Car Craft's John McGann and Holmes Fabrication finish the Suspension
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00:00 In this episode of Car Craft Video, we are wrapping up our Godzilla-powered Mustang and
00:07 LS-swapped third-gen Camaro.
00:12 Before taking these cars out to face each other on the road course, we decided to bring
00:16 them to Hot Rod Power Tour West to debut the cars and drive them for the first time on
00:21 the drag strip.
00:34 Welcome back to Car Craft.
00:35 We are back here with the Camaro.
00:38 Got all the suspension.
00:39 We'll go underneath there and look at it.
00:40 It is absolutely beautiful underneath this car, but we've put our engine in here.
00:46 This is super important to us.
00:47 We want to make sure everything fit.
00:49 Kendall over here has already started running all of the Holley Terminator X-Maxx wiring
00:53 harness.
00:54 I've been researching it, and now I finally have one here in the shop.
00:57 I really like what Holley did here.
00:59 They gave you an OBD2.
01:02 So with this OBD2-style plug they have here, this handheld plugs into it.
01:07 I'm super excited to play with it.
01:09 All right, so now we're right here underneath the car with our Speedtech suspension.
01:14 This has really surprised me with how race this really is.
01:19 To start off with, as we were unboxing, we saw these JRI shocks that are in here.
01:24 I hear they come out of Everham Motorsports.
01:27 So maybe that's more like a NASCAR Home Track Series shock absorber that you'd see in an
01:32 actual race car for people that are competing.
01:36 As we get in here, I've noticed a few things about the suspension system.
01:40 First of all, this A-arm is very narrow, which allows us to turn a very large tire in here,
01:45 so we can get a lot of turn-in on the corner.
01:47 And if we've got a little bit of toe-out and we're trying to get that inside tire to hook,
01:52 this will really help.
01:53 You usually see that on drift cars.
01:54 They really like to get those things sideways.
01:57 All of it is just really beautiful, from this cast aluminum spindle you have here to the
02:02 CNC arm that's hanging out here, the tie rods that are hanging out.
02:07 But mainly, this double-ended, ram-assisted, sweet manufacturing steering rack.
02:12 That is a unit I've never seen the likes of before.
02:15 Now that I've done some research, I realize they use these in dirt track cars, circle
02:20 track cars, open road course cars.
02:24 With this kit, we had to run this Moroso pan.
02:26 This is what fits in here.
02:28 As you can tell, this is quite tight right here.
02:31 We have the motor as far forward as we can, because this is a Gen 3 Camaro.
02:37 There's not much tunnel back here.
02:38 It was very much made for the shape of a 700R4.
02:42 The 6L80 is a very tall transmission, and we're just trying to get anything we can to
02:47 get that further out of that wedge that is the transmission tunnel.
02:52 Our brake kit, this is all set up for Corvette.
02:55 I think this is a '08 Corvette front rotor caliper.
03:00 It's just a dual piston.
03:02 It's not a fixed caliper, but they do pretty well in the Corvettes.
03:06 We're going to see how that works out.
03:08 Wilwood sent us some brakes for the back, because we needed something that would go
03:11 to a big Ford 9-inch bearing.
03:14 We're here in the back with the rear suspension.
03:16 It's really a suspension style I've dealt with for a while.
03:20 This car originally came with a torque arm that mounted to the tail shaft of the transmission.
03:25 This is our new torque arm, and where it's located is this cross member that we welded
03:29 in up here.
03:31 It's got an integrated drive shaft safety loop in it.
03:33 It's really kind of a beautiful unit.
03:35 It simplifies things.
03:37 We have two bolts right here.
03:39 These bolt into a bracket that comes off the front of our 9-inch.
03:43 In there, you can put spacers in there to actually change your pinion angle.
03:48 When you're setting up your pinion angle, it's all adjustable, which is really nice.
03:53 This Panhard bar is what keeps this axle, being that we have two lower arms facing straight
03:57 in the car, and a torque arm straight in the car.
04:00 The torque arm keeping it from being able to move rotationally like this, and the arms
04:05 are what's locating it front to rear.
04:08 The torque arm can actually slide in and out of its bracket up there.
04:11 We're going for no bind in this particular system.
04:14 But this Panhard bar is what holds the rear end side to side in the car.
04:19 So on to wiring and plumbing.
04:21 We're going to get everybody in here.
04:23 We're going to all hands on deck, start wiring that 6L80, and then start connecting everything.
04:28 And hopefully we can fire this thing in the next day or two.
04:32 All right, so what I'm doing here, this is a Godzilla control pack, which apparently
04:44 nobody's really played with.
04:46 I've already tried to read it.
04:47 I've read it a few times.
04:49 I'm going to read it one more time, save it, send it off to somebody.
04:52 I'm not able to open any of the tune file and/or license or write it.
