1999 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Coupe
Table of Contents
Page 1: Blog
Page 2: Wheels and Tires
Page 3: Exterior
Page 4: Suspension (In Progress)
Page 5: Interior (In Progress)
Page 6: In Car Entertainment (Coming Fall 2009)
Page 7: Exhaust (Coming Fall 2009)
Page 8: Engine (Coming Fall 2009)
Page 9: Brakes
Page 10: Recommended Retailers and Auto Shops
This is my bread and butter. I bought it used in 2002 when it had 26,800 miles. It didn't have much in the way of modifications back then (and really, it still doesn't have that much now). It came with a Motorsports Technology carbon fiber power induction kit with a K&N air filter, a DG Motorsports front fascia, and an SLP skip shift eliminator. It is the first (semi) new car I have ever owned and has a lot a sentimental value to me. Up until the Camaro, I had owned a 1989 Chevrolet Corsica (50,000+ miles), a 1991 Honda Prelude (100,000+ miles), and a 1992 Saturn SL1 (165,000+ miles). I don't think I'll ever sell it.
I attempted to install an aftermarket rear bumper cover before I realized I had no body fabrication experience whatsoever, and was in over my head. The bumper needed to be modified to fit below the rear quarter panels and wasn't an exact fit like I had expected. That was the first time I've tried to install an aerodynamic part and, ironically, my last.
I had it for ab out a week before I parallel parked (poorly), "tapped" the curb, and cracked the bottom of the bumper cover. It was the most expensive place I've ever parked. It's one of the reasons I refuse to parallel park now. There's a peek of it in the picture taken at Road Runner below.
I called two muffler and exhaust installers in Orlando on New Year's Eve and no one answered their phone. Luckily, Road Runner Muffler in Kissimmee was open. The owner, shown in the picture, welded two Borla exhaust tips onto the Borla catback exhaust system in about 20 minutes. On top of the fast service, it just cost me $50. I would recommend them in the future.
I should've learned from my failed attempt to install the rear bumper cover before I ordered a new Sniper bumper replica from KGS Engineering.
There's a reason Extreme Dimensions discontinued the Sniper front bumper model. Mark my words - it doesn't fit the Camaro!
I have to admit that I knew this before I ordered the bumper from KGS. Heck, an Extreme Dimensions salesperson was the one who told me the Sniper bumper was discontinued because it didn't fit the Camaro! But I didn't care! I wanted it. And now, I have to pay for it. The installation hasn't even started, but after I spoke with the owner at AutoSport Bodyworks, we came to the decision to mold the bumper onto the car to conceal the imperfections around the seams of the bumper.
This'll be the last aerodynamic part I install on the car. Until I find side skirts that are difficult to install.
We brainstormed on the installation of the bumper cover and the daytime running lights and turn signals. I'll be in Miami on the weekend of May 31st to have a Vertical Doors, Inc. direct bolt-on kit installed (Unfortunately, there aren't authorized Vertical Doors, Inc. installers in Orlando). He may have time to install the bumper before the end of this month. If he doesn't have time to do it, then I'll have to drive to Miami without a bumper. I like how the Camaro looks without a bumper. It reminds me of heavily modified cars at a speedway on Track Day.
May 21, 2008
The vertical door kit I ordered from Octane Motorsports arrived today. I was overwhelmed with joy - until I opened the box. It seems the quality control at Vertical Doors is subpar. The "kit" was incomplete! No, the box wasn't opened, and yes, it shipped directly to me from Vertical Doors. It didn't have the 720 lb. shocks (I may be off base here, but that seems kind of important.), wires, or wire connectors. I can't even be sure the assemblies are built for a Camaro! It looks like someone put a bunch of random parts from a clearance bin at Skycraft Parts and Surplus into a box and mailed it to me. I was assured by Dee, a sales representative from Octane Motorsports, that I'd receive the rest of the kit, at no cost, by tomorrow. I've been very pleased with their customer service up to this point. They're much more responsive than the shimps at Racing Zone Auto House [in Tampa, Florida]. Needless to say, I'm very disappointed with Vertical Doors, Inc. The kit wasn't what I expected for a product that cost me over $1,000.
