As we breathed a sigh of relief at finishing our '64 Malibu project car known around here as Malitude, we thought, wouldn't it be fun to build something that a lot more people could duplicate without a second mortgage on the home? One of the controlling factors with Mark Stielow's twin-turbo Malibu was to keep it within reach of the seasoned home builder, but on the ragged edge of affordable. That made it a lot more accessible than, say, a $250,000 show car from Troy Trepanier, but with a build cost well over $50,000 (not including Mark's own substantial labor) it still is a stretch for most folks.
While work on the Malibu was finishing up, a few more things came into focus. The first factor was the catastrophic elimination of California's rolling smog exemption for cars 30 years old and older. The second thing was my desire to build my first ever g-Machine from vintage sheetmetal. I figured there are a lot of people out there either attempting their first serious car build (like myself), or there are experienced car builders assembling their first g-Machine.
The g-Machine movement is something we're intimately familiar with--in fact, PHR is the home of the g-Machine. A statement like that begs for a definition: a g-Machine is a street-legal car that accelerates like a rocket, turns corners like it's on rails, and stops on a dime. It also has a look and a stance that says "I mean business!" Going fast in a straight line is important, but all-around balance is the controlling principle.
It didn't take long to settle on a project vehicle--a '70-'81 Camaro. In that twelve-year period, Chevrolet stamped out 1,936,869 units. To put that into perspective, if split evenly between all PHR readers, each of you could have 12 of them! And with the going price, chances are, you could afford all 12 of them too. These cars haven't seen the shameful price gouging of the earlier '67-'69 Camaros, but some of them--namely the '70 to '73 cars--are starting to command big bucks.
That leaves the disco-era Camaros of '74 to '81. Other than cosmetic changes, these cars are identical under the skin and can take all the same speed goodies as their more sought-after '70-'73 stablemates. (That includes big-block swaps too!) And given the sheer number of cars (over 1.5 million units between '74 and '81) you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a performance part for a second-gen Camaro. So, these cars are plentiful and cheap, and there are a ton of parts available for them.
From an aesthetic standpoint, I'm a bigger fan of the '74 -'77 style. These cars have cleaner lines than the later '78 -'81 models, but some people will like the scoops, fins and decals of the later cars better. Before we started searching for a potential project car, a few parameters needed to be set. Price was the main concern. Getting a mint low-miles car for $10,000 was out of the question, so we decided we could live without a clean interior or a perfect powertrain. We did want a V-8 (for the engine dress) and we did want straight bodywork that was all one color. We figured a rusted or banged-up body would cost more in the long run when it came time to repair and paint. Since we were going to yank the engine and trans eventually (and put a new interior in it), these items didn't need to be perfect.
We found the internet to be a great tool for finding second-generation Camaros. Two sites in particular, collectorcartraderonline.com and recycler.com, were regular hang-outs for about two months. On any given day you can find over 100 second-gen Camaros for sale online between these two sites. We called on a bunch of them, but we ended up buying a '76 Camaro which belonged to Bill Lucht. This second-owner car had been a Southern California car since day one and was well-maintained by the owner. We stole the 305 automatic car for $2,300 and drove it home without incident. The interior is shot, the motor is weak, the radio doesn't play and air conditioning doesn't blow cold, but it runs like a Timex. There are a few small issues with the body, but they are minor. The main thing is there is little rust, the sheetmetal is straight and it's all one color--Firethorn in our case.
After driving it a few months to make sure it wasn't going to blow up, we booked our test facility at California Speedway in Fontana to get some baseline performance numbers. We weren't looking for awe-inspiring numbers, but we weren't afraid to push the car to the max--even break it if necessary--in order to find the limit. Simply put, we abused this car like gangsters from Compton. We didn't get great numbers, but the jalopy did survive and we did drive it home. The quarter mile leisurely strolled by in 17.63 seconds (78.6 mph trap speed). On the 420-ft. slalom course, we negotiated the cones with a maximum speed of 40.3 mph, which is pretty lousy for a Camaro, but pretty good for an SUV. In the braking test, the Camaro slowed down from 60 mph in exactly 216.9 feet--fairly scattering a group of on-lookers who thought they were well out of harm's way. The final test--the 200-foot skidpad--had a cartoon-like quality (see photo) as it met with limited success in a quest for traction. Lateral road holding was limited by small tires and an overstressed suspension to .69g counter clockwise and .71g clockwise.
