69TAPoser
06-12-2009, 02:37 PM
Golden rule #1......broken! That rule is, don't buy another project car until the one you already have is done. Oh well, I obeyed this rule for 3 years while I have been building WickedBird and I am at least close to finishing it.
Rule #2....when you break rule #1, don't work on the "new" project car until the "old" project car is done. I am going to obey this one. I am hoping to send WickedBird to the body shop for the winter and this is when I will start my new project. Until then, it will stay covered.
About that 73 Camaro
Every car has a story and this one is no different. Here goes...
The car has been off the road since 1982. Do the math, it was on the road for 9 years. It has 56,000 original miles. It has been in CA all of its' life. This is why it has all of the original metal with no rust. The story is, a 16 year old kid bough the car from an older man (2nd owner)who had kept in in a garage and started restoring it and never got far with it. The kid, 16 years old, has no clue about building cars. He buys the car, and in his parents driveway, he proceeds to tear the car down to a rolling shell with the idea of making it into a "drag car" with a "big motor." Through this process he proceeds to break a lot of the plastic parts and even throw away some of the things that are "junk." "Junk " of course means that they have no value to him...like the original radio. Why would he need that? He is going to put a new "kick ass" Panasonic unit in it with subwoofers. Ya know, the kind of system that all of the hot drag cars have these days. LOL. Moving on...he puts the absolutely MINT interior up for sale. The guy that I bought the car from finds it on-line and goes and buys it as he has a '73 Z28 that he would like to restore. While he is there, he notices how clean the car itself is and gets the whole drag car story from the kid. Noticing that the kid had 3 screw drivers, a socket set, and a flashlight to work with (minus any actual experience) he knows where this is going. Anyway, he takes the interior (the only one he has been able to find that is mint...even the dash pad is not cracked or peeled. Again, the car was always in the garage.) and plans to head back to UT very happy.
Before leaving, the kids starts talking about the car and the reality that it has been in the driveway for over a year, his parents are getting pissed, and he is in way over his head and doesn't know how to put it back together. This is in a very nice section of town, so I am sure the neighbors are not happy either. The guy I bought the car from can't get over how clean it is and being a Camaro fan, he can't pass it up. He drives all the way back to UT with the interior, to get his trailer, and drive back to CA to pick it up.
Fast forward another few months. The guy I bought the car from has possession of the car and several others that he has bought for parts. His front yard is turning into a junk yard and he has way too many projects. I find it on-line and sells me the car for what he paid for it.
Take a look at the pics below. All of the metal is original and there is zero rot in the car. Every panel is useable: floors, trunk, fenders, rockers, all of it. It is only a rolling shell, but isa GREAT foundation. Can't wait to start working on it this winter!
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
...Go here to see 30 pics of the car: http://www.69firebirdbuild.com/73camaro.html
VERY clean!! (okay, rot free anywway) :1st:
Phil
Rule #2....when you break rule #1, don't work on the "new" project car until the "old" project car is done. I am going to obey this one. I am hoping to send WickedBird to the body shop for the winter and this is when I will start my new project. Until then, it will stay covered.
About that 73 Camaro
Every car has a story and this one is no different. Here goes...
The car has been off the road since 1982. Do the math, it was on the road for 9 years. It has 56,000 original miles. It has been in CA all of its' life. This is why it has all of the original metal with no rust. The story is, a 16 year old kid bough the car from an older man (2nd owner)who had kept in in a garage and started restoring it and never got far with it. The kid, 16 years old, has no clue about building cars. He buys the car, and in his parents driveway, he proceeds to tear the car down to a rolling shell with the idea of making it into a "drag car" with a "big motor." Through this process he proceeds to break a lot of the plastic parts and even throw away some of the things that are "junk." "Junk " of course means that they have no value to him...like the original radio. Why would he need that? He is going to put a new "kick ass" Panasonic unit in it with subwoofers. Ya know, the kind of system that all of the hot drag cars have these days. LOL. Moving on...he puts the absolutely MINT interior up for sale. The guy that I bought the car from finds it on-line and goes and buys it as he has a '73 Z28 that he would like to restore. While he is there, he notices how clean the car itself is and gets the whole drag car story from the kid. Noticing that the kid had 3 screw drivers, a socket set, and a flashlight to work with (minus any actual experience) he knows where this is going. Anyway, he takes the interior (the only one he has been able to find that is mint...even the dash pad is not cracked or peeled. Again, the car was always in the garage.) and plans to head back to UT very happy.
Before leaving, the kids starts talking about the car and the reality that it has been in the driveway for over a year, his parents are getting pissed, and he is in way over his head and doesn't know how to put it back together. This is in a very nice section of town, so I am sure the neighbors are not happy either. The guy I bought the car from can't get over how clean it is and being a Camaro fan, he can't pass it up. He drives all the way back to UT with the interior, to get his trailer, and drive back to CA to pick it up.
Fast forward another few months. The guy I bought the car from has possession of the car and several others that he has bought for parts. His front yard is turning into a junk yard and he has way too many projects. I find it on-line and sells me the car for what he paid for it.
Take a look at the pics below. All of the metal is original and there is zero rot in the car. Every panel is useable: floors, trunk, fenders, rockers, all of it. It is only a rolling shell, but isa GREAT foundation. Can't wait to start working on it this winter!
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
...Go here to see 30 pics of the car: http://www.69firebirdbuild.com/73camaro.html
VERY clean!! (okay, rot free anywway) :1st:
Phil