The Duct Tape Camaro

Tonimus · Jul 24, 2025

Back in late 2009, I bought a 1978 Camaro for $600. It was just a roller. I was unaware that it had been wrecked in the front, and I was just a kid who wanted a fun project and got it on a whim. It was "retail therapy" as I had lost my best friend to suicide about 6 months prior. Stripped it the rest of the way down and gutted the interior.

This is when I brought it home.

The interior was AZ sun damaged trash. It was all pulled and sold/thrown out. Rust free except for a heater core leak.

In 2017, relocated the Camaro to my buddy's house so we could use the shop. Did solid body mounts. Looked weird cracked in half.

Finally finished my 383 the same year. Which then ended up in my '84 C30 instead of my Camaro. D'oh.

Mid 2023, finally got the motivation to "finish" the project. Duct Tape Drags. Rush-rush-rush to finish by September. Me and two buddies were able to go from a roller to a running race car with required safety gear in 17 working days.

Mini spool and 4.10 gears.

Fuel cell that barely fit.

Converted to manual steering.

Manual brakes with line lock.

Cleaned the QFT.

Tonimus · Jul 24, 2025

Fixing bad links. I can only do 10 pics at a time, so more posts incoming.

Tonimus · Jul 24, 2025

Shifter mount made out of a trans crossmember we had lying around.

Just enough gauges and switches.

Fuel pump and pre-filter.

Fuses, relays, and ignition.

Finished engine bay.

Rear firewall, sealed with special flame caulk.

The cheapest nose I could find. Custom grille and headlights with "buckets".

Running for the first time.

My first time slip ever! 14.133 @ 92.94 mph.

Blew it up on my 4th pass. Ran 13.000 @ 100.89 mph.

Tonimus · Jul 24, 2025

Misfiring bad. Pulled the plugs. This was the only damaged one. WTF?

Pulled the valve cover. That's not supposed to look like that.

Pulled the head when we got home. Whoops.

We believe what happened is we lost the intake rocker on cylinder 1. With the intake being a dual plenum, the next cylinder on that side is #4. That guy got a double shot of nitrous and melted a hole in the piston. Oh well. Time for a rebuild. Even after blowing up the engine, I was hooked. Drag racing rocks. I'm in it now. Now I'll never have money for drugs.

November 2023. Stripping the motor to have the block bored. Big hole in piston, big scar in cylinder wall.

While the engine is out to be built by a guy who used to do it for a living (good to have friends), time to make it even better. Pulled the front and rear glass for polycarbonate. Saved the rear for one of the other projects.

Started building a cage with a kit from S&W.

Just a small block. Pay it no mind.

Tonimus · Jul 24, 2025

Breaking in the new motor. Clickable to view on Flickr.

Proper motor needed a better cooling setup. Factory heavy duty radiator and a Taurus cooling fan.

Lexan windows!

Really leaning in to the Duct Tape Camaro moniker it got the year before. Duct Tape RS stripes, duct tape covered spoiler, and duct tape window trim.

Loaded up for the Duct Tape Drags 2024.

Had so much fun. Got to make a bunch of passes last year.

Best pass to date.

Pic from one of the pros taking shots.

This is my crew. The guy in my middle is my best friend and if it wasn't for him, this car wouldn't have ever been done. We've known each other for almost 20 years and we hang out pretty much every weekend. He helped me through a really dark time and the car is just about as much his as it is mine.

These are "Those Guys Racing"

Cadillacmak · Jul 24, 2025

That's really cool, I love the raw drag car!

Tonimus · Aug 22, 2025

Back in the shop!

Old coils on the front:

New coils that sit like 4" lower:

My very old Holley Blue fuel pump died. Replaced with a nearly equally old Barry Grant. Luckily we had new fittings and o-rings on hand. I also got a race fuel shower. At least it's not as bad for your skin as regular unleaded.

Tonimus · Aug 25, 2025

Sorted out some electrical issues. Butt crimp failed, causing a fuse to blow. Same circuit powers the gauges. Replaced fuse, new heat shrink style butt crimp and all that is right. Car fires right up. It is so satisfying.

Added a nitrous filter, pressure gauge, and ball valve.

Cadillacmak · Aug 25, 2025

That really cool! I have always wanted to make a fast vehicle but time and money have never allowed it.

Tonimus · Aug 26, 2025

Cadillacmak said:
That really cool! I have always wanted to make a fast vehicle but time and money have never allowed it.

Yeah. My parents warned me about drugs and alcohol, but not brunettes and race cars.

Tonimus · Sep 1, 2025

Cheap fiberglass hood- CHECK

Two Lane Blacktop style scoop- CHECK

God, it's glorious.

Tonimus · Sep 8, 2025

Aluminum added for structure and bump stops at the cowl for extra support.

Tonimus · Sep 22, 2025

Hood is done. And it's awesome.

C-clip eliminators, threaded wheel studs, and 28x10.5 slicks.

Comparison with the drag radial I was using:

99Sierra2500 · Sep 25, 2025

The 18th in Tucson? Freiburger has been posting a lot about the duct tape drags, hear it is full up.

Tonimus · Sep 26, 2025

99Sierra2500 said:
The 18th in Tucson? Freiburger has been posting a lot about the duct tape drags, hear it is full up.

Yup. The Battle of the Beaters is on the 18th. Participants camping can show up Thursday and leave Sunday morning. The 17th is open test and tune, and the car show is both the 17th and 18th.

It's a ton of fun. This will be my 4th year going, 3rd year racing.

Edit: There's a few more spots for the VGG burnout competition, and lots of spectator tickets. Everything else is basically gone. There IS a waitlist for racer passes, though.

99Sierra2500 · Sep 26, 2025

One of my friends who lives by the track is complaining they have blocked off the trail, so no more watching for free.

Tonimus · Sep 26, 2025

99Sierra2500 said:
One of my friends who lives by the track is complaining they have blocked off the trail, so no more watching for free.

I wonder if it has something to do with picking up O'Reilly as a sponsor. A two day spectator ticket for less than $50 is a pretty good price though, IMO.

99Sierra2500 · Sep 26, 2025

Tonimus said:
I wonder if it has something to do with picking up O'Reilly as a sponsor. A two day spectator ticket for less than $50 is a pretty good price though, IMO.

I think it is more about the trail being a long time bike path, 4x trail that was public; I have been to Tucson a lot since the 80-90's and it is being encroached by the city now. IIRC he said they are talking about shutting the gun range out there down. I don't know about people watching or much of that, as I used to race.