When building a low 9-second drag car everything must be considered; not just suspension, transmission and ridiculously powerful engine. Everything must work together to enhance the overall goal of running the desired ET without having a ton of issues. One area of great importance in any race application is the cooling system; this is something that cannot be ignored on the street, road course or the case of All Air, the local drag strip. With the naturally aspirated LS between the fenders of the former anemic ’00 V6 Camaro, the cooling system needs to be up to the challenge – all-motor combinations are especially sensitive to heat soak, and we need to keep the weight down while still rejecting sufficient heat from the system. Two major names stepped up to the plate for assisting in the cooling needs of our project car: Meziere and AFCO.

Meziere is a San Marcos, California based company that is well known in the industry for making some of the finest high-flow electric water pumps on the market. Along with water pumps, Meziere manufactures cooling system accessories, thermostat necks, recovery tanks, expansion tanks, radiators and billet flexplates. With their vast experience and knowledge, Meziere is a solid choice for high-flow electric water pumps.

The Meziere pump mounts to the radiator's lower hose connection using the supplied flange, keeping the entire assembly simple and compact.

For All-Air’s purposes, Meziere suggested using part number WP362, which is a dual-outlet radiator mounted water pump. Space is always at a premium underneath the hood of the 4^th generation F-bodies – during the engine installation mock-up, our shop manager Sean had to cut out a section of the cowl and windshield to make room for the carbureted LS. In cases like our Camaro or other applications where space is limited, using a radiator-mounted water pump may be a lifesaver. In cases where an engine mounted pump or a remote pump in the chassis seems impossible, radiator mounting is an excellent option.

Included with the WP362 water pump are all of the necessary components to complete the installation along with a detailed set of directions.

Meziere Dual Outlet Radiator Mounted Water Pump

• Part Number WP362
• Total weight: 6.2 pounds
• 3000+ hour life expectancy for street or drag use
• 55 gallons per minute free flow rating
• Normal draw of between 11-12 amps
• Compatible with 16V electrical systems
• Radiator mount weld plate included
• Stainless steel large diameter main shaft with high performance ceramic seal
• Dual outlet ports accept -16 AN fittings

Meziere's Dual Outlet Radiator Mounted Water Pump offers racers with space constraints the opportunity to mount their water pump directly to the radiator. The pump comes supplied with a weld-on mounting plate to convert your own radiator, or you can do like we did and get an AFCO radiator already set up to mount this type of pump.

As part of the installation instructions, Meziere recommends having a qualified welder weld the mounting flange into place on the radiator. This flange should replace the lower hose connection on the radiator tank. Once the flange is placed with the flat side facing out and the larger rounded part is facing the inside, the qualified welded should carefully weld the perimeter of the flange. Once everything has cooled, Meziere recommends checking the welds just in case there are any leaks.

Once it has been determined that there are no leaks, the pump can be installed using the supplied hardware.  In our case, the AFCO radiator we selected was already modified to accept the Meziere pump, making this part of the assembly a cakewalk.

Electric Versus Belt-Driven

High-flow electric water-pumps offer many advantages for racers, such as consistent cooling regardless of speed. When compared to a factory mechanical belt-driven pump, the electric pump the same flow rate regardless of speed or RPM, and with a high-flow electric pump the overall volume is increased and keeps the car running cooler. Another added benefit of using an electric pump is being able to cool the car more efficiently in between rounds; the electric water pump can be hooked up to a toggle switch allowing it run without the engine on, unlike factory pumps.

AFCO's Double Pass Radiator is built to withstand the demands of drag racing thanks to its lightweight design, compact size and aluminum construction.

To give our pump a place to live, we sourced an AFCO radiator. Based on the demands of All Air’s intended purpose and space constraints, AFCO recommended using part number 80104NA. This particular offering features the “Scirocco-style” or double pass design, which provides extreme cooling capabilities in a compact size. Thanks to the all-aluminum construction this is a very lightweight unit (just 8 pounds when empty), and weight savings are always beneficial in drag racing applications.

AFCO Radiator

• Part Number 80104NA
• 100% TIG welded – no epoxy
• 2 rows of 1-inch cores
• Stainless hardware included
• 2-inch foot mounts
• Four 1/4″-20 mounting bungs
• 1/4″ brass drain cock included

AFCO's radiators are all TIG welded for added strength. It's more expensive and time consuming than using glue to seal the radiator, but it pays off in durability and longevity.

AFCO’s radiators benefit over two decades of experience and knowledge in the aftermarket performance industry. The AFCO 80104NA radiator is a 2-core unit that is entirely TIG welded, meaning there is no epoxy to fail and cause leaks. All of the included hardware features stainless steel construction for added strength and resistance to corrosion and rust.

Sean begins to install the mounting brackets to the radiator. He has taken care to wrap the radiator core with cardboard to prevent damage during the installation and test fitting processes.

Custom Features From An Off-The-Shelf Design

Since we knew we wanted to radiator-mount our water pump, when we placed our order with AFCO, we started with the 80104NA design, but asked them to omit the lower hose fitting and sent them the Meziere pump and mounting plate to TIG weld to the tank. Thanks to modifying one of their off-the-shelf designs, we got a radiator that fit our needs perfectly, without having to step up to a full custom piece. If there’s nothing in AFCO’s catalog that is exactly what you want, they can do custom cross- or down-flow radiators to the specifications you provide as well.

Once we had our new AFCO radiator in-hands, it was time to fabricate up some mounting brackets to give it a home in All Air’s nose…

The fabricated radiator mounts are welded in place, and all that remains it install the radiator and water pump.

When the mounts were secured in place, Sean test-fit the radiator once again to ensure proper alignment and fit. After it was clear that everything was seamless, the radiator and water pump were mounted into All Air. However, the work was not complete yet; the wiring harness needed to be installed in order for the water pump to function.

Sean begins the installation of the wiring harness for the Meziere Radiator Mounted Water Pump.

The final addition to our cooling combo was an 8-inch electric fan, also from AFCO. Part number 80176 draws 6.9 amps and moves 421 CFM – not a whole lot of air, but for the purpose of drag racing, it’s perfect. We can run the electric fan and water pump together in the pits between rounds to cool the engine down, and we have enough heat rejection capacity to keep the needle in the green during burnout and idle without carrying around a lot of excess weight we don’t absolutely need.

Yes, the fan is small, but small is beautiful in this case. Because this is a drag-race-only car, the fan will do most of its work in the pits between rounds, and the cooling system has plenty of capacity to keep temperatures where they need to be during the burnout and staging.

With our new cooling components installed, we’re ready to run plumbing and finish up the wiring. Thanks to Meziere and AFCO, All Air will keep its cool without lugging around a lot of excess weight, and we know that we’ve got dependable components that won’t require a lot of attention or maintenance; always a plus when you’re hustling in the pits between rounds, or thrashing in the shop to get ready for the next race.

The Meziere pump looks great and saves plenty of space.

The engine bay in our 2000 F-body Camaro is a tight fit for the massive World Products 454 Warhawk, which should surprise no one considering the stock engine that we removed was an economy grocery getter GM stock V6. For our purpose built drag car, performance is critical, but trying to get our 454 cubic inch monster, with all the high performance trappings and the required massive header tubes, into the stock engine bay where the 232 cubic inch V6 previously lived, was going to take some ingenuity and skill. Enter Lemons Headers.

Dan Lemons hand builds each set of headers for maximum performance in tight spaces. Our F-body Camaro has limited room in the engine bay but Dan custom-made a set of headers that provided plenty of clearance around the oil pan, starter and steering linkage while keeping the primary tubes equal length for performance.

Our previous updates on the All Air project car have detailed the specifics on the World Products 454 Warhawk powerplant in the update entitled “454 Warhawk: The All Air Powerhouse,” and the tight space under the hood after mounting the massive engine and ATF Powerglide in the project car update entitled “Project All Air Update: Mounting the World 454 and ATF ‘Glide.” It doesn’t take too much imagination to understand that space in the engine bay was at a premium.

Unwilling to sacrifice power for space saving off the shelf headers, we contacted Dan Lemons of Lemons Headers to craft a set of custom made headers for the beast. The car was hauled up to the Lemons’ facility where the master craftsman fabricated a hand built set of racing headers. In return, Lemons used the freshly built headers as a template for customers with the same engine/chassis combination desiring racing headers. Lemons doesn’t keep any headers in stock – each set is made to order, many from templates like this one.

About Lemons Headers

Dan Lemons started out by building headers for a major header manufacturer in the late 60’s and early 70’s before seeking his fame and fortune as a cabinet maker in Paso Robles, Califonia.  It wasn’t long before the local guys that knew of Lemons previous header work drew the cabinet maker back into making headers.  Once the passion for making custom headers was rekindled, Lemons began making headers for anyone wanting a custom set.

One of his early customers, a Georgian that was very pleased and excited about Dan’s work,  convinced Lemons that he could do this full time. With no business plan, boardroom or list of company officers, Lemons set off to make custom headers under the name Lemons Headers in 1997. “We started by building drag race headers where there were two big demands, spark plug room and ground clearance,” said Lemons. Most of our new drag racing designs have the primary tubes higher than the bottom of the oil pan, so if your wheelstand bottomed out your suspension, it got to your oil pan before the headers.”

Our custom made Lemons Headers offer plenty of access to the spark plugs and clearance for the starter.

Exhaust Theory

Years of experience has proven that exhaust headers improved engine performance significantly by allowing the exhaust to be efficiently moved out of the combustion chamber. That is, when space permits, a long tube with minimal bends for each cylinder to reduce back pressure.  More often that not, the engine bay does not allow for this ideal exhaust configuration. Fenders, firewalls and necessary components like the steering linkage cut down on the space available for header tubes.

When this unavoidable situation happens as a result of replacing a small engine with a much larger high performance motor or when the engine combination you are using doesn’t have an off the shelf set of headers available, the optimal solution is a set of custom built headers.  “Building a set of performance headers requires putting a big tube into a small chassis and trying to get them as close to the same length as possible. This is not an easy task,” says Lemons.

For our project car, Lemons opted to use 18 gauge mild steel stepped from 2″ diameter out of the block to 2 1/8″ at the slip on collector. According to Lemons, “For the weight of the car, stall speed of the convertor, horsepower and cubic inch size of the motor, this design will put the torque and power bands where you want them. Our collectors are fitted with Lemon’s transition cone that helps with the scavenging of exhaust gases from the cylinders.” Lemons says, “this is our typical race collector.”

There was a concern that because of the space limitations, the headers would not be able to removed or installed without raising the engine off of the mounts. “What we did was split the header flange into pairs, meaning two primary tubes on each flange, so that the headers could be removed or installed without lifting the engine.” Even with the tight space, only the steering shaft has to be disconnected to remove the driver’s side headers. “Being able to remove the headers without lifting the engine will make a huge difference at the track if you have to take the headers off for any reason,” added Lemons.

Designing Headers

Dan has a couple of principles that he tries to keep in his header design; large radius bends and keeping the primary tubes as close to the same length as possible. Lemons says these principles help keep the headers flowing freely. Another goal that Lemons always stays true to is building each header by hand so that he is free to bend the tubes in order to fit into the chassis and over the frame.

