I have posted many threads asking questions and have got great advice from this forum, but I think it's time to start my own build thread so I can consolidate and recieve advice in one place.

Here is the history. I got this car sometime in Dec 2007. I had 2 friends who are in the business that went with me to get it. They were all out going to help me put this car together. Well, that didn't work out quit like I planned. With absolutly no experience in the field, and after reading many many threads. I decided to tackle it pretty much alone, with the help from camaros.net of course.

For thorough pictures you can check my sig, but for this threads sake, I'll try to hit the main parts.

Here is the car when I picked it up


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Before8.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Before1.jpg




http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Before4.jpg

Me getting it ready for the jig
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore6.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore11.jpg

Floor cut out and rocker work beginning
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore30.jpg

Rockers are done
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore65.jpg

Cowl and dash
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore66.jpg

Firewall/toeboards
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore77.jpg

Removed the rust eatten cowl
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore92.jpg

Made the front look nice by blasting and expoxy priming. SPI is great btw. Good helpful people and so far, absolutly no complaints about the product.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore95.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore98.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore99.jpg

New cowl welded and primed.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore115.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore117.jpg

Removed the trunk
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore129.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore124.jpg

Here is my tail panel. I think I can save it.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore127.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore128.jpg

Now I was planning on putting in my new rails and trunk next after a little fab work on one of my Y braces, but I am also considering removing the rest of the quarters and roof. I have full quarters to put back on and a new roof, but I was going to ask if my bracing looked good enough to take it that far down. I have the front torque boxes bolted to the jig, the rear of the rockers welded and braced to the jig, and supports welded to the package tray. running veritcal and horizonal. If I do it I plan on blasting the rest of the care before I put the rails and floor in it. What do you think?

You can see the rear bracking good here.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore123.jpg

Cory...

Looks like you got a nice jumpstart on that resto for sure! Looks good...! Should be a similar road that I traveled down with my resto. Reminds me of when I started on mine. What colors are you going with?

Nice work! :thumbsup:

Cory...

Looks like you got a nice jumpstart on that resto for sure! Looks good...! Should be a similar road that I traveled down with my resto. Reminds me of when I started on mine. What colors are you going with?

Nice work! :thumbsup:

Back to the original, GG....Granada Gold with black standard int and black BB stripe.

Thanks for the kind words Todd, I have of course been in your thread hundreds of times for references and planning. These threads are so useful.

Back to the original, GG....Granada Gold with black standard int and black BB stripe.


Thanks for the kind words Todd, I have of course been in your thread hundreds of times for references and planning. These threads are so useful.


That will look sharp!:thumbsup:

Let me know if I can help.... wait!-- I need to get working on my own Camaro! ;) Verrrry nice work though!

Wow, Cory- Looks very familiar!
Nice work, what's the time frame you have tied up in the project,so far? Also- this is your "first" project?
Did you replace the inner as well as outer rockers?

Wow, Cory- Looks very familiar!
Nice work, what's the time frame you have tied up in the project,so far?
I started on the car about 13 months ago. At first, while breaking down the car, I was working on it 3 or 4 days a weeks. After I got it on the jig I have pretty much been a weekend warrior with the exception of the week I blasted and primed the front.

Also- this is your "first" project?
I owned a clone 73 z and I did a lot of engine work with it. Worked at a local pepboys and turned wrenches when I was younger. Nothing major body wise. I didn't own a welder before I bought this car and I never considered getting this deep into a project by myself.

Did you replace the inner as well as outer rockers?
Inner and outer on both sides. Also a kick panel seperatly. I didn't know it need to be replaced so I ordered my inners w/o the kick panels.:confused:

Wow. Very nice work so far. I love the Gold/Black stripe/RS combo. That car will look great when it's done.

Looks good so far. I think if I was you I would ad some x bracing inside ie: from inner front corner to roof bracing. check out this site for some ideas http://www.mikescustomcars.com/projects/projects.asp?proj=FYoung&album=8&pic=405

Looks good so far. I think if I was you I would ad some x bracing inside ie: from inner front corner to roof bracing. check out this site for some ideas http://www.mikescustomcars.com/projects/projects.asp?proj=FYoung&album=8&pic=405

Seeing that website makes me feel like I don't do enough hahah

Well I finally got my metal to put in some extra support. Got the bracing finished and started on the quarters.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore131.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore136.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore132.jpg

But now I see just how bad my inner quarter is rusted. I have to decide if I want to replace this or maybe try to fab a small piece for it. The other side shouldn't be as bad but it does have some rust through it too.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore134.jpg

Looks good on this side.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore135.jpg

Looking great! You will verrrrry happy you braced it up like that to maintain the original dimensions everywhere. As long you don't mind working around it. Will you have to remove it all before installing the full floor or can you wiggle it in there?
Keep up the nice neat work. Looks like you have done this before:yes:!

PS.

I have a nice wooden body cart for sale if you're interested. :D;)

The bracing on my package tray going down to my jig will have to be removed after I get the trunk in. The bracing welded to the inner rocker will also. The rest should bo ok. I believe I have enough room to get the floor in.........hopefully

The bracing on my package tray going down to my jig will have to be removed after I get the trunk in. The bracing welded to the inner rocker will also. The rest should bo ok. I believe I have enough room to get the floor in.........hopefully


Do you plan on feeding the floor in through the rear of the car, front windshield, or folding it in half and then unfolding it after? (just kidding on the last one) ;)

I had an easy time sliding it in through the trunk, but when I slid the complete trunk pan into position--whew! that was tight! I should have left off one inner wheel well so it would have been easier, but hey, I like to work symmetrically for some reason.

Do you plan on feeding the floor in through the rear of the car, front windshield, or folding it in half and then unfolding it after? (just kidding on the last one) ;)

I had an easy time sliding it in through the trunk, but when I slid the complete trunk pan into position--whew! that was tight! I should have left off one inner wheel well so it would have been easier, but hey, I like to work symmetrically for some reason.

I hope to lift it from the bottom. I think I have enough clearance to angle it in and up between the frame rails and the back bracing I have then bring it foward on top of the toeboards.

Today I spent 2 hours getting my drip rail trim off successfully w/o incident. Then I proceded to remove the wheel housings.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore141.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore139.jpg

I think I will get some practice working with metal making new braces. Mine where really thin.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore137.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore142.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore143.jpg

Got most of the roof and quarters removed over the last couple of weeks. It's been spontaneous working on my car. Only thing left is the front window metal of the roof and rear window/quarter metal.

I need to figure out how I am going to get accurate measurements from the original drip rails before I remove them and replace with a new set. Any suggestions?

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore144.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore145.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore146.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore147.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore148.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore149.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore150.jpg

You are doing a great job Cory, I am in a very similar build with my 69.

Greg

Looks great Cory! My 67 Vert is Granada Gold with black bumble bee stripe. (crapy paint job) but still that combo. I have kicked around going back to that combo but its hard to resist the appeal of all the flashier colors like of course, Bolero red. Time will tell. You do very nice work, and great pics!. Jeff

Man for your first build....Good job!

Thanks guys. I didn't even know how to weld before I got this car. It shows that patience and reading can get you far in life. This forum rocks.

