Forgeline Wheels 70 Camaro – Pro-Touring Lab Rat
We always see wicked Pro-Touring cars out at the track, but what actually goes into turning these classic cruisers into road-course machines? The short answer is hard work, but there’s a bit more to it than that.
When Forgeline Wheels President David Schardt got his hands on this 1970 Camaro the initial plan was pretty simple. Bolt on a few aftermarket parts and go racing. But as these often go, it didn’t take long for the build to get a bit out of control.
It all started when they discovered the donor car wasn’t quite as advertised, so they stripped it down to bare metal to fix these issues. With the car in this stage, they figured they better fix a few other issues, too, and went to work on some suspension upgrades from Detroit Speed, a stainless fuel tank and suspension bits.
We wanted to take a look at the car before it was finished to get under the skin of the in-progress build. Freshly painted and missing most of the interior it’s safe to say the Pro-Touring Camaro will never look like this again.
Any proper racecar is built from the tires up, as grip is your very best friend on a racetrack. With BFG 315/35R18 and 335/30R18 Rival S rubber wrapped around Forgeline GX3 open lug wheels which measure 11 inches wide in the front and 12 inches out back the team was well on their way to a proper setup already.
To help keep the meaty rubber stuck to the tarmac a hydroformed Detroit Speed front subframe was installed to house their tubular upper and lower control arms. In the rear the team went with Detroit Speed’s QUADRALink setup to handle the full-floating rear axle.
Of course, you’ll need some serious horsepower too if you want to be competitive at the track. A Chevrolet LT4 crate motor that’s been built by Smitty Custom Automotive has only the very best parts bolted to it. With a Spectre intake and Holley exhaust, it sounds as mean as it is.
Power from the 6.2L V8 is sent through a Centerforce Clutch into a Bowler Transmissions T56 that’s been built up with ZR1 gears. A Moser 9-inch rear end finally delivers the torque to the Forgeline GX3 wheels.
Inside the those wheels you’ll find Baer 6R brakes, the next piece of the Pro-Touring puzzle. On the short, tight courses your brakes can make up more time than your engine on some layouts.
Inside the car you still have the creature comforts mixed with a racer’s edge. This includes comfortable and sturdy Kirkey bucket seats to hold you in place for the long haul and racetrack alike, A/C from Vintage Air and a completely custom stereo system.
Yes, you read that right, this Pro-Touring monster is making room for some tunes, and the team at Stereo-In-Dash will be installing the setup. After chasing the car around a bit, we finally met up at one of their Dayton-area locations for some photos, where the Stereo-In-Dash team showed up around the car.
Finishing off the mean look of the ’70 Camaro are D&Z Customs front air dam and fiberglass bumpers; check out those integrated LED running lights too! You’ll also notice the hood is carbon fiber, as are the front fenders, courtesy of high-quality work from Carbon Kustoms. Lightweight components can make all the difference when it comes to chasing checkered flags.
With Forgeline being a long-time supporter of the Pro-Touring scene, it only makes sense for them to get involved with their own car. As fun as it is to see the vast numbers of cars running their wheels at events, it has to be even more fun to hammer their own car around the course.
That’s exactly what the team will be doing as soon as this car is tidied up. With the hard work that’s gone into it, we expect the Camaro to be quite the contender; keep your eye out for it!
