I bought a 67 Camaro project car in...2000? I think. I found a girl who didn't like it, married her, sold it to my dad to pay bills, got divorced (best idea ever), paid off a bunch of debt, found another girl who didn't mind it but I didn't have the extra money to buy ti back, now with another girl who supports it, and will have the money to buy it back and finish it most likely by the end of September.

.

My dad isn't dead-set on my buying it back, but I don't want to just start workingon it again without squaring up with him. He's basically been holding it for me, garaged, for about 4 years.

What I need is some help figuring out what I need, how much it'll cost to do what I want, what will work best for my money, and what will be a waste of money.

What I want from this project..

I want to take what I have and make it a decent-looking car capable of driving across the country and back. That's my dream. U.S. Route 60 from where I'm at in WV all the way to the California state line, up the Pacific Coast highway, then take it home via the fastest roads possible. I'm not interested in any fabulous restoration, but I want a solid car that I'm not worried about driving. I don't need screaming horsepower. I'd be ecstatic if it made 300hp and had some solid torque, but driveability and reliability are the most important thing. Camaros get all the attention they could ever want, just while parked..LOL

What I have..

I bought this car for $3,800 in 2000. What I got was..

-A complete car from firewall back
-Subframe attached (bent up from a crash)
-No inner or outer fenders
-Cracked-block 327 (found that out later)
-Good condition GM double hump heads (allegedly from a Corvette)
-A hood in good condition
-4 bald tires with basic steel wheels (not rally wheels..just junk wheels)
-an old transmission
-A couple rally fender extensions

I think that's all. I probably got screwed in the deal, but whatever..live and learn.

What I managed to get done before I met *her*..

-Found a used '70 Nova subframe with disc brakes, cleaned it up, added polygraphite bushing kit and shocks. You know when you hear about a "legend" junkyard full of classic cars? Well it exists, in WV. The man had no less than 30 Novas and Camaros in various states of decay (good and bad), along with lots of other stand-alone parts, and about 15 of those mid-80's Chevy Scottsdale pickups that everyone still loves. It was like something out of a dream.

-Replaced rotten sections of floor pans
-purchased used inner fenders
-rebuilt a 2 bolt main 350 (355 now I suppose) and the heads, with a Wolverine Cam (not sure on the specs. Machine shop said it was mildly hot and the motor would be in the 300hp range, but who knows)
-Traded the transmission for a freshly rebuilt TH400 and $225
-Bought a new heater core
-Cleaned up the firewall, removed windshield and interior
-Added a power steering pump

I think that's it.

The interior is complete and in good condition. It could use a new dash pad. The gas tank is pretty rusty. To be honest, I'd love to have at least a 4 speed (but 5 would be awesome) in this car and if it's not a completely crazy and expensive job, I'd love to have someone explain how to do it. I think I got an oil pump. I'm not interested in getting super expensive parts, but I don't want junk. I'll hunt down quality USED parts whenever possible, and I'm capable of rebuilding a carb and most anything else (not a tranny I don't think)

This is what I KNOW I need..

-Fenders
-Grille assembly
-Radiator
-Dash Pad
-Brake lines, master cylinder
-Fuel lines
-Fuel tank, straps, fuel pump
-Carburetor (no idea how to choose that)
-full exhaust system including headers
-new leaf springs? (not sure about that)
-drum brake stuff (nominal)
-complete bolt kit
-carpet
-windshield and gaskets
-seatbelts?
-moderately priced, but nice-looking wheels and tires with a slightly more modern profile and size, but not slammed 20's.
-I need a media blast and respectable paint job. I can probably handle the prep work.

That's all I can think of at the moment.


I would love input on ANYTHING you can think of or think is important. I have my dad's help, and he's a professional mechanic and welder (industrial..not automotive) and jack of all trades. I'd like to take care of all of this (not including paint beyond primer) for less than $5,000 if that's feasible. I worked something up a while back and had it at around $3,000, but I know I missed some things.

My timeframe is open-ended, but I'd like to get the bulk of it finished during the winter. I've got a garage and most any tool in existence at my disposal. I can provide pics of anything if needed.