Even hand building each header does not mean that it is an easy project.  According to Lemons, “The most problematic ones would be the late model Camaro. Everything is very restrictive, especially on the passenger side.” The limited space on the late model F-body chassis is more of challenge and with our specific engine combination, Lemons required us to bring the car in for a custom fitting. For the most part, Lemons says he can make a header system for just about any car; “Ninty-nine percent of the time everything is trouble free and works like it is supposed to.”

From start to finish, it takes Dan and his crew about two days to complete a set of custom headers. Understanding racers, Lemons is even willing to work on weekends if you need your headers quicker than normal.  There is an extra charge for a rush job, but Lemons tries to make sure that his customers are taken care of.

In a perfect world headers would only have one bend, out from the engine and back. With modern chassis and component designs, multiple bends are required. Lemons works to get the largest radius bends that provide ground clearance and performance.

Choosing the Right Headers

With so many different factors to consider when choosing headers, the selection process can be terrifying. To take away some of the fear, Lemons offered this advice, “If you have a stock or mild engine and chassis build, an off-the-shelf header is probably the right way to go.” If you have a wild combination and are looking for every advantage, custom headers are the optimal choice.

Custom Header Options:

• Flange design – one-piece or split
• Primary tube diameter – stepped or single-diameter
• Primary tube length
• Collector diameter
• Collector length
• Stainless or mild steel
• Coated or uncoated

Choice in custom headers for cars bound for the drag strip comes down to a couple important factors; lengths, diameters and bends. Lemons explained, “In a perfect free flowing exhaust world, there would only be one bend in the exhaust system.  Flow would go straight out from the engine and then directed 90 degrees to the back of the car.” Engine bay and chassis design makes that an impossibility in just about every case. Lemons compromises by “trying to keep our designs as free-flowing as possible by using as large a radius in the bends as possible while keeping the primary tube square to the exhaust port without back-cutting the bend at the flange.”

One advantage of custom headers is having the most clearance possible for engine and drivetrain components.

Improving a Tried-and-True Product

Even with a tried and true product, Lemons is always looking to improve. “We put a lot of effort into improving and redesigning our headers. If we feel we can pick up a little more ground clearance, increase space around the starter and oil pan, or improve access to the spark plugs, then we’ll redesign a header.”

The primary tube length can have a big effect on power curve, but when limited space does not permit longer primaries, Lemons uses different diameters of tubing to compensate for length. “The ability to use different tube sizes allows much greater flexibility in designing a header. Smaller diameter tubes act like longer tubes and bigger diameter tubes act like shorter tubes,” said Lemons. As far as stepped headers, Lemons says that a stepped header scavenges better than a straight-tube header and broadens the torque curve. Getting more exhaust gasses out of the combustion chamber means you can put more ignitable fuel in. And we all know what that means: More power!

Lemons takes several other factors into consideration when building a custom set of headers, “Cubic inches of your engine, your compression ratio, how much horsepower you intend to make, the size and weight of the car and tire size, should also be considered,” adds Lemons.

Other information about the vehicle can play into designing a great set of custom headers. If you plan on running mufflers, X-pipes or H-pipes, exhaust flow is affected. According to Lemons, “If a car utilizes a full exhaust system, we may lean toward a larger tube or collector size because of the added back pressure.”  Even the type of torque converter can have a dramatic effect on the header design. A higher stall converter requires more power to spin up while “converters with lower stall speeds will require more torque and smaller tubes. Nitrous and blower motors tend to like bigger tube sizes,” advised Lemons.

Gaskets

Header leaks can be irritating and could risk burning a valve so it’s an issue that Lemons takes seriously. ”We have had great success with copper gaskets, since they’re extremely flat, which promotes an excellent seal, and do not expand or contract as much as fiber gaskets.” The properties that make copper gaskets successful also provide its only drawback. According to Lemons, “Copper can’t crush like a fiber gasket, so we recommend using a thin layer of copper silicone on each side of the port opening.”

Because copper doesn’t expand and contract like fiber gaskets, there is an added benefit of your header bolts not backing out.  ”The combination of heavy-duty header flanges and flat copper gaskets that don’t expand and contract like thin flanges and fiber gaskets, virtually eliminates the potential for bolts to loosen over time,” states Lemons.

Header Material

“We build headers in mild steel and stainless steel with the most significant difference between the two is that stainless costs about twice as much,” Lemons says. “Stainless is a stronger material and won’t rust, but it discolors and weighs more. Mild-steel headers that are well-coated inside and out make a lot of sense, because they’re cheaper, lighter, and very durable.” Regardless of the type of material selected, Lemons says they use 3/8″ thick header and collector flanges with 18 gauge tubing and 16 gauge collectors that are all TIG welded.

Ease of Installation

While designing a set of headers that is simple to install is important, “we won’t sacrifice performance or fitment to make a header easier to install,” Lemons assured us. As the master header builder explained earlier, getting a good fit with good spark plug access and plenty of ground clearance with room around the oil pan and starter is most important. With the options of individual tubes and slip on collectors, even the most complicated set of headers can be installed relatively easily.  ”Many of these headers can be installed in 15 minutes with the engine and starter in place,” says Lemons.

Header Installation Tips From Dan Lemons:

• Header flange gaskets: With all Lemons headers, Lemons recommends using a flat gasket, either a fiber type or an annealed copper gasket. Do not use an embossed copper gasket that has a raised rib around the port. If an SCE flat annealed copper gasket was sent with your order, Lemons recommends applying a thin layer of Permatex Ultra Copper high temp silicone on both sides of the gasket port opening.

• High temp anti-seize: Lemons recommends Permatex Copper Anti-seize to be used on header bolts and slip on collector mounting bolts. For header with Lemons slip on collectors, use a generous amount inside the slip on tubes. This will stop corrosion and help the collector to slip on much easier.

• Individual header tubes: If your header was built as a race style with individual tubes and slip on collectors, the headers will be installed one tube at a time. As you install each tube just snug the header bolts evenly, do not tighten. With all tubes installed, slip the collector on and tighten the mounting bolts. Then go back and tighten the header bolts. Always check around header tubes for brake line, wiring and fuel line clearance.

• Slip on collectors: If your race header has been ceramic coated, there may be overspray inside the slip on tubes at the front of the collector. This should be smoothed off either by hand sanding with 80 grit sand paper or by using a 40 grit flapper wheel on a die grinder or high speed drill motor. Sand just enough to take the roughness off. When installing slip on collectors, coated or not, always apply a generous amount of high temp anti-seize to the inside of the slip on tubes. Cover the entire area inside of the slip on tubes. This will keep the connection from corroding and help the collector to slip on much easier. Lemons slip-on collectors are held on by tabs and bolts. One tab on each collector will be stamped left or right that tab needs to match up with the stamped tab on the header tube.

• Ceramic coated headers: When installing polished silver ceramic coated headers, they should first be wiped down with rubbing alcohol. Use a clean white cloth to apply the alcohol, then a clean dry white cloth to remove the residue. After the headers have been installed, repeat the alcohol cleaning process to any areas that are accessible. This will remove the fingerprints, grease, excess anti-seize, smudges, etc. Start the engine and let it idle for about 5 minutes, then shut the engine off and let it completely cool down. Next run the engine again for about 10 minutes and then let it cool down. This process will help to bake the new finish on, making it tougher and will greatly reduce the chance of any dulling of the finish in the future.

• Spark plug wiring: For Big Block and LS headers Lemons recommends a 45 degree wiring boot and for the Small Block headers Lemons recommends a 90 degree wiring boot.

ATF Powerglide: [a-t-f pau̇(-ə)r glīd] PROnoun. : A completely new bulletproof automatic transmission loaded with top quality parts and features. Available in stages 1 through 5.  The High Horsepower ATF stage 4 Powerglide is rated to 2,500 horsepower and is known to provide enough drive through the rear end to propel the host vehicle past other cars fast enough to suck the contingency stickers off them.

Automatic Transmission Factory (ATF) located in Davie, Florida, never seems to rest on their laurels. These are the folks that continue to push the envelope on machining some of the most creative transmissions to hit the track. Their 7,000 square foot facility is armed with a 12 lift garage and chassis shop with 2 HAAS CNC machining centers and a crew of diehard ASE certified technicians. Although they perform all manner of things related to automotive care, ATF has used its knowledge of transmissions and race cars to develop a line of specialized, purpose built, racing Powerglide transmissions.

ATF's Stage IV High Horsepower Powerglide Transmission.

Automatic Transmission Factory owner Jason Gatlin, in addition to building and tweaking some of the strongest transmissions in the country, serves as crewchief for champion drag racer Jim Blair. The team of Gatlin and Blair entered Florida’s massive drag racing scene with a “just win baby” mentality that has rewarded the team with several championships across a couple different classes. With Blair behind the wheel and Gatlin setting the car up, the duo learned what it took to make record setting runs. Along the way, Gatlin continued to sharpen his already impressive skills as one of the premier transmission builders in high performance circles.

How We Got Involved

When it came time to pick a transmission for our All Air Camaro project car, we wanted one that would work for serious drag racing and could be mounting behind any engine combination that we could hang in front of it. Blair and Gatlin’s success on the track was too hard to ignore, so we decided to go with ATF’s Stage 4 Powerglide.  The GM Powerglide transmission is a tried and true gearbox for the track with its simplicity and toughness.  The fact that the two speed gearbox only has to shift once down the track has made it a favorite with drivers. Gatlin and crew have taken this favorite slushbox to another level with their built in-house custom parts. We caught up with the very busy Gatlin as the crew was getting ready for the next racing season, to find out how ATF builds their very popular high horsepower stage 4 Powerglides.

"It all starts with reverse engineering," says Gatlin. The first step is measuring every dimension of the stock part and entering it into a 3D CAD program.

Where The Build Starts

Gatlin explained that the whole process of developing a new component, whether it is a single part or a complete assembly, “It all starts with reverse engineering. You have to take the original part and draw it out to size. I do all my work in a software program called Solidworks which gives us a complete picture of the part.” In using the 3D CAD software, Gatlin is able to produce 3D geometry that can be processed into machining specifications that can be sent directly to CNC machinery. The process allows Gatlin to produce and track the redesigned part from 3D geometry to the finished product without the potential for errors.

Gatlin draws all of his high performance parts, from turbo mounts to internal transmission parts, in a CAD program to evaluate them before ever making a prototype.

With the 3D geometry entered into the CAD program, Gatlin has an exact idea of how much material is needed for the part, which helps with purchasing the right amount of material. While measuring and entering the data into the CAD program may seem labor intensive, it actually helps the process by keeping the parts being manufactured at very tight tolerances while keeping the material inventory at an exact level. What that means to the customer is, “very high caliber components at a midrange price tag,” says Gatlin.

From Computer To Prototype

Once a part has been reverse engineered, Gatlin evaluates the component in computer simulation. Gatlin says “having the ability to draw the part in the CAD program and then draw a high performance part, or what I think a high performance part should look like, gives me the chance to see how they all fit together.  I have every part that comes in a Powerglide drawn in the CAD program. Clips, retainers, springs, I’ve drawn them all. From there I can do a sectional view of the transmission and see how all the parts lay together.” This gives Gatlin a chance to “electronically install” his high performance part in the transmission in the CAD program to see all of the tolerances and fitment of the part to ensure that it will all work together as an assembly.

Once the CAD-drawn part is checked for detail and fitment, Gatlin makes a prototype in ABS plastic of the new part.

