Hey guys, I just had a fun experience with the camaro. A few weeks ago I decided to have the interior work done professionally as it's been a year and a half since I got it back from paint and I still haven't had time to even start the interior work. If I don't get it done now I'll miss another season with it, and as we'll be getting into year #11 soon, that's just not acceptable. I REALLY, REALLY want to have this thing on the road this year. A friend and I trailered it down to the shop, about an hour and a half away, this morning. Other than a drive around the block this is the first time it's been out in public, and the first time it's been on the trailer too. I was not sure it would go on, but other than a slight clearance issue with the collector flanges it was fine. When we got it to the shop, Jason, the owner, suggested we take it to a small informal show that was only a couple of streets over. So, unexpectedly, it made it to it's first show today too, interiorless, but still looked okay. I got a number of positive comments on it. Driving it there was a bit unnerving, as it's not quite legal yet, very, very loud, no seatbelts, etc. It was only a couple of streets over, so not really a big deal, but it was a pretty big deal to me. It sounded awesome, probably one of the nastiest sounding cars there. Unfortunately I only took pictures right after arriving, so it looks kind of lonely. I'm really looking forward to getting the interior done, the alignment, safety, etc, and getting it officially on the road and really driving it. Here are some pics of the day

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/Interior%20Trip/May_15_2010c.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/Interior%20Trip/May_15_2010f.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/Interior%20Trip/May_15_2010h.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/Interior%20Trip/May_15_2010i.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/Interior%20Trip/May_15_2010l.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/Interior%20Trip/May_15_2010k.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/Interior%20Trip/May_15_2010m.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/Interior%20Trip/May_15_2010o.jpg

:hurray: I like it looks great.:beers:

pictures looks great and same with the car. What kind of camera are you using?

Beautiful car! I'll be happy if mine comes out half as nice as yours.

Love the headrests. Take it slow and easy, it will come out better in the long run. Very cool pictures of your car.

Thanks guys! Believe it or not I still feel the adrenalin from driving it to and from the show. Conner, it's an 8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 8800, it's a few years old now, a bit outdated, but still takes great pics. Not an SLR but one step down, I guess. Silvio, those are Procar Rally seats, I like the headrests too. Pretty comfortable but sit a bit high in the car, not sure how much headroom I'll have once the headliner goes in. It's been a project since 1999, so I am definitely taking it VERY slow... :D

Looks nice!

She's beautiful :beers:

Mike I love your car. Nicest looking 68 I have seen in a long time. That is what I want my 68 to look like. Also a Canadian car which makes it even better, being a fellow Canuck and all. Go Habs Go!

Looks great Mike!:beers:

Thanks guys! It looks pretty good in pics, in person it's far from perfect. I can't wait to get it back, there is a big empty spot in the garage now. :( I'm not particularly comfortable with having it out of my control, although it should be pretty safe at the shop where it's at now. He's currently got a couple of really nice street rods there as well as a '69 big block pace car that he's redoing the interior on.

Very nice mike!!! Congrats!!

Nice car!!...it looks fantastic!!...i love the color...

kelly

Looking good Mike!:hurray:

Thanks! Steve, it looks like there might be a chance we'll be able to meet up at a cruise night this summer after all:beers:

car looks great. Love the wheels.
Who brings a brand new stock stock camaro to a show?

car looks great. Love the wheels.
Who brings a brand new stock stock camaro to a show?

Its not stock, there is a sticker in the back window :)

Beautiful 68 you got there Mike, you and me are exactly the same when it comes to the relationships between us and our cars. I wouldn't be able to sleep if mine wasn't in my control 24/7....but we gotta do what we gotta do! I am so glad to be back in business on my 68! Hopefully we'll both be on the road soon!

Thanks guys, yeah, it seems fairly common around here to bring the new camaros to shows, kind of neat to see them but I'm not sure I'd take one to a show if I had one.

Adrian, it must've been killing you to be seperated from your camaro for the last 4.5 years! Glad to hear you're home, your car looks great, hopefully it'll be on the road soon!

Beautiful 68!!