May 22, 2008
Dee had the rest of the parts for the Vertical Door kit mailed to me yesterday afternoon and I received them today. It's rare to find an aftermarket auto parts retailer that provides excellent customer service and quick responsiveness, like Octane Motorsports. It's a paradox really. People who spend thousands of dollars at a speed shop should receive service comparable to that provided by the maître d' at Emerils or the Ritz-Carlton (Heck, I could've stayed for 6 days in a Deluxe Gardenview room at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando for the amount I spent on the vertical doors!). The kit, pictured below, is now complete. I can't wait until next weekend to have it installed. Now, if I could just install the front bumper...
June 2, 2008
I picked up the Camaro last week and drove it to Digital Sound and Wheels this past weekend to have the vertical door kit installed. It worked out perfectly. Joell installed the kit in about 6 hours. He told me the shocks in the kit were meant for heavy doors and I'd need to replace the 720 lb. shocks with 600 lb. shocks. As a result, the doors won't close properly without a little effort. I actually have to visually inspect the locks to make sure the doors will close when I pull the door inwards. I was able to drive there with a front bumper, but it wasn't complete by any means. I plan to drop it off this week to finish the front bumper installation. The front fenders had to be molded to the bumper because the bumper flared outward about 1-2 inches on each side. This worked out well because I needed to repaint the fenders anyway because the vertical door installer had to trim the inner part of the fenders for door to fully open outward and upward.
The car looks like a Transformer with the doors open, but unfortunately the primered front bumper detracts from the car's overall appearance.
Most people associate vertical doors with Diablos and Countachs, but SSC Ultimate Aeros and Spykers come to my mind when I hear "vertical doors".
I think the front bumper turned out well. The installer at AutoSport Bodyworks didn't fill the crease between the top of the bumper and the hood, but it wasn't as noticeable as it was, after it had been painted.
I plan to install a set of Koni Sport shocks and Ground Control coilovers in the near future to raise and lower the stance of the Camaro for daily use. I have the shocks but I still need to buy the coilovers. And then find a place to install them. I just noticed in one of the pictures that the bottom of the wind splitter is scrapped. I'm sure this happened because I was careless when I pulled into one of the many lots in Orlando that were created to accommodate lowered vehicles and vehicles with expensive aerodynamic parts. I'll see the people from the Orlando Public Works in hell.
I chose not to install side skirts because the front and rear bumpers appear lower without them (and I don't want to make it even harder than it is already to pull up and down driveways with any sort of incline). It's a visual trick that I noticed after I examined pictures of the Nissan Skyline R33 and R34 GT-Rs. God, I have way too much time on my hands. Well, after I install the coilovers, I'll install a pair of RK Sport side skirts. I like their squared off corners because they're reminiscent of the side skirts on Le Mans GT2 race cars, like the Jake Corvette. I know, I know. Two Pontiac Azteks could be attached to the sides of the Corvette and it'd still look fresh, but it's the GT2-race-car-square-side-skirt-look I wanted to emulate.
The projector lamps had to be bolted to the bumper because the bumper didn't line up with the brackets where the projector lamps were initially bolted. I had to include pictures with the scissor doors open. After all, I didn't spend over $2,000 on them to keep them closed all the time. I'd drive with the doors open all the time if that didn't void the warranty on the vertical door kit. And it was safe to drive with the doors open. And normal. I'm sure if I lived in the Bay Area, it'd be considered normal.
July 8, 2008
So, I park the Camaro along the street and go upstairs for about half an hour. I come back to the Camaro to move it because I'm afraid some knucklehead will hit it while parallel parking (the people in Orlando can't parrallel park for sh*t) and lo and behold, someone backed into the front bumper and cracked it (Keep in mind that it's been less than a month since I picked up the Camaro from AutoSport Bodyworks). The good news is that the dipsh*t left his car parked in front of mine. And it's a rental car. I filed a police report and insurance claim for the damages. NOTE: A Dodge Caliber might look small but cannot fit into a parking space the size of a Corolla.
July 21, 2008
I finally picked up the Camaro from the body shop. I called the owner last week and told him I wanted to pick up the car in anticipation of HIN this past weekend and he finished the front bumper installation in a week (keep in mind that he had the car for almost 6 months). He also swapped the vertical door shocks because one of them was defective (more on that later). After I replaced the oil and oil filter, I took a quick snapshot of the car. I'll post more pictures of the interior and exterior this weekend.
