Hey Guys, starting out with a '68 Camaro roller for a project. My "68 Camaro Restoration Project" post tells about it in more detail... anyway, I was concerned about the quality of original vs repro panels in the fact of what will happen down the road as far as corrosion. When done (some amount of years from now) my car won't be driven very much and unless I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time, won't be driven in rain. It has rear qtr skins put on it. The front fenders are in pretty rough shape. My concern is rust in a few years. I want to do this right. I plan on getting the whole bare shell sand blasted inside and out and then fully coated with a acid etching primer on the inside, outside and underside and then going from there. What other tips is there to avoid rust in the future?

It has also had new rear fender wells put in. Now there is the gap where the new fender well was welded to the old. What did the original camaro's come with there? Was there a filler or seaant of any kind put there? Driven once in the rain would throw water all up in behind the rear qtr.

What about when replacing floor pans? Again ther is moisture holding crevises?

Here are a few photo's of the car. I'll get some more detailed photo's soon. http://community.webshots.com/album/173990564zBebed

Thanks again!!!
Buddy P

I will answer a few of your questions. I looked at your floor pic. I can tell you that the driver seat pan has been either removed at one time or had the rear flange cut off. The question about the floor holding moisture, is true. The sides where the floor meets the rockers and where the seat pans mount are the most prone to moisture and rust development. If yours are in good shape with no rust, seal them with 3M seam sealer and then paint over them with an epoxy primer. The wheelhouses have a seam in the middle and you can clean out the old seam sealer and reseal it with 3M sealer also. I would use a putty sealer for large areas like the footwell near the firewall. There are a couple of spots there that will allow water entry and rust the driver or passenger floor. Water tends to migrate to the seat pan and then to the rear seat floor from there. I see you also have the subframe off. Now is the time to do a good inspection of the outside firewall for open gaps and seal those too. Don't forget to look down the side cowl areas and the windshield grill too. Have you looked at the windshield base that meets the cowl yet? Is there rust there? What about looking under the dash to where the top dash panel meets the cowl? These are rust prone areas. I can go on and on. Sorry for my rambling. If you have questions, please ask. I just replaced the floor and trunk pan on my ride. Check out my website. If its helpful, let me know. Have fun.

Scot

Thanks Scot, as for as the floor pans, your close... the drivers side rear passenger pan has been replaced. It is not welded in yet. Also I need to cut out an area round the foot pedals and put a replacment pan there also (already have the panel). Sounds like I'll be using a lot of putty sealer!

When I get the shell stripped/blasted and primered I'll go over it with the putty and full in any area's that look like they could cause me some grief in the future.