The Adventures of my Camaro in China

[rocknroll_jeph]

Even though my wife and I got married two years ago we never got around to getting our wedding photos taken. The first summer we were in lockdown due to covid and last summer on the last day of work before summer vacation was supposed to start I landed an acting job working as an extra in a local movie. Well finally we got our photos taken and while some of them may be a bit cliche for us car guys, I'm still happy we did it.

All these photos are untouched, so my wife will be pretty upset that I didn't photoshop them first. She always photoshops the pictures we share of her so please don't tell her about this.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Belated congratulations! The photos came out killer!

[rocknroll_jeph]

For the first time in a while I had a few days off work, the first day, which made the news for the hottest June day in Beijing (42c) my friend and I went go-karting and drove 3 intense sessions.

The next day some other friends and I took a road trip out to a cafe in the mountains just outside of Beijing.

It was much nicer being in the air-conditioned car, and catching a glimpse of the Great Wall in China in the second to last photo. Even after 23 years in Beijing, seeing the wall is still a thrill for me.

[morepowerjoe]

Awesome pictures of you and your wife she's beautiful.

[rocknroll_jeph]

For the first time in 4 years my wife and I spend the summer back in Michigan, and since we returned to Beijing there have been no car meets or special events, I've been riding my bike to work mostly and my job has taken up most of my time and energy, so I haven't any cool car stuff lately.

This last weekend I participated in Beijing's International Regatta, so I went up to a mountain lake about 50 miles away to race sailboats. As most things are in Beijing, it took me an hour and half to get there- its about the same driving time as it is to go downtown...

The leaves are changing and the air was clear. My wife didn't want to sit on a dock for half a day while I was on the sailboats so I drove alone.

My Canadian friend ran the boat, and the team was made up of another friend and his girlfriend, we all connected years ago because of our love of cars. My Canadian friend back in the day had a Mustang II Cobra and a 3rd gen Pontiac Firebird, and the other guy on the team works for Artic Trucks Beijing Branch. Additionally we often go karting together, so as a team we work well. Last time out we got 3rd place but because of some bad luck with the boat we were 4th this time.

Traffic was sparse and the drive was beautiful, especially when I got up in the mountains and around the lake, unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the scenery though. I loved just cruising, listening to my music and being lost in my thoughts. I don't get many chances to drive solo for so long and I really enjoyed the time.

Also, even with all the stuff I tacked on the car and modifications, the gas milage was pretty good. I was getting about 33mpg on the highway and averaged about 29mpg over the weekend which is pretty good for how I drive.

[rocknroll_jeph]

It's hard to believe that I've had my car for 10 years on Nov 4th. The car has been an important part of my life, and has given me many smiles and many great memories. To so many a car is just a mode of transportation. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but to so many of us a car is so much more than that.

I don't want to be all weird and say that Camaro is a way of life, it defines who I am as a person or the car is like a family member, because, in the end, a car is just a car.

However, there are times where some of that is true. Earlier this year, I was thinking about getting a new car and my close friends were shocked, because to them, they associate me with a muscle car. To them, if I drove anything else it would be like the universe turned upside down. Also, because of driving that car I have met some really interesting people, and had some really amazing experiences and done things I never dreamed of.

Owning that car has also helped me become more social and less introverted, helped me become more competent in mechanics, a better driver and have more opportunities to enjoy life.

I guess that I want to say that I am grateful for what the car has done for me, I am proud to be a Camaro owner and appreciate this car-guy lifestyle.

I will also never get tired of the view.

[Eddymel1998]

I get some of that too, from when is started driving at 15 until I got the Camaro at like 24 or 25, I drove a 2004 ram 1500 that was way too long to to do anything, 2wd, with a 4.7l V8 (made whopping 200ish hp on a truck that weighed close to 6k lbs, awful fuel economy too), it was mostly stock and a POS but meant I could go basically anywhere where snow wasn't an issue and pop any curb I wanted to. When I got the Camaro felt like everything changed a bit, I had to be more carefully on gravel logging roads, I couldn't pop curbs anymore, but as plus I could actually pass cars, spent less on gas, and could actually turn around in less then 100 points, this is also the first and only car I've moded in any large amount, and since starting everyone at work and in friend groups says I'm a "car guy" I've learned a lot, met some good people, and honestly at this point so much of the car is personal (I have to leave like a paragraph explaining how certain parts work every time I drop off the car) I can't imagine being without it. I am still actively working on getting a truck to replace the older one and have few ideas in mind already, because at heart I'm still an outdoor person and not being able to go into the woods is pulling slowly at my soul, but still can't imagine giving up what I got.

[Infidel67]

Originally Posted by rocknroll_jeph

Owning that car has also helped me become more social and less introverted, helped me become more competent in mechanics, a better driver and have more opportunities to enjoy life.

Great Read
That I can relate too, especially after my SS was gone for a Year into someone else's shop, I took this Car for granted and I learned a valuable lesson. I have been around in the World and seen fantastic landscapes which were mind blowing, but I haven't been to Asia because I'm kinda unsure about the foot culture, not a big raw fish guy.

[rocknroll_jeph]

As always, I love the comments that everyone leaves on this journal, I always love to hear the stories of other people, so if you have a comment after reading, no matter how small or insignificant you may think it is, it may inspire, cheer up or help someone out there.

[rocknroll_jeph]

This week is the first snowfall in Beijing. I try not to take out the car when there is water on the road, but as I only have one car to use, sometimes it is unavoidable. At least they don't salt the roads here like they do in Michigan, and for driving two days in the snow, my car is passably clean.

