[grampa_ss]

Very nice build. Congrats!

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

What a droolworthy build yours is, Josh. Loved the little AAA story, too

Thanks Arpad! More to come but that’s all I could cram in for content in one evening.

Originally Posted by grampa_ss

Very nice build. Congrats!

Thanks grampa! Hope to get some more of the build posted up tonight.

[BrandanK]

Great details. Following along.

[cjperformance]

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

With my traction issues hopefully addressed with the new drag radials, it was time to give them a whirl. I finally break into the 10's! 10.87 @ 128 is my best time that day. Knowing the cooler weather was coming, I decide to go back again on the last track day of the year to see if I can beat my brothers best of 10.6. Since he cannot make it that day, if I can edge him out I figured I wouldn't have to listen to him needle me about being faster all winter... My co-worker Dave shows up in his really nice Porsche 911 Turbo S with some bolt-on mods. He runs very low 11's...tough car to beat on the street with his AWD!

First run I am soft on the launch because of the very cold track temps, but I hooked. So the next run I'm determined to get things done! So I hammer it out of the hole and I hooked! A split second later the fun was over... I told AAA that I was at the track to visit my buddy while he was racing, but something was wrong with my car because it wouldn't move... The tow driver laughed his butt off and agreed to tow it anyway (after I slipped him a Ben Franklin). The OEM SS driveshaft sheared right at the carrier bearing. I ordered up a GForce 3.5" aluminum driveshaft to replace it. The new DS is smooth as silk on the street and supposedly cuts rotating weight too.

That closes out a pretty wild 2019!

What made the difference for you between your run at 11.4@123 and your run at 10.87@128? From the log it looks like all you changed was tires. Typically traction affects ET and HP affects mph. Were you just spinning most of the track due to the runflats and couldnt gain mph? I ask because my last run looks a lot like your 123 mph run. Youve prob been following my thread, so you prob know the backstory.

[dmcmahan60]

Nice build young man! If I did not have kids I would like to go the same route Nice color by the way

[radz28]

SWEET!!! FINALLY!!! BUILD THREAD!!!

Gotta catch-up.

[Chutzpah]

I’m not much of a heavy modder, but I can certainly appreciate thought, effort and detail that’s gone into that beast. Truly fantastic…even the color scheme matches, freaking beautiful. Have you shown your brother “what’s up” yet?

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by BrandanK

Great details. Following along.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by cjperformance

What made the difference for you between your run at 11.4@123 and your run at 10.87@128? From the log it looks like all you changed was tires. Typically traction affects ET and HP affects mph. Were you just spinning most of the track due to the runflats and couldnt gain mph? I ask because my last run looks a lot like your 123 mph run. Youve prob been following my thread, so you prob know the backstory.

The 11.4@123 was summer on “stock” 3.625” pulley. The 10.87@128 was in the fall, much cooler with a 3.50 Griptec and DRs. Or, at least that’s what I seem to remember 2 years later.

Originally Posted by dmcmahan60

Nice build young man! If I did not have kids I would like to go the same route Nice color by the way

My kids are grown up but still need Dad’s money…lol

Originally Posted by radz28

SWEET!!! FINALLY!!! BUILD THREAD!!!

Gotta catch-up.

Thank you Sir! I’ll do some more updates tonight.

Originally Posted by Chutzpah

I’m not much of a heavy modder, but I can certainly appreciate thought, effort and detail that’s gone into that beast. Truly fantastic…even the color scheme matches, freaking beautiful. Have you shown your brother “what’s up” yet?

So I’m technically ahead of him on the power chart currently (927 vs 880) and in our fastest runs (9.93 vs 10.6) but he has a filthy build underway (built 380 with 2650 & nitrous). He’ll be good for 1200 WHP by spring so I have to keep hustling!

[Joshinator99]

Ok, so 2020 engine build is done and all put back together. Here is a video of the initial startup of the new build!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kvaD4AVtc57Sbp1t9

With the 2" headers, resonators, and AWE system the car is so damn loud that I'm paranoid to drive it on the street much. I liked the Magnaflow center muffler idea that others did on this board, but didn't like all of the cuts and bends to make it work. So Eric "customized" the Magnaflow to fit beautifully around the 3.5" driveshaft! The wideband is working mint, and I added the Banks iDash gauge in the ZZP dual pod. Finished car was looking great!

