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In early 2010, NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Eddie Krawiec unveiled his intentions to add racing on four wheels to his riding repertoire with the initial plans for the construction of an Outlaw Drag Radial 2000 Chevrolet Camaro SS, to be built by the talented team at DMC Racing in Halifax, Massachusetts.
With the exploding emergence of X275 over the last two seasons in the northeast, on the east coast, and increasingly in the midwest, Krawiec has set out to construct this piece, known as “Project Radial-ation,” with adaptability in mind. Between the X275 and 315 Outlaw Radial classes, there’s no shortage of venues in which to compete.
Components for the engine build in Eddie Krawiec's 400 cubic inch LS series small block including a John Marcella-crafted intake manifold, an Exile 88mm billet wheel turbocharger, Dailey Engineering SP series oil pump, and polished Winberg crankshaft.
Since the announcement of his four-wheeled venture nearly two years ago, Krawiec’s primary has been on his day job riding the Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley Davidson motorcycle, which culminated in his second championship in the the sports’ premier two-wheeled category in 2011.
During the off season, with racing in hibernation and winter bearing down on Indianapolis, Eddie turned his attention back to his pet project, and recently shared a look at the parts and pieces that will power what’s already one of the most trick rides we’ve has seen to date.
Delivering the juice to this impressive Camaro project will be a 440 cubic inch LS Series small block, built by Billy Briggs Race Engines and based on an RHS tall deck aluminum block massaged by Weston Machine.
A pair of canted valve Mozez cylinder heads prepared by Performance Inductions/Mast Motorsports will top the block, decked out with .937 lifter bores, Xceldyne titanium intake, Victory 1 inconel exhaust valves, PSI valve springs, a Jesel Valvetrain shaft rocker system, tapered pushrods, and belt drive with a top-mounted distributor. Krawiec also sourced a 60mm camshaft, via Mike Moran, from LSM Engineering for the build.
Cylinder Head Flow Numbers:
.300 225 127
.400 310 170
.500 368 206
.600 418 231
.700 438 252
.800 447 265
.900 453 276
1.00 458 287
The engine buildup underway, under the eye of noted builder Billy Briggs.
A set of CP turbo pistons will connect to Carillo H-beam rods spun by a stunning, showpiece-like billet center-weighted Winberg Crankshaft. Other components include a Dailey Engineering SP series oil pump, a slick John Marcella aluminum intake manifold sporting Billet Atomizer injectors from Moran Motorsports, MSD’s 7720 and 7730 Power Grid systems, and ATI’s Super Damper balancer, all of which will also transfer through an ATI SuperGlide 4 transmission.
Said Krawiec of the Winberg crankshaft, “When I got the crank from Winberg I didn’t know if I was suppose to use it or display it. This thing is a work of art.”
The completed bullet from Billy Briggs with the new headers fabricated by DMC, ready to drop down into the frame rails. Image credit: Joseph Staska
Delivering the brunt of the power for this all-GM piece – as can been in the photos – is a single billet wheel Exile modular turbocharger that will be paired with a custom aluminum air-to-water intercooler, also from Exile Turbo Systems. For X275 and other 275 radial events, a single 88mm unit will be utilized, while a larger 106mm unit can be retrofitted in place for Outlaw Radial events and those where the larger turbo setup is allowable.
As you can see, Eddie's Project Radial-ation Camaro is progressing nicely under the watchful and talented eye of Dennis MacPherson and the DMC Racing crew.
In addition to the powerplant, Dennis MacPherson and his team at DMC Racing have made a lot of progress on the chassis, which will conform to SFI 25.3 specifications upon completion. As previously noted, it will also make allowance for 275 and 315 tires, or even slicks should they be necessary.
In a departure from the way many of these X275 machines are being built today where the body and floorboard are separated and the body draped around a full chassis, DMC has done things the old fashioned way by building the roll cage and chassis within the cozy confines of the Camaro.
At left, you can see the final stages of the turbo system fabrication and mounting process. At right, the new carbon fiber nose has been fitted into place.
Up front, the front clip has been removed to reduce unnecessary weight and make room for the grille-mounted turbo setup. With the clip removed, a new Midwest Chassis K-member has been installed, along with Strange Engineering Pro Series 2 brakes on all four corners.
As you can see in the photos, with the engine build at Briggs’ shop complete and the engine in the possession of Krawiec and DMC, the LS bullet has already been lowered down into the framerails. This step has allowed the DMC team to begin fabricating the headers and turbo system.
We’ll have much more of the final stages of construction of Krawiec’s “Project Radial-ation” in the coming weeks as MacPherson and company carry out the remaining steps to completion, so keep your browsers tuned to DRAGZINE for additional updates.