This forum rocks X2:yes:.....jeff

Well after wasting a few days off because of scattered showers, I took the plunge this weekend and did the rest of the blasting on my hull. I hate blasting. It can break a mans will if you not properly equiped. Well here are the my updated pics.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore151.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore152.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore153.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore155.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore154.jpg

Making good progress:beers:

Cory

Your Camaro is looking outstandiing! I just caught up on your thread and am amazed at your learning curve. Looks like you'll be passing me up soon at this rate. I've been playing "daddy" and Mr Mom lately (just had twins), and loving it! :yes: I do admit though, I went through a withdrawal period from not working on my Camaro though. :sad: Soon enough....

Anyway... great job and keep on movin'. :thumbsup::beers:
Who knows? Maybe soon, I will be checking out your thread for tips on how to weld up the floor, trunk floor, and frame rails? :)

I take it you did your own blasting. What equipment did you use and where did you do it? Curious, since I will have to decide to do my own or take it somewhere.

Not sure how I've missed your thread up till now Cory but have to say your making some impressive progress and nice work while at it. Just out of curiosity are you blasting and priming inside the shop thats showing in your pics? If so your doing one hell of a job keeping the place clean much more so than I do in my shop.

Cory

Need a quick favor from ya when you get a chance inbetween all that blasting...

In the picture below, can you please measure the distance between the center of each frame rail locator pin to the inner surface of each inner rocker panel? That would be awesome! Let me know if you need me to clarify to make sure.... I want to make sure I am centering my rockers around those pins correctly.

I take it you did your own blasting. What equipment did you use and where did you do it? Curious, since I will have to decide to do my own or take it somewhere.

I have a pressurized blaster, funnel type, and a 60 gal black max 5hp. I blast until my compressor cuts on and has been running for around 3-5 minutes then I take a break to let it rechrage and rest. You can also watch your pressure and if it drops below your desired psi let it recharge.

My advice for anyone thinking about buying a blaster is get a pressurized blasted that has the big mouth so you can dump the media in. Pressurized and big mouth is key. Funneling in 100 lbs of media is not fun.

A good hood/shield and breathing filter is a must. The silica is posionious.

I lay down one of the huge orange tarps in my drive way. When I use all my media I push my car off and use the tarp to gather the used media up in the center. Put it in buckets, then I strain it through a window screen straininer I made out of some pine I had left over from another project. You can buy a strainer too.

I also use a padded blanket on the opposite side of the car I am blasting to direct some of the stray media down. I still get media in my driveway but not enough to make a big deal about.

Make sure you have all house windows and doors shut when blasting. The more you reuse the media, the dustier it gets. 3 times is my limit. The black diamond from TSC is great but it gets hard to see sometimes because of the darker dust.

The first time I blasted I made a little room in my garage. Even though I spent some time making it, it still got all over the garage. It's a pain to clean up not to mention how much nastier it gets while being enclosed.

Not sure how I've missed your thread up till now Cory but have to say your making some impressive progress and nice work while at it. Just out of curiosity are you blasting and priming inside the shop thats showing in your pics? If so your doing one hell of a job keeping the place clean much more so than I do in my shop.

I did the first time I blasted and primed. I clean after each day of work. But blasting in there is too much and my wife is pregnant and the epoxy is too dangerous to spray in the garage now. I now do all my not so safe stuff outside.

Cory

Need a quick favor from ya when you get a chance inbetween all that blasting...

In the picture below, can you please measure the distance between the center of each frame rail locator pin to the inner surface of each inner rocker panel? That would be awesome! Let me know if you need me to clarify to make sure.... I want to make sure I am centering my rockers around those pins correctly.

I will get the measurement when I get home from work today. I tried to brace them but I cannot promise they are in the factory position. I have seen some people complain about spread and have to pull the rockers together to get the full floor to fit.

Thanks for the info.

Cory

Need a quick favor from ya when you get a chance inbetween all that blasting...

In the picture below, can you please measure the distance between the center of each frame rail locator pin to the inner surface of each inner rocker panel? That would be awesome! Let me know if you need me to clarify to make sure.... I want to make sure I am centering my rockers around those pins correctly.



Here's the picture I meant to include in my post earlier (brainfart).....




http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore124.jpg

Here's the picture I meant to include in my post earlier (brainfart).....




http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore124.jpg

From the bottom inner surface to the center of the round stock. 6 11/16'' both sides. That is with the tape measure pushed against the bottom of the inner rocker and stretch to the center of the round stock.

From the bottom inner surface to the center of the round stock. 6 11/16'' both sides. That is with the tape measure pushed against the bottom of the inner rocker and stretch to the center of the round stock.

that means if your Pin to Pin center is the correct 33.5 your Inner Rocker to Rockers are 46 7/8 ( of course depends if its top of rockers or bottoms, mine are tapered down a hair maybe not even a 1/16 of taper


6.687 x 2 + 33.5 = 46.874

that means if your Pin to Pin center is the correct 33.5 your Inner Rocker to Rockers are 46 7/8 ( of course depends if its top of rockers or bottoms, mine are tapered down a hair maybe not even a 1/16 of taper


6.687 x 2 + 33.5 = 46.874
Just ran down, rough measurement was 46 27/32 inner to inner from bottom

Okay thanks! I will compare mine to that and see what I have. :thumbsup:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore145.jpg



Awesome work. I also like the wreaths...creates a very soothing work environment..I think I will try that as well :)

Awesome work. I also like the wreaths...creates a very soothing work environment..I think I will try that as well :)


"Soothing".....:boring::yes:

For some reason I think they must be up on the wall to keep wifee-poo pleased. :D I wanted to comment on that as welll a little while ago. Nice decorating touch....

Hey Cory I take it that you are blasting you car section by section. Are you blasting yourself? Car looks great so far. I love the progress.

Hey Cory I take it that you are blasting you car section by section. Are you blasting yourself? Car looks great so far. I love the progress.
Yea, I am doing the blasting myself. I am cleaning up some metal today then hope to epoxy tomorrow. I am stuck on rather to replace the rear filler panel or not. There is more pitting than I like in the window channel.

"Soothing".....:boring::yes:

For some reason I think they must be up on the wall to keep wifee-poo pleased. :D I wanted to comment on that as welll a little while ago. Nice decorating touch....
Yea, we have no where else to store them w/o them getting crushed/tore up. So they get hung on my garage wall. I am blind to them now. Never even notice lol.

Arg! Rain is killing me. I cannot put a coat of epoxy on because it is suppose to rain all week. It looks like it can pore anytime. I got her in just in time before it pored yesterday to go to my dads birthday party.

I can completely relate! I was just outside doing some blasting, (aka Master Blaster) and it started to drizzle hard--out of nowhere! I had to do one of those "instant" clean ups and bring it all inside. Ugh!!!! The car too! Check my thread....

Cory, awesome work! you sure this is your first time restoring? Looks great, keep the pics coming! how long till the baby gets here? better get in as much work on the camaro as you can before you get put on diaper patrol!!!!!j/k:)

Cory, awesome work! you sure this is your first time restoring? Looks great, keep the pics coming! how long till the baby gets here? better get in as much work on the camaro as you can before you get put on diaper patrol!!!!!j/k:)


Ummmm yeah! He's right! :yes::D

Take it from me.

Cory, awesome work! you sure this is your first time restoring? Looks great, keep the pics coming! how long till the baby gets here? better get in as much work on the camaro as you can before you get put on diaper patrol!!!!!j/k:)

This is my second. My first will be 2 in Nov. I got the car a month before she was born. The good thing is I work from home so I keep her during the week. So I dont get the spend some time with your daughter speeches. That also opens me up to having atleast all day Sat and some of Sunday to work on the car. I have been pretty lucky so far.

The new one is due in Jan. This will be girl #2. So I am out numbered 4/1 if you count the dog. And you wonder why I have wreaths hanging in my garage.....

