Greetings everyone,

I began this project with a rather general plan in mind based on an experience gained nearly 30 years ago. Sometime around 1976-77 my father took me to a race at Laguna Seca. I distinctly recall box-fender flared BMW 3-series cars, Datsun 510's & 240-Z's, FIA bodied Corvettes and those wild Chevy Monza's. But what struck me the most was not these high-dollar pro racers but the cars in some of the support races being run by local SCCA members. Particularly if I recall correctly the A-sedan group.

This group was populated by hobby road-racers driving cars that were slightly older. Much like what you'd see at an SCCA or NASA event today. But instead of Miata's, Bimmers and CMC cars, these were late 1960's Musclecars. Mustangs, a few Mopars and Camaros. I was totally blown away. At the tender age of 10 or so I'd seen enough copies of Hot-Rod that I was aware that these cars were frequently used for drag racing. But the fact that they could be road-raced was entirely new to me. The cars were as amazing to me at the time as they are now. Pared down to their base elements, nothing there except what absolutely HAD to be there. Low, loud and mean looking with FOUR instead of two fat tires! Many of them had the "bubble" type fender flares that you can see on David Pozzi's old T/A car
http://www.pozziracing.com/Media/69garft.jpg

Heck, David's car may have even been out on the track that day, who knows? I knew then that someday I wanted to have a car like one of those. And, I knew just where to start.

In July of 1969 my Grandparents purchased a 1968 Camaro that had been sitting a while on the lot at Courtesy Chevrolet in Santa Clara, CA. They needed a new car to drive to Arizona where I was to be born in a couple of months and since the car had been slow to sell the price was right. The car was a bit different in that it was a special order that wound up not being delivered to the customer it was originally intended for. Playboy had placed an order through COPO for 50 pink 1968 Camaros to be distributed to playmates through the year. They only took delivery of about 30-40 of them. The rest wound up being sent to dealers. This was one of them....and yes, I said it was pink. This was my Grandmothers car for close to 35 years. They drove it all over CA on vacations and fishing trips. In fact, to this day there are bait shops and mountain lodges that I go to and when I mention my Grandparents people say, "Oh the couple with the pink Camaro!" The car was nothing special other than by virtue of it's color. A basic 327 coupe with a powerglide. But it was cool and I knew that eventually this car would be the basis for my Camaro road-racer project.

Fast forward to the year 2000. I was getting out of the Coast Guard after eleven years and moving back home to the Bay Area. My grandparents at that point decided to give me the car. A couple of years earlier some redneck had yelled something vulgar to my Grandfather while he was driving it and it scared him so he had a cheapo Earl Schieb spray-job done on it so it was now blue rather than pink.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778128098.jpg?1207632013

The gifting of the Camaro roughly coincided with the "rise" of Pro-Touring. Jeff Smith and Mark Stielow had finally put a name to what had been in my head for years. A classic Musclecar with an updated suspension and drivetrain. Finally, I didn't feel like such a geek for wanting a corner-carving Camaro! And, with websites like this one popping up, magazine coverage for PT builds becoming more common and increased aftermarket support for this type of car it was going to be a whole lot easier than I had originally imagined!!!!

So essentially I have spent the last few years in "planning mode" speaking with various vendors about different suspension configurations. Considering a number of different powertrain options. Asking countless questions of people like David Pozzi, Steve Chryssos, Mark Magers, Steve Rupp, Carl Cassanova, Frank Serafine, Tom Holt, Tyler @ ATS and many others. Weighing my intentions for the car and how that impacts parts selections, build style and how much to spend and where? Further, there has been the debate of the style of build. Street car vs. race car vs. Streetfighter. All of which has brought me to this. A finalized plan for and an opportunity to build the car I have dreamt of for nearly 3/4 of my life.

Introducing:


http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778128099.jpg?1207632016

The car will have a decidedly "Streetfighter" vibe to it and that is by design. I intend to drive the heck out of this thing. It will see auto-x action in and around the Bay Area whenever I get the chance and it will be taken to the many fine tracks (Sears Pt. Thunderhill, Buttonwillow and Laguna Seca) around the area as well. The money will be spent on performance first and appearance second as I care far more about how the car negotiates a corner than about what some judge at a Goodguys event thinks.

Project 1/2 TRAK will feature the following:

Drivetrain:


LS based EFI engine, target HP - 450
TK0-600 transmission (unless a T-56 drops in my lap for a good price)
9" Strange diff with 3.90 gears

Chassis:


Fully welded factory subframe modifed for coilovers
DSE body mounts
DSE subframe connectors
DSE mini-tubs
TC Design-Fab 10pt SCCA legal cage

Rear Suspension:


Lateral Dynamics 3-link
Afco Coilover shocks (~250lb springs)

Front Suspension:


ATS Spindles
ATS Coilover conversion


Speed-Tech upper/lower A-arms


1-1/8 swaybar
Afco Coilover shocks (~650lb springs)

Steering:


Recirc Ball ATS steering gear
Lee PS pump
Moog steering system components
Ididit Column
Steering wheel quick release
Sparco wheel

Wheels & Tires:


Team III, LT-III wheels (minilite replica)
17x9.5 front 17x11 rear
275-40-17 front 315-35-17 rear
BFG KD or similar

Interior:


Cobra Imola FIA legal fiberglass racing seats
No rear seat
Factory carpet
Welded/sealed/carpeted rear bulkhead/package tray
Combination of spray-on sound damping material and strategically placed mat material for minimal weight contribution
Custom center gauge panel with Stewart Warner guages
No AC

Body:


Weld & fill badge holes and side marker light holes
Fiberglass decklid
Fiberglass "stock-flat" hood
Fiberglass front inner fenders
"Vanzuuk" front air-dam
Twist Machine rear decklid spoiler
Flanks - Subaru WRC Blue
Hood, roof & decklid - flat black
Low gloss (~50%) powder coat on all metalic trim, door handles etc



Many of the items on the list above are still open to change based on new product releases, pricing changes etc therefore, any vendor wishing to discuss partnership in this project is welcome to contact me via Private Message here at PT.com

Pretty damned excited. I can't wait to get started on this thing.

