Project: BLACK METAL - '67 Camaro

[67speedfreak]

Car looks great ! Love the changes !

[CornHusker4Life]

Love the exhaust.

[67rally]

WOW! this car looks great and almost exactly what my father and I are doing right now! (67 convertible, discs, new suspension, lowered, 17s, hide-away headlights, etc) we're just 25 minutes outside of Boston, too!
Would you happen to know the backspacing on the wheels by any chance? Do they fit fine, rub anywhere? The tires fit okay too? We're having a hell of time figuring out what new wheels/tires will fit, so any help is appreciated!
Thanks again and very nice work!

Cool, maybe we'll run into each other at a cruise or event.

I don't have the back spacing wheel specs right now. They are Foose Legends 18x8's and 18x9's with Nitto 555 245/40/18 and 275/40/18. I did have some rubbing up front when backing out of a driveway and had to use the steering stops on the Speed Tech LCA's to limit it. Also had a little rubbing in the rear. I haven't had any issues with the new rear suspension, but I only have about 10 miles on it so far. I'm going to dial some of the front steering stop out and see if I have picked up some more clearance. The old suspension was garbage, and I think the slop in the rear contributed to the problems.

***Edit***

The front BS is 5" and the rear BS is 5.25"

I think they could both use a little less back spacing, or drop down a tire size. I think 235's up front would be safer and 225's would be a sure thing. Same in the rear, a 265 would be much safer, but I don't think you would have to drop to a 255 to ensure fit.

[67rally]

Car looks great ! Love the changes !

Love the exhaust.

Thanks guys. It's coming along nicely. I'm very happy with the upgrades so far, although I won't really be able to test them out until the warm weather gets here.

[67rally]

Since I upgraded to the Wilwood discs in the rear, my parking brake setup wasn't functional any longer. I bought the Lokar e-brake cable (EC-81FU) which replaces the intermediate and rear cables, and comes with just about everything you need. They sell a separate front cable to attach the foot brake to the new intermediate cable. I decided that I wanted to keep the factory front cable, so I did some mods and fabricated a mounting bracket. I finished up today, and it seems to work great.

Top pic attaches to the front cable, bottom pic to the rear brakes:


I decided to use the brass block as my tensioner. The brass cable block is drilled for 5/16-24, and of course the Camaro uses a 5/16-18 bolt for it's tensioner. Initially I tapped the block for 5/16-18 and it fit perfectly, but I realized that the block needed to be able to slide on the tensioner bolt, rather than be threaded on it. I drilled it out with a 5/16 bit later.


I cut a piece of aluminum to fabricate a mounting bracket for the cable housing.


Test fitting:


I sprayed it black and mounted it to the floor pan, this is the connection between the original front cable, and the new Lokar cable. I used two nuts on either side of the brass block, and can adjust the e-brake tension by tightening or loosening the nuts:


Here's a view looking towards the rear:

[67rally]

Looking forward:


The rubber lined hold downs I used to keep everything in place:


Routing across the tunnel for the passenger side brake line:


Here's a top view of the Ford Explorer Clevis that is used to attach to the Wilwood internal parking brake setup:

[67rally]

I picked up a nice set of used Vortec 906 heads and an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake. These will go on later this spring. I'll probably swap out the stock valve springs for some beehive springs to pick up a little more than the stock .480 max lift. I'll figure out what cam I'm going with once I determine whether I can use a roller cam or not. I'll clean everything up before it goes on the car.

906 Heads:


Intake:

[dondb]

She's coming along great....can't wait to see her in person! Mine won't be out of storage for another month:(

[67rally]

She's coming along great....can't wait to see her in person! Mine won't be out of storage for another month:(

Thanks Don, we'll definitely hook up this summer at some point. It was close to 50 here today, so I took her out for a spin. She's running good, but will really benefit from the new heads, intake and cam when I get around to the install. Preferably before the warm weather gets here.

[67rally]

Had a little warm weather and a couple of hours to kill. I pulled the rest of the carpet out of the front, vaccuumed and cleaned everything down and began to install the sound deadener. I tried this in cold weather once, and it was a huge waste of time. At 50-60 degrees, it's much more pliable. I finished up sound deadening the cabin. I'm going to try to do the trunk and trunk divider before the weekend.

