Project Wicked Pissa

[mdes0]

Hey all, I've been enjoying many of your project updates over the past few years and I figured it was about time I returned the favor and started sharing the good and bad experiences of my project. I hope someone gets some benefit from it all, I know I have learned a ton reading through many of the project threads on this forum.
Anyway, I've been working on my Camaro project for about three years now. It's spanned many more winters, and cars, than I thought it would. I had this master plan of doing a little bit each winter so me and the fam could enjoy it during the rest of the year, didn't work out that way...
Here's is a quick run down of the project goals;
Repair rust damage: Trunk, driver's quarter, tail panel, repair passengers quarter - Done
Smooth firewall - Done
Relocate wiper motor - Not doing
Install DSE Quadra link and sway bar - Done
Install DSE roll bar - Done
Install DSE from subframe, body mounts and frame connectors - Done
Widen quarters - Done
Graph rear bumper into tail pan - Not doing
Create custom wing - Not doing
Create custom grill
Install LS and T-56

Out of time today, I'll post pics and commentary from the first photo to present soon.

Matt

[mdes0]

This was what I started with, looked pretty good until I took it apart. Found it was a pig in red lipstick.

[mdes0]

So I blew the thing apart and found so much rot that I ended up scraping the body and picking up another one that was pretty solid.

[mdes0]

So here is the second Camaro to be used for this project. This one had no interior or motor and trans. It did come with a 12 bolt, nice bonus. It had solid doors and good floors but I did find some rust hiding in the trunk floor and tail pan. I already had the parts so I dug in.

[mdes0]

Trunk and tail panel were first up. Thing fought me the whole way. I had gotten the tail panel with the red Camaro, I should have known it would be a problem. As you can see the body lines on the ends didn't line up right so I had to tweak them a bit...

[mdes0]

I knew I had more repairs to do but needed to start the fun stuff before this became an unfinished project. So body repairs were put on hold and a big order was placed with Detroit Speed. I started with the install of their mini tubs, then went on to the quadra link install.

[mdes0]

Finished installing brackets into the car...

[mdes0]

Got busy installing brackets to the 12 bolt then got it stuffed under the car.

[mdes0]

The big pile of boxes from DSE was quickly disappearing... Next was the install of the DSE roll bar.

[mdes0]

Also replaced the drivers side quarter and trunk drop off. After that I welded in a patch for the passenger side drop off and bottom of the quarter. No fun, happy its done though. I patched the quarter because I planned on widening them. If I hated the look I rather replace a quarter I fixed than a new one at 400 a pop.

[mdes0]

Forgot to mention that I cut that chunk out of the driver's side outer wheel well in preparation for widening. Figured it was easier to do before the quarter was on.

[mdes0]

Almost caught up now... I moved to the front next, installing a DSE firewall fill plate. Seem to be out of space so not sure if I can continue to upload pics. guess I got a little upload happy:)

[mdes0]

Ok, deleted some uploads to make room. So a few months back I bought some Corvette wheels from another member. Things look great, unfortunately they fit under the car perfect so if I widen it I'll have to either use spacers or get another set of wheels with the right backspacing. Other option would be to get a rear the right width but not after putting all the DSE brackets on the one I have. Hoping that when I have ford ends put on a pick up some width.

[mdes0]

Over the past few days I've laid out my cut lines to widen the quarters and have started to widen the passenger side. Check it out. More filling to do and I have to figure out what I'll do with the outer wheel well.

[Sneke_Eyez]

Love the widening work, looking forward to the results. I've been considering something similar to my Coronet since it needs the quarters replaced anyway... we'll see.

[srh3trinity]

Looks great, keep the pics coming.

[Tig]

Dude, love the title "wicked pissa". Reminds me back in the day going to see the Green Mostah and walkin around Harvard Square around all the wicked smahht guys/girls. I miss it :(
Your car is awesome, youre doing a great job.

[Chevrolaine]

Damn, that first one was a pig with lipstick! WOW!
Great progress, looking good!

[mdes0]

Hey folks, got some more patch work done this weekend. Need to finish up patching along the rear of the quarter then I'll focus on parting together an outer wheel well.

[srh3trinity]

That looks more subtle than I would have thought.

[KnightMare]

Real subtle, looks like an inch from that angle

[Motown 454]

Nice project, your doing an awesome job. Nice work.

[mdes0]

Thanks folks. Been a while since I got out to the garage, life slows things down sometimes. Not to mention money:)
Any how, got a bunch of finish welding done on the quarter the other night. Hoping to get out there again tonight to finish welding up the rear of the quarter. Then I'm gonna tackle the wheel well.
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Gonna be a lot of grinding...
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Kind of wishing I pulled the quarter out more, maybe 1.5 rather than 1 inch. Guess we'll see what it looks like on the ground with a wheel under it.