If he’s satisfied with the computer views and simulations, Gatlin makes a prototype of the part in ABS plastic. Unlike several other types of modeling like wax modeling, ABS plastic provides a higher degree of detail. It can even be sanded, milled or painted. Having the capability of this type of modeling gives ATF the ability to catch errors or make design changes before an actual part is ever manufactured. The prototyped part is fitted and checked with the existing parts which shows any areas where additional engineering or milling work needs to done. After checking every aspect of the prototype, Gatlin orders the material to manufacture the part.

There is a point where Gatlin orders aftermarket parts instead of making his own. “I’m not looking to make something like transmission cases when there is enough of them out there already. As long as they meet our quality control checks, we’ll buy those type aftermarket parts. But other internal parts, where there is a chance to improve upon the stock or aftermarket parts, we’ll go through the design process and build our own.” Gatlin added, ” The Powerglide is pretty much our claim to fame, so we make pretty much everything for that transmission.”

When the bulk material arrives at the shop, the ATF crew swings into gear making new high performance parts.

From Plastic to High Performance Part

The materials are ordered based on which stage of transmission is being made. Each stage is rated by horsepower input to the transmission and higher horsepower increases the likelihood of more exotic materials being used or more friction and steel disks being used in the clutch pack assemblies. Gatlin illustrated that point by saying, “The more power that we go through, the larger diameter things are going to get, as far as shafts and that type of components.” In generic terms, higher horsepower requirements demand larger material blanks to manufacture the parts from.

When the raw material is delivered to the shop it is immediately sent to the band saw for sizing, then separated for individual component machining.

When the material is sorted, the machining begins. Plugging in the data from the CAD program, the HAAS machining centers or HAAS CNC lathes get to work machining the parts. The CNC machining center is capable of machine flywheels, flexplates, engine plates, engine brackets, valve bodies, valve body plates, drums, pistons and many other items. CNC machining is a complex process where the machine is programmed and then the material (usually a solid block of aluminum or steel) is secured to the table inside the machine. The machine’s table and cutting head move while the cutting head carves the part from the material. The cutting head can hold a multitude of interchangeable cutting tools. The tools are selected according to the instructions programmed into the machine. On the right side of the table is a 4th axis. This can be used to cut splines or rotation of a part while machining. CNC machining is extremely precise and can repeatedly produce identical parts within very tight tolerances of quality control.

ATF's CNC machining center is capable of making many of the precision components used in the high performance transmissions. ATF also uses the machine to manufacture specialized engine components and brackets.

ATF’s other computer controlled workhorse is the HAAS CNC Lathe which is used to machine valves, shafts, bushings, pistons and any object that is round. The material is spun with the spindle and the tools are used to profile the outside diameter. After all machining is completed, the part is cut off and caught in the parts catcher.

After all machining in the CNC lathe is completed, the part is cut off and caught in the parts catcher.

Valve Body

Gatlin is very particular about the valve bodies that he installs in his transmissions. According to Gatlin, “The valve body is the brains of the entire transmission. Our valve bodies are all made in house on CNC machines, as are our separator plates. We’ve tried a lot of different configurations and dyno tested every type of valve body on the market. We’ve found something that works and we’ve stuck to it. We believe we have the best one available.” All of the ATF transbrake Powerglides get the same valve body.  Gatlin explained that the operating pressure may be different but the valve bodies are all the Pro-Tree valve design. “If someone is drag racing, they want the best competitive edge. Instead of having multiple programs for different levels stored in the machines, we just give them the best. That’s what they want anyway,” said Gatlin.

A valve body gets ready for dyno testing.

The valve bodies are run on a special valve body dyno and the unit is hydraulically checked. The valve body dyno uses a hydraulic pump to simulate the pressure and flow inside the transmission. When testing the valve body on the dyno, ATF verifies that it will shift properly and deliver the correct pressures that the transmission requires. Quick pressure build up on the gauges and no visual leaks from the valve body are just a few of the quality checks that Gatlin and crew perform before the valve body can be installed onto the transmission. Initially, the body is pressured with 100 psi and the circuit is tested to see how much pressure is in the system. “This lets us check the integrity of the transmission. If we apply 100 psi to the system and only 80 psi is in the circuit, we have a 20 psi leak. We would have to find that leak and repair it before it ever gets installed into the transmission,” says Gatlin.

Gatlin builds every Powerglide transmission the same way; from the bottom up.

Building the Transmission

“We always start by doing what I call a ‘pre-assembly’,” says Gatlin. “I put the stack up on the drum and the piston, before I install the lip seal, all the steels and clutches and the snap ring to make sure it stacks up correctly. We do this dry stack up on the high speed drum and reverse clutches down at the bottom just to make sure that all the clearances are correct,” Gatlin added. In doing a pre-assembly, the crew at ATF can check if any additional machining needs to be done and a complete cleaning of the transmission case can be performed removing any machining shavings before final assembly.

When the clearances are entirely correct throughout the transmission, Gatlin begins the assembly. “In our ‘clean room’, we assemble everything in groups and lay the sub-assemblies out for final assembly,” says Gatlin. For the drum assembly, Gatlin installs the lip seals on the piston, puts the springs in and the snap ring on and then assembles the steels and clutches in the housing.

Machining an orifice for for higher performance.

Once the sub-assemblies are laid out, Gatlin begins the final assembly from the bottom up. “It’s much easier to make sure you have all your bases covered with the assembly if you have a procedure. I always work from the bottom up without skipping a step so that I know every piece is installed” he explained.

The valve body completed assembly.

Finishing and Checking

When everything internally is installed in the transmission case, the transmission is turned over and the valve body and shift lever are installed. “When we get the transmission completed, we perform an air test on it.  That lets us know that everything is operating within specs. We air test each passage which lets us know if the high gear clutch applies, the reverse gear clutch applies, and that there are no leaks,” said Gatlin. After the air test, the tail housing and transmission oil pan is installed and the entire assembly goes to the chassis dyno for final testing and shipping to the customer.

Our Project Car’s Transmission

Our project car All Air will be fitted with different powerplants throughout its life as a project vehicle, so we wanted a one shot transmission that would fit behind any motor that we could shoehorn into the engine bay. The ATF Powerglide Stage IV High Horsepower transmission fit the bill perfectly. Rated up to 2,5oo horsepower, this two speed Powerglide could handle anything that we would try to throw at it.

Features of the ATF Stage IV High Horsepower Powerglide:

• ATF Profiled, SFI Approved, J.W. Performance Transmissions Bellhousing
• ATF Prepped, SFI Approved, J.W. Performance Transmissions Case and Roller Tailhouse.
• Deep Aluminum Pan and Filter.
• 9310 Chromemoly 1.80 straight cut gear set and output
• 300M Turbo spline input shaft.
• Heavy duty (larger than stock) ATF-designed Stator Tube.
• New Teflon high gear drum bushing.
• 10 pack high gear drum.
• 10 clutch billet steel hub.
• Heavy duty adjusting pin.
• Dual ring billet servo piston.
• ATF billet servo covers.
• ATF dyno tested fluid release transbrake valve body.
• ATF modified front pump for more fluid transfer at low RPM.
• New Red friction band.
• New Red friction clutches.
• New steels.

Gatlin explained that transmissions with a higher horsepower rating generally have larger diameter internal components. A good example of how ATF accomplishes this is in their improved stator tube. The ATF stator tube is larger and can handle a higher horsepower engine or an engine with power adders by using stronger materials in a larger diameter and thicker walls in the tube.

The evolution of ATF's stator tube from a material blank on the left to the completed product on the right.

ATF's billet pump for Powerglides with stator tube installed.

Torque Converter

Torque converters don’t always get the attention that the rest of the drivetrain does, until something goes wrong. Once you’ve mounted a monster motor with a couple of turbos in the chassis, you can find out pretty quick that a strong converter is a really good thing. ”Strength is actually a side benefit of the new ATF converter,” says Gatlin.  ”The real trick part about our race converters is that they help multiply the engine’s torque output.  Also, higher stall speeds allow the engine to rev up into its powerband. For example, on a five speed manual equipped vehicle, it’s the equivalent of holding the clutch pedal to the floor while applying the accelerator pedal to get the RPM’s up, then releasing the clutch pedal.  A properly spec’d and built torque converter makes all the difference in the world for an automatic transmission equipped vehicle,” he added.

"CNC stator fins, precision cut on a CNC machine, help tighten up tolerances and efficiency," according to Gatlin.

Gatlin says that ATF is able to manufacture a stronger converter because they CNC all the individual components rather than fabricate them. “We use custom stators cut out of billet aluminum on CNC machines where a lot of other manufacturers build their stators out of fabricated steel parts that are made by hand and tig welded together. It’s impossible to get all the fins equal when you make each one by hand. With the CNC machine, all fins are created equal,” states Gatlin.

It’s clear that the ATF crew is proud of their level of precision. To illustrate that point, Gatlin said; “We try to get the converters to lock up as tight as we can and be as efficient as possible. The only way to accomplish that is to tighten up all of the tolerances from the end of the turbine blade tip to the stator blade tip. If you want a convertor that is a little looser for an all-motor car, you open up the gap a little bit but either way, precision is the key to making a great converter.”

Internal view of ATF's CNC machined torque converter.

Ballooning is a term you hear often in torque converters. We asked Gatlin what is ballooning and how ATF combats that problem in torque converters on cars with serious power adders; “Ballooning is outer case of the torque converter flexing. If you take a torque converter and lay it on a table and measure the height of the converter off of the table, that it’s static measurement. Now add 200 psi to the converter and remeasure the height. If it has gotten taller, the difference of the measurement is how much ballooning has taken place. A lot of companies will add plates to the case to make the metal a lot thicker or reinforce it. Because we are machining out our cases on the CNC machines, we are already making our cases thicker, so we don’t have to weld in plates or things to support the case.”

Gatlin went on to explain that with the levels of power being made these days, “Not only do people need a transmission that can handle it, they need a torque converter that can deal with the incredible amount of torque.” In the case of our project car, we took the advice of Gatlin and went with a custom ATF torque converter with a stall speed of 4,500 RPM. This would get us higher up into the powerband of our All Air motor and get us off the line quicker. You can read the project car update when we installed the ATF High Horsepower Stage IV Transmission and Custom Torque Converter by clicking here.

Moving Forward

With our ATF transmission and torque converter installed, we are moving forward to the next stage of building our project car for the track. We appreciate the time that Jason Gatlin spent with us explaining the ins and outs of the ATF method of building a bullet-proof Powerglide. Stay tuned as we get one step closer to completion and plumb the fuel system and get our cooling system upgraded with a sweet new trick water pump and radiator.  For those that love electrical systems, our All Air project car will be re-wired for speed from nose to tail, and you won’t want to miss that one.

]]> http://www.dragzine.com/project-cars/project-all-air/building-a-stout-powerglide-with-atf-speed/feed/ 1 http://www.dragzine.com/project-cars/project-all-air/project-all-air-update-mounting-the-world-454-and-atf-glide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=project-all-air-update-mounting-the-world-454-and-atf-glide http://www.dragzine.com/project-cars/project-all-air/project-all-air-update-mounting-the-world-454-and-atf-glide/#comments Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:00:28 +0000 Paul Huizenga http://speednik.com/?p=12511 We’re getting into the heavy lifting on our All Air Project Camaro, mating up our 800 horsepower naturally-aspirated World Products 454 Warhawk and Automatic Transmission Factory Stage IV High Horsepower Powerglide to the 2000 F-body. We’ve got a full write-up on this killer transmission on the way, but in the meantime we thought we’d show you what it takes to get 10 pounds of motor and transmission into the 5 pound sack that used to hold a weak-sauce V6.

