have a trouble-free, computer controlled, smog-friendly engine that's making 450-465hp without ever taking the heads off. Now, if you build it up from scratch, stroke it and do all that fun stuff, then you can see where that could go... and it could still be a daily driver with the right parts choices :)

But.. man, those Chevelles... With a nice meaty set of tires on Dragstars, mmmmmm I guess I could drive one daily, but my fear is it getting damaged in Houston. We have some of the highest accident rates & theft rates in the nation :sad

-Michael
 
and in fact, the LS1 doesn't even require that you remove the intake manifold, heh. The lifters have keepers, so you spin the cam (with the pushrods out) and the lifters stick in place until you slide the new cam in and push them back down with the new pushrods
Click to expand...

I think I heard that before too! That's pretty cool, but it would suck if one dropped down. I'm sitting here trying to figure out exactly how that would work though. There would have to be some kind of spring loaded retainer that ran the lifter bore, but that doesn't sound right because it would cause a lot of wear. Also, if you took the pressure off the lifter and just turned the cam to lift the lifter, it seems to me that the lifter would only raise in the lifter bore as high as the lift from the cam would push it. what happens if you put a higher lift cam in? Wouldn't it hit the lifter?

I'll tell you, I think I went overboard on my Camaro... :oops: If I get 5mpg I'll be happy :-D and that 2800 stahl is going to take some getting used to. It should run in the upper 11's, low 12's, but I've got a friend that has a 4th gen F-Body and he's doing low 12's before hitting the bottle, he gets over 20mpg, it handles like a dream, and nobody knows what he has :wink:

Have you ever visited the F-Body Hideout? Gonzo has some wild Video's!
http://www.f-bodyhideout.com/

Ohh, Yes, I saw GM's Concept Camaro at woodward. I used to work at the GM's Warren Tech center up until last year and I was privy to some of that stuff before it was released. (yes, I kept quiet). One of the biggest rushes that I got was being able to take one of the pre-production Z-06's out for a 4 hour test drive :-D I was literally told to go 'break it'. Dude, I can't describe the feeling of driving a car that it's closets competetion is a Lamborgheni (sp) You just feel like you command the road because it's so nimble and responsive. It's a beautiful piece of engineering!
 
Mmm... Z06.... Hehe.

Oh, and I have no idea on the lifter bore issue. I think there's some plastic keepers of some sort (I haven't seen the inside of an LS1 block up close except in pictures). Supposedly it works, but yes, I have heard if one falling during the install, which requires you to go ahead with the disassembly. That, however, wouldn't be nearly as bad as dropping a valve during the valve spring swap!!! I experienced that on an LT1 cam swap and it was traumatic :) I was trying to do it without taking the heads off. Ultimately I just sloooooowly spun the engine to push the valve back up (it was still in the valve guide).

But man, yeah, I would love to thrash one of those new Z06's :) I cannot afford a Vette (even a used one, as the aftermarket parts are also overly pricey), but I am considering an '04-'06 GTO once I pay off my truck. They are falling to a "fair" price level fairly quickly.... more so than the new Mustangs, which are staying far too high for my taste (not to mention the LS1/LS2 has much more power potential)....

I do miss the old days when you built a crazy hotrod and did not care one lick about how much gas it used... those days weren't so long ago. How quickly people get used to price gouging and manipulation. Does anyone realize it just over a year ago that we could get gas for under $2.00?.... and only about 3 years since it was $1.50?... :O

-Michael
 
Yeah, I’m gonna be remembering that Z-06 for a long time!

The GTO is a cool car! It’s just way to over priced in my opinion. They are trying to bring it back to concept (without as much flair), which should turn out to be a cool looking car.
111999-Pontiac-GTO-Concept-FA-med.jpg



It’s funny that you mentioned dropping a valve, LOL! I’ve got a set of Dart heads and I had to take the inner springs out for the cam break in. After break in, I took an air hose with at about 60 psi and screwed it into where the spark plug goes to keep the valve up as I put the inner spring back in. It really sucked! Do you know how hard it is to get an air hose screwed into the spark plug hole with headers? It just plain out sucks!

I’ve heard of people also taking the piston and bringing it up the chamber while they did changes springs etc too, but if you have air going to the cylinder, you have to be careful because the air pressure can push the piston back down the cylinder.

Ohh, ha! I remember boycotting gas stations that sold gas for $1. I’d drive a mile out of my way to get it for .99 LOL! I read the paper yesterday, headline read, “Gas, how low will it go?†Currently, it’s at $2.69 What a joke! How low will it go, boy, do we Americans have short memories huh?
 
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