NEW PICTURES - 35th Anniversary Limited Edition Wheels and 1996-1997 SS SLP Spoiler
Here are the 2002 35th LE Wheels with 285 Firestone Wide Oval tires. I have been very impressed with these tires. While they do not have the same level of ultimate grip as the BFG KDW's I had before, they are FAR more predictable. They "talk to you" nicely at the limit and transition to sliding smoothly. You can't ask for much more in a street tire. I like feeling confident I am not going to suddenly spin off into the tire walls!
My new 1996-1997 SS SLP Spoiler. It is just like the 1998-2002 SS Spoiler with one exception and that is it does not have the vertical supports. As my car is a Z28, I wanted to to something a little different than just put a modern day SS spoiler on it like everyone else. I like it. It's subtle.
And one new shot with the old C5 Z06 style badges removed. I am switching to a C6 Z06 style badge which I think will look much better.
See page 2 for the trial fit of a 2004 GTO seat
2002 Camaro Z28 6-speed
This is a "stripper" or no-option hardtop model. Therefore, it is very light....for a Camaro anyway!
The Camaro on Roebling Raceway in Savannah, GA. I got up to 140mph entering turn 1!!!
The car weighed 3,394# on 3/25/2008 with the spare tire, jack, and 3/4 tank of gas. Weight distribution is 56% front and 44% rear with me in the car. The instructors at the track were really impressed with how well this setup handled and how much "usable" power it had. It was very well balanced (slightly loose, but loose is fast) and had plenty of grip. I passed a new Audi S4, C5 Z06, and a BMW M3 among others.
Modifications
Appearance: 35th LE wheels, white face gauges, SLP grill with custom bowtie emblem, tinted windows, clear corners, Z06 style Z28 badges, stainless steel nose emblem, stainless steel CAMARO rear letter inserts, short antenna, C6 shift knob, custom leather shift boot and armrest cover, and custom rear seat delete.
Suspension: Hypercoil springs, Bilstein HD shocks, LGmotorsports G2 sway bars with Prothane poly endlinks, panhard bar (poly/spherical), G2 subframe connector's, and G2 torque arm
Performance: SLP loudmouth exhaust, SLP Lid, Lou's short stick
The car is riding on 35th Anniversary Limited Edition Wheels with 285/45/17 Firestone Wide Oval tires on all four corners.
Yes, that is my house and front yard tree reflecting in the HOOD! Not bad for GM paint!!! Thank you Meguiars.
Clean engine bay with SLP lid.
Front end with SLP grill, custom painted and fitted vintage bowtie emblem and stainless CNC machined Camaro nose emblem.
CAMARO stianless steel rear letter inserts.
Suspension
Rear suspension with LG Motorsports G2 21.5mm sway bar, Bilstein HD shocks, Hypercoil springs and G2 panhard bar.
Picture of the heavy duty G2 torque arm.
A picture of one of the beefy G2 subframe connectors.
Front suspension with 32.5mm G2 sway bar, Bilstein HD shocks, and Hypercoil springs.
Rear seat delete done right!
Inspiration for this came from a Ford of all places, think mid-late 60's Fastback Mustangs. I hated the way the rear seats looked (new black leather front seats will be coming soon) and the cavity left when they are removed might look even worse. All the rear seat deletes I had seen, including the ones you can buy, are flat and just look out of place and like afterthoughts. I wanted something that looked factory stock and I think I got it!
If you are going to make one of these for yourself, take lots of time to create a cardboard template first. The curve of the side interior panels and the back ledge taper near the shock towers is very tricky. I made the panel out of plywood, somewhere around a 1/4" thick (can't remember exactly) and added two 1" x 2" stiffeners which run the length of the panel from front to back. These stiffeners are glued and screwed and make the panel strong enough you can sit on it.
This panel mounts using the factory 1/2" bolts which secured the bottom of the rear seats in place. I accomplished this by recessing a 1/8" thick piece of 2" wide aluminum into the front of the wood panel. Those brackets are then covered by the carpet. The top of the panel is secured by two screws hidden (under carpet) up near the top where the taper starts. This is about inline with the black hooks you see on the top shelf.
The front panels are made from 1" x 6" and screwed and glued to the plywood panel down their length. You will definitely want to make a cardboard template for these panels as well. Where the plywood meets the front panels you will have an overhang due to the angle that needs to be sanded down. This is a lot of sanding and because you need to shoot the screws in vertical, you will want to grind the screw heads down too.
The carpet is "ebony" and is a direct match. The camera flash and vacuum marks in the carpet make it look different here, but if you look at the front panel (bottom) you can get a good idea for how well it matches. I also noticed this has cut down on interior noise from my torque arm which is nice!
Leather console lid cover to match shift boot and machined finish billet knobs
This leather console lid cover comes from the same place as the shift boot and has matching quadruple silver stitching. It came out pretty good and goes nice with the C6 Vette shift knob.
Sorry for the bad picture quality and glare. I will try to get another one up later.
I also added some billet knobs from ebay. These are not the MBA knobs, but I actually like them better. They have a raw, machined (almost like fish scales) finish that looks really good with the center of the shift knob and is not too flashy/shiny. I epoxied some small black plastic clips in the knob holes to act as indicators. Stock, the knobs just come with holes, which looked unfinished.
This is the Lou's short stick shifter with an original equipment GM C6 Corvette shift knob fitted for the Camaro by GSCreations and the new leather shoft boot with quadrouple silver stitching. The knob fits my hand like a glove and looks right at home in the Camaro. Also notice the SLP badge below the HVAC controls.
The NR white face gauges.
