1978 "Duct Tape Camaro"

[Tonimus]

Back in late 2009 I bought a 1978 Camaro for $600. It was just a roller. I was unaware that it had been wrecked in the front, and I was just a kid who wanted a fun project and got it on a whim. It was "retail therapy" as I had lost my best friend to suicide about 6 months prior. Stripped it the rest of the way down and gutted the interior.

This is when I brought it home.

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The interior was AZ sun damaged trash. It was all pulled and sold/thrown out. Rust free except for a heater core leak.

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In 2017, relocated the Camaro to my buddy's house so we could use the shop. Did solid body mounts. Looked weird cracked in half.

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Finally finished my 383 the same year. Which then ended up in my '84 C30 instead of my Camaro.

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Mid 2023, finally got the motivation to "finish" the project. Duct Tape Drags. Rush-rush-rush to finish by September. Me and two buddies were able to go from a roller to a running race car with required safety gear in 17 working days.
Mini spool and 4.10 gears.

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Fuel cell that barely fit.

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Converted to manual steering.

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Manual brakes with line lock.

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Cleaned the QFT.

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Shifter mount made out of a trans crossmember we had lying around.

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Just enough gauges and switches.

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Fuel pump and pre-filter.

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Fuses, relays, and ignition.

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Finished engine bay.

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Rear firewall.

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The cheapest nose I could find. Custom grille and headlights with "buckets".

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Running for the first time.

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My first time slip ever! 14.133 @ 92.94 mph.

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Blew it up on my 4th pass. Ran 13.000 @ 100.89 mph.

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Misfiring bad. Pulled the plugs. This was the only damaged one. WTF?

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Pulled the valve cover. That's not supposed to look like that.

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Pulled the head when we got home. Whoops.

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We believe what happened is we lost the intake rocker on cylinder 1. With the intake being a dual plenum, the next cylinder on that side is #4. That guy got a double shot of nitrous and melted a hole in the piston. Oh well. Time for a rebuild and I think that's plenty for post #1. That brings us to October 2023.

 

[Tonimus]

Even after blowing up the engine, I was hooked. Drag racing rocks. I'm in it now. Now I'll never have money for drugs.

November 2023. Stripping the motor to have the block bored. Big hole in piston, big scar in cylinder wall.

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While the engine is out to be built by a guy who used to do it for a living (good to have friends), time to make it even better. Pulled the front and rear glass for polycarbonate. Saved the rear for one of the other projects.

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Started building a cage with a kit from S&W.

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Just a small block. Pay it no mind.

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Breaking in the new motor. Clickable to view on Flickr.

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Proper motor needed a better cooling setup. Factory heavy duty radiator and a Taurus cooling fan.

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Lexan windows!

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Really leaning in to the Duct Tape Camaro moniker it got the year before. Duct Tape RS stripes, duct tape covered spoiler, and duct tape window trim.

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Loaded up for the Duct Tape Drags 2024.

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Had so much fun. Got to make a bunch of passes this year.

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Best pass to date.

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Pic from one of the pros taking shots.

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That brings us up to date! I'll try to remember to post some more once we're prepping for this year.

 

[75 Chevy SWB 4x4]

Looks like a fun Camaro!

My friend has a 79 Z28 in the black and silver Indy pace car paint scheme, and he has a 450-500 hp built 383 stroker in it with a turbo 400 trans. Last summer we swapped out the open diff with 2.42 gears, and installed a new Yukon posi with 3.73 gears.

 

[Tonimus]

It's so much fun. Especially when it's a car you can just beat on.

 

[Catbox]

Cool story on the car and its resurrection.