First order of business will be to rip the front end off of it so I can finish the welds on the front sub and install the body mounts. Then subframe connectors, then tubs, then the 3-link rear. All of which I have the parts for on hand.

By the time that is done I hope to have purchased enough of the front suspension bits so I can put the car back on the ground so I can roll it onto a tow truck and take it to TC Design-Fab for the cage install.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778128117.jpg?1207633343

I will do my best to update this build thread every two weeks or so and look forward to sharing this build with the membership here.

Well I didn't think it was going to take so long to get crackin on this thing but life happens. It took us longer than we'd thought to get the old house ready to sell. Thankfully it was on the market for a total of 48hrs and is due to close in the next week or so.

With that....I decided to get started on dissasembly.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778183393.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=183393)

It came apart pretty easilly. No broken bolts. The only rust at all was a tiny bit of surface rust between panel edges. Like between the fender extension and fender. Came right off with a wire brush. No corrosion penetration at all. Started labeling stuff as it came off. Put small parts in those clear plastic totes. Tried to put bolts in their home hole whenever possible. Even better than bagging.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778183391.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=183391)

I haven't worked on an old car in quite a few years. Got a big kick out of how much hardware there is and how big the hardware is. They sure don't make 'em like this anymore. Not to mention how thick the material is compared to new cars. Those fenders are 16ga!!! Wow.

Did you think I was kidding about it being pink? Its pretty darn clean. That discoloration is dirt, not rust. Wipes right off.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778183396.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=183396)



http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778183397.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=183397)

This week I'll strip all the suspension and steering off the sub and take it to get sandblasted.

Once I'm done with that I can finish weld the seams. Then I'll be able to do my suspension fabrication. I have one or two decisions to make in that regard this week. Still not sure what system I'll be using.

Then I can prime/paint and install the sub. After that will be subframe connectors.

Gotta love the hub-caps!!!

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778128120.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=128120)

Views of my workspace not previously visible

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778183394.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=183394)

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778183390.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=183390)

So....not a lot happened in September. It was a busy month at work because I was only AT work for about 2 weeks out of the four. My wife and I spent a week in Hawaii, and another week fishing and camping in the Sierra's. She treated me pretty good for my birthday. All things considered I'd have preferred Camaro stuff to going to Hawaii. Having lived there for seven years it feels more like going home than going on a vacation. But it was nice to get out of the office. The fishing trip though was awesome. The planks are 2"x12" for reference.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778197360.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=197360)

So as I said a few posts back, I got the sheet metal stripped from the car pretty easily. No broken or stripped hardware and no rust to speak of. As you can see though, the subframe is really grungy.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778197358.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=197358)

Not bad considering the age of the car. Really stoked about the lack of rust. This really was a "grandma car" and as such it was never really driven hard so I'm not even finding evidence of severe wear or any kind of stress cracks.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778197357.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=197357)

So I stripped all the suspension off and yanked the subframe in preparation for sandblasting and then finish welding.

Here's what we started with

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778197343.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=197343)

A little quick work with a wire wheel allowed me to inspect the potential trouble spots for cracks before sandblasting and allows me to explain what I'm up to here. You see how the subframe is only partially welded? Well each unwelded bit is a flex point and the beginning of each weld is a stress riser.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778197344.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=197344)

So what we are going to do is link all of the factory welds and tie the whole thing together.

I thought this was going to be easy, but nooooo. It seems that a 40 year old lap joint is nigh impossible to clean. I sandblasted it. I wire brushed it. I sprayed solvent in there and blew it around with a blow-gun. I heated the joint with a torch to burn off contaminants but my welds were just looking like rubbish. This thread catalogs me figuring out the problem with the help of Jake and Matt...

http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46863

So with the problem solved the welds came out pretty well. You can see the factory lap weld above my weld in this picture. It looks like they were stick welding these things and doing so very quickly.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778197348.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=197348)

Now remember, these are flux-core welds on a dirty, 40 year old lap joint. My torch technique is as you can see "rusty" to say the least. But, the welds are super solid and fully penetrated.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778197347.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=197347)

In addition I also finish welded the seams inside the LCA pocket and the entire K-member. Overkill? Maybe. But it couldn't hurt.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778197369.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=197369)

You can see the string of itty-bitty spot welds that were originally used to join the upper and lower halves of the K-member here. Running the bead along both sides really made the assembly into a very solid unit.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778197368.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=197368)

I had to roll the subframe over a few times while doing all this work the difference in the stiffness of the assembly was very noticeable. Early in the process I could feel the thing wobble around a bit if I grabbed it by one corner and shook. I mean it felt like grabbing one corner of a sheet of 3/4 plywood. Strong, yet with some springiness to it. With everything welded up it is completely rigid. More like a sheet of 1-1/8 subfloor.

