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Administrator
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 859
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1968 Chevy Camaro - 9 Second Street Rat
POWERTRAIN
A '70s-vintage small-block works the displacement of the day, 383 ci, as assembled by Speed-O-Motive in West Covina, California. Speedo used its own forged crank with forged H-beams and Probe SRS dished pistons that yield a blower-nice 9.5:1 compression ratio. Though that complete Comp solid-roller (255/262 duration at 0.050, 0.613 lift, 114-degree lobe-separation angle) valvetrain may seem a bit much, Wilson Manifolds prepped a Victor Jr. for port fuel injection and affixed its house fuel rails, 72-lb/hr injectors, and a 1,230-cfm Accufab throttle body to take full advantage. A FAST XFI controller keeps the engine's operating parameters where they're supposed to be. This combination straddles off-the-shelf Dart aluminum Pro-1 castings (2.08/1.60, 230cc intake runners, 72cc chambers, O-ringed block). There's that big, fat, intercooled, overdriven ATI F1 series Procharger producing 16 psi of boost. The rear-wheel numbers are just as big! Though untried at this writing, a Zex 100-shot waits for the signal. The exhaust tract includes 13/4-inch Doug's headers, a 3-inch X-pipe, and Flowmaster Super 40s. The MSD ignition system (Digital-6 box, HVC II coil, billet distributor) flames the fuel fed by an 18-gallon cell and an Aeromotive Eliminator in-tank pump. Cooling and lubing are handled by a Be Cool oversize core; down below there's a B&B 7-quart pan, a windage tray, a crank scraper, and 6 quarts of Royal Purple racing oil. Bill's drivetrain inclinations are downright carnal: a G-Force GF-5R five-speed (straight-cut gears, 3.25:1 Low, 1:1 High) good for 1,300 hp enabled by a Long V-Gate shifter and a McLeod dual-disc clutch inside a Lakewood SFI containment shield. A Denny's Nitrous Ready driveshaft connects all to a Currie 9+ axle complete with a Detroit Locker differential, 35-spline axles, and a cruise-friendly 3.00:1 final drive. Wow! Time for an Alka-Seltzer yet?
PERFORMANCE
Tom Habrzyk at Westech Performance Group (Mira Loma, California) tuned the engine on its chassis dyno. Then Bill tested this real-world information in the real world. At 3,630 pounds with Bill in the seat and blowing the tires off, the Camaro ran 10.30 at 136; it did better in the eighth, jabbing the 60-foot clocks at 1.45 and posting a 6.60/119. At 16-psi boost, the 383 produces 712 hp at 6,200 and 624 lb-ft at 5,300 rpm at the wheels. (Nitrous oxide was not used.)
INSIDE
The hard-case Z/28 has a neatly detailed, all-business interior as well. Classic Industries came to the rescue when Bill replaced all of the cabin's uphol-stery, fittings, and appointments. His concessions to modernity are Dakota Digital instruments and a Grant quick-release steering wheel. Safety is critical, hence G-Force five-point harnesses for both of those high-back JEG's bucket seats. For the track: a G-Force helmet, head and neck restraint, and certified racing attire. Bill fitted an Alston 10-point rollcage inside the shell, and his brother-in-law, James (Dr. Kreter by day), welded it in place in the driveway. That Long shifter makes you do a double take.
ROLLERS & BRAKES
Though handling might not be critical, you gotta have brakes. Wilwood four-piston calipers work 12-inch rotors front and rear. Street stock shown here. Epic 16x8 wheels and a rude combo of 205/55 Firestones in front and worn out (after 600 miles, ha!) BFG 255/50 Drag Radials on the back. At the race track, they morph into Center Line wheels (15x4, 15x10) fixed with Mickey Thompson 26x4.5 ET Front and 28x13.50 ET Street Drag racing rubber.
CHASSIS
Cruising comes naturally to this denizen of the Old Fart Racing Team and when it's time to abuse the slicks, the less suspension drag the better. Bill put Global West control arms on the stock subframe, hooked them to the stock spindles, slid adjustable QA1 90/10 coilovers in between them, and removed the antisway bar. The rearend rides on Global's multileaf bundles and is controlled by more QA1 adjustable dampers. Cal-Tracs bars stabilize the axle and plant the tires. Bill recently replaced the power-assisted rack-and-pinion he'd put in three years ago with a new manual steering box and linkage.
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Year after year we bring you features pertinent to the Chevy High Performance theme: If the car can't make it somewhere on its own recognizance, you can't have any fun with it. Build it, get dirty. Drive it, get dirtier. Share it, get divine.
The majority of these rides are owner-built, which means time (lots of it) and money (sometimes lots of that too). The shadowy thing nobody talks about is how all this effects the women in our lives. Peggy Unruh is enlightened. Is it her? Is it strictly out of habit? Is it because she knows that given the chance, most men will seek solace from the everyday grind and angst and visit that child in their heart? Or is it something else?
In 1999, after having quit hot-rod building for several years, Bill Unruh's wife came to him with newspaper classifieds in hand and said, "Look, a 1968 Z/28 for $4,500. We should go see at it." They gave $3,500 and took it home. Mused Bill, "I wonder how many guys have a wife who finds them a toy, then says 'It's your money, do what you want with it. Have fun and be careful.' I love her!"
Bill's been doing this sort of thing since the early '70s. He cut his chops on a '68 Camaro, a '65 Nova with a 454 in it, a couple of 911s and a 928, and a Jag XJ6 (sedan) with an LS6 454 engine from his boat. This is the second go-around with his present dancer, doubtless the quickest and the fastest car in his history. At 52 and quite unable to escape the old-days mindset, Bill "This Is Probably My Midlife Crisis" Unruh chose 16 psi of positive manifold pressure, jacketed if need be by a 100-shot of happy juice to make things happen in a nine-second hurry. That's the plan, anyway. On the motor it hasn't dropped a nine...yet, but bigger tires should solve that.
Most codgers would like to lean back and savor the convenience of an automatic, but not our boy Bill, and that's what endears him to us. Bill likes to lean forward. He took his midlife craziness seriously and got a G-Force five-speed, a no-nonsense race box that most people wouldn't abide in a street car. Hardened internals, a torque-dampening torsion bar, and straight-cut gears distinguish it from the ordinary. That and the price. For the cost of the G-Force, Bill could have two T56 six-speeds. If you've ever heard the '55 in Two Lane Blacktop you know the racket that the gears in an M22 make. How far could you go like that before you'd be driven to the point of a railroad spike? Bill doesn't think about that. He proudly wears this inconvenience like a badge.
Forget about Bill's Camaro being a sleepypotomus. Even those with less -than-passable eyesight could see it's a merciless thing with questionable motives, a street thug. Best clue is that mega intercooler, a three-core, air-to-air race assembly that stretches half the width of the car. At full boost, the temperature of the charge air ranges from 110 to 155 degrees, depending on ambient.
Those of you twitching right now because you're thinking Bill has wantonly defiled the Holy Grail, please relax. "The car was very rough but it was almost rust-free. The original 302 had been replaced with a warmed-up 355 (too bad), but it still had its M21 and 12-bolt. Both were in need of work, were very loud and leaking. Actually the transmission had stopped leaking--it was out of 90W." When you get a guy like Bill on the case, anything's liable to happen.
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