1973 Chevy Camaro - Bitten By The Boost

It all started 10 years ago when Rob was in high school. He was the typical high school student, who skated by the seat of his pants. He only really ever enjoyed his auto shop class, and paid just enough attention in his other classes to pass. Then it happened.

Rob recalls when he first saw his '73 Camaro: "The shop teacher's assistant owned the car. I always liked it, but I couldn't afford it." The weeks and months of his senior year came and went. The car was always there, but Rob had written it off as something that just wasn't meant for him. When he returned home from walking across the graduation stage, his parents surprised him with the car. It was waiting for him at home. Those are some cool parents!

The car was already modified when he received it. The Camaro sported a 383ci engine, a TH350 auto trans, and a blue paintjob with white racing stripes. Did we mention how cool his parents are? It didn't take Rob long to land the car at a dragstrip. Running low 13s, he was hooked. Every chance he got, he brought the Camaro to the track. He also started tuning and trying different components to shorten the trip down the quarter-mile.

"Like most gearheads, I can't leave anything alone, so I started collecting parts to do a V-8 and five-speed swap," Rob says. "On Craigslist I found a turbo kit for a Mustang. I started reading and talking to people. I realized that this turbo kit had the potential to make 800 or 900 hp. It really opened my eyes."

After having quite a bit of success building a turbo Mustang, Rob decided to take the components and everything he learned, and apply it to his second-generation F-body. This was a major tear up for the car. Rob said he gave up on it plenty of times when he got frustrated over a part not fitting right, or if things did not go the way he thought they would. Whether it was his friends' encouragement or his ultimate determination, he kept coming back to it and eventually got the car back on the road.

An all-new 408ci small-block was put together as a turbo engine. Rob started with a Dart block. Then he selected Pro Action aluminum cylinder heads and CP pistons for an 8.5:1 compression ratio- perfect for copious amounts of boost. He had Kenny Duttweiler grind a custom camshaft and used all roller valvetrain gear to control the gasses. He anticipated massive pressure on the bottom end, so a Kryptonite billet crank was selected along with Oliver billet connecting rods.

The real work on the engine started when Rob got to the induction system. He went with Monster Garage on an Edelbrock Super Victor intake, welding on fuel-injection bungs and making a few other mods to prep it for life as an EFI intake on a turbo V-8. BigStuff3 delivered the EFI components and controller needed to spray enough fuel to keep up with demands this engine would call for. Then he had Don Bailey of DCB Enterprises tune the system. Rob used an 88mm Precision GT-47 turbo and fabricated the tubing necessary to connect it to the custom-built headers, the 60mm HKS GT2 wastegate, and the air-to-air intercooler.

The front suspension received quite a bit of care. If you haven't noticed by now, Rob likes things to look good and perform well. "Appearance, lightweight, and performance is what I look for in parts. If I can get two or three in one component, I'll usually buy the part," Rob says. So when he pitched the inner fenderwells to shave some pounds, he realized that the stock, stamped upper control arms looked like hell, and were right there on either side of all of his custom fabrication work. A set of Global West tubular arms was just what the style doctor ordered. Rob modified the stock Camaro spindles to accept Z06 Corvette disc brakes, and used Calvert racing shocks with Moroso Trick coil springs to make the front suspension transfer weight to the rear when the car launches.

The interior continues the tasteful combination of form and function, and also shows the progression from high schooler to a more mature and refined student. Early on in Rob's ownership of the car, he realized that going lightweight was the cheapest way to go faster, so the factory dash, seats, and just about everything else that could be unbolted or cut out of the interior was pitched. When the car came back together in its current form, he wanted to put a factory dash back in the car, and restore a bit of the inside street character of the car. Of course, a full dash wouldn't fit with the rollcage, and putting it back to stock just wasn't going to happen. Rob found a place that had done a mold for fiberglass dashboards for second-generation Camaros. They didn't sell any of them because the finish on them wasn't very good, but he talked them into sending him a couple. He had Scott's Speed & Custom smooth and paint it. Although he originally wanted more of a factory look, he says that the factory-inspired, but still race-custom look turned out to be even better than he thought it would. Next, he realized that the battalion of Auto Meter gauges that had lived in the previous aluminum-panel dash wouldn't fit in the new one. So he opted for a RacePak multi-page UDX display. Four different pages show all of the info he wants to keep tabs on with user-set warning lights. Definitely one of the more unique pieces in the interior, Rob gets a lot of comments on his choice of instrumentation. An AMS1000 turbo control unit also sits in the dash where the original gauges would have been. Rob installed Kirkey racing seats, laid down custom carpeting, and crafted door panels to make this racer look and feel a bit more sophisticated.

Along the way, the Camaro was painted silver with blue racing stripes. Rob also added a one-of-a-kind carbon-fiber RS nose and Harwood cowl-induction hood. The rear of the car sports a custom parachute mount built by Zimmerman Motorsports, while the rest of the body and trim work is original décor.

Rob is pretty happy with the car, but he still has a few more modifications in mind. "The car was pretty successful with a small turbo and air-to-air intercooler," he says "It made about 1,200 hp. Now I want to make 2,000." So Rob's in the process of upgrading to a 106mm turbo and is working with Deeds Performance on a whole new intercoolering system. Not to mention, he grenaded the rearend since the car was photographed and is thinking about changing transmissions too.