Got the camaro back from the interior shop today, they did an outstanding job. The shop was Trim Tech in Oshawa, Ontario, not only was the work excellent, but the customer service was absolutely top notch as well. I'm blown away by how nice it is. They even got the door locks and latches working properly, adjusted the fender to fit the rocker molding, had the car aligned for me, a bunch of stuff above and beyond just the interior. It wasn't cheap, but it was WELL worth it to finally get that part of it done, the car is SO close to being on the road now. Still quite a few little things, to do, but we're getting close! Here are some pics:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/interior_8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/interior_1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/interior_3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/interior_5.jpg

I have some videos too but they're still uploading, will have to post them tomorrow. :D:hurray:

I had a REALLY hard time getting to sleep last night! Here are the videos:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/th_MVI_3080.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/?action=view&current=MVI_3080.flv)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/th_MVI_3083.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/?action=view&current=MVI_3083.flv)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/th_MVI_3087.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/?action=view&current=MVI_3087.flv)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/th_MVI_3088.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/?action=view&current=MVI_3088.flv)

Nice job!

Wow - very nice! Seeing your car next to that new red Camaro makes the new one (even as cool as it is) look like a plain 'ol run of the mill modern-era car. That comparison sorta kills the buzz for me but at the same time is a good indicator of how well the 1st-gens have stood the test of time and continue to hold a place in car history that so few can obtain. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Hey Mike, I just cant stop looking at your car!! Did you order the Vintage wheel works wheel & tire package? I just did, its the V45's 17x8 frnt and 17x9.5 rear with Nitto's. I also see you have Hotchkis suspension, is it front and rear? I just ordered the rear multi leaf kit with the 1 1/2 drop. I'd like to know exactly what you have, as I want the same stance and look as your car.

Thanks!!
Jason

Mike very nice ,remind's me of my Camaro ,34 yres ago stock paint Lemans blue with the stripe ....enjoy again lookin good :thumbsup: beers to you:beers:

Mike very nice ,remind's me of my Camaro ,34 yres ago stock paint Lemans blue with the stripe ....enjoy again lookin good :thumbsup: beers to you:beers:

Thanks Jerome!

Hey Mike, I just cant stop looking at your car!! Did you order the Vintage wheel works wheel & tire package? I just did, its the V45's 17x8 frnt and 17x9.5 rear with Nitto's. I also see you have Hotchkis suspension, is it front and rear? I just ordered the rear multi leaf kit with the 1 1/2 drop. I'd like to know exactly what you have, as I want the same stance and look as your car.

Thanks!!
Jason

Thanks Jason - I actually found the wheels at a swap meet locally for a substantially reduced price - they were new, the story was they came from some wheel & tire place that went out of business. Living in Canada having them shipped here and dealing with the duties, brokerage, etc. to get them over the border would have been out of my budget. I ended up paying about half what the wheels would have cost had I ordered them from the US. I was very lucky because I'd wanted these exact wheels for quite some time. The only issue is the front backspace is 4.5" instead of 4.75", so I went down to a 235/45 instead of a 245. Looking at it now that it's been aligned, a 245 might still fit, if only barely.

I have the Hotchkis springs front and rear (Big block 2" drop front springs and 1-1/2 rear), the Hotchkis revalved Bilstein shocks, the front Hotchkis swaybar, Global West solid aluminum body bushings and subframe connectors (I would go with Hotchkis if I were doing it now, they were not available when I bought mine). I found the rear to sit too high initially with the Hotchkis springs, so I added a 1" lowering block. You can see how it used to sit without the blocks here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/Dec_12_08b.jpg

I don't really like the blocks, mechanically it isn't a good idea, especially with my mono leaf 10 bolt rear - the blocks hold the springs outside of the brackets on the rear end. The Hotchkis u-bolts are pretty beefy, and the car is not going to be raced, but this is something I would like to correct in the future with a proper multi-leaf rear end (moser 12 bolt) and maybe different springs that would keep approximately the same ride height without the blocks. You can see what I'm talking about here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/Feb_7_09c.jpg

Different cars seem to sit a bit differently even with the same suspension, from what I have seen. Mine seems to sit quite low in the front compared to others with the same springs, although this is just based on pictures I've seen on the internet. Other cars with the Hotchkis 1-1/2" leafs seem to sit right about where mine is after I added the blocks. Mine is actually a tiny bit low in the front for my liking, especially with the Hooker Comp headers! They tend to scrape a bit more than I would like. Good luck with your car!:beers:

Here's a couple pictures of it at it's first Cruise night a couple of weeks ago:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/FirstCruiseNight001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/mmorrison/68%20Camaro/FirstCruiseNight011.jpg

Thats great info Mike, Thanks! I understand what you mean about the shipping costs to Canada.. and the dragging of those headers! I've dragged a few sets in my days :D I'll check to see if Hotchkis has big block 1" front springs and go with that and the sway bar. I have a 402 for now, a 12 bolt, and a TKO 500. A set of Competition Engineering sup frame connectors came with my car, so i'll use them. But man Thanks again!! I'm sure I'll be asking more if you dont mind.

