Feature car: Far from shoddy Camaro

The right fast release penetrant (with Smart Straw)

THE VERSATILITY OF WD-40 IS LEGENDARY, SO WHEN THIS COMPANY PRODUCES A SPECIALIST PRODUCT, YOU KNOW IT’S GOING TO HAVE A VERY PARTICULAR SET OF SKILLS

Rusted and stuck parts are an everyday frustration in many workshops. They can cause wear and tear that reduces the efficiency of your tools and machinery and, in some cases, can even be dangerous. Every workshop needs a rust-penetrating spray that deals with this specific problem and delivers quick results. How about the one that tested as having the fastest penetration in WD-40s lab tests?

WD-40 Specialist Fast Release Penetrant spray is designed specifically to loosen rusted bolts, or seized joints, or other corroded or rusted components and mechanisms. This fast-acting penetrant has a superior capillary action to penetrate deep into crevices, threads, and seams to break the rust bonds that hold stuck parts together. It also inhibits rust and corrosion from re-forming and leaves behind a lubricating layer.

It has an extremely low surface tension, meaning it can work fast, and it can be used on metal, most rubber and plastic surfaces, alloys, and most paints.

The ‘Smart Straw’ allows it to be delivered precisely at all angles, in tight and hard-to-reach spaces like nut and bolt threads, locks, chains, hinges, fastenings, bearings, and tools. Once you’re done, you can flip the straw back down for wider area coverage.

Penetrating lubricants are also very effective as cleaning agents. They can be used to remove tar, grease, adhesives, and rust. This is because the fluid can be used as a solvent cleaner or degreaser for dissolving contaminants.

However, the dispersal properties of a specialised penetrant means it shouldn’t be selected as a longer-term lubricant. For metal-to-metal contacts, a good longer term lubricant is WD-40 Specialist White Lithium Grease. If your primary goal is rust prevention over the longer term, the team suggests WD-40 Specialist Lanolin or WD-40 Specialist Spray & Stay. Don’t forget periodic inspections to see if you need to re-apply protection.

WD-40 Specialist Penetrant is a must for any workshop or for anyone who needs to keep machines and tools in top working order. Pick up a can of this ‘liquid problem-solver’ today. For more information, see www.wd40.co.nz/where-to-buy.

Try our WD-40 Specialist Fast Release Penetrant spray to loosen screws, loosen rusted bolts, or other corroded or rusted components and mechanisms.

This rust penetrating spray has an extremely low surface tension, meaning it can:

• Quickly penetrate and release rusted or corroded parts • Loosen seized fixings and mechanisms • Loosen rusted bolts • Lubricate to protect against further rust and corrosion • Be used on materials such as metal, most rubber and plastic surfaces, alloys and most paints The Smart Straw allows it to be used precisely at all angles, and it can reach tight and hard to reach spaces like nuts and bolts, locks and chains, hinges, fastenings, bearings, and tools. Once you're done, you can flip the straw back down for wide coverage.

Superior performance

Filter face-off: standard Ryco oil filters vs Ryco SynTec

RYCO OFFERS THE PREMIUM SYNTEC OIL FILTER FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR PREMIUM OIL FILTRATION

Ryco’s standard filters are already designed and proven to meet or exceed OE standards, so why would you opt for the SynTec option?

Engine oil is continuously contaminated by the byproducts of combustion in the top of the engine — moisture formation, and the effects of temperature, pressure, shear forces, and gradual engine wear in this hostile environment. It’s an onslaught no oil can take forever, which is why oil is changed, but filters trap particles building up in the oil, effectively cleaning it for its next cycle through the engine.

Standard Ryco Oil Filters are designed to deliver a balance of efficiency, capacity, and flow for optimal quality engine filtration beyond the life of each oil change cycle. Media selection is an important step in the design process of the Ryco oil filter, ensuring the filter meets or exceeds international ISO and SAE standards and the performance of its OEM equivalent. Testing in the Ryco labs ensures each version of the standard Ryco Oil Filter will reliably protect the vehicles they are designed for throughout the service interval.

The Ryco SynTec Oil Filter is designed and constructed to the same quality standards but has the edge over the standard Ryco filter with a special high efficiency media using nanofiber technology that traps smaller particles. This tightly woven synthetic media, made in the USA using the latest manufacturing techniques, provides a dense path removing 99.8 per cent of contaminants without increasing the pressure drop across the filter.

