'Streamline' 1968 camaro project

[slimjim]

The interior looks great. How thick is the KilMat you used?

I used the 80mil, I don’t have anything negative to say about the product, but 50mil would have probably been just as effective with the other materials I used on top I think.

[slimjim]

Getting this 5th gen rear seat to look at home hasn't been the easiest task but Ambition road are tasked with finishing this job. A part of this job is to retain the modern child-seat mounts and install a raised base so it becomes a little more functional.

[dhutton]

I also used a fifth gen rear seat and front seats. When the front seats are all the way back they almost touch the rear seat. So good for child safety seats but not much else in my experience. Getting a child in that safety seat will be an exercise in gymnastics....

Don

[Snowcatter]

That makes it exactly like they are in the 5th gen car lol the back seat is only there for looks rather than function. Otherwise the Camaro would be classified as a 2 seater like the Vette. It was quite a chore to get a child seat in the back of my ZL1 as well

I also used a fifth gen rear seat and front seats. When the front seats are all the way back they almost touch the rear seat. So good for child safety seats but not much else in my experience. Getting a child in that safety seat will be an exercise in gymnastics....

Don

[BoiseSS]

Looks great! Can't wait to see it finished. Really want to see how the stinger hood looks when finished. Love stinger hoods mainly because of '67 tri-power Vettes. Haven't seen one on a first gen Camaro.

[slimjim]

I also used a fifth gen rear seat and front seats. When the front seats are all the way back they almost touch the rear seat. So good for child safety seats but not much else in my experience. Getting a child in that safety seat will be an exercise in gymnastics....

Don

That makes it exactly like they are in the 5th gen car lol the back seat is only there for looks rather than function. Otherwise the Camaro would be classified as a 2 seater like the Vette. It was quite a chore to get a child seat in the back of my ZL1 as well

I definitely tried to retain 5th gen dimensions by putting the front seats a little wider and a little further back than the original 68 mounting so I was never expecting anything even close to the term "leg room". I guess if I take any positives from it, it's that I'll never be the person in the back. The baby seat will also be a hassle, but at the speed I've been building this car, she'll probably be able to climb in herself by time we take it for a drive haha

Looks great! Can't wait to see it finished. Really want to see how the stinger hood looks when finished. Love stinger hoods mainly because of '67 tri-power Vettes. Haven't seen one on a first gen Camaro.

You and I both, I have gone back and forth on the stinger hood, it's something I never loved 100%, but I just didn't want a cowl hood. If It wasn't so modified for my gas-strut custom hood hinges and VW hood latch, not to mention the modifications to the intake(still not 100%),I think I'd settle for a plain flat hood.

[slimjim]

As previously mentioned, I wanted Aaron at Ambition road to take a look over my car and finalise a bunch of things that weren't 100% and that I was losing sleep on. I really wanted his expertise to take care of certain things before we got the car painted so that final assembly can go relatively smoothly.

Brake lines are all but complete and soon to be bled. I'd previously made Nicopp lines but Aaron likes to maintain his DSE standards so he re-bent them in stainless, I'm always surprised how quickly he can get it done, and wow they're tight.
I had also purchased the larger proportioning valve but it is apparently not necessary for this application and can over-complicate the lines, Again, following DSE standards we used the smaller unit and hid it underneath the floor.
While there I also had him finalise the E-brake lines.





Another task was finalising the pedals and steering column.
I wanted the pedals to match those of the 5th gen, this involved installing some new backing plates on all the pedals and fitting the pedal covers. A small DBW pedal bracket was also fabricated to fit the 5th gen gas pedal to Ambition roads flat firewall.Finally the dash was trimmed for better ergonomics and more leg room for my gangly long legs.
The steering column was a concern for a very long time, we looked at using the 5th gen column but in the end, the pros and cons lent in the direction of IDIDIT, where it's issues were simply cosmetic, whereas the modern column issues were electrical as well as the awkward fitment with the original pedals and steering location.

I have a billet steering wheel, it may get used temporarily, I may also look at modifying the 5th gen wheel and if all else fails, I may have to cough up the dollars for a Sparc wheel. options are open.

[Motown 454]

It looks great, I wish I could make bends like that. I like the way he routed the e brake cable with the brake lines. I see how that lower dash could be a problem, the fix looks factory.

[ryeguy2006a]

Looks great Jim! I'm going to steal that idea for my DBW pedal mount.