Yeah, i battle the "spend some time with us" speeches almost every weekend!!!

Finally got a nice day to prime. It turned out good. I took some pics of places I am going to have to work on.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore156.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore157.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore158.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore159.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore160.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore161.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore162.jpg

Lookin good Cory, hurry up and finish so you can come
do mine

Took a few months off for the birth of my 2nd daughter, but now I need to get back into the groove. It's hard to get motivated when there's always something else to do and there is no one pushing me but myself. I hope to get back at it this weekend. Looks like Somee took my website down too. I'll try to get my stuff back up.

Well started back working on my car finally. I was able to get the front roof brace from a donor. Took some time to get it out. Guess I'm rusty.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore163.jpg

cant wait to see this together, its gonna look great. :D

Cory--

Great to see you back in action! Congratulations on your new addition! I'm still getting used to having three children. Our twins are now 9 months old! Can you believe it? I haven't worked on my car since Nov. ughhh......

Enjoy the times and be as helpful as you can. Your wife needs you now most. CONGRATS!

Thanks guys.

Today I cut out the rust from the inner frame. I hope to graph new metal to it next weekend so I can start on the trunk in a couple of weeks. Here is it my only road block. I have to figure out what to do with this rust. This is the outter package tray. It only has a couple of pin hole in the other section of it, but this was ate up pretty bad.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/PTRust1.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/PTRust2.jpg

I didn't get as much done today because I took some extra time practice welding. It has been a while, but turned out great. I was able to weld my first patch in today and after grinding from the butt weld, there were no holes. Last time I did a buttwelld I had all kinds of holes to go back over and remember wanting to throw stuff. Pics inc!
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore165.jpg

Heres the spots I have left. I already have the metal cut and fitted, just need to weld.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore167.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore168.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore169.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore170.jpg

Cory---

Lookin' great! Those are the little details in a restoration that make the difference between a quicky-resto and a long-lasting quality one. :thumbsup: I applaud your efforts. (and I'm jealous that I'm not out there too! :mad:) :D

I should be back in action asap. Just some little to-do's in the way, and then I'm back in the swing of things!

It feels good to weld again. Nothing like TN humidity and heat while wearing a jacket, gloves, and mask.

Actually the Florida heat is probably like it or worse.... and on the humid side too. It gets brutal out there when I'm wear welding gloves, welding sleeves, welding helmet, a 3M welding respirator, and long jeans in the direct sunlight-- I mean brutal! It's hotter than a sauna and I usually lose some weight along the way.

Looking forward to seeing your progress again. :hurray:

I'm thinking the trunk, framerails, inner tail pan, and inner wheel wells after I get done fixing the inner structure. Then the 1 piece floor pan. Outter cowls. I need to see if I can fix my seat platforms before my floor pan though. One of them was ate up but I think I can replace the metal.

That's exactly how I tackled mine. I am stuck at this point now where I am fitting the inner tail panel and tail light panel to the new 1/4's. Not easy, but I know if I take one piece at a time, it will come together nicely in the end.

Didn't get to work on it Saturday, but since I am determined to atleast work on it once a week I spent a few hours outside on father's day to get a little more weldiing done. I wasn't worried about making it look perfect since it will not be seen.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore171.jpg

Slow and steady wins the race.

Little by little is better than nothing.

One step at a time young grasshoppa.

Pennies equal dollars.

Inch by inch.

Bit by bit.

A pile of crumbs equals a whole cookie.

One day at a time.


l:).....You get the point right? Lol!... Great job. I did the same thing on a few seams since they will never be seen again when the car's all assembled. Keep up the good work!

Finally got done with my patches
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore173.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore174.jpg

Now I need to decide what I want to paint the inside of my framerails with before I start fitting and welding the trunk and rails.

honestly I envy you. I am 1st in line to buy my uncles 67 rs thats been sitting in his garage since before i was born (i'm 19)!!! I've worked in a body shop last summer so i have a place to go and the help I need. just working on saving enough money up to make it all happen. So reading this thread and others like it just makes me want to work harder towards that goal. cant wait to see pics of yous done and mine getting started.

More fixes
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore175.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore176.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore177.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore178.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore179.jpg

honestly I envy you. I am 1st in line to buy my uncles 67 rs thats been sitting in his garage since before i was born (i'm 19)!!! I've worked in a body shop last summer so i have a place to go and the help I need. just working on saving enough money up to make it all happen. So reading this thread and others like it just makes me want to work harder towards that goal. cant wait to see pics of yous done and mine getting started.

Nice, I was in a rush when I picked this car up. Had it planned out to have all the sheet metal work done within a year......that didn't happen. Evertime I dug in, I found something new to fix. I went from patches to full panels. Now there will be no original panels left on the car. Goodluck with you car. If it needs work take your time, do it right. Most of all, keep it fun.

I fixed my last 2 rust throughs. Passenger side turned out good. I guess my welder was shooting too hot and I blew a few holes in my drivers side. PITA to fix them. Otherwise, I think I am done with my patch work. Next week I will need to blast a few parts. I will probably blast the temp primer off then spray epoxy my fixes, frame rails, donar roof support, and the bottom of my trunk pan.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore180.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore181.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore182.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore183.jpg

Looking great! and that's the same way I did things since I couldn't repair everything all at one time. Temporary prime, sand off, then epoxy prime. More work that way, but at least you'll keep the rust away as best as possible. Keep up the good work!

I'm back again. I had another long stretch of not finding time to do work on the car, but today I finally decided just to push it out in the nice weather and finishing sand blasting. I will put on the epoxy tomorrow. I might try to weld in the front inner roof brace before hand.

There's nothing more motivating than a refreshing burst of progress on the Camaro! Now I need to get back on the ball too... Glad to see you back in action. :)

Got the epoxy down on the blasted parts. I did ruff and epoxy the inside of the frame rails and the bottom of the full trunk where the frame rails weld to. I figured it's my next step so might as well get it too.

Question, besides epoxy, is should I coat the inside of the rails with something else? I do have Eastwoods version of POR. Would that be a good idea? or should I leave it at the epoxy?

It was recommended to me to coat the insides of the frame rails in rubberized undercoating on top of the epoxy. I waited for the epoxy to fully cure for 2 days and then sprayed the insides with rubberized undercoating and let them dry for another two days before welding them onto the trunk pan. When you do weld them in, you will smell the undercoating heating up, but at least they are coated and will be protected. I moved around from area to area letting them cool while welding them to the trunk pan.


I did the same thing for my inner and outer rocker panels.

Just my two cents. I am sure others will chime in after me with their methods and tips.

Anyone else not agree my next step is the trunk and both inner and outer wheelhouses? I thought I could just do the inner but notice it's not possible. So I guess I'll be trail fitting my trunk, both wheelhousings this weekend. Meaning I get to break out the quarters, doors and tail panel too just to test the outer wheelhousing lol.

Ok, today I made my wheelhouse brackets and started test fitting my trunk and wheelhousings. Here is the brackets I created.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore193.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore192.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore184.jpg

Test fitting. Still need some work but not too far off.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore185.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore186.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore187.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore188.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore189.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore190.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore191.jpg

Here is a question for anyone whom may know. How bad off will I be if I welded in the outer wheelhouses with out test fitting the quarters? My problem is my jig will not allow me to put the quarter on because of the supports. I could probably weld the inner in and the trunk and then take off my bracing but was hoping to get the outer welded in at the same time.

