Hard to believe fall is already upon us. Even harder to believe that our first born will be here in about 2 months! Though my Camaro has been back on the road for about a month and a half, I really haven't had a chance to enjoy it the way I expected. With baby on the way, house work took presidence once the car was on the road. Though I have enjoyed more than a few 30-45 minute cruises around downtown Detroit, I have yet to hit a cruise night or car show, other than the Woodward Dream Cruise.
That's fine though, as I'm simply happy to have the car back on the road. There is still plenty to do, and only time will tell whether me and new baby will find time and ability to finish up the Car come next summer. Ideally, I'd really love to finish up what needs to be done, and be able to at least make it to the track a few times next season. The biggest thing I need is either a reinforced rear end or a Ford 9 inch. I've gone back and forth as many times as I did over the last decade trying to decide what engine to build. From an economical stand point, as well as efficiency, the Chevy 12 bolt gets the nod. A recent drag racer I met is running low 9's/high 8's on a slightly beefed up 12 bolt, has been for years, and never had a problem. The 9 on the other hand is a nearly industructable design, and also offers the opportunity to quickly swap out high revvin' 4.10's to a better highway gear.
Aside from the rear, some interior finishing touches are needed such as dash, sound deadener, carpet, headliner, etc. A stereo of some sort would be nice as well, as the engine note sounds nice, but it inevitably gives you a headache after a short while.
I'll try and at least get a few more videos, as well as some nice pictures of my completed (CLOSE to completed) project in the near future. I hope to drive the car back down to my parents' house 1.5 hours away over the next week or two. Last week a 45 minute cruise rewarded me them engine temps deadlocked at 190 degrees, and that was with a 195 degree thermost, so I think I have both the carb tuned, and the question answered, "Will this engine still be streetable?"
On that note, I'll leave you with a Big Block Shoot Out I found in Popular Hot Rodding on a very similiar Big Block Chevy. Their final numbers were 657 hp, and my engine pushed the envelope a bit further with bigger cam and better heads.
Big Block Shoot Out
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