Long Awaited 68 Camaro Build

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Back Story First. My amazing wife bought me this car almost 4 years ago now as an engagement present (she got a ring so I got a car) I WIN! I got very little play time with it due to the fact that we got stationed in Korea for two years almost immediately (We are both in the Army). But what I got was 2 years of every Holiday getting parts! Unfortunately I haven't even been able to open one box since as soon as we got back to the states we had just enough time to tie the knot and we were both shipped to Afghanistan. Oh well, another year of buying and receiving parts as gifts. Bottom line, I am sick and tired of looking at EVERYONE's project updates when I have been separated from my car for 3 years and since I am FINALLY returning home for good very shortly I figured there was no better motivation than to start my build thread! Here is a run down of the parts I have accumulated:

Drive train:
- Forged LQ9 block bored .30 over (including wiring harness, ecu, pedals, LS1 front drive accessories, basically everything to make it run
- Hooker LS swap headers and motor plates
- LS3 Heads
- Had purchased an LS3 intake but then I found a sweet deal on a Harrop HVT 1900 Supercharger kit for an LS3 I couldn't resist
- LS1 T-56 Trans w/ 5.0 shifter (gonna need to beef that up a bit)
- Impulse buy on a great deal from MCB on a Vaporworks tank with the LSA fuel pump (can't wait to see one of these in person)
Suspension:
- Complete ridetech front coilover kit
- Rear Ridetech air bar
- Front and rear single adjustable ridetech coilovers
- Front Wilwood 6 piston dynalite kit w/ drilled/slotted rotors
- Rear Wilwood 4 piston brakes w/ ebrake assembly
- Wilwood master with hydratech hyrdroboost (another deal too good to pass up from Matt at MCB... that guy is killin me with his specials!!)

and about a thousand miscellaneous parts to make it all work...

Up next is a rear 9 inch (haven't made up my mind of currie, moser, strange just yet) But I need it to get a rolling chassis together
Some Pics of how it has sat for the last 3 years waiting for me to get home. Not a bad start. The majority of the heavy bodywork is done. These pics are from right before I left, but now I am being told the pile of boxes of new parts has overtaken the car, I can't wait to get home!! Making up for 3 lost Christmas's!
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[chuckd71]

Looks like somewhere in there you might almost have enough pieces to slap together a car of some sort. What color is it going to be?

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Haha, I definitely have all of the original parts (It was a complete car minus the motor) and most of the major components to build it the way I want it. The nickel and dime pieces are what is going to get me, along with any more of the "while it's apart..." stuff.

As for the color, something in the neighborhood of corvette electron blue. HOK Shimron 2 has a thousand combinations of different pearl and metallic blues I've been trying to decide between. The color and the wheels have been the absolute hardest decisions... well at least since I made the choice on the suspension... That one took about a year and a half.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Well, for years of following all the build threads I did exactly what used to get me so upset... I started a build thread and then disappeared from the face of the earth for 9 months... I returned from Afghanistan in June and since have been moving into a new house getting everything moved from VA, getting the shop setup, and slowly getting work done on the car. Thus far I've gotten the firewall cleaned up and epoxy primed, got the subframe test fit and mocked up all the ridetech goodies only to take them off to get ready for the motor and trans mock-up hopefully if it ever arrives! I'm not even going to get into the difficulties with the engine builder.... Let's just say it has been MANY "I'll have everything at your door in two weeks"... It's hard to stay motivated doing sheetmetal work when you don't have blown engine eye candy in the corner urging you to get the car ready for it. Anyway, these threads are useless without pictures. Please feel free to critique or lend any suggestions, this is my first build of this magnitude.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Both floorboards were pretty bad... Needed complete drivers side replaced and a couple patches on the passenger side 7300973010

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

There are a ton of spotwelds that hold the seat braces onto the floor. My advice to anyone replacing full length floors is just to cut around the braces and order new ones... By the time I thought of that I was already too far in and just had to keep going at the spot welds... My air chisel also became my best friend...