Cory-- your Camaro is looking awesome! Nice work! Neat worker too. :thumbsup:

As for the outers being welded in before the quarters-- I did that, but I did have to test-fit my quarters since the 69 models have squared-off wheel well tops in the quarters that match the outer wells. On a 67-68, it may not be necessary IF, and only IF you get them clocked in the correct position the first time around. It's a lot of work to redo those...

I would do some searching to check for pics of exactly how those outer wells are positioned. It gets critical where they meet the rockers I know. Maybe someone else will chime in and offer a good tip. You may just want to re-work your body cart so that it will allow you to test-fit your quarters with braces intact. It's kind of critical, and you'll need to do it later on anyway when fitting the rear end of the car together.

Looks excellent though.:yes:

Your wheel well brackets came out great too! I was going to make those on mine too, but I was able to re-use them. I had an idea for making them easier to weld in.

Why not bend all of the welding tabs outward so you can easily get to them when welding them in place? It's not like they will interfere with anything. Just an idea....

So my plan of attack is the frame rails, trunk and inner wheelhousings. After that I will move to the floor pan. Then I should be able to remove a lot of bracing and can test the quarters and outer wheelhousings. I will weld in the outer housings and my tulips. This should be a good place to seal and coat any of the inner stuctures.

I thought about that too Todd but you can get to the inside tabs through the inside pretty easy to plug weld them. I figure I will leave it looking as factory as I can.

That's what I ended up doing too. I left it factory and went through the hole just above the inner wheel well and rear seat partition wall.

Looks like you enjoy fabbing up pieces too. Great way to save money and keep the car as original as possible. I probably could've done that more for my resto, but my initial fear of rust returning was prominent back when I first started. Hindsight, I may do it a little more "purist" next time around when I find my '69 Convertible. :yes:

Turns out not only is the crossrail's top lip about 3/16'' wider on the passenger side, but the trunk is alteast 1/8'' shorter on that same side. This makes the crossrail stick out even worse. I squared up the front of the trunk floor. I believe it would be easier to fix the trunk in the back if this does cause any problems.

Cory-- I had a similar issue with my trunk floor rear edge not being uniform all the way across, so I had to improvise too. You probably won't find a perfect repro piece anywhere, so they all basically need some sort of tweaking or trimming to make work. i have learned that with just about every piece I have replaced on my Camaro. Crazy...

Go for the best fit, clamp it, check it again, then tack 'er in place. Check it, weld it forever. Trim or tweak to make look neat and then don't look back. Most of these seams and parts won't even be visible when the car is all done anyway.

Well the frame rails and trunk are all welded up. Took me a little longer than expected. I had welded up the top and filled a plug weld on the front and back brackets/supports for support. Then I was going to lift the trunk and rails out and flip it over to finish the welds on the bottom of the rails because I hate welding upside down. Well I filled in a couple then started to beat the rail down flush with the bracket/support and I hear "POP". The sound of a weld breaking. I figured it was just the one I spotted to flip it over since I welded it upside down but after I pried a little on one of the other 3 welds another one popped. So I drilled out the welds and I proceed to turn the welder as high as it will go. Ahhhhh that smell. That is some hot welds. Just to help some I ran 2 beads down the front brackets on each side connecting the bracket and the rail. I still have to clean the top of the pan but most of my hot bottom welds look pretty damn good. Almost flat. Put it back in the car and everything lined up just fine. I guess I will work on getting the inners fitted. I am out of temp primer, weld through primer, and my gas is almost empty. The little things add up quick.

Sounds great. That's a big step out of the way now that those three pieces are one! Much easier to handle and line up now. I remember it all too well. I know what you mean about those welding and building consumables adding up. I think I went through six 2 lb spools of welding wire already. I should have just bought the darn 10 lb spool to start with and saved a bunch of time reloading each one, and some money too. We live and learn. As long as we learn, it's cool. Making the same mistakes over and over again--not cool.:)

Well I am hoping to get some welding done Saturday. I will aim at getting the front inner roof brace in, the inner wheelhouses, and the inner parts of the outter cowl if I still have the some welding gas left. Then of course some grinding and smoothing. I still need to smooth out the top of my trunk.

Im doing this stuff in hopes to be able to remove most of my inside bracing so I can work on fitting and preping my floor next week. I am hoping I can either go through my front windshield or I will have to push the car out and jack it up and angle it from underneath.

If you decide to jack it up, please be super careful and have ample support or some extra people to help out. I remember lifting up my shell to transfer it to the steel body cart by myself and I was beyond careful to not have the shell crash down on me.

Like this?
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore13.jpg
Or this?
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore9.jpg

I had the FIL come in today so I didn't get much done. Just got the trunk cleaned up and temp primed. It is probably a good thing because I think I am going to change my plan of attack. After fighting with the inner wheelhouse for a couple of hours I have decided to put my floor in before I do any of the wheelhousings. Once the floor is in I should be able to take off my side supports and use my quarters to line it all up. So I will weld in my front inner brace tomorrow. Then I will prep the floor to be welded next week hopefully.

I got the front inner roof brace welded in today. Still need to clean up the welds. Little too much penetration on some of them.....that's what she said.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore194.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore195.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore196.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore197.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore198.jpg

Looking great! Being that you welded in that roof brace now, are you able to remove any of your cross bracing that you welded in temporarily to make more room to work?


Would you mind posting a few pics of the tops of your A-pillars where they meet the roof braces at the front corners for me? I am currrently repairing mine and need to know exactly how they should look there.

I still have the donor corners so I took so pics of them too. If you need more let me know
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0065.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0066.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0067.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0068.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0069.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0070.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0071.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0072.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0073.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0074.jpg

I sincerely appreciate the pics, but I needed to see the outside view instead.:D My inside braces are all like new too. I just blasted and epoxied them all yesterday.

I mainly need pics of where the a-pillar top is, along side the window opening. I need to know where the pillar stops and the roof panel begins.

This? Don't mind the welds. I was having a burn issue and wanted to make sure I got penetration. If you need another angle let me know. I had taken his one earlier.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/DSC_0075.jpg

Yes, that's the angle I needed. Up close of the very top of the pillar is where I want to see so I know how much to trim off so it meets up with the roof corner correctly. I guess I could wait until I get the new roof panel in hand.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/DSC_0065.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/DSC_0066.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/DSC_0067.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/DSC_0068.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/DSC_0069.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/DSC_0070.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/DSC_0071.jpg

Cory--- Those pics are perfect and just what I needed! :thumbsup: Thanks so much for taking the time to do that for me. It looks like I still need to melt away some lead on the tops of the A-pillars where it connected to the roof panel. I just wasn't sure where it ended and the roof began. Awesome reference pics. Thanks again!:beers:

What do you guys think of this idea. I am thinking of cutting the rear piece of my jig off. I will weld in a sleeve so it can be reattached. I will install some sort of adjustable stand for the jig in the front and under the front of the frame rails. This will make it where I can level it if I need, but the main reasoning behind this is I can pull the back of the jig out after I get my floor fitted. Right out the back with it still attached to the rails and trunk. Flip it over and weld the rails to the pan and the top of the trunk. It will look just like the one piece floor and trunk you can buy. Then I can slide it all back in from the rear and reinstall the rear part of the jig.

I have some really stong and thick 1'' tubing. I can weld it the the four flat sides of the jig to act like a sleeve.

I am considering using the same 1'' tubing and running it vertical at the bottom of the jig about an inch short of the ground. Use some angle steel, drill a hole in it, weld a nut to it, then use a nice sized bolt to level up my jig.

