69 Z/28 Day II Project (Air Force Brat)

[NorCam]

Wide Ratio 2:56 1st gear, 4:56 Rear and not sure on tire height but they will be 50's on the back. I currently have some NOS H50/15 Mickeys but they are a lower 26" profile so they they may be changed up to Pro-Trac N50's for the extra 2" of height. Fronts will be getting some skinnies. Looking for some air shocks for the back now. I should have kept those Hurst Shocks I had (lol)

[napa68]

Originally Posted by NorCam

Wide Ratio 2:56 1st gear, 4:56 Rear and not sure on tire height but they will be 50's on the back. I currently have some NOS H50/15 Mickeys but they are a lower 26" profile so they they may be changed up to Pro-Trac N50's for the extra 2" of height. Fronts will be getting some skinnies. Looking for some air shocks for the back now. I should have kept those Hurst Shocks I had (lol)

I ran a M22W in my 67 Nova behind the 422" SBC. 3.70 gear on a 26" tall tire. It was an attention getter to say the least. You think the 4.56 may be a bit too much?

BTW, I've got that beer ready for when you come through (if they ever open the effen border)

[NorCam]

Had 4:56 gears in the Nova and it wasn't all that bad (except on the highway) lol. It only had 26" rear tires and would have been better with some 28" rubber. It depends what tires I run on the Camaro, but could always opt for 4:10's and that would ease up on the rpm a bit. I'm not as concerned about the highway RPM as I don't plan on running it on the highway other than in and out of town for cruise nights which is a 20-minute run for me right into south Calgary. And, I'm lucky if I do cruise night once or twice a year. This one will be more of a street/strip car that can also go out for track days but will be a while until it's ready for that.

Unfortunately the Beers too....will have to wait until MCACN or another road trip Tim.

The CAN/USA border is still closed and may not fully reopen for a while, so I pulled the trigger and got TFX to pick the car up in PA. They are actually loading it up early this morning. It should be here in a week or two and I will take a full inventory and get started on the work just as soon as I unpack it. It comes with much of its original parts and pieces (very complete car) and is pretty well stuffed to the brim for the trip north.

Can't wait to dive into it and get started...

[NorCam]

The seller was kind enough to rent a trailer and haul it over to meet the transport truck this morning. It's now loaded on the transporter and is on its way to the great white north...Eh!

Soon...it will begin the next chapter.

[Chuck_Burg]

With a 2.56 first gear, a 4.56 rear gear and 28" tall tires you'll have a starting line ratio of 11.67! 4.11s would give 10.52 which is probably a little more manageable. I'm nowhere near an expert on this but I think the 10.50 range is where you want to be with a light weight Camaro with a 3.50" stroke.

[NorCam]

Originally Posted by Chuck_Burg

With a 2.56 first gear, a 4.56 rear gear and 28" tall tires you'll have a starting line ratio of 11.67! 4.11s would give 10.52 which is probably a little more manageable. I'm nowhere near an expert on this but I think the 10.50 range is where you want to be with a light weight Camaro with a 3.50" stroke.

Agreed Chuck. I looked at the calculators after posting that combo the other day to help decide if I was going to order a close-ratio (.220 first) or a wide ratio (.256) trans. I have now decided on the wide ratio and will likely go with 4:10 gears.

[Chuck_Burg]

I have a 496 going in my 67 with a standard close ratio M22 with a 2.20 first and 28" tires. I'm in a similar boat to you, not really concerned with driving it on the highway for sustained periods... Not sure which gears to go with. It is a street/strip car with 90% street use. I think 4.11s are ideal but will blow the tires away on the street in probably every gear. May go with something around 3.55 even though the first gear will go forever... What are your thoughts?

[NorCam]

Big block torque will do that to you...but that's also half the fun. I'm sure this small block will be better on the tall end while making its power in the upper rpm range where I like my shift points. After the smoke's gone, there is nothing better than pulling away from a car while banging gears at 7K plus.

[NorCam]

Got the car up into Alberta this week and the first thing I did was unpack everything to take a bit of an inventory. There are a lot of great parts here that will need to be restored, and a few missing parts that I will need to be hunting down. I've already started to knock the car back to the shell and prep it for a trip to the body shop, That will happen in a just a few short weeks so there's isn't much time to waste. The sheet metal work will lead the way while I'm busy restoring the sub-frame, suspension and the differential.

Below are the pics I took after everything was unpacked on Monday. In the last image, the previous owner surprised me with a little gift that he packed into the car. Three very nice T3 headlamps he pulled from a low mile Camaro that was wrecked many years ago (thank you Fred). It was also nice to find the carburetor came with the Stamp Rite fuel line bracket which is a very hard part to find. Now to get busy with the car and get a jig built for it. It won't be long before the sheet metal work is underway, so stay tuned.

[DW31S]

Killer project! Gonna be a screamer! As far as gear ratios.....quicker, cleaner and easier to change transmissions than diff gears. If you have a spare Muncie or two (with the same input & tailshaft), they can be swapped/tailored to your combo in an hour or so. Make sure you degree in your bellhousing for those high rpm flatshifts.......but you already knew that.