Bee’s 2010 SS/RS Rally Yellow Build

[Bee]

I realize I should have started this thread 10+ years ago, but I suppose it is still better late than never. On the bright side, most of the major build projects are already complete…so it should help cut down on a lot of consumption while waiting for updates.

For most of Bee’s life, he has pretty much looked like this:




However, starting back in the summer of 2020, Bee began a transformation (no pun intended) to breakaway from the stock appearance. Although it’s nearly complete, this thread will go through the entire journey in more detail. But for now, here is a teaser pic.



***UPDATED - Pictures from 5/22/22***






And of course, a build thread wouldn't be complete without a list of all the mods:

Exterior:
Vinyl Graphics BumbleBee Stripes (Removed August 2020)
Window Tint – 20%
RPI Designs Painted Bow Ties (Gloss black)
Oracle LED Concept Side Markers (Rally Yellow)
Oracle CCFL Afterburner Taillight Kit
ZTA Rear Spoiler
Gen5Diy Rapid Fire Third Brake Light
Gloss Black Tail Light Bezels
ACS T3 Rad Support Mail Slot Kit
ZL1 Addons Feather Lite Tow Hook
ACS TL1 Hood Insert
ACS T3 Hood Port Kit
Gen5Diy VA Legal DRL Harness
Diode Dynamics Halo and Demon Eyes
Custom Painted Front Bumper
ACS T4 Front Bumper Port with Eagle T’s
ZL1 OEM Upper Front Grille
ACS Lateral Rear Quarter Ports
ACS T4 Splitter with T4 Deflectors
ACS T4 Side Rockers and Winglets
ACS Front Splash Guards
ACS Rear Bumper Side Extensions
ACS Rear Splash Guards
Emblem Pros Onyx Camaro Fender Scripts
Oracle LED Tinted Reverse Lights
Diode Dynamics Underglow Lighting
ACS Upper Rear Quarter Panel Ports

Interior:
GM Interior Trim Kit (Scorch Yellow)
Fesler Dual Gauge Pod
MGW Short Throw Shifter and Race Knob
Emblem Pros Dash Plaque
Emblem Pros Rear Cup Holder Delete Switchplate
Diode Dynamics Footwell Lighting (Front and Rear)
ACS Trunk Liner with Lighting
Seat Belt Harness Pads
Drake Pedal Covers
Gen5Diy Front/Rear Parking Cameras
VanTrue E2 Front/Rear Dash Cams

Suspension/Drivetrain:
SLP Skip Shift Eliminator
BMR Rear Trailing Arms
BMR Driveshaft Safety Loop
BMR Subframe Connectors
BMR Rear Toe Rod
BMR Pro Bushings Kits
Pedders Xa Coilovers (Lowered 1.25")
BMR Lower Control Arms
BMR Rear Sway Bar
BMR Front Sway Bar
FR 41 ZL1 Replica Wheels (Satin Black)
___Front: 20x9 +27mm offset
___Rear: 20x10 +35mm offset
Black Bowtie Center Caps
Guerilla Black Locking Lugs
Mickey Thompson Comp Street Tires
___Front: 275/40-20
___Rear: 305/35-20
Wilwood AERO4 Rear Brake Kit
Wilwood AERO6 Front Brake Kit
Hurst Line Lock
BMR Strut Tower Brace
BMR Motor Mounts
Coming Soon:
RAM Clutch Adjuster

Under Hood/Performance:
SLP Loudmouth I
Halltech Yellowjacket Air Intake
SLP Longtube Headers and X-pipe
RX Products CNC Ported Throttle Body
ShowStopper Wire Harness Cover
RX Catch Can
RX CNC Ported Intake Manifold
East Coast Supercharging Devil Cam Package
SLP Underdrive Pulleys
JDP Motorsports Heater Hose Relocation Kit
Tech AFX EVAP lines
Holley Valve Covers – Black Crinkle
Holley EFI Fuel Rails and all supporting AN fittings
Russell Analog Fuel Gauge
ARP Intake Manifold Bots
DubC Fasteners LS3 Fuel Rail Kit
DubC Fasteners LS3 Throttle Body Dress Kit
DubC Fasteners LS3 Coil Pack Dress Kit
Diode Dynamics RGBW Grille and Under Hood Lighting
Phastek Intake Scoop/Washer Relo Combo
Cold Air Inductions Air Intake (Replaced Halltech)
Billet Battery Terminal Cover
Billet Fuse Box Cover
Billet ABS Cover (modified)
ACS Hoodliner
Drake Dip Stick Cover
Billet Idler Pulley Cover
Billet ECM Cover
Billet Radiator Cap Cover
Camaros of Michigan Master Cylinder Cover (modified)
Granatelli Motor Sports Malevolent Coil Packs
Granatelli Motor Sports 0 ohm Wires

