Sera's '80 LQ9 Camaro

[gothicsera]

I bought this car back in 2011, having always hankered after a 2nd gen F-body. The intention was to keep it on the road and do little bits and pieces to it over the course of a few years and slowly get it upgraded into an everyday car.

That idea didn't last very long...

As soon as I dug into the car I discovered a lot of rust - perhaps unsurprising after finding out the car has been in the UK since 1982, with no rust protection whatsoever.

So I took it off the road and started what turned into 2 years of repairs.

When I bought the car, some bright spark had decided it would be a good idea to paint it like bumblebee... with a roller. Possibly the worst paint job I've seen. But the car was cheap.

It had a completely gutless 305 SBC fitted, which smoked a bit from the right bank. Other than that it drive OK, so I ran around in it for a couple of months.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

After digging around in it for a while I started to realise just how badly bodged it had been. It had 11 months MOT on it when I bought it... possibly given by someone with a labrador and white stick...

It turned out to be rotten, really rotten. But I'd paid so little for it, and I had the time on my hands and a welder... to just patch it up.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I ended up stripping the whole shell back to bare metal and cutting out every piece of rot I could find. The only panel that I didn't end up having to repair or replace was the roof.

After that the underside of the car was treated with Jotamastic, and the rest of the bodywork with 2k epoxy primer.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

In the mean time I collected the parts to build myself a pretty hot 350 SBC, bored it out .060 and fitted forged pistons and rods, good heads which I ported myself and a moderate cam. I dropped a Holley multi port injection manifold and throttle body on it and built an MS2 ecu for it

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I also did a few handling and structural upgrades while I was there. Including making some sub frame connectors, solid body mounts and some g-braces for the subframe to firewall. I also replaced the standard spindles and discs with A-body ones, 1" bigger for a bit more stopping power. Poly bushes, large anti roll bars and lowering springs were also fitted.

After a lot of hours I finally has something ready to paint. And I chose hugger orange. Nothing like a subtle colour....!

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I also fitted a completely new interior, retrimmed the seats and made custom door cards.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[gothicsera]

After a while I got bored with the SBC and decided an engine upgrade was in order - so I chose to go down the LS route, using an LQ9 as a base.

Before getting too far into that I thought I better upgrade the axle and transmission. I chose a 12 bolt with 4.11 gears, steel shafts and Moroso brute strength posi

You must be registered for see images attach

And a 4L80E with some serious internal upgrades to handle all the power I could throw at it. Clutch pack upgrade, billet input shaft and clutch hub and lot of other mods.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I picked up the LQ9 at the NSRA swap meet in 2015 and set about piecing it together. Inlcuing porting the heads, skimming 0.050 off them, fitting a custom cam from Camotion, shortening the sump and lots of other stuff.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I also pieced together my own auxiliary drive set up for it, as I hate paying for stuff I can do myself!

Found out why my engine mounts didn't line up properly when I dropped my original engine in. The 'heavy duty' type engine mounts aren't correct for a Camaro - and they offset the mounting bolts by about 1/4". So I got hold of some of the correct mounts, which I will fit poly inserts into before I fit them to the car. Trouble is getting to the bolts is a complete nightmare.

One of the the last jobs I needed to do before I could actually put the engine and transmission in the car was to sort out the flex plate. I machined the back of my truck crank so that I could use the standard LS type flex plate as they are far more common and cheaper to buy than the flat ones. Only problem is they come drilled for the standard LS converter, which has something like an 11" PCD for the converter bolts.

Pics from when I modified my crank a few months ago...

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I have a 4L80E and a 'normal' converter for it which has the large 11.5" PCD for the bolts...No problem, I just marked out the flex plate and drilled another set of bolt holes between the others.

I've seen other people just elongate the holes in the plate, but I really didn't like that idea. You can see from the photo below just how far you'd have to go, as my converter has 6 bolt holes.

I might yet elongate the other holes and put bolts and large washers in just for the sake of it, although 3 bolts will be more than adequate.

You must be registered for see images attach

With that job done, there was nothing really stopping it all going into the car.

First job was remove the core support from the car - easy enough

You must be registered for see images attach

Next up was getting the engine off the stand and the flex plate fitted and the transmission bolted up. No real issues there except that I needed to tap the holes a little deeper in the crank and chop around 2mm off the bolts. I machined a truck crank and they aren't quite drilled as deep as the standard short car crank it seems. Thankfully I have a set of M11x1.5 taps handy...

You must be registered for see images attach

After that the transmission and converter were fitted with no real dramas.

That's when the fun started, as much my own fault as anything. The mounts wouldn't line up, but then I figured I'd assembled them wrong, oops. Never mind.

Oh and my transmission cross member fits right up...

You must be registered for see images attach

I reconfigured all of the mounts and put it all back together again. I also made a small adjustment to the idler arm and now have around 3/8" steering clearance! Yay!

Helped by a number of things, including moving the engine as far back as it will go on the mounts. I followed other peoples advice initially and set it in the 1" forward position. But I think it works nicely in the stock position.... this is using Hooker adapter plates.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

After that I got the transmission crossmember installed, this confirmed the transmission is in the same place as it was with the small block. If anything it's slightly further back...

The the driveshaft and a few other bits were hooked up.

The 1st gen headers just do not fit, so I need to get some second gen correct ones. More expense!

The oil pan that I modified hangs just below the crossmember - I made this to the same height as the CTS-V pan knowing that this would happen. I don't run the car too low anyway, so it should be fine.

