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I just recently purchased a 99 Camaro V6 for $600. I'm creating this thread to document my build for all the backyard do it yourselfers to get ideas from and for me to bounce ideas off of you guys. My end Goal is to do a Turbo Charged or Supercharged LS 1000hp street/strip build. First things first, get the car built to handle the power I'll be throwing at it.
Step 1, Tomorrow I will start the demo stage. I will be shedding any items not needed to save weight and my goal is to sell all the parts not being used to cover the cost of the car.
Goal: To get the car below 3000lbs, looks like I'll need to shed 409lbs
Last edited by CaptainSavage; 01-02-2016 at 07:37 PM.
Today was a good day, most of the interior has been removed. Planning to have it prepped and ready for a cage at the end of the month. Anyone have experience with the pre fab weld in cages from Summit Racing? How the fit is and what's the quality? Thanks
I'd buy a prefabbed Midwest Chassis cage over a Summit all day
I'll check them out. Thanks for the advice.
Has anyone installed a cage and more so, anyone done it for the first time? Just looking for advice, I'm thinking about tackling this job on my own. I've never welded, but I learn pretty quick. Thanks again
Has anyone installed a cage and more so, anyone done it for the first time? Just looking for advice, I'm thinking about tackling this job on my own. I've never welded, but I learn pretty quick. Thanks again[/QUOTE]
I would be cautious about learning to weld on a part as critical as a cage. Never put your safety at risk and have a professional do the welding on that.
[/QUOTE]
I would be cautious about learning to weld on a part as critical as a cage. Never put your safety at risk and have a professional do the welding on that.[/QUOTE]
After a lot of reading, I agree. I have a friend who does welding and I'm going to have the car towed to him. I'll be sure to up load pics of the cage instal. 👍
Pulled the interior and found some damage. Gotta love CL, "never been in an accident" he says. Pretty sure that's bondo.
Leveled the car on jack stands and the frame seems to be ok. Going to keep moving forward. Removed the front end and I'm going to order the 10pt cage tomorrow. Found a Chassis shop within driving distance, so it'll save money on shipping.
Got the cage fitted and tacked in, just waiting to have the final welds done. Got my 6.0L LQ4 back from the shop. Had it bored .030 over installed dished diamond pistons, Eagle I-beam rods, head studs, Tick performance stage 3 turbo cam, HD LS2 timing chain and a Melling high volume oil pump. Finally making some progress on this future beast.
I also cut the bumper today to allow more air flow to the future intercooler and it turned out really well.
Last edited by CaptainSavage; 10-21-2016 at 04:20 PM.
So I decided to start test fitting the interior pieces today and immediately ran into my first problem. The main hoop of the cage is a little too tight to slide the headliner in from the rear. It looks like I can slide it through the front if I remove the windshield, but I'm trying to avoid that if possible. So my question is, does anybody have any tips or trick in getting the headliner in or making your own headliner with a cage? Thanks in advance.
It's been awhile since I've updated. Things I've completed:
-Bought a raised SS VFN hood on CL for $250
-Picked up a pair of seats for $125
-Cut the inner fenders for weight reduction
-Removed driver side door bar, passenger side is next
-Headlight brackets were broke, so I'm mocking those up to make my own
-Started to remove, unneeded metal brackets from interior ( can I say, drilling out spot welds is a time consuming b***h) lol
-I have the driver side seat installed on sliders and they are bolted directly to the floor with grade 8 bolts, but I think I'm going to weld another metal plate to the floor board for added strength. The thin sheet metal floor pan just doesn't seem like it's enough.
- Port and Polished 317 heads, BTR .660 valve springs, and had the valves replaced.
Here are some pics
01-01-2016, 09:52 PM
My 99 Camaro build 
So glad I found it now instead of later. 
The main hoop of the cage is a little too tight to slide the headliner in from the rear. It looks like I can slide it through the front if I remove the windshield, but I'm trying to avoid that if possible. So my question is, does anybody have any tips or trick in getting the headliner in or making your own headliner with a cage? Thanks in advance. 
