You're getting close Chris!! :thumbsup:

Okay....door panels ON, carpet IN, LARGE order for NPD arrive last week and little by little parts are going in place.

Dropped the seats off on Friday to be recovered. Picked up speakers, sub, box, and other goodies today to wrap up the sound system.

One thing I will say...I HATE these cheap aftermarket parts!!!!!!!!!!!

You spend three times as long installing them because they never fit the first time, need some kind of adjustment, and then you end up scratching or damaging another panel fighting with them....ARGHHHHHHHHH!

Off my rant now.

Hope to have all the interior in by next weekend and ready to simply color sand and buff out the paint, then to the alignment shop, back to the house to wrap up some details on the exhaust...then driving!

Update:
-All interior in except the headliner and rear window lower trim.
-Body color sanded with 2000 wet
-I resprayed the header panel last night as the driver racing stripe was over about 1/8" and caused the whole stripe to look strange.
-Stereo in
NEXT:
-Buff paint
-install markers, trim, front grille etc.
-headliner
-alignment
-pull exhaust, coat exhaust, rehang with trick hangers
-DRIVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Record Time!Now to sell that vette :unibrow:

Project looks great. Let me know if you might need any local help getting it done on time. I live in Jacksonville.

Very scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I actually drove it to the gas station on the corner last night. There was no pre-planning, it just kinda happened.

Taking the morning off work and heading up to the alignment shop. My buddy is the local highschool shop teacher AND GT1 race car builder/driver. He is going to set up the suspension for me today. I had to run it last night to make sure it was ready. The school (where my wife also teaches) is only about a mile from my house.

First impression driving it last night? Nervous WRECK!!!!!!!!! The front is all whacked with no shims as of this moment and it drives strange. However, the motor ran fair, trans shifted, brakes worked, power steering was effortless, and it made it there and back.

More soon.

Hey, ONEBAD68, I might take you up on the offer. Time is getting short to work out the bugs in this thing. If all goes well I will run it around a bit this weekend before the headers come back off for coating.

Man, you are really pushing the boundaries on how fast one can build a cool ride, you should start a series like Overhaulin'. I'm currently working on all four cars, little progress here and there, getting the C3-R ready for a top speed shoot out on 21st. All the body panels for the GS project came to Finland today, gonna pick'em up on Friday. Maybe you and I should start that show... :D How the little Chris doing? Helping you out in the carage yet? :thumbsup: Keep it up!

Jay
www.C3-R.com

Sounds like you'll have it done in plenty of time for GG Columbus, :thumbsup: .

Jay,

Good to see you here! I hope in the near future I will be trying to rush the project completion to ship one of these cars to Finland and cruise the back roads of Europe with you and your dad. That would be a blast!

Garrett is growing like a weed and loves to play in the Camaro while I am out in the shop.

Going to hit it HARD this weekend and try to drive it to a local cruise in then to church on Sunday. That will be a HUGE accomplishment.

MarkM66, Good Guys is looking more and more like a go. Just got to get some miles under the tires now and work out all the details.

The car got done quick, because his dad was helping him in spirit.

Chris,
I greatly respect your efforts. Finding that car and bringing it back to life is downright inspirational.

Mcspeedy Effort
 

hey chris

:hail: kicking but on the ride i see....im ready for a ride this weekend .....
34 years old sunday...
JUST THINK WE WERE 17 WHEN WE MET..BOTH HAVING THE 69 CAMAROS...
and you have yours back .restified .mine doesnt exsist .....
MAN, HALF OF OUR LIFE time flies.......
crazy ...
the rambler is sitting LIKE A BOAT ANCHOR........NO IT HASNT BEEN TOUCHED THIS WEEK.... NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.....
ill call ya

radrambler

Hey Rad, headers will come off by the end of the day so let's get together early afternoon for a ride!

Took the car out last night with the family. The baby fell asleep before we hit the interstate. All systems except the cruise control were working great. I have to take a mean grinder to the rear wheel lips because I was scraping the sidewall on the tires on bumps and acceleration. :eek:

Here is the bad/funny part. I RAN OUT OF GAS!!!!!!!!!! I guess I now know my fuel gauge is not 100% accurate. I installed a fuel pressure gauge and that was the way of knowing quickly the engine was indeed starving. Broke down going UP HILL. Got out and started pushing. I was amazed how far I pushed the car and was thinking I could go the distance when a VERY nice lady named Tina stopped and helped me get it into a parking lot. She took my wife to the gas station for a can of juice. Soon as I got some go juice in she fired right up. The baby was having a blast hanging out in the vacant business park parking lot while we waited. He thought it was part of the evening program.

I have a handful of things to tackle but am feeling more confident now that we can make the deadline.

Chris glad to hear it's all coming together in time and you'll make the deadline!! I love your stories and the fact that you include the family every step of the way!! :thumbsup:

UPDATE!

Just drove the Camaro with my wife and 15 month old about 200 miles to the Florida National Parts Depot hub to return some items and pick up some floor mats.

