PTS-1 69 Camaro (Pro-Tour-Street No.1)

[Kraftwork69]

Well, here we go everyone. Home garage 1969 Camaro build on a budget. Been researching for awhile and I see that there's a fixed formula for a Pro-Touring vintage car. I'm following those basic ground rules and addressing handling, stopping, speed, and looks in incremental stages (no deep pockets here). Ultimate goal is a fun driver for the back country roads.

Well here she is. Nothing special. Just an X44 Base with what appears to be a bunch of Taiwanese metal already in place (floors, quarters). First step is to address all the "interesting" things the previous owner(s) have done to this poor car. Then, lets start with the rear suspension. Hoping to learn a lot from you guys. More to follow........

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[Rod]

whats the end goal of the car? what you install skill level (welder, fabricator) that will help a little on advice

such as a full touring car and we will see you at Goodguys, Optima, Drive AutoX a few times a years, a simple 4 link and some adjustable coil overs are a good base for that and from there we can decide the levels........

or a casual tourer, a simple street grip that gives some of the stance, easy install, and the car will ride well and turn well

[Kraftwork69]

whats the end goal of the car? what you install skill level (welder, fabricator) that will help a little on advice

such as a full touring car and we will see you at Goodguys, Optima, Drive AutoX a few times a years, a simple 4 link and some adjustable coil overs are a good base for that and from there we can decide the levels........

or a casual tourer, a simple street grip that gives some of the stance, easy install, and the car will ride well and turn well


End goal right now is a fun street car for the back country roads. I can weld and fabricate with welders/plasma cutter and the necessary tools accounted for.

This is my 3rd car project. Cut my teeth on a hot VW bug and built a V8 S-10 Mini-Truck many moons ago. Those are all gone now and this, and a Trailblazer SS (daily driver), are the only cars in the shop right now.

From all the readings I can definitely see the appeal to progress into a full touring car. Baby steps. LOL!

[Kraftwork69]

I know I know, there's a bunch of mini-tub pics on here already. But you cant have too much, right? LOL! As for the anemic tiny 10 bolt, It'll definitely get replaced as the power train items are upgraded in time. She can handle what's going to remain up front for now. Enjoy!

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[Kraftwork69]

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[Just 1 More]

I'm curious why you stayed with the spring pad mount for the lower shock and lower link instead of the weld on bracket. I just did mine and the spring pad sure would have been easier

[Kraftwork69]

I'm curious why you stayed with the spring pad mount for the lower shock and lower link instead of the weld on bracket. I just did mine and the spring pad sure would have been easier

Hello there. This Ridetech kit was specifically designed to work with the original rear axle's leaf spring perches and does not include lower weld-on mounts. Only the top link mounts required welding. On the heavy side but does simplify installation a bunch when using a factory rear end.

[Just 1 More]

Hello there. This Ridetech kit was specifically designed to work with the original rear axle's leaf spring perches and does not include lower weld-on mounts. Only the top link mounts required welding. On the heavy side but does simplify installation a bunch when using a factory rear end.

I did the same kit, however, I went with the lower weld on brackets. I have the spring perch brackets sitting on a shelf, might try to sell.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50734358031_e80ab698ee_b-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kidR5T)Resized_20201218_153203 (https://flic.kr/p/2kidR5T) by F G (https://www.flickr.com/photos/153250783@N04/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50777748806_a42143067e_b-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kn4eDG)Resized_20201229_191330 (https://flic.kr/p/2kn4eDG) by F G (https://www.flickr.com/photos/153250783@N04/), on Flickr

[Kraftwork69]

Honestly that's a much cleaner looking way to do it and if my future upgraded axle doesn't come with them I'll be doing it your way as well. Thanks for the pics!

Just noticed I use the same kerosene heater to knock the chill off so a little work can get done this winter. LOL

[Kraftwork69]

So when you remove this stuff......

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..... and you cut out this stuff.......

