Robert Class has been with the Northstar Camaro Club for four years. It all started when he was looking for a Camaro on-line. He had no specific reason other than he wanted a Camaro no matter what year. We can all relate to that urge. Robert finally found one and it happened to belong to another club member Chad Peters who sparked interest not only in the Camaro but also about the Northstar Camaro Club. Way to go Chad! So Robert bought the 1996 Z28 Camaro and joined our club during that year's Car Craft Summer Nationals in St. Paul. The original Camaro was a stock Z28. Not being satisfied with stock (what true motor head really is), Robert decided to go with the Super Sport package to make his new 1996 Camaro more unique. He was looking for one from the factory, but the package was hard to get one that was clean. It took Robert a few years to get where he wanted the Camaro but it is finally done. Overall he likes his 1996 Camaro and it is a lot of fun to drive. He has received a couple of awards so far: 2010 - First Place and 2009 - Third Place. He says that the car shows have been a good experience. His future project is to go back to TPIS to increase his engine's displacement to a 396. He has seen the work that TPIS does and he is impressed with their results. His goal is to start racing more at Grove Creek Dragways instead of going just to car shows. Robert wants to thank Jim Hall, Clay Witt, and the rest of the crew at TPIS, Inc. for making his Camaro project so much fun and a good educational experience. He hopes to see Northstar Camaro club members in future club events.
Key Facts
LT1 350; TPIS Heads (195 cc) and ZZ409 Camshaft (226/226); TPIS Throttle Body; Comp Cam Rocker Arms; LT4 Valve Springs; ATI Damper; MSD Ignition Box and Coil.
Transmission
TPIS Long Tube Ceramic Coated Headers; Magnaflow Exhaust; QTP Electric Cutout
The best kept secret that I can share is how I have combined my love of Coca-Cola products with my love of muscle cars of the 60s and 70s. We all know how expensive classic Coca-Cola products are now as valued collector items. So I was very surprised how affordable cola bottle wooden crates are. You can find very nice cola bottle wooden crates on e-Bay for under $25 and that includes shipping cost if you bid right. That means being patient and waiting for the right crate with the combination of best quality and vintage.
Another interesting aspect of these crates are that they often come with a stamp that includes a date and the city where the crate came from. How about that! So you can search for crates that are the same year as your favorite Camaro. I was able to find a crate with a 1977 date and I also found a crate that came from Arkansas the state where my 1977 Camaro was sold new. So if a date or a location is important to you just keep looking on e-Bay until that comes up in a picture. You will be surprised how often that may happen. Keep in mind that the southeast is the most common area where these crates come from. Though there are some midwestern and northeastern states that show up from time to time.
You are not limited to just Coca-Cola crates. There are many brands of cola crates to search for such as: Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Crown Royal, Dr. Pepper, etc. I think that this is the best kept secret out there for collecting items from the 60s and 70s era.
So you may be asking yourself, what the heck am I going to do with a cola crate anyways? Well many of these crates come open ended as the picture above shows. That means you can use them to store many of your car products and place the crate in your trunk and then show off your classic cola crate at the next car show. Below is a picture of my crate for storing my car cleaning products:
E-Bay Tips
Need ideas for that special muscle car nut? Here are a few:
Coca-Cola Checker Wooden Crate
The classically unmistakable Coca-Cola logo is reminiscent of a simpler time, when a nickel was good for an icy cold bottle of pop. This wooden crate that has two functions: a checker board with bottle crown game pieces and a nice storage box.
14.6" x 10.63" x 10.43"
Price: $42.99
www.calcarcover.com
Magnetic Tool Holders
Price: $29.99
Wizards Products
RJ Star, Inc. is the manufacturer and exclusive distributor of Wizards® products. We offer a professional line of specialty appearance products, sold through quality automotive paint jobbers, body shops, independently owned parts stores, specialty boutiques and motorcycle shops. And they are a Minnesota company!
Price: $14.25
www.wizardsproducts.com
Powerblock TV is an interesting web site with videos, TV schedule of car projects, and many more features. Here is a snap-shot of the web site:
Firebreather Camaro Unveiled
As reported on Camaro5.com, The "Firebreather," a hero car set to appear in the movie "Jinn" for Exodus Pictures and based on the 2010 Camaro, has finally been revealed! The camouflaged form of this car caused widespread internet speculation as to its real identity. Many hoped that it was the upcoming Camaro Z/28. Fortunately, Faisal Ahmad, the Special Vehicles Producer for Exodus Pictures, dispeled such rumors on the forum. The Firebreather shows what a Pontiac Firebird could have resembled. If you like it, there's good news, as 50 units of this car are currently available for purchase at a starting price of $60,000.
