Every once in a while you stumble across one of the most amazing builds on an internet forum that will make you rethink your next project. Rarely are late models ever built to the level of detail that you will see with a classic, but the Moreno family has certainly turned the tables with its Camaro. Headed by father Al Moreno and oldest brother Nathan, the crew began the G5.R project by trying to reroute the heater hoses, which are commonly thought to be a terrible eyesore in the 2010-2011 Camaro SS engine bay. Things quickly snowballed, and several years later it has transformed into the single most overthought fifth-gen Camaros ever built.
If you have some time to kill, then I highly recommend traveling down the wormhole on this intense build thread on Lateral-G.net. Consider this an hors d’oeuvre. G5.R Camaro is destined for the 2016 SEMA Show, so you’ll be seeing plenty more of this in the media. Nathan and his two brothers, Justin and Seth, literally had their hands on every single part of this Camaro. There isn’t a bolt or bracket that hasn’t been smoothed, sanded, polished, painted, powder coated or built from scratch. Starting from the engine bay, the LS3 was stroked to 418 cubic inches and treated to Lingenfelter ported heads. The block and the heads themselves were ground smooth and painted BMW Frozen Gray along with the alternator, A/C compressor and power steering pump. The pulleys were given a brush finish. To match, the intake manifold and throttle body were painted. The accessory drive brackets and motor mounts were sanded and powder coated, meanwhile the oil pan, valley tray and timing cover were powder coated textured black. All of the vapor tube lines were replaced with XRP AN lines and fittings, and that was just the beginning. Even the injector connectors on the wiring harness were shaved down to improve the appearance. The exhaust system was TIG welded and treated to a Jet-Hot 1,700-degree coating.
Moving on to the Camaro's chassis, there is so much detail in every single part. Every hole that was no longer used in the engine bay was filled in and covered. The firewall was covered with a custom carbon fiber plate. A similar piece was made to replace the heavy factory steel that separated the back seat from the trunk. In the trunk, the spare tire well was cut out to shave more weight, and replaced by a custom made flat panel that was painted with the G5.R project logo. The floor was completely smoothed out, too, with some pretty nifty steel “floor mats.” Since this is to be a serious track car, like the Camaro Z/28 on steroids, a roll cage was also added to the interior, which will be integrated with the headliner. A fire suppression system complements it nicely. Underneath, the floorpan was completely covered in a gold heatshield. The roof skin was completely removed, which will be replaced by carbon fiber. Carbon is used throughout the body, with the Moreno family’s own brand of components. Custom tubular front and rear bumper supports replace the heavy factory pieces, as do tubular engine and differential cradles. While originally some off-the-shelf parts were used on the suspension, every piece has been replaced with custom made components designed by the Morenos. It’s amazing what a couple of engineering students can do. The shocks are even custom-valved Penskes.
When the G5.R Camaro finally makes its debut, expect it to have a new Ozmo carbon fiber intake manifold, Trick Flow LS3 heads and a dry sump system. This Camaro is not for the faint of heart!
