It lives! The motor is done.... for now

[woody80z28]

Woooooooo fiberglass.

Two studs on the spoiler were gone so I cut some all-thread and glued it in with resin. (Notice the Buick door work bench since my dad stole my saw horses) haha Each end had cracks in them, so I wadded them full of duraglass once I ground them out.




To get the spoiler aligned with the end pieces and fitting the deck lid better I had to add a little bit to the bottom side. So I taped the deck lid, laid duraglass on the deck lid and installed the spoiler. As it was starting to kick I ran the spreader down the front and I think it will smooth out really easily.






Hopefully all is well when it's done. Alignment was horrible before, and with the dark blue that's going on the reflection would stick out like a sore thumb I'm sure. I don't think it ever really shined when it was maroon so it didn't look as bad! haha

Haha. Probably a good call. It does have a hair more gap on one side. probably a slice and reweld would do it. You're an evil influence...haha

Cut the spoiler off, cleaned up the bottom side and got the fitment perfect.






And saw a quote in the new Hot Rod that seems directly applicable...

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Made myself a bondo spreader on the CNC at work. Hopefully it helps me get the 3 pieces of the spoiler matching perfect. Should be a lot easier than what I have been doing...


Hood openings need work too. I'm trying to finish up the spoiler before moving on to the next issue, but I may be able to save some time by ordering a new nose. I'm still not excited about using the one I have. There are some waves in it, and has tiny little cracks when you sand it all the way down to the urethane. Wondering if a different nose will fit at the hood differently. The nose I'm looking at is the Stinger fiberglass one (same place that made my hood).
https://www.americansportscar.com/pr...981-front-flex

So I bought the Stinger nose. My dad was headed to Mopar Carlisle to sell parts and Stinger was going to be there as a vendor...so I called them up and had them send a sweet Chevy nose on the truck with all their Mopar junk! haha Saved me about $200 in boxing/shipping charges.

Quality looks pretty good. I do see a couple minor flaws, but that's the beauty of fiberglass...it's easy to fix!

One little problem I ran in to though. Looks like I need to grind the fiberglass headlight bucket/grille structure down to fit the nose over it. It doesn't just stretch over like the urethane.

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[woody80z28]

Started installing the nose. I studded the fenders to make it easier to bolt on. Doing the bolts from the front was always a pain because there was no direct shot to get on them, you had to screw around with a knuckle or bend the urethane. Neither are a good solution... So now it goes on and I can start the nuts by hand. Then they are easily tightened with a knuckle on a long extension.





Fitment at the fender extension kinda sucked, and I saw a post about steel supports that were never on my car. So I fabbed some up out of 1/8". Seems to work pretty well.




Hood gap sucks though. So that's something I need to tackle. Hinges need rebuilding before that though. So I'm drilling and using 1/2" bolts and nuts. Going to tack the nut to the bolt when I get the pivot at the tightness I want.



Test fit the headlight & signal buckets, and grilles. None of them fit great, so they will take a little work too.



But I kinda like that it almost looks like a car!


So now I'm working on getting the spoiler perfect...finishing the last fitment project before tackling the newest one...

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Happy with the spoiler now. Check.





Ordered some hardware from boltdepot.com to rebuild my hinges. They have a TON of stuff. And I'm actually going to order some 3/8 brass washers and drill them to 1/2 because these 1/2 ones are huuuuge.

So, I like the way the hinges work now. I drilled all the 3/8 holes in the hinges to 1/2 and used a 1/2" shoulder bolt with a 3/8 stud. Plan is to blast and powdercoat the hinges, assemble, and tack the nut to the bolt when done. Maybe threadlocker would be better though. I haven't decided yet.

I posted in BS about an illustration I did with some 20" ZL1 wheels. Totally loving the concave face and the blacked out look. Looks pissed off. NASTY! But I was a little worried that 20" wheels would just look too big.

So I had a friend come over and I tried the stock SS 20s...

Nope!

Too big.

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[woody80z28]

I saw Fesler just released a flush mount glass kit for 70-74 with a the rear in the works for 75-81 and it got me all excited! Then I looked at the price and decided to see what other options there are... haha

This is a roll of T-trim that I used on my Beretta. It's a Dodge Dakota spec that is used as a universal. I'm going to check to see if there is something similar available that is slightly wider than 1/2". To set it up like the first picture I will have to weld additional metal to 3 of the 4 dimensions. To set it up like the second pic I may be able to use a 3/4 or something and have it look pretty good.




I'm pretty damn sick of body work though. And I do need to spray my subframe and inner fenders, and probably reshoot the firewall. So I dropped the engine in to do some final mockup.

Going to gusset the rear LCA mounting ears (since stock LCA brace doesn't fit with headers) and modify the G-braces to fit under the cowl instead of on top. Also hoping there is enough floor clearance to cut off the 3-bolt flanges and replace them with V-band clamps (did my whole truck exhaust with V-bands and love it).

I wanted to get all the EFI wiring harness stuff finalized, too. I'm adjusting wire length for a cleaner fit and I'll need at least one more hole in the firewall and a different disconnect for the distributor. Mounted my ignition coil on stand offs and really like the look. Also mounted the type-2 PS pump with my bracket and pulley from Speedway. Seems like pretty good stuff.