July 24, 2008
I didn't want to wait in traffic so I decided to pull into an empty lot to wait it out and take pictures of the Camaro. I haven't washed it in about a week (with the frequency of thunderstorms in Florida, that equates to about three months in other states), but thankfully I have a 1.3 MP camera phone that doesn't pick up dust, dirt and small children.
This past weekend, I had to replace the window lift motors in both of the doors (for the third time) because the A/C compressor was dead when I picked up the car last week. I don't understand how it could've died. I haven't driven it in a month and when I drove it to Miami last month, it was colder than a polar bear's toe nails. I drove it for about 30 minutes with the windows closed and no A/C and almost passed out. I felt like I was in a Club Racer. I mean, it was almost the full-on race car driver experience. I would've let the top back if I had a place in the trunk for the t-top panels. I plan to install a new compressor and accumulator this weekend. It seems pretty simple. About ten bolts, couple of lines. How hard could it be?
August 6, 2008
I installed a pair of projector/halo/LED/kitchen sink headlamps this afternoon. I ordered them from a website called, Racer Union, via eBay. The manufacturer is a company based in Taiwan called, Junyan. It comes as no surprise then that they don't fit very well. I don't know if it's because of the headlamp cutouts on the front bumper, the headlamps themselves or both. When I installed them, the brackets on the back of the headlamps didn't fit onto the headlamp mounts in the Camaro. I just adjusted them to make them flush with the bumper and didn't bother to aim the beams properly. This means they won't be effective to use, y'know, in the dark, because the beams are tilted too far down and inward. Thank God for the PIAA lamps! They look much better than the previous "halo" headlamps that were installed on the Camaro. The old ones had a plastic overlay with three holes and an illuminated circle in the center. The holes made the low beams look like two separate beams when lit. It was a cheap trick because it looked tacky in the daytime (refer to Picture 10 above). The new headlamps have two illuminated circles, one around each beam (two beams in total), three LEDs, and a projector lamp. It took me about three hours to install them because I tried to wire the LEDs to use them as front turn indicators. It didn't work. I haven't had turn indicators since I installed the mock Sniper front bumper because the bumper didn't include cutouts for them (Thanks for that, KGS!). If you happen to see me on the interstate, and I don't use my indicators, it's not because I'm from Miami. It's because my indicators won't blink.
August 8, 2008
I'm so excited I can't contain myself. A set of Ground Control coilovers arrived this afternoon. I plan to drop off the Camaro at a place I found in the phone book (I chose it because it was one of the few businesses that had a website address listed next to its phone number) to have them install the coilovers and a set of Koni Sport shocks. I've had the shocks for the past 5 years, but I just haven't had the time or resources (READ: finances) to install them until now. The shocks are rebound adjustable, but I don't really know what that means so I don't think I'll put them to much use. I just plan to keep them set to the firmest possible position all the time. To be honest, I like cars with hard dampeners. It feels sporty to me. If I wanted a smooth ride, I'd buy a Cadillac. I'm more excited about the coilovers because I can lower the Camaro by as much as 2" and raise it back up to stock, with a simple turn of the coilover's seats. I'll post pictures of the Camaro raised and lowered when I pick it up from the mechanic next week!
September 6, 2008
Hmm. I wanted to upload more pictures of the Camaro, but apparently I need a certification in web development before I can figure out how to use the new Car Domain page editor. A Problem and Troubleshooting Request Form would be a nice feature...
September 7, 2008
A couple of weeks ago I raised and lowered the Camaro and gathered a few lessons learned:
1.) A 2" adjustment of a spring seat equates to about an 1" of difference in the ride height.
2.) The strut spring seats are difficult to adjust unless the springs are compressed.
3.) An ergonomic coilover wrench is easier to use than the can opener included with the coilover kit.
When I picked up the Camaro from All Sport Automotive, the rear was raised about an 1" higher than the front, and the shocks were adjusted to a firm setting. The ride quality had improved and the Camaro looked like a funny car because it was angled downward. This didn't work out for me because the Camaro looked like a funny car and the wind splitter was one speed bump away from obliteration (I scrapped the front of it when I tried to drive up a parking garage ramp). I decided to lower the rear as much as possible to raise the front. I would've raised the front, but the spring compressor I rented from AutoZone couldn't fit between the wires of the springs.
