Chevrolet Camaro 1967-2002 - Picked up my new 01' Camaro SS

Hey guys,

My name is David Kendrick, and I am new to this forum. I just bought an '01 BRR Camaro SS M6 with 88k miles this month! This is my first LS car, and I plan on having many more in the future. I was looking at an 05' GTO that was for sale on here before I got this Camaro, but this one already had mods that I wanted and I loved the way it looks (not to mention I have always liked Camaros). Now on to the mods:

Motor:

Stock Bottom End LS1
LS6 243 Heads
TSP 233/239 113 LSA Cam with Comp valvetrain
Meziere Electric Waterpump
FAST 92mm Intake
Nick Williams 92 mm throttle body
SVO 30lb Injectors
Pacesetter Coated Longtubes
Custom Exhaust (3" from headers to 4" Y-pipe, Magnaflow bullet muffler, and turns down)
Guy before me said it dynoed 430hp at the wheels. I have no charts or info to back that up unfortunately.

Transmission:

Tick Performance Stage 2 built T-56
Tick Performance Clutch Master Cylinder
Monster Stage 3 Clutch
Stock Hurst Shifter
Lou's Short Stick

Rearend:

Stock 10 Bolt with stock 3:42 gears
Trick Flow Girdle

Suspension/Wheels and Tires

3 Point Subframe Connectors
Eibach Pro-kit Springs
Drag Set-up: Centerline Split-Spoke Wheels 17X7 front, 15X10 rear (for sale with tires below and Aerospace brakes)
MT ET Streets on rear with BFG Gforce Sport Comp 2 in front
Street Set-up: Black ZR1 Replicas 17X11 Rear, 17X9.5 front with Nitto NT555.
UMI Adjustable Panhard Bar on the way to help clear my new wheels I ordered

Brakes

Aerospace Low Profile Pro-Street Rear Brakes to fit Centerline 15" wheels
Drilled/Slotted Front Brakes

Appearance

Painted Manta Stripe
Clear Corner Lights
Whistler Mod

I'm looking forward to seeing what all I can do with this car.

PICS:

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/53d5146e.jpg

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/9067834c.jpg

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http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/aa033f5a.jpg

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/e3343b48.jpg

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http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/7ab16145.jpg

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/5b43de24.jpg
By the way, I hope those pictures turn out right. I was a little confused on how to adjust the size. Let me know what you guys think!

Nice car man. Looks fun. Start saving for that 12 bolt.

Thanks, yeah I am already looking around for one. I may end up having to just rebuild this one temporarily and get a 9" or 12 bolt later on. I also considered getting a Strange S60 off of here. I am in college right now though, so I have to be careful about how much money I drop into it. I cant wait to really launch it hard one time though! If I run across some sort of deal on here for one used I may go that route. We'll see.

Great buy! Looks real nice post up an idle Vid if possible

very nice , if you dont mind what did you pay , if you do dont tell me , but good looking car i like the manta strip or is it painted.

Great buy! Looks real nice post up an idle Vid if possible
I'll try to get an idle video of it. I love the way it sounds. I actually had a cop pull up beside me the other day while I still had no tag and an illegally loud exhaust, and all he did was asked me what kind of motor I was running and that it sounded good haha.

I just ordered my Tick CMC!! Should make a huge difference in the way the shifter feels/shifts. It is very notchy and tough to get in gear at high rpms right now. As soon as my Nova interior sells locally (I have a guy that is supposed to buy it this weekend) I will be looking into getting a new Strange S60 with 4.11s! I cant wait!

Here is a link to an idle video that someone requested. Its terrible camera work, but I did it with my iphone and I was in a hurry haha. You get the idea though. http://s1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/?action=view&current=c4485a83.mp4

Well my wheels and tires came in today, and my dad sent me this pic :) 5 gallon bucket for reference http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/99322128.jpg

What kind of wheels were on it? They are nice!

The wheels on it now are Centerline Split Spokes. 17X7 in the front and 15X10 in the rear. The only problem with them is they wont work with the stock rear brakes (even if the calipers are ground down). That is why it has Aerospace Drag rear brakes. The Centerline wheels and Aerospace brakes are about to be for sale as soon as I get the brakes switched out and put the new wheels/tires on.

