Small Town Pride
“Keeping it all in the Family”
Story by John Aschenberg
Photos by – Julia Aschenberg
After the engine swap, it was time for an upgrade on the rear differential. The one wheel peel needed to become a two wheel peel as Michelle puts it. So Michelle and her brother Chris put together a posi unit, building an Auburn rear end with a 3:73 Yukon ring and pinion. Transferring all that power to the rear wheels is handled by a GM 700 R4 tranny bought from a friend who had rebuilt it with all the good parts stuffed in it. Just recently Michelle rebuilt the valve body so that it would hold in gear and shift how she wanted it to shift, all with instructional help from Mark Bowler of Bowler Transmissions. A B&M Quicksilver shifter helps to select the proper gear when needed.
After driving the car for awhile, Michelle wasn't happy with the height of the car nor the way it handled in curves. They tried different springs, also cutting them down a coil at a time, still not happy with the results. She had a goal for a long time for her ride to sit lower to the ground and to hug the road better. So the entire suspension went to suspension heaven according to Michelle, and that’s when she called the friendly folks at RideTech out of Jasper, In. She installed the RideTech Street Challenge package herself, and said you talk about a different handling car, it was transformed from that point on. The front suspension consist of a RideTech muscle bar, spindles, and shockwave springs/airbags. Bringing up the rear you'll find more RideTech goodies, the muscle bar, a four link system and double adjustable shockwave springs/airbags. Stopping this Rat powered Camaro is provided by GM 4th Gen Camaro calipers in all four corners, while the master cylinder, booster and proportioning valve all came from SSBS. Rolling stock consist of Billet Specialties wheels called the Qualifiers, 17" x 7" up front and 17" x 8" in the rear all trimmed out in Nitto NT555 rubber.