September 25, 2008
I ordered a new set of staggered Lowenhart LD1 wheels from RB Wheels this week - two 18" x 9" wheels and two 18" x 10" wheels. I just plan to mount the 18" x 10" wheels and keep the other two as spares. I'm hoarding LD1 wheels because the Lowenhart Corporation discontinued them in 2005 and it's damn near impossible to find them used with a silver finish. I had them welded and drilled to fit the Camaro because the lug pattern was 5" x 114.3 mm (a common lug pattern for imports). I won't have a chance to put them on until next month because I have to drop off the Camaro at a body shop to have the space between the front bumper cover and headlamps filled in with fiberglass and painted (That brings the installation and painting of the $200 KGS Engineering front bumper cover to a grand total of $1,880.). I also have a pair of Rotora cross drilled and slotted rotors and Hawk ceramic brake pads to install.
October 20, 2008
I'm going to rearrange this profile and break it up into sections. Please excuse the dust...
November 20, 2008
A lot has happened over the past month. I installed new, wider wheels and tires in the rear. Now the Camaro is in the "staggered" club. About two weeks ago, I brought the Camaro to a shop in Orlando and had the space between the front bumper cover and the headlamps filled. Black also repaired the front bumper cover that was damaged from the Dodge Caliber. The front clip looks seamless now (with the exception of the inherent waves and stress cracks in the fiberglass, of course). While it was at the shop though, the head unit was stolen. The odd thing is that the head unit's processor wasn't stolen. Neither was the faceplate (it was in the glove box). I bought new parts, but haven't had time to install them (which is one of the reasons I couldn't make it to CamaroFest). Oh, a week after I picked up the Camaro, a Orlando Police Department cruiser backed into me and left the front bumper cover in worse condition than it was when the Caliber hit me!
November 24, 2008
Hi, I'm Vinh and I have curb rash.
I clipped a concrete curb this afternoon with the rear right wheel (Yes, the wheel I bought about a month ago). I'm very careful when I make turns but this particular devilish curb jutted outward like an arrow head and was unavoidable. If you're ever in Orlando, be cautious of the curb in front of the Colonial Town Chevron at the corner of N. Mills Avenue and Colonial Drive (For more information, go here: http://indianapolis.citysearch.com/profile/map/2853055/orlando_fl/colonial_town_chevron.html) - it's a rimavore . I somehow managed to scratch the outer lip at 12 o' clock and 6 o' clock (see Image 1 below).
Now I need Turbax to repair the wheel for me. I've had them repair wheels for me in the past with mixed results. The polished outer lips never have the same brilliant shine they had after they've been repaired. I don't know where else to take them in Orlando though.
December 18, 2008
I moved into a house this past week and within two hours I installed side skirts on the Camaro, set the rear shock absorbers to firm, and renovated the audio setup. When I lived in an apartment, it would've taken me 5 hours over the course of two weeks to do it. I can't wait to install a big brake kit now! I installed a Subthump stealth subwoofer enclosure and amp rack and replaced the Q-Logic subwoofer enclosure that was in the trunk. I'll post interior pictures when it's finished. In the meantime, check out the new side skirts on the Exterior page (Page 3). I wanted to paint the air inlets black, and the rest of the skirts pewter but I might paint them all black instead. It looks like an GT2-spec car!
January 7, 2009
This month, I'm doing my part to stimulate the economy by taking advantage of the great deals on car parts for sale online. I know I should be saving money, with the current recession and all, but sooner or later the economy will improve and the discounts won't be as good as they are now. I ordered a pair of Sparco Chrono Racing Seats (and overpriced bolts and brackets I probably could've picked up from Ace Hardware for cheap), a Rotora Big Brake Kit, Clutch Masters FX300 clutch kit, and an SLP Line Lock. Chad, over at All Pro Automotive is installing the clutch for me (as well as the good ol' master and clutch cylinders) now, but when the other parts arrive, I'm going to get cracking on them (and finish the installation of the Subthump goodies I bought last month). Ahh, here's to living in the moment!