Yeah, my welds still kinda suck and the flux-core wire is messy, but they got better through the process and functionally the welds are good.

Next step.......

Installing the ATS coilover conversion system.......

So while I was busy ripping the car apart, Tyler and the guys at ATS busy modifying my lower control arms to a double shear mount for our coil over kit.

The took your tubular control arms and setup their lower mount:

http://i37.tinypic.com/29q1uzb.jpg

Then they ground down the powder coating off the top and bottom so that we could TIG the mounts in place:

http://i34.tinypic.com/nc05me.jpg
http://i35.tinypic.com/fdy77l.jpg

The frame gets modified by cutting off the single shear shock mount from the upper control arm bracket, plasma cutting the spring pocket out to allow for the coil over to pass through, and then welding the new upper coil over mount into place inside the control arm bracket. Final results look like this:

http://i33.tinypic.com/258qx37.jpg

Back to the lower control arms, we TIG weld the spacer into one side of the double shear mount; the other side gets a zinc plated floater.

http://i35.tinypic.com/2rf378o.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/2hzpjme.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/28kk7fd.jpg

The lower mount is ready to be welded to the lower control arm pocket:

http://i33.tinypic.com/sl1ikw.jpg

The arms are fully welded; TIG around the brackets, and MIG in the center to plug weld them in place. Now they go off to get re-finished.

http://i34.tinypic.com/30t1ac7.jpg

Next they will assemble your AFX spindles using the LG Motorsports brake cooling ducts.

Important feature of the Speed-Tech arms that I really want to point out [white arrow]

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778202482.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=202482)

That bolt is the key to getting the 275x17" tire on a 9.5" rim on the front of a 1st Gen with a stock subframe. It's a steering limit adjuster and it allows you to slightly limit the steering angle such that the tire will not rub the subframe. The loss of steering angle is negligible.

Speed-Tech is the only aftermarket UCA/LCA manufacturer to offer this feature.

Strap gussets on the bushing housings are a nice addition as well. Stronger with a minimal increase in weight.

Of course, the Acetron (delerin) bushings will offer little/no deflection, exceptionally long wear, no squeaking and have a convienently mounted zerk fitting as well.

Tyler informs me that the modification shown above was significantly easier on the Speed-Tech arms than on other available products.

So Tyler got some new goodies at the shop. The guys at LG Motorsports drop shipped a set of their C5/C6 Corvette spindle brake ducts. They will be adding them in place of the wheel speed sensor bracket on the forged aluminum AFX spindles. The only issue they had was that during The engineering process of making the AFX spindle we needed to rotate the forged in brake bracket so they could tie it into a fillet gusset while adding about 50% more material to it to eliminate brake flex. This makes the cut of the duct interfere with the upper brake bracket hole due to our redesign. No big deal, the bolts go in from the back side anyways.

Here are the spindles as we test assembled them with the 1/2"x20x3" long ARP stud upgrade.

http://i37.tinypic.com/2mnq3x3.jpg

http://i36.tinypic.com/2h6ca5c.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/2ltrcc0.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/2ef0y1s.jpg

http://i33.tinypic.com/357j76p.jpg

As stated, the next step is to install the ATS double shear coilover bracket. I've gotten the sense from some that this is percieved as a difficult task. I mean, it's one thing for Tyler to install these in his shop with a bunch of quality tools and equipment but perhaps another for someone to do at home. Tyler bills this thing as an easy to install upgrade. Well.....let's see.

Here is the bracket:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3370.jpg

A darned robust little item if I do say so. 1/4" steel plate (how do you bend this stuff?) nicely mig welded into an assembly that I'm pretty sure could support the weight of the car a couple times over.

I have at my disposal a small Kobalt air compressor and cutoff tool. A cheap Sears Craftsman grinder (with cutoff, grinder, wire and flap-disk wheels), a sawzall, a Miller 175 welder and a little something I borrowed from work that we'll get to later. By no means professional quality stuff. IMO your basic homebrew fab tools.

Since this the install is done twice (left side and right) I've decided to examine two different ways of accomplishing the task.

Here is what we start with:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3393.jpg

The sandblasted subframe and it's OE single shear shock mount and upper control mount.

The first step is to remove the single shear shock mount. At first I tried using the pnematic cutoff tool......lesson learned here. Cheap air compressors and pneumatic tools are just that....cheap. The $200 compressor from Lowes (Kobalt brand) just does not have the ooomph to handle this. It couldn't keep up with the cuttoff tool. So I switched to ol' reliable. Sears.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3439.jpg

The Craftsman grinder with a 4.5" cuttoff wheel made quick work of the shock mount.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3446.jpg

But it does leave a lot of material behind. The lap-welded portion on the subframe arm partially surrounding the spring pocket and the portion still attached to the UCA mount need to be cleaned up.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3451.jpg

No worries...I am using both hands on the grinder (with eye and ear protection). My wife leaned over my shoulder with the camera to take the photo.

Still grinding away the mess

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3364.jpg

Getting rid of the last of the junk attached to the UCA mount

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3455.jpg

.....and finally all cleaned up.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3453.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3458.jpg

The next step is to remove a portion of the spring pocket. This will open up the top of the subrame and allow enough room for the coilover to pass through to the bracket after we attach it.