Great looking SS!!! Post pictures of new wheels! I'm looking for wheels for my red 01 SS

Thanks a lot! I just got my wheels and tires mounted today, and they look awesome with the 315s. I had to do a good bit of grinding my bump stops and the BFH mod, but they finally mounted. I love them. It will probably be 2 days before I get pics up, but I will soon.

Well I have been working on the Camaro a good bit since Sunday. I got the Tick CMC installed Sunday afternoon, and I have been working on the wheels, tires, and panhard bar all week. I was one of the unlucky Camaro owners who had to do lots of the BFH mod, grinding axle bump stops, and install an adjustable panhard bar to make the 315s work. I still have a small rub somewhere in the rear when I turn right. I just have to find out where exactly it is still rubbing (tomorrow hopefully). I love the way these wheels and tires look on it, and they handle so much better than the drag pack (obviously). Its not nearly as floaty now. Here are some pics.

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/f889aef9.jpg

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/fcdd52b7.jpg

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/79be897f.jpg

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http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/8d388065.jpg

My Centerline wheels/tires are for sale now for $1000 if anyone is interested. The rear tires will have to be replaced soon.

I love those wheels! Are those 295's on the back?

Thanks I like them too! The rears are 315s, and they took a little bit of massaging the fenderwell to get them on there. I love them though

How does the exhaust sound? Any drone? Can you post a vid of how it sounds?

The exhaust is very loud, and yes it had a drone to it. Luckily its an M6 car, so on the interstate it stays around 1600 rpms. It sounds really good though, and I get tons of compliments on it. However, being a daily driver I need to run true duals or a legit catback out the back. This 4" y-pipe really opens it up. Here is the link to the video. Sorry for the terrible video quality, it was a quick video with my iphone one day.

http://s1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/?action=view&current=c4485a83.mp4

BTW, my Centerline wheels are for sale now. $800 for the wheels and tires. The rear tires need to be replaced. The wheels alone were $1200 new. 15X10 rears with 275/50/15 MT ET Streets and 17X7 fronts with 225/45/17 BFG Gforce Sport Comp II with about 70-80% tread left.

These wheels WILL NOT work with F-body stock brakes in the back, but I have a set of Aerospace Low Profile Rear Pro-Street brakes that I can seel with the wheels if you are an LS1 f-body owner. I will let the wheels/tires and brakes go for $1000 plus shipping. The rear brakes need one new rotor and new pads. The rotor and pads off of the Aerospace website are $170 total I believe. The brake set-up cost $750 new.


http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/3eb43e32.jpg

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Small amount of pitting on outside face of wheel. Could possibly buff out, and its hardly noticeable until you look closely.

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/72079132.jpg
The only curb rash on the entire set of wheels, again, hardly noticeable.

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj482/davidk72008/53d5146e.jpg

Let me know if you're interested.

Well I did some more adjusting on my Tick MC today, and took it for a drive. I was able to shift into third at high rpms FINALLY! It still wasnt as fast of a shift as I would like, but I just wanted to get a good smooth shift for once. I will be changing trans fluid tomorrow with Redline ATF to see if that helps some too.

After I get my new rearend in the car I will order me a new MGW or Pro 5.0 shifter for it. Any comments from anyone who has used either of these two shifters? I've heard that the return spring on the MGW can be a little too stiff for some people, but they all say they never miss a shift either. Any feedback will be appreciated.

My car has a 5.0 from previous owner. I like it now that I'm use to it but I am not overly impressed so if I was buying a shifter for it I would try the mgw

Alright thanks for the input, I am leaning toward the MGW. Anyone else?

BTW, I changed out my trans fluid and put some new Redline fluid in it today, and it smoothed out the shifting a good bit. Its still not perfect, but it is pretty close.

i have the pro 5.0 in my car and love it, i have the drill mod done and stock master cylinder and never miss a shift and i shift at 7k

Alright I'll keep that in mind. I have read several things now about people with the Monster Stage 3 clutch having problems shifting, even with the Tick master cylinder installed. Mine is a lot better now that I think I have the Tick unit adjusted correctly and the new trans fluid in it. I have the factory Hurst shifter with a Lou's Short Stick on it now, but I definitely think a new aftermarket one would improve it. Thanks for the input.

