67 Camaro - Project Redemption

[Jduboce]

I started off this adventure 15 years ago at the age of 15. It was Super Bowl Sunday when we picked the
Camaro up and all I cared about was digging into this beauty (in my eyes) of a car and doing whatever I could to get it back in a running and respectable shape. Little did I know what troubles would lie ahead.


Fast forward to a few years later (2000) with new Left and Right rear quarters, a new Trunk pan, all new front end (fenders, hood, valance, etc), rebuilt motor brand new stock interior…pretty much everything but the floor pan and roof was new to the car. And did I mention that my dad and I took on all of this work ourselves? With no previous auto body/fabrication experience we dove in head first and never looked back. It was a great learning experience for the both of us! One of the major regrets in the whole project was that I did not take nearly enough pictures to document the process. Really all I have from the first build out is a handful of pictures…Ah, but this round will be much different! I’ll make sure to keep updating this post with what is going on with the project and include lots of pictures!

Back to the story…
I was rushing to have the car painted so I called up a buddy of mine and we shot the paint in my parent’s garage and back yard…Just in time to make it up to Hot August Nights. I am sure you can imagine the quality of work that came out of that rush job but at the time I didn’t care. I drove her for about a year and then life started catching up with me. I started college, moved in with my girlfriend (now my wife) and was looking for something a bit more reliable that had a warranty. So I decided to sell her but not to just anyone…My mom had taken a liking to the car so I was fortunate enough to sell it to her. From there the car sat on the side of their house for around 8 years.

This takes us up to about 15 months ago. I had wanted to buy her back ever since the day I let her go however the cards were just not in my favor. Now married, with two kids and working at a good job I made the leap to save up some coin and buy her back from my parents. Luckily, when you are buying a car from your parents they don’t apply the current market rate to things so I actually picked it up for what I sold it to them for…A steal in today’s market.
W
Well, the 8 years of sitting on the side of my parents’ house really took a toll on the mediocre body work and garage shot paint. It now sits with a big rust hole in the roof, which has almost gone through to the inside of the car and worn down paint from having a plastic tarp over it for 8 years. I was just happy to have her back until a few months ago when I started reading the Pro-Touring forums again. Man was I hooked after revisiting some of my favorite build thread (Project Widow Maker, etc).



So needless to say I have the motivation to start tearing into the Camaro again and really doing things right this time. Still doing the work myself (with the help of my dad I am sure and probably some friends) but taking the time to really do things right this go around. I don’t expect to really go all out on $5k aftermarket sub frames and $13k LS monster motors. But I do want to make some strategic improvements to address handling, appearance and braking to mention a few.


Enough of me rambling on about what was…Here are the current specs on the Camaro and a few Phased approaches to performance improvements

Current Specs
Car: 1967 Camaro
Color: Nassau Blue (2000 Corvette stock color)
Motor 355ci SBC
Transmission: Muncie 4 Speed
Rims and Tires: 96 Corvette Rims Front: 17 X 8.5 245/35 Yokahama AVS Sport
Rear: 17 x 10 285/30 Yokahama AVS Sport
Front Suspension: Hotchkis Springs
KYB Shocks
Master Power Brakes Front Disk Brake Conversion
Hotchkis Front Sway Bar
2 in drop spindles
Rear Suspension: Conversion to Multi Leaf Springs
KYB Shocks
Global West Traction Bars
Stock 10 bolt (1 legger) rear end with 2.73 gears
Exhaust: Flowmaster Dual Exhaust
Interior: Almost all stock black interior. I did chop out a hole for the aftermarket head unit. I wish I had not done that.
Monster 5 in Tach
Some after market gauges (Oil, Temp and Voltage)



Near Term Plans
Body: Fix the rust hole in the roof
Shave the drip rails
Engine: Replace any leaking seals and clean up the motor
Replace the failing starter
Brakes: Get a Power Booster on this thing to help out with the braking

Long Term Plans
Where do I even start with this one? I think my imagination goes far beyond what my wallet can afford so I need to really sit down and figure out what my realistic long term goals are for the car. I am pretty sure that I will go with some LS motor however I don’t see the need until I blow up the SBC that is already in the car.



I will need to replace the rear end and while I am doing that I might as well do some mini tubs to fit more rubber under the wheel wells. And if I take it that far then I suppose I should put in a better PT rear suspension. But what good is all that strengthening in the rear if I don’t connect the sub frames together. So, I might as well address that issue. Since I am talking about making my way up the car then the front control arms could use some improvement and it would be nice to have a power rack in there too…..And so it begins!

Definitely some fresh body work and paint in addition to removing any and all rust that I can find!

I hope you enjoy following my project. I cant say that the updates will be frequent however I'll get as much posted as I can as life allows me to work on her.

Here are some additional random pics:

[T_Raven]

I bought my 67 Firebird 14 yrs ago when I was 15 lol. It's pretty much been stored all of that time, but I finally have a house and shop now so it'll be coming apart in the near future.

Can't wait to see what you decide to do with it. I know that feeling of trying to decide between what's affordable and what you really wish you cold do.

[Ron.in.SoCal]

You mean 'Redemption'? :D

Welcome to the site JD. What part of Cali are in? Lots of PT guys here!

[im4u2nvss]

I really like the story and the future dreams of your project!

[Jduboce]

It figures that I would mis-spell the most visible word...thanks for the catch!

I am in the SF Bay Area (Fremont)

[CarlC]

Thread title fixed.

[droptop73]

Good luck with your project. Low dollar builds require a very tight focus and a ton of creativity. First figure out exactly what you want the car to do and focus your plan accordingly.