You'll need to open this up to roughly 4 inches in diameter. I went a little wider for an extra margin of clearance for the shock/spring. You can see the red line guiding my cut below.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3380.jpg

Again I tried the pneumatic cuttoff tool. Again I was dissapointed. So I tried an alternate method. I used the sawzall to take small pie cuts out of the material. Sorta nibbleing away at it until the hole was "mostly round" then finished it with a grinder. No pictures of the middle of the process here.......it was ugly. But once cleaned up with the grinder it looks fine.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3394.jpg

I also took the time at this point to add a little extra weld to the UCA brakets. Nearly impossible to get that joint in there clean and it's tough to get the torch close enough for good puddle control and see what you are doing. The welds reflect that but they are fully penetrated.....just ugly.

On the other side I decided to try something different to see if the process could be sped up a bit and improve the quality. It involved a slightly more sophisticated tool than the sawzall.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3492-1.jpg

Boy do I like this thing!

Where it took me nearly an hour to cut away the other spring pocket with the sawzall bit by bit, the plasma cutter did the job in about 45 seconds leaving a muuuuuch nicer hole...

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3497-1.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3495-1.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3498-1.jpg

....and with far less cleanup with the grinder required as well. All told a much better result with the plasma.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3499-1.jpg

The next step is to begin trial fitting the coil over bracket to the UCA mount. Now remember, we are dealing with a 40 year old car. Tolerances on these things when built were shall we say........loose. The bracket will have to be trimmed here and there to fit.

Here is the bracket as delivered. You can see that the gaps around the bracket are big.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3387.jpg

You'll have to nip away at the c/o bracket and perhaps the UCA bracket some to get your joints tight enough to weld and to locate your shock in the hole such that the spring perch or spring wont make contact with the subframe. There is no sense in me decribing where you'll have to trim he bracket as it will be different on your car. It was differnet on mine from left side to right.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3390.jpg

.

....and after considerable trimming

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3532.jpg

Yes I know the shock is upside down. The adjustable perch is slightly larger than the fixed one and I assumed closer to the OD of the spring.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3534.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3536.jpg

Again, YMMV on the trimming required. This is just what had to happen to get it to fit up nicely on MY particular subframe. It isnt hard. Just time consuming. You grind a little, then test. Rinse and repeat until you get a nice fit then tack the sucker in place.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3535.jpg

Then weld it up...
http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3539.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3537.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3541.jpg

Still pretty messy with spatter and the goo from the flux-core wire but it got late and I needed dinner. Now it's even later and I need to go to bed, so more tomorow if I get home from work early enough to work on it.

Thanks for watching.......

I can already tell this is going to be one of my favorite threads! Great work and spectacular pictures. Can't wait to see more.

Did you weld the bracket with a Mig welder and flux core wire? If so you've given me hope that it IS possible to get good results with this setup.

that pink is so special and unique, id consider using it somehow in your finished state. Perhaps a small (3/4") seperating stripe between the blue and flat-black colors. Great project, on the money, thanks for sharing!!

Looks like you have a good start on your project, keep the pics coming...

Do you have any paperwork showing this car as a COPO Playboy Pink car?
Can you share the trim tag information?
The 1968 Pink Playboy cars have been discussed before, but I have never actually seen one.
You might have an interesting piece of history there!

Do you have any paperwork showing this car as a COPO Playboy Pink car?
Can you share the trim tag information?
The 1968 Pink Playboy cars have been discussed before, but I have never actually seen one.
You might have an interesting piece of history there!

A buddy of mine did the research with some connection of his at GM. I'll see if he has the notes still.

Im no expert but if thats a real PB Copo I imagine its worth a lot of greenbacks but not unless you restore it to original.

It is absolutely a real Playboy COPO.

It's only worth what I'd sell it for.....and I'm not selling. Since I'm not selling it, it has no real value except to me and since it was slow and handled poorly when stock, it has no value restored to stock.

Can you post a picture of the trim tag?

It is absolutely a real Playboy COPO.

It's only worth what I'd sell it for.....and I'm not selling. Since I'm not selling it, it has no real value except to me and since it was slow and handled poorly when stock, it has no value restored to stock.

Thats how I feel about mine, my mom bought mine new, and I hear all the time from my parents, "don't you think it is worth more original", but if I can never sell it, what does it matter. I am in the process of going your route, just on a budget. Matter of fact, my 69 looked just like that original, even the same hubcaps!

I hear you guys but it is a shame to take a car that is so original and unique and cut it up when there are so many non original cars out there you could do this to. I also get the idea that this car will always be the car you grew up with so it is like improving an old friend.

I know a lot of the guys who ran the race you referenced .A friends father Pete Brallier the local Round Table Pizza owner was one .I also have photos from those races I posted on the racing sports car web site as well as a few of the cars that raced in them in my garage :) . In my mind the 70's and 80's IMSA , SCCA , Trans Am was the best era of road racing ever in the USA .

Looks like it is going to be a special car when you are finished . Best of luck

I hear you guys but it is a shame to take a car that is so original and unique and cut it up when there are so many non original cars out there you could do this to. I also get the idea that this car will always be the car you grew up with so it is like improving an old friend.

I know a lot of the guys who ran the race you referenced .A friends father Pete Brallier the local Round Table Pizza owner was one .I also have photos from those races I posted on the racing sports car web site as well as a few of the cars that raced in them in my garage :) . In my mind the 70's and 80's IMSA , SCCA , Trans Am was the best era of road racing ever in the USA .

