[68camaroz28]

Remember recently I displayed pics of the NOS rear emergency brake lines that were purchased in 1979 which I later realized were incorrect due to being a GM 2nd design which Mike pointed out as well while giving some feedback on In-line Tube emerg. rear cables. Thanks Mike! Purchased a pair of them in prep for painting the rear and also purchased a front cable to compare to the front NOS emergency cable purchased in 79 as well. Not sure if the 79 purchased NOS cable is exactly the same as what left the factory in 68 but here are the differences (not huge in nature but there are differences) of the repro cable to the 1979 purchased NOS cable. The top cable is the NOS piece.

Pic of the NOS cable and box showing part number #338250

One of the rear cables installed as we prepare to paint the rear. Since the cables were installed when the rear was painted originally we plan to duplicate but will work to minimize the over spray onto the emergency cable.

 

[68camaroz28]

In preparation for painting the rear we also prepared rear suspension parts for paint as well. This is another area you do not realize how much time can and will be spent in the preparation process. Probably a lot easier and cost effective to purchase repro's but some of the challenge and fun is keeping those orig. parts with their stampings.
Some examples and their stampings:

Emergency brake cable brackets after prep.

 

[68camaroz28]

East Coast Muscle Cars (Lonny) have worked diligently striving for what we believe constitutes a 60% gloss black, etc.. We based the gloss on what our 30% gloss black was and worked the gloss (greater) from there. A little more prep and our 12 bolt rear will be painted early next week with the aforementioned components. Someone (maybe me along the way) placed a jack under the rear to jack up and the bottom edge of the 12 bolt cover had a little edge deformation but Lonny dollied it out and worked the cover so when painted it should look new.

This is the area that took a little dolly work but ready to paint now.

 

[68camaroz28]

James gets the credit for this change After reading some of his comments along with some research I changed our brake calibers to be what I believe more correct. Painted them both a high temp semi-gloss black and then cleaned the bolt hole faces to give an appearance of the machining after they were painted back in the day. The machined surfaces did have some pits so not exactly like new but the theme hopefully is correct. The Dremel with the cupped wire wheel worked great to clean the pocket area and face. Then protected the bolt hole faces (bare casting area) with 'Rust Prevention Magic'.

What I was going to use before changing to semi-gloss black.

 

[68camaroz28]

Since I'm starting to hit the 68 AIM really hard I got tired of spending minutes upon minutes trying to find something so I made a table on contents using nomenclature I normally use. Thought this might help others when they are doing restorations so here it is. You can cut and paste to whatever you want. Hopefully there are no mistakes but :noway::yes:

