Texas Hotrod
08-31-2007, 07:23 PM
I've been a member here for quite a while, and I can honestly say that it's an awesome place to hang out and check out really cool cars. People here are really respectable, it's nice not having to tolerate all the idiots and the bashing that goes on.
So, congrats to everyone.
My car is a 68 Camaro that originally came w/hide-a-way lights, making it an RS. Having the 350 engine and several other options that are SS specific, makes it a true RS/SS. Originally air conditioned and power assisted makes the package even better.
The body had been gutted and partially prepped for repainting. The body was almost rust free (a few minor issues), the rear lower quarters and the doors were perfect. It was wrecked in the front at one time, so it came with a truck load of new parts. New GM front fenders, NOS grille (non RS), NOS core support, bumper brackets, inner fenders and other boxes that I haven't even opened yet. I did find a box that included the instrument cluster, the odometer read 58K miles. Another box contained the console (in poor shape) and the horse shoe shifter (in so-so shape).
I assembled the body so I could start on the initial body work and panel alignments.
The the body is assembled, so I started on the suspension. I mounted the car to a roll-a-round dolly that I made from 4" square tubing. I knew this couldn't be built on jack stands, so my first project was to build a table suitable for the complete car. I shimmed the dolly to make it level on the floor and then leveled the car to the dolly at ride height. I took out the stock 10 bolt and started taking notes and measurements. I had a Chevy truck 12 bolt (3.73 posi) in storage, so I opted to use it. I modded the axle shafts into a car pattern, making a set of 10.5" Z06 wheels fit perfectly in the rear fenders. That was the easy part, now for the front.
I purchased a Crown Vic front suspension unit (wider trac than the Camaro's) for really cheap and spent the last few months building a custom sub frame to mount it to. Modern front geometry and rack/pinion steering will make it an awesome freeway driver. These cars (Ford cop cars) have a coil-over shock design that gives a really nice ride and aluminum construction adds to the uniqueness. I can remove 4 big bolts and the front unit drops out of the frame. Then removing the usual 6 body mount bolts, and the body comes off. It's all built with having quick disassembly/quick assembly/easy servicability in mind.
After all this effort put into the front suspension and sub frame, the low-tec axle was just out of place. So it had to go.
I am currently installing Vette IRS, which I also had in storage.
I made mounting brackets that bolt to different points of the body structure with a crossmember that was then welded to the brackets. The IRS unit is then a direct bolt in ,with nothing permanently welded to the body. It's an issue with being anal about cutting up such a clean original body. Everything is mounted with 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4" grade 8 bolts. So, basically the whole chassis can be disassembled with 3 wrenches and 2 sockets, and all the factory hardware can be bolted back on. So far I've had to drill only 4 holes in the main body structure, nothing else has been hacked on. I plan on building a twin turbo 406 with dry sump oiling, and a TH400.
I have pictures of the build up here:
http://community.webshots.com/user/mosmeyerperformance
There's caption descriptions under some of the pics, so look closely.
There's also pics of my other projects and my friend's twin turbo 1985 Camaro that I also built.
I'll post more pics as work slowly progresses.
Thanks everyone,
Gene.
So, congrats to everyone.
My car is a 68 Camaro that originally came w/hide-a-way lights, making it an RS. Having the 350 engine and several other options that are SS specific, makes it a true RS/SS. Originally air conditioned and power assisted makes the package even better.
The body had been gutted and partially prepped for repainting. The body was almost rust free (a few minor issues), the rear lower quarters and the doors were perfect. It was wrecked in the front at one time, so it came with a truck load of new parts. New GM front fenders, NOS grille (non RS), NOS core support, bumper brackets, inner fenders and other boxes that I haven't even opened yet. I did find a box that included the instrument cluster, the odometer read 58K miles. Another box contained the console (in poor shape) and the horse shoe shifter (in so-so shape).
I assembled the body so I could start on the initial body work and panel alignments.
The the body is assembled, so I started on the suspension. I mounted the car to a roll-a-round dolly that I made from 4" square tubing. I knew this couldn't be built on jack stands, so my first project was to build a table suitable for the complete car. I shimmed the dolly to make it level on the floor and then leveled the car to the dolly at ride height. I took out the stock 10 bolt and started taking notes and measurements. I had a Chevy truck 12 bolt (3.73 posi) in storage, so I opted to use it. I modded the axle shafts into a car pattern, making a set of 10.5" Z06 wheels fit perfectly in the rear fenders. That was the easy part, now for the front.
I purchased a Crown Vic front suspension unit (wider trac than the Camaro's) for really cheap and spent the last few months building a custom sub frame to mount it to. Modern front geometry and rack/pinion steering will make it an awesome freeway driver. These cars (Ford cop cars) have a coil-over shock design that gives a really nice ride and aluminum construction adds to the uniqueness. I can remove 4 big bolts and the front unit drops out of the frame. Then removing the usual 6 body mount bolts, and the body comes off. It's all built with having quick disassembly/quick assembly/easy servicability in mind.
After all this effort put into the front suspension and sub frame, the low-tec axle was just out of place. So it had to go.
I am currently installing Vette IRS, which I also had in storage.
I made mounting brackets that bolt to different points of the body structure with a crossmember that was then welded to the brackets. The IRS unit is then a direct bolt in ,with nothing permanently welded to the body. It's an issue with being anal about cutting up such a clean original body. Everything is mounted with 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4" grade 8 bolts. So, basically the whole chassis can be disassembled with 3 wrenches and 2 sockets, and all the factory hardware can be bolted back on. So far I've had to drill only 4 holes in the main body structure, nothing else has been hacked on. I plan on building a twin turbo 406 with dry sump oiling, and a TH400.
I have pictures of the build up here:
http://community.webshots.com/user/mosmeyerperformance
There's caption descriptions under some of the pics, so look closely.
There's also pics of my other projects and my friend's twin turbo 1985 Camaro that I also built.
I'll post more pics as work slowly progresses.
Thanks everyone,
Gene.