Project Perseverance

[toms69ss]

So a little bit of history about me. I have wanted to build a Pro-touring style car for about 8 years, and my favorite car since I was a child was a 69 Camaro. But working 2 jobs and taking classes part time while my kids were growing and my wife went to school didn't leave much time and definitely not much money. But I never gave up the dream. This past year was pretty rough, besides the stresses of being married, having a family and not having the time to devote to either because of work and school obligations, my son went to the hospital for a staff infection that was dangerously close to his brain. On my way to see him, I was involved in a hit and run motorcycle accident on Labor Day weekend. I was left in the road with a fractured back. As if things couldn't get much worse, 3 weeks later my wife ends up in the emergency room with signs of a heart attack. Tuned out to be stress, thankfully. So after rehab twice a week for the last 4 months, fighting insurance companies to even get medical bills paid, we decided that I would quite my second job and my wife would take her state boards and get a job. So this is how I came up with the project name, Perseverance is how we got through the tough times. So now about the car, I picked it up this last weekend from North Carolina. The roof, rockers, quarters and tail panel have all been replaced already. I will do the trunk pan, floor pan, cowl, and firewall. Then it will be time to mod, I want to follow Cryptonomads build and go with the install of a 5th gen camaro interior and drivetrain. Up front I am going to do a ridetech uppers, lowers and coil overs. Steering is still undecided also. I haven't decided on rear yet, but am really liking the IRS. For color I am really fond of the PPG 'Checkered Past' and wheels I have given little thought to. Here it is right off the trailer.

I started to take it apart and didn't find anything that I was shocked by. The underside seems pretty clean considering all the other panels that have been replaced or need to be replaced.





The cowl and firewall was repaired by someone that wasn't looking to make it perfect



The floor had more fiberglass repairs.



The trunk has even more fiberglass and wasn't even enough to fill the holes.



That's it for now, I will be starting on the trunk, then moving toward the front. I am sure I will have questions along the way.

[xsboost90]

always loved the 69 Camaro. I had a very solid 69 Firebird years back- should have kept that one. Good luck cant wait to see it done....

[69chevelle540]

Wish you the best of luck with the car and hope your family the best. When i started my car it was in rough shape but one thing that someone told me that stuck was if you work on the car when you can and just focus on one thing at a time and try to just get one thing done on it even if its just putting a few bolts back in place or mounting a set of new tires .. youve accomplished somthing and your one step closer to finishing. Ill keep my eye on this build and cant wait to see what you turn it into. Good luck!

[toms69ss]

So its been a really long time since I started this thread. I have made some progress on the car last summer but got busy with class before I got to post my updates. I will be finishing classes in the next month or so. I will be posting pictures as soon as I can figure out a file share service to use. Any suggestions? I am getting ready to start installing sheetmetal, but before I start purchasing parts I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on Classic to Current Fabrication. I came across their stuff while searching for the best deals on parts. Anyone ever use them?

[ryeguy2006a]

Looks like a pretty solid car to start with. I use flickr to post my photos and had good luck with them.

[toms69ss]

So the car looked solid.... not really the case. Found rust where I expected to and in places I didn't expect to. I also found some really shady work, and with that I dug way deeper than I expected.



I started by getting a First Gen Jig. Took the subframe off and got the car locked down.



Then I started cutting....ALOT!!!!!





The rocker made a good home for someone, but the eviction notice was served and he had to go.




The passenger outer was new, but the the work was very crappy. So bad that when I pulled the inner off I didn't have to grind any welds. It just fell off.



The outer had some pretty crappy work, so that will be getting replaced.





I don't like the looks of the front A-pillars, so they will be getting replaced also.





That's pretty much where I got last summer. I will start ordering parts next week so that when I finish classes I can start right away.