How cool is that?!?!?? I watched Andrew at Prodigy Customs paint my car and proceeded to waste the rest of the day staring at the pictures! :)

A quick background...I've been mostly a lurker here as my 67 slowly progressed, but now I finally have something to post about! I bought my Camaro in '92 while I was in college...it was my daily driver until '97 when I moved to Florida. It sat in my sister's garage for five years until she finally had enough (thanks Miss!), but luckily, a good friend towed in down for me, all the way from Ohio to Florida. I drove it about a week...it overheated badly...so I thought, well let's tear it apart and fix a few things.

That was 2002.

It was in worse shape than I thought. Floors were bad, frame rails shot...it actually had quarter skins riveted and bondo'd over the originals. So I tore it down to a shell and started doing what I could and what I could afford. I was learning as I went.

In 2004, I took the plunge and started my own business. Lucky for me, business went well...unlucky for the camaro, I had no time to work on it. By 2007, I felt I could afford to have someone finish of the bodywork. If I remember right, I believe I contacted Frank but he had a pretty good wait time. Of course, I was impatient and decided I wanted to have it done locally, so I could keep an eye on it (big mistake). I eventually found someone and the result was the common tale of "paint jail"...a year and a lot of money wasted.

Early last year, I finally called Frank again at Prodigy Customs and here we are today. To say I am thrilled would be the understatement of the year.

Last weekend, Frank was gracious enough to let me drive down and install my motor and trans (to avoid chips later) so I got to see everything in primer, ready for paint. I was already blown away at that point and could only imagine what the final product will be.

Wow, wow, wow...to me, it's perfect. For those that are curious, it's viper red. Yep, another red firstgen camaro, but I don't care. That baby is mine! LOL

I can't say thank you enough to Frank, Michael, Andrew, Raymond, Bob, Lisa and anyone else I forgot at Prodigy Customs...THANK YOU!

Hopefully it'll be back to me in a week or so...it's good to be excited about the Camaro again!

Jason

http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/jski59/Camaro/DSC01583.jpg
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/jski59/Camaro/Paint/Paint.jpg
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/jski59/Camaro/Paint/DSC_0057.jpg
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/jski59/Camaro/Paint/DSC_0060.jpg
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/jski59/Camaro/Paint/DSC_0061.jpg
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/jski59/Camaro/Paint/DSC_0064.jpg
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/jski59/Camaro/Paint/DSC_0065.jpg

Thats great Jason, you won't be disappointed by Frank and the crew at Prodigy. The car looks great.

Jason, I love that color! Your car is going to look great!

looks sweet

Man that is awesome!!! You must be so stoked that you are losing massive sleep... What a killer paint job and spray booth.

Thanks everyone! (and good meeting you today Chris)

Skeeter, you are right...I'll probably be up the rest of the night staring at the pictures. LOL

Wow very nice looking car. :thumbsup:

Congrats. :beers:

I'm a tad color blind and even I can see that looks awesome!

looks fantastic, and so does the spray booth!

Very nice!

That is AWESOME!!!!:yes:

I really like the color combination. They do great work.

how cool is that, wish frank or equivalent was closer

Your Camaro looks incredible! :thumbsup:

Very cool looking car will be nice when it's done:thumbsup:

I cant handle it anymore. If i were you, I would head down to the body shop crank the heater up and spend the first night with that baby.

I agree :beers::D

ha! If they weren't 4.5 hours away, I'd be there!

Thanks everyone!

That is awesome!!! Getting to watch it be painted, really cool. I watched my car get painted because I mixed paint while my buddy sprayed in another buddys garage... That is still really neat, did you cringe even once...

Car looks very nice. What color is the red. Are they gonna put the body back together and make it a roller or do the whole car?

That red color looks killer. You will have a super nice Camaro!!!!!!!!

Car looks very nice. What color is the red. Are they gonna put the body back together and make it a roller or do the whole car?

Hi Mike,

It's 2006 Viper red...not sure if there's a difference in years, but that's the year I saw.

Yes, they're going to make it a roller for me. They're putting in all the glass, window trim, door handles, etc. Anything that I can screw up and scratch the paint, I'm having them do! LOL

Jason

Hi Mike,

It's 2006 Viper red...not sure if there's a difference in years, but that's the year I saw.

