[Speedball]

I have a '69 Camaro that was a 2 year project in '96 with my dad and I. Finished it my senior year and was my first car. Drove it approx 3 years as main mode of transportation and bought a better gas vehicle for college.

Fast forward the next couple years of toying with it at the drag strip, playing around town and installing other goodies (MSD 6AL, South Side Machine lift bars, new carb) it began to run poorly due to a fuel issue. Me being about 22 yrs old decided to pull the engine for a quick fix. BAD MOVE

Im now 29 yrs old, married in our first home bought last year. I have bought during the last few years a 427 c.i. to go in it and sold it, an Arizona Speed Marine F.I. for a BBC with no engine to put it on, a 400 c.i. engine to build but didn't. I have came to the decision , and to stick with it, to put a LS something in it. Please see engine forum for another question.

i know this was a long background but heres where I stand. My dad and I had the car completely apart with only frame connected. We did not take the frame off due to reasons unknown to me at 15 yrs old. Ever since then I wish that I would have had it bead blasted to remove all the paint that has been sprayed on the car since it was built. It only need the passenger side metal panel beneath the door. As of now its the only area that I know of with bondo in it.

The car sits complete now minus engine. My way of thinking is I want to install the LS engine. I dont want to install the engine until I redo the subframe (either replacement as in Art Morrison or rebuild stocker --please see suspension thread for another question--). I dont want to replace the subframe until decide on what to do with the body work/body itself.

So....is it worth it having the body dipped/ sandblasted/ media blasted. Are there better ways to strip the body besides blasting it. I have read where the amount of particles that wind up inside the car that its not worth it. In my position what would you guys do? As I stated car was running, a decent car 6-7 out of 10, and I pulled engine. Is it worth disassembling it just to have the satisfaction of a "clean" body.

Maybe Im not remembering all the work that was required to put this car back togather?

Once again, sorry for the long post, but I appreciate the opinions of others to help me have a better outlook on what im getting BACK into!

Thanks again for a great site!

Robert

[K-STYLE69]

In my opinion YES it's worth the time and money to have
it media blasted. Then you start with a clean slate, you'll know
exactly what your working with, plus it gives you a chance to work
on the subframe at the same time.

[67SS/RSCONV]

In my opimion, after doing many cars, detail it really well, put the motor in it and drive it. If you think it has sat a long time now.......wait until you dis-asseble it further.

If you are going to show it, or it has rust eating at it from the inside out then it may be necessary to repair that. I will defer to others on this site cause maybe I procrastinate, but I would get it running and drive it like I stole it.

[sleepsinshed]

Media blasting is the way to go. That being said, 20 years later I still sometimes find stray media in the trunk or under the dash. A lot depends on how apart the car really is when it's blasted.

[William]

Don't even consider sandblasting. Nasty stuff; can easily warp, etch and work-harden sheet metal. Destroys glass. It will not get at all the rust and sand will be wafting out forever. OK to use for frames, castings, etc. Not sure I would even use it for those.

Media blasting is better but does not remove rust. Nice for CA or AZ cars with multiple Maaco dips over the original paint. But get a cowboy at the nozzle and this can also warp a roof or hood. I hear some shops will not do horizontal surfaces. Can be expensive. Same results can often be obtained for much less $ with a palm sander, paint stripper, razor blades, scrapers, steel wool and your time.

Dipping can get it all far more gently that either of the others. Biggest downside is the solution gets into areas in can't easily get out of like crimped doors, hoods, etc. After painting it weeps out, and continues to strip. It can also chemically "mill" sheet metal making it too smooth for paint to adhere. It also gets rust you didn't know about. Parts of the car may vanish.

This may generate some heat but no matter which process is used I would remove ALL the tags-the body tag will dissolve if dipped, VIN tag could easily be damaged.

[casey69z]

Looks like you have had ideas in the past that didn't happen. You need to be honest with yourself. Dad probally won't be working with you to help keep things moving along. Maybe some kids coming in the future? How much time will you really be able to commit?

When you talk about dipping blasting etc, you are talking a big project that will take many many hours of your time and big dollars. There are many cases where someone wanted to do a full restore and couldn't finish. Ron is right once you completely disassemble, it is a long way back.

I have had my 69 Camaro 26 years and I am now just putting it back together after a frame off. Jobs, money, moves, other projects and kids delayed my plans.

[67SS/RSCONV]

Here is a picture of mine after 24 years of ownership. Moves, kids, college (kids), time, changing my mind, wife, kids, house, vacation, naps, beer......did I mention kids?????

You can easily take the engine back out after you have driven it for a few years and get wrestless, but if you decide to take it down all the way I will bet you a case of your choice that I will see a post 1 year from now on "what is the best for the subframe.......powder coat or paint....

Its all in what you want to do, but I cannot count the times my wife has said--"when are we going to be able to ride in it"?

[Steptoe]

I brought my 69 in 1980, factory paint plus had another coat of factory colour over that
Couple yrs later I changed the colour repaired some minor rust and war wounds
So had orginal undercoat, orginal colour, another undercoat and colour, plus another undercoat and colour...
When paint starts to build up like this, another coat and after a few yrs one get little problems starting.
Since this time (about late 90s) I wasnt doing a full rebuild, i striped lights/chrome etc, and ripped as deep as I could with a disc grinder, not goig thru any of the orginal epoxy and drove it to the media blasters
Important note: Do not get them to rip off the orginal factory epoxy...it is very hard to remove even with media blasting
And as soon as it has been stipped have them respray an expoy coat ASAP idealy within 20 mins

I drove it home.
Now I could see any war wounds, rust that needed fixing...

