The Progression of the mspeed1LE *TRK RAT*
 

I've been tracking a built Mazda Protege5 for the past 10years or so in Autocross, Time-Attack and then more recently Hill-Climb. After reading about the ZL1 1LE in Road & Track Magazine last fall, I couldn't get it out of my head. They raved about bang for your buck performance compared to cars costing 2-3 times the price. THAT really caught my eye! I started to consider a big change. Import FWD to American Iron RWD!
Then, this past February I approached my local Chevy dealer to inquire about purchasing one. "No Problem" I was told. It would be a factory order and I would most likely not see it until June. That worked for me and after clarifying the details of options, colour etc. I gave them the 10k deposit. Everything was good in the world.
2 weeks later I got a call from the dealership. "We've got some bad news. Chevy isn't making them any more". "Well", I replied, "you better start looking for one that's already built then!"
That's when things got interesting...

Many weeks went by as both my dealer and I scoured the country looking for a ZL1 1LE. Then amazingly, an ad popped up for one in Richmond, BC. I told the sales manager at my dealer and he called to inquire about it.

(Sidebar: When GM/Chevrolet launched the car in Canada it was done at Area 27, which is a private members track in Oliver, BC. Additionally, Area 27 members were given special allocations for the car if they wished to purchase one.)

My sales manager, after several attempts to reach the ad poster, finally got through and was told that they were an Area 27 member and were offering an allocation for a ZL1 1LE for $15,000. This was over and above the MSRP and obviously an attempt to cash in on the lack of availability for this model of Camaro. My sales manager told him he had to think about it and would call him back. He then spoke to his contacts at GM/Chevrolet and they were non-too happy to hear about this.
My understanding is that at that point they immediately withdrew the allocation from this individual, however, they still wanted to talk with Area 27 executives to ask if there was any interest from them in the car. Apparently there was none. About 5 days later I got a call from my sales rep saying the car was mine if I wanted it. HELL YA!!! The car was at the GM Dealership in Abbotsford BC, so I made arrangements to have the payment transferred to them and the car was delivered to my dealer this past Saturday. I got VERY VERY lucky!
Now the fun begins!

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In anticipation of getting one of these cars and knowing my intentions were to get it on the track, I went ahead and ordered a Studio RSR half-cage and the Skidmarkgarage.net rear seat delete kit. I felt the half-cage would be exactly what I needed and judging from the pics I found on this forum and the pics on StudioRSR's website it looked perfect! It took about a month to get here but once it arrived I eagerly unpacked it!

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Dismayed at what I found is putting it lightly. I'm familiar with bolt-in cages and the minimum requirements for sanctioned motorsports events (CACC in Canada, SCCA etc.). First thing to catch my attention was the provision for only 2 bolts at each mounting point. 3 is the minimum allowed. Second was the lack of backing plates. I figured they had just been overlooked in the packing process, since they were clearly shown in the pics on their website (along with 4 holes!). Third was the skimpy little washers that were included with the bolts. Not good! The 2 sections of the bar are really good though and I particularly am impressed with the two connection points for the 2 sections. I followed up with S RSR and they told me that lots of people use 2 bolt bars with no problem and that the picture of the 4 hole backing plates in the ad were just to show the quality of the cut edges of the steel and that backing plates are not part of the Camaro kit. I voiced my displeasure and said that I'd figure something out. I must add that they offered to send me some backing plates but I haven't seen any.

I've come to the decision to weld in the S RSR bar. We'll be beefing up the four mounting surfaces to comply with GSR's. So, the first step was to find out what we are working with on the car side of the equation. Day 2 of ownership and I'm already tearing things apart! :D

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Time to do some paint removal!

We decided that the mounting surfaces were sufficient and did not require any additional material so it was just a matter of have at 'er! We did drop the fuel tank just to get some extra comfort room related to heat. :D


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Let the welding begin!


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Not the best conditions...


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Good to go!


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Painted the weld points and all that's left to do is re-install the paneling and also install the Skidmark rear seat delete.


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awesome. please get us some footage from some of your outings!!!!!

welcome to the 6th gen addition

Interior paneling is all back in place. With a little trimming (because of the bar) the rear seat delete kit fits like a charm!


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Great work. Looks fantastic.
Congratulations on the Car.

...I could have told you to stay away from Studio RSR.

Everyone should


P.s. Why is there some guy in your trunk? Was that dealer install?

Only way he could weld the back section of the rear section of the bar. Carmena Performance.

Can you recommend an alternative to RSR? I looked at RPM cages but did not like them either

No idea at this point. Custom?

Picked up from ceramic coating the other day.


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/936/4...d292a5aa_b.jpg20180801_160139 by Mark Speed, on Flickr


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1791/...b29ac41c_b.jpgIMG_1372 by Mark Speed, on Flickr

Street tires and ceramic coated rims to go on next.


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1773/...550e2f04_b.jpg20180802_154719 by Mark Speed, on Flickr


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1771/...6b787626_b.jpg20180802_134115 by Mark Speed, on Flickr

Cruisin' kinda day...


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/850/4...94fc0521_b.jpg20180806_143348 by Mark Speed, on Flickr


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/939/4...c8639b60_b.jpg20180806_142607 by Mark Speed, on Flickr