We completely disassembled it and installed everything DSE made for it, hydro-formed sub-frame, Quadra-Link, sub-frame connectors/body mounts, eight-point roll cage, and Selecta-Speed wipers. We finished it up with Fikse wheels, BFG tires, an American Autowire harness and connectors, and all new plumbing.”
From that humble 2-barrel 350 a/c flopper rolls the reconstituted Camaro, a hard-point road eater, part punisher, part sleeper. Imagine how much the Tuckers saved by not bothering with any cosmetic reconstruction at all, money that they (or you) could heap on the primary issues of maximizing engine, handling, and braking power. From the very beginning, hot rods were about getting off the mark before and staying ahead of the chump in the other lane. Looking good had little if anything to do with long-range plans. The Camaro is a road car and an on-track demonstrator, not some shrinking lounge lizard, so a $15,000 paint job or worry about crinkling freshly-pressed sheetmetal did not apply.
The minimal, low-buck approach grew like a vine into the interior as well. Nothing ostentatious here. Pricey Recaro Specialist S buckets fitted with low-back ‘70s–style headrests were sheathed in vinyl. The door and side panels are Year One catalog items. Chuck’s Hot Rod Interiors in Mooresville kicked and fitted the loop carpeting. Like splashes of blood on a white field, there are distinct signs of functionality as well: DSE settled RacePak IQ3 Data Logger instrumentation in a modified upper dashboard panel, the leading edge of which tucks into it. All the gauges are centralized in the DataPak and show digital read-outs. Pilots know exactly where they are on the track and just how quickly they got there.
Motive gear includes an L92 6.2L motor that performs with mostly stock internals as machined, balanced and, built by Wegner Motorsports, known Wisconsin circle track race-engine purveyor. Experience has revealed that the LS-series non-forged bottom ends can absorb tremendous abuse without consequence and its deep-skirt, 6-bolt main-cap cylinder block has a lot to do with that. Kyle was remiss in all the engine specs, but did concede a snappier camshaft (0.589/0.596 vs 0.500/0.500 stock) and we suspect some cylinder head massage as well. Output is estimated at 598hp (an increase of 195hp over stock) at 6,800 rpm and 496 lb-ft (increase of 79 lb-ft) at 5,700 rpm from 376 ci.
Ancillaries include a GMPP intake manifold nestling a Holley 750cfm carburetor fed by an Aeromotive pump. Vital, heat-transferring fluids are processed through a six-quart Champ oil pan and a Stewart water pump in league with a Be Cool aluminum core and thermostatically controlled push fans. An infinitely tunable Pantera (www.panteraefi.com) controller is the brain of the Camaro’s engine. DSE surrounded the L92 with 1 7/8-inch stainless steel primaries that terminate in 3-inch exhaust pipes, thence to an X-pipe and on to shiny Borla XR1 mufflers. These are really stripped down race-muffs, so the exhaust note of the Tucker Camaro is one raspy SOB. Matte finish DSE air cleaner and Katech rocker covers bring a sobering, no-nonsense aura to the whole.
To manage torque, DSE applied an 11-inch Centerforce flywheel and Dual-Friction, hydraulically-enabled clutch assembly and covered it with a McLeod bell housing/scatter shield. The drive train poses a Tremec TKO600 Fifth gear capable of receiving 600 lb-ft of grunt for 24 continuous hours. A custom-built Dynotech Engineering steel driveshaft puts the screws to the 9-inch axle, 3.89:1 gears, and a Truetrac differential.