Jason

Thats great info Mike, Thanks! I understand what you mean about the shipping costs to Canada.. and the dragging of those headers! I've dragged a few sets in my days :D I'll check to see if Hotchkis has big block 1" front springs and go with that and the sway bar. I have a 402 for now, a 12 bolt, and a TKO 500. A set of Competition Engineering sup frame connectors came with my car, so i'll use them. But man Thanks again!! I'm sure I'll be asking more if you dont mind.

Jason

No problem Jason! I'm glad to help in any way I can. I found the thread with pics of your car, looks like it's coming along nicely. I don't think Hotchkis has 1" lowering springs, I believe they just have the 2". I know Eibach has 1" lowering springs but I'm not sure how the spring rate differs from the Hotchkis. Personally I think the Hotchkis stuff works very well as a package, and I do really like the stance of the car the way it is now. I haven't done anything to correct the geometry of the front suspension yet, and I am impressed with the handling already, especially for a car that's just intended for cruising. The Hotchkis/Bilstein shocks probably have something to do with that as well. The car isn't really all that low with the 2" springs, it's just the headers hang down so far... if you could find some headers that tucked up better that would be ideal, but from what I've seen the ones that fit well are also quite expensive. That TKO should be nice for you, a Tremec is on the list of upgrades I intend to do, but it will be quite some time before I'll be able to afford it.

I was going to ask about the shocks, are yours adjustable? how is the ride quality? I looked in Summit and they have the Hotchkis sway bar & 2" springs, so I'll get them. Mine is intended for just cruising as well. Did you go with the Global West front end rebuild kit? I found PST has a complete front end rebuild kit with inner and outer tie rod ends for $236 Not bad I'd say. I've got to find a power steering gear box and everything to put ps back on the car. You should check craigslist for the TKO's I did and got a super cool deal on the tranny, shifter, driveshaft and crossmember right out of a 69 Camaro for $1800. He wanted a TKO600.

I was going to ask about the shocks, are yours adjustable? how is the ride quality? I looked in Summit and they have the Hotchkis sway bar & 2" springs, so I'll get them. Mine is intended for just cruising as well. Did you go with the Global West front end rebuild kit? I found PST has a complete front end rebuild kit with inner and outer tie rod ends for $236 Not bad I'd say. I've got to find a power steering gear box and everything to put ps back on the car. You should check craigslist for the TKO's I did and got a super cool deal on the tranny, shifter, driveshaft and crossmember right out of a 69 Camaro for $1800. He wanted a TKO600.

No, the shocks are not adjustable. Ride quality is firm, but I wouldn't call it harsh. Ride is subjective, but I am quite happy with the ride quality. It certainly doesn't ride like a cadillac, but I wouldn't really want it to. I went with just rubber Moog bushings in the front. I have no experience with this, but I've read that polyurethane bushings sometimes have a tendancy to squeak, delrin or aluminum bushings are better. I have the aluminum body mount bushings, but just went with the stock stuff when I had the front end rebuilt. If I were doing it again I'd likely go with the GW del-a-lum bushings.

As far as the PS box, I'm running the Iroc box, I bought it from a member on here who was upgrading to the AGR box. I'm not 100% convinced it's the "right" Iroc box, steering still seems pretty light, but then again that may be due to the huge stock woodgrain steering wheel I'm using. For my purposes the steering is fine, though, doesn't seem either too slow or too fast.

Tasty !

Ok Great! I'm soaking this up!! I hope to be home in Oct and get back to helping with the build. Easy to order parts when I'm on the road but wifey calls when packages and the statements arrive!:D

Ok Great! I'm soaking this up!! I hope to be home in Oct and get back to helping with the build. Easy to order parts when I'm on the road but wifey calls when packages and the statements arrive!:D

Jason its going to be like Christmas when you get home with all those boxes of parts to open and fondle :)