Looks like it is going to be a special car when you are finished . Best of luck



I'd love to see some of those photos.

I'd love to see some of those photos.


http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo_imsa.html

the Laguna 1976 pics.. few of those are mine

a bunch of the sears point photos from the mid 70's to mid 80's are mine . I own a couple of the cars you will see pictured in the sears point photos.Cool to go to a race as a kid and say "one day i am going to race on of those " and then actually race one of the cars that you were looking at .

were did you get those coild over mounts those are beautifull

were did you get those coild over mounts those are beautifull

Those are from American Touring Specialties in Las Vegas, NV. www.t56kit.com ask for Tyler. Good bloke.

Wow those are bitchin! I distinctly remember some those cars. Thanks for the reminder of a great day with my Dad!



BTW, that yellow/orange 240z is for sale right now through Canepa Motorcars in Scotts Valley, CA.

http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo_imsa.html

the Laguna 1976 pics.. few of those are mine

a bunch of the sears point photos from the mid 70's to mid 80's are mine . I own a couple of the cars you will see pictured in the sears point photos.Cool to go to a race as a kid and say "one day i am going to race on of those " and then actually race one of the cars that you were looking at .

I know Bruce.. that is why I was at sears point back in the day to watch him run his new 935 .. I am putting together a cruise and tour of his shop for anyone who is interested. Bruce has some nice Trans Am cars including the Jim Hall 70 Z

The plan and the rendering sound and look great but you are CLEARLY going to need more horsepower!! ;)

Ok, brief update.

Topic: Fitting new suspension bits on 40 year old subframes.



As previously mentioned, the tolerances on 40 year old cars are......not good. You saw above how fitting of the ATS coil over brackets required widely disparate adjustments to the brackets to get them to fit in the UCA mount stands. The brackets were identical, the mount stands.....not so much. I guess that explains the goofy mix of alignment shims that were in the car when I disassembled it.

So the new challenge is fitting the Speed-Tech lower control arms. I attempted to test-fit them prior to painting the subframe. To say that they required "persuasion" would be a gross understatement. I thought for a second that I had gotten arms for the wrong year Camaro. I measured everything, twice and it wasn't the arms. It was the LCA mount pockets. They varied in width by as much as 3/16" and the angles relative to each other were off as well.

I spoke to Blake at Speed-Tech about this and his reply was that this was fairly common. Though more common in LA vs Norwood cars.

His suggestion:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3553.jpg

A 4" length of 1/2" all-thread
Two 1/2" nuts
Two fat washers

This nifty little device is used to "adjust" the width of the LCA mount pockets so that the LCA bushings will slip into place. Like so:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3551.jpg

The end result is that the LCA now slips easily into place w/o the need to force, sweat, curse, cajole or grab a BFH to get it in place.

The subframe and core support are now painted. I have a few more photos to take and I'll post an update on that and a more complete review of the Eastwood products in a couple of days.....maybe tonight....depends on what my wife has planned for me after work.

Well, I couldn't get to an update last night. Had to go buy a new mattress last night. Those things have gotten EXPENSIVE!

Anyway....

Topis: Subframe and Core Support Paint, review of Eastwood products and installation of DSE subframe mounts.

So here is what we began with on the subframe. 40 years of gunk, thankfully no rust though.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3258.jpg

A bit of time spent with the wire brush prior to sandblasting allowed me to inspect for cracks to make sure the subframe was still useful.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3260.jpg

I did find a couple of cracks in the welds surrounding the Upper Control arm mount stands so if you are going this route check there first. Pretty simple though to grind out the old weld and into the substrate a bit to find fresh steel and re-weld it. YMMV of course.

After sandblasting and all the welding I've outlined previously the material on the subframe looked like this.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3363.jpg

and the core support (also sandblasted) looked like this...

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3589.jpg

Hindsight being 20/20 I should have painted the core support as soon as I got it back from the sandblaster. It would have saved me some time. It sat for a few weeks and developed a bit of surface rust. Nothing bad at all, but it cost me some wire-wheel time that I would have preferred to spend in other ways. Oh well, it's an opportunity to further evaluate the Eastwood stuff right? I'll keep telling myself that.

So....on to the Eastwood stuff. I ordered the following material from Eastwood:

- "Pre" surface cleaner/degreaser
- Eastwood "Rust Converter"
- Eastwood "Rust Encapsulator"
- Eastwood "Chassis Black" (gloss)
- Eastwood "Underhood Black" (satin)
- One of those "Can-gun" gizmos

Really easy to order from them. I used their online ordering this time and it was pretty painless. I have ordered by phone from them as well and it went well too. You get a confirmation email with tracking number so you know when the stuff will arrive.

After calling them for more info about the rust treatment products I felt that I didn't have any rust that I felt worthy of using the Rust Converter on. So for these two bits I used the Rust Encapsulator, Chassis Black and Underhood Black only. I have some deeper surface rust in a couple of places that I'll try the Converter on later. Nothing serious though....I may blow it off and just flap-disk it down to fresh steel. We'll see.

Anyway, I am really pleased with the stuff. As I mentioned previously this stuff is better than any rattle-can material I have ever used. The "Rust Encapsulator" was used as a primer and I followed that with the Chassis Black on the subframe and the Underhood Black on the Core Support.

The Encapsulator and Chassis Black cans both have spray nozzles that project the material in a nice, tight 5" fan pattern at the 8"-10" spray distance called out in the instructions. There is really minimal overspray and it's very easy to control where the material goes, especially with the use of the "can-gun". Additionally, it was easy to ensure that enough material was deployed for coverage w/o getting so much as to experience runs.

