2002 Chevy Camaro

If Fremont, California, seems like an odd place to keep a turbocharged 7-second race car, it must really be puzzling (especially to the LSX crowd) that the very same car is a 2002 Camaro with an old-school small-block Chevy under the hood. Knock it if you will, but there is nothing low-tech about David Bowman's turbocharged EFI Camaro, which happens to be the fastest in the country on a 275/60R15 drag radial-running 7.84 at 179 mph. While Bowman may not have a track to call home, or an engine appropriate to his Camaro's model year, you certainly can't hold it against him with a timeslip like that.

With the hope of building a relatively affordable and competitive 7-second combo, David acquired a Dart steel SBC block with a 4.125 bore and splayed four-bolt main caps and sent it out to Dave's Engine Machining. At the Newark, CA, engine shop, the Dart block was machined and outfitted with a Bryant 3.40 stroke billet crank, Ross forged pistons, and Carrillo rods that are made of a special proprietary alloy stronger than 4340. Hell Fire rings and SCE Copper head gaskets with O-rings help seal in the boost on the 8.5:1 compression motor. A Moroso oil pan and windage tray seal up the bottom end, while the top end consists of GM Performance Parts SB2.2 NASCAR Race Heads. These affordable, canted-valve aluminum heads were given the business by Dave's Engine, and treated to Ferrea titanium 2.15 intake valves and Inconel 1.625 exhaust valves. The crew was tight-lipped on the heavy-duty valvespring and solid-roller combo, but it's no secret that T&D 1.6- and 1.7-ratio rocker arms round out the valvetrain.

An SB2.2 intake manifold was the natural choice to match the heads, and when mated to a Wilson elbow it could accept an Accufab 90mm throttle body to gobble up the boost. The intake was machined and welded to accept 160-lb/hr injectors that would be controlled by Big Stuff 3 engine management and fed by a Magnafuel ProStar EFI Series pump good for over 2,000 hp. A complete MSD ignition system also takes its cues from BS3, including a Digital-7 box, crank trigger, belt drive distributor, and high-output coil. Meanwhile, the Precision Turbo 94mm hairdryer and HKS GT2 60mm wastegate take its orders from an AMS-1000 boost controller, which David says is perfect for his Camaro since it allows up to five stages of boost levels to maintain traction with the limited-size drag radials in his race class. Chiseled Performance is responsible for the massive air-towater aftercooler used to chill the 26-psi dose of boost.

As with any car of this caliber, quite a bit of fabrication was required on Bowman's Camaro-thankfully it was limited mostly to just the turbo system and the chassis. A local shop completed the 1 7/8-inch turbo headers with a 2.5-inch crossover and 5-inch downpipe, terminating through a Borla race muffler. Meanwhile, Lil Bri Motorsports in Los Angeles completed the 25.2 SFI certified cage, which is complemented by an AJE Racing front end. The tubular K-member and A-arms give adequate clearance for the turbo system, as well as reduce front-end weight in concert with a Flaming River manual steering rack. A 2-inch drop spindle was also required, as were Koni double adjusta ble struts and Hypercoil springs. The rear suspension, however, is all stock-style products from Wolfe Racecraft, including the adjustable chrome-moly lower control arms, Panhard bar, and torque arm. The adjustable double sway bar and upper spring perch, as well as Varishock coilovers from Chris Alston's Chassisworks, were crucial to allowing 1.34 short times with Mickey Thompson 275/60R15 drag radials.