Super Stocker Update:

At the Fall Carolina National event the chassis builder of our super stocker, informed us due to health reasons, he would be unable to complete our Camaro.  We wish Tom Callis good health and he continues to be a mentor for us.  As word about our situation spread through the pits, we received numerous suggestions and references for chassis builders.  Darren Breaud of B & B Race Cars, was at the track offering support to one of his many customers.  While Bill only had a short time to speak with Darren, he was extremely impressed.  In the following weeks Bill and Darren exchanged numerous emails and phone calls before coming to an agreement on the work to be completed.

After the final race of the season, the transition for the super stocker began anew.  Bill left to pick up the car and all accompanying parts and dropped them at B & B Race Cars in Hohenwald, TN. While Darren had seen pictures, this was his first look at the actual car.  He said “It’s really rough... you won’t recognize the car when it is done.”  The work on the car is scheduled to be completed in May 2012 and while this has put us behind schedule, we are confident the car will still be out in late 2012.  We believe B&B will build us a quality car, allowing a shorter development/testing regimen.

Thank you again to all our sponsors.  Without them this project would not be possible. National Parts Depot, MSD Ignitions, ARP, Chevrolet Performance, Goodyear Racing, Jesel, Manley, RacePak, The Joie of Seating, Edelbrock, Total Seal, Weld Racing, Burns Stainless, CP Pistons, Impact, MagnaFuel, Meziere, Elston Headers, Penske, Quick Fuel Technology, VP Racing Fuels, Bullet, Turbo Action , Competition Tire South, Behind the Scenez, The Racer’s Mind, Crew Chief Pro and Fire Safety Systems.

Superstocker Update

Memorial Day Weekend 2011 marked the one year anniversary of the acquisition of a 69 Camaro Superstocker to Brenda Grubbs Motorsports.  Since getting the Camaro, Bill has been busy disassembling and evaluating the basic car.  The interior of the car was in great shape and has been saved for future use and reference.  The exterior body/sheet metal of the car was also in good condition, but upon removal of the interior, the floor pan was found to be rotted and filled with fiberglass and patchwork metal.  When the roll cage was installed, the torque boxes on the lower firewall were cut to ease installation of the tubes to the front subframe.  This compromised the structural integrity of the firewall and coupe.  The structural integrity of the front subframe had also been compromised.  Interesting enough, while evaluating the floor pan, Bill noticed a factory cut out in the transmission tunnel.  Upon further investigation, it was revealed the 69 Camaro was an original “Z28”.

In April, the car was taken to The Installation Center in Commerce, Georgia.  In the fall of 2006, The Installation Center replaced the floor pan on the 69 Camaro, Stock Eliminator car Brenda currently drives. Since they had done impeccable work and really tightened the car, Bill wanted them to do the work on the Superstocker. Their expertise was needed to replace the firewall and outer cowl boxes which had been gutted. The firewall and outer cowls were supplied by National Parts Depot and the parts fitted up nicely.  When The Installation Center portion of the project was complete the firewall mounting points for the front sheet metal were back to specifications.   Apparently the car had been in an accident during its previous life and the new firewall moved the front end sheet metal mounting points forward almost 3/8 of an inch to the spec location (now we know why there were so many shims on those mounting points).

The Camaro was picked up from the Installation Center the Monday after the NHRA Southern Nationals and transported to Tom Callis in Statesville, North Carolina.  Brenda and Bill considered numerous chassis builders but selected Tom because he does great work and has a history of building successful cars.  Tom ensures everything is done correctly, the first time.  During the discussion on the direction of the project, it was as if Tom was reading Bill’s mind.  They both were in sync about what should be done.   Tom will be a great asset to our team.

Tom will work his magic on the chassis, replace the floor pan, front subframe, rear suspension, and install a chromoly cage.  We had considered The Installation Center to replace the floorpan since they had done great work on our “Stocker”, however, in consultation with The Installation Center, it was determined removing the old roll cage at this point would compromise the structural integrity of the car severely, and transportation to and from the shop would have caused additional damage.  If the car was to become a stocker or a street car there would have been no hesitation on having The Installation Center do the work. 

Special thanks to our sponsors  for this project:  National Parts Depot, The Installation Center, MSD Ignition, Jesel Valve Train, Goodyear, Competition Tire, Magnafuel, GM Performance Parts, ARP, QuickFuel, Meziere, VP Fuels, Elston Headers, Burns Stainless, K&N Filters, Racepak, Manley, Weld Racing, Impact, Penske Shocks and CP Pistions.

Stay tuned for future updates.
 

Brenda Grubbs Motorsports has a new addition to their team; a Superstock 1969 Camaro.

 Over the Memorial Holiday Weekend, Brenda made the long haul to Oklahoma to pick up the car.  Leaving Tampa, she headed to Atlanta and picked up her brother, Bobby Lundholm to ride shotgun. 

 Brenda was thankful to have Bobby along when she got into a “pickle” in a Walmart parking lot which was not “RV Friendly”.  After turning into the lot she soon realized there were barriers for RVs taller than 12 feet.  While Brenda is not an expert backer, she rose to the challenge while Bobby stopped traffic and guided her.  Once back on the road, both Bobby and Brenda were hoping that would be their only incident of the trip.  However, later in the day a tire blew on the motorhome.  Fortunately, Brenda was able to get the rig stopped and the mobile repair truck installed new Goodyear Tires.   Bill was flying for Delta Airlines, so he was picked up near the Dallas- Ft Worth Airport before heading to Oklahoma.  Thankfully, the rest of the trip went smoothly.

Both Bill and Brenda have considered owning another car for a while, but were waiting for the right one to come along.  “Bill has been eyeing this car for over a year now” explained Brenda.    Bill is always looking for a new challenge and now he has one.  The car will be a project over the next year or so.   Upgrades and changes will be made including a Racepak Data Acquisition System, Goodyear tires, MagnaFuel Fuel System, CP Pistons, ARP Hardware, MSD Digital Ignition, Elston Exhaust made with Burns Stainless, and Turbo Action Transmission and E-Shifter.    The car has a 427 motor and will run SS/DA.

Expect to see the car out sometime in 2012.