I'll post picks if I make any progress tonight.
Matt

[mdes0]

Got out to the garage last night. Found that I really didn't like how the wheel opening turned out. The line got all screwed up and seemed to peek in the middle, hard to see in the pics though.
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So to solve the problem I decided to cut the quarter just inside of the wheel lip and pull the lip out. Was more finesse work than I thought it would be, which is difficult for me since I'm a smash it kinda guy. I think it is coming along pretty well. I found that I had to bang out the wheel arch to get the panel to line up with the lip once it was pulled out. This will give me more tire clearance which I needed anyway. Also means I'll have to bang the inner wheel well into shape once I get to that point. Hope to finish the front part of the lip tonight.
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[mdes0]

Received some new parts today so I may install it instead of working on the quarter, just can't resist. Probably the biggest investment into the car to date.
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Had to throw the wheels on to see how it would look. Made it easier to get off the palette too
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[XLexusTech]

Hey Nice project! Where in NH are you? I am in Manchester.. would love to check out your project.

[Chadman27]

Lookin good Matt! I did the DSE tubs/quad-link on my T/A... we could probably share stories for hours about those journeys...

[Chadman27]

A little jealous of the sub-frame though... a little past my budget ;-) I look forward to seeing this come to fruition, keep the good pics and updates comin!

[srh3trinity]

So, the stretch looked subtle until you put the wheel under there. gives a lot more room.

[mdes0]

I'm over in Brookline. Not to far away.

[mdes0]

A little jealous of the sub-frame though... a little past my budget ;-) I look forward to seeing this come to fruition, keep the good pics and updates comin!

Doing just about all the work myself to save dough, and the kids will likely have to pay for their own college and weddings:) As my wife says, the world revolves around me

[mdes0]

I got more a lot more work done this weekend than I thought I would. I was able to get the sub-frame under the car, for no other reason than it looks cool as hell:)
I also got the passenger side quarter finished up. Did a lot of dolly work on the wheel arch that I honestly didn't see coming but I think it will work out better in the end.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/10/IMAG0563_zpsb3d5de23-1.jpg
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Here's a few pictures that show the difference between the modified and unmodified quarters.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/10/IMAG0565_zpsacb3b5ae-1.jpg
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[mdes0]

I got real motivated and started cutting up the drivers quarter. Decided I would finish up the inner wheel wells after the quarters were finished.
Things moved a bit quicker since I knew where I wanted the cuts, a little less trial and error. I also used the cardboard templates I used on the other side to cut my filler pieces. I wish I slowed down and traced the final filler pieces on the passenger side as the cardboard cutouts were a ruff representation of what I had trimmed to fit. I guess if I ever do this again I'll know to do these little things to make life easier.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/10/IMAG0578_zps519442f8-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/10/IMAG0580_zpsce9d87f1-1.jpg
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[Chadman27]

Maybe I missed it up there, but have you chosen a color combo yet? Going back with red/black stripes would look pretty good!

[mdes0]

At this point the plan is to go hotrod black. I was going to go with something else but looks like all the money will end up in parts. I'll likely repaint in the future.

[Motown 454]

It looks good!

[bonecrrusher]

Totally missed the Corvette wheels in your earlier post... Nice!

[srh3trinity]

Are you setting up your rear end for the Corvette offset? I really like most of the C5 and C6 wheels out there, I just wish they had some lip in the back. It would be nice to have a custom wheel setup and some stock Vette wheels for track stuff. Those look nice on your car.

[Dons67]

Perfect flaring to the rear wheel - not many people will pick up on the fact they are wider - - very nice!!

[mdes0]

I may not be able to use the wheels, I'd love to though. If I can gain an inch each side when I have torino ends put on then I may be able to add a 1" spacer and be able to use them, we'll see. Thanks man.

[mdes0]

Hey Folks, I've been slack'n big time. Haven't done much at all. Welder has been acting up which also slowed progress quite a bit. Wire keeps sticking right at the tip. I may have gotten metal dust in the line or something. I was able to get a motor and trans recently. Found a salvage 2006 GTO with an LS2, LS3 heads and intake and a 6spd manual. Runs and drives so I know things are in working order. Dropping a lot of dough this year so I better get my ass move'n... Will post updates soon. Until then here's the parts car. If anyone needs parts off this thing let me know. I only plan on using the motor and trans. I was gonna use the seats but I think I might go a different way.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/11/IMAG0672_zpsb9ff3b48-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/11/IMAG0673_zps70042584-1.jpg

Matt

[LUV2XLR8]

wanna cough up the rear seats and package tray?

[qnitro]

This is an awesome project...great work...are you keeping the grand sport wheels...

[srh3trinity]

Where do people find these salvaged cars? That is a nice score.

[rchaskin]

There was a black second gen at RTOS this year with a black set of those wheels on it and it looked awesome!!

[mdes0]

I may, what would you offer? The thread along the top let go, probably damage from the sun. Looks like it could be stitched back together. I can send you a pic if you want.

wanna cough up the rear seats and package tray?

