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November 25, 2006
Disassembly has begun. The drivetrain has been removed as has the front body panels and the entire interior. The body panels were dropped off at Best of Show Coachworks so the prep work can begin. They will be filling & smoothing the sidemarker lamps in the front fenders and rear quarter panels to give the car a “clean” look. All stock emblems will be removed and replaced with custom emblems that will be airbrushed on underneath the clear coat. Ultimately a custom, silver paint color from PPG will be applied and a white 1969 Camaro “hockey stick” type striping pattern will be used – more on this later.

For the interior, the floor plan, roof, firewall, doors and rear quarters will be covered with Dynamat Extreme to deaden any road noise and improve sound quality. Additionally, to reduce excess heat around the firewall and tunnel, a layer of Dynamat Extremeliner will be installed over the Dynamat Extreme.

The Silver Bullet will keep cool with a Super Gen II air conditioning unit from Vintage Air. With the dash components removed, the main air conditioning assemble will be easy to install. We will be using Vintage Air’s brushed aluminum Venturi louvers and their new 4-knob controller with back light.

The next step is final disassembly and then the car will be off to our friends at American Touring Specialties (ATS) where the LS motor and T56 transmission will be fitted with custom LS motor mounts, transmission crossmember, and a hydraulic clutch master cylinder mounting bracket.

January 16, 2006
Last week I trailered the car from San Diego to Las Vegas and dropped it off with Tyler at American Touring Specialties (ATS). ATS will be using the Silver Bullet to prototype parts for their upcoming second gen Camaro T56 installation kit. This kit will include a T56 transmission crossmember, LS motor mounts, and a hydraulic clutch master cylinder firewall bracket. ATS will be providing the first set of this kit for the Silver Bullet.

When installing an LS motor and T56 transmission into a second gen Camaro, or any older car for that matter, it is a good idea to buy the motor mounts and transmission crossmember from the same company as a matching set that are intended to work together. The reason for this is that each company makes their motor mounts slightly different than each other. Some companies use LS motor mounts that position the motor in the stock location, some slightly lower and back, etc. These differences will set the motor in different locations which will, in turn, affect the transmission mounting position of the crossmember.

If you would like to install a T56 in your car, I would consider pairing the following combination of motor types with the following T56 transmission types:

It is definitely possible to mate any version of the T56 (LS, LT or aftermarket) with any type of motor (LS or traditional carbureted) and make them work together. However, trying to adapt the wrong transmission with the wrong motor can get very expensive (many extra or custom parts needed), it can be a major headache, and fabricating parts will likely be required (crossmembers, etc.). Be sure to do your homework before you decide the best combination for you.

While the car is in Las Vegas, I will be heading over to TurnKey Engine Supply in Oceanside, CA to mock up the Vintage Air compressor with the Street & Performance A/C bracketry and pulleys. Also, I will be mocking up the ATS ProCharger brackets and blower unit. The A/C will be located high on the passenger side and the ProCharger blower will be located high on the driver’s side. The goal is to be able install these components in such a way that it will all fit underneath the stock second gen Camaro hood.

After ATS is done with the car, I will trailer it directly to Best of Show Coachworks in San Marcos, CA where Dick, John, Ryan, Joe and the team will complete the body work, paint and a few other surprises. At the same time, the entire car will be assembled and fitted with all of its new components. The goal is to be complete by mid June.

Month of February
While the car has been at American Touring Specialties in Las Vegas, the guys at Best of Show Coachworks have been busy body working the fenders, trunk lid, and hood as well as prepping all of the under hood body parts. The work these guys do is amazing – every car that leaves their shop is ready to win the next car show.

Filling in the seam on the front valance

Smoothing the side markers on the fenders

Down to bare metal

We also used this time to test fit the ATI Procharger and Vintage Air A/C compressor on to the LS motor. The crew at Turnkey Engine Supply was good enough to mock things up to make sure they fit. We used some engine accessory parts from Street & Performance (A/C bracketry and pulleys) to install everything and to make sure that everything fit together properly. My goal is to be able to install the blower and the A/C system so that it would all fit under the stock Camaro hood and it looks like it is going to work.

ProCharger and A/C compressor installed

Saturday, March 18th
Once I received the call from Tyler at American Touring Specialties that he had completed the new, 2 nd gen Camaro T56, 6-speed crossmember and hydraulic clutch master cylinder bracket, my business partner Scott Lindquist and I jumped in the truck and made the drive out to Las Vegas to pick up the car and bring it back to San Diego for the next phase of the job.

