All fabrication thus far by Alan Blaine. http://www.blainefab.com/index.html Awesome work. Custom cage, Kirkey seat and bracket install, rear nerf bar, reworked pedal location, steering column, fibberglass hatch, lexon, firewall accusump, other misc. fab work. Custom front nose under construction
Front suspension - Global west uppers, stock lowers with global west bushings
Rear suspension - UE torque arm, panhard bar and rear control arm relocated barckets. Race valved Bilstiens.

Drivetrain: (still being finalized)
LS1
T56
9"

A few links to photos:

http://www.blainefabrication.com/projects/2009_08_13/

http://dalgozine.smugmug.com/Other/Camaro-...768465718_TTfZE

Should be coming back east soon to Carriage House Custom in MN to be completed. http://www.carriagehousecustoms.com/CHCA/Home.html

Please paint it orange with blue accents so I don't forget where to go on track.

Please explain what is attached to the first gen tail lights I can see on the lift in the background

Very nice work.

-Tim

As the owner of Blaine Fab 4th gen, I can see you will be very enthused once you get this car on track! Will be checking you out at the Nationals, I'm going this year too!

I was poking around your car while at Alan's shop picking up my UE Torque Arm......that will be a nice car!

Dave,

Can't wait to see it. I'm still voting for the GT1/Sunoco/Camaro Yellow & Blue paint scheme that I sent you!

Just don't paint it black...we have just picked up a 4th gen Firebird that color that's going to be running HPDE on the way to CMC2.

Sidney

All, thanks for the words of encouragement. Looking forward to making some serious progress.

Paint schemes, definately not black. Leaning toward blue and a couple accesnt colors, maybe orange. The Sunoco car is pretty cool, also.
TJ, regarding colors, and where to go on track, you should paint a red target on the back of that white ghost.

Dave,
Maybe you have already posted this somewhere...

What prompted the switch from a Mustang to the Camaro? You are one of three midwest drivers doing so in 2010, if you count myself. My reasons were based on the CMC rulebook and my belief that the 4th gen Camaro is a better equipped platform to build on as the CMC class evolves. Maybe your motivation was the same for the AI rulebook...

That cage looks killer, what brakes are you going with?

Steve

Pretty long story on why I'm going to a Camaro. I'll try to give the shortened version. I'd be happy to elaborate sometime at the track.
1) As a "yout", I owned Camaro's, a 71 and an 81. I wish I would have kept both of them.
2) Looked for a Camaro in the beginning when I decided to go HPDE, but couldn't find a reasonably priced F body with a stick.
3) During my search for an HPDE car, I kept tripping over inexpensive 5 speed Mustangs, and just stayed with them into wheel to wheel.
4) After a few years of racing and modifying my car along the journey, I decided that I would love to start from scratch and do some things differently.
5) I really like the LS engines
6) Plus, I personally think the 4 gen is a better platform for AI, but the 5 gen may change that.
7) Finally, all the cool guys that race in the Midwest region drive F bodies.

Who are the other Midwest drivers making the switch? Steve, have we met? Are you a Midwest driver?
Brakes, pretty sure I'm going with Stop Tech. I had them in my Mustang and really like them.

We met at MAM in 2007. I kept calling your car purple after you used it to put a dent in Matt King's car (I am being sracastic of course). I had a black mustang with a big wing at Blackhawk a couple of times in 2009. I suppose I wouldn't expect you to remember me at all. I have enjoyed watching you and TJ duke it our for the last couple years while I worked through HPDE. Comp School is in April, then I'll be out there.

Groth also switched as I am sure you are aware.

Steve,
I do remember you. As I recall your black Mustang was pretty wicked and you were hustling it around Blackhawk damn quick.
If you're interested, I'll give you my account of when Matt and I hit at MAM in 07.
Didn't you just buy a 4 gen CMC2 car? Yellow and black? You're 92MNstanger?

Yep that's me. I just brought up the Matt thing to be funny. I saw it happen, his line was goofy as heck. I have never even seen a HPDE driver take his line through that corner. Add to that the fact that he was traffic in the middle of an AI battle for the lead and it gets even more silly. Again, just joking around.

Yep, I bought Brady's old car. It's being stripped of excess weight and the safety equipment is being updated and I am off and running.

I can;t wait to see your car completed. It may give me some ideas.

Steve

I've had a close look at the StopTech, and driven a 4th gen with them. I was impressed till I went to buy them - they would not substitute solid rotors for slotted, but were happy to sell me overpriced solid Coleman blanks along with the full kit. Needed to get a price on a single caliper - no way, just package pricing. I get the the impression that they are not in control of the manufacturing/packaging. Maybe you'll have better luck with your disti. Being able to replace a damaged caliper is a must for me.

