Dad's Camaro

[Castlesmith]

Sorry for the lengthy story....please indulge me. 22 years ago my dad and I brought home a 67 camaro convertible on a trailer with the block in the trunk and the tranny in the rear seat. Boxes of parts stacked all around the car on the trailer. It took us 3 years but we put the car together and at that time all parts were either refurbed by us or taken from the junkyard and reconditioned. It was a 327 car with a powerglide.To say the least it was a less than perfect restoration. He had to have some cragar truspokes. The car was painted bright red and he drove it proudly around town and he made all the parades and homecomings so the queen and her court could ride around the football field in style. He always talked about redoing the car. It didn't look bad and had always been garaged. There were so many more parts available he just thought we could make it better.

In February 2000 my dad passed away after a bout with cancer. He had arranged for the car to come to me. In 2002 I started to rebuild the car the way he wanted to. He loved the lowered look and always wanted more power. My cousin and I are building the car and we are about to finish all the mechanical and undercarriage restomod. I had a local engine builder put together a 383 short-block, with an isky solid roller cam. Dad always loved hearing that sewing machine sound of solid camshaft. The top end is AFR 210, Super Victor, Demon 750 annular. Hooker super comp 1 3/4 tubes and 2 1/2 exhaust. It has 11:1 compression and really rev's. We replaced the powerglide with a 700r4. I put the global west stuff all around, control arms, QA1 coilovers, rear multi leafs, solid body bushings, sub frame connectors...the whole banana. The car had factory disk brakes, but I changed over to the drilled slotted willwoods. 17 inch centerline wheels. BFG 275/40 for the rear 235/45 on the front. I think I'm right about those tire sizes, if not they are close. We just welded a sump into the new fuel tank and the rear end came back from a 3:73 gear set up, changing from the orig 2:73 gear. We will be installing the rear end, tank, springs and shocks, rear brakes this weekend.

The car still has the original interior in it. The seats have been recovered with a black cloth. I will probably update all that soon. It is still that shiny red 22 year old paint, I will be repainting the car too. On September 24th I will be driving the car in a parade with the festival queen perched on the rear deck. It has been a painful and joyous experience rebuilding Dad's Camaro. It has been a reminder of all the cussing and fighting that we engaged in when we did it the first time. I was 21 years old then and didn't think he knew much. I'm 43 now and I would give anything to ask him which red he wants to paint the car.

I am grateful to those of you who have answered some of my questions. I consider myself fortunate to have found this site where Ideas and information are so freely exchanged as we share the same passion for cars. I have hundred of pics from the rebuild of the car. I would love to share some of them but I can't figure out how to attach them. If someone could help me with that I would count it an honor to show the pics of Dad's Camaro.

Castlesmith

[DarkBuddha]

A very nice story, and I'm sure we'd all love to see the pics. Consider hosting them at a place like ImageShack (www.imageshack.com). It's free and there are no strings attached. Plus, when you upload them it gives you the proper code to simply copy and pasted right into this thread.

[dipren443]

I would be more than happy to post a few pics for you. Just email them to [email protected]

That being said, I only have limited bandwidth. I can host about 5 MB worth of photos for you.

Nick

[Castlesmith]

Nick,

Thanks for the offer I think I'll try the web hoster thing. I appreciate it.

Castlesmith

[Castlesmith]

Link to the pics I hope!

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Great story! You can also upload pics directly to the forum. Click "Post Reply" and type your response out as normal, then click the "Manage Attachments" button in the go advanced window at the bottom of the screen. Then, simply click "browse" and find the pic you would like ot post on your hard drive, and click "upload". You can load as many as 4 at once, then click upload attachments, and post reply. The pictures should appear as small thumbnails at the bottom of your post.

[Castlesmith]

Let's give it a whirl!

[F70t/a]

Great story!!!!

[Piet]

Can't wait to see the pictures.... thanks for sharing your story.

[CAMAROBOY69]

Great story. It reminds me of Kris Mcdonalds story. http://www.lateral-g.net/members/mcdonald69camaro/
Imageshack is very easy for hosting pics.

[primate]

wow. whata wonderful story.
looking foward to some pics.

[Castlesmith]

Well, We got the 3:73 rear end from the shop. We attachedt it to the springs and hooked up the rear brake lines. After 6 hours of bleeding brakes and chasing leaks she is on the ground. The Car will be in the parade on Saturday! I will post some pics of the car in the parade, and some shots from the driveway next week.

It is amazing what some compound and wax and elbow grease will do. Th car had a great deal of "shop scum"... you know the residue of all the spray paint, raw fuel, dust, pollen, et al. It actually shined up pretty well.

Thanks for the encouragement here's a couple of partial pics to whet your appetite for next weeks additions.

Thanks!

[Castlesmith]

Here are shots of the car rolling in the parade and from the parking lot. Still needs the interior and the paint done. I want to build some grills for the lower openings at the front of the car. There it is... what do ya think? All criticism and suggestions welcomed.

Thanks,

Castlesmith

[Drewhelm]

Awesome car. Great story and great car!