The car was designed by the film's writer and director and Art Center grad AJ Ahmad, who wanted to tie the developing Michigan film industry to the state's history. The Firebreather will be the hero car in the movie, driven by the film's star Ray Park (aka Darth Maul) who was on hand for the unveiling. The car, built by Classic Design Concepts for the film, takes a new Camaro and gives it an all-new, and very handsomely-styled front end, an entirely new tail end with a new spoiler, new hood, some slick custom wheels, the Eibach Pro-Plus performance handling package a embroidered seats.
Warrior Mustang on Hot Rod Power Tour
Kevin and I saw this patriotic tribute Mustang at this year's Hot Rod Power Tour at the Iowa Speedway stop. The vinyl wrap is one of the more complex that I have seen and the owner said it cost him $10,000. Wow, what a tribute to our soldiers!
2012 Camaro Z28 with 6.2L Supercharged V8
As reported on Camaro5.com web site: 'This Camaro Z28 was captured out testing with several other Camaros, as well as a Mustang GT500 (for comparison of course). Seen prominently, even with the front covering is a much lower front fascia with large intakes. You can make out the shape despite the covering and it resembles the latest Transformers 3 Bumblebee Camaro front fascia. The hood cowl also looks to be more prominent than on standard Camaro. The wheels are 20" SP550 anodized black - 20x10 front and 20x11 rears. Wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 tires. The brake calipers very much resemble those from the CTS-V. Quad exhaust (dual pipes per side) are at the rear, and the photographer described the sound from this car as "nothing short of unholy!" Best part is, GM was courteous enough to tape the engine specs on the dash: 6.2L supercharged V8, with Auto Transmission.'
2011 Camaro production started June 7th with 9,546 built so far; 2010 Camaro production orders are now finished. Highlights of the 2011 features:
Latest News: The 6 Gen Camaro will be built on an Alpha platform. Also CNNMoney.com voted the V6 Camaro a Top 7 great road trip car. Yahoo Autos has just named the 2010 Camaro SS one of the Fastest Cars available for under $50K.
Here are the July color breakdown and state purchases for 2011:
According to Automotive News, GM will be building 20,000 convertables. However, GM has also pushed out the production out until the later half of 2011 model year. Additionally, the convertable top will be built by a Canadian company called Magna. The tops will be built in Bowling Green, Kentucky with fabric from Mexico. Here is an updated 2011 Convertible order/release schedule which was reported on Camaro5.com. October 2010 - December 2010 1. Dealers Submit Consensus 2. Dealer Order Submission Begins 3. Second Consensus 4. 2010 LA Autoshow Reveal (Show dates: November 19 - November 28, 2010) January 2011 - March 2011 1. Convertible SOP (start of production) 2. Convertible pricing announcement Convertible will come in all trim options (except LS trim).
Transformer 3 Bumblebee with Z28 Features!
As reported on Camaro5.com Transformers 3 is currently shooting in downtown Chicago and that means lots of potential to spot the third iteration of the Bumblebee Camaro. Here are the best on set photos and videos yet of the latest Bumblebee Camaro.
The slickest Bumblebee Camaro yet features a refreshed front fascia design with front splitter, revised hood cowl, broad stripes which extend from the hood all the way back to the trunk, sleek blacked out mirrors, rear quarter fender with single open inlet, high rear wing spoiler, revised rear bumper with quad exhaust tips sitting flush to rear lower bumper. Pay close attention to these design elements as it's been hinted that some of the elements give a good idea as to the fifth generation Camaro Z28.
Note: Camaro News information found from many sources including Camaro5.com, GM.com, and the various muscle car magazines.
August brings our new Summer Classic Car Show at South Surburban Chevrolet in Eden Prairie for all models of cars. Be sure to check our schedule for the exact date. We are hosting so stop by and say hello.
It is our plan to continue to update this newsletter by the first day of every new month with categories such as Tip of the Month, Product of the Month, and Camaro News. We may have different categories in different months. For example, these categories may be featured from time to time: Junk Yard Find, Tech Tip, Featured Drive In, etc.
Our main focus is on the Feature Member Ride which we will attempt to upate every other month. That way the feature ride stays on-line for two months. We randomly select six members each year to feature their Camaro in this e-newsletter.
But to make this e-newsletter really take off we need articles from you the members, especially TECH articles. So if you have any suggestions or feedback please send an e-mail to sgtatarms@northstarcamaroclub.com.
We hope that you continue to enjoy this new feature of our great club website!
Walter 'BamaKid'
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