[slimjim]

Everything is moving slowly, no surprises there, but I'll be bringing my car home shortly to finalise the body work before paint.
One thing that was important to take care of at Ambition Road is matching the front bumper to the tucked rear bumper.

I obviously like 69 driving lights on the earlier models, but often this makes it appear unfinished to me. The tucked, and more importantly raised bumper finishes it out a little better IMO.
This is also a subtle modification Roadstershop do on a lot of their 67's and 68's.

[Motown 454]

It's looking good, I like the bumpers tucked in tight. They're doing a nice job

[ryeguy2006a]

Looks great man! Keep up the good work.

[radtexas]

Getting this 5th gen rear seat to look at home hasn't been the easiest task but Ambition road are tasked with finishing this job. A part of this job is to retain the modern child-seat mounts and install a raised base so it becomes a little more functional.

James I have a 67 vert and debating on the 5th gen seats also. I have the tubs as well. Looks like it is just installing an elevated bracket for the tunnel clearance is the biggest thing. I don't know the actual width of the 5th gen seat but looks like it would fit the 48" narrower Camaro option. Not sure how the height is though. How tall does yours set up vertically. Getting the seats from local yard is not a costly deal but don't want to get if it wont fit. TIA

[slimjim]

Thanks guys, appreciate the kind words.

James I have a 67 vert and debating on the 5th gen seats also. I have the tubs as well. Looks like it is just installing an elevated bracket for the tunnel clearance is the biggest thing. I don't know the actual width of the 5th gen seat but looks like it would fit the 48" narrower Camaro option. Not sure how the height is though. How tall does yours set up vertically. Getting the seats from local yard is not a costly deal but don't want to get if it wont fit. TIA

Radtexas, I don't have the measurements however my seat is now trimmed a bit. We lowered the backrest a little by trimming the lower portion of it so that it didn't stick up too high above the parcel shelf, although it still does by an inch or two. The base also sits a little higher than an original, this is just by design as the 5th gen is designed to sit on a flat floor, this is ultimately what we did with the brackets to mount it.
With the mini tubs you need to narrow the original fold-down seat bracket or make your own.

[slimjim]

Finally got my car back home, and going over the work that Aaron at Ambition Road completed sure is exciting.

A couple small things taken care of is access to the car. With the updated 5th gen door locks paired with maintaining the appearance of the original outer door handles, I wanted the opening to be simpler and easier than the clunky door handle mechanisms. so inside the doors are now door-popper style solenoids which will be activated by soft-touch buttons inside the original door handles.



I was also concerned about the effects a dead battery would have on the car, so I now have a hidden mechanical trunk popper installed as well, which is pretty difficult to make out in this picture.



Also, since I decided on using the ididit column rather than 5th gen, I've spent a considerable amount of time researching steering wheels. There's no shortage of great wheels out there but very few that suit a modern interior short of SPARC industries billet wheels, which are what I suspect I'll end up with. However, in my searches I found a heavily reduced CPP billet wheel that I ordered just to make do temporarily until I figure it all out. To my surprise, it looks a little better than expected.

[topsail24]

Awesome build Jim. Your post is a wealth of information for the 1968 Camaro build I'm about to start. I'm in Concord not too far away. I'm really leaning towards the Speedtech subframe and debating what type of rear suspension now.

[slimjim]

Awesome build Jim. Your post is a wealth of information for the 1968 Camaro build I'm about to start. I'm in Concord not too far away. I'm really leaning towards the Speedtech subframe and debating what type of rear suspension now.

Nice, I'm just over in Huntersville so I'll have to come check your car out some time. I'm happy to help wherever I can.

[slimjim]

Small update.
I didn't want all of my freshly fabricated parts to get rusty and since they probably never need to come out again I decided to pull a bunch of parts and give them a solid coat of epoxy.

Once done I finished the rear seat riser in a textured black coating and the seat bar in a hammer-finished silver. While they were out I jumped at the chance to finish this section in Kilmat.(it was still unfinished in this picture).




I also pulled the steering column and finished it in satin black. the closeout piece I had made to tie it into the dash was also treated with the textured black to add some contrast for now.




One thing you'll notice is the airbag cover fits over the billet steering wheel, and although it doesn't fit as well as it could, it doesn't look entirely out of place, so it's something I'll toy with in the future.

While there I hit the front bumper with Epoxy as well as a spot I wasn't satisfied with on the hood.

[ryeguy2006a]

Looks killer Jim. It almost looks like you could throw some glass and seats in it and take it for a spin. Keep the progress coming man.

[oldschoolmuscle]

that a vfn hood ?