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... all this cool gear can finally be installed. Ridetech is an awesome company to work with! :

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I could not get Speedtech's Chicane mount to work with the Gulstrand mod. Had to settle with tall upper ball joints. I've read that there's little to no difference between the two in terms of the amount of negative camber gained during cornering.

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I know I know...wear gloves but what's the secret again to remove POR-15 from your hands? LOL! I did not like the sharp corners on the front chicane brackets. Looked like stress risers to me so I filled them in with chamfers. Also not a fan of the upper bolt. Searching for a 12 point MS or NAS aircraft bolt designed for shear loads now (will look better too).

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And this finishes off the front suspension for now.

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[Kraftwork69]

It appears to be a consensus that DSE's subframe connectors are the best choice for stiffening up the undercarriage. From a structural standpoint intersecting the floor pan for addition stiffness makes sense to me. I also found a post on here where someone welded in sleeves to support through bolts vs. welding them to the subframe. With all that said, here you go......

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Pulling up sound deadening material after its been down for a bit is a royal pain by the way. Wasn't fun at all.

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[Just 1 More]

Beautiful job on those subframe connectors

[Kraftwork69]

Beautiful job on those subframe connectors

Many thanks! I was a bit nervous cutting into the floor. Must've measured and marked for hours. 😂 Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.

[Motown 454]

Beautiful job on those subframe connectors

I agree nice job! It all looks good.

[Kraftwork69]

I agree nice job! It all looks good.

Thanks Wayne. Fantastic work on your Camaro by the way. Very inspirational!

[Kraftwork69]

Here's some interior work I did earlier before tackling the suspension. I never liked the factory dash cap and word on the block was the aftermarket ones are low quality and don't fit well. Had decided to make my own.

Taped off the dash area and coated it with Pam as the release agent:

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After laying down a layer of fleece with a layer of 1/2 oz cloth, trimmed to ensure fitment and left on to cure.

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Wooden frame is built to support the contour shape around the gauge cluster area. This is where you can get creative with different shapes. I kept it kinda simple.

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After glassing over the frame with lots of filling, sanding and priming.

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These are the best I've used to reproduce that plastic/vinyl grain texture/color.

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Finished dash cap.

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Stainless steel mesh installed over the defog vents.

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[Just 1 More]

Are you freakin kidding me? That looks awesome. If you're ever near Fort Wayne, please stop by and help do mine. All the free pizza and beer you can handle.. lol

[Kraftwork69]

Are you freakin kidding me? That looks awesome. If you're ever near Fort Wayne, please stop by and help do mine. All the free pizza and beer you can handle.. lol

Will do!!!! LOL! You know I lived in Huntington for three years and spent lots of time in Fort Wayne. I do miss it up there.

Cheers!

[dhutton]

Beautiful work. Awesome skills.

Don

[Just 1 More]

Will do!!!! LOL! You know I lived in Huntington for three years and spent lots of time in Fort Wayne. I do miss it up there.

Cheers!

I'm actually in Huntington,, 7 miles north of town.

[Kraftwork69]

Beautiful work. Awesome skills.

Don


Thanks! Use to work at a car audio shop back in the day when fiberglassing contoured shaped speaker enclosures became popular. Owe all my composite knowledge to that time. Here's a better shot from the opposite side.

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[Kraftwork69]

I'm actually in Huntington,, 7 miles north of town.

Too cool. Being a car guy the names Hoss Cocklin, Todd DeLay, and Greg Boxel may be familiar to you.

[Kraftwork69]

Just a few catchup items. My local car Audio shop said this stuff works very well under the headliner. Its nice and thick but lightweight and is layered with acoustic foam, foil material, and that sticky butyl rubber. With no AC and the planned satin black color I'm going to need all the help I can get.

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Installing the Quick Ratio 12.7:1 box was a royal pain. I know these old headers have seen better days but they fit OK before. Cant understand after all this time why no one makes a set of headers that fit perfect for these cars. I had to cut and add a new section to go around the new steering gear. No need trying to source new headers anyway when an engine change is a future possibility. Was a fair bit of work just for about 3/8" of clearance but did not want to do the ball peen hammer thing.