As long as you measure carefully and tackweld the sleeves in place before separating the rear portion, it should work fine. Double-check your measurements before cutting or welding anything. Sounds like a good idea to me. The sleeves would have to be long enough so that there will not be any flexion in the bodycart too. Or bolted in on one end and welded in on the other. Just some things I thought of now...

This is why removed the middle cross-support on my bodycart under the frame rails. It creates more work space and is really not needed.

I was going to weld the sleeves on one side and bolt the other like you said. I will probably redo my wheel setup and put a set in the center to support the car while the back piece is removed. Leave 4 in the front and 2 int he middle and 2 in the back. I figure the weight in the front will increase when I start fitting my fenders and hood.

I figure the only way to do it right would be to cut one side of the square tubbing about an 1/8 of an inch in, then weld the support on the cut side. Cut the oposite side the same then weld and bolt. Then do the same for the top and bottom. This should keep me square. I might cut a couple of 16g sheet metal squares to fill the gap made from the cut so the pieces will have something to sit flush against.

On a side note, my back bracing was not put in an "particular" spot. I just put it there to support the weight of the trunk. My main lines are the middle and front support. This makes it a little less critical.

been reading through your build. project looks great keep up the good work!

Thanks J-Rod

You were very smart to retain your side trunk gutters in original position during this resto. I will do that for sure next time around. You can't imagine how much mystery that eliminates. Nice work so far--it's looking like a new car already. I just paroozed through your thread from start to finish again ( mainly the pics) to refresh the memory of just how far you've come.

Thanks Todd, I'm just glad to get back into working on it. Had too much down time this summer.

I know the feeling...

With regard to my a-pillar tops, I think I just need to melt the lead away and then the true ends will appear. Thanks again for the pics.:beers:

I used a flattip screw driver and a hammer and just tapped the edge. It came out in chunks

I will give it a try. It's much safer not to heat up the lead. I'm already a bit kooky:wacko:. :D

I am finally done with the changes I wanted to my jig. Now the back bracing is removable and I moved the wheels to better locations for better support.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore199.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore200.jpg

So I made of list of the metal work I have left. Just to see it on paper shows how far I have come along in the process and it helps. This is what I have left and I am putting it in rough order of how I am going to complete them.

Floor
Outter cowls
Crossrail
Wheelhousing
Upper Dash
Seat braces, original if salvagable
Drip rails, still need to purchase

That is my primary list. After this I only have panels left. The seat braces could move up, but I still need to clean up the ones I have and see if I can salvage them.

After these items are complete I will move to the following:
Quarters
Tail Panel, Original
Filler Panel, still need to purchase
Roof

Anyone see an issue with the order? I wonder if I should put the filler panel in before the quarters.

So I made of list of the metal work I have left. Just to see it on paper shows how far I have come along in the process and it helps. This is what I have left and I am putting it in rough order of how I am going to complete them.

Floor
Outter cowls
Crossrail
Wheelhousing
Upper Dash
Seat braces, original if salvagable
Drip rails, still need to purchase

That is my primary list. After this I only have panels left. The seat braces could move up, but I still need to clean up the ones I have and see if I can salvage them.

After these items are complete I will move to the following:
Quarters
Tail Panel, Original
Filler Panel, still need to purchase
Roof

Anyone see an issue with the order? I wonder if I should put the filler panel in before the quarters.


Ahhhhhh-- the all fortuitous list concept. :D I do the same thing too. It helps me think and plan it out instead of keeping it all jumbled up and circulating in my mind. It looks good to me. That's just about the same as what I plan to do too.

My seat mounting brackets are good and could easily be cleaned up, but in the interest of expediting this resto a little bit, I chose to spring for the new ones in the spirit of one of the last major panel purchases I did. Just think of it this way, all those spot welds you drilled out can be used for the new plug welds. Just clean them up and go... I probably should've done that in the interest of budget, but... eh... I am getting too anxious being that I have been waiting since 1996. :o

Yea the metal for 95% of the braces are good, the part that welds to the floor and a smal section on the vertical part is rusted through. The one that looks semi cleaned was a test subject for a vacuum siphon blaster.....Needless to say I traded it for a pot blaster lol.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/Seatbrace1.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/Seatbrace2.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/Seatbrace3.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Parts/Seatbrace4.jpg

Those do look salvagable but they will need a new strip of 14-16 ga. steel welded along the one bad edge to be strong again. You can start by cleaning up the edges with a hammer and dolly, then smoothing off any burrs and cleaning up around the holes with a roloc disc or angle grinder, then cut off any heavily pitted metal and make the patches to freshen them up. As long as they are not heavily pitted throughout, you're okay to fix them. After all, they are responsible for holding your seat down (and you) in the car, so don't save them if they are weak... If not, they are only about $100 for the pair to get fresh new ones. A drop in the bucket compared to the entire resto.

You can blast them and then hit them with epoxy primer and then a quick topcoat of Rustoleum paint to protect them further before welding them down. I just did this to mine *even though they are brand new repros just to be safe.

I attached a pic of my new ones after scuffing the EDP with 180 grit, coating them in epoxy primer, then giving them a top coat of Rustoleum #7777 (through my spray gun). The other pic is of my original driver side seat bracket. It's actually pretty nice, but I just got the itch for new ones while ordering the other parts.:)

Took everything out today and began my prep. The flange/punch tool from Northern Tool is great. All I have left is drilling the holes in the framerails. I trimmed 1/8'' off the rear lip, have the weld through primer spayed, and the undercoating inside the frame rails. I left everything out tonight in the garage in hopes to start welding tomorrow.

Prep work never ends. I spent almost all day Sunday drilling more holes. My punch only does 3/16 so I have to drill them out. The punch will not reach far in on the floor so I had to drill more holes a little deeper. The edge that welds to the rockers looks like swiss cheese. Other than that the floor sat down against the passenger side frame rail and is 1/4 off the drivers side and I wasn't really wasn't trying that hard.

Saturday will be operation 300+ plug weld. Wish me luck.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but after looking at your plug welds just now on your roof braces, it looks like you weld exactly like I used to. (not enough heat or moving too quickly)... It causes the welds to be high and pile up-- believe me, I know :). Since increasing the heat on my welder, and taking it slowly while completing the spiral pattern in each plug weld, they have been red hot, flat (or much flatter), and the penetration is outstanding so I know they are stronger too. *I just want your car to turn out the best it can be--especially if you are doing that many. I figure, why not mention it and help you make them better if I can ?

Try a few on some scrap pieces of metal the same gauge if you have, and you'll see what I mean. You'll be proud of them and happy you did. I was.

I drill mine out to 1/4" after using my 3/16" air punch too. I make sure the surface of the bottom piece showing through the punched hole is super clean with a roloc disc, and right around the punched hole as well.

When I start my plugs, I start in the center and sit the welding torch there for about two seconds or less, and then begin to spiral outwards to complete the filling process while pulling the puddle around to fill the hole. Once you have filled the hole--stop! Then you are done and left with a nice flat plug that is slightly domed over the surface. I used to continue too long and "over-weld" each plug causing a high pile of weld--which does two things... wastes welding wire, and creates a TON of grinding which takes lots of time.

Hope this helps and I apologize if I overstepped if you know all of this already.

I like any advice. I don't mind. I actually lay flat welds when I work with new metal. I have issues getting the welder set when older metal is involved. That brace was thin and I kept burning it away. I had some over penetration on most of them welds, and when I turned it down then I was balling up.....not getting enough penetration. My trunk welds when nice and flat. I didn't even have to grind the frame rail welds.

I do plan on doing some practice vertical welds before I start. It's been a while since I had to do them. The good thing is this is all new metal. So burn away shouldnt be an issue.