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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

And a whole lot of welding later.... Man... a lap joint would have been easier... but this way you can't tell they've been replaced when you look under the car.730237302473025

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Spent a lot of time fixing the firewall area getting the engine bay more presentable then sprayed it with some epoxy primer to keep it from flash rusting.. somehow failed o take pics of it primed... 7302673027

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Now time for some fun... DSE mini-tubs, So far not nearly as hard as I was afraid of, If your thinking about doing it this walkthrough makes it pretty easy
https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?46900-The-Novice-s-guide-to-mini-tubbing-a-68-69-Camaro
This one is pretty good too... http://www.superchevy.com/technical/paint_body/bodywork/0409sc_minitub_copy/index.html

First things first... The wheel dolly I made is really great for moving the body around the shop but I was a little worried of tipping the whole thing backwards with as much time as I would be spending in the trunk so I took a precautionary measure... 200lbs of media should keep me upright... lol
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Deck lid springs were real easy to get out using a small deep well socket on a 6" extension.
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A few spot welds and a couple passes with the plasma later the old tub is out... Don't have a plasma?? Get one... and when you get one make sure you remember to turn down the amps after cutting 1/4" and moving to sheet metal! lol, this first cut was pretty ugly before I went and fixed my settings.
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This is the money shot.
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You can see in this pic that in this poor camaro's life somebody REALLY boogered up a shock mount repair.... Good thing its going away!
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Got the remaining bits of the inner tub off the flange with the outer tub.
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Started cutting the bottom portion here. You have to leave an extra 3/4" to fold down for a flange to plug weld the new inner tub too. On the rest I've started inching closer to the scribe line at 2 3/4". Probably going to be a LOT of test fitting
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

I didn't get too much farther for today before I had to start getting ready for the week. Posting today's progress has really motivated me to get more work done. I can't wait to get away from the sheet metal and into installing some go fast goodies. But still soooo far away. Still have to do something about all the surface rust on the interior panels, trying to decide if it would be worth it to blast it. Hopefully it will be a lot shorter time before I have more updates to post.

[KnightMare]

I just got done installing minitubs in my camaro. making good progress

[rustomatic]

Thank you for your service--you deserve to have fun for a while. Enjoy the time with your car--we all like to see a dirty beginning!

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

KnightMare,
I took a look at your build thread last night. I've complained about my Camaro's past "restorations" but after seeing what somebody did to your car I want to go give the previous owner of mine a hug. At least he used metal to patch rust, its easier to fix booger welds then than foam stuff, bondo, and chicken wire. Does depress me cause even with all that, you are moving a LOT faster than me! I need to get in the shop!

You also inspired me to do a rendering on mine... this is pretty quick and dirty but it is the color I want... still don't really know the wheels, but not any in the digital paintbooth database. I have the original SS hood that I am planning to use but I couldn't find that option in digital paintbooth... But you get the idea.

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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Rustomatic, thank you for your support. I can't wait to get this back on the road! It's a double edged sword, you want to get it finished, but I do worry about when I'm done cause then I won't be able to build it anymore!

[KnightMare]

Yeah, I just completed the last of the rusty panels to cut out the car tonight. Now it's just welding and customizing stage now

