Pistons And Gears
That fabled 350 ci swelled up like a sow's belly, displacing a sumptuous 406 ci. McCool and Marc did the build after Performance Products in Phoenix, completed the necessary block work and balancing the rotating assembly. The plan was moderation; big displacement for a vivid low-end and just enough stick to let it breathe well on the top. Keith Black hypereutectic pistons with Total Seal ring packs squeeze up a compression ratio of 10.35:1 with Trick Flow Super 23 195 CNC-profiled combustion chambers holding 2.02/1.60 valves. A Scat nodular iron crankshaft and Scat forged rods hold up the bottom end. A semi-bumpy stick was in their thoughts, too, a Comp Cams flat tappet XE284H-10 hydraulic sporting 240/246 degrees duration at 0.050 and a lift of 0.507/0.510-inch. Complementary equipment includes Comp valvesprings, pushrods, and 1.6:1 roller rocker arms. Pushrod guides, retainers, and locks are Trick Flow items. A Moroso sump, windage tray, and pump do the oiling and return via a Chevy truck oil cooler. Fuel is atomized by a 750-cfm Race Demon carburetor and dispersed through the tunnels of an Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold. High voltage rips from an MSD 6A box; gases resultant are sucked away by Hooker Super Comp headers measuring 17/8x30 inches. Though rarely invoked, Marc's got a button for the NOS Super Power Shot juice system worthy of 100-150 hp. On the pump, the big little-block produced 503.5 hp at 5,900 rpm and 496.6 lb-ft of grunt at 4,450 rpm. Though he aims to feature an overdriven 700-R4 to bring his car in compliance with the Pro Touring shtick, Marc currently runs a manual shift Turbo 350 and a 10-inch B&M Holeshot converter with a 3,200-rpm stall speed. Transmission fluid courses through a Flex-A-Lite cooler. South Bay Driveline made him a custom driveshaft (that passes through a Marc-built driveshaft safety loop) to transfer torque to the 10-bolt (3.42:1 gears, Eaton differential, and Moser axleshafts) that was once beneath a WS6 Firebird. With the old 3.90:1 gears, Marc's 3,700-pound car ripped off a best quarter-mile of 11.44.
Rubber And Steel
Vintage Wheel Works V40 alloys, with media-blasted spiders and machined lips, seem the perfect complement to the Camaro's dusky suit. The "littles" are 17x8 with 255/45 BFG g-Force Sports. The "bigs" are 17x9.5, turning 295/45 Mickey Thompson Street Radial II stickies. Peeking from behind those spokes, are stock front calipers and R1 Concepts 11.01-inch front and 11.45 rear discs. The back brakes came with the WS6 axle and utilize drilled and slotted R1 Concept rotors.
Shine
When Marc was fixing the sheetmetal and tending to the former mosquito theme park, he shaved all the script and sundry markings from the body. Brett at Capitol Auto Body in San Jose, California, finished the sheetmetal and applied DuPont single-stage blue and the contrasting Z28 accents to the decklid and the 3-inch cowl hood.
On The Dark Side
Bodero and McCool tempered the chassis with Hotchkis front and rear lowering springs, homemade subframe connectors, and accompanying Bilstein shock valving. They also relocated the mounting points for the rear shock absorbers to the inside of the frame for tire clearance. Wheelhop is doused by Competition Engineering Slide-A-Link traction bars. The steering is manual.
Hangin' Out
Marc padded the interior with a field of vinyl, up the doors and over the Scat Procar Rally Series 1000 buckets and matching bench. Fat lap belts replace the OE strips, otherwise the theme is a return-to-stock but accented by a Grant steering wheel and a gauge cluster built by the owner to house a gaggle of Auto Meter Sport Comp gauges. Climate control is by open window but the sound system is a bit more sophisticated-Pioneer head/CD player and Polk speakers. There's a roll-control button within easy reach on the shifter and Marc arms the juice system by flipping a switch next to the radio. His right hand is on the B&M Pro Bandit ratchet.