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Just gotta take it back out now and finish the welds. I know it looks like the cylinder#3 pipe hits the box but it clears by 1/4". Just a funky picture angle.

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You ever have those few body panel areas that are just gapped weird and makes you twitch when you look at them? Good old aftermarket sheet metal. Waiting on parts soooo........

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[Motown 454]

Nice Job! you can't even tell it was touched.

[Kraftwork69]

Nice Job! you can't even tell it was touched.

Thanks! Not a fan of body work but I'm forcing myself to get better to remain a true DYI guy. LOL! I usually warp the heck out of these panels but learned to take my time. Only needed a skin coat this time.

[slazisme]

Just a few catchup items. My local car Audio shop said this stuff works very well under the headliner. Its nice and thick but lightweight and is layered with acoustic foam, foil material, and that sticky butyl rubber. With no AC and the planned satin black color I'm going to need all the help I can get.





Installing the Quick Ratio 12.7:1 box was a royal pain. I know these old headers have seen better days but they fit OK before. Cant understand after all this time why no one makes a set of headers that fit perfect for these cars. I had to cut and add a new section to go around the new steering gear. No need trying to source new headers anyway when an engine change is a future possibility. Was a fair bit of work just for about 3/8" of clearance but did not want to do the ball peen hammer thing.

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Just gotta take it back out now and finish the welds. I know it looks like the cylinder#3 pipe hits the box but it clears by 1/4". Just a funky picture angle.

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Great work fabbing up that new dash pad! What size primaries are on those headers, my headers have 3/4" clearance with my Delphi 600 box, Flowtech's
In for more update's


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[NOT A TA]

Nice work you're doing! Dash pad looks like it came out really nice.

[Kraftwork69]

Great work fabbing up that new dash pad! What size primaries are on those headers, my headers have 3/4" clearance with my Delphi 600 box, Flowtech's
In for more update's

Thanks. They're 1-3/4" primaries. I see now that the 600 series boxes are smaller which would of helped. I also saw that the Flowtechs are popular for their better clearances as well. Next time!

The motor is how I want it for now so time for a little more fiberglass work:

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3/4" scrap cut to the shape of the electric fan:

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Partial box together dimensioned as the radiator:

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Covered with tape .................

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....... three coats of wax to serve as the release agent:

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Polyester Fleece stretched tight, stapled and ready for resin:

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Fleece is thick so apply heavily:

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Remove carefully when fully cured:

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Start test fitting after some light sanding and trimming:

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Little filler, sand smooth, and prime for paint:

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Fun project and I think looks and may even perform better than the flat aluminum setups. We shall see.

[Gmc427]

Thanks. They're 1-3/4" primaries. I see now that the 600 series boxes are smaller which would of helped. I also saw that the Flowtechs are popular for their better clearances as well. Next time!

The motor is how I want it for now so time for a little more fiberglass work:

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3/4" scrap cut to the shape of the electric fan:

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Partial box together dimensioned as the radiator:

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Covered with tape .................

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....... three coats of wax to serve as the release agent:

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Polyester Fleece stretched tight, stapled and ready for resin:

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Fleece is thick so apply heavily:

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Remove carefully when fully cured:

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Start test fitting after some light sanding and trimming:

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Little filler, sand smooth, and prime for paint:

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Fun project and I think looks and may even perform better than the flat aluminum setups. We shall see.

nice build!what brand are your acc pulleys etc?regards

[Kraftwork69]

nice build!what brand are your acc pulleys etc?regards

Thanks! Getting there. Pulleys and PS mount are from March Performance.

[Kraftwork69]

Mentioned earlier that the upper hardware that comes with the Speedtech Chicane mount kit was undesirable. I'm sure its plenty strong but was able to find what I was wanting. If interested the part number is MS21250-38 and can be sourced at most aviation hardware companies. It's a 180 KSI, 200,000 PSI tensile strength bolt. Overkill? Well....yea. :razz:

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[Kraftwork69]

So I had removed the torsion rods awhile back and this is my sad trunk prop rod. Either they were worn out or this aftermarket trunk lid is just too heavy for them. Is it me or are these trunk lids way heavier than they need to be?

