JMART53's Build Thread

[jmart53]

***I've been on here for awhile and have posted plenty of pics on my progress, but I figured I would start a new Build Thread, so here it is!

First off, I would like to thank everyone here on the forum from Members to the Mods to the Vendors... you have all been very helpful and insightful in helping not only me but everyone on here

I'm 25 from the Madison area of THE BADGER STATE. This is my first Camaro... I know, I'm a newbie! I have always liked cars, but never really had anything too fast, closest fun car was a Mazda 3 (which is what I traded in for the Camaro). Most of my friends have been doing the whole car scene since high-school. My friends current cars include: 2006 Trailblazer SS with a 406, 2003 S/C Mustang GT, 1970 Twin Turbo Chevelle, 2004 Mitsubishi Evo, Dodge Magnum RT and then there is me with my 2010 Camaro 2SS/RS.

I will admit I was never a big fan of the 4th Gen Camaro, just didn't appeal to me... but I remember getting all excited when Chevrolet was going to bring it back. I remember watching Transformers for the first time, and when you see Bumblebee come out of that tunnel after "scanning" the car... WOW! I fell in love with it and told myself, 'I am going to own that car.' Well as you can see, I did it and have enjoyed every minute of it.

1st Pics after picking up from Dealership:



Current Pics (5/17/12):





Current Modifications

Engine Modifications

• C.A.I. Intake - Black
• RX Products Catch Can & Breather Kit - Summit White
• Stainless Works 1 7/8" Long Tube Headers w/ Off Road Pipes
• VMAX Ported Throttle Body
• 160 Degree Thermo
• Tuned by Late Model Throttle - 415rwhp/419rwtq

Exterior Modifications

• Window Tint - 50% Windshield, 20% Sides/Rear
• Tinted Turn Signals, Sidemarkers, Taillights, and Reverse Lights - Big Worm Graphix (Charcoal)
• Black Taillight Bezels
• Black SS Trunk Emblem - Sparks Restoration
• Front Bowtie Delete - Drake
• Front Plate Delete
• Debadged - Red SS Grill, Red SS Trunk
• Removed Factory IOM stripes
• Gloss Black Powdercoated Rims
• Nitto NT-05 275/40-20 Rear Tires

Interior Modifications

• IOM Painted Shift/Gauge Bezel
• IOM Painted Speedo Bezel
• 5 Ball Shift Knob
• Burnt Orange Billet Aluminum Pedals (in hand - not installed)

Suspension Modifications

• Pfadt Rear Arm Package (Trailing Arms & Tie Rods)
• Pfadt Differential Mounts
• Pfadt Engine Mounts
• Pfadt Solid Subframe Mounts

***All modifications were installed by myself and a friend(the one with the '70 TT Chevelle) with the exception of the Tune by LMT.***

Future Modifications

• Engine Bay Clean Up - Heather Hose and Fuel Lines & Rails
• Cat-back Exhaust - currently thinking Stainless Works Retro Cambered
• Forged Internals and a S/C

More to come as I update this with pics of my progress

[jmart53]

Here are some of the mods I have done. I am not going to do write ups or show all pics that I took, since there are plenty of DIY threads out there and please feel free to PM me with any questions you have

Tint installed


C.A.I. Intake and RX Products Catch Can and Breather Kit




Front Plate Delete


Stripe Removal








Goo-Gone is your Friend

IOM Interior Pieces & 5 Ball Shift Knob - good thing I waited to do the Steering Wheel piece after these, because I ran out of paint so that would have sucked to take that apart more IOM painted ordered
Stock Interior:

Painting Process:

[jmart53]

My buddy Matt ('70 TT Chevelle) and I went to the shop where he works at part-time on a Sunday when they were closed and got to use the lift and all the tools to get the install done.

Disclaimer: I was dumb and forgot the nice camera at home so we had to use our scratched up cell phones, sorry

Pfadt Suspension - Trailing Arms, Rear Tie Rods, Diff Mounts, Solid Subframe Mounts, and Engine Mounts




Matt and the rear end, he was excited lol



















Some newer (better) pics:




Stainless Works 1 7/8" Long Tube Headers w/ Off-Road Pipes









All in all it was a GREAT Sunday morning/afternoon. My buddy and I did the Pfadt Diff mounts, solid subframe mounts, trailing arms, rear tie rods, engine mounts, SW headers, and the skip shift eliminator in 8.5 hours with a couple 5-10 min breaks for some beverages

I learned a lot about the car still being somewhat new to all this and it's a great feeling knowing that you did the work yourself and you take a little extra pride in it as well. Of course, the money savings of doing it yourself are great, cannot imagine what this would have cost at a shop

So the drive home was a little rough obviously. The car shook a decent amount due to the engine mounts and the diff mounts but since then, about 2 weeks, it has really died down and feels great. I still get some vibration when starting from a stop in first thru the engine mounts and differential but it keeps going down by the day. If anyone is nervous about making the engine and diff more solid, there is nothing to worry about - Chase at Apex is completely right that it goes away with some time while it "settles in." I couldn't be more happy with the outcome and do not regret it at all going more solid for the engine and diff mounts, would do it again in a heartbeat. Should def help plant that power to the road better without all that movement from the OEM mounts.

I really haven't had a chance to get on it hard since I didn't have a tune done right away to see how the rear end did on hard launches regarding wheel hop etc... but I can tell you it is an amazing feeling having that rear end solid like mine. FEELS GREAT! I CANNOT SAY THAT ENOUGH! There is no more play and rocking when it comes to movement back there and so far it is the best mod out of that day, those solid subframe mounts are DEFINITELY worth the price and you won't be disappointed!

Even without a tune yet, the new Stainless Works Headers 1 7/8" w/ Off Road pipes sounded great with the stock exhaust and had a nice growl to it when cruising.

The only downside I had after all this was being stupid and not realizing we had to drain the differential to change the bushings so we had to reuse the fluid we drained (don't worry, put it in a clean container) but I have a little gear whine now but I have since bought some Royal Purple 75W-90 Diff fluid that will take care of it. Read many posts about how changing the fluid definitely helps with that. Also, when we drained the diff, it was NASTY!!! Silver sledge everywhere like you read if you search diff fluid, so if you haven't changed it out back to some new OEM fluids or RP or something, CONSIDER IT. I still need to put my RP in, but will get to it eventually

Hope you enjoyed the pics, again sorry for the quality

[jmart53]

Tune - 415rwhp/419rwtq

[jmart53]

Quick Wash and some detail work done today (needed to get updated pics!)
THANKS ADAMS

[jmart53]

Traded my polished OEM rims for some Powdercoated OEM rims with a fellow forum member from WI...gotta love Camaro5

[jmart53]

Heading to Automotion 2012 in the Wisconsin Dells this weekend, plenty of pics to come!

Line up of cars going in my group:
My Camaro SS/RS
2006 TBSS w/ a 406
1970 Chevelle Twin Turbo
2003 Mustang GT Supercharged
2004 Mitsubishi Evo
2006 Dodge Magnum

[TCAT]

More pics!!!!! I want to see how it went at the autoshow you went to. The car is looking to good not to see more. Ha-ha

[camaro_RS]

Excellent build man! I really like what you did by taking off the stripes. Looks much cleaner now IMO, especially after blacking everything out including the wheels. Nice work on the suspension!!