I am the proud owner of a 76 Camaro Sport Coupe.... The car was something I actually fell into.. I bought it for $300 about 3 years ago, with a rod through the block. My plans were to put a remanufactured $325 short block in it, get it running and sell it. So I purchased the short block for $325 in Abilene Texas. It was a stock, cast dish piston, .60 over, 350. The blown motor that was on it before had a torker II intake, quadrajet, and flow-tech headers, so all of those got re-used..

Well after I got it running, a friend of mine asked me to race his 72 Nova... So I did, and he basically wiped the road with me. That was it, I was bitten by the "speed bug." The next day I ordered: A new Carb, 3.90 gears, comp magnum 292H cam, new valve springs, and a NOS nitrous kit... Everyone told me I was stupid for running nitrous on it, but what's $325, right? After the heads were machined for the new springs, I put everything together and hauled it to the track. The combo with a 100 shot and radial TA tires ran a crappy 14.4.... Spinnin on one wheel like a son of a bitch...

Still wanting more power I went even crazier. Over the last year I've bolted on: Dart pro1 aluminum heads, Dart single plane intake, Eaton posi, Harland Sharp Roller Rockers, Hughes 3500 stall converter, 26x10.5 ET streets on Draglites, and a ****load more stuff... This car, with the bone stock dish cast piston bottom end now runs mid-11's, with a best of 11.34@119... I'm in Amarillo Texas, and our Elevation is 3,671 ft... This motor has been down the track around 80-90 passes, and had been running strong for 2 years. I am not saying it's strong, I'm just wondering when the hell it's gonna melt a piston, break a rod, or spin a bearing.. lol..

A new all forged bottom end is going to be completed for it in mid-October, so I'll have to retire the 8.5:1 beast.. lol... Here's some video of the car:

http://amarilloracers.com/webvids/11.49.wmv
http://amarilloracers.com/webvids/camarostang.wmv

There's a bunch more cool videos at http://amarilloracers.com/videos.htm

AmarilloRacers.Com is a local site with a small forum, check it out if you like...

 

Hey, thats one quick car! Very impressive, you must be mighty proud of your budget combo. Those videos are cool, looks like you have a very nice Camaro there.

Are you still running that 292 Comp cam?

 

Thanks for the compliments..

Currently the cam is still in the car, but the new one will have a Comp Nitrous HP cam.. I should be pullin the old engine here in the next few weeks..

I checked out your car too.. Badass ride man! I definitely like the silver.. Sounds like a pretty good combo you're runnin... Definitely scoots!

 

Thanks. I should update the page, since all those pics were taken at the previous owners house when I first bought the car.

How much nitrous are you running to get in the low-11's? Do you run window switches to knock out some timing when you're on the bottle? And, how quick is the car now off the unit?

Just curious.

 

Currently I'm not running any type of timing control... I just have it dialed in at 30 degrees total, which makes for a pretty good retard. With the timing that retarded, it really does hurt streetability, cause it's really hard not to bog it off idle, but that's also why it's still running, (the timing retard that is...) Off the bottle it runs low to mid 13's... I'm currently running a 180 shot on it to get those times. With the new setup I'm planning on running a MSD Digital 6 ignition, with an extra stage of timing retard, along with a NX Gemini Quad dual stage nitrous system... I will also be running a dedicated fuel system to the nitrous.

I'd like to see more pics of your interior... Did you bend the back two strut bars on the Roll Bar yourself??? I bent mine in the exact same place. Those drag seats look pretty smooth... I'm also looking for the fiberglass lower veilance panel that goes under the bumper across the front if you know where one is... Thanks.

 

I'll hunt around locally for that valance panel you need. I'll let you know if I find one for ya.

I'll get some more detailed pics of the interior on my webpage once I get a digital camera.

Sounds like your machine is on its way to being a serious race car. I've heard good things about NX nitrous systems. Maybe next year I'll put a nitrous system on the car for grins.

No, I didn't put the cage in the car. That was done before I bought it by a previous owner. It's an 8-point 4130 chome moly cage, good to 10.00's. The guy that built the car before I got it went a 10.77/128 with a 355" on a 200-shot, if I recall right. That engine had a big nitrous-grind solid lifter cam, Victor Jr. heads and 13:1 compression. The car also has rectangle bar tubing for custom subframe connectors, which are welded through the floor on both sides. It is a very stiff car, but also a little heavy at 3800 lbs with driver.

 

Yep, I understand the weight thing.. And what sucks for me is that I weigh just a little over 300... Yep, I'm a big bastard..lol.. I'm going to be working on putting Aluminum body mounts, and rebuilding the front suspension after I pull this engine... Then we will begin bolting the new one in... I'm definitely looking to run mid 10's next season in this badboy.

 

Don't forget about the side beams in the doors, they are pretty heavy in their own right. With a rollcage, they really aren't needed. I plan to cut mine out as a winter project.

I hear ya on the weight thing - I'm a 270-pounder myself, although I did manage to get down to 255 over the summer. That didnt last long though, I'm back up to about 260 already.

I'm going to try to run an 11.90 before the race season ends.

 

Nice car. That car moves pretty good now. 10's shouldn't be a problem.

I have a question about your current 180 hp shot of spray.
Can you give more details on the specifics to make that run now.
I am curious cause that's a healthy shot of juice and you said your not running a seprate fuel system for it. Can you also talk more about your timing setup (initial timing, stock or not distributor, any progressive controler?)

I have a similiar motor to the one your building and I will be installing a NX HitMan system early next year and I want to be as informed as possible.

Thanks bro!