You must be registered for see images attach

Next up I fitted the water pump and power steering pump, no real dramas there. The alternator is very close to the sub-frame but there is enough clearance for everything to work. I've left it off until I have primed the oil system as I need access to the port on the side of the block

You must be registered for see images attach

Last job was to refit the hood and chop a bit out to clear the intake, I'll need to cut some more once I have the hoses and filter fitted, but it should all sit under the scoop nicely

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[gothicsera]

I spent another day wiring again, and the engine is completely hooked up. Still have quite a lot more to do yet...

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

The car is at that stage where you can't really see where you've been working. Lots of silly little jobs that all take ages to sort.

I finished cutting a hole in the floor to clear the oil cooler lines on the 4L80E - downside of such a large transmission. I hammered out a domed aluminium cover plate for it and put a squirt of non-setting sealer round it before screwing it to the floor. Now if I ever need to get at the fittings I can do it without dropping the transmission out...!

You must be registered for see images attach

Next I fitted new body seals for the doors to replace the leaky ones. I did replace them with new when I rebuilt the car the first time, but they didn't last very long. I bought a different make this time and they seem much better. With the rain that's forecast for the rest of the weekend I expect I will find out if the new seals have fixed the problem, or not.

After that I finished off all of the dash wiring with a couple of minor exceptions and then refitted the carpet, dash, instruments etc.

You must be registered for see images attach

Got the fuel tank back in. Made the mount for the new fuel pump and prefilter.

Fitted the pushrods and the motor and primed the oil system through the port on the side of the block. Mounted the alternator and wired it up. Measured up for the belt too.

Mounted the solenoid in the trunk and hooked up the battery. Cranked it over to check I was getting a signal to the ECU and it all look ok so far. Had some issues the with the transmission controller, but seem to have fixed that.

Mounted the new wideband controller in the dash and tested it. All ok.

Refitted most of the interior, just need to fix the door handles and re-dye the backs of the seats. Put some polythene sheeting behind the door panels this time. Should keep them dry.

Also mostly finished plumbing the fuel system.

Managed to nab a pair of gear shift paddles for cheap too. Will be really easy to mount and they are super neat.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Got the core support cleaned up and painted - 2k epoxy primer and then satin black top coat. Looks much better now. Let it bake in the sun for a few hours and then refitted it.

Dropped the radiator back in and worked out the hoses for it, just need to get some clips, and also add a little bleed point in the top hose. Loads of clearance to the underside of the hood and it all worked out quite neat.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Was never happy with the g-braces I made the first time around, it was a rush job and they clashed with the hood hinges. So I cut them up and remade them - this time I didn't have the brake booster to worry about as I now have hydroboost.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[gothicsera]

Re-dyed the seat backs - I ran out of dye when I did them the first time so the red was still showing through.

Fixed the retractor on the passenger seat belt - was full of fluff and a bit tight. Cleaned it all up and rewound the spring, works really well now...

Fixed the door pulls/handles, cleaned the sticky old dye off them from the previous owner with cellulose thinners. Fixed the handles and then re-dyed them.

Finished the wiring of the front lights, also sorted out the washer pump and reservoir. Forgot to take a pic, it's all hidden up. Determined to make it clean and neat under the hood this time around.

Last job was giving it a quick clean. It had got a bit green having sat in the yard for 18 months, surprisingly still shiny underneath. Desperately needs a polish though.

I'm filling the time until my headers arrive now. Still have quite a lot of little jobs to do though, many that I should have done the first time around but never got around to.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Finished the paddle mount off properly, only 3 wires to run.

You must be registered for see images attach

The other area that I never really finished was the trunk. I finally bought a carpet for it and also made a panel to hide the battery away. All much neater now, but I still need to glue the carpet down. I cut some jute to fit under the carpet too, should keep the noise down on a longer journey. Not that road noise is my major issue!

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[gothicsera]

While it was correct to have original seats, they are a bit lacking in support, especially now I've got a few more horsepower. I've taken a few people out for a ride and they've spent most of the time looking for something to hold on to to stop them sliding around on the old seats.

I was looking for something retroish looking but more supportive. I spotted a set of leather Mk3 MR2 seats on eBay which were local to me and managed to win them for a sensible price. Bonus was they are from a LHD car so all of the adjustment is on the driver side seat as it should be.

There's a few little scuffs and marks on them, but I will re-dye them at somepoint, probably next winter.

They are incredibly supportive, have proper head restraints and offer more adjustment than the originals. So all round win really.

Took me most of the day to modify the runners and get them trial fitted. Took it for a drive and they are so much better.

Just need to re-paint the runners and they can be finally fitted.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

New converter is an FTI SRLT48082, 9.5", 4000rpm hard hit, billet front cover, lock up.

Hopefully that will wake it up a bit!

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Replaced my 2.5" mild steel exhaust today. It always been too low and it was really quiet with the Thrush mufflers.

Fitted a Pypes SGF13R - race pro mufflers and 3" stainless tubes. A bit tight around the gas tank and it took me the best part of a day to complete the swap.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Vid of the old exhaust


And heres the new one

 

[gothicsera]

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[df2x4]

Awesome project, great work! Thanks for sharing!

I've got an LQ9 Camaro planned sometime in the future, but I'm sure it won't be anywhere near this nice. Those exhaust videos... I need it in my life!

 

[gothicsera]

Thank you

Here's another video for you... still working on the tune, running about 5mph slower than I should be.

Skip to 56 secs for the run to start.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[OutlawDrifter]

thanks for sharing! fantastic craftsmanship, you are a true hot rodder!

 

[skylark]

Very nicely done! What intake manifold are you running?