Oh, I also had to pop for two new rear EMT Goodyears today :eek: A tad of $800 later and I have fresh rear rubber. The right rear that I had got a cut on the bead where my buddy remounted it for me and it kept loosing air. Since the fronts are in perfect shape and are EMT tires AND I don't carry a spare, I thought it would be best.

Still having A/C problems. Vintage Air has been awesome helping me trouble shoot the problem. Got some more tweeks to do there and should be G2G soon.

Can't get the cruise control to respond. I replaced the entire unit this last week and still no go. I am going to set the dip switch to another PPM pulse per mile and experiment. That means the original one was good so I can slam that on the 69 Vette some day.

Other items are holding up well including the crazy hidden wipers that came in handy today as it has rained off and on all day.

More soon..............

Good news, short term update.

Got the cruise working!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hated to do it, but it turned out easy and quick to just mount the magnet pick up instead of tieing into the stock VSS. Cruise kicks butt! :D

It it 100% hidden under the dash and uses the stock GM cruise switch which I blended right into the custom fit 1981 Vette tilt tele column.

The a/c was working okay, but at speed would get to about 55 at the vent. It would start out much colder and the car was comfortable, but nothing to bragg about. In the beginning the heat switch was bad causing an open circuit that was pooring the heat on making the a/c impossible to cool the car. The guys at VA have been great and have given suggestions to follow. The first thing we did was flip the heater hoses.

Long story short, we found out the switch was bad but I didn't re-flip the hoses. I was up against two problems. Once the RPM came up the reversed hoses caused the heater valve to be bypassed and run hot air out of the box on top of the a/c. Got that fixed yesterday morning leading to the final problem.

Turns out I was also a tad low on a/c charge. I may have a slight leak in one of my connections so I shot in some red dye and am checking all of that now. VA is also sending me a new a/c switch as the one I have failed in one position and can't be turned off. He said that happens once in a while.

So, now a few more tweaks and a few more miles before the big road trip!

Oh...the starter is failing now too. I had it redone by the same guy at the same time that did the alternator. Picking up another starter today. Once it gets hot it does not want to engage. :mad:

Cool Chris! Can't wait until mine is at the point yours is. I love the way you did this changeover, looks completely like it belongs, and very well detailed. :thumbsup:

Jody

Thanks for the updates Chris. Let me know how the VA cools once you get it working properly.

One week from today, this Camaro will be pointed north and about this time in the moring (5:00 a.m.), it will be fired up and rolling.

Pressure? Nah.....

Got the a/c sorted out. It cools like a dream. In fact with (humidity factore added) 100 degree weather, we had to adjust the a/c warmer on our road trip last friday! Cruise is also right on target. Going to spend some quality hours this weekend going over all the nuts and bolts and gathering my gear to pack for the trip.

After it is done, all the problems make you really appreciate it, you should be very proud. Great car

Well, this is it. Today was the last chance I had for wrapping up details on the car. It is full of gas and ready to roll. My wife will pack the clothes and baby gear on Tuesay so that we can roll out first thing Wed morning.

I decided not to take Tuesday off work to save the vacation days.

Catch you guys on the flip side.

best of luck to you, and have a safe trip. No speeding

Good Luck, Chris! Just saaw this today, read the whole thing, a great read it was, too. You gonna sell the movie rights? Overhaulin, move over!

Hey Guys!!!!!!!!!!!!

Checking in from my in-laws computer in beautiful Columbus, Ohio. We had a fairly uneventful and safe trip here yesterday.

Left at 5:45 a.m. from N.E. Florida with the car LOADED down with gear, my wife and 1 1/2 year old son Garrett.

Just past half way (approx 900 miles total trip one way), the rear gears started howling again. I can't believe it! I just had the 9 inch unit rebuilt because around the 200 mile mark on the rebuild it was howling and grinding.

Just into Ohio the roads got terrible. Hit a bad set of wash outs in the road bed that broke the driver exhaust pipe loose from the hanger. The hanger behind the rear tire twisted into the sidewall of the tire. It DESTROYED the new Goodyear Eagle EMT runflat that I had just bought a couple of weeks ago. I heard the noise but it was getting late and I kept rolling.

Made it in around 9:30 p.m. with generous stops for the child to get some energy out. He was an absolute angel. The a/c pumped plenty cold, cruise control was a life saver, and the engine just purred like a dream. The only other problem is one I was aware of. For some reason the PCM keeps telling the trans to go in and out of lock up. Don't know why, yet.

All said and done, I was running 23 mpg with the lack of continuous lock up on the converter. My guess is the car will run a sold 25 or more as soon as I get that licked. If I had been running with no a/c and the TCC working all the time mileage will easily exceed 25 mpg.

Today I hauled the driver tire down to DISCOUNT TIRES. They are the BEST tire company on the planet. They worked with me on a new one. Still cost a bit, but they gave me a break and did the swap fast. I bought FOUR new hangers and rehung all the exhaust. Finally, I drained out the 80-90 oil and replaced with LUCAS 85-140 heavy duty. I know this won't fix it, but my hope is the noise will go down a tad. I will be taking it easy until I can get it home.