I still need to purchase and run the speaker and amplifier wires to the trunk, and then paint the wire channel covers. They are galvanized, so I'll have to find a latex based spray paint to use. Then it will be time to purchase the carpet and begin that install as well.

A before pic (nice new floors):




With some sound deadener. I'm using FatMat Rattle Trap Xtreme:

[67rally]

I finished up most of the trunk today. I just have the package tray left, but I'm going to wait until I buy the rear speakers before finishing that.

Before:




After:

[CliffsBlueCamaro]

Awesome build! Can you tell me a bit more about what your restoration process was like on the 12 bolt? What products did you use? It looks great.

[67rally]

Awesome build! Can you tell me a bit more about what your restoration process was like on the 12 bolt? What products did you use? It looks great.

Thanks for the kind words.

I used an angle grinder with various multi-layer sanding wheels on the axle tubes, and cordless drill with a combination of wire wheels and wire cups on the housing to take it down to bare metal. I used an air compressor to blow all the dust out of the crevices, and wiped it down a few times with acetone, and then a tack cloth. I sprayed it with a coat of primer and then 3 coats of VHT High Temp Roll Bar & Chassis Gloss Black.

The gears were in good shape, so I kept them. I just swapped out the old axles for a set of 30 spline Moser axles with 1/2 lugs that I got from Freddie (big gear head on TC), and a new set of bearings and axle seals. The brakes are 12" Wilwood drilled/slotted rotors with 4 piston Dynapros, and the cover is an aluminum Proform Perfect Launch which I clear coated the bare aluminum with some VHT Engine Enamel Clear Gloss. The only other thing I did was to drill the spring perches for 5/8" holes to accomodate the larger U-bolts from Hotchkis.

[dondb]

Give Tom a call and see if he is going to use the heads he bought from me? They will be a good fit for your engine. I thought i saw over on TC he was going a different route?? Are you going to do the interior yourself???

[Dalamar]

Excellent work and selection on your upgrades. Very impressive and clean looking!

[67rally]

Give Tom a call and see if he is going to use the heads he bought from me? They will be a good fit for your engine. I thought i saw over on TC he was going a different route?? Are you going to do the interior yourself???

Hey Don, thanks for the heads up, but I already have a good set of Vortec heads and Edelbrock intake waiting to go in, I just need to pull the top end off and determine whether or not it's a roller setup before selecting my cam.

I am doing the interior myself. It's pretty easy since I was the one who pulled it out in the first place. Just replacing the carpets and figuring out what I'll do for seating. The door panels, package tray and sail panels are all in good shape. I have an idea on seating, and I'll be the guniea pig. If it works, I'll share.

Most of the stereo is leftover from my last car, and wouldn't fit into the new Jeep. I have a pair of 12" Infinity subs and 3 Alpine amps that will be going in the trunk. I just need to pick a set of front and rear speakers and a retro style head unit. I have done a ton of stereo installs, so no worries there, especially since I'll be running all new wiring.

[67rally]

Excellent work and selection on your upgrades. Very impressive and clean looking!

Thanks, it's turning into a completely new car!

[KevinK]

Give Tom a call and see if he is going to use the heads he bought from me? They will be a good fit for your engine. I thought i saw over on TC he was going a different route?? Are you going to do the interior yourself???

...Hey Don, ..nice to see you over here

[dondb]

Hey kevin nice to see you here Brent lives not to far from me and we have been watching one another's builds....well more me watching his as i'm not posting mine. I was ahead of him this fall , but now he is far ahead of me as he has acess to his car and mine is in storage. Brent sorry for the break in, i know Kevin from another site, picked up my 69 near his house and is a disciple for the new camaro's and a judge at the camaro nationals, and a good guy to have a beer with, or to much wine!

[67rally]

Hey kevin nice to see you here Brent lives not to far from me and we have been watching one another's builds....well more me watching his as i'm not posting mine. I was ahead of him this fall , but now he is far ahead of me as he has acess to his car and mine is in storage. Brent sorry for the break in, i know Kevin from another site, picked up my 69 near his house and is a disciple for the new camaro's and a judge at the camaro nationals, and a good guy to have a beer with!

No problem, the more the merrier. Anyone that likes beer is good by me.

Gotta get your Camaro out of storage so you can catch up!