69 Camaro Project Insanity

[camoffett]

Finally getting around to adding some updated pictures. It's been awhile and although it may not look like it I have put a boat load of hours in on this car trying to get it ready to paint. I knew body work took time and patience but man I had no idea I'd have this many hours in on it. My OCD in perfection may have a little to do with it too.....

I have finally got the firewall and dash ready to paint after a few rounds of block sanding.


I also shaved the holes in the dash.


Took a picture with the dash, gauge pod, and dash pad mocked up to get an idea of what the dash would look like.


I got the doors lined up and gapped.





The trunk lid still needs a little more blocking and smoothing but is close to being finished. I also set the car down at ride height for a stance check for the last time. It is now stripped down completely, again, so I can start the block sanding process on the body.




Oh, and I also decided to make a small provision to the LS1 I had and upgrade to a GM LSX 376 B15 crate engine! I also have a custom grind cam being built for it so it'll sound a little more like an old muscle car.


Sad thing it that it's been 2 years since I started this project and it's still not finished. In case I didn't mention with all the bad luck I've had dealing with vendors and other people doing work on the car I have now decided to paint the car myself as well. I feel like I've learned enough doing the body work that I may as well take on the task of spraying the color on it as well. If it works out then I can honestly say I have built the complete car myself, that is if the paint comes out nice lol.

[Rico06]

Really nice car. Kudos for doing all of the work yourself. As a former painter, my advice is to practice a lot on spare panels or something before you try spraying the car. Flat black is really difficult to get to lay down evenly and even most professionals struggle to get it to look right. If you are still going black, rent a booth to spray it in. You'll probably get way too much junk in the paint that will show up in a black paint job if you try in your garage. Car looks awesome.

[camoffett]

Really nice car. Kudos for doing all of the work yourself. As a former painter, my advice is to practice a lot on spare panels or something before you try spraying the car. Flat black is really difficult to get to lay down evenly and even most professionals struggle to get it to look right. If you are still going black, rent a booth to spray it in. You'll probably get way too much junk in the paint that will show up in a black paint job if you try in your garage. Car looks awesome.

Thanks for the advice. I have changed up the paint scheme a little and decided to go gloss black which hopefully will be easier to lay down smooth. But like you said I'm going to have to be really cautious about getting dirt in the paint. I've been reading up on how to build a temporary paint booth to help keep the trash out and have proper ventilation. It's a risk but I'm willing to take it since I've gone this far.

[jlcustomz]

Checking this out for the first time. The rear bodywork adds a needed custom touch to distinguish yours from the pack.

I can offer a little diy paint advice. For better blocking out the car, consider using a sprayable polyester filler such as evercoat g-2 . You'll need a 2.2 or larger tip gun to spray it. It sprays out kinda rough similar to epoxy primer , which makes it work like it's own guide coat when sanding it. An extra step like this can really help out a gloss black paint job.
An upside of solid gloss black paint is you skip some issues like spray pattern problems with metallic & flats.
As far as dirt issues , wet down everything outside of your work area before starting to help attract & catch the dirt. May even want to slightly wet down the actual work area.

A home painters best friend is learning good colorsanding & buffing skills. This can remove a bunch of tiny imperfections from poor environment & is really needed on most any top paint job. Spray can enamel on a scrap part can be good practice for this. Intentionally oversand a spot & buff too hard so you can learn better what the limits are of this skill.
Check out my photobucket pics, this is a black diy job, many parts done & redone at separate times.

[armourmark]

What kind of wheels are you leaning towards????

[camoffett]

What kind of wheels are you leaning towards????

I'm thinking about going with the Rushforth rated x wheels in a 19X10 front and 20X12 rear. I still need to mount my front inner fenders to see how wide of a tire I can fit.

[camoffett]

I finally got my intercooler mounted and made the custom brackets below.



Here's the finished product. I think it turned out pretty good. I had to move the AC evaporator and cut out the center support bracket on the car to clear the intercooler.


I bought a complete SS brake line kit from inline tube. I ended up having to cut and modify the lines on the rear axle. Here is the finished product.


Hopefully I will get the rest of my fittings in so I can finish the intercooler tubing this weekend. I also bought somee 1/2" SS tubing to run for the fuel lines so I'll be working on that this weekend as well.

[Ivan Vella]

I finally got my intercooler mounted and made the custom brackets below.



