Dirty. Red. Neglected. Those three words best describe what I found when I saw this 1991 RS Camaro hidden deep within the bowels of Riverside County, California. Welcome to the new Street Muscle project – “Respect.” While you’ve seen a lot of cars go through our shop and get the ‘money is no object’ treatment, we realize that in the real world, making something from (almost) nothing is the rule. In keeping with that budget build philosophy, the goal of this project was for each and every phase, including the purchase of the car, to cost no more than $1,500.

We picked $1,500 because it’s an amount of money that the average person can relate to. It’s not pocket change, but it’s a small enough sum to make each step in our plan a realistic short-term goal, rather than something that has to wait for a lottery ticket win or a dead relative. We’re going to do our best to keep from hitting that ‘wallet limiter’ at any point along the way.

The Discovery

When I found the ’91, it was rough. The paint showed the car had spent the last 17 years in a driveway instead of a garage, but the body was in great shape with hardly a scratch or dent. Fortunately, though, the California climate doesn’t breed rust, and the oxidized paint was nothing some rubbing compound, a buffer, and a lot of elbow grease couldn’t help. Well, let’s say lots of elbow grease. Once you get past the skin-deep ugly on the outside, though, the selling point appears.

So much flat, shiny black plastic…

To my astonishment, the one area that didn’t need much of anything, except maybe a bottle of Armor All, was the interior. Turns out the 84,000 miles since 1991 were used to get groceries and run basic errands, and that was pretty much it. I was told by the only owner of the car, an 85-year-old man, that the back seats were used only to hold a couple of grocery bags on occasion. The dash, door panels, center console, and headliner were perfect. Even the dash pad that normally endures barbequing under the windshield was perfect, thanks to the over-sized sun shade that was a constant fixture up front. 1,500 bucks later, I was driving it home.

Grocery bags are all that has ever been in these seats. Coincidentally, they’re all that will fit, too.

Better the second time around

This is actually the second third-gen Camaro for me. My first was a 1992 Z28, which ignited my passion for cars. Starting with 305 cubic inches, then 350, 355, and finally 406, I kept adding bigger and bigger powerplants. Unfortunately with great power comes great notoriety with the police, and after one to many run-ins with Texas’ finest, I sold her to an admiring friend.

From there, my tastes turned to euro-speed and a 1991 BMW M5. I drove it for five years and decided to build a wicked tight spinning motor for it. Big mistake, big dollars. Once I moved to California, the higher cost of living made it a big problem. Just too many expensive details I couldn’t foresee, so out that went, and for three years I sought a project. Since I’m a family man first, and my family is always my top priority, it had to be a budget build.

Nothing says “American Muscle” like a tiny French flag on the dash.

While the 110 on the speedometer is a monument to optimism, the 85k odometer reading is a much better omen.

What will 15 Benjamins buy?

As mentioned, we figured that keeping each phase under $1,500 would be easier for the common man (like me). So to make this happen in phases, some strategy is needed here. Our goals are simple for Respect.

#1 – Drop a maximum of $1,500 per phase into the project.
#2 – Gradually build up to a 450 horsepower carbed small block.
#3 – Increase traction and handling for both street driving and dragstrip duty.
#4 – Build a reliable drivetrain to handle upcoming improvements.
#5 – Hope the wife doesn’t notice (this should probably be goal #1).

Phase 1: Buy & Baseline the Camaro – Cost: $1,500

After cash and the title changed hands, we went straight to the PowerTV dyno and the dragstrip at Irwindale, California to see what we had to work with. The Camaro’s 305 TBI yielded a stunning 167 rear wheel horsepower on the chassis dyno, which translated into a first run of 10.63 seconds at 65.8 MPH in the 1/8 mile, with a 2.311 60-foot time. The second run yielded a 10.68 at 65.74, with a 2.305 60-foot. The runs had good, smokey burnouts in the water box and the Camaro actually got off the line with more pop than I expected.

There was not too much rocket science involved, with the one-legged burn-out and the automatic transmission running the car down the track. The third and final run, I figured I’d power brake it at a higher rpm before launch. I actually lost traction and blew the run with an 11.453 at 65.01 mph, with a 2.871 60-foot time. I was actually thrilled that I could overpower the left side 215/60 R15 to the point of losing traction. With baseline testing complete, we whipped out the calculator and corrected to the quarter-mile, my best ET was a jaw-dropping 16.47 at 79.95 mph.

Phase 2: Hooker Exhaust + M/T Drag Radials

For the first modifications to the car, we’ll install Hooker headers, a Hooker Y-pipe, and a Hooker cat-back exhaust with mufflers. This should free up available horsepower hiding behind the restrictive stock manifolds and exhaust system. The addition of two Mickey Thompson 235/60R15 drag radials should help transfer the newfound horsepower to the ground. Phase 2 will end with the results being verified on the chassis dyno and at the track.

Phase 3: NOS Nitrous

We’ll wash it all down with a 75 HP shot of nitrous and see if the stock 305 stays together. We’ll use the NOS TBI plate system.

Phase 4: Lakewood Suspension & Subframe Connectors

Suspension upgrades will include shocks, struts, rear trailing arms, and an upgraded torque arm. We’ll cover all the essentials to get the power to the ground to help eliminate wheel hop and bolster cornering ability.

Phase 5: Upgrade the Rear

A 10-bolt rearend upgrade with a limited-slip diff will gain the use of both tires for added traction and a shorter gear ratio will help get the car moving down the track more quickly. While we’re at it, upgraded axles should keep anything important from shearing off.

Phase 6: Trans & Converter

A torque converter upgrade will help the critical 60 foot times at the track by giving increased RPM at the launch, and a new, quicker-shifting transmission will shave ET on the top end while also paving the way for handling more power to come.

Phase 7: Short-Block Rebuild

This is where we start getting serious with a short block overhaul. Fresh rings, bearings, and gaskets will ensure a reliable powerplant for what comes next. A new crankshaft, rods, pistons, and a cam should still fit in the budget as long as we screw it together ourselves.

Phase 8: The Long-Block

Finally, we’ll top off the freshened stock block with new heads, intake manifold, and a carburetor to feed the engine with more air and fuel capability to generate more power. A little tweaking should yield a significant power increase. This is going to be the area where we are really going to need to conserve dollars, perhaps with some used parts, like the intake and carburetor.

This project is a big breath of fresh air for me, and I can’t wait to see what she does. Project Respect is going to allow me to get back into the hobby I love and really start racing again.

And, for everyone watching out there, I’m going to chassis dyno test and track test each phase to illustrate exactly what impact $1,500 (or less) can have on a budget build when strategically planned.