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After I had semi stripped the car of all the un-required items; seats, stereo, trim etc, the original metal needed to be cut out. No rust to contend with here, the car is only 4 ½ years old
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Once the back half was cut out the new sub frame/chassis could be built and the cage installed quite easily...
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...but the front posed some wiring issues. Modern EFI cars, eh! Getting the dash in and out is a pain; a grp unit will be sourced in the future.
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A new 9” Ford rear axle was made; these are bespoke reinforced units made by WRE and good for +2000bhp
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Once the cage was finished around the cockpit the guys started on the tin work – and very neat it is too
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A mock-up to get an idea of the finished view. The original trim has been cut around the tubs to make the job look right.
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Once the tubs are carpeted, the cage painted and the rear hatch is shut it will look fairly stock from the exterior…and while its not moving.
The heavy original front suspension units was removed and replaced with BMR lightweight tubular units (the red bits)
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The powered steering rack was a bit big and also very heavy so that will be coming out and a Madman manual steering rack ordered from the states.
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A glass fibre 4” cowl induction hood was ordered from Glasstek in the US that also gives the car a harder look.
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To save weight we went with the pin on unit but WRE have adapted it to use the existing hinges so we can take the hood completely off if needed by using Dzeus clips
Unfortunately after the engine was fitted the cowl was still a little shallow so WRE arranged for it to be altered to allow more air flow to the Chuck Nuytten carburettor.
The new axle in place.
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The 4th gen Camaro has a tight engine bay; changing plugs on an LS1 engine is a 2 hour job so checking plugs at the track was a pain in the A, especially when the headers had been fitted.
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One of the main criteria for the new build was ensuring that there was enough room for maintenance.
The new engine has 2½ inch headers and 18 degree heads but Jon assured me that it would be OK..
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..as normal he was spot on. In fact checking plugs on the new engine will be a lot easier as there seems to be a lot more room. |
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One problem that has arisen is that the oil pan is very tight over the steering rack/k member and will require the engine lifting out before it can be removed.
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This picture shows the new Madman manual rack in place.
Due to the tight fit in the bay the new headers took Jon a bit longer to make than originally estimated, having to make them in section; tacking them; check fit; make minor adjustments then trial fitting again. The end result is very clean.
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The reason that we’ve gone for ordinary steel rather than stainless is that in the future we will probably go the twin turbo route. The headers will need to be rebuilt at that stage so it was deemed more cost effective to go with the cheaper route at the moment.
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The rest of the exhaust was fitted as tight to the chassis as possible with the rear valance being notched out to accommodate the tips.
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At Extreme Wheels in February – that really was the best shot I could get it was so crowded!! It received lots of compliments.
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The car sitting on its own wheels in WRE’s workshop for the first time before going onto the trailer to the show
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Check back often for further updates as the work progresses
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