newchevyman

iTrader: (15)

I figure it's time to make a build thread for my Camaro on this site. It's a 2002 Z28, 6-speed hardtop that is a true stripper car. Only option from the factory was a Monsoon stereo. I bought it August of last year with 8k miles. I was deployed when I found it in Raleigh, NC and had it shipped to Houston where it stayed with my parents until my return.


I finally returned and got to drive my car in December. The only imperfection it had was a hole in each door panel where crank windows used to be. The previous owner swapped over to power windows but left the original panels. It was much faster than my previous Trans Am despite having similar mods. The interior had no wear, all of the glorious 90s GM plastic looked brand new and the engine was clean enough to eat off of.
The car already had a K&N FIPK and Flowmaster muffler when I got it. I planned to swap the FIPK for a lid/SSRA setup and swap the muffler for Kooks headers/true duals as soon as I got the chance.



Not even a week after I had the car, it was struck by a deer seen in this thread. It took almost two months to get fixed though it was good as new when I got it back so I could finally start building.


I couldn't stand the snowflakes so I bought staggered 17" ZR1 wheels for a steal that were in excellent condition with very good tires.


I took it to the drag strip shortly after. It's definitely a 12 second car though with me at the wheel I could only muster a low 13 out of it. I had perfect traction in the 2/3/4 gears which can easily spin on the street. My only mods at the time were !sparetire/jack, SSRA/Lid, and a Flowmaster muffler (if that even counts). Best time wound up being a 13.1 and best trap was a 110.1 but don't have pictures of those time slips. The 13.3@109.4 below was on the same day.



I bought an SLP grille just before they were discontinued and a skip shift eliminator. Installed them and the following weekend I got out of the military. On the way home I stopped at my grandparents and waxed it. This is my favorite picture of the car.


The car went through a drought as far as mods go for several months until I got a stable civilian job. After getting settled with a job I bought Kooks 1 & 7/8" headers with their catted 3" true duals. I also bought poly motor mounts, plugs, and wires. Also bought a BMR panhard bar and relocation kit. I had a shop in Houston install the parts while I was out of town and do a basic tune to keep the SES from coming on after removing AIR. The only video I have is one by the shop. The seat of the pants difference is huge and the sound is amazing especially for a stock internal car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MygtwVrK6LY&feature=youtu.be I decided to sell the ZR1s. Despite them looking great, they were entirely too heavy. I bought a set of stock wheels for cheap to roll around on until I get a set of Billet Specialties Street Lites or RTs. I'm currently undecided but it'll be getting a DR in the rear. I know a slick or bias ply is best for a manual car and that will happen once it gets a rear.


I finally got a chance to run the car after the header/exhaust install at the track in Ennis, TX. It was a street night so no track prep and the knobby stock street tires are useless. I spun through first, second, and a little in third which led to a record breaking 2.9 60' and 13.9@112.2. With traction I'm confident this car will trap 114. The car will get into the 12s next season for certain.


Next up is a FAST 102/NW 102/TSP MAF/FTP 104 Lid. The FAST has already been sent to Tony Mamo for porting and the 'stealth' look so it will appear OEM. The lid will be in this week. The NW and MAF are already in my possession.



I plan to do a McLeod RST twin disk clutch with a lightweight flywheel and an ATI 10% UDP before year's end. I am doing my best to build this car right through doing my own research on what parts work best to make the most power. It will be staying N/A and getting heads/cam next year. Goal for the car is to trap 120.

I'd like it to trap 115 with just bolt-ons which I think is a reasonable goal with a tire. If it doesn't make it to 115 I'll begin doing 'wallet' lightweight mods like a VFN hood, MWC bumper supports/k-member, Shorai battery, etc until it gets there. Gears would be the logical choice but since I plan to get a 12 bolt in the future I don't see the point in spending any money on the 10 bolt. I'll make a mod list in the following post that I will continue to update as the car comes along.

Z28RS

I really like this thread! Thanks for starting it, and good luck with your build!

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like a plan! Any idea on the head/cam setup?

newchevyman

iTrader: (15)

I appreciate the kind words!

Heads will be AI 243s with a mild cam. I've been kicking around doing a 383 stroker as well. I have to finish bolt-ons before I start looking into doing either but I think spending the money on my supporting mods is going to payoff when the time comes. The lightweight wheels and clutch will help too.

that_ef

iTrader: (5)

You are pretty much headed the way i was going to go until i decided i miss boost. nice car and set up.