Vegas to San Diego – a nice day for a drive

Barstow for lunch – half way home!

The crossmember that Tyler and Shane made is a very nice piece and will be part of the Classic Motorsports Group T56 kits. It will be available for the ‘67-‘69 Camaros, the ‘70-‘74 Camaros as well as the ‘68-‘74 Nova’s. The configuration of the crossmeber allows for maximum exhaust clearance and is designed for easy installation and removal. Special thanks to Shane at ATS for designing such a nice piece.

T56 crossmember from ATS

The hydraulic clutch master cylinder bracket was also a very nice, well built piece that will accommodate a GM (or McLeod) master cylinder. For the most part it is a bolt in piece that solves the common p roblem of installing a hydraulic clutch system in an older muscle car. These brackets work for ‘67-‘81 Camaros and ‘68-‘74 Novas. Thanks to the great work from ATS, Classic Motorsports Group, as well as ATS, will have complete bolt-in hydraulic clutch systems available to make the installation of a hydraulic clutch system much easier.

ATS clutch master cylinder mounting bracket

Monday, March 27th
With the help of my Classic Motorsports Group business partner, Jim Goodlad (or GMJim as we call him), we spent the entire week working on the Silver Bullet.

On Monday, we loaded the truck with a bunch of parts and headed to Turnkey Engine Supply to pick up the motor. With the motor loaded we drove to Best of Show Coachworks to get to work. The first order of business was to install the McLeod Street Twin clutch kit and mate the Tremec LS T56 6-speed to the motor.

McLeod Street Twin Clutch

I chose the Street Twin for this application because I am expecting the motor to produce approximately 550 HP with the Procharger blower. We will dyno the motor on Turnkey’s chassis dyno when the job is complete. I will post the numbers when I have them.

Motor and trans ready to be installed

With the transmission attached to the motor, we test fitted the assembly into the car. To properly mount the LS motor, we used a set of LS motor mount adapter plates from American Touring Specialties (ATS). Using the ATS motor mounts positions the motor in such a way that the stock LS oil pan fits without requiring any modifications – this was a nice surprise. In many other applications such as the first gen Camaros, a modified oil pan is required to clear the K-member. Another unexpected surprise that we found is that when using the ATS LS motor mounts and an LS T56 transmission, it is not necessary to enlarge (cut) the tunnel to fit the transmission! I was fully expecting that cutting would be required. With that said, it is necessary to enlarge the stock 4-speed shifter opening in the tunnel as theT56 positions the shifter further rearward. The picture below shows where the T56 shifter is positioned as well as where the stock shifter position is (forward line marked on side of tunnel).

T56 installed

While we were waiting for the delivery of some suspension parts from Detroit Speed and Engineering, we turned our attention to installing a complete sound deadening system from Dynamat. The system includes a layer of Dynamat Extreme over the entire floor, firewall, inside the doors, and the trunk. Next, the Dynmat Extreme Liner will be installed against the firewall (this will happen later after we install the Vintage Air system), and the Dynapad will be laid over the floorboards to further deaden the sound and keep out the heat.

Dynamat installed

The next order of business was to remove the steering column and send it to IDIDIT so that they could use it to prototype a new column for the second gen Camaros. They will be sending us a custom steering column – more on this when it is time to install it.

Tuesday, March 28th
Tuesday was dedicated to suspension. We decide to tackle the front suspension first so we removed all of the stock components. Just as we were finishing the removal of the old stuff, the UPS truck showed up with an overnight package from Detroit Speed and Engineering (DSE). It was the new DSE upper and lower control arms for the second gen Camaros. It was exciting to be installing the very first pair of second gen Camaro control arms from DSE – thanks Kyle and Stacy! Luckily for the second gen owners, these control arms will be available from DSE in the near future – keep an eye out for them as they are very nice pieces. At the same time we installed a set of DSE tie rod adjusters.

DSE upper and lower control arms and tie rod adjusters

The concept of installing a complete suspension system made a lot of sense to me so we looked to Hotchkis for their complete TVS (Total Vehicle System) suspension system. This kit included a set of 2” drop springs up front, 1 ½” drop leaf springs in the rear, specially valved Bilstein shocks, and a beautiful set of front and rear sway bars. I was very impressed with the fit of the Hotchkis system as well as the installation instructions – they clearly paid attention to the details.