[Bee]

My journey officially began back on November 19, 2008 when my local Chevy dealer called to let me know I could place a preorder on what would be the 2010 Camaro. I had given them a check about six month to a year prior so I could be placed on their waiting list. My initial build was going to be a 2SS/RS Inferno Orange with a Hurst short-throw shifter on order. You may be asking, but wait, Bee is clearly Rally Yellow so what happened? And yes, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. The truth is selecting the options for me was pretty straight forward, I knew I wanted a 6.2 with a manual transmission, the halo headlights, and leather interior. Due to the way the trims were bundled, selecting the 2SS/RS was the easy part. The challenge was then picking the correct color. I knew I wanted something bright, and in my mind I was picturing Inferno Orange to be like the old Hugger Orange from the 1st Gens. While trying to find other GM vehicles in orange, I came across photos of Pontiac Solstices and Hummer H3’s and realized it wasn’t quite the color I imagined (it’s certainly nice, it just wasn’t as bright as I had hoped). So while I was trying to locate a car at another dealer’s lot to go see the color in person, the Chevy dealer calls to say the Hurst shifter went on constraint so I could either wait until the constraint was lifted, or I could have them remove the option. It was at that point that I asked them to change the color to Rally Yellow (and remove the Hurst shifter), and in doing so brought the creation of Bee.

Bee was officially born on March 24, 2009 and was number 1026 off the assembly line. However, two weeks later he was caught up in what later become known as Area-51. There he would stay for what felt like an eternity, but was really just a long two months. Camaro5 was my lifeline, and I am forever grateful for all the information that everyone was able to gather and share during that time. But like all dark and stormy days, this too would come to pass and on June 23, 2009 Bee finally made his way to his new home.



Funny story about this picture…later that night, I’m looking through pictures (because that was the only way I could bring myself to not spend all night out in the garage), I came across this one and thought, the turn signals are the day running lights and the lower lights are my fogs. The next day I go out trying to find the fog light button only to realize the lower lights aren’t fogs. Turns out, this picture was taken a just the right moment when the hazards were flashing…such a newbie!

[Bee]

Another option that I ordered with the car was a set of Rally Stripes. I always thought they were installed at the factory. But thanks to Camaro5, I learned ahead of time that not only were they dealer installed, but they were also matte black and didn’t extend past the hood or over the spoiler in the back. I asked my dealer to hold off on installing the factory stripes, and opted to go with the “Bumble Bee” stripes made famous in the first Transformers movie. So on June 24, 2009, the new stripes were on.





While I was working on them, a UPS driver pulled up with a large box containing the next mod – SLP’s Loudmouth I axle back exhaust which was installed that Saturday, June 26th. Nothing like taking a reciprocating saw to a brand new exhaust system, but man did it give Bee some growl. Since the car was up in the air, I also threw in a skip-shift eliminator because that only seems to engage when you’re make a left turn going up hill and the last gear you want to be in is 4th. But a $30 part to save on a gas-guzzler tax is a pretty good tradeoff.

The rest of that summer was spent cruising around, hitting up local car shows, and really just enjoying the car. Without many other 5th Gens on the road yet, it was always fun to see people’s reactions. Kids’ faces would light up as they shouted, “Bumble Bee!” Even going to a store or sitting at a traffic light, people would pay stop and ask about the car.

I finished off the first season with one last mod. On November 13, 2009 I had the windows tinted. I went with 20% all around (except the windshield because that is just begging for a cop to pull you over in this area).

[Bee]

Next on the mod list was to swap out the air intake. Although there weren’t a ton of options on the market at the time, I ended up going with a Halltech Yellow Jacket intake installed on January 31, 2010. I do remember feeling a much better throttle response and it also made the exhaust note a little sweeter.

[Bee]

With the trip booked for the first Camaro5 Fest (April 15-18), I was able to get a pair of painted bow ties from RPI Designs installed on April 1, 2010.



Also, my girlfriend at the time (now my wife), surprised me with a set of SLP longtube headers and X-pipe. They arrived just before we were leaving, so I managed to get them installed on April 10, 2010.



Since I wasn’t ready (and didn’t have time anyway) to have the car tuned after installing the headers, one trick I did to delay kicking out a check engine light was to install spark plug extenders on the rear O2 sensors.



