Bitchin’ Camaro 2: Chevrolet Performance upgrades to replicate old-school power

It looks like the days of having your own custom-tuned Camaro aren’t quite dead. Chevrolet Performance has announced that it is releasing a spread of factory performance parts for the fifth-generation Camaro.

Don’t expect to be installing them yourself, though, because if you do, you will void the warranty. However, if you take your racecar to-be to a Chevy dealer, you can avoid this fate. You will no doubt have to pay dearly for this privilege, though.

There are a wide range of parts available. Most, however, seek to bring the SS and V6 models up to the mind-altering standard set by the supercharged ZL1. For instance: up-rated brakes from the ZL1 can make your Camaro SS stop like it goes – and do it more than once without catching fire.

The most interesting parts, though, are the suspension upgrades. The 1LE Track Package comes from the SCCCA T2 competition car, and can be fitted to either a stock V6 or SS model. This will make a truly noticeable difference in how the car handles and performs, even if it does come at a cost of a few herniated disks.

Your back isn’t the only price you’ll have to pay for track handling: the suspension kit alone is currently listed at $1,050.00. And don’t forget if you want to keep that warranty – and you should, this is a GM product after all – that price is going to get a lot higher once the dealer technicians get their greasy hands on your car.

Improvements in handling may not be what old school pony car tuners want. For the older gentlemen in overalls, Chevy Performance does have some power upgrades. Unfortunately, the days of simply bolting on a bigger carburetor are gone and things have gotten a bit more complicated.  

The best offering on this front is the LS3 heads and LS7 camshaft package. These bad boys were forged in the fiery furnaces of GM’s motorsports programs. They can add up to 40 horsepower to an SS model. That’s a ten-percent boost over the 400 hp you get in a standard SS, but it comes at a price. In fact, it comes at the eye-wateringly high price of $1498.95, from the only retailer I found.

If you thought installing those suspension parts was pricy, just wait until you are paying a man to pull the heads and cams off. At that point, you might just decide to save up for the 1969 model. To work on that,  all you’ll needed is a rock and a phillips screwdriver.

Still, for the folks out there who are really interested in having a custom Camaro, these parts are where it’s at.