Re-assembly process/order ???

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

First - sorry this is so long...

Ok- I finally have my new garage in shape to start work on my 'Bird. It's current state is completely striped and mounted on the rotisserre. Engine and tranny are rebuilt. Rear end is ready to put back together. All suspension parts are purchased and ready. Wiring all in hand. Only body parts I need is a tail panel, 67 Camaro front valance to use as donor to make a cuatom front valance, and maybe one door skin. I still need weather stripping but not worried about it at the moment.

My quandry is what's the best way/order to proceed. Now this may ramble so please bear with me. Here's my thinking.

Cleanup and paint my frame, under carriage, and roll bar. ( I may need to do some touch up under neath after the rear end is installed but not much due to some potential welding)

Drop it off the rot and put it on jack stands. Reinstall the engine, trans, and rear end and square it up. Install front suspension. Remove engine. trans, and rear end. Just to make it easy to work on car.

Since all the sheet metal in the front from door to door is new GM or very good condition used original parts body work on the front half should be minimal. So I plan to start on one side and work my way around the rear from door to door.

Once the back half is done I can start to reassemble the doors, fenders, and such to get them properly alligned. Once they are all aligned I can remove everything again for painting.

Re-install engine, trans, and rearend. Re mount all my body work and wire the care and finsih the interior.

Give or take a few minor changes is this a good plan or is the a better order to reassemble a car???

[BA.]

Sounds like a good plan to me but wth do I know? I'm at the re-assembly (post-paint) stage myself.

Are you putting in tubs or doing firewall work that the drivetrain would come back out "to make it easy to work on the car"? I may have missed the value in that part.

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Sounds like a good plan to me but wth do I know? I'm at the re-assembly (post-paint) stage myself.

Are you putting in tubs or doing firewall work that the drivetrain would come back out "to make it easy to work on the car"? I may have missed the value in that part.

Yes. I'll also be painting the firewall and most engine bay sheet metal the same body color and reinstalling tubs and other interior sheet metal.

[Jim Nilsen]

It is a lot easier to wire the car with the front end off so you can get to the engine wiring without leaning over the fenders. You will be surpised as to how time you might spend there making it look nice. Getting the engine running is also easier with them off. You can mock up all of the lighting if you want also to make sure it is working, just make sure you temporarily hook up grounds. It will save more time if you have problems, especially if you are customizing the harness.

Other than that you have a pretty good handle on it.

[Paint God]

Here is how I do it. There are very specific reasons why I use this exact order. This is based on hundreds of Camaro's that we have built. I hate having to do things twice so I have it down to a science.

Hang all the suspension with new bushings and rubbers.
install engine and transmission (minus plumbing, exhaust, and wiring)
Rebuild the door hinges EVERY TIME
hang the doors and adjust them to fit the rocker and quarter
Install radiator support with the new mounting hardware
Hang front fenders, inner fenders, and hood with ALL hardware
Adjust the fenders and hood together.
Install upper and lower valences and install grill
hang trunk lid and rear spoiler if one is being used.
Install door seals and trunk lid seal
Do all of your bodywork.
Prime and block over and over untuil the car is straight
tear the car back down to the shell
final prime everything apart so you can get all edges and jambs
final block, wetsand, and paint in pieces.
Color sand everything in pieces and let sit un polished so it can gas off
prep the bottom of the body, wheel wells, and firewall then paint
Paint or powdercoat subframe, suspension pieces, brackets, radiator support, bumper brackets, inner fenders, etc.
Install subframe and all suspension.
Install engine and transmission, wiring, and plumbing
Install Exhaust
Hang and adjust doors to quarters and rockers
build out doors (windows, hardware, seals, etc)
Install radiator support
Hang fenders, inner fenders, hood, and upper and lower valances
Hang deck lid
Polish all the panels
Install rear spoiler
Assemble everything in dash
Install all interior (have a pro do your headliner)
Have a pro install your windshield and back glass
Install all exterior moldings, grill, lights, bumpers, etc....

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Thanks for the tips. Got the underside and frame all painted. Car off rotisseree at the moment. So I can start putting it back together. Not a lot of body work to do. So I hope to have it ready for paint in just a cpl of months as long as I can get the time to work on it. Door hinge rebuild kit already ordered.