I redo body about every 7 to 9 yrs, so since then it has been done 2x, plus one of those times I got someone else to respray and the screwed up which mean another extra layer of paint....
I have a tiny rust bubble just starting in the bottom cnr of a door. One can 3x to what one can see to what is on the car.
Next repaint in in another 2 yrs time, again I will media blast and start from scratch

The cost of stripping back, being able to see everything, and repair everything, works out far easier and cheaper in the long run if you intend keeping the car another 10 or 20 yrs.

And as a post above mentions, caution, use an automotive media srripping specialist, a lot depends on the skills of the guy behind the gun.....

[HwyStarJoe]

Welcome Robert.
(funny.... a cop with a name like 'speedball')


All great advice and life experiences for you to chew on.
Whether you work the body over and rebuild or replace the subframe depends 100% on how committed you really are to finishing it this time.
It sounds like you are. And of course now that you've come to TC, there won't be any backing down now.

If you're going to go all the way with the car, decide on the body and FINISH it first. You really need to strip the body before you decide on dipping\media because you may be surprised and it won't need such a drastic step performed. Disassemble the whole car, drop the frame and gut the interior. Then get some brush-on or spray-on paint stripper, a good compressor and D\A, tons of sand paper for it, a couple good scrapers and take a bunch of paint off the usual spots that rot..... like that passenger rocker you mentioned. Strip the bottoms of the doors, quarters, fenders, floors, wheel well lips, and take a good look at the integrity of the sheet metal. Poke at the metal and 'feel' for thin metal or instant holes that pop through.
Remember, rust usually creeps in from the back side and can be FAR more extensive than you'll be able to see without removing the panel.

Are you keeping any of the parts already on the car? Interior? Wheels\tires? Glass? Rear end and suspension?
It's sometimes (and some would say best) to keep as many parts as you possibly can and either refurbish them or just reinstall them. You'll save TONS of money and you know they'll fit! Remember that. That goes for EVERYTHING... from the tiniest little clip to the seats and everything in between.

Are you planning to replace ANY and all sheet metal that has cancer? Or are you going to farm the body work out to someone else?
Do you have body work tools? Big compressor? Welder? Cut-off tools? And the space to do it in for the next couple years (remember....the wife and kids use the garage too )

The factory subframe can be made to handle anything you want to do. If you're looking for something to ride on rails and pull a G on a skid pad, look at the aftermarket pieces and everything that will replace both the front AND rear suspensions, then take a second mortgage out on the house.

An LS swap and a totally upgraded suspension\brakes, etc. can all be done without braking the bank and in little time really.

Put a plan in place, have the budget planned (and then triple it), line up everything you need and go to town. Putting a stripped car back together is FAR easier than taking it apart, rebuilding it, body work, sheet metal, paint, etc.
Good luck Robert!
We'll be here for ya!

[Speedball]

Thanks guys for the post. The cars been down too long and Im afraid that it will continue to sit if I dont start now. It appears that 10 years ago would have been the perfect time to have the body blasted. Forward 10 years its probably best for a chemical strip. I will have pictures posted later, just getting started here.

Im going to need a lot of help here and look forward to swapping ideas and opinions.

THANKS!!!!

[yellow69RS]

Hey Speedball, Ya wanna trade for one that already in a million pieces? If you car is completely assembled except engine I'd try to keep it that way. I took mine down to restore 23 years ago. It always gonna get done next year. If I was to buy one that ran this one would never get done. When you start participating in the Camaro hobby with out the car the wife sill tell you it would be a lot more fun if we had a car.

Jeff
(maybe next year)

[Injunjoe]

Originally Posted by William

Media blasting is better but does not remove rust.

I was under the impression that media blasting DOES remove rust. Am I wrong on that?

[Straight-line-69]

In six hours, I was able to remove all the paint, down to the bare metal, with a 4.5" grinder and 6-8 paint removing wheels I purchased from Harbor Frieght for $5 each:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94017

There, I just saved you from $500 to $1000. Spend that on some new heads or something worthwhile.

Also, once down to the bare metal you need to clean it then shoot it with some DPLF epoxy primer (PPG) or something similar to prevent oxidation of the bare metal.

Then she's ready for body work and a new paint job.

[jims68z]

Well, I just had my car media blasted. I took it in completely stripped. It had the subframe and rear end under it, but that was it. They charged me $600 for the stripping and another $300 to put it in 2 part epoxy primer before it left. I felt it worth every penny. I know it is going to take quite a bit of time to put it back together, but once it is done, it should be good for the rest of my lifetime. The media blast is for minor rust and paint removal and they had some more abrasive material for heavy rust. I would just make sure you are realistic in your expectations that it is going to take a year or two to complete the car once disassembling it that far.

[yellow69RS]

Originally Posted by Injunjoe

I was under the impression that media blasting DOES remove rust. Am I wrong on that?

Depends on the media. Sand blasting is media blasting same as soda blasting or plastic media. Walnut shells can also be used. Sand blasting has fallen from favor as it causes serious lung disease for the operator and warps metal in the wrong hands. I'm not sure that some of the other medias don't have the same problems we just haven't used them long enough to find out.

Jeff