S&W Race Cars' 68 Camaro rolling test bed

“ROLLING TEST BED” ROLLS A LITTLE QUICKER

This past winter the '68 Camaro maintained by S&W's design engineer John Burke and driven by his wife Janet, under went extensive modifications with the hope of improving the car's performance. The Camaro is raced in Super Pro and generally runs 10.20 & 30's. Previously, it had been changed from a Ladder Bar to a S&W 4-Link rear suspension. This resulted in the direct fit rear frame kit that S&W now offers for the First Gen Camaro's. This upgrade greatly improved the ability to tune the rear suspension. But that was only half of the equation

This past winter the focus was put on the front of the car. It was decided that getting rid of the stock steering and drum brakes would shed some weight and greatly improve the drivability. The stock A-arms were kept because they have been modified for additional caster and are relatively light. QA-1 coil over front shocks had been previously installed on the car. These proved to be a major improvement to performance and were also retained. But, the shock's lower Tee bar type mounts were replaced with sleeved rod ends

This required that the lower spring pocket be removed and a crossmember and tabs be welded to the A-arms. With this modification we wanted to free up the lower end of the shock so that it did not bind when the shock and A-arm traveled during the launch. A mock up of the rack & pinion showed that the heavy stock crossmember under the engine would have to be modified to clear the steering shaft or two u-joints would be required on the steering shaft.

The stock engine mounts bolt to this crossmember, but the engine mounts were replaced with an aluminum front plate and steel mid plate a few projects ago. So, it was decided to cut out the crossmember, the lighter one ahead of it was also removed. Both of these crossmembers are used as the attachment points for the lower A-arms to the chassis. The A-arm mounting on the crossmember were retained and round tube crossmember installed. The stock portion of the front crossmember was capped off and the new crossmember was welded to the cap plates. The new crossmember under the engine was made to bolt in so that the oil pan could be removed easier

The front crossmember was used to mount the rack & pinion. A k-member was added between the new front crossmember and rear A-arm mounting points.

To further stiffen up the chassis an X-member was put between the sub-frame connectors.

Strange 4-piston disc brakes and a new Wilwood 1.2” billet aluminum master cylinder and proportioning valve were used to replace the stock front brakes. A new S&W steering column kit and aluminum dash & gauge panel were also part of the winter upgrade.

To also make maintenance easier the new floor was raised about 3/4” and the stock Tran's crossmember was scraped. We replaced the stock trans crossmember with a tubular bolt in crossmember.

Also shown in this photo is S&W's aluminum dash board kit and aluminum inner door panel kit.

While we had the torch out the stock firewall and floor were cut out. A new steel firewall was installed a few inches back to make removal of the Trans easier.

The bench racing season came to an end, now the proof would be on the time slip. No changes were made to the motor, Trans, fuel system or gearing from the previous season. We even had the same slicks on it and left the same number in the delay box. The first run puts a 10.01 at 134.4 MPH on the board. Last year's notes showed that the same weather would have yielded a 10.17 at 132. Not bad, but this car is not certified to go quicker than 10.00 or faster than 135.

The weather station predicted the next run would be even quicker (great). The next time run, 9.99 (brilliant). OK, first round, dialed a 10.00 (can't put 9.99 on the window), car runs 9.999. Seems like a lot of work to go home early, but it has to be considered a good day. The initial move was quicker (shown in the 60 ft and reaction times), the car went straight down the track, it ran quicker and faster than it ever has and Janet said the car has never been easier to drive. A successful project? Better performance, consistent and predictable ET's, improved drivability and added safety, yes definitely a successful project.