I give up

"Snuze: Needs another Swede" (markg) 04/23/2019 at 14:39 • Filed to: None

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This is it. I’m done.

Someone has already built my dream car. I found this video last night and all I can say is, this is my Camaro. I mean, if you gave me a dump truck full of money for a project car, this is EXACTLY what I would have built, from the de-stroke 388 inch LS7 to the gauge cluster to the functional hood extractors. And I love the subtle mods like lengthening the front bumper to manage airflow underneath (something I’d given some thought to but hadn’t arrived at that solution).

Guess I need to start thinking about a different project.

Chariotoflove > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/23/2019 at 15:07

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Still worth doing, because you’ll never be able to drive this one, but you can drive your own.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/23/2019 at 15:09

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Wait they made the front of a Camaro L O N G E R? I didn’t know that was possible 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/23/2019 at 15:24

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Just the lower part of the bumper, it appears they extended it down and out.  It was to help manage airflow under the car and reduce lift.  

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chariotoflove 04/23/2019 at 15:28

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I know, I’m being a bit overdramatic. Though it does make me a little sad because I thought I had some really unique ideas. Maybe great minds think alike?

Also, on the flip side, the car was built by DSE and those folk s have way more money and capability to throw at it than I likely ever would. So I’m actually kind of happy that someone with that level of skill, capability, and attention to detail made it happen. With my luck it would have gotten stuck in project car hell forever.

lone_liberal > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/23/2019 at 15:29

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The front is pretty similar to the race cars, isn’t it? Better finished, of course, but similar.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > lone_liberal 04/23/2019 at 15:31

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Good call.  It is very similar.  I really like the look, especially with the tasteful carbon fiber lip on the DSE car.  

Chariotoflove > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/23/2019 at 15:37

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I’m just glad that there remains a part of car culture that loves these things, so I don’t feel like a dinosaur.  They are the cars of my youth.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chariotoflove 04/23/2019 at 15:45

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This was my bedroom wall poster car when I was a kid, though they stopped this body style when I was 8.  But it will always be one of my favorites.  

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Chariotoflove 04/23/2019 at 15:45

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The 80s are the new 50s/60s. Lots of wild designs and new ideas all hit at the same time. The 90s are like the late 60s/early 70s, refinements of everything and some gorgeous, simple designs with a power war going on.

Chariotoflove > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/23/2019 at 15:58

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These had just started to appear on the lots when I was a preteen and fantasizing about what car I’d get when I “grew up”. That’s a magical time in a kid’s formation.

Chariotoflove > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 04/23/2019 at 16:02

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And yet people looked at the boxy cars like the Delta 88 and called the 80s boring and “malaise” (I think the term malaise is used in people’s minds to refer to design as much as the originally intended application). I think it just shows that people remember things the way they want to.

I prefer to remember the 80s the way you do.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chariotoflove 04/23/2019 at 16:08

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To be fair, there were a lot of terrible cars in the 80s. But there were some hidden gems. IROCs and Fox 5.0s, Corvettes, Ferrari Testarosas, and Lamborghini Countachs are how I chose to remember it!

Also, o ne of the beautiful things about cars like IROC and 5.0 is they have pretty good chassis underneath. They are like a blank canvas to mod and improve upon a nd they use “lego” engines that can easily be hopped up.

Chariotoflove > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/23/2019 at 16:15

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That the thing about the “malaise” phenomena. The engines were hobbled, but the imaginations of the designers didn’t have to be. So, those cars that performed so badly when  they were created can now become what they were meant to be.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 04/23/2019 at 16:41

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Very on point observation!

MoCamino > Chariotoflove 04/23/2019 at 16:42

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I learned to drive in my dad’s ‘79 Delta 88 two door. It had the Olds 350 Rocket motor and when the secondaries opened up on the Quadrajet, it howled as it gulped down air. It actually moved pretty well for a car that size.  We knew a guy that had a Holiday 88 from the same period. Essentially the same car, but with buckets and a floor shifter. I’d love to have one of those.

