The Bald Eagle Machine Chronicles

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Finally got around to installing my Texas Speed and Performance Headers and full exhaust. Believe it or not the 2 inch Primaries' fit perfectly fine. I did have to unbolt the steering shaft on the driver's side to slide the header in and I did have to cut the boot off of the steering shaft knuckle as well as it was rubbing on the header and would have melted anyways. I did opt to go with their complete exhaust system including High flow catalytic convertors, X-pipe, Intermediate pipes and Mufflers/tips. I hate those band clamps that come in every "bolt-on" exhaust system so I took the car to the local Exhaust specialty shop and had flanges welded in at the headers and the rear diff. They welded the rest of the system together so it comes apart similar to the factory system except I can take mine apart in 2 full pieces. The tips don't match as good as I thought they would. So I will be replacing them in the future. But it is good for now. This exhaust really woke the Camaro up and she sounds as powerful as she should have sounded to begin with!

[camguynj]

Very Nice. Would love to hear it.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Originally Posted by camguynj

Very Nice. Would love to hear it.

I was thinking of putting together a little youtube compilation of how it sounds. I might do that later this week actually. I'll post it here when I do.

[Ashen 6.2]

Looks great. Nice job on the install!

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Finally received my Rockers from RPI Designs. What a slick job on the paint. Looking good. Installing these was a bit of an adventure. I read all the DIY stuff about removing the rockers. First, pop out the first 3 clips on either end. Remove the torx head screws on both ends. Then push the rocker towards the front of the car using your hands or a rubber mallet.... No sir. that doesn't work. Not for me anyways. Just use your trim removal tool and go from one end to the other popping all of the clips out. There are like 15 per rocker. Needless to say the first rocker took an hour and the second took 3 minutes. Re-installing is as simple as lining up all of the clips and smacking them into place. Also added some ZL1addons front splash guards to protect the paint. I love the way the car looks with all of the ZL1 exterior trim. Spoiler is my next and last exterior mod. Going with something different that hopefully turns out as cool as I think it will. Stay tuned!

[lbls1]

Tasteful mods nicely done.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Decided that with all the black trim from the zl1 parts, that it was time to remove the cracked, chipped and faded vinyl stripes. After watching a few videos, I decided that steaming them was the way to go. BEST $30 I ever spent! Bought this little Bissel steamer off of Amazon. Not one piece of vinyl ripped, tore or left residue. Did the whole job in 30 minutes. I personally think it looks great! What do you guys think?

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Took The Bald Eagle Machine to the dyno today. Howard over at Redline Motorsports took good care of me. The car made a very respectable 430rwhp and 423ft lbs of torque. Not bad considering all that is done to the car is a cold air intake, headers and an exhaust. She drives like a totally different animal too. Very snappy and responsive. The laziness in the torque curve is gone. Time to relearn how to drive the beast! Howard of course tried talking me into an in-house cam only build. Which would put me in the 480 to 500hp range... which I am definitely considering!

[Bee]

Looking great!! I definitely agree, removing the stripes completely enhanced the looks of the car.

And congrats on the new exhaust, I bet it sounds awesome!

[Vicster]

Awesome build on your SS, I really like the T/A! So what is next?

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Originally Posted by Vicster

Awesome build on your SS, I really like the T/A! So what is next?

First, Granatelli "pro wing" that was pre-ordered a few weeks back. I am debating on painting this in white to match the car, or wrapping it in satin black to match all of the cars current black accents. Opinions?

Second,
I have BMR Diff bushings and Cradle bushings sitting in my shed. Howard over at Redline strongly suggested that I go with the solid cradle mounts as the Poly bushings still have play in them. Maybe someone can chime in on this as well.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

Still can't believe how much of a transformation was made by simply removing the vinyl stripes.

[Vicster]

Originally Posted by The_bald_eagle_machine

Still can't believe how much of a transformation was made by simply removing the vinyl stripes.

It does look very sharp!

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

So ever since I lowered the car and had the alignment done. The front driver side tire has been cutting on the fender. I'm a big boy at 6'4" and 260lbs, so I guess I've been weighing down the driver side too much. As Ashen6.2 would say, I need to lay off the bag of chips at lunch everyday. So I opted to switch the 275/40/20 for a 245/45/20. Which is essentially a 1.25 inch narrower tire, and it still fits on a 9 inch rim just fine. Should solver the cutting issue. I wasn't interested in raising the car up, or rolling my fenders, so this was my solution. The used tires should bring me enough money on Facebook marketplace to pay for the new tires so it is a win-win.