Put simply, it is a more effective filter. The Ryco SynTec Oil Filter will maintain its performance for 15,000 kilometres without compromising the flow of oil. And it is designed to resist temperatures up to 260°C, as well as chemical attack. This extra level of performance makes the Ryco SynTec Oil Filter perfect for special cars for which only the best is good enough. For instance, the Ryco SynTec Z160ST Oil Filter is used on Tickford race cars in the Supercars Championship.

Of course, this doesn’t diminish the effectiveness of the standard Ryco Oil Filter in any way. Ryco’s extensive testing programme ensures that the quality of each and every Ryco filter meets or exceeds that of their OEM equivalent.

If you’re servicing an everyday vehicle, you can rely on Ryco standard filters to keep the engine healthy. But if you are servicing a vehicle that’s a bit more special, or it has a high performance engine that will benefit from extra protection, the premium Ryco SynTec Oil Filter is a worthy investment.

For more information on Ryco products see rycofilters.com.au.

WHEN YOU NEED SUPERIOR PROTECTION

BE RYCO READY

Ryco’s N99 MicroShield Cabin Air Filter range is designed to exceed OE. The N99 range is developed and tested in Australia’s only dedicated Air Filtration Laboratory. With added seal and N99 medical grade media for increased filtering of dust, camp-fire smoke, soot, pet allergens, odours, viruses*, bacteria and more, down to 0.3 microns. So when your customers cabin needs superior protection, be Ryco Ready.

Shoddy surprise

HE WAS TRYING TO AVOID THE DRAMA — BUT THIS IS CAR BUILDING AND IT’S NEVER PLAIN SAILING. HOWEVER, IT RESULTED IN THE BUILD OF A TARMAC-TEARING RESTOMOD SS

WORDS: MARCUS GIBSON PHOTOS: STRONG STYLE PHOTO

If you’re reading this chances are that, at one time or another, you’ve thought about, or even gone through with, importing a piece of tin from Uncle Sam. It would surprise no one to know an overwhelming percentage of the machines that grace these pages have at one time or another been the centre of one of these transactions. The US of A is a big country and there’s an overwhelming number of classic cars for sale at any one time, so, for many, taking the risk to secure their piece of the American automotive dream is a no-brainer.

As witnessed time and time again, not all that glitters is gold, and this process can be fraught with despair and disappointment — none of which Jon Gibson wanted any part of. However, he ended up having his fair share.

“I knew what I wanted: a first-gen Camaro — those Coca Cola can body lines have been ingrained in my mind since my Matchbox cars from childhood. So the search started — right here in New Zealand. I wasn’t keen on the idea of bringing in something from the States after all the stories I had been hearing. I looked, and I looked — at loads in fact. I drove plenty, but none satisfied. I was left kinda disappointed, and quickly came to a conclusion that finding and securing the best and most sound ’67, with no bodywork needed and with all the chrome intact, was the best plan,” Jon explains.

Even though the search was a drawn-out one, he didn’t give up, and eventually the right ’67 came along in the form of a rather mint carburetted LS7-powered ’67 SS. It had been purchased out of Nevada and modified here in New Zealand. It was just what Jon had been searching for. He knew what was in front of him, and wasted no time purchasing it on the spot.

“I was the happiest dude in the world that day!! Still am — but there was some serious learning to come,” he recalls.

Now we should probably mention that Jon is no greenhorn when it comes to owning, building, and modifying cars. A few weeks into owning and enjoying the ’67 he started to question the performance the LS7 was delivering. The car’s namesake, the Camaro, is a mythical animal that eats Mustangs — a tale made up by a GM exec — but this one was more prey than predator. Even more concerning were the ticking noises that quickly developed. “What could that be — surely nothing serious right? So I decided to drop in and see a school mum’s husband for some advice — introduce Carl Jensen at C&M Performance. Thanks, Julie!”

Doctor Jensen’s prognosis wasn’t one Jon wanted to hear. The body might have been in the condition he first thought, but the driveline was not. It would require a complete overhaul. Jon was pragmatic about it — as we said, it’s not his first rodeo. His biggest concern was how he was going to get the OK for the extra and totally unexpected expenditure from his better half, Anita. He got that one across the line, and soon the LS7 — which reportedly started life in Scotty Mac’s super tourer — was ripped out and off to Reece Fish at FFR for surgery. Reece carried out a full rebuild to nearfactory LS7 spec, replacing damn near everything and taking the opportunity to replace the cam with something with much more bump of his own recipe.

