Project: BLACK METAL - '67 Camaro

[67rally]

Speaking of holes in speaker cones, you may want to sell those infinity 12's while they're still working. I've had 2 sets have the cones come unglued from the surround when they got older.

That's crazy. Those Infinity's have been through 2 or 3 of my previous cars and they still sounded great. I can't even remember how long ago I bought them.

A couple last pics of the stereo, not so close up:

[jlcustomz]

EH, maybe I play em louder & for more years than I realize. Pair in my daily driver sprinter van has rags between the cones & surround to stop the rattling. Still sounds better than some peoples cheap crap. Subs still ran by my infinity amp I bought from crutchfield back in 1989.

New console part blends in nice by the way. Ain't no one way to make such an item. Nice to see one that doesn't weigh about 40 lbs from all the mdf glued up together.

[JustJohn]

I like your console addition. I've been struggling to find a solution to supplement my 69 Impala console "cap" with something useful to hold gauges.

[ryeguy2006a]

Just read through your whole build thread and you have done an amazing job! I am going to subscribe for your updates. I'm currently restoring a 1968 Camaro and you have given me a ton of great pictures for reference in my build as well as ideas for the future. I really like that video that you posted of the turning signal/driving lights. Those are incredibly cool!

[67rally]

Thanks guys. It's just about time to start driving it and stop working on it for the Summer. Looking to do one or two track days next month if the schedule works out.

[67rally]

I did a track day last Friday at Palmer Motorsports Park. The Camaro ran great, the new brakes and suspension were a major upgrade. Top speeds were up and lap times were down.

Here's a 3 minute video (max for my free software) from my 3rd session. I just couldn't push any harder in the corners without pushing the nose and scrubbing speed. Tire upgrade next year.

[ryeguy2006a]

Very cool vid! I'm curious, how does that program know what gear you are in?

[67rally]

Very cool vid! I'm curious, how does that program know what gear you are in?

Thanks.

I think the program estimates the gear by the rpm changes. Originally it thought I was in one gear lower than I was the whole time. There's an option to increase or decrease the gear by a selected value (for the whole video), so I chose one higher. It got everything right, except there were a couple of times where it showed I was in 5th gear for a second when I had actually just pushed the clutch in and not released it yet. The only time I used 5th was the end of the "straight".

[expensivehobby22]

Very cool car, and I just realized that you are in the Boston area too. I was signed up for the track day at Palmer on Friday, in my SRT-4, , but had a conflict cone up.

[67rally]

Very cool car, and I just realized that you are in the Boston area too. I was signed up for the track day at Palmer on Friday, in my SRT-4, , but had a conflict cone up.

Thanks! Too bad you couldn't make it, it was another fun day, but there were a couple of wrecks in my group. I think some people definitely overdrive their abilities there.

I may try Thompson next time for a change of scenery.

[expensivehobby22]

Oh jeez. Palmer doesn't seem like a good track to wreck at (not that wrecking is ever good). I think I'm unfortunately done with track days for the year as pit crew #2 is literally showing up any day, but I plan on doing 4 or 5 of the SCCA nights next year.

[sandiegocamaro]

This is the final framework I ended up with. I added 4 mounting tabs and welded a nut to each:


With the dash kit/bezel I'm adapting to:


I cut out an opening to match the outer perimeter of the dash bezel, and placed the foam board PVC into position:


I taped it in down to keep the bezel in place, and began heating with a heat gun to make the first bends:


Did a rough trim to get ready for the more intricate bends:


Semi finished console. The PVC bends nicely with heat, I was able to fully wrap it around the 3/16" round bar to hold everything in place:




Mocked up for final fitment:




I went back over all the uneven panels with the heat gun and got it pretty smmot/even.

I used High Strength 3M spray adhesive to attach the black vinyl. Took my time to get it right:


It wired up very easy since I was just replacing the old one. I think there were only 5 or 6 wires to cut and splice. A little washed out, but here's the final product:


Tilting screen:




Ready to Rock!

Did you find that the plastic was a better choice to work with over the fiberglass? I really like your frame you built.

[67rally]

Did you find that the plastic was a better choice to work with over the fiberglass? I really like your frame you built.

Thanks, the plastic was very easy to work with, but I don’t think it would be great for complex shapes. I made my old one out of fiberglass and it was very messy and time consuming. This was much quicker/cleaner. With a few simple curves, it stiffens up very well as it cools.