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Well, its been a while.... The shop that I had building the engine and transmission completely disappeared on me. I should have seen it coming after he blew deadline after deadline. He started building everything for me while I was stationed in Korea 3 years ago and it was supposed to be done by June of 2011 when I returned to the states. It wasn't... I kept getting the 2 more weeks excuse. Unfortunately 3 months after returning from Korea I ended up getting deployed to Afghanistan so it was hard to keep tabs on him but I was assured it would be done by July 2012 when I got back... Again, it wasn't and once again the "I need two more weeks" for ... Anyway, the last several months I have just been trying to figure out how I can at least get the parts I sent him back (including the harrop supercharger) which all totaled about $11,000. I was so pissed at the situation I worked on other projects and didn't get too much done on the camaro. Still not entirely sure if I am going to get any of my money or parts back from him but it is time to move on with the project. Last weekend, I scored a pretty killer deal on this
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A vette LS2. The guy had several he was trying to get rid of. He said he thought it was from an 07 but it appears to have a black crank sensor so I suspect it was from an 05 with the 24 tooth reluctor wheel. I'm pulling the engine apart this weekend to confirm. I'll be going with a similar setup the shop was putting together for me (this time with an aluminum block) I am just back to square one again sourcing the parts.... Still kills me that I have already bought brand new LS3 heads, blower, cam, T56 and about a hundred other things I won't see again. I just wish I had gone with a sponsor on here or LS1tech instead of going for somebody with a flashy website and a lot of promises. Now that I'm in TX I got a few great sponsors not too far down the road.

Let this be a lesson to anyone thinking they can get a good deal off somebody found on ebay!!! (unless there are people here to confirm they are legit)

[Buryingthesun]

Saweeeeeeeeeeeet

[rickpaw]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with the machine shop. That really sucked. Hope there was some recourse. Glad to see you're moving forward with the build. Wish I were closer.

And Thank You for your service.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

As of yet, no recourse with the shop... But my insurance company is trying to go after them right now and if that doesn't work out I have already spoken with a lawyer... I just would hate to go that route... It just really frustrates me because I have been a car guy for 20 years and am so used to running into nothing but the best people and businesses (classic domestic only cars of course... imports is a whole other ball game). Everyone I've seen before just has the business for the love of the hobby, never met anyone who is out to screw people over trying to build the cars they love.

As of now, I am back working on the body. finishing up the mods this weekend and I have an appointment with the media blaster in 2 weeks. The guy I bought the car from had already done some bodywork to the rear quarters and firewall and then primed it with PPG K36... SInce that 2k primer does nothing to keep moisture out coupled with the questionable bodywork on the firewall and floors I had to fix, I want to get it back to bare metal just to be sure. Also, working to get the rest of the parts collected for the motor... still looking for LS3 heads, ecu, wiring harness, and also searching for the best machine shop to take the LS2 here in Texas to get it worked over with forged pistons. Wish me luck!

[rickpaw]

Don't have personal experience with these guys, but a couple of folks over lateral-g.net have had good luck with HK Racing Engines in Houston.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Thanks for the recommendation, just did a quick look at their website and it looks promising. Later this evening I will go over to lateral-g.net and check out what they have to say, and maybe give HK a call, if they answer... I'm much better off than the last shop. I googled the distance and its only about a 3 hour drive, definitely driven much farther for much less important parts

[SRD art]

Glad to hear things will start rolling on this. Another old car back on the road is a good thing. Keep rockin' it!

[rickpaw]

Good luck with your engine rebuild. Check out the posts by "rybar" & "69x22" over lateral-g

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Well progress is being made... slowly but its going. Main issue was I was trying to get my old truck fixed up so I could put it up for sale to aid in funding of the camaro.

Motor comin into shop...
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Ahh... now I know why it was so cheap... It had water... I wish I knew more history on this motor, most of the internals looked mint, near perfect condition, as was the intake (which wasn't even bolted down, just sitting on top.. possibly newly rebuilt or VERY low mileage... but one cylinder looks like it had trash in it that fried it pretty good... Almost wondering if someone had installed a roots blower, it detonated BAD or broke off a spark plug, locked it up then they pulled the motor and let it sit in their back yard... Regardless, I'm replacing the whole bottom end with forged equivalents!
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[LUV2XLR8]

ohhh chunky monkey.... any plans for the motor?

