[jsaliga]

I have gone through a number of recreational muscle cars since 2018:

• First it was a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0L Performance Pack in Ruby Red with a six speed
• Then it was a brand new 2019 Dodge Challenger Widebody Scatpack in Octane Red.  6.4L Hemi with an automatic transmission.  Should have bought a Hellcat
• After that it was a 2012 Corvette Z06 in Cyber Gray Metallic.  7.0L with a six speed.  Had 2,300 odometer miles when I bought it

In February I decided that the Vette was getting too hard on my knees.  I'm 63 and tall.  I could fit in the car just fine but after a couple of years it was getting difficult for me to climb out of it.  I wasn't ready to give up on owning a fun car so I parted ways with the Corvette and bought this 2013 Camaro ZL1 Convertible.  6.2L Supercharged V8 a six speed manual, magnetic ride control, and a dual plate clutch:



It had 8,100 miles on it when I bought the car.  It was immaculate inside and out.  When I got the car I decided I was going to make this something special (not that it already wasn't).  I took the car to Jannetty Racing Enterprises in Waterbury, CT for some power enhancements and a dyno tune.

From the factory the car makes about 490 horsepower at the rear wheel.  It now makes 670 horsepower at the wheel.  Here are a couple of videos from the JRE Facebook page of them tuning my car and describing what they did.

https://fb.watch/bZnaCa5YFQ/

https://fb.watch/bZncoeToQ_/

Here is a cold start video I made:

https://youtu.be/77F5mzknMag

It really is a hoot to drive.

--Jerome

[Mike B.]

Good looking car with tons of power. Just looked at the dyno pull. What is the jug of yellow liquid suspended over the motor?

[jsaliga]

It's used to bleed air out of the intercooler system.

--Jerome

[mcgsxr]

Mama that's a ton of RWHP!  You've had a series of high powered fun, love the new ragtop.

I had some bikes back in the day that were performance oriented, my current summer cabriolet (CLK500) is way more cruiser than sports car (which was what I wanted this time).

Thanks for sharing!

[Dieterle Tool]

Whoa! Cheers to maximizing performance. 

[AllanS]

It really is a hoot to drive.

I imagine so. My wife walks by as I’m playing the cold start and says I can’t believe you’re sitting around listening to that obnoxious noise.  It’s every bit as much music to my ears as the best source discussed elsewhere here.  She doesn’t get either.

[jsaliga]

Yep, there's a certain magic to the sound of a cammed pushrod V-8 engine with longtube headers and an aggressive catback exhaust. 

When I decided that the Vette had to go, and it was a great car, I knew my next ride was going to:

1. Have a supercharged V-8 engine
2. Be a Convertible
3. Have less than 10,000 miles on it.

I quickly narrowed the list of possibilities down to two cars: a 5th Generation Camaro ZL1 Convertible or a 2013/2014 Shelby GT500 Convertible.  Both of these cars checked all of the boxes and I knew I could be happy with either.  I got lucky with the Camaro and found it on Cargurus.com the day I started looking.  The dealership was about a 40 minute drive away.  I called them up and asked if the car was still available.  They said yes, and I was out there like a shot.  The car was on the showroom floor and I knew I was going to buy it after 10 minutes of looking it over.  It was a one-owner car and the original buyer ordered it from the factory so the original factory build sheet came with the car.  While we were writing up the deal someone waked in and asked if the car was still available.  Damned glad I beat that guy to it. 

--Jerome

[ArthurDent]

Sweet ride Jerome. Nice videos of the tuning results as well. 
JD

[jsaliga]

Here are a few pics of the prior cars I have owned that I mention above:

2016 Mustang GT



I bought this car online from Carvana.  It had 10,400 miles on the odometer when it was delivered.  It came with a cloth interior that I would later replace with a Katzkin leather interior.  I also added a Borla ATAK catback exhaust system to it.  It really was a great car.  My only complaint was the factory MT82 six speed transmission.  Had I decided to hang on to the car I probably would have added a Whipple supercharger and changed out the MT82 for a Tremec six speed transmission.  But After driving the stang for a couple of years I really wanted a Dodge Challenger.