Yes, they're going to make it a roller for me. They're putting in all the glass, window trim, door handles, etc. Anything that I can screw up and scratch the paint, I'm having them do! LOL

Jason

With the smoked glass rolled up and hood closed it will look like a finished car when it leaves, LOL!

I see lots of sleepless nights in your future, Adrenalin and momentum will keep you going now.

Jason, I am happy for you, that thing looks killer! I'm excited like it is my car. mine is right behind yours and going into paint next week or 2. I have pictures of our cars together in primer.
now I don't feel so bad about picking a F*rd color knowing you picked a d*dge color, haha.
I am going to be glued to that webcam.
Congrats again. That motor looks bad a$$ too. http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=24856&page=2

Killer!!

Cool stuff, good luck !!!

I cant handle it anymore. If i were you, I would head down to the body shop crank the heater up and spend the first night with that baby. i second that!!:yes:

With the smoked glass rolled up and hood closed it will look like a finished car when it leaves, LOL!

I see lots of sleepless nights in your future, Adrenalin and momentum will keep you going now.nice job guys, pics looks great!!:thumbsup:

Congrats! That car looks amazing! :thumbsup:

Jason, I am happy for you, that thing looks killer! I'm excited like it is my car. mine is right behind yours and going into paint next week or 2. I have pictures of our cars together in primer.
now I don't feel so bad about picking a F*rd color knowing you picked a d*dge color, haha.
I am going to be glued to that webcam.
Congrats again. That motor looks bad a$$ too. http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=24856&page=2

Thanks Mark, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

I probably walked right past your car when I was there, but it's hard to know...it's camaro central around that shop!

What color are you going with?

Super nice !!!!


Kev

it will be dark shadow grey (ford truck color) with darker grey Z stripes, probably a custom color.

here is a recent pic at franks.

it will be dark shadow grey (ford truck color) with darker grey Z stripes, probably a custom color.

here is a recent pic at franks.

Ah, I remember it now...no doubt it will be awesome when you get it back. I almost went silver/gray too. That combination always looks tough to me.

Your car looks to be pretty solid?

yes I got lucky (california car) it just needed a couple of small patch panels. do you know when you will be picking yours up yet?

:thumbsup:1st class!

That red Camaro is gonna be SHARP! Congrats! Does it have the engine in the car? With my luck I'd drag it across the valance. :eek: So how much does a FL paint job cost? (ballpark)

yes I got lucky (california car) it just needed a couple of small patch panels. do you know when you will be picking yours up yet?

Wow, that is lucky. My car was from Ohio (like me) and was in pretty sad shape (like me)...probably should have started with a different shell, but it's got a lot of sentimental value.

Not sure when it's coming back...and I'm sure not going to rush them! :)


:thumbsup:1st class!

Thanks!

more pics when reassembling please.:yes:

looks great, can't wait to see more pics after assembly :thumbsup:

That thing is beautiful! Congrats!!

You have got to keep the pics coming on this one! Thats going to be sweet when reassembled. :popcorn:

Wow!! Looks great...I bought a bunch of parts from Frank..and it was an awsome experience...now get us some more pics to drool over:thumbsup:

Looks very nice.Wont be long now.I am with the put the motor in before the sheet metal but I am a clutz....

Looks great :beers:

Thanks again everyone!

The motor and trans are already in the car...I'm with you guys, I was nervous about trying to slide it in after paint, so I drove down last weekend and dropped it on the subframe.

It's a 489 BBC, Brodix heads, hydraulic roller and Holley Efi. Since Frank had the car, I built an engine test stand so I could fire it up and check for leaks...and there were none! Can you believe that?

This is the first motor that I've fully assembled, so I hope I didn't screw anything up. So far, no rods have flown out the pan. So far... :)

The loud whine in the video is the electric fan.
YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.


http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/jski59/Camaro/DSC02193.jpg

I'm not a doctor but I suggest you not operate any heavy machinery or drive a car for a while.
If it were me I wouldn't be able to keep my mind on what I'm doing and drive straight into a brick wall.

