What do you do when you have a 1999
Camaro SS on hand that has incurred some undercarriage damage?
You turn it into the Camaro 302, which makes its debut
at the 2000
SEMA show in Las Vegas this week. While it is not
targeted for production, it is an exercise in what can be done
to an aluminum block 302 cu. in. engine, the same displacement
as the original Camaro Z28.
A LITTLE HISTORY ON THE ORIGINAL CAMARO Z28 In
1967, the American muscle car was on top of the world, experiencing
its heyday. Perhaps no Muscle Car captured the imagination like
the first-generation Chevy Camaro. When Chevrolet
wanted to take Camaro racing in the SCCA's
Trans-Am
Series, the folks in the race shop faced a problem: they had the
car, but they didn't have an engine. The Trans-Am Series had
a displacement limit of 305 cubic inches, and they didn't have anything
close to that. They toyed with the idea of using the 283, but instead
they
created a new engine by mating the four-inch bore block of the 327
(and the 350) with the three-inch stroke crank of the 283, and just
barely making the Trans-Am racing limit at 302.4 cubic inches. This
new Camaro with the 302 cid small-block V8 went into limited production
and was named after its assigned Regular Package Option (RPO) code
designation Z28 and a legend was born. Camaro Z28s won the Trans-Am
Series championship for two years running, in 1968 and 1969. BACK TO THE PRESENT In
the spirit of that original 1967-69 Camaro Z28, Westech Automotive
and Chevrolet have built the new 302 Camaro, debuting at the 2000
SEMA show. With a high-revving 302 cid (5.0-liter) LS1-based
V8, the new 302 is high performance and all business. The
302 Camaro's V8, a descendant of the original, has a host of modern,
computer-age technologies on board to help it recreate the magic of
the muscular original. The engine creates a whopping 435 horsepower
at 6000 rpm and is mated to a blueprinted T-56 six-speed transmission,
with a heavy-duty 4.10:1 limited slip differential. The engine
features specially modified LS6 cylinder heads, custom-built pistons
and lightweight rods. Its high-flow air intake and mass air
sensor helps keep breathing steady, fast and furious. SLP
Engineering (which worked with Chevrolet and Pontiac
to build the Camaro SS and Firebird Firehawk,
among other high-performance vehicles) contributed a lightweight flywheel,
aluminum differential cooler, and that heavy-duty axle assembly. The
302 also features a carbon fiber driveshaft and the chassis has been
stiffened with Hotchkis springs, sway bars, rear control arms, panhard
bar and strut tower brace. Koni double adjustable shocks and
Baer Racing 14-inch cross-drilled brake rotors and PBR calipers help
with cornering at speed. The 302's interior is complete with
an L.G. Motorsports roll bar, special Recaro seats with five-point
safety belts and a Billet Hurst six-speed shifter. The exterior
is graced with an SLP Bow Tie grille assembly and also special striping
and "302" badging. The car rides on 18-inch American
Racing Torq-Thrust II wheels shod with B.F. Goodrich Z-rated ultra-high
performance tires.
SPECIFICATIONS