I did sell a Wilwood SL-6 kit recently - fits well, has lots of nice features, light weight rotor - as I recall 5# lighter than a C5. Thermolock pistons, radial mount. One really nice thing about Wilwood is their documentation - every part has a spec sheet and part number, anything can be ordered individually, and their tech support picks up the phone and answers email.

I can make duct plenums for the Wilwood or StopTech brakes.

Uh - That would be a first gen!

WOW!
Thats all I got. Wow,,,,
That cage Dave, blows my F*ckin mind. Makes me and Tommys 4th Gens look like model T's.
I agree with Alan Blaine, I run the Wilwood 6 piston setup and I couldn't be happier except for
the cost of Rotors.
Dave do the Imperial Blue & Yellow Penske look it will be cool...

The car is looking great Dave, as expected from Alan! Please don't do the blue/yellow paint, every 5th gen is doing that layout in some fashion or another. I would keep it the color it is now

I had the Wilwood SL6 calipers on my mustang. It's a great kit and my pad wear was minimal even at BIR and BFR with the Road Race set up. Those Thermlock pistons are spendy to replace but seems to work very well at isolating the fluid from heat. I never had to bleed my brakes during a weekend. I was a twice a weekend guy with PBR calipers.

Alan, was it fairly easy to fab those 6 piston Willwoods onto a 4th gen? I am thinking of MORE brakes than I have now with the Porsche kit. How do you think they compare to the Porsche stuff?

Problem is I am hearing of "Griggs-like" front suspension stuff coming for the 4th gen from a couple of sources, so I may wait to see if those bear fruit first.

Thanks

The Wilwood kit is bolt on, uses LS1 knuckles and hardlines.

What would you want from an aftermarket front suspension, compared to what's available now?

I am thinking that my car is going to be a handfull now. Big power....same brakes (which were OK before, but may be woeful now). I want EVERYTHING to be bulletproof.

I want BIG race car brakes....ala near GT1 type of stopping power....and race car uprights and race car bearings...etc.....

I have heard of two sources that told me that they would have something soon. Waiting on what and how much.

I have improved so much on the car now, I just need to hit the weak spots...

OK....on that Willwood bolt on kit, I have heard it is much like the Porsche's I believe....



We have the rear end fabbed in......we added your recommended support by the way....and we borrowed an LS motor to fab in the transmission....the exhaust is 1/2 fabbed in.

Dave,
All the coolest Guys in AI drive F bodies
BTW is this your car next to my old #43 at MAM in 7/07?


Did we meet there?

Raybob,

That's Brian Groth's Mustang. Dave's is also Bondurant orange but with some blue stripes. Not sure what's happened to Brian's car since he's the one with the new 5th gen Camaro.

Sidney

That would be a Third gen firebird sitting and hiding in the background.

Groth sold his car to a guy in Texas. The guy had it at MSR-Houston at NASA-TX's opener last weekend.

Yes he did. I talked w/ him a couple times.

The 64 million Dollar question is;
Will Groth and Algozine be in the shit with all the other F bodies this season?
and will Groths 5th Gen be Competitive against all those big Dollar Mustangs?
Will junk Yard/Ebay Racers like me and TJ be able to keep up?
All these questions and many more might be answered at Hallet?

Tune in next week to find out, same bat time same bat channel!!!!!

Raybob, I've a couple photos to share, but I wont be able to post them until tomorrow.

Regarding questions above. It's more about car prep, set up and driver skill. Not always about the big dollar, although it can help. However, Groth was damn fast in his SN95, so I'm pretty sure he will be fast again. Same for TJ. He knows is shi!, can set the car up very well, and definately can drive. Should be a fun year, if everyone can make it to the races .

Raybob,

I'm pretty sure my car is on the other side of Brians in that photo. I don't recall talkiing with you at that event. I'm pretty sure we've met, but I'm not sure when and where.


Here's what my car looked like when I raced it





Here's what it looked like just before it got shipped off to the west coast



And if you're really bored here are a bunch of photos of my old Mustang in various versions
http://dalgozine.smugmug.com/Other/95-Must...430168845_pTAoP

SWEET!

In that first pic (orange/blue), are those the Cobra Anniversary wheels (or some variant thereof)??
I LOVE those hoops!! (But the ones in the second pic are not too shabby either! ) SSRs?

Dave: Yikes! The guy who bought your car must really be a glutton for punishment. California + painted black = a HOT MF'in car at about 2pm on race day. It looked better orange and blue too.

