Mizzouri's 68 Camaro build

[Mizzouri]

So there I was fat, dumb, and happy last fall when a friend of mine (Joe) with a 99 Z28 called me and told me that the car hadn't started in a year and he wanted it gone so he could move on to a newer Z06. I had it towed home and to our surprise it turned out to be a corroded battery cable. Since he had already parted with the car mentally he turned down my offer to take it back for the sale price. Continuing on in this fat, dumb, and happy life I mentioned to another friend (Brad) that what I really wanted was a classic to drop in the drivetrain from the 99. As it so happened he knew a guy who had a 68 Camaro for sale that needed some TLC. I stopped by one afternoon in February to take a look. Boy did this thing need TLC! Something inside said 'Perfect!' (remember the dumb from fat and happy!) and it came home with me within days. So it has sat in my garage until last weekend when Brad, Kirk, and Paul came over to get this project going. From the time I purchased this car I have been researching builds on this site and have purchased the following to go in the car, to which I'll take pictures along the way and attempt to add insite for others.



The plan is to make the car in to a daily driver and take over the Autocross duties from the 2k WS6 that I (poorly) campaign here in KC.
Parts purchased and going in:

Speedtech motor mounts, body bushings, and trans crossmember
SW headers
PSI Conversions harness and computer
6cyl gas pedal from Firewheel Classics
Tanks Inc.....you guessd it...gas tank
Vintage Works 1968 gauges - these are a thing of beauty!
AutoKraft oil pan

I'm not shy so there will be a section detailing my expenses along this projected 3 year journey. So stay tuned and feel free to offer respectful opinion and thought.

[Auto Rod Technologies]

You going to re-body the car??

[Mizzouri]

I need to take a few more pics and run them to a body shop or 2 and get a rough estimate for the work that will need to be done. The back half of the car is toast and the front isn't a whole lot better frankly. If it comes down to it I'll re-body it. I got the car cheap enough so it wouldn't bother me. If anyone can ballpark a number for the metal work it would be something to think about as a baseline.

[rickpaw]

What are your plans on brake? You can use the front/rear brakes from the 99 on your 68.

Good luck on your build. Nice garage. Looks like you have the space to do the work yourself.

[SSLance]

Heck Yeah!! I'm subscribed!!

While the WS6 is at least in the right direction of what we need more of at the Kansas City Region, the 68 Camaro with a modern drivetrain is more better!!!

What are you going to do with the rest of the 99 Z28? **imagining what else is left on it that I can use**

[Mizzouri]

What are your plans on brake? You can use the front/rear brakes from the 99 on your 68.

Good luck on your build. Nice garage. Looks like you have the space to do the work yourself.

Thanks, I had just gotten the floor epoxied prior to the car surgery. Originally I was going to source the brakes (and complete interior) from the 99 but have since decided that I wanted something better as they are my only real complaint in my WS6. Seems that people tend to favor the Wilwoods but I need to see what wheels I want to run in conjunction. I've got my friends coming back over tomorrow to help with the engine/trans install. Hope to have more pics coming by the end of the weekend.


The previous owners of the house were BIG Jayhawk fans so I HAD to prime over the huge Jayhawk on the back wall and cut out the cement reflief they had at the bottom of the deck. An old priest and young priest were brought in to confirm that the devil has been exorcised from the house as a result, lol.

[Mizzouri]

Heck Yeah!! I'm subscribed!!

While the WS6 is at least in the right direction of what we need more of at the Kansas City Region, the 68 Camaro with a modern drivetrain is more better!!!

What are you going to do with the rest of the 99 Z28? **imagining what else is left on it that I can use**

Supposedly I have the car sold to a family friend. Other than the eng/trans, radiator, and seats the rest of the car is complete and the car was being driven right up to it being pulled apart. It's a zero option car that would be a really nice drag car. Which reminds me, I need to call this guy up and see if he's gonna get it this weekend or if it needs to be listed.

[rickpaw]

Originally I was going to source the brakes (and complete interior) from the 99 but have since decided that I wanted something better as they are my only real complaint in my WS6. Seems that people tend to favor the Wilwoods but I need to see what wheels I want to run in conjunction.

So what is the issue with the WS6 brakes? I'm running front/rear set out of 2002 WS6 as well. They're fine for the street but I want to take the car to the track occasionally.