Thanks, yeah I am already looking around for one. I may end up having to just rebuild this one temporarily and get a 9" or 12 bolt later on. I also considered getting a Strange S60 off of here. I am in college right now though, so I have to be careful about how much money I drop into it. I cant wait to really launch it hard one time though! If I run across some sort of deal on here for one used I may go that route. We'll see.

a lot of people say dont waste your time rebuilding a 10 bolt but i had it done but i dont go to track or anything either. If you do rebuild it I recommend a ratech overhaul kit and Ratech solid spacer for the pinion so far everything has worked great.

Love those black wheels good choice!

a lot of people say dont waste your time rebuilding a 10 bolt but i had it done but i dont go to track or anything either. If you do rebuild it I recommend a ratech overhaul kit and Ratech solid spacer for the pinion so far everything has worked great.

Love those black wheels good choice!

Thanks I appreciate it. The only way I will rebuild the 10 bolt now is if something comes up and I just dont have the money to buy an S60. I still have to wait for these Centerline wheels to sale though before I can order my rear. It sucks that I cant put them on the classifieds here yet!

Thanks I appreciate it. The only way I will rebuild the 10 bolt now is if something comes up and I just dont have the money to buy an S60. I still have to wait for these Centerline wheels to sale though before I can order my rear. It sucks that I cant put them on the classifieds here yet!

You shouldn't have much trouble finding a buyer for Your Centerlines, when You do, give Me a call for a great deal on an S60!
Carl

Very nice.

You shouldn't have much trouble finding a buyer for Your Centerlines, when You do, give Me a call for a great deal on an S60!
Carl

I'm sure I will be going through you for my new S60, and I cant wait to order it! I actually PM'd you a few weeks ago about some general information, and you got back with me at like 6:00 in the morning haha. Great customer service already from Carl guys. Hopefully I'll be in touch with you soon.

i just wanted to really give a lot of thanks to carl at crp when i ordered my s60, and front suspension. i was on the phone with him numerous times and he was very helpful with any issues i had or questions. weekend or night he always answered or called back. and then the amazing deals and the quality of the s60 and suspension it blows everyone else out of the water IMO!!!!
and 97_ek i really recomend you go that route as well!!

you buy this car out of FL from a guy named cory?

Sure did, I still talk to him a good bit about the car and try to keep him updated on what all I'm doing with it.

Well I finally got the car shifting 100%, and I was able to take it to the strip. I only made 1 pass because I am trying to save this rearend as long a possible. I rolled off the line easy like I was on the street in hopes of saving the rearend, and I ran a 12.74 at 101 on street tires. I was very satisfied with it considering how easy I launched it, and I shifted from 3rd to 2nd at the end of the run :eek2: That explains the really low trap speed. Don't ask me how I managed to do that, but at least nothing broke. I looked it up, and apparently there have been several people who have done that with f-bodies for some reason. Anyways, I'd say with an S60/gears/ and some radials Itll run 11s for sure. That being said, I need someone to buy these Centerline wheels soon haha.

I also ordered new Prothane Motor Mounts and a new rubber tranny mount because I think some of the popping under the car might be coming from the exhaust popping the floor. I was originally thinking it was the rearend popping when I was taking off, but it kind of feels like its coming from right behind the front seats. It only happens when I am taking off (easy or hard launch). Any ideas what else it may be besides the motor rocking back and forth causing something to hit the floorpans?

Also, I am trying find some pics of the stock rear brakes set-up on a 4 channel rearend if anyone can provide some. I need to see how the reluctor wheels, the drum brakes, backing plates, etc look like on the car. I have some of the stock brake parts, but I need to know what all I'm missing. Off the top of my head I have 1 good caliper, two backing plates and dust shields, and my ebrake cables. Arent the parking brake pads supposed to be attached to the backing plates? Where do the reluctor wheels attach to the brakes? It sucks putting stuff back that I didn't take out because I don't know exactly how it all works.

Well I finally got the car shifting 100%, and I was able to take it to the strip. I only made 1 pass because I am trying to save this rearend as long a possible. I rolled off the line easy like I was on the street in hopes of saving the rearend, and I ran a 12.74 at 101 on street tires. I was very satisfied with it considering how easy I launched it; I only had a 2.1 60'. I think it should trap a little faster once I get the new rearend with some shorter gears. I'd say with an S60/gears/ and some radials Itll run 11s for sure. That being said, I need someone to buy these Centerline wheels soon haha.