97_ek

iTrader: (5)

First off, thanks for serving.

Secondly, very cool ride with unbelievably low miles. Should be a really nice car with the mods that you've started with.

newchevyman

iTrader: (15)

Thanks man, I replied to your thread. Silver is the fastest color for sure!

Thanks for the kind words. I bought a McLeod RST yesterday. I'm so close to being full bolt-ons, can't wait to get everything installed!

newchevyman

iTrader: (15)

I finally got my car's interior one step closer to how it came from the factory. As mentioned in the original post, the car came with crank windows from the factory but the previous owner swapped to power windows. The switch panel had power lock switches as well but they didn't function. It also left a hole in the door panel where the crank used to poke through. I've had all the parts to do the swap for awhile and finally did it this weekend. The strange thing is whoever did the swap put in power door lock actuators with proper wiring and literally just left the driver side unplugged. I was on a time crunch so I haven't yanked all the wiring yet but I did get the cranks swapped over successfully. My switch delete panels have a slight mismatch off a different year Camaro so I'll have to get one from my year model. I'll probably wind up getting it blended into the door handle eventually as well. P4C:

CamericaSS

nice Camaro man, one hell of deal with the low miles! also thanks for your service to our great nation, i greatly appreciate it! i am subscribing to this thread, cause i'm going to do similar stuff with mine.

newchevyman

iTrader: (15)

Thanks!

McLeod RST came in today:



Bought my flywheel yesterday and should have everything installed next week.

FlyArmy

Very nice car. I will be following you also. Thank you for your service to our great country. I am a fellow soldier and did 30 years of service before buying my first Camaro SS last January after I retired. I look forward to a full review of your clutch.

newchevyman

iTrader: (15)

Congrats on a well deserved purchase!

The clutch and flywheel take forever to break in but I felt comfortable beating on it around ~400 miles of mostly city driving and some highway. Just by seat of the pants it feels significantly faster especially from a low roll. It's much more responsive. Launching can be finicky as I expected but it's not bad. The first WOT pull I was surprised how much harder it pulled so I'm happy with it.

I received my Mamo ported FAST 102 yesterday. It looks great and will be put on here in the next couple of weeks. I'm going to swap in an LS2 water pump to provide clearance for my NW 102 so I don't have to grind the stock one. I may do an EWP in the future but this will work for now. Only thing left is an ATI 10% pulley and I'll be done with bolt-ons. I'll do suspension, tires, and rear before I throw heads/cam on it.

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

good stuff man i told you that it would be awesome. he 102 combo can be a little tricky to tune especially with a might clutch with a cam but on the stock cam it may not be as bad as mine was.

i made the decision to order a set of lca's now to help with traction as i have none lol. i wanted to do aluminum J&M lca's that weighed 2.5lbs as opposed to the 9lb stockers but they only make them in rod ends which would be way too noisy for me being a dd. I settled on BMR chromoly non adjustables with rubber bushings that weigh about 6 lbs.

no one but bmr makes a non-adjustable arm in chromoly so my options were limited to an extent but they are a great company so its still a win

fengstang

iTrader: (2)

looking good so far

Tony @ Mamo Motorsports

Better pic of my "Stealth" mod ported FAST.....LOL

The street race guys love it!

(It looks really OEM with a ported factory TB installed on it!)



Nick.....good luck with the combo

You know where to reach me if you need anything else



Cheers,
Tony

scotty2000ss

iTrader: (2)

Good job Tony!

newchevyman

iTrader: (15)

Glad to hear about the LCAs. They will be the first suspension bit when the bolt-ons are done. Next year will be good for my little old Z28.

Thanks!

Yes, that is a much better picture haha. I'll be sure to take pics once it's installed that are not blurry and crappy.

Outthahole

Nice ride and great low mileage find! You should get into the 12's no problem with the new mods! a 1.9 60ft. would help a lot too!

Tuskyz28

That intake is go fool the best of the best. Looks like it came from GM!!

newchevyman

iTrader: (15)

Thanks! It had a 12 in it before headers I'd just never driven it to one. I've never been to the track on anything besides basically worn street tires. My 315 street tires hooked well but I never got to the track with them on unfortunately. You are correct, a 1.9 would go a long way and it'll happen in due time. Track opens Feb 28th so I'll be ready!

I love how stock it looks. Once I get the intake tract installed it will look stock besides the FTP lid. I'm not trying to hide mods or go for a sleeper look I've always been a fan of keeping things OEM appearing.