JakeRobb

Hey folks! So, I'm putting the final touches on my LS3 build. Details here.

I'm excited to say that the time has come to insure the car for use on the road again! I'm talking to Hagerty, and they want a valuation. So, I'm here to ask what you guys think.

First of all, how should I approach valuation? Should I base it on:

• the amount that would allow me to replace the car with something exactly like it? (cost of another car + all mods + labor to install)
• the amount that would make me feel whole if it were totaled?
• the amount that someone else would be willing to pay for it?
• something else?

Unmodified, the car would be worth maybe $10k. Probably more if the paint condition didn't suck. I've spent easily $20k on all the mods below, and did all the work myself except longblock assembly which was done by a friend who is an engineer at Katech (not officially "by Katech", but using their facilities). It took me six years worth of spare time to do everything. I imagine a pro shop could do it in a week or two, assuming parts are all on hand -- so probably $8-12k in shop labor on top of that to recreate it. I don't think anyone would pay even close to $40k for the car, so there's a big difference between fair market value and cost to replace.

If you care to cast an opinion on what value I should actually use, here are allllll the details. There are lots of photos in the build thread linked above.

The car:
2002 Camaro Z28
T56 w/ Hurst shifter
Navy Blue Metallic
T-Tops
Ebony leather interior
Preferred Equipment Group (cruise control, power seats/windows/mirrors/locks, etc)

Condition:
120,000 miles
Mechanically: excellent
Paint: poor (chipped in a few spots, two very amateur DIY patch jobs)
Interior: good (seats not torn, dash not cracked)
This has been a Michigan car its entire life, but it has never been driven in the winter or on any salt-treated road.
There was some rust in the upper front suspension mounts, but those have been completely replaced.
There was also some rust below the battery, but that area has been painted with POR15.
Typical surface rust on the bare-iron rear axle. I plan to paint this with POR15 in the near future.
Everything works!