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With the battery now in the trunk this just wont do anymore so time to get some functional bling. :)

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Installation was pretty simple but did need to make some shims to get the trunk lid height back to where it should be. Figure I'd use slices of carbon sheet to not add anymore weight to this heavy trunk lid.

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Problem is you just cant put those in the back and leave these up front.

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Problem solved but phew $$$$$$. :)

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The hood literally flies all the way open when unlatched! Wondering if the struts are just a bit too strong for this aftermarket steel cowl hood. It wont stay in any position once opened but all the way up. The back could definitely use something stronger like these. May see if I can swap those all out but I'm happy overall. Solid open and close with no wiggle now.

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Again, seems once you add a little bling it just grows from there. LOL. Had to splurge on these as well.

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Wheels are Boze ProTour wheels with 18X8 up front wrapped in 225/40 Pilot Sports (I saw that this is what most folks use), and 18X11 out back with 315/30s. Zak at Boze spent a while with me on the phone making sure the measurements were perfect. Good experience and learned a lot. Small body issues to clean up with exhaust fixes then rolling.

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[Kraftwork69]

When you say "I'll just fix this one area", it just exposes more and more spots that need attention. Fixing that trunk lid gap grew into an entire blocking of the body. It did need it though but nothing more than skin coats here and there:

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So here we have it with what I call "stage 1" complete and a coat of hot rod black primer (for now). Take a stock 69 Base Camaro and install: mini-tubs, 4-link, coil-overs all the way around, big sway bar, tubular control arms (Improved caster/negative camber gain), fast ratio steering gear, Disc brakes with hydroboost, sub-frame connectors with solid body mounts, and finally wheels with soft rubber................ and what I got was a dramatically different and extremely fun driving vehicle. I'm sold. Nothing terrible to bolt-on with just a little welding. Time to enjoy this for the rest of the warm season and contemplate what "stage 2" will look like. Cheers!

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[Kuhlhaus]

Awesome! I enjoyed the ride along... Went through it from the start again. Great way to enjoy my afternoon coffee break. I got glimpses of my future too!

Great job.

[Cheveezy]

When you say "I'll just fix this one area", it just exposes more and more spots that need attention. Fixing that trunk lid gap grew into an entire blocking of the body. It did need it though but nothing more than skin coats here and there:

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So here we have it with what I call "stage 1" complete and a coat of hot rod black primer (for now). Take a stock 69 Base Camaro and install: mini-tubs, 4-link, coil-overs all the way around, big sway bar, tubular control arms (Improved caster/negative camber gain), fast ratio steering gear, Disc brakes with hydroboost, sub-frame connectors with solid body mounts, and finally wheels with soft rubber................ and what I got was a dramatically different and extremely fun driving vehicle. I'm sold. Nothing terrible to bolt-on with just a little welding. Time to enjoy this for the rest of the warm season and contemplate what "stage 2" will look like. Cheers!

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Any info on your console? Is that just a stock 69 console that you modified? Looks great!

[slazisme]

Glad to see your progress coming along nicely! Now that the car is rolling on new wheels n rubber it's gotta make you feel that all that hard work is staring to pay off and show. Keep on rockin in the free world.

[Kraftwork69]

Any info on your console? Is that just a stock 69 console that you modified? Looks great!

Console was one of the first things I made for the car. All home grown. MDF and fiberglass. Wish I had taken some pics but may be making one for my neighbor and will document construction. Thanks!

[Kraftwork69]

Awesome! I enjoyed the ride along... Went through it from the start again. Great way to enjoy my afternoon coffee break. I got glimpses of my future too!

Great job.

Thanks Ken! Following your 67 build as well. I learn tons by watching. Cheers!

[Kraftwork69]

Glad to see your progress coming along nicely! Now that the car is rolling on new wheels n rubber it's gotta make you feel that all that hard work is staring to pay off and show. Keep on rockin in the free world.


