HOSTILETAKEOVER
03-15-2007, 05:34 PM
I have started phase I (and unfortunately part of phase III) on my 69 Camaro coupe.... but a little background first.
I purchased the Camaro in Dec. 05' to fulfill a long time dream of building a super muscle car. The car was originally a Hugger orange 327 auto w/air but came to me as a driver with Mako (crap) black paint and in need of much body work. The structure was very solid though.
Year #1 was spent driving the car to the store on weekends and lots of research and planning; much of which was done thanks to Pro-Touring.com It will be a full blown G-machine with C4 C5 Corvette suspension, stick shift and a twin turbo aluminum small block. The interior will have all the amenities of a modern sports car with a real aircraft cockpit theme; hence the name "Hawker Hunter" after the British fighter. I estimate the project will take five years and 100K start to finish.
Phase I will be suspension, brakes and all the fab work that goes along with it, Phase II interior fab etc... Phase III body work, IV motor etc... and V the paint and upholstery
I was fortunate to discover Frank at Prodigy Customs on the forum. He is located close to me (Apopka FL) and builds just the kind of car I was planning. After meeting with him I was very impressed and we decided Prodigy will do all the suspension and metal work, the final paint and engine will be farmed out elsewhere while the remainder will be done by me.
The car went Prodigy at the end of Jan for DSE mini-tubs, and installation of a C4 Corvette dana 44 independent rear suspension using a Wayne Due IRS kit as a starting point. Franks son Michael does almost all the fabricating there and one look at his work has proven himself worthy of the company name! A little research will show that the Wayne Due kit was never meant for a mini-tub car but with much modification to the IRS, kit and rear frame rails Michael and Frank have made it possible.
The C4 rear was narrowed 2 and 3/8 inches each side with the spindles modified by milling off the ears where the stock sway bar used to attach. Adjustable trailing arms and tie rods had to be fabricated, and the IRS was fitted with QA1 coilovers.
The suspension looks great! The only problem was that before work could properly begin much of the sheet metal on the rear of the car had to be replaced. I guess phase III wasn't going to wait its turn. It turns out that the car had been hit in the rear at some point in its life. There was no structural damage to the unibody but a very resourceful shade tree body man basically grafted the rear of a junk Camaro right over the original body and covered it up with about 500 lbs of bondo. Oh well! It wouldn't be fun without a few surprises. I know this is a long post but just a quick note on Prodigy Customs.
I have built boats, worked on less exciting cars and done my share of home improvement projects. Over the years I learned what to do myself and when to pay a professional artisan. The only problem with artisans is just that, they are artists and seldom give accurate quotes or timelines. WHEN PRODIGY CUSTOMS GIVES YOU A QUOTE THAT IS THE PRICE PERIOD. Frank will give credit if he doesn't need to do something he initially thought necessary but he will not come crying to you for more money once the car is in pieces. He also tells you when the job will be done and then gets it done. Thanks Prodigy.
Rolf
Orlando, FL
I purchased the Camaro in Dec. 05' to fulfill a long time dream of building a super muscle car. The car was originally a Hugger orange 327 auto w/air but came to me as a driver with Mako (crap) black paint and in need of much body work. The structure was very solid though.
Year #1 was spent driving the car to the store on weekends and lots of research and planning; much of which was done thanks to Pro-Touring.com It will be a full blown G-machine with C4 C5 Corvette suspension, stick shift and a twin turbo aluminum small block. The interior will have all the amenities of a modern sports car with a real aircraft cockpit theme; hence the name "Hawker Hunter" after the British fighter. I estimate the project will take five years and 100K start to finish.
Phase I will be suspension, brakes and all the fab work that goes along with it, Phase II interior fab etc... Phase III body work, IV motor etc... and V the paint and upholstery
I was fortunate to discover Frank at Prodigy Customs on the forum. He is located close to me (Apopka FL) and builds just the kind of car I was planning. After meeting with him I was very impressed and we decided Prodigy will do all the suspension and metal work, the final paint and engine will be farmed out elsewhere while the remainder will be done by me.
The car went Prodigy at the end of Jan for DSE mini-tubs, and installation of a C4 Corvette dana 44 independent rear suspension using a Wayne Due IRS kit as a starting point. Franks son Michael does almost all the fabricating there and one look at his work has proven himself worthy of the company name! A little research will show that the Wayne Due kit was never meant for a mini-tub car but with much modification to the IRS, kit and rear frame rails Michael and Frank have made it possible.
The C4 rear was narrowed 2 and 3/8 inches each side with the spindles modified by milling off the ears where the stock sway bar used to attach. Adjustable trailing arms and tie rods had to be fabricated, and the IRS was fitted with QA1 coilovers.
The suspension looks great! The only problem was that before work could properly begin much of the sheet metal on the rear of the car had to be replaced. I guess phase III wasn't going to wait its turn. It turns out that the car had been hit in the rear at some point in its life. There was no structural damage to the unibody but a very resourceful shade tree body man basically grafted the rear of a junk Camaro right over the original body and covered it up with about 500 lbs of bondo. Oh well! It wouldn't be fun without a few surprises. I know this is a long post but just a quick note on Prodigy Customs.
I have built boats, worked on less exciting cars and done my share of home improvement projects. Over the years I learned what to do myself and when to pay a professional artisan. The only problem with artisans is just that, they are artists and seldom give accurate quotes or timelines. WHEN PRODIGY CUSTOMS GIVES YOU A QUOTE THAT IS THE PRICE PERIOD. Frank will give credit if he doesn't need to do something he initially thought necessary but he will not come crying to you for more money once the car is in pieces. He also tells you when the job will be done and then gets it done. Thanks Prodigy.
Rolf
Orlando, FL