Starting Point

The OneLapCamaro started it’s transformation as a battered 1967 Camaro RS that had been sitting in a farmer’s field for over a decade while time and the elements took their toll. A previous owner had made a half hearted effort to build the Camaro into a pro-street style car but an unfortunate lack of planning and talent had resulted in a 3,000 pound paperweight that barely looked the part. Wrapped in a plastic tarp and forgotten, what had been bad had become worse until the owner realized that what was left was beyond his ability to bring back. Thankfully, however, the OneLapCamaro team was able to see past the ravages of time and saw the true potential of the car.  

Rotisserie Restoration - Heighton Restorations

When the OneLapCamaro was rescued from a farmer’s field in northern Ontario after decades of neglect, we turned to Heighton Restorations in Beisiker, Alberta to do a full rotisserie restoration of our 40 year old muscle car. The crew at Heighton Restorations media blasted the car and ultimately revealed more bad than good. Years of sitting under a plastic tarp (and some unfortunate bodywork and fabrication by a previous owner) had taken its toll. After careful consideration, the decision was made to replace nearly every panel on the car. After nearly six months under the knife the only original pieces left on the car are the roof, dash, tail light panel, and rocker panels – everything else has been replaced by new parts or those that could be salvaged from donor cars. You can follow the incredible transformation - spanning nearly three years and over 2500 hours of fabrication -  here. 

Front Suspension

When we were looking for a no-compromise front suspension for the OneLapCamaro we evaluated a variety of options from upgrading the factory subframe to replacing the entire assembly with an aftermarket alternative. Ultimately we turned to American Touring Specialties in Las Vegas, Nevada to update a factory front subframe with their proprietary Chicane - LM Front Suspension system. ATS stripped the stock subframe, ground all of original factory welds off and rewelded the entire subframe before modifying it to accept their newly designed coil-over set up. Tubular control arms were used in conjunction with ATS’s forged aluminum AFX Tall Spindle to optimize camber gain, increase strength, and take advantage of a modern sealed hub capable of handling the stresses of road racing. An ATS specified, race proven 670 style power steering box built by Lee Engineering handles the steering chores in conjunction with Baer Tracker adjustable tie rod ends and an ATS Spline-Tuned Sway Bar ensures unparalleled stability. 

Rear Suspension

The rear suspension system chosen for the OneLapCamaro was developed by Lateral Dynamics of Carlsbad, California, some seriously passionate road racers and musclecar enthusiasts. The Lateral Dynamics 3-Link System is a true road race inspired, performance rear suspension system designed for early muscle cars. Their exhaustive research and development has resulted in a setup that offers unparalleled high speed stability and performance potential - a system that is equally at home on the street, road course, auto cross and dragstrip. Behind the unique 3-link design is unsurpassed manufacturing quality. Every component of the rear suspension set-up is hand built in house, from the front and rear cross-members and Watts-link assembly to the fixture welded, custom width Ford 9” housing. The Lateral Dynamics 3-Link is the no compromise rear suspension that the OneLapCamaro project needed. 

Engine and Transmission

From the outset of the OneLapCamaro project, the fusion of modern technology, exceptional performance and reliability was our focus; so when it came time to put the driveline together we chose the LSX / T-56 platform as our starting point.  We turned to Katech Performance, builders of the awesome C6.R racing engines that have dominated the American LeMans series, to modify an LS7 engine pulled from a 2008 Corvette Z06.  Rockland Standard Gear was the logical choice for the 6-speed transmission; their "Son of Tranzilla" close-ratio T-56 met our needs perfectly.   

Wheels and Tires

Choosing the right set of wheels and tires can often be a difficult decision – finding the right balance of size, weight, design, and performance given almost endless possibilities can make this important choice a great deal of work.  For the OneLapCamaro project the choice was easy – HRE Wheels are designed and engineered for competition and possess outstanding looks and tremendous strength.  Toyo Tires offer outstanding performance with their street legal competition compound R888’s.  Although not legal for the One Lap of America, they will provide us with confidence building feedback as we dial the car in prior to competition. 

Wiring and Electrical

Throughout the OneLapCamaro build we have sought to utilize modern technologies that would enhance the Camaro's performance and reliability and when it came to the electrical system we looked no forther than the ISIS Intelligent Multiplex System.  The strength  of the ISIS System comes from its programmability and simplicity; utilizing state of the art CANBUS technology and featuring built in diagnositis abilities, the ISIS Intelligent Multiplex System brings the OneLapCamaro's electrical system into the twentyfirst century.