1969 Camaro - Excuse for a rebuild (need a catchy project name still)

[seanj]

I know what you're thinking... another 69 Camaro build. Well it is ... but at least I have a cool back-story.

I've been lurking around this forum for a while now and the builds and information on here have already been invaluable to me for my build ideas and planning.

I bought the car about 5 years ago now off the person who imported it into Australia. Info I had on the car was that it came in from Maryland (or at least had a lot of work done at shops in Maryland).

It was a little rough around the edges, a couple of rust spots in the door and roof and a cheap paint job, but it had solid bones. More importantly it had stupid amounts of HP/Torque and it was pretty badass. It was setup as a street/strip car with a 540 BBC Shaffiroff crate motor, a turbo 400, subframe connectors and some serious 70s rake.

Initially it was all about making the car streetable. It was pig rich and used to foul plugs and burn plug wires all the time. By then end, the car was really something I could drive every day. I took it grocery shopping, took the kid to school and drove it to work. It was pretty fast too down the strip, it ran an 11.01 at the 1/4 mile driving 50 miles each way.

Then i got involved in the autocross/pro touring group we have over here in Western Australia (Apocalaps) and the bug bit... hard. My first time there is was 15' ralleys and BFG TAs and it was more than a handful. I did some handling/braking upgrades on the car straight after that first day.


Strange S60 Rear end and 4 wheel disc brakes w/ hydraboost


Tubular control arms and coilovers, DSE steering box. QA1 adjustables on the rear


Holley Multi-point EFI (Huge step towards this made it almost like a modern car. Would start and run without any fuss)


Aeromotive Stealth EFI tank (which didn't work! would starve for fuel while cornering at anything less than 3/4 tank)

In-trunk surge tank setup to alleviate the fuel starving (eliminated starvation, but cost $500 in AN fittings and hose alone!)


Some 17' rims and Toyo R888 tyres to gain some grip on the autocross & track



Picture from my 3rd event


The Fun Ends
I took the car to it's last autocross/circuit day at Perth's racetrack in September 2016 with the Apocalaps gang. It was my first time on a full track and it was fantastic fun, until about an hour before we were about to finish and I lost the rear end of the car on a relatively slow and mundane section (still don't know how/why this happened ) and ended up in the wall. The positive is that I caught it on camera and my wife made it into a funny video



on the upside, I got 2nd in the classic class and received the Jester Award for most entertaining driver of the day

The damage

• All the front sheetmetal/bumpers/trim in front of the firewall was cactus
• Front subframe has a substantial bend, even the subframe connector was bent
• Bent steering wheel from my head

I ended up with mild concussion and mild whiplash. I was wearing a 5 point harness which did a much better job than the original seatbelts would have. I had some good 3 inch wide, strap shaped bruises on my shoulders which reinforce that fact.

The Plan (currently)
Given that their was a fair bit of rust in the rear sections of the car, I didn't see much point in replacing the front sections with shiny new panels and paint and leaving rust holes in the rear roof/wheel tubs. So this is now a full, ground-up build.

12 months later and progress has been much slower than I'd hoped, but progress is being made. It's a bare shell now and is going to the blaster in 2 days to get stripped and show all it's dirty secrets.


I've found some amazingly terrible rust repairs during the strip. It boggles at who would spend $12,000 on an engine and yet repair the outer wheel well/rocker with silicon!

Hi level plan:

• Strip and repair rusted sheetmetal
• If the rear rails are rusted through, I'll probably install a full chassis, otherwise Aftermarket front subframe and bolt in rear 4 link
  
• Retain the Dana60 rear if I can
  
• Roll Cage!
  
• retain bbc (freshen), EFI and install a 4L80e (i'm lazy and I like to eat & drink while I drive)
  
• Vintage Air
  
• Keeping the vinyl roof!
  
• Inexpensive paint job as I don't want to be too afraid to drive this thing

​
Happy to take any suggestions for a project name, puns are allowable (Hard Hitter and Wallbanger have already been suggested)

[AU Doc]

That pic of the wrinkled front end came out of nowhere! I hate to see that, and the description in the video ("world's saddest man") was probably a bit of an understatement.



Keep the updates coming!

[slimjim]

Great to see another car in AUS, and good to see another apocolaps attendee. keep up the good work, it'll pay off. Let me know if you have any trouble sourcing parts, I'm always willing to help out another PT-ozzie

[chuck_skywalker]

man, rough that you crashed but good thing is nowadays everything is pretty much fixable! good luck with the rebuild it'll come back better!

[egoman]

"The Rhinoplasty Rat" because it needs a nose job.