Overall I am really happy with the result. Yes, a pro with a paint gun could get better results. Nit-pickers will see the occasional bit of dust in the paint. Yup, my garage isn't 100% clean. But this is the subframe and core support on a track/auto-x car. It's more than good enough for me.

So let's have a look at the results:

After two coats of the "Rust Encapsulator" the subframe looked like this...

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3557.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3557.jpg

It lays on shiny when wet but dries to a flat black finish. If you top-coat within 36 hours you can spray right over it. Longer than that and Eastwood recommends a light scuff with 300 grit or a red scotch-brite pad. I wound up having to do both due to time constraints and in each case the top coat turned out pretty darn nice.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3569.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3564.jpg

The flash and the florescent lights in my garage conspire to play hell with the color rendering in a few of these photos so some, like this next one look a bit grey. The surface is a uniform, gloss black though.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3567.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3568.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3588.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3585.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3563.jpg

One other thing about the Eastwood stuff.....since the overspray is minimal the dusting of "other stuff" in the garage is nil and the airborne material is minimal as well. There is a bit of "solvent smell", but with the garage door open while spraying it was not oppressive at all and after 1hr was difficult to detect. Good stuff. Especially if your wife has concerns about such things or you have kids or animals around.

....and onto the Core Support.

Again, I coated the Core Support first with the Rust Encapsulator and then the Underhood Black.

The Underhood Black lays out in a nice satin finish. It does not appear to have a porosity though so I'm thinking it will be pretty resistant to the "greasy fingerprint" that some flat/satin finishes are susceptible to. I did accidentally grab the core support with some oil on my hands. I was able to wipe the oil off with a bit of alcohol on a rag. No mark remained.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3638.jpg

And in the following photos you can see the difference between the satin Underhood Black and the gloss Chassis Black.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3632.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3629.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3628.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3624.jpg

....and finally, the installation of the DSE (Detroit Speed & Engineering) solid body bushings.

From DSE:

Detroit Speed and Engineering's solid body mounts provide a simple approach to eliminating the flex that occurs between the body and subframe connection. This will improve vehicle handling response by increasing chassis stiffness. These mounts should be used when installing subframe connectors for maximum torsional rigidity.

Detroit Speed and Engineering's uniquely designed body mounts are CNC machined from billet aluminum. The mounts are then hardcoated, not bright anodized. The hardcoating process resists corrosion that can occur between steel and aluminum surfaces with regular bright anodizing. CNC machined stainless steel bevel washers are included. 17-4 stainless steel flanged body bolts are also available as an option.

Our mounts are available in either 1/2 height or stock height.

The body mount kit includes:

- 2 core support mounts with stainless steel bevel
washers

- 4 body mounts with stainless steel bevel washers



Optional stainless body bolt kit includes:

- 2 polished 17-4 stainless steel bolts and nuts for
core support mounts

- 4 polished 17-4 stainless steel bolts for body
mounts

http://www.detroitspeed.com/images/Body/body_mounts_pic.jpg

http://www.detroitspeed.com/productpages/indproduct/bodyprod/popups/bolt_kit_pic.jpg

I opted for the standard height units. A lot of folks go for the 1/2-height but from what I've seen the 1/2-height mounts often cause interferance problems between the transmission and tunnel and between engine and hood if you aren't using a cowl induction hood....which I am not. So full height bushings it is. I don't want the car too low anyway. Real life includes driveways, speed bumps, rough roads and trailer ramps. I'll leave the "slammed" look to the fairgrounds guys.

The install of these things is really dead simple and a one-man job as well provided your back/shoulders will allow you to bench press the subframe. The interlocking bushings install above through the subframe mount pads sandwiching the subframe material and providing a rigid interface between the subframe and the body tub. A bit of anti-seize on the stainless bolts is a good idea.

I installed the bushings and bolts hand tight and pulled the jack out of the way.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3633.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3634.jpg

The next step is to align the subframe to the body tub so that the chassis is square. Also a simple task.

Start by dropping a plum-bob from the aft most mount hole for the lower control arm and make a mark on the garage floor. You can see the red marks here on bits of tape placed on the floor. Repeat this on both the left and right side of the subframe.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3635.jpg

At the rear of the car, just aft and outboard of the forward leaf spring eye is a flanged oval shaped hole. Drop a plum-bob from this point and again, mark the spot on the floor.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3636.jpg

[roadbike, mountain bike and downhill bike gathering dust in the background....they hate me]

Once you have your marks you then measure diagonally between the marks (left-rear to right-front & right-rear to left-front). The values are sure to be different at first which is why I left the body bushing bolts hand-tight above. You'll have to bump, tweak and nudge the subframe around until the measurements are close to or equal. It'll take a few times to get it right but be patient and make small adjustments. Mine came out exactly equal at 90 1/16" from corner to corner.

I compared this to the measurements I took when I disassembled the car. The factory left the differential at 90 3/16" and 89 15/16". A 1/4" out of square condition. I guess that too explains the disparate alignment shim stacks.

I left the bushing at the Core Support hand tight to allow me to nudge it around when I put the bodywork back on the car at a later date.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3632.jpg


Next step will be the installation of the DSE subframe connectors. I'm starting on that tonight so we should have at least a preliminary update to this thread in a few days.