Cardboard header gaskets to keep from chewing up the alum heads. haha


First time with this engine in the car and the pan is pretty damn low.


This pic exaggerates it, but the pan looks to be about the lowest point for ground clearance. So that's not good. I did some research and found out it's a Summit pan with a 8.25 depth. So I'll be fine to cut it up and raise the sump an inch. Probably take me from 7qts to 5.5 or 6. I'll figure out the math.


Fabbed a cowl brace for the g-braces. I moved the g-braces under the cowl to gain some hood clearance, new hood is tight. I used some 3/4 x 1-1/2" bar stock as nuts and welded them to a thick wall gas pipe. Button head bolts keep hood clearance maxed out. I already have 1/8" plate welded under the cowl for some extra strength. Got some big washers I'm going to weld to the fenders too- there needs to be spacers for the g-brace mounts anyway.

I also drilled holes in the tunnel for wiring. Going to weld the stock wiring hole in the firewall shut. Decided after mocking stuff up that one wiring hole looks out of place with everything else being so clean.

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[woody80z28]

Picked up some more parts on Black Friday sales...mainly DSE lower arms, QuickTime scatter shield and a Wilwood 7/8 master.

Fabbed a bracket and ran the throttle cable. First bracket didn't line up well so I offset it. Angle iron looks good when you clean it up! Going in the powdercoat pile.




The SFI bell is a big heavy SOB. I put it in to make sure my planned wiring routes would still be ok. Looks like it will.




DSE arms are like jewelry. Be a shame when they're all full of road grime. haha (Stockers are for sale in the swap meet section, with delrin bushings). What I really wanted was the added caster.



Plumbing in a puke tank to eliminate the PCV. At 11:1, I don't need oil reducing the effective octane of the fuel. Area was tight, so I'm doing a pair of 90s looping forward to clear the MSD coil and the g-brace.



Assembled the PTFE lines for the power steering with the S10 TypeII pump.


Also think I've decided on a fuel line solution. Regulator up front for accessibility with crossovers front and rear to minimize any pressure spikes from injectors firing (especially in MPFI batch mode). The regulator being so close to the rails should also help with that. Routing the lines far away from the headers should minimize any problems with heat soak. Have a couple fittings in the mail to finalize the plumbing, but this should be it:





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Working on a project I started because of the aero thread on p-t. I've always wanted to smooth the fender vents, but they're pot metal. So I'm going to cut up the stock vent to use as a trim ring and fab the actual scoop out of the sheet metal. It's also going to quadruple the area for underhood air to exit (theoretically reducing drag and aiding in cooling).








Made a date with my body guy to get this damn thing painted! And he's running behind schedule...so I'll post these for now. But it's in queue. I have the body work done to basically the best of my ability and he's going to finish everything up perfect and spray it. (I did my Beretta last year and a couple spots that I thought were perfect showed slight flaws a few months after fresh paint).

I really like how the fender vents came out. It was difficult to get a good decreasing radius bend that was smooth. My old landlord has an English wheel that I used and that's pretty tedious, but it worked ok.

[woody80z28]

I also got my rear bumper project done. It's something I've thought about for quite a while. It has always driven me nuts that the bottom of the rear bumper isn't on the same plane as the bottom of the quarter. I photoshopped it to match and it looks so much better. So I cut up the stock one to try it out and fit a basic rear diffuser idea to match the aero package I'm going to do in a year or two.


I was happy with the results, so I bought a Glasstek rear bumper and cut it up. I used the car as my jig and some ABS sheet as a backer to slop some kitty hair on it and make it one piece again. I also made some studded steel plates to eliminate the metal "straps" for the urethane bumper ends and duraglassed them in. Then I took it off the car, removed the self tappers and peeled the ABS off and hit it with fiberglass cloth and resin to give it some strength.














I really like the "fatass" look. I think it helps with the really short and wide back end. I also like how the metal strap delete cleans it up. I got a 12" LED bar that will serve as the reverse lights right above the license plate and it can tint the whole taillight lens smoke red which will work with my "amber delete" tail idea. I also welded a much better mount for my kill switch than the one I cobbed when I was 20. haha. I'm going to make a license plate holder/trim piece out of ABS that looks much better when the plate is off and the switch is exposed.

[Martin71RS]

Nice work! I like what you're building there :-)

[woody80z28]

Been too long since an update...but it's coming along. I need to quit racing the Beretta! haha Well, after this month...cause I'm taking it back to the strip. I figure if I break it again it will be a kick in the ass to get this car done.

Finally got some time to finish modifying my subframe. Got a bunch of stuff from John at Lab-14.com to strengthen it. Plates and studs for the UCA mounts, thick washers for the LCA mounts, plates for the body mounts, adjustable braces for the UCA studs. Saved a ton of time. I wish I had seen his site before I had done so much of the same stuff myself. I wanted to do the sway bar plate because I think a welded nut is a better solution than drilling and tapping a plate like I did, but I was not cutting off the plate I already fully welded on. But I did cut and weld the big UCA/shock mount as suggested.