[mert.celet]

"The Rhinoplasty Rat" because it needs a nose job.

That!

[pittpens24]

Hard to top that one but my 2 cents are wait for it.................."Headbanger"

[seanj]

Good input on the names. I'm going to leave the shortlist so far is:

• Wallbanger
• Headbanger
• Hard Hitter

I got the shell back from the blasters last week and all her dirty secrets were laid bare. There were some areas I expected to be bad, which were bad and there were some areas which had been really poorly repaired, which were a surprise.



What I expected

The roof had a lot of pitting. It had a factory vinyl roof. Half a dozen pin holes which I will weld up. No dints or warping in the roof panel, so no need to replace the entire panel.



Frame rails are thinned and rusted through in a couple of sections. This will need replacement as these weak enough from the factory, let alone when corroded.



Rear of the rocker panels is eaten out, including the small brace in there. Not too sure how to repair the inner brace? It may not be necessary with subframe connectors or a even a full chassis?



Surprises

Boot (trunk) floor looks like a it's received a few shotgun blasts. This was all just bogged over and painted



Both rear quarters have been 3/4 replaced. Not a pretty job, but not noticeable under a skim of bog. I'm not aiming for a show car, so these will likely remain



Dodgey attempt to pull out a dent in the rocker panel using screws? This rocker will need to be replaced, at least the outer. It's rusted and bent. This dint was bogged over too



And the best one. A through and through rust hole at the bottom of the door jam. This was packed with bog and painted over so it couldn't be seen.



Where to go with the rear end?

I need to make a plan for the rear of the car before I start cutting. With the trunk floor and chassis rails needing replacement, I'm inclined to go aftermarket which will be stronger and simpler to install. I don't see the point in repairing these with factory replacements and then cut the trunk for a 4 link and mini tubs. Additionally I want to run a bladder fuel cell which will involve a lot of cutting to fit.

I've been researching some full chassis and The Roadster Shop Track Time chassis will bolt in with minimum cutting (ie. no full floor replacement) and also replace the rear frame rails. My question with this setup is roll cage fitment. Because the body is mounted to the chassis and not welded, this would mean the cage needs to be mounted to the body? Will this reduce rigidity of the car?

Other options are AME who's rear clip will replace the rear frame rails and Chassisworks have a similar option too. These both weld in and won't have any issues with the cage.

Is there an advantage in a full chassis over a front and rear clip (welded) tied in with a roll cage? I'm thinking the addition of the cage would make the 2nd option stiffer?

[pittpens24]

It all depends on how far you are going to take it and comparing apples to apples of course. I would not waste the time to weld in frame connectors to a stock front end. One other thing to keep in mind is aftermarket means fabrication in one sense or another. Figuring out how to adapt your mounts, steering, brakes, lines, linkages etc - you cannot just order a stock replacement and expect it to fit. Obviously if you are going to get the full chassis you know everything works together out of the gate - there is no fabrication of piecing things together if say you decided to go with a ridetech front clip and AM rear section. On the other hand, you do have the option to mix things up if you wanted to and build something totally custom to your specs. The addition of a cage to either will stiffen things up. I went with the 2nd option and welded in the frame connectors and 6 pt cage(or 8 pt as SW Racecars claims from the added supports at the tunnel). I went as far as buying the optional dropped side rails and ended up not using the ones in the kit or the dropped - would have been a major PITA to get in and out of the car.

[egoman]

The "DOWN UNDER BLUNDER" lets build it again!

[egoman]

1st gen Camar/OUCH. Its the sudden stop that gets you!

[Stealth 69]

Good input on the names. I'm going to leave the shortlist so far is:

• Wallbanger
• Headbanger
• Hard Hitter

How about "Harvey", as in Harvey Wallbanger .. or something like "Rebound" .. "Resurrection" .. "Death-Proof"

Going to be a gangster build tho

[minendrews68]

First off, I like the looks under hood!!
Man, I'm sorry for the nose job, but it seems like, even though you were hurt, not too badly I hope. I think you will bring it back to be even better. Good looking car, just proceed like your going, bring it back and be proud of it. I like the "Resurrection", but along the same lines it could be called "The Phoenix"

[HotRod47]

I think the car has already been name for you...... The Jester. Take what has been given and use it.


Gonna be nice when done though.

[andrewb70]

The "DOWN UNDER BLUNDER" lets build it again!

I like this project name!

Andrew

[Stealth 69]

I think the car has already been name for you...... The Jester. Take what has been given and use it.


Gonna be nice when done though.

YES!! .. The Jester .. although, you don't really want to tempt fate