Your car looks absolutely amazing! I'll be happy just to get my shell back together (rust) let alone in paint.
I would be absolutley ecstatic!

http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u358/jski59/Camaro/DSC02193.jpg

That motor looks freakin awesome !
( sounds great too )

From the looks of the paint pics no orange peel therefore no blocking the clear...
takes a a real pro painter to do that...
With no blocking make a huge diffrence to the finshed gloss

A stand out car m8.

Question thu...the doors, are the hinges bolted up to a bracket?
Thats cool how they are mounted for painting, havnt seen anything like that in NZ.

awesome....just awesome. if i didnt have work in a hour i would go outside and finish cutting out my trunk pan for my tubs so can get my project going again. congrats though, enjoy her!

From the looks of the paint pics no orange peel therefore no blocking the clear...
takes a a real pro painter to do that...
With no blocking make a huge diffrence to the finshed gloss

A stand out car m8.

Question thu...the doors, are the hinges bolted up to a bracket?
Thats cool how they are mounted for painting, havnt seen anything like that in NZ.


Actually there will be sanding and buffing for light peel and dustys. It has sat 5 days now, it's cured and ready for everything but wax. We will start sanding and buffing first thing in the morning. We will do it right where we painted it, wash it so when we unwrap it it is time for assembly. We will mostly build it right where it sits then get it out of the way for Key Pilots car.

The door rig is something we dreamed up 20 years ago. I found out (the hard way) that all panels need to be painted at the same angle they mount on the nody. In other words, no painting doors laying flat on tables. Colors go on different when your spraying a side VS spraying a flat surface. So you get different amounts of material and coverage. That rig also allows a full flooding of the jams in and out, and also a good shot at the hinges open and closed.

Another neat trick figured ot is the way we rig the lower valance and extensions. We bolt them together and put a nut between them to keep them seperated, so the paint wraps the edge and we can flood the inner and outer panels all at once. otherwise it is almost impossible to paint all those pieces.

Paint enough Camaro's, you will figure out some tricks. We will continue to share everything we have learned. A lot of builders feel a need to hide their tricks, ideas, keep everything secret. We show everyting. I had another well known builder call me and let me know they were using out valance idea! Kinda cool actually.

Frank, you (Prodigy Customs) did a great job on the paint. jski67, enjoy your car, I envy you!! Fantastic job.

it's cured and ready for everything but wax.

Yeah supose u are like most shops, wax dosent get past the road side curb
I found out (the hard way) that all panels need to be painted at the same angle they mount on the nody.
Yep I found out the had way about 30 yrs ago when a rel old school painter looked at my car,,was the 1st thing he said....So we hang them on G clamps from the inside panel.

So you get different amounts of material and coverage.
Yeah and the paint flows out different to...I recon (as thats what the old guy said...he was from the days of enamel in 50s and 60s) thats the biggest cause...compare the rear pillar with say the side of the fender.

We will continue to share everything we have learned. A lot of builders feel a need to hide their tricks,
40yrs in building rods ..and Im just a 'home hobbist' ...2 things I look for when talking 'accessing' to a guy
1/ he is willing to talk about and pass on tricks of the trade...and ask you questions and listen.
2/ They often come over as gumpy ppl, yeah and ppl will say "watch them hes a bad temped 5h1t" .... well craftsmen are IF you try to tell them how to suck eggs.

I had another well known builder call me and let me know they were using out valance idea!
I have a good m8 who specialises in building custom rods in a town a few 100 miles away, emailed this page....and another 1 man business down the road....he likes the hinge, been using the valance ever since hedid his apprenciship 15 yrs ago lol.

My biggest observations between guys in NZ and the US guys, this is from a few TV programs , web sites like this and when US guys come here, our guys go there...you know discussions over beers....
1/ we roll/fold and make our own patch panels and lot of butt welding, hammer file work
2/ use far less 'bog' filler.. the guy i mentioned on another town says if you have to use an more than a couple coats of hi build, you cant call yourself a panel beater
panel beater is what we call the trade in NZ.
The sad part is the new generation are all R&R..little or none hammer/file...but hey modern cars dont have enough meat anyway.