'67 Camaro build in Alabama/ Roadster shop chassis / crate LS3

[wareaglescott]

Hello, I'm Scott. Brand new to the Camaro world.
I bought a nice driver condition '67 that I plan to restomod.
I am a complete rookie when it comes to Camaro builds. This is the first one I have ever owned. Honestly I have always been a Ford guy that really liked the Camaro so I decided it was time to build one. I have so much to learn.



I do have some previous build experience. A couple of my current cars are a Factory Five Cobra with a coyote crate motor, tko-600, and IRS drivetrain. That was my first ever build. My only previous automotive experience experience was changing my oil in high school 25 years prior. Jumped in with both feet on that one and am really pleased how it turned out. Recently passed 10,000 miles on it and it has been a great experience. After that I did a full restoration on a 1979 Porsche 911. That was much more complex for me tearing down and restoring vs starting with all new parts on the Cobra. I have been enjoying driving the 911 since I completed it a year ago.

I really enjoy learning new stuff and trying to advance my skills as a car guy. I like to kind jump in over my head and learn as I go on these builds. The Camaro really appeals to me because it is very different from anything I have previously done. A great chance to learn new stuff. I am a big fan of the helpful people I have found on the forums to help educate me on the last two builds which brings me here.

The Camaro build!
Plan Is for a roadster shop chassis, mini tubs in the rear from detroit speed, LS3 495HP crate motor, T-56. Chassis, motor and transmission are ordered. Motor and Trans coming tomorrow. It will be about 4 months until the chassis shows up. (getting the motor now because I travel for a living and will be home for a couple weeks. Delivery is always an issue with my travel schedule so I figured I would save myself some hassle and get it here while I am home even though it will just sit in the corner for a while) I build these cars in my basement workshop garage and have a 2 post lift down there.

I have zero interest in doing my own body and paint. I really enjoy the mechanical aspects of the build and doing the interiors but do not want to touch the exterior. The last two builds I have spent a considerable amount on very nice paint jobs. That has been great but in both cases has taken a very long time because the shop I trust to use has a ton of work. They do spectacular work but there is generally a very long timeline and I am paying for the quality they are providing. I thought to myself if I buy a car that does not need paint and body I could save myself time and money in the long run. With that in mind I found a very nicely restored car with a very nice body. (Honestly I think I am somewhat crazy taking this nice car apart!) Certainly paid up front for that and now find myself in the disassembly phase taking a lot of barely used parts off. Hope to sell what I can.

Currently I have taken the interior out Floors looked good from underneath but you never know what is under the carpet. Was very pleased with what I found. Now I am basically working on stripping it all down and removing the front and rear suspension and then I will work on the mini tubs.

[wareaglescott]

Motor and transmission just got delivered. Wont need it for a bit but nice to see it sitting there in the crate!

[egoman]

As a fellow ford guy it would have been sweet revenge to toss a stroker Windsor in this thing. The best thing about the GMs though is the opportunity for you to use the EASY button when it comes to engine choice. Good luck with your build, I will be following!

[wareaglescott]

As a fellow ford guy it would have been sweet revenge to toss a stroker Windsor in this thing. The best thing about the GMs though is the opportunity for you to use the EASY button when it comes to engine choice. Good luck with your build, I will be following!

Ha I am a Ford guy at heart that has always loved Camaros and wanted to build a fun one. You may like my plate!

[egoman]

That will rile them up fer sure!

[Vimes]

Nah, a Ford guy in a Chevy just goes to show that Ford guys like to win races sometimes too.

[408maro]

curious to see the Roadster Shop chassis works out i am interested for my 67 aswell

[wareaglescott]

curious to see the Roadster Shop chassis works out i am interested for my 67 aswell

Me to! Probably going to be about 4 months before it shows up

- - - Updated - - -




Pulled out the motor today. Slowly plugging away on deconstruction. Going to work on removing the fuel tank and rear suspension next I think.

Trying to sell the motor and trans as a complete package. I have no idea how to price that stuff. Any suggestions?

[wareaglescott]

Finished removing the front subframe and rear suspension and put the body on a cart so I can move it around as needed. I have a work obligation that will take me away for about a month starting next week. My goal was to get to this point prior to that so I am pleased where I am at. This is a good stopping point for the short build hiatus.

Front subframe came out very easily. The rear fought me a bit. The attachment bracket for the front of the leaf springs on both sides required some bolt cutting because 2 of 3 Jnuts on each side broke when I tried to remove them. It seems that is a common rusting problem from what I read here. Penetrating oil, heat and patience helped on the rear mounting points and those came out quite easily.

Hoping I can sell all my removed components in the near term as I need the space in the shop.
Coming up soon when I get back on it will be the mini tub install.
Have been making some good progress determining all the particulars on what I want to install so I can get it on order.

[wareaglescott]

Back on the build and should make more regular progress now. Had some out of town training for work that killed most of the last two months. Getting started on the Detroit speed mini tubs. I have never done anything like this so the progress will be very slow. I have decided to do one complete side before touching the other side with the hopes of learning the best way to go about it and hopefully the second side will be easier.