I have two new Michelin tires sitting in my guest bedroom, just waiting to go on the rear. The P-Zeros are just about done for. I was hoping for a nice weekend where I could roast the rear tires and give them a viking's funeral send off, but looks like that time is past. I just wish I had the new tires with deeper tread on for this week as I was swaying my way down the road on my way to work, fun for me, but not really the way I want to do my morning commute.

[rocknroll_jeph]

Last weekend was a big weekend for maintaining my car. I'm not sure what it is called in English, but I had the inside of the engine cleaned. I was always worried about carbon buildup, but after seeing the pictures, it wasn't too bad and I think that the catch can really was doing its job. That day I also (finally) put on the matching PS4S tires in the rear. They have been sitting in my guest room for just over a month.

The next day I went to my friend's shop to get the oil changed. This time I used Amsoil, which I never used before. My friend in Michigan uses in his Boss 302, so I feel confident that is good enough for me! Haha!

There was a lovely Shelby Cobra there (with a Carrol Shelby autograph on the fender) However, the dashboard was pulled off and there were wires everywhere inside the cabin, too bad, I would have loved to hear that fired up.

Between the new tires, oil change and cleaned engine, the car is running like new again.

In my other groups, I was bragging that my I learned the habit of over maintenance of vehicles from my mom's side. My grandpa was a mechanic in and never threw anything out, and made all of what he had to last as long as he could. My mom meticulously maintains her 2010 CRV, but the day I said that she got a coolant leak from a rusted part (*thanks Michigan salted roads for that), hope I don't jinx anything else...

In other news, my wife and I traveled to the Maldives for the winter break and while it was great looking at the ocean and blue skies, I spotted a few Camaros on the island. I was really shocked because they drive on the right hand side, and it's a really really small island. I saw a 4th gen and a 6th gen with a huge spoiler, but couldn't get to my camera quick enough to take a photo of that one.

[rocknroll_jeph]

Another exciting experience for me. I hung out at the American Muscle Car China (AMCC) new HQ, about an hour away. I met with the big boss and he let my friend and I play around with some of his toys.

It was an unforgettable day and my take away is the Shelby Mustang sounds amazing, drives and handles better than I thought but the clutch is too heavy and the transmission doesn't communicate when it is in gear, and took a lot of strength just to change gears. Maybe I am to accustomed to my BWM's shift and clutch.

The Corvette handles amazing, sounds great and has very responsive brakes. The interior is just too cramped and even with the seat down all the way, my head was resting on the roll bar, and I didn't even have a helmet on.

My Camaro is obviously the best out of the 3 cars I drove and all my mods have made it fit me and my driving style. I do wish it had more power though, the nearly 500HP in the Corvette and 800+ HP of the Mustang made my V6 seem a bit weak. However, even with the stock rear end I am happy to see it do a decent burnout, and not a one wheel peel. I didn't think it would break traction with brand new PS4S tires, but it left a pretty long trail of tire on the asphalt. From inside the car I didn't even know the tires were letting loose...

With that being said, I recently bought all the parts necessary for the LSD swap so my next post should be the video of the install.

You can watch my video here, next time I'll add bilingual subtitles.

https://www.dongchedi.com/ugc/articl...36548472193087

And the official AMCC video:

https://www.dongchedi.com/ugc/articl...28278645411081

Enjoy!

[MSgt O]

Originally Posted by rocknroll_jeph

Another exciting experience for me. I hung out at the American Muscle Car China (AMCC) new HQ, about an hour away. I met with the big boss and he let my friend and I play around with some of his toys.

It was an unforgettable day and my take away is the Shelby Mustang sounds amazing, drives and handles better than I thought but the clutch is too heavy and the transmission doesn't communicate when it is in gear, and took a lot of strength just to change gears. Maybe I am to accustomed to my BWM's shift and clutch.

The Corvette handles amazing, sounds great and has very responsive brakes. The interior is just too cramped and even with the seat down all the way, my head was resting on the roll bar, and I didn't even have a helmet on.

My Camaro is obviously the best out of the 3 cars I drove and all my mods have made it fit me and my driving style. I do wish it had more power though, the nearly 500HP in the Corvette and 800+ HP of the Mustang made my V6 seem a bit weak. However, even with the stock rear end I am happy to see it do a decent burnout, and not a one wheel peel. I didn't think it would break traction with brand new PS4S tires, but it left a pretty long trail of tire on the asphalt. From inside the car I didn't even know the tires were letting loose...

With that being said, I recently bought all the parts necessary for the LSD swap so my next post should be the video of the install.

You can watch my video here, next time I'll add bilingual subtitles.

https://www.dongchedi.com/ugc/articl...36548472193087

And the official AMCC video:

https://www.dongchedi.com/ugc/articl...28278645411081

Enjoy!

Learning to drive a stick on that Mustang..well done my friend! and thats pretty cool seeing the American Muscle represented! Always a joy looking at what you post Jeff!

[rocknroll_jeph]

Originally Posted by MSgt O

Learning to drive a stick on that Mustang..well done my friend! and thats pretty cool seeing the American Muscle represented! Always a joy looking at what you post Jeff!

Glad you got to watch that video, I was just joking about learning to drive on that car, to clarify, the first car I ever drove in 1997 was a stick shift and I've always had a manual until the Camaro, and that's just because it wasn't available with a manual in the local market.