Raybob: Of course I'll be able to keep up. I picked up enough Toyo bucks last year for a couple new sets of hoops for this year. New tires have to be faster then the old ones it was on last year. I ran the last 3 weekends on some 5 year old RA1s that were originally LG Motorsports rain tires that had been sitting in someone's basement for 3 years. I hope these 08 date codes are as fast as the 03 date codes.

We'll see how the season pans out if work picks back up. I've been working for a new contractor for about 7 weeks and all I heard was about how much work they had, now I've been asked to sit for a couple weeks. Hallet was already iffy, but now it's not looking likely at 6-7MPG and an 11-12 hour tow.

Oh well, I'll have more time to putz around in the garage working on setup.

Yea Dave, I remember that Mustang now because of the Blue. Can't remember much about MAM that weekend except the Matt King Incident.
I remember your Mustang from the 06 Championship when I spent alot of time on the side of the track with broken clutches. *NOTE* Do not use stock clutchs & pressure plate with an LT4 thats makin 355HP and 350TQ they just get broken.
If you can get to Hallet we'll have some cocktails. Once again welcome to the F-body Army. I'm lookin forward to meeting you.



I hear ya TJ, I'm a Carpenter and if I can't get it for free, Barder or Theft Than I can't have it. The economy is killin me. I have to keep the lights on and theres nothing left after that. Food? optional, Because I need tires. BTW, All I have is a partially used set of 888's I hope I can get by with them for our first event at PPIR in April. We have 2 new AI racers in our region and both have spent some serious dough on late model 4th gens. Mr. Robert Ames with his 02 Z28 will be very very fast. There is a large target on Tommys back. And Shawn Graham with my old Driver 98 Z28 (Bitchin Camaro).
I hope I can keep up??? We have 1 AI Mustang in our Region, Weird????
I hope I can see alot of you guys at Hallet.
Be There or be Nowhere!!!

Yes top picture has the Cobra 10th Anniversary wheels. They look great, but they are heavy. About 26-27 lbs. Only used those for rains.

The bottom photos has WB Wheels, model name is Weapons. They are about 21 lbs and $130 brand new.

Dave:

Nice build ! Mr. Blaine is at it again with the quality workmanship. Carbon fiber hatch?

Mmm Hallett...hope to see it there. I should be there for beverages , and maybe a bit of racing

MP

Yea Mike!!!
I went to Hallet to party like a rock star and a Car race broke out.....
Patterson, I'm glad your goin,
see ya

And if you wander through Raybob's pits to say hello at just the right time, you'll wind up helping with the clutch change "already in progress".




You say that like it's a bad thing? I've learned that's what happens when the dudes hit the paddock...

Looking forward to seeing the car after Carriage House gets it painted, here is what it looked like leaving Blaine Fab:

Thanks! Hatch is another VFN with FiveStar Lexan and Blaine Fab stays / install.

Daves new nose:

Who makes that nose? Can I find one for a 3rd gen? And, is it light enough (and durable enough) to swap out my stocker?

The color of that nose looks awfully similar to that SS hood he made... hmmm

I make it, don't have plans for a 3rd gen, but I'll make a good deal on one for a 5th gen if someone loans me a car for a while.

It's light enough for a race car, but not as flexible as the stocker. There's a steel support that is designed to keep the splitter/undertray in place even if the nose gets damaged.

I wasn't sure if it was an Alan original or if I was going to luck out and find that VFN or someone made it. Oh well... Guess I need to build a newer car.

You don't need a big dollar nose if you want lighter. Look up an asphalt stock car nose. I've got one sitting in the attic for a Firebird but I know they make them for Camaros too. Flexible plastic but not as thick as a stocker.

Even with the weight, the stock nose is growing on me though. It rivets back together really well with some aluminum backers.

I've seen those noses, I wondered what it would take to make it fit a car based on a production chassis?

A full picture of the front Alan, please! What material are you using on the splitter

...back from the dead...


See Dave's name on the entry list for Autobahn this weekend... Dying to see it in person but can't make this one unfortunately. Take pics!

Unfortunately, it looks like I won't make it to Autbahn this weekend either. At least the car wont make it, I'll probably stop by to check out the action. Not very thrilled about it, but the car is not ready. I'll get some pictures up soon.

Thanks for the interest
Dave

That stinks. Hopefully we'll see it at Putnam next month then.

It's getting close to complete. Still have a few more gauges and othe misc. items to install. Its at the muffler shop today, then off to dyno tune next week.
Here are some photos http://dalgozine.smugmug.com/Other/Camaro-...768465718_TTfZE


Later
DA

Lookin' pretty sweet. Can't wait to see it at Putnam.