The carb was never going back on and, with the LS back at C&M, it was ditched in favour of EFI, using a Holley Sniper, along with a full suite of Holley fuel system components. But what to do about the misplaced factory intake? Not a fan of GM’s plastic offerings, Jon went hunting and came across Plazmaman’s new LS Pro-Series billet plenum — the credit card digits could not have

The car’s namesake, the Camaro, is a mythical animal that eats Mustangs

been loaded any faster. Coupled with this would be a 95mm Holley throttle body and a custom intake.

“The Plazmaman looked nice — better than expected — but now the rest of the engine looked, well — untidy. So we set about changing the look.”

The Holley catalogue once again came to the rescue, and on went a new Holley mid-mount accessory drive kit and Plazmaman fuel rails.

The first stage of the ’67’s reconstruction was completed just in time for Americarna so Jon and Anita were finally able to begin to enjoy what had been a lifelong dream machine for Jon — who soon became accustomed to feeding the LS7 a proper boot full; the resulting oversteer and smoke signals were an instant hit. It was the car Jon had dreamed of since school, and he was driving it exactly as he would have if he’d been handed the keys back then.

As fun as this was, the build was far from over. It wasn’t long before all this youthful exuberance being thrown at the nearly 60-year-old rear end resulted in a trailer ride back to C&M. It was time to go over the entire driveline. In went a new Centerforce clutch, while the Tremec TKO600 was rebuilt and a nineinch rear with posi trac and Strange axles retired the wounded 10-bolt. It was also at this stage that the rather large Wilwood stoppers found their way on, as well as a set of Koni coilovers to join one of the only remaining pieces from the original build: the Western Sport tubular A-arms.

The build was really starting to head in the right direction — a proper restomod that would handle whatever Jon threw at it. It would be sounding a whole lot better, too, with C&M’s in-house fab man, AJ, whipping up a set of custom headers and a new exhaust system good enough to pick up a further 40 ponies on the dyno for the dry-sumped LS.

Build now complete, right? Well — we’ll let Jon explain what happened next.

“Those in the know will be aware that the handbrakes on Gen-1 Camaros can be testing at times, to say the least. A little roll down the drive and through a gate knocked the front out of shape a little.”

We’re sure many expletives could be heard echoing through the neighbourhood when Jon discovered the carnage that day, but the incident did present the opportunity to get a few exterior

Feeding the LS7 a proper boot full; the resulting oversteer and smoke signals were an instant hit

SPEC 1967 CHEV CAMARO SS

ENGINE: FFR-built LS7, 427ci, JE pistons, FFR ‘special grind’ cam, new valve springs, guides, and stems, new pushrods, lifters, and bearings, GM HP followers, Holley mid-mount accessory drive kit, Holley Sniper EFI, Holley smart coils, Plazmaman LS Pro-Series billet intake, 95mm Holley throttle body, custom C&M intake, K&N filter, Holley Sniper fuel tank, Holley fuel pump, Holley regulator, custom C&M headers and exhaust, custom radiator, Peterson dry sump pump, custom overflow bottles, Eddie Motorsports bonnet hinges, braces, and catches DRIVELINE: Tremec TKO600, Centerforce clutch, 9-inch diff with US gears and Eaton posi, Strange axles, custom driveshaft SUSPENSION: (F) Western Sport A-arms, Koni adjustable coilovers, (R) Koni adjustable shocks, leaf springs with Caltracs, Nolathane CHASSIS: Inter-connecting brace BRAKES: Wilwood master cylinder, Wilwood Hydroboost, (F) Wilwood 6-pot calipers, Wilwood drilled and slotted 2-piece rotors, (R) Wilwood 4-pot calipers, Wilwood rotors WHEELS/TYRES: (F) 18x8-inch American Racing, Bridgestone 225/40R18, (R) 18x10-inch American Racing, Bridgestone 265/35R18 EXTERIOR: Chevrolet Corvette Torch Red by Motive Panelbeaters and Spraypainters, vinyl roof delete, RainGear window wiper, LED headlights, electric actuated lights, custom radiator in-fill panel INTERIOR: Scat Procar bucket seats, recovered SS rear to match, Grant wood classic steering wheel, Keiser shifter knob, Dakota Digital HDX Bluetooth gauges, replacement door cards, all new chrome, Vintage Audio reproduction stereo with Bluetooth, two Vintage Audio Sound Amplified 8-inch subs, Vintage Audio speakers JBL 6x9s