 

My fuel system consists of an Edelbrock street Mechanical fuel pump, and a 750 cfm Holley Double Pumper. The rest is stock.... Tank, lines, everything.. I currently don't even have a regulator on it. I have a fuel pressure guage and it flucuates from 6-9psi...

My ignition setup consists of a stock GM HEI distributor, with an MSD module, advance curve kit, and Hypertech cap and coil...

I'm not running any progressive controller, just a full throttle activation switch... I shoot 180 shot off the line (on stock axles )

Initial timing sits at about 4-5 degrees advanced at 800 rpm... Running it this retarded really does make it crappy off Idle, but as far as the dragstrip goes, from launch to traps, it never sees less than 3000 rpm, so the off-idle bog is never noticed.

Your engine would definitely handle a pretty good shot of nitrous, but the dedicated fuel system would be a good idea. Also some sort of ignition system with a single stage retard for the nitrous would help streetability.

I built the new engine with 4340 crank, 4340 rods, JE nitrous pistons, and nitrous rings.... It's going to be a flat 10.0:1.... The pistons (according to JE) should handle 500+ nitrous, but I kinda wonder about block integrity at that level. I am going to dual stage it: launch it with 175 shot, and increase it to a 300 shot...

I am also adding new ignition, dedicated fuel system, moser axles, caltracs, aluminum body mounts, and other things that I'll find I need on the way... lol...

 

thanks for going into detail on that for me.

Some specifics on my current setup and my future nitrous setup.

Current... 383 w/ forged crank, arp bolts, speed pro forged slugs @ 10.5:1, Pro 1 heads w/ stage II porting, CC solid 248/258 @.050, Holley 800 DP, Team G single plane w/ 2" riser.
TH350 trans w/ 3k stall, 12 bolt w/ posi 3.73s.

The car "should run mid 12's at around 109ish but that is a pretty conservative estimate. It's just that everytime I get to the track, I find out that something different is holding the car back. Last time was the distributor. Haven't been able to dip into the 12's yet.

Like I said previously, I plan on throwing a Hitman kit or similiar on there and I want it to be done right. It seems that the only precautions you have taken were the throttle switch and retarded initial timing. Am I correct?

So if I set the nitrous up with it's own fuel system (gasoline) and use an adjustable timing control unit then I should be good to go. Right?

Heavy

 

I have a similar low buck bottom end running similar times.

My car is a 76 camaro with a 6 point cage
th350 manual valve,9" 3500 stall.
4.56's out back with a spool and c-clip eliminators.

Motor is a 355 with a stock crank,rods(arp fasteners),KB hyper slugs. Im running a lunati solid roller,with trick flow heads.
Vic jr intake with a chuck nuytten 825.

The car runs a pretty consistant 11.95 to 12.10@114 on the motor and has run a best of 10.97 on a 125 shot(usually comes on about the 50-60ft mark).

The car has 2 summers on it and it stull runs the same time it did when new. Still has great compression and uses NO oil.

I run this thing through the traps at 7k with a 29" tire.

I tell people what it is and they say its a time bomb.... Well I thought the same thing 2 years ago and its still going strong.

I guess if you see a mushroom cloud next summer around northern Iowa......smile because it was me :-)

 

Heavy Chevy: Yeah, you should have no problems if you go with a dedicated fuel system, and adjustable timing control... Just don't forget to adjust it retarded before you spray....

BIGBADBOWTIE: Kickass man.... At least you've got Hypereutectic pistons, mine are cast.. lol... My pistons retail for $8.95 a piece.. lol.. I'm also on stock rod bolts... hehe.. Mine is a time bomb as well, and as long as I don't screw up a head, then I won't be disappointed when it grenades.. Mad props for runnin a 76... Not a significant year for the Camaro, but It's what I've got, and I love it.. Do you have any pictures of the car??? What elevation is it that you run at??? I'm sure your hyper pistons are flat tops, and you're probly at about 10.5:1 correct?? How do you like the 4.56's??? I'm at 3.90's, but I drive my car on the street... What tires do you run??? I'm on 26x10.5 ET streets, and I spray 180 shot off the line... I'll bet that will knock a few tenths off your time, but it's hard as heck on stuff..... Your car sounds pretty damn tough...

 

DDDOOHHHH... fat fingers..... its a 78 Z. Don't know why I put 76.

Im also running a dedicated NOS fuel pump.. Im running 2 Holley Blues, one for engine one for NOS side. I don't run a control box or anything either. I run a micro switch off of the throttle arm. It comes on at WFO. I run the timing on the street locked at 38-40 and back it down to 35-36 in the gas.

Your correct on the comp ratio... she runs great on pump gas.

The car is not very street worthy with 4.56's but I drive it on the street none the less. At 55 the old girl is turning 3500 rpm. In the summer I drive it on the weekends and some during the week.

As far as tires I run a BFG Drag radial. They hook pretty good. Im running a set of custom ladder bars with ssm frame connectors.

The plans are to swap out the short block to a roller 406,hog out the heads.. and let it eat. I think the 406 with a longer strong will pull the lower gear and not hurt my times.


Ill get some pics scanned tonight and Ill post them tomarrow.

 

The plans are to swap out the short block to a roller 406,hog out the heads.. and let it eat. I think the 406 with a longer strong will pull the lower gear and not hurt my times.

A 406 with the setup you currently have will rock your world.

These engines are awesome - big block torque in a small block package. I have a really mild cheap hydraulic cam in my 413 and even at 3800+ lbs I've run a 12.15/110.52 with stamped-steel rocker arms, stock 1.94/1.50 valves and Vortec truck heads.

With your parts a 406 should be a flyer.