BY RYAN MANSON IMAGES BY RYAN FOSS

urchasing a running/driving vehicle can be a huge step in the right direction when it comes to building or restoring a classic Chevy muscle car, but buyer’s remorse is a real thing and sometimes that sleek street machine turns out to be a bridge too far. Our good buddy and lensman extraordinaire, Ryan Foss, recently decided to dive into the foray that is classic Chevy vehicle ownership, purchasing a well-heeled 1992 Chevy Camaro that has seen plenty of action on the streets and on the track.

Unfortunately, that action reared its ugly head when the Camaro developed a strange noise coupled with vibration emanating from the drivetrain. A cracked or otherwise damaged flywheel was thought to be the initial culprit, but closer inspection from the local transmission shop cleared that hypothesis. Further probing revealed excessive crankshaft endplay, which meant at the very least, the crank thrust bearing surface was toast. A history of hard autocross on throttle/off throttle driving made sense of the singular damage. Postmortem report, the engine would need to be rebuilt or replaced.

Foss weighed his options carefully. Rebuilding the existing engine made the most sense. But its internal shape and construction was an unknown. Purchasing a similar small-block crate engine was another solid choice. Of course, upgrading the Gen 1 SBC to a modern LS engine would be the ultimate, although more complex, transformation. Foss was presented an additional option when a long-forgotten, previously rebuilt engine was offered up. Originally built as a 383 stroker, similar to the engine that it will be replacing, it seemed too good to be true. As it turns out, it was.

Bringing the engine over to Evan Perkins at Westech Performance Group for initial inspection, it was soon found to have had water intrusion in the cylinders with the resulting damage too extensive to fix without a complete rebuild; which is exactly what Perkins proceeded to do.

With the rebuild complete, the engine was brought to the In The Garage Media Tech Center where preparation and installation was completed by yours truly of Clampdown Competition. The engine was painted, accessories added, and the long-block was then hoisted into place. While we had the engine out of the car, it was also decided to upgrade the existing 700-R4 with a 4L60E transmission.

When Foss’ Copmaro is back on the road, it’s guaranteed to be a reliable beast of a muscle car, but for now, follow along as we take it from limp mode back to beast mode.

2. Evan Perkins of Westech Performance worked his magic building a bullet-proof 383ci small-block.

3-4. After buttoning up the long-block, Perkins proceeded to break the engine in before grabbing a couple naturally aspirated pulls on Westech’s dyno. The results: 483 lb-ft of torque and 473 hp. Impressive!

6. First up, we need to address the surface of the engine as it came straight out of the hot tank and onto the rebuild stand. For that end, we’ll be painting it using a product from KBS Coatings called Motor Coater.

7-8. Motor Coater is easy to apply and offers superb coverage. Its special formulation makes for a self-leveling quality, allowing it to be applied by both spray and/or brush methods, with either result being equally impressive. The resulting finish is tough, durable, and resistant to heat and chemicals thanks to its ceramic resin system. Motor Coater is also an incredible exterior-grade coating, exhibiting excellent resistance to discoloration, chalking, or fading with UV stability.

9-11. With the engine still on the stand and the paint drying, we proceeded to prepare for the installation of an Eddie Motorsports S-Drive accessory drive system in matching black.

12. While the Copmaro will be brought to FiTech for ignition and EFI sorting, we decided to go ahead and install the First Performance Center First TPI EFI intake manifold. These are designed to look similar to the original TPI intake system, with improved performance and a clean design. They offer clearance for stock hood configurations, mate to the original airbox, and are available in two different throttle body sizes; 835 or 1,050 cfm.

13-14. The last thing to be put in place before the big engine drop is a new flexplate from Gearstar Performance Transmission for the new 4L60E also sourced from Gearstar.

16. With the engine in place, sending units, coolant lines, and electrical connections are all finalized. The torque converter is then installed and the Gearstar Performance 4L60E was raised in place and secured, mated to a driveshaft custom built by Inland Empire Driveline Service.

18. The question regarding why a person would drill holes in their exhaust was summed up succinctly; one would not, unless their name was Mother Nature. Years of moisture intrusion resulted in a metastatic cancer situation throughout the entire exhaust system.

19. As previously mentioned, the First TPI intake was designed specifically to work with the Camaro’s air intake box.