Because this is a serious drag car build – we’re shooting for low nines – we needed to be equally serious about how the engine and transmission mated up to the chassis. Having a ton of power isn’t worth a damn if all it does is rip the motor mounts out, so we turned to Madman & Co. Racing for a motor plate and a mid plate. The advantage to this kind of setup (on top of being quite a bit stronger and more rigid than a stock-style motor mount) is that it will give us far better clearance for headers, and motor plates make getting the engine in and out of the car much easier.

The motor plates that bolt to the front of the block are made from quarter-inch 6061 aluminum, while the mid-plate is .100-inch steel. Both will bolt to steel tabs that will be welded to the frame once everything is in the right spot.

First order of business was to cut the no-longer-needed engine mounts off the tubular K-member.

Sean also took the areas of the frame where the tabs will be welded down to bare metal.

The mid-plate is provided oversized, so it can be trimmed to fit the application. In our case, we needed to cut it down to clear the transmission tunnel to get our desired set-back.

With the mid and motor plates mounted, Sean and Tweedy test-fit the engine and transmission.

There are plenty of guys out there running carbed LS engines in 4th-gen chassis, but we had a hell of a time trying to find any pictures or write-ups about what it takes to get hood/cowl/windshield clearance for that kind of a setup on the web. Therefore, as a public service, we’re documenting our own trial-and-error approach:

Because of the height of the single-plane manifold and carburetor, we knew that the top of the engine was going to want to occupy the same real estate as the cowl and base of the windshield. Time for the factory glass to come out...

Sean cleverly repurposed the hood release cable as a tool to cut through the weather seal to pop out the windshield.

With the manifold cheated forward on top of the engine, you can see how much further back it all needs to go.

Sean marked out the area of the cowl that needed to be cut, leaving some extra room for the throttle linkage and fuel lines.

With the cut made, the manifold and carburetor can finally go in the right spot.

The top-down view shows how much Sean had to section out of the cowl. The plan is to use a Lexan windscreen cut to match, with the cowl boxed in with sheetmetal that will extend up to meet the windshield to seal off the passenger compartment.

Down below, you can see how the tabs (which are just tack-welded to the frame at this point) will bolt to the motor plate.

Because Sean is a perfectionist, he cut and tacked in triangular gussets for the mid-plate mounts as well. The mid plate will also get relieved a bit more for extra header clearance, as you can see from the markings.

Now that we’re happy with the way the engine and transmission sit in the car, we just have to do the finish welds on the plate mounting tabs and drill the appropriate bolt holes, then tackle boxing up the cowl and getting a plastic windshield in there. Stay tuned as we keep getting closer to ready-to-run!

Our All Air Project Camaro is up in the air on the lift, so that can mean only one thing – more progress is imminent! Our naturally-aspirated 2000 Camaro is an ambitious build; we want to run single digits on the motor without any super-exotic parts, and though the engine is built and the suspension is done, we’ve been in a holding pattern for a while we got little details sorted out like, oh, the transmission and fuel system…

We’ve gotten back on track now and wrenches are about to turn, but we don’t want to keep you waiting too long for the update so we thought we’d tease you with some shots of what we’ll be working on next. Readers with keen memories may remember that we’re going to be running a 454 Warhawk under the hood, and to back up that monster 802-horsepower mill, we need an equally stout transmission.

Automatic Transmission Factory came through for us in the gearbox department with their Stage IV High Horsepower Powerglide. This is one serious ‘Glide – rated for up to 2,500 horsepower, it’s got an SFI-spec case and bellhousing for safety, a 9310 chromoly 1.80-ratio straight cut gearset, and fully-built internals. It’s literally one of the very best racing automatics you can buy, and should be totally bulletproof behind our 454.

Of course, to make that power in the first place, we need fuel and plenty of it. MagnaFuel’s QuickStar 300 is rated for 950 horsepower naturally-aspirated applications running on gas, making it a perfect match for our Warhawk. Fuel pumps are one component where you truly can have too much of a good thing; a grossly oversized pump just ends up fighting the regulator and can lead to erratic fuel pressure at idle and under load, so it pays off to get exactly what you need in this particular department. Our MP-4650 is preset to 25psi, draws 10 amps, features an integrated filter, and has -10 AN inlet/outlet connections with a -8 bypass.

Speaking of regulators, we also have Magnafuel’s Hi-Flo 2 port regulator (part number MP-9833) to take the pump’s 25psi output down to the 6-8psi necessary at the carb. It’s all part of Magnafuel’s MP-4817 Quick Star 300 kit, which also includes AN fittings for the pump, regulator, fuel cell, and carb float bowls, and a dual relay harness to make wiring the pump easier. About the only thing missing is the fuel line…

For the fuel line plumbing, we turned to our friends at Earl’s, and ordered up a big box of Perform-O-Flex braided stainless line and Swivel-Seal ends. Perform-O-Flex is the standard by which all braided stainless is judged, and the Swivel-Seal ends are designed to make hose assembly easy, and still allow the lines to rotate even after the couplings are secured. In addition to plumbing up All Air, we’re also going to be taking a look at all the different types of hose and fittings Earl’s offers – sometimes trying to figure out the right plumbing for your application can be a little bit confusing, so we’re going to break it all down and make it simple with a how-to article and video that covers this popular DIY task.

Soon, all this empty space will be filled with our 454 and Powerglide, and we’ll be another big step closer to taking All Air down the track for the very first time. Stay tuned for all the thrilling details…

While it is in its tame form now, equipped with a stock 3.8L V6 (hence Camaro minus two), this car will be becoming a nasty nine second all motor LS monster. Our goal is to show you, our viewers, how to build, step-by-step, a 9-second naturally aspirated LS-powered vehicle without super exotic parts. Most 9-second NA camaro’s are built under the veil of secrecy. Not Project All Air.

The car is going to be built up using components a variety of leading aftermarket companies. Horsepower will come courtesy of a 454ci World Products Warhawk LS7-based engine with a Carb. We were using the World Warhawk block, the Warhawk 12-degree heads to make almost 700 hp. BMR Fabrication with provide the suspension, andMoser, the M9 rear end.

However, before we started the build, it was time to thrash our stocker. With it being my first time at the dragtrack, I thought it would be fitting as my first ride. I’ve always liked the Camaros of that time. With nothing to loose I pulled up to the line for my first trip down the strip.

After making the wimpiest burn out of the night, I stomped my right foot at the green light and took the V6 to a 9.93 at 70.26 mph. The car hooked up fine. Without any power to spare I didn’t have to worry about tire pressure or feathering the gas to get the tires to hook up. Didn’t even have to worry about shifting gears. Heck, I didn’t have any power at all.

After subjecting the poor little stocker to another run, I turned the keys over to one of our camera guys Jay to see what he could do. This was Jay’s first time down the 1320′ well. I decided that I would ride along with him for his first time. Jay ran a 10.64 at 68.29 MPH which wasn’t bad seeing there was an extra 200 pounds in the passenger seat! So seeing how well he did we decided that he would be fine on his own. The very next run Jay got the best reaction time of anyone.

After going in deep, and I mean deep, Jay decided that an eighth mile was just a little to far for him to run. So he pulled right pass the staging lights and waited for the start about twenty feet pass the start line! Luckily the guy next to him had the same idea and pulled right up next to him passing the starting line as well.

After the starter used a push broom to trip the staging lights, Jay was off. Recording a R/T of .624, (the guy next to him got a .359 R/T) but ran a tenth of a second slower at the eighth. With a reaction time of .624 by a broom handle, we’re not sure we’re going to be putting camera guys behind the wheels of any of our projects in the future.

Plans for this car are extensive. With a 454 cubic inch Bill Mitchell LSX7 engine making over 650 hp, a Moser M9 rear end, and me behind the wheel of this car will be a far cry from the nice little V6 baby it is now. We’ll also be adding a Powerglide transmission, full fuel system, and maybe even a really cool “wrap” that will make the Project All Air stand out at the track.

With Mike Ryan fabbing away on Grandma on the lift, the engine pulling had to be done the old way, on jack stands. Yesterday, Bobby set the Camaro in the middle of the floor, put it on jack stands, and started wrenching away. This was the first F-body Bobby has had the pleasure to work on, but it won’t be his last time. He started with the usual parts; pulling off the hood, removing the radiator, wiring harness. He got a fair amount parts off the engine before he called it a night.

This morning Bobby was back on the Camaro, removing the final pieces he needed before pulling out the engine. The cross member was dropped slightly to allow for more room to pull the motor out. There were a few “Whoops, forgot to take that off” pieces that needed removal on the way out, but the engine finally made its way to the floor and alas we have another car to push around.

What’s Going in – World Products 454 CI

As the Camaro steps up to eight cylinders, it does so with 779 naturally aspirated horsepower, and that’s not a typo. We were at World’s manufacturing and dyno center to film the build up and dyno of this behemoth (coming in a later video segment).

The bottom end of the engine uses a Warhawk LS7 block, Eagle 4340 4.250 stroke crank, Eagle 6.560 inch rods, and custom Diamond 4.125 bore pistons. The top end of the motor uses all World Warhawk LS7 parts with Jeselshaft mount rockers. The total compression of the engine is 13:1 and may see some nitrous down the road.

Our latest performance upgrade involves a rear end change, replacing the wimpy stock rear end with a beefy Fabricated Ford 9-inch that would make Sir Mix-A-Lot proud and Kim Kardashian cry. Seriously – there ain’t no junk in this trunk. We wanted to give the Camaro a monster rear end package that could easily handle the rest of the drive train upgrades and wouldn’t be spitting gears and axles all over the pavement.

Moser M9 Package

We are upgrading to the latest Moser M9 package, complete with Moser’s freshest release – the F-Body Torque Arm – and are capping it off with ChassisWorks shocks, a perfect match for the bind free Moser torque arm. This combination is guaranteed to leave a rubber signature on the asphalt, letting everyone know that we were there.

Moser Engineering’s Fabricated M9 rear end and Torque Arm Package.

Moser’s M9 performance fabricated housing and Torque Arm package are perfect for the enthusiast who wants a performance piece with some serious strength and durability.

We wanted a true “fire and forget” performance rear end that could be bolted in, required very little routine maintenance, and could handle as much horsepower as we could throw at it. It’s a buy once and virtually race forever upgrade that bolts directly into place and doesn’t require special tools or skills.

The Project All-Air F-Body Camaro in STOCK form! Not anymore!

Moser Engineering

Founded by the late Greg Moser in the early ‘80s, Moser Engineering has built a solid red, white and blue reputation among racers. Moser Marketing Director Jeff Anderson explains: “Moser uses only U.S. made steel, forged in U.S. plants using Moser designed dies and tooling.” You just feel the sense of devotion to the U.S. and patriotic pride when you talk to the people at Moser. Jeff went on to explain that the company’s founder, Greg Moser, used a team of engineers to develop the proprietary material that the company still uses today. The company is now carried on very capably by his son Rob Moser – who grew up practically helping spline axles!