04:59 The reason for that is, is that it's not something that's been translated by HP tuners to use
05:04 with their software yet.
05:07 We're just kind of stuck right now.
05:09 We will be back on it on Monday, and then hopefully we can send this off to paint.
05:13 If it doesn't make paint, either way, we're going to Hot Rod Power Tour West in this thing,
05:18 and it will have an interior by then.
05:20 So can't wait to drive it.
05:22 Until then, back to Camaro.
05:24 We got these tires wrapped around the wheels for the Camaro.
05:33 They're still the Nexen N-Ferra Sports.
05:36 They're a ultra high performance street tire.
05:39 They're quite sticky to the hand right here.
05:41 I do like the way they feel and look.
05:44 We'll see how they perform.
05:45 This has the little spinner in the center.
05:47 We've been playing with those for hours on end when we should have been working.
05:50 This is quite the wheel and tire package.
05:53 Same style as we have on the Mustang, so we have spacers that are set.
05:56 These are a square tire and wheel setup.
05:59 We're going to go ahead and Connor's going to throw these up on the car.
06:01 Then we're going to put this thing down on the ground and see what she looks like.
06:17 Got to say, I'm super excited to try out my new ProForm scales.
06:21 We just got them.
06:22 They're wireless, and we're going to see how much this thing weighs.
06:25 I understand we don't have the hood on it yet.
06:28 We don't have the radiator in it yet.
06:30 But we just want to play with our new toys and kind of see where we're at weight-wise right now.
06:34 2944, just sub 3000.
06:38 Pretty evenly weighted across the board.
06:40 We're almost 25% on every corner.
06:43 We're a little heavy left front.
06:44 These are really good numbers for this car.
06:47 This is a pretty well-sorted, get real close to 50/50 weight distribution,
06:52 sitting the way that it's sitting right now.
06:54 So in the Mustang, you can kind of see a few things.
06:56 First of all, the rear is a little lighter as far as weight distribution goes compared to the Camaro.
07:02 This has a lot more weight over the front, and that's probably due to that Godzilla motor,
07:06 which weighs more than a five-liter pushrod motor ever weighed.
07:10 But this is 3,204 pounds.
07:13 I think it's going to be a close call between the two of them.
07:15 By the time we get the full interior in there and we get everything in there that we need,
07:20 these might be almost the same weight.
07:24 All right, so we're getting ready to put this Hydro Boost into this Camaro.
07:27 In our particular case, nobody makes a kit for third-gen Camaro for what we're trying to do,
07:32 putting the Hydro Boost on it.
07:34 What we've done is we went out and got a Hydro Boost for a '94 Astrovan.
07:39 This is a Dura-Last unit.
07:41 We use them in our day-to-day process.
07:43 Almost everything we do, we'll use this '94 Dura-Last Astrovan Hydro Boost unit.
07:49 It works with the Corvette master cylinders right here, like this Dura-Last one we got,
07:54 which is a really nice one.
07:55 I've never pulled one out and had it aluminum yet.
07:57 We love it because they come with the plate.
08:00 Sometimes from other manufacturers, you'll get the Hydro Boost, and it doesn't come with the nut
08:04 that holds it to the plate or the indexing plate itself.
08:08 Now, Connor's inside the car.
08:09 We're going to slip this thing in here, get it hooked up to the brake pedal, and you'll see just
08:13 how easy it truly goes in.
08:15 All right, so I'm going to take some of this Berryman Easy Does It.
08:23 I'm going to spray it on this crank.
08:25 I heated up this pulley.
08:27 It was a little hard going on the way on.
08:30 Now, this is an aftermarket crank shaft.
08:32 You know, everything's built to a little different tolerance.
08:36 So, we're at a point in the build where mechanically, the cars are pretty well-sound,
08:41 but it's time to do some fun cosmetic stuff.
08:43 So, this is Brian from Classic Industries is here helping me.
08:45 We have a lot of lighting and interior trim pieces that we want to try to get wrapped up by the end
08:50 of the day.
08:51 We're kind of in the final stretch here, so it's just a matter of getting focused and grinding away
08:55 at the stuff that's on our list in front of us.
09:01 [MUSIC]
09:29 [MUSIC]
09:33 Here we are, day one of Hot Rod Power Tour West.
09:36 We are at Irwindale Speedway, and Gabe, the Mustang made it here.
09:40 Yep, it's finally making its big debut, and seeing the sunlight for the first time in a while.
09:44 Well, it looks great walking around it.
09:45 I love the TMI interior.
09:47 I know it's carpet, a lot of restoration parts from your company, Classic Industries.
09:51 You've got the BBS wheels, Dura-Last brakes.
09:53 It's a great-looking car.
09:55 It's a great conversation piece, too.