The fellow that built it for me and replaced it the last time had no suggestions when I called him via cell. He is a good guy, but I will seek out a new gear guy, or just learn to do it myself this next time.

Car is cleaned and waxed and ready to go to the show in the morning.

Thanks for following along. Half of my goal is now accomplished of finishing the car in time to drive to this show.

BTW-My home computer is trashed, so I may not be able to give any updates on the ride home until that is fixed.

Well Id like to say, "good to hear" but at the same time your tire and exhaust problems isnt cool. Yet for such a long ride with such a new build, that is something to be proud of!! You thrashed to get it done, and drove relatively smooth all the way to Ohio!!

Next step...get yourself and award to drive home with.

Thanks for the update...best of luck

Tim

Complete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drove into Florida Sunday night around 9:00. Car ran perfect on the way home other than the TCC going in and out and the loud noise from the 9".

I spent Monday trying to catch up on some rest, clean up around the house, and collect my thoughts. Just got our home computer working again late last night.

Having pushed so hard for so long to pull this off, I am happy to say it was a complete success. We didn't get any awards at the show, but it wasn't about the show anyway. It was about busting butt to get the car done in time to drive there and back without any major failure or time spent on the side of the road.

Future plans for the car include:

1. New set of INTRO brand wheels
2. More computer tuning
3. Tweaks here and there.

I want to get the car to the track and run some 1/4 mile slips and or a chassis dyno.

For now however, I am going to relax a bit, do some home repairs and reflect on our accomplishments.

Wow, congrats on your accomplishments! Surprising about no awards, as your car is beautiful from the pics, but that was a big show. Glad to hear you made it back safe and sound! :thumbsup:

And the grand photo of the family at the show....

Great looking family Chris! Good job on the car, sounds like a great first voyage.


Jody

I'll have what he's drinking - from the looks of it, it must be good stuff. :yes:

Hell, I didn't even find his car :(

You can bet there WOULD have been an award.. that show is just too damn big..

The show was massive on large. Just overwhelming in size.

Here are two pics of my car at a tad after 7:00 a.m. on Saturday. This is in the parking lot right backed up to the exit road about 400 yards or less from the actual exit from the fair grounds.

I really wanted to meet up with Steve and some other guys. Just got lost in the size of the crowds.

A great story all the way! Congratulations! :thumbsup: Does anyone know how many cars were at Goodguys?

I guess it was right at 6,000 cars from what I heard.

This should be a new thread maybe.......but.

Since we made it home from Columbus I tore the car back down.

I have fixed/replaced/tweaked.

1. rear calipers (replaced)-They were used 2001 SS camaro calipers and the right one had a slight leak detected on the way home.
2. rehung/reworked/re-shaped some aspects of the exhaust pipes over the axle.
3. Replaced the fuel sending unit ($293!) as the old one had some bad spots in it making my gauge read crazy.
4. YANKED the defective 9" and am getting a complete replacement (should be here tonight).
5. Mailed the PCM off for a gentle retune in hopes of getting the TCC lock up to function correctly (increase the gas mileage).
6. General minor tweaks on this and that.

****IF***** I get it running again by Friday night we are going to drive it to Tampa for a weekend get away. Here is the twist. My wife had friends there she wants to see, and I am going to take the camaro to visit the guy that sold it back to me. Here is the extra twist...The 85 Vette that I traded him as well which was the one I initially traded the Camaro for in 89 is now dead. His wife was t-boned by a fox body mustang. He negotiated a deal with the insurance to keep the car and a clear title. Once he got it home it was hurt more than he wanted to be involved in. So, guess what? I am talking to him about buying that back. Plans for that car are simple. I already have my eye on another LS1 from a 2000 Corvette. Need to snag a transmission, harness, computer, headers, and some brackets...and BANG. Going to slam that in the Vette. Body looks like a 96, it is lowered to the ground, and prior to trading it to him I rebuilt the brakes, diff, suspension parts, a/c system, etc. etc.

AND...I would put the C5 wheels from my Camaro on the Vette, and get Dave at www.hvydeez.com to hook me up with some sweet wheels for the Camaro.

The wife wants to drive the 85 Vette once it lives again.

i went to your website and was looking around and knew i seen that car when we were up there
here is a pic i took on saturday
http://rolke.dyndns.org/ftp/goodguys...5/DSC03317.JPG

large file

beautiful car

Good picture, and did you happen to notice the kid with the green t-shirt that seems pretty amazed with the Nomad? lol

didn't notice but that was some great photography. Nice plates as well. I'd block that if there's away.

Thanks man. I have thought of that, but dang...the tag is there every where I go. I guess if some sicko wants to use it to contact DMV and find out where I live, or personal info....I just can't stop them from trying. There are some sick folks in this world.

Well....the 9" was not ready last night...but, the PCM did make it back from Indiana for reprogramming and is now installed. Everything is a go pending the 9" install (I hope tonight), then it will roll again onto Tampa this weekend.

I love the color. What color is that?

1985 1986 Renault Aliance Mica Red with Cadillac Black Cherry stripes and gold trim.