I am a novice welder and have done almost zero metal work. This looks to be a good entry level project for that. The welding required is pretty simple. At this point I am trying to clean up everything and find all the spot welds I will need to cut out. Removing old seam sealer and using my templates to mark for cutting.

I am sure a competent builder could knock this out in a couple days. I only work about 2 hours at a time. I suspect it will take me most of the summer to complete this. That is fine though. I have 3 other fun cars that need attention so I am in absolutely no hurry on this build. My hope was to have the body ready for the roadster shop chassis by the time it shows up. That isn't going to happen. I will have to break the news to my wife that her car will be moved outside when the chassis shows up! She wont mind though.

[wareaglescott]

Making slow progress on the wheel tub install. Got the hole cut, frame rails cut and test fitting the tub in position. Need to clean up some areas, box the frame in where it was cut out and then can get to the welding of the new tub. Progress feels very slow but I have never attempted anything like this so I am pleased how it is going so far. Here is a picture to compare what I took out vs the new tub size.

[Smooth67]

Looking great! I'd like to do this mod one day

[wareaglescott]

Well 6 weeks and 48 hours of labor later I got the first wheel tub mostly done. Still need to modify and weld in the trunk hinge support piece I cut out but that should be pretty simple. Then do the seam sealer and eventually clean up and coat the entire trunk after I do the other side. My welds are kinda ugly in spots. Looking forward to the seam sealer covering that up. That was one point of frustration with this in that my ideal of a perfect looking job doesn’t match my skill capability at this point. They make it look so easy on tv! Haha At the end of the day I’m confident the job is structurally sound and the ugly will be covered anyways so I guess only I will know.

I’m pleased with how the first tub came out particularly considering I had never attempted anything like this before. It was hard for me to watch the two dimensional instructional video and transpose those cuts to my three dimensional wheel well area. As a result I ended up cutting away a little to much by about a 1/4” with my initial cut and spent a considerable amount of time fabricating and welding new metal back in to close the gap. Definitely learned a lot and got a lot more proficient with the welder. I’m pretty pleased with my welds I have good access to. The hardest part was contorting myself inside the trunk to get some of the welds on the inside!

Now that I have an idea how it is supposed to go I am hopeful the drivers side will go a lot smoother and maybe only take me half the time!

[andrewb70]

Scott,

You're making great progress. you should start a build thread in the Project updates section:

https://www.pro-touring.com/forums/60-Project-Updates

Andrew

[wareaglescott]

Scott,

You're making great progress. you should start a build thread in the Project updates section:

https://www.pro-touring.com/forums/60-Project-Updates

Andrew

I thought this was the project update section??

[Ausssie Nick]

Well 6 weeks and 48 hours of labor later I got the first wheel tub mostly done. Still need to modify and weld in the trunk hinge support piece I cut out but that should be pretty simple. Then do the seam sealer and eventually clean up and coat the entire trunk after I do the other side. My welds are kinda ugly in spots. Looking forward to the seam sealer covering that up. That was one point of frustration with this in that my ideal of a perfect looking job doesn’t match my skill capability at this point. They make it look so easy on tv! Haha At the end of the day I’m confident the job is structurally sound and the ugly will be covered anyways so I guess only I will know.

I’m pleased with how the first tub came out particularly considering I had never attempted anything like this before. It was hard for me to watch the two dimensional instructional video and transpose those cuts to my three dimensional wheel well area. As a result I ended up cutting away a little to much by about a 1/4” with my initial cut and spent a considerable amount of time fabricating and welding new metal back in to close the gap. Definitely learned a lot and got a lot more proficient with the welder. I’m pretty pleased with my welds I have good access to. The hardest part was contorting myself inside the trunk to get some of the welds on the inside!

Now that I have an idea how it is supposed to go I am hopeful the drivers side will go a lot smoother and maybe only take me half the time!

You're doing a great job. I recently finished installing my DES tubs in my 67 too. Keep up the good work its a nice car!

[wareaglescott]

Finished the second wheel tub and sprayed the trunk with the black textured Raptor liner. Very pleased how it came out. First tub took me 50 hours of labor. 2nd one I did in 18.75. Love the learning curve on these projects. Definitely feeling a lot more comfortable with the metal work and welding.

The trunk finish was in pretty good shape to start with. I did some work on the areas that needed attention and then epoxy primed it, scuffed that up and then sprayed the liner.

I still need to coat the rear wheel wells. My plan next is to completely clean up the underside of the rear body and spray it with the same liner.

[ryeguy2006a]

Nice work! I can't wait to see that RS chassis.

[wareaglescott]

Thanks! me to. Hopefully will be here late August.

[Widetrax]

Starting with a really nice car to begin with really does save you years of time not fixing rust holes on a junk car! You are doing a better job than some in-discretionary shops wouldhave done!! Keep up the good work!