If you've never cut a big freakin hole in a somewhat valuable car you should try it. It's a rather liberating experience.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3647.jpg

Been quite a while since I've made an update to this thing. I cut the openings for the subframe connectors just before Thanksgiving and that's when things ground to a screeching halt. Thanksgiving, a ton of work before a Christmas shutdown, then two weeks of gift shopping, food shopping, cooking, cleaning, wrapping, visits hither and yon, house guests, a trip to Phoenix for New Years and then a ton of work to make up for no work over the last two weeks....cripes!

Well, I did eventually get a little time to finish the subframe connectors. Read on.......

As I mentioned previously, it's a liberating experience to cut your first big hole in an old car!

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227516.jpg?1232123916

Cutting the holes was pretty straightforward. I used a cutoff wheel on a 4.5" angle grinder. It made pretty short work of it. I think a cutoff on a pneumatic would be easier, but since the compressor I bought is not up to the task it had to do.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227517.jpg?1232123921
http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227520.jpg?1232123938
http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227521.jpg?1232123943

The only real concern here is to be very careful to cut the hole undersized and sneak up on the fitment of the connector. I used a grinder to whittle away at the material until the connector just fit. My welding is pretty bad so I wanted the gaps as tight as possible. Not too bad.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227518.jpg?1232123926

Then it was just a simple matter of welding it in (yeah, right!). Welding the seam on the inside of the car was pretty simple. Though 18ga to 3/16 steel requires a bit of fiddling with voltages and wire speeds. It wasn't awful though.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227524.jpg?1232123959
http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227522.jpg?1232123949

Where it got tough was underneath. The outboard bit wasn't too bad but the inboard side was a horror show. It's still technically a "T-joint" but the floor pan has those rolled beads in it and one of them directly abuts the subframe connector. So instead of a straight 90degree angle the joint looks like a lower case "h" and you are trying to do your welding up inside the bottom of that lower opening. Really tough work. I burned through the floorpan in a few places and had to patch it but eventually got it all done.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227525.jpg?1232123964

The fwd spring hanger blocks a bit of the joint between the connector and the rear frame rail so I'll have to zip a bit more of that together later.

The next step is the installation of the Detroit Speed mini-tubs. These will allow as much as a 335 section tire, but I won't be going quite that wide. I'm only going to be able to fit a 275 up front and don't want a super wide disparity so I'll probably stick to a 315 or so out back. But I'll have room for more.

The first step of this process was to remove the rear suspension assembly. It came out absurdly easily. Seriously, I didn't even need to break out any penetrating oil or even so much as a breaker bar. Everything came apart with a 3/8" drive ratchet and minimal effort. God bless my grandparents for keeping this thing garaged for 35 years. It's spent more nights outside since Ive owned it (2000 on) than it has in it's entire live. The bolts looked literally brand new when I took them out.

http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=227527

The 4x4 patch of tape on the fender has marks on it identifying the axle centerline. This will be important for locating bits of the 3-link but more on that later.


http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227528.jpg (http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewgallery.php?action=viewimg&id=227528)
http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227526.jpg?1232123970

I'm not going to go into excruciating detail on the tub install. This thread outlines the process better than I ever could and it would be redundant to go over it in detail again. http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46900

I'll post a few photos here and there though.

Anybody need a complete rear suspension and 10-bolt rear for a 1968 Camaro? Free, if you come pick it up. Otherwise I'm tossing it.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17778227511.jpg?1232123889

kinda interested in the 10 bolt.. where are you?

Mountain View.

Is that trunk lid still available?

Mountain View.


I'll take it! i'll pm you :beers:

You get that rear-end installed yet?

Had a couple of requests for progress photos. Again, I am reticent to attempt to fully chronicle the process for installing mini-tubs in a 1st-Gen. It's been done, quite well I might add here: http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46900

That said. This is no easy task. By far the most labor intensive thing I've done thus far. Having the use of a Plasma Cutter is HIGHLY recommended.

Here is the passenger side with the OE tub freshly removed

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3915.jpg

Getting the decklid hinge bracket out on the pax side was something else. The drivers side was easy with five neat/clean spot welds that were easy to drill out. The Pax side though had a ton of them and they were oddly shaped . Required a fair bit of beating and banging with a chisel to get them out. Some of the welds spaned well over 1/2" and were oblong rather than round. Ugh.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3912.jpg

Sneaking up on cutting out the space for the new tub:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3920.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3921.jpg

I gotta say the instructions for this process are really bad. I mean horrible. DSE really needs to go through this process with someone who is not a member of their staff and rewrite the instructions under the assumption that the person doing the work isn't someone who has done it a dozen times.

I really needed to get the plasma cutter back to the guy I borrowed it from (our technical rep from Intel loaned his to me - Thanks Anthony!) so Vince and Allen came by on a Sunday to help me get everything that needed cutting...cut.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3922.jpg

Thanks for the help guys!!!

Here is the drivers side tub being "test fit". In this photo I have yet to weld in the fill plate so the gap is a bit wide and the tub is still sitting a little crooked because I've yet to fully grind flush the flange:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3925.jpg

Welding in the fwd fill plate on the drivers side:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3929.jpg

....and the aft plate on the drivers side clamped in place and about 1/2 tacked in:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3931.jpg

I've made a bit of progress since these photos were taken. I'll snap a few more tonight. Progress has been a bit slow of late. Work has been busy (beats the alternative) and my wife and I have had a lot going on as well. I hope to be able to wrap the tubs up within the next couple of weeks and then move on to cleaning all the undercoating off the bottom of the car in preparation for starting on the 3-link install. Though I may re-hang the front sheetmetal first. Not sure...