Moser’s product line includes high strength aluminum thru-bolt third members.

Key Features of the Torque Arm

The M9 F-body torque arm assembly is new to the Moser arsenal, and we’ve gotten our hands on one. There’s no doubt that a higher horsepower GM F-body needs some help in the torque arm area. The stock stamped steel simply won’t hold up to pressure.

There are a lot of great options in the F-Body torque arm world, and Moser’s is one of the most serious — going “ALL-OUT” with a radical Pro-Mod style design.

Check out some of the features of the M9 Torque Arm:

• Constructed with 1.25” o.d. 4130 chrome-moly and all TIG welded, the Moser torque arm is patterned after the same style setup used in the Pro Mod cars.

• The torque arm features a unique sliding front mount that allows the torque arm to slide and move freely, eliminating any chance of binding.

• The F-body Torque arm assembly utilizes existing mounting points, eliminating welding or additional fabrication.

• The Moser Extreme Torque Arm kit came with a 1.75” X .095” wall tube crossmember assembly that bolts into the stock mounting support. The crossmember assembly provides the front mounting point for the torque arm. There’s no doubt that this Torque Arm kit will handle all the power that we can throw at it and still keep the wheels on the ground.

Moser’s new F-Body torque arm features a sliding front mount for bind free operation.

Key Tech Features of the M9 F-Body Housing

We chose to upgrade our rear end from the stock version, certain that with the V-6 that came with the car, the rear end ratio was probably a little too wussy for our needs. The differential had a 10-bolt cover on it, but there was no telling what gears lay underneath. It was pretty much a given that the stock had to go, so we weren’t even going to waste time pulling the cover off and counting gear teeth.

The following features that make the M9 Housing a perfect for our application:

• The Moser M9 housing features a fully fabricated and triangulated center housing, constructed with 1/8″ thick laser cut steel.

• Beefed up with internal gussets, bulkheads, and a super thick 3/8′ faceplate, the M9 housing is tuff ‘enuff for any racing application.

• A factory installed back brace on the housing for big horsepower support.
  
• Extremely strong axle tubes constructed of 1/4″ thick DOM tubing with the standard 3″ outside diameter for any bolt on clamps that you may want to install.

• Several choices in housing ends including ours – the Ford ‘big bearing’ Torino-style housing ends, which have a deeper bore for the 45mm bearings.

• Choice of center sections, from Nodular iron to an aluminum center section which saves 14lbs over a stock center section. The aluminum center section is constructed out of T-6 grade aluminum with billet caps and billet steel adjusters.

• Moser’s thru-bolt design minimizes the ring gear deflection that has plagued aluminum case designs in the past.

• Choice of Gear ratios from 3.50 to 6.50, depending on the pinion size and desired torque.

We added some upgraded options to the M9 bolt in package for some additional insurance, starting with the Moser 40 spline axles that were gun-drilled and star flanged. For a massive axle, the weight is kept reasonable by eliminating the excess steel without losing any of the strength or structural integrity.

We capped off our axle tube flanges with a 5/8″ drive stud kit instead of press in or screw in lug studs. Moser sells the applicable wheel studs and drive studs for any of their axle flanges, ranging from 1/2 ” to 5/8 “. Drive studs look impressive and can handle a lot of torque, so we thought that the slightly more costly drive studs were cheap insurance against a busted wheel stud.

The M9 housing is fabricated from a single piece of 1/8″ steel and is a work of art.

Installation

Once we got our hot little hands on the rear end package for project car, we wasted no time in ripping out the stock components. As soon as the car was on the lift, the emergency brake cable came off the rear brakes, the rear sway bar was dropped out, the tunnel brace was removed, and the driveshaft came out. Once our initial enthusiasm died down a little, we took a look at Moser’s instructions to make sure that we were on the right path. We were spot on!

Dropping the stock rear end.

Next came removing the flexible brake lines up to where they mount into the hard line. Always safety conscious, we caught the brake fluid in a catch container and capped off the hard lines. Our F-body had a four channel brake system, with the electrical connector for the sensors attached to the forward bulkhead above the stock rear end housing. We disconnected the electrical connector and left the harness hanging from the rear end.

Once the brake lines and electrical were out of the way we could focus on dropping the stock rear end out of the car. Using our under lift hydraulic support, we supported the rear end and removed the lower shock mounts and rear lower control arms. When the panhard bar was removed, we were ready to lower the GM rear end and install the beefy M9 in its place.

Bolting in the new crossmember mount.

The installation instructions called for the new crossmember to be installed first. We found it necessary to leave the crossmember a little loose to allow for aligning the torque arm heim joint at the front of the torque arm. No hardware is provided with the crossmember, so using the original hardware or buying new metric bolts is a must.

Installing the center section into the M9 Housing.

Now it was time to prep the M9 rear end housing for installation. Moser’s Jeff Anderson reminded us to “clean the housing and axles tubes (inside and out) for any machining debris or shipping debris” that could cause premature bearing failure. Wrapping a mop handle with a couple of shop rags was the easiest way to clean the inside of the axle tubes, and our shop vacuum and a whisk broom took care of the housing.

Once we had a clean housing, we moved on to installing the third member studs into the housing face. Remembering to use thread locker, we installed all of the studs into the faceplate and secured them on the inside of the housing with nylock jam nuts.

Using a bead of silicone sealant around the gasket, we mounted the third member gasket on the housing and applied another layer of sealant on the other side of the gasket. Then we lowered the aluminum third member into the housing and the supplied washers and nuts were tightened to 40 ft. lbs in a criss-cross sequence.

Tightening down the center section bolts in a criss-cross fashion.

Our axles came with sealed bearings pressed onto the axles that do not require inner axle seals, so we could move directly to installing the axles into the assembly.

Before we seated the bearings completely into the axle tubes, we installed the caliper mounting brackets from our Wilwood Dynalite Drag Race Brake kit, which will act as the bearing retainers. The Moser axles came with bearing retainers, but due to the way the Wilwood calipers mount, we needed to use the Wilwood bearing retainers.

Once the retainers were installed and torqued down, we moved on to installing the torque arm.

Installing the heavy duty axles.

Installing the torque arm onto the housing using 3/4″ bolts, nuts and washers was pretty straightforward. The torque value wasn’t supplied in the instructions, so we went with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) recommended minimum torque values for a plain 3/4″ bolt at 113 ft. lbs, then we installed the solid rod end into the front end of the torque arm. The rear end was ready to roll under the car and lift it into place.

Mounting the torque arm to the housing.

Before we started raising the M9 into the chassis, we went back to the instructions to see if we had missed anything. Even though real men don’t read instructions, it pays to keep a close eye on the manufacturer’s recommendations. We discovered that Moser recommends adding the gear lube prior to lifting the rear end into place. Our team unanimously voted to follow the instructions, so we added Royal Purple’s Max gear lube (SAE 75W90) to the fill level.

Filling our rear end with Royal Purple’s finest gear lube.

Now it was time to finally get the rear end bolted in. We lifted the assembly into place, placing the springs back in the spring pockets and on the perches, making sure to index the springs in the rubber insulators.

Next came the lower control arm and shock installation. Jeff Anderson explained to us that using “good quality shocks and adjustable lower control arms enhances Moser’s slightly lower riding M9 designed rear end, taking full advantage of the engine supplied torque.”

Our project car continued to get the royal treatment with a set of VariShock double adjustable bolt in rear shocks from Chris Alston’s Chassisworks. The team was pretty stoked to get a set of these shocks and the mood in the garage area was as if everyone’s favorite sports team had just won the Championship.

The VariShocks allowed us to dial in the bump and rebound valving independently. Because the VariShock Shocks are available in several different shock travel lengths, these adjustments allow for a wide range of chassis tuning options.

Finalizing the build with Chassisworks VariShocks put smiles on our crew’s faces.

With the M9 rear end package bolted in and the torque arm bolted to the crossmember mount, all that was left to do was install the Wilwood Dynalite Drag race brakes.

We’re waiting for the engine and transmission installation in order to measure for a new driveshaft. Once the driveshaft arrives we can focus on setting the pinion angle and setting the ride height!

Setup Tips from Exotic Performance Plus

To ensure that we took advantage of every aspect of this high performance package, we went to the guys at Exotic Performance Plus (EPP), who had some real experience with the M9 torque arm.

EPP specializes in Moser rear end installations and was the first to install the M9 bolt in package into an F-Body. Bob Beam’s 1999 Camaro, which was showcased at the 2007 SEMA show, was the prototype installation. Bob’s Camaro boasts a 1.29 sixty foot time on street tires. He claims that it will be even faster this year. We asked Bob about initial setup tricks and tips to help us get going:

Bob Beam’s Moser M9 F-Body Tips:

• Order the Moser M9 assembly with adjustable lower control arm mounts. Use the lower hole to mount the control arms initially. They just seem to hook up harder with the arms bolted in the lower holes.

• Order the M9 housing with the anti-roll bar brackets installed. No matter what anti-roll bar you are using, you will want the support of the factory-installed mounts when you put some real horsepower to it.

• Get the Back Brace Installed! Nothing beats the extra support of a back brace with the fabricated housing. No matter how much horsepower you throw at this combination, there will be very little if any deflection.

• When plumbing the brake lines, take the time to weld in brake line tabs. They are much nicer and more durable than using plastic zip ties to hold the brake lines in place.

• With the adjustable lower control arms and/or the adjustable panhard bar, preload the right side a little bit. This will help you launch and get down the track in a straight line.

• A good starting point for the pinion angle is -2 degrees. Of course it will vary with track condition but -2 degrees is a great starting point.

• Set up your rear shocks in the mid range of firmness. It doesn’t matter if you are using single or dual adjustable shocks, the midrange seems to help plant the rear tires.

• The front shocks seem to do well at 1-2 range on the up and 4-5 range coming down.

• Finally, you’ll want to get adjustable lower control arms. The Moser M9 F-Body naturally sits about a half inch to the rear. If you are using a taller tire, you’ll need to move it forward by adjusting the control arms. The M9 likes to sit a little to the right side as well. Adjustable control arms make these adjustments simple and easy.

Conclusion

Our project All Air Camaro is set for some really serious torque to the pavement with the Moser M9 package for F-bodies. We’ve gotten the super secret setup tips from one of the most experienced F Body Camaro racers, Bob Beam, and we have a brake system from Wilwood that provides stealthy power to our braking. All that’s left now is to get our power train installed and head to the track.

Our rear end is in and awaiting a driveshaft and tires.

More Info! — If you’ve always wondered about the 9-Inch vs. 12-Bolt F-body debate, read this!

While it actually boils down to personal preference when choosing between the Ford 9-inch rear end and GM’s 12-bolt rear end, there are some differences that make one more desirable than the other, depending on the application. Check out a few of our notes! We are defintely fans of the 9-inch, but some choose the 12-bolt because it’s a OE GM rear end.

12 Bolt vs. 9-inch: The Highlights

• The major difference is in the housing section. The 12-bolt rear end features a housing section that incorporates a carrier case and the pinion support, whereas the Ford 9-inch features a “drop out” center section that incorporates the carrier, gears and pinion support.