[mdes0]

Where do people find these salvaged cars? That is a nice score.

Kept searching craigslist and ebay.

[mdes0]

This is an awesome project...great work...are you keeping the grand sport wheels...

I would like to but it depends if I can get them to fit the way I want or not.

[aidanfancystang]

Where do people find these salvaged cars? That is a nice score.

go on copart.com theres a ton of cars there, for alot of them you need to have a dealer permit or salvage company, but they do have some cars available to the public.

[mdes0]

The guy I bought this from in NY actually picked it up at a copart.com auction.

[Chadman27]

That's a donor car? Fix that baby up and have 2 sweet rides! haha

[mdes0]

So I've worked on the drivers side quarter quite a bit. Its all welded up and dressed. I found that there will be a lot of metal work to do before its all said and done. Not sure you'll be able to see the work complete to date from the pics but I've been doing a lot of hammer and dolly work.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/11/IMAG0685-1.jpg
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[mdes0]

I also created a new tool to help speed the metal work up. I found the initial idea online which was to place a 3/4 carriage bolt in a palm nailer. Well I took this to the next level so to speak. Since Harbor Freight sells palm nailers so cheap I decided it was worth hacking one up. At first I tried to tape the collar of the nailer, that didn't work out. Ended up snapping the tap and destroying the little magnet set into the collar. Rather than replacing that one I decided to get a larger carriage bolt, cut the head off and weld it to the collar. I also picked up a second nailer which I've used with smaller carriage bolts.
If you've got any metal work to do this setup is worth the 26 bucks. Also, the guy who mentioned this idea online sells a dvd that has a bunch of good tips on metal work. If you're interested its called Custom Metal Bodywork. You should be able to find it with a google.
Here is a few pics of the tool;
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/11/IMAG0682-1.jpg
In this one you can see the pressure regulator I got as well. Figured I would use it at the nailer on a short length of hose to keep it out of my way but closer than the main regulator I have mounted by my compressor. This is a HF pice and doesn't work worth a crap.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/11/IMAG0684-1.jpg

[saltfuture]

Bump. What's going on with this one?

[Widetrax]

Thanks for showing us the palm nailer idea! I will have to try that with mine!
If you want to see what a first gen with 3inches of width added to it, look up my car at 68Widetrax. 1 inch was just not worth all the work, so I went all out! Also mini tubbed it 2 3/4 inches. Now I have 18 inch deep wheel wells.

[mikes2nd]

The guy I bought this from in NY actually picked it up at a copart.com auction.

I got my 2004 GTO for 1000$ minus the front seats and Engine and front bumper also. I was like score!

[mikes2nd]

That's a donor car? Fix that baby up and have 2 sweet rides! haha

salvage title... and to take the title you have to pay the tax on the purchase. Just chop it up, let the state keep the title.

[mdes0]

Man, can't believe how long its been since I've updated this project. Lost my motivation on this one a while back. Was looking at the new vette ends DSE came out with, might go that direction, will see. If I do I'll likely have to replace my 12 bolt with one of their 9" rears since no one has the alignment bushings and DSE isn't offering the setup on 12 bolts so may be SOL. I really need to focus on getting some things finished on the car too, like DSE subframe connectors, etc. Also need to pickup an LS oil pan and trans crossmember. Hoping to get back to it very soon. Will post updates...

[Dragonfly]

Nice sheet metal work, our cars are very similar

[mdes0]

Hey folks, believe it or not I still have the Camaro. It has come close to being an unfinished project but now I'm back at it. Finally got the rear quarters and outer wheel wells sorted out and got the Detroit Speed sub frame connectors installed. Also installed a DSE brake booster and clutch master bracket\support welded up to the firewall and closed up some unneeded holes. Put in an order for a cross member and some other items with American Powertrain earlier this week so hope to see those parts soon. As soon as I see them I'll be putting the motor and trans in and getting the shifter hole cut. Also need to order a Mast oil pan as soon as they are back in stock. After that I need to figure out what’s next... Have a 1991 Humvee for sale that I need gone to finance the Camaro, let me know if you’re interested!

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[mdes0]

For the first time in I don't know how many years the Camaro has a motor and trans bolted in! Had some trouble getting everything to fit, some firewall modes are required for example and had problems with the trans cross member from American Powertrain but was able to work through them. The AP cross member I used is their modular X Factor model. The 2nd gen mounting plates that bolt to the sub frame don't work with DSE motor mount and sub frame. They shipped me out the plates used for 1st gens and with minor mods I was able to get the trans bolted in. Now I have to get them pulled back out to mod the fire wall and cut the floor for the shifter.

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[Motobrewmaster]

Car is looking great Matt. I wish I had your body work skills. I am over in Portsmouth, I am sure to bump into you at an event once you are done.

Cheers, Brew

[wfodfd]

what happened to this car? were getting ready to start a 72 and would like to see how his is going....