It it sure is rewarding. I'm still a bit surprised at how well it handles corners. Also very pleased with how easy all the gear was to install and adjust. Already started another shopping list. LOL!

[Cheveezy]

Console was one of the first things I made for the car. All home grown. MDF and fiberglass. Wish I had taken some pics but may be making one for my neighbor and will document construction. Thanks!

Thanks!

[ryeguy2006a]

Very nice job on the mini-tubs and the project overall. Fiberglass work is outstanding.

[Kraftwork69]

Very nice job on the mini-tubs and the project overall. Fiberglass work is outstanding.

Thanks! Your build is inspiring and giving me a lot of ideas as I consider powertrain upgrades. Hoping to pull that "LS" trigger this winter.

[keepat]

Love the home built cars! Very nice fiberglass work!
Good luck with the build!
Pat

- - - Updated - - -

Love the home built cars! Very nice fiberglass work!
Good luck with the build!
Pat

[Mike71nova]

The carbon fiber shims may cause corrosion. Make sure you have paint any where the metal (bolts) touch. I cant remember but I think stainless steel will have the lowest reaction. Project looks amazing. Love what you did with your dash pad.

[Kraftwork69]

The carbon fiber shims may cause corrosion. Make sure you have paint any where the metal (bolts) touch. I cant remember but I think stainless steel will have the lowest reaction. Project looks amazing. Love what you did with your dash pad.

I had no idea that was a possibility and had to research it a bit. I'm in the aviation world and should have known this. Fail! LOL! Looks like as long the material is dried/cured before assembling/contact the galvanic corrosion possibility is minimal. The aluminum hinges are also coated and the bolts are stainless with no direct contact which helps.

Thanks for the tip and forcing me to go learn new stuff.

Cheers!

[Mike71nova]

Yes all we do is prime holes most of the time. Also Aviation here. Fiberglass layers also works wonders at stopping it.

[Kraftwork69]

Just some updated items and nothing major but some effective stuff and lessons learned. The older version of Ridetech's 4-Link did start making noise especially after they warm up. Replaced them with the "R-Joints" and so far so go. Used the install jig to keep the lengths identical for my pinon angle during the swap.

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Saw a nicer looking front spoiler and gave it a try. I like the change and styling and the price was right at just a hundred bones.

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Needed some major changes with the exhaust. Was not able to run it over the rear-end but going under isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Even jacked with it hanging it does not touch the tubing due to the coil overs.

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Now for some fun tuning stuff for you carb guys. After some changes I could tell she was pig rich so on goes the AFR gauge to get her back.

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Tried as I may just could not get the stock metering block to play nice. Got an aftermarket block with adjustable restrictors for more fine tuning. Its said that with a bunch of patience you can get a carb close to EFI. Well, at least for the conditions on that day. LOL!

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For you EFI guys, this is what the software looks like for us old school carb guys.

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After two days of swapping jets, power valves, and restrictors, got the idle and WOT where it needs to be for my setup. Transitions to cruise (about 15:1) are butter smooth. Phew!!!

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As a reminder (and obviously I was a victim) if you see this nice thick carb gasket and think it'll seal well....RUN Away! Ended up over torqueing the carb hardware to get it to seal which results in this. I should know better. The result is an aftermarket billet carb base (that would be the purple barney one in the pic above):

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Lesson learned!

[Vimes]

I like that, carb software for the EFI guys. I also like how that overdrive transmission indicator looks like it was a 1969 factory piece. Very nice.

[Kraftwork69]

I like that, carb software for the EFI guys. I also like how that overdrive transmission indicator looks like it was a 1969 factory piece. Very nice.

Thanks. I poke fun but truly getting gear together for EFI. One thing about that shift plate. I spent a whole day trying to cut/weld/modify the original shifter detent plate to get the shifter to line up with the correct indicated gear. Don't be cheap like me. Just buy the one for a 700R4 and be done with it. ;0)