In theory, they keep the O2 sensors just far enough away from the hot gases that the ECM is able to detect a slight difference between the front and rear O2 sensors, which prevents the CEL. I drove from PA to Valdosta, GA (for Camaro5 Fest I) and back…from PA to Oshawa Canada (for the BBOMG 3/Ontario Camaro Nationals) and back…hit the drag strip a few times, and countless joy rides and plenty of SEPA5 meets/cruises over the next two years and not once did I have a CEL code. Once the cam was installed in August 2012, the car was dyno-tuned and the rear O2 sensors were disabled. Anyway, just thought I would share that in case anyone is in the same boat I was.

Speaking about the first Camaro5 Fest, it was the first time anyone in our convoy saw so many yellow Camaro's in the same place. So we arranged our cars for a quick photo-op at one of the pit stops.



While at CF5, Bee also got his first time on the dyno. With the Halltech intake and full SLP exhaust, he ended up pulling 407 rwhp/411 ft-tq.

[Bee]

Next up on the list came the GM Scorch Yellow Interior Trim Kit installed on May 13, 2010.



And two days later the Oracle LED concept side markers were installed.

[Bee]

Continuing with lighting, I installed Oracle CCFL Afterburners on September 18, 2010. I was too nervous (at that time) to try and bake the tail lights, so I ended up using a Dremel to cut them open. It wasn’t the most fun or cleanest job to do, but thankfully the bezels hide everything once they are back on the car.

[Bee]

On May 20, 2011 I installed an MGW short throw shifter. This really gave a whole new driving experience. It reused the leather boot, but between the shifter knob and much tighter throws, it was a tremendous improvement over the stock shifter.

[Bee]

During the summer of 2011, I started toying with the idea of wanting to clean up the engine bay. Every time I went to a show, someone would ask if I could pop open the hood. To me, all I saw was a giant plastic lid surrounded by hoses and wires. At one point around this time, I took the engine cover off to paint it.



Although the sides came out nice, where I messed up was attempting to paint the ‘V8’ symbol in the center. I never brought myself to taking a picture of the results, but the yellow bled through the tape and it looked horrible. So I ended up just leaving it off completely which really only exposed more of the clutter. We’ll get to more on that later, but on June 17, 2011 I installed a cover on the harness near the fuse box as what I thought was going to be the first of many ways to hide some of the eye sores.

[Bee]

Coming back on the interior, I had a couple Autometer gauges from my old 2002 Camaro. When I finally found a dual gauge pod designed for the 5th gen, I installed the two gauges on July 1, 2011. The gauge on the top is a narrow band Air/Fuel gauge and one of the bottom is a G-force gauge (it can display lateral G’s, record 0-60 and ¼ mile times, as well as other things like estimated HP and stopping times).



Although the A/F gauge has power, I never hooked it up to the PCM. I considered getting a wide band gauge for more accurate readings, but left this one in as a placeholder.

[Bee]

Someone can certainly correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it was somewhere around 2011 when catch cans really started to hit the 5th Gen community. I know they have been around a lot longer, and are still a staple to this day. But at any rate, I got mine installed on February 6, 2012.

[Ashen 6.2]

Beautiful car and mods to go with it!

[Bee]

Up until this point, all of the mods have been on the lighter side. Most of that was to try and retain as much of the factory warranty as possible, but another part was just wanting to be able to hop in and go for a ride. But when Black Friday came in 2011, my (now) wife went on perhaps the biggest shopping spree of all. Grant it, there were some really good deals but she ordered just about every BMR suspension upgrade available at the time along with a set of Pedders Xa coilovers. I wish I would have taken a picture of all the boxes stacked up in our living room. But they sat there over the next few months until the weather would get warm enough. Starting on March 17, 2012 and going until June 8, 2012…I would stop at my dad’s shop every weekend to work on the suspension upgrades.

Driveshaft Safety Loop
Subframe Connectors
Rear Trailing Arms
Rear Toe Rod
Pro Bushing Kits
Lower Control Arms
Pedders Xa Coilovers
Rear Sway Bar
Front Sway Bar

The only thing that was ordered at that time but still not installed is the Strut Tower Brace. It's currently sitting on my workbench in the garage and plan to getting it installed this year.

Most of the installs were fairly easy…although it always helps having the right tools and access to a lift. I’ve seen where people do this in their driveway, I have to give them mad props! The only part I remember struggling with were some of the bushings. I think the differential bushings put up a fight.

Here are some of the pictures I snapped along the way:



























When all was said and done, the ride height was lowered about 1.25 inches from stock. But, the traction and handling is on a whole new playing field. I’ve never tried autocross and only been to the drag strip a few times (with this car) but on the street I’ve launched pretty hard, even when turning from a dead stop, and I haven’t broken the tires loose.

Before (Stock Height)


After

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Ashen 6.2

Beautiful car and mods to go with it!

Thank you! I will have to read through your build thread in more detail, but your car looks menacing!!