1968 CAMARO FACTORY ASSEMBLY INSTUCTION MANUAL
(AIM) TABLE OF CONTENTS

396 Engine Related 272-290 & 298-303
4-Speed Trans Back-up Switch 323
4-Speed Trans Shifter Adjustment 321
4-Speed Trans Shifter Assy. to Trans. & Cross-Member 320
4-Speed Trans Shifter Rods & Hardware 318
4-Speed Trans Shifter Rods & Hardware Big Block 319
4-Speed Trans Shifter Stabilizer Shafts (3 of them) 320
Accelerator Pedal & Parts 103
Accelerator to Carb 105
Battery & Battery Cables 151
Battery Tray 149
Brake Lines-Front 72
Brake Lines-Rear 73
Brake Pedal 71
Brake Pedal Stop Lamp 166
Brake-Master Cylinder, Brkt., & Pressure Indicator Switch 70
Bumper Front/Rear Assy 178/179
Bumper Guards Front&Rear 419
Carpet-front 47
Cigarette Lighter 165
Clutch Linkage Adjustments 114
Clutch Pedal & Linkage 112
Clutch Release Bearing 111
Clutch Shaft & Push Rod 113
Console-Floor Assy 229-231
Console Gauges 385
Console Oil Gauge Line Routing 386
Control Arms 59
Cowl Panel Piercing 9/10
Cowl Seal 136
Cowl Vent Grille 37
Dash Trim Plate 44
Dash Insulator Pad/Mat 40
Defroster Ducts 53
Disc Brakes-Front 247
Dual Exhaust & Muffler 360-367
Exhaust Muffler & Hangers 119
Exhaust Pipe (rear) & Hangers 118
Fan Shroud & Radiator 145
Fender Assy 135
Fender Emblems 139
Fender Extension to Fender & Valance 143
Fuel Pump 99
Fuse Panel 160
Gas Gauge Metering & Rear Hose 124
Gas Line & Clips 123
Gas Tank Filler Neck (lower) & Cover 122
Gas Tank Mtg. & Straps 121
Glove Box Assy 41/42
Grille-upper, lower, center & emblem 138
Header Panel 137
Headlamp 153
Headlight Switch 165
Headlight Dimmer Switch 166
Heater Control Assy 55
Heater Control Cables 56
Heater/Defroster Assy 52
Heater Fan, Blower Assy/Cowl 52
Hood Catch, Support, & Latch Assy 144
Hood hinge 136
Horn Relay 155
Hub Assy 60
Ignition Switch 92
Inner Fender Mtg 141
Inner Fender Seals 140
Instrument Cluster/Instrument Cluster Lighting 161/162
Instrument Panel Wiring Harness 163/164
JL8 Brakes 243
Leaf Spring to Front Bracket/Leaf Spring to Axle & Rear Shackle 66/67
Master Cylinder Assy & Balance Valve 248
Mirror-Rear View 44
Mirror-LH Door 40
Motor Mounts 94
Parking Brake Alarm 168
Parking Brake Connector & Rear Cables 75
Parking Brake Pedal 74
Parking Lamp 153
Pedal Trim Plates 438
Power Brake Assy @ Cowl 245
Power Steering 373-379
Radiator support to fender & fender support rods 142
Radiator & fan shroud 145
Radio Antenna-Front 410
Radio Capacitors 406
Radio Ground Straps V8 408
Rear License Lamp 172
Rocker Panel Sill Moulding Spears 45
RS Related 423-437
Sheet metal gaps 146-147
Shock Absorber-Front 61
Shock Absorber-Rear 68
Side Marker Lamps-Fender 154
Spare Tire & Jack Storage 132
Speedometer Cable 4-speed 241/322
SS Hood & Emblems 294
SS Paint Stripes 295
Starter Motor Mtg. 89
Steering Box to Column Assy 127
Steering Column Bolt-up 44
Steering Column to Dash Seal 128
Steering Column Mandatory Install Sequence 130
Sub-Frame Body Mounts 50
Sway Bar & Links 62
Tic-Toc-Tach 384
Tie Rod Assy 126
Transmission 4-speed Cross-member Mount 95
Valance to fender & fender extension 143
Ventilation System-Dash 51
Voltage Regulator 92
Windshield Motor Switch 42
Windshield Washer Jar 38
Windshield Washer Nozzle & Hose Rtg. 39
Winshield Wiper Motor, Arm, & Linkage 16
Windshield Wipers 37
Wiring-Alternator, Regulator & Relay 156
Wiring-Floor Console 233
Wiring-Console Gages Eng. Compartment 386
Wiring-Courtesy Lamps 167
Wiring-Engine V8 158
Wiring-Headlamp, Park Lamp, Junction Block & Horn Relay 155
Z/28 Related 441-445

 

[Sauron67MM]

Nice job on you car Chick. For those who do not know, John provided info on how to search the AIM: http://www.camaros.org/AIM.shtml#organize

 

[GoCamaro27]

Chick, I've really enjoyed reading this thread, and your Butternut Yellow Z looks amazing. I can't wait to see the finished car. How is the engine rebuild/reassembly coming along?

 

[68camaroz28]

Nice job on you car Chick. For those who do not know, John provided info on how to search the AIM: http://www.camaros.org/AIM.shtml#organize

Thanks Scott! Guess I'm worse at the AIM than others but I spent too much time finding things and I'm in that rascal more and more, hence my type of contents listed in alpha order. Thought maybe someone else could use as well.

Chick, I've really enjoyed reading this thread, and your Butternut Yellow Z looks amazing. I can't wait to see the finished car. How is the engine rebuild/reassembly coming along?

Thank you and between us your "I can't wait to see the finished car" goes double for me! I screwed up on the engine back in 2002 when I coated it with a protective film when I knew I was going overseas to work for 3-5 years. I should have just fogged it good as I had before and re-bagged it. The engine was rebuilt in 1984 and its still std. bore but the stuff I used to coat the cyl. walls and lifter bores dried out severely and is now caked on and difficult to get off and I'm concerned its going to contaminate the engine so need to tear it back down and do whatever we have to do. More on that soon but the engine program will start in the next two weeks I hope.