April 14, 2009
Over the past month, the double-sided tape that attached the side skirts to the rocker panels lost it's adhesion and the skirts started to sag from the sides of the Camaro. It looked like I installed the side skirts myself (because I did) so I brought it back to AutoSport Bodyworks (once again) last week. That brings the total amount of the body kit, including parts and labor to nearly $5000 (which isn't so bad compared to, just the cost of the body kits from Brabus, ASI, Veilside, etc.). The side skirts have been properly attached to the rocker panels now. I went ahead and had them painted to match the rest of car while I was at it. Which was a mistake because I should've kept them black. Now it looks like the Camaro has side skirts. When they were black, the Camaro looked lower and I never really noticed the skirts. Now I notice them. And I don't really like them.
April 30, 2009
It's not easy to own a lowered car. I can't even get routine maintenance on the Camaro because there aren't a lot of mechanics in Orlando equipped to accommodate lowered cars. Well, after I went to Extreme Auto Repair and Performance, Firestone, Fifth Gear (which, to my surprise, is out of business), and the Magic Mechanic and called a countless number of other places, I finally found a shop that could perform an alignment on the Camaro (thanks to Tim at Magic Mechanic and his suggestion!). For those people with lowered cars in the Orlando area, I'd highly recommend Nix and Black at the corner of OBT and 50. They have a sophisticated, underground alignment machine that doesn't require cars to be driven onto bothersome service ramps. No service ramps - no scratched or dented front fascia or rocker panels. It was also cheap too (Just bring cash with you because they only accept cash when performing alignments for lowered vehicles.)! I'd also recommend them because the mechanics were cognizant about the Camaro's body kit and low ride height and didn't drive it like a lifted truck like every other mindless mechanic that climbs into my car and thinks it remotely has an average ride height and drives 15 MPH over speed bumps and steep inclines when testing the car.
May 4, 2009
Last weekend, I got off my lazy @$$ and I fixed the rear right wheel. A couple of months ago, a Turbax representative told me that his technician wasn't able to fix the wheel because it's barrel is warped. I'm glad he didn't fix it because I saved about $150 by fixing it myself. The materials cost about $20 and it took about 45 minutes to do it. First, I sanded down the scratches on the outer lip with a 250 grit sanding disc mounted to a drill. Then, I sanded the scratched areas with 400 grit sandpaper, 600 grit sandpaper and 1000 grit sandpaper (in that order). To bring back the surface's luster, I polished the wheel with a Mothers PowerCone polishing tool and wheel polish. Voila! Now that looks good I can start price shopping a new set of BBS AIR II CKs.
May 10, 2009
I installed an Eibach anti-sway bar kit this week. I bought it from Autoanything.com because I received an email ad from them with a 12% off coupon and free shipping. The deal was too good to pass up. It was about $200 less than comparable anti-sway bar kits from Hotchkis and Spohn! Here are a couple of tips for people interested in installing the Eibach kit:
1.) The kit didn't include instructions on how to install the rear sway bar. There were two copies of the instructions for the front sway bar installation though. This is perfect if you want to wipe your ass with one of them. I found instructions on Summit Racing's website on how to install a Hotchkis anti-sway bar kit and used them to install the Eibach kit.
2.) The front sway bar bolts that were included with the kit are shorter than the stock bolts. After trying to use them, I gave up and just resused the stock bolts with the Eibach bushings and washers.
3.) The end links in the rear sway bar are a pain in the ass to install if the center brackets are tightened. I highly recommend that you loosely tighten the brackets, install the end links and then tighten all of the brackets and end links. If all else fails, lift the sway bar with a floor jack to raise the damned thing.That's what I did.
June 9, 2009
After all of the money and time I've spent on the exterior, I think it's time to focus my attention on the thing that people know and love the most about the F-Body - the small block engine. I ordered a 92 mm FAST intake manifold and 92 mm FAST throttle body from www.speed-eng.com (Speed Engineering) this past week. It was the best deal I could find on the internet for the two items. I plan to install it this weekend. I'll post pictures of it when I finished and I'll make notes about the gotchas that seem to come up whenever I think I'm simply going to "bolt-on" a part. On a side note, the throttle body arrived packaged in a plastic case with foam padding. It was like a top secret device from a movie. Very nice touch.