I also ordered new Prothane Motor Mounts and a new rubber tranny mount because I think some of the popping under the car might be coming from the exhaust popping the floor. I was originally thinking it was the rearend popping when I was taking off, but it kind of feels like its coming from right behind the front seats. It only happens when I am taking off (easy or hard launch). Any ideas what else it may be besides the motor rocking back and forth causing something to hit the floorpans?

Also, I am trying find some pics of the stock rear brakes set-up on a 4 channel rearend if anyone can provide some. I need to see how the reluctor wheels, the drum brakes, backing plates, etc look like on the car. I have some of the stock brake parts, but I need to know what all I'm missing. Off the top of my head I have 1 good caliper, two backing plates and dust shields, and my ebrake cables. Arent the parking brake pads supposed to be attached to the backing plates? Where do the reluctor wheels attach to the brakes? It sucks putting stuff back that I didn't take out because I don't know exactly how it all works.

Here is part of what You asked for...

http://gmoem.com/chevrolet/1999/camaro_1993-2002/brakes/1998_2002_nbsp_f_parking_brake_asm_nbsp_mf04_038.h tml

Hope it helps.
Carl

Thanks a lot Carl. That shows me what all I will need for the parking brakes at least.

Thats a nice car. Like those black wheels you got. I've always been a fan of black wheels.

Very nice ride bro! I just picked mine up a couple weeks ago. These HCI LS1's are a friggin blast lol

Very nice ride bro! I just picked mine up a couple weeks ago. These HCI LS1's are a friggin blast lol

I appreciate it, and yeah I'm having a ton of fun with mine so far. Still just trying to get eveything put back in the car that was taken out for weight reduction before. As soon as I get the stock brakes back on it and put a full exhaust on it it will be a great DD. Right now it is a little loud and the ABS is thrown off because its no longer hooked up to the rear wheels. I about wrecked it the other day on a wet road because the car locked up and skidded sideways :( I wouldve been sick.

Thats a nice car. Like those black wheels you got. I've always been a fan of black wheels.

Thanks, I really like them too. I wish the other set were all 17s so I could switch them out for a different look every now and then.

Well time for a little update. Well for some good news, I ordered a complete set of rear brakes/abs stuff from a guy on here, and I should be putting them on next weekend. I'm just waiting on the backing plates to get here. As soon as I get those brakes on, the Aerospace brakes will be for sale with the Centerline wheels. That will make it possible for other f-body owners to get these wheels and make them fit.

Bad News: After I got home from the drag strip I noticed a loud ticking noise from under the hood. My first thought was that I had messed something up internally, but it turns out it was just my electric waterpump. I was a little relieved to find out that was all it was, but it still sucks. I checked on getting another one, but the Mezeire Street Pumps are roughly $700, and I wasn't about to drop that kind of cash on a new one. I went to the local parts store and picked up a new OEM waterpump to hold me for a while.

Good News: Luckily the water pump itself is still functional. The idler pulley on it had a bearing go bad, and it was causing the pulley to rub pretty badly and not rotate freely. I called Mezeire yesterday to see if they can just replace the pulley/bearings on the front of it, and they said it would be about $150 for everything. I will be sending that pump off to them soon to get that fixed. I like the fact that my car used to run a little cooler from the 160 degree thermostat. Not to mention it had better MPGs and slightly more power (not really noticeable, but still).

I also have an exhaust leak around my driver side exhaust manifold gasket, so I have to fix that soon. I have the parts already, but I may wait until I do my rear brakes to do all the work on the same day. I will also be hooking back up my AC when do the other two things.

I have boxes of parts arriving to the house constantly it seems like haha. I'll be glad when I can start getting go-fast stuff instead of replacement parts. Let me know if you know anybody who would want those wheels/tires/ and brake set-up. I'll let it all go for $1000+shipping.