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Reason for slow progress on Camaro... This truck was my hunting/fishing/beat to hell truck for 8 years so needed a lot of bodywork and paint before I could sell it for decent money... Too bad I never got around to the 5.3 swap... But the Dana 44 axles were a huge improvement. Hopefully i'll get enough from selling this to order the last of the necessary parts for the car!
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

The last two weeks, I sourced a T56 from a 2001 Camaro and dropped it off at Texas Drivetrain Performance for their stage 3 "viperized" rebuild. Also, the motor is at the machine shop getting the bottem end gone through. The good news is everything was straight, no cracks, crank was in perfect condition. But the one cylinder with the damaged piston had some staining on the sleeve so the machine shop recommended just going 10 over hone which means this block will be at it's max and can't be honed again. I guess I'll deal with that in as many years as it takes me to blow it up, lol. All the bottom end parts are ordered including the 10 over diamond pistions and everything should arrive next week.

Passenger side tub is done... So I had to get some pics on how the tires fit... that was big motivation to finish up the driver's side which should be done by this weekend.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

ohhh chunky monkey.... any plans for the motor?

Machine shop said the bottom end was good to go, no damage and cleaned up well. There was some staining in the #5 cylinder that he said would clean up completely with a 10 over hone. So that is what I'm going with. Crank polished out beautifully and just about everything else is getting replaced.
I've got forged rods and pistons on the way as well as ARP head studs and all new bearings to get the bottom end complete. Hopefully have it all back in about 2 weeks. Same goes for the T56, should be complete in about 2 weeks.... as long as I can find a good deal on a bellhousing by then. Still trying to decide between a stock replacement and the quicktime.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Also, a bit of an update on the legal nonsense with the first machine shop which was way up north in WA. Lawyers found out he still had the complete Supercharger kit I sent him and he agreed to have it in the mail by last Wednesday. I have no idea whether he did or not because he won't answer my calls but I have my fingers crossed it will be arriving shortly.... and apparently he can't pay me back because he has no money.... yet his shops facebook is constantly showing pics of new monster builds... VERY fishy.... Gonna cost about $500 but it is getting to the point to where I'm gonna have to fly out there, find all the parts I payed for and mail them home to myself....

ugh.... I still can't believe shops get away with this... I've got my short list of shops I deal with now and completely trust... I'll say it again, DO YOUR HOMEWORK before dishing out any money!

[meenaggie]

I know you already have the LS2 but I would suggest just buying a complete package from one of the reputable companies like Wegner Motorsports if you want supercharged or Texas Speed if you want naturally aspirated. In the end it will be a system (assecory drive, harness, ECM, etc.) that works together and will be less money than paying a machine shop hourly to build something with what you have. I know a friend in Houston who have had a great 383 stroker built but had over 10k in the motor alone after the parts and labor at a local machine shop and still did not have a warranty. Just my $.02.

[motobob1000]

Also, a bit of an update on the legal nonsense with the first machine shop which was way up north in WA. Lawyers found out he still had the complete Supercharger kit I sent him and he agreed to have it in the mail by last Wednesday. I have no idea whether he did or not because he won't answer my calls but I have my fingers crossed it will be arriving shortly.... and apparently he can't pay me back because he has no money.... yet his shops facebook is constantly showing pics of new monster builds... VERY fishy.... Gonna cost about $500 but it is getting to the point to where I'm gonna have to fly out there, find all the parts I payed for and mail them home to myself....

ugh.... I still can't believe shops get away with this... I've got my short list of shops I deal with now and completely trust... I'll say it again, DO YOUR HOMEWORK before dishing out any money!
If I can be of any help, I am in Washington. email me with the shop particulars at [email protected] I work in the parts department at one of the largest Chevy dealers in Wa.
Bob

[LUV2XLR8]

good deal!... eager to see how it turns out. :)