Well I had my suspicions, and today I confirmed it with a phone call. My gas canister they gave me looked funny when I swapped it last time. I didn't think much about it. Then for some reason after talking about my welds it got me thinking about it again. I called and confirmed they gave me 100% argon and from what I read it's not good to weld with pure argon. I welded in the front roof brace with the 100% argon. I checked the welds and they are solid but I want to ask.........would useing 100% argon cause any unseen issues? Should I take the brace off, or should it be ok? Like I said. the welds are solid, and there was good penetration, it just took a lot of weld to make it work. But after cleaning then up, they looked fine.

It shouldn't cause any issues except maybe poor looking welds. As long as the penetration looks ok you should be alright. 100% argon is used for alluminum.

They let me swap out the bottles. I now have a 75/25 argon/co2. I'm glad I caught it before I started welding my floor this weekend.

Well I ran into a problem. I got the rails pulled to the rear torque boxes and welded it up. The back lines up good and I will need to do some work welding it to the rockers, but I am no at all happy with the fit to my firewall/toepanels. It's probably just me being picky, but on the drivers side where the lump is comming off the tunnel is off about 1/2''.

I know what the problem is. When I welded in the patch panels I had nothing to go by. The old ones were rust up so far I had to guess. And I bet I was off 1/2'' on the drives side. It comes together all the way across with plenty to weld but the slope will have to be worked if I leave it as is.

Here is my conundrum. Besides the patch being off some, my torque boxes has some holes from rust I was planning on welding up. I am considering just replacing the whole firewall. I know it comes with new torque boxes so it would kill 2 problems.

Any sugestions? I dont have the cash now to get it but I could weld the floor up in the rear and to the rockers. Then support the front, remove the firewall, and work on the wheelhousings till I get the cash. What do you guys think? I will get some pics up in a bit.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Toepanel.jpg

Is your firewall that bad? I don't remember it specifically. I think they repro those lower pieces. Maybe only for a '69?

Its not that bad, but when I welded the patch panels in, it wouldn't fit directly, so I had to cut out the corners, where is fits into the rocker, and buttweld it back together. So I buttwelded the main patch and the corners back to the patch. I figured it would be covered with carpet anyways. I might consider just the torque boxes.

Another question, why do people get the deletes in the firewall? Does antique air not use the blower motor, or am I missing something? I have 4 seasons where I live so I will need heat.

Most of the vintage air system is contained under the dash. Only the hoses and electric route through the firewall to simplify and clean up the exterior surface of the firewall. Different strokes for different folks. I am a fan of the original a/c and heat systems myself. I just like to have that part remaining original. They are not the best and far from the new technologies that are out today, but that's just what I like--and that's what it comes down to in the end. It's your car. :yes:

Todd, I think that link to npd is a 69 only item? Seen a pic of them b4 and I don't think that is what Cory is looking for. I believe he needs the reinforced area where the subframe bolts to, which as far as I know are only available with repo firewall.

What link? ;) Why doesn't everyone own a '69 to make things alot easier. :D

Todd, I think that link to npd is a 69 only item? Seen a pic of them b4 and I don't think that is what Cory is looking for. I believe he needs the reinforced area where the subframe bolts to, which as far as I know are only available with repo firewall.

I think I looked for them before and no one made them. It's funny because they weld them to the firewall but don't sell them seperatly.

They upper part of my firwall is in pretty good shape. The only issue I saw was a crack where the emergency brake hooks to. I was going to weld that up. I hate spending more money but I will also hate not replacing the subframe torque boxes. I did clean them up and put a rust converter on them and a couple of coats of Eastwood's version of POR. That is thick metal so welding up the holes is certainly still an option.

I find myself never happy unless I think it is the best it can be. I considered replacing the firewall twice before but always needed the cash for other metal. I now have all my metal so it's a viable option. I hate paying freight though......to think I have already payed freight twice for metal on this car.

What link? ;) Why doesn't everyone own a '69 to make things alot easier. :D

You know the answer. 67's are faster, thats why they have wings:yes:

You know the answer. 67's are faster, thats why they have wings:yes:

Lol... Or did they need the wings to help boost their speed back then? :D

69's don't need-no stinkin' wings. :noway: ;) Good times... :beers:

YouTube - We don't need no stinking badges!

Lol... Or did they need the wings to help boost their speed back then? :D

69's don't need-no stinkin' wings. :noway: ;) Good times... :beers:

YouTube - We don't need no stinking badges! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqomZQMZQCQ&NR=1)

67 has wings...69 has gills

aquaman has gills too. :D and he's pretty cool!

YouTube - Aquaman - The Rampaging Reptile-Men#!

Well this was no easy task by any means. It seems like the drivers side seatbelt plate/bolt was a little off. Well I didn't figure this out till I had welded most of the rails to the floor already. So I had to notch the rail because even though it was just barely catching it, it would not pop in there. I tried eveything but I didn't have much leverage since I had welded most of the rail up already. So I notched it and welded it back up. Worked out well, but it took forever to figure out why the bracket was refusing to lay against the rail.

My inverted welds turned out really well. I only had to grind the weld I made to fill in the notch and one other.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore207.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore208.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore209.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore210.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore211.jpg
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http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore213.jpg

It's been a while since I checked in on your progress... Looking good there. It's nice to have a solid floor in place attached to those rails huh? :yes: Nice recovery on the seat belt bolt mount plate. It happens. Check out what I just went through... and I am alot further in the resto too. (it began waaaaaay back with my outer rockers being 1/4" too far forward! DOH!).... it's all in the thread...

Hope you are making some good progress again to kick off the new year. Post up some pics when you get a chance.

Thanks Todd. Yes it is nice to have the rails all welded up. Makes the car a lot more stable. I cannot wait till I can cut the side supports off so I can test my quarters.

It's been below 30 on everyday I can work on the car. I am trying to wait for a semi warm (40+) weekend to get out and finish up welding the floor to the rockers.

I have to open my garage door when I weld and grind otherwise I set off my fire detectors pissing off the better half. It always goes off when my youngest is taking a nap. I also lack sufficient heating and numb fingers make it hard to weld well.

It is suppose to be 43 and sunny this weekend. I hope to get it done.

Man that gives me the chills just thinking about those temperatures. I was watching the weather yesterday and saw that 69% of the United States was covered in SNOW! Amazing factoid... Florida, luckily is not one of the states. :rolleyes: I used to live up north so I can understand why you are not keen on getting out there right now. Brrrrrrr!:(

Welding up under the car suuuuuuucks. I am in pain from being in weird positions. I need to get a an auto darkening helmet. I use the one recommended by MartinSR I believe. The one with the chin control. Its not good when you are wearing a fume mask.

That being said, I got about half of the passenger side welded up. I think I am going to try to raise the car some when I go back at it. I had a nice piece of red hot weld fall on my neck. After I had enough of it sitting there I was able to move it to my chest. After some burning there then I let it burn my stomach till I was able to rid of it from my shirt. Good times eh?

I'm happy that you got some progress done on your floor seams, but MAN it's painful to have those hot slag balls drop on you like that! Ask me how I know.... :sad:

When I first started to weld about 3 years ago, a beebee-sized slag ball dropped onto my sneaker, burned right through it, then onto my sock, burned right through it!--- then INTO my foot---where it still resides to this day! :( I have yet to have a doctor remove it for some dumb reason. That hurt like H3LL---and between wearing my 3M half-mask, auto-darkening helmet, heavy welding gloves, welding sleeves, holding a diagonal cutting pliers, and the welding torch--- I had no choice but to take the pain when it happened.... much like you did by letting it roll down from your neck to your stomach. I cringed when I read that... oooooH! :sad: No fun at all!:noway: I agree...