 

[68camaroz28]

Just finished the Muncie Shifter restoration and wanted to show a few things I have found on differences between the big block shifter rods and stab. bar vs. the small block. I'm not 100% sure but believe I now have the correct shifter stab. bar as I was under my friends 68Z survivor last week checking things out on his car. The rods with the blue tape are the big block rods and the stab. bar with the angle is what I believe to be used with big blocks. Notice even the stab. bar bracket that attaches to the trans is different. The larger one on the right side is the bracket with the BB shifter stab. bar.

And the finished shifter and rods.

 

[68camaroz28]

Went over the brake/clutch pedal assembly and performed what was needed. The pedals arms were not painted at the top and were a type of semi-flat color (SEM Trim Black was a perfect match) where the main bracket seemed to be the 60% gloss black. The brake arm had a orange dab of paint and the clutch arm blue. Those were not disturbed. Here are several pictures of what we had and some pics of the arms after clean up, no paint.

And a few pics of after paint and finishing the assembly

 

[68camaroz28]

Spent a lot of time over the weekend glass beading parts for phosphate among them all the panel shims. The glav./zinc (whatever it is) coating is very thin and comes off immediately. The biggest hassle was since they were bagged to where they were taken off it was one bag at a time. Also did extras as there will be some adjustments.

 

[68camaroz28]

Started to prepare some engine items that need attention and #1 up was the oil pan. I had a service replacement purchased back around the time we re-built the motor (1984) but back last year I realized I cannot use that nice clean looking pan since it is not correct so now its back to cleaning and preparing a correct one. The old one has no major dents but will have a lot more time in it before its ready to go on the engine. Here are the major differences in the service replacement vs. an original. Believe the correct pan was also used up to 1970 Z's but not 100% sure.
First pic has the pans sitting next to each other and note how the service replacement has a bulge and the left and right indents are minimal and in fact the picture hardly shows them yet the original has very keen indents to the left and right and no middle bulge. Everyone states that is the first giveaway but the indenst on the oil plug side are different in configuration and again, more defined. Lastly, notice the difference in corner tabs. There are some other differences but they are not as obvious.

Mike asked me recently if the oil splash guard had a round hole or oblong hole for the dipstick as the round hole one is correct. I was not sure but was confident what we had was the original. Thanks Mike for the heads up.

One of the original slugs (piston) to note the configuration.

 

[68camaroz28]

Been an interesting few days with some opportunities.
Took the engine to Race Crafters as I'm concerned about the length of time since re-built (any rust that cannot be seen) and debris from the stuff I coated the cyl. walls and lifter bores. Won't do that again! Mike did give me a good tip stating many engines are re-built with aftermarket freeze out plugs and sure enough ours had aftermarket with the diameter stamped on. Ordered and now have GM's plugs as that old pn #838538 is still available and they come 5 to a box.
There was a thread on the CRG asking about the screws that hold the horns in place and if they were zinc or phosphate. I remembered something seemed strange with that bolt and I had bagged it with a note "zinc or phosphate'? I pulled it out and now know it seems all 67 & 68's had zinc bolts and sometime during the 69 model year it changed (???). Believe it was mentioned the reason for zinc was better connectivity for the ground!?!? The CRG link- http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=8973.0

I started to pile up items that will need the silver zinc plating and found the
emergency brake cable connectors sure seem to have been zinc coated.

Pulled a lot of engine parts out and noticed our thought to be used coil brkt that was purchased by the previous owner prior to our purchase in the late 70's is another service replacement that is different from the originals. Looks just fine except where it bolts to the manifold as the service replacement has a slot on one side where the orig. just has one side where the attaching hole is oblong.

The last thing to place on the sub-frame for now was the disc brakes, line brackets, and brake hose. That's when the opportunity arrived as the aftermarket disc brake line brackets are not IMHO bent/made correctly. The left side would take some major changes to the short steel brake line that comes off the caliber to meet the bracket/brake line hose. I placed the original on the and the steel line is right in the center of the bracket. Here are some pics to show the differences between the originals and repros. I have no idea if the originals should have the angle vs. the repros at 90 degrees. The repro bracket also was tight against the caliber (too tight) where-as the orig. was very close by not wedged like the other. I called the supplier and sending them back for evaluation. If your wondering why the repro's its because the originals are pitted. Can anyone shed some light on this issue????
Orig to the left!

The repro hole does not have the same centerline (low).

The two center brackets are the originals.

 

[68camaroz28]

It was sad to see the NOS cowl insulation pad had deteriorated in the box. It was purchased in 1979. It's a mess! Dang it....

 

[Garfields Maro]

hmm....30+ yrs is a long time, but still hard to believe, being in a box. Guessin up in the attic with some extreme temperature changes ?