GM Jim installing sway bars from Hotchkis

Wednesday, March 29th
Today was brakes and wheels day. Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation (SSBC) sent us an awesome 4-wheel disc brake system that was easy to install in a day. We handled the rears first and then the fronts. The package was very complete from the master cylinder down to the spindles and calipers. Not only will these brakes stop the car on a dime but they look great as well.

Installing the SSBC brakes

With brakes install we could now mount the rims and tires. With this project, I am attempting to re-create the stock look of the 1970 Camaro but with a modern appeal. With that in mind I chose the “Alcatraz” rims from Colorado Customs. These 18” (front and rear) rims have the exact look I was hoping for. In keeping with the Silver Bullet theme, I used a set of “bullet” style lug nuts to cap it all off.

SSBC brakes behind the Colorado Customs 18-inch ”Alcatraz” rims

Rims painted a bit darker than the silver color of the car

Thursday, March 30th
Today we had a special visit from Rick Guerrero, owner of Rick’s Tanks in El Paso, TX. Rick was in town for the Good Guys car show at Del Mar and was kind enough to stop buy and help us with the install of one of his stainless steel fuel tanks. Rick got a little dirty helping us install the tank and giving us some good advice on how to properly plumb the fuel lines for the LS motor.

Rick getting ready to install the new fuel tank – now that’s customer service!

In addition to the tank install, we cleaned up a few other items such as aligning my subframe (it was way out of whack), removing my old bolt-in subframe connectors to get ready for the installation of a new weld-in set from Chris Alston Racing, and we removed the motor and trans so the guys at Best of Show could work on the firewall.

That’s about it for now. The next items on the list are final plumbing of the brake & fuel lines, Vintage Air install, Electric Life window install, subframe connectors, and of course more body work and finally paint.

April – May
The Silver Bullet spent most of April getting final body work done to prep it for paint. Joe at Best of Show took the lead on the prep and paint. The guys at Best of Show are true professionals – I could not have chosen a better shop. Check
out the pictures of the work in progress.

PPG supplied the complete paint system. We chose a Mercedes silver and bright white for the stripes.

Prepping the ’69 style hockey stick
stripes on the fenders and doors

Door jambs

Stripes are done

Smoothed firewall

Laying down the PPG!

After the car was color sanded the doors and trunk lid were re-installed and it was now time to final install the motor and transmission. The LS1 motor from Turnkey Engine Supply in Oceanside, CA came complete with all of the necessary accessories to make it a “turn key installation”. The starter motor, pulleys, PS pump, alternator, water pump, and computer were all included to make the job easy. The motor was built up a bit in anticipation of the ProCharger blower that we will be installing. Heavier valve springs, higher volume fuel injectors, and upgraded spark plugs were installed to meet the requirements of the blower. Turnkey also supplied a carbon fiber finished intake manifold and a chromed water pump. Street and Performance helped with some other accessories like the A/C brackets & pulleys as well as a radiator over flow bottle and power steering reservoir.

The headers were also supplied by Street & Performance – the driver’s side header fit perfectly but the passenger side header needed some modifications to clear the frame. The exhaust system was also completed at this time.

Turnkey Engine Supply LS1 motor

Street & Performance headers

X pipe exhaust and Chris Alston
subframe connectors

Tremec T56 transmission with ATS crossmember
 and Inland Empire Driveline aluminum driveshaft

After getting the motor and transmission in place, I looked to Best of Show to take care of all of the fuel and brake line plumbing. Best of Show Coachworks not only does show quality body and paint work but they also do complete restorations of all classic cars. Dean from Best of Show is the master at solving the most frustrating problems. Some of the other cars in their shop at the same time were Popular Hot Rodding’s tech editor’s ’68 Camaro, an over-the-top ‘57 Nomad, several other first gen Camaros, a Plymouth GTX, a ‘67 Chevelle, and several other high quality hot rods.

 

Custom brake lines & SSBC master cylinder

Fuel pressure regulator & hydraulic clutch reservoir

While the fuel and brake lines were being plumbed, the new tilt steering column from IDIDIT showed up. This column for the second generation Camaros is a new product from IDIDIT – very nice.

IDIDIT tilt steering column

Next, the attention was turned to the Vintage Air installation. First a layer of Dynamat Extremeliner was installed across the inner firewall. This new product from Dynamat uses new materials to help further deaden the sound and heat coming from the engine compartment. It formed very nicely to the contours of the firewall and was very easy to install.