• The 12-bolt rear end is decidedly more involved to work on, due to the shim adjustments between the inboard pinion bearing and the pinion gear. The bearing is pressed on the pinion, so it requires removal and reinstallation to shim the pinion. Backlash for the ring gear is also adjusted with shims. These elements make the 12-bolt more complicated to work on.

• The 9” rear end is easier to work on because of the removable center section which houses the entire gearset. Although the 9-inch pinion is also adjusted with shims, it does not require pressing the bearing on and off.

• Installing axles on the 9-inch is also an added advantage. A retainer on the axle flange, which is held on by four bolts, is all that needs to be removed to yank the axles. The 12-bolt rear end utilizes ‘c-clips’ inside the rear end to keep the axle in place.

• With the 9-inch axle retainer system, the axle stays in the housing if it breaks. When an axle breaks on a 12-bolt rear end, the axle comes out of the rear end axle tubes and tears up whatever metal it makes contact with.

Using their experience in building hardcore racing engines, Bill Mitchell and the boys were able to put together a 454 cubic inch LS-7X Warhawk engine that spanked the engine dyno with a jaw dropping 802 horsepower. Impressive when you remember that this engine is naturally aspirated – no turbo, no blower, no nitrous or magic horsepower dance here – just raw, pants wetting power.

World offers a variety of different components and assemblies for someone looking to make BIG power in their LS engine, including heads, short blocks, and complete long blocks. Whether you are looking to just add heads to your Z06, or build a 480+ cubic inch LS War-monster, they can do it.

BUILD SHEET

Wanna build your own 800+ horsepower LS engine? Here’s the quick recap on what we used:

Block: World Products Warhawk LS-7X Block: 4.125″ Bore, 9.80 Deck
Crankshaft: Eagle 4340: Stroke: 4.250″
Pistons: Flat Top Diamond Racing Pistons: Compression: 13.5+
Connecting Rods: Eagle H-Beam: Length: 6.125″
Rings: Total Seal
Camshaft: COMP Cams – LS1 Grind: Part Number: 54-000-11 Lift: .746 Intake, .714 Exhaust Duration: 280 Intake, 288 Exhaust Lobe Separation: 109.0
Timing Chain: Crane Cams Double Row
Damper: ATI Super Damper
Oil Pan: Moroso 7 Quart Capacity: Part Number: 20140
Heads: World Products Warhawk 12°: Part Number: 025350C-3
Valves: Manley 2.200 Intake/1.600 Exhaust with 5/16 Diameter
Springs: Manley 1.550 Double Spring: Part Number: 221436-16
Intake: GM Performance Parts: Part Number: 25534394
Rockers: Jesel Rocker Set
Carburetor: AED 1050: HO-Modified Model Number: 1050HOM

The Short Block

The short block is where it all starts. Choosing the right components at this stage will pay off big time when the engine is screaming down the track. Our engine started out as a bare block, just like every other engine that World Products produces. The Warhawk LS-7X block is a 357-T6 aluminum block that is offered in either a 9.24” or a 9.80” deck height, depending on what you want for your application. The same goes for bore.

World set our block up with a 9.80” deck height and a 4.125” bore that, along with our four inch stroke, gives us 454 cubic inches. Like many World blocks, this one features priority main oiling, accommodates dry sump systems, and even has both LS and early SBC motor mounts. It even came with billet steel C5R style cross bolted main caps, held down by 200,000 psi ARP hardware to ensure that things would stay put.

World did all of the finial machining in house to make sure it was done right.

According to World Products’ Bill Mitchell Jr., one of the reasons this block is so strong is because, “The water jacket design used surrounds the cylinders and the head studs allowing the head studs to go deep into the block.” Another design feature that makes this block so strong is the addition of two extra head stud bolts per cylinder, which really ups the clamping power between the heads and the block.

While we will get to the valvetrain in a little bit, the soul of the system is the camshaft. COMP Cams built a cam for us based on the engine we had chosen as well as how we wanted the car to perform on the track. They came up with an LS1 grind with .439 intake lobe lift and .420 lobe lift on the exhaust side. The duration, measured at .050, was 280 degrees intake and 288 exhaust. This should give us a nice upper to mid-range power band and just a nasty choppy idle. We installed this before moving to the bottom end of the engine.

Next was the crankshaft. The Eagle 4340 crankshaft is made from forged steel and is internally balanced. Eagle’s ESP series crankshafts are forged from a non-twisting forging and have to undergo an extensive multi-stage heat treatment process, as well as shot peening and a nitriding process before they are shipped.

Eagle magnafluxes and sonic tests every crank they make, so we knew that it could handle the power of this ‘big’ small block. The 4.250” stroke would no problem clearing our Moroso pan.

Bolting down the main cap to finish the crankshaft install.

We went with a double row timing chain set from Crane Cams to link our camshaft with our crankshaft and time them. These all steel timing sets come complete with an adjustable cam gear, cranks sprocket, two oil pump spacers, oil pump bolts, and last but not least, the timing chain itself. The sprockets are heat treated and matched to the timing chain for secure fit and function. The kit also features a vernier adjustment for degreeing-in cam timing.

We then assembled the pistons and rods. A set of Flat Top Diamond Racing Pistons was chosen for the build. Made from a 2618 alloy, these pistons are light weight, weighing 458 g, and use the standard 1.5, 1.5, 3.0 mm ring setup. They are also set up to use the more popular 6.125” rod length and .927 pin diameter, compared to the factory LS7 6.077” rod length with .9252 pin diameter. The wrist pin is offset, ensuring quiet operation. On the top, the valve relief depths are .206 on the intake and .148 for the exhaust.

According to Diamond, these pistons will work nicely with a small amount of nitrous. We took this fact into account when choosing our pistons. Even though project All Air is naturally aspirated, that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to see what a little N2O would do to this already beastly engine at some point in the future.

Connecting our Diamond pistons to the crankshaft are eight Eagle H-Beam connecting rods. We like these rods because they are forged from a 4340 steel, just like our Eagle crankshaft, and are made to accept the ARP 7/16” capscrew style bolts with alignment sleeves. A 6.125 rod length was chosen for this engine. Because these rods only weigh 620 g each, the total combined weight of one piston and rod is just slightly over 1000 g.

Before moving on to the long block, we needed to take care of the oil system and damper.

The Moroso oil pan was chosen for a number of reasons. The seven quart capacity will ensure that our engine has plenty of oil to pump through itself, as well as leave enough room to clear the 4.250” stroke with Manley common steel rods installed.

The trap door baffling gives us control of the oil flying around in the pan, making sure that the sump remains covered. The pan also features -10AN fitting for a remote filter that we will install later on down the line.

We used Fel-Pro gaskets throughout the build. The first one that we used was the oil pan gasket. Fel-Pro makes kits for many popular engines, including our 454 LS-7X engine that used the LS7 kit.

The finishing touch for our short block was the damper. ATI‘s Super Damper was chosen for several reasons. It was chosen not only because it would eliminate torsional crankshaft vibrations, but also because according to ATI, it exceeds SFI 18.1 specs for harmonic dampers. We also liked its clean black zinc chromate finished look. Finally, it comes with laser engraved 360° timing marks that make setting timing a breeze, both in the well-lighted powerTV garage and the dark pits of the dragstrip.

We feel that by choosing to install high quality parts, our short block will provide a nice foundation for the rest of the components. All too many times we have seen poorly thought out short block builds that have resulted in parts such as pistons or rods ending up where they shouldn’t be – like out the side of the block. We feel very strongly that we will be able to keep things were they belong and make tons of power with the components we used.

Here is our completed short block eagerly awaiting a top end to come to life.

The Long Block

I asked Bill Mitchell Jr. what it is about these LS engines that allows them to make so much power. His answer? “Its all in the heads. Bore is bore, stroke is stroke, but the ability to get the air and fuel in and out quickly is where the power is to be made.” Keeping that in mind, we started our Long Block assembly with the heads.

World Products’ Warhawk 12° heads come cast with a 285cc intake and 106cc exhaust runners that provide more than enough flow for many engines. However, we wanted something a bit more. We opted for the Kuntz & Co CNC porting work that took the ports out to a 296cc intake and 110cc exhaust, as well as a 72cc combustion chamber, to really let our monster breathe in and out with ease.

To fill our CNC heads we went with some Manley valves, springs, and rocker arms. World recommended a 2.200 intake valve along with a 1.600 exhaust valve. We stayed with the 5/16 inch valve stem diameter – stock sizing for the LS7 engine.

We chose 1.630 diameter double springs rated at 800 lb at 1.095 installed height and 250 lb at 2.050. That gives us plenty of room to work in our HUGE COMP Cam and be able to avoid binding the springs.

We stuck with the LS7 stock 1.7:1 rocker arm ratio and began installing the intake.

When it came time to pick an intake for our big cube LS engine, we knew that we wanted a carburetor so we went with a GM Performance Parts LSX spider style intake. The boys over at GMPP know these LSX engines well and know what they need. They make four different versions of this intake, including LS7 and L92/L76 versions that are available in a carbureted state like ours. You can also order them machined to accept injectors for EFI applications.

It wasn’t long until our intake was strapped down to our Warhawk heads. It only took 8 bolts to hold the spider intake down. After a quick spin of the torque wrench we were ready to move on to feeding our intake with the right amount of air and fuel.

As previously mentioned, we chose to have our 454 Warhawk breathe through a carburetor. Advanced Engine Design provided the perfect solution with a Dominator that had enough flow to keep all 454 cubic inches full of the proper ratio of air and fuel.

Their 1050 HO-Modified Carburetor is a fully CNC ported and polished version of their popular HO Series Carburetor. Like its HO siblings, this carburetor features a milled choke housing, fully machined and deburred main body surfaces, all new hi-torque boosters and metering blocks, and full porting and polishing of the main body for additional airflow.

AED wet-flow benches and dyno tests each and every carburetor before it is shipped to a customer, so we knew that we were using a product that we could trust to deliver our C-114 fuel with plenty of air time after time.

World Products tuned our carburetor and ended up with a jet sizing of 87/87, making the most reliable power for our application.

Here is our complete World Products 454 LS-7X engine ready for the dyno.

DYNO RESULTS

Before our engine was hooked up to the dyno, World Products’ Bill Mitchell Sr. told us that our engine would make about 750 horsepower. Our Editor-In-Chief and I planned to get our NHRA licenses using the World 454 in project All-Air. However, having never driven a 700 hp car, there was some apprehension.

That’s probably too much power for learning to control a car of this caliber. Yet somehow, someway, our engine ended up making 802 hp. Yup – our big cube LS put down 802 horsepower at 7000 RPM with a peak torque of 651 lb-ft coming in at 5900 RPM.

While it was more than what we were expecting, we were by no means upset. All Air should have no problem breaking into the mid 9s now with this much power, regardless of who is driving.

You can check out the dyno sheet of our 454 Warhawk below. We are really impressed by the numbers World Products was able to put out with this motor, naturally aspirated, without crazy serious compression.

All in all, the World Products Warhawk 454 engine is a mean nasty LS engine that is the definition of an all out hardcore drag engine. We can’t wait to stick it between the frame rails of our now empty Camaro. All Air will be quite the force to be reckoned with once this engine is installed.

Perhaps the most important thing to take from our experience to the drawing board of your own high horsepower engine build is this: The use of high quality parts will allow the engine builder to make monster horsepower numbers without running the engine into the ground after just one pass.