Here's the finished product. I think it turned out pretty good. I had to move the AC evaporator and cut out the center support bracket on the car to clear the intercooler.





I bought a complete SS brake line kit from inline tube. I ended up having to cut and modify the lines on the rear axle. Here is the finished product.


Hopefully I will get the rest of my fittings in so I can finish the intercooler tubing this weekend. I also bought somee 1/2" SS tubing to run for the fuel lines so I'll be working on that this weekend as well.

Awesome build mate this thing will haul with the reduced weight and increased power.
I have the same engine combo in my 69 Camaro with the RS headlights, could you please do me a favour and tell me the measurement of the top of the cooler tank to tank and the bottom as well?
Also How much clearance from your headlight doors do you have when they are open?
Finally could you tell me what brand the cooler is and what it is rated at CFM or HP?

Sorry for all the questions but intercooler builders over here are expensive and usually full of themselves.

Ivan

[camoffett]

Awesome build mate this thing will haul with the reduced weight and increased power.
I have the same engine combo in my 69 Camaro with the RS headlights, could you please do me a favour and tell me the measurement of the top of the cooler tank to tank and the bottom as well?
Also How much clearance from your headlight doors do you have when they are open?
Finally could you tell me what brand the cooler is and what it is rated at CFM or HP?

Sorry for all the questions but intercooler builders over here are expensive and usually full of themselves.

Ivan

The intercooler is from CXRacing and it's a 27X12X3 and cost $125 on Ebay. I was told by a very good resource that they are just as good as the expensive ones out there and will be plenty of cooling for what I have. Unless you have a custom core support or plan on changing the inlet and outlet I don't think a larger one will fit in any direction. There is about 3.5" from the headlight doors to the intercooler and no room on top due to clearance with the hood latch. After you put the elbows on the inlet and outlet then there is not a whole lot of clearance around the frame rails either for piping.

[armourmark]

My rated Xs were recently delivered. Love them. Nowhere near your size. I went 18x8 and 19x9

[camoffett]

My rated Xs were recently delivered. Love them. Nowhere near your size. I went 18x8 and 19x9

Nice, what finish did you get on them?

[armourmark]

I did matte black powder coat centers and polished hoop. I had considered matte black centers and gloss black hoop, but once I saw a picture thye did on a chevelle with that combo, there wasn't enough contrast between the two for me.

[camoffett]

Updated pictures below. I added an SS steam line so I don't have to run a line to the radiator. Finished plumbing the power steering pump and custom made a bracket for the reservoir. Added fast fuel rails, bolted down the intake and started the wiring process. I think I have completed the intercooler piping except I still my change where I put the blow off valve. Next is to complete the wiring and fuel lines so I can fire it up to check for any potential leaks. I am also waiting on my meth kit so I can get it installed. I cannot wait to get this thing running. I'm needing something to keep me motivated since I have been working on this almost every weekend for the past 7 months now.

[camoffett]

Update: Car is wired (enough to test run anyways), push button start installed, Alkyl meth kit installed, New carbon fiber anvil auto wide body fenders and front valence installed, new RS hideaway grill kit installed, vintage air firewall bulkhead and evaporator installed, Rain Gear wiper motor installed under the wiper valence, and lots of other small stuff. Needless to say, I am almost ready to send this thing to the body man so he can get the body work competed and in primer. I am aslo going to have them paint the firewall and door jams so I can bring the car back and re install the motor and wiring.

I used a Ron Francis chassis wiring kit which I have to say is an extremely nice kit and would recommend to anyone.

I wasn't planning on the carbon fiber fenders but I couldn't resist once I seen them. Now I have to come up with a new paint scheme that will show off the carbon on the fenders and front valence.







I am still waiting on my steering column and need to get it mounted so I can finish smoothing out the driver side firewall. I also bought the anvil auto inner fender extension so I can fit a 10" wide wheel on the front so I need to get tha installed as well. If you all want to see any other detailed pictures I probably have them. I haven't been posting to many because I haven't figured out how to shrink them down yet so they don't take up the whole page.

[LS7 Z/28]

Great project, I'm looking forward to seeing more of it...

[makoshark]

pixresizer.com

[tmadden]

oustanding!!

[coachwinbush]

beautiful

[Nem_SS]

Awesome project, can't wait to see updates! What intercooler did you use?

[camoffett]

Awesome project, can't wait to see updates! What intercooler did you use?

It is a CX Racing intercooler. 27X12X3