The good news about the drive home is that we drove home. The bad news is that it was humbling. We knew the car was slow, but now we knew that is was really slow by every yardstick imaginable. We mentally ordered the parts and heard the sound of cash registers ringing. This would be no simple task. We threw out grandiose plans for overdrive transmissions, electronic fuel injection, power adders or anything that would over-burden the budget. The idea from here on out would be to make it simple, make it functional, and make it last. A strong smog-legal naturally-aspirated stroker motor that runs all day on pump gas would be the centerpiece of the powertrain. We'll back that with a bulletproof version of the Turbo 350 trans that's in it now. We'll run the stock 10-bolt rear until it breaks. Real brakes will go inside bigger wheels and tires and a razor-sharp suspension will replace the worn-out stock parts. The interior, paint and trim will be addressed way down the line after we get it functioning right and after we've beaten the crap out of the car. We'll test the parts we install with every part of the build-up, so you'll know whether they really work.
Optimistically, we think we can get where we want to be for under $20,000, including the price of the car (see chart for an estimate of expenses). The goal will be to build a street-legal g-Machine which will pass both visual and tailpipe emissions testing in California. We want to run 12s on motor with pump gas, stop repeatedly from 60 mph in under 120 feet (without fade), run the 420-ft. slalom at over 46 mph, and push average skidpad number to at least .90g. If $20K sounds like a lot, just remember how much Mark Stielow or Troy Trepanier can spend on a car. We think our budget is about right, given most guys will build a car over a four or five year period. ($300 a month in parts sounds about right.) Obviously, we'll be accelerating the build so we can get the results to you quicker, but just know it will take longer with a normal spending pace.
The biggest chunk of cash will get dropped on the motor, which we figure will run close to 7 Gs (long-block, carb, headers, cat-back exhaust) and make a legit 450 smog-legal horsepower. (The hard part!) If we can get there for less, we'll do it, but sacrificing long-term reliability for a low-buck Russian roulette motor isn't going to save any money in the long run. We want to thrash this thing at Buttonwillow or Fontana in 100 degree heat, then drive it home.
We've already ordered up the first batch of parts--a complete Super Front-End kit from PST along with new KYB shocks, PST body mount bushings, a PST G-Max front swaybar, PST Polygraphite leaf spring pads, and PST drop springs. This will then be the basis for future chassis stiffening. (You can't hang new parts on a sloppy chassis!) New Falken FK-451 tires are also here, as are Weld 18-inch Pro Star XP wheels. Including the car, we've spent $6,189 so far. We'll have the installation and a new round of track testing in the May issue.
We know a lot of guys out there with second-gen Camaros will be watching. We can't forget the legion of Firebird and Trans Am fans either; they can share virtually every part we'll be testing save the engine stuff. This is going to be really cool, so buckle up and enjoy the ride!