World Products prides itself on building repeatable, dependable horsepower. While it might not be able to compete with the stock V6’s gas mileage numbers, with four times the horsepower, we won’t be able to see the gas stations as we blow by them anyway.

If you want to see more of our 454 Warhawk build, check out some additional photos in the photo gallery!

Wilwood Brakes, located in Camarillo, California offers a line of brake components for anything on or off the road.

Our F-Body Camaro Project Car “All-Air”.

The Brake System

Choosing the rear brake system was an effortless decision. Wilwood’s distinguished Dynalite drag brake series for Ford Big Bearing axle flanges was readily available off the shelf. We chose the 11.44 diameter solid rotor kit with a 2.36 offset (part number 140-0261-B), that would work perfectly with our Moser fabricated M9 rear end with Torino style bearings.

Deciding on the front brakes offered more of a challenge. Because we wanted to use an 11.75 diameter rotor, the choices were limited. Fortunately, Wilwood has just engineered a caliper mounting block for the F-Body Camaros that can adapt the caliper mounting for 1998 through 2002 model year spindles to accept Wilwood series calipers.

Wilwood Technical Consultant Michael Hamrick explained that the new caliper mounting block “is a fresh release, and LSX TV has the first production block off of the line.” Michael further explained: “If you have a 1993 through 1997 model year Camaro with floating style single piston calipers, there is still good news. Changing to the later model spindles will allow you to use this kit and take advantage of mounting the Wilwood Dynapro Radial calipers and rotors”.

Hamrick went on to tell us that, “Radial mount calipers and brackets offer a much more rigid mounting system than a lug mount design. The radial design also allows for rotor diameter changes with a simple spacer rather than a whole new bracket. If a customer with a 13” rotor kit wanted to upgrade to a 14” rotor, he would only need longer studs and spacers rather than a complete new taller bracket.”

Specs on the Dynapro Big Brake Front Hat Kit:
Application: Drag Race
Radial mount Calipers
4 Piston calipers
Piston area: 4.8 sq. in.
Ultralite Curved vane rotor.
Number of vanes: 32
Rotor surface: Plain face.
Rotor Material: Iron
Rotor Diameter: 11.75″
Rotor Width: 0.81″
Minimum Wheel Diameter: 15″
Brake Pads: Value priced Race only. Medium to Very High heat range.

The installation of the Dynapro big brake front hat (part number 140-10787) is painless and trouble free.

Wilwood Engineering’s DynaLite Drag Brake Kit.

Prepping the Car for Installation

Although Wilwood brake systems are fairly easy to install, it is highly recommended that someone experienced in brake installation and brake system operations perform the installation. Prior to attempting to install any brake system kit, the components of the kit should be inspected for completeness. Wilwood provides a wheel clearance diagram with every set of instructions and it is important to verify the minimum required clearances for inside wheel diameter and radius.

Removing the front caliper from the stock brake system.

Removing the original equipment brakes is the starting place in prepping the car for assembly of the new system. Our team put the Camaro on the two-post lift and removed the tires, then we turned our attention to the calipers and hubs.

Because we also planned on upgrading the front suspension with a VariShock Front coilover conversion, removing the spindle and upper shock mount assembly was in the cards as well. The VariShock Coilover conversion requires reusing the stock spindle so we took this opportunity to clean and degrease the OEM spindle on the car.

Pulling the stock rotor off.

After we removed the stock front brake calipers, rotors, and spindles, we focused on prepping for the coilover conversion. We removed the upper shock mount and disconnected the sway bar from the lower A arm. The shock, spring and upper shock mount came out of the shock tower as one assembly. We needed to reuse the upper shock mount as the foundation for the coilover conversion, so we removed it from the shock assembly and cleaned it up.

Removing the stock spindle for cleaning.

Suspension Installation

Because we already had everything apart to do the brakes, we decided it would be a good time to also switch out the suspension.

VariShock’s coilover mounting bracket attaches to the stock mount in the shock tower. It’s simply a matter of installing four 3/8” bolts with washers and nylock nuts to the OEM mount and torquing to 35 ft lbs. The shocks included in the VariShock coilover conversion are the VAS 16X2F-824. These are threaded body shocks with a total travel of 4.25 inches. The shocks feature dual adjustment knobs to control bump and rebound independently. Both ends of the shock incorporate urethane bushings, which must be installed along with mounting studs and crossbars that mount to the lower A Arm.

Chris Alston’s ChassisWorks VariShocks.

With the shock mounting components installed, we moved on to installing the coilovers. Because the shocks are threaded, installing the spring seats is uncomplicated. Simply apply a little anti-seize to the inside of the spring seat, and screw it down onto the shock body as far as it will go without hitting the adjustment knobs.

The VariShock Coilovers come with a unique thrust bearing that installs on top of the spring seat, allowing for easy adjustment of the ride height with the coil spring installed. The coil spring slides down the shock body and sits on the thrust bearing. The upper spring seat can then be inserted between the spring and the top mount eye, completing the assembly.

Assembling the VariShock Coilover conversion kit.

The finished shock / coilover assembly was then mounted in the shock tower of the chassis by first attaching it to the upper mount. We took a quick check to make sure that the adjustment knobs were pointing to the inside of the car, then we attached the shock assembly to the lower A arm. Once both coilovers were installed, we reattached the sway bar and reinstalled the spindle. Finally, we were ready to start installing our front brakes.

Attaching the VariShock coilover to the upper mount.

{openx:292]Front Brake Installation

The front brake installation is straightforward as long as you follow the procedure in the instructions. Wilwood provides very accurate instructions, complete with pictures for those of us who need visual guidance.

Our team stayed with the printed instructions and completed the installation in record time. There are not that many components and they are manufactured to only go on one way. We’ve heard of installers making the task more difficult by over thinking the installation. This has gotten them into trouble, so save yourself the headache and go by the instructions.

The front brakes are installed by attaching the mount bracket assembly to the spindle. This is where a lot of installers get in trouble: the bracket must mount squarely against the inboard side of the caliper mount bosses on the spindle. If the spindle bosses have any road grime crud, metal shavings, casting irregularities, machining ridges, or are dinged up, the Wilwood caliper will not properly align to the rotor. It pays to make sure that the mounting bosses have a clean flat surface to mount the block to.

The two bolts mounting the block in place only need to be tightened at this point. Later, when the calipers and rotors have been installed, the alignment is checked and any shims that need to be added will require the removal of these two bolts.

Installing the mounting block to the spindle.

Now the rotor can be bolted to the rotor hat and safety wired. The bolts need to be coated with red thread sealer and torqued to 65 ft lbs. While you can safety wire the bolts by hand, we strongly recommend using a pair of lock wire pliers to make the job easier and more secure. Remember to safety wire the bolt heads so that the wire is pulling the bolts in a tightening direction.

Wilwood Engineering provides a data sheet on the proper safety wire technique on their website which can be viewed here.

Safety wiring the rotor to rotor hat mount bolts.

With the rotor bolted and safety wired to the rotor hat, the assembly can be installed on the hub. We checked the hub over to make sure that there were no stress cracks, rust or road debris on the mating surface, then we secured the rotor assembly to the hub using a couple of lug nuts to hold it squarely in place.

Keeping the rotor assembly tightly in place is critical for the next operation – installing the calipers and checking rotor alignment.

Checking the rotor alignment in the caliper.

Once the rotor assembly was held firmly in place by the lug nuts, we installed the caliper onto the mounting block. We checked the rotor to ensure that it was centered by examining the assembly, first from the top of the caliper, then from the bottom. If the rotor is not centered, a shim or two will need to be inserted between the mounting block and the spindle. Fortunately, ours was centered on the first shot so adding shims was not required.

Next we installed the brake pads, then checked to make sure that the pads were flush with the outside radius of the rotor. Again, we were on target the first time with no adjustment needed.

No adjustment needed this time.

Now it was a simple matter of taking the lug nuts off that we had used to hold the rotor flush to the hub, reinstalling the wheels, and tightening all of the lug nuts down to secure the wheel to the hub.

After changing out the stock brake lines to the Wilwood braided flex lines, we were finished with the front brake assembly until it was time to bleed them.

The Rear Brakes

The Dynalite Drag Brake Kit is designed for drag racing applications up to 2800 lbs and are true bolt on kits. Originally built for sportsman applications, the dynalite kits have become popular in many drag racing classes.

Specs on the Dynalite Rear Drag Race Brake Kit:
Application: Drag Race
Forged 4-piston Calipers
Piston area: 4.8 sq. in.
Solid Steel Rotor.
Rotor surface: Plain face.
Rotor Diameter: 11.44″
Rotor Width: 0.35″
Minimum Wheel Diameter: 15″
Brake Pads: Value priced Race only. Medium to Very High heat range.

Installing the rear Dynalite Drag brakes was even easier than the front brakes because there were no stock OEM brakes to remove. We had just completed an upgrade to a Moser Fabricated M9 rear end, so we moved right into the installation using the same procedure as the front brakes. The caliper mounting bracket also acts as the axle bearing retainer plate, so it was installed as part of the axle upgrade.

All that was left for us to do was bolt the rotor and rotor hat assembly together exactly as we had done with the front brakes, and install the rotor assembly onto the axle hub securing it with a couple of lug nuts. Then we installed the caliper onto the caliper mount and checked the alignment of the rotor in the caliper. Both sides were centered on the first attempt and no shims needed to be added. We chalked this up to working with brand new rear end components that had not been tweaked or distorted by driving several thousand miles. Giving thanks for the bonus of working with new parts, we installed the brake pads into the calipers.

Super stopping power in under one hour.

After the clearances had been checked, we removed the lug nuts that temporarily held the rotor assembly on, reinstalled the wheels, and changed the brake lines. The system was ready to be bled and put on the road.

Michael Hamrick gave us some technical advice about bleeding the Wilwood brake systems: “Obviously, you want to start at the caliper farthest from the master cylinder, which would be the right rear. Our calipers have bleed ports on the outside caliper and the inside caliper. Start with the outside caliper first, then move to the inside caliper. Because of the internal passages between the two calipers, we’ve found that going back to the outside caliper and doing a second bleeding before moving on to the next wheel is a good procedure to remove all of the air that was trapped between the calipers.”

He also gave us the heads-up on which brake fluid to use: “Wilwood Hi- Temp is the maximum performance DOT 3 fluid at cost effective price. If you want to go all out, Wilwood EXP DOT 4 fluid is the highest temperature, highest performance, lowest compressibility brake fluid you can buy.”

Our project car was still undergoing some other upgrades, so putting her on the street would have to wait. When we do finally take All Air to the track, one thing is certain: we have the stopping power worthy of our monster motor. There’s a feeling of confidence that comes with knowing you have the added level of safety that a superior braking system provides. We have that confidence in our F-Body Camaro with the Wilwood Engineering brake system.

With the rear tire mounted, there is plenty of clearance and we’re ready for the street.

Side by side of the stock-shock (bottom) and the new Varishock system (top). You can see that the stock shock assembly on the bottom includes an upper spring cup and a shock mounting location. On the Chassisworks, this is a true drag racing double-adjustable style shock. The difference is the custom upper shock mount system

Our All-Air Camaro project has already come a long way from the pitiful V6 stocker it left the factory with. But the hard work has only just begun, and with plans as ambitious as ours to turn this mild-mannered muscle car into a 9-second all-motor track monster, we needed some serious drag suspension. It just so happened that we had heard that Chassisworks had a trick new coil-over drag shock system that we wanted to try. We already had a full compliment of BMR suspension, but the great thing was the Chassisworks system worked just great with it. Let’s take a look!

