A Duramax-Powered '67 Camaro. Is This For Real?

Here's another fun story from Artie Maupin, this time writing for Chevy Hardcore. It's titled Maxed Out: Dustin Hamm’s Duramax-Powered ’67 Chevrolet Camaro. It's a story drenched in detail with plenty of photos worth more than a thousand words each.

Those of us who lived through the muscle car era little realized how short lived that period of automotive history would last. Mustang, Charger, Barracuda, Road Runner, Camaro.... These were the cars dreams were made of. What caught our eye initially when this article posted a few days back was the unusual step of dropping a Duramax Diesel engine into a '67 Camaro. But when you read the story, it gets even better. This is a story about commitment.

The owner of the car is Dustin Hamm whose parents took ownership of the car in 1970, using it throughout the 70's as a street racer. Eventually, this became Dustin's baby to nurture and transform, and transform it he did, as Maupin writes, "Fast forward to now, it is plumbed and powered with a 6.6-liter LBZ Duramax engine making gobs of horsepower and torque. Crazy idea, right? Here is how it all went down."

When Dustin acquired the car it had been sitting since 1980, outside. That sentence alone says much. This was 2005, and the youth thought it might make a nice high school graduation project for the following year. 25 years is a long time for a car to sit, though, as he would eventually find out.

 

Hamm initially dropped in a 600-horsepower World Products Motown 454ci small-block engine, rebuilding the four-speed to handle it. “After this, I was hooked on horsepower,” Hamm said.  

As much fun as it was to have a powerful machine, he began thinking it could be even more fun having a great looking powerful machine, and in October 2006 he made up his mind to completely redo the car. Because he worked at a body shop he'd learned enough to tackle a project like this, he believed.

 

Step one is removing the paint, bondo and rust with an acid dip. Things proved to be far worse than he imagined once this first step was taken.

 

Meanwhile, he began looking around on Craigslist for a powerplant and tranny. This is where he found the 6.6-liter LBZ Duramax and a suitable transmission.

Maupin digs up details of the restoration that may not have even considered. Fabricating a rear chassis, cutting out the stock floor and replacing it as well as differentials, suspension, new floor, wheel tabs and, yes, a roll cage. This was definitely a serious endeavor and it took years. Dripping in the engine is what he called "the fun part." It took dozens of attempts to get the fitment right.

  

Each step resulted in the discovery of additional issues. For example, with that heavy new engine bearing down on the front end, the oil pan was almost touching the ground. They dealt with it, of course, but they are the problems you run into when "doing something that nobody else has done."

Once the engine was installed and bodywork set, it was time to attend to the paint job, a radiant Viper Red. The finish was a labor of love, and executed with such perfection that he got a promotion to lead paint technician and paint shop manager.

There's still more to the story, and you can see photos of the later stages here as well. Check it out here. Kudos to Artie Maupin for having captured Hamm's passion in print and sharing it at Chevy Hardcore.

Related Link

Porky's Diesel Story Leads to Brief Visit with Diesel Enthusiast Artie Maupin

Can I Drop a Diesel Engine into My Classic Muscle Car?

This weekend I saw this story from Hot Rod in which John Gilbert is working on his tricked out '66 Chevelle. His aim was to get this classic 60's muscle car ready for the ARMO Booth at SEMA this year. ARMO, he explains for the uninitiated, is an acronym for the Automotive Restoration Market Organization.

I clicked on the article because at first I thought it was unusual that John Gilbert was working on an old car. As it turns out, John Gilbert of Hot Rod fame is not the John Gilbert the car guy who had a syndicated column in which he wrote about new cars. 

I had lunch with the latter John Gilbert once. He had some kind of deal with all the Detroit automakers in which he was given new cars to drive around so he could write about his experiences. Free cars for Gilbert, and publicity for the automakers. Kind of a nice gig if you can get it, eh?

John Gilbert the syndicated columnist drove new cars and didn't fuss with what was under the hood, to my knowledge. 

By way of contrast, John Gilbert of Hot Rod is a grease-under-the-fingernails kind of guy. He knows cars inside and out. At one time he was tech editor for Super Chevy magazine and, if I remember correctly, I believe he is also an artist on the side. Of course for many of us, cars and trucks have always been an art form. 

The objective for Gilbert's project car was to incorporate as many convenience and performance upgrades as possible while maintaining the factory appearance. This overhaul went from front to rear, including wire kits and headers, stainless steel mufflers and more. 

________

Now to get to my reason for writing all this. The article made stirred my mind with this thought: Is it possible to drop a diesel engine into a vintage muscle car? What I wondered was whether the Daimler diesel engine I wrote about in September could be dropped into a four-barrel SS or Classic Mustang? Or John Gilbert's Chevelle.

One of the first articles I found on this topic is titled 10 Things to Consider Before Swapping and Engine. The answer is yes you can, but you have to be careful. And what kind of money are you prepared to spend? 

Truck Trend has all the relevant information for those who want to drop a high-powered Duramax diesel engine into a gas-powered truck. The article is titled Our Complete Guide to Parts and Providers for Gas-to-Diesel Engine Swaps. Reading the article through makes it apparent that the undertaking, while possible, is not for the faint of heart.

One of the rules of thumb to be aware of is that to satisfy smog rules, you can't install an engine that is older than the year the truck was produced. Just a word to the wise.

As for engine swaps in trucks, have you ever done it yourself? How did it go?

Till next.