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2010 Camaro SS Project Car - Carbon FootprintA few body panels and some paint make our ’10 stand out in the crowd From the June, 2011 issue of Camaro Performers By Steven Rupp Photography by Steven Rupp
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Some projects grow and morph over time, while others spiral out of control faster than Charley Sheen high on, well … Charley Sheen. Our 2010 Camaro SS project car falls solidly into the latter category, albeit with a bit less tiger’s blood or warlock high jinks. When we first started the project, we were just going to tighten up the handling, add a touch more power to the LS3, and slap on a few trinkets to dress the SS up a bit. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Our SS now puts over 660 hp to the tires and has a ton of suspension work done. Given the wretched excess in these areas, it was decided we should dive into the appearance aspect as well. Now, we did retain some sanity, so repainting the whole car or doing crazy sheetmetal mods were ideas left off the table. But we figured adding a few bolt-on parts could really give the Camaro a makeover. Up front, we decided to go with a Seibon carbon-fiber hood Anvil Auto. The hood wasn’t a wild departure from stock, but with a couple of heat extractors and a more aggressive cowl, it really caught our attention. For the rear of the car we picked up a carbon-fiber trunk lid and spoiler also from Anvil. The trunk lid is an exact duplicate of the GM piece, but the spoiler is far more aggressive. At first we were content to just bolt on the CF pieces and call it a day, but a rendering submitted to us by artist Ben Hermance got our gray matter oozing with ideas of how cool project CP-28 could look. His idea was that some silver paint would tie the pieces into the car and result in a more cohesive OEM look.  Shortly after last year’s...  Shortly after last year’s Holley LS Fest, our Camaro had some downtime so we decided to do a little carbon-fiber dress up. First up, Brian Finch, of Finch’s Hot Rod Restorations, and the car’s owner, Yancy Johns, removed the GM trunk lid’s liner, latch, and rubber bumpers. With that done, they disconnected the struts and unbolted it from the hinges.  The new trunk lid was, pardon...  The new trunk lid was, pardon the pun, a carbon copy of the GM piece and it used all of the same hardware, even the liner, of the OE lid. Here, Brian checks to make sure alignment was good. We found the new part from Anvil Auto fit as well as the stocker, and we only had to make a small adjustment to the lower latch to get everything sitting flush.  The new trunk lid came without...  The new trunk lid came without holes for mounting the Anvil spoiler, so it was up to Brian to add them. Using the new spoiler as a template, Brian first drilled small pilot holes from the backside and then larger holes from the topside. This ensured clean edges on the holes. To allow for adjustment, the holes were made a touch on the larger side.  The new spoiler was then bolted...  The new spoiler was then bolted in place. Anvil included small pre-cut foam pads to go on the ends of the spoiler to help protect the upper quarter panel when the trunk is closed. We had zero complaints on how well the parts fit right out of the box.  Moving to the Seibon hood,...  Moving to the Seibon hood, Brian and fellow gearhead, Mark Turner, started by removing the GM aluminum hood and transferring all the parts, like the hood liner, windshield washer system, hood strut mount, and hood latch catch to the new carbon-fiber unit. It’s nice the aftermarket hood has provisions for all the OEM parts since it gives a real factory look.  The Seibon hood fit great...  The Seibon hood fit great and we were impressed with how even all the gaps were. As for pricing, the Seibon hood (available through Anvil Auto) will set you back around $1,200 while the Anvil trunk runs $800, and their wicked spoiler goes for $395. Not cheap, but better than paying less for parts that require a ton of work to get looking right. Besides, who can put a value on looking good?
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