[Joshinator99]

Car back in hand, I bring it to my favorite local tuner, Josh Pearl of Performance Dyno in Louden NH, to get the beast running well. The good news is we were able to get 780 WHP SAE on a stingy load-bearing Dynomite dyno, on 93 octane only. The bad news is we didn't have the lowside to add any E, even with the JMS. But that was enough cash burn for one summer... or was it?

I wanted to go back to the track, but after the driveshaft "incident" I knew I needed a trailer. So I bought a new 2020 full aluminum 16' trailer that could be pulled by my then-daily-driver, a 2019 Toyota Sequoia Limited with the 381 HP 5.7L V8. The Sequoia pulled it like a champ, you could barely tell the car was there.

So still rocking the stock SS wheels with Nitto NT555R, I log a new best of 10.63@136 on a very conservative launch. But I only get one run all day due to an extreme backlog at the track. I know I need to get serious about traction. So I get home and immediately buy a Forgestar D5 dragpack with 17x10 beadlock rears and 18x6 skinnies for the fronts. With @laynlo15's sage advice, I go for the ET Street R in 305/45/17 size (radials, not bias ply). They look mint! But by the time I get them, mount & balance them, winter is here so they'll have to wait for 2021 to get used.

[Joshinator99]

So, my 2020 cash burn was *STILL* not done! I wanted something other than drag radials for standard street driving. I like the occasional back road twisty road, taking off ramps too fast, and highway cruising. My favorite 6th gen wheel of all time was/is the OEM 1LE wheel, so when Camaro6 member @lewylew had some new take offs for sale, I immediately scooped them up. I ended up adding the OEM carbon fiber/black fuel door too to go with the new wheel/tire setup.

I gave the setup a real test the following weekend during a rather spirited cruise to support the Larz Andersen Auto Museum. Both a Ferrari 612 and "Eleanor" from Gone in 60 Seconds both tried to dust me off along the twisty back roads, and that sure as heck was NOT happening!

[Joshinator99]

So 2021 car work got a big detour when the wife and I decide to upgrade our house...! I thought when the kids grew up you were supposed to down size...?!? The bonus of the "new" house is a nice big 3 car garage. With 10 foot ceilings and nice big doors, there is plenty of room for activities.

The first step is to upgrade the floor, which was about 10 years old with the rest of the garage. It had settled and had a few cracks, so I hired a company to use 2-part epoxy to fill & seal the cracks, then do a 3 step epoxy coating to the floor.

I had my guys install a mini split HVAC and a WiFi access point in the garage too, using underground conduit to tie into the main house router.

[Joshinator99]

So, a minor purchase of a house (and major renovation of said 1840 Greek Revival) wasn't going to stop me from keeping the mod train going! With a ton of power on tap, the suspension needed additional work. I had done the cradle lockout previously, but added the BMR diff lockout, all 6 control/trailing arms, and rear toe bars. The difference in construction between the cheap stamped steel OEM crap and the BMR stuff is day and night! The BMR stuff makes the car feel so much more planted at all times. I also took the time to have the brake fluid flushed and an alignment done, both of which were sorely needed.

[Joshinator99]

With things under control, it was time to address the elephant in the room. The LT4 stuff just wasn't cutting it. I tried a DW400 in tank but saw little improvement. The JMS had helped some, but still not going to do what I wanted. So I went full bore and ordered up the Fore Innovations triple in-tank fuel pump from Chris @ Crawford Racing. And I was glad I had bought it from him, as he had some great install advice for the guys at NextGen. But that only covers the low side, so I added the LPE BB HPFP and LPE LT4+52% injectors too.

Back to NextGen yet again! Eric @ NextGen has become quite an expert in dropping Camaro fuel tanks...! The triple in tank went in along with the massive -10AN supply line and -8AN return line, bypass regulator, and fuel filter assembly with pressure sensor mounting. The Fore kit also had FlexFuel sensor fittings too, allowing us to put the sensor in the return line (since it's too small to put in the supply line). Fore also provides a controller to control all 3 pumps. The 274 primary pump is activated by the stock FSCM line, while the two 285 pumps kick on upon detecting 4-5 psi of boost. Lastly, we dropped the Whipple pulley down to a 3.00" (from 3.25") in an attempt to get the blower to keep up with the motor.