Nothing makes or breaks a muscle car restoration like the paint and bodywork, especially for high-profile magazine project car builds. That’s why we’re thrilled that Chevy High Performance magazine, one of the largest and most respected Chevy publications around, has selected Precision Restorations to perform the paint and bodywork on its Pro Touring ’73 Camaro. Thanks to Intercity Lines (www.intercitylines.com), Project F73 made the 1,900-mile trek from Los Angeles to St. Louis without a hitch in the comfort of an enclosed transporter. Over the next several weeks, the crew at Precision Restorations will be working hard to disassemble the second-gen Camaro, and trade in its dated brown paint for a fresh coat of stunning DuPont Prowler Orange.
Project F73 started out as a mostly stock ’73 Camaro with a tired small-block and a floppy muscle car-era suspension. To remedy its shortcomings, the editors hatched a plan to transform the second-gen Camaro into the quintessential Pro Touring machine that they could pound on around a road course and autocross, yet drive to the office everyday in brutal Southern California traffic. To achieve these lofty objectives, the stock suspension was replaced with the latest and greatest hardware from Detroit Speed and Engineering. In the rear, the ancient factory leaf spring setup was replaced with DSE’s Quadralink four-link suspension. Up front, the entire front clip got chucked for a state-of-the-art DSE subframe assembly. This slick piece of hardware includes hydroformed framerails, tubular upper- and lower control arms, adjustable coilover shocks, a splined sway bar, a power steering rack, and aluminum C6 Corvette spindles.
Since Pro Touring muscle cars must accelerate just as hard as they corner, F73 has been fitted with a hot 500-plus horsepower Gen I small-block matched to a Tremec TKO 600 five-speed manual transmission. A stock 10-bolt just won’t cut it under that kind of stress, so all those ponies are dispatched to a Moser 9-inch rearend. Surprisingly, the current engine combo is just for temporary use, and the plan is to eventually replace it with a supercharged 769hp LS3 small-block. To bring all that grunt to a halt, the CHP installed massive Baer 13-inch brakes with six-piston calipers on all four corners. Sticking all the g-forces to the pavement are 18-inch Rushforth Livewire wheels covered in BFGoodrich KDW tires that measure 275/35-18 up front, and 335/35-18 in the rear.
As soon as Project F73 rolls out of the paint booth, the CHP staff plans on putting it through its paces at various autocross and open track events. In the meantime, the Precision Restorations staff will be sure to post regular updates on F73’s progress on our blog.
