Pictures of my (finally) finished Camaro for Camaroz

[Al Weyman]

I have at last finished rebuilding my 2nd Generation Camaro and it is entered for a race this Saturday (10th Sept) at Snetterton Race Circuit. I bunked off work and took it testing there Friday and despite every setback imaginable including possibly breaking my hand when the winch let go and arriving at the track at 2pm instead of 9am. It actually ran quite well concidering it had a new self built engine, etc. etc. This is the first race I have done for 8 years since I gave up after a family tragedy so wish me luck.

Anyhow here is a few pictures you may or may not be interested in. The stripes incidently are scanned in original GM stencils which I then digitised, and cut in vinyl. These are usually painted on.
















And here is my future driver, Grandson Harrison

[COLIN STUBBS]

very nice al and i know your going to enjoy racing with those guys. till i changed cars at the end of last season id raced with em for 15 years and youd not find a better gang to race with.good luck!!

[275 GTB-4]

She sure is puuuurty...

[John Turner]

Al, it looks superb, and if it were not for the fact that I have to be at Cadwell at the weekend, I'd be there to cheer you on. I do indeed wish you luck; go well!

[neilwaynesmith]

That is a stunner. I wish you the best of luck and hope that it returns to the paddock in the same condition it left!

[Al Weyman]

So do I Neil, so do I. Fortunately I am a bit long in the tooth for going out with something too prove so i will nurse her around.

[carrera]

She's looking good. See you Saturday.

[Eddy V]

Looks good Al (love yellow cars), hope everything turns out okay at Snet. Shame I can't be there.

[Al Weyman]

Thanks Eddie and carrera, she is now sitting there all ready to go including the Transponder :-) . I did 25 or 30 gentle (ish) laps around Snet on Friday and apart from it throwing a fan belt that was dodgy anyhow (it had flat spotted and I forgot to change it, duh) and the dipstick jumping out causing oil to spectacularly coat the headers and lay a smoke screen she went reasonably well, good oil pressure and running a steady 100 degrees. It is not the highest spec Chevy engine in the world (I built this one myself) so won't set the world alight but not bad and should hopefully be reasonable and is well within the regulations and it sounds like only a Chevy can,

[youngoldy]

Very impressive piece of kit.

[Cambo]

Double post, sorry guys.

[Cambo]

Awesome car Al, just had look at the classic touring car racing club web site, looks a great class! Down loaded some nifty in car videos as well! i can only hope the 74 Corvette I’m building for Historic Sports Cars comes out as good as your camaro! Very impressive, best of luck Al!

[Chris Griffin]

Sorry Al. My question about your experiences at Snett should have been in here really. Great looking car by the way.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Thats the sort of typical thing that happens running a new car. Had a similar thing happen on the SD1 where the sleeved wheel nuts were about 1mm short and kept binding up when they reached the end of the thread. Had loose wheels and a complete set of knackered nuts after the first race. That was at Snett' too as it happens!

I hope to see you at Pembrey if you're going.

Chris

[Al Weyman]

Yes I had sleeved nuts with this set an initially thought thay may have been the problem. I have just stuck the entry in for Pembrey tonight, bit of a slap from Watford but I have done it before, hope to see you there.

[Alfaholic]

Nice to see and hear this car on circuit at last. There's a photo of it on this link and photos from the rest of the meeting on this link .

[Al Weyman]

Thanks Alpha thats a nice picture.

[tigerbill65]

al what times did you do at snetterton.?

[Al Weyman]

Hi Bill,

Here is a link to MST for the day http://www.msttiming.com/singlesessi...snetterton.gif

Did'nt exactly set the world alight but not bad out the box with a very rusty driver I guess. I did Pembrey a few weeks later and actually made the race and managed to finish overall 4th which again was reasonable. I have a terminal understeer problem I am working on which has manifested itself after having to raise the suspension to comply after fitting smaller diameter wheels & tyres (also to comply). I also found the tyres went off very bad after about 6 laps causing me to have a couple of excursions at Pembrey. I reckon the back needs to go up at least a half inch which will help the weight transfer and hopefully kick the tail out and I am also going to try a heavier rear anti sway bar. Another 100bhp would help as well as the engine is in a pretty mild state of tune to be honest but thats what makes it fun isn't it?.

[zefarelly]

sweet . . . and well done

my overiding memories from our first day out where 50/50 nerves and excitement, it took me about a year to relax and feel comfortable with the car, that I could trust it to get me to the end and concentrate on driving alone, I guess thats part of the problem with being a builder/preparer/mechanic/driver.

[Al Weyman]

Thanks Zef I appreicate that comment.

[tigerbill65]

Al , How Many Kgs. Is It.
Who Built Your Engine,

[tigerbill65]

Al, Check The Tow Settings, If You Changed The height.
Dont Use Factory Settings, Best To Try ,
Tow In And Out, Until It Feels Better,trust Me It Makes A Huge Difference.
Also Try To Control Roll.
What Front Springs And Roll Bar, Sizes And Lbs.

[tigerbill65]

ps, extra 100bhp is no good if its understeering,
and shagging the tyres.

[dtype38]

Fabulous car Al, but somehow I thought you'd be older than you look in the photo

[Al Weyman]

You are riight Bill I forgot to mention the tow. I have checked that and it was towing in 1/8 inch so I was going to set it to zero as there is no slop in the bushes.

The engine came out of the Penske IROC I am rebuilding but was not the original Traco unit. I rebuilt it but it is not mega spec. cast crank, pink rods all fully balanced, Isky hydraulic flat tappet cam about the stoutest in their hydraulic range, legal GM angle plug period heads unported about 10.5 compression I guess, flat top forged pistons, big headers and 4 barrell carb on top of a Weiland race manifold, I would guess max power at around 380 to 410 bhp. It ticks over like a road car and is very tractable not like my black car which is a beast of an all steel all roller motor.

On the rollbar side I have a 1.25 inch Transam bar up front and a .75 bar at the back. Up front I have 1000ib springs and at the rear Rancho road race leaf springs. I have ordered some action shots from Pembrey and if the photographer don't mind I will post one here when I get the disc. It looks to me like the rear is definitely not stiff enough and appears to be rolling more so I am going to try a 1 inch bar at the back. I have got a thinner front bar on a wreck I have just bought for spares and I could try that but articles I have read including Herb adams etc suggest the heavier bar is the way to go.

PS the last time I weighed it it was over 3200lbs but curtesy of the CTRCC rules it has since put on weight and up front as it now has the steel nose section and steel inner wings that I never ran with before as they unbolt and do not add to the strength of the car but only act as mud deflectors but as I read the regs I have to carry this dead wieght around with me, reluctantly I may add. I may actually ask for a clarification on this point.