Machine shop said the bottom end was good to go, no damage and cleaned up well. There was some staining in the #5 cylinder that he said would clean up completely with a 10 over hone. So that is what I'm going with. Crank polished out beautifully and just about everything else is getting replaced.
I've got forged rods and pistons on the way as well as ARP head studs and all new bearings to get the bottom end complete. Hopefully have it all back in about 2 weeks. Same goes for the T56, should be complete in about 2 weeks.... as long as I can find a good deal on a bellhousing by then. Still trying to decide between a stock replacement and the quicktime.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Meen,
I know what you are saying. 3 years ago I definitely should have done that over allowing a shop I found on ebay to screw me over. I had more money to put towards the build then. But now I am really sticking to a tight budget on the motor build and have been collecting parts for the last 2 years a piece at a time. I'm only spending $300 in the machine shop for the cleaning, honing (with torque plate), align honing, rotating assembly balancing, cam bearing install, and assembly of short block. The rest I am putting together myself. The machine shop is very military friendly so that has been helpful. Putting it together a piece at a time has been easier on the wallet and I have also been able to trade for quite a few parts so I am only going to be about $3000 (not counting SC) into the motor when it is all done. I was actually able to sell the intake and heads that came with my LS2 for $150 more than I bought the long block for. The supercharger was kind of an impulse by while I was in Afghanistan and kind of wishing I had just gone with an n/a stroker... But now I really just can't wait to hear that whine.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Motobob,
Thanks a lot for the offer! How big are your thugs?? haha. Just do me a favor tell all of your customers to steer clear of shops in Kennewick! I am not looking forward to spending $500 on a flight to try to go deal with this guy who wont even answer my calls, let alone the state attorney general, the better business bureau, or my lawyer... It's been fun...

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Mini tubs are finally done... Except for the rear seat braces.... It was time for me to move to another project for a week or so. But all in all it really wasn't that difficult, the first side took forever due to me going to the computer or the directions every 5 seconds to make sure I was doing it right, but the second side only took a weekend.... even with having to take care of the "honey do list"

Parents were in town all last week so I didn't get much work done then.

The motor is still in the machine shop. I had to go 10 over hone on the cylinders to clean up some staining in one cylinder so the oversized pistons are taking a little while longer to get here. Also, looks like my transmission rebuild should be finished by the end of next week.

But the best news is the attorney generals office has helped get that shop to at least send me my supercharger (only 27 months late)... Well, he dropped it off at fedex and gave them my phone number to get payment of $136... But at least it's on the way. Looks like I have to take him to court to get the rest of my money back though, this should be fun!

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Been a productive week. Attempted my first piece of true bodywork deleting the openings for the rear quarter lights. I think they turned out pretty good for a novice sheet metal welder.

Hope no state inspectors see this... I just like the smooth lines better on the sides of the 67's.

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I was so worried about warping I probably went WAY slower than I actually had to but its only going to require a very light skim coat of filler.
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Passenger Side
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Now on to rust repair on the cowl... Something I had been dreading and putting off. I knew I wouldn't like what I found underneath the upper dash panel where it goes over the cowl...
The upper dash panel was original style and the replacement panel that came with my car looked like an overseas piece and was noticeably different. The one in the car wasn't too bad so my initial plan was just to replace the badly rusted corners with patches from the Taiwon panel to keep the original dash intact with the vin tag in place.
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But the bottom lip had me nervous, it was pitted and I was afraid of what was underneath so I cut out a section of the bottom and sure enough the channel in the panel under the upper dash panel had several small areas rotted through. It wasn't terrible but needed patching up. I replaced all the areas with bad pitting or weakened metal.
Just about done with patching up the rusted sections. 8216282161

Tomorrow the plan is to media blast the area getting covered by the upper dash panel, epoxy prime, seam seal and then install the upper dash panel. Or do you think it would be smarter to use POR15 in this area? It will never see daylight, I'm just looking for the best way to keep any rust from coming back... I've been going back and forth...

