I just picked up an 81 sport coupe today, rust free for 850 bucks. Car is complete minus the engine and trans, interior is in fair shape I would say. Had to buy it though, we don't get that many rust free cars in Minnesota, I believe this one is originally from CA. First time ever buying any car for me so I have a lot to learn, currently I'm finishing up a 5 year build of a 76' Chevy on 38's and I figured it might be time to try building a car.

I have a 454 out of a 78' parts truck for the car, and I've been throwing around a lot of ideas on what I want to do. I'd like it to be right at the 600hp mark so, I'm thinking a blower is going to be the best route. I do not have a clue as far as the trans goes, I don't even know the best place to search for info. I basically just want to go the most cost effective route that will hold the hp and still be fun to drive. Probably throw a Ford 9 in it and I guess for the most part leave everything else pretty much stock as far as suspension and what not go? Also I'm not sure if really need anything besides new engine mounts to get a big block in?

As far as the body goes it does have 1-2" cracks in the front bumper on the back at the lowest part. The rest doesn't seem like it needs anything more than a little tlc and bondo. But, I'm not really sure if it can be done? I have a buddy who can do fiberglass work but the material just feels weird, like I'm not even sure if it can be fixed with bondo.

I'll grab some pictures tomorrow and go through it and see what exactly I have. Thanks for any help.

 

Take a look at some of the past posts and you'll see plenty of pointers concerning big block swaps. If you're going for 600HP I'd go with Moroso solid motor mounts, but stick with mounts for a small block Chevy and they'll bolt right to your frame mounts.
You can make 600 HP without supercharging a big block, but probably make it cheaper with either a turbo setup, or a 6-71 blower.
Congrats on the new Camaro, and welcome!

 

Thats funny im from Minnesota also and my 97 Z28 is from Califiorna. My dads also got an 81 Camaro. Its got a 383 stroker in it and it super fast. I had it up to 160 and still had pedal let

 

Now I remember why my son hasn't driven my '71 Camaro yet! He's a year older than my car, and still is waiting to drive it.

 

If your going for 600hp,i would definitely invest in a set of frame connectors so you dont twist the body up.As for the tranny i would go with a th400,if your parts truck has the tranny in it thats probably what it is,you'll have to move the trans crossmember back a few inches on the camaro and have the driveshaft shortened but if your going with an automatic i have heard alot about going with the th400 as it is stronger than the th350.

 

I was planning on making the power with a naturally aspirated engine at first but, I think an underdriven 8-71 setup is going to not only make the car look awesome, but also be an easy and reliable way to make the power I'm looking for. I don't have the specifics ironed out quite yet but I'm sure the engine will be able to make 700+, and also I can throw it together and in the car and add the blower later.

I was assuming whatever trans I used would be a th400, but the truck is a 4x4 so probably not the best route to go. I just need to figure out if I should build one up or buy one. I would like to use a ratchet shifter also so not sure how that all works out.

I was just thinking about the best way to clean up the underside and get some undercoat on it. On a truck obviously it's trivial, and not only that it's so tall you can literally sit comfortably under it. But, the car seems like they are a pain. If I take it apart is it pretty easy to just tip up or something? I could build a rotisserie if I really wanted to, but id rather not for just one build.

 

My dad was in the car with me when it happened

 

As for the 4x4 tranny,i have heard you can change the tailshft to make them work on a 2 wheel drive,but i've never tried it so i dont know how much work it would be to do it.Ratchet shifters are nice,i got a b&m megashifter that is a direct replacement for the console shifter,pretty easy to install and they come with 2 different indicator lenses 1 for a 3 speed tranny and 1 for a 4 speed overdrive.They definitely look alot better than the stock shifter to.

 

I've tried to swap 2wd truck tranny's to 4wd and to do it you have to completely take both of them apart so it's not really worth it.

So, pretty much any trans can have a ratchet shifter and have the same effect? I mean it makes sense, but I would think there is some extra strain staying in the gear and slapping it to the next. I've really only driven manual cars so I really don't know enough about it.

 

I would definitely find a TH400 from a car or 2wd truck, not a 4x4 truck. The shifters have little to do with keeping the car in any one gear. That's done internally by the transmission detent. There's no strain to keep it in any certain gear.
If you're planning on building big HP, I'd go with a full competition shift kit with manual shift. The ratchet shifters have two choices to the way they work. You can leave the handle in the forward position and that allows you to up and down shift. In the ratchet mode (all the way back) it upshifts only with each push on the shifter handle.
I put a B&M shifter in my '71 recently and I had to get used to it at first, but now that I am comfortable with it I really like it. Don't even have to think about missing a gear when upshifting in the ratchet mode.