Well I finally got the GoPro footage from my buddy that I raced a few weeks ago at the strip. The camera car was an 06' Supercharged Civic Si, and he ran a 13.4 at 108 on this pass. His car is an excellent sleeper (stock everything except the supercharger and fuel injectors). He hurt a guy's feelings in a bolt-on 08' Mustang GT on his next run. He went 13.1 at 109.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the video.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=4140332259130&set=vb.1008360145&type=2&theater

On another note, I am looking into doing an 8.8 rearend swap in the Camaro. I figure this will save me $2000 or more easy, which will help out tremendously while I'm still in college. From what I've read about them it should hold the power I'm making plus more, so it should be fine until I get ready to boost the car a few years down the road. Anybody here ever run the 8.8 in an M6 car? Any suggestions or comments on it?

I plan on running an explorer center housing with the 31 spline carrier, cut the axle tubes off, and weld the stock ten bolt tubes onto the 8.8 centerhousing. Then all I should have to do is get a TA mount fabbed up or order one of "Hiltsy's" TA mounts and get some new 31 spline axles from Moser. What does everyone think?

Time for another update. I was able to finally do some work on the car this past weekend. I got the rear Aerospace brakes switched out with the refurbished OEM brake set-up I bought from another forum member on here. When I took the axles out to change the backing plates I noticed that the rearend gears were in really good condition, so it kind of confused me about the popping issue I was having when taking off. Well, once I got the wheels/brakes back together and took it for a drive I realized there was no more popping! :) I guess it had to do with the Aerospace brakes not being shimmed correctly, and it had the pads/rotors in a bind. It makes perfect sense because this also explains why the pads were dragging so badly on the back. When I looked at the pads I took off the car I noticed that they had very uneven wear on them. So, long story short, I killed two birds with one stone with the brake change. I feel much better now knowing that I have a parking brake on my car.

I was also able to replace the exhaust manifold gasket where I had the exhaust leak. Now the only problem I have with the exhaust is there is a loud rattling that is coming from the front of the car. I can even hear it over my exhaust, which is REALLY loud. I thought it may be the heat shield covering the CMC line beside the driver side header, so I went in and tightened up those screws. That didn't fix the problem. If I hold the exhaust pipes steady right behind the driver side header when the car is running then the rattling stops, so I know it has something to do with the header/exhaust. However, I can't see it touching anything anywhere that would make a rattling noise. :confused: Anyone else ever have any problem like this? It rattles all the time, stopped or driving. Any ideas what it might be?

I still need to change out the motor/tranny mounts, but I am absolutely dreading that job haha. The tranny mount is really easy I know, but the motor mounts look terrible. Any help on that rattling issue would be appreciated!! Thanks

I got under the car aain last night to try to find out where the rattling was coming from. It ended up being the v-band clamp that connected the collectors to the exhaust pipe. When I tightened it back down tight there is no more rattling. One more thing down, just a couple more things to go to have the car where it needs to be. I have to get another exhaust run, get my windshield wipers put back on, and the rear seat belts back in, and it should be good to go for a while.

Well I have decided to list the car up for sale. I cant post on the classifieds on here yet, or I would put it there. Here is a link to my Craigslist ad though.

http://huntsville.craigslist.org/cto/3483380624.html

All this car needs is for the windshield wipers to be hooked back up and it will be good to go. I have driven it without them since I've had it though, and it hasn't been a problem. I just keep rain-x on it when I wash it. Let me know if you're interested.

^That seems like such a nice car and it seems like you've made a lot of progress with it! :)

What are you looking at replacing it with?

Probably just another LS car of some kind. I love these cars, but I kind of like the idea of wheeling and dealing. I like to drive different things and work on them a little while I have them. I've found a couple more f-bodies close to Huntsville that I am interested in if this one sells. Eventually I would like to end up in a C5 Z06.

Very nice car. How do you like that cam? I've got the same one.

I love the cam, but it really needs some gears to go along with it.

Agree. I'm saving for S60 rear with 4.10s. Perfect for this cam with 6 speed.

That was my original plan too, and then I decided to build a Ford 8.8 rearend for it. The S60 would be stronger, but I'm still in college and need to save as much money as possible. The 8.8 build would be enough for me for quite a while, but now I've decided to sell so I've put the 8.8 build on hold too.

Very nice car man, also nice mods. Funny about the cop. And love the wheels also have the same ones on my new Z :)

I appreciate all the compliments guys. I appreciate it. BTW, do you guys think my asking price is fair for this car? I tried to compare it to similar cars that I've seen on here and Craigslist.