It's hard to believe, but it has been about nine years since the LS1 debuted in GM's F-cars. Purists were more than a little skeptical at first-after all, the previous small-block engine had been around for more than 40 years.
But the LS1's durability and capability for tremendous power-particularly in normally aspirated mode-quickly won over the skeptics and attracted a new generation of enthusiasts. Father and son Kevin and Ryan Hiner represent those two generations of enthusiasts. Kevin, the elder Hiner, is a self-described GM nut and tools around in a TrailBlazer SS while his wife cruises a supercharged Escalade.
Ryan Hiner's first car, the white 2000 Camaro seen on these pages, is the horsepower champ of the family's garage. It was a father-and-son project they pursued, seeking to assemble one of the baddest and cleanest street/strip cars in the metropolitan Detroit area. It would be hard to argue that the car has achieved anything less than their objective.
The Hiners are quick to credit builders Wheel to Wheel Powertrain (www.w2wpowertrain.com), a facility in Madison Heights, Mich., that has its roots in factory-backed racing and O.E.M. specialty vehicle construction. They've also built many a quick F-car, including the former Mike Moran Camaro, which is now Wheel to Wheel's "test car." It's gone 6.86 at 205 mph.
With the credentials to handle the Hiners' project, Wheel To Wheel began a systematic teardown and reassembly of this Camaro. Starting with the most obvious component-the engine-the original 5.7-liter LS1 was removed and replaced with a stroked C5R mill. With 4.155-inch bores and a 4.125-inch stroke, the engine displaces a whopping 444 cubic inches. It's normally aspirated, but equipped for a healthy dose of nitrous oxide. The 444's short-block consists of a Callies custom-grind forged 4340 crankshaft, Oliver billet connecting rods, and Mahle C5R competition 2618 forged pistons-all stuffed, of course, in a C5R competition block. A custom dry-sump oiling system keeps the reciprocating parts lubricated; the system's supply tank is located in the factory location for the battery (which was moved to the trunk). A Dailey two-stage oil pump is used, along with an ARE racing-type dry sump oil pan
Also inside the cylinder block is a custom solid roller camshaft from COMP Cams, delivering more than 0.700-inch lift. It gives the engine a noticeable, but not too radical, lope; somewhere between a lumpy small-block and mild big-block. It actuates the valves in a pair of AFR high-flow "Mongoose" aluminum heads, which feature 2.25-inch and 1.60-inch titanium valves. With a comparatively small combustion chamber volume, the heads combine with the custom pistons to give the engine a tall, 13.5:1 compression ratio. Yes, sir, this motor slurps nothing but 110 octane on the street (116 octane at the track). The heads also feature Jesel 1.6-ratio Pro Series C5R shaft-mount rocker arms, K-Motion dual valvesprings, titanium retainers and Smith Brothers oil-restricted pushrods.
Atop the C5R block and AFR heads is a custom intake manifold that was scratch-built by Wheel To Wheel. It's a fabricated sheet metal intake that is polished to a mirror-like finish. It's fitted with 72-pound Bosch injectors and custom-made fuel rails, as well with a custom throttle body that features a pair of 52mm throttle blades. Look closely at the photos and you'll see a Nitrous Express direct-port "fogger" system also is integrated in the fuel rails, making for a cleaner underhood appearance.
Indeed, the words "clean" and "polished" are the most apt descriptors for the Camaro's engine compartment. Any part that could be polished was, including the C5R cylinder block, custom W2W valve covers and even the water pump. The coated, stainless steel headers also have a polished appearance. They feed a custom exhaust system that is capped with Dynomax "bullet" mufflers.
On motor only, the engine has made more than 700 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. With the juice, output is closer to 1,000 horses. Performance and tuning is controlled via a laptop computer that plugs in to a port in the cabin, sending "go faster" messages to the Big Stuff 3 electronics.