Dynamat Extremeliner installation

With the Extremeliner installed, the next step was to install the Vintage A/C unit under the dash. I have installed several Vintage Air systems and the results have always been great. These units work very well and they fit very nicely underneath the dash as opposed to filling the engine compartment like a stock A/C unit.

Vintage Air assembly installed under dash

Best of Show likes to hide as much as possible – bulkhead
 fittings and evaporator will be hidden within the fender well

Interior bulkhead fittings installed

A/C compressor and belt being fitted. Street & Performance
 supplied the A/C compressor mounting bracket and adjuster bar

 

With the motor in place, the ATI ProCharger system was mocked up to see if it would fit in the engine compartment without hitting anything. We had the motor assembled with the GTO style accessories because the ProCharger kit that we would be using was for the 2004 GTO application. With this application, the blower is positioned high on the driver’s side of the engine compartment which is the only place that we would have a shot at mounting the blower assembly. After positioning the inner fender in place, we found that the blower did not fit which was not a total surprise because as far as we could tell, this combination of parts (an LS motor and a ProCharger system in a 1970 Camaro) had not been done before. The blower unit was hitting the inner fender as well as the upper control arm. I was not overly concerned with this fitment issue because the guys at Best of Show have a solution for every challenge that comes up. The solution was to space the blower mounting bracket & blower forward by approximately 2 5/8” so that it would clear the inner fender and the control arm. A set of custom spacers were made to accomplish this. With the blower and bracket spaced forward, the blower pulley was no longer lined up with the crank pulley. The best solution for this was to have a custom crank pulley made. S&R Machine in Corona, CA stepped up and delivered an awesome pulley so that we could keep things moving.

 

Stock spacers – notice shorter length

Custom length spacers to move blower & bracket
forward in order to clear the control arm

Next, the Be Cool Radiator and Vintage Air condenser were mocked up the core support. The ProCharger intercooler was then test mounted in front of the condenser. The hood latch support interferes with the intercooler so the latch support will need top be modified.

Procharger intercooler mocked up

Using the provided air ducting materials from ProCharger, the intercooler tubing was modified to fit under the hood. Two holes were cut through each side of the core support for the inlet tube going from the blower to the intercooler and for the outlet tube going from the intercooler to the intake. After fabricating a set of custom brackets, the intercooler was mounted in front of the radiator and the A/C condenser.

ProCharger ducting getting mocked up

Final Silver Bullet update

With the custom crank pulley done we had all the parts we need to finish the Procharger installation. It turned out very nice thanks to Dean and Dick at Best Of Show Coachworks – just when I though there was no way all this stuff was going to fit under the hood they figured it out and made it work. Below are pictures of the final installation.

Procharger components with custom brackets
and tubing ready to be final installed


Longer, custom crank pulley on the left
with original pulley on the right

Inner fender well modification to allow blower unit to fit properly


Blower installed showing inner fender well modification


Custom crank pulley, custom spacers, and blower installed

Intercooler and plumbing installed


Air intake installed


Procharger install complete and it all fits under the hood!

       Front grill, lights and bumper installed

Engine complete

With the Procharger install behind us, we added some Dynamat Extreme to the trunk compartment and installed the Detroit Speed & Engineering trunk mount battery kit. We also added the Dynapad on the floorboards underneath the seats for an additional layer of heat and sound reduction.

Dynamat Extreme in the trunk


Detroit Speed and Engineering trunk mount battery kit



Dynapad on the floorboards

While inside the car, the wires were routed for the sound system. Also, the B&M shifter, carpet, and Electric Life power windows were installed. The seats I choose were power seats from a 2002 Trans Am – some fabrication was required to the mounting brackets. Custom, 3-point seat belts were installed with the retractors installed behind the interior quarter panels and inside the quarter panel cavity. The new upper dash was also installed with the Vintage Air vents in the center and on each side.

B&M shifter installed



Interior going in - 2002 Trans Am power seats

 
Retractable 3-point seat belts             Retractors hidden behind qtr. Panels


Vintage Air controls and vents


Front speakers and tweeters
installed in the kick panels

Marquez Design door panels

Interior complete

With the project basically complete, it was time to take the car to chassis dyno at TurnKey Engine Supply. Here were the rear wheel horsepower and rear wheel torque results:

Dyno results with LS6 motor and ProCharger blower

After the dyno test, I put a few miles on the car to let everything shake down so we could find any issues. Other than realigning the front left fender and trunk lid, we tightened a few bolts, re-checked all of the fluid levels and we were done.

Now it is time to drive….until the next project shows up!!