1967 Chevrolet Camaro - Hardware-Ocamaro

Tag : Power Reciprocating Saw

Have you ever used a circular saw with a clear window in the bladeguard so you can see the pencil line you're trying to follow? Ifso, your life has been touched by Dave Campbell, the 37-year-oldowner and builder of this subtly but extensively re-engineered '67Camaro. You see, Dave is an Innovations Design Manager for Black &Decker Power Tools where he helps develop new concepts for drillmotors, miter saws, jigsaws, chop saws, reciprocating saws, andyes, circular saws. He holds the patent for the nifty Sightlinewindow we described.
For Dave, being an engineer isn't a 9-to-5 job-it's a passion thatimpacts virtually every area of his life, but none more so than hishot rodding activities. His Camaro bristles with plenty ofstore-bought hardware for turn-quicker, go-faster, stop-sooneracumen, but what's really impressive is the high level ofhomebrewed, take-it-to-the-next-level tweaks and tricks found frombumper to bumper. Having owned the Camaro since he was 15, Dave hascome to know its weaknesses like the back of his hand. One by onehe devised ways of conquering them.
A devout handling fanatic and occasional road racer, Dave used acomputer to analyze the front suspension geometry in 3-D space andreconfigured it to minimize bumpsteer and keep the beefy Yokohamaskins squarely planted. Similar exploration under the back seatyielded a trick homemade double-wishbone linkage designed tocontrol the lateral position of the rear axle. Cobbled out ofaircraft aluminum, steel rods, and spherical rod ends, Davedesigned it to keep the axle from flexing the springs sidewaysunder hard cornering while preventing the rear roll center fromshifting laterally and upsetting handling through the chicanes. Thewhole works is lighter than a competition-sized solid rear antiswaybar, and Dave says it's more effective.
A multi-pronged attack on body and chassis flex complements thesuspension work. The front clip is reinforced with four1-inch-diameter braces that form a diamond shape around the motorand bridge the cowl, inner fenders, and radiator core support; Daveclaims it all weighs less than the original corner braces. Joiningthe front clip and rear frame extension are Competition Engineeringsubframe connectors welded in place for maximum effectiveness. Moretubular bracing is found spanning the diagonal gaps between theaxle kick-up and trunk floor in an effort to triangulate the regionand add stability.
Under the hood a potent 357ci small-block gets its rations from aHolley Pro-Jection EFI system. Initial testing revealed abrupttip-in characteristics that caused the tires to go up in smoke witheven the lightest touch of the gas pedal. To tame things, Davewhipped up a variable-rate nylon cam-and-cable throttle linkage. Ithas four times less throttle-plate movement up to the halfway pointthan stock before it transitions and allows WOT. By then the car iswell under way and the tires can handle the added power. To monitorthe fuel mixture from the driver seat, a Ford oxygen sensor in theright header collector is wired to a modified analog militaryvoltmeter. And to slow combustion on hot days, there's asingle-nozzle water injection system that uses a pressurizedreservoir and a solenoid to release the flow.
Every engineer knows that parasitic losses are some of the easiestto curb. To free nearly 20 hp without forcing the need for custombrackets and pulleys, the stock water pump has been relieved of itsimpeller. The fan-less pulley spins in the usual way, but coolantflow is handled by a Davies-Craig inline electric water pump. Itmust work pretty well, as Dave still uses the original three-coreModine radiator blown by a Flex-A-Lite electric cooling fan. Onlong trips in hot weather, such as the HOT ROD Power Tour, Daveadmits to bolting a nylon Flex-A-Lite fan to the top pulley andinstalling a deep plastic shroud as an added measure of securityagainst overheating.