The engine is paired with a stout Turbo 400 built by, yes, Wheel To Wheel. It features a trans brake, a B&M reverse pattern, manual-shift shifter and 5,000-stall converter. Torque is then sent to a 12-bolt rear end (no 9-inchers for this GM family) by way of a custom metal matrix driveshaft. The 12-bolt features 33-spline Moser axles and a 4.10:1 Richmond gear set. A set of 10.5-inch wide, 28-inch tall Mickey Thompson ET Drags mounted on Weld Racing wheels is attached to the rear axles and stuffed into massaged wheel wells. The front wheels are traditional drag skinnies, matching the rears with Mickey Thompson rubber and Weld rims.
Channeling the engine's grunt to the pavement would be more-lots more-than the standard Camaro chassis could handle, so W2W went to work by adding a BMR front cross member (also necessary to provide clearance for the dry sump oiling system's feed and return lines), BMR tubular A-arms, Hardcore Racing hand-fabricated rear control arms, subframe connectors, a cross-car brace, driveshaft safety loop, torque arm and Panhard. Spohn supplied the anti-roll system, and all the chassis components were powder-coated red. QA1 coil springs and shocks are used all around. The chassis is further stiffened and passengers are protected by a 10-point roll cage.
Mounted to the roll cage is a pair of carbon fiber bottles for the nitrous system. The interior also is filled with A-pillar-mounted gauges and a custom instrument panel insert with Auto Meter Phantom gauges. There's also a pair of Sparco racing seats (the rear seat was ditched) and lighter-weight black carpeting.
More than the sum of its racing and scratch-built parts, the Hiners' Camaro displays tremendous detail, from polished hood hinges to the leather-wrapped roll cage padding. Indeed, everywhere you look, you see something that triggers a "Oh, now that's cool..." mental response. Wheel To Wheel didn't simply build the car, they crafted it. It is handsome work and one of the most detailed Camaros we've come across recently. It helps, too, that the car was a clean, 35,000-mile virgin when the project began.
And while the car's primary duty is on the street, it's no slouch at the track. At the time of our writing, Ryan Hiner had only a few passes on the car, resulting in a wheels-up 10.2 ET at 132 mph. That was off the bottle, by the way. With tuning and more driving experience-and, finally, the big hit of juice-the Hiners are looking for low 9s or maybe even an 8-second pass.
Whoever said, "Show and go don't mix," never got a look at-or a ride in-this white-hot Camaro.
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 Polished to perfection, the...  Polished to perfection, the engine is built around a C5R competition cylinder block, with a 4.125-inch stroker crankshaft that pushes displacement to 444 cubic inches. The sheet metal intake was handmade by Wheel to Wheel Powertrain. Horsepower is about 700, naturally aspirated. |
 The original instrument cluster...  The original instrument cluster was replaced by a full complement of Auto Meter Phantom gauges. The front seats were replaced with Sparco racing seats and safety harnesses, while the rear seat was ditched altogether. |
 Weld Racing rims are used...  Weld Racing rims are used all around. They originally came with a gold center finish, but it was removed in order to maintain a consistent polished appearance with the rest of the car's details. |
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 Wheel to Wheel built the roll...  Wheel to Wheel built the roll cage and mounted the twin carbon-fiber nitrous bottles to it. They also covered much of the roll cage with custom, leather-covered padding. No corners were clipped in the details. |
 Custom fuel rails are used...  Custom fuel rails are used for both the 72-pound Bosch fuel injectors and fuel supply to support a heavy dose of nitrous oxide. |
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 The chassis and suspension...  The chassis and suspension have been beefed up with a range of Hardcore Racing and Spohn components, all powder-coated red. To help plant the Camaro at the strip, the rear suspension features a Spohn stabilizer bar, QA1 springs and shocks, and Hardcore Racing torque arms and control arms. |
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 Ryan Hiner uses a laptop to...  Ryan Hiner uses a laptop to make tuning fuel map adjustments in the car. Big Stuff 3 electronics keeps the engine running. |
 Kevin and Ryan Hiners' Camaro...  Kevin and Ryan Hiners' Camaro is as much at home on the road as it is the strip. The engine makes more than 700 hp without nitrous and around 1,000 on the juice. A well sorted-out chassis and crisp tuning enable the car to cruise the streets of Detroit like any other daily driver. |