Tu

[Mizzouri]

I don't think they bite hard enough, and that's with Hawk HPS pads and brembo blanks. And yes, they have been flushed with new fluid a couple times over the past 4 years. If I were willing to swing some cash away from the 68 I'd be upgrading the front calipers/disks to some larger which is legal in my class (ESP). The rears are considered fine.

So what is the issue with the WS6 brakes? I'm running front/rear set out of 2002 WS6 as well. They're fine for the street but I want to take the car to the track occasionally.

Tu

[rickpaw]

You know I had the same feeling too. I got on the brakes hard one time, and didn't feel they bite hard enough. Maybe some C5/C6 upgrade. My limiting factor right now is the wheels (17" Torque Thrust 2s).

[mikey]

pm sent on price forsheetmetal work I also have a pretty cool part I designed and am sellingyou might like

[Mizzouri]

Well, a slight slowdown with the rain and not having the tools to remove 2 broken manifold bolts. A trip to Sears late in the afternoon and now time to head out to the garage to get 'em out.

[Mizzouri]

Well not a 'major' update to the project, more a moment of success in learning something new. Turns out those exhaust manifold bolts were going no where no matter how I tried to persuade them. So, I decided to drill them out and run a tap. Since I've never done this before I held my breath a bit and proceeded slooooowly. After work today I came home and managed to finish drilling the first one (the last 1/2" was not easy). Success! One more to go and then it's time to tackle the body bushings before dropping in the engine.

[Mizzouri]

Wow! It has been hard to find time to work on the car due to life getting in the way. I did, however, manage to get the firewall hole cut for the harness and the engine dropped in on the 6th. My helper had to get back to Minnesota so we didn't have the time to lift the engine back up to get the driver's side header installed once we did the initial fit. With any luck I can get that done soon. Anyway, here are some rough pics that show the fitment of the engine using Speedtech's motor mounts and the recommended Autokraft pan.

[Mizzouri]

Continuing the progress today my friend Brad came over and assisted in getting the headers on. Very pleased with the fitment of the pieces from Speedtech thus far. In the first pic it appears as if the #1 tube is close to the steering box. This is an illusion caused by the angle of the shot. Nothing touches or is close to touching anywhere. Next on the list is the Speedtech trans crossmember and then sorting out the oil pressure sender since the bell shaped unit will not work with the LS1 manifold. I'm either going to get a 45 degree adapter or simply move it down near the oil filter.

[Mizzouri]

Well, I had a bit of time this morning so I knocked out the trans cross member install. Again, I find myself happy with another piece of Speedtech hardware. The adjustability and overall fitment made it easy. The design looks to eliminate any interference with the exhaust system. Forgive the pic as I has to hurry up to complete some maintenance for the USDA, though it does give a pretty good indication of the clearance. I'll post up my laundry list of items to check off so I can stay organized.

[67CamNKC]

Looking good. Man, those headers are super nice.

[im4u2nvss]

I like this build, keep it up!

[Mizzouri]

After a long, boring week at work it was nice to unwind with a wrench in hand this weekend (and a couple beers!). Saturday I cut the trans tunnel back a bit allowing me to mount the shifter. It felt damn good to have a shifter in my hand again so I forged ahead and drilled a hole in the firewall for the throttle cable. Turns out the cable from the stripper 99 was a good fit, though it might need a bit of modification to go full throttle. A crappy floor replacement panel is preventing me from knowing for sure at this time. On Sunday I removed the dashpad, gauges, and factory HVAC system from the car. All that made it easier to run the PSI harness through the firewall where I did a test fit on the layout. I'm happy with the location but will mull over another spot as it's not difficult to to patch a 2" hole and I'd like to be dead set on the final location before shipping the car off. I might need to get the Vintage air unit before I go too far to the passenger side (hmm). In addition to that, I put the 99's radiator on a jack and got it up to where I can take measurements and head to the airport where a friend works and has access to a metal brake so we can fab up a few brackets. Lastly I put the power steering lines back in the factory box and realized that the SW headers are going to need wrapped to avoid heat soaking the lines. Slowly moving along but am in no real hurry. Autocrossing again next weekend might halt movement for a couple weeks.

P.S. As much as I want to hear this thing fire I can't wait to get it media blasted and metal work done (old car stink). So close but so far away....

P.S.S I was NOT the person who hacked the crap out of the shifter tunnel. Ugh, time to improve my welding skills.

[SSLance]

Progress!!!