As mentioned, we turned to Chris Alston’s Chassisworks for shocks and springs to help plant all this power to the ground. Chassiswork’s new trick F-Body Varishock system will provide our All Air Camaro with a bolt-in front coil-over conversion with dual adjustable shock valving, with a completely fabricated top shock mount that gets rid of all of the stock F-Body hardware in favor of a custom-designed coil-over configuration.

Think of it as a “Pro Stock” type front shock system for your F-Body.

Now, let’s get into the “meat” of the Chassisworks Coil-Over F-Body System….

The coil-over conversion plugs right into the mount, fitting easily into the stock location with no fuss.

Chassisworks Upper Strut Mount

As you can see in the above picture, the Chassisworks Varishock coil-over shock is not a standard “F-body” style strut. It is designed to be used with the Chassisworks upper-mount assembly. On the lower side, the urethane-bushing cross bar mounts to the BMR (or stock) control arm. Included in this kit is:

Shocks: Chassisworks Varishocks are billet aluminum, and are available in 16-position single adjustable, and 256-position double adjustable. Your choice. For All-Air we picked double adjustable. The single adjustable package is $719.00 and the double adjustable kit is $919.00

Springs: Three coil-over rates are available for your coil springs ranging from 350 to 450 lb/in whether you are drag racing, driving on the street, want a handling ride, or something in between.

Hardware: Upper control arm mount, mounting hardware, spanner wrench, and complete instructions.

Chassisworks lower shock mount is identical to stock, except with a poly bushing. It bolted right into the BMR lower control arms.

A Little Background on Chassisworks

Alston struck out on his own with Chassisworks in 1987, wanting to provide cost effective, quality suspension components, especially for muscle cars. He has been heavily involved in the hobby since the early days of the muscle car wars. His first love was a ’66 Chevelle “which stayed stock for maybe a month,” he says. After a stint in jail for street racing, Chris began to focus on professional, sanctioned racing, having been scared straight in a manner of speaking. He started by building tube chassis race cars right out of high school. “I worked out of my garage and in my driveway. Back then it was just Gassers and Pro Stocks,” Alston says. Back then, people concentrated mostly on the engine aspect of racing, something Alston himself never got big into.

There was a lack of any real suspension components, even on the highest horsepower cars. “All we had back then was a single loop roll bar, slapper bar, and maybe some shocks,” he says. “If you wanted a chassis component, you had to build it yourself.” Seeing that there was a large, unexploited market, Alston dove in and began designing shock absorbers for drag cars alongside Koni in the late ‘70’s. A true pioneer in suspension components, Alston and his company have made suspension components for a number of prominent companies, leading the way by providing adjustable, quality, and easily accessible shocks and suspension components.

Having been in the sport so long, “I’ve lived through five or six evolutions of the sport,” he says. This is what has helped him stay in business so long and become an industry leader. “Our heritage and involvement in the sport go way back.”

Testing a Varishock on the Shock Dyno

Our Project: Why VariShocks

All-Air is a big, ambitious project (aren’t they all?), and we didn’t choose to go with the Varishock on a whim. This coil-over conversion features the VariShock which offers a lot of benefits over the Camaro’s clunky stock suspension as well as the exemplary craftsmanship that Chassisworks has built a reputation on. Coupled with the Varispring, this exclusive bolt-in coil-over conversion is an easy install that makes a big difference down the strip. Even better, it is an adjustable and affordable system that can be tuned and tweaked to the needs of hardcore and casual racers alike.

Close-up of the dual adjustable Varishock

All the technology in the world wouldn’t matter if it was a poorly built product, but the Varishock uses top-notch materials to ensure a long and useful life. For example, the upper and lower spring seats are made from billet aluminum, and fully gusseted sheet metal eliminates flexing while allowing for a double shear bolt arrangement. A zinc coating on the mounts helps prevent corrosion, which means even several years down the road these shocks should still look as good as the day they were put in. A clear anodize finish is applied to each shock as well to enhance corrosion resistance across the entire product.

An aluminum alloy is used to make the base valve mechanism to allow for more consistent flow characteristics, while also dissipating the heat caused by fluid travel within the shock better than other materials. Internal valves in the Varishock system further improve heat dissipation and allow for greater fluid control, which is necessary to the longevity and effectiveness of the shock itself. These valves are also exchangeable and customizable, depending on your needs.

The Varishock uses a high-density, inert gas that prevents mixing with the fluid which allows the Varishock to be mounted any which way, even completely inverted.

Which brings us to the real meat of the Varishock design, the dual adjustable settings that allows you to tinker with the compression and rebound of the shock, rather than rely on a factory-determined setting. There are 16 settings for both compression and rebound, which means there are a total of 256 different settings per shock, allowing All-Air to be tuned for whatever the situation may call for. But one of the biggest advantages to the Varishock is the location of the knobs. Since they are on the bottom, they are easily accessible. As Alston says, “If you can’t get to them easily you’re probably not going to adjust them.”

The best shock is only as good as its spring, and the Varispring was built to work hand-in-hand with the Varishock. It utilizes high tensile wire that is stronger than the chrome-silicon wire found is most other springs. This allows the spring to “set solid”, which means the coils can completely compress and touch without damaging the spring, thus affecting ride height. Varisprings are available in lengths between 7″ and 14″, with the amount of travel varying between 3.51″ and 10.28″. The springs we choose for All-Air were 12″ long, with a 450lb spring rate up front and allowing for 6.24″ of travel. And just like the other Varishock parts, the Varisprings and powder coated for a good, long-lasting look.

Pre-Installation Prep

Before we can even begin thinking about installation, there is a lot of clunky stock parts to remove first. To start with, we are using an all-new BMR LS1-turbo K-member to get rid of the bulky, heavy, and ugly stock k-member. With the engine out, removal was a cinch, and the new BMR K-member mounted to the stock bolt locations without giving us any problems, as did the new upper and lower A-arms, also from BMR. This tougher, better looking suspension will vastly improve the handling characteristics of our Camaro while at the same time giving the engine bay a clean, new look.
With the front suspension all hooked up, it was time to assemble our shocks and springs. The Varishock comes with all the parts needed including the Varispring, upper and lower spring seats, and vehicle-specific mounting hardware. As mentioned earlier, while the coil-over kit is a simple bolt-in affair, some assembly is required before hand. Luckily, Chassisworks has made this as simple as possible; all that is needed is patience and a bench vice.

Pushing in the polyurethane bushing.

To start with, our shop “Dawg” Bobby Kimbrough inserted the polyurethane bushing into the upper shock eye. The polyurethane bushing provides unsurpassed support and comfort for the shock and is quite hardy as well. Using the bench vice, he pressed the steel sleeve into the bushing with the help of some polyurethane grease. Patience is key here. Ensure the steel sleeve is properly aligned before pressing it in, because as hardy as the bushing is, the steel sleeve will easily slit or rip it if it is pressed in at a funky angle. Measure twice, cut once, as the old saying goes. The polyurethane grease makes the job a lot easier, so make sure you have some on hand before attempting this step, otherwise you are just asking for trouble.

Using a bench vice, slowly and carefully push the steel sleeve into the upper eye socket

The lower shock eye also has a polyurethane bushing, but has a two-piece crossbar that installs into the lower A-arm rather than a steel sleeve. Again, coat the crossbar in polyurethane grease before proceeding, and press one side of the crossbar into the bushing. Then slide a crush washer onto the other half of the crossbar, and thread the crossbars together until they are flat and tight.

With the bushings and bars out of the way, it’s time to move on to the spring seats. The lower spring sits on a threaded shock body and is fitted with two spring-loaded shock ball lock mechanisms to hold whatever adjustments you may make to the shock. Once the bars are installed, Bobby threaded the lower spring seat on easily.

Slipping the spring over the shock

With six individual notches on the spring seat itself, slip-free adjustments can be made to the spring with the Varishock four-tang spanner wrench (which comes with each kit). Bobby turned the lower spring seat down as far as it would go without hitting the adjustment knobs and then lightly greased the spring seat bearings before placing them in the spring seat. The Varispring slips down over the shock reservoir and sits snugly into the lower spring seat. Then the top spring seat was placed between the top of the spring and the upper shock eye, and then he tightened both spring seats down equally to prevent loading up the chassis.

The process was repeated for the other front shock and we were ready to hook them up to our Camaro.

Installation – Front Shocks

The best thing about the Varishock system is that the upper shock mounts bolt right up to the OEM shock tower locations. No drilling, no measuring, no headaches. This allows the rest of the coil over conversion to mount up easily. The kit comes with two bolts, lock nuts, and washers, and with engine out and the car on a lift, installation couldn’t be easier. Just bolt the mount to the OEM locations, and you’re ready to attach the shocks and springs. An aluminum shim is sandwiched between the lower crossbar and the lower A-arm’s mounting plate, but other than that hooking up the front shocks was as simple as turning a wrench. As a side note, the adjustment knobs should placed on the inside of the lower A-arm, making them easy to access.

Upper shock mounts. Trick, simple and effective.

A note to anyone planning on doing this coil-over conversion without access to a lift; ensure that your car is properly elevated and not just sitting on a jack, especially during the stock suspension removal. Even the slightest shift can cause an improperly-elevated car to fall, resulting in serious injury or death. We may make the job look easy, but that doesn’t mean we don’t take the proper precautions even on a simple task like this.

With the front shocks locked into the new BMR A-arms, we were ready to move on to the rear. With the parts from BMR, and the Chassisworks shocks, we felt extremely comfortable that we could apply maximum weight transfer with superior adjustability at the drag strip.

Installation – Rear Shocks

With a project such as All-Air, the stock rear end just isn’t going to do. Even if this was a stock SS Camaro, the factory rear ends are nothing special and would require replacement anyway. To that end, we got in touch with Moser, who sent us their M9 rear end housing, a new lightweight aluminum center section, and heavy-duty axles to handle all of the naturally aspirated power we’ll be throwing at it.

Again, with the Varishock being a bolt-in kit, there was little more to the installation than popping them up into the factory mounting points. Taking the old shocks out was a bit more of a maneuver however, requiring cutting of the carpet just behind the apex of the rear wheel wells. From there, Bobby was able to unbolt and remove the old shocks and slip the new shocks into position. They fit perfectly into the new Moser rear end which Moser equipped with F-Body suspension mounts.

Good Hook to All

In terms of adjustment tips, of course those vary for each race car or street car. Chassisworks is available to help you with your exact combination. They recommended for our project that on the front shocks, a good setting would be on the 1-2 range for compression (going up from there), and 4-5 on the rebound on the way back down. For the rear shocks, depending on your tire size and rear end configuration, anywhere in the mid-range (7-8) should be enough to keep the tires and power on the pavement for the first pass. Then you should change the setting at see what your setup likes.

The F-Body community has been waiting for a product like the F-Body Coil Over conversion for some time. Working in concert with a trick shock system like VariShock, this package at under $1,000 is a major steal. We will be sure to update you with track results and testing once we get our 800 hp all-motor F-body down the 1320.

The completed front suspension.