-My apologies for the sound, Mike likes to sit away from the mic and then use his ‘pillow talk’ voice, so I had to crank the gain up, which, well, you’ll hear it.

Music: Yellow Cake (Heaflouride) – Ministry
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http://topdeadcenterpodcast.com/TDC-Media/tricycle_drifting.mp4

Here’s the engine, however, it’s already installed, and it runs…  :)

And the rear tail lights & sail panels.  Just waiting on the rear bumper cover.  Seems that Brett has a line on 4 different ones, but two of the sellers refuse to ship them.

Getting close…  I would’ve loved to hear that engine come to life with open headers…

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I present the “release” version of the 2010 Camaro… Notice the “RS” is alive and well.

The car was supposed to be announced this on the 21st, but, someone leaked the photos…

From Autoblog.com— “According to their report, the Camaro will come in LS, LT and SS trim, equipped with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic. Of course, that doesn’t account for the very-obviously-marked RS car that is shown in the official photos, so who knows what the whole story is. Engine choices include either a 296 hp, 3.6-liter V6 or a 416 hp 6.2-liter V8 which will feature cylinder deactivation to boost fuel economy. Underneath the retro sheetmetal is a full independent suspension and StabiliTrak traction control system. Four-pot Brembo brakes are mounted up front on the SS variant, and the 3,700-pound coupe will reportedly have a weight balance of 52/48, front/rear. The neuvo-retro theme is carried inside with a gauge cluster inspired by the 1969 model, along with leather seats and blue LED lighting.”

Drivers’ information center in the gauge cluster tied into the XM radio & sounded incredible
How the doors and body meet without weld marks
3.6 V-6 Direct injection engine with 6 speed auto-trans, that has a ‘manual mode’
Car is quick and maneuvers very well, has lots of power…….

Jason was also shocked to learn that Chris’ car is AWD….. hmm, was that a hint too?

Jason hints that according to a source, the name “Z-28″ is not dead, and how a this package would be more “profitable” to GM if this were to be offered. And do not say the Z-28 is not dead until it’s released that it is.

Jason also said that on July 22nd, GM will release a bulletin (satellite broadcast) to all GM dealers. This COULD contain all info about the Camaro.

Either way, this car is going to be BIG!

These cars are getting very popular, parts are getting snatched up from all over.  Instead of paying high prices for reproduction parts that are famous for not fitting properly, factory parts and donor cars are starting to dry up.

We’re still waiting on a rear bumper cover. 

Then the car gets started and all the really bad gremlins come out to play, right? I’m sure those will be the emails that will make me want to throw up.

No word of any updates, I’ll let you all know when I know.

I’m going to be a big baby and say that I’m sad, but life goes on. So, the glass is half full, and hopefully it wasn’t someones’ spit cup.

Options: Power steering, windows, locks, tilt wheel, rear defrost, 4-wheel disc brakes, camel tan interior, fisher t-tops, automatic transmission (missing), Pontiac 301 V-8 Turbo (missing).

A small amount of rust was repaired, and the entire car had primer applied.  Originally I wanted the GM’s Navy Blue Metallic:

I thought it would be a nice ‘nod’ to the last year of the T/A.  All the SE graphics were going to be silver (silver bird, pin stripes, and gothic lettering).  Then, the more I thought about it, I decided to go for the traditional Starlight Black.

So, it was painted black & clear coated.  The clear was wet sanded and buffed, as it should be.

All weather stripping was replaced for the doors, windows and including the t-top seals.

The interior was all removed and all black interior was installed.  I originally wanted black cloth interior due to the fact no one has screamed in pain as they were burned by sitting on black cloth while wearing shorts in the summer.

Then, my mind was changed again, and we went with black vinyl (aka ‘pleather’), cause it looks cool.  I’ll just have to scream and cry.

Now, since the car is being dressed up as a 1978 Special Edition (aka a Y84), SE graphics were installed (gold pinstripes, gothic lettering, and a nice big outlined screaming chicken on the hood.