June 12, 2009
I removed the stock intake manifold along with the throttle body. It's no wonder the manifold installation instructions state that the oil pressure sending unit can be broken if the manifold isn't lifted out of the engine bay properly. It is, in fact, easily broken. And I broke mine off. The brake hose was a pain in the ass to remove and took more than a little patience. Now I have to wait until I receive a new oil pressure sending unit from GM Parts Direct before I can reassemble the manifold. I also need to find an open end wrench or deep socket to remove the unit. Ideally, a stubby open end wrench will work, but since the unit is 28 mm in diameter, I'm probably not going to find out.
June 16, 2009
Okay, so I should've been a little more patient when I lifted out the intake manifold, but I was so close to getting it out! I ordered a new oil pressure sending unit from GM Parts Direct about a week and a half ago. It still hasn't arrived. Last weekend, I stopped by Pep Boys and, out of curiosity, checked to see if they had one in stock. It turns out they did. And here I thought I had to get it directly from GM! Well, in addition to the oil pressure sending unit, I broke the "quick" disconnect fitting on the purge canister. By the way, there's nothing "quick" about it. I had a "quick" disconnect tool I used for the fuel line but it wouldn't fit on the purge connector and I thought, "Hey, if I break this thing I can just replace it because it'll cost less than the right fitting for the "quick" disconnect tool. I hadn't thought about how hard it'd be to find the connector though. Now that part will have to be ordered directly from GM. I won't need it immediately. As soon as the 30 mm hole saw gets here this afternoon, I'm back in business.
June 16, 2009
Here are a couple of hints and tips about installing the manifold and "TB" (not tuberculosis) up to spec:
1.) Have a 1/4" DRIVE torque wrench (seek the closest Harbor Freight store) OR 3/4" drive, T-10 Torx bit handy to tighten the rear five manifold bolts. A 3/4" torque wrench with a 1/4" reducer socket, 1/4" socket and a 3/16" hex bit WILL NOT WORK!
2.) Order a new purge canister clip (because you're gonna break off the stock one);
3.) Use a heat gun to warm up the tubing between the stock mass air flow sensor and the upgraded throttle body because you're NOT going to wrap the OEM tubing around the 92 mm TB without it. That's the reason I ordered a SLP 85mm mass air flow sensor (MAF) and SLP tubing Speed-Eng.com tonight. How can it breath with no air?
August 12, 2009
Not knowing when to leave well enough alone, I overdid the bolt-on project I took on a couple of months ago. Since then, I replaced the exhaust in addition to the induction. Oh, I also replaced the MTI carbon fiber air box lid with a K&N cold air induction kit (or "Fuel Injection Performance Kit, Generation 2"). For the exhaust, I've installed Kooks 1-3/4" long tube headers and a Kooks Y-Pipe with High-Flow cats.
I did research about EGR and O2 sensors and came across free (sic!) modications that can free up horsepower on the LS1. First, I did the "EGR Mod". Unsuccessfully. I trimmed off too much of the EGR tube so I decided to remove the EGR sensor and tubing altogether (I decided that $15 EGR block off plates and a $19 EGR plug was a better investment than $100 EGR tubing.) Then, I installed a BMR Thottle Body Bypass kit for $30. I could've purchased a couple of connectors and hose clamps to create one but I preferred the fit and finish of the kit's stainless steel connector.
I just returned from Next Level Performance in Altamonte Springs, FL. Geoff was able to dyno tune the Camaro and squeeze out an extra 14 horsepower on top of the bolt-on modications I've installed over the past two months. I've met my first milestone and I'm now officially part of the 400 Horsepower Club (or the 341 Horsepower-to-the-Rear-Wheels-Club depending upon how you look at it.). It's taken me 8 years to finally work on the engine and now the floodgates have opened. Hopefully I won't need another 8 years before I modify the engine and add a power adder.
August 8, 2009
It was supposed to be a quick errand. In and out. The mission: Go to Advance Auto Parts in Lake Mary. Buy Red Line coolant additive. It wasn't that simple. When I left, I backed into a curb in the parking lot. A jagged, 1 foot curb with teeth. Now my rear bumper is cracked like a San Fernando fault line. Duraflex my ass! There is no flex in Duraflex!