There should be a forum on here where we can post up pics of our restoration battle scars. That would be interesting...:wacko:

Ouch, yours seems worse than mine. I had one burn through my shoe and it went between my toes. I got lucky though and after burning there for a second or two it burned through the bottom of my sock into the sole of my shoe.

The one that fell into my thumb most recently was even worse....but that's another story. :)

Okay--really quick.... I was doing the inverted welds along the cross rail (inner tail panel) when a slag ball dropped right into the hole in my welding glove (thumb). It didn't sink in, but burned a nice-sized cavity that cordorized (spelling?) itself so it never bled---but WOW! did that one burn! Hot soup comin' through! Choooo chooooooooooo! :o I had the wire speed set a little too fast so the slag ball had to go somewhere right? oye!!!!!

Needless to say I went out the next day and bought a new pair of welding gloves. :D :thumbsup: Lesson learned....

Finally got back into it again. This week and last I was able to finish the floors up. Welded both sides to about a 1' away from the firewall.

I got one of the nice Hobart auto darkening mask from TSC and it does make a big difference. I also picked up my firewall Friday.

I am off the week after next. I hope to finish cleaning the welds under the car, brace the front, and remove my old firewall. If time allows I will put my new firewall in. No new picks because it looks the same.

I got the old firewall out. Prepped all the metal and ran out of weld through primer. I got my wife picking me up so cold galv rust-oleum so I can finish up putting in my new firewall tomorrow. I picked up a 68 firewall. Hopefully it will work fine. I'll get picks up later.

Well the only problem I see is the firewall goes too high and covers part of the wiper motor hole. I will need to trim it up. Here is the picks.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore220.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore219.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore221.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore222.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore218.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore223.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore224.jpg

I got everything welded yesterday. Firewall is completely installed. I went back later and test fitted my outer cowl and noticed there is a 1/2'' gap where the cowl meets the firewall. The top part where the rocker brace and the torque box is. I noticed it stuck out a little but figured since the torque box is where it needed to be I would be close...I was wrong. Now I need to figure out how to work that in. Its will not be easy since its the torque box and the firewall metal together. It also looks like they welded the firewall a little high on the torque boxes but it was close enough to not completely take it apart. I will get a pic of the affected area. Maybe someone has had this issue and can give me some advice. I'm guessing I will have to drill out the top weld and probably the second one too and just try to work that metal in with some love taps.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore225.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore226.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore227.jpg

I had a similar space there too on mine... don't worry. Even from the factory, there was a ton seam sealer there on my original firewall absorbing the gap there. That's what it's for. BUT-- I did minimize the gaps there by tapping and molding the metal into shape making it a tighter fit. Does your firewall lean back a bit when looking at it from the side? From what I have seen, they all do...

I had a similar space there too on mine... don't worry. Even from the factory, there was a ton seam sealer there on my original firewall absorbing the gap there. That's what it's for. BUT-- I did minimize the gaps there by tapping and molding the metal into shape making it a tighter fit. Does your firewall lean back a bit when looking at it from the side? From what I have seen, they all do...
Yep, only on that one side. It did it with my original firewall too so I didn't think much of it.

I figured I would jump in here with an update of my progress. Pictures are better than words.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore228.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore229.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore230.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore231.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore232.jpg

Your firewall and cowl boxes look awesome! I bet you're glad those panels are welded in place now... Looking great. How are you adjusting to the new place after the move and all?

Your firewall and cowl boxes look awesome! I bet you're glad those panels are welded in place now... Looking great. How are you adjusting to the new place after the move and all?

Thanks! I am in the same place. Haven't moved since purchasing the car. My breaks came from new little ones being born.

Finally got a break from the heat thanks to some rain. It has been around 95 here for the last few weekends so I missed the last 3 of 4 weeks.

Today I played catch up and ground all my welds, cleaned and put on my temp primer. I can sleep at night now knowing my welds are not exposed. My next step is hopefully an easy one. Drip rails. I have my old ones and I marked them before removal so the new ones should go on easy.........hopefully.

Finished up the firewall and cowl. Then got my drip rails welded in and finished.

I will be moving to the inner tail panel and drop offs this weekend. Hope to get them fitted and prepped, then welded in next weekend. Its been hot as hell. I need to get some cooling for my garage. I saw the heat index is up to 110 around here. Humidity you can cut with a knife.

Heres some pics.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore233.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore234.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore235.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore236.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore237.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore238.jpg

Cory: Quick question, if I may. After blasting the metal, what prep did you do before shooting the epoxy primer? I'm at the point where I'm about ready to spray epoxy on my project.

Got a little time in the car. Just mostly fitting but here is some pics

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore239.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore240.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore241.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore242.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore243.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/Restore244.jpg

So the hinges seem to sag some and one person hanging a door sucks. So I had my wife come out and took a pic with me lifting on the door. Lines are nice. I was pleasantly surprised.

On the other hand, I am having a fit getting the inner/outer wheel wells lined up to my liking. I don't know if I am just being to picky or what. I get the inner in and lined up good and the outer refuses to fit right. Mainly trying to get the guide holes semi lined up. One of my drop offs is complety off and the other I have an issue getting the bottom of the outer to make good contact. The trunk lip that welds to the tail panel is not at the right angle. I am using my original tail panel and when I put it up to it, the bottom was almost flush, maybe 1/8'' off when the top was 1/2'' off so that is going to take some work.

Anyone have any advice dealing with the inner/outer wheel wells? I was thinking about welding the together outside the car then going from there since its not working the other way.

Or should I put on my inner tail panel and drop offs first?

P.S. Sorry Gary I didn't answer your question. I got side tracked for a while and didn't check in. If it matters, I just blew off my car really well after I blaster/roughed up the metal, then wiped it down with waterborne cleaner until the rag stopped showing dirt. Then I sprayed the epoxy primer. Southern polyurethane told me that is what they recommended.

Cory, Try screwing the wheel houses together with sheet metal screws before
welding them together. Then see how they fit. For the tail panel area, the
inner panel welds to the frame rails and kind of sets the tone for the rest of
the sheet metal. Use lots of vise grip type clamps and don't be afraid to pull
the panels together. Just don't deform them. Did you position the quarters
with the doors adjusted to the old quarters ? Everything ends up an assembly
so all contact points have to be worked together. You can't just do one area
without consideration for the others. Just trying to help if I can.

I left the hinges on the door, but just hung the door to see how close I was and too entertain myself :yes:. When I get ready to fit the quarters to weld I will try to piece the front end together as much as possible to get my lines and gaps right. The car was thrown together when I got it and the quarter had 1/2'' of bondo in it from the wheel to the jamb.

I need to get something done, so I am taking Al's advice and decided to do my inner tail panel before I do my inner/outer wheel wells. I got it fitted and prepped today hoping to weld it in tomorrow. Feeling a little under the weather today but I really want to get back to working on my car. I wanted to get everything done up to the panel work before 12/31.

I plan on taking some time off around then to clean off all my temp primer, rough up the current primer and anything else that's not primed, and putting one final epoxy coat on. Then finish all the metal that will be under panels with POR or some type of sealer. Start the new year working on the panels and subframe/rearend.