Sorry I can't help on the PDB brackets....no surprise the repops aren't exactly the same, eh. Think I'd be tempted to make my own as you've got the originals to go by. Be worth a try !

Thanks for tip on the zinc plated parts, didn't catch the brake cable connectors....horn screw does seem familar. Think I'll have plenty of VHT left over too !

On a serious note Chick, and surely you'd catch it (?), but that sure looks like a cracked piston, extreme right side below the dome ?? Sorry, doesn't hurt to ask, right ?

Mighty fine work you're doin' there.....:thumbsup:

 

[68camaroz28]

hmm....30+ yrs is a long time, but still hard to believe, being in a box. Guessin up in the attic with some extreme temperature changes ?

Sorry I can't help on the PDB brackets....no surprise the repops aren't exactly the same, eh. Think I'd be tempted to make my own as you've got the originals to go by. Be worth a try !

On a serious note Chick, and surely you'd catch it (?), but that sure looks like a cracked piston, extreme right side below the dome ?? Sorry, doesn't hurt to ask, right ?

Thanks Garth! We be tearing down the engine and inspecting everything so we will see but would be very surprised if it is actually a crack but again, will check.
I believe that ol' NOS under the dash mat is coming back to life and pics will be forthcoming but it seems to be very fixable. Just have to try or come up with a type of rubberized coating to re-spray after repairs. Ideas anyone?
The front disc brake hose brackets that fit to the caliber would be difficult to make IMHO and would be easier to work the pits out of the originals if needed but that would take a lot of time as well.
Now more almost funny news:noway: I ordered a rear brake line bracket thinking that has a simple angled bend and two holes so should be no issues and will save me from again taking out pits from the original. Just received the re-pop and cannot believe it. Where the angled section starts is actually a half inch shorter compared to our original and I've emailed the supplier asking to check it out. Current plan just reverted back to restore our original!

 

[68camaroz28]

What I posted this morning about the bracket is incorrect. Admit I looked at it wrong and due to another bracket being off I did not check further and should have, especially before posting. I apologize for that. The repro is different but only by 1/8" so it might work but still plan on using the original after a little resto....
A neat tool to have in your tool box is a rifle/shotgun cleaning kit. It comes in handy for many applications like cleaning the front disc rotors, cleaning the bore of the clutch release arm, etc. And its cheap!

 

[Garfields Maro]

"coming back to life" ??....man, I figured you had done put'em out of his misery and buried'em by now.

Only rubberized coatings I can think of is undercoat or maybe some bed liner....would be textured though. Wonder if you can buy rubber by the sheet or roll ?...then glue your remains over the top and trim ??

just a thought....

 

[68camaroz28]

Yep, looking at rubberized coating and will be experimenting with a three types on some cardboard.
The Dupont Paint rep told me you can lay his version on just as light as you want with with little if any texture if applied correctly.
Also no smell after drying and stays flexible I'm ready to start experimenting.
Here is the pull tag that was on the back dated 09/11/80.
The backside of the under-dash pad has a lot of threads.

Here are original pn# 4805844 3/4" rubber plugs that go in the rear inner fenders.
They are still available from GM but the service replacements have no embossed part# as per the smooth faced left one.

Re-built the M21 this week.
Replaced all sync's, bearings, etc. that you would normally replace during a complete tear down and re-build.
Parts purchased from Jody's Transmissions. Jody is a great person and contact as he assists customers with information and is always available.
If you need something for a Muncie, call Jody plus he is a member of Team Camaro!
Wrapped the housing and trail-stock circumferences in the packaging type saran wrap and then blue taped around edges and cut out a window for the side cover plate.
A few minutes of prevention on not getting our greasy hands on the MacNeish prepared alum. housings.
All of the trans bolts are 'sbc' except for one 'L5' 7/16.

 

[rszmjt]

Chick, Trans Looks Really Good. FWIW most Muncies have the ID tag on the very lower front bolt and they are either bent down and in or face rearwards flat on the side cover. This comes from 40+ years of doing Muncies, so many I dont care to try to even fathom how many.
Even though it was not done originaly from GM, I allways put a small dab of silicone on the lower part of the tapered pin that retains the rev shifter shaft, they allways seem to sweat/puke oil. I also put a smear of silicone on the counter pin where it touches the bellhsg, and wipe off the excess after the trans is bolted up, this is also a place for leaking/sweating. A person could use clear silicone ,it probably would not be noticeable.
I hate Oil Leaks, and my own Z28 looks like the Exon Valdez from sitting, I must get motivated and fix up the leaks.