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Old 03-02-2015, 02:04 PM
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Default I guess its time to make this a build

Hey everyone. So I really haven't been doing much to my Camaro mainly due to lack of motivation but I've pretty much been putting all my time and effort into my truck and I figured by now it deserves its own thread.

I bought the truck about a year and a half ago from the original owner with 93k. 2.2 engine with a glorious autotragic



Dat gap...

So like after a month I ordered a generic 3"/4" drop kit (I **** that term) from DJM suspension which consists of 2" drop spindles, 1" spring, and 4" blocks. Well unfortunately I was totally oblivious to spring compressors to I was rocking a 2"/4" drop for way too long. Here's some pics of ugly reverse rake:





So because I'm too cheap to buy or rent a spring compressor I waited til I could borrow one from a coworker. At this point I had a set ZQ8s to use for the winter so I put those on.





At this point i felt like the truck was really coming together and i was pretty excited with the changes i made. While doing all that I also did rotors/pads, lower ball joint, sway bar links, idler arm, and added a set of Belltech drop shocks. Made a huge difference in the overall feel of the truck. I also ditched the stock valence for a 94-97 valence.



Not entirely sure how I feel about it yet.

After hanging out with a few other guys with trucks lower than me I convinced myself to go lower.







So ThorBros bolt in notch, Belltech 3" leafs, and DJM 3" springs all showed up about a week ago and I just finished installing them yesterday.

Took off the bed, obviously it couldn't be done with the bed on. Relocated the evap to the gas tank cross member.



These are the blocks that were in my truck before. 4" angled blocks from DJM. Should've known better than getting aluminum blocks but they held up for a year so out they go.



C-notches plug welded, bolted, and panel bonded into place



Ecoated and undercoated the notch and bare metal around it. Got the Belltech leafs in with temporary auto zone 3" blocks til I get JTR blocks with pinion shims.



3" coils vs. 1" coils



And all back together!



Now its just a matter of ordering a new set if wheels and it should be done for now. I don't really want to start touching the body quite yet because realistically I need to learn to drive it again. But this is also my first time lowering a vehicle so I'm pretty amazed that I was able to do this with help from a couple friends.
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Old 03-07-2015, 05:13 PM
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wow thats a lot of work to just lower a vehicle lol. Nice work. That thing looks like its on the ground. Hows the ride quality compared to stock?
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Old 03-07-2015, 09:14 PM
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Originally Posted by LSX-Nation View Post
wow thats a lot of work to just lower a vehicle lol. Nice work. That thing looks like its on the ground. Hows the ride quality compared to stock?
Yeah I was as low as I could go before without doing the notch. As far as ride quality goes the major differences is that its a lot firmer going down the road. The stock suspension in my truck was sort of floaty. The steering wheel feedback has drastically improved mostly due to a new idler arm and sway bar links. All in all the only things that suck are frost heaves and pot holes, everything else is tolerable to me
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Old 10-08-2015, 10:56 PM
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Hey all, haven't been around here for awhile, hope all is well. I ended up selling my Camaro in the spring time and have been messing around a lot with my truck. I do miss the Camaro though, only reason I got rid of it was because I didn't have the ambition at the time to get it done. I will get another one eventually however. Also I'm sure my truck won't be in the tastes of many here but I figured I'd post some progress and snoop around a little on here. Anyways...

I ended up picking up a set of ESM-007 wheels, wasn't satisfied with the ride height up front so I bought a set of QA1 Coilovers with 550# spring rates.



And Spohn LCAs to hold them in place.



I will be modifying these over the winter to get more suspension travel. This setup overall rides pretty nice and allows me to run a low overall ride height. I am about 9" lowered overall. Here are some pictures of it installed with the suspension settled.









And here's how it sits today, broken.



Once again I am troubled with transmission problems, lost 2nd, 4th and reverse on my way to Maryland. No biggie, I'm not playing around this time I'm going straight for a 5 speed swap. I do plan on doing a lot of additional modifications but mostly to the chassis to provide a safer driving experience. I will say I never thought I would get into the whole "stance" crowd. But I have met some really cool people so I can't complain. But yeah thats it for now I guess
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Old 10-09-2015, 01:32 AM
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4cyl or 6? i would get a 6 speed. the 5 speed is very very weak. and prone to cracking the reverse/5th gear shift fork. i like it. if it was California id say AWESOME!! but around here and that low amazing you can manage!
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Old 10-09-2015, 01:42 AM
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....your truck is looking nice!!!

I like the wheels!!! Is it a daily driver?
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Old 10-09-2015, 02:03 AM
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Originally Posted by ILuvPizzaTimes10 View Post
4cyl or 6? i would get a 6 speed. the 5 speed is very very weak. and prone to cracking the reverse/5th gear shift fork. i like it. if it was California id say AWESOME!! but around here and that low amazing you can manage!
It is a 4 cylinder. 2.2L. I do not know of a 6 speed transmission compatible with it but to be honest, this 120 HP doesn't exactly need a 6th gear lol. I get about 28 on the highway as it is. And as far as roads go well, you learn which roads you can and cannot drive down thats for sure. You become very weary of the roads surface whether you like it or not but overall its not too too bad. I drive mostly back roads and 495N.

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....your truck is looking nice!!!

I like the wheels!!! Is it a daily driver?
Thank you! It has been my daily since I bought it but I drive my dads old Ranger now. You can see it in the background of the last picture. Its the 4.0/auto, 4wd, and has 76k now. My dad bought it new in 2004. He has since passed away so thats why I'm driving it. I'm also building his 48 Harley Davidson Panhead FL with the help of my uncle.
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