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 To collectors, the '74 - '81...  To collectors, the '74 - '81 Camaro is an unloved vintage. With strict smog laws taking over, horsepower took a nosedive. As a result, they were hardly taken seriously as performance machines. On the positive side, GM built 1.5 million Camaros in those 8 years, making it one of the most common cars in history. Fortunately, the aftermarket makes plenty of parts for them due to the fact they are identical under the skin to the more desirable '70 - '73 models. This photo is from a 1974 dealership brochure. |
 In our search for the perfect...  In our search for the perfect project car, we ran across this '74. At $1,500, the price was right, but there was plenty of body filler, rust and the remnants of aftermarket "opera windows" which had been later removed and patched over. We passed. Two weeks later, Hot Rod editor David Freiburger looked at it with an eye towards fixing it up, but he passed on it too. |
 We made use of many used car...  We made use of many used car Web sites to find our candidate cars such as collectorcartraderonline.com and recycler.com. Prices can range anywhere between $300 for a no-title parts car to over $20,000 for a finished show car. We found pristine unmolested perfect-running examples of '74-'77 models (the one we were after) for under $10,000, but we didn't find the sweet spot until we located Bill Lucht's '76 Camaro for $2,300. It ran fine, smoked very little, but most importantly, it had a very solid body with okay-for-magazine paint. Bill was the second owner and had taken very good care of it over the years. |
 Our new '76 Camaro is a V-8...  Our new '76 Camaro is a V-8 car, specifically, it has RPO code LG-3 which is a 140-hp 305-cid small-block. We wanted a V-8 car to start out with so we could reuse the ancillary equipment like brackets, hoses, valve covers, cooling system, air cleaner, and accessories. Since our '76 will not be exempt from visual inspections and tailpipe smog tests, it will be important to keep a stealthy appearance. We're not sure exactly what we'll retain and what we'll throw away, but it's nice to have all the original parts to start out with. We're still figuring out what we're going to do with the engine, but we're leaning towards a mostly stock-looking pump-gas stroker motor--probably a 383. We'll probably use smog-legal headers (if we can find them!), intake, carburetor and a small smog-legal cam. When we do the exhaust, we'll get a new high-flow catalytic converter. As this is a '76 model, there is no smog pump, which is a plus. |
 The red Firethorn interior...  The red Firethorn interior was mostly shot, the driver's seat taking most of the brunt. Since we're building a g-Machine, a seat with lots of lateral support will be mandatory. A fresh interior will be a long way out because we want to nail the performance before we attack the cosmetics. |
 Second-generation Camaros...  Second-generation Camaros are actually pretty comfortable. The clamshell console makes a nice storage space, but ours is pretty spanked. We'll replace it down the line, but for now we're going ghetto. |
 The console shifter is connected...  The console shifter is connected to a Turbo 350 trans, which we plan on keeping. We may rebuild what we have or swap in a fresh one depending on what's out there. A higher stall converter will also get the nod. We have decided to keep everything simple and that means retaining the factory engineering wherever possible. We may go with an aftermarket shifter if we think it will look right in the console. A little fabrication to make it look right will make a big difference. Our stereo was DOA, but that will have to wait. |
 Our '76 was equipped with...  Our '76 was equipped with the optional "flow through" muffler. (Note the rust holes!) It sounds really horrible and runs even worse. The only good thing about it is that we're starting with a completely stock car, so as we upgrade components you'll get a true idea of the performance improvement. |
 Here's our '76 Camaro in all...  Here's our '76 Camaro in all its stone-stock glory. For $2,300, we got a remarkably straight California car. When we bought it, we did bring along a strong magnet and detected a few places with body filler, Nevertheless, the repairs were well-hidden; the work was done competently and we can live with it for a while until we go full-bore with body and paint. |
 There is no rust under the...  There is no rust under the car, mostly because a steady spray of engine oil and trans fluid (topped by a nice coating of dust) has done a beautiful job of preserving the metal from oxidation. One thing needing attention is the seals and weather stripping. They're all cracked or missing. |
 Super Chevy publisher and...  Super Chevy publisher and car enthusiast Tim Foss broke out the California Car Duster for our jalopy at Fontana Speedway on the day we performed all our baseline performance tests. An avid Costco shopper, Foss immediate recognized our Kirkland whitewall radials and dubbed the owner--PHR editor Johnny Hunkins--the "Kirkland Cowboy." Those tires will be history after we mount our new Falken tires on 18-inch Weld Pro Star wheels! |
 Thanks to an open rearend,...  Thanks to an open rearend, our lame 305 V-8 was quite capable of torrid one-wheel burnouts! Try as we might, we could neither blow the tire nor grenade the engine. |
 With only 140 horsepower on...  With only 140 horsepower on tap (and we're being charitable!) no wheelspin was encountered--even with an open rearend. Our best ET: 17.63 seconds at 78.6 mph. Zero to 60 mph registered a glacial 10.25 seconds. |
 The 420-ft. slalom test is...  The 420-ft. slalom test is a good measure of a car's transient response, turn-in and overall handling. The faster you can make it through six 70-ft. gates, the better. Our best run with stock (205/70R14) tires, wheels, steering and suspension was 40.3 mph. Translation: pretty much everything on the road can dog our jalopy. |