Also, the original seal looked more like a rope seal... Is it necessary to replace with a seal like this or will 2 part seam sealer work just as well?
Thanks

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

The best news from this week though......
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The Supercharger is here! Everything appears to be there, most of the items were never even opened... Josh at OTTP was able to help me out with ensuring all of the parts were there and even walked me through how to check it out to make sure the guy hadn't tampered with it. He was very helpful even though it was over 2 years ago I bought it from him!! It's great to know there are still great businesses out there.

[bonecrrusher]

That blower is going to go Wooo Wooo!

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

MUCH Overdue Update. The last month and a half has been pretty crazy. Had to pack everything up to move to GA where I am taking a 6 month long course. Sad, because my wife isn't able to be with me and will be staying in TX, but at least it gives me a LOT more time to work on the car!
Before leaving I did finish up the upper dash panel. I sprayed it with epoxy and used weld through primer in the weld areas. I used 2 part seam sealer instead of the rope seal that was there origionally. I talked to a local restoration shop and they said thats what they do too.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Now... For the fun part... all of this needs to fit in that truck....
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Somehow, it all made it in!
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Made it to GA the next day and the few weeks after that consisted of getting the shop put together, my sister in laws wedding, and finally got back to work on the car. I cleaned up the welds on the underbody to get it ready for epoxy priming and then went to work on the firewall. It needed a lot of work. The previous owner was using it to teach his son some fabrication. It wasn't bad, but I had to cut some areas out and start over and do a lot of cleaning it up (made a lot of friends in the new neighborhood with all the hammer and dolly work), evening it out, and making it all square before I could do the work to smooth it out.
You can see some of the before pictures earlier in the thread.
It took a lot of measuring, test fitting, and trimming a little at a time to get it to fit just right.
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After, metal work was done, I sanded/blasted everything down and using two inch masking tape covered the areas I would have to weld to before spraying epoxy primer over the areas that would be covered. The bare metal areas I used a weld through primer
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

A whole lot of tack welds every 8 inches all the way around and around.
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This is where I finished up for tonight, still got to finish welding but I think I'll get that done tomorrow night after work.

I couldn't of done it all in a weekend without her help. Anyone know if they make welding masks for dogs? haha
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Wow, I have grossly neglected this thread... I've gotten a lot of work done though and of course about to move again so it is a sprint the next few weeks trying to get some things buttoned up to make the car easier to move... I'll fill in the gaps though from posts from my other build thread I used while doing a lot of the engine fitment.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Mocking up the motor with the low mount AC brackets and compressor from S&P. The brackets are great but I did not expect the Hooker plates to allow enough room, and sure enough they did not. I bought the Hooker plates and headers well before I got the great deal on the blower.
Shot of mockup, even with an area of the subframe cut out for the compressor, it just couldn't go back far enough. I need about half an inch to give enough room between the Compressor and engine stands. The NEW Dirty dingo DD plates are on the way along with a set of Kooks headers and I'll try this again Tuesday when the plates arrive.
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I'm curious how they turn out. I talked with one of the guys over there for a pretty long time on Friday and he turned me on to these, they are powdercoated steel unlike the current DD's which are aluminum you see and they also have 4 hole configurations instead of 3. Supposedly, the sliders do not work with low mount AC because the compressor will actually come into contact with them.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Got the subframe notch for the AC finished and the motor fits!!! I did have to sell the original Holley swap pan and go for their new one with the shorter front area but didn't take too heavy of a loss on it since they are actually cheaper than the original. What ended up working for me was the Moroso engine plates along with the S&P low mount AC bracket and a fairly significant frame notch even with the spacing of the 5th gen camaro

In case anyone needs to know how to safely and efficiently widen a lower crossmember opening to the proper width that had been gone a bit out of wack (luckly this was the only measurement on the subframe that didn't come out within spec)
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With the subframe work done, I had it powdercoated semigloss black.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Then I went to work to get the underbody of the car done. Got all the old gunk and undercoating crap off and of course found a few other small rust areas that needed addressing but all in all it cleaned up well. I covered it with two coats of SPI epoxy followed by SPI bedliner.