I just need a solid plan and I need your help. I would be forever in your collective debts!!

Thank you so much, just for reading this..LOL

Patrick

Welcome to the camaro restoration club. Your plan sounds thought out. Hopefully you can make it a reality. As you are aware this site has the best advice ever on how to do what you are going to do. There are a lot of people on here that have done every mod you are talking about doing, and already have documented on this forum how this can be accomplished. Good luck and show some pics.

thanks so much for the warm welcome. i look forward to some help from the experts!

i'm also in WV..where you at?

don't worry..i'm not one of those weird people who will stalk you. :)

New Martinsville, where are you?

New Martinsville, where are you?

LOL..crap. I'm about as far away as I can get..Huntington.

I bought a 67 Camaro project car in...2000? I think. I found a girl who didn't like it, married her, sold it to my dad to pay bills, got divorced (best idea ever), paid off a bunch of debt, found another girl who didn't mind it but I didn't have the extra money to buy ti back, now with another girl who supports it, and will have the money to buy it back and finish it most likely by the end of September.

Patrick, you could have avoided a lot of grief with the girls by only marrying the one who supports your Camaro! :thumbsup: It's not surprising you ended up divorcing the one who didn't like it.

In any event, welcome!

Patrick, you could have avoided a lot of grief with the girls by only marrying the one who supports your Camaro! :thumbsup: It's not surprising you ended up divorcing the one who didn't like it.

In any event, welcome!

LOL..I agree! Thanks!

welcome to T.C. You'll find all the help you need with your Camaro. But, young man, don't let some chick tell you which car you can or can't have. Hope you've learned your lesson. There's an old saying, "Can't please everyone, so you gotta please yourself". Now, if you ever make it out to the California Coast, drinks on me.

Hey Pat...stay on the good side of both your dad and new girl, eh?:)

Looks like you have most of the basics...just hope that you can do a lot of the work yourself. You could very easily put 5K into what's left... and that's without paint. You've got this dream...and if you can afford to pay back your dad... take your time... over a few years... it could be done.

capt

Thanks a lot, both of you. I definitely learned a lesson with the ex..LOL

My hobbies > women

OK not really, but a girl's gotta be supportive if it's reasonable.


I'm gonna scour ebay and everything else to find the parts I need. I really need to keep this on a budget. I tend to waste money on my other projects (drums and such) because of poor planning or research.

We can do pretty much all the work in-house--even a respectable paint job, but it won't be a dust free environment. It should be good enough to avoid embarrassment, but I'll probably hit Maaco or something. I think I said before, my dad is a welder and mechanic at a large power plant. He already did the floor pans, and really he has any tool in history at his disposal at work, and most tools in history in his garage. He's had a lot of hobbies and projects over the years.


I'd like any advice you all have, or maybe pitfalls to avoid during this build. I'm not sure what I kind of carb I need. I want driveability and decent gas mileage. My guess would be that I need a 600cfm to make decent power but not eat gas or create any kind of instability. I think our engine build is solid, although neither of us had ever done it. Dad's done some partial rebuilds and such, and has rebuilt carbs. He's also a perfectionist when it comes to things like that, so I'm pretty confident about it.

Do you think I'll need to rebuild or replace the rearend? If I replace it, I'd like something solid like a 10 bolt, but I don't want crazy gears. I'm not even sure if 3:73 will be too much as far as driveability of long distances.

I'm also wondering if there's anything I'll screw up with regard to putting the cart before the horse, like..getting several things taken care-of, then finding out I should have done something else first.

Has anyone around here done a build thread, where they documented the whole process? I do have a ground-up book for the 67, and also bought a factory assembly manual (although it's so specific it's hard to follow).

Any advice or tips would be greatly appcreciated. Thanks for the support thus far!

Rule #1... ya gotta have a plan/budget, and stick to it!! If you don't you'll pi$$ a lot of $ down the drain. Check the archives in this site, as there's lots of discussion on the very things that you mentioned...ie. carb sizes, rear end applications, different plans and how to tackle the project.

If you don't have a clear picture of what/when/how to go at this restore, you will get bogged down as many have before... all with good intentions.

capt