Well now....this is a really fun surprise:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CP-14.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CP-15.jpg

So....yeah.....more photos.....

I have the fill plates on the drivers side complete.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3932.jpg

Still working on the passenger side. Nothing happened tonight. I decided to make a really nice lobster/scallop risotto for my wife tonight. BTW, Girgich Cellars Chardonnay.....get some.

So yeah....not all is grinding, wire-brushing and burning my junk with weld spatter.

We have some parts porn!

Front suspension coming together....

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3934.jpg

ATS spindle
Speed-Tech Upper/Lower Control Arms
LG Motorsports brake backing plate
$2.00 worth of angle iron from Lowes pretending to be a shock absorber

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3935.jpg

ATS/Lee Manufacturing Steering gear:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3936.jpg

I know, I know...the nice cad plating.....CA EPA said Lee can't use the stuff anymore.....freakin hippies.

Something light and itchy and strangely similar to a decklid

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3938.jpg

One of my favorites up there on the top shelf......The Twist-Machine / Jakes Rod Shop rear spoiler. That thing makes me tingle in my special place.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3940.jpg

One of my next projects is to create a bulkhead out of all of these holes. Haven't decided if I want to weld a bit of metal into each of those openings, or just cover the whole thing up with a couple of sheets bent to fit. Suggestions?

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3939.jpg

Ok...totally unrelated..... my wifes father installed this sink in the house. Her parents have both long since passed and we've totally renovated the entire house. I still have some of her Dad's tools and they still get used quite a bit which I think is kinda cool.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3941.jpg

.....and a couple months ago in Grassroots Motorsports Magazine they did this silly test of commercial hand cleaners. They found that something rather odd worked better. That's whats in the white tub. A couple of days worth of coffee grounds and a few tablespoons of dawn. Seriously, it works amazingly well and sure is cheaper than commercial hand cleaners.

Thats all for now.....

Well the drivers side tub is all but finished. Just need to grind the welds down a bit, close over that flap on the lower forward bit and hit it with the seam sealer.

I have a quart of seam sealer from Eastwood, but I'm wondering if it might be better to use a different product that is more of a caulk type. Any thoughts?

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3943.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3944.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3945.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3948.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3949.jpg

Ahhhh the tubs are done. Thank God allmighty the tubs are done!

Well, I still need to seam seal everything, but I think I'm going to wait until after I finish the rear suspension install and seam seal the whole shootin match at once.

The black stuff is Eastwood "Rust Encapsulator". They said it makes a primer/sealer for underbody stuff so I went with it. I'll seam seal then cover everything in "Lizard Skin" sound/heat attenuation material.

Pax side tub from the inside:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG4003.jpg

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3998.jpg

Drivers side tub, from the outside:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3997.jpg

Drivers side from inside the trunk.

Tweaking the trunk hinge support to fit the profile of the new tub was quite a challenge. I bent, unbent and rebent each of them at least 1/2-doz times.

The sheetmetal is a bit ugly just above the weld. I had to hammer the tub to fit the curvature of the cutout. I'll hit it with a little trunk spatter and if that doesn't hide the ripples I'll break out the hammer/dolly and smooth it.......I hope to not have to though.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3992.jpg


Finished up the subframe connector as well. Welded back in the relief cut in the seat pan trimmed the body drain plug to fit, welded that in and primed the whole mess.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG4000.jpg



Next up on the hit parade.....stripping all the undercoat from the bottom of the car. This is gonna be a messy freakin job. I am not looking forward to it, but it's got to be done prior to installing the 3-link and sending it off for a cage.

Thanks for watching.....

I know I said the next task was to remove undercoating from the car but I just couldn't bring myself to crawl around on the floor tonight. My back has been bothering me a bit and......oh now I'm just making excuses....I didn't freakin feel like it. Ok?

So anyway I got a bit of lightweight goodness in the mail a few weeks back:

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG3938-1.jpg

Fiberglass decklid from VFN fiberglass. Weighs less than 10lbs :D

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG4004.jpg

Pretty darn smooth right out of the box. I'm hoping for minimal bodywork. But...it is delivered a bit oversized which is, I suppose, better than undersized.

[Michael Scott] Thats what she said! [/Michael Scott]

Sooo I had to take a template from the OE decklid and transfer it to the fiberglass replacement. You can see here that the fiberglass decklid is about 1/4" larger than the template. It's oversized by about that much on each axis.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG4008.jpg

Transferring the template. I am totally good at coloring!!!!

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG4013.jpg

The line is actually at least 3/16" fat all the way around. So what I'll do is cut to the line then begin test fitting and sneak up on the final dimension little by little.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG4014.jpg

After a bit of sanding....but quite a bit more to go.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/CIMG4016.jpg

Looking like good progress..

Looks awesome so far. How are you going to get the undercoat off the bottom of the car. I am just starting work on my 68. Need to do the same thing.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h219/69z28freak/IMG_3540-2.jpg

The way I removed undercoating was to heat it with a propane torch and scrap it off.
That got about 95% of it. After that, I hit it with a wire cup brush in an angle grinder.
whatta pain. a heat gun may have been a better choice, but I didn't have one at the time. Watch out for flaming balls of undercoating.