Modifications

• Engine - LS3 from a 2014 Camaro SS 1LE, removed at about 45,000 miles.
  • Internals
    • Reluctor swapped with a gen1 24x, and a 1x cam gear, for direct compatibility with the Camaro's 0411 PCM.
    • Stock LS3 0821 heads, CNC'd at Katech (ports only)
    • ARP head bolts
    • LS7 lifters
    • Chevy Performance lifter trays
    • Trend 3/8" 0.080" wall pushrods
    • Stock rockers with CHE trunnions
    • PSI 1511 beehive springs
    • Katech LS3 locators
    • Blue Viton valve seals
    • Cam: a custom grind developed by a Katech engineer.
      • I asked for something with decent low- and mid-range torque, excellent drivability, and generally more power and torque across the full RPM range.
      • It's loosely based on Katech's LS3 Torquer.
      • Per the engineer: "increased the durations a tad, and used a modern lobe that Comp just designed with better valve dynamics and more lift"
      • 226/239 605/621 113+4
    • The assembled heads and cam were validated to 7600rpm with zero bounce detected on Katech's Spintron
    • ARP cam bolts
    • C5R timing chain
    • LS2 solid tensioner
    • ARP rod bolts
    • ARP main studs
    • Katech A2390 oil pump (LS6 pump, CNC ported -- high pressure / standard volume)
    • Improved Racing crank scraper
    • Improved Racing oil pan baffle
    • Factory LS1 oil pan
    • The bottom end is stock except the reluctor and the rod bolts, but it was fully disassembled, jet-cleaned, and inspected before reassembly. Bearings, journals, rings, and cylinder walls all looked great.
  • Externals
    • Stock LS1 water pump
    • Stock LS1 A/C compressor
    • ATI Superdamper - 90% underdrive
    • ARP balancer bolt
    • TurnOne power steering pump w/ billet aluminum pulley
    • 140a truck alternator with 110% overdrive pulley
    • Katech billet belt tensioner
    • Bosch truck starter
    • ACT ProLite billet steel flywheel (15lbs)
    • Energy Suspension polyurethane engine mounts
    • ICT Billet mounting brackets for alternator and PS pump
  • Electronics & wiring
    • Stock 0411 PCM
    • Factory LS1 sensors, except LS3 oil pressure sensor
    • Factory LS1 engine harness + some Racetronix adapters and extensions
    • 4ga battery harness
    • PLX Devices wideband setup -- not wired in yet; planning to repurpose the PCM's EGR circuitry.
• Exhaust
  • Kooks 1-3/4" longtubes, Cerakoted black
  • Kooks catted Y-pipe, Cerakoted black
  • ARP studs
  • AIR removed & disabled
  • Corsa cat-back exhaust with quad polished stainless tips
  • Sounds great, not too loud inside at cruise
• Cooling
  • Dewitts 3" aluminum radiator
  • Hypertech 160-degree thermostat
• Intake
  • SSRA Jaws
  • 104mm Hawks lid
  • 100mm Hawks MAF
  • 4" silicone MAF-to-TB hose from IntakeHoses.com
  • Speed Engineering cable-driven 92mm throttle body
  • Factory LS3 intake manifold
• Ignition
  • NGK Iridium spark plugs
  • Magnecor spark plug wires
  • OEM LS3 coils
  • ICT Billet coil brackets
• Fuel
  • Factory LS3 fuel rails and 42lb injectors
  • Factory fuel lines
  • Racetronix kit with 255lph pump & hotwire kit
  • Fuel-rail-mounted, analog, oil-filled fuel pressure gauge
• Drivetrain
  • McLeod RST twin-disc clutch
  • Built T56: steel 3-4 fork, carbon blocker rings, new slider assemblies for 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6, billet 3-4 slider keys, and bronze 1-4 fork pads
    • Claimed good for 700 hp / 700 lb-ft.
    • Built by Joe Huneycutt @ SixSpeedsInc, formerly T56Rebuilds -- now out of business.
    • This was their "2A" rebuild.
  • Energy suspension polyurethane transmission mount
  • Tick adjustable clutch master cylinder
  • Tick shifter w/ bronze cup
  • Custom short stick built by teke184 of CamaroZ28.com
  • Retains the factory leather-wrapped Hurst shift ****.
  • Precision Shaft Technologies 3.5" aluminum driveshaft with 1350 U-joints, claimed good for 1200hp.
  • Moser 12-bolt rear axle with 4.10 gears and a TrueTrac posi
    • No c-clips
    • Retains four-channel ABS
    • Moser aluminum stud-girdle cover
• Chassis
  • UMI road-race K-member
  • UMI 3-point subframe connectors (bolt-in)
  • UMI adjustable torque arm
  • UMI 2207 transmission crossmember with torque arm mount
  • UMI 2240 tunnel brace with driveshaft safety loop
  • Unknown shock tower brace (Maybe BMR?)
  • Detroit Speed fender flange shields
• Suspension
  • Front
    • Strano SP141 springs
    • Koni 8241-1139 Sport yellow shocks with on-car-adjustable rebound
    • UMI upper control arm mounts (just the mount, not the arm -- yet)
    • Moog control arm bushings
    • Strano swaybar
    • Strano SP4000 hub adapters with SKF X-tracker hubs
  • Rear
    • Strano SP141 springs
    • Koni 8241-1140 Sport yellow shocks with on-car-adjustable rebound
    • UMI adjustable rear lower control arms (rod ends)
    • UMI weld-in LCA relocation brackets (not yet installed; waiting until after it's aligned)
    • UMI 2048 on-car adjustable panhard bar w/ roto joints
    • UMI 2024 panhard bar relocation kit
    • Strano swaybar
  • Sits about 2" lower than stock.
  • Cornering and handling are amazing
  • Ride is very firm; harshness varies depending on the shock settings
• Steering
  • TurnOne PS pump (already mentioned above; repeating here to be thorough)
  • Detroit Speed quick-ratio steering rack
    • Mounted with the driver-side bolt inverted & loctited so that the rack can be serviced without removing the engine from its mounts
    • Eliminates the stock rubber mounting bushing
  • Factory PS cooler eliminated (the T1 pump should reduce temps)
• Brakes
  • Strano master cylinder brace
  • Castrol SRF fluid
  • Front
    • Baer big brake kit -- 6-piston fixed calipers, 13" rotors
    • Hawk HP+ brake pads
  • Rear
    • Stock calipers
    • Duralast Gold zinc-coated rotors
    • Duralast Gold pads
• Wheels & Tires
  • 2002 WS6 "speedline" wheels - 17x9
  • 275/40 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 (these got old while I was working on the engine swap and will be replaced soon)
  • ARP wheel studs
  • Gorilla lug nuts
• Exterior
  • DEPO-style headlights (inside painted black except the reflectors)
• Interior
  • Replaced shift boot with a nicer leather from Hawks
  • Cut a custom fuel pump access. Hinged door with DZUS fasteners and an airtight seal.
  • Covered much of the rear hump (over the fuel tank) with off-brand dynamat for reduced road/tire noise.
  • Both window motors hotwired with the AutoTrix kit, including the optional passenger-side express-down feature.

I am still working on the tune and don't have dyno numbers yet. I'm expecting 550-600bhp, which should yield 475-525 at the wheels.

Nathan C

Sounds like a fun car. I also have Haggerty, and I based my value on what it would take to replace my 1999 TA if it gets totaled. I based my value on the appropriate market value, plus all the extra upgrades I have done. I can't give you a price, but add up the price to buy a decent fourth gen Camaro, plus the money you have invested in it. Just my thoughts.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I have agreed value policies for my garage queens as well, with Grundy. IMO, some combination of the following two things would be the only factors that would matter to me:

But this is the one factor that wouldn't even enter my mind:

With an agreed value policy, you don't need to concern yourself nor feel restricted by "market" value. That's the trouble with "normal" insurance on cars like these; they will never pay you what it would take to duplicate a creation like this, but the whole purpose of an agreed value policy is that you can eliminate that risk as long as you meet the qualifications of that kind of policy.

JakeRobb

Thanks guys!

The agent suggested a value of $30k. Not enough to recreate it from scratch (that’d be more like $40k), but enough for me to move on, I think -- and likely also enough for me to fix it, depending on the damage. I think I’ll proceed with that.