I also scoured through the depths of McMaster for some other mods I had planned. I welded a coupler nut inside the cross bar at the front of the frame horns. I figure I can use the bolt as a jacking point to get the front end in the air. Might work for a tow hook mount, too. I'll find out soon. The only problem with that big bar I welded in is the access to the radiator mounts, so I welded in some cage nuts.






I've got some more stuff to update on Tuesday. That deep spring bucket of the DSE arms made it impossible to install my Hotchkis coils with my compressor tool - even with a coil cut and compressed as far as my compressor would go. So you can probably guess where this is going...

BTW, anybody need some Hotchkis coils?

[woody80z28]

Here's where I am now. I hit the chassis stuff with epoxy and Raptor Liner. Made a couple changes to the firewall after my last mockup too. The Raptor really gives a nice look, and the texture hides some imperfections.










This pic shows how it all works together with the braces to keep it all rock solid with the g-braces. The cantilevered subframe needs a lot of bracing to be stable. The bracing is a tight fit, but it works with the stock PS lines and the AN-6 setup I'll be running.

[woody80z28]

Long time no update. Been working on my Beretta since I kissed the valves off the pistons on a missed shift...oops. But now that car should be about 270hp instead of 200. haha

I do have a bunch of old photos that I never did post for some reason. So here they are.

I picked up a set of double adjustable Viking coilovers from UMI. Went with the 550lb springs. My old Hotchkis were 600 (which I still have if anyone is interested) but I can adjust the shocks stiffer when racing with these. (And way lighter for drag racing.)








I also did have to change the stock 6" length idler from ProForged to the Howe on "for threaded sleeves" meaning heim-style tie rods. The PF piece is really nice, but caused the tie rod bolt to hit the LCA bolt on the crossmember.

I also got some bumpsteer studs from Speedway for the knuckles. With the locknut barely catching threads they are really close, but I'm sure the correct adjustment will not be at the very bottom.

[woody80z28]

Minor miracle alert! Car went off to paint jail after almost 2 years of waiting for a spot. Nice to see it in some daylight. And get the room back! It's been sitting around almost untouched forever.

Race ramps worked awesome. I love the open center of the trailer too, makes it easy to strap the car down. It may come in handy as a "lift" if I need it, too.

[andrewb70]

Hopefully the paint jail won't be too long!

Andrew

[woody80z28]

Well, it came back from paint jail with some overspray on it...but zero progress. None. And now I have one of these things, so time is harder to come by. Body work is smelly, dusty and loud...none of them are too babysitting-friendly.


So I dragged it out for some paint quotes at different shops..but DAMN they're pricey! I almost want to flat black it and send it...

[mbuenavides]

The baby looks happy. Looks like this built has been keeping you busy in the long run.

[Mechanical]

Been following your story and wanted to say great job on keeping at it!

If you haven’t painted it yet, have you considered “dipping it” ?

I had done this to my Chevelle about 4 years ago and it came out great

Positives are you can do it in your garage for about $300 and when you are tired of it, just peels off and doesn’t harm anything underneath

I am also working on restoring my 81z28 !!

[Mechanical]

Been following your story and wanted to say great job on keeping at it!

If you haven’t painted it yet, have you considered “dipping it” ?

I had done this to my Chevelle about 4 years ago and it came out great

Positives are you can do it in your garage for about $300 and when you are tired of it, just peels off and doesn’t harm anything underneath

I am also working on restoring my 81z28 !!

[woody80z28]

I've "dipped" some chrome trim before and it worked pretty well. I'm so disassembled, though, that it really needs actual paint inside the window channels, etc. I'm going to spray it myself. I did that with my Beretta and it came out ok. Just need more time, and lately I tend to skipping the body work stuff and working on other projects that are more fun. But I will get there.


Been doing a lot on my youtube channel lately. But this is the only Camaro video in a long time...haha
https://youtu.be/A_8OONuQ2m0

[woody80z28]

Been quite a while since I made any progress...been busy with a lot of other stuff.

I fabricated a way to put 13.4" Corvette Z06 rotors with regular C6 calipers on the Camaro axle using Blazer backing plates. I also made it easily changeable so I can go back to 11.6" Blazer brakes when I need to run my 15" drag wheels...without needing to pull the axles and swap backing plates. I ended up spending about $300...I'll call that a win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD9eC8DCDtU

[ryeguy2006a]

That's a very interesting rear brake setup. Can you tell us more about the parts combination that you used?

[woody80z28]

That's a very interesting rear brake setup. Can you tell us more about the parts combination that you used?

It's all covered in the video, but it's ~2000-2005 Blazer rear backing plates and ebrake components, with 2007 Corvette Z06 13.4 rotors and base Corvette calipers. Fits the Blazer ebrake stuff when spaced correctly, and there are custom brackets to bolt the Corvette calipers to Blazer backing plates. Blazer backing plates allow me to remove the corvette stuff and run 11.6 Blazer rotors and calipers when I need to clear my 15" drag wheels with slicks.