Nice to see some updates. :yes:

Thanks Rod. I think my wife is out for me. She seems to plan stuff so I cannot work on my car.......But I told her how it was.....aka asked politely and finally got my inner tail panel welded in and cleaned up today.:hurray:

Today I worked on what is suppose to be the inner wheel well DS but it is completely a terrible repo. Rick/FrostWhiteZ came over and helped me try to get this thing close. It is not wide enough where it fits into the rocker and I think it messes up the back. I'm pretty sure there needs to be 3/4'' to an 1'' gap between the back edge of the inner to the outer part of the trunk where the drop off welds too. Its causing my outer to not line up to the drop off. I reshaped the rocker side and it now fits tight there. That and beating the trunk lip back where the back part of the inner gave me about 1/2'' there but I still need at least another 1/4'' to get enough lip to weld the outer to the drop off.

Anyone else have this issue? Seems like the PS inner has the correct gap when I test fitted it today.

Cory, Can you post a couple of pics ? I'm not following completely. Many people
have had varying degrees of problems with inner, outer wheel houses and
drop offs. The drop offs can be reshaped fairly easily. Wheel houses are another
story. I had to beat the hell out of my DS outer. Some have had to slice
the outers and add or remove material.

I'll try to get some pics up within the hour

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW1.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW2.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW3.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW4.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW5.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW6.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW7.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW8.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW9.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW10.jpg

Cory, The drop off flange to inner wheel house is not to be tight. That area
was filled with seam sealer (a lot of it), from the factory. Like at least 1/2"
gap. The inner does need to be tight to the trunk, up to the curve leading into
the drop off. That area was spot welded. The outer wheel house is suppose to
be tight, or very close to it, to the rocker. Looks to me like you need to reform
the flange on the inner wheel house where it mates with the outer wheel house
on the front edge. Before you modify anything permanently set the quarter panel
on to see how it might be affected. I hope this helps and makes sense.
I'll try to edit your pics and post them but it's getting late tonight.

Cory,
I don't know if it helps, but there are good pics of the wheel houses on Todd's build. http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=189495&page=6 He posted them yesterday.

Cory, Here's edited pics with notes on my thoughts. You may also need to
roll the rocker inward. I strongly suggest you set the quarter panel on to use
as a guide. I had a hell of a time with my left outer wheel house. The swealing
from factory forming was a mess. I had to cut and grind it quite a bit to get
it to fit properly in the rocker. My rockers are original. I'm not a professional so
take these suggestions as you like.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/allanjs/Camaro-67/Cory/Cory-1.jpg

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/allanjs/Camaro-67/Cory/Cory-2.jpg

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/allanjs/Camaro-67/Cory/Cory-3.jpg

I went at it again last night and I think I found what was causing the issue with the back lining up. I don't think you can see it in the pics(3rd pic down, at the top where the inner and outer come together) but the top lip of the outer, the inch overhang at the top that rest inside the inner, is too long. When I forced it into place it caused it to come out of the inner top part(shaped like and upside down L).

I will test the quarter today when I can get an extra set of hand and see how it fits before I trim it though. The front, other than where Al says needs to be reformed a little still looks solid. After I add the little piece missing from repo rockers the gap between the outer and rocker will be smaller.


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW12.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW13.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW14.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Misc/WW15.jpg

I fit the quarter on there today and the outer was way off. The arch was too steep at the top part of the outer where it meets the quarter. It was no where close. I messed with it some more and got it close but I think the wheel wells on the DS will need some major tweaking.

Cory, Sorry say to that's not unusual. Keep at it. You will get it.

Hey Cory. Great work. Have you looked into CLECO FASTENERS? They are very useful for those of us who work alone.

Hey Cory. Great work. Have you looked into CLECO FASTENERS? They are very useful for those of us who work alone.

Thanks for the encouragement. I have a set but when I tried using them when installing my floor they kept popping loose. I might break them out since it seems I need to test fit both sides with quarters and the tail panel to make sure everything is lining up right.

Even though whenever someone asks me what I want for my BD or Christmas I say vise grips, I never get any :confused:

Redec, I just joined this site today, but I have been restoring my '68 for sometime now, and finding your thread and going through it is exactly what I have gone through. And I am at about the same point you are. I had some serious problems with both of my outers lining up as well, and had to do some serious beating and working to make them fit. Boy am I glad to see I am not the only one that went through that! Your car looks great and strikingly familiar! And I agree with never having enough Vise-Grips!

I'm sure you feel or have felt the same way as I do spc78, So close to being done with inner structure so we can start on panels. :beers:

I think to be safe I am going to clean up my original tail panel this weekend first, then test fit the inners and outers with the both quarters and tail panel on. Then go from there.

I actually did my entire passenger side first (outer rocker, door, wheel wells, drop off, and quarter) before I moved to the drivers side. So there was at least some sense of gratification when it all fit and looked great. But then came the realization that the same exact tedious process had to be done on the drivers side! Thankfully I am in the process of fitting the final pieces together on that side. There is some light at the end of the tunnel! (I think):confused:

No huge updates. I have spent many hours(more than I would admit) fitting the inner and outer and still am not satisfied with where I am. There is a 1 inch (vertical) gap where the bottom of the quarter is suppose to weld to the drop off. It's the same on both sides. I am guessing the outer is causing this. I will keep trying to remedy it am hope to make some progress towards actually welding this weekend or next.

Other news: I picked up an 8.5 rear end off a 73 Omega. It acted like a posi but after taking the cover off it turns out not to be. At least I have a housing now. Only payed $44 for it.

I also have a chance to grab a 454 out of a 76 dually. Not sure the condition yet but it will be complete for ~150. I will go pick it up this weekend if I decide I want it.

Here is some pics of the gaps I am referring to.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/WW16.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/WW17.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/WW18.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/WW19.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/WW20.jpg

I used to have the same gaps on my lower quarters too. Check your outer wheel house position because that solved it on mine. *(although-- I have a '69 Camaro and the tops of the wheel houses are straight instead of rounded)... But anway, the outer wheel house may be protruding out too far preventing the lower half of the quarter from tucking in towards the drop off.

I had to do some trimming down there as well to make it look pretty and flush at all seams. I wanted it to look clean-- no overlaps or extra metal edges sticking out. After doing some tweaking, I was able to simply clamp it to the drop off without any issues. Trial and error, test-fit and tweak... redo... etc...:)

I have done a lot of work and have finally got the drivers side close, but now I have a question. There is 3 angles on the bottom of the quarter. Here is a pick. I figured it should meet at the 2nd angle and not the 3rd. Am I being to picky or is this normal?

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/WW27.jpg

Went back at it. Made one more adjustment and got it in place. Wow talk about a PITA

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e94/Redec/Car/WW30.jpg

been reading this from the beginning. Just want to make sure: do you plan on reusing the original rear panel ? I understand there is a lot of spotwelds to cut but then again, if you're patient, it's the next best thing to a NOS rear. Is that what you're planning to do ?

been reading this from the beginning. Just want to make sure: do you plan on reusing the original rear panel ? I understand there is a lot of spotwelds to cut but then again, if you're patient, it's the next best thing to a NOS rear. Is that what you're planning to do ?

I have my rear panel out and its in decent shape. I was planning on using it, but after doing some test fitting I notice there has been some work done to the DS around the taillight. I am probably going to pick up one on the new tooling panels they have. They are suppose to be a lot better than the old repos. I will use my original one to cut my RS light holes then I will probably try to sell it to someone who is better at repairing old parts and need an original. I have replaced so many parts already. So it's not really a big deal anymore to try to keep original panels.

thanks for the pics of the front roof support area, answered the question i had while putting mine back together last night! i had to cut the whole roof side structure out of a donor car....talk about being nervous but seems to be working out!