I meant to take pics after I finished prepping the underbody but completely forgot so these are the best I got. I had to remove the pinion snubber in order for the Ridetech suspension to fit as well as "gently massage" the ribbed area of the floorpan to clearance the upper bar.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

My wife got me an awesome new welder for Xmas, my first project was converting this old tool box into a pretty slick welding cart.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Front subframe bolted up... Haven't made too many friends here yet so I don't have much in the way of help so I have to be creative with the engine hoist.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Went to work on front suspension. Didn't realize the ridetech spindles came uncoated so I painted them a PPG silver metalic
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Time to marry the LS2 and T56

Pilot bearing in... Flexplate on, progressively torqued to 74lbs. Used new factory bolts.
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Diamond Stage 2 clutch on and aligned...94622
Pressure plate on and progressivly torqued to 52lbs with red loctite.
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Bellhousing bolts torqued to 36lbs and the motor and trans are in
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Small issue took about a week to figure out. The engine is square to the frame and level. but for whatever reason the transmission is tilted (Clocked counterclockwise).... It will not sit flush on the ats transmission mount which is perfectly level... I have finagled the engine every which way but pulled my hair out trying to get the trans level and the motor... I ended up pulling the motor and separating the trans just to check the dowels but everything checked out. even out of the car it was obvious the trans was about 3.5 degrees off of the motor. I asked around a lot and found out it is a fairly common issue and not a big deal. I wanted to trans mount to be flush with the crossmember so I used a 3.5 degree pinion shim and it worked perfectly.
Heres what I mean:
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Luckily I had a lot of help figuring it out.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Got all the rear suspension in place, set the pinion angle, and centered the axle and then welded on the top arm mounts.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

I completely installed all the rear suspension one more time just to make sure it all still lined up, then pulled the axle housing... blasted and painted... I used 2 coats of SPI epoxy, followed by eastwoods 2k Ceramic chassis black. I hadn't sprayed the chassis black before but it shot just like epoxy out of a 1.5 fluid tip and laid down real nice. I've heard it is pretty durable and I liked the idea of touch ups down the road. Hopefully, the third member arrives on time Monday and I can button up the rear next week.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Front brakes on! these things are sexy... I love finally putting new parts on!!! Especially when they don't require days of cutting, welding, and grinding...
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Half way to a roller, got these wheels from a local pick and pull for cheap so I have something to push the car onto the trailer with.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

This week the goal is to get the rear buttoned up and install the front ridetech tru turn steering and try to engineer a way to steer this thing without a column.... Definitely wishing I kept the old one until I got a new one.... Gotta move in two weeks so the pressure is on to get a rolling chassis!

[slammedwhitec5vert]

I admire your perseverance, going to be an awesome machine when your done. Good luck on the move!!!

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Thanks a lot... It's sometimes sad to think my wife got me this car 5 years ago and only in the last 3 months have I been able to actually install new parts I've been collecting since 09. 3 years of that I was overseas so that is a decent excuse I guess but we've moved 3 times in the last 2 years and every time it takes about 2 weeks to pack up the shop and then another few weeks to a month to get the shop setup again. I did a lot of organizing here so I am hoping that makes the move a lot easier not to mention I've gotten so much done in the last 5 months that this time I can actually push the car on a trailer!!! The last 2 times when the body was on casters I had to load it in a Penske moving truck...that's not fun! Haha

I'll be doing my UPS rain dance to ensure the third member arrives tomorrow! Been waiting over a month for it.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Well, the third member did not arrive today but I decided to get the axle housing and suspension installed in the car so I was still productive. But first I finally found my camera so I took some better pics of the ridetech cradle welded in place since I had a few pm's about the truck bed liner undercoating and how it looked.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Gettin the axle ready to go in.