2019 Dodge Challenger Widebody Scatpack



I bought this new from a Dodge dealer in New Britain, CT.  The sticker price was $57,000.  6.4L Hemi V8 and an automatic transmission.  It had everything but the kitchen sink in it.  Octane Red.  I had this car for less than a year.  I enjoyed driving it but wasn't very happy when I was routinely getting out-pulled by stock Mustang GTs and Camaro SSes.  The problem for the Challenger Scat Pack is that it is a very big, very heavy muscle car.  Curb weight was almost 4,500lbs.  It makes about 30 or 40 more horsepower than the Mustang GT and Camaro SS, but those cars weigh 500 to 700lbs less than the Challenger.  Buying the car was a  mistake.  I should have bought a Hellcat instead but I balked at paying $75,000 for a new one.

2012 Corvette Z06



This car had 2,300 original miles on it when I bought it.  One of the fastest naturally aspirated production cars ever made.  7.0L V-8, six speed manual.  The car had two weak links.  First, the valve guides in this engine have become a source of some controversy.  There has been a lot of chatter on the Corvette forums about dropped valves and other disasters.  GM issued a service bulletin for this problem and extended the factory warranty but did not issue a recall.  A lot of Z06 LS-7 owners pre-emptively replaced the cylinder heads in their car with aftermarket solutions that directly addressed the valve guide concern.  The cost with installation and a tune was roughly $5,000.  I was thinking about having it done to my car but never did.  The other issue with this car was the clutch, which was prone to overheating if you weren't careful.  I owned this car for 2 years.  My knees and back started to object to climbing out of it and I knew it had to go.  So I traded it in and bought the Camaro ZL1 Convertible.

--Jerome

[dpatters]

My very modest 2016 C7. 2LT, some other upgrades. Corsa Extreme catback exhaust



Don P

[jsaliga]

Very nice!    I would need a shoe horn to pry myself out of that car. 

I put a Corsa Xtreme on the 2012 Z06.  Great sounding exhaust!!

--Jerome

[FireGuy]

Love it.  I worked summers (while in HS) in a Dodge dealership in the early 70's.  Oh how I remember the early Challengers.  Esp the lime green convertibles.  So damn nice.  Today's model has that same vibe.  Stunning on the street coming toward you.

[djpk]

I love the look of the Dodge Challenger. There is a movie called Vanishing Point featuring a 1970 Dodge Challenger. I saw that movie at the drive-in theater when it was released I guess around 1971. I have the Blu-Ray now and watch it occasionally. Very cool movie and Highly recommended! I built a 1973 V8 Vega in the late '70s, but it turned in to a money pit. That was my lesson in hot rods and I'm not going down that road again. Off-road motorcycles are my passion now. Currently riding Sherco.

[twitch54]

  I worked summers (while in HS) in a Dodge dealership in the early 70's.  Oh how I remember the early Challengers.  Esp the lime green convertibles. 

Op, congrats on the ZL1 Vert, buddy of mine has one, super fun car and you made yours even more-so !

FireGuy, your comment above brought back memories of my first 'hot car', 1970 T/A Challenger........

[jsaliga]

I had a chance to buy a 1971 Challenger with a six pack 440 magnum back in 1976 for a whopping $1,500.  It was gorgeous.  I needed to get my dad to cosign on a loan for me and he said no.  He wouldn't help me buy a fast car like that.  But he did cosign on a loan and helped my buy my first car, a newer Ford Maverick with low miles.  While I was disappointed that I couldn't by the Challenger that Maverick was a great first car for me and with the 6 cylinder it got much better gas mileage.  Which I really needed because I was just a young spud and didn't have a lot of disposable cash to blow on joy rides.

--Jerome

[FireGuy]

FireGuy, your comment above brought back memories of my first 'hot car', 1970 T/A Challenger........

Yup, that's one of them.  Dig the after market cragars.  You got one of these... instant Rock Star without the musician skills.

[AllanS]

…that Maverick was a great first car for me and with the 6 cylinder it got much better gas mileage.

Which means a lot less tempting so less likely to get into trouble.

[mosawdust2]

This is my Toy. It's a 1963 which I built from the ground up and everything is literraly brand new. It's a lot of fun with 200 hp in a 1500 lb car.