F-Body project moving forward (Camaro Project)

Car Collector Corner

By Greg Zyla

Don Hall, standing, service manager at Alexander Pontiac-Buick-Cadillac GMC in Sunbury, Pa., and mechanic Jeff Goodman open the crate on a brand new GM Performance LS6 engine utilized as a replacement in a 1998 Z28 Camaro. All GM Performance engines come with a full warranty when installed by certified GM technicians. The engine puts out 405 horsepower and still delivers over 20-mpg easily. (Greg Zyla photo)

F-Body project moving forward

Q: Greg, I ran into to you at the dragstrip in Numidia, Pennsylvania, in 2008, where you and your son were running a GM F Body 98 Z28 Camaro. I own a Corvette that kept throwing off the main drive belt, and you recommended a Katech belt tensioner pulley to me to clear up my LS engine's belt throwing problem. I bought the Katech belt pulley you recommended for only $135, and the belt has not come off once since I installed it. Thanks, and how is your Camaro project going that you spoke to me about? L.D., email from Pennsylvania.

A: Thanks for the letter, L.D., and I do remember your Corvette and my Katech recommendation. The F-Body project is coming along fine and I'll report on it more as we go through the season. Basically, we bought a pretty beat up 98 Z28 Camaro with 121,000 miles on it, pulled the engine and transmission, and installed a GM Performance LS6 Corvette crate motor and a new GM Performance 4L65E automatic. We had all the work done at Alexander Pontiac Buick Cadillac in Sunbury, Pa., known for great high performance work. Later, we added some bolt on items like Pacesetter headers with street legal cats, Bosch 42 lb. injectors to replace the stock 28 lb. units, Katech belt tensioner pulley (ours threw the belt off every run until we put the Katech tensioner unit on, see http://www.katechengines.com/), Richmond 3:73 gears, and a FAST 92mm intake and throttle body. We took the car to the track with the stock converter and rear, and ran a best of 12.46 at 115 mph in the quarter mile. Since we saw you last, we blew the stock rear end due to a broken cross member from all the torque, so we bought a complete Moser M9 35-spline 9-inch rear with 3.89 gears, BMR aluminum driveshaft and some other BMR suspension components, and finally a Yank 3600 stall converter. In October of 2008, my son Tim and I took the street legal and 20-plus MPG Camaro to the eighth-mile Skyview Drags near Nichols, New York. There, my son ran a 7.60 at 90.73, which equates to an 11.8 or 11.9 in the quarter mile. We had Mickey Thompson Street/Strip radial tires on it at the track, and are getting ready for the '09 season with a new set of Billet wheels and either Hoosier, Toyo or Mickey Thompson tires. The project will conclude sometime late this year, and currently the car has a good HP Tuner Andrew Zurick tune on it. (It's all computer these days).Overall, for not opening the engine in any manner, not yet being on the dyno and just utilizing bolt on products, 7.60 in the eighth at 90.73 is stout, especially when you consider the GM Performance LS6 engine puts out just 346 cubic inches. We'll keep you posted.(Greg Zyla welcomes reader input at extramile_2000@yahoo.com or mail at 116 Main St., Towanda, Pa. 18848).

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