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Ready to slide under the car

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All bolted up at ridehight...
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Really hoping the third member arrives tomorrow so I can get it painted so Wednesday I can get it installed and get the axles and brakes on. I can't wait to see this thing on all 4 wheels!!! Thats gonna be a big day! 3 years on a dolly, and 5 months on jackstands, I'm ready for a roller!!

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Well, the third member never arrived so I had to cancel the order until I get moved into the new house. I was able to use some scrap tubing though between the axles just to get the car onto all 4 wheels for transport.

I was able to get the new door hinges installed myself with a fairly creative use of paint sticks and bungee cords to get it aligned. It actually worked pretty darn good.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

There was also a problem when installing the 4th gen wheels... For some reason I had it in my head that they were 17" and would fit the tru turn but I was very wrong, they were 16". The heim tie rod would hit the rim so I had to make my own just to keep the wheels straight to pull it on the trailer... A little redneck engineering can really get you out of a bind the night before your supposed to move...

I cut the head off of a 5/8" bolt and welding a nut on the end. Once I took off the rideteck outer tie rod I threaded this into the tie rod sleeve and ran a bolt and a bunch of washers through the steering arm. This kept the wheels straight to winch the car on trailer.

Ghetto! But effective
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Big Day, finally on her own weight! and look at all the room I have for some big meats in the back!!!
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My two helpers there to help get it out of the shop...
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Well... It's going to be a while before any more updates. I just moved down to Savanna last week and won't be closing on the new house until the 27th. Then its going to be at least a few weeks before i get all my stuff and put the shop into a condition to get back to work. I was able to get a lot of work done in my short 6 month stay in Augusta but really glad to be able to be in the same house with my wife again!!! Thank you Army.

Here is the last shot of the car before making the drive down to Fort Stewart.

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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Wow, I can't believe its been almost a year since my last update... NOT GOOD. Been crazy with moving, new job, training, work on family vehicles, and house projects... Enough crying... I've been able to get a bit done lately. I got the hydroboost and clutch master cylinder mocked up. With all the other modifications I've done to the car I didn't see spending nearly $500 for the DSE clutch adapter plate + tilton 4th gen adapted clutch master. Basically, it is an adapter for an adapter and I didn't like that idea too much. So I spent $70 on a wilwood master and modified the firewall and brake pedal to HOPEFULLY work.
Basically I flattened the firewall, around the brake booster, cleaned it up... I cut a hole as close as I could to line up to the clutch pedal but it was a little too far to the drivers side to line up perfectly so I needed to add a little steel to the brake pedal to have a perfectly straight through without binding the master cylinder. I used a clevis from McMaster Car to attach to pedal. Pretty simple setup after I got all the angles right. Please let me know if you think this will work. I won't have the motor and trans back in until I finish the bodywork and paint the firewall. I haven't seen anybody do something like this but for the money I thought it was worth a shot.

On to the pictures.

[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Modifying the Pedals:
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View from inside all hooked up:
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View from Firewall all hooked up, The pedal has perfectly straight travel, just have to work something out for a stop.
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[BeerB8AmmoGRITS]

Since then I cleaned up a bunch of the welds and started bodywork. I'll try to get some pictures up before the end of the weekend. Posting on here is a great way to stay motivated on getting things done. Oh!! and my third member finally came in! Its a strange s trac for the 35 spline axles. I gotta get that painted and installed too, then then I will be basically done under the car minus the fuel tank and lines. Maybe I'll add that to the list of things to do this weekend. It would definitely clean up some room in the garage to not have that big box. Hopefully it won't be too long before I get a lot more progress pics up!

[wally_245]

Great looking build. I'm kind of in the same situation, but a lot worse. I have had my Camaro since 1993 and hope to get started on it in a few weeks (just about done with another build, for my gf's son, a 1965 Nova). I have pretty much run out of room to store parts, so I need to get some of them on the car soon.