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Old 05-12-2012, 02:41 AM   #1
MudderFinger

 
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Drives: 2011 IOM SS/RS
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Virginia
Posts: 887
MudderFinger's IOM Build Thread

Hello Everyone,
I have had a few people tell me I should start a build thread page for my car, and I have finally made it around to creating one and I will try to keep it updated.
Current Picture


Current Mods
XS-Power LT headers and 3in Exhaust with X-pipe
Whipple 2.9L SuperCharger
3.5 Wipple Pully
JRE Blower Cam
LS3 Converson Kit
Comp Cams Dual Valave springs
Comp Cams Push rods
Comp Cam Trunion kits for rocker arms
Forged DSS Racing Pistons
Forged H-Beam Rods
Forged 4340 Nitride Crankshaft
ATI Super Damper
LPE Dual Fuel Pump
ID-850 Injectors
ZR-1 Corvette 3bar map sensor
FTI 9.5 Billet Tourqe Converter
3.45 Gear Ratio with JRE Posi-Mod
PFADT Rear Diff bushings
PFADT Rear Trailier arms
PFADT Read Tie Rods
LPW Rear Diff Cover
RPM Roll Cage
AAC Lighting
Defender shifter
Defender Gas Cap Door
JRE Custom Tune
Iconz Rims
ARP Main Studs
ARP Head Bolts
C.A.I. Cold Air Intake
Rear view Mirror/Backup Cam Modification


For a very long time my toys have been a rail car for racing Mud Bogs and Sand drags, and ATV’s for outdoor riding, etc.
Here is the rail car at Bodatious


Playing in a beaver pond





Mud Racing ATV





Anyway enough about that stuff this is supposed to be about A Camaro Somewhere.

In 2010 when the new Camaro’s were just showing up on the street and you would begin to see them once and awhile on the road, I really loved the new Camaro. However I was not really tempted to go buy one right away.
Then in September 2010 I had life throw me quit a spin, I had a really big heart attack on Memorial Day after cutting down some trees on my property in the hot heat. I almost lost my life and had to have quadruple open heart bypass at only 44 years old. This was quite a life changing experience and I quit smoking cigarettes the day I went into the hospital and have never smoked again. I did not return to work until November after the surgery. I was glad to get back to work and a couple co-workers were considering buying a Camaro and we were checking them out on the chevy.com website and all beginning to get the fever. I found the one I wanted and talked to my wife about it and she is always the best, she said go ahead and get one if you want “you deserve it”. So she did not have to tell me twice I went and bought one in the middle of December 2010, she was a 2011 SS/RS IOM L99 Model. I figured just in case I did not make It, I would at least enjoy myself, LOL.
Well By the end of December I had almost 450 miles on the car and was thinking I really need to fix the exhaust because it was entirely too quite. So I used some money I was given for Christmas and bought me some the XS-Power LT headers and 3in. exhaust. You will find reading through this thread that both the Camaro and I both got stronger together, little by little.

Then I bought a SCT X3 device from Ted Jannetty, and then had him tune the car. Wow what a difference he made with the tune. I took the car to the track with some other Camaro5 members I had meet in March of 2011 and the car ran 13.0.
Mine is the one That is IOM Camaro with white stripes

I then gave Ted a call and ordered a CAI Cold Air Intake and went back to the track and the car dropped to 12.8. I was starting to get excited now and I could really feel a difference.
I found a group buy here on Camaro5 and bought a roll bar from RPM. Now I had to install that and I was only about 6 month into recovery but I enjoyed this Camaro so much I struggled my way through it just like the exhaust, after all I used to be a professional mechanic.









I added some gauges


Next I added on AAC Amber interior bulbs, AAC RGB Nightrider scanner, AAC Amber Headlight & DRL Halos. I also added a Elite oil catch can and a Elite tunnel brace.
Well I finally decided it needed to run the part the car was now looking like. So the following things were once again done by me all alone.
2.9L Whipple SuperCharger
JRE Rough Idle Blower Cam
JRE LS3 Conversion Kit
Dual Comp Cams Springs
Comp cam push rods
Here is a few pictures I took while apart
Old style Cam cover and timing gear








The car ran great after having Ted Janetty retune the car again. I took the car back to the drag strip again on a track rental in the fall and ran a 11.26 but was having to really soft peddle into the throttle to get the car to hook up.

My Son and Daughter bought me some custom stripes I wanted for Christmas. So off went the white strips, and on with these HOT Black stripes. This is how they turned out. (The car was dusty this day)



Added Supercharger emblems



I bought these rims for sale from a C5 user named “sykb471” They are Iconz **** Chrome Wheels 20x9.5 and 20x11. I put my 275s from the rear on the front and installed new 315s on the rear.




I then decided I needed to get some slicks or drag radials before going back again. But I found a good deal on a FTI 9.5 inch Billet torque converter and installed it. It was such a difference the converter was 20lbs. lighter 30lbs. vs 50lbs. Look at the difference in the picture below.

This made the engine really flash out and I had it tighten up some by FTI to 2800, and after driving for a little while I kept hitting rev limiter occasionally cause the motor was reving quicker then the car could shift. So I had Ted tune the cars transmission again. That really made such a different and almost drives like an older model transmission.
I began having a high speed miss-fire and was having problems resolving it and decided to perform a compression test. Wow guess what? I checked number #7 first and found it to be 50lbs. low on compression compared to the rest of the engine. I then removed the valve cover from that side and the rocker arms and applied air into the cylinder and could hear some air coming through the oil fill cap hole. So it appeared I had a cracked piston ring land or maybe a crack piston ring. I removed and disassembled the engine and found this cracked ring land on number #7.





Another odd thing even though I had a catch can I had all this oil in my Intake and supercharger.


That’s all clean now.
Well I figured now I really done it. I mind as well go ahead and forge the entire engine and maybe balance it and drop the compression down about a quarter of a point.
Here is some of engine mods and assembly
ARP Main Caps studs

4340 Nitride steel forged crank

Forged Pistons and forged H-beam rods


Ok now I found out putting engine back together, at this point that I had a broken valve spring when I went through the heads. Now I had to order that and wait a couple more days. Now I was able to put it back into the car again.


ATI Super Damper


While the engine was out I also installed a 3.45 ring and Pinion, PFADT Rear differential Bushings, PFADT rear trailering arm, PFADT rear tie-rod ends, LPW cover and a JRE Posi-mod Kit. I was trying to get the car to turn about 200-300 more RPMs across the finish line.


Well my friend and I decided to go get some chicken wings from a local Hooters and the girls really liked the hot Camaros. Dang, Isn’t it great to own a Camaro!

My Camaro won it first car on 5/5/2012-Judge’s Choice at the Tidewater Corvette Club Car show. Jeff with awesomess is on the right and he won Second in the GM class.





Last edited by MudderFinger; 08-28-2012 at 11:59 AM. Reason: Updated mods list
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