09:56 A lot of people are asking because there's actually a lot of unique things on this car that hasn't
10:00 really been seen by the Hot Rod and Fox Body community.
10:04 The seat, the lead, the TMI interior, a Dakota Digital Dash, Godzilla, of course.
10:09 People are asking, "Where's the struts?"
10:11 They're gone.
10:12 We've eliminated the struts.
10:13 We're in the Ride Tech SLA, so there's a lot of good talking points here.
10:16 The real payoff is the people and the cars all coming together in places like this.
10:20 That's right.
10:21 It's the people that make this industry, this hobby, exactly what it is,
10:25 which is a great community to be part of.
10:28 Yes, yes.
10:29 A huge bubble of passion and people and metal and fumes.
10:34 I know, I know.
10:35 I love it.
10:36 Time to drive this thing.
10:42 I've got to be honest, I'm a little nervous, but let's see what this is like.
10:46 All right.
10:48 Godzilla's happy.
10:50 God.
10:55 Oh, man, this thing is tight.
10:56 We just went over a bump.
10:57 It was just so rigid, man.
10:59 It really feels like a race car now.
11:01 This thing brings a smile to my face.
11:07 All right, day one power tour is a wrap.
11:10 We're going to kill this thing and prepare to head to Las Vegas.
11:15 [music]
11:18 [music]
11:20 That was exhilarating.
11:46 That was my first time swinging this thing around an autocross track.
11:50 It's a nice big one here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
11:52 I thought the car did great.
11:54 It slid perfectly through the corners.
11:56 It gripped when it was supposed to.
11:57 It got a little squirrely, but it was able to catch and find it.
12:00 Brakes held up nicely, were very predictable, felt surprisingly balanced.
12:05 The total chassis felt very rigid.
12:07 The subframe connectors and the suspension that we put on there, the ride tech, everything.
12:11 The suspension feels pretty dialed.
12:13 John, if you're watching this, I can't wait to see you on the track, buddy,
12:17 because this is going to be a lot of fun.
12:19 [music]
12:25 Here we are, day three of our power tour west at historic Pomona Drag Strip.
12:36 Right behind me is the Camaro.
12:39 This is actually the first time I've seen the car in a couple of weeks.
12:42 I've been out of town. I've been at events.
12:44 I've had to do other work-related things.
12:46 So, Corey and his crew at the Holmes Fab finished the car up,
12:51 and I can't believe the amount of work they got done in such a short amount of time.
12:56 So, here we are. We've got a car on the ground, wheels, tires, brakes.
13:00 Look at these beautiful BBS wheels, big fat tires on them.
13:04 The LS3 built by Flag Motorsports.
13:07 First time I've seen it in person.
13:09 Hydro booth, all the plumbing, the brake lines, everything.
13:12 I know the engine runs. It starts and runs.
13:14 I know it drives around.
13:16 Corey sent me a video of them doing a burnout in the shop,
13:20 and it sounds good, but I haven't even heard this thing in person yet.
13:23 So, I'm about to get in and start it up and see how the engine sounds.
13:27 [engine starting]
13:29 [engine revving]
13:31 Oh, yeah. That's awesome.
13:43 So, I hear this is going to be somewhere around 600 horsepower, 650.
13:47 Way more than I expected this to be.
13:50 So, I don't even know what to say. I can't wait to drive it.
13:54 This is such an exciting moment right now.
13:56 I can't thank these guys, Flag Motorsports, Holmes Fab, all those guys.
14:02 Such a cool, cool build. A great time.
14:05 I can't wait to drive the car.
14:07 [music]
14:09 All right. The time has come.
14:11 We're going to take this thing down the quarter mile drag strip here at Pomona for the first time.
14:15 We're ready. We're warmed up, strapped in, ready to go.
14:18 [engine revving]
14:21 [engine revving]
14:23 Woo!
14:33 Yeah, baby!
14:35 [laughing]
14:41 [music]
14:48 Woo!
14:49 What a thrill to run at the legendary Pomona drag strip.
14:55 Now, the car ran a mid-13s at 102.
14:58 Not bad for a motor that has been tuned to absolutely zero so far.
15:02 Both cars really showed their potential.
15:04 The Camaro went a low 12.
15:06 This was a great shakedown session.
15:08 First time, cars going head-to-head, seeing some time on the track.
15:12 Corey and the guys, man, they did such a wonderful job putting this thing together.
15:15 This is exactly how the car rolled out of the shop just a little over two days ago.
15:19 Both these cars need some final tuning and finish work before we can face them off head-to-head on the racetrack.
15:25 So keep up with the progress of each car on our social media channels and on hotrod.com.
15:31 [music]
15:33 You don't want to eat a cold donut, you know what I'm saying?
15:42 [music]
15:44 Hot!
15:48 [music]
15:50 Mm-mm-mm.
15:51 [music]
15:53 (upbeat music)