When Tim Cameron of Franklin, Tennessee and his best friend and action film guy, Cole Shirley go out buggying, they do it to the extreme. Cameron himself is a rock buggy-climbing celebrity on the web, and the video featured in this article shows us exactly why.
A few days back, Cole uploaded our featured video from Summertown, Tennessee of Cameron romping as hard as he can on his red tarantula of a buggy, “Showtime,” a wide open rail powered by a 454 cubic inch LSX motor. Cameron is notorious for “going through” buggies, as “Hell Raiser,” another one of Cameron’s creations, was the donor car from which the LSX mill was pulled. Cameron himself does on the dirt what most of us do on a blacktop: he trades one toy up for one that’s even better. The reason is because Cameron sold Hell Raiser, his last buggy, after only one ride.
According to Busted Knuckle Films, this was mostly because Cameron disliked the heaviness of the beefy, Rockwell axles that were in his car. But because he wanted to build another short-wheelbase rail with just as much power as his last, Cameron was clever enough to preserve the LSX/Powerglide drivetrain that would soon make “Showtime” a rock rompin’ hit on YouTube and elsewhere.
Both Cameron and his best friend, Cole, have plenty of stats to brag about on this rock eating monster. Of course we have to start with the powerplant of choice, which in this case is a 620 horse, 7.4l LSX pump from GM Performance. All of this raw bottom-end power is transferred via a PTC Powerglide transmission with a 3.0 Atlas transfer case and a 2,000 RPM stall converter. The Atlas transfer case is used to transfer power from the LSX to all 4 wheels, which are supported by 14-bolt steering axles on both ends.
Tim Cameron’s “Showtime” also boasts a set of of 4.10 gears with RCV Performance Products shafts, though one of these broke during Tim’s recent romp in Summertown. According to Cole Shirley, even this did not stop the persistent Cameron; he had broken a shaft while punching the throttle over a ledge, only to get Showtime back on the ground running in 3-wheel-drive. On this same run, Cameron ended up breaking both front axles and the rear driveshaft on his “Showtime” rock buggy. Watching the featured video from Cole Shirley in light of Tim Cameron’s resume of rock-climbing awesomeness, one has to either feel bad for the “pilot” or the “plane.”
If there’s one thing for sure, it’s that Tim Cameron and his fire breathing “Showtime” really do live up to Cameron’s own motto: “GO BIG or GO HOME!”