Chariotoflove > MoCamino 04/23/2019 at 16:48

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They were also rock solid road trip monsters.  True cross country cruisers.  I loved those cars.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chariotoflove 04/23/2019 at 16:49

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I couldn’t agree more. Maybe I’ll yet end up with an IROC in my driveway yet .

Though I’m also quite captivated with the 6th gen Camaros (‘16-18, the ‘19 refresh is hideous) , they may yet be my second favorite Camaro and I’m honestly thinking about trying to snag an SS/1LE later this year.  

MoCamino > Chariotoflove 04/23/2019 at 16:53

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Yep, Dad’s was a Royale with the cushy seats.  You could lay down across the back seat and sleep like a baby.  Of course these days the seat belt police would pop you....

Chariotoflove > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/23/2019 at 16:56

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I hope you do.

I almost bought the last gen, but changed my mind and bought a Riviera.  I kinda regret that.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Chariotoflove 04/23/2019 at 17:02

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Well every generation has stinkers and an example of not changing with the times. They're enjoyed out of a sense of humor and to be a bit anachronistic. At least, that's why I'm in love with my 4-banger fiero. I know it's objectively slow and awful. And I don't care. Because subjectively it's weird and different and represents the highs of the era.....and many of the lows too, but that's besides the point! It's just so different that you just want to drive it as a curiosity and a conversation starter.

Chariotoflove > MoCamino 04/23/2019 at 17:13

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That back seat room was useful for more than sleeping too, if I remember.

Who needs seat belts?  In the old days, your parent’s arm would shoot out in front of you when they would brake.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chariotoflove 04/23/2019 at 17:16

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My first car was a Pontaic Grand Prix.  It had a big, comfy back seat with lots of room for activities.  Like sleeping.  And stuff.  

Chariotoflove > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 04/23/2019 at 17:16

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I remember coming out of a restaurant with a friend. She passed close to a parked Fiero, and it boomed out “stand away from the car!” We were both Fiero fans, but we had to laugh long and hard at the person who spent so much money for an alarm system on a Fiero.

I don’t car how fast they are, I’m still a fan. I’m glad someone at GM pushed it through.

MoCamino > Chariotoflove 04/23/2019 at 17:30

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Yeah, by the time I would have had an opportunity for other ‘activities’ Dad had gotten rid of that car.  I’d never thought about it - I have to wonder if that had something to do with it. :)

CPT Speedbump > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/23/2019 at 21:46

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Saw this car build last year, very much want to build a destroked ls for my car now

Snuze: Needs another Swede > CPT Speedbump 04/24/2019 at 07:15

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So you can do a LS1/2/3/6 or even 5.3 crank (all are 3.62 " stroke, bores range from 3.78" to 4.065" ) in an LS7 block (4.125" bore) to get a 388 inch motor like the one in the DSE Camaro.

But there’s another overlooked combo that you could probably do on the cheap: a 4.8L crank (3.27" stroke) in an LS3 block to get 331 cubic inches. You end up with a very good rod:stroke ratio, and if you want to get crazy, machine the block for keyway lifters so you can go to a solid roller cam. With the right valvetrain I think you could push close to 600HP and be able to wind it to 9+ grand all day. 

CPT Speedbump > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/24/2019 at 17:06

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4.8 crank in a ls3 has been what I've been considering, if my bank account will let me

Snuze: Needs another Swede > CPT Speedbump 04/24/2019 at 17:16

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Yeah, that’s always the catch, isn’t it? The problem with building a high revver isn’t so much the crank though, it’s the valvetrain. Also, if you really want to do it right you gotta consider the intake an exhaust. ITBs would be ideal because you could pick runner lengths to suit your cam’s powerband, but again this gets to be an expensive proposition, and a tuning headache.

I’m curious if that Camaro is a solid roller motor or is using hydraulic lifters. I couldn’t really tell from the sound, but I didn’t hear any obvious solid lifter noises. I also recall reading somewhere that an engineer said something to the effect of “ the LS7 hydraulic lifters were good for over 8,000 RPM, but we hit our power target at 7 and just didn’t need to go that high. ”

Still, there’s something about the clickety-clackety of solid rollers that just gets me all excited in the pants. But it does mean lashing every few thousand miles.