Because I’m not doing a Pontiac 400 engine, the “6.6 Litre” didn’t make sense.  So, “455″ was installed on the shaker.  Most importantly the shaker will “shake”, it will not be bolted to the underside of the hood.  I decided against making the shaker “functional”, which means under full-throttle the flap would open to allow more air to flow into it.  This would only give a gain of 5HP, and, it freaks me out to think that water from rain or washing the car could easily get into the carb.

Originally, the 1979 rear end was going to stay, because I really like the look of the “smoked” 79-81 tail lights that were a Trans Am feature, as opposed to the bright red ones.  I reconsidered, and a 78 rear end was installed to keep the “78″ look.

Now, about the engine.  A 1971 Pontiac 455 was chosen as the engine, just because it doesn’t take much to get 400HP out of it.

The cam is not stock, but the rest of the internals are.  I don’t see the need for getting crazy.  Now the “bolt-ons” are a different story.

1971 Pontiac 455 (Engine)

Edelbrock Performer Heads:

Edelbrock Performer Intake:

Holley 650 Carb:

Heddman (Hedders)

Flowmaster (Mufflers)

More details very very soon….  It’s almost time kids.

#1 What is your budget?
#2 Are they insured? If so, how much?
#3 Opened or closed ?

Use a closed trailer, you don’t have to worry about damage due to weather or bird poop. You also won’t have to worry so much about someone seeing your car and wanting to “borrow” it.

Here are a few prices I found for my car to be picked up in Cleveland OH, and dropped off here at my house (600 miles):

Company____________________Open__________Closed

A2B Vehicle Transporting_____$575__________$975

Able Auto Transport__________$485__________?

American Pride Auto Ride_____$550__________?

Autostar Transport____________$740__________?

BT Exp. Global Serv.___________$665__________?

Express Auto Trans____________$640__________$1,040

FedEx__________________________?_____________$1,045

Hat Creek Carriers______________?_____________$800

Interstate Auto Movers__________?_____________$1,150

Magic Carpet Auto Trans________$504__________?

National Car Shipping___________?_____________$1,225

Trusty Transport________________$486__________?

? = No quote offered

Getting down to the little stuff, and then it’s time for paperwork and shipping.  I’ve started investigating shipping companies, and it looks like $1,000 seems to be the average price for the car to be shipped in a covered trailer, 600 miles.

More to come…

I wonder of GM actually gave them a Camaro, or if this is still Saleen’s GTO made into a Camaro from the last movie…  BTW, I thought Bumblebee was yellow…..?

I did tell Brett that A/C is something that I would really like to have for the car, but if it will put the project past the first week of July, then, don’t do it.  Yeah, I’m getting antsy.

Every “nice” day that goes by is just killing me, I have to admit.  It’s one thing to have the car and keep it in the garage on a crummy day.  But it’s another to not have the car and look out the window on a nice sunny day.

Cry me a river right?

Now it’s time for me to concentrate on getting the basement cleaned up.  I have tons of old computer stuff that is taking up a lot of room in the basement.  Once I get all of that cleaned up I’ll start cleaning up the garage.  That way I’ll take the shelving unit in the garage and put it in the basement.  We’ll also be looking into buying a small storage unit for the backyard so the mower can live there instead of the garage.

Why?  Well, the T/A is bigger than my wifes car.  She has a 98 Sunfire convertible, which is a tiny car.  The T/A, not so tiny, I’ll need all the length in the garage I can get.

That’s the problem with our two car garage.  The car on the right to be parked up against the wall, and then the car on the left, you can open the doors on both sides just enough to get in/out of the car.

It’s a very tight fit, and I know that the Trailblazer will have to be pulled out so the T/A can go in, and I can get out (the doors are longer too).

I’ll take pictures.

I just wished she got a photo for proof…   So, why was it here?