Chain Reaction Update

[Code Red]

nice work man

[dropit69]

back seat usable..yeah right ...my back still hurts from the ride in your other camaro on power tour..lol..bout time you updated ..getting moving ..better be ready by sept..lol

[Bow Tie 67]

The easy way to weld the upper portion of the down bars.



Chassisworks crossbar clevis



Installed ( I need a Miller welder )



Install done, except for cleaning up some of the welds and maybe adding some small bars to the shock point on the DSE tunnel.

[David Sloan]

Nice job Matt
You going to have it at the RTTH this year?

[Bow Tie 67]

Thanks for the compliment David.

Yes I plan on being there, but first I plan on hitting the HRPT and doing some racing with the local club.

[Rick D]

Very nice work. Matt how do like the way the Q link ride is? What shocks are you running? Keep the pictures coming.

[Bow Tie 67]

Its funny you ask, I like it but just found the instructions on how to adjust the rear Koni shocks. I bought the shocks from DSE with the rear suspension. I was in such a hurry to drive the car last fall I just put them on and never even thought to check where the adjustment was. It rides nice but I do remember it was harsh on large bumps. I'll find out soon where they are at in there adjustment and try a softer setting ( if there is one ) One thing I can say is the car handles excellent, better than my 95 with konis.

[Bow Tie 67]

I'm going to save the oem upper rear panel.




First I had to make a slapper bar and get a real hammer and dolly set. Here is the slapper I made, yes ugly but it works. I have already started to work the panel in this pic. I am also using a shrinking disc to shrink and stretch it back into shape.



I hit the point of needing a break.......... So I started on the Quarters First off with the false quarters the previous owner installed.



test fitting then file, grind, adjust repeat . repeat . .............



I had to repair two tears in the tailpanel prior to working with the pass quarter.





And after 40 some hours just fitting the two quarters and tulip panel I almost ready to see how the new roof fits.

The tail panel looks worse than it is, Its wavy but they are smooth waves vs. the orginal beat to a pulp look. Once the panels are welded back on I'll use the shrinking disc to bring it back to original specs with no need for bondo, just a primer filler.

[bigbubba]

Looks good man keep up the good work.

[Jim Nilsen]

Man those pics bring back memories of my cage install and sheetmetal repair . I thought when I got to the paint I was 1/2 way done only to find out it was with the work and then the $$$$$$ started to come into the picture big time.

Looks good soooooo far

[redfire69]

Looks good! There's nothing like 40 hours of fitting to do 5 minutes of welding!!!

[HILROD]

When you're finished I'll have some more work for you to do. Get to work!

[Bow Tie 67]

Frank,

I decided to use metal adhesive for the drip rail and tulip panel area. I started to think hey if I just glue everything like a big model I'll be done in no time. lol

[Bow Tie 67]

I picked up a new 2008 L92 which will go in next winter. All aluminum 6.2L ( 378 ci ) vs. 2001 LS1 5.7 ( 346 ci )



I'm closing in on panel alignment



Some slight mods will have to be done at the roof corners.

[Steve68]

Looks Great Matt, great job right in the garage!!!

[formula98]

Nice work! I'm in the same boat. I will be doing the same this summer! keep up the great work and keep the pics coming....

[lowboy]

what is/was wrong with "false" quarters? The guy who did my "false" quarters talked me into retaining as many of the factory seams as possible (rust wasn't an issue) so I took his advice and didn't do full quarters. Now you have me second guessing myself. Just a personnal preference thing or did I make a mistake?

[Bow Tie 67]

what is/was wrong with "false" quarters? The guy who did my "false" quarters talked me into retaining as many of the factory seams as possible (rust wasn't an issue) so I took his advice and didn't do full quarters. Now you have me second guessing myself. Just a personnal preference thing or did I make a mistake?

I'm very picky, the one quarter had some oil canning and the time it was going to take to make certian areas of the previous roof repairs look correct lead me to just start from scratch. Also considering the money I have in the car, another $1500 dollars for all new uni-body sheetmetal was a no-brainer.

Matt

[lowboy]

thanks for the reply..

[Bow Tie 67]

Here are a couple of pics of the b.s. I'm going through with the new inner wheel wells, they were installed when the false quarters were put on. While fitting the full Goodmark quarters I found they dont line up correct. My solution has been to fit the quarter then slice just about the inners lip and add metal to bring it into the correct position. The pics make it look like hell, but once done it will be a seamless job.

The left side was only off and small amount and just required stitch welding up the slice. The right required about 1/2" of metal added at the widest portion.

Here are pics of the right